Karp
patreon
Pokénin 004
🕑 Added 2025-02-27 19:49:12 +0000 UTCJogging along on a muddy path with Zinnia, Tekai had placed Gil in the apricorn pokeball, and was constantly scanning his surroundings in caution.
Zinnia, however, didn't seem to have a worry in the world, and was skipping around as if they hadn't fought a death battle half an hour ago.
But he couldn't really blame her, as bagon was OP.
They ran into a few zubats here and there, yet one blast of Dragon Breath took them out in one shot.
One time, they ran into a pack of six zubats, and Tekai thought he was finally going to get some action, however, the girl he was traveling with was very aggressive!
Bagon could shoot 3-4 Dragon Breaths before tiring from chakra exhaustion, and took 4 out of the fight rather easily. But Zinnia wasn't reliant on her companion Pokémon, and absolutely smashed the last two.
In fact, she had started to practice the Ryu Clan roars with bagon, and was training him while they skipped along!
Tekai saw her roaring as if it were a song, and was pretty sure she wasn't even doing it on purpose. Yet the entire time, the bagon was trying to follow along, and even learned half of the roar to Dragon Dance!
This little guy had just hatched, and was already learning stuff!
The things Pokémon could do were crazy, and this hyperactive, battle hungry tomboy was even crazier!
“Say, shiny, how come I never sparred with you, or saw you in the training yard?” Zinnia asked as she started to toy with a zubat.
Tekai jumped to the side to dodge a Poison Sting, and Dragon Danced forward, and punched the zubat he was fighting on top of its central area, knocking it to the ground.
“Probably because no one asked to spar with me. It's almost like I'm the Clan Lord's bastard son or something.” Tekai joked, and then leapt up, and slam kicked the zubat while it was down.
His kick clobbered it into the cavern wall, and broke the bat-like creature into a messy lump.
Tekai cringed at the sight, yet tried to focus on the conversation instead of the fact that he was slaughtering Pokémon.
“For real? Sucks. Clan politics are so boooring. Glad my grandma isn't an elder or anything like that. Alls she said to me was: ‘Zinnia, go out there, kick ass, and force the dragon seed out of the strongest man you find. Never take no for an answer!’ Still don't know what she meant by that last part, but I'm sure I'll figure it out along the way.” Zinnia grinned as she ripped the zubat's wings off, then beat it to death with its own arms.
“Yeah, grandma sounds like a, uh, smart woman.” Tekai weakly agreed as he witnessed Zinnia’s casual barbarity.
“Yep, she's the smartest! But anyway, I wish I knew earlier that you could fight! I always saw you sweeping the floors from a distance, and thought you looked kinda pathetic. We have to spar after the ceremony is over, I insist!” Zinnia wiped some dust off her sweat laden tanned skin, and flashed her pearly whites at him.
Tekai eyed the skinny little girl, and knew she wasn't playing around.
Well, he could use a friend he supposed, and who better to trade tips with than someone training in the same techniques?
“Whatever you say, I’m sure it could be fun. With this last pack defeated, we're clear to enter the ‘Valley of Bones.’ I read that this is the resting place of our ancestral heroes, but don't know much more beyond that. How about you?” Tekai questioned.
“Mhm. Yeah I don't know either! But grandma said there was a strong guy down here, she said if I could fight him, I'd be satisfied.” Zinnia slammed a fist into an open palm, then stepped forward.
Following after her, Tekai took note of a change in their surroundings.
A large stone arch at least five stories tall was cut into a flat cave wall. The entire arch was lined with giant, carved, black marble blocks. Upon each block was an inscription.
To Tekai, this very much seemed like a seal.
Was it intended to keep things from getting in…or to keep something from escaping!
The inscriptions along the arch all lit up at their approach, and glowed an ominous deep azure blue, similar to the color of Dragon Breath.
Feeling the goosebumps on the back of his neck rise, and a cold draft leaking from this section of the cavern, Tekai paused in his tracks at the entrance to this ‘portal.’
Zinnia didn't seem to have a care in the world, and marched right in.
“I've got a bad feeling about this.” Tekai muttered to himself, then moved to catch up.
Stepping into this separate section of the cavern, Tekai found it to be better lit than the pathways leading up to it.
Deep azure flames crackled within braziers, lighting up the scenery.
And what scenery it was!
The wide open cavern he found himself in had the skeletons of Pokémon everywhere.
Literally thousands of dragonite bones were placed within, and a few hundred other miscellaneous dragon type bones were here or there.
Tekai noticed a theme, that most bones were separated into a human, and their team of Pokémon. Not only that, but the teams all had evolved Pokémon. Meaning that these weren't just your average Ryu Clan members, they were the exception. The extraordinary.
Additionally, next to every group was a plaque describing their greatest battles, and how they died.
Despite this being a somewhat macabre scene, there was actually quite the air of quiet dignity in the large room.
Like the majesty of an ancient castle, this place held an appeal to history, and the enduring fortitude of a long lived clan.
It was a testament to the blood and sacrifice that was spent on defending the Dragons Den.
While Tekai didn't 100% identify with his clan, and in many cases, ridiculed them, the sagas and legacies of these forebears were worthy of respect.
Scanning the scene, Tekai noticed he was missing someone.
He had seen Clair enter, but now, he didn't see her, or her body. The only evidence that someone had been here was that some recently lit incense was burning next to one of the teams.
‘How queer.’ Tekai frowned to himself, and wondered if maybe there was some secret passageway around here.
“Tch, you see anyone worth fighting around here?” Zinnia walked next to him, and said in an aggravated tone.
She had already explored the place, and poked Tekai in the side to get his attention.
“Stop that, I'm reading a plaque. The Valley of Bones is much more fascinating than I had first thought.” Tekai blocked her follow up finger jab, and focused on his ancestors memorial tablet.
“More like the Valley of Boring~.” Zinnia moped, then began to walk circles around the place searching for something to do.
“Mm.” Tekai nodded his head absentmindedly.
As someone fascinated with history, he had been absorbed in the tale he was reading.
The guy who he was studying at the moment had a past sort of similar to that of Alexander the Great. Tekai had been impressed that this 14 year old had eliminated several clans, and unified a region larger than the Land of Dragons. It all fell apart, of course due to his death at the young age of 14, when the Senju had been hired to take his head.
It was so impossible to believe that as a 12 year old, Tekai could do such extraordinary things, yet he was nothing when compared to true prodigies. Guys like his ancestor, and Itachi could murder entire clans at the ages of 13 and 14 respectively. That was just nuts!
Tekai shook his head, and went to go grab some joss sticks he noticed upon entering this resting area of the dead.
The sticks were a common theme in certain Asian cultures, and acted as a form of incense. In this society, they were often used to remember or venerate the dead.
Lighting the tips of the joss sticks in a nearby brazier, Tekai offered them up to the young conqueror.
Blue smoke suffused the air, and Tekai closed his eyes, imagining the battles of the ancient past.
Nose twitching, Tekai sensed something was off, and opened his eyes.
He found himself within a narrow, dark room. One with an area of your average great room within a house. Dim blue lanterns hung from shapeless walls, illuminating the occupants within.
On the far side of the room directly in front of him was a skull that vaguely looked something like a marowak's helm. If Tekai was correct, one of the young conqueror's Pokémon was a marowak.
‘Highly suspicious.’ Tekai shook his head at the object.
He then glanced to his side.
Sitting next to him was the blue haired girl, Clair. She was closing her eyes, and appeared to be in a meditative pose.
‘Well, at least she hasn't killed herself, but what exactly is this place?’ Tekai thought to himself.
The panic hadn't quite set in yet, and he was trying to rationalize the situation.
His clan had left the incense just lying around, maybe this was a method to consult with, and gain wisdom from the ancestors?
Unfortunately, the scrolls he had read told him nothing of this!
He was about to ask Clair what was up, when Zinnia suddenly appeared from a whirlwind of smoke.
“Hey, there you are shiny! And you, Clair, are you here to steal my fight?!” Zinnia pulled Clair up by her collar.
“Let go of me, you wild child. I am here to face the ancestors. To wash my shame of hatching a horsea.” Clair glared at Zinnia, yet did nothing to remove herself from Zinnia’s clutches.
“Grr, so what if it's a horsea, you heard shiny, just evolve it into a kingdra!” Zinnia shook Clair.
The blue haired girl thinly smiled at Zinnia as if she were a simpleton, and kept her mouth shut.
‘Huh, was Zinnia eavesdropping on my conversation earlier?’ Tekai scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
“She's not wrong, you know. Zinnia, that is. I know how to evolve seadra.” Tekai scratched his chin, and looked at the condescending young woman as if she were a 5 year old who thought he knew everything in the world.
“You lie! Do not get my hopes up, Black Mark. How would you know anything?” Clair harshly responded.
“Hey, if you want a fight, I'm right here!” Zinnia roughly pushed Clair away.
Tekai held out his arm to hold Zinnia back.
He noticed there was a coldness in the air, furthermore, he found he was getting angrier by the second, much more so than he ordinarily would.
Something was off.
“Quick, channel the Dragon Dance, something is trying to affect our mental states!” Tekai said to Zinnia and Clair.
“Hey, come to think of it, where's bagon too?!” Zinnia looked all around, but didn't see her Pokémon companion.
“The trial has begun.” Clair pulled herself up, and took on a fighting pose.
“Oh heck yes!...who are we fighting exactly?” Zinnia copied Clair's posture, only to end up disappointed.
“There.” Tekai pointed at the skull on the far side of the room.
A ghostly pale-light blue flame lit up within the marowak's skull. The darkness in the room retreated into its sockets, then formed a body.
Standing before them was a black scaled, alolan marowak wielding a large, flaming bone as a weapon.
‘Test. Challenge. Come.’ The Pokémon intoned to them in a masculine “voice”, and gestured for them to make the first move.
From what Tekai got from the marowak was a sense of duty, and a genuine desire to test their skills. There was no malice in this ghost-type Pokémon.
However, that didn't mean he couldn't be shocked.
“I didn't know a Pokémon could communicate without a bonded link?” Tekai said as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Me neither!” Zinnia replied as she charged forward.
“Imbeciles. Older, more powerful Pokémon can accomplish much more than the babies we hatched today. Ah, I'm wasting my breath explaining so much.” Clair shook her head as if she were disappointed in herself.
Tekai glanced at her disapprovingly, and was going to move forward to help Zinnia, but the tanned girl held out a hand.
“Don't get in my way, shiny, I've been looking forward to this!” Zinnia grinned, the light of mania flashed in her red eyes.
Halting in his tracks, Tekai paused, and watched as her fists and feet collided with a bone club again and again.
Brutal strikes hit the marowak's body, yet the same could be said for Zinnia.
The marowak began to push her back, and slowly started a mnemonic growl.
“HNG-GAA!” When he did so, a purple energy would coat his hands.
While watching from a distance, Tekai saw the Pokémon miss several times on purpose, seemingly deliberately hitting at/around Zinnia from wide angles about a dozen times.
Eventually, Zinnia seemed to catch onto this fact, and began to repeat his words back to him.
Eventually, she replicated the marowak, and slashed her hand at him.
Three claws of energy formed around her open hand around her nails, and hit the marowak directly.
Eyes going wide, Tekai realized he had just witnessed the Dragon Claw!
“You go, Zinnia!” Tekai cheered from the side.
“Yeah, that's right!” Zinnia pumped her fist, and moved to hit the marowak again, but she stumbled in her steps and was punched squarely in the stomach.
“Hmph, she put much too much chakra into that attack.” Clair crossed her arms, and shook her head.
Tekai took a step closer, feeling a little worried as he saw the girl he was beginning to see as a friend was knocked flat on her back.
She was bruised all over, and grinning from ear to ear.
Tekai rubbed some sweat off his forehead in relief. She was fine.
“You're tough! Thanks for the lesson!” Zinnia laughed.
‘Train. Return. Fight.’ The marowak intoned, then knocked her on the head, turning Zinnia into a pile of smoke, and dismissing her from this strange plane.
Tekai was going to step forward, curious to see what he would learn from his own fight, but he was pushed back by Clair.
“I went last earlier, now it's your turn to wait.” The girl had some of her old arrogance leak into her voice, and she stepped toward the marowak, then respectfully bowed.
“Honored ancestor, please tell me the method to evolve a seadra into a kingdra. Please tell me it is more than a legend!” Clair fervently entreated. She bowed so low, she got down onto her knees, and violently slammed her head into the floor.
A smidgen of blood dripped down her forehead, and for a second, Tekai felt his heart tighten as he saw this little, prideful girl, a practical princess, genius in the clan beg for something.
It was surreal.
Witnessing all this the marowak silently assessed her. The flames in his eye sockets swirled.
Eventually, after five minutes of Clair's entreaty, the marowak responded.
‘Truth. Fight. Challenge.’
“Thank you, honored one.” Clair rose to her feet.
Instead of running at the marowak, she opened her mouth, and did a draconic set of growls.
The timbre of her voice took on a deep rumble, then a blast of Dragon Breath spread from her mouth.
Tekai didn't quite catch the exact sequence, and was left wanting to see and hear more.
Unlike the fight with Zinnia, the marowak stayed at a distance, and wielded its bone stick like a baton. This time, it didn't even use a mnemonic to launch its attack!
When it finished, three azure wheels of dragon fire came rolling at Clair in a fury.
Performing a set of handseals, Clair sprayed out a jet of water, dismissing two of the flames, and weakening the third well enough that she held out her hand, and blocked the fire with her palm.
“You have nothing to teach me about combat. Give me your wisdom.” Clair demanded, casting aside her earlier facade of humility.
‘Arrogant. Good. Lies. Bad. Unworthy.’ The marowak conveyed his disappointment.
From what Tekai could interpret, he thought the marowak approved of forthrightness above all else. If Clair had remained resolutely humble, he would have approved. Heck, it even seemed the Pokémon wanted her to act prideful! But by flip flopping between the two, she had earned his ire.
Clair didn't seem to take this all too well.
Her expression was cold as ice, yet her actions spoke louder than words.
She clenched her fist, and the deep-blue azure dragon fire she was containing coiled around her arm, then began to blaze up her shoulder.
A complex roar rumbled in the air, and as she pointed her arm at the marowak,
The deep blue dragon chakra erupted towards the marowak, and took on the shape of a dragon.
The marowak slammed his bone club onto the ground, and all the light within the room seemed to be drawn to him, then everything went dark.
Only the flame dragon seemed to be producing any light at all as it flew forth.
In this scenery of near absolute darkness, a flame erupted behind Clair, and the marowak emerged.
‘Unworthy. Grow. Return.’ The marowak admonished, then knocked her into a pile of smoke.
Upon Clair’s defeat, the light returned to normal, and the marowak beckoned toward Tekai for a fight.
