Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Stories

Darkness and Dragons Ch. 3

Rayna's first week at Blueberry had come and gone. She went to class, completed a few BBQs and thoroughly explored the Terarium. One thing she didn't do was battle. If she had the option, she would always decline. The other thing she avoided was Drayton. Granted, she often saw him around, and always scolded herself for finding him a bit charming, but she didn't speak to him. Not even when he tried to initiate a conversation with her. However, he was making it difficult to resist, especially that day.

Rayna was leaving her room that morning only for her door to hit something. She squeezed out and her eyes widened at what she found. There was a little tin box of cookies at her doorstep. Upon picking it up and opening it, she found a bunch of cookies in the shape of dragon type pokemon, and they were arranged to read “I'm sorry”. She had no trouble guessing who it was from, and she started to regret being so harsh. Taking a bite of one of the cookies, Rayna headed down the hall to leave the dorms.

~~~~~

A heavy sigh left Drayton as he shoveled chip after chip into his mouth. He didn't know why this was bothering him so much. It shouldn't. Yet he couldn't help thinking back on what happened with Rayna. He truly did want to get to know her and help her, but he'd mistakenly pushed her too much. Much to his fellow clubmates’ confusion, he barely even spoke to any of them. Even Kieran was stunned by his lack of teasing.

“Okay, I've had enough.” Lacey marched over to the table where Drayton sat. “You've been sitting in here doing nothing for days now! I get that you're lazy and irresponsible, but this is a whole new low, even for you!”

Drayton looked up at the girl looming over him. “Whatever. I'll go after I finish my chips.”

Kieran, who also happened to be present along with his sister, flinched a little. “Wait, Drayton’s actually going to leave when told? That's…not like him.”

Carmine started snickering. “The bozo’s probably mopey because he got rejected. Saw him leaving a gift in front of someone's door this morning.”

Lacey gasped, her anger fading. “Really?!” She leaned toward Drayton with a big grin. “I didn't know you had a crush on someone! That's too cute!”

“It's not like that,” he responded. There was a brief silence before he realized they were all looking at him expectantly. “It's Rayna. I made her all mad and now she won't even talk to me.”

“Rayna?” Carmine repeated. “Isn't she that new transfer student?”

Lacey looked to the siblings. “Could you guys give us a moment?”

Kieran was a little surprised but nodded. “Uh, sure. C'mon, Sis, we've got class anyway.”

Once they were gone, Lacey sat across from the depressed boy. “Tell me what happened. I did notice Rayna seemed a bit cross the past few days. What did you do to get on her bad side?”

Drayton blinked at her a couple times. “What is this, a therapy session?” He cut the lighthearted remark when he received a glare from her. “I kinda tried to urge Rayna to join our club. I thought it could help with her battling. You saw how reckless she was. She willingly let her pokemon take themselves out just to keep you from winning.”

Lacey sighed. “I know. I noticed it too. Rayna becomes a completely different person when she battles. She admitted she had a problem.” She gave him a stern look. “But I also know she's under a lot of pressure. She doesn't need you to try and force her to do something she doesn't want to.”

That had the boy tilting his head to the side. “Huh? What pressure? You mean from the transfer?”

“No. Drayton, do you have any idea exactly who Rayna is?” His blank, puzzled expression answered her question for her. “Her daddy is Grimsley, the ex-Elite Four member of the Unova League.”