Chapter 26: The Clan Blackthorn
A/N: With this chapter come some major milestones for this story. Today (Jun 17th) Tale of a Legend is 5 years old. In recognizing this, I have to acknowledge that a good chunk of that time was sparsely populated with chapters while I lost the drive to write and had the rest of my time taken up working. Still. It's 5 years, and we've also crossed 250,000 words. A quarter of a million. There's been a surge in views, favorites, and follows in the last few weeks, and its warmed my heart. I love it when you guys review, or follow or favorite and let me know that you enjoy this. There's so much more to come from this story now, and I plan to make it happen, so I hope you all enjoy this. Also, if you catch the ATLA references in the last chapter and this one, bonus points. As always R&R,
Alfa19
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New Bark Town, December 21st, 2004…
I climbed out from under my blanket and ran down the stairs excitedly. The snowstorm outside had been brewing for the past few nights, and it was snowing like anything outside. The fairy lights strung up around people's houses for the winter solstice were twinkling through the snowflakes. Darkness still encompassed the entire town as dawn approached, but the warmth of the small lights equaled that of any burning fireplace.
I sat by the window in my sweater with too-long sleeves, both my hands bundled up in Mareep wool as I looked out the window, watching the snowflakes fall. A lone Delibird walked across the streets and I sat up in delight, holding my hands up against the glass as I watched it waddle along, delivering odd packages.
"What are you doing sitting here this early in the morning sport?" I turned around to see my dad walking down the stairs sleepily, a glass of water in his hands. His short black hair was tousled, like he had been tossing and turning in bed.
"I was watching the snowflakes and then I saw a Delibird dad!" I replied cheerfully, looking out at the window again.
"Think you want to try going back to bed?" he smiled from behind the kitchen sink as he filled his glass with water to drink.
"But it's pretty outside!" I whined, looking back at him. He stopped for a moment and looked at me with a hand under his chin before smiling.
"Alright. How about I make some hot cocoa and sit with you?" He pulled two mugs out of a cupboard as I nodded vigorously, making quick work of some packaged mix and placing a mug down in front of me. Two lightly toasted marshmallows floated up to the surface as I picked it up, blowing on it repeatedly before I even tried to take a sip.
He came up from behind me and draped a blanket over the both of us, sitting down with me by the window as I stared outside. The lone Delibird had been joined by two others, fluttering their wings and waddling about through the snowstorm as they delivered mail.
"Dad don't Delibirds feel cold?" I looked up to him as he lifted me up and put me down on one of his legs, holding me lightly.
"Well kiddo, Delibird are ice types. They like living in the cold. It's part of why they're so good at their job out here. They wouldn't like it much over in Hoenn. It doesn't get very cold there."
"What's it like in Hoenn?"
"Well, I don't know too much about it other than its warm and there's a lot of ocean and islands." He looked out of the window. "They have a real big volcano out there."
"Woaaaah. That's so cool! Where have you gone?"
"Well, I can tell you about Unova." My dad scratched his chin for a minute, yawning as he did so. "It's a lot closer than Hoenn, but its super different from Johto. They don't keep the old style in their buildings much like we do here."
"So, it's like Goldenrod?" I asked with wide eyes.
"A bit. Their big cities are way bigger than Goldenrod."
"Bigger than Goldenrod!?" I cried out, looking at him with amazement.
"Let's keep it down a little bit Ethan, your mom's still sleeping. But yes, they're bigger than Goldenrod. This big city called Nimbasa has an entire pier that's just an amusement park. There's a Ferris wheel there, and a rollercoaster, and all sorts of rides. They've got huge sports stadiums and an entire battling arena in the middle of a train station in the center of town. And some of their cities are filled with skyscrapers so tall you can barely see the top if you lie flat on the street and look up. They could be a hundred stories tall."
"Cool! Is all of Unova this new?"
"Well, they try to work around the old stuff to keep some of it around. Lacunosa Town up in the North of Unova isn't super old, but they've kept the same structure. It's a city made of walls and bridges, and it's quite fun to walk around. They've got some old towers and monuments, and there's an entire ancient castle in the middle of the desert they're working on excavating. And the Unova League is old."
"What does it look like?" I asked with awe, trying to picture something like the Modern Indigo Plateau League building.
"It's on the other side of a mountain range. The Unovan Victory Road goes through the mountains and the cliffs, and you when you finally emerge on the other side, there's hundreds of stairs carved into the mountains that you have to climb to get over to the other side."
"In the mountain? How big are they? Are they like the stairs here, or the stairs at Grandma's house?"
"Oh no kiddo." My dad chuckled, looking at me with a smile. "These stairs are wider than this house. They're as wide as the mountain pass, and then you cross up to the next plateau to find the Unova League. There's an old watchtower keeping an eye over the gates, and beyond that you see the building. It's part of the mountainside as well. The entire front chamber is open, with pillars holding up the roof, and the ceiling is four stories high. The Elite Four have their chambers there, and supposedly when you beat them, you get access to another set of hundreds of stairs that lead to the top of the mountain, where the Champion's hall is."
"Woaaaaah." I stopped and sat quietly for a moment, watching the snowstorm slowly settle down as the sun started to come up.
"Dad, I wanna be a Pokemon trainer when I get bigger, like you."
"That sounds like a plan kiddo. You'll do great."
"When can I start? Next year."
"Hahaha, sorry Ethan, but you'll have to wait a bit longer because of the rules." He ruffled my hair, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"In the meantime, you can play with Phloe and Typhlosion, and the rest of the lot. You can learn things, and plan for your journey."
"Nick, Ethan, what are you two doing up?" My mother walked down the steps slowly as the sun started to pour through the windows.
"We were watching the Delibird mom!" I turned around excitedly, pumping my fist into the air. "I'm gonna be a Pokemon trainer, like Dad was!"
"That sounds nice sweetie." She looked around with a tired smile as Lucy came running down the stairs to her. "I think I'll get started on breakfast."
"Dad do you think I can take on Pryce?" I turned towards him again, looking up at his gold eyes.
"Sure kiddo."
"What about those dragon trainers in Blackthorn. Everyone has trouble with them. They're super tough!"
"Don't worry Ethan. You train hard, and I'm sure you'll give them a run for their money." My dad smiled and ruffled my hair again, standing up. "Now come on, let's go help your mom with breakfast."
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A massive flash dominated the field as the thick, heavy, serpentine body of a Gyarados formed on the platform, coiled up. Its scales were tough and worn in places, but the beast's demeanor was just as fresh and angry as that of any other of its species.
I looked the beast up and down, evaluating my options for how to proceed from here. Gyarados was the only Pokemon on Clair's team which's categorical typing didn't actually include dragon, for all its draconic abilities, and that was something I needed to play well. Dragons were resistant to the vast majority of types, so managing how I split my Pokemon would be crucial. Typhlosion was out. While dragons were resistant to fire, so were water types, and Gyarados would knock Typhlosion out much faster than a dragon type.
Specter, Knight, Lucario and Samurott remained. Samurott would be invaluable against the dragons in this battle, as would Knight. That meant it was down to Specter and Lucario.
"Specter! You're up!" I tossed the ghost type's pokeball out, releasing it onto the field. For the effect of it, the Gengar's outpouring of shining energy from its pokeball was inky black instead as it pooled on the ground, dispersing into the odd shadows cast everywhere by the boulders in the dim glow of the lava. Black ink bled out of them until one pool was left where I had originally aimed the pokeball. Pointed ears slowly formed from it, followed by devilish red eyes and a demonic grin full of sharp teeth as the rest of Specter's body took form.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Protect!" Clair's barked order resulted in a silvery shield springing up in Thunderbolt's path, absorbing the attack. The surface of the clear shield sparked with electricity as the thunderbolt crackled, trying to break its way through before ultimately giving out.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Go!" Specter melted away into the shadows again, disappearing from sight as it bounced around the arena out of sight. Making use of the landscape around me. A basic drill Steven had run me through more times than I could count.
"Surf!"
"Go! Thunderbolt!" Specter leaped out of a Shadow behind Gyarados with a feral grin as the water type flooded the arena with wave of scalding water. Up in the air, Specter avoided the crashing waves and blasted a thunderbolt up close into Gyarados's back, slamming it with everything it could muster.
The titanic beast writhed in place as steam rose all around from the quickly evaporating and boiling water over the magma.
"Energy Ball!" Specter's hands came to its front as it held them out and charged an orb of green energy, sending it rocketing into Gyarados's back.
To add insult to injury, the Gengar stuck its tongue out as the attack hit, leaving a scorch mark between Gyarados's fins. The great serpent turned around, eyes alight with fire as it roared in defiance. Specter merely waggled its finger at the water type and danced around the air again as it watched.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Go!" Gyarados unleashed a wave of dark energy, its eyes dimming for a moment as it did so and the wave of black energy slammed into Specter as it tried to duck into the shadows again.
"Waterfall!"
"Thunderbolt!" I cried out in retaliation, watching Specter blast the bolt of lightning through the oncoming water attack before diving back into the shadows. The spray helped the bolt bridge the gap to the water type, catching it head on as it tried its absolute best to avoid the bolt of electricity.
When Specter emerged from the shadows, it was thoroughly soaked and frowning. It reached up to the hair like tuft on its head and grabbed it, wringing it out in an almost comical fashion before scolding Gyarados with another finger waggle and a frown.
"Dragon Dance!"
"Hypnosis!" I shouted immediately, trying to counter Clair's move before she managed to pull it off, watching intently as Specter set to work. The large Serpent's body began to sway hypnotically as a shimmering red haze surrounded it.
Specter's hands were outstretched and its eyes were overtaken entirely by a pinkish red glow as it caught ahold of the Gyarados's gaze, fixating it with the tranquilizing energy of Hypnosis. The swaying motion ground to a halt slowly, although the red haze remained, before Gyarados's lower back gave out and the serpent came crashing to the ground, upsetting the arena platform and sending waves throughout the magma as it fell asleep.
"Night Shade!" Specter obliged, the strain visible on its face as it engulfed Gyarados in a sphere of dark, shimmering violet energy.
"Sleep Talk!" Before I realized what was about to happen, a Hydro Pump punched through the bubble of energy that was Night Shade and slammed into Specter, shredding its form into gasses.
"Go!" I watched the vapors dissipate in the air as Clair smirked at me, before frowning as she tried to track down Gengar. Seeing it as a futile exercise, she turned her attention back to Gyarados.
"Dragon Dance!"
I felt the temperature drop behind me and I nodded to myself when the heat settled in again, watching the shadows carefully.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Dragon Pulse!" The two attacks expended some of their own energy grappling with each other's gravity as they hurtled towards their respective targets. The Thunderbolt made contact first as Specter let go and tried to dive to the side, taking a blow to the side from the overpowered Dragon Pulse, falling into the shadows again to catch its breath.
The great serpent on the platform froze as the bolt arced through its body and into the platform, slowly collapsing to the ground again as its body gave out, properly this time.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! The challenger may not recall their Pokemon at the given moment!" I heard the receptionists voice over the PA as a screen off to the side of the room flickered to life, showing the status of the battle between the two of us.
"Not bad. But then Lance wouldn't have said anything if you were just an ordinary trainer, would he?" Clair called out from the other side of the burning lake as she recalled Gyarados.
I stopped for a second before replying, thinking about how I wanted to take this. I could just stay silent. Or I could acknowledge the fact that I hadn't honestly expected Lance to say something…. Or I could play her game.
"I mean to be fair, its common courtesy to give someone advance warning before you come and wipe the floor with them. It was very kind of Lance to deliver the message personally." I replied, grinning broadly and sweeping my arms out.
Clair's smirk melted into a tightly closed set of lips as she eyed the field and ran a hand over the tray of pokeballs sitting on her throne.
"Alright. Since you're so keen for a thrashing, I'll give you one! Altaria!" Clair tossed out the pokeball and the blue cloud like Pokémon took to the field, flapping its soft wings a few times as it surveyed the arena for its opponent. "It's in the shadows Tari!"
The majestic dragon looked quite like Drake's, but much younger and less experienced. Undoubtedly, Tari was a menace to fight, but Drake's Altaria was on another level. I had never had the opportunity to challenge him aboard the ship. To be fair, only the senior-most officers had, but aboard the ship he had only used two of his Pokemon in battle. One had been his Flygon, and absolute beast to challenge. The other one had been Altaria.
Tari's cloud like wings and fur surrounded most of its blue mid-body, with its neck extending up out of its, and its clawed feet visible below. It let out a soft trill as it surveyed the field, watching for an opponent hiding anywhere.
"Dragon Dance!"
"Hypnosis!"
Specter melted out of the shadows, locking eyes with Tari and engaging it in Hypnosis, Tari's dragon dance was much faster than Gyarados's. Over in a second, the blue dragon's red haze had settled into its body before it crashed to the ground, falling asleep.
"Sleep Talk! You think I haven't figured out that trick by now?" Clair taunted from the other side of the room as Specter melted back into the shadows, narrowly avoiding the Dragon Breath the sleeping avian was spewing out into the arena.
"I know you have. Nightmare!"
Specter in Altaria's shadow, taking hold of the dragon's mind with a menacing grin. Malevolent, violet energy oozed out of the ghost type and into Altaria as it thrashed in its sleep, trying to grapple with the violent nightmare it was entrapped in.
"Sleep Talk!"
"Sleep Talk doesn't work with Nightmare!" I taunted back, silently hoping that Specter would be able to hold the attack just a little bit longer. Nightmare wasn't one of the moves we had quite gotten the hang of perfectly, but for the effort the ghost type was putting in, it seemed to be working.
"Tari!" Clair's voice cut across the arena as Specter's hold on Altaria broke, leaving the ghost exhausted from the effort of it. "Flamethrower!"
The blue bird-dragon's eyes snapped open with such vigor that I shuddered, too late to call Specter out to move out of the way of the fire attack. The flames washed over it, ripping its corporeal form to shreds as it disappeared once more, this time until the end of the battle.
"Gengar is unable to battle. Challenger, release your next Pokemon!" The receptionists voice rang out over the stadium as Clair frowned, gesturing for her to stop and let the battle just happen.
"Return!" I looked at Altaria, taking in its condition and its stance. Nightmare seemed to have done some good damage for the training we had done with it. It wasn't enough though.
"Flamethrower!" I tossed Typhlosion's pokeball out. This was one battlefield it wouldn't mind, especially after the frozen mess that was Pryce's domain. The fire type came out roaring, with a thick stream of flames washing over Altaria before the dragon had time to react.
Where a normal flamethrower might have stopped after a moment or two, Typhlosion kept pouring on burning hot flames to compensate for the typical draconic resistance to fire. It finally stopped after another minute. Tari was still standing on the other side, albeit highly irritated and severely burned. The cloud like coat all around it was singed like a marshmallow in various places.
Screeching like a demon, it took to the sky with incredible speed, flapping its wings and rocketing downwards right at Typhlosion with a white glow around its body and beak.
"Alpha two!" Typhlosion opened its maw and blasted another flamethrower directly at Altaria, watching the large bird swerve to avoid the attack as it continued its dive down from the peak height of the arena. It maintained the onslaught and kept forcing Tari to change its path as it made its way down, until it was almost at ground level, before letting it go.
As the blue dragon approached the ground and swooped, changing angle to rocket straight at Typhlosion once more, the ground beneath it erupted, completely crumbling apart as magma from the lake below blasted upwards and slammed into it. Eruption flung Tari into the air, lava falling all over its body and wings as it hurtled on, slamming into Typhlosion with severely lessened momentum.
The fire type bore the brunt of the attack, the focus of running both Flamethrower and Eruption having taken a bit too much time off its hands to dodge the attack.
"Perish Song!" Clair called out with a smirk, watching Altaria raise its head and open its beak to sing.
"Now!" Typhlosion blasted Lava Plume off its back and over itself, letting the soothing magma fall over it and dampen the sound as it roared. Paws in its ears, it did its utmost to drown out the sound of the Altaria's singing. Perish Song was a tricky move to evade. It worked extremely well. If a Pokemon heard it, they would get closer to collapse the harder they pushed themselves. Trying to prolong the effect meant you had to take it slow and easy, which left you open to alternate attacks. The only way around it was to not hear it in the first place. Knowing Clair's fondness for the attack, we had tried our best to come up with a way to avoid it.
"That won't work." Clair smirked, watching Typhlosion as Altaria stopped singing. "People have tried these kinds of things before."
"Alpha one!" Typhlosion roared its defiance, intensifying the light in the room with an attempt at Sunny Day. Tari leered at it as the fire type roared again, blasting a supercharged Solar beam right at it with all the ease of a flamethrower.
Weaving around it, the bird blasted a dragon pulse at Typhlosion, screeching as the fire type scampered away from the attack effortlessly.
"Phi!" Flamethrower followed quickly, harnessing the heat from sunny day and the magma lake around us to overwhelm Tari as its attack sprayed on. The bird screeched and blasted another Dragon Pulse out, this one catching Typhlosion out and striking it in the gut, ending the stream of flames.
"Eruption!" Typhlosion roared defiantly again, completely destroying the ground beneath Altaria as flames encompassed it and lava blew out upwards, falling all over the weakened dragon.
"Brave Bird!"
'So that's what that attack is!"
"Avoid it!" Typhlosion scampered out of the way of the incoming Altaria by a hair's width, watching it hurtle by straight towards me. It lashed out with a flamethrower as the dragon stopped a few feet away from me, crashing unceremoniously into the psychic barrier and slumping to the ground under the outwash of flames.
"Tari! Return!"
Clair looked at Typhlosion carefully, observing its ginger movements with a small smile as she pondered her next Pokemon, taking her time to decide which one to release.
"Please don't be Kingdra." I murmured to myself as I watched Typhlosion, worrying about the Perish Song from earlier.
Someone seemed to be on my side, as Clair tossed her pokeball out and released a Dragonair onto the field, letting it settle into place and coil up.
"This I can work with." I murmured to myself, watching Typhlosion carefully. It seemed to be a little short on energy, and on breath.
"Delta!" Typhlosion readied a focus blast, firing it without moving as Dragonair twisted its body to form a coil around the trajectory of the attack, letting it sail through harmlessly. The two weaker shots that followed forced Dragonair to twist its body further, making an odd knot of sorts as all three of the attacks were avoided by the Dragon.
From behind the cover of the Focus Blasts, Typhlosion charged up, slamming into Dragonair with Flame Charge and knocking the knotted-up serpent off the platform and to the lava. Unable to fly with its knotted-up body, Dragonair was frantically trying to unweave the knot as it fell to the lava below. A loud sizzling sound was audible as Dragonair flew back up to the battleground, a portion of its flank scorched by the lava it had briefly fallen onto.
"Do you actually let Pokemon fall into that? It's just irresponsible!" I frowned, looking over at Clair.
"If it can fly, or if it's a fire type, sort of. Otherwise a psychic safety net will catch it." Clair shrugged, looking slightly annoyed at herself. "If you can't take it, just back out."
I looked at her with narrowed eyes, watching Dragonair.
"Typhlosion! Flame Charge!" the fire type ran forward, leaping at Dragonair with a burning body in an effort to attack it.
The blue and white serpent twisted out of the way with an elegant grace, but was clipped on the tail by the burning Pokemon, setting part of its body alight with flames. The fire danced across its glittering scales, reflecting off of the light blue and sparkling. Typhlosion skittered to a halt, laying on the floor and panting as Dragonair turned around.
"Look at that thing! Perish Song almost has it done with!" Clair laughed as I focused on Typhlosion worriedly. "Dragonair, pick it up!"
The serpent obliged, wrapping its tail loosely around Typhlosion's midsection and bringing it close as it examined the collapsing fire type. It didn't look like it would hold out for long now.
"I told you. Nobody gets away with hiding from Perish Song." Clair tutted at me from across the field, shaking her head and smirking.
"I beg to differ." Dragonair was enveloped in a corona of fire and heat as Typhlosion perked up, unleashing Overheat up close and personal to the serpent, scorching its entire body while it had the chance to act up close.
The serpent crooned in pain, letting go of Typhlosion and flailing as the fire type poured out the heatwave and scampered away. When the fire died down, most of Dragonair's flanks were covered in burn marks, and little wisps of fire danced around its body.
"Surf!" Dragonair crooned angrily and summoned a massive wave of water, slamming it into Typhlosion and throwing the fire type back up to my platform.
"Good work buddy." I recalled the fallen fire type, looking at the severely injured dragon on the field.
"Lucario!" The aura Pokemon took its place, readying itself to fight immediately. Taking advantage of the non-verbal communication style we had, Lucario simply kept an ear on my mind, immediately lashing out with a Flash Cannon which Dragonair avoided.
Following swiftly, it ducked into a blue blur, using Extreme Speed to blast forward and slam its attacks into Dragonair, switching to Drain Punch once it was there and sending the serpent reeling while it was there.
"Dragon Tail!" Lucario leaped over the swinging tail and slammed an Iron Tail of its own into Dragonair's head, sending the great Pokémon to the ground and following it up with an Aura Sphere for good measure.
"Dragonair! Return!" Clair glared at me from the other side of the field, but it quickly turned into a devious grin.
"Haxorus!" a familiar looking green and black bipedal dragon took its place on the battlefield. This one's thick neck was plated in strong green scales, and its underbelly was covered with what I knew were especially flame-resistant black scales. The beast was almost as tall as Rhydon, and its tail was just as thick and strong, but even longer. It's axe-blade tusks were gleaming red along the edges, black closer to its mouth.
The Unovan dragon opened its mouth and roared in defiance, looking at Lucario like prey with its red eyes honing in on the target. I had definitely not expected that. I had really, definitely not expected that one coming. The flip side of it was, if there was any foreign dragon type, she had to bring into her team, it was better Haxorus than say a Garchomp. Equally as destructive and powerful as I well knew, but I just had more outright experience running away from a Haxorus.
This Haxorus didn't look as old or as big as Ben Day's Haxorus, but then not many were. To my understanding, it was his oldest Pokemon, and man was it a beast of a fighter. My mind flitted back to the Hoennian girl battling him in the Frontier League Conference with her Walrein and Sceptile.
'You know this is going to be difficult.' I reached out for Lucario, warning the fighting type with my eyes closed momentarily.
'Would we be here if it wasn't?' I could feel Lucario's heartbeat, fast and consistent, and the adrenaline coursing through its blood was almost tangible in the aura it was exuding.
'True. Let's give this thing hell.'
Lucario blasted a quick succession of Aura Sphere's forward, leaping out under their cover as Haxorus swung its glowing Dragon tail and batted all four blasts out of the way. Almost tripping over the thick, tree trunk like tail, Lucario caught a hold of it and used it to regain its own balance and propel itself at Haxorus with a glowing Drain Punch.
The attack made contact with Haxorus's back, but did little actually injure the dragon before Haxorus slammed a glowing silver tail into Lucario, sweeping along its own back and tossing the aura Pokemon to the side. With a sharp roar, it lowered its head and neck to almost ground level and charged Lucario, tusks glowing with Dragon Rush.
'Extremespeed!' Lucario propelled itself just a few feet upwards, over Haxorus's head, before slamming back into the base of its skull with a bone rush and forcing the dragon to hit the ground. To my extreme luck, this Haxorus either wasn't thinking as fast as Day's, or it just hadn't trained as much.
Another Dragon Tail slammed into Lucario and tossed it aside and into the barriers quickly. The dragon raised its head and charged Lucario again, forcing the aura Pokemon to flee and fight on the defensive as it lashed out repeatedly with Dragon Rush, using its axe blades to the fullest. A few of the strikes caught Lucario off, injuring the Aura Pokemon.
"Earthquake!"
Lucario leaped into the air and retaliated with an aura sphere, landing gracefully as the attack hit Haxorus, moving it back a few feet. Then the second earthquake struck, flinging Lucario high into the air as a Dragon Pulse blasted out and slammed into it, knocking it backwards and into the barriers.
'How bad is it?' I asked Lucario with a grimace, watching the lightly swaying Haxorus
'This isn't going to last much longer.' Lucario gritted its teeth and leaped forward with Extreme Speed, approaching Haxorus faster than I could blink and launching into an all-out assault with Close Combat.
Little of the fighting type was visible other than a vague blue blur as it rained hits down on the dragon, knocking its neck this way and that, striking it in the head, the belly and everywhere else it found opportunity before grinding to a halt out of exhaustion.
"Superpower!" Clair roared like her dragons, pointing at Lucario with a vindictive grin. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as Haxorus reared its head, thick muscles bulging in its neck and in its entire body. With its eyes focused on the target, the dragon slammed its head into Lucario with an orange glow and all the strength in its massive body, hurling the fighting type over the field and to my box to collapse.
"Return! You fought well Lucario." I looked at Haxorus, watching the dragon take the moment to catch its breath. We had done some damage, but there was still a ways to go with Haxorus.
"I can play the Unova game too." I called out, taking a breath as Clair narrowed her eyes and tossing out Samurott's pokeball. She examined Samurott for a moment before turning back to Haxorus, looking at the great dragon.
"Dragon Dance!"
"Ice Beam!" The freezing attack caught Haxorus out mid Dragon Dance and trapped its left side in an icy cold prison. Haxorus roared in pain as one of the dragon's few vulnerabilities was exposed, and Samurott growled with vindication as it pumped another Ice Beam out, striking the trapped dragon hard and freezing over the rest of its body slowly.
The outer layer of the ice had started to melt from the heat of the magma all around, and Samurott was ready, waiting for the block to melt through. Haxorus's tail twitched inside the ice, and its neck muscles bulged as the ice cracked. It moved its torso and open its maw just a tiny bit, pouring a thin stream of dragon fire out and melting through the ice. As the structure surrounding it weakened, it managed to crack through the rest of it, roaring at Samurott before charging.
"Hydro Pump!" Samurott blasted hundreds of gallons of water at the charging Haxorus, letting the attack strike it head on before attempting to evade at the last minute.
Haxorus's Dragon Rush missed entirely, but its tusk caught Samurott's leg, throwing it off balance and sending the water type tumbling head over heel to the edge of the arena. It rose carefully, moving closer to the inside of the ring as a little bit of blood leaked from the wound on its leg.
"Superpower!"
"Ice Beam!" Samurott blasted another freezing beam at Haxorus, slowing its attack and injuring it as the dragon charged Samurott, picking it up and tossing it back against the walls with every ounce of strength in its body. A psychic net caught the water type before it hit the magma, looping it back to the battlefield and letting it be.
Frost had seeped into the gaps between Haxorus's scales, and it was visible in its movements as it tried its hardest not to move so much, slowed down and injured by the brutal exposure to ice.
"Hydro Pump!" The hyper-pressurized water stream blasted out of Samurott's mouth and struck Haxorus, knocking the beast down as Samurott's injured leg gave out. I looked at it from afar, noticing the purple color spreading through its veins as it took the pressure off the injured leg. Poison Jab. I gritted my teeth, looking at the exhausted Haxorus with a grim frown.
"Finish this with Ice Beam!"
"Draco Meteor!" Samurott's ice beam took hold of Haxorus's body, freezing all over it and seeping into the open spaces between its plates even as it raised its head to the roof of the arena and charged the glowing indigo burst of energy. With one final push, it collapsed to the ground as the orb shot up into the air, bursting into a rain of small shots centered around one larger meteoric attack.
The fire rained down onto Samurott's back, the water type unable to move and avoid the attack due to its leg. Back buckling, Samurott gave out, falling out of consciousness as Clair recalled Haxorus. Pulling its pokeball out, I recalled it quickly, clipping it to my belt and picking out the last Pokemon I had for this battle. Haxorus had thrown a wrench into the works and taken out two of the team, but we could still do this.
"Lexi!" Clair's final Pokemon took to the field as some of the ground on her end gave way to reveal a pool of water big enough for it.
A regal air emanated from the Kingdra as it levitated above the pool of water momentarily, sinking halfway into it. Its blue tail was curled up in a thick swirl at the base of its cream-colored belly striping. Shimmering blue scales covered the rest of its body, and coral like protrusions bounded the white membrane of its fins. Two coral like horns protruded from its head, above its focused, red eyes. Its snout was narrow, designed to pull or push water with maximum pressure, with small fins underneath its jaw to sense currents and changes in the water.
"Knight!" Clair's grim smile turned into an ugly snarl as the Dragonite formed on the field, looking cheerfully at its opponent with a wave before getting serious about it.
"Lexi! Blizzard!" Clair snapped the command.
"Counter!" I watched, mesmerized as the Kingdra inhaled sharply through its snout, before exhaling a supercharged flurry of snow and ice directly at Knight, met in the middle with a flamethrower from the larger dragon. The heat from the surrounding magma played into our favor as the flames held ground against the ice type attack, defending Knight from its main weakness.
"Phi one!" Knight took to the air with a momentary extreme speed, using it to accelerate rapidly before dropping it. Carried over the field in a split second, it unleashed a thunderbolt onto Kingdra from above and circled around, returning to its original spot on the field as the water type dragon closed its eyes, bearing the painful attack silently.
"Hydro Pump!" Kingdra's pressurized attack was stronger than Samurott's had been, a true testament to the training Clair had put in with her Pokémon.
Knight closed its wings and arms over its front and bore the brunt of the attack, readying itself under the cover as it resisted the water type attack.
The minute the water type attack abated, Dragon Pulse scythed through the air and slammed into Kingdra's snout, knocking the water type backwards and submerging it in the pool as Knight roared and fired a thunderbolt at the water.
A Dragon Pulse met it midway, nullifying the attack and carrying on through as Knight tried to evade. The indigo blast of energy clipped it on the wing as it tried to dodge, flying off to the side.
"Lexi, Blizzard!" Another burst of frigid air and snow emerged from the pool, striking Knight hard as the great dragon landed.
"Dragon Pulse!" Knight retaliated with a shot through the blizzard, with true aim to strike the Kingdra and knock it out of the water and onto the solid part of the platform.
"Thunderbolt!" The electricity arced through the air, making contact with Lexi's protruding fins and leaving scorch marks all over them as it arced through the dragon's body.
"Dragon Dance!" Clair called out, pulling out her typical card as Kingdra hypnotically swayed and summoned the red haze, energizing its movements.
"Hyper Beam!" Knight inhaled and leaned back blasting the energy dense beam of white light right at Lexi. The Kingdra's eyes grew wide at the attack as it failed to move far enough out of the way in time, falling backwards off the arena before a psychic caught it and returned it to place.
On my side of the arena, Knight was taking the time penalty of using Hyper Beam, standing still to recover its energy. Clair seized the opportunity with both hands, pointing vindictively at us.
"Draco Meteor!"
"Come on Knight! Extreme Speed!" Knight stood still as Lexi charged up the typical indigo blue sphere of energy, snout pointed skyward, and fired it up. The meteor split into multiple, as had Haxorus's, and rained veritable hell down on the Dragonite as it bent low to try and take some of the damage on its back.
The hailstorm of attacks made contact, raining down hits on Knight as it finally moved itself, propelling itself off its haunches and into the Kingdra. Its bulky form carried the water type forward and slammed it into a boulder, dazing it as its head hit the rock.
"Dragon Tail!" Knight looked at Lexi with sheer determination before slamming its massive, heavy, glowing tail into the other dragon and destroying the boulder it was up against. The water type slumped to the ground as its levitation failed and collapsed, eyes closing.
I paused, looking carefully over at the screen to the side. Four grey icons and one active on my side. One. Two. Three, four… and five on Clair's.
Lexi disappeared in a flash of red light as Knight flew over to me, sitting down. I hugged the exhausted dragon excitedly, patting it on the head and smiling as I looked at it. Knight crooned appreciatively and gestured at my belt before closing its eyes. Hurriedly, I picked out its pokeball and withdrew it, turning to face Clair.
She was gone. The throne was empty, as was the entire battlefield. The blue haired trainer – quite easy to spot in a room full of magma and dark walls – was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, I turned around and walked over to the receptionist's desk.
"Excuse me, where did Clair go?" I asked confusedly, looking at the woman. She snapped out of her daze, looking at me with something akin to awe. I'm not going to lie, it was a little disconcerting.
"Oh. Um. I'm not quite sure." She gulped. "It's just that… no one really beats her, not with that team."
"Oh." I looked at her with a little bit of understanding. "Do you have the gym badge… or how do I get it now?"
"I'm don't have the badge, sorry. But I was told to give you this after your battle. I think it might help." She reached under her desk and pulled out an envelope made of stiff parchment. A deep violet wax seal with a dragon flying upwards held it closed, pressed in with a stamp.
"Thank you." I accepted the envelope from her and felt it. The parchment was real, not the kind that was a printout, and the wax was cool to the touch.
I carefully opened the seal and pulled the letter out. Embossed on the top of the paper, the letterhead, was the same seal, but in more discernable detail. The dragon's wings were spread and it flew upwards out of a grove of blackthorn bushes, roaring to the sky.
Dear Ethan,
The Clan Blackthorn invites you to join us at the Blackthorn Estate the evening of the 17th of January to dine with us as a friend of the clan. Please arrive at the estate gates promptly at six in the evening. We look forward to your company.
Elder Roku
|\/|~^-_-_-^-_-_-^~|\/|
Later the next evening…
I approached the massive, wrought iron gates at the end of the road with an eye on my watch. It was a few minutes before six, so I stopped and took a second to get a better look at the entire structure. From where I was standing, I could see the individual bars of the gates in much more detail, as well as the full crest of the Blackthorn Clan embossed on a circular plaque resting between the two sides. Massive stone walls bounded the sides of the gates, but the impression they cast was more of grandeur and heritage than of trying to keep out the masses. No spikes, crushed glass, or barbed wire sat atop them, but a small banking of indigo tiles for snow to run off. Square airholes were visible every few meters, with wooden slats in them to prevent anything from going through.
To my left and right stood two life sized statues of Dragonite, almost identical save for a few small details. The granite structures looked as though they had been painstakingly hewn from the same block of stone. One had slightly longer antennae and slightly smaller wings than the other. The individual marks across their hides, the scars and scales, everything was paid attention to in order to create the level of meticulous detail that decorated the statues.
The two watchtowers at either end of the wall stood strong, built up against the mountain faces. Each had an upper level open to all sides with a roof beneath it and a small smokestack. A bright fire was visible burning in each one, although I couldn't see anybody manning them at the moment.
I took a step backwards as I felt the ground tremble slightly, and before me the gates swung open smoothly, without a single creak or groan from the titanic weight their hinges supported. Looking down the way, the mountain pass narrowed drastically, from over a hundred meters to around hundred feet, closing in on me. The rock faces rose high on either side of me, but that wasn't the most impressive part. Clearly, I hadn't gotten a good view the last time I had looked down here from the road.
To either side of me, massive dragon sculptures lined the sides of the canyon. The heads lay at ground level, maws open as pairs of them stared across the paved path, looking at each other. Their jaws were easily big enough that I could walk into one of their mouths, and their gazes were angled slightly towards the road instead of directly across. Most were serpentine, but some looked were quadrupeds. Pillars with torches in them lined the path down, alight with indigo dragon-fire.
Up on either side of them ran a pathway carved into the mountainside, almost like someone had lain the rock flat against the ground and chiseled a line into it. Serpentine dragon statues had their bases coiled up inside the path and their heads and upper bodies protruded out, looking over the road from forty feet above.
I walked down the road quietly, looking at the statues with awe as I continued down. Eventually, I reached a raised platform, laid entirely from white stone bricks, with five steps in it. I climbed up it and stepped onto it, looking at the platform which now extended forty feet total to either side of the valley. Smaller bricks formed the marked pathway down the platform to the gatehouse ahead, lined on the sides by smaller statues than those I had previously seen.
To the left stood statues of men and women, standing strong and proud. Almost all of them were at least an inch taller than me, aside from the fact that they stood on pedestals. Strong features marked their faces. Sharp jawlines like Lance and Clair. Rough upstanding hair in most cases, along with thick eyebrows. Just as with the Dragonite statues, copious attention to detail had been exercised on these. Every mark, every line on the statues seemed lifelike.
To the right, staring back at the humans were a line of Pokemon. Several Dragonite, along with a few Kingdras. Each Pokemon stood proud on its pedestal, eyes focused on its counterpart on the other side of the path. The tiki torches continued along the line between the statues, but each torch on the human side burned with ordinary, red flames. Twenty statues in total marked the path up to the solid wooden doors of the gatehouse between the mountain walls.
I walked through the line of statues with my head down, approaching the doors set in the wall. The roof of this building was slanted to either side with an overhang to the front, all in the same indigo tiling as before. The walls were built of a similar white brick to the platform, and draconic carvings decorate the space above the dark oak doors. A pair of simple brass door knockers stood out, so I raised one and carefully rang it against the door three times.
This set of doors opened inwards, revealing a room with a deep red carpet and warm lighting against the cream walls. Standing inside were teenagers, not much younger than myself, holding the doors open. A girl and a boy, with reddish brown hair somewhat similar to Lance's. Two doors stood on either side of the room, and several suits of armor flanked the walls up to the open doorway ahead.
Standing in front of me was an older man in navy robes and sandals. His white hair and beard were both trimmed short, but still thick and full. His yellow eyes had kind wrinkles around them, but I could feel the hidden fire waiting to be unleashed behind them.
I bowed respectfully, glad I had chosen to dress more formally than usual. I wore a traveling cloak over the one shirt and set of formal trousers I had brought along for my journey.
"Elder. It is an honor to meet you."
"Rise Ethan Photon. There is no need to be so stiff and formal, although I must say I appreciate a young one who knows his manners. You may call me Roku, Elder, or Elder Roku."
"Thank you Elder." I rose and nodded respectfully at the two teenagers who manned the doors, taking a look as they shut them carefully. "I was humbled to have received your invitation."
"It is a good thing I'm past the point where I mind being reminded of my age." Roku laughed loudly and gestured towards the cabinets. "Please, hang up your cloak and join us inside."
I took of my cloak and the boy took it from me politely, entering one of the rooms and emerging without it. I followed the elder through the doorway into what I figured was the main house. We stood in an open verandah, overlooking a courtyard with an assortment of chairs and low tables. A bonfire burned bright in the center of it, and small fountains and pools decorated the massive space.
"Welcome to the Blackthorn Estate." Roku spread his arms out and gestured around as the two younger people vanished, indicating the courtyard and the entire vast expanse. "This is the central courtyard, where we congregate often. It is one of many scattered throughout the complex."
"How many people live here?" I looked down the corridor in awe, trying to grasp the scope of the entire place.
"Perhaps two hundred at most. There was a time when our numbers were larger, but there have also been times when we were fewer." He stopped and frowned, looking back at me. "I never properly introduced myself, did I? My name is Roku Blackthorn, and I am the standing Drake of the family. On behalf of the entire Blackthorn Clan, we are overjoyed you have accepted our invitation to join us here."
"Thank you Elder. I realize I have not properly introduced myself either." I bowed my head once more before looking up to meet the tall man's eyes. "My name is Ethan Photon, of Newbark Town."
"I promise, you don't need to be so formal the entire time Ethan." Roku smiled kindly, walking onwards slowly.
"Thank you. It's just a little hard to cast it all aside immediately." I admitted, walking with him down the corridors and through various courtyards. Some were grassy and open, where young children played, others were decorated with fountains and pools.
"It is good to see that your parents raised you as such. Some have difficulty with it." Roku chuckled, and I bit my tongue and held myself back from asking whether he was talking about Clair. I had gone back to the gym the next morning, and there was no sign of her, or a badge. I was happy enough beating her, but I kind of needed the physical badge to register for the Silver Conference.
"Most family's areas are scattered around the compound, mostly towards the east or the west." Roku indicated the corridors leading away to the depths of the complex. "We keep the central area entirely communal. There are courtyards all over, some grassy or decorated with trees, some for Pokemon to graze and for children to play. The empty ones, like such, are for battling."
I followed his gaze to an empty courtyard with a floor lain entirely of plain white stone with gold markings it. Various burn marks and cracks decorated the floor, almost blending into it. It seemed quite natural. We continued on throughout many more corridors and groves, looking through open doorways and libraries and studies. Countless people passed by us, addressing the Elder respectfully and nodding to me with a polite smile.
"We tend to dine together here, at least in the evenings." We stepped through another open doorway into a large open room with dinner tables of various shapes and sizes scattered across the room. Some were even low couches with almost floor level tables. A large table for thirty people seemed to have been relegated to the side of the room where it sat empty. A long window into a large kitchen defined one wall, while the others bore tapestries, paintings, one large TV, and lighting fixtures. A few chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the wood paneled room, casting light down.
Over a hundred people bustled about inside the room, finding places to talk and sit, grabbing food and drink from the main window by the kitchen. Hair colors ranged from dark brown to red like Lances within the family, making it easy to see who had married into the clan. I checked my watch to see how long we had been walking through the complex and my eyebrows shot up when I noticed it was seven forty-five.
"Blackthorns!" Roku called out loudly, clapping his hands once. Most of the noise died out as everyone turned to look at Roku. "Tonight, we have a guest with us. A friend of the clan, and a valiant trainer in his own right! Ethan Photon of New Bark Town joins us tonight, and we welcome him to the estate! Let us dine!"
A round of cheers rang out as everyone sat down. For the fact that almost everyone had been getting their food and drink already, I was surprised to realize that nobody had started yet.
"Come Ethan. Get some food and then sit with us." Roku gestured towards the kitchen line where most people had already stopped by and walked over, taking a plate. I followed his lead, taking reasonable portions of the fish, rice and soup, of the many things that had been prepared. Placing a glass of water on my wooden try along with the fine white china, chopsticks and a spoon, I made my way back to a table near the center of the room with him. He sat in the middle of the rectangular table for twelve on one side, gesturing to the opposite seat for me.
Hesitantly, I set my tray down there and sat down as several others joined us. To the Drake's right sat an older woman with her hair tied tightly into a bun. A few other men and women joined us, ranging in age from just younger than myself to middle aged.
"So, Ethan, I understand you challenged Clair at the Blackthorn Gym." The woman sitting to The Roku's right spoke up with a wry smile, casting a look at the empty seat at the end of the table.
"Yes, it was a very enjoyable battle. Definitely one of my most difficult so far." I nodded politely, and looked as I drank my soup.
"Not your most difficult?" The woman raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for my response. I stopped to think a moment before replying to her.
"No, not my most difficult battle. I've lost my fair few, and they've been pretty difficult ones. The battle with Clair was great, but I won."
"I like this one. Hot blooded." The woman smiled and leaned back in in her chair as Roku chuckled.
"Ethan, this is my wife, Yuki."
"I am honored to meet you." I bowed my head for a moment.
"This is Rena, my youngest granddaughter," He started from the left side of the table, gesturing at a girl with brown hair and yellow eyes, before moving along. "Jack and Eliza are just older. Kamui, Clair's father and my youngest son. Yua, my daughter and Lance's mother, Akari and Xavi, the twins, two more of my grandchildren."
"Nice to meet you all." I wiped my mouth with a napkin and nodded politely to each of them in turn. Xavi looked at me inquisitively, his brown hair all messed up.
"Which badge did you fight Clair for?" He asked, his eyes sharp as the other younger members of the discussion all turned towards me.
"My eighth, but I fought her team for one step up, for renewals."
"And you won?" Akari demanded, looking at me with something akin to awe.
"It was incredibly difficult, but yeah, I won." I smiled, turning towards Roku for a second. He seemed to read my mind as he held up a hand to stop me.
"Your badge is waiting for you. Clair is just… a tad unhappy about losing." A sheepish smile formed on Kamui's face as he looked over at me.
"She's probably more miffed because Lance mentioned you and you won." He sighed, shaking his head. "What to do with that girl, I never know."
"Now, Ethan, I understand you are staying at the Pokemon center?" Yuki looked at me harshly, her tone having changed all of a sudden.
"Yes, I tend to stay at them when I'm traveling." I replied carefully, looking at the woman.
"That won't do. As a friend of the Blackthorn Clan you will stay here." She turned towards Eliza. "Eliza, after dinner, send for Ethan's belongings at the Pokemon center and bring them here. Jack, find one of the ready rooms."
"I-I wouldn't want to impose." I stammered out, unsure of how to respond. "Really, I don't want to be a burden."
"Nonsense. You helped Lance deal with the Team Rocket menaces at the Lake of Rage and in Mahogany Town. No true friend of the Blackthorn Clan should be denied our hospitality. That's final."
Akari shook her head quietly at me and I gave up.
"Thank you for your kindness." I inclined my head and looked up. Akari nodded with a small smile, a strand of her red hair falling over her face.
"So, you hail from New Bark Town?" Yua asked me, engaging me in conversation.
"Yes, I grew up there." I responded, continuing on with the meal.
"That is not terribly far from here. It is closer than much of Johto to us." She smiled pleasantly as she spoke. "You are Nicholas's son yes?"
I looked up with surprise, meeting her yellow eyes. "Yes, I am."
"You look very much like him. I met him a few times. Once I was a diplomat, and I had run into him a few times when visiting the Indigo Plateau. He was a good man."
"Thank you." I lay down my chopsticks and my spoon, having finished my dinner.
"Come, let us head to the courtyard." Roku rose, and the others followed his lead. I collected my tray and took it to the kitchen windowsill with them, following back out to one of the open courtyards with torches and small fire pits ablaze. We settled down on an assortment of couches as some of the younger members of the clan placed small tables with deserts on them nearby. I took a small bowl and put some fruit in it, sitting back down with the rest of the group as we talked.
The sun had set overhead, and the stars were visible above the valley from where we sat. It was almost eight as it was, and while the cold had set in, the fires around us kept us warm. A few of the younger Blackthorns had brought out a bag of marshmallows and some roasting sticks. Xavi looked at my bowl of fruit and hid a snicker, handing me a stick and placing the bag on a small table in between everybody.
I joined in with the rest of them in roasting marshmallows, thought I did add a piece of fruit to the end the stick occasionally, sitting as everyone conversed.
"Elder, pardon my ignorance, but what does it mean to be the Drake of the clan? Are the two titles intertwined or is there something else that goes with it?" I asked politely, looking at the old man sitting across from the fire.
"A valid question my boy. In short, it means I serve the clan as our head. Externally, I am the public face of the clan, of all the families who live here." Roku stoked the fire from where he sat, tossing in a small log from a pile of tinder with ease. "There are other elders in the clan, typically a few to a family."
"The Drake is charged with the responsibility of defending the family, and upholding its interests first and foremost. That is everything from ensuring the schooling of our children is well purposed, and helping them along if it is not, overseeing the maintenance of the complex, and organizing and leading the defense of this complex if anything were to happen." His yellow eyes met mine from across the fire as he stroked his beard.
"A Drake does not have to be an elder, and ordinarily is not. The Elders advise and appoint the Drake, usually our best, our brightest, our strongest. Do you see the difficulty that would arise here?" He waited for me to reply. I thought about it for a moment as he sat patiently.
"Lance has to keep the interests of Indigo first." Roku smiled and nodded.
"Indeed, just as Clair must keep the interests of the city first if she is to be the Gym Leader of Blackthorn City. We gave governance of the city to its people, which does not exclude us, but may be any person whose roots lie in Blackthorn, under the structure of Gyms and elected officials brought in many years ago. I hold the reins of the Blackthorn Clan until either one of them steps down for their role and becomes a valid candidate for the position of Drake."
"I understand." I sat quietly and roasted marshmallows with the rest of the group as Yuki looked to the skies and then down at me.
"I understand you have raised a Dragonite?" she inquired, looking at me with great interest.
"Yes, but he joined me from my sister's crew when he was a Dragonair." I replied, smiling at the memory of that first battle with Knight in the warehouse in Nimbasa.
"A remarkable feat regardless. Our dragons seem to be taking to the sky about now. Perhaps yours would care to join them?"
"That would be amazing for her." I smiled and pulled Knight's pokeball off my belt holster as Akari whistled sharply thrice. A distant roar sounded from above, making me crane my neck to see what was happening. An orange blur appeared in the distance, rocketing towards the courtyard. As it neared, the Dragonite's shape and form became clearer, until it slowed almost to a standstill above the courtyard and landed next to the elder's wife.
"Gus! You have a new friend. Take him with you while you fly." She scratched the big Dragonite between its scales as it recoiled at the tickling sensation, trying to wave at me. I smiled and released Knight, watching him form with pride as he took to the ground, looking at Gus immediately.
"Knight, you can fly with Gus and some other Dragonite now if you want." I looked up at him and patted his flank as he immediately crooned and shot up with Gus, taking to the night sky.
"You've raised him well."
"Thank you. She's been a lovely member of the family since I met her." I grinned, looking over at them.
"Tell us about your journey. How did you meet Lance?" Jack and Eliza had returned, and the pair of siblings were quite curious about my journey.
"How old are you guys? I'm just curious? And how does training work within the Clan?"
"I'm fifteen and they're all sixteen." Jack gestured at the twins. "Kind of the same as the rest of the region. The clan respects the laws around training age, so we get a proper start around seventeen, but we're all familiar with dragons and with the clan Pokémon and the wild ones in the complex know us."
"Okay, so you have some time before you start training, if that's what you want to do." I leaned back in my seat as the adults listened on, intrigued by the children's questions.
"Well, I started off in Newbark Town a bit over a year ago when I was seventeen. It was a relatively uneventful few months until I started traveling during the summer. I went through Violet City, Azalea Town, and up to Goldenrod with some minor escapades and got the gym badges. I met Steven Stone in Goldenrod after an incident with a rampaging Tyranitar, and I went from there to Ecruteak. That was the first time I met Lance at all. I happened to be in the Burned Tower during an incident of sorts, and Steven took me with him when to discuss it afterwards. It wasn't a particularly long interaction."
"I imagine there's a lot more in that story." Yua smiled wryly, looking at me with a knowing eye. Of course, Lance's mother would know the goings on of Johto.
"Yes, but largely irrelevant. Well. I guess one bit of it wasn't. I got involved in the rescue of an old man Team Rocket were holding hostage in Azalea Town. They were ransacking the Slowpoke Well, and I kind of wound up in there because a little girl asked me to help her grandfather." I shrugged. "That was my first exposure to Team Rocket in the real world. They were kind of just goonish then."
"You took on Team Rocket when you were a new trainer with barely two badges?" Roku's eyebrows shot up both with amazement and disapproval. "How did you even make it out?"
"That time was sheer luck. I hadn't seen what they could do, and I was naïve. I surprised their grunts, and that got me the upper hand in a tight spot. It helped that Scyther and Quilava were incredibly nimble in closed quarters. When it came to facing the man running the operation, I lucked out. His Gastly turned on him and joined me." I admitted, scratching the back of my head.
"There was a suspicion it was Team Rocket that unleashed the Tyranitar in Goldenrod, but I don't know more about that. After Ecruteak, I happened upon Lance again at a farmhouse on my way to Olivine. I had stopped there, and I was helping the farmer herd some Pokemon when Lance showed up. Steven was there too I believe."
"I went to Olivine and then the Whirl Islands, where I survived Team Rocket by running and a lot of help from my Pokémon. Had an evolution for my Haunter into a Gengar. That probably saved us." I stopped to reflect on the moment.
"I went to Cianwood, then Olivine again, and when Kalos attacked, Steven took me to Hoenn with him. I journeyed around, came back here, and then went to Mahogany and came here."
"Mahogany seemed to have been quite a bit of trouble." Yuki remarked wryly.
"Those damn ice heads have always been trouble." Xavi shook his fist comically, clearly intending it as a joke.
"Language Xavi, language." Kamui chided.
"It was a mess. Honestly. I tangled with some of Team Rocket's grunts on my way to the Lake of Rage. Their henchmen don't seem to be a big issue if you have a good amount of training, but then I've also been going at it hard for a while. I'm proud that my team and I managed to handle most of the Gyarados at the lake, but I don't think I fully grasped what I was getting into. I had met Lance when I disembarked in Olivine on my way back, and I met him again at the Lake."
"I found their base, and there wasn't time to wait for Lance, or wait for the police, so I let him know and I went in. We made it all the way through, and we fought Petrel again. We actually beat him, and when Lance got there, we broke into their generator room and took down their system."
"I was reckless. I don't know why, but Petrel didn't seem to remember me from the Whirl Islands. I have no doubt he would have been much more aggressive if he had. I was brash, and foolhardy, and I wasn't thinking about what I was getting into." I shook my head and stared into the fire as everyone grew silent, looking at me.
"I'm glad you realize it." A familiar voice was audible behind me, accompanied by two sets of footsteps, one large and heavy, and one sharp but strong.
"Lance!" I turned around to see the scion of the Blackthorn Clan walking towards me, Magnus by his side as he entered the courtyard. Weariness was visible in his yellow eyes and his red hair was slightly messed up. He walked up to his mother, hugging her and sitting down by her side as he removed his thick red cloak.
"I'm very glad to hear it Ethan. I have to acknowledge, with how far you've come from Ecruteak, from the Burned Tower, you are capable of engaging Team Rocket, but only if you understand what you're doing."
"Enough of that though. It's a pleasant night, we can talk about work another time. I came home to sit with my family, and our friend. Let's enjoy."
"Well said." Yuki smiled, looking over at her daughter and grandson. Yua's eyes had lit up when Lance returned, and she seemed much more content now that he was back on the estate.
"You all have heard about Ethan's journey, but what I want to know about, is your battle with my cousin. She doesn't seem to be here, which says something on its own." He smirked, looking at me. "What was her team?"
"She opened with Gyarados, then Tari, Dragonair, Haxorus, then Lexi." I rattled the chain off, thinking back to my battle amidst the lava lake.
"She brought out Haxorus?" Lance chuckled. "I guess my goading worked. How did it go."
"It was one of the toughest battles of my life, but I enjoyed it so much. The rush off battling against an opponent where I know I'm inherently at a disadvantage at least half the time, fighting on a platform in the middle of a lava lake, fighting against reputably the hardest to beat Gym leader in all of Indigo." I grinned wide, looking back at Lance.
"How did you prepare for it?" Roku looked at me, following up with the next question as I remembered the high.
"I looked through records of the battles she'd lost at that level, and how she liked to play them. I wasn't expecting Haxorus, but I was aware of the others." I put a hand on the side of my face. "I had some measure of good fortune beforehand. I'd seen Drake of Hoenn's Altaria up close, and had a bit of a chance to learn about it, I trained a Dragonair myself, and one of the Ace Trainer's I've had the fortune to work with briefly, he trained a Haxorus I'd be really dreading going up against." I counted each item off on my fingers as I spoke.
"You've met Drake?" Akari looked at me with surprise.
"I served on his ship for a month, and I've got two more to go." I replied with a smile, looking at the red-haired girl.
"Well, congratulations Ethan. You deserve it." Lance raised a marshmallow roasting stick to me and nodded, biting it off and swallowing it.
"I think, it is time for you to collect the spoils of your battle." Roku rose, looking at the others. "Come with me. Lance, will you be joining us?"
"I don't think so Grandfather. I think I'll stay here with mother a bit longer before retiring for the night. Besides, my presence might not be appreciated." He remained seated with the rest of the family as I rose. "We can talk tomorrow Ethan."
"Grandfather, may I come with you?" Akari looked up hopefully at her grandfather. He turned to look at her for a moment before a soft look overtook his eyes.
"You may, but you will stay behind, and you will not leave Gus's side." He looked at her sharply, crossing his arms. "Do you understand?"
"Yes Grandfather." She rose and whistled thrice, and soon Gus was flying back down again, followed closely by Knight. The duo of dragon's set down in the courtyard and Knight walked over, hugging me lightly. I laughed and patted the dragon on the back, wrapping my arms around him as far as they would go.
"Knight should stay out with you. Come." I followed Roku out with Knight by my side, through to the North of the complex. As we walked, Gus and Akari behind us, it occurred to me that the height of the ceiling inside the verandah's and corridors was just tall enough for Dragonite to be comfortable walking through.
We walked for another half an hour, through much of the complex, until we emerged from the building on the other side. The moonlight illuminated the garden we were standing in, revealing lilies and roses of all colors neatly arranged in all sorts of layouts and patterns. A paved white brick path led out to the edge of a small lake bounded on three sides by the mountain walls. A small strip of land was visible across the lake, with cavern entrance just barely visible in the wall.
"Come." He gestured to Gus and the old dragon knelt, revealing the worn color of the scales on its back, and the old, fading scars across it. It reached out with a hand to help the old man climb onto its back as Akari followed on, holding on tight behind him.
Watching the trio, Knight bent low and beckoned for me to climb onto his back. I slowly did so, settling myself onto his back and holding on loosely as we followed Gus and taking off. We crossed the span of the lake rapidly, landing on the patch of grass on the other side. Gus walked in, taking a torch from a holster on the wall inside the small, barren cavern. Gus took ahold of him again, slowly descending down a large hole in the center of the floor. Akari climbed down a small rope ladder hanging through the hole and descended into the larger cavern below.
Taking a deep breath, I followed down with Knight as he crooned softly, descending into a much larger space. We stood on an outcropping of stone facing an underwater lake brimming with turbulent waters. A broken dock, or perhaps what was once a bridge, sat at the water's edge. I could see the other end far across the lake, attached to a wooden platform in the water.
A red painted railing, decorated in the old Johtan style, bounded the edges, and a small shrine stood in the center of it, walled with ancient wood. Screen doors framed with teakwood hid the inside from view, sheltered by an indigo tiled roof with gold accents. Gus had set out across the lake with Akari and Roku. The old man seemed to have gone inside, but Akari and Gus were standing by the doors outside. The old dragon seemed to be patting the girl on the back as she stood, leaning on the railing.
"Let's go buddy." Knight and I flew across, heading over to the other side and setting down gently on the broken bridge.
Akari looked at me wordlessly as Gus gestured to the doors, motioning for us to go inside. Taking a breath, I took hold of the handle on the screen door and pulling it open. The interior chamber was lit only with torches, casting curious shadows on the indigo drapes that covered the back wall.
Wooden statues of Dragonair stood along the length of the room, their heads turned towards the statue at the back. A small altar stood there, holding torches burning with dragon-fire. The entire back wall seemed to be a thick slab of wood, out of which was carved a painstakingly detailed likeness of the Stratosphere Pokemon. Its eyes looked directly at me. I turned around as I felt the ground move, to see Knight having bowed in reverence to the likeness of the legendary dragon.
Standing by the Dragonair statues were two elders in white robes, praying silently. Roku was standing by the altar, and Clair was standing by him, finishing a hushed conversation. I waited patiently as they finished their discussion, and Gus nodded by me. Clair stood by the altar, waiting for me with a reserved look on her face as I approached.
"Ethan Photon. Stand, and bear the Rising Badge, evidence of your victory in the Blackthorn Gym." Clair's voice was firm, but bordering on shaky, as though she was just about ready to give out. I bowed fully, before straightening out and accepting the black badge she was holding out to me.
"It is an honor to have battled you Clair Blackthorn." I bowed my head again and looked at the badge. The black emblem was shaped like a dragon's head, with red slit eyes and horns. The metal was warm to the touch, sitting flat in my palm. Roku stepped forward, pressing a flat blade warmed by dragon-fire on my right shoulder, then touching it against my chest above my heart.
"Ethan Photon, may the ancestors recognize you as a friend to the clan Blackthorn, and to the dragons."
A shiver ran down my spine and I looked up, meeting Roku's eyes, then Clair's, before looking up to the statue of Rayquaza.
"Welcome to the Dragon's Den. This is the home of all that is sacred to our clan. This is where we met the dragons and first promised our loyalty to them." Roku explained with warmth in his voice. "You recognize the legendary dragon?"
"Only the likeness of it." I replied quietly, turning back to the two members of the clan in front of me. "Thank you, Elder Roku. It is an honor, and I am humbled to be recognized and welcomed by your clan."
"If you may excuse us for a moment Ethan, you are welcome to return to the house. The others will still be in the courtyard. The night is young still. Tell Akari to return with Gus." Roku nodded his head as I bowed respectfully and stepped out of the building.
"Your grandfather wants you to go back with Gus." I told Akari as she looked at me inquisitively, spotting the badge in my hands.
"Alright, let's go." She climbed onto Gus's back, flying ahead of me, up and out of the cavern system. We emerged onto the lake behind her, following her to the other side of the lake.
I tapped Knight's back lightly and we set down on the grass behind Akari and Gus, following the girl into the manor as the old dragon set off for the Dragon's Den again. We walked back to the courtyard swiftly, faster than I had gone with the elder, and emerged into the open space where lively chatter was in audible in the air.
"Welcome back Ethan." Lance was smiling wide, much of the tension in his brow seemed to have been alleviated over the course of the time we had been gone.
"Thanks. Jack, could you show me where I'm supposed to go tonight? I just want to put something away in my pack."
"Yeah, sure." The dark-haired boy stood up, guiding me down and around the corridors to a grassy courtyard with large trees in each corner. He opened the door along one of the verandah corridors, revealing a homely room.
"Thank you. I'll be right back." Jack nodded as I turned and looked for my pack, which was sitting on the red bedspread. A warm fire crackled in the hearth, near the rocking chair and the desk. A small table near me bore a jug of water and a glass, next to a small, half filled bookshelf, and a dresser with a mirror above.
I pressed the badge into the slot in my case, putting it away in the case and fitting it back in my pack. I stepped back outside, to where Knight was standing in the grassy courtyard.
"Knight, buddy, we did it." I smiled, hugging the dragon as a few tears came of my eyes. The great dragon crooned and wrapped her arms around me, picking me up.
"We made it! We're going to the Silver League!"