The chandeliers of Viridian's Grand Hall shone across marble floors. Waiters wove through the crowd with trays of wine, and a quartet of strings played near the entrance.
The evening had all the makings of a celebration with a multitude of voices here. With everyone here having the same connection.
Giovanni, the Viridian Gym Leader.
He spoke with an ease that made all lean closer, his charisma dripping off of him in excess.
And beside him stood his son.
Silver was visibly bored, staring into the distance. With the only lively thing in the area being the Totodile in his embrace, constantly moving its head at the smell of food.
Amused at the display, Silver's grip got stronger as the poor starter started to struggle.
"You ate literally just a minute ago you glutton."
"Dile dile! (Have mercy!)"
Just a few tables away, a pair of people murmured, wine swirling untouched in their glasses. All of them wearing suits and casually talking to each other as if it's any other gathering.
"So it's true, then," one said, inclining his head toward the boy.
"Mm. The prodigy," the other replied. "Three hundred wins against gym challengers, if my sources are right."
"I've seen a video," the man cut in. "Viridian Gym has some of their battles uploaded. His Hippowdon is a spectacle!"
The first director exhaled slowly. "Giovanni's grip in Viridian is solidified with a son like that. Anyone eyeing the gym would be foolish." One voices out, hand on his forehead massaging it.
Silver who was nearby was gritting his teeth in annoyance. Totodile unfortunately got the worst of it being used as a plushie.
'If i hear prodigy and the number 300 one more time...' His thoughts stopping as his father moved.
Their talk stopped when Giovanni approached, Silver in tow. The Gym Leader's dark eyes carried warmth as he said, "Gentlemen. Allow me to introduce Silver."
Silver slightly nodded his head. The directors smiled back, compliments flowing with the ease of long practice.
"I've heard of his victories,"
"Truly remarkable at such a young age."
Giovanni's hand squeezed lightly at his son's shoulder. "He exceeds expectations. Even mine."
It was the kind of remark that seemed light, almost proud, but to the men looked at him with some tension in the air. His wide giddy smile as if showing his son off made him extremely happy.
Elsewhere, a smaller knot of guests whispered behind their glasses.
"Do you think the boy will inherit Viridian Gym?"
"Who else would even have a chance? No one..."
"Man where's the buffet..."
Silver caught fragments of these conversations as he moved with his father. Compliments, awe, speculation. Other than the Silph Co directions everyone else looked at Giovanni with respect. Admiration even with his image being squeaky clean.
The strongest gym leader of Kanto.
As time passed, the little gathering went on without much of a problem.
This was until one guest, emboldened by too much wine, leaned forward as Silver was introduced and asked lightly, "And what of the mother? Surely a prodigy has a prodigious lineage."
For a moment, everyone close who heard this stilled. Giovanni's glass clicked against the table a fraction too hard, a crack forming near the rim. His smile never left, but the silence that followed was heavy enough that the guest paled and withdrew into his chair.
No further questions followed.
'Crisis averted.' The nearby guests thought with sweat going down their faces.
The music still playing hid this situation with laughter still going on.
...
[POV Silver Sakaki]
'Those chandeliers are bright as hell, damn.' I thought looking at them, more for the design.
While there were a few at the estate. Such luxuries were still something I wasn't used to due to my past life.
Giovanni guided me forward, his hand still resting on my shoulder. "Silver," he said, voice carrying with practiced warmth. "This is Mr. Renfield, CEO of Silph Co."
The executive smiled a little too quickly. "I've heard… quite a lot about your battles. 300 wins is quite impressive."
Bruh.
Totodile and I both gave him a deadpan stare.
Like father like son?
It must of said a lot as the conversation quickly changed. As the guy and Giovanni started to converse for a bit. Renfield chuckled nervously, then made an excuse to slide away
...
The room shifted before I even saw them. Voices dimmed, laughter thinned. I followed the change to the doors. Two kids entered, one vermillion haired, one light blue. The crowd rippled with whispers.
"Lance," someone muttered.
So they showed up after all. I straightened a little, meeting the boy's eyes. There were stars in my eyes at the sight of the future champion. A man who dominated both Kanto and Johto's trainers to become their champion.
While not yet a champion, with his age. It's probably close to the timing of his rise to prominence.
In my opinion too the guy with the best feats from a champion ignoring the protagonist.
The girl beside him didn't bother with subtlety. Blue hair down her back, arms folded, she immediately spotted me with scrunched eyebrows as if I took her food.
My father's hand rested on my shoulder. Firm, grounding. "They're all watching," he said low enough only I could hear. "Not just them. Everyone. Remember to do what you think is right, and trust your father."
I nodded once.
It was sort of reassuring with our connection. Lets see how far that said connection can go...
'How does his team look like right now? I want to battle him now.' My thoughts raging a little.
This was because of Lance being a well known... Bird keeper? With his only dragon type pokemon being from the dratini line due to the original games limits. Thankfully this was changed in future games.
Like in the Pokemon world tournament in gen 5, and future iterations.
But it's still pretty hilarious to think half of his team weren't even dragon.
Purely from memory... Aerodactyl, Charizard and Gyarados.
"Silver," Giovanni's words snap me out of my thoughts, "meet Lance and Clair of the Wataru clan."
Lance now in front of me extended a hand. "I've heard a lot about you, I'm Lance Wataru!"
The duo already in front of us made me widen my eyes. His prescence showing some signs of drawing people near him.
I shook his hands.
"Likewise, Silver Sakaki." I said with a smile grazing my face for the first time today. "I'm planning on catching a dragon for my team and would like a second opinion."
Lance instantly lit up at my words. "A formidable dragon is never a bad choice. I've got time to chat right now."
Clair who was next to him just stared at my face without talking at all. The girl a head taller than me, made me a little jealous...
"Lets head to my table, I'm sure my father still has some important people to chat with" I said looking back up at Giovanni who's smile twitched at my words.
Fortunately Giovanni understood my words and looked a bit creeped out at my baby doll eyes. I wanted to make a friend! I started to lead them to their seats as father left to chat.
"That Totodile your holding, I can sense his strength. It must be an off spring of a dragon." Lance said which made me think.
"His parent probably include a Kingdra." I think outloud which make the jaw Pokemon look up.
The sight literally just being his adorable wide eyes and a big snout covering my vision.
'Does the he have his dragon kin abilities?' The only other reasonable explanation is his whole life being surrounded by dragons. Maybe this haughty troublemaker reminds him of them.
Clair who was next to me suddenly intervened.
"I heard my uncle recently sold an egg, he has a strong Kingdra.
My eyes went back to the blue-haired girl. Clair. Strongest Gym Leader in Johto, if the future I remembered played out right. It's a bit hard to track these two personalities even then it would probably differ with this being real life.
But Clair was very level headed and calm in the anime.
So seeing her younger self was a surprise.
"Father said he costed a pretty penny so it would add up." My answer satisfying the two's curiosity, but not for the little guy in my arms. Squirming around wanting to eat food after all of this cuddling.
Lance's eyes locked on Totodile, and the little jaw Pokémon froze like a doll in my arms. Poor thing he looked one bite away from fainting under that stare.
"Can I take him with me," Clair asked eagerly. "Not like I want to sit and hear you two talk forever."
I gave her a nod and directed some words to the troublemaker. "Don't cause a scene."
Totodile perked up instantly, threw me a sloppy salute, then dove into her arms without hesitation.
'Traitor,' I thought flatly.
By the time she marched off toward the buffet, sleeve already in Totodile's mouth, I was left alone with Lance. We slid into our seats, the buzz of the hall washing around us.
For a moment, we just sat there, listening to the clink of glasses and the hum of strings. Then Lance leaned forward, elbows on the table.
"Your father said you've got a strong team already. Who's with you?"
I considered the question. It wasn't rude, just direct. "Totodile and Gliscor, for now. The rest rotate and aren't permanent."
Lance nodded. "A dragon would fit well with your current members. My lineup's Charizard, Kingdra, three Dragonair, and an Aerodactyl."
"That's solid," I admitted. Then I added, "But you need more variety, brother."
He let out a short laugh, more rueful than anything. "Believe me, I know. Problem is, clan duties keep me here. Plus all my Pokemon are from the clan such as your Totodile with similar ancestry."
I tapped the table with a finger. "When you're able to, branch out. Four dragons, two flex Pokémon would be my suggestion. Something like Scizor who is fast, durable, only one weakness that Dragons resist. It could cover ground your team can't."
Lance rested his chin on his hand, thoughtful. "All of my flex options are flyers. A Scizor would change that balance."
"Exactly, it gives more control in a battle."
He smirked slightly. "Not bad advice."
If Lance potentially listened to my word. A new stronger champion could emerge than he was originally due to his lineup. In the end though its his choice and could hinder him depending on how he fights.
The conversation might've ended there, but I leaned in, lowering my voice. "Want to hear something you won't get from anyone else?"
That got his attention. His eyes sharpened. "Go on."
"I've been digging into my father's research. Battle records, growth curves, stat ceilings. And I've classified something myself. I call them pseudo-legendaries." I say adding Giovanni's name in there for some street credit.
Who would believe some kid like me researched it anyway?
"Legendary?" he echoed, brow furrowing.
"They're not legendaries, but their growth potential is leagues above normal Pokemon. A Raticate, no matter how well trained before evolution, can't reach a Dragonite's normal ceiling at evolution. Some species are just built different, born to dominate once they're fully evolved."
I let it hang there. His eyes narrowed in thought, then lit with that spark only dragon tamers seemed to have.
"And these… pseudo-legendaries… are dragons?"
"Eight out of eleven I've found," I confirmed with a grin. "That's no accident. Dragons are nature's strongest design."
Lance exhaled slowly, almost reverently. "If that's true, then raising Dragonite to its peak wouldn't just be power. It'd be… unrivaled."
"Exactly. But it's not just about sticking to the Dratini line. They're from faraway regions, but they'd stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any Dragonite if raised right."
He actually smiled at that—small, but genuine. "I've had enough Pokemon talk. All this rambling has made me wanna battle Silver."
For the first time, Lance's expression was visibly excited.
Right after those words, on cue Clair returned balancing a mountain of food. With Totodile clung to her legs, happily chewing on some pastry.
She plopped into her chair and pointed at me with a fork. "I heard Lance. Silver, battle me first!"
I smirked, ready to answer—but Lance beat me to it. "No. I get first dibs."
Clair pouted at her cousin but then folded quickly. "Hmph! Then I'm second!"
"We can do one-on-ones," I said, leaning back with a grin. "Lets have some fun."