"Dratini, use Twister!"
The very next day after obtaining Dratini, Sam began special training.
After half a day of observation and practice, he had a general understanding of Dratini's current condition.
Not optimistic.
Perhaps Dragonair had doted on Dratini too much. Because their habitat had been safe for so long, Dragonair hadn't taught it many battle techniques.
As a result, Dratini now lacked both combat experience and refined battle skills.
Fortunately, Dratini was still young. There was plenty of time to cultivate its potential.
What it needed most right now—
Was battle.
Real battle experience.
With Dratini's current strength, the most suitable opponents would normally be Bug Catchers. So Sam decided not to rush to Dark City. Instead, he planned to stay near Fuchsia City for a few days to train Dratini through actual combat.
Logically speaking, Bug Catchers were the most common type of Trainer in the Pokémon world. Almost every town had plenty of them nearby.
But after walking around Fuchsia City for quite a while, Sam hadn't seen a single one.
That felt strange.
Fuchsia City was surrounded by forests and had an abundance of Bug-type Pokémon. It should have been paradise for Bug Catchers.
Eventually, Sam finally spotted a boy dressed in classic Bug Catcher attire.
"Hey, would you like to have a battle?" Sam asked.
The boy looked tempted—but after hesitating, he refused.
Sam could clearly sense that the boy wanted to accept. So why decline?
After some questioning, Sam finally learned the reason.
The Pokémon House in Fuchsia City was hosting a battle tournament.
As long as participants achieved certain rankings, they could receive generous rewards. The top three would even obtain mysterious grand prizes.
Most importantly—
The competition was specifically designed for rookie Trainers.
Participating Pokémon could not exceed Elite level strength.
With such attractive prizes and fair restrictions, the event was practically tailor-made for beginner Trainers—including Bug Catchers. Naturally, all nearby Trainers confident in their abilities had already gone to register.
The boy had refused Sam's challenge because he was on his way to sign up.
Sam didn't care much about mysterious prizes.
What interested him was the strength limitation.
This was basically an event created for Dratini.
Why search for Bug Catchers when he could simply compete in the tournament?
After asking for directions, Sam immediately headed to the Pokémon House.
---
When he arrived, he was surprised.
He had assumed Pokémon House was just a small local organization.
Instead, the registration area was packed with Trainers.
It was obvious the organizers had heavily promoted the event. Sam overheard more than ten people discussing how generous the prizes were.
Even more surprising—
Not all participants were rookie Trainers.
Sam saw several Trainers in their thirties signing up.
If the rewards weren't substantial, experienced Trainers wouldn't bother.
After registering, Sam entered the waiting area.
Registration closed promptly at noon.
The first round began immediately.
---
Sam's luck in the opening round was quite good.
His opponent was a boy around eleven or twelve years old—likely a rookie who had just received his first Pokémon and hadn't even started traveling yet.
A perfect first opponent for Dratini.
"Come out, Raticate!"
Pokémon: Raticate
Type: Normal
Strength: Mid-Level (Ordinary Tier)
Potential: Elite
Its strength was roughly equal to Dratini's.
However, Sam did not dare to underestimate it.
Dratini might be precious and talented—but before evolving into Dragonite, its combat power was not overwhelming.
Moreover—
This was Dratini's first real battle.
If he misdirected even slightly, they could lose.
Sam took a deep breath and threw the Poké Ball.
"Come out, Dratini!"
---
"Dratini?!"
"Look! That Trainer has a Dratini!"
"So cute!"
"I wish I could catch one someday!"
The moment Dratini appeared, it drew enormous attention.
Spectators from nearby battlefields rushed over.
Soon, Sam's battlefield was surrounded by a dense crowd.
Dratini shrank back slightly, intimidated by the sudden noise and cheers.
"Focus," Sam said calmly. "Your opponent is the Raticate in front of you. Nothing else matters."
"Chirp!"
Dratini nodded firmly.
It forced itself to ignore the crowd and fixed its gaze on Raticate.
Even the referee seemed stunned at the sight of such a rare Pokémon.
Only after Sam gently reminded him did he regain composure.
"Ahem… Trainers, prepare yourselves."
"The first round match—Dratini versus Raticate—"
"Begin!"
---------------Author---------------
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