AetherX
make plove not warble
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2010
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- #242
Chapter 56
I awkwardly adjusted my tie as I listened to Lance’s muffled voice and waited for my cue. I was backstage at the elaborate setup they had built for the ceremony in the courtyard in front of the League building at Indigo Plateau. Most of the workers milling about ignored me, but Andrew stood by my side. My assistant. I had an assistant now.
“You okay?” Andrew asked, looking up from one of those leather folder things important people carry documents around in.
“Just not used to dressing up,” I responded, looking down at my fresh new tailored suit. I’d never even had a tailored suit before. It looked good I suppose, but it just felt… wrong.
“There aren’t a lot of these formal events fortunately, but you gotta meet the dress code. Look the part, you know?”
“Dress code?” I said incredulously. “Lance is wearing a cape.”
Andrew smirked. “Do you want to wear a cape?”
“Not really.”
Andrew laughed, shrugged, and went back to his papers. I wasn’t even sure what he was doing. Scheduling stuff for me, maybe?
“It feels weird being celebrated like this without any of my Pokémon,” I said. “They deserve the honor more than I do.”
“Hard to get them to follow the dress code too,” he said dryly without even looking up.
I laughed. “I dunno, Rainer would look cute in a t-shirt I think, don’t you?”
“He’d still need pants.”
“Yeah, I’m not gonna be the enforcer on that one.”
Before he could respond, I heard Lance’s voice rise from the stage.
“…your new Champion of the Indigo League, Keith Anders!”
I adjusted my tie one last time and practically jumped up the steps onto the platform.
We’d thoroughly rehearsed that morning, so despite my nerves I walked confidently up to the podium Lance beckoned me to, and blinked in the bright afternoon sun as I proceeded to stumble through the brief speech Andrew had helped me prepare. It was a pretty cut and dry speech, and I’d memorized it thoroughly, so I barely even noticed I had started saying it. Some stuff about how proud I was to be Champion. Lots of thanking the League and my family and my Pokémon. Writing it had felt weird. Speaking it felt weird. I hadn’t become Champion for anyone but myself. It was what I had always wanted. To share that childish joy that still leaped in my heart every time I realized that I was the Champion felt like I was bragging.
I looked out at the crowd. At the outskirts of the courtyard were various reporters, trainers, citizens of the Plateau. My only request for this ceremony had been to have it at least somewhat open to the public. David had shied away from publicity and opted for a private ceremony. That sounded enticing, but I figured after Saffron… people could use an excuse to celebrate. Even if it was just for some dumb kid from Pallet Town. I’d eaten plenty of crappy Pokémon Center meals on the League’s dime over the past year, why not have them pay for everyone’s lunch this time?
In a cordoned off area in front of the stage the VIPs sat at a cluster of tables. Many were Gym Leaders from Kanto, Johto, and elsewhere. Misty winked when we made eye contact, making me stutter in the middle of a sentence. Surge was nowhere to be found. There were yet more people I didn’t recognize. And right at the front was my mother. She was wearing the nicest dress she owned, but still looked underdressed next to the champion of Sinnoh in her immaculate black gown, and Sabrina in a somewhat uncharacteristic yet striking scarlet dress, both of whom sat at her table.
Mom beamed up at me. Her smile was tight lipped and her eyes watery. I could tell she was desperately trying to keep from crying. I held her gaze for a moment too long. Here sat the woman who had continued to raise my brother and I after my dad died, uncomplaining, stepping up into every role that he had previously taken. Despite my manic ramblings as a six-year-old, she had never really understood my fascination with Pokémon battling, but she had always supported it. Always listened. Eagerly even. And a year after Dad had died, when I had resigned myself to the fact that it would probably be best to stay in Pallet and find a job, she had been the one to remind me that the deadline to apply for League sponsorship was coming up. It had never been optional to her. I was always going to set out on this journey and she was always going to be behind me, cheering me on.
I choked, unable to say the final line of my speech. It was a last banal thank you to everyone and no one.
I coughed and looked down. There were no notes on the podium. I improvised. “I’ve… Ever since my dad died… I’ve had doubts. About if I really wanted this anymore. If I really wanted to be here. It’s hard… holding on to a dream like this when you’re carrying a burden.” I looked up and scanned the crowd again. Their faces were quiet. Pensive. My scars twinged. “I know we’ve all had a rough couple weeks. I’m sure some of you carry these kinds of burdens too… I’ve learned something on my journey here. Going through something like we have makes every day hard, even the good ones. But I’ve also learned we need to appreciate what we have while we still have it. We should find reasons to celebrate. Seek out joy… even if it won’t come to us naturally.”
I met eyes with my mother. “Maybe the struggles don’t end here. But I am glad I made it. I’m glad I never gave up.” I looked back down, trying to hold in my tears. “Thank you.”
The crowd erupted into applause. I forced a smile and waved at no one in particular for a moment before the character I was pretending to be finally broke. I stole off the to the side of the stage, jumped off, and headed for my mom. We embraced, holding each other for far too long. She cried into my chest. I held her close, not letting anyone see. She tried to say something a few times but never quite got a word out before breaking into sobs. I just replied with. “I know… I know…”
By the time we had pulled apart, most of the rest of the party had turned to food and libations, but a short line had formed in front of me. At the head of it was Sabrina. Mom stroked my arm and squeezed my hand.
“I suppose I should let you get go,” she said, returning to the table. I couldn’t choke out a response.
Sabrina strode up to me and extended a hand. “None of my students have ascended to as high of a position. I admit I had my doubts when you first approached me, but ever since the Rockets were turned from Saffron—”
I couldn’t help myself. I hugged her. Maybe it was out of thankfulness for the things she had taught me, without which I would never be here. Maybe it was just to hide my own tears of joy. She didn’t seem to know how to respond. Eventually she just patted me on the back.
“Thank you,” I whispered to her as I pulled away.
Her face was unflinching, unresponsive. “It was my pleasure.” She bowed, then turned to speak to my Mom, who she approached with a reverence I had never seen her give to anyone else.
Cynthia, the aging Champion of Sinnoh was next. Then Brock, the first gym leader I had ever beaten. Then dozens of other people.
A live jazz band played a variety of songs in the background. Some covers of pieces I recognized, and one particular folk tune I had specifically requested since the lyrics mentioned Pallet Town in particular. I shook hands. I hugged. I laughed. I tried not to cry. I was the Champion.
*****
The last few hundred yards of the mountain trail were nothing but stone and gravel, well above the tree line, but I stubbornly kept my eyes on the ground to avoid spoiling the view for myself until I was at the very top. Flareth and Tesla traipsed along behind me, glad to get out. I had passed Psyke ten to twenty minutes prior, meditating along the side of the trail when we were still in the trees. He had likely teleported to the summit by now. Zyanya was flying above, while both Rainer and Gideon were still resting in their Poké Balls. It was three days since our last battle, and the first chance for me to have any time to myself. The two of them were still tired. I was surprised Zyanya was so ready to go, but I guess she was just glad to fly.
David had mentioned this trail to me. Said it took you from the shores of the lake all the way to the peak of one of the highest mountains in the area. It had not been an easy hike. Lots of elevation in a relatively short distance, but…
I staggered the last few gravelly steps to the summit and moved to sit on a nearby boulder, finally turning to admire the view. It was worth it. Far below the late afternoon sun blazed a yellow-white line across the lake, digging into my retinas. I raised a hand to block it and looked at the Champion’s Complex, a glittering crystal set against the rocky mountainside of the valley. My new home. This whole place was supposed to be my new home.
Psyke was sitting on another boulder nearby, eyes closed. Flareth curled up in front of me, opting for a view of me rather than the valley. Tesla bobbed nearby. I plucked Gideon and Rainer’s Poké Balls from my belt and dropped them in front of me. Gideon looked at me, then out at the valley below us, and crouched, tracing lines in the gravel with his blades. Rainer sidled up close to the rock where I sat and curled into a ball, laying down for a nap. He’d fought hard. I didn’t mind him taking a rest. He deserved it. Hell, if they hadn’t made me go to that ceremony, I probably would have slept for the past three days as well. Tesla continued to float around the summit, occasionally inspecting random rocks with an eye that could probably see things I could never imagine.
We sat like that for hours. The boulder was surprisingly comfortable. I watched the reflection of the sun stretch across the lake as it fell lower in the sky. I watched the clouds slowly coast by, silently envying the unhurried deliberateness with which they moved. I watched the pale green trees that speckled the opposite mountainside tremble in the breeze. Larix lyallii David had called them. I couldn’t remember the common name. Apparently they were a pine tree that turned yellow and lost their needles in the autumn. I watched Zyanya circle again and again until she finally decided to join us upon the summit. Just me and my Pokémon. Having walked all day. Just like we had almost every day this past year. I missed Tim and Criss, but my Pokémon made up for it in quiet companionship.
Eventually the sun set to a point where I decided it was time to go.
“Come on guys,” I said to my Pokémon, all now lazing around the mountaintop, “time to head back.”
They all groaned and rolled over. “Alright, alright.” I creakily stood up and began to return them to their Poké Balls. Rainer, my starter, my finisher. Tesla, my stoic protector. Psyke, insight personified. Flareth, ever present and ever loyal. Gideon, a fish out of water only recently learning to swim. And finally…
Zyanya perked up when I picked her Safari Ball from my belt.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Not ready to head back yet? The sun’s gonna set by the time I get to the lake. You can fly if you want, I guess.”
Zyanya looked at me and let out a low, steady hum. She bowed over low, presenting her back to me. My heart stopped.
“You want me to…?”
She looked at me, her big brown eyes full of emotion.
“I…” Not counting the Charizard that had carried me from the Plateau to Lake S’uylu, I hadn’t ridden a Pokémon since…
Zyanya hummed louder, her voice striking a chord both literally and figuratively.
I approached her and laid a hand on her neck. Her scales felt cold from the cool mountain wind, but I could also feel the warmth of her body beneath them. She pulled her legs underneath her and stretched her wings, ready to fly.
I hesitated for a second. “I…” I stuttered again. Zyanya just spread her wings wider in response. I could see them catching the wind on the mountain top, but refusing to let it carry her off the ground.
“Ok.” I said it to myself as much as her. Slowly and carefully, I straddled her and settled down, embracing her long neck.
Immediately, the wind caught her wings and carried her upward. She slowly lifted off the mountaintop. My stomach swooped and I gripped her neck tighter. It felt odd. It wasn’t quite like the comfortable seating in a saddle like the Charizard, nor was it the soft cushion of Baron’s feathers. I had to grip Zyanya with my arms and my knees in order to feel solid, but it was still surprisingly stable. Zyanya lifted off and dived downward, completely ignoring the trail I had used to climb to the summit, instead swinging straight down across the jagged granite of the mountainside. A brief second later she pulled sharply upwards, her wings catching the wind and inflating like a balloon. My stomach swooped again. A brilliant, wonderful feeling that I hadn’t realized how much I had missed.
There was an updraft off the lake. Or the mountain. I couldn’t tell, but Zyanya could. It carried us higher and higher. Eventually we were gliding just below the clouds. I craned my neck to look upwards and saw fluffy white cotton interspersed with clear blue. We were well above the other mountains.
All sorts of emotions swelled within me. “I’d like… to see the ocean again. Home.”
Zyanya hummed and swerved left, carrying us towards the Indigo Plateau. Maybe towards Pallet. We soared, Zyanya’s wings barely flapping, across the Alizarin Mountains. I briefly saw the Indigo Plateau pass by to my right, but I wasn’t looking at it.
As soon as it was visible over the mountains, I stared out across the ocean, my head resting somewhat uncomfortably on the scales of Zyanya’s neck. The deep blue and gray, with a sky of lighter blue and white and swelling orange. It was exactly what I remembered from when I was a kid watching the sunset while walking on the beach with my Dad. I’d always thought the sky was the color of a Dragonite’s scales. But I could see now it wasn’t. My Dragonite was just a little more yellow.
My Dragonite. I tried to hold in the tears as I clutched Zyanya.
Here I was, barely holding on to a dragon hundreds of feet above the ground. I was the Champion. I was the Champion. It didn’t feel real. I was excited, but this was something I had dreamed of for so long that it felt like it could only possibly exist in dreams. It was surreal.
Zyanya stretched her wings and coasted on the wind. Viridian Forest flew by rapidly below us. The beginning of my journey. And it hadn’t been a pleasant one. We dipped lower, tracing Route 1 along the various streams leading from the forest to the ocean. Far, far below I could see the muddy road that I had trudged along when I’d left my home a year ago, followed by Baron in the sky and Rainer in the water next to me. Faintly, I could see a dot of color on the path. Without even trying, Zyanya and I slipped into a psychic connection. My head throbbed ever so slightly, a reminder of my bout against Agatha. We dipped lower, Zyanya catching on to my curiosity.
Eventually I could make it out. Someone was riding their bike along Route 1. Fast. Probably trying to get to Viridian City before the sun dipped below the horizon. Another dot zipped along behind them. A Pidgey, or Pidgeotto maybe, followed the bike rider. I took one last erstwhile glance at the ocean and we looped around to follow the rider so far below us. I watched the two of them slice across the countryside, human and Pokémon together. Zyanya was fast though, and we had the advantage of altitude. We quickly outpaced them and looped around for another look. We were even lower now and I could see the glint off their bike helmet.
The bicyclist suddenly slowed to a stop, and the blurry dot of a bird behind them caught up. We dipped a bit lower. They were pointing up at us.
I imagined for a moment that I was that trainer far below. Recently set out on my journey and recently accompanied by my new avian friend. The two of us would fight many battles together, overcome many obstacles, and grow to be so much more than we had ever imagined. But we didn’t know it yet. For now we were just looking in wonder at the sight far above us. A Dragonite. A rare sight drifting this far from the mountains. Its yellow scales glinting bright gold in the setting sun. An omen of hope, blessing the travels of a trainer that was as of yet unremarkable. Inspiring courage, ambition, passion, teamwork, a spirit of adventure.
Zyanya caught an updraft that carried us upwards into the uncomfortable moisture of the clouds where the air was thinner, but the sky was clear, purple and blue. We were headed back to the lake. Back to the place, the position that I had earned. Despite how surreal it felt, it was like it couldn’t be any other way. There was no other future that I could see myself in besides this, here, now. Flying high above Kanto. The Champion of the Indigo League. I could feel Zyanya’s agreement. Where else could we have ever been? I leaned low over her neck and closed my eyes, suddenly closer to her than ever before. I couldn’t forget that trainer below us, looking up in wonder. Maybe they had always wanted a Dragonite too. Maybe they wanted to be the best, to be the champion.
I whispered into the wind. “It’s always been our dream.”
I awkwardly adjusted my tie as I listened to Lance’s muffled voice and waited for my cue. I was backstage at the elaborate setup they had built for the ceremony in the courtyard in front of the League building at Indigo Plateau. Most of the workers milling about ignored me, but Andrew stood by my side. My assistant. I had an assistant now.
“You okay?” Andrew asked, looking up from one of those leather folder things important people carry documents around in.
“Just not used to dressing up,” I responded, looking down at my fresh new tailored suit. I’d never even had a tailored suit before. It looked good I suppose, but it just felt… wrong.
“There aren’t a lot of these formal events fortunately, but you gotta meet the dress code. Look the part, you know?”
“Dress code?” I said incredulously. “Lance is wearing a cape.”
Andrew smirked. “Do you want to wear a cape?”
“Not really.”
Andrew laughed, shrugged, and went back to his papers. I wasn’t even sure what he was doing. Scheduling stuff for me, maybe?
“It feels weird being celebrated like this without any of my Pokémon,” I said. “They deserve the honor more than I do.”
“Hard to get them to follow the dress code too,” he said dryly without even looking up.
I laughed. “I dunno, Rainer would look cute in a t-shirt I think, don’t you?”
“He’d still need pants.”
“Yeah, I’m not gonna be the enforcer on that one.”
Before he could respond, I heard Lance’s voice rise from the stage.
“…your new Champion of the Indigo League, Keith Anders!”
I adjusted my tie one last time and practically jumped up the steps onto the platform.
We’d thoroughly rehearsed that morning, so despite my nerves I walked confidently up to the podium Lance beckoned me to, and blinked in the bright afternoon sun as I proceeded to stumble through the brief speech Andrew had helped me prepare. It was a pretty cut and dry speech, and I’d memorized it thoroughly, so I barely even noticed I had started saying it. Some stuff about how proud I was to be Champion. Lots of thanking the League and my family and my Pokémon. Writing it had felt weird. Speaking it felt weird. I hadn’t become Champion for anyone but myself. It was what I had always wanted. To share that childish joy that still leaped in my heart every time I realized that I was the Champion felt like I was bragging.
I looked out at the crowd. At the outskirts of the courtyard were various reporters, trainers, citizens of the Plateau. My only request for this ceremony had been to have it at least somewhat open to the public. David had shied away from publicity and opted for a private ceremony. That sounded enticing, but I figured after Saffron… people could use an excuse to celebrate. Even if it was just for some dumb kid from Pallet Town. I’d eaten plenty of crappy Pokémon Center meals on the League’s dime over the past year, why not have them pay for everyone’s lunch this time?
In a cordoned off area in front of the stage the VIPs sat at a cluster of tables. Many were Gym Leaders from Kanto, Johto, and elsewhere. Misty winked when we made eye contact, making me stutter in the middle of a sentence. Surge was nowhere to be found. There were yet more people I didn’t recognize. And right at the front was my mother. She was wearing the nicest dress she owned, but still looked underdressed next to the champion of Sinnoh in her immaculate black gown, and Sabrina in a somewhat uncharacteristic yet striking scarlet dress, both of whom sat at her table.
Mom beamed up at me. Her smile was tight lipped and her eyes watery. I could tell she was desperately trying to keep from crying. I held her gaze for a moment too long. Here sat the woman who had continued to raise my brother and I after my dad died, uncomplaining, stepping up into every role that he had previously taken. Despite my manic ramblings as a six-year-old, she had never really understood my fascination with Pokémon battling, but she had always supported it. Always listened. Eagerly even. And a year after Dad had died, when I had resigned myself to the fact that it would probably be best to stay in Pallet and find a job, she had been the one to remind me that the deadline to apply for League sponsorship was coming up. It had never been optional to her. I was always going to set out on this journey and she was always going to be behind me, cheering me on.
I choked, unable to say the final line of my speech. It was a last banal thank you to everyone and no one.
I coughed and looked down. There were no notes on the podium. I improvised. “I’ve… Ever since my dad died… I’ve had doubts. About if I really wanted this anymore. If I really wanted to be here. It’s hard… holding on to a dream like this when you’re carrying a burden.” I looked up and scanned the crowd again. Their faces were quiet. Pensive. My scars twinged. “I know we’ve all had a rough couple weeks. I’m sure some of you carry these kinds of burdens too… I’ve learned something on my journey here. Going through something like we have makes every day hard, even the good ones. But I’ve also learned we need to appreciate what we have while we still have it. We should find reasons to celebrate. Seek out joy… even if it won’t come to us naturally.”
I met eyes with my mother. “Maybe the struggles don’t end here. But I am glad I made it. I’m glad I never gave up.” I looked back down, trying to hold in my tears. “Thank you.”
The crowd erupted into applause. I forced a smile and waved at no one in particular for a moment before the character I was pretending to be finally broke. I stole off the to the side of the stage, jumped off, and headed for my mom. We embraced, holding each other for far too long. She cried into my chest. I held her close, not letting anyone see. She tried to say something a few times but never quite got a word out before breaking into sobs. I just replied with. “I know… I know…”
By the time we had pulled apart, most of the rest of the party had turned to food and libations, but a short line had formed in front of me. At the head of it was Sabrina. Mom stroked my arm and squeezed my hand.
“I suppose I should let you get go,” she said, returning to the table. I couldn’t choke out a response.
Sabrina strode up to me and extended a hand. “None of my students have ascended to as high of a position. I admit I had my doubts when you first approached me, but ever since the Rockets were turned from Saffron—”
I couldn’t help myself. I hugged her. Maybe it was out of thankfulness for the things she had taught me, without which I would never be here. Maybe it was just to hide my own tears of joy. She didn’t seem to know how to respond. Eventually she just patted me on the back.
“Thank you,” I whispered to her as I pulled away.
Her face was unflinching, unresponsive. “It was my pleasure.” She bowed, then turned to speak to my Mom, who she approached with a reverence I had never seen her give to anyone else.
Cynthia, the aging Champion of Sinnoh was next. Then Brock, the first gym leader I had ever beaten. Then dozens of other people.
A live jazz band played a variety of songs in the background. Some covers of pieces I recognized, and one particular folk tune I had specifically requested since the lyrics mentioned Pallet Town in particular. I shook hands. I hugged. I laughed. I tried not to cry. I was the Champion.
*****
The last few hundred yards of the mountain trail were nothing but stone and gravel, well above the tree line, but I stubbornly kept my eyes on the ground to avoid spoiling the view for myself until I was at the very top. Flareth and Tesla traipsed along behind me, glad to get out. I had passed Psyke ten to twenty minutes prior, meditating along the side of the trail when we were still in the trees. He had likely teleported to the summit by now. Zyanya was flying above, while both Rainer and Gideon were still resting in their Poké Balls. It was three days since our last battle, and the first chance for me to have any time to myself. The two of them were still tired. I was surprised Zyanya was so ready to go, but I guess she was just glad to fly.
David had mentioned this trail to me. Said it took you from the shores of the lake all the way to the peak of one of the highest mountains in the area. It had not been an easy hike. Lots of elevation in a relatively short distance, but…
I staggered the last few gravelly steps to the summit and moved to sit on a nearby boulder, finally turning to admire the view. It was worth it. Far below the late afternoon sun blazed a yellow-white line across the lake, digging into my retinas. I raised a hand to block it and looked at the Champion’s Complex, a glittering crystal set against the rocky mountainside of the valley. My new home. This whole place was supposed to be my new home.
Psyke was sitting on another boulder nearby, eyes closed. Flareth curled up in front of me, opting for a view of me rather than the valley. Tesla bobbed nearby. I plucked Gideon and Rainer’s Poké Balls from my belt and dropped them in front of me. Gideon looked at me, then out at the valley below us, and crouched, tracing lines in the gravel with his blades. Rainer sidled up close to the rock where I sat and curled into a ball, laying down for a nap. He’d fought hard. I didn’t mind him taking a rest. He deserved it. Hell, if they hadn’t made me go to that ceremony, I probably would have slept for the past three days as well. Tesla continued to float around the summit, occasionally inspecting random rocks with an eye that could probably see things I could never imagine.
We sat like that for hours. The boulder was surprisingly comfortable. I watched the reflection of the sun stretch across the lake as it fell lower in the sky. I watched the clouds slowly coast by, silently envying the unhurried deliberateness with which they moved. I watched the pale green trees that speckled the opposite mountainside tremble in the breeze. Larix lyallii David had called them. I couldn’t remember the common name. Apparently they were a pine tree that turned yellow and lost their needles in the autumn. I watched Zyanya circle again and again until she finally decided to join us upon the summit. Just me and my Pokémon. Having walked all day. Just like we had almost every day this past year. I missed Tim and Criss, but my Pokémon made up for it in quiet companionship.
Eventually the sun set to a point where I decided it was time to go.
“Come on guys,” I said to my Pokémon, all now lazing around the mountaintop, “time to head back.”
They all groaned and rolled over. “Alright, alright.” I creakily stood up and began to return them to their Poké Balls. Rainer, my starter, my finisher. Tesla, my stoic protector. Psyke, insight personified. Flareth, ever present and ever loyal. Gideon, a fish out of water only recently learning to swim. And finally…
Zyanya perked up when I picked her Safari Ball from my belt.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Not ready to head back yet? The sun’s gonna set by the time I get to the lake. You can fly if you want, I guess.”
Zyanya looked at me and let out a low, steady hum. She bowed over low, presenting her back to me. My heart stopped.
“You want me to…?”
She looked at me, her big brown eyes full of emotion.
“I…” Not counting the Charizard that had carried me from the Plateau to Lake S’uylu, I hadn’t ridden a Pokémon since…
Zyanya hummed louder, her voice striking a chord both literally and figuratively.
I approached her and laid a hand on her neck. Her scales felt cold from the cool mountain wind, but I could also feel the warmth of her body beneath them. She pulled her legs underneath her and stretched her wings, ready to fly.
I hesitated for a second. “I…” I stuttered again. Zyanya just spread her wings wider in response. I could see them catching the wind on the mountain top, but refusing to let it carry her off the ground.
“Ok.” I said it to myself as much as her. Slowly and carefully, I straddled her and settled down, embracing her long neck.
Immediately, the wind caught her wings and carried her upward. She slowly lifted off the mountaintop. My stomach swooped and I gripped her neck tighter. It felt odd. It wasn’t quite like the comfortable seating in a saddle like the Charizard, nor was it the soft cushion of Baron’s feathers. I had to grip Zyanya with my arms and my knees in order to feel solid, but it was still surprisingly stable. Zyanya lifted off and dived downward, completely ignoring the trail I had used to climb to the summit, instead swinging straight down across the jagged granite of the mountainside. A brief second later she pulled sharply upwards, her wings catching the wind and inflating like a balloon. My stomach swooped again. A brilliant, wonderful feeling that I hadn’t realized how much I had missed.
There was an updraft off the lake. Or the mountain. I couldn’t tell, but Zyanya could. It carried us higher and higher. Eventually we were gliding just below the clouds. I craned my neck to look upwards and saw fluffy white cotton interspersed with clear blue. We were well above the other mountains.
All sorts of emotions swelled within me. “I’d like… to see the ocean again. Home.”
Zyanya hummed and swerved left, carrying us towards the Indigo Plateau. Maybe towards Pallet. We soared, Zyanya’s wings barely flapping, across the Alizarin Mountains. I briefly saw the Indigo Plateau pass by to my right, but I wasn’t looking at it.
As soon as it was visible over the mountains, I stared out across the ocean, my head resting somewhat uncomfortably on the scales of Zyanya’s neck. The deep blue and gray, with a sky of lighter blue and white and swelling orange. It was exactly what I remembered from when I was a kid watching the sunset while walking on the beach with my Dad. I’d always thought the sky was the color of a Dragonite’s scales. But I could see now it wasn’t. My Dragonite was just a little more yellow.
My Dragonite. I tried to hold in the tears as I clutched Zyanya.
Here I was, barely holding on to a dragon hundreds of feet above the ground. I was the Champion. I was the Champion. It didn’t feel real. I was excited, but this was something I had dreamed of for so long that it felt like it could only possibly exist in dreams. It was surreal.
Zyanya stretched her wings and coasted on the wind. Viridian Forest flew by rapidly below us. The beginning of my journey. And it hadn’t been a pleasant one. We dipped lower, tracing Route 1 along the various streams leading from the forest to the ocean. Far, far below I could see the muddy road that I had trudged along when I’d left my home a year ago, followed by Baron in the sky and Rainer in the water next to me. Faintly, I could see a dot of color on the path. Without even trying, Zyanya and I slipped into a psychic connection. My head throbbed ever so slightly, a reminder of my bout against Agatha. We dipped lower, Zyanya catching on to my curiosity.
Eventually I could make it out. Someone was riding their bike along Route 1. Fast. Probably trying to get to Viridian City before the sun dipped below the horizon. Another dot zipped along behind them. A Pidgey, or Pidgeotto maybe, followed the bike rider. I took one last erstwhile glance at the ocean and we looped around to follow the rider so far below us. I watched the two of them slice across the countryside, human and Pokémon together. Zyanya was fast though, and we had the advantage of altitude. We quickly outpaced them and looped around for another look. We were even lower now and I could see the glint off their bike helmet.
The bicyclist suddenly slowed to a stop, and the blurry dot of a bird behind them caught up. We dipped a bit lower. They were pointing up at us.
I imagined for a moment that I was that trainer far below. Recently set out on my journey and recently accompanied by my new avian friend. The two of us would fight many battles together, overcome many obstacles, and grow to be so much more than we had ever imagined. But we didn’t know it yet. For now we were just looking in wonder at the sight far above us. A Dragonite. A rare sight drifting this far from the mountains. Its yellow scales glinting bright gold in the setting sun. An omen of hope, blessing the travels of a trainer that was as of yet unremarkable. Inspiring courage, ambition, passion, teamwork, a spirit of adventure.
Zyanya caught an updraft that carried us upwards into the uncomfortable moisture of the clouds where the air was thinner, but the sky was clear, purple and blue. We were headed back to the lake. Back to the place, the position that I had earned. Despite how surreal it felt, it was like it couldn’t be any other way. There was no other future that I could see myself in besides this, here, now. Flying high above Kanto. The Champion of the Indigo League. I could feel Zyanya’s agreement. Where else could we have ever been? I leaned low over her neck and closed my eyes, suddenly closer to her than ever before. I couldn’t forget that trainer below us, looking up in wonder. Maybe they had always wanted a Dragonite too. Maybe they wanted to be the best, to be the champion.
I whispered into the wind. “It’s always been our dream.”
~fin
