"So, you are training Ele today," Cilan commented as he stepped into the training grounds at the back of Dean Drayden's house.
"Cilan!" Ash shouted excitedly, before rushing towards his best friend. "How did it go? Did you pass?!" He asked, excitedly.
"Yes," the green-haired boy replied. "I've become the youngest Pokemon Connoisseur out there… even if I am only level C for now."
"I am so happy for you! Congrats!" Ash jumped on the older boy and gave him an Usaring hug. Pansage moved towards the other pokemon, as the dragons congratulating him. "Mom and I got you a gift!" He exclaimed, jumping away and rushing towards his bag.
Cilan laughed at his hyperactive friend: "There was no need for a gift."
"There is! It is a very important moment. On that needs to be celebrated!" Ash protested, with a cute pout and Growlithe eyes. "Please accept it."
"Ok," he relented, knowing he could never beat him when the Growlithe eyes come out.
"Oh, and you are staying over tonight. Mom is gonna make you a feast to celebrate." Ash informed him while handing him a small box.
"Am I ever gonna win against you Ketchum's?" Cilan asked, to no one in particular, chuckling slightly as he took the box.
"Nop," Ash popped the 'p', smirking slyly.
He was almost shaking from excitement, as he watched his friend open the box and reveal the present within.
"Wow…" Cilan gasped, looking shockingly at the Leaf Stone within the box. "You… you shouldn't have. You really didn't need to… I don't know what to say." He stuttered, not being able to snap out of his stunned state. "I can't accept this," he finally said. "Evolutionary stones are too expensive."
"Well, you will," Ash told him firmly. "You managed to become the youngest Pokemon Connoisseur ever! That needs to be celebrated big! This is why you will accept the Leaf Stone. Shh!" Ash shushed his friend as he opened his mouth to protest. "I am gonna be a Dragon Master, Cilan. I have no use for a Leaf Stone, not now, not ever." He told him. "If you are worried about the price, don't be. Ladon found it while we were training at the Nature Preserve. After too many Dig moves in a mock battle, the ground collapsed, taking Ladon with him. I was honestly worried for him for a second, but he soon came out as if nothing had happened, holding that same Leaf Stone on his mouth." He informed the older boy. "It cost me nothing, so don't worry about it and enjoy the present!"
"If you are sure…" Cilan finally relented, seeing no lie in his eyes. Then again Ash was too pure for something like lying. "But I won't use it now. Neither Pansage nor I are ready for evolution."
"All in its due time, my boy," Ash replied, suddenly sounding very mature.
"Where did that come from?!" Cilan laughed, surprised by the sudden maturity of his comment.
Ash always showed a mature side when it came to the care of pokemon and his view of the world, but he never said things like that!
"That's what Drayden-sensei is always telling Ladon," Ash answered. "He doesn't want to be a little Gible anymore and it's always pressuring me to teach him Draco Meteor." He sighed. "I get to calm him down most of the time and get some variety into his roster of moves, so it would not be too focused on dragon moves. But he never stops wanting evolution to come faster. I've only had him for half a year now, but he has become quite strong, stronger than a Gible for sure. I still don't know why he is not evolving, even I get frustrated over it sometimes. I just feel sad for Ladon. But Drayden-sensei is always there telling us that we should be calm and that everything will come in its due time. I think he knows what's the problem but won't say it."
Ash sighed once more, recalling how hard it was to have Ladon focus on something other than his dragon energy. It took him forever to manage the move Double Team, even with Ele showing him how. He only relented and learned Sand Tomb and Sandstorm, after Ash promised him, he would learn a very powerful dragon move as a reward if he mastered those moves. Dragon Rush was an easy choice, after Wilda's pointers and already having taught it to Ele. However, it took Ladon having his pseudo-mother Altaria teaching him for him to learn it.
However, it took a long time to find the right way to handle Ladon- him being much more difficult than Ele- which took a lot of time from Ele's training regime. Ash had only managed to teach her Dragon Pulse and Sky Attack, with her only finally mastering those moves a couple of weeks ago. Ash was so lucky Ele was patient and understanding, not to mention quick to pick up new moves. Otherwise, he would have two frustrated and unhappy Dragon-type pokemon on his hands.
He had not understood what people said about becoming a Dragon Master being a very difficult dream to manage or how specializing in dragon-types being an arduous path, but now he understood. The pokemon he treated and took care of, he did not train. They were not his. Now that he had two pokemon, two dragon pokemon, he understood the worry his mother had shown. Dragons are very intelligent creatures, who knew what they want and have an emotional maturity that could be compared to humans. They are not submissive but stubborn and will fight you tooth and claw until you give them what they think they deserve.
If he was having trouble managing two dragons, how would he manage a full team? How will he manage to schedule training sessions for everyone without a fight breaking out or someone feeling dissatisfied? For now, he was lucky, Ele was way ahead of Ladon and considers him her child. But what will happen in the future? He could not allow her to fall behind simply because he was lacking as a trainer. So, he decided to put Ladon in his place. He was family, but Ash was still his trainer. He was the one who made the decisions and gave out orders. Not the other way around.
"So, that's why you are training Ele today. Making sure she doesn't fall behind now that you managed to calm Ladon down… or at least enough for the moment." Cilan thought out loud, noticing the troubled look on his friend's face. It was that ability of deduction that helped him achieve the title of Youngest Pokemon Connoisseur. "You know that you have nothing to feel ashamed of," he told his friend, noticing how stressed he was about the whole issue. Which made him doubt his abilities as a trainer… even if he was not officially one yet. "You are making an excellent job training Ele and raising Ladon, you should be proud. Not many people your age have pokemon or even are training them. Even less, dragon pokemon- two of them! It took you a while, but you found a way around it, you should be proud." He insisted.
"Drayden-sensei said something similar," Ash finally replied, his eyes never leaving the three pokemon chatting happily. "He was very proud and impressed that it only took me six months to accommodate to a new dragon, a Gible at that! Even managing to get him to train the way I wanted him to... even if it took a lot of insistence. Ladon is very stubborn!" They both laughed at that. "That I even made a little of time for Ele… he was very proud."
"As you should," Cilan insisted.
"How can I? When I see how out of practice Ele is!" He finally snapped, angrier at himself than anything else. "She always picks up moves fast or at least shows signs of improvement fast. But this time nothing! A whole training session and not a single sign. Ah!" He sighed, tiredly.
"Let's see if I can help. What move are you teaching her?" The older boy asked, gently.
"Drayden-sensei told me that they both need more diversity in their rosters of moves. Ladon is still young and new, so I can wait until he evolves for that. But it was time for Ele to start expanding. So, I chose a grass move: Solar Beam." Ash answered. "What?" He asked when he saw his friend's bewilder expression. "It's a difficult move, but she has the power to pack it up!" Ash defended himself.
"I don't doubt that," Cilan replied, raising his hands in defense, to placate his, unusually, very emotional friend. "But you are trying to teach her how to tap into a whole new type of energy that doesn't even belong to her type, not to mention teaching her a new move that it's very difficult for even grass pokemon... no wonder she shows no sign of improvement, Ash. She is good but you can't ask her for miracles."
"Ele managed to tap into steel energy in less than a week." He replied, not understanding where his friend was coming from. "This isn't the first time she tapped into another energy type, she did many times previously with even fairy energy! Not to mention, she has the power behind it…"
"I do understand your train of thoughts and it is correct… partially," Cilan assured his friend, who was looking more confused and sadder by the second. Sometimes he forgets how young Ash truly was, even with all his cheer and hyperactivity. "But the only reason she managed to tap into steel energy in less than a week was that Steel Wing is an egg move of hers. If she tried to use another steel move, she would have the same issue that she is having now. As for fairy energy, the Altaria line has always had a facility using certain Fairy-type moves. It comes naturally to them. Even if they are Dragon-type pokemon. But that's only because of the move, not because she tapped into Fairy-type energy." He explained, calmly, seeing understanding fall into Ash's face, he continued. "Let's leave Solar Beam for later and I recommend you to teach her Sunny Day before that, it will be a nice boost. Not to mention it will counter the move Rainy Day if someone ever wants to use it against you, we both know how much Ele hates having her wings wet."
"Yeah, we do," Ash chuckled, this time much calmer.
"You can even have them both learn it together, the Gible line can learn Sunny Day. It will be a good experience. Until now they had trained separately, or Ele teaching him when they are not having mock battles, or during endurance training. You will see then if their competitiveness is stronger than their bond, it happens many times in all dragon teams that they want to impose dominance. Ladon being male and from a pseudo-legendary line doesn't help." Cilan continued. "In the meantime let's have Ele learn Cotton Guard, it is an easier Grass-type move and will come easier to an Altaria than Solar Beam. We can have a training session together, with Pansage showing her how to tap into Grass-type energy."
"That would be amazing!" He exclaimed, eyes shining with excitement at the idea of training with his best friend.
"Then let's do that," Cilan said with a smile, relieved that Ash was sounding more like himself now.
What neither of them noticed was that Drayden and his Haxorus were watching them from the shadows. Drayden looked with pride as the small Pansage taught, the larger than normal, Altaria how to tap into Grass-type energy. Those two young boys will have very promising futures.
He had always known that from Ash, he was a natural with pokemon- especially dragons. They all fall for him, and even with his Gible most of his misbehavior was because of his youth and impatience. Not because he did not respect Ash or see him as the leader. Now that Ash had managed to calm Ladon down and put some boundaries, Drayden knew that there will be no problem once Ladon finally evolves. There should not be that much of a difference in behavior, most of it will be against strangers than to those who Ladon considers his Thunder.
With Cilan, as with his brothers, there was talent there. They will become good gym leaders. But Cilan was much more than that, he will reach the level S as a Pokemon Connoisseur- Drayden was sure of that. If he could already come with such a plan and analysis at the age of thirteen, the Dragon Master cannot wait for the future.
So, with one last look, thinking about their bright futures, he left the two boys to train alone and went back inside.
