1 Prelude

Dragon den, Blackthorn city, Johto

Blackthorn city. This ancient city resides in the north-eastern border of the Johto region and at the base of Mt. Silver that connected Johto to the Indigo Plateau. The city was a traditional landmark of Johto and abode to the ancient Wataru clan, the renowned dragon tamers of Johto region. Blackthorn was an ancient city of history and culture that had heavy regard for its past. The entire city was built around the legends of dragon pokémon and the dragon masters who had tamed it. The city had a traditionally styled architecture with none of the skyscrapers found in the modern-day cities. This along with the various statues and historic relics gave the city a medieval vibe.

Blackthorn had existed for centuries and had even survived multiple wars and sieges. The entire city was surrounded by mountain ranges that offered a natural blockage against their enemies. It was not easy for an opposing army to navigate through the mountains without the use of avian pokémon. The dragon pokémon, on the other hand, can easily navigate through these mountain ranges and thus offering the city an additional trump card. They were masters of airborne battle and none of their enemies had a chance in defending against them. This was one of the main reasons that Blackthorn successfully survived when many prominent clans of the Johto region dwindled with time.

The entire city was constructed a few centuries prior by the first Drake of the Wataru clan, Hiroshi. Hiroshi had been a young trainer that time and got himself stranded in the ice path by accident. He was on his quest to find strong pokémon to save his clan that was being targeted by a rival clan. Hiroshi being the son of the then clan leader meant that he was a prime target for their enemies. The moment they received news of his departure from the clan compound, he was squarely surrounded in an ambush. It was only thanks to his Pokémon's sacrifice did he escaped the initial assault. In the end, he was forced to enter the ice path to save himself from being murdered. He finally believed that he had hope. But what awaited him was endless ice that left him stranded without directions.

He had never been this far and wasn't even aware of the existence of the icy tunnel. When all hope was lost, Hiroshi found himself being saved by a Dragonite. He befriended the draconic beast and took it back to his clan. With the help of the great beast, Hiroshi easily defeated their rival clan and became the new leader of his clan.

Hiroshi then bought his clan members through the ice path with the help of his Dragonite. They found a community of Dratini line within the mountain ranges at the end of the ice path. Hiroshi found that his own Dragonite was the leader of the newfound dragon clan. With the help of his Dragonite, the Wataru clan members soon found themselves with their own dragon pokémon. Sometimes destiny does work in mysterious ways.

In commemoration of their victory and newfound friendship, Hiroshi and Wataru clan moved their entire clan to the mountain range and created the first civilization of dragon tamers. That small village then developed into the current awe-inspiring city of dragon tamers who had mastered the art of training dragon Pokémon. These dragon masters then proceeded to build Dragon's den, a cavern with an underground lake that contains a shrine to Dragon Pokémon, as well as the late elders of the Dragon clan. Dragon's den became an integral part of their culture and a sanctuary for any and all dragon type Pokémon. The whole den was monitored by the clan members 24/7 and any kind of intrusion was heavily punished.

Today though was an exception to that rule. Today was the day when young clan members received their own dragon pokémon. Every young trainer who had crossed the age of ten would be receiving their own dragon pokémon as starters. It was like a rite of passage for the new generation of Blackthorn city. Even though the legal age for trainers to get their license had been changed to 15, the clan still followed the age old tradition of letting ten year old chose their first partner. Dragon pokémon were notorious for having an extremely slow growth rate during their initial few years. So technically, the new trainers of the clan didn't really have much of advantage against their peers outside the clan.

The whole Dragon's den was bustling with activity. The entrance to the cave was filled with rookie trainers who were fidgeting nervously as they waited for the ceremony to begin. Though, none could blame them for their anxiety. After all, it was one of the most important events of their life. No matter how many Pokémon you'd go around and capture during your time as a trainer, the starter Pokémon would still have a special position in your heart. Thus, they were filled with nervousness, anticipation, excitement, and a myriad of other emotions.

Among these groups of rookies, one stood out from the rest. He had silky blue hair that was tied into a ponytail and sea blue eyes that peered into your soul. This rookie trainer had a confident smile on his face, unlike the rest of his peers. He was Carlos Wataru, the son of the current patriarch of the Blackthorn clan, Hitoshi Wataru.

Carlos P.O.V.

'This is it.' I thought to myself as I stood outside the cavern. I really couldn't curb the excitement and anticipation I was feeling right now.

Ever since I found out that I had somehow reincarnated into the pokéverse, I've been patiently waiting for this very day to arrive. The whole concept of rebirth still eluded me, and I still had no idea why I was given a second chance after getting killed on Earth. But to be honest, I didn't really care. This was my new life, and I was going to abuse the shit out of this newfound opportunity. It had been a welcomed surprise when I learned that I was born into the famous Wataru clan of the Blackthorn city. Dragon-type Pokémon were my all-time favorites and being born into the famed Wataru clan meant that I was all set to receive one when I start out as a trainer. Not to mention the training and resources I would receive due to my being a part of the main clan.

Though, not everything was sunshine and daisies. It had been extremely difficult at first, mostly because every human in this world were simply characters to me. But I grew out of that mindset over time and learned to accept this as my new reality. However, the universe decided to throw yet another curveball by having me reincarnated almost hundred years after cannon. The only reason why I even found this was because I was an avid user of Pokenet which had a list of the most influential people of the past century. It was there I read about Professor Oak and his protégés Red and Blue who lived a hundred years ago, which helped me set my perspective of the current timeline.

Also, the current Pokémon world was extremely advanced, with technology seeming to have gone through a terrifying renaissance. Just looking at the blue forcefield that was covering the entire premise of Blackthorn city was a pretty good example of this world's advancement in technology.

Moreover, Pokémon themselves seemed to have adapted to these advanced civilizations of humans by becoming even more aggressive and powerful. Nowadays, it was not a rare scene to witness a 13-foot tall Dragonite flying around the clan whereas its anime counterpart was at most 7 feet. It was a terrifying yet extremely exciting prospect which gave me even more reason to experience this new world for myself.

Additionally, unlike what was showed in anime, trainers usually begin their journey at the age of 15 and not 10 as it was shown in anime. However, it made sense as letting a child venture out on this world where attacks of pokémon were a regular occurrence was simply idiotic. Even though it annoyed me slightly that I couldn't being my journey now, I was also aware that the this world was much dangerous than what was portrayed in the anime. So, even though reluctant I was patient enough to wait for another five years.

I do know that I was extremely lucky to have been born into the prestigious clan of dragon tamers. The number of resources that came with it was simply staggering. I abused it endlessly and I'm really not ashamed to admit it. This was something I was blessed with, and I would be an idiot to not use it to my advantage.

The past decade had been a learning curve for me to understand pokémon in depth. Unlike in games and anime, the real-world was extremely different, and most Pokémon do not have attack stats. The strength of any Pokémon was determined by how well it had been trained. There were instances where a well-trained Beedrill has defeated a freaking Dragonite. It was an incredibly refreshing experience for me, and it got me even more excited over the prospect of becoming a Pokémon trainer.

Now that the day finally dawned on me, I was brimming with anticipation. The other kids around me were the residents of the Blackthorn city, but they do not belong to the Wataru clan. These were residents of the city who had chosen voluntarily to accept Blackthorn as their home. Their families were branches of the Wataru clan and were allowed residence in Blackthorn city. Unlike them, I was a genuine member of the Wataru clan.

Even though, I couldn't actually set out for my journey as a pokémon trainer as of for now, having access to a dragon pokémon was something akin to a dream for me. Moreover, from the hushed conversations that I heard from our older clan members, it seemed like there was yet another facet to training that would only being once we receive our starter pokémon. I did have an idea of what the training would entail, but without further proof I couldn't really bet on it.

'Whatever it is, I will surpass my limits.' I thought to myself as I clenched my fists in excitement.