Chapter 3; Dragon Training

As the sun started to set, Hiccup finally woke up. "Afternoon." Eric said to Hiccup. Hiccup then said to Eric. "What happened?"

"You fainted after the Night Fury roared in your face." Eric said to Hiccup. Hiccup then tried to get up, but felt something on his legs. Hiccup looked down and saw an orange lizard with a flame on its tail sleeping on his lap. Hiccup then said to Eric, with a hint of fear. "Eric? What is this?"

"Relax. That isn't a dragon."

"Then what is it?"

"He is a Charmander.

"A what?"

"Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. A Fire Type. If Charmander is healthy, the flame on the tip of its tail will burn vigorously and won't go out even if it gets a bit wet."

"So this is a BattleMon?"

"Pokemon, and yes."

"But why is it on my lap?"

"First of all, it's him. Second, you remember that egg I had?"

"Yeah."

"It hatched and that egg was Charmander egg."

"Ok, but why is he sleeping on my lap?"

"Because you are his Trainer."

"What do you mean?"

"After he hatched, he saw you. And in case you didn't know. When a Pokemon hatches, the first thing they see they bond with the first thing they see."

"So he sees me as his partner?" Hiccup said as Charmander woke up and he was very happy to see Hiccup awake. Eric small and then said to Hiccup. "So, are you going to give him a nickname?"

"Yes, but I don't know what to call him."

"How about Flare?"

"Flare?"

"Yeah. Because it sounds nice." Eric said and Hiccup was fine with that too.

After Eric helped Hiccup up, they returned to Hiccup's hut. Inside, Stoick and Sword Walker were by the fireplace. Hiccup, Eric, Knight and Flare tried to sneak past them. "Hiccup." Stoick said to Hiccup. Hiccup and the others freezed and Hiccup said to Stoick. "Dad, uh…"

"Why are you bringing a dragon into this house?" Stoick said and Hiccup was confused. Eric then said to Hiccup. "I think he is talking about Flare."

"Oh, no Dad. Flare is a BattleMon called Charmander." Hiccup said and Stoick went quiet. Seeing Flare Stoick's mind was made up. Stoick then said to Hiccup. "Hiccup, I need to speak to you, son."

"I also need to speak with you, Dad." Hiccup said before they both said at the same time. "I don't want to fight dragons. It's time you learn to fight dragons." They both didn't hear the other, and then Stoick said to Hiccup. "Uh, you go first."

"No, you go first."

"All right. You get your wish. Dragon training… you start in the morning."

"Oh, man, I should have gone first. Uh… Cause I was thinking, you know, we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough bread-making Vikings or small-home repair Vikings?"

"You'll need this." Stoick said before giving Hiccup an axe. As Hiccup was trying to keep the axe from hitting the ground, he said to Stoick. "I don't want to fight dragons."

"Come on. Yes, you do."

"Rephrase. Dad, I can't kill dragons."

"But you will kill dragons."

"No, I'm really very extra-sure that I won't."

"It's time, Hiccup."

"Can you not hear me?"

"This is serious, son. When you carry this axe, you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us. No more of… this." Stoick said, pointing every around Hiccup. Hiccup then said to Stoick. "You just gestured to all of me."

"Deal?"

"This conversation is very one-sided."

"Deal?"

"Deal." Hiccup said with a sigh. Then Sword Walker appeared with a bag for Stoick. Stoick took the bag and then said to Hiccup. "Good. Train hard. We'll be back. Probably."

"And we'll be here. Maybe." Hiccup said as Stoick and Sword Walker left the hut. Once they were gone, Eric let out Tera and said to Hiccup as he picked up a sword. "Don't worry. I'll help you."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I need your help with something."

"And that would be?"

"This." Eric said before pulling out a Pokeball. "What is this?" Hiccup said, taking it from Eric. Eric then said to Hiccup. "A Pokeball. I would like your help making more of them."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you in the morning. After all we have a day of not dying to get to tomorrow." Eric said before putting the Pokeball away and they both went to bed.

The following day, Gobber and Coal took everyone to an arena, with an iron cage roof, a lot of heavy locked doors, located on the cliff side close to the docks. "Welcome to dragon training!" Gobber said to the trainees. The trainees include not only Hiccup, Eric, Flare, and Knight, but Astrid, Spike Ball, Fishlegs, Sparky, Snotlout, Hookblade, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Sting, and Pinch. All of the trainees had a weapon. Eric had a sword, Hiccup and Astrid had an axe, Fishlegs and Snotlout had maces, and Tuffnut and Ruffnut had spears. "Not turning back." Astrid said as she and Spike Ball were the first to enter the arena. The others joined her and Tuffnut said. "I hope I get some serious burns."

"I'm hoping for some mauling like on my shoulder or back." Ruffnut said before Astrid said. "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it." Hiccup said letting the others notice Hiccup and Eric. "Oh, great. Who let them in?"

"Yeah. Hiccup doesn't even have a BattleMon." Snotlout said before Eric said. "Yes he does." Eric then pointed to Flare that was walking with Knight. "Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him?" Snotlout said with a smug attitude. As everyone got ready, Gobber walked over to Hiccup and Eric, and Gobber said to Hiccup. "Don't worry. You're small and weak… that'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead."

"I don't think that's helping Gobber." Eric said to Gobber. Gobber then walked over to the doors and said. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight! The Deadly Nadder! The Hideous Zippleback! The Monstrous Nightmare! The Terrible Terror! And the Gronckle." Goober then stopped next to the lever that would open the door to the Gronckle cage. Eric then said to Gobber. "Gobber, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to free this Gronckle, and you are going to fight it." Gobber said before Snotlout said. "Whoa! Whoa! Wait, aren't you going to teach us first?"

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber said before opening the lock. The Gronckle then burst out of the cage and started to fly around. As everyone scattered, and Gobber said to them. "Today is about survival. If you get blasted… you're dead!" Eric then said to Knight. "Knight, use Water Gun on its right wing!" Knight did what Eric said and the Water Gun wasn't powerful against the Gronckle, it did cause the Gronckle to lose control and crash into a wall. Once the Gronckle crashed into the wall and Gobber said to everyone. "Excellent, Eric. Now quick! What's the first thing you'll need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup said, before Fishlegs said. "Plus 5 speed?"

"A weapon?" Eric said before Astrid said. "A shield."

"Shields. Go!" Gobber said and everyone went for the pile of shields that was off to the side of the arena. As everyone was getting a shield, Gobber said to them as Eric helped Hiccup. "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield! If you must choose between a sword or a shield, take the shield!" Then Tuffnut and Ruffnut fought over a shield that had flaming skulls on it. Their fighting gave the Gronckle a clear shot. The Gronckle destroyed the shield and knocked down Tuffnut and Ruffnut. As Sting and Pinch check and guard their partners, Gobber said. "Tuffnut, Ruffnut! You're out!" Gobber then said to the others. "Shields are good for another thing. Noise! Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim!" Everyone then started to bang their weapons together. Gobber then said to everyone. "All dragons have a limited number of shots. And what is that limit?"

"Five?" Snotlout said before Fishlegs said. "No, six!"

"Correct, six!" Gobber said before the Gronckle hit Fishlegs shield. "Fishlegs, out!" Then Eric said to Hiccup. "Was he like this when he was teaching you?"

"Pretty much." Hiccup said as Eric pushed Hiccup out of the way of a shot fired from the Gronckle. During the fight, Snotlout was trying to flirt with Astrid. Astrid wasn't listening, and the Gronckle fired at them. Astrid, Spikeball, and Hookblade, dodged the blast, because they were paying attention, but it did hit Snotlout, who wasn't paying attention. "Snotlout! You're done!" Gobber said as Astrid and Spikeball rolled over to Hiccup, Eric, Flare, and Knight. Hiccup then said to her. "So it's just us, huh?"

"Nope." Astrid said as she and Spikeball ran away from them. The Gronckle then fired at them. Eric pushed Hiccup out of the way, and blocked the attack with his shield. The blast didn't hurt Eric, but it did knock him down. "You're done, Eric." Gobber said as Knight checked on Eric. As for Hiccup, after Eric pushed him, Hiccup lost his shield. He and Flare chased after it, b the Gronckle then chased them. "Hiccup!" Gobber said as the Gronckle pinned them to the wall. The Gronckle was about to fire at them, but Coal charged at the Gronckle, pushing it away. The Gronckle attack missed, and Coal used Rock Blast to push the Gronckle back into its cage. "Thank's Coal." Gobber said as he locked the cage. As Eric and Knight helped Hiccup and Flare up, Gobber said to them. "Remember, a dragon will always, always go for the kill." That caused a thought to enter Hiccup and Eric's mind. If a dragon always goes for a kill, then why didn't the Night Fury or the Steam Whip kill them?