Pokémon: The Cheating Life

Chapter 26: Dragonair's Entrustment

After finishing the energy cubes, Dratini called out to Ron a few times. He replied, "I don't have any more energy cubes left. I still need to continue fishing. You and your mother should go home now."

Dragonair also landed beside Ron and called out. He responded, "Yes, I can understand Pokémon language. I know life here isn't easy for you, so I won't capture you. Hurry back home before bad people come after you. I still need to fish for other Pokémon."

Dragonair shook its head and cried out again. Ron sighed but decided to let them be. He reattached an energy cube to his fishing rod and cast it into the water.

A moment later, a tremendous force pulled at the line. Ron quickly reeled it in, and a massive Gyarados burst out of the water. Seeing this, he was overjoyed.

"Is today my lucky day?"

It was a top-tier Gyarados! Without hesitation, Ron threw a Safari Ball at it. However, Gyarados quickly broke free and emerged from the ball, roaring.

Ron frowned and said, "Mewtwo, calm it down."

Mewtwo emerged from its Poké Ball, and with overwhelming psychic power, it dominated Gyarados completely.

After a full three minutes, the terrified Gyarados willingly dove into the Safari Ball and refused to come out. Ron picked up the Poké Ball and checked its status.

Pokémon: Gyarados

Level: 24

Gender: Male

Height: 650 cm

Weight: 235 kg

Ability: Intimidate

Moves: Splash, Tackle, Bite, Thrash, Leer, Twister, Ice Fang, Aqua Tail

It was a healthy and powerful Gyarados. With such a great start, Ron eagerly reattached an energy cube and resumed fishing.

Meanwhile, Dragonair stared blankly at Mewtwo, who was floating in mid-air. From its presence alone, Dragonair sensed an overwhelming threat. The way Mewtwo had effortlessly dominated Gyarados without even exerting its full power made Dragonair realize that this mysterious Pokémon was not one to be trifled with.

But the most shocking part? This immensely powerful Pokémon belonged to a human!

Just how strong was this human?!

A thought sparked in Dragonair's mind—it wanted to follow this human.

Life in this small lake was stifling. Dragonair longed for freedom, rather than being confined to this place. It looked at Dratini, who was watching Ron curiously, and felt reluctant to leave its child behind. However, this was an opportunity. If it missed this chance, who knew how long it would have to wait for another such human to appear?

As Dragonair struggled with its decision, Ron continued recording the data of the Pokémon he encountered and reeled in several more Pokémon. Unfortunately, after his initial success, all he caught were mid-tier Pokémon, which didn't interest him.

He released several mid-tier Pokémon, then reeled in a high-tier Kingler—this one, he caught immediately.

Mid-tier Goldeen? Released.

Mid-tier Poliwhirl? Released.

Mid-tier Shellder? Released...

In total, he captured six high-tier Pokémon, making a total of eight captures—aside from the top-tier Gyarados, the rest were all high-tier Pokémon.

Soon, no more Pokémon were biting. Ron knew that he had already fished out the rare Pokémon from this lake, and it was time to leave.

As he prepared to go, Dragonair suddenly called out anxiously, stopping him in his tracks.

Ron turned around, confused. "You want me to take Dratini with me?"

Dragonair cried out again and gently pushed Dratini toward Ron, rubbing its head against it affectionately.

Ron shook his head. "It's not my decision to make. You should talk to Uncle Caesar about this. If you truly want Dratini to follow me, come with me to see him and explain everything."

Dragonair nodded firmly and flew alongside Ron with Dratini following closely.

As they traveled, Ron searched for Pokémon that would be useful as guardians and helpers—Pokémon like Chansey, Machamp, and Growlithe.

After a thorough search, he finally found what he was looking for.

Since Chansey was rare and he wasn't planning on training it for battle—only as a support Pokémon—he didn't care about its potential. He caught two lower-tier Chansey for household assistance.

Additionally, he caught a mid-tier Machamp and four mid-tier Growlithe.

With that, all 15 of his Safari Balls were used up.

Returning to Uncle Caesar's cabin, Ron was surprised to see Caesar burst into tears upon seeing Dragonair.

After an emotional reunion, Dragonair explained its decision.

It wanted Dratini to travel with Ron.

Dragonair didn't want its child to live trapped in this tiny lake. As a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Dratini deserved the chance to grow strong and see the world.

Although Caesar had never captured Dragonair, their bond was real. The old man wiped his tears and sighed deeply.

"Dragonair, if this is your wish, then I will not stop you."

He turned to Ron with a solemn expression.

"Boy, I entrust Dratini to you. I hope you will take good care of it. Train it well, so that one day, it will become a powerful Dragonite—a Pokémon worthy of its lineage."

Ron grinned. "I won't let you down. I'm planning to participate in this year's Indigo League. Dratini may even compete. Even if it doesn't, once the Indigo League ends, I'll be traveling to Johto. By the time of the Silver Conference, Dratini will have evolved into Dragonite—and it will fight in that tournament.

"Make sure to watch when the time comes!"

After speaking, Ron pulled out a Luxury Ball and knelt beside Dratini.

"Are you willing to travel the world with me?"

Dratini looked back at Dragonair, who nodded reassuringly. With a determined gleam in its eyes, Dratini pressed its head against the Luxury Ball's button.

Ron's team was now complete:

Dratini

Gyarados

Chansey (x2)

Machamp

Growlithe (x4)

After saying their final goodbyes, Ron prepared to move forward with his journey.

Meanwhile, he transferred 15 Pokémon to Professor Oak.

Since he was reaching his limit, he discussed the roster with Professor Oak and decided to send Beedrill and Bellossom back to the lab in exchange for Sylveon and Dratini.

Lillie also contacted her mother and sent back several of her Pokémon. However, she chose to keep Vulpix, thinking that an Ice/Fire combination was an interesting contrast.

Bidding farewell to Uncle Caesar, Ron set his sights on Grampa Canyon, ready to continue his adventure.