Abby's father paced back and forth across his office with a fury. The morning sun shining down on him through a large round window above his desk. His thick, steel toed red boots stomping heavily with each aggressive step he took. The weight of his large, muscular frame causing his steps to thunder throughout the halls of his home. He stroked his long black beard, plaited and braided through three large golden rings. They swung as his course, rough hand glided down the thick braid. Short and orderly hair topped his head in a simple but precise crew cut. His eyes, a piercing grey with flecks of deep red, gazed unblinking at a grandfather clock made of polished wood and silver metal. He watched the hands move intently, huffing and grunting with frustration as they continued to tick away. A jacket of grape purple leather, highlighted by white seams, collar and cuffs whipped around him as he turned on his heels. Pinned to it, various ribbons and medals both with fantastical designs and plain official symbols of prestige. They were spaced evenly, each exactly the same distance apart along the left breast of his jacket. As he paced towards his desk, his eyes twitched and he slammed his fists down on the desk with a furious cry. With balled fists, covered by gloves made from the same purple material as his jacket, he turned to a woman lounging on an expensive looking sofa.
"Where is that girl?!" He bellowed to no one in particular, slamming his fist down on the table again, "and the boy, I expect better of him than this! What could have possibly distracted him from this most simple of tasks?!" His booming powerful voice rumbled.
The woman with an apathetic frown, didn't so much as look up at him as she casually inspected her nails. Above her, along the vast wall of the office hung a long line of portraits. Each picture depicting men and women wearing the striking red uniform of the Pokémon Rangers. On the furthest right of the line hung a picture of Abby's father as a young man, same hair, shorter beard and the same piercing eyes. To the right of him hung a picture of Pete and next to Pete two portraits of the twins hung, each with very forced smiles. In fact of the group Pete seemed to be the only one with a genuine smile. Each portrait was labelled with their name in a golden plaque, beneath Abby's Father's portrait read the name.
"Griffith Yomato"
At the very end beside the twins a blank empty frame hung, plaque-less and bare. As the office fell into silence the woman finally spoke, lifting her dark brown eyes from her nails and gazing up at Griffith uncaring.
"She'll return, the girl is foolish but not stupid. As much as she defies you, she knows her future is with the academy." She assured Griffith, raising from the couch lined with red velvet cushions and a gleaming golden frame.
She strode across the room, her tall red high heels clacking on the polished mahogany floor. Still with the same apathetic stare, she flung her arms around Griffith's broad shoulders and leaned against his chest. His angry gaze seeming to soften as she did.
"Save your anger dear, no need to waste it on that girl." She whispered, brushing the shaved sides of Griffith's head with her hand, "when there are things where that energy might be better spent." She added with a soft, insinuating whisper before kissing Griffith gently.
A stern, dominant look formed on Griffith's face. His jaw clenched and roughly he took a handful of the woman's dark black hair. Aggressively he kissed her, forcing a smirk to cross her face. Just as his hand reached down, firmly slapping and grasping her ass a knock interrupted them. Annoyed, Griffith pulled away and glared at the huge set of double wooden doors at the end of his office.
"What?!" He barked, releasing the woman's ass but pulling her close to his chest.
A small, elderly man in a tidy and orderly suit stepped through the doors gracefully. He bowed his head respectfully at them, keeping half his body behind the door.
"Mr Yomato… oh, and Mrs Yomato." He said with a pause, nodding apologetically to them, "your brother, Tiberius has arrived with news from his assignment." The elderly butler explained, keeping his gaze at the floor.
Griffith clicked his tongue and released his wife from his grasp, her smirk gone now replaced with a frustrated scowl.
"Bring him in." Griffith ordered before glancing down at his wife, "Andrea, leave us this doesn't concern you." He muttered, looking back up at the door with a cold stare.
Andrea huffed and made her way across the room to the door. As she did Tiberius, with the same piercing grey eyes as Griffith entered, a savage looking Arcanine, the Fire Wolf Pokémon at his side. The Arcanine was muzzled, his thick golden mane matted and dirty. The orange and black stripes across his body caked in mud and filth. As he saw Griffith and Andrea his eyes bulged and he pulled at the tight leash in Tiberius's grasp. His mouth frothing with flame as he barked and growled. Neither flinched, instead Griffith patiently waited by his desk while Andrea eyed Tiberius with an intrigued look as she passed by him. Glancing over her shoulder as she disappeared through the doors, along with their elderly butler.
"Brother! It has been too long!" Tiberius exclaimed as the brother's hands clasped together for a firm shake.
Griffith nodded acknowledgingly, gazing down at the Arcanine with a disgusted look.
"Why is that beast not in it's pokéball?" He asked as he rounded his desk and sat on his large, black leather seat.
Tiberius's face turned stern and he pulled out the chair on his side of the desk. He glanced back before answering, ensuring they were alone.
"It's another of his pokémon, the ball this one's paired too was no where to be seen." Tiberius explained in a hushed voice as he sat down, kicking Arcanine savagely as the pokémon tried to lunge forward.
Arcanine whimpered and pulled back, still snarling at Griffith. Griffith sighed thoughtfully and stroked his braid. The specks in his eyes seemed to dull as he pondered this new information.
"What is that boy up to? Releasing strong pokémon like this, it makes no sense." He muttered to himself, "any sign of him?" Griffith asked.
Tiberius shook his head, his long unkempt black hair shaking as he did.
"Same as always, any tracks lead nowhere or were made to throw me off the trail." He reported gruffly, clicking his teeth with frustration, "but the carnage his pokémon leave behind is clear as day, mountainsides cleaved clean, lakes turned to craters and woods cleared for miles and miles. To think a boy no older than John or Leia could train such pokémon..." Tiberius marvelled, glancing over at the long line of portraits.
Griffith nodded with reluctant agreement and rose from his seat, a smile forming on his face.
"You've done well brother, come let's indulge and have some fun before you leave. God knows I need it nowadays!" Griffith roared with enthusiasm, rounding the desk and gripping his brother's shoulder tightly.
Tiberius smirked wildly and returned the grasp, placing his free hand on Griffith's shoulder.
"Sounds like a plan brother," He agreed, "however this is one more thing." He added with a touch of seriousness.
Griffith's face stiffened and gazed curiously at Tiberius.
"The forests were on fire when we arrived, typical it's not the first time he's done that but this fire brother..." Tiberius paused with a grim look, "this fire was large, larger than any I'd ever seen. Ancient oak trees with trunks big enough to house us both and taller than any tower in Saffron were reduced to nothing but ash. Fields and fields of ash for as far as the eye could see." Griffith breathed a long, slow breath as he took in Tiberius's words.
He said nothing but nodded before releasing Tiberius's shoulder and pacing across the room towards the door. His strides thundering as he gazed thoughtfully ahead with a grim look.
Dratini lay on a small wooden table, curled into a tight spiral as he basked in the warm rising sun shining through the small window above him. His deep purple eyes gazing at Abby as she slept, still in her loose shirt and worn denim shorts. As her eyes fluttered open and she groggily lifted her head, Dratini looked away. Abby sat up, rubbing her eyes and brushing her wild messy auburn hair from her face. With a stumble and yawn she crossed the room to where Dratini was, kneeling down beside his table.
"Morning Dratini, you sleep well?" She asked sleepily, her eyes droopy.
Dratini glanced at her, narrowed his gaze and tucked his head into his curled body away from her. Abby giggled and lightly stroked his body with her index finger, watching him with a gentle smile.
"Well, rest while you can. When my father sees you, it'll be anything but calm." Abby sighed, forcing herself to get up.
Desperately she just wanted to spend her last few days in Cerulean with Joy and the other pokésexuals but she knew if she did her father would send rangers looking for her. Staying the night, was pushing it as it is. A scowl crossed her face as she fetched an apple from the small fridge in the public housing apartment. Most likely Pete would be home by now, someone she scarcely wanted to see right now. In fact she'd rather speak to the snarky twins or uncaring mother, maybe even her father's new wife. The thought made her queasy, the tradition of men in her family marrying multiple women unnerved her. Not once had she seen a woman with two husbands, she hated the hypocrisy. Abby shook her head, not wanting to dwell on the disturbing acts rangers engaged with. With a sigh she stretched out her stiff body, feeling as her joints popped and loosened.
"Come on Dratini, let's get this over with." She said dimly, holding out her arm for him.
Dratini raised his head and gazed at her outstretched arm, considering it. His eyes raised to meet hers with an inquisitive gaze. He stared at her and as he saw the reluctance clear as day in her expression, he slithered onto her hand. Coiling around her upper arm and resting his head on her shoulder, slumping down with a bored look. Abby smiled widely as Dratini accepted her arm and with a spring in her step made her way down the hall towards the pokémon centre lobby. She burst through the doors excitedly, turning expectedly to the front desk expecting Nurse Joy to be behind it. Instead, her brow furrowed as she was met with Chansey's dumb smile. Dratini snickered as he watched her face drop, glancing knowingly at the set of double doors leading to the pokémon habitats. With a disappointed frown Abby made her way out of the Pokémon Centre and into the town center. Scurrying back and forth, stall owners hurried to stock their areas with good before the rush of customers came surging in. She weaved through them, craning her neck to see the gym hoping to see it's leader Misty but again to her disappointment Misty was nowhere to be seen. With no distractions to delay her from going home, Abby reluctantly exited the centre and made her way down the Cerulean's main road. As she did, Dratini caught the eyes of passerbys, inciting curious whispers and gossip to hiss around her. Dratini grimaced at the attention and considered Abby's thick, messy nest of hair. With a reluctant roll of his eyes, he nestled inside hiding his head from the curious gaze of passerbys.
Eventually, Abby split off the main path and made her way through a vast field with a small straight dirt path, widened slightly after last night's festival. The rolling hills of grass and the sandy shores of Cerulean River came into view, void of tents but the foot traffic of the festival had left a muddy patch of dirt. Reminding Abby of it's presence and disturbing the otherwise beautiful scenery. Abby scowled seeing it, clicking her tongue and turning away from it. Dratini poked his head from her hair and watched her face with an intrigued sneer. The path began to widen and fortify, now laid with gravel as the wild and unkempt grass became uniform and short. Gardeners, hunched over and working hard could be seen dotting the expansive front yard of the Yomato property. At the end of the property stood a grand house made of dark wood, standing three stories high with countless windows. Balconies, adorned with golden railings lined the upper floors and cresting the whole building was a large sign. The gold, white and blue of the Pokémon Ranger's official crest. Dratini gazed at the spectacular building with wonder, his eyes sparkling as it only got bigger as Abby approached. As she made her way up the stairs to the front door, she saw two figures in the window move with unison. Abby sighed, knowing what was about to happen.
"You're in sooo much trouble!" A snarky voice exclaimed.
"Sooo much trouble!" Another agreed in the same snarky tone.
The voices erupted from the house as the front door flung open, revealing John and Leia. They looked down at Abby with smug looks, still wearing the same matching and impeccable red uniforms as yesterday. However, as she approached their grey eyes flecked with red widened and their stiff smug stances wavered as they saw Dratini. Dratini leered at them with a disgusted look, not even taking the time to analyse them. He spat a spark of yellow electricity at John, singeing one of his ribbons. Abby's mouth gaped open in elated shock as she saw John panic and swat wildly at his ribbon as it smoked. Leia took no notice and instead, took a step back from Abby.
"A- A dragon?" She asked in disbelief, gawking at Dratini like he was an alien.
John, sure his ribbon wouldn't burn now, stepped forward with an angered look.
"Father won't let you keep that monster, he'll have it shipped away where you can never see it again!" He said with a wavering confidence as the slightest movement from Dratini made his eyes dart to him and his lips quiver.
Dratini, turned to see Abby's reaction to all this and found himself smirking as he saw her angry scowl.
"Shut up, Father's not a god. This is my pokémon, no matter what he thinks." She snapped at John and glared at a still shocked Leia.
Before he could rebut, Abby pushed past John and made her way down the hall towards her father's office. As she reached for the handle a voice stopped her.
"He's not here, he's out the back with Tiberius." Abby turned to see her mother, scornfully scowling at her with a look like she had found pokémon droppings in her bed.
She approached Abby and reached out at Dratini, her long purple finger nail scratching him along the top of his head. She rolled her eyes and towered over Abby with a disapproving look, not as tall as Nurse Joy but still she stood a head over her. Her long, blonde hair hung in front of Abby's face as it covered her mother's eye. Saving her from the piercing gaze of both eyes, still one remained to stare hatefully at Abby.
"So you got your wish did you? You think your dreams are going to come true and your little life will be perfect now?" She asked with a sneer, grasping Abby's cheek with her hand tightly.
Abby shook her off and tried to push past her but her mother grabbed her shoulder and roughly slammed Abby into the wall, making her wince with pain. Dratini did nothing but stare at the woman with disgust still but with an underlying intrigue. Abby's mother pushed her face right up to Abby's, bending over to do so.
"It won't, girl." She seethed, "you'll go to that god forsaken school, learn about identifying Pidgey shit and the mating rituals of Butterfree for three long years. Then your father will ship you off to some remote outpost with a bunch of sweaty men, where I won't have to see your filthy face or hear your whines of being a dragon tamer ever again." She hissed spitefully, digging her nails into Abby as she did.
Abby smiled at the last part, her mother making her aware of something that she hadn't properly considered until now. She wouldn't see her, not for a while at least. Abby smirked, making her mother all the more angry but before she could lash out Abby pushed her off.
"and you'll grow old and ugly while father fucks his new younger wives one by one as they trickle in to replace you!" She yelled, watching with great satisfaction as her mother's face dropped with shock.
Abby pushed past her, leaving her shaking with anger. Dratini smiled widely and gazed down at Abby with a look he hadn't given her yet. A look of fascination. Abby, feeling empowered barged through the house past bewildered looking butlers and maids who had heard the conversation between them. She pushed open the back door and looked out at their vast back yard, a field of partially unkempt grass lined by the thick trees of Cerulean Forest. Out in the field her father, Griffith and her uncle Tiberius took turns throwing stones into the trees. Causing clouds of Pidgey to shoot up from them. As the Pidgey fled they whipped handles in their hands, golden strings shooting from them and forming lassos around the Pidgey as they fled. The strings tightened and dragged the Pidgey back into their hands. As the Pidgey struggled and writhed in their grasp, the men's large hands swiftly broke their neck and tossed their stiff body into their respective piles. Abby grimaced at the sight but still continued towards them, it wasn't as if she hadn't seen them do this before. She hated it though, now knowing what Nurse Joy had told her about pokémon when she was younger. How they felt and thought just like humans. The piles of corpses made her sick to her stomach. Griffith noticed her approach and his happy, joyful smile swiftly faded.
"You're pushing your luck girl," he began but stopped as his eyes fell upon Dratini.
Griffith's gaze matched Dratini's as they intently stared at one another, Griffith's full of anger while Dratini's was analytical and curious.
"Don't play games with me girl, you know perfectly well what pokémon are useful for a ranger. The centre has plenty of them. I will not accept you having this pokémon!" He bellowed, the flecks in his eyes seeming to glow with fury.
Abby, high with confidence from before stood her ground and held out the adoption form.
"Cry about it all you want dad, you've already signed off on it. He's mine, no one can change that now except me!" She exclaimed, grinning wildly at Griffith.
Griffith snatched the form from her hands and read it angrily. Dratini looked at the form with an unamused look, dismissively huffing as he sneered at it. Griffith crunched the form with frustration as he glared at Abby.
"A dragon is an unruly and defiant beast Abby, not a pet and certainly not a reliable tool for ranging. What will this Dratini offer you in the field? He has no great sense of smell, no sharp eyes that penetrate the night, no wings to soar above the trees. All he has Abby, is power. Power that those pitiful trainers abuse for their own use. A human has no real use for a dragon Abby, they only serve to stroke the egos of narcissists." He spat in a hushed, cold voice.
His words made Dratini smile, a look of respect seeming to appear on his face as he looked up at Griffith. Tiberius was at Griffith's side now, scowling at Dratini but knew to stay silent in this matter. Abby chose to ignore her father's spiteful words as she so often did.
"I don't care. He's my starting pokémon, no matter what you say. I don't care if he's not useful for ranging. He's more to me than a tool." Abby declared, defensively posturing Dratini away from Griffith.
Griffith paused and for a brief moment he looked down at his daughter with a mournful expression, quickly though he twisted it back into anger. As he did Dratini's look of respect disappeared and as Griffith in a blind fury grabbed for Dratini. Dratini perched up, standing tall on Abby's shoulder. His tail squeezed her arm tight and his eyes flared with a deep purple flame. He shot a powerful bolt of dark purple lightning at Griffith's hand, making him howl with pain and recoil. Tiberius stepped forward with an angry glare.
"Control your dragon Abby he-" He began but Dratini shot a ball of purple energy from his mouth at Tiberius, exploding against his chest and knocking him to the ground.
Abby stared down at her father and uncle in a shocked panic. Without thinking, she ran. Abby ran as fast as she could, fear coursing through her body. Dratini looked back as she ran with a satisfied smirk, thin smoke leaking from his mouth. Angry shouts followed them up the hills, calling her name. A mixture of anger and concern in them but they didn't stop Abby. She kept running and running until her chest felt like a pokémon had breathed fire down her throat. With heaving, scared pants she collapsed at the base of her secret tree. Where she always went to escape from her family. Dratini, slithering off her, looked up at the tree with a look of recognition. He glanced back at Abby and back at the tree, nodding knowingly. Abby with tears in her eyes and panic in her voice lifted her head.
"You stupid pokémon! Why would you do that?! Now they're going to take you away for sure! You attacked a human, my father no less!" She shouted angrily at Dratini, a flood of emotions surging through her.
Dratini hissed at her, glaring at her with a frustrated anger. Abby clenched her fists and raised to her feet.
"What?!" She dared Dratini, taking angry steps towards him, "what do you want from me?! You want me to get angry?! Well I'm angry now! Angry at you!" Her words had no impact on Dratini.
He turned his head from her, unconvinced.
Abby, clenched her jaw but found herself at her limit. No matter how angry she tried to make herself, she couldn't get any angrier. She thought of her mother, nothing. She thought of her smug siblings, nothing. She thought of the dead Pidgey, nothing. She thought of Pete and, that's when the anger flooded from her and she realised what she actually felt. A deep wallowing sadness. Abby sat against the trees, buried her face between her knees and began to cry. At first a sniffle, then a whimper and then it all poured out at once. Uncontrollably she sobbed, tears staining the dirt beneath her. Dratini turned slowly, sceptically gazing at her. However, he soon smiled and slithered up to her. He coiled around her arm and lay his head next to hers on her shoulder, gazing up at her with the same respectful look he had given Griffith.. He poked his forked tongue out and flicked it across her cheek, keeping watch out over the vast fields as Abby cried.