Xia Yuan noticed Dragonair's hesitation and turned to it: "You can rest assured leaving your child with me!"
"Woo!" Dragonair replied with a clear sense of instruction.
Having received the Power of Viridian, Xia Yuan clearly understood Dragonair's meaning and nodded:
"Don't worry, I will take good care of it!"
Dragonair then looked worriedly at the Gardevoir standing nearby:
"Woo—!"
"Uh... watch over Gardevoir and don't let her bully it?"
Xia Yuan's expression stiffened. He turned to Gardevoir, who was feigning innocence and looking at the scenery, and scolded her with disappointment:
"Gardevoir, ah, Gardevoir, I've told you repeatedly not to bully wild Pokémon and to be a lady! Look at the reputation you've earned in the Wild Safari Zone!"
"You should be ashamed!"
Chastised by Xia Yuan, Gardevoir silently bowed her head, adopting a pitiful, innocent expression.
If he were any ordinary trainer, he might have already softened.
But Xia Yuan, who had raised Gardevoir from birth, knew her personality intimately.
Every time she caused trouble, she was 'quick to apologize, but ready to re-offend!'
He had corrected her countless times, but had she truly changed? She only changed the surface behavior.
Especially since reaching Elite Four level, legends about the "Evil Woman" Gardevoir had spread across the entire Nature Reserve and Wild Safari Zone.
However, Xia Yuan also knew that changing a personality that was already fully developed was not something that could happen overnight.
"Sigh..." He sighed, then turned back to Dragonair: "Don't worry, Gardevoir will not bully Dratini."
Gardevoir also chimed in with a gentle, ladylike nod of agreement.
"Are you sure?"
Caesar, who was one of Gardevoir's victims, was full of suspicion.
Instantly, Caesar felt two waves of killing intent lock onto him.
Caesar quickly shut his mouth.
Dragonair hesitated for a moment, then looked at the eagerly anticipating Dratini with soft, reluctant eyes. Finally, it nodded.
As a mother, she could not refuse her child's expectant gaze.
Moreover, she trusted that with Xia Yuan and Gardevoir, Dratini would be safer and receive better training and growth.
"Mee-choo!"
Dratini cheered excitedly.
It rubbed its white nose against Dragonair one last time, then prepared to enter the Safari Ball.
"Wait, don't use the Safari Ball..." Caesar called out to Xia Yuan.
"What's wrong?" Xia Yuan looked confused.
"If people know you caught Dratini in the Wild Safari Zone with a Safari Ball, those crazy trainers will definitely descend upon this place again and stir up trouble."
"Although this isn't according to regulation, to hell with the regulations!"
With that, Caesar rummaged through the backpack on his back and pulled out a Poké Ball decorated with yellow lightning bolt symbols.
"A Fast Ball?"
Xia Yuan immediately recognized the Poké Ball in Caesar's hand.
"You know this?"
Caesar was slightly surprised that Xia Yuan knew about the ball, but didn't dwell on it:
"A friend made this and gave it to me when I was traveling in the Johto region in my youth. It is said to make catching fast Pokémon easier. I don't need it anymore, so I'm giving it to you!"
"Ermmm..."
Hearing Caesar's words, Xia Yuan really wanted to point out that even Dratini's final form, Dragonite, only has a base Speed stat of 80, which is 20 points shy of the Fast Ball's threshold of 100.
But considering Caesar's good intentions—and the fact that in reality, Dragonite can fly around the earth in 24 hours, meaning its speed cannot be measured by base stats—Xia Yuan accepted the Fast Ball.
Regardless of its practical use, the Fast Ball was aesthetically pleasing. Just looking at it was enjoyable.
With Dratini looking on in anticipation, Xia Yuan smiled slightly and gently tapped the Fast Ball against Dratini's forehead.
Shwaa!
A red light drew Dratini inside.
With a soft 'thud,' the Poké Ball stopped shaking.
Dratini's status screen popped up:
Pokémon: Dratini (♀)
Attribute: Dragon
Ability: Shed Skin
Intimacy: Trust
Level: LV9 (Beginner Rank)
Skills: Twister, Extreme Speed, Aqua Jet
Held Item: None
Compared to Gardevoir's overly spectacular status screen, Dratini's panel was the normal state for an average trainer's Pokémon.
However, Xia Yuan was confident that under his training, Dratini would someday become as strong as Gardevoir!
"Welcome to my team, Dratini!"
After catching Dratini and saying farewell to Caesar and Dragonair, Xia Yuan did not linger in the Wild Safari Zone.
Although he had expressed reluctance to leave the nature reserve in front of Officer Jenny, that was merely a sentimental reflection. If he were truly asked to stay, he would refuse.
Being a ranger was a thankless job; anyone who did it knew that!
He had worked there for two and a half years, arresting over a thousand poachers, yet his total salary and bonuses weren't enough to buy a one-bedroom apartment in Saffron City.
Furthermore, being stuck in the forest all year, he rarely saw any fellow humans, let alone single women. It had gotten to the point where he started finding Gardevoir somewhat attractive.
Therefore, despite genuinely liking the Pokémon of the nature reserve, when he had the opportunity to transfer to the International Police Department, he decisively chose to jump ship.
Farewell, Nature Reserve!
Taking one last look at the forest, Xia Yuan turned away, burying that memory behind him.
The International Police job interview was located at the Indigo Plateau, the headquarters of the Indigo League.
According to the staff member who had notified him, this was a routine interview, so Xia Yuan wasn't nervous.
But when he knocked on the office door... an unexpected situation arose!
"Please come in!"
Xia Yuan pushed open the office door, and the person he saw was not the high-ranking International Police official he expected, but the Kanto Dragon-type Elite Four member, Lance (Wataru), wearing his signature cape!
"What is going on?" Xia Yuan muttered internally.
He still sat down across from Lance as instructed.
"You must be Xia Yuan," Lance confirmed.
"That's right, Elite Four Lance," Xia Yuan replied stiffly, unable to gauge Lance's meaning.
Lance smiled: "No need to be so serious. Due to some unexpected circumstances, I will be guest-hosting your interview today."
"If you're ready, shall we begin?"
Xia Yuan didn't need to prepare anything. He nodded: "Let's start!"
"First question: can you tell me what prompted you to accept this transfer order?" Lance asked, looking through the resume in his hand.
He had already reviewed the resume.
Clean background, simple relationships, and strong work ability!
The young man before him was practically the perfect candidate for the International Police; he could be selected without an interview.
However, Lance still wanted to hear the applicant's motivations.
More salary, higher expense allowances, and generous retirement funds!
Various materialistic answers flashed through Xia Yuan's mind, but he certainly couldn't voice them.
"It's a sense of justice! A strong sense of justice prompted me to accept this transfer!"
"A sense of justice?"
Lance was stunned, seemingly not expecting such a clichéd answer.
It wasn't that the answer was bad, but... it was too generic!
If anyone else had given this response, Lance would have immediately dismissed it as empty flattery.
But... looking down at the heavy stack of achievements on the resume, Lance had to admit that with the documented track record, Xia Yuan's words were far more convincing than anyone else's!
Serving as a ranger for only two and a half years, he had single-handedly arrested over a thousand poachers.
This kind of achievement could only be accomplished by someone with an unparalleled love for Pokémon and a high moral conviction in their heart.
It makes sense. It is precisely this conviction that makes him suitable to become an International Police officer!
While he had already mentally approved Xia Yuan, Lance's expression remained unchanged. He continued:
"Let me caution you first: if you choose to become an International Police officer, your enemies will no longer be simple poachers."
"You will face cross-regional criminals you could hardly imagine before, and confront large criminal organizations like Team Rocket directly!"
"In this process, you could be injured, or even face life-threatening danger."
"Many trainers in the past found this life unacceptable and chose to quit."
"So now, are you still willing to become an International Police officer?"
Lance watched Xia Yuan with a scrutinizing gaze.
With the atmosphere set like this, how could he back down?
"Of course!" Xia Yuan replied decisively.
Hearing Xia Yuan's answer, Lance's face relaxed into a smile. He extended his hand: "Then, congratulations! From this moment on, you are a formal International Police officer!"
Lance heavily emphasized the word 'formal.'
With the interview passed, Xia Yuan also relaxed.
He stood up to shake Lance's hand, but something confused him:
"Formal? Didn't the transfer order say I had to start as an intern?"
If he remembered correctly, the call informing him about the transfer mentioned a six-month internship period before official employment.
Did Lance think I performed well enough to waive the internship?
Hearing Xia Yuan's question, Lance smiled:
"Well... it's mainly because the Kanto International Police Department is currently short-handed. We couldn't tell you before due to secrecy, but your predecessor and your supervisor both went missing during a secret investigation targeting Team Rocket. The Kanto IPD is currently under my temporary supervision."
"???"