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Chapter 88
Part 1
Heya! The name's Dragonbane. Does that sound like a scary name? GOOD! Because I'm a scary Pokémon.
Yeah, some Pokémon know that I used to have another name. But those Pokémon also know that anyone who even thinks that name is going to get their face sliced off. Dragonbane is my REAL name now.
Why do I have such a fearsome name, you might ask? Well, it's because I know a thing or two about dragons. One being how to SLAY them. That's my life's goal. To slay evil dragons. It's something really personal to me. So I've studied all kinds of things about dragons ever since I was a little runt.
I'll prove it to you. Here's some of the things about dragons that I know.
Dragons are basically the most fearsome, powerful, scary, and AWESOME type of Pokémon! But they are also among the rarest and most elusive kinds of creatures the world has ever known.
Why are dragons so amazing, you might ask?
Dragons are very special Pokémon because they possess the most primal kind of divine power in their souls, the same kind of power that was used to create the entire UNIVERSE and all the rules which govern it! Dragon-type power is the very power of the GODS, passed down directly from Arceus and his creation trio. While it is rare at best (and impossible at worst) that humble mortals such as ourselves will ever meet a GOD in our lifetimes, a fragment of their omnipotent divine power lives on in the soul of every single dragon-type Pokémon today. Thus, dragons are to be feared and respected as direct descendants of Arceus, with many having special powers that merit such reverence. Pokémon who are foolish enough to underestimate the power of dragons will indeed risk paying a dire price!
There are some who believe that dragons are not descended from the gods at all, but those Pokémon are WRONG! I have met Pokémon who believe that because Arceus wasn't a dragon-type, it means that dragon energy really isn't divine after all. But that's WRONG, because Arceus was all the types at once! Ancient writings clearly show that Arceus can become whatever type he wants. There are others who say that Mew is the ancestor of all Pokémon. But that's also WRONG, because Mew had both a body and a soul, which were made by Palkia and Giratina respectively, and therefore Arceus had to exist first in order to make the creation dragons! Besides, just because Mew might have the DNA for every Pokémon inside itself, doesn't mean it was the ancestor of every Pokémon! Arceus could have just made it that way on purpose! (It's too bad we will never get to meet a real live Mew in our lifetimes to know for sure…)
Dragons come in a shocking variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from towering divine behemoths to tiny little wyrms and slugs! But no matter how tiny or diminutive a dragon might appear, they are NEVER to be underestimated! It is best to treat EVERY dragon with the same reverence that one would treat Arceus himself, and not to provoke their wrath unless you are REALLY prepared to fight them! After all, a tiny dragon might someday grow up into something huge and fearsome, and if that dragon holds a grudge against you, then you'll sure be sorry! (And trust me, I know. It's happened to me before.)
Most (but not all) dragons are scaly, reptilian bipeds, or quadrupeds. Many (but not most) dragons have mighty wings and are capable of flying! In fact, the form which is considered most typical of a dragon is something like the body of a Dragonite (for bipedal dragons) or a Salamence (for quadrupedal dragons) with bulky, scaly reptilian bodies, long tails, and wings.
As an interesting thing to note, there exist several types of Pokémon who possess a typical draconic form, with the scaly bodies and the tail and the wings, but are not actually dragon-type, with the most famous examples being Charizard and Gyarados (minus the wings). Such Pokémon are often considered honorary dragons due to their physical resemblance to real dragons. And deservedly so; it has lately been found that some of these dragonshape Pokémon actually possess a significant concentration of latent draconic energy in their souls, suggesting we might someday discover a new dragon-type evolution for them.
In terms of personality, all dragons tend to share something in common – that being a very particular and innate sense of confidence, stubbornness, and superiority. It's called: a dragon's PRIDE! And I can't say I blame them! If I were a direct descendant of Arceus and had a shard of his power coursing through my soul, I'd be super proud of it too! And I'd probably have some trouble NOT feeling intrinsically superior to every other Pokémon I meet. It's actually rather incredible; every single dragon I've ever met, and I mean every SINGLE one, has this same kind of pride, and so I am led to believe that this pride is a trait or direct effect of the dragon energy itself, and not something which a Pokémon learns. EVIL dragons, I find, like to express this pride in the form of an insufferable ego. But for GOOD-hearted dragons, this manifests as a kind of deep honor and sense of guardianship and compassion over their fellow creation. That's why being friends with a GOOD dragon is something really special!
Obviously, to fight evil dragons, you need to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
The undisputed natural predators of dragons are the fairy-types. Fairies are secretly the most sinister, wicked, and horrifying kind of Pokémon, even scarier than the ghost-types or dark-types. While a ghost-type might laugh maniacally as it haunts you, a fairy-type is more likely to have a bright friendly smile on its face as it stabs you to death! The way they act in general is also so weird, and eccentric, and… just weird. It's like they've had too much sugar and it makes them want to hug you until you suffocate. It gives me chills just imagining them, and they are the only Pokémon which dragons truly fear. (Though to be perfectly honest, I think pretty much ALL Pokémon should fear the fairy-types…)
Though, if you so happen to have a fairy-type friend, lucky you! They can protect you from dragons. Fairies never need to worry about dragon attacks, even the fearsome draco-meteors, because they just glance right off like raindrops. And if you happen to actually know a GOOD fairy, and not one that secretly wants to use your blood as a topping on their pancakes, they can be very thoughtful and nurturing. Though, more likely, they'll just be super weird.
But if you don't have a fairy on call, dragons also hate the cold. Some say it's because they're reptiles and some reptiles are cold-blooded, but I don't know about that; I think reptiles descended from dragons and not the other way around, and many dragons are warm-blooded anyway. I'm not sure why, but dragons and cold just do not mix. Dragons never fly in snowstorms or blizzards if they can help it, so it's good to have an ice-type buddy by your side. I might recommend finding an Abomasnow to be your ally. They can make hailstorms whenever they want, and all that sharpened ice will just slice the poor hapless dragons right out of the sky. Glaceon are pretty common Pokémon that you might rely on too, if they're good at aiming their ice beams and stuff. Weavile are another common species that stand a chance against dragons, but only if they're courageous enough to really get in the dragon's face with their nasty claws.
Some other so-called dragon experts will tell you that electric-type attacks are also useful in defending yourself against dragons. But that's only because several of the more common dragons are also flying-types. But I disagree. First, electricity attacks don't even hit dragons very hard, since their dragon aura still mitigates the damage, and the flying aura only somewhat mitigates the mitigation. Second, in my experience, most of the flying-type dragons aren't baddies! Every single Altaria I've ever met has been super nice. And Dragonite tend to have a strong sense of justice. Although I've also met some pretty cruel Salamence before, and Noivern are shifty and can't always be trusted, so maybe they have a little bit of a point.
But anyway… Here's the part you were probably waiting for. You saw this coming, didn't you? I just had to save the best for last. And don't get me wrong! It's not the most efficient way of fighting dragons, or the safest, or the most reliable. But… it is absolutely and undeniably the BEST.
The BEST way to fight dragons is to make friends with other, stronger dragons. Because then, not only do you get to help chase away the evil dragons… you get a good one as a buddy! And nothing in the WHOLE WORLD compares to that.
And that's really my secret, as a dragonslayer. I'm quick and tricky to hit, and I've got some nifty attacks that can get me out of a pinch, but nothing really that hits a dragon hard. My attacks are all normalized unless I use special items or magic spells that can let me attack using the other elements. I'm really not good with fairy energy. I barely know how to use ice. And I'm not too physically strong or intimidating when you look at me. I'm just a wittle kitten. But I'm a kitten with a sneaky little secret that nobody will ever suspect. My super-secret special power:
I know how to win a dragon's heart and convince them to fight with me. It's all about understanding that one thing that every dragon tends to have in common: their pride.
So let me tell you something. I had a friend when I was younger, when I still thought the world was a nice place. A Lillipup named Dash. Everyone told me we were supposed to hate each other. Something about dogs and cats being natural enemies (which I never understood anyway, dogs are tons of fun. I hope I can learn to be just as playful as a dog…) So we liked to sneak out early in the morning and talk and run around and be adventurous. We pretended the trees were all legendary beasts and we would work together to defeat them. Y'know, kid stuff. To be honest I barely remember most of it, except the way it ended, but I try my best to keep that spirit of adventure alive in my heart every day I work for the resistance.
Okay, you know what? No. I'm not going to tell that story again. I've told it enough times to enough Pokémon and I can't stand hearing it anymore. The punchline is that Dash got eaten by a Hydreigon. The other punchline is that later I got my revenge on the Hydreigon. It was the first dragon I'd ever slain. It wasn't pretty but I got the job done.
Nah, I'd much rather tell this other story that happened a lot more recently.
Nowadays, Char and the old guard of Team Ember are busy plotting something with this new Flareon they hired to find Scythe. It's keeping them occupied all the time. So that means, to keep Team Ember running smoothly, all the new recruits have to work their BUTTS off! Tallie keeps us all on our toes. But that's okay, because the new recruits of Team Ember are all super dependable and we do good work.
One thing I've noticed about Tallie: she tries to hide it, but I can tell she has a soft spot, or two, or three. Because every so often, when she's not lighting our tails on fire to work harder, she does something nice for us.
One day, I get called into the planning room alone. That usually only happens if you're in huge trouble. If it's an assignment, Tallie usually calls us in groups. So I went in there alone, gave the door a nudge to close it, and locked myself in the room with the vicious fiery phoenix of wrath. (Alright, I wasn't really locked in, because the wall portal was there and I could always escape out of that, but it's easy enough to forget it's there.)
I knew I was about to get absolutely chewed out for something. But that was fine! Just an opportunity to improve, I told myself. I puffed up my chest and jumped up on the bench exuding all the pride and confidence I was able. Tallie herself was standing on the table so she could write on a bunch of paperwork.
"You called, Officer?" I say formally.
"Yes. I did," she says coldly, scratching words on the papers. Odd how a fire-bird can be so cold!
Any other Pokémon here would have said, "D-d-d-did I do something wrong?" But not me. I'm not falling for that. I just waited patiently until she's ready to tell me.
"Dragonbane," says the mighty bird to me. "I'm going to be honest with you: though you've been on this team for a few months now, I find it difficult to take your name seriously."
"I get that a lot!" I say back. "Doesn't matter to me, though! It's a name I wear proudly!"
"Have you even fought against a single dragon since you joined Team Ember?" she asks.
I answer truthfully. "No! Not one. But I will! I'm sure I will! I mean it!"
"Do you, now?" Tallie sighs. "Do you really?"
I don't skip a beat! "Yes! Really!" I shout back, almost sounding playful.
"Alright… then it's time to prove yourself," she says, flicking two papers towards me. "I want you to pick one of these."
I eagerly glance down. Two papers in front of me.
Two jobs. Both of them are OUTLAW MISSIONS. Whoa. Those are scary.
First one: Druddigon. Wanted dead or alive on account of several accounts of assault and murder, including children. Eugh. Hideout thought to be near Nincadia.
Second one: Haxorus. Wanted dead or alive on account of grand thievery. Hideout thought to be in or around Kricket Pond. If possible, retrieve priceless stolen items as well.
Both are two-star missions. Ouch. Though both came with a nice cash prize, which obviously the team needed, since most of our funds were going to pay Hunter.
"You have until tomorrow morning to choose one," she told me with her fiery glare aimed straight at my face. "Furthermore, I'm giving you five days to complete the task."
I was actually surprised. This seemed like a massive challenge. I gaped at the two sheets before me, looking at one, then the other.
"Something wrong?" Tallie said with a little sneer that I could tell was facetious. "Isn't this your whole specialty?"
I said, "Well, Tallie, I have to be honest! I mean I'm interested in dragon slaying, and I know a thing or two about what works against them, but… but I'm not sure I'm exactly ready to go all gung-ho up to some vicious, two-star outlaw and spit in their face…"
Tallie responded quite curtly, "If you fail the task, I refuse to call you Dragonbane anymore. I've seen the records. I know what your real name is. Hopefully that will be enough motivation."
I hissed at her. "Oooh! So THAT'S the game we're playing, huh?" I returned, trying to sound cocky, despite the fact that I absolutely wasn't sure what I was doing (but I get the impression that Tallie does the same thing all the time). "Alright, then! You make me fight for my dignity, I'll do it! I'll show you a dragonslayer! You got it!"
And then I had an absolutely devious idea! Again, I didn't have any idea what I was doing, but I knew it made me sound super confident!
"And what about if I complete both of them?" I returned, knowing full well that it was absolutely crazy. "What then?"
"In the same five days?"
"Yeah. Two dragons, five days. What then? Will you address me as 'Dragonbane the Magnificent' or 'Dragonbane the Valiant' from now on?"
Our mighty phoenix stopped scribbling on the paper and speculated for a moment. "Hmm. Let me think of something fitting…"
Then she tapped her talon. "Alright, I think I've got something suitable. How about… nothing."
I gave her the most adorable little growl. "Nothing? What kind of motivation is that supposed to be? How is that supposed to encourage me to overachieve?"
"Well, aside from the pride of having earned more money for the team, and aside from strengthening your personal record, I expect you to find intrinsic motivation in your achievement," she said curtly. "Work is its own reward. And besides, I think you're bluffing, and you know it. Just pick one. That's all I expect."
"Awwww," I whined, pawing at the mission papers and rolling them up in a little bundle so I could carry them in my mouth soon. "You're no fun. Okay, fine. I'll pick one of them. I don't know which one yet, probably the thief because I don't like the thought of fighting a murderer. But I'll decide by morning."
"Oh… and one more thing," Tallie said, catching my attention just as I was about to leave. I was super exasperated now. What kind of challenge was she tacking onto this already-kinda-impossible mission? Was she going to say that I had to do it on a ridiculously small budget, too?
I grumbled. "Yes, almighty First Officer?" I sneered.
She looked annoyed at me. "While I'm giving you until tomorrow morning to pick one of those jobs, there's something I need you to do before you leave this room."
"And that is…?"
"Pick four teammates," she instructed. "What, do you think I was making you do this all alone?"
"…Yes! Actually, I was!" I squeaked.
"Well, sorry to disappoint, kitten. I'm not that dense," she chirped. "But yes, I'm giving you special clearance to bring five teammates instead of four. But I need you to pick them now, so I know who not to assign to other missions for the next five days. Char is off limits, but Ray and Saura might be available. Eva, if you want her, I can't promise she'll be agreeable, but I have ways of coercing her into it, just don't take her into a mystery dungeon. Otto and Brace are off limits due to their continuing evolution sickness. And obviously, Hunter is off limits. You have your pick of anyone else."
I nudged the rolled-up mission papers with my paw as I thought about it for a moment. Lyre was an obvious pick, but I didn't know how good she actually was at fighting like a fairy. Also, it occurred to me that I might need a different team for the thief bounty than for the murderer bounty. What a quandary.
"Okay, I got it," I said definitively. "One: give me Zona. If we only have five days, we might need to do stuff at night."
"That can be arranged," she said, marking a notch in her paper.
"Good. Two: give me… Gemstone. We work well together, and I know she knows how to make ice beams," I continued. "Three: Give me… um…"
This was a tough one. On one paw, I probably couldn't pick a basic elemental attacker. On the other, I needed to pick my teammates for strategic reasons, not just based on who is best at fighting dragons. We could be fighting more than just dragons, anyway.
Who should be the bag carrier? Zachel or Ray? Ray can paralyze Pokémon. Zachel knows lots of elemental attacks and probably can attack with ice, too. Or maybe I don't need a bag carrier at all. Maybe I could achieve this with no items, or just wearable items. A very tough call.
But just then, my evil little plan got a tiny bit eviler.
"AAAAAAdamant. Give me Adamant." I suddenly say, swaying my tail in a cute and playful way.
"Oh, wow, that's actually a terrible choice," Tallie comments. "Dragons are resistant to water, you know? I think the only worse choice would have been Nincada…"
"Hey, Nincada is stronger than he looks," I grunt back. "Nope! I want Adamant and I'm sure of it."
"Fine," she sighs. "And who's last?"
I grin. I decided who it was from the start. There was only ever one teammate this could be.
I stare at Tallie. She stares back at me. I only grin wider. She looks at me weird for a moment, then she looks frustrated, then she starts to catch on. She squawked out a laugh and glared that fierce raptor glare down at poor wittle old me. But I just stood up tall and proud.
"You never said you were off-limits, now did you?" I say with a devious tail-wiggle. "Our mighty First Officer Tallie, I want you to come with me on my dragon-slaying adventure!"
She flicked her wing at me. "Awk, nice try. I'm off-limits too, kitten. I thought that was implied."
"Noooo, you can't go changing the rules on me after you set the challenge!" I insist. "Sorry, you flew right into this one yourself."
"Not a chance," she squawks.
"If you don't do it, I'm going to tell Char about it! And he'll MAKE you!" I threaten, keeping my confident grin.
"No, he won't, he's not stupid either," she says with a shrug of her wings.
"Ooooh. Then how about if I were to tell… hmm… Eva?" I suggested so sweetly and innocently.
Tallie gave me her most FIERY GLARE ever. It was so delicious, seeing from her. I think she knew exactly where I was going with this, but of course I wanted to rub it in! "Eva hates you, you know! Well not hate hates you, but you get what I mean. If I told Eva that you were being unfair to a wittle old kitten like me, she'd just use her girlfriend charms on Char and get him to side with me! Then where would that leave you, huh? Probably more humiliated than I'd ever feel if I had to be called by my old name… And by the way, the name thing doesn't even scare me, because I'm just going to evolve soon and have it changed officially, so – "
"AWWWK! Fine! I'll go!" Tallie shouts, kicking a paper at me, which just drifted off to the side and didn't even come close to hitting me. "You're right. I flew right into that one and I deserve it. Though I'll absolutely be sure to choose my words more wisely next time. Sssss."
"Alright! So, now that I'm your team director for the next five days, does that mean I can put you on a task now?" I pressed. (I love trying to push my limits. You either get things you really want, or you get hilarious responses!)
"Give me the rest of the night. I need to hand out assignments to the others," Tallie squabbled. "Tomorrow morning, we can talk plans. Happy?"
"Very happy!" I laughed, swishing my tail at her. "Yes. Very happy. Alright, almighty First Officer! See you bright and early tomorrow! On the DOT!" Then I picked up the mission papers in my mouth and sauntered towards the door.
The first thing I did when I got out of that meeting was to find Zona, Adamant, and Gemstone. I wasn't going to waste any time. Dragonslaying is a big deal and we needed to start planning right away. Zona and Adamant were both fascinated by the challenge and wanted to know more. Gemstone was… not as keen on the idea, which surprised me. She'd fallen quiet after our trip to Basin Canyon together where she evolved. It seems like she was always thinking about thoughts that she didn't want to talk about, or maybe she only wanted to speak when it was absolutely necessary. Still, she wasn't any less brave than before, when she was a Nidoran, and she wasn't any less intelligent when it came to making decisions or picking her battles. She was just much more of a grownup about it. Oh, and she hit a lot harder now, too. She got scary in battle. She always hit like she meant it.
"You want me to help you slay a dragon," said Gemstone, flipping between the two mission papers I gave her.
"That's right!" I said, sounding full of hope. "Okay, maybe not slay them. It does say, wanted 'dead or alive' so I assume there's always a chance we could let them live. But don't get me wrong, they're totally DEAD if that's what it comes to."
"And why do you think I would be of help to you, exactly?" she said, still looking down at the paper for the murderer outlaw. "Why me, and not Lyre, the dumb fairy? Or even better, I could probably get Raptor to join you on the mission, free of charge. I don't see why I'm necessary here."
"Because you know some ice attacks, don't you?" I said. "Okay, okay, Gemstone. Do you REALLY want to know why I want you on my team?"
I made sure to swish my tail playfully as I grinned at her. She only looked up from the paper and gave me a blank sideways look with one ear drooping.
"It's because I like your company," I told her. I pawed at the floor like I was ashamed to say what I was saying. "That's really all. You have that kind of dragon's pride I really admire. And after our trip to Basin Canyon together, I feel like we make a nice team, you know? You help me stay focused, and I help you stay motivated. And maaaayyyybe I want you to be there to see it when I slay my first dragon on Team Ember, so you'll be impressed with me? Maybe that, too."
She just kept staring at me, and tilted her head a bit. Like she was trying to figure out if I was really being serious. (I was.)
"C'mon, you owe me one!" I insisted, bouncing around. "After I went as your travelling companion for almost three whole days, without even being asked, why can't you be my companion this time?"
"Dragonbane, I never said I was going to decline the job," Gemstone said with a big huge sigh. "I was just trying to understand what you need me for. I still really don't understand, but I get the feeling Tallie won't let me even decline if I tried. So which of these are we doing, exactly?"
I grinned. This was going to be amazing, I could already tell. "Why not come to the meeting I'm going to hold right now?"
So we snuck through the war room when Tallie wasn't looking, the four of us, and went to the secret hideout. I knew that was the best place to hold a super-secret meeting.
Only when we got there, we found out someone already had the same idea as us. It was Hunter. He was having what looked like a secret conversation with Glower. Telling her stuff and she was just nodding in agreement. They noticed us in a couple of seconds, and they looked strangely shocked to see us.
"Good evening to you, children," said the Flareon, stepping our way. "Strange, but I thought I instructed Tallie not to let anyone through the portal for the remainder of the night. Do you have business here?"
"Yeah, Tallie doesn't know we're here," Adamant informed him. "We're going to have a secret meeting that Tallie doesn't get to hear about. Speaking of, what's up with you and Glower? You two have been talking quite a lot lately, I've noticed. Having all these secret meetings. What's up with that?"
"Glower has become instrumental in my hunt for information," Hunter answered. "I plan to keep her quite occupied in the coming weeks.
The Noctowl glared right at me and said nothing. I glared back. I know that doesn't look very scary, but I did anyway. But then I put on a huge smile to show her that I was just joking. I was hoping to get at least some kind of reaction out of her. But nope, stoic as always. Glower is pretty good at what she does, I'll say that much.
"Anyway, I suppose I've covered everything I've needed to cover," Hunter told Glower. "You have your instructions. Are you prepared to carry them out?"
"Yes," said Glower.
"Good. Now unfortunately, there comes a time when all good foxes must rest, even the best of us," Hunter said after a little yawn. "We'll need our energy for tomorrow. Isn't that right, Glower?"
"Yes," said Glower again. Even though she wasn't a fox.
"Good. Enjoy your secret meeting," Hunter bid us, walking back towards the portal. "If you're planning to go night-crawling, I recommend against it – the Watchers are very dense today. Even that Vulpix of yours might have some trouble with them."
Glower cast one last odd look at us, then took wing and glided across the room, and the two of them disappeared through the portal at about the same time.
And then it was just us. Me, Zona, Adamant, and Gemstone. Four four-legged Pokémon. Well, except for Gemstone, she could be a two-legged when she wanted to be. Cool thing about Nidorina, they get their upright balance much sooner than their male counterparts.
I looked at my chosen teammates and tried to understand how they felt. Zona looked cheerful, yet patient. He was obviously interested in what I might have him do. Gemstone looked a little confused, like she still didn't understand why I was bringing her. And that was fine, she didn't have to completely understand it all just yet. And Adamant…
Oh, Adamant. The fish-out-of-water. I wondered, did he ever go swimming? Don't Vaporeon die if they go too long without water? Poor thing. Sometimes he looked so miserable with himself. Like when he spoke, his voice would crackle like his throat was too dry. And sometimes he'd curl up against his tail and shiver, even though it isn't really all that cold. I wondered if he was shivering for other reasons.
Well. I needed Adamant to be healthy for this mission. So I had to ask him if he was okay. "Adamant, are you getting enough water?" I wondered at him.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, don't worry about me," he said in that crackly voice that gave me shivers to hear, shaking his body like a wet dog would shake out his fur, except he had no fur, and he wasn't wet.
"No, I don't think he's been getting enough water at all," Zona said, looking sternly at him. "Adamant, we've talked about this. You need to start taking better care of yourself. You need to go swimming every day. Ideally, more than once a day. That's what Vaporeon need."
"Okay, yeah, well, anyone care to direct me to a water source that's easier to find?" Adamant grumbled. "I thought I could go to the waterfall village whenever I wanted. But they won't let me leave out that exit unless I'm going on a mission in that direction, and there's barely any missions out that way anymore. And I don't feel like going all the way to Iron Town Square whenever I want a drink of water. What am I supposed to do?!"
Zona looked sad. "If that's what you need to do, that's what you need to do," he said in his heartwarming kind of soft concern. "If that's the only pond you can get to from here, then yeah, you need to start thinking about going there every day. I'm sorry… that's just how it is."
"And what if I don't want to?" Adamant said sourly. "What if I like my leisure time after the daily missions and I don't want to waste it all running up and down Iron Town just to take a stupid bath?"
To my surprise… Gemstone stepped up to Adamant and got right into his face. She grabbed his neckfin and pulled it close to her. "That's something you should have thought about when you picked your evolution," she growled. "Now you're expecting us to have all the answers for you? You don't get to make it our problem."
Adamant tried to spit water at her, but no water would come out, and he just started making this awful hacking cough. Gemstone actually let go of him and backed away in revulsion.
Gemstone sighed, and looked at him. "Adamant… tell me honestly. Do you regret your evolution? Or are you happy being a Vaporeon?"
"I love this body," he said, looking down at the floor dejectedly. "I just didn't think… I didn't think it would be this hard. I'm sorry. I won't make it your problem."
"Yeah, well, as long as you're on Team Ember, it's always going to be our problem. Because you're a teammate," Gemstone told him. "We need to trust our teammates to carry out their duties. So you'd better get your act together, Adamant, and do it soon. Because you don't look like you're enjoying this, and we certainly don't like it either."
"Hey… we'll figure something out, alright?" Zona tried encouraging him. "You aren't the only water-type who lives in the Gold Division. Some of them need water even more than you do. So there must be some kind of way to help you. We'll get there, okay?"
"Okay…" Adamant croaked. "Okay, yeah. Okay. I guess we have to worry about the mission right now, though. What are we going to do?"
Everyone looked at me, ready for me to explain my plan. I told Adamant first, "I only asked because I'm going to need a nice, biiiig water attack," I said. "But not to worry. The thief we're going for, it says their hideout is next to a pond. So you can take a swim there before we attack. And I need a big one. A big, biiiiig hydro-pump. Can I count on you?"
"Yeah, I can probably do that," Adamant said sheepishly. "What else?"
And then I explained my whole plan to them. I explained everything I'd come up with since talking to Tallie just an hour earlier.
They listened and listened. And when I was done, they all sat back and stared at me like I was a genius. Or like I was the biggest idiot in the universe. Either way, I think it left an impression!
"And so that's how we're going to beat a dragon!" I said, swaggering at them. "Any questions?"
"I don't know if that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, or most hilarious thing I've ever heard," Gemstone said, still gawking at me, calling it hilarious even though she wasn't even laughing. "But even I will admit… and I don't admit this very often, so enjoy it while it lasts… that sounds like some of the most fun I'm ever going to have."
"I'd run to Iron Town Square every day for a whole year if it meant I would get to do something like that," said Adamant, cracking an awesome smile. "Count me in. Absolutely."
"Honestly, I can't wait to see if this works!" Zona said in awe. "If it works, I think this is going to change the way I look at outlaw missions forever."
"Good!" I cheered, bouncing around cutely. "I'm glad we're all in agreement. All that's missing now is Tallie's cooperation. Now, just like Hunter said, it's time for all cute little foxies… and other four-legged Pokémon… to get their rest. Big day tomorrow!"
We adjourned the meeting and returned to our rooms, already imagining the crazy stuff that may or may not ensue the very next day. Honestly, I didn't know if it would even work at all. It was the first time I'd ever pulled off something like this, after all! But I was eager to try. It's like I said… either I'd get something I really want, or I'd get hilarious reactions. Either way was a win in my book.
I fell asleep imagining Pokémon everywhere proudly calling me by my new, real name. A name I would have really earned, fair and square.
Oh. And spoilers, by the way: I totally did it. I pulled it off more or less the way I wanted. What, you really think I'd be telling a story like this if I didn't pull it off? You think I'd be this proud and go through this much setup to tell you the story of a miserable failure?
Naaah. I earned my new name in a glorious triumph! And I evolved too, so it became my true name!
Now all that's left is for you to wait and see exactly how I did it. Muahaha!