"Are you excited Ele?" My human asked me sweetly, cuddling me as we waited with all the young humans outside the building for studying.
"Of course!" I cooed back.
Of course, I was excited! I was getting another baby. My sweet human told me what his human friend informed him about, if we make the right choice here then it means that this pokemon will one day become a permanent member of our Thunder. Though, my human calls it a family. So, I decided to stay out. Not only to protect my human in case any of the pokemon decides to attack but also to help him make the choice.
Ash is our human and master. He is the Alpha Head of our Thunder. I can't decide for him, it's his decision. But I won't allow just anyone into the Thunder. My human is perfect! He is kind, selfless, and strong. He makes us strong and does it fast. But that is only possible because both Ladon and I want to because we train hard and give our all. So, if the next pokemon wants to join they need to be just like that. Determined and strong-willed. Otherwise, I... we, will not accept them.
"What kind of pokemon do you think Drayden-sensei had assembled for us?" My human asked, smiling sweetly at me. Oh, how I love that smile. Ever since I was a little Swablu. "Maybe there will be a Charmander! Or a Horsea!" He exclaimed excitedly. "I know they are not really dragon types, but they do belong to the dragon egg-type group. It's not like Drayden-sensei will have a pure dragon type waiting for students, it's too dangerous for those not used to them. Dragon Masters do train pokemon of the dragon egg group," he continued. "Lance has a Charizard! Claire has a Kingdra! Which is a dragon type! I can't wait!"
"Neither can I!" I exclaimed back, preparing myself to test every single one of them.
Just like my human deduced there was a Charmander and various Horsea. Not only that there was a Treecko too and a few Scraggy. However, my master zoomed directly at the fire type. Not a big surprise there, Charmander is one of the three Kanto starters, and many kantonian boys dream of having one. But this one was weak, too prideful, and full of himself. A troublemaker, who would not respect master or anyone in the Thunder. He did not deserve a place in our family, as my human called us. Luckily, he thought so... or at least, he saw my rejection and moved away from the Fire-type.
Our next stop was the pond, the Treecko had already been chosen by another human boy. Not that I lamented that choice, the grass type looked strong and determined but something about having her in our Thunder simply felt wrong. There were so many Horsea, almost ten! They seem pretty popular, especially with the human girls. However, once they saw my human arrive at the pond, they took a few steps back and waited. I nodded my head pleased, of course, they would step back and allow my human the first choice. As it is his right. Not that Ash noticed, too focused on the pokemon, as always, to see what happens around him.
"Excuse me Lady Altaria," a brave Horsea finally approached us. "Why did the human girls suddenly step back when the human boy arrived?" He asked.
"That's because my human is the strongest one in this human pack," I answered. "Not only that, he is liked and respected. He is their leader. So, if he is interested in choosing any of you to join our Thunder it is his right to go first." By now many Horsea had gathered closer, listening attentively. "The human girls understand this and stepped back for him."
They now looked at my human with respect and curiosity. I was quite pleased with this. Compared to that disrespectful Charmander, this was a nice change of pace. Now if we end up choosing one of them there will be fewer possibilities of problems arising in the future. There was one Horsea who caught my eye. She swam in the middle of the pond, proudly with an air of royalty. As I was about to call out for her, a human girl approached us and interrupted.
"Ash," she called out, shyly.
"Yes, Ashley!" My human turned around and smiled brightly, making her and many others blush brightly.
I scoffed but could not really blame them. My human was the cutest, one must be blind not to see that.
"I'm simply wondering why you are here and not at the rocky field?" She asked.
"Well, Horsea evolves into Saedra, and then with a Dragon Scale, they become Kingdra a dual Water/Dragon-type." My human informed her.
"No, I already knew that. I mean, why would you choose a Horsea when there's an Axew." Her words froze us both. "I mean everyone knows you'll want to have the same pokemon as your mentor, so they left the Axew alone for you to choose."
"There is an Axew!/There is an Axew!" We both exclaimed at the same time, jumping on our feet to stand before the human girl.
"Why would Drayden-sensei allow a pure Dragon-type pokemon to mingle in this group?!" Ash asked abashed. "That's too dangerous for normal students!"
"But you aren't a normal student," another girl entered the conversation.
"Laura is right" Ashley continued. "I'm sure the Dean had Axew in the group for you... of course, only if you want to choose them! If you prefer a Horsea you can too!" She rapidly corrected herself, her face red.
"I... I don't know," Ash replied, looking down at the ground confused and lost. I looked at my human surprise, I've never seen him like this. It worried me. "I really want to have an Axew... but I don't want it to seem as if I am copying Drayden-sensei."
"Now that's stupid!" Laura chastised him, I glared at the human girl. Ready to Dragon Pulse her for insulting my master, but her next words stopped me. "You have a Shiny Altaria and a Gible! Everyone knows you are not copying him. So, what if you get an Axew. Is not as if there are a lot of pokemon for Dragon Masters to choose from. Also, it's not like we are keeping these pokemon," we both tried our best not to react to those words. "So, go to the rocky field and get that Axew."
"Got it!" Ash, saluted the girls, much brighter now, before rushing towards the possible new member of our Thunder. If they are no good, we can always go back to the pond and get that Horsea. "There it is Ele!"
There he was, in the middle of the rocky field. He looked sad with their tail and ears down. Not that I could blame him, he was being ignored by all the humans and he did not know why. When my master kneeled before him, the Axew's head snapped up and his eyes widened in shock and hope. So, young and innocent looking at master with wonder and me with worship. But there was a fire behind those baby eyes, a fire that burned with a firm determination, wanting to prove himself. He reminded me of Ladon when we first met him. It was then that I realized why I was feeling off all day long, what was lacking in every other pokemon.
It seems that the master was thinking the same thing.
"Hey, Axew, would you like to join our Thunder?" He asked, with a bright smile.
When the baby pokemon jumped on my human's arms I knew we had the answer we wanted, and our Thunder had grown in number. It seems that I did not have to test anyone today.