#draconids

I know I’ve talked about having a Falkner x Reader fic planned out first, but this one just kept bugging me and I had to get it out!  So this will be my first ever official fanfic that I post! I’m super nervous about it, so please don’t judge, but helpful critiques are welcomed.  This story is going to end up in multiple parts, I just don’t know how many and I don’t know how I want to split everything up, so I’m just winging it lol. This chapter is mainly to set up the background and explain how Reader got their Pokemon team and some of their experience.

Warnings: Violence, but it’s pretty vague, typical canon Pokemon world violence, it will eventually turn spicy, there will be eventual angst

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Precious Egg

Chapter 1

Everyone you knew went on a Pokemon journey as they came of age.  Most of your friends went to Professor Juniper to receive their starter Pokemon, then traveled around Unova to do the traditional Gym Challenge.  However, since you were small, one type of Pokemon seemed drawn to you, no matter where you went: Dragon Types.  Even as a small child, random trainers who had their partner Dragons out even just walking by you, their Pokemon would pull away to come see you.  This, of course, scared your parents, as Dragon Types were always seen as a more difficult Type to handle.  However, the Dragon Types never meant you harm. They would nuzzle up to you, causing you to squeal with joy.  Their trainers would stand there in shock, saying things like, “They never act that way with anyone but me,” or “I’ve never seen them do that.”  Worried, your parents sought the help of the Elder from the Village of Dragons when you turned 10 years old. 

The Elder had you sit down as she looked over you, humming a mantra out loud. Opening her eyes, the Elder explained that they had never seen this type of bond with Dragon Types with people who were not descendants of the Draconid People.  The Elder explained that not many people can understand Dragons and offered to take you in to train you.  Your parents were nervous, but you begged, as you had grown to love the scaly Pokemon after so many had been drawn to you.  Instead of going on a traditional Pokemon Journey, you were taken into the Village of the Dragons to learn as much as you could.  

The Elder gifted you a Pokemon egg and explained that it was your duty to keep the egg safe until they hatched into your partner Pokemon.  You took the egg everywhere with you, carrying it in your backpack.  You even slept with the egg, covering it with your blankets.  Eventually, the egg began to crack open and an Axew now sat there, yawning.  However, something was off.  The color of the Axew was not the normal green you had seen with the other partner Axew in the village.  Worried your partner was sick, you scooped the hatchling up and ran to the Elder.  The Elder chuckled and explained that your Axew was completely fine.  The Elder explained that there were extremely rare chances where Pokemon could have a different coloration than normal.  The Elder believed that this was a sign, as you yourself were an oddity, so your Pokemon was the perfect fit.  

Over the years, you and Axew train and learn everything possible from the Elder, battling and growing stronger.  You and Axew had an understanding that went deeper than a normal bond.  You could just look at each other and Axew knew what you needed it to do.  At age 16, the Elder explains that she has nothing left to teach you, and that growth only comes by new experiences.  The Elder suggests that you and Axew look for the Draconids in Hoenn, as they were the original Dragon Type tamers.  Sad to leave, you thank the Elder for everything she has done for you.  You stop by your childhood home to let your parents know that you’re going to travel to Hoenn and they are impressed at how strong you’ve become.  

Arriving in Hoenn was the easy part, but locating the Draconids was another story.  Most people thought that the Draconids had died out long, long ago.  You received a tip that Meteor Falls was the last known place that the Draconids seemed to inhabit or frequent, so you tried there.  After a few days of wandering the cave, a black haired girl wearing a tattered cape found you.  She said her name was Zinnia and said she could sense that you had a “dragon aura” about you.  Zinnia told you to follow her, as she led you deep into the Falls.  Eventually, you came into a large opening that was filled with Salamence, Shelgon, and Flygon.  Zinnia took you to a hut where an elderly woman sat.  Zinnia said something to the woman in a language you did not understand.  The woman nodded in understanding.  The woman finally said that she had been expecting you to arrive and that your training would begin immediately. 

During your 3 years with the Draconids, Axew evolved into Haxorus and you had been given a Bagon to add to your team.  Your Bagon also bonded extremely quickly to you and began to understand your commands without having to say a word.  The other Dragon Types that came and went from the Draconid’s base also loved you.  You were able to calm any Dragon Type, even in the deepest rage, with just your presence.  They would calm, whine, then come rest their head in your lap while the woman healed their injuries.  When your time with the Draconids came to an end, the woman granted you with a stone that had a red and blue swirl in the middle and a rainbow filled orb.  She explained that this was a Mega Stone for when your Bagon eventually became a Salamence and a Key Stone.  You hugged her and thanked her for all her knowledge, shook Zinnia’s hand, then headed off for your next journey.

Of course everyone knew who Cynthia was.  And everyone knew of her amazing Garchomp.  You had never been able to be around one in person, so you knew you had to travel to Sinnoh to meet one of the greatest Champions out there.  Finding Cynthia was actually not that complicated, as she was in her home of Celestic Town doing some research for her grandmother, Professor Carolina.  You challenge Cynthia to a 1 on 1, her using Garchomp and you using your shiny Fraxure.  Of course, you lost, but Cynthia saw potential in you, especially after the battle your Fraxure evolved into a majestic black Haxorus. 

Dragon Types hate the cold, but Cynthia used it to her advantage to have her Garchomp become stronger than other Dragon Types.  Cynthia took you to the higher peaks of the mountainous Sinnoh region to train your now Haxorus and Shelgon.  Not even Cynthia and Garchomp had the mental connection that you and Haxours did.  Heck, even Shelgon was almost as connected to you as your starter was.  You and your partners trained under harsh conditions for a year with Cynthia and your Shelgon eventually became a Salamence.

“Let’s test out that Mega Stone of yours,” Cynthia casually brought up as she fed a Poffin to Garchomp.  

You looked shocked.  You had heard Cynthia could Mega Evolve Garchomp, but she had never brought it up in the entire year you had trained with her.  Salamence wandered over to you and nudged your arm.  You look down at it and locked eyes.  An understanding came through both of you as you nodded yes.

“I’ve been waiting to give you this,”  Cythina had a thick metal collar which had the Salamencite embedded into the center.  

You thanked Cynthia as you placed the collar around Salamence and it growled in approval.

You took to opposite sides of the practice field Cynthia had set up near her home.  Cynthia Mega Evolved Garchomp first to show you how to do it.  You held the Mega Stone in your hand as you felt the energy flow from you to Salamence.  Salamence was enveloped in a blinding light and when it faded, your partner was there, but in a new form.  Cynthia had warned you that Mega Salamence could be extremely violent, but yours showed no sign of this.  You both called out attacks and dealt massive damage, but Salamence fell first.  Garchomp fell seconds after.  Cynthia told you how proud she was of you for becoming so strong in such a short amount of time.  Garchomp brought you one of its young, a Gible, and Cynthia told you to raise it up to be just as formidable as her Garchomp.  You hugged Cynthia and thanked her for everything she had taught you.

You had been constantly training for 10, almost 11 years now.  It was almost your 21st birthday and you had never taken an actual vacation.  Every region you traveled for was to help you learn about your bond with Dragon Types and to train your team to be the best they possibly could be.  You wanted to better understand Mega Evolution, so you thought you could knock out 2 birds with one stone: Take a small vacation, but also learn about Mega Evolution right from the source.  Your Pokemon also deserved a break after all their hard work, so there were no complaints when you told them their next stop would be in Kalos.

The first few weeks in Kalos were like a dream.  You had never just had time to do literally whatever you wanted and it was an odd feeling for you.  You would become antsy, but Haxorus would give you a look and you knew to settle back into the mundane.  You would train with your Pokemon to keep up their exercise, but it was not as intensive since this was supposed to be a time for everyone to rest.  Your Gible did evolve into Gabite during a sparring match with Salamence one day and you couldn’t have been more pleased.  You decided to treat your Pokemon to some Poke Puffs to celebrate, so you made your way into Lumiose City.  On your way to the bakery, you noticed a jewelry shop.  You had been keeping your Key Stone in your pocket, but you were worried about losing it.  Telling your Dragons to stay outside, you walk into the shop and explain that you would like a pendant of some sort to keep your Mega Stone in.  The shopkeep explains that he made Diana’s Key Stone pendant, so it would be no problem for him.  Noticing your team outside, the shopkeep asked if they were your Dragons and you told him they were.  He claimed to have the perfect design for you and that he could have it finished in 3 days.  You took your leave and went to treat your Pokemon.

While you waited for your Key Stone to be worked on, you decided to explore a cave you had heard about that was a few towns away.  Terminus Cave was only lit by the bioluminescent algae that popped up sporadically as you walked.  Gabite suddenly growled, its pupil becoming focused dots staring down one path.  You strain to listen and a faint squeak, followed by some other voice.  You give your team a look as you all run towards the sound. You hear the thunk before you see anything, but from what you can gather, the gangly man holding a stick in one hand and the feet of the upside down Noibat in the other was the cause of the poor Pokemon crying out in pain.  You didn’t have to say anything as Haxorus swung its massive tail at the man, knocking him to the ground and Noibat fell with a thud.  Your Pokemon knew what to do, surrounding the man as Salamence held him down with one foot, snarling just inches from his face.  You scoop up the little Sound Wave Pokemon to look over the damage.  Yep, that wing was for sure broken and it wasn’t going to be able to open one eye for a bit from the swelling.  You cradled Noibat in your arms as you walked over to the the whimpering man still pressed into the ground.

“What the hell is your problem?!” you growled at him.

“They’re uncommon… worth some money…” he said between strangled breaths as Salamence presses harder into his chest.

“Maybe you deserve the same treatment…” you give a look to your Dragon Types who all nod in understanding.  

A few good lashings with their tails and some rubbing with their scaly skin later, the man was a little worse for wear as you tie him up to a stalagmite.  You walk away feeling satisfied when he calls, “You can’t just leave me here!” 

“Oh, someone will find you,” you raise your middle finger up at him, but continue walking away with the injured Pokemon still in your arms.

You recall all your Pokemon besides Salamence as you direct it to fly to the nearest Pokemon Center.  When you arrive, you recall Salamence and thank it for the lift.  Running inside, you explain to Nurse Joy what happened and she rushes Noibat to the back to be treated.  You go to the phone inside the Center and call the local police, explaining what happened and where they would find the poacher.  About 15 minutes later, Officer Jenny shows up to the Pokemon Center to question you about what happened.  Officer Jenny isn’t thrilled that you let your Pokemon rough the guy up, but she thanks you for your help, as the police had been trying to catch him for months.  Nurse Joy returns and tells Officer Jenny that charges need to be pressed due to how poorly Noibat is and Officer Jenny nods in agreement.  Nurse Joy thanks you for bringing the Noibat in when you did, or it may not have survived.  Your heart aches for the little one.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” you ask.

“Noibat will probably be fearful of humans now…” her voice trails off, “If you’d like to go in a see it, that would be okay, but please do not be too loud.”

You nod as Nurse Joy escorts you to the room where Noibat is healing.  Most of its tiny body is wrapped in bandages and its wing is in a splint.  Wires are running from its body to monitors that beep every so often.  Nurse Joy pulls up a seat for you as you stroke an exposed part of Noibat’s head.  In your mind, you tell it that you’re sorry you couldn’t get there sooner and that you hope they come out on the other end okay.  Noibat seems to sense your thoughts as they barely open the eye that was not bandaged up, nessling into your palm.  You give Noibat a soft smile and continue to run your thumb back and forth on their head as they drift off to sleep.  

You stop by the jeweler's and he holds your Key Stone in a beautiful pendant that looks like a dragon claw clutching the stone.

“I saw your Dragons and thought it would be fitting.  I hope you like it.”

“It’s perfect,” your eyes shined.  You placed the pendant around your neck and could feel your heart swell at the thought of being able to Mega Evolve with Salamence again.  You paid the jeweler for his services and headed back to the Pokemon Center to check on Noibat.

As the doors slid open, high pitched echos rang through the whole Pokemon Center, causing you to cover your ears.  Nurse Joy staggered from the back, “Oh, Y/N! I’m so glad you’re here!”

“What’s wrong?” 

“Noibat has been incorrigible ever since you left!  Could you see if you could calm it?”

Nurse Joy takes your hand and drags you to Noibat’s room, sliding the door open.  Noibat was attempting to fly, even though its wing was still bandaged, and sending out the highest pitch cry imaginable.

“Noibat! I’m here!” you reach your hand out to touch the little Pokemon.  Scared it, bites down, but you don’t flinch away.  Noibat opens its good eye and sees you, then immediately lets go and quiets.  Noibat attempts to lick your wound and cuddles up against you.  

You shush the Pokemon, cradling it in your arm that hasn’t been bit, “It’s okay, I”m here.”  

“No one has been able to quiet it since you left.  How did you do that?”

You really didn’t have an explanation or a reason as to why Dragon Types liked you, but you’d gotten use to explaining that Dragon Types have always been drawn to you, so that’s what you told Nurse Joy.  

“Let me clean that and wrap it for you,” Nurse Joy gathered antiseptics and bandages from the cabinets and began to take care of the wound.  

In that short time, Noibat drifted off to sleep.  “I don’t know what we’re going to do.  We can’t have it screaming like that.”

“I’m here on vacation,” you explain, “Would you care if I stayed with Noibat while they healed? I don’t mind.  I have other Dragon Type Pokemon that can keep it company.”

“That honestly would not be a bad idea.  I can set up one of the rooms for an extended stay.  Maybe that will help Noibat not be so terrified of people either if it has someone who is consistent and showing it love.”  

“I can do that.  Dragon Types are my specialty.” you smiled down at Noibat who was now snoring.  

Nurse Joy thanked you again and went to set up your room.  Later that evening, you moved all of your belongings to the room Nurse Joy had set up for you in the back of the Pokemon Center.  Noibat eagerly awaited your return and Nurse Joy allowed you to hand feed the Pokemon.  You were allowed to bring Noibat outside briefly to get some fresh air, so you allowed your team to do the same.  Noibat looked up in awe at Haxorus, Salamence, and Gabite and squeaked in excitement.  

“You want to get big and strong like them?” you ask.

Noibat turns to you and nods its head as much as it can being all bandaged up.

“Okay, then I promise not to leave Kalos until you’re well.”  Noibat rubbed its head against your leg in appreciation and your Dragon Types smiled as best as they could at the small Dragon.

While Noibat healed up at the Pokemon Center, you learned as much about Mega Evolution as you could, battling with other trainers who used the battle mechanic to train with Mega Salamence.  As the weeks went by, Noibat completely recovered and you had all but perfected Mega Evolution.  Nurse Joy thanked you profusely for your help in calming Noibat during its stay at the Pokemon Center, but you thanked her in return for allowing you to stay at the Pokemon Center during that time.

As you went to leave, Noibat wanted to show you that it had gotten stronger, so it challenged you to a battle.  You battled Noibat with Gabite and the little spit fire had some tricks up its sleeve, but you came out on top.  Noibat was disappointed in itself, but you offered it to come with you if it wanted, holding out a Pokeball.  With tears in its eyes, Noibat pressed its head to the button and let itself inside.  

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And that is how you ended up with your now fully evolved team: Haxorus, Salamence, Garchomp, and Noivern.  You went back home to the Village of Dragons to introduce your team to the Elder who had brought you and Haxorus up and she was impressed by all your new skills.  The Elder challenged you to a battle and you wiped the floor with her, not losing a single Pokemon.  

“You’re good enough to be a Gym Leader, you know,” the Elder smirked at you.

You give a small smile, but you don’t think so.  You feel as if you still have so much to learn and you admit that to the Elder.

“You could always start out as being a gym trainer,” she offers, “Not the full commitment of being a Gym Leader, but still being in the gym scene and training hard.”

“Now that might work,” you think for a moment, “I didn’t think Drayden was looking for new Trainers?”

“He isn’t, but that doesn’t mean other Dragon Type Gym Leaders aren’t.”

Clair was fine as a person, but you knew she could get upset when she lost a battle.  She was infamous for running away from a trainer once who beat her fair and square, refusing to turn over her badge.  You thought that was something you didn’t really want to deal with.  Ryuki didn’t run an actual gym, since there were no gyms in Alola, and he could come off as really aggressive.  Again, not something you wanted to deal with.  The other Dragon Type trainers were all Elite Four members, so they didn’t have gym trainers.

The Elder could see that you were deep in thought, trying to remember any other Dragon Type specialists.  As she went to sip her tea, she reminded you that Galar had a Dragon Type Gym Leader and that they were looking for help, “Something about the last hire lying about their experience with Dragon Types and getting hurt, so they’re down a person.”  

You hadn’t thought of Galar, as it wasn’t a region that really piqued your interest.  You heard it rained a lot and could get quite chilly, depending where in the region you were. 

“Doesn’t hurt to try,” the Elder again sipped her tea.

That night you borrow the Village computer and fill out the application.  You sign as you hit the submit button.  You were 21 years old and had only ever trained, never having an actual job, so of course you were worried about the “what ifs.”  That night you fell asleep rather quickly, dreaming of all the adventures you had gone on so far.

Early the next morning you awake to your Rotom phone ringing.  You’re not a morning person, but you try to put on your best “I didn’t just wake up voice.”

“Hello, is this Y/N?” the chipper voice on the other end asked.

“This is her,” giving a silent yawn at the end.

“This is Camilla with the Hammerlocke Gym in Galar.  We received your application and we think you’d be a perfect candidate for the gym trainer spot.  When would you be able to come out for an interview and test battle?”

“Well, I’m in Unova currently,” you explain, getting up to start your day, “So whenever the next flight to Galar would be from here.”

“Excellent! We’ll book you a flight for the end of the week so you have plenty of time to pack.  I saw the Pokemon you listed as having on your team.  Luckily they are all Pokemon that are allowed to cross into Galar, restrictions and all, so you’ll be able to have your full team here.  We’ll email you the information for the tickets and see you at the end of the week!”

a bizzare yet charming slice of life series from years ago where evolution went a bit differently. in this world instead of 4 limbs creatures instead went 6 limbs, starting from early fish, to early amphibians, and eventually to the many races/classes of this world's modern day. due to the variety racism plays a factor and even in the start of the show race laws a brought up, but it never fully overshadows the day to day lives of our cast. We have a pretty simple cast; Himeno the Centaur - Cute, Kind, Sweet, but isn't always the smartest or most graceful, but she will put others first and she is VERY skilled with a bow. Nozomi the "Imp" (the wings and tail you normally see on imps, devils, etc. in other media) - Small, sporty, not good in academics, really protective of Hime and constantly teases Kyuoko. Kyuoko the "Saytr" - The academic brains of the trio and has low stats in anything physical. Manami the Angel - Class President, strives to accel and tries to get her classmates to do the same, helps her widowed father raise her 4 younger siblings (triplets in kindergarden and a toddler). Suu-Chan the Antartican (race of snake people from Antartica that the rest of the world is still trying to get used to) - Quetzalcoatl Sassassul is a good girl trying to learn about the outside world. This show is weird, but it has it's charms. plus it has given me a few good images. Minami's daily struggles with energetic triplets.

occasional yuri

and even the occasional terror moments in the manga

Day 6 - Free Space

Sprite bases for draconids! I haven’t sprited in a long while, and I’ve never tried something this different before, so it took me a looot of little tweaking to make look right. The face is an example, as long as there’s nostrils somewhere the face can really look any way you want. Variants include Water, Dark, Light, and Celestial. The blue space withing the celestial wings is supposed to be space texture.

I think the best thing to call this is an alternate interpretation, since I don't quite change anything about the Pokemon so much as I'm looking at it from a different perspective than Pokemon are usually looked at.

Now, when I say "All Pokemon Are Gods" what I mean by "God" is like Japanese Kami and Yokai, rather than the Christian God or a Western Pantheon. So gods in the sense of they're spirits of the world with varying degrees of specificity.

So take Rattata for example. In this interpretation Rattata would be a rat-shaped lesser spirit of like meadows and forests.

Evolution in this case would be a kind of promotion. When a Pokemon becomes stronger, it gets "promoted" to a stronger God.

Legendaries are exceptionally rare and powerful Gods, with probably their own place in the hierarchy. So there would be multiple Legendary Bird Trios, and their duty is like as the Prince of Bird Pokemon.

Additions:

-If you went with this interpretation, it could open itself up for a setting where Pokemon and normal animals both exist; Animals are animals, while the Pokemon are animal-shaped spirits.

-Starter Pokemon are all different House Gods, which is why they're never found in the wild, but are sent off with young children.

-Catching fainted Pokemon being impossible could be explained in one of two ways. One, since Pokemon are nature spirits, they don't have physical forms to capture if unconscious or; Two, Pokemon only go with you out of respect, so catching them requires their consent (lowering down their HP makes them easier to catch not because they're too weak to break free, but because they respect you enough now to remain in the ball).

Some Type Stuff:

Dragon

The Dragon Type contains Dragons Proper

The Dragon Egg Group is for creatures that are not dragons, but related to them (a concept that exists in Chinese and Japanese folklore, where things like snakes and lizards are seen as the same "kind" of creature as dragons).

Pokemon that naturally evolve into the Dragon Type (like Swablu and Trapinch) are seen as dragon related creatures that ascend naturally.

Pokemon that Mega Evolve into the Dragon Type are seen as temporarily ascending through a divine blessing.

Normal

In a system where Real Animals exist, I imagine the Normal Type represents Normal Animals.

In which case a Rattata is a Rat God, Heliolisk is a slightly elemental Lizard God (and Dragonkin), Persian is a Cat God, etc.

Ghost Types and Death

@protegens

Frederic hummed in thought, tracing a knuckle along the book spines on the shelf. Though he hadn’t a specific volume in mind, he needed sources, and whatever looked good he plucked from the shelf. Still, he felt his selection lacking (and he was really regretting not having sent out those scripts for translation sooner), but this would certainly be a start....Now only if he could find that one documentation of draconic migration patterns. 

Ah, but he knew exactly then which book he wanted, and where it would be. Without a thought for his surroundings, Frederic whipped around, bumping right into the stranger behind him. With an ‘oof’ he dropped some books, quickly grabbing the other to stabilize them.