11 years ago….

AND YOUR JUNIOR CHAMPION FOR THIS YEAR IS CALLUM

Callum is given the adulation of the crowd as he is surrounded by his team holding the winners trophy, I stand to the side with Eevee perched on my shoulder clutching my runners up medal

"Vee?" Eevee coos sadly in my ear

"Its okay" I choke

"I'm glad if anyone won it was Callum, he worked really hard"

I turn away and move down the tunnel of the stadium to my dressing room, Eevee jumps down from my shoulder to the bench as I take a seat, I look up and there's a TV on the wall showing highlights of the match. I get up and click it off while Eevee keeps her eyes on my with a worried look

"Don't look so sad girl, you were all great. I couldn't have asked any more from any of you"

"Vee….."

I put my hand on her head

"I really thought that last attack would do it you know, I know you put everything you had into it"

"I'm going to go down now"

"Pauline, give him some time" Croaks my Grandmother

"Its his big first match, he needs some reassurance from us" she bites back

"Leave it to me"

Tap tap tap

I look up to the door

"Uh come in"

The door open slowly and an older man stumbles his way in. He has a balding head with small ruffles of hair surrounding his head, he wears black glasses and is clean shaven. He stands at 6 feet tall and is fairly skinny

"Now there's my boy, I must have knocked on about three different dressing rooms before getting here" He says with a laugh

"Hi Granddad" I say as he moves into the room

"Oh don't look so sad Eevee, you were excellent!" He says ruffling her head as she responds sadly

He quickly picks her up and takes a seat next to me plopping her down in his lap stroking her

"I'm sorry Grandad" I say keeping my eyes on the floor

"What ever for?" He say putting his hand on my back

"I didn't win, I let you and Grandma down. I let Mom and Catherine down, I let all my Pokemon down, they all worked so hard and in the end I couldn't push through" I say as my eyes begin to fill

He smiles and pulls me into him as I begin to cry

"You know, I couldn't be prouder of you" he says calmly

I look up at him, his wide beaming smile

"You've grown so much in the last 8 months and that's the most important thing. If I tell you something do you promise to keep it between us?"

I nod as I wipe my face

"When you came with Eevee to tell me and your Grandmother that you were going to be a trainer, I couldn't have be happier but I was a little worried"

"Worried?"

"You were very timid when you were younger, scared of your own shadow at times, I did wonder whether you would be able to make out on your own as a trainer"

I look down

"But, you certainly banished any kind of worries I had, not only are you a trainer, you are a damn good one too. There are not many 16 year old who would have been able to fully train a Dragonite" He bellows with a laugh

"You think?"

"Of course! I certainly think you will become a great trainer"

"I don't know, if I was that good I would have won today"

"Not exactly, there were how many trainers in this tournament, was it 200 plus?"

I nod

"So you were number two out of 200? that mean 99% of the competition you were better than. After only 8 months!"

"I suppose" I croak

"Ryan, you're not going to win every battle, you shouldn't expect yourself too. Its a long way to the top, it doesn't happen overnight"

"But I just want" I say before stopping

"Whats is it?" He questions

"I want to live up to you, I don't want to be a failure"

He laughs loudly pulling me in tighter

"You want my advice for that?"

I nod

"Be you, everyone and their mother is going to compare you to me, there's a reason no one else in the family has become a trainer"

"Thats why?"

"I like to think its other reasons but deep down I know, your uncle tried but stopped short of his first tournament, your cousin Andrew too even Catherine"

"I didn't know"

"That why I was so happy when you came and told us you were going to be a trainer, it why I have that photo of me you, Venusaur and Eevee on my desk at home"

"I like that picture too"

"but, I don't want you to try to live up to me, I want you to be you. I don't want you to be Maurice's Grandson, I want you to be Ryan"

"I guess but what am I supposed to do now?"

"You figure out the next step, I know you started your journey as wanting to win this tournament, now you need to find a new goal. Perhaps another region you and Eevee can go venture through"

I sit and stay silent

"You and Callum you are the next generation" He says smiling down at me

"You have too make sure you are there to inspire the next ones on the line"

"What do you mean?" I question

"Have you ever heard the saying standing on the shoulder of giants?"

I shake my head

"I can't remember who first told it me but its always stuck with me, the idea that you have to build upon and live up to someone's legacy is so crude, it always about whose better than who, whose the greatest. Everyone is so caught up on who the strongest is that they don't think about how they got there. If you do one thing for me Ryan in your career, become a giant on my shoulders and your Grandmothers, that how you live up to me by carrying it forward" He says with his eyes slightly filling too

I grab him and push my head into him

"I will Grandad, I promise"

2 years later

And your Johto Junior champion is Ryan!

I look up the highlights screen, it shows Espeon and the rest of my Johto Team all on the stage as I am handed the trophy

tap tap tap

"Come in" I say as I continue to watch

"Ah ha, third times the charm" Grandad says walking in with a big laugh

Espeon jumps down from my shoulder and bounds up to him, he crouches down and pats her

"Expertly done Espeon, they were no match for you in the end" He chuckles

"Here you go Grandad" I say walking up to him trophy in hand

"Oh wow, back in my day I was lucky to get a wooden plaque if I won, now they're giving out golden trophies"

"I'll trade you, I'm sure yours would be more valuable"

"Nothing more valuable then your first accolade young man" He says taking a seat, he pats the bench next to him for me to sit at

"I actually came down to get a break from your mother screaming, gave me a headache halfway through" He says holding his head

"The no hair doesn't help, it would probably cushion the below if you had some" I say with a laugh

"Perhaps I'll have to comb it up next time" He chuckles as Espeon jumps to my laugh

We stay silent for a moment probably contemplating the next thing to say

"Thank you Grandad"

He looks at me slightly confused

"For?"

"When I lost to Callum, those moment after were really important, I was really contemplating giving it up because I'd lost that match, maybe if you hadn't came in I wouldn't be here right now and Espeon wouldn't have evolved, plus I think I have finally figured out what I want to do"

He smiles widely

"And what's that?"

"If I tell you, promise not to tell anyone else?"

"Of course"

"I wanna become the strongest trainer on the planet, I want to be number one so I can become that giant for the next generation to stand on, I want to inspire the next generation of trainers just like how you and Grandma have inspired me"

"And that young man, is why I could not be any prouder of you"

6 years later…..

"Hi Grandad"

I sit in front of a small plaque on the ground surrounded by flowers

"I see you've upgraded from wood to metal now"

"I always thought you would be around when I won this" I say touching the world championship trophy to the side of me

"Hopefully this makes me one of the giants now and I promise I'll make sure to inspire the next generation of trainers. I'll be the giant with the broadest of shoulders"