Chapter 1
The sun cast a warm glow on the bustling city of Opelucid as a young boy could be seen walking down a relatively busy street, waving at the passersby. His pace was leisurely but there was a clear bounce to his step, and excitement could be seen shining in his sun-kissed brown eyes.
"Hey Drayton, you excited to get your Pokemon?" A man who seemed to be in his mid-forties asked, approaching the 14-year-old with a smile.
Drayton's face lit up at the question, as he nodded. "For sure," he smiled. "Today's the day sis will finally let me leave. I finally graduated from the Academy," he continued, sharing a laugh with the older man.
The man nodded knowingly, "Ah yes, the joys of journeying with your Pokemon," he remarked, a reminiscent look coloring his face. "Well I won't hold you back anymore; hurry up and go get your very own Pokemon."
Drayton grinned in response, bidding the man farewell as he continued his journey toward his grandfather's gym.
<<<>>>
20 minutes later Drayton stood in front of a majestic, castle-like structure. The design was similar to that of a medieval castle.
'Well this is it, time to get my starter.' Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves Drayton stepped inside of the gym, forcing down the anticipation that surged within him with each step he took.
Today was arguably the most important day of his life, he reckoned. By the end of the day, he would be a bona fide Pokemon trainer, something he had been eagerly anticipating since he was a young child. With his whole family being reputable trainers, it was always his dream to go down the same path as them, and today that dream would become a reality.
Since he had graduated from Opelucid Academy his grandfather had hand-picked three starters for him to choose from, although he wasn't informed of what they would be. After seeing his grandfather's Haxorus effortlessly decimate anything in its way he knew he would choose a dragon as his starter as well, but as to the Pokemon itself, he was still unsure.
'There are so many good choices,' he thought, wondering just what three Pokemon his grandfather would choose for him.
As he began making his way toward the center of the gym his excitement only ramped up. Continuing to walk forward at a brisk pace, he glanced around, feeling the same amount of awe as he did his first time visiting.
"The design never ceases to impress, right?" An authoritative voice asked, snapping Drayton from his musings.
Looking up from the ground, he was met with the imposing figure of his grandfather.
"Yeah, it looks as amazing as always," he replied, stepping closer to the man before turning to acknowledge his sister, who stood just to the right.
"You ready for your adventure Dray?" her voice, with its distinct feminine tone, carried both amusement and reluctance as she smiled at her younger brother.
"Of course, today marks the countdown 'till I defeat you, Lucille," Drayton replied with a cocky grin.
Drayton's sister, not sharing his confidence, merely rolled her eyes in response. "Whatever you say," she replied, a playful smile dancing on her lips.
"Are you two done?" Drayden cut in, though there was no bite, rather he seemed entertained by the antics of his grandchildren.
The two siblings exchanged a glance, before turning their attention back to their grandfather, deciding to forego teasing the other any further.
As Drayton stood there with his grandfather and sister, a tense atmosphere filled the air. The gym, with its medieval castle-like design, exuded an aura of tradition and strength. A seldom-seen solemn expression graced Drayton's face; he was in the presence of the eighth gym leader, and someone who was being trained to replace him. Despite them being family, Drayton still, rightfully so in his opinion, felt a degree of nervousness when he stood in front of the two.
"Now, Drayton," Drayden began his tone as serious and imposing as always, "Choosing your first Pokemon is a crucial decision. It will be your companion on this journey, your partner in battles, and a friend in all your adventures."
Drayton nodded absentmindedly in response, his gaze fixed on the three different Pokeballs that lay unmoving on top of the dragon-shaped pedestal in front of him. The intricate design of the dragon curled around the balls, its eyes almost seeming to watch over them.
Drayden, sensing his grandson's growing impatience, shook his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Let me introduce you to your choices."
Drayden opened the first Pokeball, unveiling a small bipedal, grayish-green Pokémon with pale, straight tusks protruding from the sides of its mouth. "This is Axew, it's known as the tusk Pokemon, but I'm sure you knew that," Drayden explained, as Axew looked around at its surroundings curiously before wagging its stubby tail as it made its way up to Drayton.
Once Axew made its way up to Drayton it nuzzled into his outstretched arm affectionately. Smiling at the Pokemon's eagerness Drayton stroked its head gently, laughing as the Pokemon cooed.
Drayton continued to interact with the dragon for a few more minutes before Drayden returned Axew to its Pokeball.
Drayden placed Axew's Pokeball back onto the altar, as Lucille grabbed a different Pokeball.
"The next one's my personal favorite," Lucille began, smiling slightly as she released the next Pokemon. As she did a bright light enveloped the room for a few moments before dying down and revealing a small blue quadrupedal Pokémon with black fur covering its head and neck, concealing everything but its mouth from view.
Once the Pokemon was released it immediately let out a small roar, trying to assert its dominance.
Smiling fondly at the small Pokemon Lucille stroked its fur as she turned to Drayton. "So what do you say, Deino the one for you?" she asked, continuing to pet the Pokemon.
Studying the Pokemon for a few moments, which was admittedly made harder due to its eyes being obscured, Drayton shook his head.
"Nah, I don't want to follow your path," he replied, unwilling to choose the starter his sister chose as his own.
He was already under pressure to live up to his sister and grandfather's prestige, choosing the same starter she did would just put him under more scrutiny, something he didn't want just yet.
"Also, raising Deino is a pain," Drayton continued, wincing slightly as he thought back to when he was helping his sister take care of her Deino. If the memories of her Deino weren't enough to make sure he wouldn't choose the Pokemon, then the scars on his body certainly were.
Grumbling to herself Lucille returned the Pokemon to its Pokeball.
"This is your last option, you'll have to make your choice after this," Drayden called out, releasing the final Pokemon.
This Pokemon, unlike the other two, hit the ground with a resounding thud. It was a tall and bipedal dinosaur-like Pokémon with large feet, a chunky tail, and a head integrated into its neck. Its body was mainly light gray and dark blue, with zigzag patterns running down its body, gray bands around its arms, and two black slits on its lower chest.
Drayton, in awe at the creature, took a moment to gain his composure as he stared at the nearly four-and-a-half-foot-tall creature with curiosity.
As the creature slowly lifted his head up to meet Drayton's gaze, he felt a sense of awe at the metallic behemoth.
He continued to stare at the Pokemon for a few more seconds before turning to his sister. "What Pokemon is this? I've never seen him before in Unova." Drayton asked, admiring the steel dragon. He knew all of Unova's dragons by heart so seeing this Pokemon threw him for a loop.
Drayden, cutting in before Lucille got the chance, began, "This is Duraludon, he's from the Galar region. Your sister went through a lot of hassle to get its egg to Unova. In fact, you got quite lucky as it just hatched a week ago."
Drayton's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. Galarian Pokémon were a rarity in Unova, and to have one offered to him as a starter was unexpected. His gaze returned to the Duraludon, its metallic body slightly reflecting the light of the gym.
Drayton couldn't hide his fascination as he interacted with Duraludon. Duraludon, though made of steel, seemed surprisingly agile and responded to Drayton's touch with curiosity. "Wow, a Pokemon from Galar, huh? You're quite the special one," Drayton remarked, gently petting Duraludon's steel-coated head.
"You know, sis," Drayton began, continuing his petting of the Pokemon, "Did you really go through all that trouble just to get this special Pokemon from Galar for me? I mean, you shouldn't have. I would've been fine with a regular Unovan Pokemon."
Lucille let out an uncharacteristic snort at that. "Of course, I got you a rare Pokemon, if you're actually serious about ever beating me you'll need all the help you can get. Besides not many people can boast about having a Duraludon as a starter– it'll give you something to brag about."
Drayton chuckled, feeling a pang of gratitude for his sister and her actions. "Thanks, it means a lot," he admitted as Lucille waved him off.
"It's whatever," she replied. "Now you should hurry up and choose your Pokemon before I change my mind."
Lucille had gone through the trouble of importing such a rare - not to mention powerful - Pokemon's egg because she knew the expectations on her brother would be high, and Duraludon would help him be able to not only live up to those expectations, but shatter them.
Laughing lightly at his sister's embarrassment, Drayton ceased his petting of the dragon and instead crouched down slightly so he was eye-to-eye with the Pokemon.
The two, Pokemon and human, stared at each other for a few moments, assessing the other.
Drayton, having been raised in a family that specialized in training dragons, knew that even relatively young dragon types had an immense amount of pride, making it hard for them to listen to a trainer that they didn't acknowledge. Due to this, he was going to try and see if Duraludon was willing to take him as his trainer.
Grinning Drayton asked, "Say, you want to join me on my journey? It'll be fun." Seeing that Duralduon seemed slightly unimpressed by the offer, he continued, "We'll get to fight tons of powerful Pokemon." And that seemed to do the trick as Duraludon nodded slightly before roaring.
"Seems to me like he agrees, that's good," Drayden approved, handing Duraludon's Pokeball to his grandson.
Drayton looked at the Pokeball in his hands with a smirk, barely able to contain his overwhelming excitement. 'This is it, I'll finally be able to start my journey."