Battle him?
Naoki suddenly found it hard to understand the intentions of these three Dragonites.
Why would Dragonites specifically come from Dragonite Island just to have a battle with his Pokémon?
Realizing that the intentions of these three Dragonites were not simple, Naoki asked Pawmot to run an errand for him and bring back some Translation Nuts Cake.
"Pamo!"
Pawmot nodded and immediately turned around to fly away.
The leader Dragonite and its two underlings stood there silently with a fierce demeanor.
During the wait, no one spoke first.
Only Koraidon looked somewhat speechlessly at the three Dragonites.
Pawmot was very quick, returning in a few seconds, bringing back the Translation Nuts Cake that Naoki wanted.
Naoki patted its head and reached out to take the cake and eat it.
After pondering for a moment, Naoki asked, "Why do you suddenly want to battle with me?"
The leader Dragonite said seriously, "Roar." (Because you are strong.)
Naoki raised an eyebrow: "…So you want to battle stronger Pokémon?"
Looking at this Dragonite, it definitely wasn't as gentle and docile as other Dragonites. It must have been through many battles to become like this.
The scar on its face made it clear, a long slash running diagonally down from above its nose, adding a fierce and domineering aura to a Pokémon that is usually quite gentle.
This aura even seemed to surpass Iris's grumpy Dragonite in the anime.
Upon hearing his words, the leader Dragonite nodded, its voice very deep: "Roar." (If you win, I'll work here like the other Dragonites.)
Hearing this, Naoki immediately understood.
This Dragonite is very strong, so it needs him to prove his strength by defeating it in a Pokémon battle.
Only then will this Dragonite acknowledge him.
But Naoki still couldn't figure out why Dragonite was doing this.
It couldn't be just for Poffin and Pokeblock, right?
Thinking this, Naoki asked aloud.
And the leader Dragonite's answer was straightforward.
It wanted to become stronger! So it needed a human Trainer!
Hearing this, Naoki was shocked, quickly turning around to look around, only relaxing when he saw his own Dragonite hadn't returned yet.
He shook his head and said, "You can't say things like that recklessly. I can help you become stronger, but you don't need to consider me your Trainer, just consider me a boss!"
The leader Dragonite didn't mind and didn't linger on titles for too long.
"If I defeat you, will you stay and help me work?" Naoki asked.
The leader Dragonite nodded, it was a very honorable Dragonite and would definitely keep its promise!
"Alright." Naoki nodded slightly. If this Dragonite joined, it would be beneficial for the future development of Dragonite Delivery.
As for helping it become stronger… he would do his best to help later, whether through cooking or other methods.
Thinking of this, Naoki asked the final question.
"Which of my Pokémon do you want to battle against?"
Many of the ranch's Pokémon gathered around.
There were Koraidon, Cyclizar, Flutter Mane, Pawmot, Alcremie, Eevees, Ogerpon, along with Butterfree and Garganacl.
The leader Dragonite scanned these Pokémon and finally stopped on Koraidon.
Dragon's Senses told it that this red Pokémon was the strongest.
Its aura, its gaze… all were honed through countless battles.
Following the leader Dragonite's gaze, Naoki looked at Koraidon, internally exclaiming, good grief, it chose a big boss!
"Koraidon's strength is very strong." Naoki reminded.
However, upon hearing this, the Dragonite's tone became even more determined.
It wanted to battle the strongest Pokémon!
Naoki: "…"
Koraidon: "…"
"Ahem, that's the only way, then." Naoki looked at Koraidon and said, "Koraidon, I'll leave it to you!"
"Aaagh!"
Koraidon stepped forward, staring down that wild Dragonite from a distance.
Naoki originally thought to let the opposing Dragonite strike first, but upon reconsideration, with its personality, this approach would likely be seen as disdain, a sign of disrespect.
After some thought, Naoki decided to let Koraidon battle seriously.
Once both Pokémon were ready, Naoki spoke up to remind them, "Start now!"
Dragonite gave its all, immediately spreading its wings and opening its mouth wide, the purple Dragon Type Energy quickly gathering within, transforming into a Twister that poured forth.
"Dodge!" Naoki calmly ordered.
He knew well how fast Koraidon was when it gave its all.
Sure enough, at his command, Koraidon's figure became a blur, dodging the incoming Twister, charging fiercely from the side at Dragonite.
Seeing its attack dodged, Dragonite quickly shut its mouth, its Dragon Wings vibrating fiercely, then it clenched its right fist, which crackled with electricity, heading straight for Koraidon.
The two Pokémon collided, and a powerful gust spread out from their center to the surroundings.
In the first clash, Koraidon held back slightly.
Dragonite also did not retreat, just like its unyielding nature, at this close distance, Dragonite directly used its strongest move, Outrage.
An intense purple light enveloped its body, a red glow flashed in Dragonite's eyes, and it began to unleash an unrestrained flurry of attacks towards Koraidon.
"Use Dragon Claw!" Naoki commanded.
"Aagh." Koraidon responded.
Though the power of Outrage is immense, it has a very obvious flaw.
That is, the Pokémon can't defend while attacking and will fall into confusion after Outrage ends!
Koraidon seized this flaw, unleashing a massive Dragon Claw.
Dragonite's Outrage was directly interrupted, the powerful impact sent it flying, hitting the ground and losing its ability to battle.
The two other Dragonites accompanying the leader looked at Koraidon in shock.
Naoki stepped forward, checking the fallen Dragonite's condition, then asked his sister Indeedee, who had hurried over, to bring a bottle of Life Sheep Milk.
During the wait, he looked at the two remaining Dragonites and asked, "Do you two also want to battle my Pokémon?"
Both Dragonites shook their heads, "Roar!" (We're with the boss, whatever the boss does, we do too!)
Naoki was intrigued by this term, why did these three Dragonites seem like a gang?
He looked down at the unconscious Dragonite before him, reaching out to touch the scar on its face, and asked:
"How did your boss get this scar on his face?"
The two underling Dragonites eagerly began recounting their boss's heroic deeds.
"Roar!" (The boss got it fighting a Gyarados back in the day!)
"Roar!" (That Gyarados was really tough, and the boss put in a lot of effort to take it down, becoming the ruler of that sea area!)
"Roar!" (Though the boss looks fierce, the Pokémon there are all scared of him, but the boss is not a bad dragon, he never harms the Pokémon there!)
Naoki: "…"
Evidently, these two Dragonites admired their leader immensely.
They were even deliberately mimicking the fearsome expression of the boss Dragonite.