Chương 1228: 22
It should be noted that, contrary to the beliefs I might have instilled, I'm not the best in social settings. Oh, I can be extroverted when I want to be; being loud and brash and open. But when it comes to meeting people when I don't want to I tend to clam up like a politician during a scandal.
So far, in the time that I have been in this world, this has yet to happen. The reason is simple: by being in the Pokémon world, I have something in common with essentially every person that's currently alive. That thing being the Pokémon themselves. Everybody that I have talked to either was involved in Pokémon in some way or involved with the involvement of Pokémon. In other words, I hadn't needed to think with the people, and my introversion had no reason to come into effect.
Having things to talk about makes social anxiety a far easier thing to deal with.
This meant that, in a setting where Pokémon were not released when in a room filled with people I didn't know, I kept quiet. Jasmine and Liza were the only ones that I really interacted with, save for the occasional Gym trainer, and I intended things to remain that way for the remainder of this party. I mean, I did the polite thing and introduced myself to people that walked up to me, but I didn't start any conversations and did my best to keep people that want to talk away.
So, it was only natural that my father walks in with the woman I might be apprenticing under, ruining any semblance of control I held over my introversion.
"Bro!" Aunt Claire shouted from the far side of the room, literally tackling him to the ground. Lance groaned from beneath her and Winona laughed along with the rest of the crowd.
"Sis," he greeted, awkwardly pattering her on the head. He had a nasally voice, one that didn't match his appearance at all.
Strangely, it calmed me down.
Aunt Claire got off from him and wrapped Winona in a hug, one that was enthusiastically returned. When Lance stood, the three of them fell into a quiet chat, going back and forth so quickly I couldn't keep up. I got the gist of what they were talking about when all three of their heads swiveled towards me, though.
Winona let out a gasp, Aunt Claire just looked smug, and Lance let out a groan. I feel ya dude.
Claire pointed her finger at me and curled it towards herself, silently telling me to come to her. I shook my head. She did the finger motion with her other hand. I crossed my arms into an X. She gave me a hard stare. I returned it.
The, I was startled and forcibly moved by Jasmine. I craned my neck towards her, doing my damnedest to look like a wounded puppy. She ignored my pity party and continued to push. I tried pushing back against her, but she had something I never would.
Anime strength.
She was like a boulder. No matter what I did, she wouldn't budge. She just kept pushing and pushing and pushing until I was let than two feet aware from my father, who was having trouble looking at me.
Oh, trust me buddy. The feeling is mutual.
By this point, the crowd that Claire had invited to the party were all staring at us. Lane and I were the sole items of their interest.
"Introduction time!" Aunt Claire said, quite loudly. I turned back towards Jasmine, hoping she would help me out, but it was not to be. She had already lost interest in me, happily greeting some beefy old guy in a karate uniform.
I squirmed as the eyes of a bunch of strangers zeroed in on me. This wasn't like my battle with Drake where I could ignore the audience and focus on my team. This time around, I was the center attention in a way that I wanted nothing to do with.
"Is there any chance we could do this in private?" I asked, swallowing audibly. My pops nodded, eyes visibly relieved by my line of questioning.
"Sure," Claire chirped. "Right after you introduce yourselves. To everybody."
Lance's eye bugged out and everything clicked into place. She wanted him to claim me as his son, knowing full well that I didn't want to be claimed as his son. Was this one of those things where she thought she knew best? Yeah, fuck that. Winona, I'm coming with you.
Just to get away from Claire.
With that line of thought in mind, a loophole appeared. I ignored both my father and my aunt and turned my attention towards Winona.
"Hi, I'm Jon. It's really good to meet you." I held out my hand for good measure. "I was actually planning to send the Fortree Gym and invoice in hopes of becoming a Gym trainer. Some crazy woman told me about your opening, to be honest. But I still would like to try!"
She shook my hand, looking giddy. Claire fumed from the side. "Crazy woman, huh? Well, I don't know about that, but I did watch your match in Pummelo. Kid, you trained your Natu to take down a Dragonite. I'd be happy to take you on, though there are a few things I doubt I'd be able to help you with."
"Really?" I asked, loudly and excitedly and oh so false. I adjusted our handshake so that our arms were now hooked together and ushered her into a different room. More importantly, I ushered her into an empty room. "What wouldn't you be able to help me with?"
Winona followed along, looking all too amused by me. "My specialty is Flying types with bird characteristics. You seem to have a preference towards those with draconic characteristics, which makes sense due to your time with Claire. I honestly don't have much knowledge when it comes to your Dragonair, Gyarados or that Shelgon I heard about."
"That's fine, I said, reveling inwardly as the door closed behind us. Fuck yeah, electric doors for the win. They were made of glass though, allowing me to glimpse the annoyance written all over Aunt Claire and the sheer relief that Lance showed. "I have other people to help with them, I'm more concerned with my other Pokémon. I'd like to join an Elite Four as a Flying Master at some point, and I figured you were the best person to help with that."
I paused. "Oh, and I don't have any preference. I just like Flying types. I've just gotten lucky and caught those rare ones earlier on."
"Hm, alright. And your wanting to become an Elite Four… I like it! It's ambitious! But what about Falkner? He's closer to your family and has been a Gym Leader longer than I have."
"He'd make me stick around Johto, and, well." I just waved my hands back towards the party and Winona had to smother a laugh. "I love Aunt Claire, I do. But this… Yeah, I'd just like to get away, I guess. Plus, I've caught most of the Pokémon from Johto that interest me anyways. Hoenn has a lot of options that I haven't even seen yet."
She beamed. "Right?! The Flying types of Hoenn are really spectacularly. Swellow, for example…"
.
We chatted amiably, going back and forth with the Pokémon we would like to capture later on. Winona merrily laughed at my proclamation that I would capture a Legendary, but when I mentioned I might know where a one of them live, because I'm an idiot, she grilled me. The Bird of Shamouti were an island secret, and the others were a me secret.
No way in hell was I going to let this woman know where any of these Pokémon are. I called dibs over a year ago, and the dibs doth sticketh.
I changed the subject, trying to see if she might know where a buyer for my Onix might be found, when Aunt Claire stormed in looking horrible mad. Lance trailed behind her, a sedate and comfortable pep in his step.
My aunt got right in my face and spoke very lowly. "Jon, explain yourself. Why did you leave?"
Oh, she wants to get mad?
Really?
Okay, two can play at this game.
I glared at her, butting my forehead against her own. "You were going to tell the world about me and Lance." I didn't call him father or dad or pops, not out loud. Those were for internal thoughts only. Lance was Lance and that is all he is to be on a verbal standpoint. "I don't want that."
She backed away and crossed her arms. "Jon, don't you realize how good of an opportunity it is? You could be a proper Blackthorn!"
"I'm already a Blackthorn, you accepted me into the clan, remember?" I remember the elders throwing a tantrum about it, crowing on about how I was a bastard and it wasn't right. Whatever, I got Rhaegal out of it.
Claire groaned. "That was just a ceremony. I meant your name! Jon, listen. Just trust me, alright? This is for the best. You'll thank me later."
Just as she turned around, intent on walking into that room and spilling my guts, I grabbed her by the shoulder and twisted her with all my might. Being a child, that was not much, but it certainly made her pause and turn around.
She looked even more mad. "Did you just-"
"You. Will. Not." I bit out, legitimately angry. She'd seen me annoyed, she'd seen me frustrated.
She'd never seen my pissed.
Claire recoiled lightly. "Jon, hun. Please, this is-"
"If you go out there and speak a word about my relationship with Lance, I promise you I'll never return to this Gym again."
It wouldn't be hard. This was my new start at life, my second chance. I decide how this goes. If never returning to a city that I've already gotten everything I need from is the price I have to pay to ensure I'm in control, fine. I would miss Claire, she had been awesome to me and genuinely wanted me to succeed, but she was going a step too far and I couldn't let her do as she wanted. Not in this case.
She straightened and Lance looked suitably worried. Only Winona seemed to understand.
Claire sat down and looked at me deeply. "Why would you say that?"
She was hurt by my words.
Tough.
It took me a moment to reign in my anger. I spoke as softly as I could, because apparently, she wasn't understanding me when I was serious. "Because you are trying to dictate my life the way you want things to go."
Claire shook her head. "Jon, being a Blackthorn is a great privilege and-"
"It's not about the clan!" I shouted. She shut up, startled. "I am Jon Snow, a trainer from Shamouti Island. I am not Jon Blackthorn, son of Lance. I don't want to be."
Lance actually looked hurt now. Claire was just lost. "Why wouldn't you want to be? Don't you like it here?"
Is this-
Fuck it. If she's being stubborn, I'll give her the actual truth of the matter.
"My goal is to become a Flying Master," I began slowly. "I've dreamed of it for a long time now, the world knowing the name Jon Snow as an Elite. If I climb my way up that ladder, the world will know and they will applaud and recognize my effort. It will all be me. But Jon Blackthorn? Every accomplishment he makes is attributed to his clan, to his father. 'The son of Lance has won the Indigo League!' 'He's taken down the Elite Four, must be in the blood!' I could catch a damned Legendary and the people in that room would only see Lance."
Claire just kept shaking her head. "You know that's not true. You aren't Lance, you aren't-"
"Then why are you trying to do this?!"
"So we can be a family!" She exclaimed, breathing heavily.
I sat down across from her, grabbing her hands. Unconsciously, my voice dropped to a near whisper. "We already are. It might not be on paper, but we are."
Claire offered me a small smile.
I dashed that smile quick.
"But… If you do this, then yes, we will family be on paper, but we won't be anything else outside of that. I'm serious Claire, do not let anybody know. That is my prerogative. I am Jon Snow, nothing more, nothing less."
There they were. The waterworks were coming out now. She grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug bawling into my shoulder. I patted her back softly.
Lance stood over us, his cape wide open so that nobody from the outside would see Claire break down like this.
Winona though, she was all sparkles. She'd absorbed our drama like we were the stars of a Bravo show, completely sucked into our fight.
"I just don't understand though," she said, casually not addressing the family time that was happening right in front of her. "What's all the fuss over a last name? I don't even have one! Does it really matter all that much?"
"It really doesn't," I admitted, just before Claire or Lance could speak. "Anyways, I meant what I said. I won't be becoming a Blackthorn, or at least not any time soon."
"So, maybe later?" Claire asked, hiccupping.
Honestly? Not likely. But she didn't need to know that. "Maybe."
She offered me a slow, watery smile. I hugged her once more, it was clear that she still needed it.
The drama was done now, or at least put behind us for the moment. The four of us settled properly, and I addressed Winona properly on becoming a Gym trainer.
"So, can we talk about going to Hoenn?"
"Sure!" Winona exclaimed, quickly trying to get us off of our previous topic "So, Hoenn is basically on the other end of the world. You won't be able to ride one of your Pokémon there, not unless you can handle saddle sores that last for weeks."
I quickly shook my head. There was no way hell I would be able deal with that.
"Figured not. Plus, there's the issue of luggage and food… No, you're going to have to get on either a plane or a boat. I won't be heading back to Fortree for another two weeks. You might be able to join me for my flight."
"But what will I be expected to do?" I wanted to know if being her Gym trainer was different from being one of Claire's.
"Whatever I ask." Ah, no it was not. "You'll basically become my assistant. Keep my schedule, feet and treat my Pokémon and whatever else I'll need. And since I only have one Gym trainer at a time, there'll be a lot of one-on-one work between us. I'll teach you most of what I know about Flying types and show you my battling tricks too."
She paused. "Actually, I would like to test you as well. Just because I've seen you battle from that recording doesn't mean I've seen you battle proper. I want to know how you think on the fly, think of this as an interview. You do well, you become me Gym trainer. You do poorly, well, you just continue on and we'll revisit this another day."
I blinked a few times, Claire still holding onto me tightly.
Huh.
"So, I have to battle you?" I wasn't against this, not in the slightest. Battling is fun. I was, however, concerned. She left Fortree, which means she has her proper team on her, not her Gym registered team. All things considered, she would probably win. But I didn't need to win, I just needed to have a good showing.
Winona winked at me and stretched out her arm. Hesitantly, I held out my own. She grabbed my hand and pushed all of my fingers down into a fist, all but my forefinger. She then maneuvered my now pointing hand towards the door.
I looked at my hand and then looked at what it was pointing at. Lance stood there, looking as surprised as I was.
There was only one line of thought to be had about this.
Shit.
.
We moved to the Gym stadium about an hour later. The whole of the crowd that had come for Aunt Claire's birthday were sat in the stands, some even having smartphones at the ready for recording purposes. This time, unlike earlier, I didn't mind being the center of attention. This was a battle, it was expected.
Only, y'know… I was about to lose hardcore.
Baelish was still gone, searching for something on my order. If I knew I was going to be battling Lance, I would have kept him. Baelish was my best bet to handle an Elite level Pokémon by way of his Teleport trick. And I couldn't use Nagga, the battle lines and arena of the Blackthorn Gym were too small. If I released Nagga, he would either be smooshed, or would cause extreme levels of property damage.
Neither option is good.
And so, without them, I was probably going to lose.
But I still had to try.
Winona was acting as the referee for this battle, being the woman that started it in the first place. A pair of flags were in each of her hands, one red and one green. I was the green trainer this time.
"The battle between Champion Lance Blackthorn of Blackthorn City versus Jon Snow of Shamouti Isle is now under way!" Had to hand it to her, Winona could go from goofy to professional in an instant. "Lance will only be using one Pokémon while Jon is allowed to use up to three. There will be no substitutions. Lance, being from Blackthorn City, will be representing the Blackthorn Gym in this match, thus making him the defender. Defender! Release your Pokémon!"
Lane gave Winona a flat look, a look that was ignored with ease. He sighed and dug through his pocket, retrieving a single, simple Poké Ball. A brilliant light escaped from the sphere in his hand and on the field a small blue raptor took form. Its legs were stubby and its arms even smaller, its head the size of a watermelon with teeth as big as pocket knives. Standing just three feet tall, a plume of white feathers that were wrapped around its neck bristled as it let out an ear-piercing cry of "Ty!"
I have no idea what the hell that thing was.
So, I dug my hand through my fanny pack and pulled out my much ignored Pokédex. On the screen was the image of the Pokémon before me, though the one on the screen was brown instead of blue. Of course Lance would have a shiny.
Tyrunt: The Royal Heir Pokémon. Its immense jaws have enough destructive force that if can chew up an automobile. It loved 100 million years ago. If something happens that it does not like, Tyrunt throws a tantrum that often causes environmental destruction.
"Hmm…" A Fossil Pokémon, huh? One with Dragon characteristics? Interesting. All fossil Pokémon are Rock types by nature, which means that this guy was either a Rock-Dragon hybrid or would become one once it evolved.
Checking my Pokédex once more, I confirmed it. Tyrunt was a Rock-Dragon hybrid.
Damnit, Nagga would have been perfect. Why must this arena be so small?
Shit happens. I still had another idea, one that I could hopefully work with.
I silently released Rhaegal, my Shelgon taking the field. She shuffled around, looking back towards me longingly. Rhaegal wanted to give me one of her signature hugs, but was aware cognizant of her being in a battle, so she held back her instinct.
Good.
With Tyrunt's typing being put into account, it only made sense to use the Pokémon that had the strongest chance against it. In this case, they would be the Pokémon I hatched. They might not be up to Lance's standard as of yet, but this would at least show both him and Winona that I was treating them right.
"Before we begin, I would like to mention that I will be giving minimum instruction to my Tyrunt. He knows what to do." Now that Lance wasn't on the ground with the body of another human on top of him, his voice wasn't strained. Dude had a decent voice, one of those pleasant baritones with a light rumble.
Decent for a guy in a cape.
"I'll take advantage of your kindness."
There was no more reason to talk. It was time to get this shit started.
"Tyrunt versus Shelgon!" Winona called out. "Begin!"
"Dragon Rush!" I commanded.
A shroud of draconic energy surrounded Rhaegal. She shot forward, far faster than her species was naturally able, and rammed right into Tyrunt.
Wait, what? Tyrunt just tanked that attack. Not only was he tanking it, he was pushing against it, trying to fight back. That wasn't right.
"Cut off Dragon Rush and use Attract!"
She did just that, jumping upwards using Tyrunts own momentum. Her shroud dissipated as she began to descend, and once it was entirely gone Rhaegal puckered her lips and winked like a two-bit whore.
Tyrunt stilled for a moment, his yellow eyes turning pink for a moment. Then he shook his head, pink returning to yellow. That certainly wasn't right! None of this is right. If that Tyrnt was female like Rhaegal, then Attract would have done nothing. But Lance said it was a he, and the physical signs that Attract took hold were there.
It shouldn't be possible to shake Attract off. Now like that.
With one last twitch, Tyrunt zeroed in to where Rhaegal was falling and moved.
It resembled the first time I saw Professor Oak's own Dragonite, how it just appeared out of nowhere. Tyrunt basically just teleported right below Rhaegal and buried his fangs into her underbelly. She cried out, cracks starting to form on her shell. That shell, even the underbelly, which was the weakest area to be found, was almost as hard as diamond. I don't care how strong those jaws are, that shouldn't be possible.
…This seems to be a recurring theme.
Rhaegal screamed and screamed, flailing around helplessly and couldn't really do anything else. The issue with Shelgon as a species is that they can't really do anything that doesn't involve their legs or face. Her body was Rhaegal's most vulnerable area, which was why her shell was supposed to protect her in the first place!
Fuck, I could see blood coming from where Tyrunt was biting her. It was obviously hers, based on her she was screaming her throat raw while Tyrunt wasn't making a sound.
I returned her, not wanting to risk her health further. Damnit, how long is that going to take to heal?
"Jon has forfeited his Shelgon. Tyrunt is the winner!"
I released Viserion next. She swam through the air, waving her tail towards the people in the stands, earning oo's from the crowd.
Plebs.
"The next match will be between Tyrunt versus Dragonair!" Winona called, Viserion returning to his side of the field properly. "Begin!"
"Thunder Wave!" Viserion's horn shone brightly as a shockwave bolted towards Tyrunt. It hit the Royal Heir dead center, Tyrunt howling in annoyance. Sparks were jutting from his body, signifying that he was paralyzed.
"Alright Viserion," I called out. "Now use Leer, and follow that up with Water Pulse. Stay in the air."
His black eyes turned a deadly shade of red, meeting Tyrunt's own yellow eyes dead on. Leer took hold when the sclera surrounding Tyrunt's eyes pulsed in that same shade of red.
Lance's Tyrunt was too strong for me to battle head on. Just from how it handled itself against Rhaegal, there was no way I could even try that. Leaving that, my next best option was to weaken it as best I could and pick it off bit by bit. Leer to lower its defense and Thunder Wave to make it so it couldn't move properly.
Viserion opened his maw and fired a sphere of pressurized water towards Tyrunt. Tyrunt struggled, desperately attempting to not be paralyzed and it even looked like he would break free for a moment, but the Water Pulse was able to reach him before that could occur. The Water Pulse attack hit Tyrunt directly on the forehead, causing the little dinosaur to cry out in surprise. It thrashed its head, allowing me view of a necklace of small grey rocks wrapped around its neck, hidden by the plume of feathers Tyrunt treats like a scarf.
A held item.
I'd only messed with them lightly, Baelish using a Focus Band against Drake's Dragonite being my only attempt. My Focus Band was easy to take care of and I kept it wrapped around my arm anyways. But other items? Most of them were a pain in the ass to maintain and could be stolen or broken in battle quite easily.
Just like I intended to do right now.
"Viserion, use Water Gun and get in close. Then steal that necklace from Tyrunt."
"No!" Lance shouted, finally breaking his silence. He sounded desperate. Maybe that necklace let Tyrunt absorb attacks easier, like Rhaegal's Dragon Rush. "Get out of there Tyrunt, don't let that Dragonair touch them! You're not ready to take that necklace off!"
Too late bitch. Paralysis was still rearing its ugly head and Viserion was a quick boy. Added with Water Gun as a continuous stream of distraction and, well. He snagged the necklace away with the tip of his horn, string breaking and stones scattering all over the floor. I looked smug, for a grand total of five seconds.
Then, Tyrunt's body shone like the sun and bathed the whole of the Gym in a bright while light. My adrenaline quickly plummeted as I realized what exactly that necklace was.
Those were Everstones.
Tyrunt grew and grew and grew, near quadrupling in size. His massive jaw became even greater, a grey crown of spokes rising from his brow. His blue scales turned a deeper hue and his small plume of white feathers now engulfed the whole of his back, jutting out in all manner of direction. His face was mean and nasty, and a single swipe of his tail sent Viserion crashing into the wall on the other side of the room. Viserion was knocked out cold from that single attack alone.
I gulped in genuine fear, pulling out my Pokédex. What the hell was that Pokémon?!
Tyrantrum: the Despot Pokémon. Tyrantrum is the evolved form of Tyrunt. Thanks to its gargantuan jaws, which could shred thick metal plates as if they were paper, it was virtually invincible in the ancient world it once inhabited. Nothing could stop this Pokémon 100 million years ago, so it behaved like a king.
Shit.
I returned Viserion and let Drogon out. He still had some Dragon type attacks. I had a chance, right?
Right?
…Yeah, I'm not seeing it either. Fuck. Well, if nothing else, I might be able to squeeze some experience into my Charmeleon.
"Dragonair is unable to battle, Tyrantrum is the winner!" Winona turned to me, her eyes looking worried, but her lips were twitching in mirth. "This is the last battle of the match. Tyrantrum versus Charmeleon. Begin!"
"Dragon Rage!"
Drogon bellowed out a thick blast of green fire. Tyrantrum tanked it like it was nothing. That was a Dragon type attack from one of my strongest Pokémon against a Dragon type Pokémon. That should have been super effective. Instead, all Tyrantrum did was scratch his belly, head cocked.
Drogon roared in annoyance and released another Dragon Rage at Tyrantrum, this time at its face. That caused Tyrantrum to scowl, the response being a massive Dark Pulse being spat at Drogon, moving far quicker than Drogon could dodge. The Dark type attack clipped Drogon right at the top of his nose, sending him sprawling into unconsciousness.
That was it. I was done. I returned Drogon and stared directly at Lance. This was my first proper loss in an official battle and it was a landslide. I wasn't at Lance's level, nowhere even close.
But now… Now I had a new goal.
I would beat that Tyrantrum. More than that, I would beat Lance, his whole damned team while I was at it! I didn't need to be Champion, didn't even want that damned title.
I just wanted to kick his ass.
"Tyrantrum is the winner! Victory goes to Champion Lance!"
No, I need to correct that. I didn't want to kick his ass; this wasn't some goal to dream about. I would kick his ass.
Winter/Pidgeot – Male
Moves: Tackle, Gust, Sand Attack, Agility, Double Team, Whirlwind, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Twister, Fly, Hyper Beam, Sunny Day, Heat Wave, Attract, Rest, Sky Attack, Aerial Ace
Ability: Keen Eye
Umber/Delibird – Female
Moves: Present, Icy Wing, Peck, Rest, Attract, Ice Beam, Hail, Blizzard, Sky Attack, Double Team, Aerial Ace
Ability: Hustle
Thoros/Gliscor – Male
Moves: Sludge Bomb, Slash, Poison Sting, Metal Claw, Dark Pulse, Dig, Guano, Attract, Steel Wing, Iron Tail, Sandstorm, Ice Fang, Crunch
Ability: Sand Veil
Drogon/Charmeleon – Male(Shiny)
Moves: Growl, Scratch, Ember, Ancient Power, Attract, Iron Tail, Metal Claw, Sunny Day, Bite, Flamethrower, Dragon Rage, Dragon Claw, Dig, Protect
Ability: Blaze
Rhaegal/Shelgon – Female
Moves: Rage, Headbutt, Ember, Dragon Rush, Attract, Skull Bash, Protect
Ability: Rock Head
Viserion/Dragonair – Male
Moves: Leer, Wrap, Thunder Wave, Water Pulse, Attract, Water Gun, Fly
Ability: Shed Skin
Baelish/Nate – Male
Moves: Peck, Leer, Night Shade, Calm Mind, Protect, Teleport, Flash, Confuse Ray
Ability: Synchronize
Nagga/Gyarados – Male
Moves: Splash, Tackle, Bite, Leer, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Ice Fang, Crunch, Body Slam, Headbutt, Iron Head, Twister, Dragon Rage
Ability: Intimidate
Jon Snow – Male
Date: Mar 4
Orange League: Complete
Held Pokémon: Pidgeot, Delibird, Gliscor, Charmeleon, Shelgon, Dragonair, Natu, Gyarados
Stored Pokémon: Skarmory, Onix
Currency: 12,740
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