Chapter - 11

"If only Giselle had done her part and kept the charges on him"

Cassius frowned.

"I prosecuted Michael Kingston" Claude spoke plainly, "not because I

had any malice towards the boy, but because I am an adamant

crusader for the justice of Arcana. The boy's grandfather and

Balthazar Aced also shared this notion with me, but the justice died

when they did. And now, the Kingstons run amok as if they wear the

same crowns their ancestors did centuries ago." He chuckled to

himself. "Michael is no exception. He was accused of crimes and

exiled for them. He returned and ousted Giselle Odelia from power

and has since not been punished for his crimes. Bonnie Kingston

even wiped her grandson's record clean. Now tell me, how do the

experiments of a mistreated scientist equate to the crimes a boy

under the influence of some kind of supreme energy?"

Cassius grinned. "I think you and I can get along quite well, Claude."

{Meanwhile}

As they approached their home once more, Ryan and Matthew

Kingston noticed that their mother was standing on the porch waiting

for them to come back. Sheepishly, the two scuttled over and stood

before her. Alison Kingston's arms were folded and her usually

cheery disposition was replaced by a stern look in her eyes.

"What do you two have to say for yourselves?" she asked her sons.

"Could you really blame us for being excited?" Matthew asked

rhetorically.

"Yeah, Mom" Ryan added. "This is a big day for us."

"Or it could be the day I tell you both you're going to be grounded for

the next six months!" Alison snapped back.

Both boys immediately fell to their knees and begged at their

mother's feet. "No, Mom!" Ryan pleaded. "Please! We were just

really excited to go off on our own journey with Pokemon."

"You couldn't possibly be that cruel to your own sons" Matthew cried

out. "Not someone who is the best Mom in the whole world."

Alison grunted at her son's brownnosing. "Alright, stop it. Both of

you." The twins rose to face their mother, looks of worry on their

face. "You two should count yourselves lucky your father is busy

sprucing up the gym in Charizark Town to listen to me. And you

should be extremely grateful that Michael stood up for you."

"You mean we can still go?" Ryan asked his mother.

"There will be ground rules I want you to follow" Alison warned her

giddy boys. "First, I want calls from both of you each and every day.

Is that clear?"

"Yes Mom" both boys promised.

"Second, I want the two of you to heed all the advice and warnings

that Michael gives you."

"That's easy" Ryan boasted.

"Third" Alison continued, "I want the two of you to promise me you

won't be getting yourselves into any trouble. There are plenty of

Kingstons out there to keep you two in line and I can assure you they

will tell me if you two are up to mischief. Got it?"

The boys nodded. "Anything else?" Matthew asked.

"Yes, there is" Alison said. "The next time someone tells you two to

follow the rules, I expect you to follow it. You may be too old to keep

in Parlor Town indefinitely, but you aren't too old to punish! Do I

make myself clear?"

The boys looked to each other and sighed. "We promise, Mom."

Alison rolled her eyes. "What am I going to do with you two? Come

here." The boys rushed to their mother and the three embraced in

front of their home. "If you boys ever feel overwhelmed by what's out

there, feel free to come home. Please be careful." She kissed each

son on their cheek. "Good luck, boys."

"Thanks Mom" Matthew said proudly.

"We won't let you down" Ryan answered.

"You boys never do" Alison smiled and let go of her sons.

"Remember to call me!"

The boys wave to their mother as they race down the still waking

roads of Parlor Town. They stopped as the turned onto the sidewalk

by their house and looked to each other, a grin in each twin's face.

"Race you?" Matthew asked.

"You're on!" Ryan accepted, and the two took off down the street,

with Ryan's Eevee following behind them at it's own pace. Despite

Matthew being taller and thus able to make longer strides, Ryan was

naturally faster and the two were able to keep pace with each other

most of the way. But when the two neared the Queensbury

residence, Ryan stopped to let his Eevee catch up. The tuft of brown

fur trotted up to Ryan and looked up at him, clearly fatigued. "Wanna

ride?" The Pokemon seemed eager to not be running anymore and

hopped into Ryan's arms. Ryan scratched his Eevee's ear playfully

as he slowly made his way to Michael, Addison and Matthew, the

latter of whom was dancing a celebratory dance in beating his

brother in a race.

"Looks like I lost" Ryan shrugged.

"You can't win everything" Addison said sweetly.

"That's an important lesson for everyone to learn" Michael told his

cousin.

"But winning is also important" Matthew reasoned.

"Sure, winning matters" Michael reasoned, "but it's not everything."

The Champion turned to his confused cousin. "Matt, if you do

nothing but win at everything, the day someone shows up that's

better, you won't be prepared for it. Losing teaches you that there is

always some way for you to improve and get better." Michael eyed

Addison and Ryan and stood to address all three. "That's something

I want all three of you to know."

"Hey Mike" Ryan asked his cousin, completely forgetting his defeat

at his brother's hands. "Can we see Rhaegar?"

Michael shook his head. "Is that the only reason you're excited to

see me?"

"Well, no but-"

"Besides, Rhaegar does not like being bothered" he warned his

young proteges.

"I thought Dragonites were all supposed to be friendly Pokémon?"

Addison remarked.

"Rhaegar isn't like your ordinary Dragonite" Michael explained. "In

fact, I daresay that he acts like most of the Dragons of legend do."

Michael cleared his throat. "But enough about him. We're here for

you three, right?"

"Yup!" Matthew said eagerly. "What are you gonna show us next?

Some super cool move that always wins a battle?"

Michael chuckled slightly. "Not quite. I can't really teach you three

any cool moves in battle if you don't know the basics. Come on.

Follow me out onto Route 601." Ryan, Addison and Matthew

followed their idol closely as they descended the hill that led back to

Parlor Town and soon came across a peaceful green meadow with a

gentle pond nestled within. Once he was sure all three were paying

attention, he turned to address them. "Okay, now that you have your

very own Pokémon, there are a few things I'd like to teach you

about."