[ lance was maybe in his late twenties when he first met blue (which, he supposes, to an eleven year old is ancient) and is maybe in his early thirties now now and you want to sass him over being ancient, you little shit.

but he shelves that with a roll of his eyes, sliding his hands into his pockets as they walk. ]

I learned my lesson in attempting to force anyone to do anything they did not want to do. The League will change when the League is ready to change.

[ lance learned the hard way that when he asks someone to do something, they tend to just . . . do it. and while lance would never force anyone to do anything, lance also didn't really understand the power of his own suggestion. of course a bunch of impressionable young kids would go "yeah sure" when lance asked. and that backfired quickly, with red and blue.

and so -- ethan traveled. went to kanto, while still being champion of johto. explored to his heart's content, until he decided to return to the throne. and lance would look over johto in the interim. until ethan was ready.

it meant he was further away from retirement, but retirement sounded boring, anyway. ]

And I've never played Donkey Kong, so I'm sure that's accurate.

[ video games weren't a thing in the dragon clan which probably explains a lot. ]

I have played cards, though.

[ lance "linefine" dragon master will smoke you in poker. ]