Chapter 146: That Unknown History
"You like Queen Liz and Lord Alan that much?" Jet asked, patting Ryu's thigh to comfort him. The tears that were about to fall were sucked back into Ryu's eyes.
"Seeing how much you like them, I'll tell you more," Jet said, plopping down on the grass. "Although most people believe that war had a profound, positive influence, many have questioned it over the centuries. Was unifying Johto and Kanto even meaningful?"
Ryu was silent. He knew nothing of what had happened in the thousand years after his death.
"Of course it was!" Jet said passionately. "What if the Royal Dragon Kingdom is gone? Its contribution has not disappeared! Without that war, who knows if Johto and Kanto could even work together today. In other regions, humans and Pokémon were still killing each other just a few hundred years ago. Our two lands started down the path of peace a thousand years ago. How many lives were saved because of that?"
Ryu listened quietly. Right and wrong are judged by later generations.
"Forget all that," Jet said, changing the subject. "Let's talk about Lord Alan. You should be more interested in him, right?"
"Ah, no, I'm not," Ryu waved his hand quickly.
"According to my great-grandmother, the second queen, Ryuuki, Lord Alan's strength was simply unfathomable," Jet began, ignoring him. "In that naval battle, his Hurricane single-handedly sent the entire Earth Kingdom army back home!"
"...Oh, oh, oh!" Ryu jumped up and turned to leave. He didn't have the face to listen to these exaggerated tales.
"Hey! Where are you going? This was all written in my great-grandmother's diary!"
Ryu walked with his head down, away from the statues. Thump! He bumped into something soft. He looked up. A creamy white belly.
"Oh Ning?" a soft voice sounded. A Dragonite, over four meters tall with fine wrinkles on her face, sat up. She had to have lived for over a thousand years.
The moment they looked at each other, they both felt a moment of daze.
"Oh Ning (You remind me a bit of a friend I know)," she said first.
"...Is that so," Ryu nodded. He felt it too. This was the female Dragonair who had a crush on him a thousand years ago.
"Can you chat with me for a bit?" she asked.
"Mm, okay," he nodded blankly, sitting down beside her.
Jet, who had caught up, saw them and immediately rushed over, hugging the massive Dragonite. "Grandma Dragonite, sorry, he's my friend. Don't be angry!"
"Oh Ning," she said, gently picking him up and placing him aside.
"That friend you mentioned?" Ryu asked her.
"That's the person I like," she said without hesitation. "At my age, there's nothing to be shy about."
"...Is that Lord Alan?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, Jet said he was the most handsome Dragonite a thousand years ago, so it's quite normal for you to like him," Ryu said, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow.
"Yes, he was really charming... just like you," she smiled.
"He once said something to me," she continued, looking up at the sky. "'As long as you're still alive, there will always be a day when we meet again.'"
"...But he's already dead," Ryu said, his voice low. "Give up. There's no fate between you."
"I know," she shook her head firmly. "But I don't want to give up. As long as I don't give up, the fate will continue."
"...Perhaps you're right," he said, no longer trying to persuade her. After all, their fate had been rekindled today.
"How about I teach you a few moves?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes, please. Dragon Tail, Dragon Dance, Dragon Pulse, and Scale Shot."
When he learned Dragon Tail and Scale Shot after just one demonstration, she was surprised. But when he learned the more complex Dragon Dance and Dragon Pulse just as quickly, she was utterly shocked. She stared at him for a long, long time, her mouth opening several times, but she said nothing.
"How is it? My Dragon Dance, is it proficient?" he asked, performing the awkward dance.
"...Only you in this world would dance Dragon Dance like this, hahaha," she said, wiping the corners of her eyes. She seemed to be amused by his awkward moves, laughing until she cried.
"Oh right," she said after composing herself. "I'll take you to a place. A place Jet can't get into."
She gently picked him up, and they flew to a small, quiet flower garden in the farthest corner of the plain.
[Inorin Note:
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