"Well, looking at the map, it should be right over this big hill," Misty told the group as they walked along a narrow dirt path.
"What's the facts on this place?" Ash asked, hoping his curiosity would be fed.
"Not much in this book. The place is called Dragon Lake, named after a family of Dragonite that lived there over a hundred years ago. According to local legend, the lake was formed by the Dragonite, and also serves as a grave-site for some of the family. There's a few houses, a Pokemon Center, a small market, and the gym."
"Wouldn't be surprised if this was a dragon gym," Gary said.
"It's safe to assume so," Ash responded. "I'm surprised at how cryptic the book and other people have been about this place. Even Mr. Yuki refused to give us much information when I spoke to him on the phone before we left Glacier City."
"Well, I guess we're about to find out why," Iris chimed in.
"It's early in the day, so are there any arguments with healing our Pokemon and going straight to the gym?" Ash turned his head to his friends, and everyone agreed within seconds.
The trip from Glacier City to Dragon Lake had taken close to a month, but was much easier than the trip to Glacier City. After the first week, the weather became warmer, and rain and snow was far more limited. Their spirits stayed relatively high, saving for a few minor disagreements. Ash was becoming more aware of Iris and Misty's rivalry, however, but struggled to find a solution to the problem. Gary made numerous attempts to bring him to light of the crush the girls had on him, but seemed completely oblivious to that detail.
Once the team had finally reached the top of the hill, the massive lake slowly came into view. Everyone marveled at the size, and had to squint just to see the other side. An incredibly tall sign sat at the foot of the hill, with a message on top that read, "Welcome to Dragon Lake." The teams' collective excitement led them to run down the hill, and stop right underneath the sign. From up close, the lake seemed even larger, and the far side was no longer in view. Smaller boats sailed all around the lake, and a few speedboats ripped through the waves further out. A large beach lined the lake to the east of the small town, with more people than they could count enjoying the warm air. Groups had fun playing in the water, while others played volleyball further up on the beach. It was evident that Dragon Lake was a highly popular tourist location, and the guide book's fact section left a lot out. The town had a few houses, the Pokemon Center, and the gym, but there was also numerous smaller shops, and three tall hotels with large neon signs showing whether they had any vacancies or not.
"This is amazing!" Victoria exclaimed. She stared at the beach, imagining herself laying in a lounge chair, soaking up the sun.
"It really is," Misty agreed. "I haven't seen such a busy vacation spot in my entire life. I would love to take a trip here someday just to relax."
"Well, let's hurry and beat that gym leader, so we have fun the rest of the day!" Ash said with an equal level of excitement.
Everyone agreed, and they walked into town. The Pokemon Center was almost right next to the town entrance, making for a short walk, and the gym was within sight a little further down the road. Within the Pokemon Center, it revealed to be far larger than traditional Pokemon Centers. Nurse Joy scurried around the center, helping different people and their Pokemon, and there were three other people doing the same thing. There were six counters, each with its own healing station for Pokemon, and all were in use at the same time.
"Looks like they stay busy here," Iris said. "I hope we don't have to wait long."
"There's the answer to that," Gary said as he pointed at a computer terminal.
Ash approached the terminal, and it left instructions to take a service number. He pressed the touchscreen, and a small paper printed out that showed ninety-eight on it. Ash turned his head and saw a screen above the center counter, which showed they were currently servicing number sixty-two. His shoulders slumped a bit, and rejoined his team.
"We've got a bit," Ash said as he showed their number.
"Well, let's grab a bite to eat while waiting then," Gary said. "There's a sign over there saying there's a cafeteria here."
Ash was about to start walking, but stopped as he saw Rick walk into the Pokemon Center. They almost instantly locked eyes, and Rick slowly approached the group. His face was unchanged from their past encounters, nearly emotionless with a hint of anger. Rick was first to act by offering his hand to Ash. Ash quickly answered with his own hand for a quick shake.
"So you guys finally made it here," Rick said. His tone almost sounded condescending, forcing Ash to check his initial emotions.
"Yeah, we had to walk all the way from Glacier City," Ash responded. "This is a real nice place."
"Dragon Lake is the world's busiest tourist location." Rick pulled a small stack of pamphlets out of his back pocket and gave one to each of the trainers. "The climate here stays warm almost year-round, so business stays up."
"Are you here for vacation?" Iris asked.
"No, I don't take vacations. Crime never takes a vacation, so neither do I." Ash continued to struggle to figure out Rick's personality. The only definite was Rick's almost permanently serious demeanor.
"You're the gym leader here," Ash said, half stating, half asking.
"You're right," Rick responded. "I'm the gym leader of the Dragon Lake Gym, and in case your deductive reasoning skills are not all that high, I use dragon type Pokemon in battle. I'm assuming you're here to give your Pokemon a good healing before challenging me, but I am unavailable until this evening anyway. I have prior commitments to attend to first."
"That's alright, we have a while to wait here anyway," Misty replied. "We were just going to grab some food in the cafeteria."
"If I may suggest, go out and see the sights of Dragon Lake while you wait. When your number comes up, the entire area has speakers that will announce your turn is up. The announcements can be heard from anywhere in town and the beach, so you don't have to wait here all day."
"Thanks, that's awesome!" Victoria exclaimed. She instantly considered finding a shop that sold bathing suits so she could hit the beach.
"Thank you for the advice," Ash said. "I guess we'll go see some sights."
"Actually, you can't join your friends, Ash," Rick said. Ash looked at him, confused. He was hoping Rick wasn't about to pull something, given their prior issues with each other. "Ash, you are one of my commitments today. I need to speak with you, and only you, for a while. It's important, so I cannot let you decline."
Ash eyed Rick, but couldn't read anything off the hard man's face. Rick turned and began to walk for the exit, leaving Ash to assume he was to follow. After waiting for a few more seconds, Ash waved to his friends, and quickly followed.
"Looks like we're on our own," Gary said as Ash left their sight.
"So what now?" Victoria asked, directing it to no specific person. "I kind of want to hit the beach."
"I'm feeling the same way," Iris said.
Gary and Misty had no arguments to the idea, so eventually agreed to the idea. Victoria was the first to bounce into action, almost running out the door. The rest slowly followed, moderately entertained by their younger friend's enthusiasm.
"So why did you need to talk to me?" Ash asked Rick as they walked through town. Multiple residents of Dragon Lake greeted Rick as they walked, and Rick always responded with a short nod. His hard personality seemed unchanged, but neither did others' chipper attitudes in response to his lack of enthusiasm.
"There's something important we need to discuss, and I feel it should be done prior to our battle later one," Rick answered. He left nothing for Ash to guess off of, which frustrated him more. "There's a little coffee shop right next to my gym. We'll go there to talk. Hope you like coffee or tea."
Ash had to check himself as his frustration continued to rise. He wanted to avoid anymore arguing with the man, and even more so with them in his own town. Despite his obvious lack of personal skills, everyone seemed to treat him like a hero. Once they reached the small coffee house, the young woman working at the counter gave Rick a large smile, and ran to the back without saying anything. After a couple minutes, she returned with a large coffee mug and placed it on the counter.
"Good morning Rick!" the girl said enthusiastically. "Here's your regular order of a triple-shot mocha with a dash of peppermint! Need anything else?"
"A cream cheese bagel and whatever he'll be having," Rick said quickly, still showing no emotion.
"Um, I'll just have a green tea," Ash said after looking at the menu for a little bit. "Thank you."
The girl smiled to him, and retreated back to the kitchen. After a few more minutes, she returned with Rick's bagel and Ash's tea. Rick gave her a bill, and walked towards a table without saying anything. Ash thanked her, then followed Rick to the table.
The coffee house was small and quaint, housing only seven tables throughout. Two more tables sat outside, covered by large umbrellas. Ash quickly took a liking to the place, marveling at the well-painted walls, and beautiful landscape artwork. On the far wall, an artificial fireplace covered a portion of the wall. Above it was a piece of artwork that pictured a large Dragonite, along with three smaller Dragonite around it. A small plate on the bottom of the frame read "Dragonite Family." Ash assumed it was a piece honoring the Dragonite family legend that the guidebook mentioned.
Rick sat quietly with his eyes closed, sipping his coffee. Ash sipped his own drink, completely out of theories behind their meeting. As he watched Rick, he slowly realized the man was a relatively quiet man, and past his rough exterior, was actually pretty calm. It was the only logical explanation to the way he was with everyone still admiring him like they did.
"So, why are we here exactly?" Ash finally asked, trying to avoid sounding rude with the question.
Rick put his mug down on the table, and took a large bite out of his bagel. After only a few chews, he swallowed his food and looked at Ash. His eyes were piercing, making Ash feel a little uncomfortable.
"I've followed your career as a Pokemon trainer since the day you left Pallet Town," Rick finally said. "You've been through a lot over the years."
"Uh, yeah I guess I have, but I'm glad I went through it all," Ash responded. His confusion continued to rise as he wondered why a random Pokemon Master from the Legacy League was following his career that long. Most people started to follow him around the time he won the Battle Frontier Championship.
"I don't agree with everything you've done over the years, but there's nothing I can do about that now," Rick continued.
"No offense, Rick, but I'm not sure why the things I've done in the past is any of your concern," Ash responded, still hoping he wasn't coming across as rude.
"You're right about that. You've been making your own decisions for a long time now, and was forced to become a man far sooner than most."
Ash's confusion was slowly beginning to disappear, and curiosity was replacing it. As Rick spoke, the man's rough voice seemed to be softening. Only one explanation seemed to make sense to him.
"Something tells me you've known me longer than I think," Ash finally said.
"Your mother, Delia, has kept me pretty well-informed on your successes and failures since you became a Pokemon trainer," Rick said softly before taking another drink from his coffee.
Ash's eyes shot open with Rick's last sentence. "Wait, you know my mother? How do you know each other? She's never mentioned you, and didn't say anything before I left for this region."
"No, I know for a fact that she's mentioned me on occasion, you just didn't know it was me."
Rick took another drink, and Ash could see his hand slightly shaking. It could have been from the caffeine in the drink, but it more seemed to be from nervousness. Ash's own heart was pounding as he tried to find answers within his own mind, but constantly failed.
"Ash, I've known you since you were born, and have closely followed your life through reports on tv and the internet, along with my calls with your mother. A few days after you left on your Pokemon journey, she told you that your father would be proud, and sure enough, I was. I always have been proud of you, Ash, as my son."
Ash's heart suddenly pounded enough to feel like he was having a heart attack. His mind began to race as the shock of Rick being his father pierced his emotions. Questions filled his mind, racing through too fast for any of them to turn into spoken words. Why was his father a gym leader in the Legacy League and not with his family? Why was it kept secret all those years, making him think his father would never be around?
"Now, I'm sure you have millions of questions," Rick continued. His mug was on the table, no longer in his grip. His hands were tightly folded in front of him on the table. "And you probably don't even know where to begin, so let me start. You mother and I have known each other since we were children, and she was there with me the week of my tenth birthday when I set out on my own Pokemon Journey. We stayed in contact the whole time I traveled the Kanto Region, but we didn't see each other again until two years later when I competed in the Pokemon League Tournament. After that, I stopped traveling for a while, but eventually, after we turned sixteen, I chose to travel to a different region. Delia ended up traveling with me even though she never became a Pokemon trainer herself. It took me almost two more years before I competed in the next league tournament, and after I won the championship, we came back to Pallet Town. It wasn't long after we returned, we both turned eighteen, and I proposed to her. She said yes, to my joy, and we were married four months later. I wanted to settle down at that point, and spend my life with your mother. A year after we were married, we had you, our first and only child. Your mother was ecstatic of course, and I was happy as well, but also very nervous. I never saw myself as a proper father figure, but wanted to try."
Ash listened to Rick's story, his emotions raced. He didn't want to say anything, with his emotions shifting between anger, sadness, and flat-out confusion. His questions were becoming clearer, but chose to let Rick finish the story.
"About six months after you were born, I got a call from an old friend offering me a spot on his team to challenge the Legacy League," Rick continued. "I initially declined, but your mother, being the sweet, kindhearted woman she is, urged me to go. I then traveled here with my friend, and within a year, we defeated all the gym leaders, and took down the Elite Four of that time. I was a Pokemon Master, and was set to return home to you and your mother. Before I left, I was offered a position within the Legacy Police Force thanks to my refusal to do anything but the right thing, and my powerful Pokemon team that backed me up. I talked to Delia about it, and wanted to move both of you here so we could live here as a family, but your mother didn't want to leave Pallet Town. I don't blame her or feel any resentment toward her for that decision. Her family had always lived in Pallet, and she wanted you to experience the same lifestyle. I stayed here, and you two stayed there. We never divorced, and are still married to this day. I still love your mother deeply, and we talk at least every other day, but we both decided it was best for you to have no contact with me. We believed it would have been too confusing and emotionally taxing on you if you knew me."
"So you both decided for me to never know you?" Ash finally asked, failing to mask his anger. "Even after I was older and more mature, you still kept making that decision for me?"
"By no means am I saying I made the morally right decision back then," Rick responded, showing his first signs of emotion. Ash could tell he was making a clear attempt to keep things peaceful. "To this day, I consider my decision to stay here a very selfish one. Most wouldn't even think twice about staying with his family. If your mother wasn't so supportive of me staying, it would have been a no-brainer. I admit, the chance of living my dream as a Pokemon Master while leading the entire region's police force was too tempting for me."
"You still haven't answered my question, though," Ash interrupted. "Why did you keep it a secret even after I got older? I'm nineteen years old now and just now finding this out?"
"That was my decision, not your mother's. I thought it would be best for you, and the way you were leading your life seemed to support my claim. Like I said, I don't entirely agree with everything you've done over the years, but overall you have led a straight and narrow life. You grew into a good man without me there to tell you what to do, and I didn't want to make things harder on you."
Ash looked down at his tea. The ripples in it seemed to almost hypnotize him as he fell deeper into his thoughts. He wanted to stay angry at his so-called dad, but also saw a chance for a new start. Rick also sat in silence, keeping his gaze on Ash's face.
"As angry as my initial emotions are, I don't want to turn this into a bad situation," Ash finally said. "I'm not going to say I forgive you for just leaving Mom and me, but I'm willing to move on."
Rick was about to say something, but froze and seemed to be looking past Ash. Ash tilted his head in confusion, and turned around. To his shock, his mother was standing directly behind him. Once he was completely turned around, his mom gave him a huge hug while squealing loudly. Ash struggled to react for a few seconds, but eventually returned the hug.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Ash asked through a chuckle.
"You think I'd miss this?" Delia responded happily. "I'm so glad you two finally got to meet!"
Rick jumped to his feet, almost nervously. Ash couldn't help but notice, and saw that Rick was making an attempt to be a standup gentleman. Delia chuckled, and gave him a long hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Good to see you, Rick," Delia said.
"Same to you," Rick replied. "I didn't know you were coming, though. I would have made some preparations if I knew ahead of time."
Ash noticed Rick was still straight with his words. His lack of emotion seemed to carry over even with Delia, but Delia continued with her own chipper attitude. They seemed to be polar opposites, who should not be able to work as a couple.
"You know I don't care about that," Delia told Rick in return. "Professor Oak told me Ash was about to battle you in your gym, and I couldn't miss that! My two guys battling against each other!"
Ash and Rick flashed a quick look at each other. It was clear they were both feeling awkward over the whole situation. They had just established their relationship to each other, then Delia moved in acting like everything was normal.
"So when's the big show?" Delia asked.
"Uh, are you asking when the battle is?" Rick asked.
"Of course!" Delia laughed loudly, almost disturbing some of the other customers. "You never did quite understand me." Delia continued to laugh, though it left Ash even more confused.
"We're battling this evening, once Ash and his team can get their Pokemon healed in the Center," Rick finally answered. The whole time, Ash couldn't help but notice that Rick had not cracked a single smile throughout his entire conversation with Delia.
"I uh, I think I'm going to go find my friends," Ash spoke up. He was getting desperate to rejoin his friends and feel some sort of normality after the strange morning he just had.
"Ok honey," Delia said. "I'll see you at the gym!"
Ash smiled to his mother and started to walk away. Rick didn't say anything, nor did he make any gestures. Ash also did nothing towards his dad, and quickly left the coffee shop. The minute he walked out, he was startled as he almost ran into his friends as they stood in a group by the window.
"What are you guys doing here?" Ash asked as he regained his bearings.
"Well, we ran into your mom near the entrance of town," Misty said with a smile. "She told us what was going on. Is Rick really your dad?"
Ash looked at his friends as they all stared at him with wide eyes. All of them seemed excited to hear Ash's answer. All except for Gary, anyway.
"Hey guys," Gary suddenly said. "Let's leave him alone for now. Whatever just happened, it's gotta be stressing him out. We'll talk later."
Gary handed Ash a key that was clearly a hotel key. It read "Dragonite Suites" and Ash knew what Gary was insinuating. Everyone else followed Gary's actions, and let Ash leave. After a thank you, Ash walked on and left his friends.
"Wait Ash!" Gary called. Ash stopped and turned around. Pikachu jumped onto Gary's shoulder, and as soon as Ash saw his friend, his spirits skyrocketed. He motioned for Pikachu, and Pikachu didn't hesitate to run to its friend and jump on his shoulder.
"Thanks," Ash said to his friends as he patted Pikachu on the head.
"No problem." Gary gave him a quick wave. "Oh! You want us to take your other five pokeballs and wait at the Pokemon Center? We'll get you from your room when it's time to hit the gym."
Ash nodded, a little surprised by Gary's high level of consideration. He pulled his backpack off his shoulder, and detached the five pokeballs from his shoulder strap. Gary met him where he was, and carefully accepted the pokeballs.
"Take it easy," Gary said quietly before returning to the rest of the group.
"Thanks again," Ash returned. He then turned and started to walk down the street with Pikachu on his shoulder. Through the events of the morning, he hadn't realized how exhausted he had become, and just wanted to get to the hotel and take a nap until that evening. He wanted to temporarily forget that later that day, he would be battling his long-lost father in an attempt to earn his fifth badge in the world's strongest and most challenging league.
