Hello everyone I'm not dead! Here's the newest chapter to 'The Pokémon Child'! Sorry about the long wait I'm taking summer classes and I'm on the second summer session.

Chapter 9: Dewford Town: A Letter for Steven

At some point during the boat trip to Dewford Town, Tiju-Nui ended up having to return to her pokeball. The poor Treeko became quite seasick as the vessel rocked back and forth. Maja and Nayru watched Wingull and Pelipper soared above them. If they were in Kalos, Swanna, Driftloon and Driftblim would also be flying over the seas.

"So what part of the region are you from missy?" Mr. Briney spoke up to fill the silence. "Just trying to make small talk is all. Usually I'm just chatting with Peeko here."

"Maja and I are both from the Kalos region. We're from..." Nayru trailed off not wanting to reveal the Pokémon Village. "We're from Snowbelle City." She decided. It was sort of true after all. The frozen city was just as much home as the Pokémon village because of Wulfric and Cecile.

"Snowbelle huh? I've heard stories about it. In my youth I used to travel a whole lot for a cargo company in Slateport delivering goods all over. Johto, Kanto, Alola, you name it, I've been there. The places I used to dock at in Kalos were Ambrette Town, Cyllage City, Coumarine City and on a rare chance, Kiloude City. Locals would tell legends about kings and castles. Different stories about the terrain too. I've never been to Snowbelle myself but I hear that all of the gym leaders who lived there all specialized in ice Pokémon and that's why it snows permanently." The old sailor shivered. "I'll take the sun beatin' down on me any day. Never could stand the cold even as a lad."

Nayru and Maja chuckled. "It's the perfect place for ice pokemon besides Dendemille Town and Anistair City. Most people outside of Kalos don't realize that Anistair City can get just as cold even though it's a good distance from the foot of the mountains." Anistair City sat at the foot of the mountain range that contained the Frost Cavern and though it wasn't nearly as cold as Snowbelle could get, people outside the region tended to underestimate the chill.

"There was another story I heard about an entire village of pokemon in the forest there." Mr Briney piped up. At this Nayru nearly choked on air and Maja tumbled from his perch and into her lap. If the sailor noticed, he didn't mention it. "Sounded mighty exciting though everyone just said it was a rumor." Nayru and Maja slumped in relief. Thank goodness. The blonde thought.

"Can I ask what Dewford Town is like?" Nayru wanted to know how big it was and if Granite Cave was a fair distance. The island looked small on both the paper and virtual maps but looks could be deceiving

"Tiny is the best word that I can come up with. Mainly fishermen, sailors and martial artists but the last is because of the gym leader Brawly. Apparently he studied and trained under one of Kanto's elite four, Bruno, before he came to Hoenn. All I know is the boy's tough as nails. I was having lunch at a cafe once and saw him surfing with some heavy looking pokemon on board with him. It was raining meowth and furfrou too to boot! Can't tell you how many times they wiped out that day."

The rest of the trip was spent chatting about little things though Nayru and Maja enjoyed listening to the sailor's stories about his youth. The sun was beginning to set in the sky and after an early dinner of samosas and magost berry ice cream for dessert, the blonde could feel drowsiness kicking in. She was quite full and the rocking of the boat wasn't helping. Maja wasn't faring any better. Tiju-Nui had been summoned out of her pokeball to try and eat something but could only manage a few bites of bread with a bit of honey before her sea sickness came back with a vengeance and she had to return to her pokeball. Mr. Briney persuaded the young girl to use the bunk below deck to take a nap.

"Are you sure?" Nayru didn't want to take advantage of the old man's kindness. Mr. Briney smiled warmly. "Peeko and I will be fine. You and your partner there look ready to pass out. Go and take a nap. It won't be long until we arrive in Dewford Town."

The bunk was a twin sized bed bolted to the wall and floor to prevent the piece of furniture from moving around. It was covered in grey sheets, soft from repeated washing over periods of time with a hand knit blue and white comforter on top. Placing her bag next to the bed, the blonde made herself comfortable and brought out the plush mat Maja and Tiju-Nui shared.

I just hope her sea sickness doesn't last after landing on the island. Once, when they were young children, Korrina's grandfather took both girls sailing around Azure Bay and his poor granddaughter had gotten so sea sick the she hadn't gotten her land legs back until several hours later. Nayru shut her eyes letting the gentle rock of the ocean take her to dreamland.

Cold was the first thing she felt. Then it became unbearably hot. She was in a cave of some sort, crystals growing from stalagmites and stalactites here and there. Nayru could not see any visible exit, only rocks carved into natural stairs. With no other choice she moved forward. The cave couldn't seem to decide between temperatures. Slick ice would be there one minute and in the next, hot lava would flow down the walls.

"I'd like to wake up now." She mumbled to herself. A sudden noise shook the cave. It was haunting. As if the creature or creatures making it were in pain.

'Help us.'

She shuddered as the voices from her previous dream returned.

'You must help us.'

'SAVE US!'

Nayru woke up with a jolt, her eyes darting around as her chest heaved. Maja was fast asleep in the little pokemon bed near her. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair now unraveling from it's braid. "And here I thought the first dream was just a nightmare..." Those voices, the symbols alpha and omega, what did they mean?

She was cut of from her musings as Mr. Briney shouted from above "Land ho! Dewford town straight ahead!" Maja groaned awake and sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Had a nice nap?" The blonde asked her companion pushing the dream to the back of her mind as she did the first. Maja merely flew up to her shoulder and snuggled against her neck still sleepy.

"Noi…" He yawned.

Nayru gathered their things and trudged back up to the deck. The sky was dark with thousands of silver stars twinkling above. Mr. Briney hadn't been kidding when he said Dewford Town was tiny. It was still some what bigger than Littleroot but not by much. The pokemon center stood near the docks which were lined with multiple fishing boats. Fishermen were docking, ready to go home to their families and beds for the night. In the distance, Nayru could make out a rock formation. Granite cave if she were to guess.

"Thank you so much Mr. Briney." Nayru said smiling at the old man.

"It wasn't a problem little miss. Peeko and I will stay on the boat tonight and head back to our cottage in the morning. Don't be shy and visit once in awhile. Peeko seems to have taken a liking to you and your pokemon!"

Nayru and Maja waved goodbye and walked across the docks to the island. Removing Tiju-Nui's pokeball from her belt, Nayru summoned her little green friend. Tiju-Nui shook herself for a moment and looked around. "Tree!" She let out a cry of relief when she saw they were on dry land again.

"How are feeling now?" Nayru asked her. "Do you still feel sick?"

"Ko." Tiju-Nui shook her head 'no'. Her stomach felt settled and she didn't feel like she was going to fall over.

"That's a relief. We'll spend the night at the Pokémon center and see if we can find Mr. Stone's son in the morning. Hopefully he's still around here or else we'll end up on a wild chase. Arceus forbid..." She mumbled and they made their way to the Pokémon center. A quick bath later and the three were passed out on the bed. True to his word, Maja remained on the pokebed to avoid getting caught in Nayru's hair again.

The next morning, the trio found themselves in front of the imposing structure that was Granite cave after a quick breakfast kindly served by the Nurse Joy stationed in town. They'd begun asking around for a Steven Stone and a passing Fisherman informed them that he'd walked into the cave a few days ago with a bunch of supplies.

"My guess is he's been camping out somewhere inside." He'd said. "Good luck finding him. Granite cave has a lot of twists and turns so you better watch where you step."

A sign stood in front of the cave with a warning:

Granite Cave Up Ahead

Caution: Steep Tunnels and Turns

Proceed with care

The cave was pitch black upon entering and an ominous chill spread throughout the area. Tiju-Nui whimpered and dove into Nayru's arms. The blonde shivered. It was probably a bad idea to come in without a jacket on. She was currently wearing a dark red and white horizontal striped shirt with three-quarter sleeves and her cargo pants. At Maja's suggestion she wore the boots Grant had gotten her and taped her feet for good measure. After the Rusturf tunnel, Nayru had a few scratches on her feet from the stones in the cave. It was probably for the best given she might hurt herself.

Maja quietly clung onto her braid as Nayru shifted Tiju-Nui into the crook of one arm. She switched a flashlight on illuminating the entrance. She could see Makuhita hiding out of the corner of her eye and Geodude rolling around. Zubat cries echoed off the walls as they flew near the ceiling. On occasion the light reflected off the gem eyes of Sableye or the teeth of Mawile. A Nosepass would sometimes cross their path.

"Tree..." Tiju-Nui cried quietly.

"Noi…" Maja mumbled comfortingly. He'd been born in a cave but this was pretty scary. Nayru shivered both from the ominous feeling and the cool temperature of the cave. Quite the drastic difference from the sun bearing down on them outside.

"If we stay quiet I don't think we'll have any problems with the pokemon in here." The paths carved into the ground were smoothed out so there was no trouble walking yet. It was decently straightforward until the paths began to curve and steepen. Nayru slowly trekked down using large stones as steps. "Are you two ok?" She whispered to the two pokemon with her. She felt Maja nod on her head though his grip on her braid tightened a bit. Tiju-Nui merely snuggled against her chest.

After what felt like hours, the trio found that the pathway began to change into a carved narrow stairway At the bottom Nayru could see what appeared to be light shining from another opening. Hopefully it would be bright enough that she wouldn't need the flashlight. Nayru was mindful of her steps as she made her way down. The cave began to open up until the three of them found themselves in front of a carved doorway probably large enough for a Steelix to fit through. As they entered Nayru could see light breaking through the ceiling. Enough that they could see without the device in her hands. They found themselves inside a massive room, walls reasonably smoothed down. However, Nayru's eyes were drawn to the center.

In front of them was a cave mural. Nayru's hold on Tiju-Nui tightened slightly. On the right was the depiction of what appeared to be a giant pokemon composed of segments and lines. All around it, volcanoes erupted. On the left was another giant pokemon surrounded by ocean waves. The way that both of them were positioned, it looked like they were fighting. Nayru felt her blood run cold as she gazed at the third depiction in the middle. Above both pokemon was a dragon-like one. Its cylindrical body flying as if the clouds in the sky had broken up just for it. It looked fierce. It looked...

My dream... She thought, mind going back to the green light and shape in the sky. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of mumbling and found a man standing in front of the mural talking to himself. Next to him an Aron looked around. A little ways away, Nayru could see a tent set up.

"This is simply amazing. To think that a mural this size was hiding in here." The man continued to mumble to himself. The Aron next to him continued to look around until its eyes settled upon Nayru and company.

"Aron!" It let out a sudden and charged towards them.

"Ko!" Tiju-Nui squeaked in alarm and hopped out of Nayru's arms in fright clinging to her shoulder for dear life. The iron pokemon simply halted to a stop and barked out a greeting cheerfully.

"Aron? What's- Oh..." The man turned around revealing silver eyes that widened in surprise when he saw the trio. "I remember you... The girl from the ferry... You saved Aron."

Nayru took a step back. Maja grumbled a little recognizing him as the man who'd picked him up when they'd arrived at the Petalburg docks. "Noi…"

"Excuse me for barging in. I'm looking for someone." The blonde spoke in a polite but slightly clipped tone.

The silver hair man cocked his head in confusion. "In Granite Cave?"

"I was told I'd find a Mr. Steven Stone. I have something to deliver for him and I'd like to find him before he ends up leaving for another city." She explained.

An amused smile graced his face and he walked a bit closer. Nayru gazed at him cautiously. "Well I don't think you'll have to keep searching." He extended a hand to her. "Hello, my name is Steven Stone. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name? It's only polite considering you seem to know who I am."

Nayru stared at the hand as if it were a foreign object. Maja groaned and Tiju-Nui looked between the two of them in confusion. Finally Nayru relented, shaking his hand in a loose grip. "Nayru. My name is Nayru." She reached into her bag and pulled out the letter addressed to him. "Here. Your father said that this letter was meant for you."

Steven gingerly took the letter from her. Nayru stared at the mural, blood running cold once more. "It's fascinating isn't it?" Steven asked standing beside her. This mural and room were recently discovered during an expedition and there is a lot debate going on over what exactly this civilization was depicting." He pointed towards the three figures. "From what we've been able to garner, these must be the legendary pokemon of the Hoenn region: Kyogre, Groudon, and Raquayza."

Nayru studied the mural with careful eyes and snorted. "I don't understand why you're all debating over it." She said suddenly.

Steven regarded her with furrowed brow and a slight frown. "What's that supposed to mean? This is an ancient painting. Of course there's going to be debate over it."

The blonde sighed and gave him a side glance. "I mean I don't understand why you're all debating if the answer is right in front of you." She pointed a finger towards the sea pokemon. "That one is summoning tidal waves and that one" Nayru moved towards the land pokemon. "is summoning volcanoes and earthquakes." She fully faced him and stared at gunmetal grey eyes. Steven was taken aback by the intensity in them.

"It's obvious. They're fighting each other." Nayru faced the mural once more, dark eyes trailing towards the final pokemon. "The one at the top, it's role isn't clear. Maybe the scientific community ought to debate over that instead." With that, the blonde left with her pokemon in tow, leaving the young man in a state of confusion.

Steven turned to the mural once more taking in all the details. "Fighting huh? You're quite astute aren't you Miss Nayru..."

Outside the tunnel, Nayru felt like she could breath again and plopped on the sand, watching as the waves crashed against the rocks.

Maja perched himself on her shoulder cooing in concern. "Noi?" Watching his friend grow up, the dragon pokemon noticed a few things when it came to her interacting with other humans.

The first was that Nayru was obviously wary of them. She'd been raised thiking she was a pokemon up until that fateful day Wulfric stumbled upon the village. Secondly, she acted a bit coldly unless she was completely comfortable in their presence. Nayru could be polite, but it was the type of politeness that left you feeling awkward and a bit foolish afterward.

The way she'd talked to this Steven human though was completely different from her usual process. It left the little dragon puzzled as to why she'd nearly snapped the way she did when the older human started talking about that mural on the wall.

"I'm ok Maja... I just have some things on my mind." Nayru muttered distractedly taking her shoes off and digging her toes into the sand.

"Noibat? Noi?" Whatever was wrong with his human friend, the dragon pokemon wanted to know. He wanted to help. He perched on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek.

"Tree..." Tiju-Nui sat in Nayru's lap and snuggled against her stomach chirping comfortingly. She wanted to help as well. The Treeko didn't like knowing something was bothering her trainer.

The human let out a heavy sigh. "I've been having these... awful dreams." She explained. "At first I thought that was just what they were... dreams. Then I had them again. That mural inside the cave basically just confirmed that they weren't just nightmares. Something is going to happen. I don't know when, but something bad is going to happen. I can feel it."

"Noi…" Maja didn't know what to think. He placed his tiny paws on her face and he merely nuzzled harder as if trying to make these feelings of uncertainty she had disappear.

Nayru gave a tiny smile and placed him on her lap with Tiju-Nui before hugging them both close. "Sorry for not saying anything before. I just didn't know what to think and I didn't want to worry you." She said.

Maja and Tiju-Nui merely tucked themselves closer in their human's embrace. They were just glad that she was alright now.

"ACHOO!" Steven let out a loud sneeze startling several pokemon as he emerged from Granite cave a few hours later. The chill inside the cavern finally got to him and he had no choice but to pack up and leave before he ended up with a cold. He shivered as he recalled the one time he'd camped out in Mt. Silver. He'd ended up trying to get over the flu for two weeks afterward.

"Ar?" Aron trotted alongside him wondering if he was getting sick again.

"Ugh... Sorry Aron. I should probably take something when we get into town." He muttered to himself as they passed the docks.

"Finally out of that cave are you young Steven?" A middle-aged woman in front of a cafe called out teasingly as he entered Dewford.

He smiled albeit tiredly. "Evening Julia, yes I'm out of Granite cave, no I haven't gotten myself sick." He explained.

The older woman eyed him critically. "Yet. Mark my words boy, one of these days you're going to end up catching Pokerus!" She tutted.

Steven let out a quiet chuckle. "Any news from the outside world while I was in there?" Dewford town was small so word often traveled fast. Alarmingly so in fact. Julia was one of the main gossips in town so if you wanted information, she was the one to speak to."

The older woman frowned and pulled some papers from her dress pocket. "As a matter of fact yes. While you were in there studying that cavern, something happened over in Rustboro. It's been the talk of the town for a few days now."

Steven took the offered papers from her which turned out to be newspaper clippings. He frowned deeply reading the headlines.

Plans for Rustboro Tunnel Nearly Compromised by Team Aqua.

Rusturf Tunnel to Open Sometime in the Following Weeks.

Old Sailor Attacked By Team Aqua: Pokémon Nearly Stolen!

Steven's concern only increased tenfold as he read one of the articles. If he remembered correctly, the Rusturf tunnel project had been cancelled due to the equipment causing issues for the pokemon living there.

Citizens of Rustboro were flabbergasted a few days ago when a commotion rang out in the city square. 25 year old Nick Robinson ran into the city yesterday seeking help. Robinson, a contractor assigned to the Rusturf Tunnel project, claimed that a member of the controversial organization 'Team Aqua', had taken three hostages in the incomplete tunnel. Originally meant to be used as a path between Rustboro city and Verdanturf Town, the project had been stopped due to noisy equipment disturbing the pokemon already living there. Witnesses from Rustboro claimed that they saw the suspect mug a man and run in the direction of the tunnel.

Of the three hostages, one of them was fellow construction worker of the project, 27 year old Daniel Hart. Hart, whose fiancée lives in Verdanturf town, was the only one of the group working on the project who decided that it was still worth working on. According to his fellow co-workers, he would go in with only hands tools, chipping away at the rock a bit each day.

"We thought he was crazy for trying to go through it that way, but the things you do for love I guess." Robinson explained to reports who were on the scene during the aftermath.

The second hostage was Mr. Briney, a local retired sailor who often takes walks around Rustboro with his pokemon, a wingull affectionately nicknamed Peeko who ended up being the third hostage. According to the old sailor, the Team Aqua member snatched Peeko from him. Once he made it to Rusturf tunnel, Mr. Briney was ambushed and tied up along with Hart and Peeko. Both the sailor and construction crew claim that had it not been for the efforts of a fearless trainer and her pokemon, the outcome could have been much worse. Rusturf tunnel is set to officially open within the following week. Both parties have refused to give the identity of the trainer out of respect for privacy.

"Arceus… " Steven whispered in shock. Mr. Briney was an old family friend. One who had taught him the basics of sailing over the years. To know that something like this had happened to the kind old man and his pokemon… a heavy weight settled in his stomach upon the thoughts that entered his mind. And I was non the wiser... He thought to himself.

Julia nodded empathetically. "That Team Aqua is causing a lot of problems lately. There was a rally here a month ago that some of their members held claiming that we needed to expand the sea for water pokemon." She shook her head and clicked her tongue. "What about those who live on land with us? Don't even get me started on that other organization that thought we should be expanding land. Do we look like we can just do it as we please?"

"I hope Mr. Briney is alright..." He muttered.

"Actually he docked in sometime last night." The woman mentioned and Steven's head shot up in surprise. "Seems he dropped off a passenger. Stayed on his boat and sailed back to his cottage this morning. He and that wingull of his looked like they were in high spirits."

"That's a relief." Steven smiled slightly.

Julia chuckled. "I have to say though, his passenger was very hard to miss. I've never seen hair that long on anyone except in that one story Rapunzel. A bit of an odd ball too now that I think about it. I saw her walk out of the pokemon center this morning and the first thing she did was take her shoes off and walk around bare-foot!"

Steven blinked in surprise. "Did she happen to have a flying pokemon and a Treeko with her?"

Now it was Julia's turn to blink. "Yes actually. I'm quite sure she's not from Hoenn because I've never seen a pokemon like that in all my years and it was riding on the top of her head! Now that I think about it, that girl was looking for you earlier and went up towards Granite cave. Samson said she was delivering something for you."

Steven nodded. "Yes. She was delivering a letter from my father." Then he paused. Now that I think about it, I don't think I thanked her for delivering that letter. "Did she return to town?"

Julia shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of." There was a teasing glint in her eye. "Why steven, did you get smitten with a pretty girl? I never thought I'd see the day! It's about time!" She laughed seeing the young man's face turn cheri berry red.

"Julia! That's not why I'm asking and you know it!" He huffed and walked towards the docks and to the sailboat he'd rented to place his things on board.

Trying to search for one person on the shore was beginning to appear harder than Steven initially thought. Walking along the shore, he tried to see if he could spot a blonde head anywhere. As soon as he thought he saw blonde hair it merely belonged to a martial artist or athlete exercising on the sand. The length wasn't correct either.

"For someone so easy to see, Miss Nayru is definitely hard to find." The silver haired male murmured to himself as he and Aron continued to comb the beach.

"Aron?" The small steel type sniffed at the air and marched forward chirping.

"You found something?" Steven followed curious.

He finally spotted a head of extremely long blonde hair tied back into a braid as he walked back towards the path of Granite cave. Nayru was in the middle of what seemed to be training with her two pokemon if their stances were any thing to by, however he was shocked to find that the two were leaping at her, the flying pokemon sending gusts of wind and her treeko seemingly trying to land punches. Nayru on the other hand kept jumping back, crouching and balancing on the balls of her feet. As her treeko jumped at her once more, the blonde got on all fours and sprung forward like a Liepard leaping towards prey. The treeko squeaked with surprise as Nayru grabbed her and barrel-rolled across the sand before springing back to her feet with the green pokemon in her arms.

"Gotcha!" The blonde grinned giggled at the pokemon's shell shocked reaction. The flying pokemon- She said he's called a Noibat. Steven thought to himself. The Noibat tittered playfully as he swooped down and clung to the trainer's braid.

Were they playing? He wondered as he kept watching. Aron on the other hand charged up to the three. "ARON!" It called out startling the three and bounced around them looking to join in.

Dark brown eyes looked over in the direction the steel type came from and zoned in on Steven who stiffened slightly.

"Um... hello again." He said coming towards them. Nayru stared at him curiously though Steven noticed her face was mildly wary.

"Hello..." Her voice greeted him quietly though he heard the hesitance in her voice. Astute and very cautious.

"I don't believe I thanked you earlier for delivering that letter from my father." He said giving her a disarming smile.

Nayru on the other hand was not swayed though she looked over to the pokemon and cracked a slight smile watching as Aron sniffed at Maja curiously. Tiju-Nui jumped a bit and hugged her tail as he did the same with her, but otherwise didn't run.

"It was just something he asked of me in exchange for an item I was given. You're welcome though." She replied she said curtly.

Steven was about to say something else until he caught sight of the cloth bracelet, the stone badge shining under the sun. "Are you training for your next gym battle?" He asked.

Nayru blinked at him but nodded. "Yes we were. We were planning on training for a few days before we challenge the gym here." She eyed him carefully. "Why do you ask?"

Steven smiled and motioned for Aron to come to his side. From his belt, Steven unclipped a pokeball from his belt. "Would you care for a battle?"

A cheerful chirp sounded from next to them and the two looked down to find Maja looking up excitedly at the prospect of a battle. Tiju-Nui cave a quieter chirp than the dragon pokemon but nonetheless there was a slight gleam in her eye and she nodded towards her trainer. She'd like to battle to.

For the first time, Nayru's lips curled up into a slight smile and steven was reminded of a Persian's grin. "We accept."

Author's note: I'm going to stop the chapter here for now. Anyway I'm sorry that it's taken me a while to update. Like I said before I'm in the middle of my second summer session and we're going pretty fast with the material so I've had to make sure that I'm staying on top of my school work. I will be working on the next chapter soon though and hopefully I won't take as long to update it!

See you next time!

Ja'ne: Kitsune to Tenshi-chan