The Princess and the Kennel Boy Part 1
Fifteen year old Ash Ketchum, his pokemon partner Pikachu, seventeen year old Brock, and ten year old Dawn were well on their way to Pastoria City for Ash's fourth Gym battle. As they walked along the deserted path through a broad, flat expanse of land, Ash's sharp dark eyes detected strange shapes that looked like they belonged in the ground, yet at the same time, didn't look natural where they were.
He mentioned this observation to Brock, who stopped and studied one of these strange structures.
"They're ruins," he announced, straightening up and putting his backpack back on.
"You think maybe we're passing though some super old town or something?" Ash asked.
"Probably," Brock said as they started walking again. "Let me look in the guidebook."
"There are areas like this all over Sinnoh," Dawn said.
They walked until it started to get dark, and then looked for a place to camp. Ash thought he saw lights in the distance.
"Hey guys, see that?" He said, pointing. "Maybe it's a Pokemon Center."
"Can't be, there isn't a Pokemon Center around here, at least not on the map," Brock said, frowning.
"It couldn't hurt to check it out, though, right?" Dawn said.
Brock shrugged, and the kids headed towards the lights. As they got closer, they saw that the lights belonged to a small house. The three looked at each other and shrugged. Ash knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" Called an elderly woman's voice. The door opened, and an elegant old lady stood in the doorway.
"Well? What do you three youngsters want?" She said sharply, studying them with gold eyes glittering with intelligence.
"Sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but we were just passing through, and we were wondering if you wouldn't mind letting us stay the night here?" Ash said, bowing politely.
The old woman's slightly suspicious look softened, and she smiled at the three kids. "Of course you may stay here for the night," she said. "It'll be nice to have some young people in my house again. Come in, come in." She stood aside to let the kids in.
"Thanks a lot!" Dawn said, her clear blue eyes sparkling. "By the way, my name's Dawn."
"I'm Brock, and you don't have to worry about making dinner tonight, 'cause it's on me," Brock said, grinning.
"Why, thank you very much, Brock," said the old lady, surprised that he was so quick to volunteer.
"No problem, ma'am," Brock said, bowing. "It's the least I could do for letting us stay here tonight."
"You haven't really lived until you've had Brock's cooking," Ash said, grinning as well. "Hi, my name's Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town. And this is my buddy Pikachu."
"Pika pika!" Chirped Pikachu, raising his paw in greeting.
The old woman's impressive gold eyes widened as she studied Ash from head to toe. Then she blinked, shook her gray head, and murmured, "Couldn't be!"
It didn't take long for Brock to get a feel for the old lady's kitchen, and he had dinner prepared in half that time. Everyone sat down to eat.
"Please excuse me, ma'am, but I'm afraid I've forgotten your name," Dawn said sheepishly after a while. He pale skin blushed as she admitted her mistake.
The old woman laughed. "Not to worry, dearie, I'm the one who should apologize," she said kindly. "My name is Roselia."
"Like the pokemon?" Ash asked, baffled. He'd met a lot of people over his five year journey, but he'd never met anyone named after a pokemon.
"Yes, Ash, like the pokemon," Roselia said, smiling. "It's been a longstanding tradition in this area that when a child turns ten years old, he or she takes the name of a pokemon, one that matches the child's personality. The child's previous name is then kept a secret, known only by the child and his or her parents, and never used again, either in public or in private. The only time someone's secret name is used is when proposing marriage. The person will tell his or her secret name to the one he or she wants to marry, and if the proposal is accepted, the other person will tell his or her own secret name."
"Whoa, that's so cool!" Dawn squealed happily. "A secret name that only you and your true love know! How romantic!"
"I don't get it though," Ash said, puzzled. "Why is that done? What started it?"
"No one knows," Roselia said, sipping her tea. "All we know is that it has been the tradition here for thousands of years, back when this area was known as the kingdom of Almia."
"Almia?" Dawn asked. Then her eyes lit up with recognition. "I've heard of Almia! It was a large kingdom in the Sinnoh region thousands of years ago, wasn't it? Some of my favorite bedtime stories were from Almia, like 'The Princess and the Kennel Boy'. I loved that story!"
"'The Princess and the Kennel Boy'?" Ash said.
"Ash, do you know it?" Dawn asked, turning her dancing blue eyes his way.
"Nope," he said bluntly. "Never heard of it."
"Dawn, if you like that story, you'll love what I'll show you," Roselia chuckled. "But finish your dinner first, dear. Your friend went to a lot of trouble to make it for us."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Brock said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I live to cook!"
After dinner, Dawn made tea, and Roselia showed the kids what she had been talking about, a huge tapestry hanging in the sitting room.
"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Dawn exclaimed. "I love it, I love it!"
"I thought you would, dear," Roselia said, smiling. "This tapestry has been in my family for generations, ever since the kingdom of Almia was at its height."
"Hey, Ash, look at this," Brock said, gazing intently at a part of the tapestry.
"What is it, Brock?" Ash asked, going over to his friend.
"This person here, in black? He looks a lot like you," Brock pointed to the figure in question, a boy dressed in black who looked remarkably similar to Ash. There was even a Pikachu perched on the boy's shoulder, in exactly the same position Ash's Pikachu was in at the moment.
"Hmm, you're right," Ash murmured, studying the tapestry. The boy was very prominent in the tapestry; it seemed that he was in almost every other panel. In one picture, he was surrounded by Growlithe, in another he and a girl dressed in blue walked along a river, another boy in white and a Pikachu close behind.
"Hey, that girl's the princess from the story!" Dawn said suddenly, pointing to the girl in blue. "And that boy in black, he must be the kennel boy. See where he's with all those Growlithe? It looks like he's training them, doesn't it? So he's got to be the kennel boy!" She paused as a thought struck her. She peered at the kennel boy intently, then at Ash, and back at the kennel boy. "You know, Ash, the kennel boy from the story really does look a lot like you," she said. "Your family wouldn't have happened to come from Sinnoh, would they?"
Ash shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, Dawn," he said. "I don't know anything about my family other than the stories Mom told me about growing up in Pallet Town. As far as I know, we could've come from the moon."
"Oh," said Dawn, feeling a little sorry for Ash.
"The kennel boy was called Houndour," Roselia said, diverting the rapidly dying conversation, "for his undying loyalty as well as for his ferocity in battle. He just suddenly appeared in the palace one day, and became the kennel master's apprentice. According to legends, he had a great gift for training pokemon, and was friends with the Crown Prince and the eldest Princess. Some people say that he helped uncover a plot to overthrow the king."
"Really? That wasn't in the story," Dawn said.
"The bedtime story you know, Dawn, just uses the names and occupations of the princess and the kennel boy," Roselia said gently. "Other than that, it is completely untrue. According to the real legend, he was working for the rebel leader when he discovered the plot. Since he was friends with the prince and princess, he told them of the plan, and on the day of the coup, the attacker's force was met in full by the king's army. Houndour fought on the side of the king, and was very badly injured. That's the last we know of him. It is unclear whether he survived the battle or died of his wounds. But ever since then, no one has ever taken the name Houndour, in respect for the courageous young servant who saved Almia."
Ash and Brock shared a room, and Dawn slept on the floor in Roselia's room. There was only one bed, so the boys played rock-paper-scissors to determine who would sleep in it. Brock won, so Ash spread out his sleeping bag at the foot of the bed, stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers, and snuggled in, Pikachu curling up next to him. As he drifted off to sleep, his mind was filled with thoughts about Houndour the kennel boy and his fight to save the legendary kingdom of Almia.
He is coming, thought the man in blue. He comes tonight. The trainer Ash Ketchum comes tonight, from far away time. It will begin soon.
"Alert the spies," ordered the man, directing the command at the tall gray clad young man beside him. "Tell them to be on the lookout for a fifteen year old boy who looks like this." The man showed the younger man a pen and ink sketch of a fifteen year old boy, wearing a strange hat and strange, foreign clothes. "Distribute this picture among our allies. Tell them that if they see this boy, they are to alert me to his location at once. Our cause needs his wisdom."
"Forgive me, my lord, but I am uncertain why we need a mere boy," the younger man said.
"This is no mere boy, Skarmory," the man said. "He commands pokemon, in ways unknown in our time. To have that kind of power would make our armies unstoppable. That is why I need the boy, Skarmory. I need him alive. Spread the word!"
Skarmory bowed quickly. "It will be done, my lord," he said. He hurried off, and left his master to his dark, sinister plans.