"Dewford Town off the port side!" Winona cried cheerily, pointing off the left side of the ship's railing. Wallace and I followed her gaze and saw a group of short buildings clustered together on a distant island. Other than some trees and a few rocky hills situated behind the buildings, there was nothing else there except the seemingly endless ocean surrounding it.

   That's it? I thought, feeling a little disappointed. What did I expect anyways? It was an island town, so there obviously wouldn't be anything too fancy. At least there was what looked like a Pokémon Center. It was hard to tell since the buildings' colors were so washed-out looking.

   My morning didn't exactly start out as smoothly as I wanted it to. It began with Meteor actually shoving me off the bed because apparently, he remembered that I had said he could wake me up whenever he wanted to. I woke up mid-fall and collided with the carpeted floor of the rented Center room a second later. Right afterwards, I heard Winona and Meteor laughing.

It turned out while I was asleep, Meteor decided to introduce himself to Winona. I wouldn't have minded if it didn't result in he and Winona instantly becoming partners in crime. And being the overly passive person I was, I didn't complain. Besides, I couldn't stay mad at Winona's slightly immature cuteness or Meteor just being himself.

   "Do you want to sightsee, or should we look for the Gym right away?" Wallace asked, squinting to get a better look at the town.

   "I definitely want to challenge the Gym," I replied. "Looking around can wait until later."

   "And not try to find any more Pokémon for your team? I get that you like your Beldum and all, but you can only get so far with one Pokémon, even if it's strong," Wallace said.

   "He is capable of handling anything that's thrown at him. He won't go down that easily," I said, trying put emphasis on the fact that Meteor wasn't just some ordinary Pokémon. Though logic stated that I needed more teammates, I found it hard to imagine that I could have more than one partner constantly at my side.

   "I wasn't trying to insult Meteor or anything," Wallace apologized. "I'm only stating the facts."

   "Oh believe me, facts are something I don't tend to ignore," I said.

   Wallace arched an eyebrow and shook his head, giving me a half-smirk. "You sure are a strange person, Steven. You appear to be calm and logical despite having that outburst when you defended my sister the other day. Emotional and logical... for some reason, those words don't sound right together."

   "I think the word you're thinking of is courteous," I said. "Logical and courteous."

   Wallace sighed and hung his head. "I'm going to have to get used to this kind of talk coming from you, aren't I?"

   "You'll have to if you want me to travel with you. I'll have to get used to how you act," I said.

   "Oh yeah? How's that?" Wallace asked challengingly.

   "One word: flamboyant," I said. "The way you addressed me when we met, the way you taught your Pokémon to battle, the overall 'flair,' you have when you speak—"

   "Okay, you don't have to list every example!" Wallace cut me off. From the look he was giving me, it was clear that I had struck a nerve. "Being an ex-Coordinator kinda does that to you. Some habits never really fade. Besides, I hate it when people use those words to explain how I act. It doesn't sound right to describe a guy in that way. I mean, 'overly-confident' is a much better word than 'flamboyant," he said, almost sounding like he was pouting.

   I had to admit, I was surprised. Wallace didn't come off as someone who would worry about that. I now felt bad for saying that to him. "Then... you should embrace it or something? It doesn't matter what other people think?" I hesitantly offered. I was no good at giving advice in general, let alone life advice.

   "Any other cliché inspirational quotes you want to share?" Wallace asked sarcastically.

   Although I wasn't as well-versed in the fine art of sarcasm as someone my age should've been, I had some grasp on the concept, and Wallace's comment irritated me a little more than it should have. I told myself to calm down and tried to think of a response. When I couldn't think of anything that didn't involve spouting off more of what Wallace didn't want to hear, he took my silence as an incentive to keep talking.

   "Sorry, I know you were trying to help, and you're right. Embrace it, ignore the people who don't like it, blah blah blah, it's par for the course," he sighed. After a brief pause he said, "I know it may sound strange for me to be so open to someone I met a few days ago but that's how I am. That's another thing you'll have to get used to." His voice had lost its charming ring and it now carried a drab note of defeat. Something told me that he wasn't usually like this.

   "Uh, sure, I don't mind you being like that, rival," I said with a partially forced smile and a half-hearted nudge to the arm. On the inside, I was cringing so hard. Why did I find talking with anyone but Meteor such an insurmountable task? Luckily, Wallace appreciated what I tried to do and smiled.

   "Yeah, rival," he said back. "I think we'll both get used to each other pretty quickly."

   "Look at the Wingull!" Winona said, oblivious to the conversation. As she said this, a flock of the blue-striped birds flew over the boat's deck and towards the rocky outcropping on the far side of Dewford. Winona smiled wistfully. "If I could have a second dream, I would want to fly with the bird Pokémon," she said. "Be up in the sky, riding the slipstreams, and feeling the wind on my face..." She held her arms out to her sides and closed her eyes. "This is as close as I can get to it right now. One day... I'll fly!"

   "Who says you can't have more than one dream?" Wallace laughed, tousling his sister's hair. He already seemed to be back in a good mood. "You can have a million if you want as long as you don't lose track of them!"

   "What do you dream of doing, Steven?" Winona asked me. I wasn't sure if I should tell them. Proving to your parents that you could be on your own wasn't exactly a difficult dream to achieve, mainly since it was the norm. I knew I would feel bad if I didn't say anything, especially after the conversation I had with Wallace.

   You should tell them. After all, they're your friends now, Meteor said. After a moment of consideration, I nodded. Meteor's words made me feel more confident, they always did.

   "I... I want to prove to my dad that I can survive out here," I said, absentmindedly fiddling with my stickpin.

   "Why do you need to prove something like that?" Winona asked. Wallace lightly smacked the side of her head, telling her not to be rude.

   "It's fine, Wallace. I'm glad she asked. I kind of wanted to talk about this to someone else other than Meteor," I said. "And to answer your question, Winona, my dad never thought I could survive on my own because I was never really... exposed to the outside world too often, or given much freedom in the first place. I was raised to work in an office, nothing else."

   "Why was that?" Wallace had stopped scolding Winona and was now interested in what I was saying.

   "Everyone in my family has to be involved with the family business. My name carries a lot of weight," I said simply. "And if I refuse to work alongside my relatives, I might as well be disowned."

   "Now that you mention it, you never told us your last name," Wallace said hesitantly.

   I took a deep breath before answering. "My last name is Stone," I answered.

   "Stone? You're related to the people who run the Devon Corporation?" Wallace seemed to become more intrigued with every word I said.

   "Yes, I'm the son of the company's president," I looked to my friends and saw them staring at me with wide eyes. Neither said a word and the situation became awkward almost instantly. Was the information really that shocking? I soon felt myself tense up and I tried alleviate the silence by continuing. "And since I don't have any siblings, I'm the sole heir to Devon."

   "No wonder you look so familiar, you look like a younger version of your father," Wallace commented, coming out of his shock.

   If I had a PokéYen every time I've heard that one. "You aren't the first person to have said that," I said. "I'm honestly surprised that my dad doesn't have half the region looking for me by now. I didn't exactly leave home on good terms."

   "What'd you do?" Like Wallace, Winona was completely enraptured with my story. She seemed to hang on every word like it was the climax of a best-selling novel.

   "I made my own freedom. I ran away. If I hadn't, Meteor would have been taken from me," I said quietly, not looking at them. Much to their disappointment, I didn't want to go on after that, I really didn't. My silence was enough of a hint and neither of them asked anything else. I felt bad for clamming up, but spilling the excuse for a sob story that was the past six years of my life wasn't on my agenda that day, or ever. I wanted to move on from my past, not relive it.

   You did good, Meteor said. That was all I heard from him for the rest of the boat ride.

—~*~—

Dewford Town was even more worn-out in person. Every building had its faded paint peeling or its shingles falling off. Some of them even had a window or two boarded up. It was like someone had stumbled across an abandoned town and decided to start something there without trying to fix anything. The only buildings that remotely looked in good condition were the Pokémon Center, some Pokémart-type store, and the Gym.

   "Yeah... the sightseeing can be held off until Slateport," Wallace commented, taking in the sight of the weather-worn husks standing around us.

   "No kidding," I added. "How long are we going to stay here?"

   "A day now. I was thinking two or so until I got a better look."

   "All the more reason to challenge the Gym now." I began speed-walking towards the large stone Gym building, gesturing for Wallace to follow. He ran after me, calling for me to slow down. What could I say? I was impatient! 

   "Welcome to the Dewford Town Gym, are you here to challenge Justine?" the tall man standing behind the lobby counter asked.

   "Yes, is she here at the moment?" I replied.

   The man nodded. "Enter those doors and you'll find her in the arena." He pressed a button on a small control panel and the set of double doors on the other side of the room slid open. "Due to Justine's rules, only one person may enter at a time. She prefers a one-on-one meeting with her challengers."

   Wallace playfully pushed me forwards. "You can go first, you did want to get your badge as soon as possible."

   "Thanks, you're so generous," I replied sarcastically, at the same time thinking how strange it was for me to talk like that.

   The open doors led into a hallway lined with oak paneling and shale tiling. It was quiet except for the faint sound of waves crashing against the shore outside. At the end of the hall was a large arena that looked similar to the layout of Terrance's arena. It was made from tightly-packed earth and had random pebbles scattered about. A massive window took up the entire right wall of the room, the open bay on the other side. Standing in front of the window was a young woman wearing black and orange yoga attire.

   "It seems I have a visitor. You may come in," the woman said, her calming voice echoing around the large room. I walked to the center of the arena and waited silently. The woman turned to face me and opened her eyes. I was startled to see that they were milky white and glassy, meaning she was blind. "My name is Justine, and I am the Leader of the Dewford Town Gym," she said.

   "It's nice to meet you, my name is Steven," I politely introduced myself, feeling slightly intimidated by her blank stare.

   "Your aura calms me," Justine said, her eyes closing again.

   "Aura?" I had heard the word before, but I didn't know what it meant.

   "I can see people's auras, the energy every living being emits. Yours is yellow, carrying an air of sophistication and intelligence. Well thought-out battle strategies are common in those with yellow auras. You're... here for a battle, correct?" she asked.

   "Yes ma'am," I replied.

   "Very well, this battle should be quite interesting." Without another word, Justine walked to the far end of the room, taking her place on her side. I moved to the opposite side, standing across from her. I sent out Meteor and she sent out a blue humanoid Pokémon with red eyes. "You may have the first move, Steven," she said.

   "Meteor, use Iron Defense!" Meteor turned silver and his defenses were raised. I wanted to make sure his defensive stats were high enough to take more than a few hits. After all, like Wallace had said, he was my only Pokémon.

   "Using a defensive move? Machop, use Focus Energy," Justine said. The Pokémon smiled confidently and clenched its fists.

   "Mach Mac!" it said as it thrust its arms into the air, an orange glow rushing up its arms.

   "Um, use Zen Headbutt!" I hesitantly called out, not sure of what Focus Energy did. It probably had something to do with raising stats. Meteor picked up on my apprehension and rushed at the Machop, zigzagging from side to side in order to make his path not as predictable.

   "Karate Chop."

   Machop waited until Meteor was close enough and lunged at him with its right hand glowing. However, Meteor faked it out and dodged to the side, smashing into the confused Fighting-type afterwards. It was thrown to the ground, rolling until it stopped at Justine's feet. It sprung back to its feet and muttered something incomprehensible while glaring at Meteor.

   Oh yeah? I'll make you eat those words! Meteor hissed. C'mon, Steven. Tell me to use Zen Headbutt and I'll show that Machop how strong I can be!

   "Meteor, use Zen Headbutt again!" I ordered.

   "Machop, sidestep it and counter with another Karate Chop," Justine said in response. Instead of charging at Machop, Meteor shot up into the air until he was nearly hitting the ceiling. Machop was confused by this and frantically glanced around, looking for its opponent. With a mischievous laugh, Meteor raced back down towards his opponent, colliding with it before it realized where its foe had gone. The explosive collision resulted in a small crater that flung pebbles and dirt in every direction. For a moment, Meteor had become... well, a meteor! 

   That's what you get for saying that to me! You don't need to have arms to win! Meteor said triumphantly, rising from the crater.

   There's overkill, and then there's that! I told Meteor. Did you really have to put a hole in the floor?

   Did that Machop really need to comment on me not having arms? Meteor countered. It's all according to my policy. Make fun of me or my Trainer, and you get smashed!

   While that technically wasn't the worst policy to have, it sounded like it could be potentially murderous in certain situations. As long as Meteor didn't land himself on Hoenn's Most Wanted list, he could have whatever policy he wanted.

   Justine's sightless eyes widened as she returned her fallen Pokémon. "Impressive." She then sent out a yellow and navy blue Pokémon with boxing glove-shaped hands. "Don't get cocky, my Makuhita will not go down as easily."

   I hope you're wrong, I thought. "Meteor, use Iron Defense!"

   You don't need to worry so much, I'll be fine, Meteor tried to assure me as he used the move.

   I don't care. I don't want you to faint again, I thought back. Besides, who knows what that Makuhita can do?

   "Use Bulk Up," Justine commanded.

   "Makuku!" Makuhita's body glowed red and it slammed its fists together. I knew for a fact that the move was a stat booster. It most likely raised its attack or something similar.

   "Meteor, be careful and use Iron Head."

"Now Makuhita, use Mach Punch," Justine said in a deadpan tone.

   Meteor and Makuhita rushed towards each other, both readying the moves they were going to use. They collided with a force that sent a cloud of dust flying outwards. Makuhita pushed against Meteor and he pushed back, each trying to force the other away. Makuhita managed to win out and Meteor was flung backwards. He hit the ground and carved a rut in the earthen arena. A startling amount of dust was thrown up into the air, concealing my partner.

   "No, Meteor!" I gasped. It took every ounce of mental strength I had to not run to help him. Meteor had been hurt before, and I wasn't too worried. But seeing him get hit that hard reminded me of when Valerie's Sableye had almost crushed him, and it scared me a little.

Nothing happened, there was only dust and the sound of Makuhita slamming its fists together in a joyful manner, as if it knew it had won. I tried talking to Meteor telepathically but he wouldn't respond. Did he faint..?

"I told you so," Justine said in a disappointed tone.

   From within the dust cloud, a dark silhouette rose into the air. To my shock, it began emitting a white light. Was Meteor... was he evolving? His form became wider and what looked like two claw-tipped arms grew from his sides. The dust cleared to reveal exactly that. The new Meteor gently opened his crimson eyes.

   What happened? His surprised voice had deepened, making him sound older. He raised his arms and examined them with his new pair of eyes, as if he had never seen anything like them before. Dear Arceus... I have arms! he cried, overjoyed.

   "Evolving in the midst of a crisis is a rare occurrence nowadays... your Pokémon must really be determined to win this battle," Justine mused, smiling. "It won't be enough. Makuhita, use Arm Thrust!"

   Confusion, Zen Headbutt, Bullet Punch, and Iron Defense, Meteor told me. I nodded and told him to use Confusion. Meteor pointed at Makuhita and it froze mid-attack, a pink glow surrounding its body. With a flick of his arm, the Fighting-type was flung into the nearest wall, letting out a cry as it did so. Justine's head snapped to where Makuhita landed.

   "Use Arm Thrust, make it connect!" she commanded. Her Pokémon struggled to its feet and readied its attack.

   "Meteor, Bullet Punch!" I countered. With an agility I had never seen Meteor exhibit before, he sped to Makuhita and began raining a storm of precise blows onto the Fighting-type. It ended with Meteor slamming one of his spiked arms into Makuhita's torso, and it was thrown onto its back, remaining motionless once it landed.

   "Congratulations, you've won," Justine said, sounding surprised.

   We did it, Steven! Meteor said joyfully. He quickly flew over to me and using his newfound arms, hugged me and lifted me off the ground. We won, we won!

   "I-I know! But I can't... breathe!" I gasped, squirming in Meteor's inhumanly tight grip. I probably would have enjoyed the victory more if it wasn't for my partner squashing the life out of me.

   Sorry! He gently placed me down and let go of me, patting me on the back for good measure. I regained my lost oxygen, wincing at the sharp pain I felt in my chest. While I was sure Meteor had bruised a rib or two, it was the sentiment that really mattered. He needed to learn how to control his new strength, that was all. I looked away from my Pokémon to see Justine silently standing beside me, a blue and orange badge in her outstretched hand.

   "You have defeated me, and by Hoenn League rules, you earned this Knuckle Badge," she said stoically. I took the badge from her and pinned it next to my Stone Badge, thanking her as I did so. "There is no need to thank me, I am only fulfilling my duty as a Gym Leader. I was at first shocked by how you battled. There was no real strategy, no planning, your actions were very sporadic. Unusual for someone with your sort of aura."

   "I don't exactly have a strategy yet," I replied as I returned Meteor to his ball. "It made things harder to predict, didn't it?"

   "I'm not sure, it looked as if you were scoping out my Pokémon's attacks by the way you told your Metang to use those defensive moves."

   Scoping out attacks? I didn't think Trainers would think of that as a strategy, considering how fast-paced battles usually were. In a way, my commands came off like that. But that wasn't what I was doing, I wanted to make sure Meteor wouldn't faint, and using Iron Defense was the one option I had. "Is that an actual strategy?" I asked.

   "While not very common, there are some who were able to pull it off. It's risky at times but if you play your cards right, you'll know every attack your opponent knows, therefore basically knowing whatever direction the battle could go in."

   "I'll have to keep that in mind then," I said. I thought what she said was interesting, and what would a Trainer be without a strategy?

   Justine smiled. "I may have to reform my own strategy after this," she said.

   Out of nowhere, a loud crash came from the direction of the Gym lobby followed by the lights going out. I could hear people shouting and a rush of footsteps leaving the building. It sounded like the building had been attacked! I immediately feared for Wallace's safety and wanted to see what happened.

   "Why are you hesitating? We need to investigate!" Justine said, running ahead of me. She kept her calm semblance seemed to have no trouble navigating her way down the darkened hall. With worried thoughts and a sinking feeling in my gut, I ran after her.