Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
Sorry for the delay, had a wedding to go to.
--------------------------------------------------
The first thing I did once we'd all made it back up into the upper Den – and I was reasonably sure nothing was going to try and take advantage of our condition to eat us – was sit down hard on the nearest flat rock and not move for about ninety seconds, my legs feeling weak beneath me. My hands shook lightly, heart still pounding in my chest. The urge to fight, to kill, still burned inside me, demanding I go back there to finish the job, but each deep gulp of air helped force it down.
Sol collapsed next to me, the rest following suit as the adrenaline and Aura settled, the battle-high fading into exhaustion.
The second thing I did once the worst was over was start working through the team, one at a time, because nobody else was going to do it for me.
I started with Aurora, for obvious reasons. She was the only one who'd been knocked out.
I released her carefully onto a flat patch of ground in the shade, still unconscious. Even with her fluffy chest rising slowly, and even under a layer of grime and singed fur, the sight of her. Burns striped one whole side of her, angry pink-red skin already wrinkling under shriveled fur. I worked as gently as I could with the salve I'd bought off a Blackthorn apothecary stall my second day in the city – something thick and faintly minty that I'd watched half the Clan use on everything from training scrapes to genuine dragon-fire burns without complaint – smoothing it over each mark. I followed that up with a Burn Heal, just in case, but if there was one thing the dragon douches were good at dealing with, it was burns.
She would recover. With any luck, whatever scarring we couldn't get rid of would be hidden under her thick pelt.
"You didn't have to do that," I told her quietly, even though she couldn't hear me. "None of you seem to be getting that memo today. That being said," I smoothed out her little pompadour, the swirly tuft of fur a chaotic mess, and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "I'm very proud of you. You were very brave."
She stirred, a huff blowing air into my face as her legs twitched before she went limp again. I checked her breathing two more times than I strictly needed to before I let myself move on.
Siren didn't have much in the way of injuries herself – a fish moving through a fight mostly in short, controlled bursts turned out to be harder to land a solid hit on than anything with legs – but she made herself useful anyway, hovering close and nudging at spots I'd missed. A gentle stream of ice-cold water helped soothe the worst of the burns. When I got to Hercules, she stayed close there too, tilting her whole body toward the worst of the bruising along his ribs in a way that needed no translation at all, blowing more cooling liquid on him to help with the pain.
Hercules himself wasn't in too rough shape, given the circumsantaces – the Dragon Claw scored shallowly across his chest, running perpendicular to his stripe pattern, and a tail-swipe bruise bloomed darkly along one side of his chest, but he'd been through worse. But I noticed the exhaustion more than the marks. Two Teleports in the middle of a fight that intense had clearly cost him more than any amount of punching, and he sat slumped against a rock afterward.
"You don't have to keep using it," I said, wrapping his ribs mid-conversation because he was going to argue the point with his whole chest regardless of what I said. "Teleport, I mean. You've got plenty else. It can be an emergency thing." A little disappointing. I'd been dreaming of Herc Teleporting around like an anime character, landing devastating blows only to be gone before retaliation could come, but reality had to come first.
He looked downright insulted at the suggestion, whirring in dissatisfaction.
Sol had left the Den to curl himself up outside to recover on his own. He'd taken a hit late in the fight, ribs still tender when I pressed too firmly, but he let me work without complaint, occasionally cracking one eye to check that I hadn't wandered off. By the time I'd finished he'd already started up a low, contented rumble that I chose to interpret as forgiveness for making him fight a Garchomp on top of two weeks of cave-induced misery.
Espeon needed almost nothing – a shallow scrape along one shoulder, the blood already dry – and just settled around my neck the way she always did. That being said, rather than just pretending to nap like usual, she was out like a light in minutes.
Honedge was fine. I checked him over more out of habit than necessity, running a finger along the flat of his blade for nicks, finding one small one near the tip that I needed to straigten out before using the metal smooth as best I could with what I had on handshavings. The sheath-cloth had a scorch mark along one edge from where it'd caught a stray burst of dragonfire, but that was really it, mostly.
Zorua took longer than I expected, not because she was hurt – she'd come through mostly unscathed, other than am imprint of the Machoke's hand, staying low to the ground the whole fight – but because it took an age to get her to stay still long enough for me to give her a Potion, and then even longer to find her through the illusions she escaped through when she saw the needle tip.
Not a fan of needles, apparently.
Newt was the strangest one, if only because she genuinely didn't seem to know what to do with herself anymore.
She kept trying to coil the way she used to – tight and small, as unobtrusive as possible – but with her new length, she ended up looking like a spring, taller than her little stack was high and dangerously top-heavy, making her overbalance and tip over. Every time it happened, she went very still afterward, eyes darting around, like she thought someone saw and was waiting for them to laugh at her.
"It's perfectly normal to have a bit of trouble," I told her, sitting down properly next to the mess of coils and helping guide the last loop into something a little less chaotic. "You're bigger. A lot bigger, at that. Give it a bit; it'll feel normal. You should've seen Sol. Idiot could barely walk for days." I deliberately picked the Pokémon that wasn't there to hear me so that no one could get offended. Which just made me roll my eyes harder when a distant, muffled bark made it through the entrance tunnel. I ran a hand along the new white wing-shape at Newt's temple, delicate under my fingers. She shuddered weirdly, half trying to move away and closer at the same time. "For what it's worth, I think you're kind of spectacular. It took a lot of bravery to do what you did. Not a lot of brains, maybe, but that's just us rubbing off on you."
She butted her head against my palm with way too much force, overbalancing again and forcing me to catch her with a chuckle.
------------------------------------------
I'd just finished giving Betty an overlook when Clair arrived at the mouth of the cave, Saya peeking over her shoulder curiously while Sol squeezed past her, yawning mightily. They took in the whole scene, eyes lingering on the recently awakened Aurora as she tried to get up from the makeshift nest of blankets I'd made for her.
"You all look like absolute shit," she said, crouching down to check my work on the Alolan Vulpix's burns with a professional eye. The tiny fox mewled pitifully up at her, batting her large eyes to try and get some sympathy, yet Clair merely chuckled and ruffled her ears to mess up her fur, much to Aurora's huffing displeasure. "Couldn't help yourself, huh?" Saya, on the other hand, instantly spotted the evolved Newt and rushed over in a flash, the much longer Dragonair wrapping around the smaller one excitedly. Newt froze, eyes wide and shocked as the older dragon rubbed her cheek against Newt's, humming joyously.
Smiling, I saw that I was right. Newt was indeed a little under half as long as Saya, which probably made her around eight feet in length, since Clair's Pokémon was a good deal larger than the average for her species. Crazy to think she still hadn't evolved, but based on her strength, that was almost certainly deliberate.
"Good to see you too." I acknowledged her, patting Betty on her exposed forehead, satisfied that she didn't suffer anything worse than wounded pride from being thrown around like that. One of the primary reasons we'd even gone back down – other than being salty about the last time – was to show her the difference when we worked together, and I think the fact that she was outmaneuvered by the Garchomp, who was, technically, probably weaker than Betty in pure force, did that job perfectly.
"I'm not even mad." Clair adjusted the bandages half an inch, peeking under them at the Burn Heal-soaked cloth underneath, without asking. "You're as easy to see through as an Ice-Type. Knew you were going to do it before even you did." She glanced up. "Exasperated, sure, but mad implies I expected better out of you, and at this point that would be on me."
"Rude." I frowned, fishing up food for everyone from my pack. I held up a high-end Trainer ration – 'Oran Shortcake Flavor! No preservatives! Minimum 50% real Oran!' – and shook it at her. She shrugged in return and sat down, pulling down Herc's wrapping as well to take a look at the wounds. Despite not spending that much time with my team, she was remarkably comfortable with them, and they with her, seeing as Herc only looked at her weirdly for a moment before shrugging it off.
"I prefer to call it accurate." Her eyes moved past me to find Newt and Saya. There was genuine warmth in her face at the sight of the two Dragonairs essentially cuddling – and then, right behind it, something more complicated that she didn't manage to smooth over before I caught it.
"You don't look thrilled," I said, an undercurrent of tension in my voice. Clair hadn't been anything but… cordial towards Newt, but she hadn't been jumping to her aid or defense either.
"I am." She stared at Newt, studying her intently, yet didn't get up. Newt held still for it, watchful but not flinching, which felt like its own small victory. "She's evolved. Finally. She's alive, too, after a trip to the Pit. Those are both good things, things I didn't think were going to happen." A pause, her jaw working. "Tell me about the fight," she said, changing the subject with all the subtlety of Betty.
I told her all of it. The horde battle, starting with the ambush from above, below, and the sides at the same time. She perked up at the mention of the Noivern, eyes darting over towards the downward slope with a hungry glint when she heard how much of a problem the bat dragon had been. Then the Garchomp came up, and I spoke of the way it had forced us apart before charging in. Sol reducing half the chamber to slag. Hercules just barely missing the save, and Aurora taking the hit. Newt evolving.
Clair was a good audience, her face showing all the appropriate emotions at the right times, lightly gasping and grinning at the ebb and flow of the action, like she hadn't been through so much more. At the description of the Garchomp, though – grey hue, gangly, good with geokinesis – something like recognition settled into her, and all the good humor fled from her, eyes flashing.
"I kinda figured when you said Garchomp. Fucking coward," she snorted, anger in her voice.
"Coward?" I questioned. Sure, it had fled towards the end, but it was also 11-v-1.
"It's because Lance is here," Clair began, spitting into the fire as our food warmed up. The team was already busy with their bowls, food pellets littering the cavern floor as Sol spilled half of it in his gluttony. "You know that the older and stronger dragons go to the Holy Land. Stretch their wings, fight their rivals, mate, all the good shit. Well, as you can imagine, there's a hierarchy. Not a set one – it fluctuates nearly daily – but the oldest and strongest have been around for centuries, so the very top is pretty secure. There are set territories, and it's possible to navigate and live up there without running into too many problems." I knew that Dragon-Types were some of the longer-lived Pokémon, other than Steel, some Rock- and Ground-Types, and the exotic ones like Ghost, but it was still startling to be reminded that Betty was probably going to outlive me by that much.
Arceus have mercy on the world, for an alone Behmoth would have none.
Clair continued with a sneer, repeating an old, well-worn grievance. "All that goes out the fucking window when Lance stops by, and his team settles back in. Normally, it's a great event, some of the strongest Dragon-Types in the whole world showing up. The battles can be heard for days. The only reason you haven't heard them is that he was here not that long ago, so it's mostly out of their systems." Her mouth twisted. "But then there's that one fuck. Even when Lance isn't here, it comes crawling down for an easy meal. Too much trouble fighting the other fully evolved ones, so it comes for the young, hunting things that can't fight back. Machoke. Graveler. Dratini and Dragonair. The occasional moron who wanders in too deep. It won't come into the Human Den – not after what we did to it the last time. It's a problem, but manageable. Right until Lance's own Garchomp starts reminding the rest who rules. Then, it practically lives down here for months at a time, hiding like a worm rather than taking its beating like a dragon, hunting fucking babies because it's too scared to do anything else!" She spat again, teeth bared. The fire reflected off her slitted eyes, and she'd never reminded me of her cousin more than in that moment.
"Far be it from me to defend it, but it nearly took down half my team, Clair."
"Yeah, well." She shrugged it off. "Even the coward's still a fully evolved Garchomp, and a fairly old one. Doesn't stop being dangerous just because it's also pathetic. Just means it's dangerous AND pathetic."
I thought about those dead, calculating eyes weighing exactly how much effort I'd be worth eating, and decided I didn't have much sympathy left over. The Garchomp had been perfectly content to fight weaker opponents. If it was only doing so because it didn't dare to be the one with a disadvantage, then yeah, it sucked.
"Anyway," I climbed to my feet properly, testing my own ribs with a wince I didn't manage to hide fully. "I should get moving before too long, preferably tomorrow. I wanted to go today, but…" I gestured around vaguely. "You know. Two weeks is already a lot of Gym clock to have burned. Thank you, though," I remembered to say. Clair hadn't necessarily directly trained me as much as I'd have thought, but that wasn't what I needed either.
Actually, that reminded me she hadn't done that out of the goodness of her heart either, so I quickly spun on my heel and started shooing everyone back toward our room, especially Betty. "Thinking about it, we should really get some sleep to get up early, you know, early Pidgey gets the… Caterpie, or whatever. I probably won't see you before we leave, so-"
"Well, if you really want to thank me." Clair's voice shifted, making me stop and close my eyes in resignation. "The breeding rights. We should finalize that part properly, if you're leaving."
"... finalize suggests that we came to some sort of agreement. Which I don't recall." The words left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. I quite liked Clair. I'd enjoyed the time we'd spent together.
I probably didn't like her enough to throw her that kind of bone for something I'd already gotten.
She didn't seem surprised by it either, actually smirking at me semi-renegating on our deal.
"Smart. Usually, you'd have me at quite the disadvantage here! I handed over my side of the deal with a firm agreement! Shame on me." Then why was she grinning at me like that? "Unfortunately, you showed your hand, Peri."
"And what does that mean?" I tensed, eyes flickering around to look for the trap, paranoia stirring.
Clair hummed cheerfully to herself, leaning back and clearly enjoying herself. "It means that if you want to play hardball, you can't show what you actually want or how much you want it." She tilted her head to the side, gesturing towards Saya and Newt.
I froze. It… it had been a thought. Obviously. Newt was a sweetheart and slotted into the team surprisingly well. Too shy, too insecure, yes, but that was practically a godsend compared to some of the more… combative mentalities. She got on well with just about everyone, or at least didn't seem to have problems with anyone in particular. Honestly, she got along with them more than most of the actual team got along with each other.
She also had the mindset that I preferred: the want, the need to prove herself like Siren and Herc especially had. Newt worked hard, harder than the rest of the dragons, and with the proper direction, that could be all she needed.
Shit, I even somewhat liked that she was a Pygmy! Yeah, she was going to be a little weaker than average – more than a little, physically – but she combo'd with Betty perfectly: high strength-low mobility versus low strength-high mobility flyers.
But she was Lance's Pokémon. Kind of. Even if he didn't like her, there was no way he was going to part with her easily.
And I knew what he wanted. Regardless of his almost-apology, I didn't doubt that he'd pounce on the slightest sign of weakness. I didn't think he'd be able to stop himself.
As such, Clair's offer came out of nowhere. "... you don't have the authority to make that offer."
Her lip and cheek spasmed at my thoughtless words. "One, I'm the fucking Gym Leader; I can do what I want. Two, I already made Lance agree to it."
That had my jaw fully dropping. "Wha-how!? What did you give him!?"
"That's for me to know." If she got any more smug, she'd turn into a Persian. "Now what, huh?"
I glanced over at Betty. We'd already discussed the whole breeding thing, and she seemed… ambivalent towards it? Maybe she was too young – she definitely was – or it was just the shitty parental instincts of the Salamence line, but she didn't protest or really care.
Newt, on the other hand, was frozen once more, staring at me with the widest, wettest eyes I'd seen since Sol was a Growlithe. Or when Zorua made her eyes bigger than her head to beg me for extra treats.
… dammit.
"... what kind of breeding rights?"
Clair's smile looked far too much like a Sharpedo's. "Awww, don't you worry your tiny little brain! I just want the one, for now. When Behemoth's of an appropriate age and has evolved, she'll mate with my Gyarados and the first egg goes to me. If there's more, we'll split it fifty-fifty. Easy peasy."
There was an ugly feeling in my gut. I knew it wasn't uncommon to do that sort of thing. Hell, Sol was the result of something like that, and Espeon, presumably. Even back on Earth, it was common practice.
They had a little too much personality and full-blown sapience for me to feel good about it.
"... if the time comes, and she doesn't want to-"
"What the fuck!? Do you think I'm going to hold her down!?" Clair looked way more offended than when I lightly tried to scam her. "If that's what it is, then that's what it is! It happens! We'll figure out proper compensation if it becomes a problem, or there's artificial insemination."
That eased my mind.
"... Newt for potential breeding of Betty," I concluded before shoving a hand in her direction. "Screw it, fine. Take it before I change my mind."
Clair's grin stretched across her whole face as she looked at my hand before slowly lifting her own, reaching out-
Slap!
-and slapped it away. "Nah, no deal."
"..." I stared at her, dumbfounded as she began to laugh. "Wh-..."
"I told you, Peri, you shouldn't show your hand! That was the old deal, the deal you changed! Why would I give you a Pokémon in exchange for a potential Pokémon?"
"What do you want, then!?" There was a growl in my voice, but I couldn't help huffing a little in amusement as well.
Turnabout was fair play, I supposed. I did start it.
"Well, you do have that oh-so-lovely video…" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Fine!" I snorted, relaxing. I should've guessed that was all she wanted. "Newt for singular breeding rights, plus the video. You happy now, you extorting hag!?"
"Absolutely thrilled!" She beamed while I mock-scowled, our hands shaking in the middle. "Sorry, kid, been at this a little longer than you. Never try to renegotiate when you're in a worse position than you started in."
"Didn't think I was," I mumbled. "How'd you get Lance to agree to that deal, then? Now that you've extorted a child."
"Hmm?" Somehow, the smugness increased. "Oh, I didn't do anything. He just showed up and told me to have you take Newt with you when you left. I just… added my own little touch."
My jaw dropped again as she started laughing, Saya thrilling alongside her in amusement.
"YOU BITCH!"
"Do you want me to help heal you guys up or not?"
In the end, the want to help my Pokémon won out, but we continued snarking at each other for the rest of the night as we ate and enjoyed the last few hours we'd get to spend together for a while.
----------------------------------------------------
The following morning came fast, and by the time dawn broke, my bag was packed, my Pokémon were at my waist, and goodbyes were said. As such, I greeted the first rays of the sun outside with an inhale, drawing deeply of the cold mountain air as gold sparkled off the fresh snow that had fallen in the night.
"I'm gonna miss this," I admitted, "not the people – I now understand why everyone hates the Blackthorns – but this place is something else. Something I imagine you can relate to, eh?"
Newt cooed gently, looking out over Blackthorn and the valley, the mountain that served as the foundation for the city. It might be the first time she'd ventured outside the Den, so I was content to let her have one last look before we left.
Meanwhile, I could take the chance to have a little look of my own.
"Dragonair, The Dragon Pokémon." It had been a bit since I'd heard Dexter's voice. I'd fallen out of the habit of scanning every Pokémon I came across around the time of my falling out with Oak. I was honestly surprised I'd been allowed to keep the device for as long as I had. It was one of the reasons I'd reduced it to a glorified phone, the thought that I was going to lose it any day. "A mystical Pokémon that exudes a gentle aura. Dragonair stores an enormous amount of energy inside its body. It is said to alter weather conditions in its vicinity by discharging energy from the crystals on its neck and tail. It is said to live in seas and lakes. Even though it has no wings, it has been seen flying occasionally. Some say that if you see it at the start of the year, flying through the sky and twisting its body, you'll be healthy all year long."
"This Dragonair has the ability: Marvel Scale, and knows the moves: Wrap, Leer, Twister, Thunder Wave, Dragon Rage, Slam, Agility, Dragon Tail, Icy Wind, Extreme Speed (egg move), Water Pulse (egg move), Dragon Pulse (egg move), Dragon Dance (egg move)."
"Daaaamn," I praised, reaching out and rubbing her under the chin to her great delight, "there's that pedigree! Moves out the ass, four egg moves! Lance would be green with envy if he saw this!" Newt looked at me adoringly at that – which made me feel bad, as there was no way Lance didn't already know. It felt like a defensible lie, though. "I'm serious! I'm sure we'll end up fighting him at some point, and then you can show him up!" Newt looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack at the mere thought. "We can work up to that, I guess. For now, it's time." I held out a PokéBall towards her. Thankfully, there was a PokéMart in Blackthorn where I could buy the special variation that I wanted.
If there was anyone that needed a LoveBall, it was Newt. It didn't have any effects that a GreatBall didn't – other than a heart on the front and pink sparkles when opened, plus near seven times the price – but it was the thought that counted.
She hit the button so fast I thought she used Extreme Speed to do it, and it might be the first time I'd seen a Pokémon be caught where the ball didn't shake even once.
I smiled at the ball before attaching it next to the others and taking one last look at the view before turning to my ride. At least Clair had been kind enough to lend me a pair of Alakazam that would tandem Teleport me to my destination. Apparently, it was a little too far for one to make it without having to rest between jumps.
"Let's do it." I reached out to both of them and gripped the frail hands of the fox humanoids.
And with a twist of space, I vanished, nothing left on the outcropping but drifting snow.
----------------------------------------
There had been a couple of options for where to head after Blackthorn. Fuschia was the obvious one, since it was both the next Badge in line, if I was following Indigo's path, but also because it had been a month and a half since Koga invited me.
Then I remembered that leaving Koga hanging was funny and thought better of it. Let him stew.
In addition, if I was being honest, not having seen any Team Rocket members was probably healthy. The last one was the bounty hunter and… well, I killed her. Still didn't feel bad about it, either, which was the main reason I imagined it wasn't a great idea to go to Fuchsia.
But no Team Rocket eliminated Fuchsia and definitely took Viridian out of the picture.
That really only left one option.
The heat was the first thing to hit me: humid, sweltering, and enough to make my shirt stick to my skin instantly. The Dragon's Den had been warm, but the almost flat land I stood on was downright subtropical. Palm trees swayed in the too-light breeze; the ground sand and rocks, with a few more hardcore plants surviving amongst the arid environment. It wasn't a desert the way Orre was, though, just littered with stone. The closest thing I could compare it to was the Sevii Islands, and while that overgrown jungle was even worse, it was a close race.
Then again, Cinnabar was the first island in the Sevii chain from the Kanto side, so I supposed it made sense that the climate was similar.
Walking into the town I'd been deposited on the outskirts of as the two Alakazam vanished behind me, I took in the sights – after letting out Espeon, Honedge, and Zorua, plus removing my shirt. Holy shit, it was warm. I took it back; it was just as bad as Sevii. Less humid, despite the crystal-clear, light blue ocean twinkling on the horizon, but the actual temperature might very well be hotter.
Then again, it was fair, I mused while looking at the line of smoke wafting from the volcano peeking up from a little further inland, towards the top of Cinnabar Island. I'd never been that close to an active volcano.
Cinnabar, like Cerulean, was primarily a tourist destination, with people flocking to the white beaches and year-round warm temperatures, and it was evident in the crowds swarming around. Swimsuits were the clothing of choice, bikinis and swim trunks as far as the eye could see, brightly colored against the various levels of tan.
The architecture was interesting in light of that. Some parts of it reminded me of Viridian and the outskirts of Pewter. Old, traditional buildings with hard lines and intricate carvings, thick, solid buildings that could withstand centuries, and would bake anyone who dared to step inside. Between those, however – and even interwoven into the same buildings, like a Frankenstein of construction – was Sevii's wide, open style, with big porches and pillars holding up sloping roofs and wide awnings.
But opposite of what I'd have thought, the breezy Sevii style looked the oldest, and the more 'traditional' quasi-Japanese buildings looked new. An attempt to return to an even older way?
Other than the style, Cinnabar set itself apart from Cerulean and Celadon in another way, contributing more than great vacation spots and oodles of cash.
Cinnabar Research and Development. One of the scientific leaders in Pokémon genetics and physiology, especially when it came to things like cloning. It was there that Ditto was born, and the Full Restore was created, saving who knows how many lives. The combined Gym and Lab was a bastion of knowledge, a Titan of science-
-and was nothing but a pile of ashes; the building burnt to the ground.
… what?
I stared at the ruin in confusion, looking down at the large sign in front of it. But no, 'Cinnabar Research-' yadada. It was definitely the right place.
So why was it gone?
Blackened wood lay crumbled amidst melted, twisted metal. It had clearly been a large building as big as the Gym in Celadon, and the fire clearly hadn't been natural either. While some parts of the steel girders were melted along the edges, others had been completely reduced to slag, frozen puddles of melted metal pockmarked amidst the wreckage. Some even looked like they had been sliced in two by a laser cutter, the edge almost completely smooth. It had long since gone cold, so it wasn't recent, either.
What the hell happened?
"Looking for the Lab or the Gym?" A voice spoke up. I looked over to see a kid a year or two older than me, with blonde hair and blue eyes. A double necklace of smooth pieces of coral and other ocean bits hung around his neck, the only other clothing he wore beyond his red bathing shorts with pink flowers.
"Gym," I told the surfer dude.
"I thought so, bro. You totally don't give off, like, science vibes." The most obnoxious, over-the-top Cali-surfer-bro accent came out of his mouth, and I instantly wanted to punch him. No way that was his real voice.
But I didn't punch him, which was progress. I could already feel the tension leak out of me, that constant agitation fading now that I was away from ambient draconic energy.
"Uh-huh," I retorted instead, jerking my chin towards the husk of a building. "What happened?"
"Oh, bro, it was totally radical, dude! So, like, Blaine, the Gym Leader? You know, Blaine?" He actually waited for me to nod. "Yeah. Well, he was the Gym Leader here, on Cinnabar, but he was also, like, a total genius, dude! Like, he made all kinds of stuff, really awesome stuff, too. But, like, people would come sniffing around, you know? Like, trying to be sneaky and steal Blaine's secrets. Totally not bodacious, right!?"
"..." I just stared at him. I categorically refused to give him the satisfaction.
Thankfully, he went on. "Well, like, one day, Blaine, you know, the Gym Leader? He just, like, had enough, man, of all the people trying to steal or copy his stuff and having to battle low-Badge trainers. He burned down the Gym, the Lab, the sweet spot between two trees where I'd strung up a hammock – man, I miss that hammock, too. It was, like, a totally sick nap spot. But then, Blaine just, like, left, man."
I waited for the story to continue, but the guy just looked at me.
"... and then!?"
He shrugged. "And then nothing, man. He only told the top-level Gym Trainers where the new Gym was and took his research with him. Said that only the best Trainers were worthy of facing him in battle. OH!" His eyes lit up as what passed for neurons in his empty skull fired a single, feeble spark and granted him a thought. Singular. "Blaine gave me, like, a riddle, or something? To lead people towards him? Where did I put that thing?" He started rummaging through his swim trunks and pulled out a piece of paper. "There it is! All right, riddle time, bro, put on your smarty pants-HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!? DON'T YOU WANNA HEAR THE RIDDLE!?"
I waved over my shoulder, already walking away not just from the surfer guy, but from the burnt-down Gym and Cinnabar City itself, heading deeper inland and towards the top of the island. "NAH, I'M GOOD! THANKS THOUGH!"
"RIGHT ON, THEN! IMMA GO SHRED SOME SICK GNAR!"
My eye twitched a little, but I forced it down. The story had knocked something loose, and I'd remembered where the Gym was. I couldn't recall if it was the anime or games, but the impression of Blaine being 'slightly' unstable I'd gotten back on the S.S. Anne in the wake of the Rocket attack suddenly made a lot of sense.
After all, you had to be at least a little bit insane to build your Gym inside of an active volcano.
-----------------------------------------
AN: I've been looking forward to this arc for years.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.