In the end, Dragonite finally stopped crying after everyone's relentless efforts—specifically, after Erina promised he could still mooch meals off her—and began nibbling on a large jar of dried fish meat (not Magikarp) that Erina had personally prepared.
"Whew—"
Hisako Arato wiped the sweat from her forehead and muttered, "As expected of a pseudo-legendary Pokémon. Even when fooling around, its combat power is this high."
Hayashi summarized, "Simply put, the level of fooling around is also pseudo-legendary tier."
Erina nodded. "Indeed."
"Grrrowl—"
Dragonite, with a fish strip dangling from its mouth, protested indistinctly.
I wasn't fooling around! I was just expressing my feelings!
How dull is a dragon's life without delicious food to eat?
If I had more than one life to spare, Dragonite would definitely pull a "I don't wanna live anymore" and kick the bucket on the spot.
"You guys really know how to liven up any situation—" Sabrina, sitting on a chair nearby, said with an amused smile. "Traveling with you, I've forgotten what boredom and loneliness even mean."
Hayashi stroked his chin. "Illiterate?"
"?"
Sabrina rolled up her sleeves. "Today, I'm definitely going to teach you a lesson with my psychic powers."
Hayashi jumped back, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "I warn you, don't come near me! I'm Fighting/Dark-type! Super effective against Psychic, okay?"
"?"
Sabrina gave him another questioning look, her eyes glowing blue as she stared at him. "Then show me how you're super effective."
Feeling his body seized by an invisible force, Hayashi panicked internally but maintained a poker face. "Sabrina! A tomato jumped off the fifth floor and turned into ketchup!"
"Pfft—"
"The tomato... splattered into ketchup..."
"Bwahaha—"
As Sabrina burst into laughter, Hayashi landed expressionlessly on the ground, then adjusted his imaginary glasses. "Trash-tier sense of humor."
Sabrina, oh Sabrina, don't you know that a joke gets stale if overused? Couldn't you at least train your sense of humor so it's not so bottom-tier!?
A tomato turning into ketchup makes you laugh this hard!?
Let me tell you, with traits like yours, you'd definitely end up as the heroine in a doujinshi in the pink section! Got it?
...
...
That night.
Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Backyard.
"Grrrowl—"
Dragonite cradled a Dratini in its arms, looking pleadingly at Erina.
Miss Erina, do you want a pseudo-legendary hatchling? One that's inherited Extreme Speed!
Hayashi turned to Professor Oak beside him. "Professor Oak, what's going on here?"
"Uh..."
Professor Oak glanced at the Dragonite next to him, then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This Dratini is the offspring of my Dragonite and a Charizard. He wants to entrust her to you."
Hayashi twitched his lips. "I know he wants to give Dratini to Erina. What I want to know is why he's doing this."
This doesn't make sense!?
Other Pokémon aside, a Champion-level Dragonite would only entrust its child to a trainer with exceptional talent, right? Like the Ash from the manga or the Red from the games—those ridiculously overpowered guys.
But Erina? She isn't even on the trainer path to begin with. Her expertise lies in cooking, not commanding Pokémon in battle!
Dragonite's behavior, in Hayashi's eyes, was akin to a certain Son Gohan—who was supposedly the most talented hybrid Saiyan by setting and the first to achieve Super Saiyan 2—insisting on becoming a scholar, only to get beaten down by a lowly soldier of Frieza's army.
It simply didn't make sense.
Professor Oak also rubbed his nose bridge helplessly and said, "I tried to persuade him, explaining that Miss Erina isn't a trainer..."
What Professor Oak left unspoken was that handing over a Dratini descended from two champion-level Pokémon to the young lady would be a terrible waste of its potential.
"Growl—"
Dragonite stubbornly shook his head.
With a serious expression, he declared, what's the point of being strong in battle if you can't enjoy life? Three meals a day are what truly matter!
That's right! From his days as a Dratini, through countless battles all the way to becoming a Champion, Dragonite had finally grasped the essence of life—simplicity is the ultimate truth. No matter how mighty a hero king you are, don't you still have to ride a shared bike home after the convention?
"Good grief—"
Hayashi translated Dragonite's words to the group with a strange expression, and even Erina twitched her lips. "So, I actually managed to tame a pseudo-legendary with my cooking?"
Professor Oak stared dumbfounded at his Dragonite and muttered, "Hayashi, you were actually right—your girlfriend really did tame a pseudo-legendary with her cooking."
Unbelievable!
If she's already tamed a pseudo-legendary, what's next? A mythical Pokémon? Heatran? Victini? Zeraora? Or will she skip mythicals altogether and aim for a legendary?
No way! Those are legendaries—how could there possibly be one so shameful as to be tamed by food!? It's not like there'd ever be a legendary that can't fly or one that gets reeled in by a fishing rod, right?
Erina walked up to Dragonite with some concern and gently patted his plump belly. "Dragonite, you know I'm not a Pokémon Trainer. If you entrust your child to me, his talents might go to waste. Are you really okay with that?"
"Growl—"
Dragonite lowered his head and glanced at the Dratini in his arms.
'What's the point of fighting all your life?' Dragonite thought. 'Even if you become a Champion, if you can't eat good food, what's the use of being a Champion?'
With that in mind, Dragonite pushed Dratini forward again.
Kid, this is as far as Dad can go! This is a lifetime meal ticket—a six-star one at that! If I didn't already have a Trainer, I'd jump ship myself!
Seeing Dragonite's apparent determination to hand Dratini over to Erina, Professor Oak and Erina exchanged glances, both scratching their heads helplessly.
Hayashi rubbed the back of his head and suggested, "I reckon y'all stressing yourselves bald over this ain't gonna solve anything. Why not just ask Dratini what she thinks?"
"!"
Professor Oak and Erina snapped to attention, turning with Dragonite to look at the utterly clueless Dratini.
"Dratini—" Erina leaned in and asked softly, "Your father wants to entrust you to me. How do you feel about that?"
"Mii—"
The chubby, worm-like Dratini tilted her head, lifting her upper body to study Erina.
As the offspring of two Champion-tier Pokémon, Dratini had grown up surrounded by praise—
"Your parents are both Champions—you'll definitely become one too!"
"You've already mastered Thunderbolt at such a young age? Truly a Champion's child!"
"Since you're a Champion's child, it's only natural you'll step onto the battlefield, right?"
—But for Dratini, such words were utterly annoying, infuriating, downright detestable!
Why must I become the successor to a champion just because my parents are champions?
Why must I stand on the battlefield and fight just because my parents are champions?
Why must all my hard work be dismissed as mere talent just because my parents are champions?
She had worked hard too, damn it!
"Meh!"
With a disgruntled huff, Dratini bumped her head against the Poké Ball at Erina's waist.
Hmph, I'll do the exact opposite of what you want!
Expect me to become the next champion? No way—I'll just laze around and wait to die!
"Uh…"
Erina blinked in confusion as she took out the Poké Ball containing Dratini, then turned to Professor Oak and asked, "Does… this count as me catching her?"
Professor Oak rubbed the bridge of his nose and nodded. "Yes, it does! Congratulations—you're now the trainer of a pseudo-legendary Pokémon's youngling in the Kanto region."
'Though this pseudo-legendary seems a bit rebellious…'
Hayashi, standing nearby, pinched the tip of his nose before walking over to Dragonite and patting his plump belly. "You wouldn't happen to have sensed your daughter's rebellious streak and decided to hand her over to Erina, would you?"
"Rooaaar—"
Dragonite grinned dopily and scratched his head.
Well, that was part of it, but more importantly, if my girl sticks with Erina, she might send me some Pokéblocks every now and then. Sounds like a sweet deal, right?
Hayashi froze for a second.
So this chubby yellow guy was banking on his daughter evolving to her final form and getting access to Erina's specially crafted Dragon- and Flying-type Pokéblocks!?
Tsk!
This chonky dragon's got brains!
Who said dopey dragons were simple-minded? Step forward, I dare you!
...
...
With a new teammate joining the group—albeit under rather peculiar circumstances—the senior members of the team happily crowded around the newcomer, offering enthusiastic greetings.
"Meh—"
Dratini was delighted too, because these companions weren't treating her differently just because she was the "champion's descendant"—they were genuinely welcoming her as a Pokémon. Even if she weren't a Dratini, but a Bagon or a Deino, they'd still accept her, right?
"Heh heh, Erina dear—" Hayashi smirked coldly as he watched Dratini surrounded by the other Pokémon. "Time to show this spoiled little Dratini the harsh realities of the world!"
Erina blinked in surprise. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
Hayashi adjusted his imaginary glasses, the nonexistent lenses reflecting a sinister glint of sunlight. "Simple. Make a delicious Pokéblock, then let someone else snatch it away—so she realizes that in her weakness, she can't do a damn thing. Keh keh keh!"
Sweat. Buckets of sweat. A veritable waterfall of sweat.
Hisako wiped her forehead and asked, "And what's the point of that?"
Hayashi pondered for a few seconds. "This Dratini is the offspring of two champions. If we compare her to a human, she'd be the daughter of two world champions—basically, an ultra-rich heiress, right?"
Hisako nodded. "That's fair."
"Then what's the problem?" Hayashi said righteously, "Watching the usually proud and strong-willed Erina break down and burst into tears after losing something she loves—I could eat three bowls of rice just from that sight!"
Hisako: "Master Hayashi, one should not, at the very least..."
You really have some serious issues, huh!
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