The negotiation concluded without conflict — smooth, almost too smooth.
Yoomlana, the Grand Elder, received exactly what she desired.
And Bai Chen, in turn, walked away with the information he'd come for.
After verifying the exchange, Yoomlana smiled faintly and ordered preparations for a banquet in his honor.
When Bai Chen stepped out of the council chamber, he was greeted by seven familiar faces — the other elders, excluding Zanza.
He paused, brow twitching slightly.
"Wait a second… weren't these the same seven who were spying on my hunt earlier?
Don't they have anything better to do?"
Each of them wore an expression of respect — bordering on reverence.
And to be fair, it wasn't unwarranted.
A human who could command multiple Elder Dragons as partners,
who fought with divine precision and strength —
Such a being inspired awe, even among dragonfolk.
One of the elders, the eldest among them, finally stepped forward.
"Sir Bai Chen," he said politely, "are you truly unwilling to consider long-term cooperation with us?"
They had heard the Grand Elder's report.
Yoomlana had offered nearly everything their tribe could — status, resources, honor.
The title of Honorary Elder, though mostly symbolic, carried immense prestige among Wyverians.
To decline it so casually… was simply beyond their understanding.
Bai Chen's tone remained steady.
"Of course I'll consider it — if you can bring something of real value to the table.
I'm not interested in your titles or honors."
The seven exchanged awkward looks.
Then, one of them — a rather quick-witted but disastrously bold elder — suddenly spoke up.
"May I ask… Sir Bai Chen, are you married?"
"No," Bai Chen said flatly. "And I'm not interested in that sort of thing."
"Ah…" The elder hesitated, beads of sweat already forming on his temple.
Then, with painful bravery, he asked:
"Then… perhaps men?"
The instant the words left his mouth, the air changed.
A suffocating force exploded from Bai Chen —
His Dominion Aura surged like a storm, pressing against the elders with crushing weight.
The chamber trembled.
Several of the older elders dropped to their knees, gasping for breath.
Even the stronger ones could barely remain standing.
Bai Chen's voice cut through the silence, cold as steel.
"Instead of wasting time on pointless guesses," he said,
"Why don't you focus on finding something worth trading for?"
With that, he withdrew his aura — the suffocating pressure dissipating like mist.
Without another glance, he stepped past them, his coat brushing their shoulders.
Zanza quickly followed, giving his colleagues a helpless look as if to say,
You brought that upon yourselves.
Only after Bai Chen's footsteps faded did the elders finally breathe again.
Cold sweat clung to their backs like a second layer of skin.
From within the chamber, Yoomlana had witnessed everything.
Her gaze was calm, thoughtful.
"That power… such command over presence," she murmured.
"What was nature thinking when it birthed a creature like him?"
As one who revered nature's balance,
Yoomlana believed that everything born into the world had its purpose.
But Bai Chen… he was different.
A being far beyond the limits of "reason."
For the first time, even she could not discern his place in the grand design.
Later that afternoon, Zanza led Bai Chen through the inner levels of the great tree tower.
They stopped before a massive set of wooden doors.
Zanza pressed a palm to a glowing stone embedded in the wall — the locks clicked open.
"This is our incubation chamber," Zanza said.
"You'll find the environment… quite optimal."
The door swung inward, and Bai Chen stepped into a warm, softly glowing room.
The walls were lined with the same strange mineral he'd seen in the waterfall tunnel —
the kind that absorbed moisture and radiated gentle heat.
The temperature here was perfect for nurturing life.
Thirty monster eggs rested upon woven nests of moss and bark,
each one unique in color and size.
Bai Chen extended his senses — Super Perception.
A flood of impressions filled his mind.
Of all the eggs, one stood out immediately.
A massive shell, mottled tan and deep gray, nearly one and a half meters tall.
Inside, a heartbeat — strong, steady.
"A diablos egg," Bai Chen murmured. "Almost ready to hatch."
He brushed his hand across the surface, feeling the faint warmth pulsing beneath the shell.
"About ten days left," he calculated.
"Perfect timing."
Turning to bae chen, he said:
"According to our deal — I'll exchange two Monster Balls for this egg."
Zanza nodded approvingly.
"Agreed."
Bai Chen smiled faintly.
This would do nicely — the perfect gift for Lillie's coming-of-age ceremony.
He could already imagine her expression.
Lillie, who'd grown up unable to touch Pokémon because of her trauma.
Even now, nearing adulthood(20), she had no partner to call her own.
This time, when he returned, he planned to fix that once and for all —
to free her from that barrier himself.
And when she could finally touch Pokémon again…
This giant would be waiting.
The diablos wasn't just a gift — it was a promise.
herbivorous, and absurdly adaptable,
the creature could survive anywhere.
Strong enough to protect.
"Its size is a bit much for her," Bai Chen admitted with a grin,
"but I'll just teach it a size-shrinking skill. That should do it."
He placed a hand on the egg.
A faint blue light flowed from the Bond Stone at his wrist,
washing across the shell like rippling water.
From his Nergigante, Bai Chen copied the Shrink skill —
a versatile ability nearly any creature could learn —
and infused it into the unborn diablos.
This way, it can live as a small foal when not fighting… much easier to handle.
While he was at it, he passed the same ability to his Zinogre and Basarios as well.
It would make traveling — and hiding — far more convenient.
Satisfied, Bai Chen left the egg in the chamber's care,
planning to retrieve it before he returned to the Pokémon world.
That night, the wyverians held a grand festival to celebrate his arrival.
Bonfires roared beneath the great tree,
and songs echoed through the valley.
Bai Chen, however, had his own priorities.
He summoned his dragons — Nergigante, Zinogre, and Rock wyvern —
and immediately began devouring everything in sight.
The elders watched in silent awe as mountains of roasted meat vanished in seconds.
"Three days of my own cooking… I think I've hit my limit," Bai Chen muttered between bites.
"When I get back, I need a partner who can actually cook."
The festival's dancers swayed beneath the starlight,
the singers' voices carrying through the air like silver threads.
It was beautiful — enchanting, even.
But Bai Chen's attention stayed on the feast.
Beautiful women are great and all, he thought, tearing into another skewer,
But nothing beats a full stomach.
Then, mid-bite, something shifted.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement — frantic and fast.
A group of Wyverians was rushing into the great tree,
carrying a wounded comrade between them.
Blood trailed across the stone.
Bai Chen set down his food, eyes narrowing.
"That's…"
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