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Chapter 3: Gardevoir's Reputation
🕑 Added 2025-01-25 14:10:14 +0000 UTCChapter 3: Gardevoir's Reputation
As Asahi hugged Dratini, Caesar was staring blankly at the Dragonair in the sky.
“Is it really you...?”
And in the sky, Dragonair had also recognized Caesar.
The memory of that figure overlapped with the present, and Dragonair slowly floated down from the sky.
As Dragonair got closer, Caesar finally saw the cross-shaped scar on its forehead—the same as the Dratini he remembered.
“Woo~!”
Dragonair also recognized Caesar, nudging its head towards him.
“It really is you! You’ve grown so much...” Caesar touched Dragonair’s head with trembling hands.
He had thought he would never see Dragonair again in his lifetime, but now they were reunited!
Dragonair shed tears of reunion.
Back when it was a Dratini, it was Caesar who had protected it.
Man and Dragon cried in each other’s embrace.
After this tearful reunion, Caesar wiped the tears from his eyes, calming his emotions before turning to Asahi with gratitude:
“Thank you, Asahi!”
Without Asahi, he wouldn’t have known when he would be reunited with Dragonair!
“Thank me for what? I’m just here to fulfill my promise to Dratini.”
Asahi shook the Safari Ball in his hand, looking down at the Dratini perched contentedly on his shoulder.
He didn’t think he deserved much credit. Even without him, one day a certain fool with a Pikachu would come here, bringing a reunion between Dragonair and Caesar.
“Dratini is probably Dragonair’s child. I was going to ask earlier—what’s this promise you mentioned?”
“That’s a long story,” Asahi calculated.
“Hmm, it was probably last year. This little guy sneaked through the river into the nature reserve, right into a Gyarados’s territory, and almost got eaten.”
“Gardevoir and I happened to be passing by and saved it. Ever since then, it’s been particularly attached to me and lived with me for a while.”
“But since I was busy chasing poachers, I sent it back to Dragon’s Den. However, I made a promise to it that if I ever left the nature reserve to travel, I’d come here to take it along to see the world.”
Hearing Asahi’s explanation, Caesar realized there was such a story between Asahi and Dratini.
Just like him and Dragonair, Asahi and Dratini seemed like a cycle of time.
Dragonair nearby also showed a helpless expression. It didn’t want Dratini to leave.
But clearly, she couldn’t do anything about her disobedient child.
Asahi noticed Dragonair’s concern and said to it, "Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of this child!"
"Whoo~!" Dragonair urged.
With the power of Viridian, Asahi understood Dragonair’s meaning clearly and nodded. "Rest assured, I will take good care of it!"
Dragonair then turned its worried gaze to Gardevoir, who stood nearby.
"Whoo—!"
"Uh... watch Gardevoir and make sure she doesn’t bully Dratini?"
Asahi’s expression stiffened, and he turned to the seemingly innocent Gardevoir, who was now gazing at the scenery, and said in exasperation, "Gardevoir, Gardevoir, I’ve told you countless times not to bully the wild Pokémon for no reason. Be ladylike! Look at the reputation you’ve built for yourself in the Safari Zone!"
"You need to feel ashamed!"
Scolded by Asahi, Gardevoir lowered her head silently, putting on a pitiful look.
At this point, an average trainer might have softened up.
But Asahi, who had raised Gardevoir himself, knew exactly what kind of personality his Gardevoir had.
Whenever she caused trouble, she would apologize decisively, but the next time, she’d do it again!
No matter how many times he reprimanded her, had she ever truly changed? It was always the same story!
Especially now that she had reached the Elite Four level, the entire nature reserve and Safari Zone were filled with tales of the "Vicious Gardevoir."
However, Asahi also understood that changing a personality Gardevoir had developed over time wouldn’t happen overnight.
Sigh... Asahi sighed deeply and turned to Dragonair, saying, "Don’t worry, Gardevoir won’t bully Dratini!"
Gardevoir also nodded in agreement, presenting a gentle and ladylike demeanor.
"Really?"
Caesar, a victim of Gardevoir’s antics, looked skeptical.
In an instant, Caesar felt two murderous gazes lock onto him.
Caesar quickly shut his mouth.
Dragonair hesitated for a moment, looking at Dratini’s expectant eyes filled with hope, and finally nodded.
As a mother, she couldn’t refuse her child’s hopeful gaze.
Moreover, she believed that with Asahi and Gardevoir, Dratini would be safer and would grow better.
"Meekoo~!" Dratini cheered excitedly.
It rubbed its white snout against Dragonair and then prepared to enter the Safari Ball.
"Wait, don’t use the Safari Ball..." Caesar stopped Asahi.
"What’s wrong?" Asahi asked, puzzled.
"If you use a Safari Ball and people find out you caught Dratini in the Safari Zone, those crazy folks will surely turn this place upside down again."
"Although this might not be by the rules... to hell with the rules!"
With that, Caesar rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a Poké Ball with a yellow lightning symbol on it.
"Fast Ball?"
Asahi immediately recognized the Poké Ball in Caesar’s hand.
"You know it?"
Caesar was surprised that Asahi recognized the Poké Ball, but he didn’t dwell on it.
"This was made by a friend of mine during my travels in Johto. It’s said to make it easier to catch fast Pokémon. I don’t need it anymore, so I’ll give it to you!"
"Emmmm...."
Hearing Caesar’s explanation, Asahi wanted to point out that even Dragonite, Dratini’s final evolution, only had a base speed stat of 80, which was still 20 short of the Fast Ball’s 100 base speed requirement.
But considering Caesar’s good intentions, and the fact that Dragonite’s real-world speed—flying around the Earth in 24 hours—couldn’t be measured by base stats, Asahi accepted the Fast Ball.
Even if it wasn’t useful, the Fast Ball’s appearance was aesthetically pleasing.
With Dratini looking at him expectantly, Asahi smiled and gently tapped the Fast Ball on Dratini’s forehead.
Swoosh.
A red light enveloped Dratini and drew it into the ball.
With a soft "click," the Poké Ball stopped shaking.
Dratini’s status panel popped up:
[Dratini (♀)]
Type: Dragon
Ability: Marvel Scale
Bond: Trust
Level: LV9 (Beginner Level)
Moves: Twister, Extreme Speed, Aqua Jet
Held Item: None
Compared to Gardevoir’s overly flashy status panel, Dratini’s attributes were more in line with a typical Pokémon’s stats for an average trainer.
However, Asahi believed that under his care, Dratini would one day grow as strong as Gardevoir!
"Welcome to the team, Dratini!"
