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When the first ray of light filtered through the gap in the tent, Roy woke up.
He lay still, staring at the tent ceiling, replaying the scenes from last night in his mind, and couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.
Delia woke up, dazed and confused.
"Morning," Roy greeted her, relaxed and at ease.
Delia suddenly threw off the blanket, looking like a startled little deer.
"I—I—I... I'm going to make breakfast!"
Delia left the tent and stood in the morning breeze. The wind felt cool against her face, but the heat on her cheeks didn't fade at all. She raised a hand to touch her cheek; it was frighteningly hot.
Misty happened to be coming out of her tent as well, and the two exchanged a glance, feeling extremely awkward.
The sun rose in the east, shining on the lake, making the water shimmer. It was just as beautiful as it had been last evening.
But neither of them was in the mood to enjoy the scenery.
...
The atmosphere during breakfast was quiet and awkward. Roy didn't rush to break the silence, preferring to let them ease into it themselves.
After packing up, the three of them started walking toward the Wild Area office.
As they walked, the roof of the Wild Area office came into view.
A police off-road vehicle was parked at the entrance.
Roy's eyes lit up.
Officer Jenny's efficiency was truly impressive.
As they got closer, they could hear an argument coming from inside the office.
A middle-aged man's voice, hurried and loud, carried a suppressed anger.
Roy pushed the door open and walked in.
Several uniformed individuals were standing in the office. Judging by the style of their uniforms, they were Pokemon League inspectors. The leader, who wore glasses and held a folder, was speaking to Kaiser.
Kaiser stood behind the desk, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot, his thick eyebrows almost knitted together. His fists were clenched, and the veins on the back of his hands were pulsing.
"Mr. Kaiser, according to the whistleblower materials and our preliminary investigation, there are multiple violations in your management of the Wild Area, including but not limited to..." The man in glasses turned a page in the file.
Although there were no fundamental errors, there were quite a few procedural violations.
The three of them couldn't be bothered with this eccentric old man and went directly over to start transferring the poke balls.
After all the Pokemon had been transferred to his own poke balls, Roy took the opportunity to check the stats of the two dragons.
[Pokemon: Dratini]
[Type: Dragon]
[Level: Lv9 (Novice)]
[Potential: Champion]
[Ability: Marvel Scale — Defense increases by 50% when suffering from a status condition.]
[Moves: Glare, Twister, Tackle.]
[Held Item: None]
[Special Enhancement: None]
Roy's gaze rested on the words "Champion," and his pupils constricted slightly.
As expected. His intuition hadn't lied to him.
Yesterday, at the Lake in the Mountain, the feeling Dratini gave him was even stronger than that of Dragonair; that sense of oppression and allure far exceeded its mother's.
Now the data verified his intuition. Champion potential.
Any trainer knew exactly how much weight those four words carried.
A Champion-potential Pokemon in the wild is something you can only hope for, not seek out. How many trainers travel mountains and rivers, spending their whole lives, without ever encountering a single individual with Champion potential? Even if they did, without sufficient means, they wouldn't be able to catch it.
It was as rare as having an Evolution Stone fall from the sky and land at your feet.
[Pokemon: Dragonair]
[Type: Dragon]
[Level: Lv43 (Quasi-Gym)]
[Potential: Quasi-Elite]
[Ability: Marvel Scale — Defense increases by 50% when suffering from a status condition.]
[Moves: Rain Dance, Safeguard, Dragon Rush, Rest, etc.]
[Held Item: None]
[Special Enhancement: None]
Quasi-Elite level. Not bad; it was already among the top tier of wild Pokemon. It just paled slightly in comparison to her daughter.
However, Roy didn't mind. Dragonair wasn't intended for a combat role anyway. This Dragonair's greatest value was in gourmet tasting—a Dragon-type on the tip of the tongue. Following Delia to do food reviews was a perfect match for its expertise.
Thinking of this, Roy looked at the ability again. Both mother and daughter had "Marvel Scale." He was familiar with this ability.
When suffering from a status condition, defense increases by 50%. Poisoned, paralyzed, burned, or frozen—it actually becomes tougher. Good stuff.
Plus, after evolving into Dragonite, this ability would be replaced by "Multiscale"—all damage taken when at full health is reduced by half.
That was the truly broken defensive ability. Combined with Dragonite's already thick base stats, it made for a Pokemon that was both tanky and had high output, with explosive Dragon-type move damage. A late-stage Dragonite could easily be called a flying heavy tank.
With Dratini's Champion potential paired with this ability, its future potential was terrifying.
Roy nodded in satisfaction after browsing the stats. At that moment, the transfer device made a "ding" sound. The transfer was complete.
The indicator light on the poke ball jumped from red to green, and all the data had been transferred to his trainer account.
Roy picked up the poke ball and looked at the information, pondering for a moment. He decided to adjust his roster and transfer the excess Pokemon back to Professor Oak's laboratory.
...
Pallet Town, Professor Oak's laboratory. Professor Oak was lowering his head, recording data. The sleeves of his lab coat were rolled up to his elbows, and a cup of cold coffee sat on the table.
The transfer machine's alert sound suddenly rang out. Professor Oak looked up at the machine. A prompt box popped up on the screen: [Trainer: Roy, Number of Pokemon transferred...]
Professor Oak raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That kid Roy is sending Pokemon over again?"
He put down his work, wiped his hands, and walked over to the machine. Another line of text popped up on the screen: [Confirm receipt?] Professor Oak pressed "Confirm."
The machine began to run, blue light circling in the transfer slot, and one poke ball after another appeared in the groove.
Professor Oak's eyebrows rose higher and higher. By the time the transfer ended, dozens of poke balls were neatly arranged in the groove. Professor Oak gasped.
"Goodness, this kid Roy, he caught so many Pokemon all at once? Did he go raid a nest or go shopping for supplies?"
"Looks like Gary won't be able to hold onto his numerical advantage anymore." Professor Oak muttered to himself, shaking his head.
He did some mental math. He knew how many Pokemon Gary had caught out there; it was quite a few, and he had definitely been leading Roy in numbers for a while.
But now, this wave from Roy had caught up, and the species looked quite good too.
As for quality, the ones Roy transferred back were about the same as the ones Gary had sent back earlier—both belonged to the more excellent batch of wild Pokemon.
But what really mattered were the ones he kept on hand. The ones he raised himself, the ones he was currently training, the ones he carried with him—those were what determined a trainer's combat ceiling.
Between Roy and Gary, what kind of combat power did they have on hand? Professor Oak began to compare them in his mind.
That kid Gary, he might be a bit arrogant, but he really has a knack for training Pokemon. During their last call, he had proudly claimed that his main Pokemon had already surpassed the Gym level, though he didn't know if he was bragging or telling the truth.
Roy and Gary were both the brightest new stars to leave Pallet Town this year. One was his grandson, and the other was a junior in whom he placed high hopes.
So, Professor Oak couldn't help but compare the two often. Every time Roy made a big improvement, he would mention it to Gary during their calls— "Roy just caught another high-potential Pokemon" or "Roy's training progress is very fast."
He just wanted to urge his grandson to work harder and not fall behind. But that brat Gary always had that punchable, tsundere expression.
"Got it, got it~" "I am the future light of Pallet Town; I will definitely be stronger than Roy~" "Grandpa, stop worrying and just do your experiments~"
Professor Oak thought of his grandson's cocky face, couldn't help but smile, and shook his head helplessly.
What he worried about was that Gary had always had it too easy growing up. Good talent, good family background, plenty of resources; he hadn't really encountered any real setbacks along the way.
With such a high-and-mighty personality, if one day he were truly and severely suppressed by Roy, the blow might be much greater than he imagined.
"Forget it, forget it. I'll give him a good talking-to next time we talk." Professor Oak reined in his thoughts and clapped his hands.
Now he had to deal with this pile of poke balls. Just as he was about to release them to check, he suddenly remembered that Grimer Leader and those two troublemakers.
Professor Oak swallowed hard, but in the end, he still took the poke balls to the yard to release them.
Professor Oak was a genuine warrior, releasing all the Pokemon Roy had sent back in one go.
White light connected into a patch, exploding in the yard. The Tauros herd appeared. The Rhyhorn herd appeared. Nidorina, Raticate...
As the large Pokemon appeared, the yard instantly seemed to shrink. A dozen large Pokemon crowded together, exchanging glances.
Then, the Tauros herd started running wild. Tails flicked, sweeping across the fence with a whoosh; the wooden planks of the fence let out a crisp cracking sound and split.
The Rhyhorn followed closely behind, their short, sturdy bodies slamming into the fence with a boom. An entire section of the fence was knocked flying, the wooden planks spinning several times in the air before landing.
Nidorina and Nidoran♂ were not to be outdone, chasing after the Tauros, their footsteps thumping loudly on the ground.
Professor Oak's smile gradually froze.
"Hey... wait, wait, wait, don't run, don't run!"
His voice was completely drowned out by the sound of stomping. A Tauros ran past him, the wind it kicked up lifting his lab coat. Professor Oak stumbled twice, and before he could steady himself, another Rhyhorn rushed past him from the other side.
"Oh my~ wait a second, my fence, hey don't...!"
"Ouch~ I... Roy, you catch Pokemon, you catch good ones~"
"Did this kid rob someone's ranch?"
"Why didn't you tame them after catching them, you brat!!!"
Professor Oak dodged left and right, but one foot stepped into a small puddle from the previous rain, and he slipped, losing his balance.
Before he could steady himself, a Nidorina slammed directly into him, its head butting him in the lower back. "Ah~!"
Professor Oak was sent flying, drawing a rather ungraceful arc in the air before landing face-first on the grass.
Before he could lift his head, Nidorina had already stepped over his face. One foot. Two feet.
By the time Nidorina ran past, Professor Oak was lying on the grass, his head and face covered in grass clippings and mud, his lab coat covered in hoof prints.
He lifted his head, looking at the messy yard. The fences were all knocked down, the Pokemon were scattering and running away, and a few had already run into the small forest behind.
Professor Oak closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently. Then, with all his might, he shouted at the sky. "Roy!!!"
The sound echoed over the laboratory, scaring a large flock of Pidgey out of the trees.
...
"Achoo!" "Achoo!" Roy, who was walking on the road, suddenly sneezed twice in a row.
The sneeze was so loud it startled the Pikachu on his shoulder; the little guy's ears stood up, and its claws gripped his clothes tightly.
Delia immediately turned her head, her eyes full of worry. She walked quickly to Roy's side, looked him up and down, and reached out to touch his forehead. "Did you catch a cold? Roy?"
The temperature on the back of her hand was normal; he wasn't hot. But Delia was still worried. She took a thermos out of the side pocket of her bag and unscrewed the lid; steam rose from the opening.
"I told you last night I was going back to sleep, but you insisted on cuddling~" She frowned slightly, her voice soft and gentle. She was criticizing him, but her hands didn't slow down at all.
"Now look at you~ you caught a cold from the blanket! That's what you get for not listening."
She poured the hot water into the cup lid and held it to Roy's mouth. "Drink some hot water quickly, don't let it turn into a real cold."
When Delia said this, her tone was reproving, but the concern and tenderness in her eyes couldn't be hidden; it was so gentle it felt like it could melt a person.
Roy took the water and drank a sip. "I didn't catch a cold, my nose was just itchy for a second." He smiled and suddenly looked around, "Hey, what is Misty doing? Why has she been walking so slowly, shrinking in the back?"
Upon hearing this, Delia pursed her lips and smiled. The blush on her face deepened, spreading from her cheeks to her earlobes.
She gently patted Roy, her voice lowering further, filled with a bit of feigned anger and a bit of coquettishness. "It's all because of you, you bad guy...!"
She stopped halfway, bit her lower lip, and her face burned even more fiercely. She lowered her head and twisted the hem of her clothes, her voice soft and sweet. "I'm actually a bit embarrassed to look at Misty right now."
Roy laughed after hearing this. "Is that the only reason?"
He winked at Delia, his tone light and airy: "Then what will you do when more sisters come to the house later?"
"More?" Delia's pupils widened suddenly. She stared blankly at Roy, her eyes filled first with shock, then slowly turning into a kind of gentle, helpless indulgence.
She sighed softly and shook her head, but the corners of her mouth curled up. "You... you bad guy."
When she said this, there was no real blame in her voice; it was more of an indulgence. It was like she had absolutely no way to deal with the person she loved most. "If there are more, you'll have to comfort them yourself."
She paused and added, "Today, I'll help you comfort Misty. You behave yourself, and drink some more hot water."
Roy took the thermos and replied with a chuckle: "Alright, thank you very much, big sister Delia~"
Delia gave Roy a coquettish glance. In that look, there was love, helplessness, tolerance, and a little something that couldn't be clearly explained. Then, she slowly walked toward Misty...