Chapter 105:
"Dragonite~"
The orange-yellow body and simple, honest face left no doubt—the Pokémon that landed was a Dragonite.
"Dragonite? What are you doing here..."
Hayashi Kaede asked with a mix of novelty and surprise.
Mewtwo's Dragonite should have left with Mewtwo long ago, right?
"Dragonite~" (It said it was going traveling and didn't need me to deliver letters for now, so I came to find you!)
Dragonite clearly explained the reason, then looked at Hayashi Kaede with eager eyes.
Who would have thought that after Mewtwo released it, the first place it went was Dragonite Island. But after staying there for a while, it missed the taste of those Energy Cubes more and more.
It even regretted why it had saved the last Energy Cube, only for Mewtwo to snatch it away?
It should have eaten it earlier.
The more Dragonite thought about it, the angrier it got, but it couldn't beat Mewtwo.
It could only blame itself.
Finally, driven by its obsession with "the last Energy Cube being stolen," it flew back to find Kaede.
"I see..."
Hayashi Kaede nodded, looking up at the Dragonite before him, noticing the desire in its eyes. "Did you come for food? But I'm not home right now, and I don't have any food with me."
"Dragonite~"
Upon hearing this, Dragonite immediately looked disappointed, but it quickly began surveying its surroundings.
Having delivered letters for Mewtwo for so long, its understanding of the human world was no less than Gardevoir's.
With just one glance, it could tell some kind of Pokémon competition was happening here.
So, Dragonite looked at Hayashi Kaede, raised its claw—sharp light glinting coldly—and let out a roar full of battle intent. "Dragonite!"
"Huh?" Hayashi Kaede was taken aback. Looking at Dragonite's massive body, he asked hesitantly, "...Are you saying you want me to catch you, then help me win battles?"
"Dragonite!" Dragonite nodded.
"Yesss...."
Hayashi Kaede's heart instantly stirred.
Dragonite—a Pseudo-Legendary from the first generation. Putting that title aside, its movepool was incredibly deep. It could use Rain Dance, helping Milotic water the farm.
It had a big belly, one that looked very round and smooth. He wondered what it would feel like to lie on it.
Plus, it was strong, could fly, and would be a great helper for construction. If it had been here last time when they were widening the water channel, it could have helped Gardevoir.
But it wasn't too late now, because in September, they might need to build a road. He didn't know how much that would cost yet.
If Dragonite could help him, it would definitely save a lot on transport fees....
And if he ever built a Gym in the future, Dragonite could battle for him too.
In an instant, Hayashi Kaede ran through all the things Dragonite could do.
But finally, a figure appeared in his mind.
That was Mewtwo in its human form.
If he caught its Pokémon, would it get angry?
But soon, Hayashi Kaede shook his head.
Why overthink it?
At most, he could just cook a few more meals to make it up to Mewtwo.
With that, he took out a Poké Ball and looked at Dragonite. "Come on."
"Dragonite~"
Dragonite tapped the Poké Ball without hesitation. After a few "ding" sounds, the Poké Ball fell still.
"Phew..."
Watching this, Hayashi Kaede let out a sigh of relief, his eyebrows lifting happily.
He wanted to raise the Poké Ball and utter a classic line, but considering the crowd, he held back the impulse.
If catching the Combee was within his plans, then Dragonite was a complete surprise.
After finishing his conversation with Dragonite, Hayashi Kaede checked the time and saw it was almost 2:30 PM. The challenge matches were about to start, but the burly man seemed frozen in place. He couldn't help but remind him, "The challenge matches are starting. Aren't you going?"
"Matches?" The man snapped back to reality, looking at Hayashi Kaede in shock.
What had he just seen?
A Dragonite that big, even larger than his Machamp, flew down, chatted with this young man for a bit, and then became his Pokémon?
And even said it would help him win the championship?
Judging by its flying speed earlier, it seemed even faster than that Elite Four member's Noivern last year.
No way...
Was there any suspense left in this competition?
The man fell into deep thought and refused to continue the conversation with Hayashi Kaede.
"Uh...."
Hayashi Kaede also realized that Dragonite's presence might have been too overwhelming, making everyone already anticipate the outcome of the matches.
As he glanced around, he found everyone's eyes fixed on him. The shock in their eyes, combined with the stunned silence of the entire venue, said it all.
The crowd gathered around also began murmuring discussions.
"Dragonite! That kid has a Dragonite!"
"Wow, we get to see a Pokémon like that this year? Looks like this year's challenge champion is decided."
...
Only now did Hayashi Kaede feel a headache coming on. He had promised to let Torchic and Serperior battle, and let Bounsweet and Popplio watch their friends fight.
But he had just promised Dragonite.
Well then...
He could only ask Gardevoir to look after them.
Hayashi Kaede released Bounsweet and Popplio, placing Bounsweet in Gardevoir's hands. "Gardevoir, can you look after them for me? I need to go compete."
"Gardevoir~" Taking Bounsweet, Gardevoir nodded.
It originally wanted to come help Hayashi Kaede win first place.
But judging by the other Trainers' Pokémon here, it wouldn't need to intervene.
First place would still be his.
And so, when the challenge match time arrived, all the Trainers present hesitated, their eyes turning to Hayashi Kaede as if waiting for him.
Under their collective gaze, Hayashi Kaede walked onto the arena with slight helplessness. Looking at the "challengers" below, he released his three Pokémon.
Dragonite, Serperior... and Torchic.
"Torchic~!"
The moment it emerged, Torchic looked down at the Trainers and Pokémon below with fierce fighting spirit.
Come on,
Come on, let me show you the results of my special training with my Trainer!
But after waiting for a long time, Torchic realized no Trainer was coming onto the stage. It noticed the shadow on the ground and suddenly felt something was wrong. Besides Serperior, wasn't there a giant creature standing behind it?
It turned its head and saw a Pokémon several times its size looking down at it, emitting an intimidating aura.
Torchic couldn't help but swallow hard, quietly moving closer to its Trainer and tugging on his pant leg.
"What's wrong?"
Hayashi Kaede looked down at Torchic, puzzled.
"Torchic?"
Torchic cautiously pointed at the Dragonite behind it, as if saying, "My opponent... isn't that, is it?"
No way I can win. No matter how I look at it, I can't win...
Hayashi Kaede smiled and replied, "Of course not, it's our teammate..."