Eindoak Town, Unova Region
After stepping off the plane, Steven mounted his Metagross and made his way to Eindoak Town without a single stop.
"Steven! Look — that building up there looks just like a sword!"
Diancie, nestled in the crook of his arm, pointed toward the structure perched high on the mountainside. It was unmistakably shaped like a great stone blade.
"That's the Sword of the Vale," Steven said, a quiet smile crossing his face.
Before making the trip to Unova, Steven had taken time to read up on the legends surrounding Reshiram and Zekrom. Their story, he had found, was quite unlike those of most other Legendary Pokémon.
Long ago, Reshiram and Zekrom each stood at the side of one of two royal brothers. For a time, peace held. But when disagreements over the kingdom's future drove the brothers apart, their bonds of friendship turned into bitter rivalry. The dragons followed their chosen heroes into battle, and the conflict between Reshiram and Zekrom grew so fierce that both mighty dragons were left gravely wounded — eventually reduced to dormant stones. It was this catastrophic clash that gave rise to the legend: that Reshiram and Zekrom were the Legendary Pokémon who had once set the very world ablaze.
Steven turned and gestured toward a distant stretch of forest.
"According to legend, the Sword of the Vale once flew from over there to this mountain."
Diancie blinked, tilting her head as she studied the ancient structure.
"Can something like that actually fly?"
"I honestly don't know," Steven said, shaking his head with a light shrug.
Still, it didn't really need to make sense. In the world of Pokémon, legends had a way of being true. If the legend said the Sword of the Vale could fly, then it could fly. That was simply how things worked.
Though — if a massive stone structure could take flight, Steven had to wonder why Diancie, literally the living heart of the earth, couldn't manage the same.
He kept that thought to himself.
Steven guided Diancie into the town of Eindoak. Almost immediately, he noticed Pokémon battles were taking place across the city — trainers and their partners squaring off at nearly every corner. He leaned against a railing overlooking the activity below, genuinely curious.
"Is there some kind of battle tournament going on here?"
"Steven! Steven, can I borrow your Pokédex?"
Diancie tugged at his sleeve, her large eyes wide with excitement.
"Go ahead," he said, pulling the device from his pocket and handing it over.
Diancie pointed it at a Pokémon battling below — a fearsome creature with three heads, dark fur, and a deep blue body. The Pokédex chimed as its entry appeared on screen.
"Hydreigon, the Brutal Pokémon. It flies continuously on its six wings. Anything that moves seems like an enemy to this Pokémon, and it ruthlessly attacks without mercy."
Steven studied the Hydreigon for a moment. A Dark- and Dragon-type — formidable by any standard. He found himself wondering, idly, whether it could hold up against even a single Moonblast from Diancie.
Down below, the Hydreigon finished the battle with a well-aimed Dragon Pulse, sending its opponent retreating. Steven straightened up and turned away. As much as he might have enjoyed watching, that wasn't why he had come to Eindoak. His real purpose here was finding Victini.
He wondered, briefly, what Diancie's Moonblast would have done to that Hydreigon. He shook the thought away.
Steven made his way to the observation tower on the edge of town. From the top, the distant sea shimmered on the horizon, ringed on all sides by stretches of deep green. He let out a slow breath.
"Where could Victini even be?" he murmured.
The issue was that he had no straightforward way to search. He couldn't simply go around asking people — especially not certain people who had a habit of catching him off guard whenever it suited them. That was a frustration he had learned to live with.
Most Mythical Pokémon had some way of staying hidden. Invisibility was practically a given for many of them. Steven glanced down at Diancie, who was peering over the railing beside him.
She had spent most of her life deep underground. It made sense that she hadn't developed anything like that.
"I can't exactly walk around calling out its name," he said quietly.
"Steven… I'm hungry."
Diancie pressed a small hand to her stomach, pouting up at him.
"Here — I've got some bread." Steven reached into his pocket and pulled out several small, individually wrapped rolls, handing them all to her.
"Thank you, Steven!"
Rip.
Diancie tore open the first one and took a neat little bite.
Rip.
Steven froze. He looked at Diancie. She was still on her first roll. He turned his head slowly — and stopped.
One of the wrapped rolls was floating in the air beside them. A small chunk had been bitten cleanly out of it, as though by something invisible. Then, as if startled, the roll began drifting rapidly backward.
"Victini?" Steven called out.
The roll stopped mid-air.
A pause. Something was watching him — he could feel it.
Steven reached up and removed his hat and glasses. His silver hair caught the breeze, falling loosely around his face.
Victini had spent time with his mother once. If there was any chance of recognition, giving it a clear look at him seemed like the right move.
"…Ti? Tee-lee?"
Slowly, a small shape shimmered into view.
Victini was tiny — smaller than Steven had expected, somehow, even knowing what to look for. Its two large, pointed ears swept upward in the shape of a V. Wide blue eyes blinked at him with bright, alert curiosity. Its round head seemed almost too large for its compact little body, and its creamy white coloring was offset by warm orange at the tips of its ears, the crown of its head, and along its small limbs. Two wing-like tails fanned out behind it, keeping it afloat.
It stared at Steven for a long, quiet moment.
There had been something familiar about this person from the beginning — something Victini hadn't been able to place. But now, looking at the silver-haired young man with his hat off, a memory began to surface. A shape it had known a long time ago, with the same kind of face and the same light coloring.
"Tee-lee?!"
Victini darted forward, circling Steven in quick, excited loops. It leaned in close, almost pressing its small nose to his arm, as if trying to catch a familiar scent.
"I'm the child of your former Trainer," Steven said warmly, pointing to himself. "My name is Steven Stone. It's good to finally meet you, Victini."
Victini hovered in place, eyeing the hand Steven extended toward it. Cautiously, it reached out and placed its tiny hand in his.
"It's alright," Steven said gently. "I know this is a lot to take in. That's part of why I came." He raised his free hand and rested it lightly on top of Victini's head.
So soft.
Steven genuinely hadn't been prepared for just how endearing Victini was up close. Many Mythical Pokémon had that quality — something about them that made people want to reach out. Darkrai and Genesect had their own striking kind of presence, cool and imposing. Even Arceus, regarded as the creator of all things, fell under the category of Mythical Pokémon in the strictest sense.
But Victini was something else entirely.
"Tee-lee…"
Victini tilted its head into Steven's palm, settling into the warmth of the gesture. The feeling was familiar in a way it hadn't expected. Steven's mother used to do the same thing — always reaching for the top of its head. Sometimes she would even give the V-shaped ears a gentle tug.
"Steven," Diancie said, placing one small hand against her cheek with a thoughtful expression. "You really do like patting heads, don't you?"
She had noticed. He had patted Cynthia's head. He had patted hers. And now here he was, doing the same with Victini — not to mention what he was like with the Pokémon on his own team.
"I suppose I do," Steven replied, chuckling softly. "Is there something wrong with that?"
It wasn't as though he had scooped Victini up to cuddle it outright. That was, arguably, a sign of restraint.
"Then which do you like better?" Diancie asked, tilting her head. "Patting my head, or patting Victini's?"
Steven considered the question for a moment.
"Yours, probably," he said.
He meant it, too — it wasn't just something he said to be kind. There was something genuinely irresistible about the large pink diamond that crowned Diancie's head.
…