"I hope you like the food."
"It's the best!" Misty said while gulping the down the dishes set for them.
"I did not know your two friends would be beautiful girls." Jason, who was sitting at the main seat, teased Aeron. "You are one lucky man two travel with them."
"Trust me; they can be quite a handful." Aeron shook his head, gaining a few glares from the girls.
"How is your father? It's been a long time since I last saw him personally," The Gym Leader asked the youngest Waterflower.
"As you already know, he has stepped down from the position of Gym Leader, which my three sisters have taken over." Misty wiped her face as she spoke. "He has taken the role of Cerulean City's Governor/Guardian while taking Gym Challenges from only those who have won a Conference beforehand."
Jason nodded to her before turning toward Nessa and spoke with a deep frown. "And I heard what Chairman Rose did to you."
The girl with ocean-blue eyes sighed before speaking. "I know it is unfair, but I can do nothing but train my best and take over the gym once I have proved myself."
"Can I ask what happened?" Aeron asked from the side. He knew Nessa came from a family of Gym Leaders, and after her parents passed away, she was supposed to officially take over the Galar Regions Water-type Gym. But the chairman of Galar League had put her through some test which she had failed, and he stripped her of the title of Gym Leader.
Nessa bit her lower lip as she remembered everything, and Aeron, sitting in front of her, held her hand. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. We can have this conversation at a later time."
However, she shook her head and explained. "Unlike many gyms passed down from one heir to another through countless generations, my parents recently took over the Water-type Gym of Galar." She remembered the face of her father, who always had a warm smile on his face. "They were once fishermen. One day, they both decided to go on a Pokémon Journey together...surprisingly, they were very good at Pokemon battles."
"My mother won Galar's Waydon Conference while my father won the Waydon Conference, Manalo Conference and Lumiose Conference. At that time, the Water-type Gym of Galar was declining under the hands of its Gym Leader. Due to his merit, the League decided to make my father, a Water-type Specialist, the new Gym Leader. However...things happened, and they..."
Nessa found it hard to complete her sentence toward the end, but the warmth of Aeron's hand gave her strength while clearing her mind.
"Gym Leaders usually don't use their own Pokémon for battles since they would be too strong for challengers." She continued her story. "They train Pokémon registered under the Gym and use those to take on challenges. However, Chairman Rose decided otherwise when the Gym was passed over to me. He said I cannot take over the Gym unless I defeat the challengers with my Pokémon."
"You're sixteen and took over the Gym last year." Aeron frowned as he thought about it. "Other than the Pokémon you had from passing the Regional Exam, you wouldn't have any other Pokémon at that time."
Nessa nodded her head. "He wanted me to beat challengers with my untrained Pokémon."
"That's bullshit." The orange-haired girl slapped her hands on the table and immediately stood up.
"Misty," Aeron called from the side, and the girl coughed before realizing where they were.
"He gave you an impossible task." Jason, who already knew the whole story, added from the side.
"Yes, but I took on the task since I did not want the gym handed over to anybody else." Nessa wasn't the girl who would run away from a challenge. "But I failed." She gritted her teeth in anger. "With only one Pokémon without training, I fought challengers every day and lost. However, my partner and I did not give up. We kept training until we could take on the new trainers."
"But just as things got a little better, the Chairman told me I could not use my trained Pokémon since it doesn't prove my skill as a trainer." She clenched her hands and added. "I had to start over with Horsea, but before we could even attempt to grow strong..."
"He disbanded the Gym, and then you came to Kanto." Aeron finished her words.
"What the heck is that bastard thinking?" Misty once again shot up, and this time, nothing could stop her frustration. "That's plain bullying. Whoever that flower-named chairman is, he is targeting you on purpose."
Anyone could tell that much at a single glance.
"Does he belong to the family from which your father took over the gym?" Aeron could not help but ask.
"You are sharp," Jason added from the side while Misty frowned at his words. "But you don't need to worry." He looked at Nessa and added. "Order is looking into this matter, and they have told me to let you know; they support you."
"Order?" Aeron asked with confusion, and Jason immediately realized he had spoken more than he should have. But the damage was already done.
"I will tell you later," Misty added from the side, and Jason just sighed at himself before speaking again.
"They have been suspicious of Chairman Rose using his authority for his profit but ignored it till now since it was all minor offences. But after this incident, he won't be left alone. His conglomerate, Macro Cosmos, is under watch; he won't dare create trouble for you the next time you are in Galar. " His words cheered up Nessa, but the girl shook her head.
"I will take Gym back with my own strength." She appreciated whatever the Order was doing but refused to back down from this challenge. "In February, I will fight again, and this time, I am going to win...no matter what happens. I will prove myself as a worthy candidate for the Gym with my efforts, just like my grandfather and father, even if I have to give up my dream for it."
Jason, Aeron and Misty watched as the girl spoke determinedly. None of them knew the outcome of the battles in February, but they did know that the girl before them would become a great trainer. She had the makings of one.
"We still have five months before the challenge, right?" Aeron noticed something but decided not to bring it up at the moment. "We will train our hardest and help you prepare."
"Don't worry, girl. We will teach that Rosyrose learns a lesson." Misty pumped her fist to Nessa, who smiled at the support from her friends and fist-bumped the orange-haired girl.
"I will wish you luck on the endeavour and show my support for you," Jason said with a smile. The flame of youth was burning brightly in the trainers before him. "Let's talk about something else, shall we?" He changed the topic to something more light. "So Aeron, have you decided which type you want to specialize in?"
"I don't plan to specialize in any type."
"Seeing you used two Fire-type Pokémon, I thought you would want to Specialize in Fire-type Pokémon."
"You already know about the events of Viridian Forest," said Aeron, and the Bug-type Gym Leader nodded. "I got a Growlithe as a reward while Larvesta...I just happened to encounter it in the Viridian Forest."
"But what if you had to specialize?" Misty could not help but ask.
"Hmm..." Aeron had a thoughtful expression as Misty's words made him think. What if he had to choose a Type to specialize in? An answer soon came to his mind. "Dragon-type."
"They are a prideful bunch," Jason added at Aeron's choice. "You will not find many trainers who specialize in Dragon-type Pokémon or even have a Dragon-type Pokémon."
"My starter is a Dragon," Aeron mentioned while taking out Axew's Pokeball and calling it out. "Come out, Axe."
"Axew!"
"A Shiny?" Jason's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw the Shiny Axew. "Where did you find one?"
"I got Axe as an egg." Aeron picked up the dragon and put it in his lap. "But even before Axe, I have always found Dragon-types cute and likeable."
"You might be the only one who thinks that," said Misty shaking her head.
"Axew?"
"Of course, except our cutie Axe." Her heart melted when the dragon looked at her with puppy...dragonny eyes?
"Xew!"
"Then you would need six Dragon-type Pokémon, and they just happened to be the rarest Pokémon ever." Jason then shared his experience with Dragon-type Pokémon with the three young trainers, and they carefully listened. Learning from a Gym Leader was a rare opportunity they did not want to miss; therefore, they made sure to ask him questions whenever they were in doubt.
"You have the bearing of a Pokémon Professor even though you are not one." The Gym Leader chuckled as he looked at Aeron. The boy made sure to ask questions and learn as much as he could from him. He was like a sponge that absorbed all the information and knowledge given to him. "Let's end this with one last question. Anything else you want to ask?"
Aeron was having a field day as he learned a lot of things about Pokémon from the Gym Leader. He learned how to treat Pokémon with different personalities and other miscellaneous knowledge that would only come with experience. However, so far, it was Jason speaking while he asked questions only about the things Jason had told them. Now? He could ask him any one question.
So, he asked the one thing he was always curious about and could not find any relevant information.
"There are there Legendary Pokemon said to be found in Kanto Region, also known as the three Guardians of Kanto," Aeron asked with a thoughtful look, and Jason knew what would come next. "We have 1 Pseudo-Legendary, and then we have Mew. Other than Dragonite, no one has ever seen the three Guardians and Mew."
"Do you want to ask if they are real?" The Gym Leader asked, and the girls carefully listened to the conversation.
"No." Aeron shook his head. "League never removed Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Mew from the Kanto Dex even after many researchers denied their existence. It could only mean the League knows about them, but these Pokémon are not ones you see in everyday life. No more than eight trainers are said to have a Dragonite in their team. If a Pseudo-Legendary is so rare, what about the real legendaries?"
Jason nodded his head at those words. Many people think of Legendary Pokémon as just myths created by old. But he knew they were real. They were just as real as they were terrifying. He had only seen a child of one, and yet he was helpless against that force of nature, much less an original.
"What are you trying to get at?" But he was confused about what the boy was trying to ask. "I thought you wanted to know if three Guardian Birds were real, but you seem to have already guessed that..." He paused in his words, knowing he had been played with.
Aeron looked at Jason with a small victorious smile. "There are no photos or evidence of those three birds. Even I sometimes felt they were just myths created as stories for children. But judging by your words, they are real, not just stories."
Jason's lips twitched at those words. He had allowed Aeron to ask any one question, but the boy had led him around into giving out more than he should have. 'He is a nice guy but as cunning as those old folks.'
Aeron ignored the Gym Leader and took out his Pokedex. He placed it on the table, and a holographic screen appeared before all.
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[Number-146: Dragonite]
[Number-147: Articuno]
[Number-148: Zapdos]
[Number-149: Moltres]
[Number-150: Mew]
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"And why are you showing me this?" Jason finally realized what Aeron really wanted to know; this time, his guess was correct.
"Even though Numbers 147-150 are Myths, we know their names and what they kinda look like from some drawings left in ancient caves, books and murals." Everyone looked at the drawings Aeron was displaying to them, the drawings of the Legendary Birds and Mew on cave walls or carved in ancient stones. He tapped his Pokedex once again, displaying another screen. "My question is..."
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[Number: 151
Name: ???
Photo: ???
???
???
???
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"...what Pokémon is number 151?"
A bit late on the chapter but it is here. I hope you are enjoying the story.
Have a great day guys!
Peace!