Ah! Finally caught a plotbunny! Started 6/14/04
Title: Dragon’s child
Disclaimer: No, I don’t own pokemon. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This is non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfic written by me and it’s mine! All mine!
Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks
*This fic is dedicated to Ranma and KiAnson*
Chapter 1
He was five when he got his first pokemon.
“It’s so cute.” Lance said, hugging the baby Dratini to his chest.
“Isn’t it?” His grandfather asked. “Claire, here’s yours.”
His four-year-old cousin smiled and took the Horsea. “Kawaii! Chibi!”
They were members of Blackthorn’s dragon-user clan. Lance’s father had vanished right after knocking up his mother, while Claire’s had died as well, taking a blow from a Nidoking meant for his Kingdra, so the two lived together with their old grandfather.
He was the Elder of the clan, but unfortunately was getting advanced in his years and mostly left the children to their own devices. That wasn’t always a _good_ thing though, as he quickly found them training their dragons against the high-level rock types outside.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s fine, we’re just making our pokemon stronger.” Lance said, as Dratini spat out a Dragon Rage attack, knocking out the already-weakened Graveler.
Claire nodded as Horsea used Water Gun to drive a few unwary Geodudes away. “Right.”
“You’ll get hurt!”
“It’s fine, aniki will just heal our pokemon if they get hurt.” Claire said. As if in response, Lance placed his hands over Dratini’s body and all traces of a recent battle vanished.
Nothing, not even scars were left.
“See?”
The Elder crossed himself. * It cannot be… how would he have the Viridian power? It isn’t genetic… but no, he was not born here, his mother brought him when he was barely two months old… so it is possible he was granted the power of the forest, but… *
To tell the truth, he was scared. The clan had been around for five or six generations, but never before had been born a trainer with this kind of power. Still, Lance was not born in Blackthorn unlike all of the other children, so perhaps that was the variance…
But still…
“You kids must be careful!”
Claire looked insulted, while Lance just shrugged. “All right, grandfather. We’ll be careful. After all, we stayed away from the Skarmory nests.”
“And the Beedrill hive…”
“And the swamp…”
“And the ice cave…”
“And the whirlpools…”
“Enough!” The Elder said. “Fine. But do not come home crying to me if you are injured.” What precocious, and annoying children…
He didn’t like kids.
Why had both his daughters gotten themselves and their mates bumped off? It wasn’t fair… he was too old for this.
The next time something of interest, at least to him happened was when he saw them battling a wandering trainer who wanted the Rising Badge. They were seven.
Now the Elder held the badges himself, but since no one had come in a long time, he was shocked.
“Lance! Claire! What are you doing?”
“But we’re winning.” Claire said petulantly. “Seadra just defeated his Butterfree and Beedrill and aniki’s Dragonair already beat his Graveler and his Electabuzz.”
“What?!” The Elder’s face was as pale as his hair. “Impossible! You’re still children! How-.”
Lance smirked. “What? Hakuryuu, Hyper Beam!”
“… And now there goes his Quilava.” Claire said conversationally.
“Kuso!” Graham cursed. “You kids really are good!”
“Of course, we wouldn’t dishonor our clan.” Lance said with a wicked grin. “Would we, Elder?”
The poor elder was sweating even underneath his layers of ceremonial dragon armor. Why? What was happening?
Why was everything turning out wrong?
His heir had been chosen as their cousin, Marie, fourteen years old with a Gyarados and a Kingdra, but…
Did his grandchildren actually have potential?
He watched as Dragonair flew back to Lance.
“Come on, Hakuryuu.” Lance said, smiling. “We still have to go out and find the Ptera we saw.”
Dragonair keened happily as Lance climbed on. “Claire, want to come?”
“No, I’m going shell-gathering with Seadra.”
“All right, I’ll see you later!” He cried as he flew off.
“Did he say?”
“An Aerodactyl.” Claire translated, for the Elder’s benefit. Inwardly, the Elder was beginning to feel… fear?
He shouldn’t, talent within the clan was very good. However…
Lance was still a child! This was just not normal. The children’s partners should not evolve until they were at least eleven, and yet these two…
It did not bode well.
And if Lance ever found out about the Ceremonial Dragon’s Battle, then he might replace Marie as leader!
Horrors.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like his grandchild, he now realized. It was because Lance would not placidly follow his orders like Marie would.
Thus, he would have no pawn to control.
He was getting on in years, and he did not want tradition to change.
What to do?
Murder… heavens no, that would not work. But perhaps Lance was such a careless brat that he wouldn’t have to worry.
Still… there was a little niggling feeling of fear.
Hakuryuu… and now Ptera…
There were four keys to unlock the true power, that hadn’t been touched since the Founder died.
If he knew two of them, would he find the others?
He had to tell Marie the keys. Screw the code. She had to get the power before Lance did…
Because what he hadn’t told his grandson…
Lance’s father… was not only the Viridian City gym leader.
He also wasn’t ‘dead’, as such.
End Chapter
^-^
I always wanted to do a ‘Giovanni as Lance’s father’ deal just for fun!
Completed 6/20/04
I hope this is correct Japanese…
Hakuryuu – Dragonair
Kairyuu – Dragonite
Miniryuu – Dratini
Ptera – Aerodactyl