Drake huffed as he pulled himself up along the rocky outcroppings that littered the vast foothills of the mountains, wiping his brow with his free hand. It was a pain to come all the way out here, but he didn’t mind.

He liked the fresh air.

It was a stark cry from even the rural little village he called home these days - Rustboro’s industry clogged up the air even here, and he hated it. Even Sootopolis (which he couldn’t remember all that well, considering how long it had been since he’d lived on that damned island) wasn’t this bad.

Whatever. It wasn’t like there was anything Drake could do about it - for now. One day, he promised, he would become a trainer and finally get away from this shithole.

As it was, he had to settle for walking out to the mountains every so often. It wasn’t perfect, but he’d make do.

He always had.

Life wasn’t easy for him. His family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, and even in their quaint village they were pretty poor. He worked odd jobs and chores whenever he could to help out, but sometimes it wasn’t enough. Drake didn’t complain, though - he’d hold his chin high and turn his cheek at the hushed whispers mocking his shirts with one too many holes, or his pants that were more rag than cloth.

He would show them all one day. He’d be great.

Drake kept a cautious eye out as he walked along the gently sloping hills, careful to avoid any wayward Geodude or Nosepass that he might accidentally step on. It wouldn’t do to lose his favorite place (or his life) due to carelessness. 

There weren’t many pokemon out today, though. To be fair, there rarely were, but today it seemed like it was just Drake and the mountain.

He eyed the mountains themselves, and all the nooks and crannies that were nestled into it on the way up. He couldn’t even see the peaks of a few of them.

Drake cracked a smile. He had a few hours til he had to get back, didn’t he?

Maybe a climb would do him some good.

—

Maybe it wouldn’t.

Drake panted, sucking in massive gulps of air as he hid behind a large boulder he’d been lucky to find.

During his brief climb, he had accidentally come face to face with a nest of doe-eyed baby Swablu - something that their Altaria mother had taken none too kindly.

It was a miracle he was able to climb quick enough to avoid her razor-sharp talons. That one Dragon Breath she’d launched wasn’t exactly appreciated either.

Drake was definitely going to need a new shirt after this. His mom was going to be mad.

Oh well. It wasn’t like he could do anything about that now.

From the looks of things, he was around a hundred feet up the mountain or so. It wouldn’t be too difficult to get back down, but it wasn’t a trip he’d be making again anytime soon. He was situated on a rather large outcropping, flat and wide with dozens of boulders and smaller rocks littering the ground around him.

A few of the bigger stones even had claw and teeth marks etched into their faces, as though pokemon came here to practice their abilities.

That thought got Drake interested - he was nearing the age trainers set out on their journey, and didn’t exactly have a partner pokemon lined up for him. Maybe he could find something interesting out here?

He finally stood up, cracking his back with a small wince as he craned his neck to get a better view. The Altaria seemed long gone now, which was a blessing in itself, and the small bluff he was on top off seemed safe.

At least, until he spotted something blue moving towards him out of the corner of his eye.

Drake’s head shot towards the offender, but by then it had realized it was caught. It disappeared behind a medium-sized rock, but it was too late.

His interest had been piqued.

He hurried towards where he’d seen the small creature last, and sure enough, its beady little eyes were locked onto him as it peeked up from behind the rock. It didn’t duck back behind its cover this time, which was surprising, but its muscles tensed as it got ready to flee should the need arise.

“Hey there little guy,” Drake began cautiously, “What’re you up too?”

The pokemon narrowed its eyes at him, clearly unhappy with being called ‘little’, yet also unwilling to attack him at the perceived insult.

The creature was a light shade of blue, with two stubby arms and a matching pair of powerful legs that looked like they could split him in half if need be. It had a cream-colored underbelly and lower jaw, as well as a silver headpiece that gleamed in the sunlight. One tiny fang protruded from either side of its maw.

He wondered if the little pokemon was observing him in a similar manner. Drake couldn’t have been much to look at.

“I don’t have any food,” he said after a moment, “If that’s what you’re after.”

He assumed that if the Bagon wanted to attack him, it would have done so by now. There wasn’t much meat on his bones anyway - he couldn’t imagine he looked particularly appetizing to the tiny creature.

It shook its head. Whatever it wanted, food wasn’t it. Which meant it probably didn’t pose a threat to him - unless it was lying, but Drake had a feeling that it was being genuine with him.

Hmm. A pokemon that wasn’t afraid of him and didn’t want to kill him. That wasn’t exactly a rarity, but for a Bagon? One of the most feared pokemon lines on the globe, let alone Hoenn?

“Wanna be my pokemon?” He asked bluntly, “I want to be a pokemon trainer one day, and I’m going to be the greatest one in the world. I don’t have any pokemon yet, but you can come with me if you want.”

Bagon gave him a strange look - eyes wide, head cocked to the side - and he had to suppress the laughter in his chest. No reason to antagonize the pokemon species known for their tempermentality while he was trying to befriend one.

But he could see that sparkle of wonder in the Bagon’s beady, black eyes. It seemed interested in his offer, but he could tell it was hesitant.

“I’m Drake. I’m not from here, you know,” Drake continued, snorting at the way Bagon nearly fell over in shock at the revelation, “Not from the mountain, not from this area. I’m from a far away place, an outsider. I don’t wanna stick around here, either. I wanna spread my wings, see the world, battle tough opponents and get stronger along the way myself.”

Bagon grunted, nodding its head slowly as though he was finally beginning to comprehend that there was a world beyond the mountain range they called home. It plopped itself down onto its behind, staring out into the distance.

After a moment of brief hesitation (his parents were always warning him away from doing stupid stuff, and he was pretty sure this counted as such) Drake joined it, legs dangling over the side of the ledge the duo had taken a seat on. He swung them experimentally as they hung, staring out at the miles and miles of hilly grasslands. At the edge of the horizon he could even make out the village.

“I live all the way over there,” he murmured, pointing to direct Bagon’s gaze. He wondered if the creature could see as far as he could, or if it was simply looking for something in nothing. “And I hate it. I’m gonna leave as soon as I can.”

Bagon chuffed. He wasn’t an expert on pokemon speech, so he couldn’t tell if it was mocking him or agreeing with the sentiment that it could not understand.

After a few more minutes of staring out into the clouds, Bagon had seemingly made its decision. It stood back up and waddled away, Drake watching intently all the while. It stopped as it arrived at the same rock he had found it peeking at him from a few minutes ago, before gesturing to it with its tiny little arms.

Drake eyed it with confusion, but approached regardless. He squatted down to Bagon’s height, watching as it mimed out itself picking up the rock and walking around with it.

Frankly, it was quite an amusing sight.

“You want me to lift that up?” He questioned, brow furrowing slightly as Bagon nodded. A test of strength, then? He’d never heard of a pokemon issuing a challenge like that to a potential trainer, but he was willing to go along with it anyway. Maybe Bagon was just quirky. Maybe it wanted to make sure that he could carry his own weight if need be.

Either way, he wasn’t going to back down from a challenge. He wasn’t the strongest person in his village, not by a long shot, but he wasn’t scrawny either. He rolled his sleeves back, wincing at the new tears he could see beginning to form, and approached the rock.

It wasn’t too bad. The thing was probably only around twenty, thirty pounds - he’d carried more dragging buckets of water from the well that sat at the village’s center to his home before. He walked a few paces with it gripped tightly against his chest, and when Bagon nodded he dropped it back onto solid ground.

He didn’t even break a sweat. Bagon looked satisfied with the results, and nodded at Drake again, who just stood there awkwardly. He didn’t know what Bagon wanted - were they going to go head-to-head in a weightlifting contest? Considering the… unique way in which Bagon was restricted in the dexterity department, he doubted it.

Bagon huffed and gestured at Drake, before pointing at itself. Drake cocked his head to the side, contemplating the meaning behind the actions (he really wished he could understand pokemon - everything would be so much easier) before it finally clicked for him.

“You want me to challenge you with something?” He asked, grinning as Bagon confirmed his suspicions with a happy growl.

But what would he make Bagon do? He (at least he assumed Bagon was a he, Drake was tired of calling him an ‘it’ and he’d heard somewhere that female Bagon were much more hostile than their male counterparts) seemed intelligent enough to not fall for any dumb tricks Drake could try to perform for him, and any sort of strength competition was rather redundant.

How about a riddle? That required intelligence, which Bagon clearly possessed, and the ability to think outside of the box, and both of which were very important in pokemon battles. It wouldn’t do Drake any good to have a partner that could do little more than follow his orders.

When he voiced this idea, Bagon nodded enthusiastically. It seemed like both of them were rather eager to win this little challenge.

He brought his hand to his chin, idly rubbing it as he thought about what sort of riddle he’d offer the young dragon. The feel of rough, sharp stubble on his face was a new experience for him, but not an unwanted one. It signaled the beginning of his ascent into manhood, and he savored what that meant for him.

Freedom.

That gave him an idea.

“I’ve got it,” he finally declared, snapping his finger as he decided on the riddle, “Are you ready?”

Bagon grunted his confirmation, the serious look in his eyes betraying the otherwise light mood of their competition.

“A man rides into town on the first of the season,” Drake began, “He stays in the town for five nights, and leaves on the first of the season. How is this possible?”

Bagon looked dumbfounded. He scrunched his face together, wracking his brain in a desperate attempt to figure out what the answer could possibly be, before giving up after nearly a minute of intense thought. He shrugged his tiny shoulders, and Drake smirked in victory.

“The solution is simple: the pokemon he rode into town’s name is ‘The First of the Season’.”

Bagon blinked.

Then he made a strange wheezing sound - was he laughing? Or perhaps he was attempting to draw forth a flame to scorch Drake with. It would be an unfortunate outcome, but dragons weren’t generally known for their ability to play fair. More than a few fairytales existed of dragons smiting their opponents after a loss - they had a well established reputation of being sore losers.

Whatever the case, Bagon did not attempt to kill him after all - in fact, beyond a brief moment where he looked like a petulant child as he pouted, he seemed to take the defeat in stride.

“So,” he asked, “Will you be my partner now?”

Bagon shook his head quickly, before gesturing to another, slightly larger rock that laid along their alcove. Drake eyed it with some caution, unsure if he could even get a grip on the glossy stone, much less lift it up, but acquiesced at Bagon’s questioning glance nonetheless.

He had to get low to get a good hold on the rock, if it could even be considered that. Half a boulder was more apt. It was as flat as a tranquil lake, and he had to work to dig his hands in beneath the rock - something that did not feel good in the slightest.

Drake attempted to raise the stone, and had some moderate success - until the damned thing slipped out of his hold and clattered to the ground, barely missing his toes as he jumped back in surprise. He went to pick it back up, but a growl from Bagon dissuaded him from that notion.

It looked like he only got one chance, and he’d definitely blew it

Bagon looked rather pleased with his opponent’s defeat. He crossed his blue arms proudly and barked out a victory cry to the heavens.

In that moment he sounded very much like a dying Wingull, but Drake wasn’t going to be telling him that.

If he had to go again, then logic would presume that he had another riddle to come up with. Too bad he wasn’t exactly known for his cleverness.

There was one that the other children in his village liked to tell each other, so perhaps that would suffice.

“Alright,” Drake began, “I have another riddle. What cannot see, cannot hear, and cannot think, yet always tells the truth?”

Bagon hummed, mimicking the gesture Drake had made earlier of rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He seemed to pick up on the little actions Drake made, which was something that just made him want the feisty pokemon to come with him even more.

The dragon lit up as he came to his answer, and Drake felt his heart sink. He gestured to his shiny little dome, and Drake could dimly realize that he could see his reflection in the armor.

A mirror. That was the answer, all right.

“Yeah, you got it.” Drake sighed. He tried to sound upbeat for Bagon, but the disappointment was impossible to hide. They were tied now, maybe it would be a best out of three?

Bagon roared triumphantly, managing to sound like an extremely ill Poochyena this time. It brightened Drake’s spirits a little, but did little else.

The dragon took a moment to throw out a celebratory dance, before straightening up under Drake’s curious gaze. He eyed the terrain, looking for another rock to test Drake’s strength against, before his gaze finally landed on the massive boulder that he had originally found Drake hiding behind.

The same boulder that Drake could probably fit himself and his entire family behind if he had to.

“Wha– are you serious?!” He breathed out, stumped by the challenge Bagon had offered him. The tiny dragon simply nodded sternly, and Drake realized that he had lost. It would be near-impossible to move the boulder, let alone lift it, and the taste of defeat sat heavy on his tongue.

Still, as loath as he was to admit it, he wasn’t going to take this loss lying down.

“Fine,” he spit out, “Watch me.”

He stomped over to the boulder, not bothering for showy moves like rolling his sleeves back up. He kind of wanted to punch the rock, but even in his upset state of mind he knew breaking his hand would be bad. He squared himself against the ground and pushed, yet it was in vain. 

The rock did not move.

Drake saw red. He wasn’t going to be taking this lying down. 

He pushed harder and harder against the rock, doing everything in his power to make it move. His arms burned with the pain of overexertion, but he didn’t care. He began to kick his legs against the mountain.

And somehow, the boulder moved.

It rolled over slowly, nearly crushing Bagon (who had been patiently observing the entire process) and landing heavily on its side. Drake whooped as he celebrated his victory, but was quick to steady himself lest he accidentally went over the side of the mountain.

“I guess I have to think of another riddle then, yes?” He asked Bagon, who, to his surprise, merely shook his head. 

He blinked as the dragon hopped over to his side, staring eagerly up at Drake with an indescribable look in the little galaxies of his iris. 

“Does that mean you’ll come with me then?” Drake asked, voice full of hope.

He would forever deny that he let out a scream of joy at Bagon’s nod.

“Awesome!” He cheered, before coughing into his fist awkwardly as Bagon began to laugh at him.

Hmm… Bagon. It was a name alright, but would the dragon want a better one?

Perhaps Victor would suffice - to the victor of their contest went the spoils, after all. Victor was a good name.

But those thoughts would have to wait.

First things first, they had to get off of this mountain.

And then?

The world awaited.

Drake smirked as he thought of the mountaintops he’d one day reach. Never again would he settle for less than the peaks.

As it was though, this mountainside had yielded solid results.

Now how to evade that blasted Altaria on the way down…