Hello, what's up everyone! Quick Question: I know Pokémon Go has almost already faded from the popular life, but I still wanna know; which team did you guys pick? Just to let you know, I'm part of Instinct! The one true team filled with fun and dreams! XD Don't like it? Who the hell cares? I know I don't. And just a heads up, the mentioning of Legendary Pokémon will be in this chapter. Especially one of my favorites, Zapdos. (The other two favorites being Rayquaza and Groudon) You also might catch mentions of attacks that Zapdos doesn't normally have, but you, being a feathery titan of lightness doesn't really limit him to such things.

Anyway, let's move on!

FWI, I plan on adding some filler chapters after the end of Promise Me. Probably battles or scenarios that people want to see. Hopefully I can fit them in right.

(Also, I'd still highly appreciate it if people create fanart of King for me XD Like I said before, just picture Mega Charizard X's body and colors mixed with Y's ragged wings and spiked tail! If someone makes some fanart, I'll link it on my page for everyone to see!)

"So, this is it then?" - Human Speech

'Wow, I expected something... more.' - Human Thoughts

"Ready for the worst mistake of your life?" - Pokémon Speech

'I'm itching for a fight you little shit!' - Pokémon Thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, except my Mega OC!

Chapter 4: Story Time

"You're a human?" Iris' mouth gaped in awe.

"Correction: Used to. I used to be human." King informed nonchalantly.

They had just gotten through the introduction of King's history, the true mind-blower.

At first, Iris was close to calling King out on his bluff and was about to demand an honest answer. However, after King had reminded her of the logic that he, a Pokémon, was currently speaking perfect English to her, was enough to prove his words held some form of truth behind them. And just like King expected, Iris had been gob-smacked after he got finished explaining exactly who and what Arceus was to him.

The creator of the world, the universe and every living thing residing inside it.

And the being who gave him another chance at life.

While he had not personally seen her in action, King endlessly praised Arceus' powers from his experience in her realm. As well as communicating with her and a few others.

Others being the selected Legendary Pokémon, Arceus' specially created children.

He mentioned that after evolving into his Charizard self, he had gotten the chance to battle plenty of enemies throughout the years. Some of them being Legends themselves. Included in his history was King's first experience meeting Zapdos; the bird of thunder and king of Lightning Types.

It started off harmless with King trying to find a new home to live in, a way to escape constant battling against trainers. However by chance, King had traveled across Kanto and found one of a group of islands in the ocean.

Which was the home of Zapdos himself.

And the second the two of them had locked eyes, King found out the hard way how territorial Zapdos was of his home.

"I wouldn't call it much of a fun battle." King said flatly, remembering how Zapdos jumped from surprise to warning threats to all out launching lightning bolts from the sky before he could explain himself. King waved a hand in a so-so kind of manner. "Eeeh, it was more of a life and death kind of deal. It was pretty intense, I'll tell you that."

It was a battle that surpassed all of his other fights prior to that day, including his match against Lance.

Hour after hour, the skies had been filled with blue fire and streaks of golden lightning in a twisted way to resemble an angry lightshow. Having been a Mega Pokémon since birth, it had been King's extra strength given to him by Arceus herself, that enabled him to fight for so long. Especially the times he had to endure the pain and keep fighting on to stay alive.

It was Flamethrower against Electro-Balls, Aerial Aces to avoid incoming Discharge strikes, Fire-Blast to overpower Drill Peck, and Flare Blitz to tie against Volt Tackle…

There had been plenty of moves thrown about that King eventually learned through self-training and in-battle strategies. Moves like Dragon Pulse, Twister, Fire Punch, Dragon Claw, more and more to protect himself against Zapdos' endless lightning-bolts.

Eventually, after nearly 5 hours of straight battling, the commotion had finally gotten the attention of Zapdos' sleeping sisters: Articuno and Moltres. Not only them, but even the Guardian of the Sea, Lugia himself.

"It was rough and I ached all over." King remembered the agonizing pain in his wings from over-flying to dodge attacks. As well as the endless tingling he felt in his muscles from too much contact with electricity. "But I managed to fight until we both dropped. It was technically ended as a draw. Zapdos hit me with a fully powered Thunder and I hit him with my strongest Fire-Blast to the face."

"Whoa…" Iris gasped. The story was quick to pull her in. "Then what happened?"

"Well, after falling from the sky and collapsing on Zapdos' island, neither of us wanted to move anymore. Not that we could of course. We were both too tired and in pain to move. The adrenaline having faded away, I took the chance to explain myself. So few minutes, I repeatedly tried to clear up any misunderstandings between us, but Zapdos still refused to listen. Heck, I even tried to butter him up by complimenting his strength. Still didn't listen." King shook his head and let out a sigh. "That bird was stubborn. Too stubborn. Luckily I didn't have to wait long until the other Legendaries showed up."

Luckily, Zapdos' sisters and Lugia were more patient and understanding to know the term 'talk first, attack later'.

First it was Lugia who questioned the two of them, starting with Zapdos first. It was like he knew the legendary was prone for trouble and expected nothing less when hearing Zapdos' story of how the thunder-bird went ballistic trying protecting his home.

Then after Lugia questioned King, the group finally got Zapdos to understand that he wasn't invading with any ill-intent, but looking for a home. And not only did they explain King's innocence, but they also revealed their knowledge of his existence, courtesy of Arceus who held a meeting a few years prior.

A meeting Zapdos forgot to attend because he had fallen ill and overslept.

Apparently all of the Legendaries knew about King's extraordinary powers and history of being human. But none of them made any attempt at meeting him so far. Instead, they waited patiently for him to reach one of them.

And it so happened to be Zapdos, one of the most hard-headed and extremely challenging fighters in the Legend Circle, to meet King face-to-face before anyone else.

"I tell you, when I say that fight was the toughest thing I've ever survived in, I mean it. Zapdos is the reason I have so many scars." King lurched his head up and pointed a claw to his face, specifically the scar over his eye. "Including this one right here." He had to explain to Iris that the tinier scars over his scales were the ones he got from battling trainers. But the big ones, like the scar over his eye, they were all from Zapdos.

"Ooh, what happened?" Iris winced, trying to imagine how painful it was fresh.

"I barely dodged a Steel Wing to the face. Zapdos' wings aren't just sharp for show."

"Did it hurt?" It was a dumb question, even Iris knew it. But she had to ask. It wasn't every day she had the chance to learn about a battle against a Legendary Bird.

"Burned like a bi-heck. It burned like heck." He quickly correcting himself, nearly slipping a curse word into the mix.

"It's ok." Iris poked his chest with a finger and giggled. "I know all about curse words."

"Doesn't mean you're old enough to listen and use them." King narrowed his eyes at her, but he had a smirk. There was no way in hell he'd use foul language around children. Another giggle, but she made no further attempts to argue over curse words.

"But King, how were you able to fight Zapdos to a draw? I thought you're just a Charizard."

"Another correction: I'm a Mega Charizard now, born a Mega Charmander to be honest. And apparently I'm something of a mix between X and Y, whatever that means. But it's because of Arceus' gift that gave me so much power to fight. And it's kind of funny that you asked because after meeting the Legendary Birds and Sea Guardian, Lugia told me that I was strong. Really strong. Like, I could be called a legendary Pokémon if I wanted to."

"Aren't you?"

"Eh, I guess you can call me that. But it's mostly a title. They can call me anything they want. But I would be happy to be considered a legend. After winning so many battles, I wouldn't be surprised."

"No wonder nobody could catch you." Iris declared with outstretched arms. She began to laugh. "You're too strong for them to handle!"

"That and I really didn't want to be captured." King admitted with a grumble.

"What do you mean?" The girl blinked in confusion. She was quick to notice the hint of resentment lingering around the word 'capture'. A hint that pegged the question. "Surely, being captured isn't that bad. Right?"

"I mean," King started with a scowl. "after living as a free Pokémon for a few years, I got to see things from their perspective. While living in the wild is a little underrated, I would definitely choose that over a Pokéball." King's arms raised in front of Iris and his hands made the shape of an imaginary ball. "Just picture it. I have a chance to live again and I've been free in both lives. Being confined in a tiny ball isn't exactly appealing to anyone. Which is why I'm against catching Pokémon anyway."

Iris arched a brow. "I guess a Pokéball is a little too uncomfortable for a Pokémon to live in, but why would that make you hate Pokémon Trainers? They did nothing bad. Right?"

"It's not the trainers I'm talking about. It's catching Pokémon in general. It's like a contract for enslavement, forcing someone to battle others." The way King spoke earned a frown from the girl laying on his stomach. "If a Pokémon agrees to join its trainer, I'm perfectly okay with it. But hunting them down and ripping them from their habitats is where I draw the line."

"But... plenty of Pokémon enjoy battling and all of them become friends with their trainers." As Iris spoke, her voice grew meek. She felt the atmosphere grow a bit tense once she made direct eye-contact with the Charizard.

"Sorry to say Iris, but not every Pokémon gets the luxury of having a nice trainer. Some people enjoy poaching Pokémon, only to trade them for profit. Others like to catch Pokémon and violently shape them into a battle-ready machine without any show of love." King eventually took notice of Iris' depressed expression and saw how each word made the frown on her face grow. He needed to monitor his words carefully. He tapped her shoulder with a single claw. "Look, I don't want to ruin a Pokémon Trainer's reputation for you, but I'm just saying what I believe in."

"I… I'm not sure if I want to be a trainer anymore." Iris said quietly. The uncertainty in her voice King do a double-take. Did he just crush a little girl's dream? "If catching Pokémon is so bad, I don't want to upset anyone. Especially you…"

They had finally gotten passed all the depressing talk and now King's words risked a relapse. After a moment of thinking, King finally came to an idea. "... Maybe we can both get what we want." King said as he suddenly sat up, causing Iris to squeak in surprise and slide off. She would've fallen to the floor if it weren't for King catching her at the last moment. "But I need you to promise me something."

After finding proper footing, Iris stood up and smoothed the wrinkles out of her clothing. "Promise you what?"

"I don't want you to change your dream just because I'm grumping about catching Pokémon." The Mega Pokémon jutted a thumb-claw lightly against the scales on his chest. "So I came up with an idea that helps both of us. I want you to become a trainer, but I want you to do it in a special way." Before Iris could ask what he was talking about, King continued to explain. "You said you want to become a Dragon Master, right?" A nod of confirmation. "Then I challenge you to make the strongest team you can. But the twist is you cannot, you listening, cannot battle a Pokémon into your team. The challenge is to make a bond with a Pokémon and have it agree to join you."

"Think you can do that?" King finally concluded with a question, watching the girl silently think it over. It didn't take to long before she came to an answer.

"That's exactly what a Dragon Master is supposed to be." Iris began with a smile. "I don't want to force anyone, not after hearing you talk about it like it's a bad thing. But rather, I want to make friends that I can grow strong with."

"Challenge accepted?" King held out his smallest finger, his pinkie.

"Challenge-" Just as Iris hooked her pinkie around his, a yawn found its way out of her mouth. "Challenge accepted, King."

It was at this point that King noticed exactly how tired she was. Even after a good nap to recover from small wounds, Iris had tiny bags under her eyes and the way she was hunched over tipped him off.

Without a warning, Iris let out an "Eep!" when King picked her up in his arms and walked her over to the pile of leafs on the floor. "C'mon kiddo, time for bed. I don't want you to be exhausted during the day tomorrow." Using his tail to gather up the leafs into a softer pile, King gently set Iris down on her back near the fireplace.

Just as King went to walk away, he felt a tiny hand grab onto his tail. He flinched for a moment, thinking he accidentally burned his new friend, but he was glad when he looked down and found that she was unscathed. Iris only gave another yawn and looked at him with tired eyes. "Where are you going, King?"

"I'm going to sleep near the cave entrance. I need to make sure nothing comes in during the night." Then with a teasing grin, King added - "And I'm pretty sure girls your age want privacy, right?"

"Don't." The purple haired child mumbled. "I don't wanna be alone…" King wasn't sure if it was the way she said it or if he lost his touch against the world's infamous puppy eyes. But he felt himself fall under Iris' command quicker than he'd like to admit. With an eye-roll, the Mega Pokémon nodded his head.

"Ok, kid. Make some room."

Iris didn't hesitate to scooch over on her leafs just as King laid down. Letting loose a yawn of his own, King wasn't really surprised that the time for sleep was catching up to him. He made sure to find a suitable place on the ground that wouldn't end up with him crushing Iris in his sleep. Afterwards, he looked over to make sure Iris was right beside him. Without thinking, King soon realized that he had draped one of his wings over the little girl.

He felt her snuggle up under his wing and King found Iris already fast asleep within a matter of minutes.

He smiled.

Taking a moment to listen to her soft snoring, he eventually let out another short yawn and the Charizard soon closed his eyes as well.

There we go everyone! Another chapter successfully put out for your entertainment!

Whaddya guys think? Any mistakes? Hope not, because this chapter was the start of a beautiful friendship! And for people who're wondering about labeling the Legendaries, I personally believe that groups are siblings and certain Pokémon have genders that appeal to me the most. Here's a list if you want to know:

Males: Zapdos, Lugia, Mewtwo, Raikou, Entei, Shaymin, Regirock, Registeel, Regigigas, Latios, Rayquaza, Groudon, Palkia, Darkrai, Heatran, Zekrom, Kyurem, Cobalion, Terrakion, Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, Victini, Keldeo, Yveltal, Hoopa, Volcanion, Solgaleo.

Females: Articuno, Moltres, Mew, Arceus, Suicune, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Manaphy, Regice, Latias, Kyogre, Mesprit, Azelf, Uxie, Giratina, Dialga, Cresselia, Reshiram, Virizion, Xerneas, Zygarde, Meloetta, Genesect, Diancie, Lunala, Magearna, Arceus.

Happy? I probably missed some since they made so FUCKING MANY! And maybe in the future I'll do something with these genders...

Anyway, I'll leave it here! Until next time peeps!

REVIEW OR PRIVATE MESSAGE me any questions regarding the story!

But still, seriously. REVIEW PLEASE!

And remember, if anybody has found or made any type of fanart of King, please don't be afraid to tell me! I'd love to see it! (Mega Charizard X's black/blue colors and body mixed with Y's ragged wings and spiked tail!

Stay tuned for more!

REVIEW PLEASE!