Despite having a green December, nature is finally dropping the snow like there's no tomorrow. Since I'm practically snowed in, I took the chance to finish chapter 25. Still hard to believe that my little idea is still going but here we are. This chapter is very dialogue heavy so I hope it flows well. I'm always striving to improve it but I feel there is always a mistake or two. Enough talk, let's get to the story and I'll see you guys after the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own my OCs.
Chapter 25- Rising Up
There was an odd satisfaction when Kingdra finally fainted. I mean sure, I just won my eighth and final badge to get into the Silver Conference but there was something about Espeon that entire battle. She looked like she was a little nervous when I called her out. Maybe my own nervousness was affecting her since a few psychic types can copy the emotions of their trainers. Regardless, it was a clutch move having Espeon beating two of Clair's dragons because Gyarados got some more rest. I honestly think he's getting restless from not battling for so long. I know I'm pretty restless after not getting the badge because of some scars. If I had truly known what happened that night then I would've just told the truth. Now I have to find Linda and get the only person Clair trusts around here to convince her to give me a badge.
"Hello young one." Damn, that scared me. At least I found her.
"Clair said I had to talk to you. She thinks I'm not worthy of Blackthorn City's badge because…"
"Hush. Follow me." Without saying a word, Linda brought me back behind the gym to a small wooden boat. Another gym assistant was already there to row us across to a cave. The short ride over was eerie since the only sound was that of rippling water from the oar. Once we arrived at a dock, Linda finally spoke to me. "You have been in the Dragon's Den before. However, this time you must visit the Dragon Shrine. I will be waiting there along with two other elders. You may choose to go back or you may choose to continue riding. The choice is yours. Farewell." She disappeared behind a large door while I had to continue the ride around.
The gym assistant looked down at me. "Do you dare continue? I must warn you, the elders do not take kindly to those they see unworthy to enter the shrine, even though Clair may have sent them."
What could she possibly mean by unworthy? Still, the prospect of punishment did not knock me off of my path. "Take me to the shrine. I accept her invitation." A solemn nod came from the rower as she continued to paddle to the dock that contained the Dragon Shrine.
Fear mixed with hope was written over her face. "Good luck." Now I'm getting more nervous but I can't turn back now.
Both doors opened on their own as I approached. The inside was paying homage to all dragons from many different regions as well as many different time periods. Linda appeared in front of me as the doors closed. "You have made the decision to come here instead of fleeing. Now stand in front of the council." She made her way up a set of stairs to a fire pit where the other two male elders lit the fire. "Let us begin." Begin? Begin what? This was getting more intimidating by the minute.
One elder spoke after they said a prayer to a divine looking statue. "My name is Adam. I have been a priest in the shrine for quite some time. I have seen many a trainer walk through here but a vast majority were not worthy of seeing this place. You will be tested before the three of us. This is your last chance to change your mind if you have doubts about being tested."
I stood as tall as I could. "I'm not going to walk out. Go right ahead."
Adam nodded. "Very well call out the two Pokémon in question." Umbreon and Espeon were sent out to just stand there; both of them looked a little beat up since I never went back to the Pokémon Center. "What are your Pokémon to you? Are they your pals? Underlings? Friends?"
Dumb question. "My Pokémon and I are friends and companions. We both help each other out."
"Ah, I see. Now what helps you win battles? Strategy? Under minded strategies? Raising your Pokémon?"
"I raise my Pokémon to face tough battles. If any of my Pokémon are at a severe disadvantage or in danger, then I will concede defeat."
"Interesting. Which type of trainer would you battle? A strong one or a weak one?"
"Now this is a trick question. If any other trainer were to come up and ask for a battle, I would battle them regardless of their skill. There is experience to be gained by battling anyone."
"Finally, what is the most important thing that a trainer needs to raise Pokémon?"
Interesting that Adam didn't give me options to choose from this time around; this one's on me. "Compassion. Every Pokémon is unique and I wouldn't trade these two for any other Espeon or Umbreon in the world."
Linda looked to the other elder then to Adam. "Your responses are very interesting. I sense no negative feelings in both of your Pokémon when you were answering. Countless trainers have given countless answers to these four questions. Some have fared well while others did not. Elder Nico, please offer the final test."
Nico made his way to the bottom step. "We will battle to see if you are truly worthy of a badge or if your victory over Clair was a fluke. You are to use Espeon since it defeated two of Clair's Pokémon. Go Dragonite." The orange dragon materialized looking hell bent on defending the shrine's honor. Espeon looked horrified at the sudden turn of events. Somehow she still staggered to the middle of the shrine.
"No."
"Hmmm. What do you mean young man? Do you not want the badge?"
"I refuse to let her battle in her current condition." He looked at Espeon and studied her movements before he acted.
An icy command filled the shrine. "Fire Blast."
What part of "no" did he not understand!? I reached for my ball to call her back but Umbreon had stepped in front of her to take the hit; I couldn't grab both of them fast enough and Fire Blast connected. Umbreon was clearly injured but he was standing albeit panting very heavily; Espeon started to tremble.
Nico's face remained emotionless. "I thought I told you that you can only use Espeon in this battle." I lost my mind.
"And I thought I said that I Refused to let her battle!" Silence filled the shrine for five minutes as Nico let me regain most of my composure. "How dare you attack my friend like that. She is in no condition to fight let alone move out of the way."
He still didn't seem to listen to me. "Hyper Beam." Yellow energy started to gather at Dragonite's maw.
"Return!" This time I had both balls in hand to call them back. Nico quickly threw his right hand up by his head and Dragonite stopped on a dime.
"Call them back out again," Nico said in his emotionless voice. I just stared him down for a while until he recalled Dragonite. "Now you may call them out. There is no threat anymore." I did so with extreme caution and stood in front of them while he went back up to the fire pit.
Linda had nodded at Adam and Nico before addressing me. "In the face of adversity, you chose to flee. However, you remained true to your beliefs in a challenging time. Your friends were in danger and despite wanting to face a strong trainer to prove your worth; you realized that you have not raised your Pokémon enough to take on such a challenge. Showing compassion to your Pokémon is most admirable. You are indeed worthy of the Rising Badge. Call back those two and come back to the gym with me and stand before Clair."
She descended from the pit along with Adam and Nico while I made my way to the door. All three of them had a conversation which ended with a bow. The girl who took us over on the boat was very surprised to see me get back on after entering the shrine. Linda had been looking at me the entire time we were still in the Dragon's Den. She told me that Nico was aware that I was reaching for my ball but he never predicted that Umbreon would step in. We arrived back on land behind the gym shortly after and gave our thanks to the gym assistant. Linda must have seen my face considering how confused I was at what just happened.
"We test trainers that way to make sure that they are ready for the journey ahead. Only a handful of trainers have answered Adam's questions and then acted according to their beliefs. Most trainers give the obvious answer then turn on their word when it comes time to battle with Nico. Even if some younger trainers are not as pure as others, as long as they stick to their beliefs during the test then they will be awarded a badge."
"So what's the deal if they do lie or do something stupid?"
Her face formed a scowl. "Those who are unworthy face a variety of punishments. One girl in particular had been yelling at her Pokémon for hours after she suffered a defeat. She won on her fourth try but she failed our test miserably. All four of her answers were similar to yours but when it came for battle, she did not act according to her values. However, she did win which is a testament to her pure strength. Clair had hoped she had seen the error in her ways but had no choice but to give her the badge. You have nothing to worry about young man." The gym was still empty when both of us walked back in except for Clair standing in her trainer's box. We approached her ready to talk it out.
"I see you've returned Linda. Is Mitch worthy of Blackthorn City's badge?"
Linda took one more step forward. "He has passed both of our tests. He is indeed worthy."
Clair sighed while she reached into her pocket. "In accordance with league rules, I give you the Rising Badge." The black badge looked like a dragon head with piercing red eyes; very creepy to say the least. "With this badge, you can register for the Silver Conference with some time to spare. There is a ferry that arrives in New Bark Town periodically to take trainers to the Indigo Plateau. Normally you have to pay but your registration into the tournament waives it." Clair still looked anxious. "Linda… what was wrong with Espeon and Umbreon? Did you figure it out?"
"I'm sorry I don't follow, but what do you mean?"
"Linda can communicate with Pokémon on a level that is nearly unreachable; it's like she can figure them out just by looking into their eyes. Ancient dragon masters tried to master this skill but few could. The ability is not passed down either. Only through intense meditation can one communicate with any Pokémon and even that can take an entire lifetime." I wanted to call her out on it, but it would be better if I went with it.
A gentle nudge was given to me by the elderly priestess so I called out the two Pokémon I saved from the forest that night. Espeon was still trembling until Linda started gently petting her while Umbreon was still showing signs of being tense. I calmed him down with some petting of my own. Linda led us back to the Dragon's Den through the gym door and we all sat down on the grass. She took a deep breath and said that both stories served to ease Clair's concerns as well as me understanding them better.
"Which story would you like to hear first Clair?" She pointed to Espeon. "Very well. This Espeon seemed to be destined to die at a very young age. As an Eevee, she was the runt of the litter with only having brothers. Her Jolteon father and Espeon mother abandoned just her one day and she searched for an evolutionary stone to get stronger. A young girl named Sara caught her and it seemed she was happy with each battle they won. However, Sara was unsure if she wanted a Vaporeon because she had Ice Beam which would have made the battle a little easier to manage. Mid-battle, Eevee evolved into an Espeon for the desire to make her master happy but she lost when you knocked it out with a Hyper Beam."
"That's true. She was a spoiled brat but she eventually won."
"After your first match, she physically and verbally abused the newly evolved Espeon after you left to tend to the shrine for hours on end. Sara had released her into the wild without healing her in the hopes that she would die. She was saved by this Umbreon here and all was going well until they came face to face with one Pinsir and one Ariados. The Ariados took her back to a clearing to torture her with poison and having her unable to move until Umbreon rescued her. She faintly remembers Mitch giving her an antidote before going to sleep. The scar comes from a series of Poison Sting attacks. Ever since she has met Mitch and Umbreon, she is much happier but still fears that she will be let go again or will be too weak to continue the journey despite making it this far."
Both of us just stared at Linda in disbelief. Espeon went from standing up to lying down with her paws covering her eyes; whimpers shortly followed. What… the actual… fuck. I mean I knew that Espeon was hurt when we met, but I had no idea it was that bad. Only two things are on my mind after that story: payback for Espeon later and comforting her now. I slowly scooted over to her and tried to pull her in. She flinched initially but held my arms as I scooped her onto my lap where she started to cry again. I started to gently pet her as Linda smiled warmly at me then turned to Clair. "Thank you Linda. Thank you for telling me what I couldn't understand."
She turned back to me. "I was going to tell you eventually but you were almost late for this battle. Now it's time to hear Umbreon's story. Are both of you ready?"
"I guess I'll tell it?" Now Clair and Linda looked surprised. "He used to have a loving trainer but he was killed by Team Rocket. Also, Umbreon was taken to Mahogany Town to be experimented on for some collector. To be honest Clair, he knows six moves. He came running into my camp with a dislocated hip after saving Espeon. Oh yeah, I never actually caught them when we met. However, I still brought them to the Mahogany Pokémon Center to get healed up before moving to Ekruteak City. As soon as we entered through the gate he was off to the cemetery to see his old master's grave. From then on, he's been pretty focused on battling and hates losing."
Linda nodded as Clair looked dumbfounded. "Six moves!? That experiment must have been pretty serious." Umbreon walked over to me. "So why didn't use all of them?"
"Ummm you're kidding, right? You'd probably stop the battle and ask me how that would be possible. I wouldn't have any answers which would open up a can of worms." I turned to Linda. "Anything I missed?"
The priestess was in thought. "Well let's see… there are some minor details. Umbreon's hip injury was caused by the Pinsir. For whatever its worth too, Umbreon was an Eevee that was sold for money. It wants to prove that it is the strongest. It also loves you unconditionally but still wishes Tom were alive."
"So you want to prove your strength even more? You gave Furret a run for her money. That in itself is pretty hard to do." He just purred and nuzzled Espeon, who was still quietly sobbing after her story had been told. "Are my other four Pokémon 'normal' then?" She had a long pause going as if she was still trying to get a feeling for them.
"Yes. Compared to these two, your other Pokémon have lived normal lives."
Four remaining Poké Balls were tossed into the air. Furret, Gyarados, Ampharos, and Growlithe all saw Espeon and gathered around her but Furret was the one doing most of the talking while Umbreon was still showing his affection. "Listen up everyone. I want to tell you that we have all eight badges and we are going to the Indigo Plateau. Espeon is worried that she's not strong enough to keep going. Is that true?" Gyarados immediately shook his head. If my strongest pure power Pokémon thinks that Espeon can continue, then I know there is a higher level of team chemistry going on. "See Espeon? I will never let you go. I am not Sara. I promise if we face each other on the battlefield, I will win so help me Arceus."
Clair's expression softened up. "So you're really going huh? I don't really say this a lot, but good luck."
I looked down at Espeon. "My Pokémon have already risen to the occasion despite their pasts. Now it's my turn to rise up."
"Oh master…"
A lot to digest this chapter but most importantly, Mitch knows (almost) everything there is to know about the two Eons which will make for a good rest of the story. The test is slightly different from Crystal version but I felt there should have been a battle in the game; there was in HG/SS so I'm okay with that. That's all I got for now. Stay warm this winter and have a good day :)
-W4f