Leaf

  —

  As I watched Midir blast off back to Pallet Town, far faster now that he didn't have any riders, I found myself growing almost worried. Clan Blackthorn was weird. Not that I'd seen much yet, but the way those people had rushed outside to… show respect? It had felt… gross, kind of? They better not expect me to do that… especially to Lance!

  Lance shoved Clair away from Alex with a bit of force, but judging from the amused looks? That was just normal between them…

  "Come on, you four. I promised you some tea on the way here…" Tea, yeah, but more than tea, I wanted answers!

  I mean, I wasn't stupid! The PokeNet might debate its existence, but that had been Moltres! There was no other reason for that heat, or that faint sense of dread… It would also explain why Lance and Erin had been so quiet the rest of the way here…

  Clair crossed her arms and snorted at Lance's words.

  "Oh, and have you asked the cooks for some tea, or did you just assume? You know Mr. Pierre will stab you again." Excuse me, stab?

  Lance just laughed, though, and grinned back at us as we neared the huge front doors. I mean, Leto could walk through those doors easily! They were some sort of polished wood, but a wood so dark it seemed almost black, set into the creamy marble walls. It was the nicest house I had ever seen, even nicer than those rich people's mansion in Celadon, but this wasn't a single family's home, this was a Clan's home, and that clan had many families. The Blackthorn Clan's symbol, a set of stylized fangs set in front of two open wings, was everywhere, usually built into the building itself, but there were many smaller crests. They were all the same base, that of the main Clan Blackthorn, but each was slightly different. Claws underneath one set of fangs, double wings, I even saw one that was grinding down a boulder in its maw…

  "Clair exaggerates, he didn't stab me." Good, that sounded kind of worryi- "Well, I guess he kind of did…" Huh? Lance was frowning, now.

  "I may have, ah, demanded some tea late one night as he was getting off… In my defense, it had been a long day, I didn't notice that he was leaving, and I was tired… It was just a meat thermometer, it didn't even leave a scar." Wait, so he did stab you?! Well, old Lance, yeah, I could easily see that… Still!

  "Either way, no, I have not asked, but I will… In fact…" Lance covered his eyes, pushed open a smaller door set into one of the huge ones before us, and pointed inside.

  "I would guarantee that there's at least two people standing there ready to serve. One maid, one butler, and probably a tray with hot, damp towels." I peered around him, and he was right!

  The entrance hall inside was stupendous! I mean, I assume that's what it was called? It was four stories tall, probably everything but the attic, fancy double stairs looping upstairs, large landings at each floor, almost like links in a chain. The interior walls appeared to be the same dark wood as the doors intermixed with a deep brown wood, but the floor! It was marble, too, but dark, dark marble, almost black, with golden flecks shot through the entire thing.

  I managed to pull my eyes from the stupidly expensive, modern-looking interior and followed Lance inside, my eyes finally coming back to rest on the first things I had noticed, because Lance had been correct.

  I had gotten pretty used to having a personal maid, honestly. Grace was a friend, was family, but try to stop her from serving someone! I wouldn't, she could be scary! Still, while it had taken some time, I had finally gotten used to having someone there to serve me, to having a maid, but Grace was a Pokemon before she was a maid.

  The maid and butler standing there were not Pokemon. They wore some pretty standard uniforms, as far as I understood them. Black and white suits and dresses, including one of those frilly headband things for the maid, and Lance had been very accurate, because both held trays with steaming hand towels on them. I assumed there was a machine around here, probably hidden in one of the many fancy looking cabinets lining the walls…

  The butler stepped in front of Lance and bowed sharply at the waist. When he straightened, his head was still bowed, and his next words, while clear, were almost… hesitant…

  "Welcome home, Master Lance. Did you require anything of this humble servant?" I felt my skin crawl at the servility, and the downcast eyes, but only for a moment. Lance's face was growing red, and the butler's lips were twitching…

  The maid stepped forward next, smoothly transferring the tray of towels to one hand as she gave a curtsy. She looked to be about nineteen, maybe a year older than the butler.

  "Yes, Master Lance, we wouldn't want to trouble you, we know just how busy you are, how important your time is…" Her face was a placid mask, as though she was patiently, attentively waiting to serve, and her smile was perfectly professional.

  The way her eyes practically sparkled, though?

  Lance groaned and waved his hand at the two of them before they finally broke and grinned at him. We all grabbed some towels, as well. Midir wasn't exactly dirty, but there was certainly some grime after flying that far… the warmth was very welcome, though. I wasn't cold, or most of me wasn't, but my hands were!

  "Some of this years 'servants', David and Maria. Two of our younger Clan members, very good Dragon Tamers, and brats. Helpful brats, though. Could you bring us some tea to the Dragon's Foot? Maybe some snacks if there's any fresh?" The amusement faded from both of their faces almost instantly and they bowed and curtsied again before striding off. Lance turned back to us with a wry smile.

  "No, we don't require that, they just enjoy poking at me. Let's get to a room so we can have a little chat…" We followed him to the left, towards one of the many fancy looking doorways, when I finally spoke up.

  "Dragon's Foot?" Lance snorted a little.

  "It's just a name for the room. If you look at a blueprint of the mansion, you can kind of draw out a Dragonite, minus the tail, so the name caught on instead of saying 'Go to the left reception room' each time. Yes, it's dumb, but you'd be surprised at how often something dumb and temporary never gets replaced simply because it does the job." It was dumb, but at least he was aware… What about the other 'foot'?

  The room I walked into was… cozy. It wasn't huge, a little smaller than our living room back in Pallet Town. An empty fireplace, a nice window with a view of the mountains, two couches with a low table in front of them, some bookshelves, and a few scattered chairs made this room's purpose clear. This room was for talking, and not much else…

  We had barely sat down when David and Maria pushed the door open and swept inside with two steaming pots and a tray of cookies. Lance frowned at them, though.

  "Did you two sprint to the kitchens or something?" They just smiled and backed out of the room, closing the door behind them with a harsh click in the suddenly-quiet room.

  Clair's face, which had been happy and amused a moment before, fell into a harsh frown.

  "So, why did I get a fire-watch alert earlier?" Her eyes flickered to us, but that ship had sailed, Clair…

  Lance groaned as he poured himself a cup of tea, the rest of us following suit.

  "We, ah, had a bit of an encounter on the way here…" He trailed off as he brought the cup to his lips, and Clair frowned even harder for a moment before sighing.

  "I assume they know, then?" Lance shook his head, putting his cup back down before dropping his face into his hands.

  "No, but they aren't stupid. This is the debrief, if you'd like to take it? I'm kind of… exhausted." He really did look like it, too. I knew they didn't fight, considering they were alive and unburnt, but whatever happened had drained both him and Erin. They weren't falling asleep on their feet or anything, but it seemed like any chance they got they were… sluggish. Exhausted to their core.

  Clair never stopped frowning, but after a long few moments she shrugged.

  "Sure, not that it's a hard debrief. All four of you, listen closely to me." She met each of our eyes briefly before continuing. Erin was a little dismissive of her, as was Alex, but Nova looked more than slightly alert. Yeah, this was technically 'classified', but not really…

  "I don't know the story yet, but that was Moltres. Yes, it is real, and it is very territorial, but generally harmless if you don't intrude. The fact that Moltres is real, and nests in the Silver Range, is classified. Of course, you can probably find rumors of this information on the PokeNet easily enough, but deliberately sharing this information now that you know is a crime. Depending on your age, it can even include jail time. We do not need some idiot trying to steal a Moltres feather or Egg or something and setting it off. You are to tell nobody about your encounter in any way, have I made myself clear?" We all nodded at her, but I was kind of amused, and Erin was having to fight a grin.

  I assumed Clair was 'safe', so she might get 'brought in' on the whole… situation soon, especially considering who she was and would be in the future, but that wasn't right here and now. Right now it was amusing to hear that from someone who meant it, but she was really only talking to Nova, even if Clair didn't know that…

  Lance groaned and straightened.

  "Wow, what a great debrief, Clair, I'm so glad I asked you to do it. Now, in addition to that, I said you were owed an explanation, and you'll get one…" He sighed again before I saw his gaze flicker to Erin briefly.

  "That disturbance, that heat? That was Moltres, and it was… intrigued by something. Leto was probably at least somewhat interesting to it? So Erin and I led it away, then met back up with everyone at Midway." Okay, he was lying, it was so obvious. Judging from their faces, everyone else knew it, too, but nobody said anything…

  I kinda wanted to know, though! Dangit, now I have to wait until tonight or something…

  Lance cleared his throat and shook his head briefly.

  "Okay, well, the trip here aside, we're here. Welcome to Clan Blackthorn!" He gave us all a wide smile. "Tomorrow we get to begin the fun, but for today you can just explore if you want. You physically can't go somewhere you're not supposed to, so no need to worry. Well, I mean, don't try to walk into someone's house, I guess. Not that I should have to say that, but… Well…" He was looking at Erin, probably thinking about her games, and after a moment she got it and grew so red!

  "Lance, I'm not a burglar! Or a… break and enter-er? What's it called if you don't steal anything?" She looked confused for a moment before she continued. "Oh, yeah, we need a good spot for the Pokemon. They've been crammed in their Pokeballs all morning, and I doubt you'd enjoy Artemis and her claws on this marble…" No, I bet they wouldn't, but it would be funny! She would slide on this polished marble!

  Clair perked up at that, though, turning to Alex.

  "Oh, I've been wanting to meet your team for awhile, now! Want to head back outside?" So all this tea and the cookies are just…?

  I should have known that the moment we opened the door David would rush past us to pick up the tray of tea and follow us! He did seem amused by the whole thing, but still…

  This would take some getting used to…

  —

  —

  Clair dropped back to hug Alex again as we walked towards a small gazebo out… to the side? The side yard? She turned her wide smile on Erin and I next.

  "So, a bit late, but it's so good to meet you two! Alex has had plenty to say about you, of course…" Alex looked very deliberately innocent as our gazes found her. "But Alex aside, Lance dating your mom? On behalf of Clan Blackthorn, I am so sorry, and thank you." Lance actually growled at that, turning around with arms reaching, but Clair just shoved Alex at him and kept going as we began to chuckle.

  "I mean, he's got the looks, and the fame, but the ego? We tried to knock him down a few pegs, but he is unfortunately gifted, so we honestly thought he would be single forever." Lance visibly restrained himself before turning back around, but not before I heard a muttered 'Brat…' from him.

  "Well, mom's managed it, at least? Better late than never? He's actually bearable these days, I know you must have picked up on some of it." Erin was grinning as she said that, and Clair nodded. She ducked her head in and stage whispered the next part, watching Lance's stiff back as she did.

  "Yeah, he actually has been, your mom's already built up a lot of goodwill here just for that! These days only half of the Clan members run when they see him coming!" Lance groaned again as he thumped down at the gazebo and the table there. His team took that chance to come out, and I took a moment just to admire them.

  I liked to give Lance a lot of grief, we all liked to, but Lance was a Dragon Master, and each of his team, at least those with him, felt like it. Two Dragonite, an Aerodactyl, and a huge Gyarados! It wasn't an Alpha, but it was much bigger than Gyarados at the Ranch! Each one's aura battered me, but… I didn't really feel it these days? At all? I had been used to Leto even before my aura dyed itself in Fairy energies, so now these dragons? Physically intimidating, absolutely, but… ehh?

  Alex released her team in order next, to Clair's extreme enthusiasm. She was kind of annoying so far, at least her little dig at my fashion sense, thanks Alex…but she seemed like a good person.

  "Oh, look at your Dragonair, her jewels are already so vibrant! You, little Noibat, look to be very affe-" Her words were cut off as Alex returned her for a brief instant, leaving Joy looking embarrassed. "-Very affectionate, and also a bit loud, it appears. Oh, a Hakamo-o! A noble warrior, look at those scales! A… Hydrapple…" Her feelings on the species were crystal clear, the annoyed look on her face more than slightly irritating Unity. Unity, and his syrpents. They had been a bit more cooperative, and didn't prank anyone at night, so that was an improvement…

  Clair actually took a step back when Yanmega materialized in front of her, and I realized something deliciously good in that moment: Clair didn't like bugs! It didn't seem to be the bad kind where she freaked out, but she was obviously more than slightly tense as she greeted Yanmega.

  "A Yanmega, an… interesting choice for a team mate…"

  I was really looking forward to this next one, and so was everyone else, their eyes locked to Clair. Then Duncan came out with a little bounce, a wide smile, and a wave of his arm.

  Clair froze for a second as Duncan's feet hit the ground, before her head creakily turned towards Alex.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "You have a fae?!" Understandable, especially for the Clan of Dragon Tamers, but Alex just shrugged.

  "I mean, yeah? Duncan's a team member, but he's more along for the ride than anything. He still trains, though, and he'll come in handy in battle. I still have three more open slots, technically, I'm fine." Alex, I don't think that was her concern…

  "Yeah, but a fae?! With a name?! What kind of contract do you have? Did you get help with it? Tell me you got help with it!" Clair was beginning to panic now, but Lance's raised voice stopped it from getting worse.

  "Calm down, Clair. Duncan is fine, and so are their other fae." That made her freeze up all over again, and I glanced at Erin quickly. She grinned, too, because it was so easy to see my intentions. Erin cleared her throat and caught Clair's eyes when she stiffly turned.

  "I also have a Clefable, and a Hattrem that will be a Fairy at some point." She looked more than slightly nervous now, which was kind of surprising? Our teams were public knowledge by this point, especially to the Gym Leaders, but… maybe she just wanted to be surprised by her future relatives? That made sense, actually, I'd probably have done the same thing in her shoes…

  I still smiled as I cleared my own throat, meeting her slightly-panicked eyes, because if Erin's team was even slightly startling, or Alex's, then I highly doubted she knew what my team looked like.

  "I also have a Clefable! Then there's my Tinkatuff…" I let the panic grow just a tad more before I grinned like Leto.

  "I also have a Morgrem! He gives really good hugs, too!" He really did, actually. It was a bit of a shock, and he might still fight them a bit, but they were good hugs. He refused to cuddle, though… I kind of wanted to cuddle with Hazard a bit before he Evolved, actually. Haxorus were very poke-y, slice-y, and all-around just didn't look that fun to hug. Right now it was just two blades, no big deal.

  My team came out next, in a bit of a wave. Clair wanted to gush over Alex's team, sure, but not ours. I really enjoyed how nervous she got when Morgrem waved at her with his usual sneer, but I just pulled him into a one-armed hug. He pulled away almost immediately, of course, but it worked, and Clair looked like she was breathing a bit easier.

  Then Erin began releasing her team, all but Leto. The way Clair's eyes popped, and her head had to tilt backwards slightly for Kallen, was very gratifying…

  "Want to come say hi, mom? She's going to be your, uhh… Lance-in-law?" Alex, Nova and I all started giggling and chuckling at that, even as Leto's huge form materialized. She bent down to stare Clair directly in the eyes for a moment before giving her a nod.

  Clair reacted how I envisioned most Dragon Masters would react. A quick flash of fear, quickly suppressed, then genuine delight as she took in Leto. Leto really was impressive, and it was kind of easy for me to forget that fact spending so much time around her. For all that she was a kind and gentle mother, despite her strictness and harshness, she was still one of the larger predators in the world, effortlessly regal in a way that few Pokemon could manage.

  After her own bow of respect to Leto she turned to Nova with an incredulous face.

  "So, I heard about the Sliggoo, but please don't tell me you also have an Alpha Pidgeot or some other insanity." Nova flushed red as she shook her head. Wiggles soon joined us, and these days she seemed much better. Her mucus coat was far less acidic, but it was also thicker, and she had recently begun to refuse to battle for Nova. That was a good sign, though, because it meant she was going to Evolve soon.

  Splash came out with what appeared to be his new default look: Slightly sullen determination. I hadn't asked about the conversation, but I had heard about it… I also heard part of the second one. He was still around, though, so I guess they all came to some form of compromise?

  Clair took a moment to look around, and now that they were all out and about, our teams were a bit out there for first years… Even beyond Erin and her team's insanity, Alex's team was full of rare and powerful Pokemon, and mine? Mine was dangerous to the vast majority of people's sensibilities even without Morgrem, and with him? Well… I didn't advertise my Fairy Master status, so with my age I must look suicidal. We were all kind of ridiculous, though…

  Clair got excited, however, and that was mildly worrying…

  Her next words were worse.

  "I'm too busy most of the time to join in often, but I'm really looking forward to your training…" The look of anticipation on her face was not comforting at all…

  —

  —

  Clair and Lance both left after that, and David had disappeared at some point, so that left Alex to show us around. We left the mansion and its walled-off grounds behind and came to the 'true' Clan Blackthorn… which was like a town, honestly? Alex had talked about the compound before, so we weren't surprised, but it was still mildly… off, I guess? Not creepy, everyone we passed seemed happy enough, and not everyone was wearing the purple robes that seemed to function as a uniform, but… enough were.

  We were up on the higher, smaller plateau, but the rest of the mountains towered around us, and it was honestly kind of weird. It felt almost like being in a bowl, but at the same time, the sky here was so clear and bright that it almost felt freeing. I had never been in the mountains, though, Mt. Moon aside, so maybe this was normal? The air up here was crisp and clean, too, and combined with the mostly-sunny day? It was beautiful up here.

  Alex looked kind of nervous as we walked through 'town', though, but didn't seem to have many people to greet. I knew this was the first time she had been here, but… nobody really gave her more looks than we were receiving. More than Erin was receiving, really, but green hair was kind of uncommon, and when you added in the feathers? Erin always stood out… even if she moaned about standing out.

  Still, while we were getting looks, they were more curious than anything. I had to assume that security here was very tight, so us casually walking down the street meant we were allowed to be here. It was kind of odd, though? There were plenty of houses, all of which were nice, but there was only a single 'town square' with like, seven shops and a grocery store!

  Alex had not been exaggerating about the lack of shopping here…

  Another strange thing was the Pokemon. In most places I had been, you saw plenty of Pokemon on the streets, but generally they were smaller or less intimidating. Here there were Dragonite walking and flying around, if not many, a few Dratini wrapped around shoulders, and I even saw an Axew! It was rare to see that many dragons just out and about…

  We were passing some battle courts near the center of the 'town', one in use, when someone called out from the sidelines.

  "Is that you, Alex? C'mere, little dude!" I followed the voice, finding a tall older boy in regular clothes, messy black hair almost covering light brown eyes. He looked happy to see Alex, but Alex kinda had a skirt on right now… I glanced at her, but Alex didn't look upset. She looked resigned, but happy as she glanced at us before moving to meet him.

  "Kenji, hey!" She gave him a hug, and when he pulled back he looked a bit embarrassed.

  "Oh, uhh, crap, it is still Alex, right?" When she nodded he breathed out a sigh of relief. "Cool, cool. These are your future sisters?" Alex got a little red and he laughed before turning to us fully.

  "Kenji Blackthorn, up and coming Master Chef!" He must have noticed something on our faces, because he grinned. "There's hundreds of people in Clan Blackthorn, so even if we have a lot of trainers compared to the general population, not everyone is a trainer." You know what, that made sense…

  We introduced ourselves, Nova looking very out of place, but let Alex and Kenji catch up. In the meantime we watched the ongoing match, but… it was two kids.

  "Those aren't their Pokemon, right? I figure not, but still…" I was prepared for the head shakes, but it was still relieving. Alex was highly amused when she explained, too.

  "No, those kids are too young to have more than a house Pokemon, much less a Dragonite and a Charizard. Notice the claws and wings? They're old, they're just getting some exercise in while helping teach some command and Move calling. It's always random with who decides to come volunteer, though, or if there's even two." That made some good sense…

  Kenji perked up at that, though, and looked over at Erin and I.

  "Say, why don't you two show us your stuff? Alex is obviously known around here, but you two are here for training, right? Well, three, but you two might also be Clan members at some point." I was not expecting to hear it put like that, and I really didn't know how to feel about it, honestly. Kenji seemed pretty normal, especially with the lack of a robe, but… Clan member? Mom and Lance aside, that was… odd.

  I glanced over at Erin, and judging from her face, she had the same reaction as me. Nova looked grateful to be left out of this, which was good, considering Wiggles and Splash were back at the mansion. In fact…

  "Uhh, I don't know? What do you think, Erin?" I wasn't opposed to battling, obviously, but it was more who we had with us…

  Erin just shrugged, though.

  "Sure, one on one?" She knew what my choice would be, judging by the grin… This wasn't exactly a fair match-up, either, depending on how she played this…

  A crowd began to gather as we moved to opposite sides of the unused field, and as they saw us doing so the old Charizard and Dragonite both stopped and turned to watch, to the brief irritation of the kids before they also joined the sidelines. There was a fancy barrier and auto-judge, too, but I guess Clan Blackthorn could afford it…

  "Battlers, as this is a mutual match, release your Pokemon at the same time! Three, two, one, release!"

  Morgrem came out with his usual huge sneer, while across from him Seraphina stretched herself out with a languid look on her face. I was prepared for the low murmurs and gasps, but the singular yelp of fear from a very young boy was kind of amusing…

  'Show our stuff'? We could do that!

  "Match begin!"

  Erin was completely silent, but I knew that she wasn't holding back with her aura these days, so she might have been speaking to Seraphina. I couldn't say much, considering my whole… fae-ness, but I knew at least part of her instructions based on Seraphina's first Move.

  Because even as Morgrem was launching himself close with a fast Sucker Punch, Seraphina was practically erupting in a light haze. Sweet Scent, and while it worked on females as well, it was devastating for males…

  Something Morgrem was well aware of, obviously. He held his breath as he entered the haze, and when Sucker Punch left him close he fell to his knees, head bowed, hands on the ground. Seraphina knew it was a False Surrender, obviously, but it still induced a brief confusion in opponents, one that Morgrem took full advantage of.

  His hair lanced out to strike her in the shoulder, and latching on, dragged himself in for a devastating Bite across her head.

  He had chosen relatively poorly, though.

  His neck muscles weren't strong enough to prevent her Poison Fang from sinking in even as her tail whipped around in a Fire Lash. He screeched and tried to fling himself away, his right shoulder blackened, but while Seraphina may not be a bruiser, she was still better than Morgrem in close combat with her size. She didn't hit super hard, but Seraphina had a rhythm to her attacks.

  The Pound from her left claw was quickly followed by spinning into a Scratch with her right, and continuing the spin, a Fire Lash with a lot of her body's force behind it.

  'Dark Pulse? Maybe stop closing in on the Pokemon four times your size?' "Shut up!"

  Morgrem still set himself and managed to dodge the surprise Venoshock! That would have put him down, fast and weak or not, but he didn't retaliate immediately. Instead he moved in again, but I didn't say anything this time.

  I had worked with Morgrem quite a bit on his ranged options. When he Evolved he would be much stronger physically, sure, but for now? Despite his desire for melee combat, he was a better ranged fighter at the moment… Not that he had many options. His Dark Pulse was strong, strong and fast, but his Dazzling Gleam was still rough despite his repeated efforts. Fairy Moves in general, actually, and his Draining Kiss was… a work in progress. He was not a fan of the Move, but while he realized the utility was invaluable… he still didn't enjoy kissing his opponents.

  Still, his Dark Pulse? He had gotten to the point where he could build it up in his arms as he ran, then finish building the Move quickly for a bit of an extra 'kick'. If Seraphina was less mobile then maybe a barrage would have worked, but while she wasn't fast, Seraphina wasn't slow. As he darted closer it built up around his arms, unleashing as two Dark Pulses, one from each hand. Seraphina managed to erect a Protect, but with two Moves trained on it it soon shattered.

  The Dark Pulses only struck her for a literal second before they fizzled out, though, Morgrem looking exhausted. That had been a bit of a gamble, and so far it looked… neutral. Maybe a bit more in Seraphina's favor.

  Especially as Seraphina's markings flared up.

  Morgrem managed to avoid the majority of the huge Incinerate, but not all as he stumbled slightly, the faint traces of Sweet Scent he inhaled during his Bite finally taking effect. His left arm was burned now, kinda badly, and I quickly reached out to poke him mentally. He shook his head, though, so I left him out… It looked like it hurt, though…

  Erin had told me all about the games, of course, but burns didn't work the same way in real life. Poisonings might continue to damage a Pokemon, and especially their internal energies, but mundane burns didn't… they just hurt and slowed the Pokemon down.

  Which was unfortunate, as Morgrem took Seraphina's next Venoshock straight to his chest. He growled for a second before it turned into a high-pitched whine, and I returned him even as he slumped to the ground. His Luxury Ball clicked as it detected his injuries and enabled the stasis, and I breathed out a slight sigh of relief.

  Also irritation as the crowd clapped.

  I released Grace as Erin walked over, letting her get to work on Seraphina. Not that Seraphina took much damage, of course… Grace would have been a much better choice to fight Seraphina, but then Grace couldn't play Nurse afterward.

  Erin reached out to shake my hand, a wide grin on her face.

  "Not bad, Leaf! Morgrem is going to be brutal once he Evolves, the little guy just wants to punch! Well, a little bit of rip n' tear, too, probably." I was lightly frowning, though.

  "Yeah, and Seraphina's Sweet Scent is… kinda unfair." Erin just laughed at my words, though.

  "Well, be glad it was Sera and not Cerberus…" I winced, because yeah… Cerberus might actually have lost, considering his double weakness to Fairy, but Morgrem's Fairy Moves weren't all that great, yet, and Cerberus was dangerous…

  I looked around, only to find the crowd still watching us, including the old Dragonite and Charizard! I frowned lightly at the sight, but… we were kind of standing in the 'public entertainment' area, I guess?

  We made our way back to Alex, Nova, and Kenji along the sidelines, the older boy looking… only mildly excited? He nodded at us as we approached.

  "Not bad, you two! I'd have some… criticism for your performances, but you're both first years, right?" At our nods he shrugged. "Well, for your age and experience you're strong, but…" He trailed off and Alex snorted.

  "Yeah, yeah, we know. There's a reason we're here for training…" Kenji perked up at that, glancing at us with a smile.

  "Have you been to the Aerie, yet?" At our head shakes his smile grew huge. "Well, enjoy it when you do! We might not live there these days, but it's basically the other half of Clan Blackthorn." He looked way too amused, him and Alex both…

  Grace gave me a thumbs up, looking ready, so I released Morgrem. He continued to whine for a brief second before Grace's Move's got to work. He wasn't hurt badly, and could probably battle again in a half hour, but the burn aside, poison was kind of an issue for him. Him and Hope both, really. Thankfully Tinkatuff wasn't weak to poison…

  I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned, only to find the old Charizard right in my face. I jumped a little, causing it to huff out a laugh, before it squinted its eyes at me suspiciously, pointedly glancing down at Morgrem. Judging from the look in them, I could guess what it's question was…

  "Yeah, I'm a Fairy Master." It looked startled for a moment, but then its look grew intrigued. I looked over at Erin for some help, but she was just staring at the Dragonite, so aura chatting. Alex looked amused by the entire thing, along with Nova, but Kenji's mouth was open in shock.

  Oh yeah… Dangit…

  "You're a Fairy Master?!"

  The way the crowd, which had mostly dispersed, jerked at his exclamation was not fun for me. I didn't generally advertise my status, but I had been asked…

  It took another half hour before Alex apparently decided she had caught up enough and we left, but that was a half hour too long! Now it wasn't just Erin getting looks on the way back, it was me, too!

  —

  —

  Dinner that night was odd, just like most of my day had been. There apparently were large feasts where most Clan members showed up, but those were celebrations and holidays, not us coming here. That meant that we simply joined Lance and his family for dinner… Lance, his parents, Clair, her parents, like six other people who I forgot as soon as they were introduced, and then the Leader of Clan Blackthorn, Ruler of Blackthorn City, Grant Blackthorn.

  He was… old. He was older than Professor Oak, and looked much older thanks to all the wrinkles and lack of hair. He was also practically jolly when he entered last, heading straight for Alex to give her a hug before seating himself at the head of the table.

  He greeted us as well, but only lightly chatted with us, taking the time to talk to everyone at the table. He had plenty of time, too, considering the three-course meal that was brought in by David and a different maid.

  I ended up talking to Lance's mom of all people during most of dinner, being sat right next to her, and found that my future grandma was… She wasn't as bad as Lance, but she certainly had the 'prideful dragon' thing down. Still really nice, though, and grateful. We all got to hear how happy and relieved she was that her 'little boy' had finally found someone.

  That had set the entire table off, and I quickly found that mom had a reputation already. Lance's ego had been so large you could see him coming from around three corners, but mom had been deflating it at a record pace, and it was noticeable. Lance went red, of course, but he certainly took their enthusiastic attempts to embarrass him better than he took ours… Of course, most of the time the three of us were just doing it purely for the fun of it.

  I felt a bit less awkward about the whole 'Clan' thing when I left dinner, honestly. Still kinda weird, and I wasn't really looking forward to being in a Clan, but from what I had seen, they weren't bad, just… a really, really big extended family? One that ran multiple industries around here, and lived separate from the people they 'ruled', even if they didn't 'rule' anyone these days...

  Okay, it was still kind of odd, but we should only be here a month, maybe two… right?

  —

  —

  After breakfast the next morning we found ourselves entering a very heavily locked room in the mansion. The Dragonite standing guard over it made its importance pretty apparent, but when we entered, there was only a long flight of stairs that led to another door. Through that door, however, I saw something that made a lot of sense when I gave it any thought.

  Clair grinned over at us. She looked way too eager to be able to show us to the Aerie…

  "You've seen some of the Blackthorn compound, but here's a bit of an open secret: Our very own, private high-speed rail to the Aerie! It's a bit small, only fits like ten people, but it's not only fast, it's discreet. Mostly fast and convenient, though, it's not only trainers with flying species that go there, and they have to get there somehow."

  It looked like a single car from the train I had seen once in Viridian, set onto a single huge rail. The tunnel at least looked nice and smooth, obviously sealed with some white compound… and it got used frequently, apparently…

  I still gulped a little, though, and Erin moved to grip my hand. I gave her a grateful smile as I squeezed her hand back. I really didn't like the look of the tunnel further in as it turned to pitch blackness… Still, this wasn't a cave, so I would get over it.

  Hopefully this was a nice, relaxing day where we just, I don't know, outlined the training plan… a nice easy orientation, right?

  Right?

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