Divine Destiny

Divine Destiny

Three years have passed since Team Rocket fell apart, but now they have returned under the leadership of a new ruler. While evil spreads, a young female called Lyra commences her journey and is destined to become the region's saviour, but it's not a path without obstacles.

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Prologue
The Elder sat in the middle of the shrine with his legs crossed, hands resting on his lap. The past week had been a stressful one: high ranking dragon tamers from neighbouring regions had decided they wanted to use Blackthorn City as a place to educate trainers about the path to becoming a Dragon Master. Naturally, the people of Blackthorn were displeased with the news — bringing in tamers from other regions would only create trouble and would eventually lead to a sense of loss identity. Increasing pressure from foreign dragon clans were the least of his worries though.

The main cause behind his stress had actually come from his own grandchildren, Clair and Lance. Both his grandchildren held positions of high ranking however they had not yet developed the maturity to fully understand what their positions entailed. For Clair, being the final gym leader meant abusing her power and flaunting her status, and for Lance that meant engaging in reckless behaviour.

"You have not proved your worth, Clair," the Elder said, giving the Blackthorn gym leader a stern look. "You will remain a gym leader until you have proved you can handle the role with maturity."

The gym leader pouted. She crossed her arms over her chest, her brows knotted in anger. "Why should I remain here in this city waiting for a worthy trainer to arrive when I could be helping you? I know the other tamers are giving you trouble — I could pay each clan leader a visit and destroy them with my Kingdra. That'll teach them a lesson not to mess with the Blackthorn Clan," she protested.

The Elder shook his head. "And what will that achieve, Clair? Challenging the clan leaders will only create more trouble and give them a stronger reason why the education centre is needed here in this city. They already believe Blackthorn Tamers to be an arrogant, unruly lot. Do you want to add 'violent' to that description?"

Clair huffed. "You don't think I'm strong enough to take them on. Well, you're wrong. I'm the strongest trainer in the region!" she wailed, flipping her long sapphire blue ponytail over her right shoulder. She turned to her cousin for support. "Tell him, Lance! Tell him how strong I am! Tell him how I crushed the last challenger with ease!"

Lance shrugged. "The battle was over before it even had a chance to get interesting," he said. While Clair was known for her overly aggressive manner to the public, Lance was the opposite. He was seen as the quiet, broody and mysterious trainer who only spoke when it mattered. Of course, that was just part of his Champion act — he didn't like letting people get too close to him so he distanced himself as much as possible. The act was only dropped when he was with family. "You should let Clair have a chance to prove herself worthy. You know, she's almost as good as I am." He grinned.

The Elder shook his head again. "Clair has yet to pass the test." He turned away from Lance and looked at Clair again. "You can't claim the title of Dragon Master of Blackthorn until you have passed the test. You know the law of our ancestors."

Her eyes widened, bottom lip curled. The Elder knew what was coming next; an infamous Clair tantrum. Clair restored to screaming, yelling, stomping her feet and crying to get things her way, but that would not sway him. "I am worthy! I will prove it to you!" She spun around on her heel and stormed out of the cave entrance, her black cape flapping behind her.

"Do you really think that is wise? You are only inviting her to seek out danger," Lance said, arms folded over his chest. "You can't keep her trapped forever. She's going to find a way to become involved in all of this. I say you should just free her from her leash and let her run wild."

The Elder was less than amused by Lance's response. He slowly picked himself up from the ground, dusted his robes, and limped over to the table. "These are dangerous times we are living in Lance," the Elder started, glancing down at the sheets of paper lying on the surface. Pointing at the table, he brought Lance's attention to the first of the three papers, then looked at Lance. "What do you see?"

Each of the sheets had an image drawn on it. The first was of an injured Slowpoke, the second of a pirate hat and the third had a picture of a young female with pigtails. Lance raised an eyebrow and looked at his grandfather. "I see a Slowpoke, a pirate hat and a girl with an outdated look. Visions of yours, I assume?" He laughed as if it were a grand joke.

The Elder nodded. "Yes. Reports of injured Slowpokes are making the news each week, and the pirate hat wearing people are linked to it. These people belong to Team Rocket. You and I both know this cannot continue."

"I'll find the culprits myself then," Lance scowled, all humour fading from his eyes. "You say Team Rocket is responsible? Dragonite will destroy them." He turned around and prepared to head towards the exit, but the Elder grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Do not be a fool. You may have earned the title of a Dragon Master, but this is a fight you can't win alone."

Jerking his arm back, Lance glowered. "Have you forgotten who I am in your old age? I'm Lance, the Champion of Johto and Kanto. I'm the strongest trainer in the region. I passed your stupid test. If that doesn't prove I'm capable of defeating Team Rocket then I don't know what will," he stated, a little harsher than he intended.

"You are a fool if you believe you are the strongest trainer in the region," the Elder replied calmly. "There is always going to be someone stronger than you — you just haven't met them yet."

A muscle jerked in Lance's jaw. "You talk to me as if I were nothing but a child!" He drew a deep breath in, holding back his temper then added, "I can stop Team Rocket."

The Elder felt his heart sink. It was moments such as these he wished that both his daughter and her sister were still alive so they could guide their children in the right direction. Unfortunately, tragic events happened and claimed the lives of two young women who had died before their time. "And you talk to me as if you are my superior," he replied, his voice low, commanding. "You are the Champion, but you do not have power over me." Lance grumbled. "I am trying to help you, Lance."

Although Clair expressed her opinions in an unruly manner, she always followed orders (after throwing a tantrum of course). On the other hand, Lance was convinced that he knew better than everyone else and often did things his way just because he thought it was right. "Help me?" he scoffed. "You're trying to hold me back from reaching my full potential."

"I'm trying to guide you in the right direction. Your arrogance will be your downfall if you are not careful," the Elder snapped. "Even the strongest of trainers fall."
The original Champion Blue had lost his title after boasting to everyone how he could never lose. The boy, the grandson of Professor Oak, had lost to an inexperienced child called Red. Red claimed the throne but retired only after a month in, giving the title to Lance instead. His current whereabouts were unknown, but there was a rumour he was living on the peak of Mt. Silver.

"You should have a little more faith, grandfather."

"You will not be the one to defeat Team Rocket," the man said curtly.

Lance snorted. "Let me guess, the girl with the outdated look in your vision will be the one to defeat them?" He tried to make it sound like a sarcastic joke, but he had failed to conceal the edge in his tone. Lance didn't like the thought of anyone else being better than him; it's why he made sure the current Elite Four members had no type-advantage against him, to stop comparisons being made by the public.

The Elder sighed again and lowered himself to his chair, hands gripping the edges of the table to steady himself. In his old age simple actions such as sitting down had become difficult tasks, but his mind was still as sharp as it had been many long years ago. "Her name is Lyra. She is the girl on the paper. She will be the one to defeat Team Rocket and claim the throne as Champion."

Lance scowled. "Tell me more about this... 'Lyra'." He spoke her name as if she was something foul.

"She is a fourteen year old teenager from New Bark Town with no family trainer history. She is a late starter to the world of Pokémon."

Lance gave a curt laugh. "You are expecting someone with no experience to defeat Team Rocket and myself?""

"Red defeated Blue. Do I need to remind you Red came from a small hometown?" He paused, allowing his words to sink in, knowing any mention of the name would remind Lance how not all Champions came from high-status backgrounds. "You did not earn the title of Champion the way one normally should, Lance. Red gave it to you. There is a difference."

The smirk on Lance's face faded. He didn't like being reminded of that. It was a well-kept secret that only his grandfather knew. Everyone else, including Clair, thought he had defeated Red to earn the title and that's why Red had resigned. The truth? Red turned down Lance's proposal for a battle. He simply handed the title over to Lance claiming 'he wasn't interested in fancy titles anyway'. "I'm strong enough now to defeat Red."

The Elder ignored Lance's previous comment regarding Red. "If there is any part of you that still respects me you will listen to my words. Please keep an eye on this girl and do your best to protect her without revealing your true identity until the right moment comes. This is all I ask of you."

"I have better things to do than watch a rookie trainer." Lance headed towards the exit.

"Aren't you just a little curious to learn more about Lyra?" the Elder called out. Lance stopped. "Your father Jacob refused to listen to me and it led to his banishment. I will never banish you from the clan, but you will find you will no longer be accepted as one of us."

Lance rolled his head back towards his grandfather. "So you're threatening me?"

He saw defiance in his eyes, and was reminded of his own son, Jacob, who too had challenged his visions. He didn't want the same fate of banishment to fall upon Lance. "I know what is best for you."

"Right, because you've 'seen' visions of the future," he said curtly.

"My visions have not lied to me, Lance." Lance shifted his gaze to the door. He could see the impatience in the boy's posture and knew he had little time left to persuade his grandson to do the right thing. Many people wished they had his ability, but if they could see how they were going to die, they would think otherwise. His visions were both a blessing and a curse. "If you are going to listen to me just once, now is the time. Protect Lyra."

Lance considered it then nodded. "Fine," he snapped. "I'll keep an eye on her, but don't expect me to do anything else for you." He stormed out of the shrine in silence, the sounds of his footsteps echoing throughout the den.

The Elder closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and exhaled, reopening his eyes again. Lance doubted him now, but one day he'd come to fully appreciate the lessons his grandfather had taught him.

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Thoughts are much appreciated!