As Lance expected, the trainer was offended after being called weak. A typical reaction, but exactly what he wanted. If he was just going to accept his weakness without trying to defend himself or improve, then there would be nothing to do there.
The Dragon Tamer listened every word without a single twitch in his expression. Eyes narrowed as if he was bored, but analyzing everything said by the other to find all the points to defend his point or to be used against himself. It wouldn’t be the first time a trainer contradicted themselves by wanting so desperatly to find a way to reach Lance’s expectations.
And… That wasn’t the case. The boy was upset, yes, but that wasn’t making him hesitate about a single word. He was saying that from the bottom of his heart, completely sure and convinced of his feelings about his Pokémon. And he didn’t seem afraid of starting a battle with him if that meant to be strong. No… Probably, that guy wasn’t talking just about beating him, but proving how his Pokémon trusted and loved him as he did with them.
Of course, Lance was convinced that there was no way that trainer could defeat him, but that wasn’t really what he needed to know.
The rest of his words were the usual every trainer would say, but with that conviction added. It was not anything new to him. A goal, a title for which he and his Pokémon had to become stronger and share every moment together…
But then there was that next statement.
"Hell, we even fucking— CRY— we CRY together!”
Lance smiled. not in complete honesty, of course, it was still the confident smile he usually wore. But it wasn’t arrogant this time. Even if he wouldn’t show it, he was actually glad to hear something like that. Because, sad as it was, everyone was happy to share laughs with their Pokémon, even to share one’s own tears, but never minded their Pokémon’s tears. They would usually say “it will be okay”, "don’t worry", "I’m here for you", "we’ll be friends forever" and more cheesy, stupid things to cheer them up so they stopped crying and the trainer could feel like a good person. Fake and hypocrite, that’s what they all were. And most of them didn’t even notice when their Pokémon were actually sad. But all those cheerful words solved nothing to those Pokémon. Everyone would say “my Pokémon cry with me”.
Instead, that boy… Barry Ace, he said? Barry said "we cry together" with all his confidence.
And the last thing he said was everything Lance needed to know about that boy.
“To me, Pokemon are just like any other person! They’re like you and me!”
That was enough to know that Barry wasn’t weak as Lance himself had said before. And even if he was… That guy had already said it: he’d improve and become stronger if he wasn’t enough already.
That was one of the few moments when Lance was glad to be wrong first. Finding worthy trainers was always like finding a flower in a dump. Of course, that was only the beginning. Lance was sure they could talk long from now on, and even make him an ally of the Elite Four. Yet, he could be wrong again about that, so there was no need to rush everything.
The dragon tamer waited until the other trainer finished, giving him a moment to break. Keeping the smile, he spoke then.
"That’s enough, Barry. You’ve already proved how strong you are. And, honestly, I’m glad you did. It’s really strange to find someone able to answer like you’ve done. That confidence in oneself and one’s Pokémon isn’t common, and neither are some of the things you just said. Of course, they should be… But that doesn’t matter now.” Lance didn’t need to see one of Barry’s Pokémon to believe him anymore, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to make sure. "I don’t find necessary to ask your Pokémon about you, but… As I said, could I see your starter? After that, I’ll answer all the questions you have about Dragon-types.”
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