Hopper the Lost Heir PT1
In the skies above Equestria, the sun was shining as several Flying-type Pokémon soared through the air.
Taillow, Spearow, Rookidee, Staravia, Tranquil and many more were flying in large flocks through the sky, some in big tight groups while others were more spread out. But as they did this, they all dispersed as a new being flew through the air at high speed.
It was a blue serpentine Dragon-type, Dragonair. The majestic Pokémon's head wings were extended, allowing it to fly though the air while carrying the extra weight of its passenger, a blue haired, white skinned teenage girl.
As they flew, her eyes were staring at the ground, frantically looking around as she whispered, "Where are they? They have to be around here somewhere."
Several miles away...
It had been a few days since the Hoofington Battle Tournament, and Flash's group were now making their way toward Manehatten City, where Flash intended to earn his seventh badge. But now, they had stopped by a river for a rest and a spot of lunch.
"Table's set," Twilight announced.
"Stew's almost ready," Doc added.
"And the Pokémon food's down," Flash finished.
"Great!" Spike cheered as Peewee flew down and landed on his shoulder, "Then let's eat!"
"Grubs up!" Flash threw five Pokeballs upward, his Pokémon soon appearing.
"TORE/SPRAN/LEAF/CARRR/DRAN!"
"Hope you're hungry!" Twilight threw her Pokeballs into the air, unleashing the Owlolar and Ponyta.
"OWL/NEE!"
"Lunch for fifteen!" Doc summoned his Pokémon as well, Higear, Tockwork, Flitanium and Lairon all appearing.
"GEAR/TOCK/FLY/LAIR!"
The Pokémon that could eat ran up to enjoy their lunch while Doc began to serve the stew. All the while, Higear and Tockwork were simply hanging around, talking with the Pokémon.
"Mmm..." Spike hummed after a spoonful of soup, "Tastes great!"
"Thanks," Doc replied while nodding, "With all the Pokémon Center food we've been having, some homemade stuff should definitely hit the spot."
"Indeed," Twilight added before turning to Flash, "Don't you think?"
But no response came, the girl now seeing Flash just staring at his food. A blank expression was on his face, emotionlessly gazing into the bowl as a memory echoed through his mind. The memory of what Lightning had said several days ago. "If it's not right, then answer me this. Why did I win?"
Those words keep racing through his head. Every memory of their battle ended with those words, Flash remembering how no matter what he did, Lightning devastated his teams with ease. 'Why did I lose? Why...why didn't I stand a chance against him?'
These thoughts were followed by visions of each of his Pokémon being beaten, the grin on Lightning's face as he laughed over and over at his Pokémon being wrecked by Lightning's superior team. 'He's right...I'm so pathetic. Me and my Pokémon. But what can I-'
"Flash?" The teen's head shot up, turning to the voice. What he saw was a frowning Twilight as she asked, "You okay? You haven't touched your food."
Doc showed a glum frown, "I know it's not my best creation-"
"No," Flash quickly shoveled down four spoonfuls, "It's great. And I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"Right..." Twilight slowly replied, raising an eyebrow as she watched Flash scoff down his lunch. "Flash, if you wanna talk-"
"I'm fine," he interrupted before putting the bowl down and standing up, "I'm just gonna...go walk off that great lunch."
He soon sprinted away, his Pokémon watching him flee as they all frowned at the sight.
"He's not fine, is he?" Spike commented, getting sighs from the others.
"His loss against Lightning has really affected him." Doc added as he shook his head, "Its been messing him up since the tournament."
Twilight didn't say anything, the girl just watching the teen walk up to a nearby river. Her glasses slightly went down her nose as she looked down at the ground, sighing before she felt her sleeve be tugged. Turning to it, she saw her brother staring up at her as he asked, "What do we do? We gotta cheer him up somehow."
"I...I..." she turned away, "I don't know."
"But we can't have him stay like that! He'll lose his next gym battle if he's like that!"
"I know." Twilight admitted as she took off her glasses, wiping them as she continued, "As much as I want to help him...I just don't know how. I keep thinking about any solution of us going to cheer him up and tell him to not worry about Lightning...but no matter what scenario I think up, the image of him yelling at us that he's fine keeps being the end result." She let out a long sigh. "I'm just not sure. I want to cheer him up, but I'm afraid I'll make things worse."
"You mean you don't want to repeat what happened at camp." Doc added, Twilight nodding at this. Spike's frown kept growing at this, Doc also saying, "I suppose we can only be there for him."
It was here that Springer looked up from his food, now watching his trainer skim some stones along the water. But before he could get up to walk over, his ears suddenly flickered and his dangles flared up. "Ri!" He pushed to his feet, catching the other's attention.
"Springer?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?" They watched Springer dart his head around before looking up at the sky...only to turn to above the forest they had just journeyed through after leaving Hoofington. And as they followed him, they saw something flying down.
"What is that?" Doc asked as they stood up, only to see a flash of light twinkle from the figure. And that light suddenly shot down at them, an explosion coming next that knocked them all back.
"WHOA!" They screamed as they went flying, causing Flash to spin around and gasp at the sight.
"Guys!" He started to run for them, only to see a certain Pokémon fly down, "A Dragonair?" He then spotted the girl riding on a saddle on its back, a low glare on her face. He glared back, yelling at the girl, "Hey! Why are you attacking us?!"
She didn't respond, instead turning her attention to one of Flash's Pokémon: Hopper. Her gaze laser focused at his head mark, "It really is him."
"HEY!" She turned back to Flash, "Don't ignore me! Why-"
"Silence thief!" She roared back, "I have nothing to say to criminals like you!"
"Criminals?!" Doc yelped as he and the others began to pick themselves up. As he did this, he noticed the orbs on Dragonair's tail begin to glow as it pointed the tip at the blue haired boy. "FLASH! SHE'S USING TWISTER!" The others gasped as a tornado exploded out of the orbs, Flash unable to dodge the incoming attack.
He closed his eyes, crossing his arms as he began to brace himself for the blow to hit until-
"Dran!" Flash's eyes flew open as he saw Hopper hop in front of him, using his wing to block the twister.
"What?!" The girl screamed, "It protected him?!"
Once the Twister vanished, Hopper turned to Flash, his trainer reaching out to rub his chin, Hopper purring happily. "Thanks bud."
The girl's eyes shrunk, only to narrow as she growled, "You...how dare you treat the prince like a pet!"
"Prince?! What the heck are you talking about?"
"I have no need to respond to your questions."
"I'm pretty sure you do!" Flash barked back. "I don't know who you are, but what gives you the right to show up out of nowhere, attack us and call us criminals?"
"You stole the prince of dragons!" She screeched, "I will not allow you to get away with that! You will not threaten our homeland!"
"What are you-"
"Silence criminal!"
Flash's eyes narrowed as he stood up, patting Hopper's back as he said, "Okay, guess we don't got a choice. Hopper, Extreme Speed!"
"Dran!" The Skeidran roared, his body glowing as he instantly shot up to Dragonair, spinning around before smashing his foot right into the serpent. The blow knocked it back, forcing the girl to readjust her grip on her saddle.
"I'm sorry," she sighed as she got her balance, "But this is the only way." Once Dragonair corrected itself, she pointed at Hopper, "Ice Beam!" The dragon unleashed a burst of blue lightning from its horn, the others gasping at the sight of Hopper's biggest weakness, only for the Proto-Dragon's Extreme Speed to kick in, allowing him to dodge it. "So fast."
"Steel Wing!" Hopper circled around them, using his last burst of speed to get in front of them.
"Dran!" His wings glowed, quickly slashing Dragonair with one of them, pushing it back.
"Do not falter! We must save the prince! Dragon Pulse!" Dragonair opened its mouth as the gem on its neck glowed. It then let out a feminine roar as a blast of dragon-shaped energy exploded out.
"Dragon Tail!" Flash yelled as Hopper's tail glowed green, the Skeidran quickly spinning around and slamming it into the Dragon Pulse. This caused an explosion that blocked him from view, the girl gasping at the sight as Flash pointed at her Pokémon, "Crunch!" A blur suddenly shot out of the cloud, causing the smoke to be blown away.
"Sky!" Hopper reached them, biting into Dragonair's tail before either could react. A cry of pain came next, only for Hopper to spin around while pulling them down.
"AAAHH!" The girl screamed before Hopper released her, causing both to go crashing into the ground. As they hit the dirt, the girl was thrown from her seat, rolling along the earth.
Dragonair quickly began to pick itself up, only for Hopper to fly down. "Dragon Tail!" Before Dragonair could react, it suddenly found itself getting conked on the head by the green appendage, the Pokémon flopping over a second later.
"Dragonair!" The girl cried as she got up, now seeing Hopper pull his tail away to reveal her Pokémon now sporting two swirls for eyes. "No..." she turned to the others, now seeing four trainers and all their Pokémon slowly advancing on her.
"Now then," Twilight crossed her arms, "Maybe now we can act like civil adults."
"There's nothing civil about you thieves!" she hissed.
"Would you stop calling us that?!" Flash barked back, "We're not thieves!"
"You are! Don't lie..." she pointed at Hopper. "You have the prince of dragons!"
"Hopper?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow, "He's just a Skeidran."
"He is not just a Skeidran!" she screeched, "He is the prince! He is royalty!"
The group all exchanged glances, Flash commenting, "Uh...any ideas what she's talking about?"
Twilight rubbed her chin in thought, memories of when they found Hopper going into her head before turning to his trainer, "Flash...do you remember what happened when we first met Hopper?"
Flash glanced at her before a certain memory went through his mind, "The Pokémon Hunters," Flash whispered before turning back to the girl, "You're the one they stole his egg from?"
The girl hissed at him. "His egg, was the most precious item of my clan! Yes it was stolen, and we gave chase after the thieves!" She slightly looked away at this, "But...they escaped. And when we finally caught up to them, they told us the egg had been stolen by somebody else."
"You gotta be kidding me," Twilight sighed while rubbing between her nose. "We didn't steal Hopper's egg. We found it."
"Those thieves hid it inside a bush," Flash added, "My Riolu sensed him, and I found his egg. That's when he hatched."
"Lies! You expect me to believe that?!" She growled before turning to Hopper, slowly moving up to him with her hand raised. "I know you don't know me, but I'm a friend. And I've come to take you home." Hopper hissed, causing her to flinch. The sight made her frown, her tone now shaky, "Please...your parents are very worried about you. When you were taken, they were heartbroken. It took our kai everything he had to persuade them to not lead the dragons in a raging attack on the surface....and now I can take you to see them."
Hopper moved away at this, getting behind Flash as he crossed his arms, "Clearly, he doesn't believe you."
"And why should we believe you either?" Twilight added, "You could just be trying to steal Hopper from us."
"Yeah!" Spike chimed in, nodding, "You could be working with those hunters!"
"I am not working for the hunters!" She barked back, "I am no thief!"
"Then what's your name?" Doc asked, "And what's this clan and kai stuff about?"
The girl sighed at this, seeing Hopper still glare at her. She then reached into her pocket, "My name is Kaida." She held something out, "And this is proof that I'm not lying."
They saw it was a photograph, Twilight taking it as the others looked at the picture. The photo showed a group of people gathered around a middle aged man with gray skin and a blonde. Kaida was one of the people in the picture, along with several teens, a middle aged woman with bronze skin and graying red hair along with a pair of Skeidran.
One of the Skeidran looked exactly like Hopper, having the same mark on its head as him.
Their attention was then drawn to the older man, seeing an egg in his hands. The same egg Flash had pulled out of that bush long ago. "Hopper..." Flash whispered before turning to his Skeidran, only to see Hopper staring at the two Skeidran in the photo.
"That photo was taken on the day his egg was laid," Kaida commented, "And those two Skeidran are this one's parents. Titan and Mercy."
"That Skeidran looks just like Hopper," Spike added.
"It even has the same mark on its head," Doc finished.
"That mark is the birthright he holds," Kaida told them. "The king and the prince of dragons."
"What's this about being a king and prince of dragons?" Twilight asked next. Kaida just snarled at her, making Twilight shake her head, "Listen...we just want to know about Hopper."
Kaida continued to glare at them, only to let out a long sigh, "Alright. This is going to be hard to believe, but hear me out. It all started long ago, in the Hoenn region. A group of Dragon-type Pokémon trainers named the draconids lived in Meteor Falls, a place where they worshipped one of the greatest Dragon-types in the world. Rayquaza."
"I've heard of them. They're considered legends," Twilight chimed in, "But I thought they died off years ago. Are you saying you're a draconid?"
"Not one from the Hoenn region, but yes. Long ago, several groups of the draconids left Hoenn and migrated all over. I know of one group that settled somewhere in the Johto region, but I'm not sure about the others. One of the larger groups came here, to Equestria. But when they arrived, disorder broke out amongst us and we eventually split. One group headed north and settled in what is now called Dragonia City, but the others found a...secret land. A place where Dragon Pokémon of all shapes and sizes call home. It is there that I am from."
"So what does this have to do with Hopper?" Flash asked.
"Well, even though they found what seemed like paradise, it was far from it. The many Dragon-types all clashed against one another, trying to make the land belong to only their species. A Dragon War soon came, threatening to destroy not only the beautiful land they wanted, but also the outside world. But then, the first king appeared."
"A Skeidran?" Twilight replied, getting a nod from Kaida.
"Despite not being a Dragon-type, their ability allows them all the advantages of being one and hardly any of their weaknesses. The first king had been trained by one of the draconids, who had found it during their journey through Equestria. It did battle and was able to swiftly defeat any other Dragon-type. Once it was victorious, it chose not to send the other Dragon-types away, but instead let them and the humans live in what is now known as the Kingdom of Dragons. And eventually, the king of dragons found a mate and had a Hoppin child. That child bore the same mark as his father, something no other Skeidran had. When that Hoppin reached its final evolution, it stepped in to become the new king of dragons so his father could rest. It kept the peace and found its own mate, and the cycle began again."
As this information set in, everyone glanced at each other before Twilight spoke up, "And you're saying Hopper is the most recent descendant of the King of Dragons?"
"Yes," she nodded. "If he does not return, our kingdom will eventually fall into chaos and ruin once again."
Frowns were on every face after this, Doc asking, "What do you think?"
"Good question." Flash responded as he kneeled down and patted Springer's head. "Well bud? Sense anything?" Springer shook his head, "So you can't sense that she's lying?" Springer nodded, Flash humming at this as he stood back up, "Alright, Springer seems to think you're not lying...and that's enough for me to give you a chance." Kaida showed a small smile at this, only for Flash to continue, "But I'm still gonna need more proof."
"What kind of proof?"
"I want to see this Kingdom of Dragons," Flash replied with crossed arms, Kaida's eyes going wide in shock as the others just stared at Flash. "I want to meet Hopper's parents and see everything you've told us with me own eyes. Only then, I'll believe you."
"You...do you realize what you're asking?" Kaida slowly said, "No outsider has ever been allowed access to our lands."
"Well, I don't think you have much of a choice," Twilight added, "By Equestrian law, Flash doesn't have to let you anywhere near Hopper if he doesn't want to. And anyone who tries to take him away would be deemed a criminal and a Pokémon thief."
"So you really have two options," Doc finished, "Return to this place with us and Hopper, or return without him."
Kaida shrunk back at this, biting her lip as she looked away, "Oh...what do I do?" she whispered to herself, looking back at the photograph. "I...I guess I have no choice." She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a PokeGear. "I'll...I'll have to talk this over with our kai."
"Kai?"
"The leader of our people, and Titan's trainer." She pressed a few buttons and put it to her ear, soon walking off to be out of earshot. As she did this, the others began to clean up their campsite and see what had survived the attack.
And after a few minutes, Kaida ended her call and moved back over, "Well?" Twilight asked first.
"The kai agrees that you should come see the kingdom," She replied. "But...it's a good distance away from here, so he's sending something to help us get there quicker."
"So what do we do until then?" Spike responded, only for Kaida to sit down while her now conscious Dragonair slithered over to her.
"I want to hear everything that has happened since you found the prince." She did a small bow, "Please. I must know."
The group nodded, sitting down as Flash began to tell the tale of how he met, hatched and caught Hopper. This was followed by their training and Hopper's eventual evolution during the race. He then explained how Hopper evolved into Skeidran, his battle against Champagoon and how he helped Flash earn his latest badge. By the time Flash had finished, an hour had passed. "And that brings us to right now."
"Amazing..." Kaida whispered before turning to Hopper. "You've certainly had an interesting adventure. Probably the most interesting one since the original king of dragons."
"Dran," Hopper nodded with a smile as Kaida moved up and tried to pet him again. He slightly flinched, only to lean up and let her pat his cheek and scratch him under the chin.
"I know you've been through a lot, but I do hope you'll be willing to give the Kingdom of Dragons a try. There are so many good people and Pokémon waiting for you to return."
As she said that, a loud roar made them all look up. They was now a large blue and red dragon with someone riding on a saddle connected to its back flying over them.
"What's that?" Doc asked.
"A Salamence!" Spike gasped, stars appearing in his eyes. "So...COOL!"
The Salamence landed, showing three seats connected to the saddle while the rider turning to them as he waved at the girl, "Hey Kaida." His face was masked by a helmet, scarf and goggles, but he still turned to look at Hopper, "So it's true. You found him."
"Indeed." Kaida nodded before turning to the other. "Anguis will ferry you all there while I ride on Dragonair."
"Err...there's a problem." Twilight raised her hand before pointing at the seats on the dragon, "There's four of us, and only three seats." Kaida turned back to Anguis, the rider giving a shrug back.
"Sorry. This was all we had available."
"Anguis! This is an emergency!" She yelled, only to feel Flash pat her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it. I'll just ride Hopper."
"What?!" She barely replied as Flash returned all his Pokémon but Springer and Hopper, then jumping up onto Hopper's back. Kaida and Anguis' eyes went wide at the sight, Flash sitting comfortably on the Skeidran's back while Springer sat in Flash's lap.
"He even lets him ride him?" she whispered before turning to Anguis. They both nodded as Anguis motioned for Salamence to crouch down. Spike got giddy as he jumped up into the front seat, Twilight getting in the one behind her while Doc took the back seat.
They all strapped in as Kaida mounted Dragonair, the two dragons and one proto-dragon all spreading their wings. "You all ready?" They nodded back before Kaida pointed to the sky. "Then let's go! To the Kingdom of Dragons!"
With that, the trio took to the air. Everyone gasped at the sight, the dragon riders instantly taking them to the sky. It wasn't long till everything under them was like dots, soon flying for roughly an hour, all while the terrain began to shift from forest to open fields, then to a flat rocky land and slowly becoming rubble-like hills.
"How much further?" Spike asked. "This is awesome, but my butt's falling asleep."
"Terra!" Peewee nodded as he tiredly flew beside them. He had been flying alongside them for about thirty minutes and was starting to exhaust himself, eventually just giving up and landing in Spike's arms.
"We're almost there," Kaida told them before turning to Flash, "How's he doing?"
"He's okay." Flash assured her. "Though this is the longest he's ever flown at once."
"Well, he won't have to fly much longer," she replied before pointing ahead. The group followed her, soon seeing the rocky hills evolve into a large group of mountains, both big and small with differing shapes and sizes.
"The kingdom's in there?" Twilight asked as they entered the maze of mountains. They stared down, now seeing a bunch of Rock, Ground and Steel-types scattered here and there. along with Dragon-types, many of which hand saddled riders on their backs. "Who are they?"
"They're our scouts and sentries," Anguis responded, "They make sure anyone not invited doesn't gets too close. This area is technically a nature preserve, so we're able to make most people leave without much issue. But every now and again...well, you know."
The others nodded at this, only for Kaida to yell, "There it is!" She pointed at a mountain top in the distance, the sight making everyone raise eyebrows as they saw it was. "There's the entrance to the Dragon Kingdom."
"A volcano?" Doc asked, the others gulping as they saw a large amount of smoke funnelling out of the mountain's top.
Kaida and Anguis smirked before steering their dragons into the smoke, those riding Salamence all going wide eyed while Flash and Hopper came to a stop. "Wait-what are you doing?!" Flash yelped as the two dragons disappeared into the black fog, "GUYS!"
Biting his lip at this, he did a small gulp before telling Hopper to follow. As he went through the smoke, he was expecting to find himself going straight into a pool of lava...only to find nothing as he exited the dense smoky fog. Instead, he found himself now in a long tunnel heading straight down. "What the-" he tried to say before looking up, now seeing a certain sight as Dragonair and Salamence glided down beside Hopper.
On the sides of the tunnel were several spiralling ledges, all of them containing Pokémon. "Torkoal?" Twilight asked, Kaida laughing at her question.
"That's right. We use them to make this place look like its about to erupt, mainly to scare off anyone who manages to get passed our defenses. No one in their right mind would go near an active volcano."
The four shared a glance at this, knowing what this meant in terms of Hopper, but instead kept following Kaida down through the tunnel. They now saw crystals hanging from hooks in the side of the wall, each illuminating the cave around them before hitting the bottom. Now noticing they were about two or three miles beneath the earth, they found themselves in a large underground chamber filled with stalagmites and stalactites. The sound of running water made then turn to see a river that ran from a hole in the chamber wall, which ran all the way through the chamber and into another whole tunnel. Several more holes lined the wall, everyone seeing a giant amount of water flowing through the area as they flew through the cave.
Kaida then led them into one of those tunnels, the group finding themselves in darkness before entering another chamber. This one was filled with large sea-stack-like rocks that had giant ledges with another river running through it. On those sea-stacks were Dragon-types of every species. Flygon, Hydreigon, Garchomp, Druddigon, Haxorus, Goodra, Altaria, Champagoon, Kommo-o, Dragapult and even multiple large flocks of multicoloured Terragon. Spike was almost foaming to the mouth at the sight, unable to process the sight of how many dragons were before him. They were all living peacefully with one another, watching over their babies or eating and drinking to their heart's content.
"It's beautiful," Twilight whispered.
"This is nothing," Kaida responded as they continued to fly through the chamber, soon hitting another tunnel. Once there, they went through another bout of darkness before reaching the end, which was filled with light. "Welcome...to the Dragon Kingdom."
Everyone flinched at the light, only to blink their eyes open as they saw their destination. And what a sight it was. They had entered another chamber that was so large, you could fit an entire city within it. The chamber was round and had many holes in the walls, several with water flowing out of them. It had a staircase design to it, with one level of flat surface that dipped down to another level, then another and another. It was on these levels that many buildings stood, including houses, barns, and what looked like a main hall. In the center of the chamber was a large lake being fed by the rivers and in the center of that lake was an island with a giant glowing crystal that was illuminating the entire cavern. Large areas of the chamber were also covered in grass, trees and other vegetation, making it look like any normal town.
"Amazing," Doc gasped as they flew through the land hidden beneath the earth's crust. "To think an environment like this exists underground."
Flash chuckled while patting Hopper on the neck, "Wow. Guess you're finally home bud." Hopper smiled back as they continued to fly around, only to see multiple people and Pokémon on the ground all staring at him.
"I think they've noticed us," Twilight told Flash.
"Of course," Kaida added, "The kai must have spread the word as soon as I finished talking to him."
"They're all excited to welcome the prince back," Anguis finished.
Flash smiled as he noticed a trio of Dragon-types flying up to them, a Noivern, Flygon and Garchomp making up their ranks. Then the Noivern suddenly shifted and started flying straight at them.
"Uh...guys?" was all Flash could say before the Noivern suddenly flew over him. The next thing Flash knew, he was yanked off Hopper's back, now in the soundwave Pokémon's clutches. "WHOA! Hey!"
"FLASH!" His friends screamed as Hopper tried to turn around. But before he could do anything, the Noivern shot straight down before hurling Flash into the ground.
"Blaugh!" Flash crashed, his body rolling along the dirt. He let out a long moan as he tried to get up, now seeing the Noivern land in front of him, along with its rider. It was one of the teens in Kaida's picture. He had charcoal skin and spiky red hair with yellow tips, wearing a blue flame patterned jacket over a white shirt and brown pants. "Hey! What was that for?!"
"You dare to ride the prince of dragons, you criminal?!" he roared while pulling the goggles off his eyes, "It's time to make you pay for stealing the prince of dragons!"
Flash groaned while picking himself up. "You know, I'm gonna start developing a persecution complex because of this."
"FLASH!" His friends yelled as the dragons landed, Kaida flying over to the teen.
"Ryu! What do you think you're doing?"
"What do you think you're doing?!" Ryu barked back, "Have you lost your mind Kaida?! Allowing outsiders into the kingdom?! I will have father punish you severally for this!"
"Your father was the one who invited them," she hissed while pointing at Flash. "He's the prince's trainer."
"You mean his kidnapper!" Ryu growled before glaring at Flash, only to see Hopper walk up.
"I'm okay." Flash said as he patted Hopper's head, "Sorry I worried you."
"You dare treat the prince with such disrespect?!" Ryu screamed before pointing at Flash, "Noivern!" The bat dragon raised its arms, letting out a roar as Hopper and Springer leapt in front of their trainer.
"ENOUGH!" A voice yelled out, making everyone freeze.
Flash turned to see that a crowd was now around them, only to see the group split as a quartet walked up, these four being the older man and woman from the photograph along with a pair of Skeidran. One of those Skeidran had the same marking on its head as Hopper, making Flash realize this was Titan.
The man glared at Ryu, "Are you done embarrassing us in front of our guests, Ryu?!"
"Guests?!" Ryu barked, "You mean prisoners!" He pointed at Flash, "You brought these thieves here to face justice for what they did!"
The man sighed, shaking his head before turning to Flash and Hopper. He moved up to the Proto-Dragon, Hopper staring at him as the man raised his hand up to the Pokémon. However, the old man then looked away but kept his hand inches from Hopper, the Proto-Dragon blinking at the hand before placing his snout into his hand.
He looked back and smiled, beginning to gently pat Hopper. "Look how big you've gotten," he said before turning to Flash, "We owe you a great debt for what you've done today."
Flash's eyes went between the old man and Ryu before asking, "So...you're not gonna attack me?"
"No," he laughed, "I should be on my knees worshipping you if anything. Not only have you brought our prince back to us, you've kept him out of danger, and helped him grow strong." He pulled away from Hopper, then held out a hand to Flash. "My name is Drayce, the kai of the Dragon Kingdom."
"And I'm Flash Sentry," he took his hand before gesturing to his Skeidran. "And this is Hopper," he said loud enough for everyone around them to hear. "The...apparent prince of dragons." The crowd all cheered and applauded while the two other Skeidran began to move closer to Hopper.
"Sky," the smaller of the two spoke.
Hopper stared back at her, blinking before Flash patted his head, "That's your mom. Go say hi." Hopper turned to him, frowning as Flash just gave him a nod. His Skeidran looked back at her, both walking up to each other as they examined one another...only for Mercy to give Hopper a sniff before tearing up.
"Skeidran!" She roared in joy while rubbing her head into his, Hopper going wide-eyed at this, only to slowly hug her back. Everyone smiled at the sight, happy at the reunion of mother and child...only to see Mercy step away as Titan walked up next.
Unlike his mother, who was about the same size as him, Hopper had to look up at his father as he was a good foot taller than him. Titan stared down, Hopper almost shrinking back at his very presence, only to crouch down so they were at the same eye-level before doing what his mate did, beginning to rub his head against his son's. "Dran..." he spoke deeply with a voice filled with care. Everyone felt themselves tear up at this, doubly so when Mercy joined them, all embracing in one big group hug.
Once that was done, Titan pulled away and walked up to Flash. The teen felt just as intimidated by Titan, but the Skeidran leaned down and began poking Flash's chest with his snout.
"Heh-heh," he laughed while patting Titan's head, "You're welcome."
"You've done our land a great service," he turned to a voice, seeing the older woman now walking up, "My name is Scylla, the kai-ree of this land." She then shot Ryu a frown, "I am sorry for my son's rude welcome."
"Don't mention it," Flash replied, "No harm done."
She smiled before turning to Ryu, "Ryu...you owe him an apology."
Ryu just growled at her, "What are you doing?! He's an outsider, and the one who stole the prince! He should be punished!"
"He stole the prince from the people who stole his egg," Drayce replied before turning to Flash. "I assume that's what happened. Kaida wasn't exactly clear."
Flash chuckled as Hopper moved back over to him. "It's a long story."
"Then let's not hear it out here," Drayce responded before gesturing to a nearby building. "Come. Let us continue this in the great hall."
Flash and his friends nodded, following the kai into the building. The room they entered was massive, filled with pillows and small tables, Drayce and Scylla sitting at the front of the hall while Flash and his friends sat in the front row. Hopper sat behind Flash while Springer sat on Hopper's back, Titan and Mercy sitting on either side of the kai and kai-ree.
Once the last person was seated, Flash noticed Ryu leaning against a nearby wall, glaring at Flash as Drayce spoke up, "Many months ago, our kingdom was invaded by thieves. Somehow, they were able to bypass our defenses and snuck into the king's nest. They then used Sleep Powder to keep him and Mercy from waking up, allowing them to take the egg without being discovered. It wasn't until morning that the two were discovered unconscious and the egg gone."
"That must have been horrible," Twilight whispered.
"It was," Scylla replied, nodding, "We sent out many groups to scout the area and try to find them. Several days passed until one of those groups caught up with the thieves," she gestured to Ryu and Kaida. "They managed to find the criminals, but by then, they discovered the egg had already changed hands. And that's where you come in."
Flash reached up and scratched Hopper's chin, "I guess you'd like to know the whole story." The old couple nodded and for the second time that day, Flash began to tell the story of how he first met Hopper, saving him from the poachers. He told them about how he caught Hopper and began to train him, followed by all the major events Hopper was apart of. The race where he evolved, their battle against Team Shadow, his second evolution against Champagoon and how they won against Spitfire's Wondor and earned his badge. "After that, we competed in the Hoofington Battle Tournament, and that's where Kaida learned Hopper was with us."
"I see," Drayce replied before turning to Hopper. "Well, you've certainly lead quite an interesting life young one. Not many princes experience the outside world the way you have." He then sighed as he looked back at Flash, "But this leaves us in a delicate situation." Everyone raised an eyebrow at this as he brought his hands together, placing his chin on them, "By law, you are Hopper's trainer, and we have no right to make you leave him here." Several frowns followed this as he continued, "But you have to understand, Hopper's place is here."
Now it was Flash's turn to frown, "You know, I was kinda hoping Kaida was making all of this up. That Hopper wasn't some prince and didn't have some incredible destiny." He continued to stroke Hopper's head. "But now that I know..."
"I know this must be hard," Scylla told him. "But Hopper is needed here. Without a king, our land could once again fall into chaos."
"I know," Flash sighed. "But after everything we've been through, I can't just give Hopper away. With all the training we've done together, I really want to put it to good use and fight beside Hopper in the Equestria League."
"What, so you can embarrass him?!" Everyone turned to Ryu, his glare now even more intense, "You said you competed in this Hoofington Battle Tournament, but tell me this. Did you win?" This statement caused Flash's eyes to go wide, only to look away, "So you didn't win."
"He got to the finals," Doc chimed in.
"But he lost," Ryu finished. "Second place is first loser. You had the future king of dragons on your team, and you lost. That means you're a worthless loser, a weakling." He turned to his father, "We can't allow him to keep training the prince."
"That's enough Ryu," Drayce hissed, "Simply having the prince of dragons does not guarantee someone a victory. Titan and I have lost many battles together. Besides, you seem to be neglecting one important piece of info."
"Which is?" Drayce pointed to Hopper.
"What do you see?"
"The prince of dragons."
"But what is he?"
"A Skeidran."
"Exactly. He only hatched a few months ago, yet he has already evolved to his highest form. Usually, it takes years for a Hoppin to evolve into Velocirush and even longer to reach the form of Skeidran. Yet Flash was able to help Hopper reach it in less then half a year."
"So what? That doesn't prove he's been trained properly. I could do that!" Ryu spat before glaring at Flash, "Does he even know Wyvern Wing?"
Flash raised an eyebrow at this, "Wyvern...Wing?"
Ryu looked away, looking like he couldn't believe Flash's words, "I can't be hearing this."
"Wyvern Wing's a move Skeidran can learn," Twilight chimed in, "A really strong one."
"It's the strongest Dragon-type move a Skeidran can learn," Drayce added, "And in our kingdom, it is a rite of passage for the prince. Only after it has learned that move can the prince succeed their father and become the new king of dragons."
"Wow..." was all Flash could say. "Well...no, Hopper doesn't know that move."
"See?!" Ryu yelled, "He has no right to the prince!"
"He's still young," Drayce instantly replied, "He'll learn it...in time."
Ryu stomped up to his father, giving him a full death glare as Drayce just gave him a blank stare. "You...are being rude. Go cool off. Now."
Ryu's face scrunched up, about to yell before turning and walking away. The sight made Drayce sigh as he looked back at his guests, "Forgive Ryu. He was meant to be Hopper's trainer when he hatched, but you can see that obviously didn't happen. I'm sure you have a difficult decision to make, so for now, enjoy unlimited access to your kingdom. As thank you for caring for our prince, you are all honorary draconids."
The group gave their thanks before everyone began to make their way outside, Flash and the others now getting a proper close up look at the amazing cavern that made up the Dragon Kingdom.
"This place really is amazing," Twilight commented.
"It certainly is," Doc nodded.
"And it has tons of Dragons!" Spike cheered as he pointed at the many Pokémon around them, "Oh, I wish I have them all!" He then turned to a group of Pokémon that were in a fenced-off area section. "Hey, what are those?"
He was pointing to a Pokémon that looked similar to a Shieldon and an Aron. It was about two foot high, and stood on four stubby legs. Its face had what looked like a yellow star-shaped mask, with five points coming off it and its nose and mouth were between the two bottom points. The rest of the body was a mixture of black and yellow, its lower jaw and neck were black and it had a yellow collar around its neck. Most of its remaining body was black but it had yellow near the bottom of its feet, small yellow spots scattered around its body that gave it a night sky look and a yellow stripe going around its tail. Each foot had three red claws, and its back had a pair of black and yellow wings that were too small to allow it to fly. It also had a pair of white horns coming out of its head, with the top star pointing between them.
Kaida stepped up and giggled, "Oh, those are Starvern. We've got quite a lot of them here."
Flash took out his Pokedex at this.
Name: Starvern
Category: Star Pokémon
Type: Dragon/Dark
Info: Legend tells of how it first came into being after hatching from a meteorite centuries ago. It enjoys ramming its star-shaped head into trees to build its head strength.
"Why are they in a pen?" Twilight asked, "Shouldn't they be with their parents?"
"Alas, no. Starvern's evolved form, Galvern, aren't exactly the greatest parents in the Pokémon world. Once the egg is laid, they leave to let it fend for themselves. So we look after them, hatch them and raise them until they're old enough to look after themselves."
"That's...horrible."
As they continued to watch the Pokémon, Hopper stared at the place around him. He could feel something here, something about this place that was the home he had never known. Yet...he also felt nothing.
A roar above him caught his attention next, making him look up to see a large flock of Skeidran fly in from one of the caverns and begin to circle around the central crystal before landing a short distance away. "Wow..." he heard Spike say, "Look at 'em all!"
"I thought Skeidran were supposed to be rare?" Twilight asked Kaida, the girl nodding back.
"They are. This might be one of the only places in Equestria you can find them."
Flash stared at the Skeidran before turning to Hopper. His Pokémon was backpedaling at the sight, hesitation all over his face. But as he did this, Flash patted his head, "You should go with them," Hopper turned to him, seeing a soft smile on his trainer's face, "You need to spend some time with your own kind. So go on and have some fun."
Hopper bit his lip at this, only for his parents to walk over. They both smiled at him, gesturing to help him go over to the flock. As they did this, the Skeidran turned to see them, all happy to learn of their future king's return. Hopper then slowly made his way through the crowd, replying to any and all the hellos.
But then, his eyes landed on something that made him stop and stare. It was a Skeidran like the others, but its fur was a different color. The parts that should be grayish blue were now a glistening silver color, while the white areas were a light blue. The claws were the same color, but its eyes were pink instead of yellow.
"Dran?" Hopper whispered as he stared at the differently colored Skeidran as it moved over to a nearby stream and drank from it, Titan and Mercy noticing him just staring at the Skeidran.
The others also noticed, Spike speaking up, "Wow. That Skeidran's a different color."
"That's Princess." Kaida responded, "She was actually laid around the same time as Hopper." The others turned to her as she continued, "She only managed to evolve a couple of days ago, something we were quite surprised about. We honestly don't know why."
Everyone nodded as they continued watching, Princess done drinking before noticing Hopper watching her. The Skeidran found himself blushing, "Sky..." he muttered before looking away, "Skeidran."
"Dran?" She moved up to him, looking like she was inspecting him for a moment before smiling and walking away. As she did this, her tail moved under Hopper's chin, sliding against it until the tip flicked him. She glanced back and gave him one final smile before walking off to join some of the other Skeidran as Hopper just stared at her with the biggest blush on his face.
"I think somebody's got a crush," Twilight giggled.
Flash stared at the sight, confusion consuming him as he watched Hopper. 'What do I do?' was all he could think, knowing he could be losing a great battle partner...who was a close friend and almost family member. That or take him and leave this kingdom without its heir once again.
'I...I don't know. I just don't know.'
Outside the mountain area that hid the entrance to the Dragon Kingdom, a draconid and his Flygon were soaring through the sky, scouting the place.
"Echo three to echo seven," he said into his radio. "You read me?" His radio crackled and snapped in response, "Hello, do you read me?" There was still no reply, making him frown. "Echo Seven?"
But as he said this, a blast of freezing wind suddenly flew up and struck Flygon's wing. The Mystic Pokémon flinched at the intense cold, "FLY-EYE!" It cried, the dragon starting to fall from the frozen wing.
"Mayday!" He cried into the radio, "MAYDAY!" But there was no reply, the two soon crashing into the side of the mountain's base. They rolled down the side, the rider being thrown from his Pokémon before hitting the dirt.
And as they came to a stop, the rider looked up to see something move rock to rock around him. It then came to a stop, showing itself as a Weavile, who smirked at the rider and his Pokémon. "Weave," it laughed while the trainer gasped at the sight.
"Why?" He asked it, only to hear a new sound.
The Weavile sprinted back, soon standing beside a man with green skin and icy blue hair. He was wearing a dark blue overcoat and black clothess beneath. A strange sound then made him turn to see a Magnezone floating beside the man with a girl sitting atop it. She had tanned skin and wore a punk rocker's outfit, while her hair was blue on one side and red on the other. The girl also had a ponytail that caused the blue and red hair to spiral around.
His vision shifted between the two, his eyes slowly going wide. "Fafnir...Libelle? But if you're here..." He didn't finish his sentence as the two moved aside to allow the last person in their group to step into view. He had bronze colored skin and red hair with yellow tips that was pulled into a ponytail. He was wearing a black overcoat with flame patterns around the bottom of the sleeve cuffs that were over entirely black clothes. "Cadmus."
The man chuckled at this, "Glad I haven't been forgotten."
"Why...why are you here?!"
"To claim what is mine," Cadmus replied as the sound of many footsteps signaled the arrival of many figures dressed head to toe in black clothing, all accompanied by a multitude of Ice and Fairy-type Pokémon. "What should have been mine from the very start." He looked up into the mountains, "The prince of dragons."
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Great, now, there’s another asshole whom I really hate...Ryu.
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/906/648/aa4.jpg ... should I know who he is? Seriously, should I?
Great. Someone else who exists just to make Flash doubt himself. As if one guy wasn't annoying enough.
Oh boy. Hopefully, this arc ends with Flash getting over his funk. I have a feeling that if he can somehow prove himself against Ryu, he'd get the confidence he needs to face Lightning again.
On an entirely different note, I was totally wrong about it being too early to explore/resolve that thing with Hopper because that's totally what Banshee is doing right now.
10566268
Well there is one thing that might work... but to suggest it would likely get me blocked...again
I jest, of course.
10566207
He's not an asshole. He's angry because a Pokémon egg that was going to be his responsibility was stolen. He lost a new friend is why he's a jerk.
Not going to lie, my expectations and enthusiasm for this story were completely shot going into this chapter. Blame the previous chapter for that. But I think this chapter was just what I needed to start caring about this story again.
It felt good to finally have Hopper’s origins explained and we got to see where his egg came from. The scene where Hopper met his parents was very heartwarming, especially when Titan thanked Flash for helping his son. Also, loved Spike’s reaction to the place given his love for Dragon types. I wouldn’t be surprised if he claimed he wanted to live there now (only for Twilight to say no).
Ryu certainly didn’t make any effort to be seen as anything but an asshole though. I understand mistaking Flash for a thief at first, since Kaida did the same thing at first, and I can even understand if he is angry because he was supposed to be Hopper’s trainer, but the moment he mocked Flash for losing the tournament, I wanted to break his jaw.
I guess it is most likely Hopper is going to need to stay here, since he will need to be the king one day, plus his new crush is here too. Unlike other examples of releasing a Pokémon that are done for completely stupid reasons and usually just to get them written out somehow (Greninja) I can accept this reason since it has been building up to this since Hopper was first introduced. I just hope it might be possible for him to return for the League so he can participate in revenge on Lightning.
10566295
No, you’re wrong. He might have a valid excuse for his anger, but he became an asshole the moment he mocked Flash for his loss. There is justified anger, and then there is just being a dick.
And after the tournament, we'll see what happens with Hopper now that we know of his origins. After stopping that new threat, will Hopper stay with Flash or will Flash give the prince back to his kingdom? Either way, Flash will learn of his own true strength again and will likely be able to defeat Lightning for good in the next tournament.
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That's what I'm hoping, and hopefully, helping the draconids defend their home brings Flash one step closer to finding his reason.
10566835
Likely finding out why Lightning won was because Flash didn't find his full resolve. I see that being it. With that, Flash would keep going, then beat Lightning in the finals of the League. He'd even say to Lightning that the reason he won last time was because the jerk had full belief that his way was the right one. But Lightning will eventually find out that "might isn't always right" when Flash's new convictions and a stronger team are able to use each of their talents to beat Lightning's team, ending with Riptide/Springer VS Gorillamp.
10567020
Where's Lightning now?
I remember going into this chapter when it was first released, I didn't expect to care about anything that was going to happen for the rest of the story. I am so glad this chapter proved me wrong. I have read others stories that have disappointed me and I lost interest in them before the end, with them failing to redeem themselves; in fact one of them happened very recently. But this final arc grabbed my attention right away and was just what I needed after the disappointment of the previous chapter.