The voice that suddenly rang out in everyone's mind instantly startled the entire group.
What was going on!?
Could it be…?
Realizing something, everyone turned their heads in unison toward Shiko.
He had already pushed himself upright and sat up.
In those eyes of his, a glimmer of intelligence flickered.
"Was that… your voice?"
Teacher Boo's eyes widened, his tone trembling violently with excitement.
Shiko nodded.
That simple motion landed in everyone's eyes like a thunderclap, shocking them all over again.
No way…
That was Telepathy!
"So you can communicate with us!?"
"Damn, that's insane!"
"This is my first time ever seeing a Pokémon with Telepathy!"
"…"
Voices buzzed around Shiko nonstop, faces brimming with excitement.
A Pokémon with Telepathy was extremely rare.
Shiko didn't pay attention to the chatter. He looked straight at Aisa.
The instant their eyes met, Shiko's voice sounded inside Aisa's mind again.
"Next, I need to stay in Dragon Valley for a long period of training."
"So your investigation has to be suspended for now. Also, make sure you guard the valley entrance and don't let unrelated people enter."
Shiko laid out his plans to Aisa.
If he wanted to raise the dragon-type law within his body to the level required for evolution as quickly as possible, then he had to remain in Dragon Valley.
On one hand, the intense dragon-type energy fluctuations there made it the best habitat imaginable for him.
On the other hand…
He still couldn't stop thinking about the massive number of shattered dragon-type crystals there.
Based on the clues Drampa had revealed, just the amount of crystals being spewed out from that deepest peak should be enough to bring him to around thirty percent of the dragon-type law.
That kind of temptation was impossible to ignore.
And the one person who could approve all of this was Aisa, the leader responsible for this operation.
If he asked Aisa through Himeko, then once Aisa thought it through, it would expose the fact that Shiko had Telepathy and could communicate directly with Trainers anyway.
Since that was the case, he might as well negotiate with her himself—faster, cleaner, more efficient.
After hearing those two lines, Aisa's expression fell into deep astonishment.
What shocked her wasn't that Shiko had Telepathy.
It also wasn't the content of what he said.
It was the logic and planning inside those words.
This wasn't the naïve, simple-minded "Telepathy Pokémon" kind of communication.
It was like talking to a normal adult.
That intelligence…
Aisa's face filled with amazement.
As expected of the Pokémon she believed could eventually transform to a level comparable to a third-tier Legendary.
After calming herself, she didn't immediately agree. Instead, she pressed for more.
"I need a reason."
As the commander of this operation, suspending the investigation into the entire rampaging Dragon Valley required justification.
Shiko silently nodded to himself.
Her response was exactly what he expected.
If they really stopped investigating the valley for no reason other than one sentence from him, that would indeed be far too arbitrary.
So, after thinking for a moment and organizing his words, Shiko explained to Aisa the reason for the abnormal activity inside the valley.
Pure dragon-type energy crystals?
So that was why.
After listening to Shiko's explanation, Aisa nodded, finally understanding the root cause.
"At this stage, those overlords in the valley—the Elite Four-level dragon-types—should be fighting nonstop over those dragon-type energy crystals!"
"If we enter to investigate at a sensitive moment like this, the danger is obvious."
"Once their struggle ends after some time, the entire valley will naturally stabilize again."
Shiko shared his analysis with Aisa.
Aisa nodded repeatedly as she listened, her eyes shining with admiration.
Exactly as she thought.
This GeoGreymon's intelligence was extremely high.
That chain of logic was no worse than a human's.
Impressive.
"I understand. We'll do as you said."
"And those pure dragon-type energy crystals…"
Aisa's tone trailed off as a clear spark of interest appeared on her face.
"They're useless to other dragon-types. They only matter to me," Shiko replied.
"In the hands of other dragon-type Pokémon, they're basically no different from a Dragon Gem."
"Other than slightly boosting the damage and power when using dragon-type moves, they have no other use."
Before Shiko even finished, Aisa gave a small nod of realization.
"Then what about you?" she asked, curiosity plain on her face.
"Secret."
Two simple words shut her curiosity down on the spot.
Aisa looked disappointed, but quickly recovered.
"I'll agree, but I have a condition."
"You say it."
"Take my Dragonite with you."
Aisa made her request.
She had just received word from the Pokémon Center: her other Pokémon had mostly recovered.
They would be delivered tomorrow.
Even if Dragonite left, she still had enough combat power on hand.
That was why the idea had taken root in her mind.
From Shiko's words alone, it was obvious that Dragon Valley was the best training ground for any dragon-type Pokémon.
Her Dragonite's level had stagnated for a long time.
Otherwise, Teacher Boo wouldn't have mocked it yesterday.
She didn't know whether Dragonite had reached its limit or hit a bottleneck—
but maybe following Shiko into Dragon Valley would help it find the chance to break through and level up again.
"Fine. But you have to make it follow my commands," Shiko said after thinking for a moment.
Taking it along was no problem.
It could even serve as a bodyguard.
The two sides quickly reached an agreement.
This rapid, concealed exchange ended before anyone else had even recovered from the shock of Shiko's Telepathy.
After sweeping the crowd with a glance, Shiko lowered himself and rested again.
His headstrong, do-whatever-he-wants attitude didn't spark any dissatisfaction.
Instead, everyone nodded and praised him.
"As expected of the one-and-only Pokémon in the world—so much personality!"
…
The next day at noon, Aisa had already arranged everything Shiko requested.
At the entrance to Dragon Valley—
Shiko and Dragonite, one big and one small, stood there as they prepared to leave.
Behind them, Aisa and the First Squad members silently watched their backs.
"Kirli!"
"Lopun!"
Two crisp cries rang out.
From the two Poké Balls at Himeko's waist, Kirlia and Lopunny hopped out on their own.
Hearing the movement behind him, Shiko turned around.
When he saw the two little ones, a faint, knowing smile appeared.
Kirlia and Lopunny lifted their heads to look at Shiko, anxiety and worry filling their faces.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. I'll be back soon," Shiko conveyed to them.
He clenched his foreclaws and extended them toward the two Pokémon.
When he opened his hand, two type-boosting gems lay in his palm.
One was a Psychic-type gem.
The other was a Fighting-type gem.
These were rewards he had obtained the first time he completed a Special Quest issued by the Lying Flat System.
Back then, he couldn't absorb the attribute energy inside them, so he kept them all this time.
Originally, after the Pokémon tournament ended, he wanted to give these two type-boosting gems to Kirlia and Lopunny as thanks for their help in the finals.
But there had been too much happening, and he had forgotten.
Only now, at the moment of parting, did he remember.
"Kirli?"
"Lopun?"
The two Pokémon looked a little confused.
After each took one gem from Shiko's palm and felt the pure energy coming from it, bright smiles immediately bloomed across their faces.
"Kirli?!"
"Lopun?!"
They lifted their heads and cried out happily at Shiko.
Shiko froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"Yeah… I guess so."
Just now, when they took the gems, Kirlia and Lopunny had asked him whether this counted as a token of love.
Facing their sincere, passionate eyes, Shiko ultimately chose to nod.
"Kirli!"
"Lopun!"
The two Pokémon bounced with joy, clinging to Shiko's leg and nuzzling him affectionately.
Only after a long while did they finally let go, satisfied.
"You two train hard too. Protect Himeko, alright?" Shiko instructed.
His gaze met Himeko's.
Reading the reluctance and worry in her heart, warmth spread through him.
"Kirli!"
"Lopun!"
Kirlia and Lopunny nodded hard.
Their eyes burned with fighting spirit.
Then, side by side with Dragonite, Shiko headed into the valley.
Their two figures gradually disappeared into the depths.
…
"Dnite?"
Dragonite looked at Shiko, asking what they should do next.
"Go to the deepest area. Find the peak that's spitting out energy crystals," Shiko answered.
His eyes turned toward the farthest depths of the valley.
Since the cause of this unrest lay in that deepest peak, then it was naturally necessary to investigate it.
Dragonite nodded and followed behind Shiko step by step.
It wasn't exactly happy about it, but its Trainer had given the order.
For now, it could only obey Shiko's arrangements.
Besides—
the tangible, terrifying dragon pressure on Shiko, far stronger than Dragonite's, left Dragonite with no desire to resist or cause trouble.
"Roar!!"
As the two moved deeper into the valley, deafening roars began to ring out one after another from the towering peaks around them.
These were the dragon-type Pokémon that had lived here for years, sensing intruders and issuing warnings.
"Roar!!"
Dragonite beat its wings and flew high into the air, answering them with an even more piercing dragon roar.
The pressure of an Elite Four-level pseudo-legendary dragon-type Pokémon instantly forced the weaker wild Pokémon in the valley into silence.
In an instant, the entire valley went quiet.
Dragonite was quite pleased with its own performance.
It even sneaked a glance at Shiko, wanting to see his reaction.
But the very next moment—
on each peak, blurry silhouettes of dragon-type Pokémon appeared.
One after another, the Dragon Valley overlords—dragon-types whose strength had reached Elite Four level—sensed Dragonite's provocation.
And they answered with terrifying roars, one after another.
Dragonite's expression changed.
It immediately flapped down from the sky and pressed close to Shiko.
Feeling hostile gazes shooting toward it from all directions, Dragonite instantly became cautious and tense.
…This was bad.
Had it overdone it again?
"Roar."
Shiko's patience thinned.
He didn't want anything obstructing his movement.
So he released a single cold bellow—
and the massive, horrifying dragon pressure that burst outward was even more ferocious than those Elite Four-level overlords.
It rolled through the valley like a surging tide, exploding across the surroundings like muffled thunder.
Those terrifying presences on the peaks only glanced this way—
then chose not to attack.
Instead, they silently vanished.
Once again, Shiko drove off the overlords who had been itching to test him.
Only then did he calmly continue toward that deep peak.
Meanwhile, even though this was already the second time Dragonite had seen Shiko frighten off Elite Four-level dragon-type Pokémon with nothing but his aura—
Dragonite still felt its heart pounding in fear.
It was hard to imagine.
Shiko was only at a Gym-level peak right now.
If he continued to grow…
what kind of level would he reach?
(End of Chapter)
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