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| - Steven took a deep breath and examined the massive mural on the wall. It depicted an ancient drawing of two powerful Pokémon in some sort of conflict with one another. One of the Pokémon, a serene aquatic creature, clearly lived in the sea while the other one, a ferocious land creature, clearly dwelled under the Earth. The sea Pokémon had the symbol "α" on its fin while the land Pokémon had the symbol "Ω" on its hand. Between the two Pokémon were a group of people holding up two stones with a DNA double-helix misting out of each. Steven had once heard the tale of the great battle that took place in the Hoenn Region eons ago and how the two legendary Pokémon had a power struggle for the territory. In an attempt to see the legends for themselves, ancient Hoennites intentionally resurrected the two legendary Pokémon, only to cause another war like the first one. A third Pokémon, one that not even Steven knew of, descended from the heavens in order to quell the war. After its efforts, it took residence in the skies above Hoenn to keep watch on any human who tried to make the same fatal mistake as the one that the ancient Hoennites made. There was one thing, however, that Steven could not stop thinking about. Maxie, Archie, and their respective teams were attempting to make the same mistake that was made years and years ago. "This is all very intersting," Steven mumbled to himself. "If these two are the legendary Pokémon that Team Magma and Team Magma wish to awaken..." Steven's steel-blue PokéNav Plus began and ring and he urgently pulled it out of his pocket. He could see on the trainer ID that Ray was calling him. He clicked the flashing green "accept call" icon and put the PokéNav Plus to his ear. "Yes?" Steven asked into the microphone. "Hey man, what are you seeing down there?" Ray asked through the PokéNav. "The mural depics an ancient battle between two Pokémon; one of the sea and one of the land," Steven explained. "Yeah, I know that. It's old Hoenn lore," Ray said. "Is there anything else you see?" "The sea Pokémon has the alpha symbol on its fin and the land Pokémon has the omega symbol on its hand," Steven informed him. "That's... that's interesting," Ray pondered. "I wonder what it could mean." "But wait, there's more," Steven cut in. "It seems that there are people worshiping these Pokémon with stones that look eerily similar to Mega Stones." "M-mega Stones?" Ray asked. "Yes, Mega Stones," Steven reaffirmed. "I am absolutely positive about this." "But, I thought Mega Stones had nothing to do with the legends..." Ray mumbled on the other side of the line. "I mean, there's no way this can be anything else. Everything about these look like Mega Stones." "I'm going to have to hang up on you," Ray said bluntly. "There's something I have to do." "Whatever you're doing, be careful," Steven reminded his friend before hanging his PokéNav up. He examined the wall once again to make sure that what he was looking at was accurate. It seemed as if both of the legendary Pokémon had the capabilities to Mega Evolve, or at least do something similar. If Team Magma and Team Aqua were to get their hands on the required Mega Stones, then chaos would surely ensue in the Hoenn Region. Something needed to be done about it and Steven could only hope that Ray had a plan up his sleeve. After accepting Mr. Stone's favor, Brendan and May headed to Mr. Briney's house near Petalburg in order to see if they could take up his offer of a ride across the seas. Since they would have to go to the island colony of Dewford Town, they would need sufficient water travel. Being the most famous sailor in Hoenn, Mr. Briney was without a doubt trustworthy when on the waters. The two companions managed to make it to Mr. Briney's wooden hut-styled home by the Petalburg Pier. After Brendan knocked on his door, the two could make out what appeared to be his ship parked on the dock. Eventually, the door opened slowly and Mr. Briney greeted the two with a wide smile. "If it isn't my darling Peecko's two saviors!" Mr. Briney cheered. "By the way, I never got 'yer names." "I'm May," May introduced herself and shook the sailor's hand. "And this is Brendan." "Nice to meet you," Brendan greeted Mr. Briney and shook his hand as well. "Please, come inside," Mr. Briney invited the two inside. The two walked into the small house to see Peecko casually flying about. It looked as if Mr. Briney kept the tiny place extremely clean. Many pictures and posters of the seas were put up on the walls. Several statues and sculptures depicting ships and Water Pokémon were propped up on busts. Mr. Briney even had a small sculpture of his boat. "Wow, you must really love sailing," Brendan commented as he took a look around the house. "This is incredible." "I've been sailing since I was a wee little lad," Mr. Briney answered. "It's all an ol' man like me has grown to love." "Speaking of sailing, we have a small request," May told the old sailor. "Ask away," Mr. Briney replied. "Is it possible for the two of us to get a ride to Dewford Town?" May asked. "We have a letter to deliver to Mr. Stone's son, Steven." "Of course!" Mr. Briney nodded. "Anything for my darling Peecko's saviors!" Mr. Briney led the two outside his house and onto the shaky wooden pier where his shiny white boat was parked. It had large red letters spelling "Lady Petalburg" on the hull. Mr. Briney unlocked the main door and let the teenagers on. "Wow, this boat is so cool," May commented as she walked around. "I know, it's so nice and clean," Brendan agreed. "So you two wanted to go to Dewford, eh?" Mr. Briney asked as he took command of the ship's wheel. "It shouldn't be too long of a ride, then." With the switches of a few gears and a few turns of the ship's wheel, Mr. Briney was finally able to pull the ship out of the dock. As he got the boat on its course for Dewford, he began to pick up speed. Brendan and May walked over to the edge of the boat and looked at the passing blue sea. The water was beautifully calm and the soft smell of the sea salt was soothing. Several Pokémon were swimming and leaping out of the water. Brendan's PokéDex was active, registering the names of several Pokémon such as Tentacool, Wailmer, Sharpedo, Pelipper, and others. "Wow, I've never traveled on Hoenn's seas before," May marveled and looked at the horizon in the distance. "It's so beautiful." "There's no doubt about that," Brendan agreed. "I can't wait to see the different Pokémon that live in Dewford." "Do you know how ridiculous this sounds?" Zinnia asked Ray as she climbed to the foggy peak of Mt. Pyre with him and Olivla. Mt. Pyre was probably the most depressing part of the Hoenn Region. It served as the resting place for dead Pokémon and was the final stop on their journey through Earth. While the inside of the mountain appeared as catacombs, the outside of the mountain acted as a mass graveyard with a long, winding stiarcase leading to the top. After Ray's PokéNav conversation with Steven, he was convinced that he knew what Maxie and Archie were after. As a result, his only hope was to climb Mt. Pyre and hear from the mountain's keepers whether what Steven was saying was true. He brought Olivia and Zinnia along with him in case anything bad were to ever happen. "Right now anything is fair game," Ray told her. "If we don't take precaution, then either of these idiotic teams can completely take over the Hoenn Region." "Sometimes you make zero sense," Olivia shook her head. "Actually, scratch that, you never make sense." "You're telling this to the person who has saved your ass on many occasions," Ray reminded his sister. "Oh, please, name one time that's happened," Olivia groaned and crossed her arms. "Well, there was that one time you wanted to explore Shoal Cave without a jacket and almost got hypothermia, there was that one time you told me that a legendary Pokémon lived in the Scorched Slab and you almost got burnt trying to catch it, there was that incident on Sky Pillar, and there was-" "You guys went to Sky Pillar?" Zinnia interrupted and asked. Ray realized his mistake once he uttered the tower's name. Zinnia's favorite Pokémon was Rayquaza and she spent her entire life tracking it down. It would be devastating for her to learn that Ray witnessed the Pokémon's true power and even captured it for himself. "Well, we wanted to see what it was like and stuff..." Ray scratched the back of his head and continued to climb the mountain slowly. "It really wasn't that big of a deal. Just thought I'd poke fun at Olivia for it." "Yeah..." Olivia awkwardly agreed and silently climbed up the mountain. The trio finally managed to reach the summit of the mountain without saying much after their initial conversation. As usual, the old couple that watched over Mt. Pyre was still there waiting for trainers to hear their tale of the great Hoenn war. "Honey, we have visitors," the old woman on the peak mumbled to her husband before slowly approaching the trio. "And who might the three of you be? You all look awfully tired." "We have come with a warning," Ray began with a huff and a puff. "Team Magma and Team Aqua intend on stealing the Red and Blue Orbs in order to awaken the legends of Hoenn." "Why would they do that?" The old man asked, confused. "Are they out of their minds?" "'Out of their minds' is a compliment for their insanity," Olivia added. "Who knows what could happen if they got their hands on the orbs?" Ray noticed the two orbs sitting on pedestals behind the old couple. The Blue Orb had the symbol "α" engraved on it while the Red Orb had the symbol "Ω" engraved on it. Steven must have been right about these stones acting as Mega Stones for the legendary Pokémon. "They want to use the orbs as Mega Stones," Ray stated. "They see the power for what it truly is." "That's preposterous!" The old woman exclaimed. "They could destroy the Hoenn Region!" "Even worse... the world," Zinnia mumbled. The old couple walked over to the pedestals and inspected the orbs carefully. Ray, Zinnia, and Olivia followed the couple in order to get a closer look at the orbs for themselves. They were almost like beautiful gems, a ruby and a sapphire. "Do you know the legend of the Hoenn Region?" The old woman finally asked. The trio shook their heads. "Come, come, take a seat on the grass. Let me tell you how the Hoenn Region came to be." The couple led the trio to a small clearing in the grass and they all sat down. "In the beginning times, there was no such thing as the Hoenn Region," the old woman began. "The world was being crafted by powerful Pokémon and our homeland was just another part of the large ocean." "But as time passed, two Pokémon's paths crossed under the surface of the Earth," the old man continued. "Kyogre, the Sea Basin Pokémon, swam the oceans looking for a home while Groudon, the Continent Pokémon, traveled with the magma in the Earth's interior." "When both Pokémon met in the same area - Kyogre in the water and Groudon in the magma - they both wanted the territory for themselves," the old woman switched off. "A terrible war ensued as the two Pokémon fought for the area. Groudon used powerful Ground-type attacks to create the land while Kyogre used powerful Water-type attacks to make sure that the new piece of land still had portions of the seas along with other fresh water bodies. Such was the beginning of the Hoenn Region." "These Pokémon lived in harmony together until one day they both decided that they wanted a larger slice of the territory," the old man informed the trio. "Again, these two legendary Pokémon started a cataclysmic war which had no end. Eventually, these Pokémon had their powers drained drastically as they were converted into these two orbs here." "Once these Pokémon had lost a great amount of their power in these orbs, they retreated to secluded locations in order to slumber," the old woman said. "What this has to do with Mega Stones is beyond my knowledge, but I can understand the connection." "And such is the story of the Hoenn Region," the old man concluded. "Or such is all we can tell you for now." "Thank you very much for your information," Ray thanked the couple as he got up along with the girls. "If anything were to ever come up, call for us," Olivia told the two. "But who are you three?" The old woman asked. "We are the Hoenn Protectors," Zinnia answered with a smirk. "Th-the Hoenn Protectors?" The old man asked, startled. "B-but it can't be!" "We thought you were only a myth!" The old woman exclaimed. Without saying a word, the trio continued their descent down Mt. Pyre. They would stop at nothing to prevent Maxie and Archie from gaining control of the orbs.
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