Legend of the Ice Drakes

Chapter 3: The Nursery

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or anything that it incorporates.

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

The claw nearly hit its target, the intended victim recoiling before the attack could land. The young members of the surrounding crowd widened their eyes and became even louder, each calling out the name of the contender they supported as they crawled over one another to find a better place to view the fight.

It was once again time for the participants' weekly spar. This one was of utmost importance, marking exactly one year since Ash had joined the Nursery. They continued to trade blows, both trying to brutally overpower the other. The human boy's body systems had been developing in overdrive for the past twelve months, allowing him to be able to hold his own against dragons meant for battle. Ever since it became clear that Ash was growing stronger, Zenith had developed a rivalry with his roommate, visiting him in the Nursery to spar on his day off every week. However, combat was not necessarily uncommon in there due to the innate urge of the room's young Pokémon residents to chase, run, play, and fight.

There was no time for Ash to rest after dodging that last hit. As he began to try to regain his balance, his feet started to sink as the ground beneath him was ground into course sand. Zenith took this as a sign to attack seeing that his move was successful. The Land Shark Pokémon charged forward, his right claw glowing as he angled it back in preparation for Slash.

Wincing at the memory of the scar on his side as a result of the last time he was hit by that move, Ash spun in place as he redirected his opponent, using the Pokémon's own momentum in throwing him. The following collision with the ground forced Zenith to cancel Sand Tomb.

It didn't take too long for the Pokémon to recover soon after the throw. Although tired at this point into the match, he forced power into both of his claws as they glowed a deep blue before turning towards the panting boy. Once eye contact was made, a small smirk found its way onto Zenith's face, eliciting a similar expression on Ash's.

'A test of power then, huh? Okay...Ice Punch!' Icy blue auras developed around Ash's forearms and fists, drawing the attention of the crowd as he ran forward with his arms at his sides at a speed of a sprinter. He coiled them back in preparation for the collision with Zenith's Dragon Claws, the act resulting in a standstill. Both kept trying desperately to push the other back, but as soon as it seemed as though one of them was about to win, the other would somehow manage to barely hang on.

"Just...give...up!" Zenith called between heavy breaths, frustrated yet inwardly proud of his roommate.

"How...could I?" All of the Ice Drakes knew of his determination at this point, he made sure of that. Although he stood out from the rest just by being human, he was often discriminated against by some members of the clan for the very same reason. He wanted them to see that he was truly a member too, one worthy of respect. His desire for recognition was fueled even more so by the Ice Drake blood gushing inside of him.

He reeled his entire body back before finding enough strength within to punt Zenith away. Taking a deep breath, his lungs became enlarged before violently unleashing dark pieces of raw energy upon his opponent. They were imbued within his body prelaunch, the attack being full of fury and rage. The hits that managed to land on the evading Pokémon were enough to knock him down. Ash grinned widely at his work, having learned the move on his own a few days ago after seeing a clanmate perform it.

'Since when does he know Dragon Rage? He's going to beat all of us at this rate...' Zenith found himself struggling to stand from the fresh burns on his back, wincing as he tried. He was pulled up not long after. He knew he'd lost.

"That was a close fight! I'm getting stronger, aren't I?" The innocent and hopeful look on the boisterous boy's face contrasted heavily with his behavior in the spar just now. The Gible grinned back at him as he let Ash help guide him towards the Infirmary.

"You're still the same kid I found in the snow a year ago." Teasing him would make Zenith feel a bit better after losing. Just a bit.

"Am not!" Ash glared at his friend, for how dare he not notice how much he's improved!

"Think whatever makes you happy, Ashy-boy."

And for some damn reason he hated that nickname.

"They've become quite strong, haven't they?" asked Fiona, looking at the exit that the pair had just taken. "Even with our blood within them, they've been progressing astonishingly. Zenith has only benefited from the competitive nature of their friendship and Ash's improvement from the first year alone is more than I can say about the rest of the Nursery. It's almost like they became brothers to one another. I'm not sure if this will continue at the current rate, however."

The figure next to her waited a few moments before replying. "We've barely seen the surface of Zenith's potential. I have no doubt that he'll grow even stronger than me one day. But I am also thankful for his change in attitude, it appears as if he has found a companion to confide to. Being my son has probably isolated him from the rest as a consequence of his role, but having another anomaly in here should help." He paused and took a deep breath, knowing that the human child was improving at an even faster rate than his son. "...Maybe the boy's ready to venture outside again." The neighboring dragon turned towards him, a hesitant look on her face.

"...Will you tell your son to take him out on a hunt?" A slight nod was the response she got from the stoic figure.

The Garchomp got off from his position against the wall of the Nursery shortly after, straightening his posture before heading towards the main exit.

Ash walked behind his roommate on their way towards the Dining Den, an apologetic look on his face as he saw the marks left by his Dragon Rage earlier. "You sure you don't want any more treatment? I can head back and-"

"Don't bother. I'm fine, really." Ash didn't know if he was just acting tough because he was Zarbon's son or not. The two did eventually make it to the large, and unsurprisingly loud, dining room. They walked inside, where Pokémon were feasting on the earnings from the hunt a few days ago. Drool came from Zenith's gaping mouth at the sight of piles of food, and some came from Ash's too. In the course of a year, he had changed both physically and mentally. What used to disgust him is now just second nature. After all, it wasn't as if he could meet his needs on just frozen plants and berries when juicy meat and bones were practically begging him to eat them. They sat themselves down next to one another at an empty table carved using the same techniques as the tunnels. Ash stayed as Zenith went to one of the food piles to get both of their rations.

The year went by so fast in his eyes. To him, he was still the same kid from the crash, as normal as ever. To an onlooker, however, he was drastically different. He had much more muscle mass than a normal six-year-old, also managing to keep lean. His mentality was closer to that of a Pokémon as it was centralized around survival and natural instinct. His hair was allowed to grow out and run wild across his bare chest, having forgone his shirt long ago. He was a wild animal when it came to human standards. But when looked at by a nonjudgmental eye, it can be seen that he was now a warrior, strong enough to fend for himself with enough strength to provide for others. He slowly met the criteria of an ideal Pokémon.

His reminiscence of his time at the Nursery came to a screeching halt as he saw the giant plates of food being carried towards his table. Since Fiona was one of the few members of the clan who cared for him like he was her own child, she made sure that the dragons who prepared the food smoked his on a flame first in consideration for his digestive system. Consequently, the meats smelled considerably better to him as they were brought to the table.

Ash licked his lips at the sight of the juices oozing from the fatty Swinub-chops. "H-how long has it been since we had fresh Swinub? Three months? Four?!" The Pokémon was not too common, even within its natural range.

Zenith smiled at how Ash's eager eyes were locked onto the plates as he slowly and teasingly placed them on the table. He pulled Ash's plate back before he could snatch it, causing the boy to gape indignantly at him. "Know your manners, Ash," said Zenith as he finally relented and passed the plate across. At that moment, watching the boy eat was like feeding a starving Gyarados. The entire mountain of food on the plate seemingly vanished into the infinite abyss that is Ash Ketchum's stomach within seconds. 'The looks of a human, the blood of dragons, and the stomach of a Snorlax. What an utterly terrifying combination...'

The Gible couldn't help but snicker as the boy across from him wiped the food from his lips.

Ash trudged back to his room with his hand on his now-rumbling stomach. 'Maybe swallowing down half a Swinub wasn't such a good idea...'

Zenith had been called on earlier to the Meeting Room after they had eaten, making Ash walk back to their shared room alone. He would've been lost in the tunnels if he was by himself when he had first arrived here, but by now he'd memorized them all. Since they were one of the last ones to eat in the Dining Den, Ash was now walking back in a seemingly empty main tunnel.

But for the second time that day, he was engaged in battle.

Ash ducked and rolled under the Dragon Pulse aimed at his back, coming to a stop before turning to face his attacker who dashed to reposition too fast for him to get a good look at. Without warning, freezing gusts of wind were sent his way, causing him to shiver under the pressure.

"Interesting.../I'd expected you to have been taken down from the first hit." Ash hadn't heard from these voices in a long time, but he knew without a doubt who they belonged to.

It was the same dragon who'd suggested for his death during the meeting when he was introduced to the rest of the clan a year ago. He later found out that his name was Kei, also being a relative of Lucius.

Seeing a pitch black sphere of energy generating between the two heads, Ash prepared his own attack. Taking a deep breath, he launched a Dragon Rage straight at him, which was canceled out by the emission of dark energy.

'It's as strong as my Dark Pulse/ So the rumors are true...'

Ash waited for the dragon's next sign of attack so that he could counter with his own. But before anything else could happen, a fast blue blur tackled the Zweilous into the wall. Zenith glared at who he had just sent crashing into the tunnel wall with Take Down.

"Pick on someone your own size, buddy!" It was obvious that Zenith ignored the fact that Ash was more than a foot taller than him by now.

The Gible's roommate rushed to stand next to him as they both faced Kei who shook off the damage he had taken from the impact. The emotionless two-headed Dragon-type stared blankly back at them, causing Zenith and Ash to tense up. "I was only testing if all the talk about his progress was true/ I heard that he beat you in a spar, son of Zarbon." He stretched out his two wings that had taken the most damage from the collision with the wall. "I can understand how/ That Take Down was weak."

Zenith bared his teeth at the one who had not only assaulted his friend, but insulted him. "Just who do you-"

"I'm leaving to my own quarters/ Have a nice day." Kei slowly began to walk towards a side tunnel that would lead him to his own quarters. 'To think that he's gotten that strong/ He's going to kill all of us at this rate...' The dragon began to grind his teeth as he walked out, furious at the leaders for letting such a threat stay. Humans were not to be trusted, never again to be trusted. He'd learn that the hard way before.

"He still has it out for me I guess..." Ash said as he tried to give Zenith a sheepish grin, but his frustrated roommate knew that it was fake. They'd come to know each other much better over the last year. Ash got a fake glare back in response, since the Gible knew of the boy's forgiving nature.

"Don't ever let your guard down, Ash. It'll be the end of you." Zenith gestured towards the direction of their room before the two began to walk there once again. "There's something my father wanted me to tell you, Ashy-boy."

"What is it?" he asked as he gave Zenith a questioning look.

"You'll be-"

"And can you please stop calling me that!" To Ash, the nickname took priority over the other matter.

Zenith cleared his throat, much like his father does. "As I was saying, you'll be joining me on my next hunt. He said something about you experiencing the world again, or something like that." He continued to walk on ahead, ignorant of the fact that Ash had stopped.

"So...I'm going outside again..." He was never able to forget about the accident, no matter how much he tried. His love for his own mother wouldn't allow him to abandon the memory so easily.

"Yeah, Ash...

The outside."

Ash

- Dragon Rage

- Ice Punch

Zenith

- Dig

- Dragon Claw

- Sand Tomb

- Slash

- Take Down

Author's Note: Been a while, eh?