As much as Ash enjoyed traveling atop a Gyarados, just seeing ocean everywhere was getting tiresome. He'd badgered Lance with questions until he got tired and took a nap, and after waking up there was still only ocean in sight.
"Ugh, it's just water everywhere!"
The Champion just smirked while tapping on his PokéNav. "My cousin Clair will come to pick us up soon, it won't be long now before we see the coast."
Ash just grumbled in response. "You said we'd travel on dragonback, and riding Meraxes has been sort of comfortable, but how are we supposed to ride atop a dragon?"
"That's a very good question Ash." Lance replied, nodding in approval. "But let me ask you a question instead."
Ash pursed his lips and nodded at the Champion with all the seriousness a 12 year old could muster.
"How do you think our ancestors went around conquering lands and causing havoc to the other tribes back in the old days?"
The youth pondered the question, tapping his chin before replying. "Well, they obviously did ride dragons, but how? Isn't it difficult to craft and then put a saddle on a dragon?"
"Exactly! There are many discovered species of dragons as of today. But even back then, the dragons recorded in the scriptures of both of our clans mention the Dratini family, the Horsea family, the Bagon family and the Gible family." The Champion counted off with his fingers. "And so our ancestors had to deal with very prickly dragons who most likely didn't like to be saddled or ridden. It's very likely that the first poor fool who tried to saddle a dragon got his hand bitten off in response."
Ash shuddered at that. "Are Dragon-types that violent? I've lived my entire life without seeing a dragon growl at anyone from the Tribe..."
"You're right, of course. But this is due to generations of selective breeding, we have ended up with more mellower dragons, they're still territorial, fierce and prideful. But they don't have to fight for food or territory, and their personality tempers as they grow up."
"So you're saying that dragons now are less likely to bite your head off if you try to saddle them than they were hundreds of years ago?" The youth summed up Lance's long-winded explanation.
"That's right, we live in symbiosis with them. They grow stronger, fight alongside us, and then when they breed, their children will likely become stronger than them. That's the supremacy of the Blackthorn dragons."
"That's amazing... the Draconids don't even come close to that, we're more like a bunch of ragtag people living between the desert, mountains and the sea." Ash just sighed, a bit downcast. "Nothing like the clan of mighty conquerors that the old farts like to prattle about when they get drunk on bonfire night."
Lance just smiled and mussed Ash's hair fondly. "Don't worry about that now, our clans are closer than you think. In fact, I believe that once upon a time, they were a single clan, but something happened and they split up, that's why I asked your Grandmother for permission to take the old history documents. I want you to study them, and find out."
Ash's eyes went starry at that. "What else did Grandma give you? She's never let me read those, she says they're full of bloodthirsty stories and that I shouldn't bother with them now."
"I won't tell her if you don't." The Champion winked.
They both just laughed at that.
"What the hell does that fool mean by 'Come here' and just sending a GPS location!?" A young lady muttered as she stomped away from the imposing Blackthorn Gym building, with everyone else along the path wisely stepping out of her way. "As if I don't have any other responsibilities, surely."
The biting, cold wind slipped between the natural barriers created by the mountains and made her pull her cloak tightly against her body. Which made her even more annoyed. "Brrr! I hate this stupid mountain weather."
It was justified, in her opinion, since other regions of the world, even at the tail-end of summer, had muggy and hot temperatures, but the location of their ancient dragon settlement, near the Ice Path and the Northern Mountains of Johto, made them experience shorter summers and longer winters. And autumn was already knocking at their doors.
When outsiders gazed upon Blackthorn, they saw a town from the ancient times transported to the modern day, where people lived in stone houses carved from the mountain rock, and streets hewn by the steps of many generations of Blackthorn citizens and their dragons.
Some communal spaces existed, like the main street, which was connected to the Gym building and leading to an open plaza of sorts, where the town's residents gathered to feast and celebrate the success of their trainers, such as Champion Lance, and the young lady hurriedly walking through it.
It was obviously the widest street in town, and mostly bare of anything on its surroundings besides a pokéMart and a Pokémon Center, something Lance had fought fiercely over, both as a Pokémon League Champion and the future head of the Wataru, the ruling family in Blackthorn.
Outside entities had a hard time being allowed to settle on Blackthorn, let alone start a business, and before the Pokémon League had come knocking thanks to Lance, all they had was an infirmary with healers for both Pokémon and humans, and a general store for goods that were painstakingly brought from outside the city. They were stubborn in their old traditions.
The small town thrived in the ancient times thanks to the serpentine freshwater river that came down from the mountain peaks, and their squat houses with terraced roofs stood untouched by time, built for defense in the face of a siege, and to be able to take off with their dragons without having to exit their home.
The young lady finally stepped into her own home and slammed the door behind her, walking towards a sofa and collapsing face-first on it. And there was silence, for at least a moment, before inevitably her PokéNav beeped again. "I really can't get a second of peace around here..."
Tiredly raising herself up from the sofa and taking a quick glance at the state of her home, it was painfully messy, with weatherproof cloaks and other sturdy outfits she had worn back on her last expedition thrown together in the corner, her traveling messenger bag spilled open atop the dining table with some traveling journals and notes piled atop one another.
"I'll clean it when I'm back from Lance's stupid errand." She promised to herself, and unlike other times where she kept procrastinating until the mess consumed the house, she couldn't dally too much now, the small house was already becoming stifling and smelling like stale air and days-old coffee.
She pulled a pokéball from her belt and released a small, Dragon-Type Pokémon. "Come on out Gible! we need to do a quick cleanup before going on a small trip." A stubby, blue land-shark jumped up in the air and trilled cheerfully, running off to collect any trash she could find and moving it outside for proper disposal later. "And fire up the stove when you're done!"
She quickly set to gather the scrolls, journals and notes into neat piles for further research, then moving on to dump all of her travel outfits into the washing machine for laundry, and since her current outfit wasn't too badly abused from today's training, she could still use it to travel to wherever the hell Lance wanted her to go.
"Speaking of which..." She muttered, fiddling around her pocket for the PokéNav and opening the messaging app. "The coast by New Bark Town?" She scrunched up her face in annoyance. "Why even go there? That's the town for the kiddy trainers!"
The stone stairs thudded with the weight of Gible as she rushed down and barreled towards the modest kitchen, which only had a wooden stove, and a sink, and quickly spat a small flame to lit on fire the logs that were already in the stove.
"Good work girl, take a rest now." She told the little dragon fondly whilst scratching her under the jaw. Gible just growled softly in bliss and let herself be recalled without any fuss.
She stretched and went to the stove to prepare a coffee pot and grimaced at the state of it, riddled with old dried coffee and leftover grounds. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she set to giving a quick clean in the sink, prepping it for a hot cup.
Once the coffee was done, she quickly drank it, mindful to not burn her throat and walked upstairs to the terrace, where a set of wooden dusty chairs and table sat next to a small stone column with carved dragon motifs and a half-moon groove on top, which contained a couple of items shaped like thumb-sized capsules. She made sure to grab them and stuffed one of them on her belt before releasing a Dragonite.
"Hey boy, up for a flight? I know today's training was rough, but I've got a couple of Oran berries here to fill you up." She asked, pulling a couple of blue colored berries and handing them to the orange dragon.
The dragon's eyes closed in bliss as he quickly ate them, and trilled in satisfaction, before opening them and striking a pose with his arms up. His trainer just laughed in response. "I know you would be." She pulled one of the capsule-like items and flicked the top off, causing it to give a quick flash of light and transforming into a riding saddle that would allow her to fly alongside him.
Dragonite obediently let himself be saddled, and once his trainer had jumped on top of the saddle and secured herself up, he gave a loud growl in challenge. "Indeed? Let's see how fast you can get to the coast by New Bark Town." The dragon jumped from the terrace, and with a powerful beat of his wings they were off.
"This breeze feels nice, and the weather too, it's different from Hoenn..."
Lance nodded. "I know kiddo, we've officially crossed into the Johto region. And you can definitely tell that it's colder than Hoenn."
Ash shivered a bit in his desert gear. "I didn't expect it to be this cold."
Lance laughed at that. "We'll definitely need to get some new clothes for you, because autumn and winter here are much colder than what you're used to. So better buckle up."
"I can deal with it!"
"I know you can, but for now just wear this, alright?" Lance said, unclasping his cloak and unceremoniously dumping it on top of Ash, who looked comically small compared to it.
Ash just looked to the side embarrased and grumbled something too quiet for Lance to hear.
"Look alive kiddo, you can see the coast now. We're almost there."
And it was true, the youth looked over the crest of Meraxes and saw land in the distance. "Where are we going?"
"New Bark Town, it's where Professor Elm lives, and where every trainer who wants to participate in the Silver Conference must start from."
Ash looked at the Champion quizzically. "Will I get a starter Pokémon there? I thought I was going to get a Dragon-Type." He then frowned. "Not like I mind, I'm sure any starter would be great, but..."
Lance put his hand on the youth's shoulder comfortingly. "I know what you mean, but don't worry. All we're here for is to get you a pokédex and to get you registered in the conference." He looked at Ash seriously in the eyes. "Your starter will be a dragon, I promise you this much. On my word as the Kanto and Johto Pokémon League Champion."
Ash just nodded and smiled shyly, trying to look not absolutely thrilled about it.
Their approach did not go unnoticed, and someone was already waiting for them by the shore, alongside a Pokémon that was very quickly becoming familiar to Ash. A bulky orange dragon.
The youth tugged at Lance's sleeve to get his attention away from the PokéNav he'd just pulled from his pocket. "Uh, there is someone out there, with a Dragonite."
Lance smiled fondly. "Ah, there she is, my cousin." He patted Meraxes on the crest to signal for her to stop as close to the rocky beach as she could. He didn't fancy getting himself or Ash soaked in saltwater this close to sundown.
The young lady walked towards them and stopped before the waves reached her. And Ash could finally get a better look. "She looks strong, and her Dragonite is almost as big as Sunfyre."
The Champion nodded, and pulled a pokéball from his belt, before releasing his own partner, who rushed forwards to hug the other Dragonite. "They are brothers, in fact. Born from the same parents, but Sunfyre is a couple of years older."
The young lady observed the pair with an unimpressed look as they dismounted the Gyarados, who was then returned promptly for a nice, long rest.
Ash thought she looked striking, wearing a blue leotard that was lightly armored with Gyarados and Kingdra scales, sturdy navy-blue knee-high boots, and a black cloak that was colored dark magenta on the inside. Her eyes were light blue, her skin was pale, her face was severe, and her blue hair was split on 3 thick bangs that fell across her forehead and sides of her face, topped with a long spiky ponytail. She didn't wear many accessories, just what Ash guessed was a Keystone for Mega Evolution looped on a choker, and a couple of earrings made of dragon teeth, likely a Salamence.
"Well, she clearly has a theme and loves blue..." Muttered Ash, hoping not to be heard. She was the vivid image of what a Dragon Tamer from the ancient times might have looked like. She clearly was more than 'just strong', probably not trailing that far behind Lance, who reigned as the strongest trainer of two regions.
For a moment there was a standoff between the two dragon trainers, and with a yell, Lance approached with his arms open towards his cousin. "Clair! Dear cousin! It has been a while, but you look good. Traveling has done wonders eh?"
His approach was stopped by his cousin, who poked him in the chest twice before sharply berating him. "Save the bullshit for later Lance, you made me rush here from the gym without any explanation. So, I'd like one. Now."
Lance's amusement fell from his face, he had fucked up. His cousin was truly pissed off, and the true reason for it was about to annoy her even more. "Uh well... I kinda needed a spare saddle?" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, trying to diffuse the tension.
Clair recoiled in disbelief, her mouth moving wordlessly at the audacity of her cousin. "You..."
She shook her head before trying to speak again. "You damn fool, we got the SOS call from the Draconid Tribe on Hoenn, but your G-Men sent a signal back, saying that you were handling it. So I, you know, went back to MY duties, which you Damn. Well. Know. About." She poked him again to emphasize each word. "What in the hell possessed you to send ANOTHER message with just a GPS location attached to it!? I thought something else might have happened!"
The Champion was throughly flustered by the verbal teardown he was getting from his cousin, and in front of the sort-of-mentee that they were about to teach between the two of them. He discreetly glanced at Ash, who was doing his best impression of a Magikarp.
He then took a deep breath and squared himself, before lowering his head to properly apologize. "You have my apologies cousin, but a lot of things happened today, far too quickly and perharps I wasn't thinking properly. Let's say I owe you a big favor and leave it at that."
Clair just closed her eyes and breathed deeply a couple of times to get her temper under control, since at the very least her cousin wasn't talking his way out of this one for free. A favor with no strings attached was a big deal.
The youth took that as his queue and walked forwards, stopping before them and waved. "Um hi! I'm Ash Blackfyre, nice to meet you Miss Clair!"
The gym-leader-to-be was unimpressed. "Who's this little brat? Don't tell me you're picking up strays now." She said dismissively, barely sparing a glance at Ash.
Lance's features hardened before placing a hand on Ash's shoulder, who looked definitely uncomfortable at the harsh way Clair had spoken about him. "In fact yes, but he is no stray. He's the future ruler of the Draconid Tribe, and he will foster with us on Blackthorn for a while."
She then looked at him properly for the first time, noticing his ragged appearance and his desert clothes and sniffed in displeasure. Any interest at hearing that he was the heir to the Draconids was now gone. "So, I assume the spare saddle was for him? If so, then here you go." She plucked the capsule from her belt and tossed it towards Lance, who grabbed it out of the air and pocketed it.
"We're going to see Professor Elm and to get Ash a pokédex, would you like to come? We can catch up for a bit." Lance asked his cousin, fully knowing the reply before even asking. Even more so, when she was as angry as she was now.
Clair just looked at him and sighed, as if he was the biggest idiot in the known world. "I'm going back to Blackthorn, I have things to do, things I left half-finished because you made me rush here to play messenger like a Delibird." She turned around and walked away towards her own Dragonite, who was play-wrestling with his older brother and shouted over her shoulder. "You better believe that I'm going to cash-in that favor soon, dear cousin." She called out mockingly. Shortly after, both her and her Dragonite were gone, quickly disappearing in the distance.
Lance just watched them silently until they were gone in the horizon, before turning to Ash, who was making a dejected face and looking at his feet. He then sighed and mussed the youth's hair comfortingly. "Let me worry about Clair, we didn't make the best first impression, but I promise you things will turn around."
Ash merely nodded, not trusting his voice, before looking at the tiny town in the distance. Which made the Champion perk up. "Ah yes, let's go see Professor Elm, hopefully we'll catch him before dinner."
They did not catch him before dinner, in fact, when they arrived the lab was closed up and completely dark. Ash just scratched his cheek and laughed. "I guess the Professor doesn't do overtime?" Lance just grumbled before sighing.
"Change of plans, right now, your training is going to start." He said, before starting to do some stretching exercises. Ash just looked at him quizzically. "Come on, chop chop, start stretching."
The youth did as instructed, but was still curious. "Uh sure, but what for? Isn't it a bit late for exercising?"
"Never too late for a quick exercise. We're walking to Cherrygrove City, and we'll sleep at the Pokémon Center."
Ash liked the sound of that that, he had never visited a Pokémon Center. He smiled slightly before handing Lance back his bulky cape so he could properly finish his stretches. The Champion took it and rolled it into a bundle that he tied to his belt.
"Good to go?" Ash just nodded excitedly. "Let's go then!" Lance barely got that last word in before the youth rushed forwards, making him blink for a second before going after him. "I said WALKIIIIIING! ASHHHHHH!" Ash just laughed and ran harder. "This kid... going to give me grey hairs I swear..."
It didn't take long for Ash to stop, having come to a split in front of a sign post that held directions for Route 29 and Route 46. He just grumbled at his own lack of foresight at not even having read a map of Johto before leaving Hoenn. But it had been an awful day, forced to leave his own home and his only friend... he didn't even want to even think about the other thing, the thing that he believed that if he went to sleep and woke up would have been just a dream.
He could feel his body starting to shake and his throat closing up, but he refused to give in, because if he let go, he didn't know when he would be able to stop. He didn't want Lance to catch up to him, just to see him a crying mess in the middle of the road. He breathed deeply, in and out, as many times as he could, trying to get himself under control.
It sort of worked, like putting a bunch of stones in front of a slowly leaking dam. But it would do, if he could just hang on until he was alone, in the bathroom of the Pokémon Center it would be enough. And just in time too, he could hear Lance's heavy footsteps approaching.
He turned around when they came to a stop before him, seeing the Champion with his hands on his knees and panting like he was going to cough his lungs out. Ash just laughed at that. "Been a while since you ran eh old man?"
Lance just grumbled and patted himself down to get rid of any excess dust and dirt from the path before crossing his arms in defiance. "I'll have you know that in my youth I was in excellent shape, thank you. But being a League Champion barely leaves me with time to do anything these days."
The youth just hummed. "But you didn't deny being an old man."
"I'll show you an old man, you little brat." Replied Lance before lunging forwards and starting to tickle Ash, who couldn't muster a single bit of strenght to fend off the much bulkier Champion and laughing uncontrollably at the same time.
"I give! I give!" The Champion just laughed mockingly and let go of him.
"Had enough?" Ash just nodded, still laughing and rubbing the tears off his eyes. "Then think twice next time before challenging the esteemed Kanto and Johto League Champion." Said Lance pompously with a mocking voice.
Ash was about to reply, but his stomach growled and replied for him. "Ooops? I don't think I've eaten anything since lunch."
The Champion nodded. "You're right kiddo, I'm feeling pretty hungry myself. So let's keep going, but stick to walking this time eh?" He playfully chided.
The youth just saluted mockingly in response.
"Since you're feeling so energetic, let's do your first survival exercise. Tell me what you see, and which route would you take to arrive to Cherrygrove City."
Ash just looked around with a flat face. "It's nighttime, and I've never been out of my village. How am I supposed to find any landmarks or orientate myself?" And he wasn't wrong, night had fully settled in, and there was barely any light, other than a couple of streetlights for each split of the path.
"You're not wrong Ash, but don't give up so quickly. Stop, take a breath and think, look around you." Lance knew Ash was perceptive, he only had to bring it to the surface.
Ash breathed deeply, and looked around, seeing how towards one side the road, gravel was more prevalent, and even some bigger stones in the near distance he could see. And then towards the other side, how the road was made up of a more dirt-like material, and how some dust was still hanging in the air from their improptu run. He tapped his chin in thought. "Where did you say we were going?"
"Cherrygrove City." Answered the Champion easily.
"So, one path looks rocky, similar to what being near mountains or caves looks like. And the other one is more made up of dirt." He muttered to himself, slowly walking from one path to the other. "You obviously can plant cherry trees on a rocky terrain, but it wouldn't make much sense." Ash then turned towards Lance and carefully picked one side. "Route 29."
Lance's eyebrows shot into his hairline, before nodding approvingly. "Well done. See? You just needed to slow down for a second and to look around you." He mussed up Ash's hair before clapping him on the back. "Route 29 indeed is the path towards Cherrygrove."
The youth smiled softly. "Not bad huh? Let's go then Mr. Champion, I'm hungryyyyyyy!" He playfully whined before walking past the Route 29 sign.
The Champion just laughed in agreement. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
They arrived to Cherrygrove City without much fanfare, it didn't take them much time either, since they were walking at a good pace, on the promise of the Pokémon Center cafeteria. Ash thought that Cherrygrove looked beautiful even in the darkness, with cherry trees and flower gardens everywhere, giving a calming and sweet scent. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling himself invigorated but at the same time he knew he would be content taking a nap on any of the flower fields.
Lance broke him out from his musings. "Beautiful eh? Come on, you'll enjoy it more tomorrow when there is sunlight, and you will be able to see Pokémon roaming around, they love the scent."
Ash smiled at that. "I think I saw a couple of Hoothoots around the trees."
"Yup, they're pretty common around these parts, would you like to catch one?" The Champion asked. "They're sort of the Pidgey equivalent on Johto, but the evolution, Noctowl, is a pretty handy Psychic-type, who can do all sorts of tricks."
"Maybe... I'd have to read the pokédex entry first though. Is it wrong to think that I only want to have a few Pokémon rather than having many?" Pondered Ash, it was something that bugged him for the longest time.
The Champion took his time to reply. "I... don't think there is a proper way or a wrong way of being a trainer. Ash, did you know that for the longest time my only partner was Sunfyre?"
"No... is it common for dragon trainers?"
Lance chuckled and shook his head. "Not really, but we aren't encouraged to have a very large team early on either. Dragons are fierce, and territorial, their personalities can clash, and if they're disobedient from their trainer, they can wreak havoc quite easily."
The youth hummed thoughtfully. "I think Grandma told me something about that, about how her Flygon was her oldest and strongest Pokémon, and how he used to lay down the law when others on her team got rowdy."
"That's exactly it, and for me, Meraxes was the catalyst of it all. I fished her out of the sea as a little Magikarp, and by then Sunfyre had recently evolved into Dragonair." The Champion recounted, lost in his memories. "It took quite a while for Meraxes to evolve into a Gyarados, and when she did, she thought she could upset the pecking order on the team and challenged Sunfyre to a battle."
Ash could imagine the battle on his mind, of a cocky, recently evolved Gyarados diving towards a Dragonair with an Ice Fang move at the ready. Only for the Dragonair to use Thunder Wave to stop the serpent on her tracks, and then follow up with Thunderbolt.
"How many times did she lose?"
Lance laughed at the question. "Many times, and once Sunfyre evolved into Dragonite it was basically over. She gave up and accepted her spot in the pecking order."
The youth nodded at that. "As expected, the Water / Flying-type combination was probably too much of a hurdle to overcome."
The Champion jabbed him in the side with the elbow. "You're a smarty-pants eh Ash?"
Ash just groaned in response. "Ugh, shut up old man."
"C'mon kiddo, the Pokémon Center is just ahead, but we'll use the back entrance to not cause a fuss."
"What fuss?" Asked the youth. "It's not like you're here on League business."
Lance shook his head. "Trainers get rowdy, even at this time of the night. And I don't want any random trainer challenging me to a battle now. So I'll just ask Nurse Joy to discreetly give us a couple of rooms."
Ash looked at him doubtfully. "Whatever you say I guess..."
The Champion just beamed at him, but then got serious in an instant. "You'll do me a favor, won't you kiddo?"
"What is it?" He asked quizzically when Lance handed him a credit card.
"Bring me the biggest order of Shoyu Udon once you've got your room sorted out, since I can't roam out and about."
Ash just palmed his face at that. "Can't you ask Nurse Joy to do that?"
"No way, she's probably busy. And you're my actual apprentice, so you gotta do small tasks like these to help your old master."
As the youth was about to reply and continue bickering with the Champion, they noticed they had arrived to the back door of the Pokémon Center. It was just a small electronically locked door painted in grey, next to a card reader. Lance took out his old, worn pokédex and tapped it against the card reader.
"There, that should have sent a message to Nurse Joy about someone with Elite Four authority trying to enter."
And sure enough, a couple of minutes later, the door opened and a Nurse Joy spotted them, her face turning into stone the moment she saw Lance. "Champion Lance, what is the meaning of this?" She asked sharply.
Lance just sighed at that, it seemed like today was the day of him being pummeled by female righteous wrath. He pasted a pleasant smile on his face before replying. "Nurse Joy! Good evening, I was just looking forwards to a room to sleep in. For me and my companion."
Nurse Joy's frown softened at the sight of a teenager next to Lance. "That is to be expected, but your Elite Four system warning almost gave me a heart attack, you know, these dangerous days is hard to discern if things are what they seem."
"I didn't want to make a fuss with all the other trainers."
Nurse Joy nodded. "Indeed, so let's just go back inside before someone sees you." She stepped back inside, opening the path for Lance and Ash.
The youth looked bewildered at the exchange that had just happened. "Are they always this strict?" He asked Lance in a whisper.
"They are kiddo, they take their duties very seriously, in fact, to become a fully licensed Nurse Joy they have to pass a battle test, so they can prove they're qualified to defend the Pokémon Center in the event of an attack, either by wild Pokémons or evil organizations."
Ash was amazed at that. Being in the outside world really kicked your ass in gear to learn as much as you could.
Eventually Nurse Joy stopped in front of a hallway that split off into several paths, before turning to them. "I assume you know your way to the rooms for League Personnel?"
"Yup, let's go Ash. Thanks for everything Nurse Joy." He tried giving her a charming smile.
Nurse Joy just shook her head and walked away. "I'll be returning to my duties then. Farewell."
Once they had settled in the comfy rooms, and Ash had brought Lance his precious Udon noodles and eaten a couple of servings for himself, they sat in silence for a bit in Lance's room, before he spoke up.
"Do we really have to meet Professor Elm?"
The Champion stopped his eating for a moment, placing his chopsticks down. "You don't want to?" He asked hesitantly. "He's the one that will manage your pc storage system and everything."
"I... don't know." He looked at the ceiling for a bit, ruminating an answer. "I think I've had my fill of meeting people for today, I just want to go home..." He bit his lip at the mistake. "Well, to Blackthorn I mean..."
Lance got up from his chair and walked up to Ash, who was sitting on the bed cross-legged and carefully put both hands on the youth's shoulders. "If you don't want to, then that's completely fine. We can just go back to Blackthorn at first light."
Ash just nodded shakily, trying to avoid eye contact with Lance, who sighed, before bringing him into a hug. "I know it has been a horrible day, and Clair just made it worse. But I promise you that things will look up, and the sun will shine on you again."
It was too much for the 12 year-old, who had his life upended in a single day, not even being able to stay for his parents' funeral, living in what was tantamount to exile now, in a foreign and scary land.
So he broke down, hugging the champion with all his strenght and wailed as hard as he could, letting out all the pain in his heart, which now held a gaping wound that had been cruelly slashed open with no means of mending anytime soon.
Lance just hugged him even tighter and held him until he passed out. He then tucked him into bed, hopping into a couch himself. "What a mess... I don't know what that old bat was thinking, sending her grandson away just like that..."
He didn't regret helping Ash, and once he brought Clair to his side, they could mentor him, but he also had to be realistic, knowing his own duties as a Champion, and Clair as a future Gym Leader, they probably would need some help even still, someone that stayed in Blackthorn full time.
"Now that is a thought... I wonder if old lady Rhea would be up for one last hurrah before retiring." He chuckled at that, having been kicked around many times by the mute dragon master, who was training Clair even now.
There was a soft knock on the door, before Nurse Joy carefully stepped in. "Is he alright? I could hear him from the other side of the Center."
Lance just sighed. "Kiddo's just had a terrible day, and he hadn't been able to grieve about it until now."
Nurse Joy nodded and looked thoughtfully at the teenager laying on the bed. "I'll bring you a care package for him tomorrow, and some calming droughts made from berries so he can sleep better... He'll have nightmares for a good while."
The Champion nodded. "We'll leave at first light, hopefully there won't be many trainers awake by then. And thanks, you didn't have to do that."
Nurse joy shook her head. "Caring for Pokémon is our job, one we do most willingly, but caring for trainers, who are also beloved by those same Pokémon, is our choice." She said resolutely before walking out. "Goodnight Champion Lance."
"Night." Lance called out before the door closed. He then got comfortable on the sofa and tried to sleep until they had to leave.
Morning came, and Ash groggily woke up to an insisting hand carefully shaking him. "Ugh, what now?" His voice was raspy from having yelled himself hoarse last night. He heard the deep voice of Lance nearby.
"Wake up kiddo, it's time we leave, off to Blackthorn. There's some breakfast on the table, eat it quick, we don't want the other trainers to see us."
Ash groaned. "Can't I shower first?"
The Champion just chuckled. "Nope, when traveling around the regions in the wilderness, you won't always be able to find a Pokémon Center or a river to clean yourself up, so you'll have to mind your hygiene other ways."
"Fine." He agreed with a faux complain. "But... what about Professor Elm?" He asked carefully, not wanting to think back to yesterday.
"I sent him an email, by the time we're at Blackthorn he'll have sent a pokédex out for delivery, along a few pokéballs and your documents for the conference registration."
Ash just hummed in contemplation before Lance playfully poked him on the forehead.
"Chop chop kiddo, we got things to do today, so get to eating."
The youth sighed. "Yes sir."
They walked out of the Pokémon Center the same way they came in, secretly through the backdoor that led towards the small field that every Center had for battles.
"Now pay attention Ash." The Champion said, pulling two of the thumb-sized capsules Ash had seen before. "These are Devon Capsules, a creation of theirs that uses some molecular technology that I can't fully explain, but the important part is that we can have a cumbersome dragon saddle fit on this small device." He explained, before pulling out the cap from one of them and closing his eyes as it flashed and transformed into a saddle.
The youth looked on amazed. "So that's how it works, technology sure is amazing."
"It sure is handy, isn't it? Now, watch as I saddle Sunfyre." The Champion released his faithful Dragonite partner, who cracked his neck and bellowed out a challenge. "Shhhh! Settle down Sunfyre! We're trying to be stealthy over here!".
The Dragonite recoiled, then blinked and softly bellowed a challenge, again.
Lance just palmed his face before getting to work, the process was straightforward, the saddle fit around the chest, arms and behind the neck of Dragonite, with a seat where an adult could comfortably fit. He then plucked a pokéball from his belt, alongside the remaining capsule and threw them at Ash.
"Now you do it, kiddo." He told the youth seriously. "This is an important step in the life of a dragon trainer."
Ash just nodded excitedly, before making the motion for a pokémon release. "Pokémon come out!"
The pokéball opened and a pokémon flashed out, before landing with a big thud.
And Ash's mouth hit the floor at the absolutely giant Dragonite that came out of the pokéball. And that was not all. "Wha...at? a GREEN Dragonite? How!?"
Lance chuckled and scratched the big Dragonite in the jaw, the only place he could reach, and even when she was crouching down. "This old lady over here is Vhagar, she's Sunfyre's mom." Said lady rumbled in displeasure at being called old, even if her scaly skin was full of scars and marks from a thousand battles. "As for the green color... well, some Professor or other discovered the Shiny Genome, which makes it so pokémon are born with a different color, and more powerful as well. Vhagar here hasn't lost many battles after all. She belonged to my father, and has been fighting ever since."
Ash made a sound of amazement. "And she's letting me ride her?" The green dragon just gave a trill of approval, before crouching down even more so he could put the saddle around her, with the youth grumbling all the while even if he was excited about the upcoming flight. "Wasn't there a bigger dragon for my first try at saddling? Maybe I should have called down Rayquaza..."
Both the Champion and his Dragon laughed in amusement at Ash's plight. "This is shock theraphy kiddo, there aren't many dragons in the world that are bigger than Vhagar, so if you manage to saddle her, you'll never have problems saddling another dragon."
It took a while and the saddle was a bit crooked, but both Lance and Vhagar gave their approval. "Now, time to hop on, secure yourself and close your eyes, the wind will hurt you otherwise."
Ash nodded but stopped the Champion before they took off. "Can I say it?" He looked to the side shyly. The Champion just laughed, but agreed.
"Sure thing kiddo."
Ash took a deep breath before closing his eyes and yelling. "SOVES!"
The world stilled for a moment, before both Dragonites shot out towards the sky with a loud beat of wings.
"Whooooooooo!"
Well, someone was enjoying themselves, the Champion thought with a chuckle. "Off to Blackthorn! Sunfyre, Vhagar! Make good time!"
Both dragons roared at the challenge and sped up. The race was on.
Took forever, but summer in southern europe has just been hell, everyday with 25-30 degrees even at night, absolutely cooked and it killed my motivation.
For those savvy in the ASOIAF / GOT universe will know what "soves" means, but basically is the high valyrian word that the Targaryens use to tell their dragons to fly.