Chapter 8 has arrived, as has a new arc.

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The Flame of Destiny: Chapter 8: To the World Outside of the Mountains

## The World Outside of the Mountains, May 28, AW667

"Wake up, you two."

Draxel's head spun. There was a throbbing pain in his head, and his vision swam. Dizzy, he turned around on his side, trying to avert the pain and return to the peaceful joy of a soft bed.

"Char!"

Char landed on Draxel, who remained in bed despite the lizard poking his face.

"Ugh… I don't feel so great."

He rolled over and yawned.

"Chaaaaaar!"

"Char… give me a…"

Fletchling chirped, sounding extremely critical of Draxel for some reason.

"…Fine. I'll get up."

Draxel sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Irvin sighed, shook his head, then looked at the two boys.

"…Listen, you two. We're leaving Lorrestine for the mountains. I'm going to be going to Revenstrake to report to the Ranger Union. I'm to accompany you two until we can see Rejernia City. No complaining now. Get up."

Ataer stood up, yawning. Fletchling landed on his shoulder and tweeted.

"Rejernia… but I still-"

"Leiger's left the gym. He's training hard, so let him be. Losing to Varon so easily has hurt him more than you'd think. Seeing his partner getting taken out in a single attack wasn't that great of an experience for him. Now. Let's go. Draxel! Get up!"

"…OK…" he said wearily, dredging himself up.


After packing their bags, the three regrouped outside of the cabin.

"You need to make the Pokémon Center at the base of the mountains by sunset. It's on a paved road, but you'll be walking. I'll be waiting for you at the Pokémon Center."

With that, Irvin jumped onto Flygon, who immediately jumped off the cliff and flew off towards the sunrise.

"…Damn. He left really quickly. And when did his Vibrava evolve, anyway?"

Ataer shook his head.

"Well, might as well go!"

They reached the Lorrestine Gym in about an hour, used to going down the cliffs. As expected, Leiger wasn't there.

"Hey. Is Leiger-"

"No." a gym trainer said, arm in a sling from where he had been hit by the tranquilizer gun.

"…What kind of Pokémon gave you that injury?" Draxel asked.

The trainer shook his head.

"Nerissa herself smashed her tranquilizer gun onto my arm and cracked the bone. That girl is VICIOUS. But she's a respected Gym Leader."

Draxel blinked in confusion.

"Gym Leaders came too?"

The gym trainer nodded.

"Oh yes. You're from Reinsgard. You wouldn't know about Team Rising."

He faced Ataer.

"You're Ataer, right? You can explain it better than I can. I have to go now so… good luck on your journey."

"Thanks."

They turned around and began to walk towards the path down.

"So… who's-"

Ataer coughed, then spoke.

"According to Irvin, we were attacked by a Ninja, Varon Gates, Nerissa Amoria, and Freyfur Graystrom. Varon Gates is a powerful businessman and the Gym Leader of Mountaintop City. He's the one who took out Leiger's Graveler in one shot with his Bronzong. Nerissa is a sadistic, belligerent genius girl. She's a prodigy and has always been alone, save for her partner Umbreon. She's a Gym Leader and a Rising Admin. Freyfur Graystrom is a tall, ripped dude who's actually a Pokémon nurse. Despite the fact that he's a qualified nurse, he's pretty tough and his partner Luxray is equally strong. I don't know why he's in Team Rising at all, but he's not to be underestimated."

Draxel nodded.

"You know a lot."

Ataer shook his head.

"Not really. Except for Varon, I really don't know much about the others expect for what I've been told. Varon's a very nice person, but he never budges when it comes to possessing more money. He's a philanthropist whose gym is well known as one of the most architecturally impressive in the entire world. It's practically a mansion. He's used the money he's gotten for all kinds of charities. However, he wants to bring Randrake into the future as well, and that is why he is a business associate for Team Rising. He enjoys his power and his status a lot."

"So Varon's not a bad guy?"

"Not… bad. I'd say that he's more… detached from the culture of Randrake. He's from Sinnoh, and has lived here for about 12 years now."

Draxel nodded, and the two stepped onto the flat road back to Lorrestine.


"…So, what do you want to talk about?"

The sun bore down upon the two boys as they walked along the asphalt road.

"Well… I don't know. All of this stuff about Team Rising is really unfamiliar."

"That's normal. They really don't come this far into the mountains. They have admins stationed everywhere, though. You can't walk into a city in Randrake these days that doesn't have some influence from Team Rising. Usually it's just a building in town, but they've funded all kinds of things. That's why it's so hard to combat them politically."

Draxel nodded.

"I sort of understand."

Ataer nodded back, then pointed forwards at Lorrestine.

"Let's get a bite to eat."


Ataer stopped in front of a restaurant called "The Lazy Geodude." It was adorned with slate and marble, and smack in the center of the entrance was a live Geodude.

"…Is this really a restaurant?" Draxel asked, peeking down at the Geodude.

"Chaaar…." Char looked up at Ataer, who nodded.

"Yup. This is a restaurant. Let's go in."

He stepped in.

"Two."

The waitress at the front stepped out from behind her booth.

"Of course. Please follow me."


Ataer looked back at Draxel.

"Draxel! Come in!"

"O-OK!"

Draxel walked in. Eating out was an unfamiliar experience for him.

Inside, Ataer was sitting down at a table, and Draxel pulled out the seat across from him.

"What's wrong?" Ataer asked.

"Well… I've never eaten in a restaurant before. Should I-"

Ataer interrupted him, chuckling.

"I'll pay for it. Don't worry. Just sit down and relax."

The waitress arrived with the lunch menu.

"Here you go. What would you like to drink?"

Draxel stared and gaped.

"Uh…..uh…..water?"

The waitress gave him a funny look.

"Kids these days…"


After the waitress left, Draxel's face was red with embarrassment.

"Hey, it's fine. There's a first time for everything, you know."

Fletchling sang a song of agreement from his perch on Ataer's shoulder.

"Chaaar…"

Char nuzzled Draxel, who was covering his face with his hands and sighing in embarrasment.

"Char. Char."

Char poked Draxel a few times.

"Char… sorry about that. I look like a total idiot."

Draxel raised his head back up.

"Thanks, Ataer. I don't know what I'd do without someone from the outside to help me out."

"No problem. You're my junior after all. "

After the meal, they headed out of the restaurant.

"…That was surprisingly good." Draxel said. He had never eaten such unusual salad before. He was still a little frightened about what mushrooms he had eaten.

"…Uh… yeah. I think it would be wise to…uh… go somewhere more… customary."

Ataer looked over the neatly paved roads.

"This city is really beautiful. I really hope that it's still like this when we return."

"Oh! Isn't that… ATAER! Quick! Get his autograph!"

Ataer looked around.

"Oh crap. Fangirls. The bane of my existence. Come on, Draxel! Let's get out of here!"

And so they left Lorrestine, the town of slate.


"Such a long walk."

The path west of Lorrestine to the mountains was another straight path cutting through brush and rocky landscape. To Draxel, the landscape was unfamiliar and exotic, but Ataer seemed perfectly bored. Char looked around taking in every Sandshrew, every scurrying Diglett.

"…That sure was disappointing, not being able to beat Leiger."

"Well, he crushed us, and we can't stay any longer. Might as well get some real Gym Badges."

"Yeah. Nice point," Ataer said as he looked up at the sun.

"You know, this region is really beautiful. Forests, mountains… and Team Rising wants to destroy all of that and replace it with cities and technology. I mean, it's not a bad thing, but… it's not what we need. It's bad for Pokémon but good for humans. We need to keep our Randrake the way it is."

Ataer looked back at the road ahead.

"…Randrake has a legend. A legend that states that one blessed with the ability to speak to Pokémon will appear every few centuries. That person is said to be the savior of Randrake, the one who will avert crises. I wonder if there's any truth to that…"

Draxel looked at Char.

"What do you think?"

"Char!" Char said, poking Draxel's cheek.

"…It's definitely not you." Ataer said, chuckling.


They arrived at the Pokémon Center at the base of the mountains late at night. The asphalt path turned up towards the mountains, the road lit by streetlights and fluorescent markers. The forested road seemed to go on forever, winding through the mountains.

"Hey. Looks like you made it."

Irvin reclined against the walls of the slate walls of the Pokémon Center, beckoning over to the two.

"Well, looks like we can sleep now!" Ataer said cheerfully.

"Incorrect. We're going over the mountains tonight."

With that, Irvin walked over towards the woods.

"H…hey?! Are you serious?!" Ataer complained.

"I'm dead serious. Now get moving, you two!"

It turned out that the bright lights and constant traffic made the journey less interesting. The hike turned out to be a walk along a dirt path alongside the road. It only took a few hours for the three to arrive at Stratten Valley, a small valley village nestled into the mountains. The village had a few houses and a small Pokémon Center, but Irvin nodded over to the road.

"We're going to walk until we see the sunrise."


Around midnight, Char got tired and was recalled into his Pokéball. At the same time, Fletchling was about to crash, so he was recalled as well.

"We've only begun the trek. Get out your weapons."

Draxel frowned.

"Why do we need to-"

"Do it. Without Pokémon, you need some way to defend yourself, right? Wasn't this the entire point of those two weeks of training? Now get a move on."

## The World Outside of the Mountains, May 29, AW667

"So…tired…"

Ataer stopped walking.

"I…I need to sit down for a while. We're… close, right?"

Irvin chuckled.

"See for yourself."

They had arrived at Silenas Ridge, the highest vehicle-accessible point in the Southeastern Mountains. Ahead of them was a sea of trees and mountains, the road twisting and turning through them. And beyond the mountains was a great expanse of lush hills. The rising sun cast shadows on the hilltops, and the darkness began to fade.

"Look there to the right. Rejernia."

Indeed. Far beyond the expanse of hills was a lake, small from where they were, and a city lay on the southern side.

"That is your destination. Mine, Revenstrake, is far from here. Well, I promised we'd stop. So here we are."

Irvin turned the corner, and walked into a dirt parking lot for a Pokémon Center.

"Get your rest, and let your Pokémon sleep as well. It's time for us to bid farewell!"

With that, he jumped off of the ridge, and Flygon swooped down to catch him. And with that, the two blasted off into the orange-yellow sunrise.


"Damn." Ataer said, nodding to himself.

"I wish Char could fly like that. But he's still a Charmander." Draxel said.

"Heh. Just give him some time. Now, I'm going to crash. So let's head over to that Pokémon Center, shall we?

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And that's Chapter 8.