Chapter 671: The Island of Dragonites

Time returned to shortly after Kyogre and Groudon had left.

Luo Mu was asking his secretly placed Watchog, which had been observing the battle from a safe zone, whether it had gained any inspiration from the rainstorm caused by Kyogre.

After he finished communicating with Watchog.

Lugia, having dissolved the Star Crystalization, sighed at how this miraculous power had also affected itself, then spoke with slight urgency about its need to depart before the Gigantamax Dragonite and Gigantamax Gyarados.

They themselves disliked human contact; Gigantamax Dragonite was one thing, but Gigantamax Gyarados and Lugia had both suffered persecution by humans and had no desire to be entangled with any other humans besides Luo Mu.

Lugia did hold favorable feelings toward its former partner, the “Commander”—Ash—but Ash had not participated in the core of this battle, so there was no need for it to wait here specifically.

Without Lugia’s assistance, Luo Mu’s own team would have struggled greatly to handle Kyogre at sea.

At sea, Raichu’s prized close-range attacks were almost entirely ineffective, leaving it reliant solely on its Electric-type moves.

——Because it had no ground to stand on.

As for Mega Swampert, if it wished to overcome Kyogre—whose type was not weak to its own—and achieve what Gigantamax Dragonite had done,

it would likely require considerable effort.

Why should Luo Mu make things difficult for Lugia, who had stepped forward willingly?

He understood well why Lugia and the others avoided humans, so he did not obstruct them, only agreeing to meet again in a specific sea area after handling the aftermath.

It was then that Gigantamax Dragonite, through Lugia’s telepathy, left an invitation: when they met again, it would take Luo Mu to an island.

Time now returns to the present.

“So, what exactly is that island—?”

After Firebird landed on a small oceanic island, Luo Mu, now standing on solid ground, asked Gigantamax Dragonite, which floated with only its massive head above the sea.

Lugia, responsible for real-time translation, formed the telepathic bridge.

——One could only say that in this Pokémon world, Psychic-type Pokémon were immensely useful.

“Awooo~” Gigantamax Dragonite’s antennae twitched; it had no concept of “teasing,” and spilled its thoughts outright.

It wanted to take Luo Mu to an island inhabited by many Pokémon just like itself—but much, much smaller!

The Island of Dragonites!

On the afternoon island, coconut trees—unique to the tropical regions near Hoenn—grew at bizarre angles, their coconuts the favorite food of a certain “king” whose wisdom was deceptively simple.

Beneath the coconut trees, Luo Mu was on the phone with the farm’s landline.

“Yes, just have Dragonite come over—following Lugia’s aura, it’ll find us.”

Listening to the slightly static-filled “Yareyuta” from the receiver, Luo Mu believed Zangoose understood; after a few more words, he hung up.

Though Psychic-type Pokémon and certain others’ telepathy were incredibly useful, they still couldn’t enable seamless phone communication—a minor flaw, admittedly.

Only Zangoose, when carrying his tablet, could speak by typing and playing back audio.

Luo Mu had just put down his phone when Lugia drifted over. “Finished?”

“Yes. With Dragonite’s flight speed, it’ll arrive at the latest by midday.” Luo Mu nodded, suppressing the urge to reach out and touch Lugia’s feathers.

He’d gotten his fill during the ride; now, touching again would be too abrupt.

Lugia looked toward the distance, its resonant male voice entering Luo Mu’s mind: “When I return home, I think I’ll enter a long slumber.”

Having confirmed Kyogre’s anomaly originated from humans, Lugia had no reason to remain active.

For it, resting deep beneath the ocean, carried along by currents, was its natural state.

It remained here only to use its own aura as a beacon, guiding Dragonite’s path.

Seeing Luo Mu’s calm, unemotional profile, Lugia did not mention that if Luo Mu never summoned it again with the Silver Feather, it might sleep for centuries.

For Lugia, separation was long familiar; it also refused to make separation sorrowful.

Had Luo Mu known what Lugia was thinking, he would have laughed and said, “In about a year, you’ll be dragged out to battle Arceus—and you’ll still miss your move.”

Even Kyogre might be woken again by Manaphy soon—though that might not even be the original one.

Perhaps sensing they might never meet again, Lugia paused for several seconds, then telepathically said: “If Dragonite’s mastery of air currents progresses well, why not seize this chance to teach it ‘Aeroblast’?”

Just as Ho-Oh could teach Entei Sacred Fire, if Dragonite met the conditions, Lugia could teach it ‘Aeroblast’ too.

The seed for those conditions had been planted back at Asia Island—over half a year had passed since then, and Lugia did not know how far Dragonite had progressed.

But judging by the growth rate of Firebird, perhaps it wasn’t far behind?

“. Are you serious?”

Luo Mu did not react with the surprise Lugia expected; instead, he looked at Lugia with skepticism.

Hadn’t Lugia itself said that, given time, Dragonite would eventually master ‘Aeroblast’?

Why change its mind now?

And why offer to teach it personally?

“Don’t worry—it won’t take long.”

Misunderstanding, Lugia lifted one wing, as if waving it off.

“What I’m worried about isn’t that… never mind.”

Though he didn’t understand Lugia’s sudden change of heart, he himself had recently declared he didn’t need Legendary Pokémon’s signature moves.

But since Lugia had served the meal right to his lips, Luo Mu wasn’t so ungrateful as to refuse its kindness.

Though ‘Aeroblast’ was weaker than ‘Hurricane’ in the games, the one Lugia used to defeat Groudon already revealed its true potential.

In reality, ‘Aeroblast’ was undeniably a Flying-type ultimate move—a decisive trump card.

Once learned, combined with ‘Quick Attack’ and Terastallization, Dragonite’s overall power could easily match Raichu and Mega Swampert.

After a few more brief words with Lugia, Luo Mu went over to interact with the Pokémon scattered across the island’s beach.

Watchog, Cresselia, Victini, and Togedemaru were sitting in a row, their faces filled with admiration and awe, listening as the legendary Messenger Bird recounted its epic travels.

“Deli~ Deli!”

(In that romantic city coexisting with water, a little-known sibling legend existed: a pair of sister thieves, disguised as Pokémon, targeted them and tried to capture them~)

The Pokémon, transformed into human girls, were rescued by a traveling boy, and a story tinged with romance blossomed between them.

But good times didn’t last—the Pokémon’s brother was captured, and the precious Heart Water was stolen, plunging the entire Water City into imminent danger of a tsunami.

At that moment, this bird and a group of companions met at sea stood up, uniting the strength of countless beings to halt the tsunami’s advance!)

At this moment, Messenger Bird puffed out its chest like a proud Piplup, its face glowing with self-satisfaction.

Victini and Togedemaru, two naive youngsters, clapped their hands and forelimbs excitedly.

Watchog, an “old Pokémon” who had joined the farm around the same time as Messenger Bird, merely wore a cheerful smile, rhythmically clapping to provide background music for Messenger Bird’s “epic tale.”

Cresselia smiled as she wove flower garlands and placed them on Victini and Togedemaru, lost in the story.

Suddenly, Messenger Bird’s proud expression vanished, replaced by silence and sorrow.

“Deli—”

(But the resistance was only temporary—the Heart Water, corrupted by greed, was too powerful; the frozen ice shattered, and the freed brother, using all his strength, fought to stop the tsunami, even willing to sacrifice his life—)

“Togedemaru.”

“Victini.”

The two little ones lowered their heads, too afraid to listen further.

Fortunately, the story ended happily.

In Messenger Bird’s telling, the Water City’s brother burned his life to halt the tsunami, yet perhaps because his call had united the wild Pokémon, their collective strength truly slowed the tsunami’s advance.

The brother survived, and with the help of his kin who arrived, he was finally reunited with his sister.

Luo Mu didn’t know what they were talking about—he had neither the psychic power to communicate with Pokémon, nor the legendary ability called “Eon Power” said to let one understand Pokémon speech.

He was merely a lowly nobody, as declared by Rayquaza, Lugia, and Mewtwo: lacking any Psychic talent.

When the Pokémon had calmed down, he walked over.

“Deli?”

Messenger Bird raised a wing, happily greeting Luo Mu.

Watchog and the others gathered around him.

Regardless of the scorching sand, Luo Mu squatted and sat down, turning to Messenger Bird: “After this, do you still have places in Hoenn you want to explore?”

Messenger Bird paused, thinking seriously.

In truth, it had already flown across most of Hoenn and made many friends among the local Pokémon.

If it had to name another place to go, there seemed to be none—

Realizing this, Messenger Bird honestly shook its head.

“Then come back to the farm and rest for a while. The Sinnoh region ahead has plenty of environments perfect for you.”

“Resting before setting out again is a good choice—and haven’t you been away from home for a long time?”

Luo Mu smiled, gently stroking Messenger Bird’s fluffy head.

Home…

Messenger Bird suddenly felt a sting in its eyes; though it hadn’t stayed long at the farm before setting out to train through travel,

one thing was true.

At the farm, it had felt a sense of belonging equal to, if not greater than, the one it once had with its own tribe.

And because so many strong family members stood before it, the Messenger Bird—who once protected its tribe—had now experienced something called “safety.”

“Deli!”

Messenger Bird no longer hesitated, flapping its small wings and leaping onto Luo Mu.

After so much traveling, it was truly time to go home!

Dragonite did not make Luo Mu wait long.

Shortly after sunset, it followed Lugia’s aura and the bright glow emitted by Raichu, landing on the nameless island.

It had been nearly half a month since they last met, and the first thing this guy did upon landing was to hug Luo Mu tightly, expressing his longing this way.

Although Luo Mu often called the farm via video chat, being on a screen was entirely different from being together in person.

No matter how strong Dragonite was, it was still just a baby a little over a year old, and soothing it took Luo Mu considerable effort.

Thinking of the many Pokémon waiting for him back at the farm, Luo Mu could only sigh helplessly.

—What a sweet trouble indeed.

Dragonite had already met Giant Dragonite, so no introduction was needed.

When Dragonite heard that Giant Dragonite would take them to an island inhabited by Dragonites, its eyes instantly lit up.

Seeing its eager expression, Luo Mu finally realized—come to think of it, Dragonite had rarely seen its own kind.

In fact, the Dragonites it had encountered were practically countable on one hand, and those it had battled were even fewer.

That was basically it: its mother it had never met, three Haunter foster mothers, Entei’s Dragonite, the Giant Dragonite of the Dragon Sanctuary, and the Giant Dragonite in the sea.

That was all.

—Indeed, his decision to bring Dragonite here specifically to meet its own kind had been right.

Luo Mu did not set off under cover of night; instead, he chose to camp on the small island for the night and depart the next morning.

Seizing this opportunity, Lugia pulled Dragonite aside and began its hour-long lesson.

This time, instead of teaching Dragonite air current techniques through actual combat, it was even more grueling for Dragonite than that previous ordeal.

—Compared to Lugia’s gentle demeanor, its standards were terrifyingly high.

Every now and then, Luo Mu heard the howling wind outside the tent, and he could only silently mourn for Dragonite for a few seconds.

Tomorrow, during the day, he’d let it rest inside its Poké Ball and have Cresselia give it a massage.

Giant Dragonite’s size was too large, but Flareon could keep up with its pace.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu lulled himself into ignoring it and peacefully closed his eyes.

Just before his consciousness slipped into sleep, one final thought surfaced in his mind.

—I wonder, is the Dragonite Island that Giant Dragonite plans to take me to the same one I know?

Or is it another habitat for Dragonites?

(End of Chapter)