world – game
note – requested by anon on lj, based off HGSS game canon

Empty Apartments

Steven poured out all the articles from his cardboard box onto the bare table. He wheeled aside the chair they had graciously assigned to him and proceeded to settle on the makeshift desk in the office. Within his immediate vision, the Silph Cooperation consisted of a very monotonous environment with stiff office suits and starchy white lab coats. People were marginally friendly and nothing more, everyone refrained from idle chatter outside a gasp of stunned recognition and hushed, calculative whispers – there were no silly, airheaded questions or bell-like laughter apparent. Steven didn't find faults in that, and the fact that some people recognized him was self-indulging enough, though the lack of orange and green did nothing to make him feel any more welcomed. He placed the trio of pokéballs containing three incredibly sought after pokémon at the head of his modest table, checked his folders twice, before leaving for the next written arrangement in his schedule.

Steven politely insisted on a group photo with the Elite Four of Johto, for he had promised Wallace and the rest that he would send them solid evidence of his overseas expedition – and not go hiding off into a cavernous mountain to dig up stones. After a brief second of hesitation, the four agreed as a whole, and in the picture, everyone was half-smiling and patient despite the initially unapproachable vibe they emanated. They were all mysterious, with dark eyes, composed faces and similar-coloured garbs; specializing in pokémon types that suited them exquisitely– Dark, Psychic, Fighting and Poison. They were less chatty and more reclined than the Elite Four he knew too well, back in Hoenn. It was a refreshing to a certain extent, not to hear laughter and lively banter consistently showering the room.

Lance wasn't around presently. Will mumbled as he lay on the red couch in a vague tone, that their leader was off visiting a friend in Blackthorn – a place Steven had never heard of. The rest of the Elite Four loitered around the lobby of the Pokémon League, entirely free from conversation and facial expression, perhaps they were so listless because it was rare to see challengers come by often. Steven knew of the eighth gym leader called Claire, who was an expert with the dragons she trained. Steven smiled in understanding before stating that he would take a rain check to acquaint himself with the renowned dragon master, and come back to have a friendly challenge with the five of them another day.

Karen and Will were visibly pleased, perking their lips; while Bruno and Koga simply nodded with mature restraint. Steven welcomed the acknowledgments, but couldn't help it when he – briefly – wondered why none of them had hazel-coloured hair.

It was odd that virtually nothing – nothing – in Kanto reminded him of her, and yet, he winded up noticing every single detail missing in his arrival to the region thus far. The sound of the waves crashing against the port of Vermillion was the only thing that acted calming – if he closed his eyes, he could hear and see the image of Mossdeep in its earlier days, before even Tate and Liza had been born. Steven continued toying with the pokégear in his hands as he leaned back onto the lumpy bed, before deciding that it was just him – just an odd spell of confused emotions from the fatigue of travelling – and dismissed his current state of being. He never suffered from homesickness no matter where he ventured, because he never had a real home since he was fifteen anyway.

As he exited the harbor front house he had rented as an address for his stay, he bumped into a trainer emitting a strong sense of satisfaction and confidence despite her build. She carried herself like a porcelain miniature, no taller than his shoulder, and probably searching in challenge of the city's gym leader. Steven soon found himself sharing a hint of information about sightings of a legendary pokémon skirting about the region with the young, earnest girl. The glamour of inexperience sparked in her wide, youthful eyes, in a way that caught his attention and forced out the sudden urge to impart said information.

He remembered fondly, how another young trainer could find it in herself to tame and befriend the titan of the skies. And as the young girl in the overalls smiled quietly in response to his words, he glimpsed a flicker of challenge and intent in her vibrant eyes. Her whole form, with its scrunched shoulders, cursory face and readable expression – it was hauntingly familiar, and a whisper of someone else seemed to mingle in the sea wind as it breezed past his ears. The sensation lasted for only a moment before fleeing his body and allowing him to recompose himself and bid farewell to the trainer.

He walked first, but lingered thoughtfully at the corner of the street to watch her caper off; swinging her carrier in a way that reflected a gaiety and spirit he was well-acquainted with. And Steven couldn't help it when his heart gave a forlorn little squeeze and his mind wedged itself into a condition of unplaced emptiness.

That night, he raised his pokégear and called the first person listed on his contacts.

"Hello, May?"

" – No, nothing's wrong."

"I just miss home."