Finally managed to get this chapter done after what? 5 months? ... Don't expect me to get any faster though. University is a killer TwT Hopefully I didn't slip any plot holes in here when I wasn't looking, and again, much thanks to all you readers who actually put up with me and my untidy and bad schedule of updating.

Chapter 29

The Goals We Strive For

"That's the Radio Tower?" Alex asked, staring at the building before us; a multi-storied building with a tall steel structure that seemed to stretch up into the sky upon its rooftop, its metallic surface glinting in the late afternoon sunlight. You could see satellite dishes all along its length, with a single sign declaring "Goldenrod Radio Station" placed strategically above the entrance.

"Yup," Warren, ever the obvious, replied. He stood nearby, shielding his eyes from the sun, chipper and bright after the earlier fiasco which netted him a new pokemon.

Alex sighed and folded his arms. Unlike Warren, his attempts at catching a wild pokemon had ended up in vain; all he came back with when we saw him again were scratches on his arms, a fainted Bellsprout and Sandshrew, and a very angry disposition. In an attempt to preserve the peace, Tony, Warren and I hadn't made any remarks about it, though Warren's brightness was obviously irking Alex somewhat.

"Let's just get this over and done with," Alex scowled.

"Weren't you absolutely dying to meet Professor Oak, though?" Tony asked with the faintest hint of a teasing smile. "Lighten up, Alex. You don't want the Professor's first impression of you to be a moody young child."

"Like you're one to talk," Alex muttered, but he did manage to hide his scowl as we entered through the building's doors. Somewhat.

The electronic doors opened, revealing a clean, small lobby, with a receptionist desk, a couple of sofas, and a potted plant or two. It seemed quiet, despite being one of the most important radio stations in all of the Johto region. A few well-dressed celebrities sat at the indoor cafe, chatting and the likes, while a security guard stood nearby, shooting glares at anyone who came by.

And standing next to a nearby potted plant, Professor Oak stood around glancing nervously at the nearby clock, as if waiting for someone.

There was no way I could have mistaken him. Even though the word 'training' was never ever uttered at home, I had glimpsed Professor Oak before on TV, mostly on the news, but sometimes on those odd Mareep-raring channels that Dad liked to surf. Even so, there was something about Professor Oak that made you notice him right away. His hair was a lot whiter than I had seen on TV, and there were more wrinkles around his eyes than I had noticed, but there was something warm about his eyes; hardly cold or calculating like you expected a professor to be, but soft and gentle like what I imagined a grandfather's eyes would have been like.

"Professor Oak?" Tony asked, stepping towards the old man, hand outstretched; the perfect gentleman. "I'm Tony Archer. Professor Elm asked me to give something to you."

The old man looked startled at being addressed, but quite quickly, his smile returned to his face and he took Tony's hand. "When Professor Elm told me that he was sending someone over, I didn't expect it to be Phil Archer's son. It's nice to meet you, and I suppose these are your travelling companions?" He glanced over at us.

I shrunk back slightly, edging closer towards Warren. But the Professor's smile was warm and friendly, and his enthusiasm caught on with Warren, who stepped up with a bright smile. "Warren Brightly, sir. I'm a pokemon trainer, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I look up to you."

"Alex Farr," Alex managed to say, without a hint of irritation in his voice. He seemed itching to walk over and shake the professor's hand, but managed enough self-control not to. Meeting Professor Oak must have momentarily caused him to forget to be angry. "I'm a trainer too. Tony asked us to protect him on the way to Olivine, but I never thought I'd get the chance to meet you. It's a real honour, sir."

And then his eyes rested lightly on me. I could feel the expectation from everyone, but instead of encouraging me to greet this awesome (and slightly intimidating) man, I found my tongue unable to move. All I managed to squeak out was, "Budew Eldridge, sir. I-I'm a trainer too."

That seemed to be satisfactory. The Professor gave me a warm, encouraging smile, and then turned back to Tony. I was more than grateful for the distraction, sliding back to Warren as soon as he glanced away.

"So what did Elm send you up here for?" Professor Oak asked curiously as he sized Tony up. "He didn't give any details, just said that it was urgent."

"If it's alright with you, sir, I prefer we not talk about it in public," Tony said. "Is there anywhere we can go...?"

The older man frowned slightly, but nodded in acquiesance. "There's an empty recording studio upstairs, since we just finished up our daily radio broadcast. We can talk there."

The recording studio was a small room at the end of a hallway on the second floor. Professor Oak led us past a security guard who was closely scrutinizing our every step, and a bunch of curious onlookers who I supposed were local radio stars of some sort, judging by Warren's ramblings.

"I think I just saw Mary," he said in a low voice, capable for only me to hear. "And is that- oh man, I think that I just spotted those famous Ecruteak dancers being interviewed! And-and-and-! That's the Suicune expert! Eusine!"

"Calm down, Warren," Alex said nonchalantly, yanking the boy's hat over his eyes. "And come on. We'll never keep up with Tony if you keep lagging behind."

Warren looked like he was about to retort something childishly, but quickly shut up when Tony glanced over and glared at us.

"So, what is it that Elm sent you for?" Oak asked after we streamed into the room, seating casually in one of the chairs. He quickly gestured for us to do likewise, and after a moment of glancing around, the three of us (sans Tony, who was always cool as a cucumber in any situation) awkwardly grabbed a few chairs that were lying around.

"Here, sir," Tony said, producing the egg from the folds of his bagpack. A silence fell over the room as Oak took it gently in his hands, turning it over, examining it with critical eyes.

"I'm not the expert on eggs," he finally said quietly as he set it gently on the table, "but I've never seen an egg like this before. Where did you say it was found?"

Tony quirked a wry smile. "Off the coast of Route 34," he said. "The daycare couple found it floating in the surf. Supposedly they detected life, and sent it with us to give it to you on Elm's instructions."

"Interesting," Oak frowned, running his fingers down the egg's shell. "Did they say what pokemon egg this was?"

The older boy hesitated, glancing over at Warren and I. "To be honest, sir, they have no clue. Although, Warren here has an idea of what it may be."

"Oh?" Oak leaned in close, peering at Warren with careful eyes. The warmth was still there, but there was something analytical in his gaze. At that moment, I think it really hit home that I was sitting in front of the Pokemon Professor.

"It's the egg of Manaphy," Warren supplied, his voice steady, though his hands were trembling slightly. "I've seen drawings of it at home, from the ancient scrolls of the Johto region. You don't see colouration and texture like this on any other pokemon egg."

"You're talking about legendary pokemon," Oak said quietly. There was no telling what he meant by that. Warren and I exchanged glances, while Alex peered at us curiously.

Finally, Warren met the researcher's eyes and said, "There has never been proof for whether legendaries exist or not. But I know my legends, and if that egg really is Manaphy's-"

"It'll be a breakthrough," Tony finished.

Oak sat back into his chair, calmly rubbing his chin as his eyes seemed to stare off into a distance. Distantly, he said, "Yes indeed, it will be. Such a discovery would turn the entire scientific world upside-down. To whomever discovers such a fact, there would be not only accolades and recognition, but he would go down in history as one of the most important men in pokemon research."

Despite his words, there was a chord of sadness and warning in his voice. Hesitantly, I asked, "I-isn't that good, sir?"

The old man looked at me with such sad, aged eyes that spoke of a vast experience larger than I could even begin to understand. With a wan smile, the Pokemon Professor said, "Well, I suppose it would advance pokemon research, but until we prove that, it'll only be a distant dream. However, it looks like the means to find out whether legendaries exist or not is right within our grasp." He nodded at the egg.

"So, you'll hatch it?" Tony asked, holding the precious egg towards the Professor.

Oak chuckled. "If we're going based on the legends, the pokemon that should come out of that egg should be Phione, but the egg will only hatch if it's in warmer seas. Perhaps Warren would know where the best place for that would be?"

Warren sat up straight, surprised at being addressed so suddenly. "That would be Sinnoh, sir," he said automatically.

"Very good," the Professor chuckled. "Unfortunately, I have my hands full, and my old bones don't take too well to travelling so far off," he continued calmly. "I could contact an old colleague of mine to meet up with you, but you would probably have to wait for months before he can make it down to Johto."

"That won't be neccessary, Professor," Tony said. "I can take the egg there myself."

"Isn't that a little far off, though, Tony?" Alex asked in surprise. "I mean, you'll have to cross through not only the Whirl Islands, but Hoenn as well!"

"That's fine," Tony said with a small smirk. "After all, I was heading to Sinnoh myself, on research involving the evolution of Magnemites."

"Ah, that's right," Professor Oak murmured, "Magnetons are known to evolve within Mt Coronet. Elm did say he was going to send someone to research about it. It was you?"

Tony nodded. "I was the only one of Elm's assistants that had a Magnemite on hand, so it seemed prudent for me to be the one to go. Plus, I had wanted to evolve my Magnemite for a while."

"Then it all works out," Oak said with a smile. However, that smile faltered slightly when he spoke next. "You will have to be very careful, though."

"What for?" Alex asked with a drawl. "He's just going to go hatch an egg."

Oak nodded. "Yes, but what if someone caught wind that legendaries exist? If you're a trainer, what would you do?"

"Catch it, of course," Alex said without hesitation before the true weight of the question sank in. "Oh."

"Of course, again, we won't be certain until that egg hatches, but still, imagine how many people would want to steal an egg of Manapy." Oak frowned. "Even if it's just a rumor... It's troubling to know that I'm entrusting such a task to youngsters such as yourself. Still, I of all people know that children like yourselves, pokemon trainers especially, are far more capable than we adults think. But nevertheless, do try to be careful. We wouldn't want any information- or the egg- to fall into the wrong hands."

The weight of the words was heavy. Tony smiled lightly as he stood up, as though such a burden was inconsequential. Smoothing the wrinkles on his blouse, he briskly reached a hand out towards the old man and said,"We'll be fine, Professor. Thank you for your time."

Oak took it with a quiet stare, one filled with warning. The older boy smiled in return, though he seemed to be gripping Oak's hand a bit tighter than one normally would. With a quick, polite nod of his head, he turned and left.

As Tony walked out of the room, Oak turned and stopped us from scrambling out of our chairs with his calm words. "You children are travelling together to protect him, aren't you?" he asked, his voice filled with worry and unsaid words.

Warren hesitated and I said nothing. (Dad taught me that if there was nothing to say, it need not be spoken.) Oak seemed so concerned for our well-being, even though we had only just met him. I knew that in Pallet Town, he was the one in charge of giving young trainers their starter pokemon. I wondered how many young people he had bid farewell- and whether he worried about each and every one of them as they set out into the world, unknowing of the dangers that they would face. The expression he wore spoke of how dangerous he knew this task to be, even without saying it.

Alex, however, gave the professor a firm look, his eyes burning with determination. "Don't worry, Professor," he said tightly, "We won't let anything happen to either him or that egg."

Tony was waiting for us at the base of the Radio Tower. He arched an eyebrow, and he didn't need to speak to get across the message that we had been wasting his time.

"You didn't tell me you were going to Sinnoh," Alex muttered as he caught up to the older boy, scowling as he eyed him with folded arms.

"Well, there was no point telling you that," Tony replied. "If you're worried about my safety, don't be. Once I reach Sinnoh, I'll meet up with my relatives. My cousin's a pokemon trainer. He's going to escort me through Mount Coronet, so it's perfectly safe. And besides, after the Team Galactic fiasco, security's been tight, and the region's pretty quiet."

Alex seemed unconvinced, but kept his mouth shut. And just like that, the conversation within our little group died, and we silently followed Tony through the crowded streets of Goldenrod.

At least, until we came across two boys standing directly in our path.

They weren't tall, these boys. The taller was slightly bigger than Tony, and the other one seemed too short for his age. They looked older than us- the shorter one seemed to have a goatee while the taller one looked almost to be a young adult, around eighteen or so. They both had brown hair and hazel eyes, with the same smug expression on their face, too similar to be anything but related to one another- and to someone else.

"What are you guys doing here?" Warren said in a half-surprised, half-angry voice, pushing past Tony to face the two standing in our way.

"Aw, is that any way to greet your family, little bro?" the younger one taunted. He smirked, arms folded. "What, not even an introduction?"

Warren clicked his tongue in irritation. "Guys, my older brothers Henry and Gabriel. Gab's the elder. My... friends- Tony Archer, Alex Farr, and Budew Eldridge. Now, can you please tell me what are you guys doing here?"

"We came to find you," the older one- Gab- said calmly. He looked almost bored as he eyed us. "We want you to return home now and stop this stupid farce of trying to become a pokemon trainer."

Henry chuckled. "Yeah, knowing how useless bug types are, I'm surprised you even got to Goldenrod! How many badges do you even have?"

"One," Warren muttered, ducking his head. His brothers smirked, with no warmth or concern in their eyes.

"Only one?" Gabriel murmured. "I managed to get all the way to Ecruteak with four badges before I finally decided that the Tournament was just a waste of my time."

I could see Alex bristling at their degrading tone. Funny, I thought distantly. I didn't think he cared about Warren, but perhaps the insult to the League itself was enough to anger him. Tony's eyes were narrowed, and I knew he felt the same anger and irritance as I did, but he held a restraining hand on Alex's shoulder so to keep him from doing anything impulsive. Not like the Brightly brothers noticed, at any rate.

"Well, it's to be expected when you're a weakling," Henry sneered. "Now come on. Quit wasting time and let's go. The train's gonna leave soon."

"What?" Warren gasped in audible surprise. "You mean you want me to go home with you, right now?"

Gabriel folded his arms. "Isn't that clear enough, Warren? Dad isn't happy that you took a pokemon egg without his permission with you when you left, and he isn't happy that you're out shaming the Brightly name by attempting to be a... bug pokemon trainer. We heard the story about how you were thrashed by Falkner and decided it was better for all involved if you came home right now. Now, say your goodbyes and let's go."

Warren gaped with his mouth wide open, unable to make a sound. He looked conflicted, and shocked, but I knew that he didn't want to leave. Not yet, and certainly not like this.

And then Tony, perhaps having had enough of the two of them, decided to step in. "Unfortunately, your brother will have to decline," he said icily. "He currently has a contract with me, and I'm afraid I can't afford to have him leave just yet."

"Is that so?" Henry sneered. "What're you working with this guy for, Warren? You don't even look fit enough to be a carrier boy."

"T-that's none of your business," Warren said, taking the oppurtunity to try to recover the momentum of the conversation. He squared his shoulders, trying to look taller than he actually was. "But I can't go home with you guys now."

The two of them fell silent for a while, their smiling facade momentarily broken. It was unsettling to see the anger from those eyes, eyes that seemed so much like Warren's. They were angry, though at what, I didn't know. All I knew was that, at that time, the two of them seemed far too scary and mean to be anyone related to the Warren I knew.

And then just like that, Gabriel's smile was back on his face. With a gentlemanly bow, he said, "Well, if that's so, then far be it for us to interfere. I understand. A man's got to do what a man's got to do, am I right?"

"Really?" Warren asked suspiciously. His hands were clenched into fists at his side, and they were shifting ever-closer to the pokeballs on his belt.

"Of course," Gabriel laughed- it sounded condescending, like a father speaking to a toddler. "But before we go, what say you to a pokemon battle? Two of us against two of you?"

"I'm in!" Alex all but roared, only to be pulled back by Tony and I.

Warren stepped protectively in front of us. "I really appreciate your enthusiasm, Alex," he said softly, "but didn't your pokemon get knocked out when we were in the park?"

Alex glared dangerously, one hand clasped around Faust's pokeball. "Oh no. I still have one more I can use to fight. I'll crush those egoistic sarcastic slimeballs before they even get the chance to attack and-"

"You're way out of your league, you know," the brown haired boy cut in. "These guys are way too strong for you to handle. For any of us to handle."

"Are you serious?" Alex gaped. "They can't be that strong, if they have to swagger around like that!"

"They're dragon trainers, aren't they?" Tony asked sharply, cutting into Alex's tirade.

Warren nodded, hardly surprised that Tony had figured it out. "Not just any old dragon trainer- they're from the Dragon Clan. It's going to be pretty much impossible to beat them."

I blinked in confusion for a moment, slow on the uptake. Slowly, the information that I had picked up over the course of the journey clicked, and everything suddenly became clear. Warren had introduced himself as hailing from Blackthorn. Blackthorn, the remote nothern town, where it was known as the home of Dragon trainers and pokemon; where the fabled Dragon Clan lived. It took me a while to realize exactly what everyone else seemed to know at that point- that Warren, a bug pokemon trainer, had originally came from a clan of dragon pokemon trainers. And now, his brothers wanted him to stop, lest he drag the Brightly name through the mud by not being a dragon trainer.

But that didn't matter. Right now, the only thing that mattered was for me to support Warren as his friend.

"Well, why can't you just decline the challenge, then?" I asked.

Warren glanced at me and chuckled. "You remember what Alex told you about trainer challenges?"

I hesitated. "You can't turn them down?"

"Exactly." Warren adjusted his cap, a tense smile on his face. "Now come on, Dew. I'm counting on you for this one."

"What?" I gaped at him in horror. "Why me?"

"Alex's pokemon are all knocked out from earlier, and I don't think Coil alone can stand up to dragon pokemon," Warren explained briefly. "Moreover, your Girafarig will probably help us out a lot more right now. You've never fought double battles before, have you?"

"W-what?" I repeated lamely.

"Right, well, me neither. Guess we'll have to learn on the fly." Warren grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, out from behind where I had been safely hiding next to Alex and Tony. All of a sudden, I realized a space had cleared between the crowd between us and the two Brightly brothers; almost as if some unspoken agreement had occured. In fact, it seemed like some passerbys had even stopped and stood around us in a circle, like an audience waiting for a performance to begin.

Warren's smile seemed to grow tenser by the second. "Looks like the Goldenrod crowd still loves battles as much as always."

"Are you sure it's fine to fight in the middle of the street?" I asked him in a hurried whisper, all too aware of a few curious glances thrown my way.

Warren shrugged. "It happens. They don't mind as long as we don't make too much of a mess of things."

"R-right. Too much, got it."

Gabriel looked even more pleased when he noticed my nerves. "All set then, baby brother?"

Warren nodded tersely. I felt an insane urge to hide behind him when Gabriel's patronizing, soul-piercing gaze flitted over to me, but I gulped and stood my ground, staring back at Gabriel with my chin lifted. He could have been a raging Aerodactyl, or Warren's older brother, but I knew that right now, I couldn't afford to show weakness to an opponent before the battle even began.

"Wonderful," Gabriel dusted his hands and pulled out a pokeball from his jacket pocket. "Well then, shall we begin?"

Two pokeballs were tossed onto the pavement at the Brightly brother's corner; two flashes of light later, two strange pokemon were staring back at me.

One was a miniature little blue dinosaur with stubby arms and a roundish face; the other was a slender, serpentine creature with a blue back, a white underbelly, and a button nose. I had never ever seen these pokemon ever in my life, let alone know who or what they were, but they had the darkest, fiercest eyes I had ever seen (which was quite terrifying despite their general small size).

"Bagon and Dratini," Tony voiced out from behind us, just loud enough for me to hear. He met my eyes with a tight nod, his pokedex open behind us. "Be careful. They look like they've seen a few battles, if the pokedex is reading their levels right."

Warren nodded and pulled out a pokeball. I followed suit. Before long, Jaws the Trapinch was standing in front of Warren's corner of the field, gnashing his namesake in anticipation for the blood to be shed. On my corner, Girafarig appeared relatively quiet and calm, but I could tell from its skittish movements and furtive glances at Warren that it was still bothered by him for some unknown reason.

And then the battle began.

With a fierce cry, Gabriel's tiny Bagon ran at us, teeth gnashing and furious feet pattering against the stone pavement. I didn't hear any verbal command, nor did I know what was happening except that the little dragon was rushing suspiciously fast towards us and that while Girafarig may have been able to avoid the angry dragon pokemon, Jaws was much too slow to out-manouevre it.

Quite by instinct, I yelled, "Reflect!"

A giant pink wall appeared before Girafarig and a bewildered Jaws, causing the Bagon to slam right into it with a heavy thud. Girafarig flinched from the blow to the shield, but no sooner had it recovered when suddenly I felt the air around us change, and a familiar sensation washed over me- an electric move, courtesy of Henry's Dratini, poised elegantly with its tail pointing towards Girafarig, zapped over the psychic pokemon before I could do a thing.

The attack caught Girafarig by surprise, and it fell to its knees, stung by the sharp bolt of electricity. I could tell that the attack wasn't as powerful as Mareep's, but somehow, I could still see the currents dancing across Girafarig's fur, stinging and hurting far longer than a normal Thunderbolt would do. It looked almost as if the Dratini had just used...

"Thunder Wave," Warren told me, confirming my thoughts. "It's going to keep Girafarig from moving too much. Don't underestimate dragon pokemon, Dew. They can learn all sorts of attacks. Though if you can hold them off long enough for Jaws to attack..." He glanced at the little Trapinch, slowly creeping up towards where the dazed Bagon lay shaking its head.

I nodded. "Confusion!"

Girafarig staggered back upon its feet and let out a neigh, a pulse of energy erupting from the tips of its horns. The psychic waves slammed into Bagon, and it let out a squeal in pain, its tiny little body twisting on the ground. Jaws used the time to finally creep up to the little blue dragon. It readied itself and opened its jaws to inflict a serious wound on the Bagon, clamping down firmly on the little dragon's tiny feet.

I expected Gabriel to at least yell out something to comfort the dragon, but when I glanced at the two trainers, all I saw was Gabriel watching on with a smirk on his face, arms folded. In a horrible instant, I realized that he didn't care at all that the Bagon was in pain. He didn't seem to care about the fact that they were in the middle of the battle or anything. In his eyes, I could see the proud light of victory. He believed that they would win this battle, and because of that, he didn't care how badly his pokemon was getting hurt because of it.

That made me feel sick.

"Gira gi!" Girafarig yelped at me, snapping me out of my stupor. I blinked in surprise, only to realize that at that very same time, a dark cloud was starting to gather around Henry's Dratini.

"Warren!" I cried, tugging at his arm to draw his attention.

He glanced over, and his eyes widened and his face turned pale. "Not good," he whispered. "That's-"

I heard Tony gasp. "Quickly, everyone, get back!" he yelled at the audience, befuddled and confused as to what was happening. He pushed Alex back and was about to reach for Warren and I when I felt something click.

Henry grinned (a really horrid evil grin that gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach) and snapped his fingers. He was standing far across the street, but in that moment, it was as if the entire city had fallen silent. Even the crowd watching us had quietened down, and all that I could hear was the gathering sound of the wind and Henry's dark, twisted voice.

"Twister."

Dratini let out a shrill cry, and a vortex of whipping green wind started swirling around it, before tearing across the street towards us. The howling gale was all we could hear as leaves and branches were ripped from trees, and razor sharp wind slashed at our skin. Girafarig reacted faster than I did, springing into action despite the raging winds. It slammed its hooves loudly into the ground, and again, the pink protective wall of Reflect sprung as an obstacle between us and the oncoming twister.

I saw Warren run to pick up Jaws, secure in the knowledge that Girafarig's barrier would hold, but before he was even within ten paces of the tiny little Trapinch, Dratini's attack struck, and shattered the protective wall like it was nothing. With a pained yelp, Girafarig was flung backwards at me, and caught off-guard by Girafarig's weight suddenly on me and the twister slamming directly into us, I fell back onto the pavement, the now-quite-familiar pain of falling onto the floor hitting my body. I heard Warren's cry, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jaws flung high up into the air before landing in a patch of grass some distance away.

Then, suddenly, the wind stopped.

I struggled to lift Girafarig's body off mine- only to realize that this was the first time Girafarig wasn't moving by itself. I could hear its ragged breathing, feel the warmth of its breath; but when I looked at its body, all I saw were the horrendous gashes the raging wind had left on the psychic pokemon. It was still alive, but unconcious. And suddenly, I realized that Girafarig had inadvertedly taken the hit that I would have taken had it not stood in my way. Again, it had protected my life- but, once again, at the risk of it's own. And it hadn't gotten out unscathed this time.

"Only a foolish trainer puts herself in danger in the middle of battle," Henry sneered. All too suddenly, I was aware that he was standing just a few paces away, Dratini wound comfortably around his arm. "Maybe you should just quit and go home, if you're going to cry whenever your pokemon gets taken out like this, noob."

I found myself speechless at the sudden amount of venom directed at me. But before I could say anything, Gabriel crossed my field of vision.

Unlike Henry, he seemed more preoccupied with his other younger brother, propped against a tree. Jaws was nearby, and from the looks of it, both of them had taken the full brunt of the Twister. The litte Trapinch wasn't even moving, and the scratches on its skin bled freely. Warren himself had been knocked unconcious, but when Gabriel picked him up by the collar and slammed him against the tree bark, his eyes blinked open.

"H-hey!" Alex yelled out, but a quick glance from Henry silenced the other boy.

"Show's over," Henry said, glancing at the murmuring crowd around us. "Leave."

I heard the whispered words of the passerbys as they complied.

"Brightly's boys." "Dangerous." "Dragons." "Strong."

The bitter taste in my mouth didn't fade. Somehow, Alex and Tony managed to pull me away from Henry and get me to return Girafarig back to its ball, but even supported by those two, it felt as though we had lost more than just a simple, single battle.

"I'm disappointed, Warren," Gabriel said. "You said you wanted to be a bug pokemon trainer, and yet, here you are, fighting with none other than a dragon pokemon. You don't even have the strength of will to carry out your pathetic pretenses? You dishonour the Dragon Clan. Small wonder that Dad disowned you."

"Dad what?" Warren gasped, horror dawning in his eyes.

"You heard me," Gabriel smirked. "Dad disowned you. He says you're not entitled to the family funds, or any help from us any longer. It's only a matter of time before the legal notices are made, but I thought I should give you a head's up." It was as if he was taking sick pleasure in making his younger brother suffer. How could anyone be so mean to another family member, I didn't know, but with Henry glaring at us, I knew we couldn't make any sudden moves. We were completely at their mercy, and nobody would stop to help- nobody wanted to fight Rolf Brightly's sons.

Then, just like that, Gabriel released his grip on Warren's collar, and the younger boy fell onto the patch of earth and grass with a dull thud. He dusted his hands and walked towards us, completely ignoring the pained look on Warren's face.

"Well, we've proved our point and sent our message, Henry," he said. "Let's go."

"Roger that!" Henry declared, pulling out another pokeball. The pokemon that appeared before us was literally a dragon brought to life- big and blue, with red wings and the fiercest, most intimidating eyes I had ever seen on any of Arceus's creatures. It had sharp, curved claws and fangs, and a horrible disposition to match. Yet, without too much trouble, Henry vaulted onto the creature's neck, with Gabriel following suit.

They were toying with us, I realized. Warren was right. They never were in danger of losing- not when they had something so big and powerful on their side. They were just playing with us. Showing us how weak we really were in comparison.

"Warren," Gabriel said, his voice calm and pleasant. "You're a failure. I'm glad that you'll never have the chance to disgrace our family's name."

I saw the pain in Warren's eyes, saw the clenching of his fist as he was about to speak- but he never had the chance when Gabriel saluted and the dragon lifted off, and he was left standing silent in the middle of the pavement.

They were gone within two wingbeats of the blue dragon, soaring high above the skyscrapers of Goldenrod City. And all we could do was stare as they departed, as the crowds slowly filled in the empty spaces and the remnants of the battle were kicked away by the rush of feet and the pushing of bodies of normal daily life. The sun was still shining, and the clouds had reverted to their normal blue. A gentle breze floated through the air.

But despite it all, in that moment, I knew how useless and powerless we really were.

R&R if there's anyone reading this please~ Kthxbai, hopefully I'll get the next chapter up sooner TwT