Re-uploaded for old time's sake. Thanks to mestwendyfan for reviewing the previous chapter. This chapter is the original version - grammatical things have changed in the ebook edition.
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Chapter Eight: Becoming a Legend
It was often believed Mount Silver was uninhabitable by humans due to its wild terrain and rough unpredictable weather. There were four seasons; winter, spring, summer and autumn, and each season brought with it such wild weather Mount Silver had earned itself another name - the Desolate Mountain. Courageous adventurers often tried to climb the highest peak in the region, but no one had ever made it past halfway.
Or at least that's what the townsfolk believed.
"Pika, pika." A little yellow rodent stepped out from the silver fern tree, and sniffed the ground, its ears standing erect. Its ears twitched. The rodent paused to observe its surroundings. It lowered its belly to the floor and stared directly ahead at some pine trees. The rodent relaxed when a human appeared from behind.
The human was a young male. A trainer to be precise. He wore a red cap backwards, dressed in simple denim jeans and wore a red and white jacket with a black shirt underneath. His eyes rested on the rodent, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards into a smile. The rodent rushed forwards and sat at the trainer's legs, huddling up against him, as a chilly powerful gust blew through the peak.
The trainer moved towards the mountain's edge and looked down at the world below. The skies were abnormally clear today – usually, the peak was covered in thick cloud. He took it as a sign. When the clouds cleared it meant things were going to get interesting around here. Whether that was a good or a bad thing remained to be seen. He couldn't see into the future, but he did know one fact – his time on Mount Silver was coming to an end.
The mountain had been his home for the past three years now braving the conditions with his team of loyal Pokemon. Some days he regretted moving here – sometimes he wondered what life would've been like if he had stayed at the league to fulfil his duties as the Champion of the region. Sometimes, he missed the companionship other people provided. And other days, he was glad he made the decision to make Mount Silver his home.
He lived a simple life in small cottage he had built with assistance of his Pokemon. He had no television, no fridge, no table… nothing at all, but a fireplace made of sticks in the centre of the house. He slept, and ate, on the floor. When he wasn't sleeping or eating, he spent his daylight hours training his Pokemon, perfecting his technique and the mastering the art of battling. No trainer in any region could match up to his skill and strength.
Even the current Champion of Johto and Kanto, could not hope to match him in battle. Although the Champion was skilled, his style was all wrong and lacked any real form of strategy. He relied on pure power alone, something Red wasn't too fond of. It's why he refused to battle Lance. He didn't want to fight a trainer that was predictable, and he didn't want to battle against someone who thought themselves as superior because they trained a certain type. All Pokemon deserved to be treated equally, no matter what their type was.
Red wanted to battle someone who was a real Champion. Someone who shared a bond with their Pokemon that was as strong as the one he shared with his. A bond so strong that even a legendary would sense it and bend to the will of that trainer. The legendaries he had captured had long since left his service.
The three elemental felines, Entei, Suicine and Raikou roamed Johto and Kanto looking for the next worthy trainer. The three elemental birds, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno, had chosen to return to their homes and wait instead. His former Mewtwo, the psychic Pokemon, was hiding at the bottom of Cerulean Cave. As for Ho-Oh and Lugia, they were both in hiding, waiting for the next trainer with a pure heart to show themselves. Unlike the other legendaries, Red did not know if the two were even in Johto anymore.
Needless to say, he was a little surprised to catch a rare glimpse of a rainbow above the horizon. His moves moved to the end of the rainbow and spotted a large black dot. His senses told him Ho-Oh had returned, but not for him. Rainbows didn't appear randomly like that. He arched his neck back, looking up. He had been right to assume this was a sign. A sign the next legendary trainer was eventually going to reach Mount Silver.
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"Whatever happened to Red anyway?" Lyra asked, after taking a sip from her mug of hot chocolate. It was still reasonably warm outside, but she couldn't say no to a free hot chocolate.
Kurt sat down across the girl with his granddaughter sitting directly at his side. "Many believe Red moved to a different region after he had defeated the league. Some people even believe the boy had died."
Lyra frowned, thoughtful. "What do you think happened to him?"
"I believe he still calls Kanto his home."
"But why would he want to hide?"
Kurt cleared his throat. "Being a Champion is a huge responsibility. You are the most powerful trainer in the region; you represent the values and beliefs a trainer should have. You are the guardian of the land and it's your duty to look out for the people," he added, pausing to take a sip of his drink. "To become the Champion is one of the many reasons trainers take on this long journey. Many people want to be recognized for their talents and feel this is the best way to do this, but only a small percentage of trainers earn all eight badges. A tiny percentage of those fortunate trainers make it past Victory Road. And out of those fortunate trainers, only one percent will make it to the top."
Lyra almost choked on a marshmallow. "One percent?" Her eyes were wide. One percent of trainers who made it to the league won the title? Her chances of claiming the trophy were looking rather slim now. "How does someone even make it that far then? How did Red manage to do it? Did people ask him?"
"Red was a rare case. He never spoke – whether he couldn't speak or simply chose not to, we will never know. What became apparent throughout his adventures was that he was a different type of trainer. His connection with Pokemon was stronger than those who had been trainers for decades. His mascot Pokemon didn't even need to reach its final evolution to win difficult matches."
"What Pokemon did he use?" Lyra asked, leaning forward. Hearing about Red's legendary adventures made her admire him even more than she had in the past. Red had come from nothing, and yet he had gone on to forge a legend that would last forever. His adventures were inspiring.
"He had a Lapras, a Venosaur, a Blastoise, a Snorlax, a Charizard and a Pikachu," Kurt said. "The media constantly made fun of his choices, especially Red's Pikachu. The Pokemon never reached its final evolution, yet it displayed power a Raichi didn't have. Red proved all his critics wrong when he claimed the title from Blue. Some trainers today don't wish to evolve their Pokemon to the final stage hoping they can follow the steps his Pikachu had created."
Lyra took another sip of her drink. "I can see why people label him as legendary then." She finished her drink and stood up, wiping her mouth clean of the chocolate. "Thank you for your hospitality."
Kurt smiled. "Thank you for saving the Slowpoke. You have done a great deed here and you will be remembered for it." He looked at her Croconaw, his smile growing wider. "Go now, and take on the gym challenge. Follow in the footsteps of Red. May Arceus watch over you," he said, bowing. His granddaughter led Lyra out of the house, giving the girl a parting hug before Lyra exited.
She looked back and waved then made her way to the gym.
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As he rode on the back of Dragonite, he couldn't stop thinking about the events that had just passed. His thoughts were centred on a girl – a rookie fourteen year old female – which he found unsettling. The girl had done something he hadn't been able to. His duty as Champion was to stop evil organizations like Team Rocket from bringing harm to the land, but she had taken that away from him.
She wasn't the Champion of Johto and Kanto. She was just some trainer starting out on their journey to make it to the top. It wasn't in her job description to take on criminals. That was supposed to be his task. And he had failed, just like he had failed to claim the title as Champion correctly. Lyra was too young and innocent to be thrown into this mess. But if he had been able to do his duty correctly, then she wouldn't have had to be the one to save the Slowpoke.
He needed a chance to prove to himself that he was worthy of being a true Champion. That he was worthy enough to be the head of the Pokemon League. People expected their Champions to do great things – people still talked about Red's legendary deeds even to this day. When people spoke of Lance, they often talked about his appearance and the power of his dragons, but never about his heroic achievements because he had none. The Slowpoke had been saved by an inexperienced trainer. He wouldn't be surprised if the girl somehow managed to save the Shiny Dratini as well. After all, hadn't his grandfather seen in a vision Lyra was going to be the one to defeat Team Rocket?
Suddenly, he saw the truth: he didn't want Lyra getting herself involved with Team Rocket not because he wanted her to be safe, but so he would have the chance to finally prove he was a true Champion. He felt threatened by her the very moment his grandfather had said Lyra would be the one to save the world and dethrone him as Champion. He was rocked by another realization. He was jealous over a rookie female trainer. He, the world's greatest Dragon Master and Champion of both Johto and Kanto, was worried because of some girl called Lyra!
How the rest of the region would laugh if they ever found out. He forced thoughts of Lyra aside, choosing to focus on the path ahead. He could see Blackthorn Gym now. They were close. The opportunity to stop Team Rocket would not escape from him. Not this time.
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The trip to Kanto took five days by ship. Although the ship had its own fair share of luxury facilities, Jacob figured he might as well spend some time in the lounge. He was going to be staring at nothing else but the ocean for the next couple of days. Looking at the snow falling outside the window wouldn't hurt.
He sat down at the far end of the ship, doing his best to distance himself as much as possible from the other passengers on board. A few people looked in his direction and whispered to their friends, but no one dared to speak with him. He spotted the group of girls that had laughed at him earlier on. They noticed him as well and traded excited whispers with each other, their eyes fixed on his face. It didn't take a genius to know he was the topic of their conversation. He turned away, his attention landing on the newspaper beneath the opposite chair to him.
"My Gible is stronger than your Bagon!"
"No way! Bagon is better!"
"Gible!"
"Bagon!"
Jacob glanced over his shoulder and spotted two young male tamers engaged in an argument about their baby dragons. Both tamers appeared to be no older than twelve and he wondered why they were on this ship when they hardly looked like they had done much travelling at all. Their conversation had piqued his interest – anything involving dragons had his fill attention.
"I challenge you to a battle! I'll show you that my Gible is stronger!"
"I accept! Let's battle!"
The two males stood up and walked to the centre of the ship, taking their battle positions in preparation for the fight. Other passengers on board turned their heads to watch while one passenger hurried away to call a guard. The first tamer summoned his Gible and the other brought out his Bagon.
"Use Tackle, Gible!"
"Use Bite, Bagon!"
The two dragons collided. Gible knocked the Bagon onto its belly, but the Bagon fought back, kicking its stubby legs out before clamping his jaws around the Gible's arm. It was like watching two kids in a schoolyard brawl – awkward and amateur. The dragons had great power and the tamers didn't even know it. They needed to be taught a lesson. He focused his mind on the Gible fighting.
Scientists around the world thought they knew everything there was to know about Pokemon, but in reality, they only knew a small fraction. It was often believed Pokemon had no emotions, that they simply relied on instinct for their decision-making, but Jacob knew that theory was false. Pokemon, at least the dragon-type, could feel emotions and these two dragons had been abused by their trainers.
He could feel their pain as if it were his own. There were no scars on their bodies, but the mental scars were deep. Both the Gible and Bagon had been physically pushed to the limit and beaten when they had shown signs of exhaustion. Anger poured through him. Dragons were sacred creatures, not mindless tools to be abused! He brought a hand to his right temple and concentrated his efforts on the Bagon, venturing further into the Pokemon's mind.
Turn against your tamer.
The Bagon released its hold over the Gible then turned around to face its tamer. Shock took hold of the boy's face. "What are you doing? Finish him!"
Instead of attacking the Gible, Bagon turned his power against his tamer, ramming his head into the shins. The tamer toppled over, spluttering and waving his hands like a fool, shouting obscenities at his dragon. Jacob lowered his hand thus ending the control he had over it. The Bagon stopped attacking his tamer and remained still, an expression of confusion on his face. His tamer stood up and ran away, his sobs echoing throughout the ship.
Jacob sank back down in his seat rather pleased with himself. While his father had the ability to see into the future, he had been born with the power to control the minds of dragons. It was the reason his father banished him from the clan in the first place, though the man simply told the clan Jacob had broken the law and had to leave.
"Still up to your old tricks, Jacob?" a man asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. At the sound of his voice, Jacob turned to study him. An elderly man wearing a blue coat with a white scarf hanging around his shoulders, sat down across from him, resting his walking stick on the seat. Pryce. The gym leader of Mahogany Town and a real thorn in his backside. "You are playing a dangerous game."
Jacob snorted. "You're the only person on board this ship who knows who I am and what I can do." Leaning back in his chair, he folded his arms and gave her an impatient look. "Why are you here? I thought you were done being my father's pet, or has he asked you to watch me over again?" he added curtly.
"I am returning from a vacation in Sinnoh. Why are you on board this ship?"
"On vacation. Like yourself."
Pryce didn't flinch. "You have heard the news about your father then?"
"It's hard to avoid when it's all over the news."
"Your father is tired, Jacob. He has a difficult job balancing his duties between being the Clan Elder and raising your son and niece, whom I might add are the reasons behind his ill health. Your son in particular is proving to be a real concern to your father."
Jacob gave him a long hard stare. "And what do you expect me to do? The boy doesn't even know me. I'm a stranger to him. You should know that – you were there when my father gave me my sentence." He had been forced to stand on a podium, with his head and arms in a pillory, while the tamers threw various food items at him while his sentence was read out. The process had taken a couple of hours until he was finally released and forced to leave everything behind.
"It was a sentence you deserved. You enslaved the mind of the rogue Dragonite when you should've allowed my ice-types to deal with the situation. Yet, you willingly broke the law of your clan to obtain power for yourself, thus endangering the lives of your people. Your father did right in banishing you."
Jacob leaned back in his chair. "Is this why you speak to me now? To bring up events of the past? To shame me? Is that your intention?" He narrowed his eyes, giving a sardonic laugh. "Save your words, Pryce. I've lost too much to even care anymore." Since being banished from the clan over two decades ago, he had been living in Sinnoh, earning money by defeating other trainers on the routes. He had heard himself referred to as one of the 'wild trainers' which was an insult used to classify those who had no place to call home.
"You could return home."
"Beg for forgiveness? No. I'd rather die."
"I can see where Lance gets his stubbornness from…" Pryce murmured. "Your son walks down the same path of self-destruction you once took. If you wish to allow your family name to be further shamed, then you will stand by and do nothing, but hide. I can see why my old friend is worried – when he dies, the clan dies with him." The ice-type gym leader stood up, wrapped his fingers around the handle of his walking stick, then walked away, leaving Jacob feeling like he had just taken a dive in a tub of ice. Seeing Lance after all these years would be an interesting experience.
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As soon as Lyra stepped inside, she felt her insides tighten. It was like she had stepped into a forest again, only this one was populated with trainers and cobwebs. The deep dark seemingly bottomless pits only added to her already nervous state.
"Welcome to the Azalea Gym! This gym is led by Bugsy, a specialist bug-type trainer. To get across, you simply have to climb on the right spider. Step on the wrong one and you'll find yourself at a dead end, or facing one of the trainers," the gym advisor said. "Make sure you have at least one flying-type on your team."
She thanked him for his advice and stepped towards the first set of three spiders. Getting on the back of one those things made her feel a little squeamish – she was no fan of bugs. But upon closer inspection, she noticed they were mechanical and not actually real spiders. That made her feel better. Slightly better.
She stepped towards the middle one and examined her surroundings. The opposite platform on the far left side was empty, while the far one on the right had a trainer. Her direct opposite was where she needed to go, but she wanted to fight the trainer first to get an idea of what she could face at the end.
So she stepped on the middle spider, after returning her Toto to its pokeball for safety reasons. The Spinarak kart moved across the different rails until it reached its destination. Lyra jumped off and prepared to face off against Bug Trainer AI. She called out her first Pokemon, Starly. The Bug Trainer simply smirked. "You think you'll win just because you have a bird? Think again, trainer."
So many cocky trainers. Looks like I have to put another trainer in their rightful place, she thought. AI summoned his first Pokemon which was a Caterpie. Lyra felt the urge to laugh. How could such a cute looking caterpillar beat a bird? She pointed a finger at the Caterpie and issued her first command. "Starly, use Wing Attack!"
Having a type advantage gave Starly extra attacking power and the Caterpie was knocked out before it could retaliate. The trainer's smirk faded, eyes growing wide. He wiped a few beads of sweat away and called out his next Pokemon. This one also looked like a caterpillar only it was brown and equipped with a two-inch singer on its head and tail. She pulled out her Pokedex for answers.
Weedle. Its poison stinger is very powerful. Its bright-coloured body is intended to warn off its enemies.
"Starly, use Wing Attack again!"
Flapping her wings Starly summoned two small funnels of feathers and directed them towards the Weedle. As with the Caterpie, the bug Pokemon was at a huge disadvantage. The Weedle was knocked out before it could attack. This is rather easy, Lyra thought. Surely, this couldn't be it? She'd steamroll this gym at the rate.
"My precious bug Pokemon!" AI wept, dropping to his knees, cradling his fainted Pokemon.
Lyra turned away and hopped back on the kart and returned to her original starting point. This time, she took the kart on the far left. This one would take her to the opposite middle platform. Fortunately, the ride was a short one. Lyra hopped off, walked forwards and soon found herself facing the next trainer, Benny.
"I will show you the power of bug Pokemon!" the boy declared, summoning his first one. A Weedle appeared.
Instead of using her Starly, Lyra summoned her Bagon. Bagon was still in its very early stages and needed a little bit more experience. Fighting against weak bug Pokemon seemed like a good way to get achieve that. "Bagon, use Bite!" Bagon jumped forward, clamping his jaws around the Weedle.
The Weedle fought hard to free itself from the Bagon's jaws and somehow managed to escape. "Weedle, use Poison Sting!" The Weedle jumped forward, head butting the Bagon underneath the chin, driving its stinger deep. Bagon hissed and fought back, throwing the Weedle off. Fortunately, the Weedle's stinger had not gotten too far in to cause poisoning.
"Bagon, use Bite again!" Bagon lunged forward and once again clamped its jaws around the Weedle's frail body. The Weedle tried to free itself, but this time failed to escape. Bagon shook its head left and right then left again, releasing the Weedle at the third shake. The Weedle fell to the ground, unconscious. Another win for me.
Bug Trainer Benny brought out his second Pokemon. A funny looking yellow cocoon appeared. Its pitch black eyes were quite large for its body size. Unlike the Caterpie, this one was rather freaky to look at, but didn't look that strong either. Once again, Lyra brought out her Pokedex to obtain additional information.
Kakuna. The evolved form of Weedle. Although it is a cocoon, it can move a little. It can extend its poison barb if it is attacked.
"Bagon, use Bite!"
"Kakuna, use Harden!"
The Kakuna was the first to move. The Pokemon did not attack, but temporarily changed to a silver colour. Lyra had a feeling it had somehow improved its defence meaning it would be harder to bring down. Bagon attacked. He tried to bite down on the Kakuna, but the Pokemon improved defences made it difficult for Bagon's attack to be effective.
Lyra recalled her Bagon and swapped it out for Starly. "Starly, use Wing Attack!" Starly flapped. The mini funnels struck the bug Pokemon hard, causing it to faint. The boy kicked the ground, spitting at the floor.
"You are pretty good to take down my two Pokemon. But you won't past my third. Beedrill!"
Needless to say, the Beedrill caught Lyra by surprise. She expected a Caterpie or another Weedle, but instead she faced a wasp. It looked down at her now, large red eyes glaring down at her. The Beedrill waved its two long, conical stingers at her and buzzed. "Beedrill, use Fury Attack!" The Beedrill buzzed again, much louder this time, drowning out any other noise. It flew up into the air, raised its two stingers, and flew towards the Starly.
The stingers struck Starly several times over, each one inflicting a small percentage of damage. Fortunately, Starly didn't seem that affected by it, and flapped back into the air, circling the wasp. "Starly, finish that Beedrill off with a Wing Attack!" Using the same move over and over again wasn't the best strategy, but it sure was effective. Besides, her Pokemon didn't know enough moves yet to develop a strategy so for now, hitting hard and fast was the most efficient way to win a tough battle.
Although the Beedrill looked menacing, it was quickly taken down. "I can't believe it!" the boy exclaimed, jaw agape. "You defeated my bug Pokemon."
Lyra just shrugged. What else could she say? She continued past the boy until she reached another Spinarak kart. The rails she had to cross were more complex than the section she had just passed. They also had different colours – grey, red and blue. She could see four trainers standing on the opposite side. On the far left, she spotted a blue switch next to two twin girls, and on the far right, a lone bug trainer. She couldn't see any signs of a red switch and she suspected it was on her side. Probably opposite to the twins, she thought.
The trainer in the middle looked back at her from across the gaping hole, giving Lyra a mocking grin. He was short; probably about the same height as herself. He also had strange coloured hair like Falkner. Falkner hair blue hair, this guy had purple hair. Lyra began to wonder if the other trainers in Johto all had unnatural coloured hair. Now how do I get across, she thought, looking around.
Unlike the previous section, there was only one kart. Lyra figured she had to use the switches to steer her into the right section, but first she needed to battle the other gym trainers. She flipped the blue switch on and moved onto the Spinarak kart. The kart moved, crossed over the first right beam and moved upwards towards the bug trainer. She climbed off and prepared to battle again.
She caught a glimpse of his nametag. Josh. "Can you work out how to use the switches to reach Bugsy?" The boy threw out his pokeball and Lyra did the same. She summoned her Starly. An orange insect appeared. It peered up at Lyra with big wide eyes. It almost looked cute.
Paras. It is doused with mushroom spores when it is born. As its body grows, mushrooms sprout from its back.
Having a mushroom growing out of your back sounded like an annoyance, Lyra thought. But having a mushroom wasn't going to make its defences stronger. "Starly, use Wing Attack!"
Another critical blow and another Pokemon down. Her team was doing quite well – not one of her Pokemon had suffered a major blow and there were only two trainers left before the gym leader. She ignored the boy's complaints and hopped back onto the kart. The kart took her back to her previous position. This time, she turned the blue switch on again making the blue railing available to cross.
She hopped back onto the kart and followed the same route she had taken to reach the boy, but this time she crossed the blue railing. The kart moved to the left, crossing over onto the red railing which brought her to the identical twins. Amy and May. The girls traded smiles. "If you can defeat us then you're strong enough to take on the leader!" Together, the girls threw their pokeballs.
"Ledyba!"
"Spinarak!"
Two more new bug Pokemon. The Ledyba reminded her of a ladybeetle while the Spinarak looked exactly the karts she had been using to get across. Even though she knew what their names were now, she still wanted to obtain information.
Ledyba. It is very timid. It will be afraid to move if it is alone. But it will be active if it is in a group.
Spinarak. It lies still in the same pose for days in its web, waiting for its unsuspecting prey to wander close.
Lyra put her Pokedex away and summoned her Starly and Gible to take the battle.
"Gible, use Dragon Rage! Starly, use Wing Attack!"
Together, her Pokemon attacked their opponents. Dragon Rage wiped out Ledyba and Starly's Wing Attack took out Spinarak within seconds. This gym had been ridiculously easy so far she was beginning to wonder if the gym leader was even going to be a challenge. The twins started to cry. Lyra moved quickly, flicking the blue switch besides the twins on.
She hopped back onto the Spinarak kart and moved towards her direct opposite side where the red switch was. Fortunately, there were no trainers on this side. She flipped it on and hopped on the kart again and moved towards the gym leader. Having turned on and off the correct switches, the path to the gym leader had become available.
The boy jumped into the air, waving his bug net around. He settled and pointed the net at her. "I'm Bugsy! I never lose when it comes to Bug-type Pokemon. My research is going to make me an authority on bug-type Pokemon! Let me demonstrate what I've learnt from my studies."
Was the boy stronger than he looked? This could be another one of those, 'looks can be deceiving cases'. She took in a deep breath and braced herself for a tough fight.
