A/N: Chapter Two is much longer than the first one; this is a definite accomplishment for me because I usually don't write much. However, the next couple of chapters might not be as long as this one. It took me a while to just type 3000 words. Grammatical errors? Probably. Awkward sentences? Most likely. OOCness? Extremely probable. Repetitive? Sure. I seriously need to work on my self-esteem.

I have to thank FuneralBell for everything (they won't let me type in your penname -_-")! She was the first fanfiction author that I really ever met (via Formspring) and she's awesome. She was also my first reviewer (but I kind of told her that I uploaded my last chapter so...) and she checked over some of my previous works (not this fic because it's supposed to be a bit of a "surprise" whenever I update). Thanks for reading my stupid statements in my PM's, for supporting my strange ideas, and for making my day/night due to your hilarious comments. Continue to write your superb fanfics; I'm with you all the way! Sorry if this sounds really corny; I have to convey my thanks somehow.

Of course, my other reviewers deserve a thanks as well for reading chapter one.

So, thank you!

I hope that you will continue to read the future chapters for this fic.

Without further ado, I now present...

Chapter Two: The Man in the Villa

The male with the golden-yellow eyes quickly glanced around the outside of his villa before he nodded in response to Volkner's incredulous question. "That's correct," he affirmed, "I'm Steven Stone. Before you introduce yourself, however, why don't you come inside? I don't want the media to figure out that I was the one who bought the villa; the last thing that I need right now is to be swarmed by trainers and the news when I want to relax."

Volkner was a bit too surprised to react; he was still stunned that he was standing before the former champion of the Hoenn League. Steven noticed this and snapped his fingers in front of Volkner's eyes. The crisp noise caused the gym leader to return from La-La Land and he blinked his blue eyes. "Oh, right," he tripped over his words, his mind slowly catching up to what Steven had told him. The electric user mentally berated himself, wondering why he was zoning out at a time like this.

The steel master moved aside, not questioning why Volkner had zoned out; he assumed that the other male had some things to worry about so Steven decided not to pester him. It probably wasn't his business, anyways. "I'll go prepare some tea," Steven quietly stated, closing the door behind Volkner, "in the meantime, please make yourself at home." The slate-haired male walked off to the kitchen, leaving Volkner near the front entrance. The large chandelier hanging from the ceiling seemed to shimmer in welcome towards the visitor.

The male from Sunyshore placed his hands into his pockets, walking towards what seemed to be the living room. There was an expensive looking leather sofa that was placed behind a mahogany coffee table. There was also a single sofa seat that was placed to the right of the table. In front of the coffee table was a plasma television; said television also sat in juxtaposition to an audio system. To the right of the TV set was a bookshelf that housed some pictures and some rocks. The windows lay to the right of the shelf. The blinds were closed for the most part to prevent people from peeking inside the villa; however, the current position of the sun allowed some light to stream into the room from the crack at the side of the blinds.

The electric user walked over to the bookshelf, a glinting object catching his eye. Volkner noticed that the shelf housed many different stones located all over the Pokémon world. The shiny elemental stones sat on the topmost shelf, polished and kept in mint condition. The gym leader realized that the stones must have reflected the sunlight, thus attracting the blonde's attention. Tearing his gaze away from the rocks, Volkner continued down the rows on the shelf. He stopped his scrutinizing at the middle shelf, noticing three framed pictures on it.

The picture to the left was a picture of an old man with gray-blue hair, surrounded by a large group of people. Volkner realized that the old man must be Steven's father; the resemblance that the old male had with the ex-champion clearly gave it away. The blonde dimly recalled the fact that Steven's father was the CEO of Devon Corporation and realized that this picture was a group shot of the whole corporation, employees and all. The gym leader could not help but to smile, realizing that the ex-champion truly cared for and loved his father. "He's a lucky man," the blonde thought to himself.

Volkner turned his gaze towards the picture of the right. It included Steven, smiling at the camera along with four other people. There was a red-haired male dressed in a red shirt, covered by a black vest. The male wore brown pants with stripes running vertically from the hem to the pant legs and black and red shoes to match his top. He was grinning goofily at the camera, prompting a smirk to form on the electric user's lips. Standing next to the male in the photo was a young black-haired female, garbed in a blue tube top. A towel-like garment in the same color as her tube top was wrapped around her waist, revealing most of her left leg while her right leg was hidden. She wore a pink anklet on both of her ankles and stood barefoot. The female also had two large pink flowers clipped to both sides of her hair, effectively hiding her ears. Noting the female's choice of clothing, Volkner deduced that the climate in the Hoenn region was that of the tropics because she would otherwise freeze. Next to the young female was a slightly older-looking woman with light blonde hair. She was garbed in a purple dress with lavender sleeves and collar. A brown belt was looped around her waist and she wore brown heeled shoes to match the belt. The older female gave vibes to Volkner that she was a prim and proper person and her tidy appearance certainly gave evidence to support that feeling. Volkner wryly smiled, remembering Fantina, the gym leader of Hearthrome City. Fantina and she would definitely get along if the two somehow meet. The last person was a male with a bushy, white moustache. He wore a white captain's hat with a gold Pokéball emblem emblazoned on it. He was shirtless but he wore a black trench coat in compensation. The coat had the same Pokéball emblem emblazoned on the male's right side of the coat. He also wore jeans with a black belt looped across his waist and black boots to match the belt. He was the oldest of the five in the photo and he seemed to be the most stoic as well. That male also seemed to be the person that Volkner would want to go to if he wanted to intimidate someone, not that the blonde would ever admit that out loud.

Putting the pieces together, the gym leader realized that these four people must be the Elite Four of the Hoenn League. The goofy-looking male was Sidney, the female in the Hawaiian-styled clothing was Phoebe, the neat and proper female was Glacia and the oldest figure in the photo was Drake. Volkner briefly wondered if he could challenge the four in the near future before he shook his head at the thought. Although the blonde was eager for a battle in which he can enjoy himself, he had yet to have a battle against the Sinnoh Elite Four. "I have to beat the Elite Four here before I can challenge the Elite Four in other regions," the male with the blue eyes mentally told himself before he decided to move along.

Volkner took a closer glance at the picture in the middle. Steven was surrounded by three other figures. Standing in front of the slate-haired male was a female in blue and a male in black and red; both seemed to be around ten years old. The female was wearing a blue bandana, covering her brown hair while the male was wearing a white beanie that mostly hid his black hair. Volkner had a feeling there was more to the hat than meets the eye but he ignored it. Standing next to the ex-champion was a male with teal hair. He was clad in a teal and white shirt, and violet pants. A beret sat on top of his hair, giving an air of elegance and flair. Volkner recognized the male to be the flamboyant Wallace, the current Hoenn Champion. The blonde gingerly picked up the frame, taking a closer look at the smiling group. "I recognize the older male to be Wallace but who are the two kids?"

"That would be Ruby and Sapphire," a voice calmly wafted over from the living room entrance.

Slightly startled, Volkner whirled around towards the source of the voice, not letting go of the third photo. Steven stood nearby the frame, holding a rectangular Japanese-styled tea tray. There was an oriental porcelain teapot with two teacups with matching designs on top of the tray. The gym leader never noticed him come in the room.

The ex-champion walked over to the coffee table and set the tray down. He strode to the male nearby the bookshelf, extending a hand towards Volkner. "May I?" he inquired, wanting the photo.

The blonde wordlessly handed the frame over, glad that he hadn't dropped it by accident. The electric user slowly walked over to Steven, stopping when he was in juxtaposition to the ex-champion. He peered at the picture frame, wondering who Ruby and Sapphire were. "I said my previous thought out loud, didn't I?" the electric user mused. What he did not expect was for Steven to start laughing.

"Yes, you have," the rock-lover stated in amusement, calming down from his bout of laughter. That was all Volkner needed to figure out that he had said his thought out loud yet again. Steven glanced at the photo with fondness. "Ruby…well, he's a Pokémon Coordinator that I met. He was attacked by a horde of wild Mawile and I saved him. We were both inside of a cave called Granite Cave when that happened. Sapphire was a Pokémon trainer and the rival of Ruby. I met her when the Hoenn region was in danger of being destroyed by Groudon and Kyogre, two conflicting legendaries."

"Rivals?" Volkner was pleasantly surprised, "But they both are striving to become different professions. How does that even work?"

"I'm not quite sure." Steven placed the photo back onto the shelf where it belonged. "If you somehow meet the two, you can always ask." Before the gym leader could question even further, the ex-champion gestured towards the sofa. "Why don't we have a cup of tea for now? I will try to answer further questions that you have," the rock-hunter stated.

The blonde glanced from the tea tray and back at Steven. "Alright," the electric gym leader consented, walking over to the sofa and taking a seat. The male from Sunyshore quietly watched as Steven followed, taking a seat on the single sofa. "Is that green tea?" Volkner pointed to the teapot.

"That's correct," Steven affirmed, pouring some tea in both of the teacups, "It is Gyokuro tea, to be exact."

The male from Sunyshore wasn't all that surprised; Gyokuro is expensive. The fine taste appealed anyone's taste buds. The gym leader patiently waited for the slate-haired male to finish pouring the tea before he carefully took a cup. He brought it to his lips, taking a slight sip. Volkner was not foolish enough to gulp down the whole cup of tea because he could scald his tongue. Now that he thought about it, Volkner did not know anyone who was idiotic enough to down hot tea in one go.

Well, Flint might be an exception. The Elite Four member could perform any kind of foolish deed if he placed his mind to it. Speaking of Flint, Volkner wondered if the male with the afro visited the villa yet. He was the one who told the blonde about this place in the first place. The gym leader pushed away his musings when he noticed that the other male was talking to him.

"So, who might you be? I have not seen you around the Resort Area before," the slate-haired male commented, taking a slight sip from his own cup of tea. The rock-hunter didn't know anyone in Sinnoh, save for Cynthia because she was the current Champion. Steven had a feeling that the blonde was an interesting fellow, despite the fact that the two males had just met. He wanted to befriend him and know him better; maybe Steven could benefit from a new friendship.

"The name's Volkner. I am the gym leader of Sunyshore City, specializing in electric Pokémon," the blonde replied, just realizing that he had never introduced himself to the other male. He extended his free hand towards the male from the Hoenn region.

"Nice to meet you." the male in the suit took the extended hand and shook it. "I don't mean to be rude, but if you're a gym leader then why are you here?" the ex-champion inquired thoughtfully, "Don't you have to stay in your gym for any new challengers?" Steven wouldn't really know because he had never been a gym leader before but he dimly recalled that Wallace had to stay in Sootopolis City for the most part when he was still a gym leader.

"I've been bored of being a gym leader, lately. There aren't any trainers that pose a challenge; I've defeated every single challenger," Volkner sighed. "So I had nothing to do except for renovating my gym. My friend, Flint of the Elite Four, told me about the villa and how it was recently bought by some 'unknown person.' He extended an offer to me, stating how the two of us could come over here to discover the owner of the villa. I declined, stating how I needed to work on my renovation plans."

"Yet you find yourself here right now," Steven pointed out, leaning forward slightly to replace his teacup on the tea tray, "why the sudden change of plans?"

"I became curious," the gym leader sheepishly replied. Volkner was rather surprised with himself; the blonde had not intended to tell the whole story. It just sort of slipped out on its own. "Has Flint come to visit you, by any chance? He's a male with slightly tan skin and a red afro."

The ex-champion shook his head in response. "No, I do not believe so."

A comforting silence surrounded the two males who were still drinking their tea. Volkner was internally aggravated at his friend because Flint had yet to visit Steven. Trust the Elite Four member to leave all the work for the electric user. The rock-hunter, on the other hand, was contemplating whether or not he should extend an offer of his own towards Volkner. Steven sympathized with the gym leader; he had his own fair share of a lack of challenge. However, the ex-champion relieved himself of his boredom by wandering around in caves and collecting rocks. The slate-haired male decided to take a chance and extend an offer towards Volkner.

"You have previously stated that there is a lack of good trainers. Do you believe that this will change?" Steven inquired, deciding to begin with a somewhat subtler approach.

"No, not really," Volkner answered truthfully, uncertain of Steven's intentions.

"You have also stated that you were planning to renovate your gym, correct?"

"I have yet to complete the plans, but yes."

"So you're still going to be bored?"

The gym leader daintily raised an eyebrow. The ex-champion did not seem like the kind of person who would state the obvious, nevertheless parrot statements. Volkner sighed upon seeing the expression that Steven shot towards him. "That's right. Why are you interrogating me about my reasons of being here? What is this, Twenty Questions?" His blue eyes widened in surprise at his snappish reply. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I just…," the blonde feebly trailed off, feeling slightly guilty for being rude to the male who had invited him into his villa for tea.

The rock-hunter did not seem to be fazed by the gym leader's irritated response and he waved it off. "It's fine. I should have been less subtle. Maybe not to the point, since that is probably not a good idea." Steven shook his head, his golden-yellow eyes closing in exasperation. He leaned back on the sofa, seemingly slouching. "What am I doing? I'm going off tangent from my original purpose of asking you these questions," the ex-champion lamented, sighing in an attempt to collect his thoughts.

The gym leader did not utter a word, deciding to be patient for Steven. It was all that he could really do, seeing as he had lost his temper with the male from the Hoenn region.

The slate-haired male straightened himself, opening his eyes. He propped his elbows up on his thighs and folded his hands, placing his head on top of his linked fingers. "Volkner, how would you like to travel around Sinnoh with me?"

The blonde was taking a sip of tea at that exact moment and his eyes snapped open upon hearing Steven's offer. He choked and placed the teacup on the coffee table, using all of his willpower to prevent himself from spitting the tea out in surprise. "What?" he hacked out in between his coughs, nonplussed, "but I'm not exactly the kind of person who would walk around in caves to hunt for rocks."

Steven had expected that kind of reaction and he waited for Volkner to calm down from his bouts of coughs. When it seemed that the gym leader had composed himself, the ex-champion decided to explain. "I had hypothesized that already. However, I don't know anyone else here in Sinnoh, aside from you and Cynthia. You already know that she's too busy being Champion, anyways. Besides, you told me that you were bored due to the lack of good trainers to battle against. Traveling with me would prove to be sufficient enough to counter your boredom. Also, you know this region better than me. You can help guide me around." A small smile spread across Steven's lips. "It's a win-win situation for the two of us. So what do you say?"

The gym leader mulled over his thoughts, considering the ex-champion's offer. If he accepted his request, then Volkner would be exploring with Steven in the multiple caves and mountains within Sinnoh. In the process, he might be able to find some worthy trainers to have a quick battle with, although it seemed to be highly unlikely. However, if he declined, then the blonde will be stuck in Sunyshore gym, renovating again and again. The only source of entertainment would probably be Flint or some other gym leader. Which path should he choose?

The answer was quite obvious.

"I'll go with you," the blonde sighed, finally making up his mind, "it should be a very interesting experience for the both of us."

Steven's small smile widened. "Great!" he exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. The ex-champion walked over to the gym leader and knelt down, clasping his hands around the other. "I cannot thank you enough for this," he honestly stated, letting go of the blonde's hands and backing off. The male with the slate-colored hair placed the electric user's teacup back onto the tray before he left the living room to put the tea tray back in his kitchen.

Volkner continued to sit on the sofa, slightly surprised from the events that have transpired. There was only one sole thing that his mind managed to register, however.

"What did I just drag myself into?"

A/N: There's not much action going on right now; it'll appear a bit later. Please drop off a review; they cause me to feel elated that there are readers out there. Be on the lookout for chapter three! It may take another week for me to complete it (I haven't started yet) so please be patient.

So is anyone else enjoying their summer vacation, assuming that they have it?