//------------------------------//
// Legacy of Dragons 
// Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

Unova. Out in the Wild. Afternoon.

Following Smolder's meeting with Iris, many Dragons took the opportunity to try and learn from Unova's Champion. Iris, unable to handle so many Dragons that weren't Pokemon, decided to have Drayden assist. In response, Drayden gave them all a quest. 

And so, the dragons scattered across Unova, beginning their search for the new piece of the stone the Dragon Tamer Necklace comes from.  Most went specifically to the north-eastern areas of Unova, such as Lacunosa Town and even Dragonspiral Tower. However, some also spread out towards Castelia City, Driftveil City and Mistralton City.

They were moving in a frenzy, trying to find it as fast as possible since most of those Dragons needed to be home soon. Most were rather young, somewhere around Smolder's age, so they couldn't be out here for too long.

Dragons were flying in the sky, checking everywhere that could possibly hide the stone. Some of the townsfolk would see the sudden appearance of a lot of dragons, but they would pay no mind as it was just a part of their daily lives.

In the northern half of the Unova Region, the dragons were making their way through the sky, searching all over for the stone. But so far, not a single dragon was finding anything.

"Hey, do you think the stone's somewhere else?" A Dragon questioned, using her claws to rip open a pathway of rocks, failing to find the stone.

"Nah, Drayden said it's here in Unova. So it has to be here."

"What's gonna happen when we find the stone, though? Who's gonna keep it?" Another asked while desending.

"The one who finds it is the one who keeps it, duh!"

"Oh yeah? What if we can't decide who keeps it?"

"Then we're gonna have to battle!" One Dragon said, prompting all the Dragons to agree. They were all more than eager to battle for the stone. That just made them want to find it even more. They all continued their search.

But while all of them were in an absolute hurry, the only one taking it slow and walking on foot was none other than Smolder. She and Charmander were heading towards Lacunosa Town, with the Fire-Type having a map in his hand.

"You don't have to hold the map for me, Charmander." Smolder told her partner.

"Char~." Charmander replied, continuing to hold the map.

"Hehe. Thanks. We'll just need to keep heading straight and we should arrive soon. I mean, the others have probably already checked Lacunosa."

"Charman!" Charmander chimed in.

As the two continued their trek through the wilderness, Smolder couldn't help but glance over her shoulder every now and again, just to check if the other dragons were anywhere close. It was the only reason why she was walking rather than flying. Smolder was taking Iris's advice from last night, not using her wings.

The two soon got back on their feet, arriving at a field. It was a vast open space. It was perfect for dragons. So far, things were fine and normal. Smolder was still taking things slow. She could not afford to have the others catch up.

"Huh?" But soon, Smolder would stop and turn her head, hearing a loud thud and feeling the ground shake a bit. It caught the dragon girl off guard. It seemed to have come from nearby. Charmander, not seeing anything, looked over at Smolder, wondering what she was looking at.

"Did you hear that?" Smolder asked the Fire-Type.

"Char?" Charmander blinked, confused. They would receive an answer to that ruckus immediately. It came from some of the other Dragons as they were currently competing against each other, having their Pokemon out. It was inevitable that something like this would happen. When searching for the stone, they wanted to make sure neither would beat each other to it.

Smolder witnessed a Bagon and a Fraxure clash with two Dragon Breaths, the attacks exploding on contact and sending both of the dragons back. Both were tough, as evident by the fact that the Bagon was still standing after receiving a powerful attack like that.

"Fraxure, get back up!" The trainer of the Fraxure yelled.

"Bagon, Dragon Breath!" The Bagon's trainer ordered, not giving the Fraxure a chance to get up. Bagon unleashed another Dragon Breath, the blast engulfing the Dragon Type and sending him flying. The Fraxure was sent rolling across the grass, before hitting a tree.

"Fraxure!"

"Haha!" The Dragon who won cackled before flying off, carrying his Bagon. They were quick to leave.

Smolder made sure to stay out of this one, not wanting to get involved. As long as she stays away from the other dragons, she could make progress and find the stone. Smolder shuffled her way out of view, making sure she wasn't seen.

As Smolder left the scene, she then spotted another dragon nearby, who was currently talking to someone on his Rotom Phone. The Dragon was currently asking for advice on finding this stone, trying to see if her friend knew what she was talking about. Naturally, her friend had no clue since this stone was still new to the world.

Smolder then quickly ran by with Charizard, making sure not to be caught

"Come on, Charmander. I think we should move a little faster now." Smolder told her partner, not wanting to risk getting found by any of the other Dragons. She knew that if she did, they would slow her down.

"Char!" Charmander nodded, following her lead. The two of them were soon on the move, running faster. They would hop across the fields, heading in the direction of Lacunosa Town.





Pegalysium. Starmap's Tower. Afternoon.

Twilight Sparkle currently went to the nation in the sky known as Pegalysium's expert cartographer, Starmap. After her friend Potion Nova went into space for a mission, she hasn't heard from her since and needed help. Starmap was excellent at making maps for the entire world, and she might have a few ideas on where to look for the missing potion maker.

She arrived at Starmap's home, already present in her room which had a plethora of maps and charts scattered everywhere. Most of them were of Pegalysium since all of its locations are constantly changing due to the winds and the clouds moving but some were of the world in certain instances. 

"I'm looking for a friend of mine who's missing. She's been in space for the past, I think three or four weeks. Her name is Potion Nova. She went to space with Galaxy Master and the two haven't returned yet."

"Outer space..." Starmap pondered for a moment. Even though she has the entire world covered, coming from a long line of cartographers, outer space was a whole different thing, even though she's made a map of a hypothetical universe.

Due to the two universes merging, Starmap now has extra work on her hooves. The universe they all lived in was disgustingly huge. Bigger than what both universes had prior to all of this. And any planets that shared the same name or makeup from their respective universes have merged, including Earth, which was now far bigger than what it was, having two Earths merged as one.

"That's a lot to cover. Let me check the universe." Starmap grabbed her pencil and began to sketch out a map of outer space, taking notes on what was present. As she sketched, the Princess watched as the lines and details were drawn with ease, amazed by the speed at which the drawing was done.

A radiant light would appear during Starmap's drawing, forming an astral projection of the cosmos, with planets, stars and all sorts of heavenly bodies. With a bit of focus, the universe was drawn and the image was made as accurate as possible.

"Wow!" Twilight Sparkle said. "I've never seen the universe up close before. It's so big and vast...That magical ability of yours is something else. So, can you see if Potion Nova is out there somewhere?"

"This isn't good enough..." Starmap sighed, lowering her head. "What you're seeing now is the universe  in its previous form. What it used to be before both worlds became one. I can't envision the rest of it."

"Wait, what? So this is it?" Twilight gasped. Alas, despite how powerful Starmap's unique magic was, she had peaked. Her limit had been reached and there was no way she could go any further. "Are you saying the universe has gotten bigger than you can handle?"

"Exactly. I've tried my best to map the new universe and the best I've gotten is what you're seeing right now. I'm sorry. I can't find your friend."

"Oh...well, thanks anyway." Twilight sighed. This was a major setback and further distanced herself from Potion Nova.

"But...If I myself could be out there in space, I would be able to maybe map out this new universe and find her. I can just imagine it...the vast universe...the many planets...I'd love to be there and see it all.

"Yeah..." Twilight nodded as sh has already been to space, even if briefly. It was truly beautiful and a wondrous sight to behold. She wasn't about to give up just yet, having something come to mind. "We can still try. I'll come back at another time, Starmap."

"R-Really? What do you have in mind?" Starmap asked as Twilight galloped away.

"Give me...Maybe a month or so. I know that's long, but just hold out for me, okay? There are some things I have to get ready."





Unova. Lacunosa Town.

Lacunosa Town. A town where all honour old customs, living as methodically as clockwork. Smolder and Charmander had arrived in the town as the afternoon sun was slowly setting. Coming here, Smolder would start asking questions about the stone. But sadly, the stone hasn't been discovered yet. At least, by most people. Only Drayden and possibly a few others know where it is.

"I guess that means we have a shot, Charmander. Let's go look!" Smolder and Charmander started their search.

The search was a lot harder than Smolder anticipated as she was not exactly used to searching for things like this. It wasn't easy to search for something when you didn't even know where to look. The stone was not common, not a lot of people have seen it. Smolder knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with this, so she tried a different approach.

"Hey, have you seen this?" Smolder showed the town's people the stone on her necklace. When showing it off, its cosmic brilliance would shine for a moment. They looked at it closely, trying to get a good look.

"Hmm...Now that I've gotten a better look at it...the texture of it. Something like that has come up recently." One of the residents noted. "Yeah. Yeah! I've heard a rumor of something like that somewhere nearby."

"Really?!" Smolder was ecstatic, hearing that they were closer.

"Mmhm. Here in Unova, if we find something new, we document it and grab it right away. Well, scientists do anyway. We heard about this stone coming up recently and the Village of Dragons got a hold of it right away."

"Village of Dragons? Isn't that where Drayden sometimes goes to? And where Iris lives?"

"It is. Ah!" An old man raised his finger, realizing what this was. "You must be undergoing Mayor Drayden's challenge! That explains it!"

"You know about this challenge, mister?"

"Oh yes. It always happens when a lot of people come to Mayor Drayden. He'll give them a challenge so he can measure their skills. If he finds you worthy, then you can learn under him. This isn't the first time this has happened. But...I doubt he'll let you take the one from the Village of Dragons. He'll know if you did."

"Phooey. So that doesn't count." Smolder sighed, lowering her head.

"It's alright, missy. You'll get another chance. In fact, why don't you ask around for another? There's a stone like that somewhere nearby. Keep going a bit further and you might find one in some of the other towns and cities."

"Oh, great! I'll ask around as much as I can!"

"That's the spirit." The old man smiled. "Well, best of luck to you."

"Thank you! Come on, Charmander. We've gotta find this thing before everyone else does!" Smolder exclaimed, now more pumped than ever.

"Char-Charmander!" Charmander cheered alongside her, ready to take on the world.

Smolder wasted no time in heading out of the town, wanting to find the stone as soon as possible. She was on the right track, but was she really on the right track? She could not wait any longer.

Smolder and Charmander would then begin heading north-west, where the next destination would be. As the old man watched her walk off, he nodded his head, knowing that good things were coming out of this.





Castelia City. Sunset.

Sunset. A peaceful time in a busy city. The city was still bustling with activity, with people coming in and out of the city. Even as the sun was setting, many were still outside. As the two headed towards the city, Smolder and Charmander asked more questions. They were starting to get a clearer picture, recognizing its appearance. While they didn't know exactly where it was, they knew someone who knew someone who also knew someone who knew.

Smolder would go from area to area, listening to what the people have shared and memorizing it. The stone was very new, but thanks to the fact that a lot of people are involved in the discovery and development of these new things, it spread fast. Smolder was determined, but her body was not.

"I'm...so tired. How am I supposed to do this without sleeping?"

"Char-char." Charmander shook his head, not sure either.

"Maybe...we can get some rest before continuing. But I wanna find it right away and get back home...Ember's gonna be so mad with all of us when she finds out we haven't come home yet." Smolder looked up at the skies, seeing how far the other dragons had gone. However, for the most part, the other dragons were battling against themselves, trying to take each other out.

Due to this, they were slowing themselves down with some giving up halfway, heading back home. It was a race, but not a very well coordinated one. It was just a free-for-all with no organization.

"Ahh...whatever. I'll rest." Smolder was not gonna go far if she was too exhausted to even move. Instead of finding a nice bed to rest on, Smolder, being a Dragon and all, would sleep out in the open, right near the Prime Pier.

Smolder rested her head on the hard cobblestone, using her backpack as a pillow. The sound of the waves crashing against the beach was soothing. Her tail wrapped around her body and Charmander was sleeping right next to her.





Opelucid City.

Back at Opelucid, as the Golden Sun was setting and making way for the Silver Moon, Drayden was outside, waiting patiently. He stood near the gateway, watching and waiting.

"Gee,..They sure are taking their time. Was this a good idea, Drayden?" Iris sat around, wondering. "It's gonna be hard finding just one part of a stone."

"I expect only one of them to come back." Drayden commented. "Seeing all those dragons made me realize that at best, they'll fight amongst themselves. In the end, they'll slow themselves down and lose focus. And if one of them does find it, it won't take long for another dragon to intercept and fight over it, eventually losing the stone."

"Harsh." Iris said. "You don't thnk any of them will succeed?"

"As harsh as it sounds, that is the nature of Dragons." Drayden closed his eyes. "They will fight and compete against each other, regardless of species. But only one will have what it takes. I did specifically say only one of them will come back. And only one will. And they will have the stone."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The one who'll succeed, is the one who follows a different path. I already have a clear vision as to who it is. But that's not to say the other dragons don't have what it takes. They may be rough and competitive, but they mean well. A stark contrast to my grandson."

"I thought your grandson was a lot like you?"

"Absolutely not." Drayden shook his head while Iris giggled.The two would wait patiently as Drayden knew that at least one of them would come back with the stone.





Castelia City. Morning.

As morning broke through, Smolder's hard work paid off. All those people she asked eventually led to her getting her biggest lead yet. She would finally learn that the stone was located at a specific house. She did not know the exact location, but the general direction of it. It was located somewhere around Pledge Grove.

With that in mind, Smolder and Charmander were back on the move, reaching this house. The two would travel west, where the stone would supposedly be. They would pass by a plethora of trees which hid this single house from the public.

The house itself was very quaint, but it was definitely lived in. The two would arrive, walking up to the front door and knocking. Smolder would knock again a second later, hoping for an answer. She knocked a third time, only to be greeted by silence.

"No one's answering."

"Char..."

"Let's go look around." Smolder walked off, checking the sides of the house. She looked into the windows, trying to spot the stone. There were a lot of things around the house, but no stones.

The two of them snooped around the house, trying to find anything. Smolder was a little worried, knowing that she might get in trouble for this. Thankfully, that wouldn't come to pass as a shadow loomed over her. She would quickly turn her head and see the figure standing over her. It was none other than an old woman.

"You shouldn't go snooping around, young lady."

"Uhh..." Smolder froze up, not knowing how to react.

"But it is alright. It is not the first time this has happened." The old woman smiled. "You've come for the stone, haven't you?"

"I have. But I have a piece of it already. The other dragons are looking for the stone too, so I thought I should get it first." Smolder explained, holding up her necklace. "Mayor Drayden wants all the dragons to learn from him, so we were given this task."

"Ah, Mayor Drayden sent you?" The woman grinned. "In that case, I'm sure you'll want this?" From her pocket, the woman pulled out a white, glowing stone. It had a similar design to the stone on Smolder's necklace.

"Yes! That's it!" Smolder pointed.

"Hmhm. Well, I'll let you have it, then. Here you go." The woman handed the stone over.

"Woohoo!" Smolder cheered as he and Charmander jumped for joy. The two had achieved their goal, being the first to find the stones. Smolder and Charmander held hands, dancing around in celebration.

"Thank you so much, miss! I can't believe I got it before everyone else! This is awesome! I didn't think it'd be that easy though. Thought it'd be way harder with a lot of other dragons coming this way."

"Well, you found me here. It was never hard for you."

"Eh?" Smolder was a little confused, tilting her head. "What does that mean?"

"My home is hidden here, difficult for others to see, unless they're deserving of seeing it. And clearly, you already were. If you weren't, you would have never been able to see this home, or me. Well done, little one."

"Wow...Do you have mystical powers or something? That's really cool." Smolder smiled.

"Hoho. Something like that I suppose. When you've been around as long as me, you tend to dabble in some tricks." The old woman would sit down on the perch steps in front of her home.

"How long have you been here? This house looks pretty old..." Smolder observed. This house definitely had some age to it compared to everything she's witnessed so far.

"Hm, yes. It is rather old house. Dates back 280 Years ago, going through so many generations." The gold woman slowly nodded her head before she dropping a rather shocking line. "It's only 20 years younger than me. "

"Mm." Smolder smiled casually before it processed in her mind. She suddenly did a double take, realizing what she had just heard. "20 years younger...W-Wait! You mean-"

"That's right little one. 300 Years old and still going strong." The old woman giggled, holding up a peace sign. "I was born during the time when Sinnoh was still known as Hisui. Not too shabby, right?

"Woah, 300 years old?!" Smolder exclaimed, her mouth wide open. She looked at the woman's face, trying to find a single wrinkle. She was old but not old enough to look like she was 300 years old. "H-How?"

"Well, I used to be an elder over at the Village of the Dragons and quite a lot happened to me during that time. I was blessed with life at some point but it's quite the long story. I'm sure you'd love to hear it but...perhaps you have some place to be, don't you?"

"Yeah. But I have the other stone now, so I don't really have to rush." Smolder held up the stone and her necklace. But...I should get going anyway. I've got to see Drayden and tell him about this. Can I come and talk to you later on?"

"Of course you can, sweetie. I love to have visitors. Even if the few people who visit me are from the Village of Dragons and Drayden. Good work on finding the stone. There's a reason you're the one who found it here. You asked around, didn't you? And you didn't go after the other dragons when they showed up."

"Mmm." Smolder nodded.

"That explains it. You could've taken another path of finding the stone, but you didn't. That's why I know you're different. And that's why I know you'll become something great."

"Huh?"

"You've got the right potential. A good head on your shoulders. And a great partner by your side. I've been around long enough to know a thing or two." The woman smiled. "Well, I'll let you go. Best not to keep Drayden waiting, dear. Go on ahead."

"R-Right." Smolder nodded. "Uh...see you later, miss! Thanks again for this!" Smolder would put the stone away. "Come on, Charmander. Let's go!"

"Char!" Charmander cheered, following her lead. The two of them would then head back the way they came, ready to go home.





But as Smolder was making her way back to Opelucid City, it didn't take long for to run into other Dragons, who were still searching. Some of them spotted her. They descended from the skies and landed right in front of her. Smolder had already hidden the stone in her bag, keeping it safe.

"Hey, everyone. Any luck?" Smolder asked, seeing that none of them were holding a stone.

"Not at all! We've checked every inch of this land, and no one's found it!" A dragon ranted.

"Well, you guys are searching for something that's only a month or something old, right? That's not a lot of time to be able to search for something like that."

"We're getting nowhere! And we've been battling each other which isn't helping. So...we all decided on the easiest solution to our problem."

"All?" Smolder repeated, realizing that referred to all the Dragons. Her pupils shrank as she saw more dragons appearing here from above and behind her, surrounding the young dragon. Smolder and Charmander would then turn their heads and look around. There were a lot of them here.

"Why search for one...when we can take the one your necklace is made of?"

"Y-You guys can't be serious..." Smolder was a little worried, seeing how determined they all were. "That's gotta be cheating! I already had this one so it doesn't count! You'll just have to try again."

"You have no idea how badly we wanna get Drayden's guidance, so no. We're not backing down. Now hand over that stone..." The Dragons started closing in, with the others joining in, making the circle around Smolder bigger and bigger.

Smolder should've seen this coming. The expression on her face said it all. She lowered her eyelids, unsurprised that this was happening. Honestly, she was surprised she didn't even think about this to begin with. "To be honest...I would've just ripped the necklace off and pretended that I got the other half."

Smolder was guilty of thinking like that too. It was only natural. But since she took the other path, the young dragon wasn't about to let her fellow dragons get a hold of this stone. Not when she was about to succeed and get the recognition of an ancient figure.

As the journey continues.


Chapter 491 End.