CHAPTER 17

With blood still roaring in my ears, I recalled Vel into his capsule as Pryce did the same with his fallen Mamoswine. The broadcast was still ongoing as I walked out of my trainer box and over to the panel of judges.

I stood in front of them with a proud expression. They were locked in a quiet discussion as they furiously scribbled things on their papers, but I'd obviously passed the test. I'd knocked out all of Pryce's Pokemon with a sizable gap to boot. I just waited patiently for them to wrap up their conversation.

Eventually, they all fell silent. Lance rose from his seat and looked at me.

"Gym Leader Arin Watanuki," the Champion began. Brown eyes so light that they almost appeared yellow gazed intently at me. "On behalf of the panel of judges, I am pleased to announce that you have passed the Cherrygrove Gym's promotion test. From this day forth, the Cherrygrove Gym will be the ninth major gym in Johto. Congratulations."

My lips stretched wide in a huge smile as I dipped my head respectfully. I'd known the results already, but it felt different hearing it said out loud from the authorities in charge.

"Thank you. I am beyond honored to be able to enter the ranks of the major gyms," I said sincerely.

With a practiced sweep of his cape, Lance turned and made his way around the table. He stopped in front of me and held out a hand with a smile. I understood immediately and put my hand in his, and he grasped it in a firm handshake.

"Today is a historic day for Johto. I'm looking forward to working with you from now on, Leader Arin," he said in a dignified tone, and my existing smile grew even wider.

"Thank you, Champion Lance."

I vaguely felt the gaze of the broadcasting equipment on us as we shook hands. The instant we let go, the officials manning the machines turned them off.

The promotion test was truly over now.

I was about to turn and leave when Lance stopped me.

"Leader Arin, before you go, I'd like to inform you that your swearing-in ceremony will be held tomorrow here at the Indigo Plateau. I'll ask them to schedule it for… 10 AM again, I suppose. Is that agreeable with you?" Lance asked.

A swearing-in ceremony. It made sense since I was now in charge of a major gym in Johto. From this moment onwards, I was one of the pillars of our region and someone who held a key position of power within the Indigo League.

I nodded instantly. "Yes. I'll be here at 10 AM tomorrow."

"Wonderful," Lance said with a smile. "Any family members may join you tomorrow for the ceremony. Needless to say, please do show up in formal wear for the occasion. After you are sworn in, you'll be allowed and encouraged to make a short speech to the cameras for the public. There will be a small celebration slash meet-and-greet afterwards, so look forward to that as well."

"I understand," I replied firmly, already committing all the information to memory. Arceus, I was gonna have to figure out what I wanted to say before the day was over. My first impression on the public after the promotion test needed to be a good one.

Satisfied, Lance gave me a nod. "Then the Indigo League and I will see you tomorrow. Have a good rest of your day."

He walked off without another word and his signature cape billowing behind him. I stared after Lance with a thoughtful expression. Now that I'd actually met and talked to Lance in person, he did seem like a pretty decent guy. Then again, we hadn't really talked about anything personal and only about official business. Perhaps he was just putting on a polite appearance.

At any rate, it was time to go home. I needed to get my Pokemon healed, and I couldn't wait to see dad and Neil when I got back. I could already imagine their proud expressions.

I hummed to myself as I made my way out of the room. The League Trainers who had escorted me on my way in walked in front of me, ready to show me through the maze of hallways back to the building's entrance. We had just exited the set of double doors when I caught sight of a familiar back. Pryce was walking ahead of me, presumably heading back to his Gym. I jogged ahead of my escorts and called out to him.

"Leader Pryce!"

The old man paused at the sound of his name before turning back with a questioning expression. I came to a stop just a few feet away from him and smiled politely, dipping my head in a greeting.

"I just wanted to say it was an honor to battle you today. Even if you were just doing your duty as an exam proctor, I truly enjoyed the match," I said sincerely. "I'm looking forward to working together with you from now on as fellow Gym Leaders."

Now that I was the leader of a major gym, I would be working closely alongside Pryce and the other Johto Gym Leaders. I would be in contact with them often for work-related purposes as well as be seeing them at Gym Leader meetings, so it was important to foster good relationships with each one.

And I would start with the former Champion and present Gym Leader of Mahogany Town.

Pryce's eyes darted back to somewhere behind me before coming back to rest on my face. I had just begun to wonder what that was about when Pryce scoffed at me.

I immediately stiffened as he leaned in closer.

"Johto does not need a Fairy Gym," he hissed venomously. "I will never acknowledge you as an equal."

He whipped around with speed and ferocity one would not expect from someone of his age and stalked away. Every tap of his cane against the ground was more like a forceful slam, and I stared after his retreating back first with shock, then confusion, and finally anger. My League Trainer escorts chose that moment to catch up to me, and I realized that Pryce's strange behavior before had been him checking to see if they were far away enough to not hear.

The blasted old man had wanted to keep up a public appearance befitting a proper Gym Leader, and now I was the one who scoffed out loud.

So much for maintaining good relationships with all the Johto Gym Leaders. The first one I'd reached out to, and he didn't think I was worth talking to apparently. What the hell was Pryce's problem anyway?

Johto doesn't need a Fairy Gym? I'm not acknowledged as an equal? I'd at least proven my strength as a trainer today against him, for Ho-Oh's sake!

Any respect I'd previously had for Pryce Yanagi went out the window from this one interaction alone. I had thought him to be above such narrow-minded thinking one would expect from the Blackthorns, and I struggled to understand why he held such animosity towards me.

I tried putting myself in the shoes of Pryce Yanagi for a moment. He was a war veteran who had survived several of the deadliest conflicts in Johto's history and a man who had dedicated his life to the country as Champion after Samuel Oak's abrupt retirement. He was as patriotic and conservative as they came.

Was his problem with the fact that I was breaking Johto's tradition of only having eight major gyms governed by important families, or was it that I specialized in a Pokemon type that was considered blasphemous according to cultural and religious beliefs? Or both? I didn't know, and I couldn't interrogate Pryce for answers even if I wanted to. He was already long gone.

I exhaled deeply, pushing all bad thoughts out of my mind for the time being. Today was supposed to be a special day and one for celebration. I'd etched my name and that of the Cherrygrove Gym into Johto's history, and I shouldn't — wasn't — going to let one jerk ruin my good mood.

I'd figure out what to do about Pryce another time. It was time to go back home.

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As soon as Pryce was back in his office at the Mahogany Gym, he slammed his fist against the wall and snarled.

He'd failed.

After his defeat at Lance's hands, Pryce had sharpened his skills in the last six months and tried to bring him and his Pokemon back up to speed. Fine, perhaps he was past his prime, but he was still the Prodigy of Mahogany Town and the famed Ice Master himself. With decades of experience under his belt, he thought he would be able to defeat Arin Watanuki easily. Fairy types? Though he was loath to admit it, anything was just weak in comparison to Lance's dragons, especially some new Pokemon type that had sprang up from nowhere.

Then the Cherrygrove Gym Leader beat him with a blasted Wigglytuff, and that was the first of many dominos sent crashing down.

Arin Watanuki had proceeded to pass the promotion test, and now there was a Ho-Oh forsaken ninth major gym in Johto. His predecessors would be rolling over in their graves if they knew this, especially when the Gym in question was a wretched Fairy type.

Seventeen Pokemon types, eight major gyms, eight sacred Clans.

That's how it had always been and how it always should be. Johto did not need change. As long as they kept to their traditions and what they had always done, they would remain stable and powerful. Johto did not need something rocking the boat.

Pryce wanted to scream as he dropped into his office chair with a loud thud. He'd already been unsatisfied with the merge of Kanto and Johto as one country after the War of Ashes. While he'd grown to accept it during his tenure as Champion, it still left him with complicated emotions. Now Johto had to deal with a change to their long-existing political structures.

If only Radiant Ho-Oh would smite down the unholy Cherrygrove Gym, then Pryce would feel a bit more at peace again.

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"The Cherrygrove Gym Leader is quite strong, isn't he?" Koga mused out loud.

The Elite Four were the only ones left in the underground arena. In fact, they were still sitting in the exact same row of stands they'd been in for the promotion test. Everyone else — Lance, the panel of judges, and all the other League trainers and workers — had departed long ago after fixing up the field and clearing the room of equipment and furniture.

Only the Elite Four remained now in quiet discussion, for it was not every day that history was made in Johto and a new major gym was instated. As the men and women in positions of power just below the Champion, they were naturally very invested in the future of their country.

Lorelei Kanna's eyes swept over her fellow Elites as they talked quietly.

Beneath Agatha Kikuko's feet, shadows constantly swirled around and shifted. It was something Lorelei had not grown used to even after four years of service, and she didn't think she ever would. The old woman the shadows were attached to was the longest standing Elite Four member between all of them. She'd been in power ever since Samuel Oak's legendary reign. Lance was not very fond of Agatha's personality (neither was Lorelei, to be honest), but he still greatly respected the woman for her many feats and service to the country. Even now, Agatha contributed significantly to the nation's security with her small army of ghosts.

Sitting to Agatha's left was Bruno Siba, Kanto's famed Fighting Specialist and Aura Master. There were a few Aura users under the Indigo League's employ, but Bruno was by far the strongest. He'd spent almost fifteen years honing his skills and technique in the dangerous wilds of Mt. Silver before challenging for an Elite Four position and subsequently winning. His physical strength alone already exceeded the limits of what a normal human could do, but when enhanced with aura? There were rumors Bruno had pierced through a mountain before.

Finally, sitting in between her and Agatha was Koga Kyou, the Indigo Elite Four's newest member. He had been nominated by the Committee to take Lance's spot six months ago after the change in Champions, and he'd since left his Gym in the care of his daughter, Janine. Koga was the current head of the infamous Kyou Clan of ninjas based in Fuchsia City. His epithet was the Poisonous Ninja Master, and that title had spread like wildfire because of his efforts in the Rocket War. Similar to Agatha, he and his Clan were vital in the country's defenses for their intelligence gathering abilities.

As for her?

She was the second newest member of the Elite Four. Lorelei split her time between her duties for the League and giving lectures at schools both in Mahogany Town and her place of birth, the Sevii Islands. The history between the Sevii Islands and the mainland was a very strained one. Both Kanto and Johto had fought in the past to claim the islands and their mineral resources as their own territory before Sevii eventually claimed independence. If the islanders had to pick one region they hated the most, though, they would unanimously say Kanto.

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They had felt the effects of oppression most deeply from Kanto due to the fact they were located south of them. After the War of Ashes and the Rocket War, Kanto, Johto, and Sevii all united under the flag of Indigo. Relations between Kanto-Johto and Sevii improved rapidly, but there was still hatred on both sides. The reason why Lorelei had even left the Sevii Islands in the first place and clawed her way into the Elite Four was to improve the standing of the Sevii Islands in the eyes of the world. Compared to the mainland, they were worse off in just about everything: education, healthcare services, overall living conditions, etc. Her position in the Elite Four was for the sole purpose of being a voice for her people.

Lorelei had fans, but she also had a significant base of people who hated her and her origins. For the love of Articuno, even Lance disliked her except it was for other reasons, those being that she was of an opposing type specialty and the fact that she was Pryce's granddaughter. She was sure he was secretly hoping someone would challenge her and take her position, but she would never allow it.

Lorelei had to refocus on the conversation at hand when Bruno abruptly turned to look at her. Did he always have to look so stern?

"What do you think, Lorelei?" the man asked gruffly.

"About Arin Watanuki?" she asked, arching a delicate brow. One hand went up to carefully adjust her glasses as Bruno grunted out a yes. She could feel Agatha and Koga staring at her as she pondered for several moments, taking her sweet time to formulate a response. "Yes, I do think he's strong. I'm looking forward to seeing what he will accomplish during his tenure as Gym Leader."

And she meant it. Even though he'd beaten her grandfather, Lorelei didn't have any hatred for Arin. It was clear to her how much he had staked on the promotion test, and she could respect the strength and tenacity he'd shown as a result. Lorelei's relationship with her grandfather was rather strained nowadays anyway. The year before the inevitable fight between Pryce and Lance happened, she had been aware of Lance's poorly hidden intentions to eventually challenge him. She had warned Pryce multiple times that he needed to start training again, but he had ignored her every time. Then the fight happened, and the rest was history. Now her grandfather refused to talk to her outside of official settings.

Bruno seemed displeased with her answer because a frown marred his features. "I'm inclined to disagree. I will admit some of the fight interested me, particularly the strength his Azumarill showed, but he used more gimmicks and subterfuge than I would have expected."

"And that's considered bad?" Koga was the one who arched a brow this time. "Not everyone fights every match straightforwardly like you, Bruno. I rather liked the strategies that young man employed. I would be interested in speaking with him sometime." Agatha scoffed out loud from his side.

"Bah, I'm not convinced yet," Agatha said sharply. Her eyes narrowed as she whacked her cane against the ground. "Pryce, that blasted fool. He had such a poor showing today. Truly an embarrassment as our previous Champion."

Lorelei tuned out of the conversation again as the others kept chatting.

Arin Watanuki. How would he affect the Indigo League going forward?

Only time would tell.

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Flames licked at the air from within stone braziers. There were only a few of them, but it was enough light that objects and figures could be seen through the darkness. Massive statues of Dragonair and Dragonite, old yet polished to perfection, rose up on every side of the room like towering guardians. Across the ancient wooden floors, straw mats and silk cushions had been placed at set intervals. Each had a member of the Blackthorn Clan sitting upon them.

This was the most sacred location inside the Dragon's Den and the place where Clan meetings were always held. It was here in this very shrine that the founder of the Blackthorn Clan made a pact with a Dratini and started the legend of their family.

Ordinarily, it should have been quiet in the Dragon Shrine. Today, however—

"BLASPHEMOUS! ABSOLUTELY BLASPHEMOUS! May Radiant Ho-Oh raze down that blasted Cherrygrove Gym with its holy flames!"

"The sheer INSOLENCE of the Watanuki family! How dare they try to stand alongside the Sacred Eight?!"

Lance Wataru refrained from sighing as he was forced to listen to yet another screaming match between the Blackthorn Elders. He'd flown here right after the promotion test because they'd issued a Clan-wide meeting, and he was already regretting it. Of course Lance deeply respected the Elders and everything they had gone through and done for the Clan over the years, but there was only so much screaming he could take. He swore he was going to go deaf or insane if he had to put up with this even a few more times.

Furthermore, it was really quite unbecoming of them in his opinion. He was not fond of all the new changes in Johto's political scene either, but he had to toe a careful line between Lance the Champion and Lance the Blackthorn. All his feelings were being bottled up so that he could maintain a neutral, respectable appearance. The instant he let his true and tinted beliefs slip, the people of Indigo would be on him faster than an Arcanine using Extreme Speed.

It was mostly the Elders screaming obscenities at the moment. The younger members of the Clan, including trainees and successors for their respective branch families, had chimed in a bit near the beginning, but now they wisely kept their mouths shut and let the Elders rage. The sooner they got it out of their system, the better. The meeting had been called to discuss everything about Arin Watanuki and his Gym, but it had completely derailed from its original purpose.

Arin Watanuki. Lance could still clearly visualize determined blue eyes looking back at him with a steady gaze. He had not been afraid of Lance or acted overwhelmingly deferential to him as people tended to do, and he had actually liked that. Lance enjoyed commanding respect from people, but there was a point when it became too much.

Lance had been extremely surprised by the promotion test results. He hated Pryce, but he still respected the man and acknowledged his skills as a trainer. Even though Pryce wasn't as good as he used to be, Lance had fully believed that the former Champion would handily beat Arin. He had believed Arin to be just an ordinary trainer.

Then the opposite happened, and Lance was shocked to find out that Arin was actually a Champion-level trainer himself. Lance had narrowly beaten Pryce 6-5 six months ago to take his position. Arin had beaten Pryce 6-4 and with his fifth Pokemon still in a decent state.

Lance would be lying if he said he hadn't felt threatened for a few moments by the new Cherrygrove Gym Leader. What if Arin challenged him someday for his position? If it ever came to that, Lance would show him his place.

He had complicated feelings about the whole situation to be honest. On one hand, he respected Arin as a trainer and acknowledged his strength. It wasn't easy to beat someone like Pryce. Lance also liked the idea of another powerful trainer — from his home region, Johto, even! — coming under his employ, which would in turn strengthen the Indigo League and national security. These were frankly troubling times. Any extra help would be helpful if, Ho-Oh forbid, another Rocket War came to pass in the future. Those were all the positives.

The negatives? Well, like the Elders were currently screaming on about, Lance also had strong pride in being a member of one of the Sacred Eight Clans. They were the cornerstones of Johto itself. It was unthinkable that a family with less prestige was now technically on the same level as them. Even more important than all of that was the issue of Fairies themselves. They posed a serious threat to the future of the Clan and everything it stood for.

Fairies could not ever be compared to Dragons. Lance had gone his whole life believing Dragons were absolute, and he would continue to do so.

As the Elders continued yelling at each other about the current state of affairs, Lance cast his gaze around the room. His eyes eventually settled on his cousin, Clair, who was—

His brows furrowed. Was she… was she on her phone? In the Dragon Shrine no less? That was a blatant display of disrespect if he had ever seen any, and he was about to snap at her to put it away when he suddenly paused.

A few more people in the room had pulled out their phones as well and were staring down at them. Lance realized quickly that they were all trainees who assisted at the Blackthorn Gym. What were they all looking at? Their group chat maybe? It was at this moment that the Elders finally noticed the lack of attention from some of their audience and screamed anew with anger.

"HOW DARE YOU—" one of them began, but Clair interrupted.

"'From the Commerce Post: is this the end of the Blackthorn era?'"

The entire room fell deathly silent in an instant.

Even the Elders stopped screaming to stare at Clair in shock. She did not look up from her phone and merely continued.

"'Protests from minor gym leaders across Kanto have revealed that previous applicants had to fight the reigning Blackthorn Gym Leader of the time, yet the Cherrygrove Gym's promotion test was different in that Pryce Yanagi was the proctor. This has many people questioning if the change was made to protect the Blackthorn Clan,'" Clair read out loud, coldly enunciating each and every word.

"'As it is now commonly known, Fairies are immune to Dragons. We at the Commerce Post do not believe that this change in proctors was for fairly testing the applicant's skills. In fact, we believe that the change was made to protect the Blackthorn's image as the most powerful Dragon Tamers. Clair Ibuki was removed as proctor because there was a high chance she would lose, thus revealing to the world that indeed, dragons are no longer the most superior Pokemon. This is the end of the Blackthorn era and the might of dragons.'"

Silence. There was nothing but silence long after Clair finished. The sheer absurdity of the article she had read aloud had stunned all of them into shock as they processed it.

Lance felt like he was going to explode from anger. Yes, he had changed the proctor, and a small part of it had been because he wanted to save the Clan some trouble, but the most important reason had been to fairly test Arin's capabilities without giving him a huge advantage during a battle.

"Random journalists running their mouths off and spouting rubbish…!" Lance finally hissed, breaking the silence. He had to try very hard not to grind his teeth together. "For Ho-Oh's sake, even the Committee agreed with me that it was the best course of action to have the proctor changed in the name of fairness! Pay that article no mind, Clair. We can have it deleted for defamatory content, I can get people on that right now before anyone sees it—"

"It's been shared over 100,000 times already," Clair cut him off, and Lance clenched his jaw out of frustration. His cousin finally tore her gaze away from her phone and stared at him with a cold expression of her own. "We can bury it, Lance, but the seeds of doubt have already been planted."

Lance didn't get a chance to say anything else. The Elders began arguing again, this time over the fucking article that Clair had brought to their attention.

Almost an entire hour and a half later, when the Elders ran out of energy to scream and squabble, the Clan meeting finally came to an end. Lance ignored the aching of his legs from kneeling for so long and jumped to his feet, hurrying outside to catch Clair before she left the Dragon's Den completely.

"Clair!" Lance shouted at his cousin's back.

The young woman turned around with fury blazing in her eyes, and Lance sighed internally as he came to a halt in front of her. Just as he'd suspected, she was pretty worked up over the article. "Clair, don't worry about that paper. No matter what anyone says, you're strong. They simply made up Tauros shit to incite false drama and viewership. Just go on with your daily life and duties like normal, and people will forget about it soon enough once they see there's no drama to jump on."

"They questioned MY authority and MY strength as a trainer, Lance," Clair hissed in response. Lance had to give her props for not yelling and drawing the attention of the other Clan members. "Worse, they disrespected our Clan and Dragons. How can you expect me to stay calm after that? How can YOU stay calm after that? They even questioned the authority of the Indigo League!"

Lance breathed out through his nose patiently, refusing to let Clair rile him up.

"For the record, Clair, I am NOT unaffected by this," he replied in a level tone. "The article angers me too. I am merely keeping my emotions in check, however, which is something you should also be doing. The media companies want to see us lose our cool. They are looking for the faintest whiff of drama or weakness, and the instant they get it, they'll just write more pieces to tear the Clan down."

"So what? We just constantly pretend to be fine and ignore all the nonsense?" Clair demanded.

"Yes," Lance instantly replied in a firm voice.

Clair stared at him for several long seconds. Eventually, she shook her head slowly.

"I can't believe this," she muttered. Her expression was a mixture of disappointment and anger as she looked Lance in the eyes. In a louder voice, she continued. "I can't believe you of all people would encourage me to lie low. You always told me that Blackthorns must face the world with pride."

Lance's eyes softened. "We still do, and we always will. Just because I'm telling you to do nothing in response doesn't mean we're cowards. But sometimes, Clair, we have to do things we don't like," he murmured.

A vibration alert from the phone in his pocket reminded him that he needed to get going, and he sighed as he ran a hand through his carmine colored hair. "I'm sorry, but I need to head back to the office. I've been gone too long. If you have time tomorrow, show up for the swearing in ceremony, alright? It'd be good to show your support for the new Gym to the public."

"Fine," Clair muttered, and Lance gave her a nod before leaving.

He was fond of Clair, he really was. She was loyal to her friends and family, and she was an excellent trainer and Gym Leader. Lance could not be prouder to have her as a cousin.

But Clair had a lot of faults as well. She cared almost too deeply about the Clan, Dragons, and traditions to the point where her devotion blinded her to almost everything else. She was an intelligent young woman, but pride meant everything to her. The instant something threatened it, all her senses tended to fly out the window.

She was twenty years old, but she was so headstrong and short-tempered sometimes that it was like she was a young teenager instead.

Lance wished Clair wouldn't let her emotions take such a strong hold over her. She had the potential to become Elite Four material someday if she could just rein in her temper and stop to think.

Lance sighed to himself. He had better things to think about right now.

Paperwork awaited him.

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Clair found herself staying in the Dragon's Den long after the rest of the Clan members filtered out. She only spared a few greetings to her worried gym trainers; otherwise, she remained silent as she sat on a boulder near one of the ponds.

Anger still coursed through her veins. She was furious about a lot of things. The article, the reporters who came up with it, all the doubters who seemed to think the Blackthorns were a joke—

She was even a little mad at her cousin. She knew Lance meant well and cared for her, but it was frustrating to be told, again, to stand down and do nothing.

Ultimately, though, most of her rage was aimed at one person.

Arin Watanuki.

He and his blasphemous Fairy types were causing a wave of change through Johto, and Clair did not like that change. She didn't like the idea of Fairies who could stand up to Dragons, she didn't like the idea of another family being equal to the Sacred Eight, and she certainly, certainly, did not like that people were questioning her capabilities.

Pryce Yanagi, that stupid old man, had failed to defeat Arin Watanuki. He had let him pass the test and enter the ranks of the major gyms. If she had been in his place, she would have stopped the Cherrygrove Gym from advancing. She and her Dragons would have made sure of it.

When Clair thought about it like that, she came to a decision on the spot. She had allowed Pryce one chance, and he had messed up spectacularly. Now it was her turn. She clenched a fist.

Lance wanted her to go to the swearing in ceremony? Fine, she would go, but only because she'd finally get to meet the wretched, so-called Fairy Specialist at long last. As she hopped off the boulder and headed back to her Gym, Clair Ibuki looked like the incarnation of wrath itself as she thought about tomorrow.

Oh, Lance was not going to be happy. She loved her Clan, and she was going to defend their honor. She was planning on telling Arin exactly what was on her mind.

She was a Blackthorn, and she would face the world with pride.