Day 1: Reflecting a Dragon's Eyes

When our applause died down, Brock asked us "Is there anyone with a request for me tonight--our first night of camp?"

As everyone else debated suggestions for runners to take to the stage, Flyer found me in the crowd. "Ask your big bro to tell the one about the boy that reflected a dragon's eyes."

I nodded, wrote the request on a scrap of paper, and gave it to the runner, who then delivered it to Brock.

He looked at the scrap and grinned. "Long ago, long before any of us existed, dragon Pokemon were a lot stronger than they are today. They were everywhere, though they were not often seen. People who saw them often did not live to tell the tale, and when people heard of terrifying, unexplained deaths, they knew that it was the dragons that were to blame."

Fearful gasps went up at this. "Once they took up residence, people said, the dragons wreaked havoc on a town or village." Brock went on. "Their eyes shot fiery flames, so anyone who even looked at a dragon was instantly killed. Most dragons lived in cellars and other dark places. This was because a dragon's fiery gaze could kill even another dragon."

"Oh my!" Cottonee gasped. Mint was shuddering as well, and probably thanking Arceus that dragon Pokemon were not this powerful anymore!

But Brock wasn't done yet. "If someone, by some miracle, survived the dragon's stare, they would die by one of the dragon's other attacks, like their elemental breath or the poisonous spines along its back."

Not even the Nincadas wanted to chirp as Brock continued his terrifying prologue. "It was no wonder that people talked a great deal about the dragons. They told tales of the poor maiden who chanced upon a dragon in her family's attic and died right there, and how the family had to flee their home. They spoke of children attacked while playing in the forests. No one knew how many people had died from the dragons' powerful gaze, but everyone thought that there was no weapon powerful enough to kill a dragon. If a dragon came to a town, every man, woman, child, and Pokemon would warn one another, 'Beware, beware...'"

He smiled. "Having said all of this, I can now properly begin my story.

With that, he continued "For some time, the town of Solarosa was spared from the dragons, but one day, the tavern's barkeep sent an apprentice to bring up a new barrel of ale from the cellar.When the apprentice did not return after an hour, the barkeep figured he had gotten distracted or into the ale, and sent a second apprentice. When that apprentice did not return, rumors began flying, and before long everyone in Solarosa knew that a dragon had taken up residence in the tavern cellar.

The next morning, everyone gathered in the town square to discuss the dragon. Yet no one had any idea how to deal with a dragon."

Fearful murmurs wafted across the camp. "Finally, a boy announced that he would be the one to slay the dragon." Brock continued. "The people tried to talk him out of it--they said he would never hear the dragon coming, but the boy said he would know. They said that the stare would kill him, but the boy said he would blindfold himself for protection."

"What was he going to do?" Cottonee stammered.

"Just listen." I grinned--the best part was coming up!

"After many pleas and rebuttals, they allowed the boy into the cellar after praying to Arceus for protection, blindfolded and carrying a mirror." Brock made a prayerful gesture, as if representing the people's prayers. "It didn't take long for him to find the dragon--it roared and blew a stream of red flame at the boy as he approached, but his blindfold and the protection of Arceus rendered the flames harmless. The dragon then slunk to the bottom of the stairwell as quiet as could be, but when the boy arrived on the last step of the stairwell, he aimed the mirror in the dragon's face, allowing it to burn in its own flames!" Cheers went up at this. "The people hailed him a hero and erected a statue in his honor--which you can still see in Solarosa today."

Everyone loved Brock's first camp show, but I knew he was just getting warmed up--as Boss Cardinal played Taps to end my first day of camp, I was already dreaming of what he would tell tomorrow!