After packing up his supplies, David walked over to where Ursaring lay and gently nudged the bear with his foot. The Pokemon had been playing dead for quite some time now.
"You've been lying there long enough. Don't you think it's time to get up, big guy?"
David's calm voice cut through the silence. Ursaring finally gave up the act and rose to its feet.
"Roar! (Human, what do you want from me? Just tell me already! But please, don't hurt my children.)"
With no way to avoid the confrontation any longer, Ursaring stood tall and roared at David with all its might.
Zorua, watching from the side, wasn't about to let some defeated opponent speak to its Trainer that way. The little fox stepped forward, positioning itself between David and Ursaring, baring its small fangs and growling threateningly.
Ursaring, who had just been acting tough, immediately cowered when faced with the same fox that had crushed it in battle. The bear squatted back down, its earlier bravado completely gone.
The sight was almost comical—a tiny, fanged fox looking adorable despite its aggressive stance, while the massive, intimidating bear trembled in fear. The contrast between them made David shake his head in wonder.
"Easy, Zoro. It's alright," David said, calming his bristling Pokemon. He released a wave of Aura to show Ursaring he meant no harm.
I only want to check your den for a few things and have you help me out. That's not really malicious intent, is it? After all, I nearly got hit by a Hyper Beam earlier. Even if it missed, I deserve some compensation for that scare.
"I'm not going to hurt your cubs. This whole thing was just a misunderstanding," David said aloud. "Your children only have minor injuries. We can fix that quickly."
He turned to his Psychic-type companion. "Ralts, use Life Dew on the Teddiursa."
Following David's command, Ralts floated over to the two small bear Pokemon. A light blue orb formed in its hands, transforming into healing water that sprinkled down on them like gentle rain.
Within moments, both Teddiursa woke up. Thanks to Life Dew's healing properties, even the dark marks left by Night Daze completely vanished from their fur.
Through his Aura abilities, David's sincere feelings reached Ursaring directly. Heart-to-heart communication spoke louder than any words could, and David's actions backed up his intentions.
Ursaring finally understood that David truly had no plans to harm its young. Already humbled by its earlier defeat, and now seeing its cubs awake and healthy, the bear had no fight left in it.
"Roar..."
Ursaring picked up both newly awakened Teddiursa and set them on its shoulders. It turned toward David and his Pokemon with a gentle call, then nodded its head forward before starting to walk.
The bear was leading them to its den. David didn't overthink the situation—he simply followed with his three Pokemon.
Outside the assessment grounds in the monitoring center, everyone watching David's real-time feed stood speechless.
They had witnessed the impressive strength of David's Zorua, which had single-handedly defeated Ursaring with ease. They'd seen his calculated approach when dealing with those two Wyvern Academy students—the perfect mix of threat and negotiation.
And now he had Ursaring itself leading him around like a tour guide.
"Is this kid really this year's Imperial City Novice Cup Champion?" one observer asked.
"His strength is incredible, but the way he handles things... it doesn't seem like what you'd expect from a student Trainer," Vincent said, his expression puzzled as he stared at the screen.
"That's right, he's this year's Novice Cup Champion," another staff member confirmed. "Director Vincent, take a look at that unusual pink and white Pokemon beside him."
"According to the Imperial Capital Research Institute, that's a newly discovered regional form of Zorua. It's the only one of its kind in the world right now."
"Amazing," the staff member continued with a hint of envy. "A unique regional Zorua, a Riolu that rivals pseudo-legendaries in potential, and a Shiny Ralts. Every single one of his Pokemon is extraordinary."
"Must be nice having such a strong family background. Only someone from the Moore family could get Pokemon that rare."
"The Moore family? Which Moore family?" Li Guodong asked.
"Which Moore family? Is there another Moore family in the Cloudspire Alliance? This new Trainer is David Moore, the young master of Gym Leader of Ascending Dragon Gym."
Vincent's expression grew even more peculiar at this information.
All of David's Pokemon were undeniably top-tier in both rarity and potential. But after learning his identity, Vincent found himself curious about something strange.
David was one of only two heirs to the Moore family—a clan famous as Dragon Tamers who had held the title of Dragon Masters since ancient times. Yet he didn't have a single Dragon-type Pokemon.
While there had been Moore family members throughout history who didn't exclusively use Dragon-types, or even primarily use them, David was the first to catch three Pokemon without a single Dragon-type among them.
In a way, he had made history.
What made it more interesting was that David's older sister, Aria, was known as the "Dragon Queen" among the younger generation. After leading her team to victory in last year's Alliance College Cup, she had become one of the top figures among the Alliance's youth.
Her team was exactly what people expected from a Dragon-type Trainer.
David's three Pokemon, however, were entirely different. There was the Ghost and Normal-type Zorua, Riolu who would become Fighting and Steel-type after evolution, and the Psychic and Fairy-type Ralts.
They had absolutely nothing in common type-wise. Such a diverse team would create enormous challenges for a Trainer's development path.
Different Pokemon types required different breeding methods, training resources, environments, and techniques. Focusing on a single type was the most efficient approach for most Trainers.
This was exactly why so many families specialized in one type, and why Elite Four members each represented a specific type specialty.