LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 47 - Interlude pt2
Chapter 47 - Interlude pt2
“Thank you again! We’ll be sure to visit you lots!”
“Draaa!”
Me and Goomy waved her mother goodbye as she retreated back into the swamp. Now that Goomy is officially my partner, I can tell her all my secret plans. Egon always says it's ok to keep secrets from anyone, but not the partners who trust you to lead them into battle. So, as we walked back to the agreed upon gathering area I did just that.
“The Fairy type is going to be revealed to the rest of the world soon. To keep my edge as a trainer of dragons we’ll have to come up with a new stratagem. You’ll be my secret weapon, Goomy.”
“Goo?”
“Yes you. Brother told me that Goomy can evolve into an alternate form. Now that I have you as my partner, we are going to work towards turning you into a steel type.”
“Goo?!”
“Long ago the Goodra and Sliggoo living in the Sinnoh region used to be partial steel types. Egon mentioned something about iron rich water helping your species develop shells for extra protection.”
“Goo!”
“Yes! We’ll ask big sister Aster for help. She is the smartest person I know except for my brother of course.”
Just like that I kept exchanging ideas with Goomy. Unlike daddy, Goomy was a great listener, even getting excited by some of my brilliant plans. I couldn’t help but feel like we were being followed by someone though. Every time we turned around to the sound of the grass rustling behind us we couldn’t see anyone there.
‘The area surrounding the tunnel leading back to the village is empty of hiding places. We’ll see if this stalker will dare to show his face in front of us hmpff!’
Me and Goomy finally made it to the edge of the swamp reentering the nesting ground’s middle area. Now free from the thick foliage I expected our stalker to reveal himself at any time.
“We know that you have been following us! Show yourself!”
“Gooom!”
From behind a nearby tree a stubby little claw showed itself and little by little the entire figure emerged. It was the same Bagon that had been bullying my cute little Goomy earlier this day.
“Gon…”
“Why are you following us? You meanie!”
“Baaaagon!”
Goomy, still traumatized by the previous event, tried to hide herself behind my legs.
“Goo…”
“It’s okay, I'll protect you, Goomy. We can just use our secret battle strategy like last time.”
“Gon Gon!”
“Goo?!”
“Huh…? Is Bagon trying to tell us something Goomy?”
The cute little blob lacking hands tried her best emoting in an attempt to relay Bagon’s message to me. Brother says it would take at least a couple of months before trainers start understanding even the very basics of their Pokémon‘s body language.
‘I can understand Rena, this shouldn’t be that different. Come on Zinnia, you can do this!’
“Goo!”
“Bagon wants… to take our berries?”
“Gon!” “Goom!”
The two Pokémon simultaneously deny my claim. Bagon, frustrated with my confusion, closes the gap between us. I was about to make a run for it but somehow the little dragon type sped up enough to close in on me before I had a chance to turn around. I felt Bagon’s scale brush up against my shins. The rock head pokémon clamped onto me without showing any of the tell-tale signs of aggression big sister told me to watch out for.
“Bag!”
“You want to come with me?”
This time the Pokémon nodded visibly pleased that I finally correctly guessed his intentions.
“Sorry but I can’t.”
“Bag?!”
“Goomy is the partner I’ve chosen. Her feelings are the most important thing to me right now. If she accepts your apology then you can come with us.”
“Gon! Gon!”
I was hoping to see Bagon change his ways and honestly apologize for picking on my new friend, but it seemed the little dragon hadn’t learned his lesson yet. Judging by the aggressive tone of his voice.
“Come on Goomy, let's get back to the exit point.”
“Goooooon!”
‘Is Bagon crying? He must have been even lonelier than me. Maybe if…’
I looked back at Goomy and the two of us exchanged gazes. Somehow, I knew we were both feeling the same thing. Even after having been bullied by Bagon my partner was also feeling sorry for him.
‘Brother always says bullies come from a broken home. Maybe there’s a reason Bagon is like this.’
“Okay you can come with us… But no more bullying! If I hear about you picking on anyone else again I’ll ask big sister to bring you back to the nesting grounds.”
“Gon!”
“So where is your mommy? We have to get her permission first.”
“Gon…”
Bagon shook his head as if to say he didn’t have any older Pokémon looking after him.
“She’s not here? Did she leave with her human partner?”
Bagon nodded his head agreeing with my previous statement. Before gripping the edges of my shorts even tighter.
“It must’ve been tough on you right? Okay! When we get back, I’ll ask around for the whereabouts of your mommy. Even if she doesn’t come back, you can always rely on big brothers, grandmas, and grandpas. They will surely want to take care of you!”
“Gon!”
Since we left the swamp, it was only a ten minutes’ walk back to the tunnel leading back into the village. I was already looking forward to kicking Nicolas’ butt and making him apologize for saying bad stuff about my brother. Goomy would trash any Pokémon he could possibly scrounge up. While we were walking Bagon insisted on sticking close to me which forced me to hold onto Goomy. The little cutie was still scared of her fellow dragon type and I didn’t want her to panic. To calm her down I continued our conversation from before.
“So… once we get back, I’ll introduce you to my other Pokémon. Horsea is very sweet and a water type. He can douse you in water when it gets too hot and you two can play in the backyard pond together when daddy says it’s okay to dig one out.”
“Goom!”
“Gon?”
“He can play with you too… but he’s a fully aquatic species of Pokémon. So, you’ll have to learn how to swim.”
“Gon…”
“It’s okay, I can teach you. Brother taught me how to swim using the hot springs behind the Lavaridge Pokémon center. Big sister told me that most dragons can learn water type moves. Horsea is the oldest, so he can teach the both of you.”
We finally arrived at the spot and I was super happy seeing Dray together with his own Pokémon. The Noibat he kept with him was perched on top of his head using its leathery wings to shield its eyes from the sunlight now that it was out of its natural habitat. The boy’s clothes were all rumpled up like he’d been hit by a twister.
“Your Noibat is super cute, Dray! Can I pet it please?”
“Nooooi?”
“That’s okay I guess…”
I couldn’t help but go off on a tangent as I scratched the little Noibat behind the ears.
“Unlike zubat noibat can live solely on eating fruits and berries. I want to catch one too in the future.”
Dray couldn’t help noticing the two pokémon following behind me.
Which one of these two is yours?”
“Goomy’s mother gave me her approval. I don’t know if I can bring Bagon with me but he really wanted to come along for some reason.”
“Gon!”
“Hmm I’ve never heard about participants bringing out two dragons at the end of the rite. The rest of the tribe members hoping to catch a second partner aren’t allowed inside the nesting grounds. After they’ve bonded with their first partner.”
“Really!?”
“The nesting grounds exist exclusively for nesting parents and their offspring. Once the hatchlings get too old, they are relocated somewhere else on the mountain range.”
“Even the dragons that originally come from other regions?”
“Maybe…?”
“Well, those are encouraged to find a human partner. If they aren’t satisfied with the available trainers, one of our members discreetly relocates them back to their natural habitat.”
The man who had spoken that last sentence came out of the tunnel entrance. We recognized immediately as the man that was responsible for looking after this place.
“Mr. Overseer!”
“I see that you managed to pick up another additional friend on the way over and that it’s the troublemaker.”
“Troublemaker?”
“Yes, this Bagon has been acting out because its mother and her trainer have been gone for quite a while. I was planning to pair this one up with a group of Shelgon after the rite’s conclusion. Seeing as Bagon followed you all the way here I guess we could make an exception this time. If you can get one of the council members to agree.”
“Yay! My grandma is on the council. I am sure she’ll agree.”
“Almost everyone’s grandmother or grandfather is on the council. Ask anybody, they don’t play favorites.”
It was at this point that the last participant showed himself. Nicolas otherwise known to me as the meanie was walking back with a gregarious looking Gible by his side. The land shark Pokémon looked like the oblivious sort not that concerned with what’s going on around it as long as it got fed and properly taken care of.
“You!”
“Me?”
“No! That’s the Bagon I was looking for! Which of you managed to convince him to come along? I called dibs!”
“Gon?”
‘This is the perfect time to gloat like a Roserade!’
“Bagon followed me and Goomy out of the swamp. He likes me better than all the other trainers.”
“Wrong! I never even saw him. Bagon, how about joining up with me? This outsider doesn’t even know the first thing about training dragon types.”
“Bag?”
The overseer took this moment to intervene.
“Nicolas quit it. Even though you are my nephew it's bad form to proposition another’s Pokémon even outsiders frown upon that kind of behavior. Still… I see you have brought along one of the Gible, just be satisfied with that. Their line is well known for their speed and power.”
“Yes… uncle Damian”
“Someone told me that you started a wager with the little miss over here. Which if she loses would result in her having to give up the Pokémon she just managed to partner with?”
“So…?! The rule of not wagering Pokémon only counts for tribe members.”
It was at this point that the nice overseer smacked him over the head.
“Bonded Pokémon are not to be wagered, that's common sense! When we get back your mother is going to hear about this! And you!”
“Yes?!”
“Don’t give in to societal pressure! You still have a lot to learn before you can even begin to scratch the surface that is the art of training dragon type Pokémon. Now come along, you guys have been gone for most of the afternoon, the festivities are winding down and villagers are waiting for you to finish up.”
The nice overseer led us back through the tunnel and as we did so I couldn’t help but ask him all sorts of questions.
“Mr. Overseer, how come this place is filled with unknown symbols?”
“Heck, I don’t know. Just be glad these aren’t the actual Pokémon. Supposedly this is what they used for lettering back in the old days. Now only a single person in the tribe is trained up to read them somewhat accurately. The tribe is old, and we keep a lot of secret training methods and ancient lore to ourselves. If a thief ever manages to sneak in here, they’d also have to be able to translate their stolen knowledge into regular script.”
“Goom?”
“How come the tribe gets to keep Kalosian dragon types here in the nesting grounds?”
“Well… it’s complicated. Most of our tribe members forgo participating in the Ever Grande conference because of our inability to field foreign dragon types while participating in televised tournaments. The Hoenn league association and our tribe would face massive political pressure for keeping foreign Pokémon. As for how we managed to get Kalosian dragon types… A descendant of our tribe lives in the region with his family keeping some of the old traditions alive. On occasion he discreetly sends us some Pokémon that are of interest.”
“Wow! I can’t wait to go see Kalos for myself!”
“Gon!”
“You younger ones will get that opportunity someday in the future once the restrictions have been lifted. Of that, I am sure.”
We finally reached the cave’s exit. The villagers were already forming a crowd in anticipation of our arrival. Big sister told me that it was tradition to show off your new partner to the village and then have a battle between those who managed to find a partner. Mr. Overseer walked off to talk to granny and some of the other elderly people wearing strange robes. I kept walking around until I finally spotted big sister inside the crowd.
“Big sis!”
“Little sis! Don’t hug me! What happened to you? You are covered in mucous.”
“Goom!”
“Oh! Now I know what happened. You managed to befriend this little cutie. That’s amazing I knew you had it in you to make a new friend. Goomy are known to be the most even tempered of all dragons, a great choice of partner.”
“Gon…”
“And who is this? Which contestant managed to snag this big handsome fellow?”
“Ahem, I did… Bagon kept following us and Mr. Overseer says I might be able to keep him as well if the funny looking old people agree.”
“You know taking care of an extra Pokémon is a big responsibility. Are you sure that you are up to the task of taking care of three at the same time? Bagon especially are difficult to care for. Their instinctual desire to fly requires you to never let him out of your sight. They have a tendency to throw themselves off of cliffs because their bodies tell them that they should be capable of flight.”
“I can do it! Brother managed to take care of two Pokémon at my age and he’s a lazy bum!”
“There there. Dragon types are a lot harder to keep around than your brother’s Pokémon. Except for Goomy of course, they are known to be loving and good natured.”
“Goom!”
“You do have to get used to being covered in slime and cleaning up after them can be a hassle.”
“Goom…”
“Oh no no! Not that that’s a bad thing, Goomy. I’ve heard your mucus does wonders for the skin. I know that even some of the elders collect and use it to keep looking young for longer. If you are certain that you will be able to handle the extra responsibilities I’ll help you convince the council to let Bagon stay with you.”
“You’d do that for me? Thank you, sis!”
“Before I forget here’s Horsea’s poké ball. We left him to swim in the river. You can find him over there when the rite of passage is concluded.”
With that my big sister left our side to join up with the council members and Mr. overseer participating in their heated debate.
“I can’t wait for you two to meet Horsea! He’ll be your big brother taking care of you just like big sis Aster takes care of me.”
Half an hour later*
“This will be a one versus one battle between Dray from Meteor village and Zinnia from Lavaridge town. Let the match begin!”
It was decided that Dray and Nicolas would square off first. Noibat was a fierce battler zipping around using super sonic and screech to overwhelm Nicolas’ Gible. The ground type had no way to land a direct hit on its faster and more agile opponent. Now that I myself was up against the same opponent we got very nervous.
“Go Goomy!”
“Noibat let’s show ‘em!”
Dray’s Noibat took center stage while my own cutie was still hiding behind my legs.
“What’s wrong Goomy?”
“Goo…”
“Don’t worry about winning or losing. This is also my very first battle. Just as long as we've tried our best no one is going to laugh at us.”
Hesitant but willing Goomy crawled up to his side of the battlefield. The soft tissue Pokémon clearly not being at ease being watched by so many people.
“Sorry! We are ready now.”
Our referee Mr. Overseer was kind enough to wait for my peptalk to finish. He motioned for us to start the battle.
“Okay let’s start off with bubble!”
“Gust!”
“Goo…!?”
The gust blew away our bubble attack and at the same time brought Goomy off balance. She didn’t get blown away though Goomy was sticky enough to hold her ground. Right away I knew we faced the same problem as that meanie Nicolas and his Gible. Noibat was too agile for us, the only thing I could think of that could maybe help us pull this off was a certain move. My brother told me not to try in a real match.
“Hold on and bide your time, Goomy!”
Our opponents noticed that we were not planning on doing anything. So, they kept up with their long-distance attacks.
“Keep using gust blow them all the way out of the battlefield!”
“Don’t underestimate Goomy’s stickiness! Let’s show them your determination, Goomy!”
Goomy kept on holding his ground until he eventually started giving off a red light. Goomy looked back at me flailing his right antennae to let me know he was done charging.
“Gooooom!”
“Blast away Goomy!”
Goomy opened her mouth and unleashed a beam of pure white light. With impressive speed the beam found its target and before the little Noibat could react he was shot out of the sky and crash landed on the battlefield.
“The battle is over, Goomy and Zinnia win!”
“Noi…”
Dray ran up to Noibat to check up on the cute little bat Pokémon before picking him up and walking away to have him get checked by one of the village’s medicine ladies.
“Yay we won! I knew you could do it, Goomy!”
“Goom!”
“You were lucky that Dray didn’t know how to recognize the moment a Pokémon uses bide. Else you would’ve lost that match.”
Nicolas the meanie stepped out of the crowd acting the sore loser. Still I knew that there was some truth to his words.
“Nu-Uh! Even if bide hadn’t worked we still would’ve won. Goomy and I are the perfect team!”
Instead of accepting our position as the most promising up and coming battler in this village. Nicolas decided to be his usual self.
“Enjoy your moment in the sun once Gible and I get some training in we’ll wipe the floor with you!”
“Bring it on! We are faster, smarter, and stronger than you!”
Now that our moment of victory had passed and Nicolas backed off to go back home. Big sis Aster and granny walked up to us together with Bagon who was waddling behind them.
“Good job little sister! We also have some good news to share. The council has agreed to let Bagon stay with you on one condition. If or when his mother comes back, she must give the two of you her blessing. When that Salamence does so Bagon can officially become your third Pokémon.”
“That’s great news big sis!”
“Gon!”
This time granny had something to say to the three of us.
“We have also brought you these... They are brand new, bought from a poké mart in Rustburo city.”
Granny presented me with two empty poké balls to keep my new friends in.
“Thanks a bunch granny!”
Granny didn’t seem as excited for me as Aster was. Giving me a curt nod before walking off again.
“What’s wrong with grannny?”
“Don’t mind her, she was born at a time where poké balls were just invented. Her generation thinks it's unnatural to keep their bonded partners inside fancy round little balls.”
“Brother always says that you should spend as much time with your Pokémon outside of their balls, but that they are a requirement for traveling trainers that need to visit the big cities.”
“That’s true also some Pokémon prefer the comfort of a ball to regular bedding when it’s nighttime. Anyway, me and the council members have a lot to do so why don’t you go and check out some of the stalls. They have a wide selection of cool stuff to buy that you can’t find anywhere else in Hoenn. Just make sure to ask your mother for some pocket money.”
After giving my big sister a hug, I hurriedly left in search of my parents. They must have been watching me kick butt in the arena. Daddy especially must be very proud of my achievement, always telling me not to embarrass him. Surely his face must be glowing with pride from having his daughter win her first battle ever. After searching for him in the crowd together with Bagon and Goomy we eventually found him. Daddy and mommy seemed to be busy talking to some other grown ups.
“Daddy! Mommy! I want you to meet my two new friends!”
Daddy was the first to respond.
“Not now, Zinnia. Daddy is busy. Go play at the river some more.”
“Mommy?”
“Daddy is busy right now. How about you go visit the stalls together with your Pokémon? Every year the village’s merchants bring some interesting things with them. Hurry along now daddy is busy with an important meeting.”
“Okay…”
Something about the situation set Bagon off. Flames were leaking out of his mouth, and it seemed daddy was the target of his anger. Before he had the chance to fire off a pot shot full of embers. I braced his head with my body putting a halt to his outburst.
“It’s okay. I have you, Goomy and Horsea as my friends not to mention a big sister that looks after me.”
“Goom…”
“Gon…”
Goomy joined in on the hug, his fear of Bagon not being enough to dissuade him from wanting to cheer me up.
“I have the bestest friends. We’ll show daddy that he missed out today by becoming the greatest battlers in the whole village!”
‘I’ll get us the most expensive thingy on the market, make daddy pay for it and act out like that pair of eevee sisters on that tv show Egon won’t let me watch.’
POV – Change Egon
‘Why do I suddenly feel like hitting someone?’
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just that all of a sudden I feel this bout of aggressive energy…”
“Egoooon! Help me!”
“Just wait a second Flanny! I am working through something here.”
“It’s got me by the leg! This Barboach is eating me!”
“I am the one leading! If you followed my footsteps as you should have, then this would not be happening! The Barbroach is probably miffed that you stepped on his little sister or something. Just give up your leg as compensation!”
“Never!”
“Ugh... fine I am coming!”
I retraced my steps back until I was faced with a peculiar scene. Flannery’s left leg was being pulled down further and further into a deceptively shallow looking puddle. The Pokémon who was orchestrating this impromptu leg napping was completely covered by the murky water, but common sense dictates a barboach to be the one responsible. The resulting threshing spat out filthy swamp water all over Flannery’s previously clean clothes.
‘Tini, can you lift up Flannery with telekinesis? Barboach are deceptively strong so if it looks like her body can’t handle being pulled from two directions, we’ll try another method.’
Victini who was half-asleep taking a powernap inside my backpack was now fully awake. The rabbit Pokémon floated out of her semi-permanent home and tried to solve Flannery’s problem as I instructed. Flannery floated up in the air together with the entirety of the shallow pool’s content which included the one Barboach a whole lot of water and debris and eerily enough the exoskeleton from what looked to be the remains of a small surskit.
‘Arceus! I hope this catfish Pokémon wasn’t planning to eat Flannery. I always knew that water types tended to be more predatory since most berries don’t grow underwater but having this realization put on display for Flannery like this must be traumatizing for a girl her age.’
“What should we do?”
‘Try to cover up the remains as much as possible, I’ll dig out a grave for them later.’
It was always disheartening to be confronted by the realities of nature. My job was to protect Flannery from such things for as long as possible.
“Barboach, human legs are not fit for eating. How about you calm down for a bit?”
“Baaaar!”
That response told me all I needed to know. Their species was well known for being extremely territorial. First claiming the pond that they’re born in and once they’ve evolved a large body of freshwater. Scaring away all living beings they judge to be potential threats with massive earthquakes.
“…Psychic”
Victini lifted the struggling Barboach even further before launching him away with a considerable amount of force. We weren’t about to punish a Pokémon for just following its instincts, but it did chew on my childhood friend for a while. Having barboach be thrown in a lake where it would soon discover it was not the biggest predator was karmic justice in my book.
“You alright Flanny?”
“Yeah…”
Barboach don’t have teeth, just a series of rough pads to grab a hold of their prey but that didn’t prevent it from tearing up that pant leg. In retrospect I should have taken her predicament a bit more seriously.
“How about we get you a change of clothes as soon as we get out of this marshland. You can use up all the freshwater we have to clean yourself.”
“Okay.”
‘A strange mood swing and mucking it through a barboach filled bog. Not all days as a trainer are glamorous.’