Now that our day off had been and gone, there was no stopping Ash from getting to the Blackthorn gym as fast as possible. Which meant practically running all the way. Even I was beginning to get tired by day four, but Ash just somehow kept going. "Hurry Pikachu!"

"Pika!"

"What's the hurry Ash?!" Brock panted behind as I kept my hands gripping my backpack to keep it from jostling around too much.

"The gym isn't going anywhere you know, so you can slow down." Misty called, also out of breath but Ash merely laughed as he looked over his shoulder.

"The sooner I get to the gym the sooner I get to the Johto League!" He answered, continuing to laugh in uncontainable excitement but then Pikachu suddenly stopped, his ears pricking and we all came skidding to a halt as he blocked our path. "What's the matter Pikachu? You see something?" Ash asked so Pikachu pointed towards a bank close by the water.

"Pika." There, curled up and sleeping peacefully in the midday sunlight, was a Dratini.

"Wow!" Ash and I breathed, leaning forwards to get a closer look.

"A Dratini!"

"It's so cute!" Misty gave a little squeal as Togepi trilled happily and Ash pulled out Dexter.

"Dratini, the dragon Pokémon. Dratini sheds its skin as it grows, often doing so when hidden behind large, powerful waterfalls." Dexter informed us as we approached quietly and cautiously, not wanting to frighten it.

"It seems weird that such a rare Pokémon would be out here in the open sleeping like that." Misty noted and I nodded my head.

"Yeah that is strange. Maybe it's hurt?" I suggested as the Dratini woke up and opened its large, beautiful eyes, turning to look at us before giving a tiny little squeak of worry. I was about to reach out and comfort it when a huge shape burst out of the water, roaring in a rage and we were faced with a massive Gyarados, who instantly blasted us with a Hydro Pump, making us all yell as my heart pumped faster.

"Gyarados!" We all chorused after the spray had ended.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" Ash demanded hotly as electricity sparked on Pikachu's cheeks.

"Pi Pika….!" Gyarados reared back and was about to blast us again when a firm voice called out and stopped it.

"Gyarados, that's enough!" Blinking we were all suddenly faced with a woman in red boots, with long light blue hair and a stern expression as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at us. "What is it you want with that Dratini?" She demanded and we all blinked again.

"Wait, is that your Dratini?" Misty asked, blinking as the woman picked it up and held it in her arms.

"Yes, this is my Dratini. Now what were you kids planning on doing with it?" She demanded again so I quickly waved my hands.

"We didn't want to steal it ma'am, if that's what you were thinking."

"Yeah, we just wanted a closer look." Ash nodded his head.

"We thought that maybe it was injured and just wanted to make sure it was alright." Brock added but the woman looked at us suspiciously still.

"It's the truth, honest! We'd never steal a Pokémon, we just wanted to help." I told her so she gave a sigh then nodded her head. Turning she put the Dratini back into the water and it swam closer to the Gyarados.

"I'm very sorry." She finally said, turning to us with a smile. "Gyarados was just protecting Dratini and we certainly didn't mean you any harm."

"Oh that's okay." Ash said with a good natured laugh.

"It's nice to meet you. My name's Claire." She introduced and Ash stepped forwards.

"Hi Claire, my name's Ash." He said as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and introduced himself, making Ash chuckle.

"Pikachu."

"Hi there, my name's Misty." Togepi trilled in greeting and I was about to introduce myself when Brock suddenly went rigid at my side.

"My name's Brock. You can call me Brock." He said dumbly before shooting to stand right in front of Claire with a blush on his cheeks. "But to be totally honest Claire, since everyone else calls me Brock, you can just call me your boyfriend. To think, someone with the beauty of a Sunflora has the passion of the Magmar!" Brock lunged for Claire but suddenly she was distracted, turning towards the bank and Brock missed, face planting the ground instead.

"Dratini!" Brock groaned and I hid a giggle behind my hand. "Gyarados, Dratini has begun its migration, we have to follow!" And then she was off, running after her Dratini.

"But my sweet! Wait up for me!" Brock called out despairingly but then another voice, one much older, called out as well.

"You mustn't go!" We all turned to see an elderly man running after Claire whilst waving a frantic hand. "Today is much too important a day! If you leave now then I'm afraid we're going to have serious problems!" The man carried a large sack of green on his back, which tumbled from him as he tripped and fell, making us all gasp and rush to him.

"Hey mister!" Ash touched his shoulder to try and see if he would respond.

"Did you hurt yourself sir?" Misty asked tenderly as the man stirred.

"Let me put it this way." He groaned before leaping up and holding out two fingers in a v shape. "I'm still in one piece! Haha! Get it? Peace sign!" He laughed and we all just stared at him with dumbfounded expressions. His laughter was suddenly cut short as he fumbled around searching for something. "Oh no! My treasure, is it gone? Have I lost it?" I turned to the green bag and held it up.

"Uh…is this what you were looking for?" I asked and instantly he snatched it from me, opening it up to reveal a box, which he lifted the lid from to uncover a single fang, aged with time but still in good condition. "Ah there you are! You little rascal!"

"Excuse me." Misty said politely. "But what is that?"

"It's a Dragon Fang!" The old man told us and Ash gave a low whistle.

"That's pretty cool."

"This is the treasure that's been kept in the Blackthorn gym forever! Part of my job is caring for it. I work for Claire at the Blackthorn City gym!" Whoa hold up there a moment.

"Wait, so Claire is the Blackthorn City gym leader?" I questioned and the guy nodded his head.

"That's right. And preserving Blackthorn City's history is just one of our many duties." He told us before yelping. "Agh! Wait! Claire! Wait for me!" He yelled then started running, taking his box and sack with him.

"Wait for us too!" Ash quickly got to his feet and raced after Claire and the old man. Brock, Misty and I all yelled for Ash to slow down and followed after them all, eventually catching up. Claire walked along the bank, following her Dratini who swam upriver and I smiled at its cute little face.

"Legend has it that long ago a fierce dragon Pokémon terrorised the residents of this area." The old man told us as we walked. "Our city's first gym leader defeated that dragon and took one of its fangs as a keepsake." That's pretty awesome. Gotta love dragon Pokémon.

"Oh wow! So that dragon fang must be…"

"The same one from that dragon Pokémon!" Brock finished for Misty as we listened to the story.

"Yup, that's what the legend says! This Dragon Fang has been handed down from generation to generation. I was running to remind Claire that today is the day we are meant to perform the purification ritual."

"That sounds important." Ash noted blankly and the guy nodded his head.

"It is by far the most important duty all gym leaders must perform. Wargh?!" When we all looked ahead, it was to see Claire running off ahead without us. "Wait!" At full pelt we raced on to catch up, losing Claire around the water bend but the moment we'd followed the curve in the river, we saw Claire talking to her Dratini. "Miss Claire! I'm so glad that we found you!"

"Claire! Stay there!" When we caught up our new friend dropped to his knees to plead with Claire who folded her arms and turned her back.

"Please Miss Claire, you have to come back with us right away! Have you forgotten that today's the day of the purification ritual? You must purify the Dragon Fang in the lake water for the sake of all dragon Pokémon. This day only comes once every three years!" He practically yelled, uptight and worried about the fate of the Dragon Fang but Claire remained calm and settled.

"Yes I know that, but I can't go and leave Dratini alone right now! At this moment, Dratini is preparing to shed its skin, which means Dratini is completely vulnerable and needs someone to provide protection." She revealed and I blinked. I understand now. With Dratini preparing to shed its skin, it becomes lethargic and weak, so it needs someone to help keep it safe.

"Look!" Misty said and we all looked at Dratini who had opened its eyes. "Dratini woke up."

"We've got to follow Dratini, Gyarados." Claire called up to her Gyarados and the two of them instantly followed after Dratini as it swam upstream.

"But wait! Miss Claire!" With that we were left standing alone, watching in slight bewilderment as they all ran on ahead.

"Maybe we should go too." Ash suggested and we all nodded our heads in unison.

"Right!" We followed Claire up the river where she now stood at a narrower part of the water where Gyarados was just too big to get through and there were numerous rocks in the way.

"Looks like you can't get much further." Claire noted then turned up to Gyarados with a smile, lifting her Pokéball. "Alright Gyarados, return." She hung her head sadly, ignoring her friend as he pleaded with her to come back so I jogged forwards and caught up with her as the old man fell off the rock he had climbed and crushed Ash on the ground.

"You know, I have some friends who could help." I told her and she blinked at me.

"Really?" I nodded my head with a smile then pulled out two Pokéballs, holding one in each hand before tossing them out over the water.

"Okay guys, time to play bodyguard! Let's help Claire protect Dratini!" I said brightly as both Vaporeon and Dragonair appeared with a flash of light, forming in the water then lifted their heads to call out.

"Vaporeon!" I giggled as Vaporeon splashed the water with her tail at me before she dove under then swam around Dratini who blinked in surprise before giving a smile at Vaporeon's playful nature.

"A Dragonair!" Claire gasped as Dragonair turned her majestic head towards us, swimming alongside Dratini who snuggled close for comfort. "I'm impressed." She complimented before giving a smile. "You know, I never caught your name."

"It's Ruby. Ruby Bates." I told her. "It's nice to meet you Claire, and your Dratini." I gave a warm smile before looking out over the water where Vaporeon was now swimming on Dratini's other side. "That's it you two, we've got to help Dratini get to a waterfall so it can shed its skin. You'll both help us out, won't you?" I asked and they called back in answer, assuring me they had everything under control.

We walked for another mile or so until Dratini needed to rest so we stopped at a creek where Claire shared her lunch with us. "Here dig in. I knew we'd be following Dratini for a while so I made plenty." She said and I instantly dove in, grabbing a sandwich with a smile.

"These are good!" I beamed, chomping it all down before I wiped my mouth and looked over to Dragonair and Vaporeon. "Sorry guys, you must be hungry too! Here you go." I said, pulling out two pots of Pokémon food and shook it out into two bowls which I set on the ground for them both. Sniffing Dragonair's special food made by Brock, Dratini woke up and looked at it intriguingly. "I'm sure Dragonair won't mind sharing a little if you'd like some Dratini, I've got plenty." I said with a smile as I leaned over the water's edge.

Dragonair shifted back and gently nudged Dratini closer to her food, letting Dratini take a sniff and a nibble before it cheered happily and began to munch down on its soft texture. I used another bowl to put in front of Dratini, topped both bowls up with food then poured some Miltank milk onto Dratini's for extra nourishment.

"Excuse me, Claire? Once Dratini has shed its skin, I was wondering if you'd face me in a gym battle." I heard Ash say so I stood up and walked over to his side.

"Yeah me too!" I said excitedly with a smile.

"A gym battle?" Claire questioned, a little surprised at our request.

"Right!" We both chorused, nodding our heads at the same time. "You see, Ash and I have been challenging gym leaders all over Johto. So far we have seven badges and we only need one more before we can enter the Johto league." I explained and Claire finally gave a smile.

"Wow I'm impressed. Then of course, I'd be happy to battle you both." She said and we both smiled.

"Thank you very much."

"Pika!" Pikachu echoed before our friend, who it turns out was called Kaburagi, nodded towards the gym badges Ash had shown Claire, all neatly aligned in his inside jacket.

"I see that you have the Glacier Badge, so you must have been to the Mahogany gym, am I correct?" He questioned and Ash nodded his head.

"Yeah." He informed so Kaburagi continued.

"There was a crazy rumour floating around a while back about a red Gyarados causing all sorts of trouble in Mahogany Town." He left the question hanging in the air so Brock proceeded to explain things.

"That story is true but everything's alright now."

"Lance one of the elite four was there, and he saved everybody. With some help from Ruby of course." Misty added with a big smile as I waved a hand and tucked in my cheek, hiding my embarrassment.

"Not really. I nearly made myself a Gyarados snack." But Claire was already moving on.

"You saw Lance?" She asked and Ash laughed.

"You bet we did! He captured the red Gyarados and helped capture some of Team Rocket."

"Lance trained here at the Blackthorn gym for quite a long time." Claire told us as Kaburagi folded his arms and gave a proud little smile as he lowered his head.

"It's the headquarters for all up and coming dragon trainers." He revealed and I laughed.

"That's why Lance is such a great trainer! He came here to study so both he and his Pokémon grew strong." Claire looked up at the sky as she thought back to the time when Lance was under her tuition.

"I trainer Lance for many months at the Blackthorn gym. Or maybe I should be saying he was training me." She laughed before looking at Ash and I. "So now I'm looking forward to battling two acquaintances of Lance's."

"We are too, thank you Claire!"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed with Ash as I put away the bowls after the Pokémon finished eating.

"What have we here?" An elderly lady questioned as she and her husband approached the lake. "Look at that darling Dratini." She said softly, walking stick in hand.

"Well I'll be damned you're right! And quite a rarity too." He agreed as the lady held up her hands together in thanks.

"We are truly fortunate to see such a sight as this, oh thank you, thank you thank you!" The old lady said as we all watched them carefully. "What do you say pa, how about a picture?" She suggested, turning to her husband who answered.

"Well ma, that's not a half bad idea!" He said, whipping out a camera and peered into it. "Now say little whippersnapper!" He called as he snapped up a photo of his wife standing on the bank next to a sleeping Dratini but then she waved her hand.

"Oh no, I'm sure my smile must have looked very unnatural and shown that wrinkle I have right here." She said, pointing to a spot on her cheek where I couldn't see any kind of wrinkle at all.

"Whatever you say ma!" He answered as he took another one.

"Darn I blinked at the wrong time!" Suddenly they began to fuss with the camera, the lady never liking a single shot and her husband answering with loud voices, so I assumed they may have been hard of hearing.

"Excuse me you two lovebirds, but could you be a teensy bit quieter please?" Claire requested politely. "My Dratini is going through a very difficult time and needs to have some rest." She explained and the old lady gave a guilty smile.

"Land and motion, we're sorry." She said to us.

"We certainly didn't want to be bothering anyone!" Her husband said with an equally warm smile so Claire waved her hands slightly.

"No problem, I understand." She assured them as the lady turned to her husband.

"Now pa, we need to be as quiet as little church mice." She told him firmly.

"If we were very still would you mind if we had a closer looksee?" He asked Claire who nodded her head.

"Of course, please do." Dragonair lifted her head and opened her eyes from where she had been dozing and turned to look down at the old couple as they crouched down by the waterside, gazing at the sleeping Dratini and Vaporeon stood up from the rock she had been bathing on, keeping a careful eye out.

"Well I declare, what a little pudding." The lady said with a wistful sigh.

"Makes you want to reach out and grab it!" Her husband said as she stood up, now wearing a malicious smirk on her face.

"It sure does!" with a flourish of her hand she threw out a net and captured Dratini who started awake and began to thrash about as we all gasped.

"Alright, what's the meaning of this?!" Claire demanded as the couple faced us.

"Prepare for trouble, we're not crotchety and old." The lady revealed and I blinked. Hang on, don't I know that motto?

"And make it double because we're youthful and bold!" Her companion answered. But wait, only Jessie and James said the Team Rocket motto. Does that mean these two nice looked elderly couple were part of that stupid gang as well?

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" They chanted in their ancient sounding voices before they suddenly whipped off their disguises, making my eyes widen.

"Voila! Jessie!"

"And James." The declared, Jessie still holding Dratini in the net as Dragonair began to rage, thrashing the water and searching for a way to get Dratini back without hurting it as Vaporeon leaped forwards and stood before me, ready for my command.

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the stunning speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!" James added as the balloon appeared overhead.

"Meowth, in flight!" Meowth called from the basket, lowering it down towards the ground as he laughed.

"Team Rocket!" We all chorused but Meowth merely held up a round object.

"Hey! Smoke gets in your eyes!" He sang before dropping it on the ground. Everyone yelled and ran for cover but I merely pointed up at it as it fell.

"Vaporeon, batter up!" I called and instantly she darted forwards, leaped up into the air with a twist then smacked the ball back at Meowth, who yelled as it came soaring back and hit him straight in the face and knocked him back into the basket. It burst open and smoke poured out, filling the basket as Jessie and James screeched between coughs.

"Meowth what are you doing?! Get us out of here!" I then saw Dratini dangling in the net below the balloon, hanging there suspended as it tried to wriggle free.

"Dragonair, go get Dratini back from those crooks!" I said with a smile and Dragonair instantly burst out of the water, flying up with eyes narrowed in concentration. She opened her mouth and grabbed the net, tearing it from the basket then turned to face the balloon with an angry glower. "Vaporeon, Ice Beam go!"

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said, joining my side and together, the two Pokémon unleashed their attacks as Dragonair quickly moved out the way, lowering to the ground and put Dratini down, helping untangle it from the net.

The Team Rocket balloon got a full blast of a double attack, bursting their bubble all too soon and it dropped down to the ground, sending Team Rocket into a messy heap. "I'll get you twerps for this!" Jessie growled.

"Weezing go! Sludge attack!" James yelled, pointing as he sent out his Pokéball but Claire stepped in front of us, blocking the way.

"Gyarados Hydro Pump, let's go!" She called, tossing her Pokéball into the water which was a little deeper than it had been before and Gyarados rose up with a roar, making even me shiver as Vaporeon squeaked then leaped up into my arms, watching as Gyarados blasted Weezing back at James, splattering them on the ground.

"What are you doing James? Get up!" Jessie wailed. "Go get my Dratini back!"

"I guess that's what you can expect from a gym leader." Meowth said as Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokéball and shielded his eyes with one arm.

"Wobbuffet!"

"This is no time to be impressed." Jessie growled at her Pokémon as Ash pointed to Team Rocket.

"Give 'em a Thunderbolt Pikachu!" He directed and Pikachu instantly leaped up into the air, cheeks crackling with energy.

"Pika…CHUUU!"

"Wobbuffet, Counter attack, go!" Jessie ordered and Wobbuffet glowed with a red sheen, standing out in front of Pikachu's attack and it struck him broad in the chest, sparking off in all directions, including right back at us!

"No!" I yelled and turned, trying to shield Vaporeon from the bolt heading at us but then Dragonair appeared and used Protect, placing a shield large enough to surround us, Ash, Misty and everyone else save Claire, who dived for Dratini.

"Oh no you don't!" She yelled and flung herself in the way of a bolt, taking the hit with a cry of pain. "It's alright…I'll protect you…Dratini!" She said as her body was charged full of electricity. Wow, now that took some guts. I admire her all the more for doing something as brave as that. "What is it? Dratini?"

From within the safety of our shield, I saw Dratini suddenly begin to glow. No way! Check it out! Dragonair dropped the shield and we all gasped, staring as Dratini began to change shape. "It must be shedding!" Ash said so I whacked him on the back of the head, flooring him to the ground.

"No genius, Dratini is evolving!" I corrected him. "Of course, it all makes sense! Dratini was acting exactly the same way my Dratini was when she was preparing to evolve! Right Dragonair?" I asked and Dragonair rubbed her head against mine as we looked at the newly evolved Dragonair.

"Oh my! You've evolved into a gorgeous Dragonair!" Claire gasped with a bright smile but Jessie's face plummeted.

"What?!"

"Oh yeah!" Ash cheered with laughter along with us all as he pulled out Dexter to listen to the information.

"Dragonair, the dragon Pokémon. Dragonair has the ability to manipulate the elements as it wishes." It told us and I looked to my smaller, more elegant looking Dragonair.

"We know that one already." I said, giving her another hug as I continued to hold Vaporeon in my arms. As I spoke, Claire's Dragonair rose up into the sky and the orb at its throat began to glow, making the sky grow dark with storm clouds until a bolt of lightning came crashing down and struck Team Rocket, giving them another bout of electric power.

"Behold, Dragonair's true power!" Kaburagi declared.

"All this time, Dragonair was just storing up energy so it could evolve." Claire said as Team Rocket stood back up. Jessie clenched her fists and stomped her foot, wailing unhappily to anyone who could hear.

"Why is everybody so giddy about it evolving? It was much cuter, more lovable the other way!" She complained.

"You can't stop progress Jess and besides, it's even rarer than before." James pointed out, holding his chin thoughtfully as Meowth grinned excitedly.

"The bigger they are the more dough those dragon Pokémon bring in!"

"Fine." Jessie huffed. "Let's catch it and sell it and I'll forget I ever wanted a cute pet. I knew we should have taken the twerp's Dratini when we had a chance." I tittered my tongue and shook my head.

"Not a chance. Let's go everybody!" I cheered and Claire nodded her head.

"Weezing, Sludge attack!" James called but Claire was already one step ahead.

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Weezing was blasted with a powerful attack from Gyarados, knocking him back into Team Rocket and flattened them. "Dragonair, blow them away with Twister!"

"You too Dragonair, let's make it a double hit!" I called and both Dragonair rose up into the air side by side, the orbs on their tails glowing brightly before they twisted around in unison, sending a powerful hurricane like attack at Team Rocket which instantly sucked them up into the powerful wind currents and tossed them high up into the sky.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" And I hope it stays that way for a while. Turning with a laugh I put Vaporeon down then flung my arms around Dragonair as she lowered back to the ground.

"You were great Dragonair! You too Vaporeon, I'm so proud of you both." I said, letting Vaporeon jump up onto my back and she hung over my shoulder to lick my face as Dragonair covered my other cheek, making me giggle as they both got as close to me as they could get.

"Looks like Team Rocket has booked a nonstop flight on Dragon-Air! Haha!" Kaburagi chortled at his own joke and I gave a little giggle, hugging my two Pokémon close before letting them back into their Pokéballs for a long rest.

Suddenly Dragonair began to swim quickly away and Claire raced after it. "Where're you going now?"

"Wait for me!" Kaburagi yelled, running after Claire as the rest of us stared after them.

"Do you think we should follow?" Ash asked so I nodded my head.

"Might be a good idea." So we ran after them, quickly following their trail until the moon was high and we found ourselves at a hidden waterfall, with two stone arches pointing upwards at the top as if they were holding the full moon between them. I gasped in awe, staring around me as Claire breathed in admiration.

"I've never been here before."

"I think…they call this the River-Head falls." Kaburagi said, looking around as we all continued to stare in astonishment. This place was so beautiful and serene. I could quite happily take a nap here and not wake up for a long time it was so peaceful. Not even the waterfall made that much of a sound. "The water from these falls flow straight down into Blackthorn lake." He added.

"Dragonair must have brought us here on purpose." Claire said with a smile, stepping closer to the water edge.

"For what, Claire?" Ash asked so she explained further.

"This is a perfect place for the ritual!"

"And we have just enough time before midnight to do it." Kaburagi announced before withdrawing the box from his sack to hand it to Claire. I watched in complete spellbound silence as Claire began the ritual, changing into her gym leader attire beforehand.

"We ask the universe to bring peace and happiness to all dragons. Be they dragons of the sky, dragons of the earth, or dragons of the water." She said before cupping her hand in the water and sprinkled a few drops onto the fang.

Almost immediately it began to glow, radiating a perfect golden light which had my eyes widening as I stared at the beautiful scene before me, the light growing bigger and brighter in a sphere until finally it rose up into a broad beam, shaping into the head of a dragon as it spiralled up into the moon and left a trail of bright, luminous dust which sparkled in the moonlight. Now that…was amazing. Plus, it's got me super psyched for tomorrow's battle, it's going to be the most awesome battle ever!