12 Chapter 11

Felix proudly trudged through the forest, his head held high. With his new eviolite around his neck, he could take on the majority of the weaker pokemon in the forest. Due to his wounds and fatigue, he decided to call it a day and returned to the outskirts of the forest to find Gurutompa. His name day was quickly approaching and there was still much he had to ask and learn before he felt confident in politicking with the other dragon clan pokemon.

After a while the large tree-filled expanse made way for smaller trees and denser foliage. When Felix arrived at the cliff from a few days prior, he saw Gurutompa snoozing on a rock. Felix decided to get some revenge by using a dragon breath as an alarm.

"Yowch! Which son of a bitch woke me up? Oh, it's just you young master. Don't joke with me like that."

"Don't sleep on the job then. Anyway, uncle guru, notice anything different about me?"

"Did you cut your hair or something?"

"Nope."

"Got a few levels under your belt then?"

"Yep, but that was not what I was reffering to."

Looking him over carefully, Gurutompa finally noticed a shiny rock hanging around Felix' neck.

"Wait, hold on....Is that... an eviolite stone?! Where the hell did you get that? How did you get that?"

"Hah! I got through some ingenious scheming and tactical movements. It involved battling a scizor, but it was worth it. I won, regardless. It's about time to wrap this excursion up. Take me back to the compound."

"The rich really do get richer, don't they...fine, let's return."

A moment later the two whisked away, back to the hydreigon family compound.

Felix spent the next few days asking the retainer about his soon to be name day ceremony. Apparently it didn't involve as much etiquette and politeness as Felix had imagined prior. If what the retainers said was true, then the name day ceremony would be a display of strength and potential to the rest of the clan. It was all about assuring the public of the family's future strength.

That meant that the majority of the ceremony would be spent listening to his grandfather, after which Felix would most likely be challenged by another dragon close to his level. Considering the kommo'o family was rivals with our hydreigon family, it would most likely be their young mistress, a jangmo'o with a level around 15, that would become Felix' opponent. The battle would be their first clash as part of their two families.

Felix was confident in winning that match. With his effect and eviolite, almost all of his stats were boosted and he had the egg moves to fight above his weight class. Considering Felix was abnormally large, already the same size and weight as some final evolutions, he wasn't particularly worried.

As such, he spent his free time training and resting, preparing for the ceremony.

Finally it was time for the ceremony. About an hour before it was supposed to start Felix' grandfather visited his room in the compound.

"The retainers should have explained what is expected of you today. And yet I will emphasize a certain point. You are NOT to lose today, in any way. You will be a higher level than anyone else your age, you will be stronger than anyone else your age, and you will talk back to anyone insulting you or the family. Is that clear?"

"Absolutely."

"What level have you achieved over the past week?"

"I achieved level 17."

"Excellent, you have exceeded my expectations."

"Grandfather, one question. Apparently I am to fight a rival pokemon today. Am I allowed to use items in battle? I got my hands on an eviolite recently."

"Impressive. Such items are incredibly rare. To answer your question, yes, you are allowed to use items. Certain items will express the wealth of a family, raising their standing. Due to the rarity of an eviolite, you will not be shaming the clan by possessing it. They are exceptionally valuable, especially for our dragon clan. Most of us don't evolve until we reach the intent realm after all. Don't lose that. Now come, we must prepare for the ceremony."

"Is there anything in specific I need to know?"

"Yes, after I officially give you your name, the crowd will start chanting it. When I calm them down, you must publicly ask for a challenge. Do you have any other questions?"

"Grandfather, what kind of name have you chosen for me?"

He looked over at me inquisitively. "Why do you ask? Do you have a certain preference?"

"How about Damir? I like the sound of that."

Of course, it wasn't just about the sound for Felix. In his previous life his last name was Danim. He'd struggled a little with the idea of abandoning his name for the past couple of days. On one hand he wanted to forget, on the other he wanted to remember. In the end, this felt like the most genuine option. Moving forward with his new life while not forgetting the lessons he learned in his last one.

His grandfather hummed for a moment. "Damir, hmm? I believe that means remembrance in ancient draconic. I suppose you visited the library, didn't you?"

'That means something in draconic? Is this fate or something?'

"Uh... yes, grandfather. I was curious."

"Well, it's not as imperious as the name I was thinking of, but there's power to choosing your own name. Very well, I will declare you as Damir during your ceremony, so that all may remember our power for eternity!"

Felix could see all kinds of pokemon in the nearby audience. The seating was arranged based on the amount of power the different families held. Only dragon types could be seen, retainers weren't welcome during traditional dragon rituals.

On Felix' left was a gigantic dragonite, sitting at the front of his row. Every dragon there seemed to revere him. Felix figured that this was the dragon emperor. Thinking about it more deeply, it makes sense that the city lord would pay his grandfather at least some modicum of respect, considering the old hydreigon is a dragon elder, one of the leaders of the entire clan. Near the giant dragonite were more members of it's species. Further down the line Felix could see salamences, including one he identified as the guard captain, a few kommo'o and even weaker species like drudigon and noivern. Every dragon type Felix had ever heard of had at least a few family members in attendance, including some ghostly form of a charizard Felix had never heard of before. Felix chalked it up to a regional variant and left it at that.

Felix stood on a large raised platform that would also function as the arena, staring at his grandfather as he gave his speech. It seemed to go on forever, for a moment Felix feared the ceremony would take days.

After a while, however, it was finally time to receive his name.

"My grandson has conquered his siblings, conquered the wilds and conquered his enemies to join us here in the clan. He has already reached level 17 despite his young age due to his pinnacle level talent and his effect is epic ranked. In light of his strength and potential, I name him Damir, the dragon of remembrance. May all who stand against him and the family remember his power!"

The crowd started making a ruckus, giving cries and shouts to welcome me to the clan. After a few moments my grandfather gesture at them to be quiet.

With as much courage as he could muster, Damir shouted.

"Who here dares to challenge my strength?!"

A small, female voice sounded out from, the audience.

"I do!"

A moment later a large Jangmo'o walked into the arena and positioned itself opposite from the newly named Damir. She was quite a bit smaller than him, but still huge for her species.

A larger kommo'o spoke up from the audience.

"Mirna is the hier of our Kommo'o family. Despite her young age, she has achieved level 16 and has a pinnacle level talent. She has an epic effect and is more than a match for Damir."

His grandfather glared at the kommo'o members for a moment, before acquiescing.

"Very well. We accept your challenge. Let the battle begin!"

The two young pokemon sized each other up, before charging at one another.