“Not at all. To be honest, I haven’t really had anything to eat in a while since I’ve been so focused on studying. It’s almost like I’m back in school,” he gave a laugh since technically he was and continued, “well, if this school is even a little realistic the cafe food is probably much better than anything we’ll find around here.”

As they walked toward the cafe, N wondered what Steven’s pokemon had to say about him. He couldn’t hear them now, but perhaps eventually he might get the chance. If they were to battle in a match just as two trainers unrelated to the league this could reveal the thoughts of the Champion’s pokemon and the reason they were able to become so strong.

He glanced through the titles N was holding and thinking back to some of his older research before answering his question. Unova legends had been some of his earlier research, and had yielded little in the way of results. 

“A couple of them. Deep Freeze and Legends of the Storms were rather entertaining, but they ended up being almost worthless in actual application. The storms Legends talks about occur too infrequently, and clear up too fast to be able to be chased.”

He asked her to go back to the festival and she nodded. “That’s what I’m here for! A nice, relaxing time away from everything.” She smiled.

Steven started moving through the crowds towards the stalls. He honestly had no idea what to look for. The last time he had been to a festival had almost literally been in another life. VRO had changed how and what he thought about, even as far as to make him feel a little on edge because there wasn’t any immediate danger for him to focus on, no problems to think through, just empty time for enjoyment.

The man seemed to hesitate before clarifying that he was a bit famous and wanted to get away from it all. Hikari breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hmm, alright,” she said. “I can understand that much at least. Mind if I ask what exactly you’re famous for?” she asked, completely oblivious. He did seem rather familiar to her, but she just couldn’t place him.

Shinx nuzzled her leg a bit and she bent down to pick her up. She laughed a little and offered her out to the guy. “Want to pet her? She’s really friendly and seems to have taken a liking to ya.”

Steven reached out to scratch the Shinx behind her ears before explaining.

“I’m Steven Stone, champion of the Hoenn region. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m a bit better known back in Hoenn, and sometimes it’s nice to take a break from it, if you know what I mean.”

Steven considered going on, but he stopped himself. No point spilling his guts to every stranger he met. 

He didn’t recognize her. As far as he knew, she hadn’t challenged him at he League, or at least, not at anytime recently. Perhaps at a lecture? Or some other event? Had she been involved in some Devon business? He couldn’t place her face. He had been too busy. 

“I’m Hikari,” she said, feeling her face flush. “I’m the one that should be sorry! I thought you were someone else.”

Hikari had vaguely remembered someone she once saved from a Team also kinda tall - at least compared to herself - and had green hair. But this was not the same person.

To make matters worse, by the way he spoke, Hikari could hear in his voice that he didn’t really feel like socializing.

Steven realized after the words left his lips that they sounded very suspicious. She could easily assume that he was a fugitive. IT took him a few moments to decide whether or not he wanted to clarify it. He couldn’t really explain himself without giving himself away.

Regardless, N tipped his hat. “It’s a pleasure to meet this region’s champion, even more so to find he has an interest in these archives. My name is N Harmonia, and I have just as much of an interest in these texts.“

For now, it would be best to not cause any sort of scene until he could ascertain N’s intentions.Otherwise, he might have decided to turn down his offer of lunch.

She had dumped the pink coat and hat into her inventory and just walked around with Shinx by her side. Here, she wasn’t in too much danger of being noticed by the Teams she’d been hunting for so long, as she hadn’t had many encounters with Team Rocket just yet.

Hikari looked around with Shinx, but mostly enjoyed the aroma of the flowers, and the feeling of relaxation everyone had, even if they were in this world.

Just then she noticed someone that looked awfully familiar down a row of booths. He seemed rather tall but he looked so familiar.

He didn’t recognize her. As far as he knew, she hadn’t challenged him at he League, or at least, not at anytime recently. Perhaps at a lecture? Or some other event? Had she been involved in some Devon business? He couldn’t place her face. He had been too busy. 

He buried his face in his hands. He couldn’t even start to justify it to himself. He didn’t want to justify. He wanted out of this place. He wanted his life to be normal again. He wanted to go back to who he used to be.

But he was right. Despite N’s interest in researching the mythos of all regions, he was most drawn to the history of Unova’s legendaries. From what he knew, the dragons, Zekrom and Reshiram and perhaps Kyurem were once a single entity, but split in order to fight alongside twin heroes. In this battle Zekrom stood for the truth the older hero sought, and Reshiram stood for the ideals of the younger hero. Each dragon was supposed to hold power enough to destroy all of Unova, and according to the region’s mythos, had at some point. N’s hope was that this power was enough to make his dream of escaping this virtual world a reality. And if he could not escape by this power alone, then perhaps that power could be used to easier unravel the mysteries of other legendaries who could. Either way, N would find a way to break this game’s hold on him and other trainers.

Aside from his attachment to these legends too, these dragons were also the legendaries that N felt he could most easily locate. They were an ample start to finding a way out of this world.

"I’m not your average reader." N replied, holding his hand out for the book. "But yes," he continued, "I’m researching those legends in the hopes of finding a way out of this game."

“My name is Steven Stone, current champion of the Hoenn region, and also someone with more than a passing interest in the legends that are stored in the books here. There are volumes about them. And just to think, some people wrote all of these for the sake of this game...” Steven’s voice trailed off. 

It took Steven a moment to come out of his reverie. He was constantly astounded in new ways by how much work went into Victory Road Online, and that the end result was to trap everyone inside. They had done a good job of making it as close to a reality as possible. 

This is just great.  I thought the electrical grid incident in the other building was bad but this is just…extreme.  Yoichi was probably going to be locked in his office for days doing paper work because of this debacle.  He didn’t even want to think about the lecture he was going to get from his chief.

Opening up his menu he pulled two handcuffs out of his inventory and then approached the single perp still in the Cradily’s clutches.  The Pokémon released its grip and Yoichi sighed looking at the man mangled arms.  “Yeah, just uh…put him up against the wall.”  Keisatsu hopped to work at Yoichi’s command.  Bunko joined Yoichi as he jumped into the large pit Aggron had created in the floor.

Sifting through the rubble he managed to find the other man unconscious, but in slightly better condition.  He had Mandibuzz fly the dead weight back upstairs while Yoichi navigated the pile of ceiling pieces to pull himself back over to the floor above.  Bunko dropped the man hard onto the ground next to the other guy.

Yoichi rubbed the back of his neck before approaching the wall to flip the two criminals onto their stomachs.  He cuffed the unconscious man but left the other one alone.  Looking up at Steven he felt slightly attacked.  “Don’t give me that look, you’re the one that just literally obliterated that one guy.”  His watched beeped and he glanced down.  “Morning shift should be coming in.”

We’ll need to call a few repairmen for that floor... five desks need to be replaced... two can be repaired... we’ll probably need seven new computers...Father will not be pleased with this mess. At least they didn’t get upstairs.

He snapped his attention back to the officer when he spoke.

“You and any other officers that come will take those two,” he gestured to the bound trainers, “and leave the rest of the mess in here to me. We’ve already had enough of a security breach here as it was. We don’t need any of your people where they’re not supposed to be. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

One of the men seemed to realize that the Pokémon battle was no longer his only problem and turned to make a run for it; Yoichi grabbed him by the collar and turned him around, resting both of his hands on the other mans shoulders.  “I was trying to avoid this whole confrontation but I’m afraid you leave me no choice.”  Yoichi pushed the man down while also bringing up his knee, effectively knocking all the air out of him.  Grabbing the other man by the collar he pulled him back up into a standing position, only to headbutt him hard enough to make him collapse.

He turned to look at the other trainer who seemed to just realize his friend had been knocked out.  He quickly redirected his Froslass to go after the officer.

“So this is how it’s going to be, huh?”  Yoichi didn’t hesitate to toss out his Mandibuzz; the flying-type immediately blew back the Froslass with Gust before perching on her trainers shoulders to wait for further directions.

All of Steven’s pokemon appeared around the room, blocking off all of the exits. 

“Leave the officer, the Carracosta and the Mandibuzz. Get rid of the rest. Don’t worry about damaging the room.”

What ensued couldn’t even be considered a battle. Dozer slammed on of the trainers through the floor with his Froslass. Cuttles threw the remaining two perpetrators together, and Lyse bound them together hard enough to break their arms. Icarus knocked out Dustox with a Brave Bird, and Dozer Meteor Mashed the Torterra into oblivion. One of the trainers burst into shards of light. 

He turned to face the man behind him. He looked vaguely familiar, and it sent a ripple of unease down his spine. He quickly shook it off as coincidence. He had been to this particular campus many times, usually for the library. It would be surprising if he hadn’t run across some students multiple times.

On this particular day, he had been asked to do a lecture on strategies for battling with and against heavy pokemon. He had found many of the trainers to be... reluctant students. It took only ten minutes for him to pick out the trainers who actually desired to improve, and the ones who wanted an excuse to stay in a safe zone.  Afterward, he headed to the library to check out a few references for an expedition he had been planning. For the first time, however, the book he was looking for had been checked out. And then left lying on a table.

Steven studied the books the other man had selected. Several were ones he recognized. 

He looked up as he hopped up the steps just in time to see the door to the third floor slam shut.  The blonde slammed the same door behind him not even ten seconds later.  As he skidded around the corner he found himself running directly into the blonde he’d been chasing, who was apparently sneaking away from Steven, who was in front of both of them.

Yoichi grabbed him by the collar and tossed him on the ground.  He was thrown with such force that he slid on the vinyl floor until his back hit the wall.  Yoichi took several steps until he stood next to Steven.  Immediately he put his hands on his knees and started wheezing a little, trying to catch his breath.

"God damn, what is this the high school track team?"  He stood up straight again and cough into his hand.  Keisatsu was standing over the man Yoichi threw against the wall, daring him to make a move.  Steven’s Pokémon prevented the other two from escaping.  Yoichi folded his arms.

“I arrived here and came down while they were busy trying to batter their way up. Then you arrived. I do hope you’re ready for a fight.”

Steven didn’t like the idea of fighting inside the building, but he couldn’t think of a way to get them outside. And these guys probably didn’t care as much about winning as they did about moving forwards. They would have to stand their ground here. 

“Nexus, Meteor Mash. Take out that Torterra,” he barked, “Dozer, get that Froslass. Head Smash!”

The trainer muttered something Steven couldn’t hear, and his Dustox flew over Dozer, covering him with a green powder. In moments, the behemoth slumped over in deep sleep. 

As he made his way between the two buildings - at a rather leisurely pace - he heard the sound of a door slam shut.  Not long after did the buildings security systems start blaring.  The siren echoed as it bounced around all the nearby buildings.  Oh boy, now I’m in trouble.  Yoichi booked it to the back door and ripped it open.  He clicked on his flashlight to turn off the alarm, only to see that all the wiring had been ripped out.  Sighing, he attempted to fiddle with it in hopes that he could turn it off manually before giving up.

"Douse it."  Keisatsu blasted water onto the exposed wires, which sparked several times before the alarm finally shut off.  The doorway leading into the hallway was wide open.  The officer flipped the switch to turn on the hall lights, but quickly realized his Pokémon managed to short the entire buildings electric grid.  "Excellent.  Good job Kei.  You realize that’s coming straight out of my paycheck, right?"  The Carracosta shrugged.

The pair crept towards the other end of the hallway, but Ski Mask was no where to be found.  Yoichi stood in front of the door at the far end, but it looked untouched.  He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door, hoping that maybe Ski Mask had gone home.  Suddenly there was a shoe squeak almost right behind him.  He whipped around and threw a punch, which managed to clip Ski Mask’s cheek.  The other man seemed rather unfazed, throwing a punch back before using the confusion to force his way out of the newly unlocked door.

Without further ceremony, Steven strode over to the service exit and unlocked it, climbing down into the stairwell, where he could hear the muted sounds of alarms blaring further down. He jogged down the stairs to his father's office and let himself in. The monitor on the desk was flashing. The screen displayed the status of the alarms. So far only the first two floors had been breached, and the cameras destroyed. All of the floors were locked down, but it was unlikely they'd stay sealed for long. 

Steven sighed and left the office, beginning the long trek down to the third floor. He took the stairs three at a time, nearly missing and falling down a flight multiple times. When he finally arrived at his destination, the inside of a solid steel-plate door, which was taking an audible beating from the other side. Steven released Nexus, and took a moment to straighten his suit, making sure his cravat wasn't crooked, and his shirt was tucked in before typing a passcode into a panel on the wall, opening the door, and cutting the alarm. 

A Torterra crashed through the doorway, surprised by the sudden lack of resistance. It was immediately pummeled back through onto its trainer by a blow from Nexus. Steven and his pokemon stepped into the next room, where he slammed his fist into the close button on the panel on the other side, the door shutting with a bang behind him.

Although only the emergency lights cut the gloom, Steven could make out two other players, one of whom looked painfully situated under his Torterra. Both wore ski masks. He let out Dozer on the other side of the intruders and smirked.

Norio destroyed the other trainers Girafarig; the Krookodile barely let the Psychic-type get a move in edge wise.  Yoichi returned the two Pokémon to their balls before motioning to Keisatsu to follow him.  The pair - with Steven’s Pokémon trailing behind - went to track down the trainer who’d attacked them.  It didn’t take long to find Hoenn’s champion cornering the poor guy.

"Hey, hey put the guy down."  Yoichi waved his hands on the Aggron who was grabbing onto their suspect maybe a little too hard.  He slipped around the large Pokémon and folded his arms, facing the man.  He wore an all black outfit, including a ski mask which Yoichi found to be cliché.  The officer rubbed his temples and sighed.  

"Alright so, I’m pretty tired.  It’s been a long night.  I honestly don’t feel like dealing with this…"  He trailed off and made a vague gesture with his arms.  "This.  So I’ll make it easy on you.  You tell me and Snippy over there," he motioned towards Steven, "what exactly you were doing hanging around this place so late at night and I’ll let you go.  If you don’t…"  Yoichi straightened out his back and stopped talking.

This man however, refused to speak. Nothing at all. Steven pulled off his mask, revealing dirty blond hair haggard expression. He looked more worn out than angry. It didn't look like they'd be getting much out of him.

A buzz came from Steven's pocket. He pulled out his PokeNav. His face darkened as he read. A series of warnings were playing across the screen.

"I have bigger issues to worry about than this guy. There's been a break-in back at Devon. I'm going to-"

This guy must be blind if he doesn’t see who he’s fighting against.  Steven’s Pokémon narrowly avoided the attack and seemed surprised that it was being targeted in the first place.  Yoichi nodded at his Krookodile and the pair made  a move towards the perp.  Keisatsu stayed behind near Steven and started to bulk himself up with two successive Shell Smashes.  Norio ran at the other man’s Girafarig and attempted to land an Assurance, but it skirted just out of his way at the last minute.

Yoichi was attempting to reach the trainer but his Hariyama blocked him.  Yoichi stared up at the Pokémon and spread his feet shoulders length apart.  ”I don’t care, I’ll fight you mono a mono.”  As he spoke he realized there was a very real possibility this Pokémon would actually fight him mono a mono and immediately regretted saying anything, considering it was nearly a foot taller than him and out-weighed him considerably. 

"Vyse, grab that Hariyama. Cuttles, Stone Edge on the Delibird."

Vyse wrapped her vines around the Hariyama's arms to restrict its movement while the cop dealt the real damage. Delibird was proving to be far more agile than Steven had expected. It sidestepped the Stone Edge, and pulled a package from its tail pouch. As soon as it hurled the box, Cuttles was already slicing through it.

The package released a wave of heat and noise as it exploded. The trainer and Delibird tried to escape in the smoke cloud it had create, but Cuttles was not to be denied his battle. One claw stretched through the smoke and grabbed the pokemon, dragging it back into the fray. He hurled the bird into the air, and slammed it into the wall with a Stone Edge. 

...

Steven had absolute faith in his pokemon, and while they battled, he ran to where the alley opened up. He released Nexus and leapt onto the steel monster's back, and waited for the inevitable. The explosion had him worried, but before he could think too much on it, the trainer raced around the bend, only to skid to a stop in front of Steven. 

"Care to stay awhile?" Steven jeered.