Author's Note: Hey, thanks for the interest in my fanfic! This story takes place 40 years before the first game, in the Pokémon world's equivalent of the 1950s. Older canonical characters (for example, Fuji) might make an appearance as their younger selves, but since most characters in Pokémon canon are younger than 40, the cast will be made up almost entirely of original characters. The story begins in Kanto, but will eventually span most, if not all, of Johto, as well. Now, without further ado...!
Prologue I. From Dawn 'Till Noon
The pressure on Solomon's leg had slowly drawn him out of sleep. He could feel the soft, gray light of predawn tugging gently at his eyelids as it filtered through the window of his shack. It disoriented him, for it was far from the cool and comfortable darkness in whose cover he was used to waking.
"You're late," he chided, eyes still closed.
"Thought I'd let you sleep," came Lavera's reply. They had been up the night before putting the finishing touches on renovations to Lavera's Gym in town, and Solomon had taken to bed quickly after the long walk home. "Brought something to wake you up."
Solomon's eyelids, still heavy with sleep, fluttered lazily open as Lavera's palm retreated from his ankle. He waited for the blear to dissipate before noticing the brief container papered with colorful designs in Lavera's hand. "More tea?"
"You'll like this one," the old fisherman retorted.
Solomon smiled and sat up on his cot as Lavera drifted to the stove corner to prepare their tea. Through the window, he spied a groundskeeper starting off on the first sweep of the day. He tried to recall what time his mother usually woke, but working as Lavera's apprentice usually meant rising with the sun and being out in town all day, and he had long since lost tempo with the mansion proper. Recently his time inside was limited to the meal he shared with his mother each day as a condition of his residency in the outbuilding closest to the main road. Today, it would be a late lunch, or maybe dinner.
Turning his thoughts to breakfast, Solomon shuffled his way over to the squat coffee table he had borrowed for what little dining could be done within his shack. "It was strange, I had that dream again last night," he remarked to his teacher as he went.
Lavera seemed to be paying careful attention to the brewing process, and offered only something of a "hmm" in response. Solomon didn't bother to repeat the prompt; the dream was recurrent and Lavera was already familiar with the details. It almost embarrassed him to have mentioned it, as he had thought himself too old for nightmares until waking up from one just a few hours ago. If the dreams came back to stay, at least this time he would not be helpless to confront them, for he was ready and willing to master his fears as per Fuji's suggestion.
"Here we are," Lavera's words pulled Solomon out of thought as the old man brought their tea.
Another green tea, he saw gazing down into the offered cup, but a yellower green, not as pale or opaque as the last they had shared. Neither as astringent, he gleefully noted after a tentative sip, with a broth-like texture that coated the tongue and a lingering sweetness which combined to give the drink a pleasant savory aftertaste. He confirmed his findings with another sip.
"This is amazing!"
"I told you you'd like it," Lavera said with a toothy grin. "A little more subtle than your usual, I know, but it's got depth and staying power."
Solomon's taste for roasted tea was a holdover from his early childhood at the mansion, where the cook made pots of it at tea time so Solomon could enjoy a cup with his mother while consuming no more caffeine than his little body could appreciate. The light, toasty sweetness and distinctive ochre hue that were also side effects of the roasting had made hojicha, as it was called, particularly attractive to his childish eyes and palate, especially in contrast with the strong, bitter character of other green teas, so it had remained a favorite of his over the years such that his frequent spiriting of old tea leaves from the mansion back to his shack for roasting had become something of an in-joke with the kitchen staff.
Recently Lavera seemed to be trying to steer Solomon away from hojicha, bringing jasmine and matcha among others for tasting, but the results had been mainly (and respectively) hit and miss. Probably there was some ultimate kernel of wisdom he hoped to instill in his usual roundabout way. Solomon had his guesses, but it was hard to tell whether it was chiefly a matter of gracefully shedding his youthful habits or simply staying open to new experiences. Regardless, with the potency of this most recent brew, Solomon felt his palate threatening to mature.
"Where have you been keeping this stuff, teacher?" he inquired eagerly. "It's a shame you didn't bring it any sooner."
Lavera's grin diminished somewhat. "Actually, I had been saving this just for our day off," he explained. "It's called jade budew. They grow it out in the sticks in Hoenn mostly, place called Verdurf, if I recall." He scratched his temple unassuringly. "Starts with a 'ver,' anyways. I won it in a challenge the other week, one of those upstarts from Saffron. You know the type." He paused with a mirthful twinkle in his eye. "Told me he didn't even know how to brew the stuff and asked if I'd accept it as prize money!"
That last part elicited a chuckle from the both of them. Solomon knew the type, and it meant the tea he sipped was far outside his normal price range. Money wasn't an issue for his family, of course, his father being in many capacities a 'Saffron type' himself, but the boy took after the townspeople and was far too modest to ask. Nowadays the only money he spent was what he earned working under Lavera or battling, and that wasn't likely to land him a steady supply of jade anytime soon.
"I understand, teacher," said Solomon, trying his best to hide his disappointment, "just this once is perfect."
"Oh? How big of you." Lavera's grin returned with a slyness as he stroked his pale beard. "But you know, I might have enough leaves left over for another pot. Maybe one of these days..." He looked off beside him at nothing in particular.
Solomon's face lit up. "You're too generous!" he chirped.
The old man laughed heartily and flourished their half-full kettle. "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, eh?"
Solomon nodded, still beaming, and accepted his second cup of jade.
Conditions were perfect for leisure sailing; the waters were calm, the winds normal and the clouds scarce. At a comfortable eight knots, they had gone about as far as they would go all day before slacking the mainsheet to drift leeward, cast their lines, and enjoy the lapping of the waves upon the hull.
Their partner Pokémon had been eagerly awaiting their arrival at the beach near the southern port and insisted on accompanying them out to sea, as usual. Lavera's Kingler was keen to join them in recreation, rooted at Lavera's side with his own crude fishing pole (not more than a stick fastened with reel for trolling) clamped tightly in claw. Having served in effect as Querencia's mate and able sea-mon for the better part of her career, though, he was compelled by force of habit to leave his wooden charge every so often and go tottering fore and aft, punctiliously probing the rigging with a practiced pincer and nimbly adjusting the jib to any changes in wind.
In contrast, Solomon's Seadra had little interest in fish and even less interest in the art of sailing, preferring to go diving down in the water close by whenever the boys set to angling. She had taken it up as an avenue by which to indulge her developing nose for shiny things hidden in the sand of the seafloor - scales and pearls, lost treasures, even the Mystic Water that invariably hung round Solomon's neck - but eventually she had come to enjoy her little strolls down in the deep even when she ultimately came up empty-handed. Today, however, Tatsumi dove feverishly, with a strength of purpose that precluded such extravagance, and already she'd recovered two blue shards and a heart scale in her efforts.
She never seemed to grow attached to the items she found, offering up the lot for the humans to pick over instead. To the old Water expert it was easy to guess why she gave up her treasures so easily, obvious what she was really looking for and what she would like to do with it, but for the inexperienced Solomon, who had never trained a Pokémon besides his precious Tatsu, Lavera felt it would be too much responsibility. Tatsumi was mischievous and stubborn as a Seadra, and too many things could go wrong were the little beast endowed too soon with the power of a Kingdra, power enough to enact great whirlpools with a yawn. Luckily, she wasn't likely to find any Dragon Scales on their little excursions off the coast of Cinnabar, and Solomon had so far remained none the wiser.
There was one place Lavera could think of that was sure to boast a supply when they were ready to evolve her, but the journey was longer than any they'd taken together, and dangerous besides. Between finding somebody to run the Gym in his absence, obtaining permission from the boy's parents, and overcoming his personal qualms about putting his pupils in danger, the forces working against the trip weighed heavily on Lavera's mind. Still, with each trip they had already taken, the boy returned more conscientious and well-rounded, closer to adulthood and to competence. Solomon had come away from the great port at Vermilion with a broader appreciation for technology and transportation; from Fuchsia's curated preserves with a more profound respect for natural habitats; from the wilderness of Pallet with a maturer perception of solitude. Surely the journey through Johto would engender even grander growth.
Lavera turned his gaze to the cloudless expanse above after losing a bite to inattention, letting his thoughts fade for a moment. Bathed in the warm rays of the sun with a late summer breeze blowing over him, carrying the salt of the sea to his nostrils, he came to the familiar notion that there was no finer feeling. Soon he felt Solomon's eyes on him, and then felt them leave as Solomon followed his gaze to the sky. They sat like that together for some time, foregoing their lines and simply enjoying their surroundings. Neither wore a watch, for they were used to telling time by the position of the sun, and so the passage of time became almost imperceptible. They were interrupted only once when Tatsumi came to the surface, delivering a small pearl from her tubular mouth in a forceful jet of water; both looked back towards the horizon as she immediately dove down again.
"Almost time," came Lavera's first words since they had first cast their lines. It always felt vaguely sacrilegious interrupting the enchanted, meditative silence that stood between them while they fished. Solomon was probably the most speechless fishing partner Lavera had ever had. Even stoic Kingler was known to blow bubbles and solicit the odd head scratch after hours adrift, but Solomon said nothing without fail. It had been that way from the start. Lavera wondered if perhaps Solomon had been uncommonly impacted by the time-honored tradition of telling children to stay quiet in fishing boats, lest they scare the fish away. Whatever the case, it was not without its virtue. Lavera knew better than anyone how centering it was to be able to spend time in one's head out at sea.
"Yeah," Solomon at last replied, still looking wistfully up at the sun, "I always wish we could stay out longer."
"Overstay your welcome and the sea'll give you skin like mine," Lavera countered. Solomon's gaze shifted as Lavera pulled on his own leathery cheeks, veritably cured from years of salt and sun. "Beef jerky!" Lavera chuckled at his own joke until Solomon, himself thoroughly bronzed from years of shadowing Lavera, broke down and smiled. "Besides," he added, "I was talking about your Seadra." He motioned to Kingler that it was time to set sail again and the mate kicked up his stubby legs and got to work. "Well, the other thing is also true, but what I meant was that it's almost time she evolved."
"It's time she… What?" Solomon's eyes went wide and he stared back at his mentor about as disconcertedly as Lavera had expected. "But I thought she was already fully evolved!"
"Nonsense. Who ever told you that lie?"
"Well, nobody. I just figured if Seadra had another evolution I would have seen one by now."
"Think about it, Solomon. It's a second stage evolution. How often do we see those in the wild?"
"Almost never," he admitted, "but you're a Gym Leader, teacher. You've got tons of water Pokémon and I've only ever seen Horsea and Seadra in your collection."
"Well, Seadra is a special case among Water-types. Not only does it need time in the hands of another trainer, but it must also be exposed to the scale of a dragon Pokémon. It's difficult to get your hands on one without an expert's help, and dragon specialists are few and far between."
"A dragon's scale… That's what Tatsumi's looking for when she goes down?" Solomon asked keenly.
Lavera nodded his affirmation.
Solomon stared down into the water as he contemplated the new information. Without looking up, he asked, "How are we going to get our hands on one if they're so rare that even you can't find one?"
"Patience, boy," Lavera chided. He stood up and stretched his old bones before motioning aft to Solomon. "Why don't you man the rudder? I'm going to tell you of a quiet city called Blackthorn in Johto."
