The Dragon Kingdom, a place of beauty and serenity. Filled to the brim with all kinds of Dragon-type Pokémon, and it was above this majestic land that we find Hopper. He was flying with the rest of the kingdom's Skeidran population, Titan and Mercy flying on either side of him. They were currently spiraling around the large crystal in the center of the cavern, illuminating the place as they flew up. And it was there that Titan led the three down to land atop it, allowing them to stand at the very zenith of the land.
"Look around you, my son," Titan told Hopper, "Everything the light touches, is our kingdom."
"Wow..." Hopper whispered, only to raise an eyebrow, "Wait...what about the tunnels leading here? Those aren't touched by the light." Titan glared at him as Mercy let out a laugh.
"Alright, smarty pants. Everything the light touches, plus the tunnels leading here, is our kingdom! And it is our destiny to stand protectively over this land as its leaders and peacekeepers."
"I understand that," Hopper replied, nodding. "But staying would mean I'd be leaving behind everything I've ever known."
"I'm sure it must be hard," Mercy added, "That Flash boy does seem like a good trainer."
"Oh, he's the best!" Hopper cheered, "He's kind and nice and...and...and he's done so much for me, and I feel like I haven't even started to repay him! That and his team is great! Springer, Riptide, Skyler, Prongs and Viper...oh, they're all such great friends! That and Shine..." He hung his head at this, "If I leave Flash now, I...I don't know. There's so much we haven't done yet..." His words drained out at this, making his parents glance at each other with long frowns on their faces.
But before they could say anything, a sound caught their attention, making them look down at the lake below. There a Dragalge and a Kingdra were staring one another down. "You've got some nerve!" The Kingdra roared.
"I've got some nerve?!" Dragalge barked back before taking a deep breath, ready to fire an attack. But before it could, a certain figure landed into the lake, the water in splashed into both faces. "What?!"
They then turned to the figure, both freezing as they saw it was Titan, hovering above them both. "What's going on here?!" he growled.
"He stole the Oran Berries I gathered!" Kingdra almost yelled, pointing to the tree on the shore full of the fruit. "I promised my kids a treat. It took me ages to shoot them down, and when I finally had enough, I left them on the shore and went to get my younglings." As he said that, a quartet of Horsea emerged. "But when he got here, that Dragalge had eaten them all!"
Titan turned to the Dragalge, "Is this true?!"
"I didn't know they were his. I thought they just fell on the ground."
"Don't give me that," Kingdra hissed, "Even if they did, there's no way they'd have rolled that far away from the tree! You should have left them alone and got some yourself! You can actually go on land, remember?!"
The two continued to glare at one another, Titan sighing at the sight.
"Enough!" Titan almost roared before flying over to the tree. He then slammed it with his tail, the force knocking several Oran Berries down. Once that was done, he picked them up and flew back to Kingdra before dropping them in the water. "There. Even more than you likely had before. That'll make your young happy." He turned to Dragalge. "And in the future, ask around before eating food you haven't picked yourself. Understand?!" Dragalge slowly nodded. "Good. Now, I hope this will be the last time I see you both fighting."
"Yes, my king," they replied, Kingdra diving back underwater as the other started to walk away. As they left, Hopper stared at his father in amazement.
"Wow..." he whispered. "That was incredible! He solved it without fighting."
"Of course," Mercy added, "That's what a king does. Moderating conflict with violence is the last option."
"That makes sense," Hopper nodded as Titan flew up to them, all soon returning to the flock. As they did this, he saw the differently colored Skeidran known as Princess. She was surrounded by several other Skeidran, all flying around her while showing off different attacks.
One fired a Hyper Beam into the air, almost hitting a Vibrava by accident before the recoil made it freeze and almost crash until one of its friends caught it. Another showed off its Acrobatics attack, only to accidently slam into the crystal by mistake. The last one started using Dragon Claw, swinging them through the air, leaving trails of green behind.
But no matter what they did, Princess just ignored them.
"Poor girl," Mercy sighed, shaking her head. "It's been like this since the day she hatched. Every Hoppin, Velocirush and Skeidran has been trying to woo her."
"Why doesn't she just pick one?" He asked. "They all look really strong, so why doesn't she just pick one and get them to stop bothering her?"
"I think she's looking for something more than strength. Though what, I can't really be sure." Hopper blinked at this, staring at Princess before seeing her glance at him. And as their eyes locked, Hopper felt himself blush, making him look away.
Meanwhile...
Down on the ground, Flash and his friends were all exploring the kingdom. Many of their Pokémon were out, either enjoying the sights or relaxing and playing with some of the kingdom's young Dragon-types. "NEE!" Shine laughed as a Starvern chased after her, the group playing tag.
At the same time, Drayce was explaining everything about the Dragon Kingdom. "We have everything we need here. Many vents allow fresh air in, and the water flowing in nurtures our crops so they can grow. It also gives us plenty to drink, and we even managed to create a fully functioning sewage system to remove our waste."
Scylla nodded in agreement, "Everything that can be recycled is, and the power we use for several of our devices is supplied by a hydroelectric dam that was built by my grandfather."
"An underground hydroelectric dam?" Doc chimed in, "That's incredible."
"I can show you it tomorrow if you like. I'm sure you all are still tired from your long day."
"It was quite exhausting," Twilight commented before noticing the Skeidran flying over them, Hopper then breaking from the pack and gliding down to them.
"Hey bud," Flash said as Hopper landed, quickly moving over to pet him, "I bet you had fun."
"Dran!" Hopper cheered, rubbing his head up to his trainer next.
As this happened, one level above them was Ryu, the teen glaring down at them. "How dare he do that with the prince..."
"You know, they're really good people once you get to know them." He turned to see Kaida walking up, "You could give them a chance."
"They don't belong here," he hissed, "Just because they brought the prince back, everyone's singing their praises. And now, he very well could take the prince away, and there's nothing we could do to stop him!"
"That's why it's all the more important we stay on his good side," Kaida replied, "Nobody's happy about Hopper not being trained here, but maybe this was something that was meant to happen."
"What are you saying?!" Ryu barked back, "What was meant to happen was that I was going to train the prince. I was supposed to be the one to raise him in our clan's ancient ways, but now that's all been stolen by some outsider!"
"And that's his fault?" Kaida asked with crossed arms, "He wasn't the one who stole the egg, remember? And it's not like he would have known who Hopper was when he saw the mark. Nobody knows about our kingdom or our traditions. Maybe if we didn't keep everything about ourselves a secret-"
"Don't say another word." Ryu interrupted, "We stay down here, away from the rest of the world in order to protect what we have. To protect the dragons." He slowly shook his head, "We can't make our presence known to the surface."
"Why? Because it's what Cadmus wanted?" As she said that name, Ryu froze up, the glare on his face growing as she continued, "Don't give me that look. I won't deny what he did was extreme, but he also had a point. There's so much we can help teach the world, and so much it can teach us. If we'd just let ourselves open up and not reject it-"
"Then we'd be opening our doors for more thieves and poachers to come in and destroy everything we hold dear." Ryu spat before looking away, "As the next kai, it's my duty to protect this land. And in order to protect it, I have to get rid of any outside influence." He glared down at Flash, "Including them."
"You can stay in a currently empty house for the night," Scylla told them as they made their way through the town. "As you can probably guess, we don't get a lot of visitors, so we never really need to have a guest house."
"We understand," Twilight replied, "We'd be happy to camp if that makes thing easy."
"Nonsense," Drayce responded, waving a hand, "We have a house available for you, though it is lacking in furnishings."
"Whatever you have is fine," Doc finished as they directed them to the house. As they did this, they saw a pair of Altaria, one sitting on the ground while the other was standing with its wings spread. "What's going on there?"
Scylla laughed at this, "That Altaria is about to court the other." As she said that, the standing Altaria began to dance by flapping its wings around, bobbing its head. Everyone was mesmerized by the sight, including Hopper as he blinked at the sight. The Altaria continued to dance with its possible mate watching him, the female looking quite impressed.
It then got up and started mimicking the other, the two dancing in perfect harmony until they both stopped and wrapped their necks around one another. This made everyone around them cheer, only for the Altaria to fly off to get...better acquainted, Drayce and Scylla continuing to lead their guests through the kingdom.
"Here it is," Drayce pointed to a nice looking house at the lowest layer of the bowl. "Feel free to look around, but it'll be dark soon, so I'd suggest getting to bed."
"Dark?" Spike asked, "How can you tell if that crystal's lighting the place up?"
"He does raise a valid point," Doc added, "The light it gives off is excellent during the day, but it'll make sleeping impossible unless these houses are built to completely block out light."
Drayce and Scylla shined smiles before telling them they would understand soon. And as they said this, ten minutes passed before the crystal stopped illuminating the cavern with its bright light. Instead, it began to glow dimmer, just like a sunset before losing all its light. But seconds later, a new light was unleashed from it. This one was a dime blue light, keeping the cavern from being pitch black, but keeping it dark enough for everyone to sleep.
"How?" Twilight asked once the blue light filled the room.
"We don't really know," Scylla replied. "It's always done that. As soon as the sun sets on the surface, the crystal's light changes."
Drayce nodded in agreement, "And when the sun rises, the crystal will change again."
"Wow..."
Outside the Dragon Kingdom...
The man known as Cadmus stood atop a cliff with a pair of binoculars. He was staring at the 'volcano' that was the entrance to his former home. "There it is..." he chuckled before turning to his generals. "Fafnir, Libelle, we're heading out. We'll split into teams of three, and then lead out groups toward the entrance once it gets dark enough."
"Why can't we just go in full force?" Libelle asked, "We can take 'em."
"Maybe, but I'd rather not tire our troops out by taking down the sentries, and possibly losing the element of surprise."
"Understood," Fafnir replied, nodding. "We'll be careful."
"Good," Cadmus turned back to the mountain, "I won't let anything blow this for me. It's time I finally got what is rightfully mine." With that, they headed down to join their army as the light from the setting sun got dimmer.
As the night went on, all the Pokémon were asleep in front of the house their trainers were in. All except one.
Hopper was curled up on the ground, Springer and Shine laying against him. He had been trying to get to sleep all night, feeling several short bursts of rest, but still waking up, feeling confused and almost sick. He had fun earlier, flying around with his own kind, seeing his father settle a dispute between those two...and the place was truly beautiful. But all the time, he couldn't help but think of his friends, of his trainer, Flash.
"Skeidran," he moaned while opening his eyes. And as he did this, he saw something in the distance. The shiny Skeidran known as Princess was staring at him from afar, then spun around with a smile on her face. The sight made Hopper slowly get up, unable to deny a feeling she wanted him to follow her.
At the same time, a door on the side of the house behind Hopper opened, the quiet telltale sound of a flush being heard. Flash walked out next, stretching while yawning before walking back to the house, only to bump into something.
"Whoa!" he yelped, backpedaling before seeing who had hit him, "Twilight?"
"Flash?" She rubbed her eyes and corrected her glasses, "What are you doing up?"
"Bathroom. You?"
"Same." She quickly walked past him, Flash heading for the door again before turning to spot something.
"Hopper?" He whispered as he saw Skeidran standing up, being careful to not wake those sleeping against him, then slowly walked away from the house. "Where's he going?"
The trainer watched as the dragon began to head toward a wooded part of the chamber, only for a voice to ring out, "Flash?" He almost jumped at the voice, turning to see Twilight, "What are you doing?" Flash responded by pointing at Hopper, the girl squinting at the Pokémon, "Where's he going?"
"I'm not sure. Come on..." Flash replied as he started to follow his Skeidran, Twilight hot on his tail. They soon reached the trees, hiding behind a bush as they saw another Skeidran.
"Hmm? What are they doing?"
"No idea."
As Flash said that, Princess seemed to suddenly disappear underground. Hopper quickly chased after her, Flash and Twilight tailing him as they soon came to a stop as they found themselves at the edge of a small slope covered in sand. It lead down to the beach surrounding the lake that had the crystal island in the center of it.
Hopper stared at Princess at the bottom of the slope, walking over to the lake. She then turned around, giving him a look that said 'you coming?'
Flash and Twilight had hidden themselves behind a pair of trees at this, staring at the two as Hopper took a deep breath before puffing his chest out. The Skeidran intended to strut his stuff, ready to look cool...only to take the first step as the sand gave away, letting out a less then manly scream as he began to fall down the bank. Flash and Twilight flinched at this, quickly running to the edge as they saw him roll over to Princess, kicking up sand along the way.
"Well, that could have gone better," Flash whispered as Princess jumped to the side, allowing Hopper to roll up to the edge of the lake. The Prince of Dragons quickly picked himself up, shaking his body before turning to the female just as he saw Flash and Twilight up on the ledge in the corner of his eye.
Princess stared at him, tilting her head before moving around, using her wings and tail to sweep the sand, allowing her a comfortable place to sit. Once done, she turned back to Hopper, sitting down while giving him a gesture saying 'Well?'
Hopper just blinked at her, staring before turning to Flash. His trainer saw this, standing up and flapping his arms to signal what he should do. Hopper stared at this for a second, only to start beating his wings as well, just like the Altaria from before. However, as he did this, he kicked up a bunch of sand and pushed it over to Princess.
The female quickly covered herself with her wings, the sand hitting her. Hopper backpedaled at this, gulping as he saw Princess uncover herself. There was sand on her face, the Skeidran sneezing after accidently breathing some in. She wiped her nose, giving Hopper a glare that said, 'Seriously?!'
Hopper grumbled an apology, his eyes darting back to the trainers as Twilight got up...and started doing the chicken dance.
"What are you doing?" Flash yelped.
"What?" She turned to him, "This is a traditional mating dance for a lot of avian species."
"Hopper is not a bird!"
"Well, I'm sorry. There aren't a lot of dragon mating dances that have been recorded."
Either way, Hopper started doing the dance, getting...questionable results, with Princess staring at him with a look of utter perplexity.
"Oi..." Flash hid his face in his hand, sighing as he looked away as well. As for Hopper, he was now jumping on the spot, his wings up and crossed behind his head while his tail was pointed straight up. He bounced toward Princess, only for Princess to suddenly bonk him on the nose, telling him to stop.
She then turned away, flying to a lone branch of a nearby tree that was sticking out of the ledge wall, landing on it while wrapping her tail around it. The dragon fell back at this, hanging from it like a bat as Hopper slowly moving up to her. However, she just frowned, wrapping her wings around her while forming a cocoon that kept her from looking at Hopper.
"I don't think she's impressed," Twilight commented.
"Augh!" Flash yelped, slamming his head into his crossed arms, "There's gotta be something that'll get her attention."
They then heard a noise and saw that Hopper had flown up and landed on the branch, the two now seeing the branch beginning to strain under their combined weight. Hopper moved over to the very end of the branch, staring at Princess before noticing movement, glancing back at the two trainers. Both were silently trying to tell him to get off, miming that the branch was gonna snap and the two would fall. Unfortunately, Hopper took this the wrong way and thought they were suggesting he break the branch.
And so, Hopper began jumping up and down, causing the branch to sway. Princess felt this and unfurled herself, staring up at Hopper, telling him to stop. But as she did this, the sound of the branch breaking caught his ears. A snap happened a second later, but only the part Hopper was on. "DRAN!" He cried while falling to the ground, slamming his head right into the sand.
The section Princess was on remained intact, eventually stopping as the shiny Skeidran laughed at the antics of the young prince before wrapping herself up again. Hopper picked himself up at this, shaking the sand out of his fur before glancing back up at Princess. Only a single eye was visible now, clearly curious about what he would do next, but she covered it when she saw him looking.
"Ooh!" Flash began to wave his arms, "I've got an idea!" Hopper turned to him, but shook his head before he could mime what he wanted him to do, clearly done listening to the humans in this matter.
Instead, he looked down at the ground, sighing as he stared at a piece of branch in the sand, a plan forming in his head. So when Princess uncovered her eye, she was met with the sight of Hopper holding the branch in his mouth and using it to start drawing in the sand. She and the trainers stared at him, Hopper not noticing as he simply focused on his work.
He dragged the branch through the sand, making lines that twisted and turned. Whenever he made a mistake, he would use his wing to rub it out, trying again and again. The dragon even used his tail to draw certain parts, all while Princess watched and eventually jumped down to get a better look.
It was at this moment Hopper looked up from his work, now seeing Princess moving up to him, making him stop for a second. The two stared at one another, Princess then looking down as Hopper continued to stare at her. But as he did this, he looked back at his drawing, only to add something else in. And as he did the last stroke, he moved away to allow Princess to take it all in.
What she was looking at was an incredibly realistic image of her head and neck. Though looking a little cartoony, it was clear what it was meant to be, showing the amount of skill he had to do this.
"Oh, now you can draw," Flash grumbled while Twilight giggled. They watched as princess took a closer look, her gaze shifting between it and its creator.
The drawing stood between the two, Princess trying to walk up to him, only to accidently step on a line of the drawing. This made Hopper frown at her, Princess seeing her mistake and pulling her foot off before going around it. Hopper dropped the branch and also moved around, the two Skeidran meeting halfway.
The two stared at one another, their heads turning from left to right. It was then that the lighting in the chamber began to change, the soft blue light quickly being replaced by a dim yellow light that would grow brighter by the second. This change in lighting caught Princess's attention, making her smirk before turning to walk off, once again trailing her tail across his chin. The motion made Hopper giggle like a love stuck idiot, the tip flicking off him as she spread her wings and took to the air.
Hopper watched as she flew off into the air, turning to give him a smirk before she flew over to the island with the crystal, circling around it before disappearing out of sight.
Flash and Twilight watched her, then looked down at Hopper. "I'm no expert, but..." Flash asked while leaning over to Twilight. "Did that go well or not?"
"I think she's interested," Twilight replied, "But it'll take a lot more than one good date to form a strong lasting relationship. Especially with a girl like her."
"I guess you're right," Flash responded, nodding in agreement.
Twilight then turned to him, a frown appearing on her face. "Flash...you realise what this could mean, right?" He glanced back at her as her frown grew, "If Hopper and Princess do grow attracted to one another, that might make Hopper want to stay here."
"Oh...yeah." Flash muttered as he looked back down at his Skeidran, seeing he was still staring at the empty sky Princess had been in. "Hopper..."
The Next Day...
As the sun began to rise, Cadmus and his troops were continuing to make their way through the mountains, just now reaching the base of the volcano entrance. Along the way, they had left many Dragon Pokémon and their riders frozen in blocks of ice. They had been unable to protect themselves, and thanks to Magnezone, had been unable to call for help or warn those in the kingdom.
And as they got to the entrance, Libelle started coughing as she waved at the smoke, "Ugh...I knew we should have brought masks for the smoke."
"You'll just have to hold your breath. The masks we have are for something far more important than this." Fafnir added before turning to Cadmus. "You ready?"
Cadmus remained quiet as he stared into the smoke, "I've been waiting for this moment for almost eight years. I'm more than ready." He turned to the rest of his legion, all waiting for orders. "Battle with everything you have. They may not appear strong from the little resistance we've faced, but the trainers in this kingdom are powerful. Attack hard and attack fast, but also be ready to get out at a second's notice. I want to escape as soon as we have the prince of dragons in our possession."
The legion nodded before Cadmus, Libelle and Fafnir turned back to the volcano mouth. Libelle's Magnezone flew above the two men as they held out metal U shapes that magnetically locked onto the Electric Steel-type's bottom. Weavile gripped Fafnir's leg as Magnezone floated up, flying them into the hole before gently dropping down.
"I'm coming home," Cadmus calmly spoke as they disappeared into the black fog.
Meanwhile...
Flash was now watching Hopper as flew through the sky with his parents. He was sitting on a rock with the rest of his Pokémon around him, humming at the sight of the flying dragon.
"Mind if I sit besides you?" Flash turned to the voice, seeing Drayce walking up. The teen then shifted aside to let him sit, "I don't want to pressure you, but have you decided what you're going to do about Hopper?"
Flash shook his head. "No. I'm sorry."
"I'm not upset. This is a complicated situation we find ourselves in." He let out a long sigh, "We waited so long for Titan and Mercy to have an egg, and when it was stolen...well, we feared our home would be thrown into chaos. And when we learned he had been found, everyone was so joyous."
"I know..." Flash muttered as he looked away, "But Hopper and I have gone through so much together."
"That's very true." Drayce admitted while nodding, "And maybe you two were meant to meet. It's clear Hopper has more experience then any other Skeidran, which may help him grow into a fine king one day."
As those words went through Flash's head, his lip trembled before turning back to Drayce, "But...well...would it be okay to let him gain more experience?" Drayce raised an eyebrow at this, Flash continuing, "You said it yourself that Hopper can't become king until he learn Wyvern Wing, so why doesn't he keep travelling with me until then? And when he finally learns the move...I'll bring him back." Drayce opened his mouth at this, only for-
"NO WAY!" They both turned to the voice, now seeing Ryu walking up to them, "You think we're just gonna let you take our prince away again?! It broke Titan and Mercy's heart the last time that happened!"
"Ryu..." Drayce growled, "You need to calm down."
"No, you need to open your eyes." He pointed at Flash. "How do we know he won't just take off and never come back with the prince?! We can't trust him. We don't even know him!"
Flash stood up at this, "Well maybe if you actually stopped insulting me and got to know me, you'd learn I'd never do anything like that!"
"I already know you!" Ryu barked back, "You're an outsider trying to destroy our clan for your own selfish reasons! Well I won't stand for it anymore! I...challenge you to a battle. And when I win, you'll hand the prince of dragons over to me where he belongs!"
This statement got Flash and all his Pokémon to go wide-eyed, only for Drayce to stand up, "Ryu! That is not our way!"
"I'm just doing what you're to scared to do. Protecting our home from invaders."
"Well you can forget it!" Flash yelled, "If you want to battle me, then fine! But I'm not putting Hopper up like some kind of prize!"
"Why you little-"
"Dran!" said a new voice, Flash now feeling a nudge on his side.
Flash turned and gasped, "Hopper?" His Pokémon poked his trainer, making Flash blink, "Wait...do you...want me to fight him?"
"Dran!" Hopper nodded.
"But...you do know what will happen if we lose." Hopper nodded again, making Flash sight, "Alright." He glanced back at Ryu, "You're on."
"Excellent." Ryu chuckled, Drayce sighing at the sight.
At the same time...
In one of the chambers, many of the Dragon-types were enjoying their day to day lives of eating, playing and even training.
But that all stopped when a strange powder started to rain down from above. They looked up, trying to find the source of the mist...only to go wide-eyed.
A large group of Ice-types were flying above them, including Frosmoth, Vanilluxe and Cryogonal. On each Pokémon's back was a Morelull unleashing the powder that rained down upon them. And as they saw this, they realized it was the move Sleep Powder.
One by one, the reptiles began to fall over, slowly drifting off to sleep.
"Ha!" Cadmus cackled as he and the others flew in, all wearing masks to halt the powder. "No more reinforcements. Now we just have to worry about the dragons in the main part of the kingdom."
News travelled fast, everyone in the kingdom soon hearing about Ryu's challenge to Flash. Every member of the place ran over to the main square for the battle. Flash's friends sat besides Kaida and Scylla, with Titan, Mercy, Princess and the rest of the Skeidran standing behind them to watch the battle as well.
Flash and Ryu stood opposite one another, Drayce standing between them with a grim expression on his face. "Boys, we don't have to do this. We can come to an understanding without the need for violence."
Ryu shook his head. "No dad, this has to happen. For the sake of our people, I will be victorious and reclaim what is rightfully ours!"
Flash crossed his arms at this, "Hopper isn't yours, and he's not mine either. If he wants to stay here, I won't stop him. But I won't let you force him to stay if he wants to leave either. That's why I'm gonna beat you."
"That's not gonna happen." He took out a Pokeball, "The prince will stay here where he belongs! Noivern, let's go!" In a flash of red, the bat dragon appeared.
"NOIVERN!" It roared while taking flight, circling around Ryu before glaring at Flash and his team.
"Noivern..." Flash whispered, "Got it." He turned to the others, all yelling that they wanted to battle. But one roar silenced them all.
"SKEIDRAN!" They all turned to Hopper, the Pokémon pushing past the others.
"Hopper?" The proto-dragon nodded back, staring Flash right in the eyes, "Yeah, I getcha. It's only right you be the one to fight, since this is a matter of you're future. Alright Hopper, I choose you!" Hopper let out another roar and ran up to the field, Ryu going wide-eyed.
"What?! You can't do that!"
"Sure he can," Twilight yelled, "Hopper's still his Pokémon, and Flash is right about him having every right to fight for his own freedom."
"Shut up, you outsider! He's not allowed to fight! He belongs to this kingdom!"
"But she is right Ryu." Drayce interrupted, Ryu glaring at his father as he pointed at Flash, "I will allow this. Flash may use Hopper, and Ryu will use Noivern. The battle will be over when one of your Pokémon is unable to continue."
Ryu growled as he glared at Flash, seeing a look pure determination on his face. The same look was on Hopper's face, making Ryu sigh, "I hate to do this, but it's for the greater good. Alright, let's get this over with."
"You ready Hopper?" Flash got a nod in response.
"Very well," Drayce raised a hand, "Then battle...BEGIN!"
"Boomburst!" Noivern unleashed a blast of sound out at the command.
"Up in the air!" Flash yelled as his Skeidran spun around before jumping straight up, the Boomburst missing him as he flew upward. "Now, Extreme Speed!" Hopper glowed as he accelerated forward, flying at Noivern, slamming into it before the Dragon-type could react.
"Noivern!" It cried from the blow, spreading his wings to recover before crashing.
"Dragon Claw!" Noivern flew straight up as a light-green aura formed around each of its hands, now taking the shape of claws.
"Steel Wing!" Hopper's wings glowed as he charged at Noivern, the two's attacks slamming into one another before both getting knocked back. "Now, use Dragon Tail!" Hopper quickly pumped his wings, pushing himself toward Noivern as his tail began to glow.
"Boomburst!"
"Noy!" As Hopper spun around to slam his tail into it, Noivern fired the sonic blast from its ears, hitting the proto-dragon.
"Dran!" Hopper was thrown back before his tail could reach, the bat dragon now flying straight up.
"Aerial Ace!" Noivern circled around before diving straight down, the slipstream appearing around it as it drew closer.
"Look out!" Flash yelled before Hopper was struck, letting out a cry as he was slammed into the ground, sliding along the dirt. His fellow Skeidran all flinched at the impact, Mercy using her wings to keep her from watching her child in pain. "You okay?"
Hopper immediately pushed himself back to his feet, "Dran!" He barked before spreading his wings, right as Noivern circled around for another attack.
"Dragon Pulse!" Noivern let out a roar, firing the dragon shaped blast of energy that Hopper easily evaded by taking to the air.
"SKY!" He said as he began zipping across the sky, dodging every blast as Hopper got closer to the bat.
"Crunch!" Hopper spun like a drill to evade another Dragon Pulse, allowing him to shoot past Noivern before stopping just as he was next to its tail. And with a mighty roar, he bit down, making Noivern cry out before it was yanked back.
Hopper grabbed his tail in his claws and swung it down, letting go as the bat dragon to crashed face first into the ground. "NOIVERN!"
Flash's friends cheered at the blow, but Scylla and Kaida grimaced as they saw Ryu's expression. "This is far from over."
"So, what do you think?" The blue haired teen asked as Hopper landed, "See how strong I've gotten Hopper?"
"I admit he's powerful," Ryu spat, "But not nearly as powerful as he would have been if he'd been trained by his true trainer. You have no right, outsider!" Noivern picked itself up at this, "Only a true draconid can awaken a Dragon-type's ultimate power. And to do that, they must have complete trust in that Pokémon." In that moment, Noivern flared his wings and took to the air.
The sight made the teen smirk, the bat diving down as the trainer jumped up. He then landed right in Noivern's saddle, gripping the handles as the dragon shot up.
"What are you doing?!" Flash yelped as Noivern hovered above him.
"This is what a true Dragon Trainer does!" Ryu yelled, "They have such faith in their Pokémon that they're willing to even put their own safety in its hands...claw...you get it." He began to do some subtle body movements, Noivern following his command at these few motions.
"This is insane!" Twilight gasped.
"Get down from there and fight fair!" Doc added.
Ryu glared back at them, "This is a draconid battle. If he can't handle it, he has no right to the prince!"
"Oh, I'll show you I can handle it!" Flash barked as he prepared to get on Hopper, only for the Skeidran to leap into the air before he could. "Hopper!"
"Dran!" He roared as he flew at Noivern, Ryu grinning as he pulled back, making Noiven evade Hopper's attempt to tackle it.
"Dragon Claw!" The green energy claws appeared, Noivern slashing Hopper.
"Steel Wing!" Hopper turned to Noivern and charged with glowing wings, Ryu pushing Noivern forward as the Dragon Claw continued. But as the two got close, Ryu turned Noivern so they flew past one another before the bat dragon circled around.
"NOIVERN!" It slammed its attack into Hopper's back, making him cry out.
"Boomburst!" Before Hopper could recover, Noivern unleashed a blast of sound, slamming Hopper again.
"HOPPER!" Flash yelled while everyone else gasped, seeing their prince about to painfully crash. But as this happened, they gasped again as Flash ran up to where Hopper was about to land, sliding along the ground. Seconds later, Hopper crashed down on top of him, causing a large cloud of dust to be kicked up.
"FLASH!" Twilight and his Pokémon screamed, all standing up with wide eyes. Everyone else gulped at the sight, the cloud soon fading to reveal Hopper.
The Skeidran picked itself up, looking down at his trainer as Flash let out a long groan. Flash slowly got up, patting Hopper's head as he said, "I'm okay."
"Sky," Hopper sighed in relief, looking back at Ryu and Noivern next as Ryu just glared at them.
"See?! This is what a true dragon trainer is!"
Flash let out a low moan, "I'm so sick of this. Come on bud, let's show them how a true team works together." Hopper nodded and crouched down, allowing Flash to jump onto his back. The Skeidran flared his wings next, soon taking to the air before getting to Ryu and Noivern's level. "This time, it's winner take all!"
"Oh, I intend to!" Ryu barked back, "You will lose! The prince belongs here!"
"I won't lose to you!" Flash pulled Hopper to the side just as Noivern fired a Boomburst, Noivern then flapping back before going even higher. "After them!" Hopper gave chase as the four flew off, away from the main area.
"Where are they going?" Spike asked as Hopper caught up, only to then dodge a Dragon Pulse.
"Anywhere they can," Scylla replied, "This is now a no holds bar battle, the way Dragon-types fight in the wild."
"Flash..." Twilight whispered.
"Extreme Speed!" Flash yelled as Hopper shot ahead, both glowing as they tackled Noivern before it could escape. "Grab it!" Hopper grabbed hold of Noivern's wings in his claws, the bat dragon roaring as it tried to escape. "Now Crunch!"
"Dran!" Hopper bit into Noivern's shoulder, making it cry out.
"Let us go!" Ryu screamed as he pulled on his reins, Noivern trying to get Hopper off, "Fine. Boomburst!" Noivern unleashed the sonic blasts from its ears, Hopper letting go just before it fired. "Now, Dragon Pulse!" It unleashed another burst of dragonic energy, Flash pulling Hopper to the left so he could barrel roll out of the way.
"Dragon Tail!" Hopper zipped up to swipe at Noivern, but Ryu ordered another Boomburst, forcing Hopper to dodge it. "Dang it! Alright, Steel Wing!" Hopper flew around in a circle, his wings glowing.
"Again!" Ryu yelled as Noivern spun around before unleashing another Boomburst, forcing Hopper to duck.
Meanwhile, the whole dragon kingdom had taken to the skies. Each of them was flying on one of their dragons so they could watch the two battle, Twilight, Spike and Doc riding on Salamence with Springer and Shine riding too. "This doesn't look good!" Twilight gulped as Hopper was countered at every move, "Hopper has to get close to attack and Ryu knows it."
"He's using that to his advantage," Drayce commented while riding Titan.
"Rio ri!" Springer yelled at his teammate.
"Nee taa!" Shine neighed, trying to add encouragement to her best friend.
"Whoa!" Flash yelped as Hopper dropped down to avoid the latest Boomburst, the two quickly flying back out of range. Flash then spotted Ryu's face, seeing the smug expression. "We need to get those two apart." He growled, re-positioning himself so he was laying on his front with his legs between Hopper's wings. "Extreme Speed!"
"Dran!" Hopper did a loop-de-loop before diving at Noivern, Ryu smirking at the sight.
"Wait for it!" They watched as they to got closer, "Wait..." They soon got within a few feet. "Now! Boomburst!"
"NOIVERN!" The bat dragon unleashed the sonic blast that hit Hopper, ready to hit him head-on. Everyone watching gasped at the sight, ready to flinch at the next blow until-
"NOW!" Flash brought his feet up and sprung off of Hopper, the dragon suddenly shifting so he flew under the Boomburst. The attack flew between them, Flash then falling onto Noivern. "GOTCHA!" He tackled Ryu, casuing Noivern to jerk back, making his rider slip out of his saddle.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Ryu screamed as they fell, causing their audience to scream while Flash just smirked.
"Dragon Tail!" Noivern heard this just as he looked back at his struggling rider, not noticing Hopper flying back around while still being boosted by the speed of its last attack. And when it turned back, Hopper raised his tail at Noivern's face.
"SKEIDRAN!" Hopper screeched as he smashed Noivern with his tail, sending it flying off in another direction. As this happened, Noivern crashed into several trees as both trainers were flung off. They both then crashed into a lake, one the dragons had flown over.
Both sank down a few feet under the water, only to surface, gasping for air, "Are you insane?!" Ryu barked, "You could have killed us!"
"Maybe," Flash smirked before they heard a roar and saw Hopper fly down, "But it gave us just the opening we needed." He raised an arm, Hopper swooping down and grabbing it, throwing him onto his back, "Nice work bud."
"Dran!" Hopper replied, nodding as the audience sighed in relief.
"Those two are gonna be the death of me," Drayce moaned.
"It's not over yet," Scylla added as Noivern took to the skies.
"Don't let him get to his trainer! Extreme Speed!" Noivern suddenly found itself getting slammed by Hopper's foot just as it heard Ryu order it to use Dragon Pulse. The bat dragon roared as it unleashed the attack, which Hopper easily dodged as Flash commanded, "Steel Wing!" Still boosted by Extreme Speed, Hopper slashed at Noivern with his wings.
"NOY!" It roared as it was struck, Hopper quick to fly back around to slash it again. "VERN!"
"Boomburst!" Noivern unleashed its sonic blast, hitting Flash and Hopper head on.
"Augh/Dran!" They cried as they were pushed back, allowing Noivern to fly down and grab Ryu. By the time they had recovered, their opponents were back in the air, Ryu in the saddle. Despite this, Flash noticed Noivern was flapping its wings slowly. "We got this bud. That Dragon Tail it took earlier had to have done some serious damage."
"We have to end this before it goes on too long." Ryu growled as he signalled Noivern to charge, Hopper and Flash doing the same. "Dragon Claw!"
"Steel Wing!" The two collided, slamming their attacks into one another. Both went flying back from the blow, Noivern quickly dashing away from the lake so Flash couldn't pull that stunt again. "Follow 'em! Extreme Speed!" Hopper accelerated, instantly catching up to Noivern, getting within attack range.
"Boomburst!" Noivern spun around, firing the attack, but the two dodged it with a quick barrel roll.
"Crunch!" Hopper thrust his head out, biting the bat's tail before yanking it and grabbing the Noivern with his claws.
He then threw the dragon downward, making Ryu scream, "WHOA!" Both began to flail around, trying to regain stability.
"Let's finish this! Extreme Speed!" Hopper accelerated for the last time and shot around in all directions, making it impossible for Ryu and Noivern to follow. "NOW!" Ryu looked straight up, now seeing Hopper diving down.
"Dragon Pulse!" Noivern unleashed the attack, but Hopper didn't stop. He let the attack hit him, pushing right through. Ryu gasped at the sight, only to see Hopper suddenly midair spin before he thrusting both feet down, slamming into Noivern.
Rider and Pokémon screamed as they went crashing toward the ground, smashing into it while kicking up a cloud of dust. Everyone flinched at the sight, landing down just as Ryu flew out of the cloud, apparently thrown from his seat before rolling along the dirt. At the same time, the cloud vanished to show Hopper pinning Noivern to the ground. By the look on its face, the bat dragon wasn't doing too well.
Ryu's eyes went wide as he picked himself up, right as Flash patted Hopper on the back. "Do it." Hopper nodded and took a deep breath, everyone thinking he was about to unleash an attack.
"NO!" Ryu screamed while running up to his partner, but it was too late. Hopper thrust his head down and unleashed what he had built up. A super loud roar.
"DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" He screamed right in Noivern's face, making it flinch in terror. Once that was done, Hopper blasted a burst of air out of his nose before getting off of Noivern's back. This surprised everyone, Princess looking at Hopper with new interest.
"What?!" Ryu yelped as he saw Flash hop off Hopper's back, "Why did you...you could have won."
"Exactly," Flash replied before patting Hopper's head, "I know it, you know it, everyone here knows it. So why put your Noivern through any more pain?"
Ryu went wide-eyed at this before turning his expression into a cold glare, "You...you've turned our prince into a pushover!"
"No." Ryu turned to see his father and Titan, "He taught him to be merciful. And that, more than anything, is the true measure of a king. It's easy to hate, but only the strongest can look at an enemy and choose to forgive them."
Flash nodded back just as a certain memory went off in his head, "Without mercy, this paradise wouldn't even exist." Ryu turned to him. "The first king could have forced the other dragons out and kept this territory for himself, but he didn't. He and his trainer chose to let them live here in peace."
"Truer words were never spoken," Drayce added before focusing on Ryu. His son locked eyes with him, now seeing a look of shame and disappointment that he had only seen once before. "Ryu, you have brought great shame to our people this day." Ryu's glare faded as he heard this, unable to comprehend those words as he then saw everyone else's face, seeing they were the same as his father's. That is, till his father said, "You're letting what happened with Cadmus turn you into him."
Ryu's eyes went wide before glaring at his father, "How can you say that?! I'm nothing like him!"
"Don't be so sure," Drayce responded, "You're trying to force what you think is best for everyone on them, just like he did. And you've refused to listen to reason every time, this time resulting in you getting beaten, and your Pokémon suffering! That is something us draconids should never do!"
As these words hit Ryu's ears, he turned to his Noivern, the Pokémon just now picking himself up. Ryu slowly walked over, falling to his knees, "I'm...I'm sorry." Noivern purred back, right as a hand appeared beside him. He looked up to see Flash staring down at him.
"I don't want to take Hopper away from you, but think of it from my point of view. What if your Noivern, who I know you care about, was actually super special and was needed to protect someplace else on the surface? Even if you knew he needed to go, or many would suffer, I know you would have a hard time letting him go. Wouldn't you?"
Ryu sighed before taking his hand, letting him pull him up. "Yes."
Flash nodded back, "I care about Hopper's well being more than anything, but I still don't want to lose him. That's why it's so hard to decide what to do."
Ryu nodded back, about to respond before Drayce walked between them, "Ryu, I'm sure we can find a way to make everyone happy if we keep an open mind. But really, this isn't our decision to make." They all turned to Hopper, the Pokémon blinking at them, "He should decide where he wants to be."
They all nodded in agreement, all watching Hopper as he stared back at them. He turned to his parents, then the rest of the draconids and Dragon-types, then to Princess as she stared at him. His mouth quivered as he tried to think of what to do, to even say. That is, till-
KABOOM!
Everyone was pulled from their prince by the sudden explosion, turning to see one of the storehouses now going up in smoke. Another explosion soon consumed another hut, then another and another until half the village was aflame.
"What's happening!?" Twilight cried as they rest looked upward, now seeing a bunch of non-Dragon-type Pokémon flying above their heads. Some unleashed attacks that struck the other buildings, causing them to explode while others fired light blue lightning that froze parts of the cavern.
And leading the wave of invaders was a Magnezone, carrying a trio of people. And when Ryu saw this, his eyes narrowed, "No...it can't be him."
Cadmus shined the biggest grin as the Magnezone approached, "Hello everyone. It's good to be home."
"Cadmus!" Drayce yelled.
"Hello father," he replied, chuckling.
"Father?" Flash turned to Ryu, "So he's your-"
"Brother," Ryu hissed, "The former future kai. But he was banished."
"Wrongly banished," Cadmus responded, his smile slightly fading, "But now I'm back and ready to take what's rightfully mine." He then saw Hopper staring up at him, "Ah, there you are. My key to taking my rightful place as kai."
"You'll never be kai," Drayce barked back, "You lost that right the last time you pulled a stunt like this."
"Oh, I will be kai." Cadmus replied before taking out a Pokeball, "And I will lead our clan into a bright future!"
With that, he tossed the ball, revealing a twelve foot dragon Pokémon that looked like an older version of Starvern. This one stood on two legs, it's head having the same star mask design, only the horns on its head were much large. The collar around its neck was sharper and its wings were much longer while its tail now had three stripes and a star-shape on the tip. Its legs were mainly black, and around the feet were things that mimicked shin-guards with a trio of bright claws to act as toes. The Pokémon's arms and chest were also black, with yellow spots patterned around it. And instead of hands, the Pokémon had yellow star-shaped gauntlets on the ends of its arms with the top part pointing up its arm. Long red claws stuck out between the bottom points of the star, completing its appearance.
"GALVERN!" It roared at the top of its voice, echoing out throughout the cavern. Flash and his friends all shared a look, fearing they may have just walked into a war. As the journey concludes