Metagross was just about to act when a voice suddenly interrupted.
"Wait!"
Shate abruptly stepped in front of Chen Shi and pleaded,
"Lord Qiu, Little Blue didn't mean it. Please forgive him this once!"
The corners of Chen Shi's mouth lifted slightly as he looked at Shate with interest.
"You intend to stop me?"
"I..."
Shate lowered his head and fell silent.
Everyone had seen what happened.
Bagon had attacked Florges first, so the fault clearly lay with Bagon.
If Lord Qiu wanted to discipline it, Shate had no right to interfere.
But after spending more than a month together, Shate had truly come to regard Bagon as his companion.
He couldn't bear to watch it be punished, so he had rushed forward without thinking.
"Big Brother..."
Aji ran over and tried to pull Shate away.
In his opinion, offending Lord Qiu for the sake of a magical beast simply wasn't worth it.
Besides, Little Blue had attacked first.
No one else could be blamed.
"Bagon~"
Bagon also called out to Shate, trying to make him leave.
It knew the human before it was extremely powerful and that it stood no chance of winning.
However, its mother was behind it.
Bagon refused to retreat.
Even so, it did not want Shate to be dragged into this.
Chen Shi smiled.
"Shate, think carefully."
"Are you truly going to stand in my way?"
Shate was immediately caught in a difficult position.
He had personally witnessed just how powerful Lord Qiu was.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that, if Lord Qiu wished, he could destroy their entire tribe in an instant.
They would be utterly incapable of resisting.
Shate couldn't help asking himself—
Was it truly worth offending such a powerful being for Little Blue, a mere magical beast?
In the end, Shate made his choice.
Gritting his teeth, he said,
"Lord Qiu, I am willing to accept the punishment in Little Blue's place."
"Please spare him."
Chen Shi smiled and turned toward Florges.
"What do you think?"
"Florges~"
Florges waved one hand.
A glowing green leaf shot toward Bagon at tremendous speed.
It was Magical Leaf.
The move was not especially powerful, but it was fast and automatically tracked its target, making it almost impossible to evade.
Florges had carefully restrained its strength.
The attack would not seriously injure Bagon, though it would certainly hurt.
Sure enough, Bagon had no time to react before the leaf struck it and sent it flying.
It crashed heavily onto the ground.
Florges then continued using Grassy Terrain to treat Salamence's injuries.
"Little Blue!"
Shate hurried over and picked Bagon up.
Bagon struggled, wanting to jump back down, but Shate held it tightly.
Then it noticed that Florges was not attacking its mother.
Instead, she seemed to be healing her.
Only then did Bagon stop struggling.
Chen Shi spoke softly.
"If he had attacked me, I might have chosen to let it go."
"But Bagon attacked my companion."
"I have no right to make that decision on her behalf."
"After all, she was the one who was harmed."
He paused briefly, then smiled.
"However, I'm very satisfied with your choice."
"No matter what kind of enemy you face, you must never abandon your companion."
"That is what makes a qualified Trainer."
Shate let out a breath and nodded firmly.
"I understand, Lord Qiu."
...
Chen Shi glanced at Aji before continuing,
"If you want to catch Pokémon—what you call magical beasts—there is something you must first understand."
"Why should they fight for you?"
"Pokémon are intelligent creatures."
"Their thoughts are often simple, and most possess little ambition."
"But they still feel pain."
"They grow tired and hungry."
"They can feel happiness and sadness."
"If you abandon them the moment trouble appears, do you truly think they will follow you and fight on your behalf?"
Aji lowered his head in shame.
He had been the first person to try to stop Shate earlier.
Chen Shi looked at Shate and continued softly,
"You believe catching and commanding Pokémon is difficult."
"But I'm telling you that it isn't difficult at all."
"There is only one requirement for gaining a Pokémon's trust."
"You must offer them genuine sincerity."
"Your Bagon is the perfect example."
Shate stood there in a daze.
At his current level of understanding, he could not fully grasp the meaning behind Chen Shi's words.
However, he did not ask further questions.
Instead, he firmly engraved every word into his memory.
On the other side, Salamence had recovered considerably under the effects of Florges's Grassy Terrain and Wish.
Her eyes slowly opened.
The moment Bagon saw this, it leaped from Shate's arms and raced toward Salamence.
Salamence had not yet figured out what was happening when she heard a series of hurried footsteps.
She instinctively turned toward the sound—
And immediately saw her child running toward her.
At that moment, Salamence's eyes filled with tears.
Her enormous, powerful body began trembling slightly as countless emotions surged through her heart.
One month.
An entire month.
Salamence had spent every waking moment searching for her child.
Now, at last, she had found it.
"Roar!"
"Bagon~"
Watching the mother and child embrace, Shate could hardly believe his eyes.
"She really is Little Blue's mother?"
His doubts were understandable.
The difference in appearance and size between Bagon and Salamence was simply enormous.
Chen Shi smiled from the side.
"As long as your Little Blue receives proper training and nutrition, he'll grow into something like that one day."
"Little Blue will become like her?"
Shate stared at Salamence's imposing and majestic form in a daze.
"Don't underestimate Bagon."
"He may be weak now, but he belongs to a species that matures late and becomes exceptionally powerful."
Chen Shi then added,
"By the way, where is Nio?"
"There are still a few things I want to ask him."
Shate replied,
"Lord Qiu, Grandfather Nio is very old. He should already be resting."
"However, I may be able to answer some of your questions."
Chen Shi nodded.
"Fine. Then tell me this."
"Do you know of the Draconid people?"
He had searched all day without finding any trace of them.
Shate's tribe had lived near Meteor Falls for a long time, so perhaps they had heard something.
Upon hearing the question, Shate froze.
After hesitating for quite a while, he finally answered,
"Lord Qiu... we are the Draconid people."
Chen Shi fell silent.
"..."
"Don't joke with me."
"I'm asking you a serious question."
Shate scratched his head in confusion.
"Lord Qiu, you may not know this, but our tribe is the closest settlement to Meteor Falls."
"That is why we are called the Meteor Tribe."
"People from outside refer to us as the Draconid people."
The moment Chen Shi heard this, his breath caught.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
This is bad.
Have I become the ancestor of the Draconids?
"Damn it!"
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