Chapter 621: Hakuryu and the Young Girl

At least more than a decade ago, right at the dawn of the Paldea League's creation.

Communication technology back then was nowhere near as advanced as it is today; even videophones, which are now standard equipment in every Pokémon Center and on nearly every street corner, were quite a rarity at that time.

Aside from personally trekking over mountains and rivers, the primary medium for people to establish contact, convey longing, and communicate was often just a thin envelope and the letter paper within.

The Paldea Post Office of that era shouldered such a crucial responsibility.

But as time passed, videophones became fully ubiquitous, and mobile phones capable of dialing a number to speak with someone on the other side of the world were invented.

The post office thus became an inconspicuous casualty beneath the rolling wheels of progress.

Although the post office has not completely vanished from history, with establishments still operating in the Paldea region today.

The number of people sending letters through the post office has inevitably dwindled to a remarkably scarce level.

Nowadays, those who still communicate via letters are, aside from individuals with "niche hobbies," either elderly seniors or people seeking a sense of ritual by sending postcards during New Year greetings or festivals.

The decline of the postal model is an unalterable fact.

Calculating the timeline, the Dragonite Leader likely flew to Casseroya Lake to settle down and live together with the Hakuryu and others precisely around the time the post offices were closing one after another, compounded by the passing of its Trainer.

Otherwise, even if it had remained working in a post office that hadn't yet closed, no one would have driven it away.

For urgent letters that needed to be delivered to other regions or even the other side of the planet within a time limit, that was precisely the Dragonite's specialty.

After gazing at the Dragonite Leader's back for a while, Luo Mu finally lifted his foot and stepped forward, walking over to where the Pokémon were gathered.

Sensing Luo Mu's arrival, the Politoed was the first to stand, affectionately raising its hand to wave a greeting at him.

The Poliwag, the Garganacl, and the others did the same.

Especially when the Garganacl, which had originally been sitting, stood up, it shook off some rock salt from its body; while letting it fall to the ground might seem a bit wasteful, Luo Mu had no intention of collecting it.

Because of the unique effects of this rock salt, it could actually serve to purify the environment, so this minor loss was no big deal and would instead help make the farm's environment even better.

After interacting with each of the Pokémon one by one, Luo Mu met the gaze of the Dragonite looking over at him and gave a slight nod.

The Dragonite instantly realized Luo Mu's intention; its chubby claws, which were holding the Dragonite Leader, tightened slightly, and a sense of nervousness welled up in its heart.

The pink Hakuryu, having raised its head above the water surface, looked at the Dragonite's expression, then at Luo Mu, whose face was somewhat graver than usual, and realized that the moment had arrived.

Regarding the issue of the Hakuryu's own leader, Luo Mu and the Dragonite had communicated with them long ago; now that the time had truly come, they did not feel surprised due to their psychological preparation, only slightly worried.

—What if, upon seeing its deceased Trainer, the Dragonite Leader became even more immersed in illusions of the past?

The Hakuryu and the others didn't understand very complex things; they simply shifted perspectives, put themselves in the other's shoes to think, and naturally developed this kind of concern.

Whether to maintain the status quo or attempt change was indeed a problem.

At this moment, Luo Mu approached the Dragonite Leader, who wore a postman's hat, carried a satchel over its shoulder, and wore an expression deeply immersed in the past.

"Boo-woo?"

Seeing that it was Luo Mu who had come, the Dragonite Leader tilted its head, and a kind smile floated onto its face.

Accompanied by Luo Mu, the Dragonite, the Hakuryu, and the other Pokémon, the Dragonite Leader was long past its initial state of being immersed in its own world.

It could react to the outside world, communicate with other Pokémon, recognize the Dragonite as its own child, and even independently carry out the work of delivering milk.

Therefore, toward Luo Mu, the Trainer who had raised its child so excellently, the Dragonite Leader harbored a considerable degree of goodwill.

It was just that the way it occasionally looked at Luo Mu and the Dragonite seemed inexplicably somewhat sorrowful.

That was a look of sorrow unique to an elder Dragon.

"Boo-woo~ Boo-woo~"

The Dragonite Leader hugged Luo Mu and, toward that person only it could see, tirelessly began introducing Luo Mu.

Even though the other party gave no response and merely watched with a smile, a look of contentment still emerged in the Dragonite Leader's eyes.

"."

Allowing the Dragonite Leader to repeat such actions, Luo Mu exchanged a glance with the Dragonite and, much like the Hakuryu and the others, began to ponder whether their choice was correct.

If they truly went through with this, perhaps the happiness belonging to the Dragonite Leader would be completely shattered.

In that case, was what they were doing truly right?

"I believe it should be correct."

Suddenly, a dignified voice mixed with warmth floated into Luo Mu's mind.

Luo Mu subconsciously looked up in a certain direction and discovered Lei Guan Wang, holding the sleeping Cosmog, quietly watching this scene.

Its calm voice continued to resonate.

"This answer should not be given by you or me; even the Dragonite, as its child, and the Hakuryu, as its friends, cannot decide on behalf of the Dragonite Leader."

"All you can do is allow it to meet that person it missed once more within a miracle; ultimately, the choice must be made by them."

"Whether it is a farewell to make up for regrets with the deceased, or a continued refusal to believe and a persistence in living in the past, at the very least, an answer can be reached."

As an existence whose lifespan was so long that it could not even remember how long it had been active, Lei Guan Wang had witnessed countless partings and deaths, tragedies born from the disparity between Pokémon lifespans and human lifespans.

Initially, it might have wanted to change things, but now, Lei Guan Wang felt that if the mist of Seeing Seeing Kapu truly possessed that so-called miraculous effect, the answer should be left for them to reach on their own.

Listening to Lei Guan Wang's words, Luo Mu looked up from within the Dragonite Leader's soft embrace, met its kind and honest gaze, and then asked softly, "Do you wish to meet your Trainer once more?"

Under Lei Guan Wang's silent exertion of power, this question penetrated deep into the Dragonite Leader's soul.

Its power to heal the soul could not resolve a mental knot like the Dragonite Leader's, but helping the other party maintain a moment of clarity and then letting them provide the answer themselves was something it could achieve.

All those instances of "self-deception" that had maintained the Dragonite Leader's sanity collapsed instantly before this question, like snapped threads.

The facade the Dragonite Leader had disguised as "self-protection," along with the memories it had been unwilling to recall, receded and surged forth like a tide.

At some point, its eyes held only an indelible, thick sorrow; hugging Luo Mu as if clutching a straw of salvation, it asked with a trembling voice.

"Boo-woo?" Can we really meet again?

Strictly speaking, the Dragonite Leader was not originally a Pokémon partner raised and kept by humans from the start.

As a Mini Dragon without parental care, it had lived cautiously within the crisis-ridden Casseroya Lake.

Due to its weakness in the initial stage, the Mini Dragon mostly stayed hidden at the bottom of the lake, growing by relying on settled leftovers, with occasional extra meals being a matter of explosive luck.

Through shedding its skin once a day and its own caution, the Mini Dragon finally succeeded in evolving into a Hakuryu.

After becoming a Dragonair, the mini dragon barely possessed the power to protect itself; at least, when other wild aquatic Pokémon drove it away over territorial disputes, it no longer faced a dead end.

Living like this for a period of time, the Dragonair inexplicably felt a strange emotion, taking a long while to realize it was called loneliness.

—Watching those aquatic Pokémon moving alongside their kin, the solitary Dragonair suddenly yearned for companions of its own.

Thus, the Dragonair began exploring Casseroya Lake, hoping to find others of its kind.

But before finding its kin, it accidentally intruded into the territory of a temperamental Gyarados and was attacked by the latter without explanation.

How could the Dragonair be a match for the Gyarados that had dominated this lake region for so long? Chased across the entirety of Casseroya Lake, it could only break through the water's surface with its injuries and fly into the sky.

—It thought that surely the Gyarados could not catch it now.

But contrary to the Dragonair's expectations, that Gyarados, utilizing no wings and spreading no feathered wings like its own, simply flew above the lake surface out of thin air.

Even though the opponent kept flying at low altitude, the Dragonair, startled by the sudden attack, saw its injuries worsen slightly; it could only sway unsteadily as it flew away from the Casseroya Lake region, seeking a sanctuary where it could slowly lick its wounds and heal.

But the Dragonair had clearly overestimated its own stamina; after leaving Casseroya Lake, it flew only a short while before collapsing to the ground, consciousness blurring from exhaustion.

When the Dragonair awoke again, it found itself in a warm environment.

A young girl dressed as a mail carrier, her hair tied in two braided pigtails, was looking at it with a face full of worry.

Even though the Dragonair at that time did not know what a mail carrier was, while recuperating from its injuries, it gradually understood through the girl's chatter.

The girl introduced herself as Lia; although currently working part-time as a mail carrier, her future goal was to become a powerful Trainer, someone who would make her hometown proud.

The Dragonair, raised wildly in nature, did not quite understand what a Trainer was, but it could see Lia's concern for it, and the expression on her face as she struggled while holding a slip of paper covered in a long string of black dots, finally gritting her teeth to accept it.

The Dragonair realized that Lia had perhaps sacrificed something very important to her in order to treat it.

Seeing the smile the girl showed it as always, the Dragonair realized that the thing it sought seemed to be right before its eyes.

On the day of its discharge, the Dragonair decided not to leave again, but to live together with Lia.

It became Lia's Pokémon.

The Dragonair began accompanying Lia in her work at the post office, saving up for something seemingly called "travel funds."

To save it, Lia seemed to have used up all the "travel funds" she had saved.

This made the Dragonair feel somewhat guilty, so it could only work hard to accompany Lia.

It was also from the mouths of some people at the post office that the Dragonair learned how Lia, who lived in the town, had saved it.

At that time, she had received a mission to ride the post office's transport Pokémon, a Cyclizar, to deliver mail to a small town near Casseroya Lake, which was how she happened to encounter the injured it.

Although many people said this was an accident, the Dragonair believed—this must have been destiny.

The Dragonair accompanied Lia, delivering letters rain or shine; according to Lia, a thin letter often carried someone's thoughts, and as mail carriers, they had to deliver them properly to their destination and into the hands of the recipients.

Thus passed the first month.

After receiving their wages, Lia gave the Dragonair a shoulder bag, so that the handless Dragonair no longer needed to curl its tail around the letters.

The Dragonair loved this gift Lia had given it; even if it meant getting soaked by rain, it would carefully shield the shoulder bag with its feathered wings.

In the first year since the Dragonair met Lia, it excitedly asked Lia whether, after saving money for a year, they could now embark on a "journey" as Trainers.

Lia sighed, saying that apart from food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, even with her careful frugality, the money saved by the end of the year was still very little.

At least in this era, this amount of money was far from enough for travel.

Lia mentioned to the Dragonair that in other regions, a colossal entity named the Pokémon League had been established.

Under the management of the Pokémon League, those regions developed in an orderly fashion; anyone who wished to become a Trainer could receive their own starter Pokémon from the League.

Travel expenses were greatly reduced due to League subsidies, and along the way, there were Pokémon Centers offering free accommodation and medical care for rest stops.

Successfully challenging a Gym also came with incentive bonuses gifted by the League, greatly reducing the financial pressure on Trainers.

Unlike the current Paldea region, where the largest academy was accessible only to the children of the wealthy, when Lia, an orphan, had found the Dragonair a year ago, the medical fees alone for treating the Dragonair had exhausted the savings she had accumulated over several years.

"If only the Paldea region could also establish a Pokémon League, how wonderful that would be."

Lia would mutter such words beside the Dragonair from time to time.

Unknowingly, the years rushed by.

It was only long afterwards that the Dragonair—or rather, the Dragonite—learned that a major reason Lia could not scrape together travel funds was because she had consistently been purchasing expensive, high-priced food to maintain the energy intake required for its growth.

Coupled with the passage of time, the Dragonair also welcomed its own evolution.

By that time, Lia was already in her forties; she had long let go of her obsession with traveling as a Trainer and was instead living steadily together with the Dragonite.

Because of the Dragonite, she had become the post office's ace courier, her income rising steadily; she had even saved a sum of money and bought a small home for herself and the Dragonite in a town near Casseroya Lake.

Time continued to flow, arriving at the age of sixty.

Lia had no intention of marrying or having children; she said she had not met the right person, but to the Dragonite, who had lived in human society for a long time and understood much, Lia had done this for its sake.

Lia knew it craved affection, so she did not want other things to distract her attention; she had not even raised any other Pokémon.

Due to her age, Lia could no longer work at the post office; to maintain the household income, the Dragonite chose to work at the post office alone.

Helplessly, Lia, who originally did not want to agree, could only consent; the Dragonite received another gift from Lia.

—A mail carrier's cap with a red top and black brim.

During the days working alone as a mail carrier, the Dragonite also experienced many interesting things.

Like a young girl, about the same age as Lia had been back then, requesting its help to take a young boy to the distant Kanto region to deliver a letter.

The Dragonite still remembered that at the birthday party of that boy's father, the cake was very sweet.

During its mail delivery routes, the Dragonite would occasionally circle around Casseroya Lake.

Now it no longer feared most of the wild Pokémon in Casseroya Lake; even that Gyarados which had once hunted it down had been found by the Dragonite and taught a lesson.

Until one day.

The Dragonite was making its routine flight around the vicinity of Casseroya Lake, planning to return to the nearby town shortly to help the already elderly Lia, when...

Relying on its keen eyesight, it saw on the surface of Casseroya Lake a bewildered, at-a-loss small pink snake.

Although the color was different, the Dragonite was very certain that it should be one of its own kind.

Perhaps recalling its own past, the Dragonite hesitated for a few seconds before choosing to intervene and save that pink Dratini which had been driven onto the lake surface.

Then, vaguely sensing something, he realized that the Dragonite had not brought the Dratini back to the home it shared with Lya, but had instead settled down with the pink Dratini on an island in the middle of Big Pot Lake.

After that, the Dragonite successively rescued two more Dratini, forming a small family on the lake island.

They were all female and got along very happily with one another.

The Dragonite also took on the responsibility of being the "leader" of the three Dratini, occasionally using his wages to buy food and provide them with extra meals.

Time continued to pass slowly like this, until the eightieth year since the Dragonite and Lya first met, when Lya turned ninety.

Autumn arrived.

(End of Chapter)