Being a Pokémon, Eevee had senses that humans did not. Being a Pokémon of light however, meant that Eevee had senses that other Pokémon did not. She surveyed the child sleeping before her, and cocked her head to the side slightly. She could sense that Jasper himself was calm, that he was untroubled by his dreams, but she could also sense something else. Something dark was present, something that emanated from the child as he slept. The darkness, however, was not very powerful. It was almost child-like in nature, no stronger physically than the golden haired boy in the bed. Eevee was well aware of this dark force. The only times she ever felt it were either during the night or when Raichu deliberately angered Jasper during their training sessions. But it did not worry the little fox-like Pokémon because she knew that she was very capable of getting rid of it. Concentrating on the lightness innate to her, Eevee pushed it forth into the bedroom towards the sleeping boy. Eevee was able not only to feel these forces of light and darkness, but see them too. She watched in satisfaction as the dark grey wispy tendrils of smoke that were visible curling and undulating around the child's golden hair shrank back and withered as her own softly glowing, white light enveloped Jasper, keeping him safe. Satisfied now that there was nothing to fear, Eevee curled up in her usual spot next to Jasper's shoulder, and both of them slept soundly once again through the night.

-o-

Eevee and Raichu watched in excitement and trepidation as Jasper began to count.

"One…two…three…four…"

His teeth were gritted, and his bright brown eyes screwed up tightly in concentration. Eevee's tail gave an involuntary, nervous flick as she watched the boy. The wispy, dark grey smoke that neither Raichu nor Jasper could see was beginning to manifest itself around the outline of the child, smothering his usual aura of light. But Jasper wasn't about to give up.

"Eight…nine…ten…eleven…"

Eevee desperately wished to intervene, to help Jasper fight away the darkness that he still wasn't quite strong enough to fight alone, but Raichu held her back. The child must try to throw off the sensation completely himself. Raichu could see the torment it caused Jasper; how the child detested the lack of control he experienced, and the eerie urges he felt to attack - to make others hurt. But today was different. Jasper seemed much, much stronger than they were used to seeing him.

"Twenty-one…twenty-two…"

Eevee blinked, unsure as to whether what she was seeing was real or not. The smoke, unless she was mistaken, appeared to be fading. Usually in this circumstance, the smoke continued to grow thicker and darker, unleashing itself in a thick black mass before disappearing once again. Eevee, to her dismay, had started to believe that the darkness was a part of the child after all, that Jasper was simply learning to control a part of himself; but Jasper was good, his aura sang out to her with pure golden light – it was part of the reason she felt such an affinity with him – for they were both beings of light.

The darkness was definitely fading, and Jasper continued to fight it alone.

"Thirty-four…thirty-five…thirty-six…"

Normally, the sensation burst forth in a climactic rush that Jasper would be unable to control; he would be unable to hold it back any longer, and it would consume him wholly, before disappearing as quickly as the burning feeling in his arm came. But this time was different. Instead of possessing him completely, Jasper could feel the burning tingle receding. He knew that if he just held on, if he kept counting, he could push it back for good. And he did.

Raichu, although there was something warily triumphant in his black eyes, was watching Jaspercautiously, but Eevee knew that the force had gone, she could see that it had. She padded across the grass towards the child in wonder, before giving a great happy chirrup and licking his hand earnestly. Jasper had really done it; he had fought off that darkness all by himself, without the need for her intervening light. It could only get better from here.

-o-

August in Ecruteak City was a very hot month indeed, and Jasper sat patiently on the front door step as he watched Rose and Morty load the bags into the old black jeep. Eevee, as usual, was not far from her owner, and was currently sheltering under his little legs, desperate to find a small patch of shade.

Jasper was excited. The feeling was all about him in the air; his mummy's eyes were bright and sparkly and she was smiling and laughing a lot. Jasper smiled when he saw his daddy wink casually at her - it made him feel warm inside. His mummy was so little, and she looked so much younger than all of the other mothers at school. Her long, dark curly hair had no greys in it, and her face was young and fresh, her brown eyes wide and clear. She was so pretty, Jasper thought, and he loved that she was his.

He knew that they were going to Blackthorn City for the night, but he didn't know what to expect, never having been there. He knew that his mummy's family was from there, but that she never lived there…it never quite made sense to him, but he was looking forward to it nonetheless. There was lots of talk of 'Aunty Clair', and 'Uncle Lance' and his 'cousins' whoever they were. Jasper did start to feel apprehensive when he heard talk of Dragons, for this brought back memories of the horrible black float, but then he remembered that his daddy had defeated the Chaos Pokémon, and that all of the Dragons left were good ones. In fact, his father's role in Chaos's destruction comforted Jasper more than anyone knew. He was a very perceptive child, and he had not forgotten the spasm of fury that had shot through his father's eyes when he had brought up what his grandmother had told him. Jasper had not gotten into trouble, so he could only assume that Grandma had. It made him feel a little upset: he wanted to talk about it, to hear exactly what his daddy had done, but he daren't bring it up. The next time he saw Grandma after the festival, which had been a good three weeks, she had told him quietly that they must never speak of the Chaos Pokémon again, because his mummy and daddy didn't like it. Jasper had been disappointed, but he thought he might understand. Chaos was scary, and so his mummy and daddy didn't like talking about it – just like Jasper didn't like talking about when he sometimes felt that strange something in his bedroom.

-o-

The car journey seemed to go on forever – but Jasper enjoyed it. He loved looking out of the window and watching the landscape change. The ancient buildings in Ecruteak City made way for the rolling fields that took them towards the towering skyscrapers of Goldenrod City. Jasper's little nose was pressed up against the window; he had no idea buildings could even get so high, and he found himself wondering whether flying type Pokémon helped with the construction.

It was, all in all, a pleasant ride for the golden-haired child. His mummy and daddy had brought a huge pack of toffees for them to eat on the way, and they played 'eye-spy' until even Jasper grew bored of it. Jasper liked it best when his mummy and daddy turned on their favourite music and began to sing along to it. Their cheerful voices and their laughter made him feel very safe and happy. They were both so young, and so vibrant, that Jasper was often content just to listen to them talking to each other, and watching the way that their faces changed when they looked at each other.

Morty knew Johto well enough to take some handy back roads that brought them out near Cherrygrove City in little under an hour, and then the long drive north began. Again the scenery changed drastically, the little cottages of Cherrygrove City making way for the wild woodlands, before changing again to rugged mountain passes.

"Thank God we didn't sell the jeep," Morty said tightly as they drove their way across the rocky, and sometimes very steep, terrain.

"Hmm," was all Rose managed as she gripped tightly at her seat; she did not like mountains.

"Is Blackthorn City all the way up here?" Jasper asked in awe. He couldn't understand why Ecruteak City had so many tourists when they could be coming here instead! His brown eyes widened considerably as Blackthorn City came into view; towering, dark grey stone walls complete with merlons gave the city a forbidding feel, but Jasper was only enthralled by it all.

"It looks like a castle!" he whispered, his little hands joining his nose against the glass of the window.

Morty and Rose caught one another's eye and smiled. It was good for Jasper to come here, to meet the other half of his family and learn his heritage.

All three looked up as the colossal gates of Blackthorn City swung open slowly to allow them entry. Rose was really looking forward to this trip. Although she had spent none of her life in this ancient stronghold, the blood of the Dragon Tamers ran in her veins, and therefore in Jasper's too, and she wished to become better acquainted with her family and the city. The only time she had visited Blackthorn City previously had been for the funeral of her cousin, Pascalia. It had not been a pleasant occasion, and the reunion of her parents had made it even less so. Rose steeled herself; she was not here to dwell on the past, and she was determined to ensure that this time around pleasant memories would be made here.

-o-

"Morty! Rose!"

They had parked the jeep outside Dragon's Den, but they had to wait for a member of the Clan to let them in beyond this point – Dragon's Den was not open to the public.

"And you must be Jasper?"

The golden-haired child stared up at the tall man who hailed them. He was wearing black boots and a long black cape, and upon his hands he wore fingerless, leather riding gloves. His hair was a very dark red, and stood straight upwards, and his eyes were very dark, the edges tilting upwards – like a cat's.

It was then that Jasper smiled.

"You have eyes like mine," he said astutely.

Lance gave an uproarious laugh.

"I think you'll find lots more people with eyes like yours inside," he said, before winking at Morty and Rose, "although," he continued, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone who looks more like their daddy than you do!"

Jasper flushed happily; he loved being compared to his father in any way.

"How was the drive?"

Morty rolled his eyes.

"It was a freaking nightmare! Took us hours! The road to Mahogany Town has been closed off completely, so we had to drive south before making our way east and finally north again."

"Ah, yes I forgot – they're de-polluting the Lake of Rage," Lance mused as he grabbed Rose's bag from her, "I'm so sorry - we could have come and collected you on Dragonite had I remembered!"

They were spared from thanking Lance for the bizarre offer by the arrival of Clair – Rose and Lance's cousin…and Lance's wife. She beamed upon seeing the three of them and, like her husband, made a bee-line for Jasper.

"Well hello there you," she said, crouching down to his level, "don't you look an awful lot like your daddy?"

Jasper smiled again – he liked these people. Eevee sensed his happiness from where she was nestled snugly in his rucksack, and she popped her head out, wanting to join in the fun.

"An Eevee!" Clair exclaimed, "Is this your Pokémon, Jasper?"

Jasper nodded happily, and Clair raised a wry eyebrow at Rose and Morty.

"How very…Ecrutetian," she laughed.

"Eevee sleeps with me every night!" Jasper piped up.

"Well aren't you lucky?" Clair said, turning her attention to the child once again, "Bonnie and Lettie will be so jealous – especially Bonnie – she's Pokémon crazy at the moment!"

"Who're Bonnie and Lettie?" Jasper asked politely.

"They're your cousins – my little girls. Come in inside, all of you – everyone's looking forward to meeting you, Jasper!" Clair smiled as she offered him her hand. Jasper took hold of it happily, and walked with his aunt into Dragon's Den.

-o-

Jasper couldn't believe the amount of family he had – all with eyes shaped like his and his mummy's. He had always thought of his family as quite small: him, his mummy and daddy, his Grandma Isadora and Grandpa Hector, and great uncle Perrin. But here in Dragon's Den he met two more great uncles called Cornelio and Rodolfo; he had a great-grandpa too, who was the 'Elder' of Blackthorn City (Jasper didn't really know what that meant); he had an Aunty Clair and an Uncle Lance…and two cousins.

The adults all tried to hide their smirks as the three children scrutinised each other in the blatant, tactless way that children were wont to. Rose, however, could understand Jasper's astounded reaction. The twins were absolutely identical in all but colouring; they had the same thick, straight hair that brushed their shoulder blades, complete with a blunt fringe; they had wide, cat-shaped eyes (of course); small, cherry-like mouths, and the same pale – almost translucent – skin.

"Ebony, Scarlett – what do you say?" Clair prompted them with a wry grin.

"Hello," they said to Jasper simultaneously, in the same high, sweet voice.

"Hello," he replied warily.

Rose supposed that the girl on the right must be Ebony, for her hair was a glossy, raven-black. After learning more of her heritage, Rose understood that the darker eye and hair colours that sometimes appeared in the Dragon Clan were due to the marriage of her grandfather, the Elder, to her late grandmother, who had belonged to the Dragon Clan in the Orange Islands. Due to the warmer climate, the Orange Island Dragon Tamers tended to be darker of skin, eyes, and hair. But despite her black hair, Ebony had inherited her mother's deep, indigo eyes and pale, creamy skin. Scarlett, on the other hand, favoured her father in hair colour, which was a dark, burgundy red. Her eyes, in contrast to her sister's, were a clear, pale grey, the irises rimmed with a darker shade. Both girls were striking, Rose found herself thinking.

Likewise, Ebony and Scarlett stared openly at their only cousin. Ebony could only think that he looked weird. Apart from the shape of his eyes, she would never have guessed that he belonged to her family. His hair was a little bit wavy for a start – Ebony had only ever seen Dragon Tamers with dead straight hair. And the colour of his hair was strange too – it was a golden, sandy colour, and she could see the lighter strands glinting by the glow of the blue Dragon flame burning in the grate. Scarlett was thinking along the same lines as her twin; Jasper looked strange to her; his skin was golden, his hair was golden, and his eyes were a very bright brown. Overall he looked very warm, she couldn't help but think; he stood out strangely amongst her family members in the dim, dark chamber of Dragon's Den. Scarlett knew it was silly, but the first thing that popped into her head upon seeing her cousin, was that he didn't look quite human - being all brown and tawny and golden. Scarlett looked up at Morty, and she understood. Jasper's daddy wasn't a Dragon Tamer – that must be why he looked so funny.

"Why don't you two go outside to the courtyard and show Jasper the Dragon sculptures?" Lance suggested, "See if you can remember the stories that go with them, too?"

Ebony and Scarlett nodded at their father, before their gazes returned to Jasper. Wide-eyed, Jasper turned to Rose, but she flashed him a quick wink. He felt himself relax after this, and so he too turned back to his cousins. Ebony and Scarlett together made for the door and, feeling very shy, Jasper followed them.

-o-

Even once they were alone, the three children did not become more talkative. Jasper looked around at the enormous, grey stone Dragon sculptures; they were very realistic, and he longed to know more about them. Did his cousins know more stories about Dragons and the heroes that defeated them? Scarlett appeared to become very shy, and would not take her eyes from her shoes. Ebony, on the other hand, was scrutinising her cousin once again. She didn't understand why his skin was so golden and tanned, why he looked so different; Ebony knew that some Dragon Tamers had tanned skin, but that was from riding their Dragons all day long…

"Do you ride Dragons?" she asked abruptly.

"Ride Dragons?" Jasper replied, bewildered.

"Yes, do you ride on Dragon Pokémon?"

"I don't have any Dragon Pokémon," Jasper told her. He was finding his cousin stranger by the minute…

Ebony rolled her eyes. Even Scarlett looked up in interest now.

"Not you – I know you don't have any Pokémon…but your mummy's a Dragon Tamer, isn't she?"

Jasper frowned.

"My mummy doesn't have any Dragon Pokémon either."

Ebony and Scarlett exchanged a 'look'.

"What?" Jasper asked defiantly; he wasn't sure how much he liked his cousins.

"So it's true," Ebony taunted, "your mummy isn't a real Dragon Tamer."

Jasper did not reply. He didn't know what to say, but the way Ebony was talking about his mummy sounded bad.

"My mummy has a Raichu – he's really strong."

Ebony laughed nastily, and even Scarlett gave a reluctant smile.

"Electric Pokémon are rubbish," she said emphatically.

"Are not!" Jasper insisted, clenching his small fists.

"Yes they are," Ebony continued with relish, "all Pokémon that aren't Dragons are rubbish – Dragons can beat all Pokémon - easy-peasy."

"That's not true!" Jasper said hotly, "my daddy's a Gym Leader – and his Pokémon are ghost type! He has a Gengar!"

Ebony laughed again.

"Well our daddy's a Champion," she said, "and our mummy's a Gym Leader – your mummy isn't even a trainer!"

Jasper was stumped; why were these girls being so mean? His daddy was a good Pokémon trainer…everyone said so…and his mummy saved Pokémon's lives…

"My mummy's a Pokémon doctor," he said quietly.

"That just means she's not a proper Dragon Tamer – that's all I know," Ebony said snottily.

Jasper could feel his lower lip beginning to tremble, but he would not cry in front of these girls, he would not. Steeling himself, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"Who wants to be a stupid Dragon Tamer anyway?" he challenged.

But Ebony could see that she had struck a chord when she was mean about his mother:

"I bet she's not even your real mummy – she's too young – you're probably adopted."

Jasper's mouth fell open in shock. He knew his mummy looked younger than other children's…but she was his…

"She is my real mummy…" he said, his brown eyes welling up with tears.

"No, I don't think so," Ebony said breezily, "what do you think, Lettie?"

Scarlett considered Jasper through her clear grey eyes before she spoke.

"I think you're right…she is too young to be his real mummy – and he can't prove it."

"So that means you don't have any Dragon Tamer blood at all," Ebony taunted.

"Yes I have!"

Jasper wasn't sure why he was arguing this point; from what he had experienced so far, he wasn't sure he wanted to be part of the Dragon Tamer Clan; he had only been here half an hour and he hated it. He hated these girls and all he wanted was to go back inside, to find his mummy and daddy and drive back home to Ecruteak City…

But all of a sudden, Jasper's despair vanished, and was replaced by an all-consuming wrath. A hot, tingling burn was beginning to manifest in his shoulder joint; it was stronger than it had ever been before, and, before either Jasper or the girls could understand what was happening, he lurched towards Ebony, his palm outstretched and his brown eyes cold in fury.

Almost simultaneously, Eevee vaulted from the rucksack that Jasper was still wearing on his back, and she braced herself between the boy and girl, preventing Jasper from doing something terrible. Eevee had never felt the darkness so keenly, nor had it ever shown itself so quickly or so potently. It took everything Eevee had to push it back, and she was panting when, only seconds later, the smoky tendrils around Jasper vanished.

Ebony and Scarlett did not appear to notice what had almost occurred, so shocked were they by the appearance of the Pokémon.

"An Eevee!" Scarlett gasped, "Is this your Pokémon?"

Jasper was still in shock at what had just occurred, but he tried not to let it show. Raichu had told him that people should not know of his powers until he could control them – he had thought he could now – but he obviously wasn't there yet. Composing himself, he managed to answer.

"Yes, she's my Eevee."

Jasper saw that Ebony's indigo eyes narrowed, and he knew that he had something to work with. His cousin seemed, against her will, impressed.

"You have your own Pokémon?" she asked.

"Yes," Jasper confirmed.

"It's not your mummy's or daddy's?" Scarlett added.

"No – Eevee's mine."

"How old are you?"

"I'm five," he said defiantly.

Scarlett and Ebony put their heads together and began to whisper. After a few seconds they turned to their cousin, identical grins upon their faces.

"Come on," Ebony said, and she began to make her way to the edge of the courtyard.

"Where're you going?" Jasper asked, confused.

"We're all going somewhere secret," she replied, her indigo eyes alight with mischief.

"Where?" Jasper asked again.

"Somewhere we're not allowed to go," Scarlett giggled as she followed her sister.

Jasper felt his blood run cold – why were they deliberately doing something they weren't allowed to do? Wouldn't their mummy and daddy be mad?

"Aren't you coming?" Ebony asked, as she turned back to the golden haired boy.

Jasper shook his head slowly.

"I knew you weren't a real Dragon Tamer," she said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest, "real Dragon Tamers are brave."

Brave. Jasper wanted nothing more than to be brave – to be a hero – just like his daddy. He would show them – he was just as good as they were.

"Come on then," Scarlett said, seeing from the look on Jasper's face that he had been convinced after all.

Ebony had walked over to the far side of the courtyard, where the high walls were lined by shrubbery bushes. The black-haired girl crouched down and wiggled through the bush…and seemed to disappear.

"Follow me, okay?" Scarlett said, as she too crouched down into the bush and followed her sister. Jasper was bewildered; where could they have gone? But as soon as Scarlett's feet were no longer visible poking out of the bush, Jasper bent down onto his knees and, squinting so that the leaves couldn't poke him in the eye, he peered through the greenery. There was a sizable gap in the bottommost row of bricks, where one had been removed. He shoved his rucksack, containing Eevee, through first, before he belly-crawled through the gap himself. Jasper saw that the missing brick was on the other side of the wall, and as soon as he had scrambled through, Ebony heaved at the brick, replacing it neatly into the gap in the wall.

"Where are we now?" he asked them.

"We're no longer in Dragon's Den," Ebony giggled, as she began to make her way across the rocky terrain.

"But where are we going?"

"Somewhere that you can't go unless you have a Pokémon," Scarlett told him.

Jasper deliberated. His curiosity, and his desire to prove himself, meant that he desperately wanted to follow his cousins, but all he could think of was his mummy and daddy. He knew, deep down, that they would not want him to wander off like this, especially if they were going somewhere dangerous.

"Come on!" Ebony said, and irritation flashed through her indigo eyes when she saw that Jasper was still undecided.

"Is it dangerous to go to this place without a Pokémon?" he asked.

"Yes, which is why we need you," Ebony smirked.

Jasper felt a thrill of excitement. They were going somewhere dangerous – if something bad happened, maybe he could save his cousins – he could be a hero.

His mind made up, he donned his rucksack, and followed the girls across the boulder-strewn pass.

-o-

Morty watched Lance warily. Why had he taken him to a separate room? What could he possibly want to talk to him about that was so private?

"Is everything okay?" Morty managed, when Lance still had not spoken.

"Yes…" Lance said slowly, "I just wanted to clear some things up with you."

"Like what?" Morty said. His throat felt very dry; there was something in the Dragon Tamer's eyes that he couldn't quite read.

"Well," Lance began, leaning back in his chair and surveying Morty from across his desk, the dark eyes boring into the violet, "I first wanted to see if there was anything you wanted to talk to me about?"

Morty knew that Rose would kill him for not taking this opportunity to talk to Lance, for he had been waiting for one, but he just couldn't – not now; he couldn't ask about a promotional test, not when something potentially serious was going on.

"N-no, nothing," Morty stammered as he twisted his hands in his lap. Hell he hated this! Why couldn't Lance just get whatever it was over with?!

Lance looked disbelieving, but he gave a small smile.

"All right…I'll start off then."

Morty gave a curt nod.

"I've noticed that the distribution of Fog Badges this last year has been…odd."

Morty's heart began to hammer hard in his chest, and he could feel the blood rush up to his face.

"Odd…how?" he managed.

"Before you moved to Sesame, I felt that the manner in which the Fog Badges were won from you was more…random?"

"Random?"

"Yes," Lance agreed, now leaning forwards in his chair, "one month you might bestow none, and then the next month you might give away as many as four or five…there was no pattern, nothing that…caught my attention."

Morty gulped.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but as Champion, it's my job to pick up on this sort of thing…since you and Rose moved back here, to Johto, I can't help but notice that the amount of badges you give away seems much more…regimented somehow."

Morty closed his eyes in horror.

"You've been giving away one Fog Badge a week for almost a year."

Morty opened his eyes, and shot a nervous glance at the Champion. But Lance did not look annoyed; instead he looked curious…and amused?

"Is it a coincidence?" Lance asked, his dark eyes glittering.

Morty could not see the use in denying it; he knew that Lance knew, and he was annoyed with himself for being so stupidly blatant about it. Now he was sure to lose his position; it was against the League rules to give badges away when they weren't properly won.

"It's not a coincidence…no," Morty said hollowly.

"So…the badges weren't won?"

"They were won…"

"Were they won honestly?"

The violet eyes met the dark, cat-shaped ones, and Morty sighed. Great – who knows what trouble he'd now landed himself in – dishonesty was severely frowned upon in the League.

"No."

"So why did you give them away?" Lance leaned further forward still. He was genuinely interested in the reason. Morty had always been a very fair Gym Leader, and he was curious as to what had changed.

"I…oh God it sounds so stupid…" Morty squirmed in his chair.

"They can't beat you, can they?" Lance asked quietly.

Morty looked up once again, but Lance's eyes were still bright, still amused.

Lance could see the truth plainly on Morty's face, and he wasn't in the least bit surprised. Morty had been a Gym Leader for ten years roughly. Was it really surprising that, during this time, his skill had developed such that his challengers found him impossible to beat? The League rules still stated that the level of Pokémon used against challengers had to directly correspond with the number of badges they had, but Lance, and Morty, knew that Pokémon levels weren't everything. In fact, when Pokémon were evenly matched in terms of level, victory rested on two factors: either type advantage, or the skill and experience of the trainer. Morty had both skill and experience in abundance.

"Did you know," Lance asked suddenly when he realised that Morty was not going to respond, "that Will's leaving Johto and the Elite Four?"

Morty's head snapped up quickly.

"I-is he?"

"Yes," Lance replied conversationally, "he's gone off to do a spot of travelling, before returning home."

"Home?"

"To Sinnoh."

Morty did not want to believe it, he did not want to raise his hopes – but where else could Lance possibly be going with this?

"There's nothing sadder," Lance continued, "than a highly skilled Pokémon trainer who becomes…jaded."

"I agree," Morty said with the ghost of a smile. Gone were the days when he looked forward to a Gym match; most of the time he now had to struggle to keep himself awake.

"I think you know where I'm going with this," Lance grinned.

Morty began to chew on his bottom lip. He felt a warmth spread right through him; he was nervous, excited, humbled…

"Are…are you sure?"

"I've never been surer about anything," Lance grinned, before standing up and offering Morty his gloved hand to shake, "welcome to the Elite Four, my friend."

AN: Just one more childhood chapter after this and then we'll see a considerable skip forward in time. Would love you hear all your thoughts! (I'm aiming this at all the cheeky little readers who don't review ;)) x