Fires of a Dragon fades in Reborn

[Shadow Rysing]

Chapter 1 : Ancient Prophecies and Small Beginnings

 

Zane hadn't slept for days. How could he? Getting thrown into a wall by a Dragonair and blasted by a damned Kingdra...

"I'm lucky to only have a few broken ribs.. could be my spine..."

Damn that Clair, she might be a talented trainer, but she looses her cool so often. Yet, why does the council prefer her? I've been through their training far more than she has. And yet, I keep getting turned down on my request to become a trainer, Zane thought.

"You know, I'm beginning to think you like being busted up..." Said a female voice entering the room.

"I don't intend to go into there looking for it. I'm just looking for recognition." Zane responded.

"I know you are," Courtney said "but, you never get it. And it's always ends up the same." she added...

Zane scoffed. She was right, but she didn't have rub salt in the wound. Dating for 4 years now, and she was the only one to really ground him. She was the only one that understood him after all.

"You can't go through it anymore." 

She was right, he couldn't....

 

Blackthorn has always been famous for being where most Dragon tamers begin. Every kid aspires to be a trainer like most of their idols. However, rooted in tradition, the council makes the decision who actually becomes a trainer. Every kid is given the choice of a dragon type if the exam is passed. The exam is given by the head Elder, and insures those who would treat pokemon poorly, never get the chance to. Only those who know that being a trainer is more than just giving orders. It's a symbiotic relationship between Human and pokemon. Both feed off of each other, insuring both feel connected and grow. Of course, this is so that the mythos of Johto occurs. 

 

The Legendary Trainer.

 

The archaeology supports this myth. While the Ruins of Alph suggests this, it also warns about those who seek to force the end result. The legend of Johto says that a trainer will befriend every species of Pokemon, and ends up meeting multiple legendary pokemon. Finally, the trainer ends up meeting that is which is called...

 

God. Arceus, the creator of everything.

 

Because of this, Blackthorn has always wanted to home this trainer. Thus, these traditions were born. To ensure this myth happens, while avoiding that which is warned about.
 

22 years ago, a mother and her infant, fled from abuse to Blackthorn. Because of her connections to the prized champion, Lance, she was welcomed. Wanting her child to be happy, the council agreed to allow the child to take place in the training normally left for the children born in the village. Because the infant was only a month, no harm was thought of the council. Except for one... Alcin.  Alcin had been recently accepted to the council because of his background. He had a favored reputation through the village as well. He argued that the child wouldn't fully grasp the significance of the honor. However, the elder said that nature doesn't dictate one's beliefs, but rather nurture gives what is wanted for this village. 

 

For 14 years, Zane was trained just like those who were born in Blackthorn. He was trained to be a tamer, but that isn't what he wanted. He thought being a trainer, traveling the region to prove his strength was more apt for him. As most children had the choice to do so in Blackthorn, the council still had to approve this. Because, the child leaving the village would carry the name of Blackthorn. Alcin blocked Zane's request. Zane's mother continued to support his choice. Always wanting him to be happy, she supported what he wanted to do. She always did things to ensure his success, and was always willing to fight for him. It was her who actually trained him be a trainer instead of a tamer for those years, being a proficient battler herself. She taught him the importance of always being thankful for his pokemons performance. Always looking after his health, she taught him some of the best training methods she had used for her pokemon. Because of this mentorship, Zane had quickly become one of the best battlers in the village, only being challenged by Clair, who was, in her own right, a prodigy. Zane and Clair often butted heads though, both being stubborn and hardheaded. Often their confrontations leaded to some building in the village being damaged or one of them being hurt. Both recognized each others talent, but they differed in how strength is supposed to be. Zane preferred the silent, stoic but imposing version, while Clair wanted to flaunt her strength around. Zane was content enough in training to want to travel, having the village backing him up, except for the one Alcin... that was until his mother fell ill.

 

For three years, she battled a rare, but aggressive form of cancer. Zane struggled with this. Wanting to care for someone who taught him all he had come to known is what he felt was right. So he gave his ambition to travel up. Though, he continued to train, as his mother liked seeing him battle. His style was imposing, and yet, he held no malice for his opponent. She felt he was the best battler that she had ever seen, above Lance even. That left Zane and his rival, Clair, in even more contention than before. Especially since the town's gym leader spot had opened up. However, his mother's condition worsened rapidly. Eventually, she passed away a week before his 17th birthday. This sent Zane into a down spiral of emotion. He quickly fell into a depression that consumed him. He abandoned his training nearly entirely, causing to lose his passion for battling. He instead focused on making sure he could survive without his mother. Planting a garden yearly, constantly fishing, and making sure he had what he needed. That left Clair the clear choice for the Leader spot. Because the connection to Lance had been lost, the village quickly lost the thought of him as a battler, but just someone living in the village.

 

A year later, the village was more open to travelers, seeing as the Pokemon commissions office of Johto had recently put out a new league campaign. That was Zane met Courtney. 

 

She was a challenger on her travels, and while running to the center to gather some supplies, they ran into one another. For some reason, Zane wanted to challenge her to a battle. He hadn't had the urge to compete with someone for a while now. Why her though? He couldn't understand what it was, but he had to ask for a battle. While she agreed, she wasn't to pleased about it. She only wanted to fight them gym leader. But, his quiet confidence pulled her in. She was in her early 20s, and had piercing, but friendly blue eyes, with a striking smile. She had an sparking aura about her, only accented by her looks and air of her own confidence. Zane was unsure what it was, but he felt like she was familiar to him, even though they had never met.

 

It was only a 1-on-1 battle, seeing as Zane only had one. His trusted partner, a pink Dragonair. A rarity to be sure, but he had so many battles with him, and he had been the only real pillar of support for him for a year. He had Dragonair when he was a just a tiny Dratini. But it wasn't a gift from the council as most Dratinis were. He had caught him without the councils knowledge or approval, but they were taken aback by the appearance of such a rare phenomenon. They approved of his use of this Dratini, even Alcin agreed. Even the way Zane caught Dratini was rare. Dratini had come to aid of Zane when he was 9, being chased by a Skarmory from the south of the village. Through knowledge provided to him by the village and his mothers training, Zane was able to battle with Dratini and fend the Skarmory off. Using a combination of Thunder wave and Dragon rage, Dratini was able to avoid damage, and thus that bond was instantly born.

 

Though he had not battled in a year, he still had his dominant style. He quickly took control and won the battle, but that wasn't what made Courtney stick around. It was the fact he thanked her and her Ivysuar and the honor he showed. She wanted to learn not only the style that he had, but that honor. It was intoxicating to her. 

 

"I hope that the fact I keep trying that it'll change," Zane responded after a minute of thought. "But it doesn't. That fight wasn't different, it was like she had other intentions..." 

"Alcin?" Courtney asked.

"I think so. He has made it difficult from the start. But I have nothing to prove it..." he added "I just hope it will change soon."

 

 

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[J-Awesome_One]

Hello there fellow Pokemon Story Writer person... I need to come up with a better name for that. ANYWAYS, excellent start of the story. Loving the backstory to Zane so far. Definitely gonna be keeping an eye on this story as it progresses further. Awesome job!

[Shadow Rysing]

2 hours ago, Majin J-Awesome_One said:

Hello there fellow Pokemon Story Writer person... I need to come up with a better name for that. ANYWAYS, excellent start of the story. Loving the backstory to Zane so far. Definitely gonna be keeping an eye on this story as it progresses further. Awesome job!

Thank you kindly good sir. This is kinda new to me, so reading that gives me confidence. Through writing it all yesterday (I haven't really slept, Insomnia is a fickle mistress) all I could think is "I'VE GOT SO MANY TIE INS TO THE STORY!!!"

 

The myth of Johto is actually lifted from a difficulty mod/hack for HG/SS made by Drayano. He expanded the story of those games to include it, and it fits with parts of the story of vanilla Reborn, so I thought what the hell? I always intended to write my story of a Dragon tamer from Blackthorn, so it was a natural fit... 

[J-Awesome_One]

2 minutes ago, Shadow Rysing said:

Thank you kindly good sir. This is kinda new to me, so reading that gives me confidence. Through writing it all yesterday (I haven't really slept, Insomnia is a fickle mistress) all I could think is "I'VE GOT SO MANY TIE INS TO THE STORY!!!"

 

The myth of Johto is actually lifted from a difficulty mod/hack for HG/SS made by Drayano. He expanded the story of those games to include it, and it fits with parts of the story of vanilla Reborn, so I thought what the hell? I always intended to write my story of a Dragon tamer from Blackthorn, so it was a natural fit... 

I've been there before. It gets really fun and when you're officially in the game story, it gets even better. Gets severely more fun to write stuff.

[DemigodsShadow]

sooo..... Update. This is still Shadow Defender. a.k.a. Shadow Rysing. 

 

I am dealing with computer issues and I am not sure if I can fix this one....

 

Story is unfortunately on hiatus for an unknown amount of time. Until I can get back into my files that is. I didn't have interent for a month, so I wrote a LOT of the story and I don't want to re-write it...again. As well as, outlook for hotmail is being completely stupid and I can't get a password reset email so I can get back into my other account. 

 

so this stinks...

[J-Awesome_One]

Well damn. I was really looking forward to the next story update. Hope everything goes well my friend!

[DemigodsShadow]

Writer's note : This chapter was difficult for me to write. Between the content of the chapter being heavily emotional and the keyboard for my laptop breaking, Losing internet for a month, and a variety of other issues, this has taken me longer than I would like it to. However, I hope those who read it, enjoy it.

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Chapter 2 : Broken

 

"GOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDD MORNING JHOTO!" My name is Beuna, and it is a beautiful morning here in Goldenrod. I'm here wi." Zane slammed the pokegears snooze, knocking it to the floor. "Fuck mornings." As he rolled over, he noticed Courtney wasn't there, however a note was there on the pillows. Zane groggily started to read the note. "Hey babe, I went to see the doctor to hopefully find out what's wrong all of sudden. P.S. I took the last of your medicine. Sorry! -with love." Around the time that he finished ready, his Dragonair sleepily entered teh room. "Hey, there's my other favorite girl." Dragonair shifted to him, and laid her head on Zane's stomach. "You want to relax for a bit today?" Zane asked her. Dragonair's response was a nod of the head in the middle of a yawn. "That settles that." "Hmm, what do I all need? home meds, berry pots, food for Courtney and I plus Dragonair and Ivysaur, and towels..." Zane picked up his med container only to find it was empty.  "Huh, she did take the rest." It was a special blend that his mother had taught him. Containing Lum, Leppa, and Sitrius berries, with revival herbs, all cooked down to reduce the bitterness from the herbs. it was more effective than conventional medicine for pokemon, and gives more peace of mind for the trainer. "Well then, that's unfortunate. i can cook some more down there though." Zane pondered. "Better make sure I write a note for Courtney saying where I am. Poor girl, hopefully the doc can find out what's wrong..." 

 

After writing a note explaining where he went, Zane made sure to grab his pokeball containing Dragonair, as well as the newest addition. An egg. Most pokemon researchers don't actually know where pokemon eggs come from. No one has witnessed this, so no official record exists. Equally confusing, this egg came out of the blue. Given that Zane's Dragonair is female, the child is already known, but what pokemon was the father? And when did it happen? All Zane knew was, this is his to take care of.  

 

Blackthorn city, being situated near Ice path, has breath taking scenery during the late summer/early fall time of the year, and that's partly due to the ice melting. The river that flows through Blackthorn creates stunning waterfalls to the city's south. These waterfalls make for great relaxation spot for people and pokemon alike. One of these is Zane's favorite for mediation. Sitting under a waterfall and letting the water affect his muscles is a great method for recovery in his mind. It also allows him to clear his mind and ease his thoughts. As he approached the shore, Zane noticed that the waters were unusually calmer. "Huh...it's calm, odd..." Zane thought that given the time of year, more water should be in the river. "Eh, it'll ok. Should still be good enough." Zane reached for Dragonair's pokeball. "Come on out, Dragonair!" He exclaimed, tossing the ball in the air. A brilliant flash of light erupted form the ball, giving shape to his trusted pokemon. The light then started spinning, causing a twister to appear. "Is that necessary?" Zane asked.

"Hpmhm." Dragonair sighed now calming down. 

"Don't give me that sass." Zane responded. "Today a break, so have fun in the water. We'll train more tomorrow."

Dragonair then erupted in glee, squealing through the air, spinning around Zane. 

"Good girl." Zane said. "Have fun, you've earned it." he thought.

 

Zane started climbing the rocks underneath the waterfall, trying to reach his spot. "the water is warmer than normal." Zane thought. "it should be colder. Eh... I need to relax."

As he started to sit, Zane got a chill, like he had a nervous reaction to something. "The hell?" He decided to ignore it. Instead, he started to focus on clearing his mind. But, unknown to him, he wasn't alone. On the cliff above stood a lone pokemon.  Zane began to meditate, his body relaxed, giving way to his thoughts. "Man, I was way more tense than I thought." He thought, while the water rushed over his head and shoulders. "Though... something feels off... Like I'm asleep or something. I can't move, nor open my eyes." No matter how much he tried, he couldn't move. "Wait... Am I being hypnotized? What the hell is going on. Hold on, what is that, fire?"  The image being presented to him was nothing but fire and smoke, but he wasn't sure where it was. "What is happening, why am I seeing this?"All of a sudden, Zane sprung out of the waterfall, in a panic. Frantically looking around, he couldn't see fire or smoke, but was convinced it was somewhere. Dragonair, being concerned for her trainer, nuzzled up to his leg, wondering why he was so upset. This calmed Zane down, causing him to spring back to reality. He petted Dragonair, reassuring her. "Good girl, I'm ok." He started back for his spot under the water. I hope I'm ok." He thought.

 

A few minutes later, Dragonair began whining in happiness. "What is it girl?" Zane asked her, turning to see what Dragonair saw. It was Courtney, coming down to the shore. Zane emerged from the water to meet his girlfriend. 

"Zach was looking for you. He asked me if I knew where you were." Courtney said to Zane. She was absolutely glowing, like her rough morning wasn't an issue. 

"Eh, I'll call him in a bit then. Firstly however, how'd seeing the doc go?"Zane responded

"Well," Courtney started to respond as Dragonair nuzzled up to her. "Hey you! You want to play with Ivysaur a bit?" She asked, reaching for her pokeball. Dragonair nodded, becoming antsy. "Someone is in a good mood." Courtney added. "Let's have some family fun Ivy!" she exclaimed as her pokemon emerged. 

"So, the doc?" Zane asked. "What did he find out?"

"He didn't find anything bad per say. But he ran more tests so he can confirm something." Courtney responded, as she wrapped her arms around Zane. 

"Well..." Zane started to say as he went for a hug. "What does he think?"

"He thinks I'm pregnant..." She said calmly.

"P-Pregnant?" Zane asked in disbelief. "Are you serious?" Zane could feel his heart skip a beat. He started smiling uncontrollably.

"Yes babe, he thinks I am." Courtney added. "What you've wanted, and it's happening,"

"Baby, I'm so happy now." Zane said as he hugged her tighter. "I don't know what to say really." 

They stood in embrace for what felt like hours.

"I love you so much," Zane said softly. "You've given so much more that you'll ever realize. You're the one I fight for now, and I will always be there for you."

As he said this, he closed his eyes. But, that image of fires returned. "no, I don't want this. I should be able to block this out so I focus on her, but this is not normal. Something or someone is showing me this..."

"I love you too babe," her voice seemed to bring him back to the moment. "You're my best friend, and I can't imagine myself with any one else." 

As he opened his eyes to look at her, he noticed a figure on the cliff above them. He couldn't make the figure out to see if he could recognize it, but he didn't like the feel of it either. By the time he saw it, it had already fled.

"Hey babe, you want something to eat? Zane asked Courtney. 

"Yes please." She responded quickly....

 

As he cooked, his face showed his troubles, causing Courtney to notice. "What's the matter babe?" She asked, kind of starling Zane. 

"It's nothing babe, just mulling over a few things..." he responded

"Bullshit." She snapped back. "I know there is something wrong. What's wrong? Don't make me ask again." Courtney knew how to get to him. She fell in love with him for his aggressiveness and boldness, but he wasn't an ass about it either. So, if there was something bothering him, she would know. 

"I've never asked this before, but..." Zane began to trail off, trying to figure how to word his next words. "...what do you think about premonitions?" He finished his thought. He was now starting to panic, which is not what he does. the only other time he ever panicked was when his mother died. 

"What do you mean by that? Like seeing the future?" She asked. 

"I don't know. Just an image that keeps flashing through my mind that I've never seen before this morning." Zane said, as his knife stopped in a carrot. 

"Which is what?" Courtney now approached Zane, feeling how much he is panicking. 

"Fire. Nothing but fire, and no identifying features. Nothing to tell where or when this fire is." He was starting to tremble. And he couldn't explain why this image hit so hard, all he knew is that he did not like the feel of it.

"Babe," Courtney began. "I think that you're reacting to this cause you didn't sleep well. You were tossing and turning a lot. Let's just focus on the fact that we're starting a family now." The brunette beauty placed her hands on his tense shoulders and laid her head on his chest, instantly calming Zane. Her touch always had an effect on him. 

"You know... I think we should just stay in tonight. Have a family night." Zane said. "Let me call Zac though, see what he wanted though." He finished. 

They stood there in each others arms for a while, not saying anything while the sounds of Ivysaur and Dragonair playing in the shallows filled the air. 

"There has to be a meaning behind it. And that figure on the cliffs... It was a pokemon, but I couldn't get a clear look. It didn't look like anything I have seen, so it isn't native. I'll look it up at the gym."

 

A couple of hours later, the two called back their pokemon, and set out to go home. Zane pulled his Pokegear out and started to call Zac. "I never did call him," Zane said. "Eh, he'll get over it though. Any idea on what he wanted?"

"No, he just asked me where you were, and asked me to tell you to call him." Courtney responded. 

"Tch, typical Zac, being vague." Zane pressed his name in the pokegear. "Oi, punk. What do you want?" He said playfully as Zac answered the call.

"Jeez, Just wanted to see how you were, haven't heard from you in a bit." Zac responded. "Nice of you to call back promptly. Were you down at your waterfall?" he added.

"Yea, only place I wanted to be at today. And I appreciate your concern. So, What's up bud?" Zane asked as he tossed a rock into the river. 

"Hi Zac!" Courtney added. 

"Hi Courtney! And not much. Clair is at the Indigo Plateau today, So I wanted to know if you needed anything since nothing is happening at the gym today." Zac said. Being an understudy to Clair, it was Zac's responsibility to watch the gym in her absence. He tended to everything to ensure that the gym still ran, even though challengers were turned away. That included making sure trainers in the now city, seeing as the pokecenter and pokemarts were recently opened, got what they needed.  

"Ohhh right, it's the security conference for Johto and Kanto. Supposedly in Kanto, there has been a sort of uprising by a criminal syndicate named Team Rocket, right?" Zane asked. "Didn't they get broken up last year by a kid?"

"Yea! I heard he was young, like 12 maybe? Courtney added. "Didn't he become the Kanto champion as well?"

"Yep. His name is Red. not only the Team Rocket situation, but also what took place in the Hoenn region, is why they're holding this meeting." Zac said like he was reading a prepared statement.  "Kanto wasn't the only region with a criminal syndicate. Hoenn had two, Team Aqua and Team Magma." He added.

"So between all of that, They're all worried about what might happen if tabs aren't placed on Team Rocket. Wait... What happened in Hoenn? I thought that was a peaceful tropical region?" Zane asked, perplexed by this info.

"Apparently, the two syndicates awoke two ancient legendaries, one embodying the land and one embodying the sea, both wanting control of the region. However, due to the incompetence of their leaders, the two pokemon started fighting. They had the power to control the weather, and it started wrecking havoc with the region. Zac stated.

"That's what happened?!" Courtney exclaimed. "That's why our weather went nuts? Cause of those two pokemon?"

"Seams so." Zane added.

"Right. That was only resolved by a third legendary, whom which quelled the two. It involved all of their gym leaders and two trainers on their league challenges." Zac added.

"Well, hopefully nothing like that takes place here." Courtney said with a tinge of fright in her voice. 

"That's something in discussion." Zac started to say. "Between us, there are reports of sightings of Team Rocket in Mahogany and Azelea."

"Why would they be interested in those towns? There isn't much in them..." Zane asked.

"Who knows?" Courtney responded. "Well Zac, we'll call you later, we're home and we both want to spend tonight with each other." 

"Actually, I'm going to head to the gym for about an hour." Zane interjected. "So I'll see in a bit bud. I want to test and see how well Dragonair has learned dragon pulse."

"Alright. I'll get that ready for her then. See ya soon." Zac hung up.

"Sorry babe, I know we said we want to spend the night together, but I want to see how well this training has paid off." Zane said as he hugged Courtney. "I'll only be an hour."

"It's ok, I wanted you to get something from the store anyways. So, you can stop by there on your way home." She said while smiling and handed him a note. 

"Okay, Love you babe." Zane said while opening their door to their home. "See you in a bit." He grabbed his traditional Dragon tamer robes and started for the gym. 

"I love you too baby!" Courtney yelled after him.

 

On his way the gym, he noticed a pair having an argument between themselves. They were both taller, slim built males dressed in black jumpsuits. Their argument wasn't a confrontational one from what Zane could tell, but it looked like one on how to do something. "Eh, I bet it's nothing." As Zane was closer to the gym door, he overheard them state something about Clair being absent. This caused him to shoot a look towards the duo. As he changed direction, the pair quickly darted around the corner, causing Zane to lose track of them. "I don't like the feel of this." Zane thought. Though, he ignored it, instead wanting to see if his pokemon had improved at all.

 

As Zane entered the gym, Zac was walking towards him with a sly smile. "I didn't realize we started allowing punks in here." Zac fired sarcastically.

"Oh shush. You ready for her?" Zane snapped back.

"For my dream girl? Always, but I don't see her walking in with you." Zac quipped back. "Still waiting to see her."

"Keep being a smartass and you'll wait even longer." Zane said not amused by the lanky blonde.

"Jeez Mr. SeriousPants, yes I'm ready to give your Dragonair the test." Zac responded with a hint of sadness. "Kill all the fun."

"Sorry man, I'm just tired and I've got a few things on my mind." Zane said and began trailing off.

"Like what?" Zac asked as he shuffled papers around on the front desk.

"Well... My family is expanding. Got the news this morning." Zane responded as he grabbed Dragonair's pokeball, tossing it the air and bringing her out into the gym. "Courtney is pregnant."

"Really? That's amazing!!" Zac said with glee, shuffling papers haphazardly.

"Mhmm, I have so many things to think about, but..... I'm happy again. Courtney  has given me a lot in the past 4 years, now we have a life together." Zane said, over taken with emotions.

"She saved your life. And I couldn't be happier for you man. If anyone needed a break in this village, it's you." Zac said with a hint of grief. 

"You alright bud?" Zane asked. "Is he hiding something?" Zane thought, feeling uneasy about what he just sensed.

"Yea, just thinking I could of helped you more." Zac responded. 

"Not much you could of done," Zane wasn't reassured by that response. "But that's neither here or there. Besides, you were a better friend than a guy like me could ever ask for."

"Well, I'll run the test for her then. See how well you taught Dragon Pulse....without the TM." Zac said bewildered. "I STILL don't know how you've managed to do that."

"Eh, not that difficult." Zane said, shoveling himself out. "Dragonair, come here." Dragonair started to move towards her trainer. "You've got this. Your training went incredibly well, just relax and let the move come naturally. Don't force it and you'll do fine." Zane reassured his trusted pokemon. Dragonair snuggled up to Zane, trying to take his advice. Zane petted Dragonair, calming her down more.

"Dragonair, you ready?" Zac asked, wanting to start the testing. "Also, like last time Zane, you can't be in here during the testing." 

"I'm well aware." Zane nodded. "I want to do some research as it is."

 

While Dragonair's testing was taking place, Zane headed to the gyms library to see if he couldn't figure out what he saw earlier. "White, four legs, agile..." Zane thought as he approached one of the computers. While he was familiar with most dragon types and pseudo-dragon pokemon, Zane wasn't familiar with most pokemon outside of Kanto/Jhoto/Sinnoh regions. He had visited Sinnoh twice during his childhood for vacations, as his mother had family in Celestic Town. So he was familiar with some Sinnoh pokemon, however not all of them. "Hmm, let's see. Start alphabetically. Filter? White is the only thing I can filter for..." Zane put the database to filter, and started going through them. "Abomasnow...That's certainly white...but not it. Abra...no...." His thoughts trailed off as he saw the next pokemon. "Absol..." That was it... "That is what I saw. Any info on it?" Zane started scrolling through the page and finally landed on reports. "It senses coming disasters and appears before people only to warn them of the impending danger. This made Absol a target however, one for it's horn, the other because of misunderstandings. It was mistaken as the harbinger of doom. It's habitat is harsh, rugged mountain ranges. It only leaves it's home to bring the warnings that it is known for." Zane sat there in silence, stunned. "Oh shit." He said to himself. "What does that mean then?" Before he could finish his thoughts, the intercom came on calling his name. "ZANE, WOULD YOU PLEASE COME TO THE FRONT LOBBY?!" Frustrated, Zane gets up from his chair and starts heading for the lobby. "Dammit, can things stop interrupting my thoughts?" He says as he leaves the page about Absol on the screen, while the cursor blinks on 'the disaster pokemon.'

 

Zane saw Zac filing more paperwork and assumed that was due to Dragonair passing the testing. "So, what's the news?" Zane said lightly.

"Passed with flying colors...almost literally." Zac responded, putting papers down. "Not a single target left. And she decided to show off on the final two..." He added.

"Well.....I guess she takes after her trainer." One of the aids said while grooming Dragonair. "It was impressive though." she added grudgingly.

"She didn't learn it from me..." Before Zane could finish, half the lobby exploded, trowing debris all over the gym's lobby. Fire started to spread and smoke started to fill the room. The explosion sent Zane and Zac flying backwards, causing them to slam into the wall. Zac was knocked out cold, but Zane wasn't. After getting over the initial shock, Zane started to get to his feet. Looking around, all he could see was Horseas and Seadras spouting water to douse the fires that were spreading, but no sign of his Dragonair. "DRAGONAIR, WHERE ARE YOU GIRL?!" Zane called out, but there was no answer. Zane stumbled to where Dragonair was last seen, but he couldn't touch the rumble due to it being on fire. Zane turned to a trainer of a Seadra. "Douse me with water!!" The trainer responded quickly and ordered his Seadra to douse Zane. "Thank you!" Zane said as he began trying to lift rumble out of the way. Rock after rock, however, there was no sign of her yet. "No, no, no, no, no...." Zane started to panic. "Where are you girl?" Zane started lifting rocks faster and faster. There was no pain, no hot, no cold....only panic. He had to find her. Eventually, one of the rocks gave way to Dragonair. "Dragonair, Wake up girl! You've been through worse!" Zane started getting more rubble off of her. "Come on girl! Wake up!" Zane yelled, hoping that she was just knocked out. Zane started petting her head, hoping his touch would wake her. "Come on girl, you gotta get up." Zane started to well up. "Come on girl." Nothing was working. Slowly, Zane began to realize that she wasn't going to get up. 

 

She was dead, and Zane couldn't do anything about it.

 

His trusted partner and friend of 13 years was gone. Zane sat there, slightly sobbing to himself, cradling her head. For several minutes, he held her in his arms, until Zac awoke. 

"Zane..." Zac didn't know how to approach this. "I'm so sorry." He approached Zane, putting his hand on Zane's shoulder.

"I need to find out who did this..." Zane's voice went from sobbing, to pure rage. "I will find out who did this, and mount their head on Mt. Silver for all to see."

"I'll see what I can find out man. I want to help you with that. Anyone who attacks this city that I call home now deserves to die." Zac said, mimicking Zane's anger.

Without warning, Zane started to see the vision of flames again. "Not again...Wait..." Zane thought. "This isn't the gym...No..." The realization hit Zane. It was his house. He instantly started sprinting home. However, he was to late. Another explosion rocked the normally peacefully village. And it was in the direction of Zane's home....and where Courtney was now.

 

As he ran up to his house, all he could see was fire. "COURTNEY!!!!" Zane tried yelling her name, fearing the worst...

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edited November 10, 2019 by DemigodsShadow

[Q-Jei]

Firstly first, I would like to congratulate you for having produced your own story! This is well made and I personally enjoy the dragon theme of this. I just started to read it this afternoon to be honest. And now, I feel you completely! This Dragonair looked very attached to Zane and didn't do any harm. She didn't deserve to die However, the perpetrator of this explosion must be punished. It should have died in the explosion That being said, I can't do much but making assumptions about the culprit. Team Rocket member maybe? And oh God, I hope Courtney is still alive too! There's nothing worse than learning that a pregnant woman has been killed with the child she was holding (Makes me vaguely remember the beginning of Kill Bill: Volume 1 for some reason.) Plus, I don't think the assault of the Gym will please Clair in any way. I keep my fingers crossed and hope the next episode will lead to a happier conclusion (Well, considering the tragedy that occured in Episode 2, I think I can dream on...)

 

Lovely job, you have my support

[J-Awesome_One]

Finally got around to reading all of this. Loved it. It sucks that the Dragonair is dead though. As to who the men in black were... well I doubt it was Team Rocket. And I hope Courtney is alive. I feel like if she were to die, Zane would go on a psychopathic killing rampage. But nice 1 dude! Can't wait to read the next 1!

[DemigodsShadow]

On 11/13/2019 at 7:43 AM, Q-Jei said:

Firstly first, I would like to congratulate you for having produced your own story! This is well made and I personally enjoy the dragon theme of this. I just started to read it this afternoon to be honest. And now, I feel you completely! This Dragonair looked very attached to Zane and didn't do any harm. She didn't deserve to die However, the perpetrator of this explosion must be punished. It should have died in the explosion That being said, I can't do much but making assumptions about the culprit. Team Rocket member maybe? And oh God, I hope Courtney is still alive too! There's nothing worse than learning that a pregnant woman has been killed with the child she was holding (Makes me vaguely remember the beginning of Kill Bill: Volume 1 for some reason.) Plus, I don't think the assault of the Gym will please Clair in any way. I keep my fingers crossed and hope the next episode will lead to a happier conclusion (Well, considering the tragedy that occured in Episode 2, I think I can dream on...)

 

Lovely job, you have my support

On 11/13/2019 at 8:29 AM, J-Awesome_One said:

Finally got around to reading all of this. Loved it. It sucks that the Dragonair is dead though. As to who the men in black were... well I doubt it was Team Rocket. And I hope Courtney is alive. I feel like if she were to die, Zane would go on a psychopathic killing rampage. But nice 1 dude! Can't wait to read the next 1!

As one writer to another, that means a lot guys. Just the fact that you guys are enjoying makes me feel better about it. I'm highly cynical and I often view things I do to be sub-standard. 

Dragonair was attached to Zane, as he raised her from a Dratini, and something I will be introducing later will explain on strong she was. But, that'll be a bit.

You two have hit on Team rocket being behind it. I can neither claim nor deny this info. Because it's both. All will be apparent next chapter.

 

In my note before the chapter, I stated that the content was "Highly emotional," and thus was difficult for me to write. That's because, like most people, I've lost pets. But further than that, I've had a girlfriend who died in my arms. Long and complicated story short, family life for her was getting extremely rough, and she wasn't taking it well. I tried to help, but it was too late. All I really want to say on that...

 

Again, thank you guys for your words of support, it'll make re-writing chapter 3 easier.

[DemigodsShadow]

So, a little note.

 

When I started this story, I wanted to put a chapter out atleast once every two months. Well....as we can plainly see, that hasn't happened. I had two major health issues that played havoc with my plans. Through December, I had a cancer scare that side-lined almost all of what I wanted to do for the month. And January, I have been, as well as the rest of my household, fighting a bitch of a case of the flu. TBH, as a medical professional, this flu season has scared me shitless. There have been more than 25k confirmed cases in my area that has maybe a total population of 1.3 million. So, that'a a thing. Knock on wood, let's hope coronavirus doesn't strike.

 

All of that being said, Chapter 3 will be out in the next 10 days. Hopefully, I will be able to do my chapter every two months after this one. Thank you guys for being patient. 

[DemigodsShadow]

So... my new computer has some flaws. I was typing the next chapter in here (no word processor and notepad sucks) when I was distracted. I put my computer in sleep mode....and it posted that little segment. 

 

 

Technology is amazing, but also stupid. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by DemigodsShadow

[Shadow Rysing]

So... it's been a while... what year is it? 2020?.........shit

 

damn.....

 

Next time, I need to not jinx the entire planet and myself.

Sooooo... Between losing my ENTIRE computer (power source corruption fried the mother board...yep) and being hospitalized for complications due to an injury from a few years ago, I lost both all of the chapters that I had written and the time I could of saved writing it again.

 

No promises this time. Now, back to writing while the pain meds knock me out... I wanted to publish the next chapter.    

 

Bright side, I have my op account again. Silver linings...

Edited May 10, 2020 by Shadow Rysing