"Or rather… has this island existed since ancient times?"
"Have the Pokémon here multiplied slowly over the years?"
Steven was lost in thought, so much so that he didn't notice Lucario had stopped right in front of him.
Thud!
Steven walked straight into Lucario, snapping himself back to reality.
"Luca!"
Lucario let out a startled cry and slipped on the ice beneath him.
Steven reached out to grab him, but his hand closed around nothing but cold air.
"Whoa!"
Losing his balance, Steven slipped as well, and the two of them went sliding helplessly across the frozen surface.
Lucario spotted the drop ahead and quickly drove the bone spikes on his wrists into the ice, grinding to a halt right at the edge.
"Luca…"
Lucario had barely exhaled in relief when he looked up and saw Steven still sliding toward him at full speed.
"Luca!"
His expression changed instantly.
Thump!
Steven landed squarely on top of Lucario's head, and together they tumbled off the ledge — suspended briefly in midair before dropping to the ground several meters below.
Steven looked down at the distance he had just fallen and winced.
Crash—
He picked himself up, one hand pressed to his aching backside.
The weather in Kalos was cold, certainly, but nowhere near cold enough for ice to form naturally.
So how was the ground frozen?
"Luca…"
Lucario stood up and gave Steven a long, tired look.
"Chumo?"
From the far edge of the ledge above, an Abomasnow peered down at them.
"Abomasnow…" Steven murmured, finally understanding. "So that's why everything's frozen around here."
"Chumo!"
Without warning, Abomasnow opened its massive jaws and unleashed a torrent of biting snowflakes.
Blizzard!
"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Steven called out quickly. "But don't put your full power into it!"
This was a wild, Lord-level Abomasnow. Taking a direct hit from its Blizzard would be no small matter — but provoking it further would be just as bad.
"Luca!"
Lucario brought his palms together, condensing a glowing blue orb of energy between them, then hurled it forward.
The Aura Sphere collided with the Blizzard head-on, and the two moves erupted in a burst of force. A cloud of dark smoke billowed outward, and Steven wasted no time urging Lucario to retreat.
Only once they were well outside Abomasnow's territory did Steven let out a long breath.
Challenger, welcome to the second stage of Brave the Super Island!
The Swamp!
Steven and Lucario stood at the edge and stared at what lay before them.
The surface of the swamp was covered with enormous, lily pad-like plants. But neither of them had any idea whether those plants could actually support a person's weight.
"Lucario, you test it first. I'll have a Poké Ball ready in case something goes wrong." Steven unclipped a Poké Ball from his belt.
Lucario gave a nod, took a short running start, and leaped onto the nearest large pad.
The moment he landed, his body bounced upward and carried him to the next one.
"So they're springy…"
Reassured, Steven followed, moving across the pads like stepping stones on a trampoline — cautiously at first, then with more confidence.
Then a sudden gust of wind hit him broadside. Steven lost his footing and landed hard on one of the pads, which launched him straight into the air.
He came down onto another pad, which sent him back up again. He was bouncing helplessly, completely at the mercy of the swamp's natural springs.
Kreeee!
A sharp bird cry cut through the air and caught Steven's attention.
A large Pokémon soared overhead. It had a wide wingspan and three-toed pink feet. Its feathers were rich brown and cream, with a black mask around its eyes. The feathers atop its head were red on the sides and bright yellow in the center, and its fan-shaped tail was a deep, vivid red.
It was a Pidgeot.
And directly across from it — Steven recognized the other Pokémon immediately.
Salamence.
The two were locked in battle. Salamence fired a Flamethrower, but Pidgeot banked sharply to one side, letting the flames burn past it. Pidgeot retaliated by beating its wings in a wide arc, unleashing Hurricane.
Salamence powered through the storm and closed the distance in an instant.
Then the two of them began to… fight hand-to-hand?
Steven was still being tossed around on the lily pads by the gusts from Pidgeot's wings, but even so, he had to stop and stare.
Salamence — airborne, wings spread — had just kicked Pidgeot with its hind legs.
It was the single most absurd thing Steven had ever seen a Dragon-type do.
"Pfft—"
A laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
Salamence glared back at Pidgeot with the expression of someone who had been deeply offended.
Don't act like you're the only one with legs.
Then it drew back and kicked again.
Steven doubled over laughing, still bouncing chaotically across the swamp.
Stop, stop, you two! You're not going to finish each other off like this! If you keep at it, I'm going to be the one who dies — from laughing!
Lucario stood motionless on a lily pad nearby, watching Steven cackle and bounce like a rubber ball.
A long pause. Then three very visible stress lines appeared on his forehead.
…Was now really the time to be enjoying himself?
Lucario looked up at Salamence's flailing kick, and then—
"Luca—"
He lost it completely.
He couldn't help it. He absolutely couldn't help it.
He had seen Mega Salamence under a Trainer in a black robe. He had seen Drake's Salamence. They were powerful, composed, and carried themselves with the cold dignity of apex dragon-types.
Until now, Lucario had always believed that Salamence were exactly that: proud and aloof dragons.
He had clearly been wrong.
After they had both laughed themselves out, Lucario pulled himself together and guided Steven away from the skirmish as quickly as possible.
Even after leaving the swamp behind, Steven was still grinning.
When Steven arrived at the third stage, the grin disappeared.
Because the third stage of Brave the Super Island was…
Running Through Flamethrower!
Boom!
A jet of fire erupted from a hole in the ground directly ahead of them.
And the entire path ahead was riddled with those same holes.
Steven and Lucario both swallowed hard at the same time.
They stared at each other.
Even the air temperature here was enough to make Steven break into a sweat. Actually crossing a field full of unpredictable fire vents was something else entirely.
Lucario wiped the perspiration from his forehead. He was a Fighting and Steel-type — heat was never his strong suit.
Nearby, a Camerupt chewed calmly on a clump of dry grass, watching the two of them without a flicker of concern.
"Lucario… should we just make a run for it?" Steven asked, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Luca…"
There didn't seem to be any other option.
Lucario returned the same strained expression.
He had been laughing that hard at Salamence not ten minutes ago. Now he understood exactly how it felt.
"I'll count to three. We run straight through — no stopping!" Steven took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "Got it?"
"Luca!" Lucario gave a firm nod.
"Three, two, one — go!"
They bolted.
Boom!
A column of fire shot up from the ground directly in their path.
"Whoa!"
"Luca!"
They veered left.
Boom!
Another vent opened right where they were headed.
"Whoa!"
"Luca!"
The two of them zigzagged frantically across the field as geysers of fire erupted around them in every direction, each burst accompanied by a new shout of "Whoa!" or "Luca!" echoing across the volcanic terrain.
The Camerupt continued chewing its dry grass.
Its eyes tracked the pair steadily as they scrambled left and right.
If a Pokémon could look entertained, this one very much did.