Chapter 296: Encounter with the Giant Dragonite Again!
For the Hayashi family's descendants—
…No, for all Pokémon Trainers—raising a Pokémon from the moment it hatches yields the best results.
The bond formed is also the deepest!
The Dragonite mother stood up.
Beneath her were two eggs. She raised one claw and pointed toward them.
The message was clear:
You may choose one egg to take with you, and raise it as your partner.
"Thank you, Sister Sixteen~"
Sakura cheerfully thanked the Dragonite, then quickly pulled Hikaru forward.
"Big bro, pick one already!"
"Hmm..."
Hikaru let himself be pulled closer.
Only now did he realize—
All the Dragonite on Dragon Island had individual names and nicknames.
Instead of immediately using his [Eye of Insight], he first released his Dragon Mastery energy.
It flowed gently over the two Dratini eggs.
For Hikaru,
A King-tier or Champion-tier talent didn't make much difference.
Either could be nurtured into greatness.
What he really wanted to see—
Was which egg resonated best with his own Dragon energy.
Thump, thump...
As soon as his Dragon Mastery energy touched them,
the egg on the left merely trembled faintly, still adjusting to the energy.
But the egg on the right—
Suddenly leaped into the air!
The movement startled the Dragonite mother, her eyes widening in panic as her body instinctively lurched forward.
Luckily, Hikaru reacted quickly and caught the bouncing Dratini egg.
He looked down at the lively egg, still squirming in his arms.
"Phew..."
Hikaru exhaled in relief.
This little one is full of energy!
[Eye of Insight – Activated]
Pokémon: Dratini (Estimated to hatch in ~1235 hours)
Potential: Champion
Champion potential.
That saved him the trouble of upgrading its aptitude manually.
"So this is the one?"
Sakura tilted her head, watching Hikaru's expression.
"Yeah. It's got such vitality—I really like it."
Hikaru nodded, then turned his gaze toward the Dragonite mother—Sister Sixteen—and activated his Eye of Insight again.
Pokémon: Dragonite (Weakened)
Ability: Multiscale
Gender: Female
Potential: Champion
Level: 69
Moves: Protect, Hyper Beam, Dragon Dance, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Extreme Speed
Note: Just finished giving birth and is currently in a weakened state.
Sister Sixteen looked longingly at the egg in Hikaru's arms.
She let out a soft cry:
"Ooo~" (Human, I hope that once it hatches, you'll bring it back. I want to see it with my own eyes.)
Hikaru nodded.
Of course.
He even began thinking—maybe he should bring Tyrunt back to see its parents someday.
Strange. That kid had never once mentioned missing its parents.
Looking at the weary Dragonite, Hikaru gently said,
"Hold on a second."
He reached into his bag and took out a handful of [Stamina Power Cubes].
After all, giving birth had greatly drained this Dragonite.
And for a King-tier Pokémon like her, this was the best possible recovery supplement.
"Here, try this."
He offered one to her.
The Dragonite mother sniffed it cautiously, then licked it.
"Ooo?"
Her eyes lit up in surprise.
She quickly gobbled the whole thing down.
Hikaru then stacked about fifty of the stamina cubes before her.
"These are all ones I made myself. They should help your recovery a lot."
"Ooo?" (All of them? For me?)
The Dragonite mother blinked at the pile of energy cubes, stunned.
Just one had already made her feel significantly better—
The fatigue from giving birth, the emptiness in her body, had noticeably lifted.
That alone showed how rare and valuable these cubes were.
And this human...
He was giving her fifty?
And claimed to have made them himself?
That wasn't a simple statement.
It meant this trainer was capable of producing cubes of this caliber on his own.
Which meant—
Her child wouldn't suffer if it followed him.
"Mm."
Hikaru smiled.
"When the Dratini hatches, I'll bring it back to see you."
He looked the Dragonite mother in the eye, confidence in his voice,
"Now that it's my partner, I swear—I'll raise it into something amazing!"
If it had been before, maybe he wouldn't have had the confidence to say that.
But now?
If he still didn't believe he could raise a top-tier Pokémon—
He might as well go find a brick and bash his own head in.
"Ooo!"
The Dragonite nodded and accepted the stamina cubes—a fair exchange for her precious child.
---
When they exited the Dragonite's cave,
They happened to bump into a few other Hayashi family youths who had just arrived.
They were surprised to see Hikaru already leaving, but didn't say much.
Both sides exchanged polite greetings.
Then, Latias took off again with Hikaru and Sakura aboard.
As they flew out across the sky,
Hikaru suddenly asked on impulse,
"Hey, Sakura—how's that giant Dragonite doing?"
After absorbing Xerneas's Life Essence,
that Dragonite should've overcome its vitality issues.
What Hikaru really wanted to know was—
Had it finally broken through the Level 99 barrier?
If it had—
Then in the future, when his own Pokémon reached that threshold,
He could come back and ask that Dragonite how it made the leap.
Sakura tilted her head and made an unsure face.
"Big Dragonite? I guess it's doing okay? I haven't seen it since it stopped going to the Dragon Pool."
Suddenly, she perked up.
"Wanna go up and take a look?"
"Up in the sky?"
Hikaru was surprised.
"Is that really okay?"
Sakura waved dismissively.
"It's fine! As long as we show our Dragon Mastery, the big Dragonite won't get mad."
"I even snuck up there once before. It just opened one eye, looked at me, and didn't do anything."
Hikaru thought for a moment.
He had saved that Dragonite's life.
And it seemed like a reasonable Pokémon.
"Alright."
He nodded.
Latias shifted direction and soared upward—
Straight into the clouds above Dragon Island.
White clouds streaked past Hikaru's face.
He released a small amount of Dragon Mastery and Aura.
Within moments—
He sensed it.
The massive Dragonite hovering silently over the island.
And the instant Hikaru's Aura brushed against it—
Its eyes snapped open.
Gone was the cloudy murkiness he remembered.
What replaced it—
Was a blade-sharp intensity!
Even from several kilometers away—
Hikaru's Aura froze.
His entire body locked up, as if some unfathomable presence had set its gaze upon him...
---
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