Right, the fourth pokemon movie. I suppose, after the recent handling of Mewtwo on New Island and the Shamouti incident, the fourth movie was due…
Which was completely ignoring the issue of the third pokemon movie… that was the one featuring Entei and Ash, wasn't it? Fuck, hadn't Ash and Karen dealt with a rogue Entei in Orre?
I'd been monitoring the town of Greenfield cause that's where the first indication of the third movie starting up was supposed to begin!
What was supposed to happen in the third movie again? My mind scrambled to recall the relevant details.
In it, a researcher investigates the local Unown ruins, and a young girl is left on her own, and she goes on a quest to find her father. In doing so, she awakens the Unown, a powerful species of pokemon that makes her dreams become reality. In it, she has an Entei for a father and… something about Ash's mother getting stolen to be a stand in.
Then Ash is supposed to save the Johto region/the world from slipping into a dream.
Cue an epic battle between Entei and Ash's Charizard with Charizard winning through the power of friendship.
Or something like that.
The point was that we were out of order with the movies.
Which was kind of annoying as I'd been hoping to have a bit more time, despite the red flags that Samuel Oak had been throwing up when he kept being vague and Furretty about why it was important I had certain armor, and my shield as I did.
Still, the fourth pokemon movie was supposed to be an event that brought Samuel Oak of the past, all ten years old and innocent, into the future with Ash and co interacting with him.
It wasn't supposed to be the other way around!
This left me in an extremely awkward situation as I had a vague idea of how the past was supposed to go.
Was I about to fuck everything up for everyone?
"Bri…" whined the little fairy pokemon in my lap.
I tilted my helmet down to inspect the fatigued pokemon.
This fucking pokemon. I'd been happily messing around with Rhyhorn and showing off for my family and friends. I was most likely about to lose in the upcoming joust, but that wasn't an excuse to be timenapped like I suddenly found myself. So I obviously poked it where its snout should have been, earning myself a small cry and a turned head.
Shit! What had my family witnessed? Were they alright? Was Sabrina freaking out? How was she going to take this?
I glanced around subtly, taking in the surrounding area once more and pursing my lips. An Onix right outside Viridian Forest was highly unusual in modern times, but it might also indicate that the locations of certain pokemon were greatly different.
Or… it might have been an indication of someone trying to attack young Sam?
My hand slid to my pokebelt only to stutter when I recalled the conditions of taking part in Fight Knight.
No other pokemon bar Rhyhorn on my belt.
Which… I honestly hadn't seen it as an issue. Sabrina had been in the stands and my own pokemon were at most a minute to a few seconds away if an incident had occurred.
I just hadn't expected Celebi to hurtle out of nowhere and send me skittering backwards through time.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I had none of my pokemon, bar Rhyhorn who, while a fantastic pokemon mount, was perhaps second or third tier in terms of strength.
I reached a little further back only to hiss in annoyance. Shit! I didn't even have my trusty pouch on hand! The armor had been too tight to allow me to keep that on me!
I gave Celebi a furious look.
I was up shit creek with no idea how to get home thanks to this little pokemon.
"Who's that pokemon?" asked the future Legend of Indigo, and the first champion of a joint nation, cutting through my spiralling thoughts.
He skittered back and forth, hesitant to get too close, and it took me a moment to realise that he was scared of Rhyhorn.
"Fear not! My pokemon is well versed in young children and won't take offence easily," I offered kindly. My voice boomed slightly as I hammed it up to obscure my identity.
I half considered raising the visor to show a friendly face when my brain supplied all the ways that could backfire for me.
Oak had very pointedly not been too sure of who was in the armor when he'd seen me wearing it recently. Which meant he hadn't gotten a good look at the face underneath.
If there was one thing that I recalled from the movie, it was that Sam Oak as a child, was a prodigiously good artist… and a real nerd.
Even now, he had a notepad in hand, sketching out the tired Legendary pokemon in my lap.
"Huh, small antennae on the top of its head with wings? Is it a bug type? How do you tell boy bugs from girl bugs again? Something to do with the stinger? Or the toxins? Or was it colourations?" Sam tilted his head from side to side in thought, and I had a flash of deja vu.
For all that, in the future Sam would be a Legend who could be larger than life when he wanted; right now, he was just a curious child taking in the world.
"Where did you find it?" he asked only to blink a moment later. "Oh! I'm sorry I forgot your name!"
"Ah, that is my fault! I didn't give it as I was… contemplating the world," I said for lack of anything better.
"Contemplating the world? Woooooah!" Sam's eyes practically had stars in them. "That's so deep!"
"Hmmm in some places it can be," I glibly replied. "It depends on how much effort you're willing to put in."
"Eh? What do you mean by that?" he asked, head tilting to the side now making me compare him to Zephyr, my Noctowl… who, along with all my other pokemon was now in the future, and very much not available to help me.
'Shiiiiiiiit!'
"Sir Knight? What did you mean?"
"Hmmm? Oh! Only that if you only ever look at things as they present themselves on the surface that is all you will see, so your understanding of the world will be restricted."
"Hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmm," Sam scrunched his face up. "I don't get it!" he announced proudly.
I couldn't help it. I really should stop talking with this kid, cause I was risking so much with an idle comment, or even a foot placed in the wrong direction, but… I just couldn't help myself.
He was too much like Salvadore, and I was too used to acting as a teacher for young and upcoming trainers.
I didn't want to ignore his curiosity. If anything, I wanted to nurture it.
While he hadn't asked a question with his recent statement, he had silently asked for an explanation or a demonstration.
"You thought this pokemon slumbering in my lap was a bug type, yes?" I prompted as my eyes fell upon Celebi.
"Yeah? I mean, it looks pretty bug-like?" Sam replied.
"But is it?" I asked as I dismounted and deposited Celebi gently underneath a nearby tree.
Instantly, the ground around Celebi grew lush with grass and flowers, while the tree… well, it almost seemed to tilt forward, offering us more shade.
Then a small berry plopped onto the ground next to me, and I blinked in surprise.
I glanced up in time to spot another berry falling, and I caught it. "Haha! It seems nature is providing us with its bounty!" I remarked as I snatched several more berries out of the air.
Other berries I let fall, and a small 'Oof!" behind me let me know that Sam had caught a berry with his face.
After a few seconds of wild growth, things calmed with Celebi exhaling in relief and turning like a sleeper would.
I considered the oran berries in my hands before sighing and settling down to peel some open to offer the pokemon. Who knows it might just reinvigorate it a little faster and let me get back home all that earlier.
It took a few sleep nibbles but then turned away with a grumble.
I had half a mind to stuff its cheeks full but I was once more mindful of my audience.
Sam sat down close by, inspecting the berries.
He squawked with surprise when a flock of twenty Pidgeys and even a Pidgeotto settled on a tree branch and began to shriek at us.
Sam glanced to me quickly "My pokemon are a bit banged up from any earlier fight! Think you can take them?" he asked nervously.
"I could," I replied before considering the small flock. "Or I could share with them."
"Eh?" Sam muttered, and I noted the surprise in his tone. That seemed a rather odd reaction for Sam Oak to have.
Instead of asking about it, I gestured to the fallen berries and addressed the flock above us.
"Would you like to come down and eat with us? We won't attempt to capture you if that is your concern. There is more than enough for all of us," I stated, channelling some unattuned aura into my words to convey my earnest desire to share with them.
The Pidgeys shared a look before turning to the Pidgeotto who fluffed up her feathers in thought. She eyed Rhyhorn, who lazily blinked back at her, not at all concerned.
"Pidegotto!" she declared before nodding regally, and a moment later they fluttered down to begin pecking at the berries.
"Wooooah! How'd you do that? They were so worked up, I was sure you were going to have to fight them off!"
I shrugged. "I just spoke with them and pointed out the truth of the situation." I angled my helmet to give Sam a thoughtful look. "Have you not done the same before?"
"I mean…" he shifted. "Don't tell anyone, yeah? But I did actually used to sometimes lay out my scraps for stray pokemon… but only a few, not… not like this!"
Don't tell anyone? That was an odd phrase. The past must have been very different with their handling of pokemon if Sam was afraid of me telling others about simply sharing scraps with stray pokemon.
Most kids did that in the future, and most pokemon were more than happy to accept the offerings without a fuss.
I was glad to be sitting down as a wave of vertigo swept over me, as I once more realised I was in the past, and not my own time.
For all intents and purposes, I was in a different nation with different customs and rules, instead of the Indigo I was used to dealing with.
Treading carefully suddenly became much more important.
I slipped a few pieces of Oran berry into my mouth past the visor. Sam squinted at me, curiosity making him try to get a peek at my face.
Rhyhorn crawled forward and made small whines.
I shot him an amused look. "I saw you gobbling up those berries earlier, you don't need any of mine!" I chastised.
He whined again, and I huffed before slipping him a slice. Then I stroked his nose gently.
Sam continued to stare at me, his hands full of berries.
"Are you not going to release your own companions to enjoy the bounty?" I prompted.
That had him blinking and quickly drawing out some archaic-looking looking pokeballs that hissed and released steam when he toggled a button. "Come on out, Charmander, Weedle, and Caterpie!" he declared proudly.
Charmander? And not Charmeleon? That was… rather interesting. In the fourth movies Sam was shown to have a Charmeleon. So did that mean I was before the events of said movie?
Well, obviously, because I was in the past and not… urgh.
Time mechanics were annoying!
Sam's pokemon all looked banged up, and I grimaced. "What happened to you? Did a swarm of Beedrill cross your path?" I asked.
Sam chuckled nervously. "It's going to sound silly…" He pointed didn't meet my eyes.
"I promise not to laugh straight away," I offered.
"Oh thanks… wait! Straight away?" Sam was quick to catch on to the qualifier to my statement.
"Indeed, what will I do if you were to tell me a comedy worthy of legend? Promising not to laugh would be the wrong approach!" I replied cheerfully.
"Ooooh, yeah that does make sense!" he muttered only to cough. "Well, see, there's this girl—"
"Ah, a tale as old as time," I offered.
"She's older than me," he murmured as he restarted his tale.
I blinked. Was I about to learn about Agatha's backstory here?
"Her name is Daisy, and she is incredible! She's fifteen and got the nicest hair and she's kind and everyone likes her—" he continued to ramble, and I felt a snort of amusement fighting to escape me, but I contained it.
When she's not even in the conversation, Agatha is catching L's from Oak with relationships. Ouch.
I nodded along as Sam continued to wax on about Daisy. It was a name that told me a bit about future Daisy Oak and made me wonder if she'd been named specifically because of that?
I knew Oak didn't have a wife these days, and it made me wonder what had happened to her.
Did Oak have a tragic middle life, as well as what was going to be a potentially horrible youth with the war looming?
Fuuuuuck.
I looked down at the resting Celebi as Sam continued to ramble about a girl that sounded like she could walk on air, and cause rainbows to appear when she entered the scene.
Was I supposed to do something for Sam cause of what was coming his way?
I couldn't ignore the idea now that it had lodged itself into my skull. Legendary pokemon—most of the time— didn't act without reason.
Apart from Mew.
That pink cat was a troll of the worst sort, and I was kind of glad that it was restrained to the Tree of Beginning, as it would have happily caused worldwide chaos if it wasn't restricted.
"— and then she beat me up and took all my money!" proclaimed Sam happily.
I blinked.
Somewhere in the last few seconds, that story had taken a wild turn with the girl going from an angel, to a woman who'd thrashed a boy younger than her and robbed him blind.
"Ah… has this happened before?" I asked carefully.
Sam coughed. "Only once or twice a month."
I stared at Sam, taking in his tucked-in shirt and painfully nerdy haircut.
Damn. Even his childhood friends were beating him up.
"She's taking advantage of you," I stated firmly.
"What? No… she is just making sure I'm strong enough to handle the City challenges. I might not be going to inherit like my cousin is, but it's still important that I show I can take care of myself."
City challenge? I thought, confused, only to recall that was the term used for Gym Challenges in the past.
"Do you think you have much chance against the Pewter—" I search my memory for what they'd been called back in the day. "—Leader?" I asked. It hadn't taken much to have Gym attached at the front of Leader I vaguely remembered, and it was a good method of de-escalating the term for what could become a war asset.
"Well… I know he heavily favours rock-type pokemon, but I don't think I'll be able to for a few years yet. My team isn't strong enough after all."
That got another blink from me before I sighed. Right, right. Old school Leaders didn't hold back. You fought their best, and you either needed to impress, have social standing for them to throw you a softball, or actually be a good enough trainer to beat a team that had been around for years.
Fuuuuuck, the old system had been rough, hadn't it? I thought to myself.
"Maybe if you were… Oh…well, nevermind," Sam slumped.
"Hmmm?" I sat up. "Go on, you had something to say, I'm listening," I offered gently.
"Well, I didn't want to slow you down! I'm sure your family are waiting for you," he eyed my armour and pokemon. "A knight like yourself afterall…"
"My family is waiting for me, I have no doubt," my eyes slid towards the west, where a barren stretch of land sat. In a few decades' time, there would be a huge structure there, teeming with people and pokemon at all hours of the day. It would be my home, but not here and now.
I nodded slowly, "Yes, they're waiting for me, but… I will have to be patient until I see them again," I stated calmly. A sense of peace settled over me.
The words were a promise, both to myself and my family. I would make my way back to them, and there wasn't anything that was going to stop me.
"That's sad," Sam replied, his eyes beginning to glimmer slightly with tears.
For a moment, I thought he'd taken my words as a metaphor that my family were dead. I raised a hand to correct and console him, only for him to say, "I have a cousin who moved away. Samson was nice. Even if he and Daisy got into fights all the time, but… I don't think I'll see him for a while."
"O-oh?" I stuttered, glad to be wrong with my assumption. "Your cousin, you say?" Samson was the cousin that ended up in Alola, also as a pokemon professor, with a speciality in pokemon variants.
"Mhmm," Sam continued. "He moved to another region with uncle and auntie, but… I'm not sure when we'll see each other, the adults… they really didn't like that they did that. Called them traitors to Kanto and to the family and stuff," Sam curled into himself as he said this. "He's not a traitor…" he muttered.
I blinked at that. Then, with a dawning sense of horror, I realised that this was a young child, who would one day become a Legend… for the feats he would pull off during a war.
Suddenly, I wasn't just seeing Sam sitting across from me. I was seeing Salvadore, or Forrest, or Yolanda. A myriad of young faces swept across Sam's face, and I blanched, knowing that horrific times were ahead for this young man.
And there was nothing I could do for him.
No, not nothing.
"I never introduced myself, did I?" I asked, still laying back against the tree with Rhyhorn on my left and Celebi on my right.
"Ah? No! We got a bit distracted, didn't we?" he chuckled.
"Ah, that's alright," I put a hand on my chest plate. "I am…" I considered what to say before deciding to play this cautiously. "Sir Boulder, a knight errant, you could say."
That was the type of knight that wasn't beholden to a Lord, right? It was certainly a nicer way to say hedgeknight.
"Sooooo cool!" gushed Sam.
Ah, my audience was an easy sell. I didn't have to worry about him at all.
"Can I be your Squire?" he shot to his feet and clapped his hands above his head as he bowed.
"Ah?" I replied. What was with kids wanting to be my squire? I half considered rejecting him out of hand when I considered it for a moment. "Where were you going before we met?" I asked.
Sam straightened slightly, his hands still weirdly held above his head, ready to drop into a bow at a moment's notice.
"Oh? I was making a trip to Cerulean to pick up an egg. It's being offered to my family… well, that is if I can beat Daisy to it. I think another family in Pallet Town is looking to take the egg. They're… they're going to be insufferable if they get their hands on the egg."
"Hmmm," I considered this new information. So not only was Sam smitten with this girl, but she was from a rival family in Pallet. I'd never heard of this particular story. I couldn't say it was familiar to Romeo and Juliet as Sam and this Daisy weren't a pair of star-crossed lovers.
"I will escort you to Cerulean and back to Pallet," I stated. In my mind, that trip would only take two days at most, especially with a pokemon like Rhyhorn that we could ride.
It was at that moment that the sky boomed with rolling thunder. My head snapped up. What the? The sky had been clear blue a few minutes ago?
My eyes snapped onto a distant figure that caused lightning bolts and thunderclaps to discharge.
"Oh no, one of the Legends! We're going to need to find shelter!" Sam screamed.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance. If I had my normal team of pokemon I could make a stand and swat that annoying bird out of the sky.
"Very well, we will make for shelter!" I declared. I was about to state we'd head for the pokemon centre only to pause when I realised I had no idea if that was even an option. The pokemon centre that was in Pewter was only twenty years old when I'd taken over as Gym Leader.
"Where is best?" I asked as I scooped up Celebi and mounted Rhyhorn.
"Ah? Uhmm, the Gemheart's manor is closest! My family and theirs have several agreements! They'll shelter us!" he called only to shriek a moment later when a thunderbolt slammed in an oak tree not far away.
I shot Zapdos a scowl in response and began cycling my rock aura.
"Which way?" I asked as I grabbed Sam and deposited him behind me.
"To the north east!" he shouted over the boom of thunder.
"Onward Rhyhorn!" I ordered and he took off, surging across suddenly slick ground that might have been a hazard for a lesser pokemon. I'd done some training with him earlier in the… future, to sure up his footing and make sure muddy ground didn't bother him.
Rain continued to pour while lightning threatened us all around. I stared up at Zapdos occasionally only to spot something flitting back and forth rapidly.
From this distance, it looked like… were those Dragonites? Oh. This was the prewar trigger I was witnessing, wasn't it?
According to history, 'rogue' elements of the Blackthorn Clan deliberately antagonised several notably powerful pokemon, causing several incidents. The Viridian Forest was one of the few sites that saw a Legendary prior to the final years of the war.
People rightfully called it Tauros shit back then with several claims being leveled against the Blackthorns.
If I could see those shapes harassing Zapdos, I had no doubt that others within Pewter could see them as well.
While it wasn't widely spoken of, the formation of the Indigo Plateau as the centre for governance between Pewter and Blackthorn cities was to create a buffer state. No longer could Blackthorn trainers drive wild pokemon from their mountains and cause a ripple straight into Viridian and Pewter.
Across the world other incidents would be starting to spark up, which would eventually cause the war as it was known.
Oh, if only I had Titan, Bertha, or Empress with me right now… I thought, watching shadows flit across dark skies, a wrath building in my gut at what I was witnessing.
We burst through a small orchard, and it was only as I caught sight of the manor that we were approaching when several points of information linked together in my mind.
I blamed the Zapdos currently fighting with several Dragonite for the distraction that caused me to almost be at the doors of the manor before I understood what I was about to witness.
The manor in question was the future site of the Pokemon Technical Academy.
Which… prior to its establishment after the war, had been owned and occupied by my… By Lola's family.
Who were my maternal grandparents.
They had been Nobles of Kanto.
I dismounted, a growing sense of numbness pervading my mind and body as I approached the doors.
My arm rose mechanically and I watched it like a voyeur in my own boy.
The gauntlet struck the door, once, twice, thrice.
No one responded. There was no flicker of light or sign of acknowledgement.
I almost wanted to turn and go back into the storm then and there, only for a clap of thunder to send a flash of light across the walls around me.
I felt my armor shake from how close that had struck and I licked my lips as Sam cried out once more.
Raising my fist again I knocked louder, causing the doors to bounce in their holdings.
This time I got a response.
The doors opened slightly and a butler attempted to stare down his nose only to find himself glancing up. It didn't stop him from readjusting. "Yes? Do you have business with the master?" he declared, only to flinch when another boom rang out.
"We come seeking sanctuary from the storm," I declared. "My charge is known to your master," I announced. Indicating the sodden form of Sam Oak.
The butler inspected Sam closely, and his expression turned further down when Sam sneezed and loosened a booger, only to hastily wipe it up. "Sorry!" Sam muttered.
The butler sighed long and loud. "Come in, but you will need to return your pokemon." His eyes dropped to my arms. "All of them," he stated pointedly.
It was only then that I recalled that I had a Legendary pokemon in my arms.
How strange for me to forget such a thing. People often went their whole lives not catching so much as a glance at a pokemon like this, and here I was carrying one and I'd forgotten about it.
It goes to show how strange my day was going for that to be true.
My left hand tapped on Rhyhorn's pokeball with a quiet murmur, "I'll get you some food later, good work boy."
When the butler's eyes dipped to the pokemon in my arms, I shrugged lightly.
"I can't with this one," I announced, "It was too injured," I claimed, lying through my teeth.
"Ah, that… is unfortunate, were you caught in the storm?" the man asked as he stepped to the side and produced towels that he began to fluff over me and Sam.
"Do you require assistance in removing your armor?" he asked.
"Ah, I… have sworn an oath not to remove it for minor concerns," I proclaimed.
"Have you just?" the butler said, his hand slightly to his pokebelt.
"Yes, I swore it to—" my eyes flitted around only to lock on a small orange and white feather label on the man's coast. "— Ho-oh themself for their aide in…" Think brain think! "Saving my sister from a disease," I claimed.
"Ho-oh?" The man relaxed. "Not many know of the old ways, or indeed know of Ho-oh," the man remarked, suddenly much more receptive. "I shall escort you to the Master and the Madam."
Turning, I found Sam staring at me from underneath a towel. "Who's Ho-oh?" he asked.
"A powerful, benevolent Legendary pokemon," I declared. "If you so much as witness it you are considered blessed," I intoned, basically cribbing the short notes from the pokedex.
As Sam's eyes began to brighten, I realised my mistake.
"Wooooooah! And you spoke with it? Are you…. Are you a Paladin?" he whispered cautiously.
"Ahaha." Fuck me and my big mouth, I thought to myself. Bouncing lightly I 'accidentally' jostled Celebi to check if it would wake up anytime soon.
It whimpered and curled into itself tighter, indicating that no, I wasn't going to get any magical solutions to the problems my existence in this time would cause.
The butler led us to a set of doors and opened them, intending to announce our arrival. I had no doubt only for a crack to sound out causing all three of us to stiffen.
That… wasn't the sound of lightning splitting the sky, but instead the sound of a hand striking something soft.
A clatter and clang rang out a moment later and I stepped forward to the door only to stare at what I found.
A woman… so much like Lola except for her blonde hair was on the ground clutching her cheek and staring up at a man with brown hair.
The man was impeccably dressed in a suit, but that meant nothing to me as my mind registered the way his hand was held, showing that he'd struck her.
"—care what the doctor said. You will provide for me heirs! The more the better! Two are not enough! I need to make alliances and you do that through children! Do you understand me?"
Oh, wonderful. Just what I needed, another toxic relative.
The man raised his hand again and I knew what was coming, the woman curled away from the strike and I didn't stop to think.
Time to do the knightly thing.
Before I could second guess myself I marched into the room and caught my grandfather's strike before it could land.
His head snapped up. "You dare?" he roared.
"Yes," I replied and when he made to strike me I let him, his hand slamming into my very armored chest and breaking.
He howled in pain and I hummed. "It would appear our host is… indisposed good sir, might you see him to the physician?" I suggested.
The butler hurried to his lord's side even as the man ranted about having us thrown out.
I stared the man down, and he fell quiet as he was led away.
On the ground the woman… my grandmother, I suspected, stared up at me like I was the answer to her prayers.
"Sir knight…" she whispered in a breathy tone that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
Oh, hell no. I didn't need a road map to know where this route led.
Before anyone did anything, like me throwing up in my mouth I scooped the woman up and deposited her into a chair. "I shall fetch ice, my squire shall stand vigil for you," I said, hastily getting out of the room.
Oddly enough I actually had a good idea where the kitchens were, having been to Pokemon Tech a few times in my life and knowing which buildings were 'heritage'.
I exhaled, knowing I'd just caused myself a host of problems. Another look at Celebi revealed I wasn't getting out of them that way.
The feel of something heavy landing nearby caused my introspection to vanish as I emerged into a covered path leading to the servant's quarters.
Within the small rose garden a man was dismounting from a Dragonite and leering at the manor.
I marched forward, more than happy to have something straight forward to grapple with.
"Heh, a knight. How adorab—" my hand flicked out with my aura feeding Rhyhorn my intentions.
Rhyhorn emerged at a run, already glowing as power built up into Stone Edge which was only magnified with my aura pushing it along.
"Wha—" the Blackthorn trainer gasped as Rhyhorn went from emerging to striking first in seconds with a super-effective attack that sent Dragonite flying backwards and into a tree that collapsed.
Rhyhorn skidded to stop and snorted heavily in the rain before turning and locking eyes with the stunned Blackthorn.
"How did you… shit!" he leapt back, escaping my attempts to grab him and released another pokemon. "Pidgeot! Get us out of here! It's a trap!" he ordered as he leapt upwards, only to toggle a return on his downed Dragonite.
My hand stabbed forward and Rhyhorn attacked with Rock Blast causing Pidgeot to shriek with pain as it was smashed into, then it accelerated up and away, escaping into the rain clouds.
Oh, if I had Sanchez or… I glowered at the retreating form darkly.
The sound of running feet made me pause as the Lord/my grandfather, the butler, my grandmother and Sam appeared from the manor behind me.
"What is the meaning of this?" roared the man. "You injured me in my own home and now I find you destroying the place! You are obvious—"
"It weren't him milord!" cried a young voice.
Everyone turned to find a tiny maid cowering near the servant's quarters. "There was a Blackthorn! I swear it! I saw it drop from the sky and a man dismounted! Then the knight… he released that pokemon of his and with one hit laid the dragon low!"
My grandfather snorted, a sneer marring his visage only for the door behind the maid to open and several kitchen hands to emerge with knives and kitchen utensils in hands.
"It's true milord! We saw it as well! That knight.. He just saved everyone!"
A vein appeared in my grandfather's head and his expression curdled. "Then… I suppose I must.. Thank you for your act in saving us all. I'd… like to extend the offer of staying the night," he stated.
Behind him my grandmother gave me… I shuddered a little thinking about it and instead glanced out at the still raging storm.
I could do it. I'd just need to find a nice cave and evict the occupants.
Then my eyes fell to Sam, who sneezed loudly.
I slumped. "That would be welcome," I declared, even as I planned to make Rhyhorn sleep in front of the door to my room.
Just in case, I was also going to sleep in my armor.
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A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for the continued support.
I'm weirdly enjoying this time arc, having only gotten a few chapters into it. There's just so much potential to explore certain moments.
Thanks also go to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter.