Unova. Out in the Wild. Afternoon.
Smolder ended up finding the other stone during this challenge Drayden issued. And with ease too, only because of how differently she did compared to everyone else. However, the other Dragons, irritated with their struggle to find it, figured that they should just steal the one Smolder has as a necklace, passing it on as the other stone.
Immediately, Smolder took flight, picking Charmander up. "I-I gotta go!" Smolder cried, flying off with her necklace. The other Dragons wasted no time in taking to the air, chasing after her.
Smolder would fly past many trees, dodging all of them. Charmander held onto her, making sure he didn't fall off. He kept a tight grip on her, making sure the wind wouldn't blow him off. It didn't help that they were both the same size and height so this made it rather difficult.
Smolder would make sure she wouldn't fly straight, making her harder to catch. But that would also lead her to bump into some of the branches, but not enough to knock her off course.
The Dragons, while being more experienced, couldn't help but hit a few branches, slowing them down. But their determination was not stopping. They were going to get that stone one way or another.
"Hey! You don't have the right to take this!" Smolder exclaimed, feeling her heart pound against her chest. She had no clue what to do. Her only option was to try and outrun them. She had to be faster. She had to reach Drayden.
The chase went on for a bit, but soon, Smolder would make the mistake of going through a thinner area. This would give the dragons a chance to grab onto her.
Almost.
The Dragons tried to grab Smolder, but the dragon girl was way too slippery. Smolder would dodge them with her wings, and even her tail. It was hard to grab her due to her speed. But that didn't stop them.
"Come on, Smolder! Just pass it here!" One of the Dragons yelled, flying behind her But Smolder wouldn't give this up for even a moment. She flew fast, hoping to lose them. She wouldn't stop.
The other Dragons flew right after her, but some of them were a little more reckless as one of them would fly up high and fly at top speeds, ready to snatch her out of the air. "Out of the way!" The Dragon cried out. Smolder turned her head and gasped at what she saw. She looked around and tried to dodge the Dragon, but with nowhere else to go, Smolder had to let go of her grip on Charmander and dodge the attack herself. She would narrowly dodge the Dragon, causing the dragon to crash into a few trees.
Smolder gasped and watched as the dragon collided into a few trees, creating a loud thud that echoed across the woods. Her heart dropped and she didn't know if that dragon was okay. "Hey! Are you alright?!" Smolder turned her body around, trying to get a good look.
That proved to be a big mistake as while she was distracted, a Dragon snuck up on her from behind, ready to tackle her. But Charmander spotted it in the nick of time, letting out a cry. "Char-Charmander!" The Fire Type called out, snapping her out of it. She looked over her shoulder, but it was too late.
Smolder tried to get out of the way, but the dragon behind her would tackle her to the ground. The dragon would try and hold onto her as they would crash land into a tree, taking a rough tumble on the ground. "Ugh." Smolder cried out, the impact of hitting the ground was rather rough. Her back hit the tree so hard, that she actually felt a small shock go through her.
Smolder let go of the necklace for a second, and it was long enough to have another Dragon grab the necklace. Smolder cried out as the necklace was taken off her neck, making a high-pitched squeak.
"I got it!" The Dragon held the necklace up high, only for Charmander to use Dragon Breath and get the necklace out of his grip, making the necklace fly towards Smolder. She caught it with her wings and got back up on her feet.
"Char...!" Charmander snarled, getting ready to fight. He would then glare at all the dragons around him, getting ready to attack all of them if they even thought about trying that again. The other Dragons got ready, knowing this was gonna turn ugly fast.
"Smolder, why can't you just let us have the other stone?! We want to learn under Drayden, too." A dragon would walk up to Smolder. "Don't start hogging the spotlight! I wanna be taught by Drayden, too! Why do you think we were all willing to search for a stone that we knew was gonna be hard to find?!"
"No way you're getting this stone. You were the ones who decided to take it by force instead of actually getting it yourself. And you did something I thought you wouldn't do. You hurt me, and Charmander, too."
"Yeah, yeah. Just cough it up, Smolder. Come on. Hand it over. If you wanna be like Iris so badly, you better do something to be worthy of that title." Another dragon added.
Smolder's expression faltered, her confidence crumbling as they made it sound so easy. The fact that Iris's name was thrown in made her more uncomfortable. The thought of not living up to Iris's title, not being as great as she was.
"Are you scared to be outshined?"
"Pfft. You wish. If you ask me, you guys are the ones afraid of being outshined." Smolder pointed out and she was very much correct based on their reactions. She would take flight while holding Charmander once more, attempting to make her getaway once more. The Dragons groaned, already growing tired of this. They chased after her.
The two were on the move, going across the vast forest. They passed by some Pokemon, with Smolder shouting apologies to any Pokemon that she accidentally startled with her flight. The forest was soon swarmed with all these dragons. Some could be seen through the broken trunks or holes of the branches from the trees.
Naturally, this irritated some of the Pokemon who intercepted some of the Dragons. They would have their paths blocked by these upset Pokemon who ultimately got in their way, ready to complain or shoo them from the forest.
Smolder was still far from Opelucid City, and unfortunately, during their travel, one of the Dragons landed on Smolder, grabbing onto her feet. This ended up making Smolder end up on the ground once more and she would land just outside of Lacunosa Town.
"Oof!" However this time, Smolder and the Dragon who pinned her down would then roll down the hill, the grass going flat. The other Dragon rolled so fast he turned into a ball, kicking up dirt.
The Dragon was slammed into a nearby tree, breaking the branch apart and making the log fall on the poor creature. The Dragon groaned, now trapped by this heavy log.
"Haha!" Smolder cackled, rushing out of there. But she didn't get far as she saw a few other dragons suddenly make their way in front of her, ceasing her laughter. "Oh." Some of them managed to intercept Smolder blocking her way out of town. They had caught up.
"Char!" Charmander began growling, glaring at them. His intense stare was enough to make the other dragons back off a little.
"Let's just skip to the part where you hand over the stone, Smolder." One Dragon commented while panting. "Seriously. We're already gonna get a scolding from our parents when we get back since we've been here since yesterday. I wanna go home already!"
"Then go home! Because you're not getting this!" Smolder held her stone close.
"Yooouuu..." One Dragon growled as they all held out their Poke Balls, unleashing their Pokemon. A total of 5 Dragon Pokemon stood right in front of Smolder and Charmander. A Gible, Bagon, two Vibrava and a Dragonair were the Pokemon present, attempting to snatch the stone from her.
Charmander stared at all of them, prepared to face off with them all to protect his trainer. This did look like a massive mismatch though. Any Fire Attacks in his arsenal wouldn't do much to the Dragons and the only one he had that could deal some real damage was Dragonbreath. Not to mention that there were three Ground-Types present. Gible and the Vibrava.
"Give it up. We obviously have the advantage." Another Dragon panted, pointing out the mismatch. Normally, Smolder would start thinking about how to get out of a difficult situation like this. If it were that difficult to begin with.
"Oh yeah? Then how come you're all so tired?" Smolder grinned, catching them off guard. Indeed, they were all tired. It wasn't just this small group. Earlier, Smolder noticed how the other Dragons were tired as well, showing signs of exhaustion. "Oh! I know why! I bet you guys were up for so long last night trying to find the other stone!"
"Kh!" The Dragons all grimaced and flinched. That was also so true. They spent all that time looking for the stone, getting minimal sleep, unlike Smolder, who slept peacefully and was refreshed.
"W-Whatever! Gible! Use Dragon Claw!" With that order, Gible rushed in and with commands from the other Trainers, the Dragon Pokemon attacked as one.
"Charmander, use Metal Claw!" Smolder shouted. Gible would make the first attack using Dragon Claw only to be met with Charmander's Metal Claw. The two would strike at each other, clashing with their attacks. It wasn't just the Trainers that were tired but also their Pokemon as well. Gible was knocked back because of this, Charmander clearly having more energy.
Gible was then rushed by the Bagon and the two Vibrava, who all lashed out at him. All of the dragons started attacking Charmander but he would jump out of the way, not getting caught up in the onslaught.
"Now, Charmander! Use Fire Spin!" A trail of fire was drawn out before it launched right towards the Dragons. The three dragons didn't get a chance to dodge the incoming attack as all three of them were caught up in the spiraling attack. The moment they were hit, it burned them.
"Vibrava! Use Bug Buzz!"
"Bagon, Dragon Breath!" Two of the Pokemon cried out as they summoned their attacks. The Vibrava launched a loud chord, knocking Charmander off balance as Bagon unleashed his own attack. The dual-type attack crashed into the stunned Charizard and the aftershock of the Dragon Breath hit the Vibrava itself, causing it to flinch. It would hit Charmander, pushing him further back into the lake, submerging him.
However, the effects of Fire Spin kicked in on the Pokemon as a spiral of flames suddenly appeared around them, burning them with some additional damage. Jumping out of the lake was Charmander, recovering right away and retaliating with Dragonbreath, knocking all five of the Dragon Types back. "Mander!"
"Great, Charmander! Now, head in and use Slash!"
"Chaa-Chaaaaaar~!
Charmander would rush right into the circle of Dragon Pokemon and use Slash, quickly defeating two of the Pokemon and making them return to their Trainers. Now, only a Vibrava and one of the Bagon was left. The two were now more determined, growing serious. This forced Charmander to be on the defensive now.
"Dragonair, Focus Energy!" The other Trainer shouted as the Pokemon would glow bright white, the swirls around her brightening.
Charmander tried to swipe at them with his claws but the Vibrava and the Dragonair held their ground. Their Trainers were rather exhausted. The Bagon would try to go in for an attack while Charmander was distracted, opening his mouth and taking in a huge gulp of air. Charmander quickly realized what was about to happen but before he could even attempt to counter it, the Bagon unleashed a powerful Dragon Breath at him.
Charmander would run to the side to dodge, but he would still get some of the attack, not being a pure dragon to take less damage from it. Charmander managed to stay in, still having more energy than all of them. And it didn't help that their bodies would be struck by the Fire Spin once more.
"Now to finish it! Use Dragon Breath, Charmander!"
"Char...!" Charmander held his breath before unleashing a swirling stream of draconic energy. The remaining Dragons were subjected to another harsh attack, causing them to collapse to the ground, each of them. After that, all that was left was just smoldering smoke and the battle was finally over.
Smolder and Charmander let out a sigh, happy that this was over. They would quickly run off before more dragons could come, while the Dragons took a few minutes to recover from that encounter.
Smolder kept moving, hurrying to Opelucid City. All she had to do was trace her steps, get back to Opelucid, and hand this stone over to Drayden. So far, she was out of the clear as no other Dragons were seen. Not a single one.
Smolder flew faster than usual as she got closer to the City. They were making some good progress here. Opelucid City wasn't too far off now. That is until she saw three Dragons sitting on a bench in this park area. She recognized them immediately, being some of her friends. She would slow down, approaching them.
"You three? What are you doing here?" Smolder asked as she got their attention. "Aren't you searching for the stone?"
"No...We gave up halfway." One of them said. "We tried our best, but this is far too hard..."
"Yeah. I don't even know why we came along in the first place." A second one spoke up. "I was just coming along because Champion Iris nearby. Big mistake on my part. We're already gonna get yelled at for not coming home yesterday, so that's a bummer.
"You haven't found it yet, have you?" The third one smirked. "How's that race going?"
"Well, I actually did find it." Smolder admitted. "But sorry you three couldn't get through it all the way. But hey. Maybe you can find a different way to get taught by Drayden. I-If he has another way. I kept going because I really wanna be taught by either Iris or Drayden. Both works for me."
"Well, yeah. You're more dedicated to becoming a Dragon Trainer than most of us. Figures you'd find it, or someone else, I don't know. We're attending the Pokemon School, but we don't know what we wanna do in the future."
"Oh. Well, I'm sure you guys'll find something. Being a Dragon Trainer isn't all that great anyway. You gotta deal with all the teasing." Smolder explained. "I know what I wanna be in the future, but I'm not gonna spoil it. That'd take the fun out of guessing. But yeah, best of luck to you guys. I'm probably gonna get chewed out the moment I-"
"Charmander!" Suddenly, Charmander would yell, cutting Smolder off. He alerted her to something critical. The young dragon turned her head to see that one of her friends was creeping up on her back, trying to reach for the stone. The other Dragon gasped once she was caught, startled by being called out.
It was all a trick. A diversion to try and snatch her stone while her guard was down.
"Seriously?!" Smolder backed up, backing away from them. "You guys aren't gonna get that stone from me! Charmander!" Smolder barked, startling the other Dragons.
"Come on! Do us a solid, Smolder!" They yelled, making Smolder's frustration rise. "We just wanna take the easy route! You would've done the same thing too!"
"Yeah! That's totally up your alley, Smolder! You did something like it two years ago, actually!"
"Not this time! I'm winning fair and square! Later!" Smolder flew away, leaving the three Dragons fuming and growling. They decided to chase after her anyway. The three of them went on a chase.
The chase was quick, with Smolder's quick wits and quick flying speeds. The three Dragons couldn't keep up with her no matter how much they tried. This time, Smolder wasn't going to slow down for anyone and she certainly wasn't going to be tricked.
Opelucid City.
It wouldn't take long for her to reach Opelucid City, diving right for the place. "We're here!" Smolder smiled, arriving at her goal. She flew past the gates and raced towards the place. She was having so much fun with this, unaware of the looming presence behind her. All of the Dragons were making their way back to Opelucid City, trying to catch Smolder before it could all end.
Smolder looked behind her, seeing all the Dragons had caught up to her. Her confidence started to leave, but there was no way she was going to give up now. This was now more than ever. She couldn't hand the stone over to anyone. She was this close to Drayden's Gym, seeing the entrance right before her eyes.
All the Dragons picked up the pace as much as they could, but there was no denying that they were growing fatigued, easily beaten by the stamina that Smolder had. Some of them were even tired from battle, but seeing that smirking face of her's was enough to fuel all the dragons, making her go faster and faster. Smolder was making a break for it, knowing that this would all come to an end the moment she entered Drayden's building.
"Not like this" Smolder shouted, running on her tippy-toes as she was reaching her final boost of energy. She had enough strength to endure this. Her wings were aching as she was straining them to pick up the pace. With one final attempt, all the Dragons threw themselves forward right as Smolder reached the doors.
Smolder shrieked seeing all of them jump at her. A large shadow covered her as the doors were forced open by all of them rushing in at once. They all fell into the gym, crashing to the floor. It was a messy group of dragons that tumbled and collided, rolling to the floor in unison.
It wasn't long before all the Dragons were on the floor, unable to move. They all landed right in front of Drayden, who looked down on all of them. It was jt one big pile of dragons, with Smolder being at the bottom. But at least her upper body was visible as she looked up at Drayden, panting.
"D-Drayden..." Smolder stuttered as she pulled her bag off her, along with Charmander.
"Finally. You found the stone, correct?" Drayden asked.
Smolder would reach into her bag and pull it out, showing it to everyone present. Smolder ultimately won it all, having the other half of the stone in her hands. Drayden smiled and closed his eyes, folding his arms as he stared down at her.
"Y-Yeah...it's mine..." Smolder laughed, unable to continue since she was currently being crushed by all these dragons on top of her.
"Well done. I'm proud of you." Drayden spoke, making Smolder sigh with relief.
"Awwww!" All the Dragons groaned, having lost the race. Most of them simply rolled off, regaining the feeling in their legs.
"Gee. Talk about dedication." Iris commented. "You guys really stuck it out since yesterday. I thought it would take way longer for you to find it."
"As promised, the one who won can be personally trained under me. Smolder. Congratulations. As for the rest of you, you can always try again, the next time around." Drayden pointed out. "I'm well aware that you all battled each other and slowed each other down. Because of that, you were unable to search for it at full strength and kept holding each other back. Not to mention that you thought it'd be smarter to try and take it from Smolder and bring it to me. Believe me, I would have figured out if it was a different stone."
"Yes..." All the Dragons slumped their shoulders, and their pride was broken by Drayden's harsh words. And by Smolder's ability to obtain the stone without cheating.
"However, that doesn't change the fact that you are all dedicated to being Dragon-Type Trainers. You could have headed home when the fatigue kicked in, but you didn't. Once your pride was at stake, you didn't think twice about going home. And you've all seen how difficult it is to find the stones. I understand what you all are going through. It's not easy. Sometimes, your best is never good enough. So I'll make you all this promise." Drayden went on. "Sometime down the road, once I see your performance, your dedication, and how well you've progressed. I may choose you for my personal guidance. I will decide that sometime in the future."
"D-Does that mean...?" One Dragon stuttered.
"I haven't given up on all of you yet. You all show promise. As a bonus, I will come and visit your school from time to time and have something planned for all of you. Now then, head home. All of you." Drayden instructed.
"Yes, sir." All the Dragons would get up, and grumble. Disappointed, sure, but they were grateful that he wasn't giving up on them completely. They would get up, knowing that they were gonna be in a lot of trouble when they get back home. This involved Smolder as well. She did a great job and would have a lot to look forward to next time.
The widest smile was on her face, realizing she was now the student of both Iris and Drayden. She just knew things would be different from here on out.
"Are they all gone?" Walking in here was Spike, who had just missed it all. He was holding a bucket of popcorn along with Axew, snacking on it. "What happened?"
"It seems you have some new peers, Spike." Drayden uttered. "Or I suppose, you are now their superior."
"Really?! Im their superior?!" He exclaimed with a full mouth. Spike felt rather proud of that and very accomplished. It was all thanks to his hard work and how he's trained harder than most Dragon Trainers. That meant, behind Drayden and Iris, he was their superior. And that made him feel special.
"Iris. You won't be much of a teacher. You need to focus on the Pokemon World Championships, but I would still like for you to help them out from time to time." Drayden suggested.
"Y-Yes! I'll try!"
"And as for you, Spike, I don't expect you to be a mentor. But you could give them some guidance. I can see that they all have some promise and potential, but they're missing something strong to realize it. The Pokemon School may be able to help reveal it, but I can also trust you to do the same as well."
"Huh? R-Really, Drayden?" Spike almost dropped his popcorn. "Are you sure you want to do that, Drayden?" Spike was a little unsure, but seeing the confidence on his Master's face told him that everything would work out just fine. Drayden believed that and so he'd follow what he said.
"I have good faith in you, Spike." Drayden kneeled, facing his pupil. "Just like how I always saw the potential in you, all these Dragons have a unique fire. Like always, you continue to surprise me."
"Hehe. I know what that means. Thank you for believing in me, Drayden! I won't let you down!"
"I should believe in you. You have improved drastically. You've become such a mature dragon. I hope the same can be said for all of them." Drayden looked over in the distance, seeing all the Dragons leave. "It's for the sake of their future and ours."
Drayden believed in them all, seeing their potential. Not just because they were Dragons, but for the sake of the world too. Drayden knew all too well that the world, despite being bigger and more united, faced more dangerous forces than ever. Drayden wanted to make sure that the Dragons themselves are prepared for whatever comes next. Because deep down, he knows they can be.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 492 End.