Chapter 678: Single-Handedly Catching the Dragon Train!

The site for the Dragonite clan's chief election remained the familiar expanse of solid rocky land where they fought each other daily.

Here, ten warlike, brave, and vigorous adult Dragonites would determine who was the strongest, earning the chance to challenge the clan chief and gain approval.

They did not need to defeat the Dragonite clan chief; they only needed to obtain the other's approval, after which that Dragonite would be taken to that mysterious place to receive the qualification to acquire miraculous power.

Since most members of the Dragonite clan were quite gentle and not warlike,

the fact that ten warlike Dragonites could be gathered this time made the entire ceremony special.

Apart from these ten Dragonites, other wild Dragonites and Dragonairs brought their families, even bringing along the tiny Dratinis who usually never left the lake unless molting, gathering nearby like an audience to watch intently.

Whether one should say it or not, Luo Mu felt that the Dragonite line on this island seemed particularly fond of watching excitement.

Whether it was when he first arrived at Dragonite Island or when the drowning Kubfu was rescued, they always rushed to the scene of the spectacle immediately.

At the scene, the sounds of "Boo-wu," "Lu-wu," and "Mi-wu" rose and fell continuously, as if discussing whether the Dragonite that successfully broke through the encirclement today could gain the chief's approval and take over the other's responsibilities.

As for defeating the chief, not a single Dragonite had ever thought of such a thing; even the youngest Dratini in the clan knew that although the chief was aged, a single Dragon could hang ten Dragonites up and beat them.

There was simply no comparability.

This was all thanks to the blessing of that miraculous power.

"Bi-mi~" (So many dragons~)

Victini, lying on Luo Mu's shoulder, wore an expression of pure excitement; although these Dragonite lines usually gathered at their lake dwelling, quite a few Dragonites and Dragonairs had run off outside the island to roam.

Only the current chief election could gather these dragons capable of traveling the four seas together.

Having been lonely in Unova for too long, even though wild Pokémon had kept him company back then, Victini always preferred these lively scenes.

There were too many dragons, so Terapagos, who had a slight social anxiety regarding unfamiliar creatures, was unwilling to show its head.

Delibird, however, crossed its wings over its chest and sneered coldly.

"De-li!" (A bunch of four-times weak to Ice!)

In its view, apart from its own companion Dragonite, all other wild Dragonites were incredibly weak.

It, Delibird, could fight ten of them alone! Let alone a Dragonite!

After finishing its tough talk, Delibird silently bent down to clean up the mess of various items scattered all over the ground, caused by its wings not holding onto its tail.

Delibird deeply felt that this racial trait of its species was somewhat unfriendly.

Because it had to hold its tail with one wing, its strength could not be fully exerted.

When it completely defeated that brat Pikachu, it had only used one wing.

"Bei-a—"

Following closely behind Luo Mu, Kubfu surveyed the surrounding environment; perhaps because Luo Mu was present, its expression actually showed some shrinkage.

—It was the kind of personality that only revealed its true nature when it had someone trustworthy to rely on.

Luo Mu noticed this and raised an eyebrow.

Praise be to Teacher Joy Lin's teachings, as well as his own persistent, head-down hard study.

Only thus could the great "Pokémon Psychology" achieve repeated successes.

This Kubfu, whose origins remained unclear, might have a personality somewhat different from the usual temperament of its species.

Speaking of Kubfu, they were generally the type with steadfast perseverance, charging forward, and enduring unbearable, tedious training to become stronger and learn styles.

On the Pokémon Dex known to Luo Mu but not yet recorded in this world, most Kubfu's personalities were also described with such a passage.

"Kubfu diligently trains body and mind, undergoing arduous training day after day and seriously studying moves; it is a serious-natured Pokémon. If it loses in battle, it instead becomes more enthusiastic about training, choosing to strive for strength rather than sinking into depression alone."

Regarding the aspect of training enthusiasm, since they had just met, Luo Mu could not tell clearly, but regarding personality, Luo Mu felt this Kubfu seemed somewhat introverted and unconfident?

Yet it was precisely because it was training its physique that it accidentally got involved in a shipwreck.

This made Luo Mu even more curious about Kubfu's origins.

Wild Kubfu would mostly seek waterfalls or large rocks for cultivation; why would this Kubfu risk training at sea?

Soon, under the witness of the giant Dragonite and the refereeing of the Dragonite clan chief,

the Dragonite clan's chief election ceremony was not as complicated as humans electing a class monitor, town mayor, or city mayor.

It was simply that a Dragonite confident in its own abilities ascended the "arena" to accept challenges from unconvinced Dragonites below the "arena."

Until standing last, when everyone was convinced and submitted from the heart, that Dragonite would obtain preliminary qualification; next, it only needed to display outstanding quality during the battle with the clan chief and gain the chief's subjective approval.

To be honest, when Luo Mu first heard the "rules" repeated by Moltres, he once suspected it had added oil and vinegar.

—Because, what kind of rules were these, filled with complaint-worthy points everywhere?

However, thinking of other wild Pokémon, such as the Houndoom boss at the farm who had now reformed,

the method for electing a clan chief in their group seemed to be directly challenging the current chief; the winner became the new chief, while the loser depended on the old chief's mercy, who might choose expulsion or might choose to keep the loser.

Compared to those more primitive rules, the Dragonite clan's chief election method at least had the rudiment of a rule system.

—Although many places felt somewhat unreasonable upon rough thought, upon careful consideration, it seemed there was no problem.

At this moment, new movement occurred on the "arena," which was merely an ordinary expanse of rocky land.

A deep green Dragonite with a fierce expression took the lead, walking to the center, crossing its claws over its arms, and exhaling a stream of air from its nostrils.

"Ao-wu—!"

While roaring, the shiny Dragonite, looking down its nose at the other dragons, also raised a claw and beckoned toward those several vigorous wild Dragonites.

—Just like a provocation.

Regardless, at least from the fact that it dared to be the first on the arena under such rules, rather than conserving stamina to enter near the end of the gauntlet, one could see that this shiny Dragonite seemed quite confident in its own strength.

Just as those several young and vigorous wild Dragonites were about to enter the ring, Luo Mu patted the back of the Dragonite beside him and said in a low voice, "Go directly."

"Boo-wu~"

Stopping its action of biting its hands, Dragonite nodded, directly flapped its wings and flew onto the "arena," showing not a trace of hesitation.

Unlike those wild Dragonites, Dragonite clearly understood Luo Mu's meaning in having it go first.

—Compared to a victory in the form of picking peaches, fighting from start to finish was the only way to convince the masses.

Regardless of whether the Dragonites of Fast Dragon Island would choose to work for the farm in the future, even if it were merely to construct an "Ecological Mega Egg" in these waters, he still needed to gain the approval of these kin first.

As soon as the Dragonite entered the arena, the surrounding wild Dragonites immediately displayed expressions of shock.

That outsider kin really did participate in the chieftain election!

Seeing this, the Dragonite Chieftain also began to look forward to it.

Setting aside the reasons, the fact that Luo Mu's Dragonite could participate in the election was already enough to satisfy it.

Next, it would depend on whether the opponent truly possessed the qualification to inherit the chieftain's position and touch that miraculous power, just as the Guardian Deity had said.

But compared to their reactions, the Shiny Dragonite was currently somewhat dumbfounded.

Looking at the delicate-looking Dragonite standing opposite itself, it discovered it simply could not bring itself to strike.

After thinking for a moment, it simply struck a pose it considered very handsome, then let out a cry.

"Aowu—" (Just admit defeat; this noble grass has no desire to fight a little female dragon, especially you—)

In response to the Shiny Dragonite's "kindness," the Dragonite, blinking a pair of cute, large eyes, offered a rather serious reminder.

"Bouwu~" (If you won't make a move, then I'll make the move~)

As soon as the words fell, the Dragonite's expression became slightly more serious; without flying or releasing any moves, it took a few running steps to close the distance with the Shiny Dragonite.

Those claws, gleaming with a cold, forest-like luster, were not covered in energy but struck the Shiny Dragonite in a purely physical manner.

Even if the Shiny Dragonite was further intoxicated by the Dragonite's "beauty," its long-term practical combat training with the Dragonite Chieftain still allowed it to react immediately.

Crossing its two claws and arms, the Shiny Dragonite intended to take the Dragonite's strike head-on!

In its view, a physical attack launched by such a weak and delicate little female dragon as the Dragonite did not even warrant dodging.

The Shiny Dragonite had already planned out its follow-up handling method.

Once the Dragonite realized its attack was completely useless, it would then act with restraint to pin the opponent down; this way, it could declare its victory without injuring the other party.

—This noble grass is simply a genius!

Just as the Shiny Dragonite was lost in wild fantasies, wondering if the Dragonite would fall in love with it because of its strength.

The Dragonite's "Dragon Claw" had already slapped over!

At the moment of contact, the Shiny Dragonite wore a calm expression, pondering what cool move it should use in the next second to receive this technique.

But in the next instant, an unstoppable force transmitted from its crossed arms in front of its body.

—Then, a sensation of weightlessness struck.

Under the shocked expressions of the wild Dragonites, the Shiny Dragonite flew backward like a beach ball slapped away by the Dragonite, crashing directly into a large boulder nearby and embedding itself deeply within it.

That amount of force was such that even without experiencing it personally, one could imagine how painful it must be.

"."

The scene fell into complete silence, with only the Shiny Dragonite's fragmented groans emanating from within the large boulder.

At this moment, not only did its brain feel a sensation of the world spinning and the earth turning, leaving the Shiny Dragonite somewhat dazed.

What it found even more incomprehensible was how it had been sent flying by the Dragonite.

Had it underestimated the opponent?

Had the Dragonite become much stronger because of that human?

The Shiny Dragonite could not figure it out, but it was not so weak as to lose its combat capability just from being slapped away; after all, it was a "late-blooming Dragon Pokémon" that had evolved to its final stage and undergone arduous training.

By the time the Shiny Dragonite finally managed to pull itself out of the rock, the Dragonite's next wave of attacks had already arrived.

—It was still the simple and unadorned Dragon Claw slap, but this time, the Dragonite had utilized a move, both claws enveloped in emerald-green energy light.

The Shiny Dragonite dared not be negligent this time; it knew very well what occasion this was and could not afford to be careless any longer.

"Aowu—"

Letting out a roar, it lowered its body, and after a humming sound produced by the trembling air, its two claws were similarly enveloped in emerald-green energy light.

With the same "Dragon Claw" move, it did not believe it could lose to the Dragonite in a clash!

The Shiny Dragonite's Dragon Claw crossed paths with the Dragonite's Dragon Claw.

Judging from the Shiny Dragonite's appearance as it flew backward even faster, one could tell.

—This time, it was still an overwhelming victory for the Dragonite.

The Dragonite Chieftain watched with eyes full of joy.

The Dragonite suppressed the Shiny Dragonite, which it had previously favored quite highly, purely in terms of strength; the Guardian Deity's recommendation was indeed correct.

The subsequent battle between the Dragonite and the Shiny Dragonite further confirmed its judgment.

The Dragonite did not even use any other additional moves; relying solely on the single move "Dragon Claw," it beat the Shiny Dragonite into a steadily retreating state.

Moves like "Dragon Pulse," "Ice Beam," "Fire Blast," and "Thunderbolt" were all shattered by a single slap of the Dragonite's "Dragon Claw."

Finally, the "Dragon Rush" released by the Shiny Dragonite in its heated frenzy was even halted motionlessly by the Dragonite using just a single claw.

Catching a dragon car with one hand, kid!

The gap between the two parties could be said to be obvious at a glance.

In the end, the Shiny Dragonite left the arena looking utterly dispirited.

Watching this scene, Luo Mu sighed, "Sigh, level suppression, sigh."

It was just like the battle between Cynthia's Garchomp and Paul in the anime.

No matter how many tricks Paul employed, attacking every weakness of the Garchomp.

Yet, under the absolute gap in strength, the Garchomp, which could face Paul's Pokémon's ultimate moves without changing expression, could still take out every little friend with a single slash.

The gap between the Dragonite and the Shiny Dragonite was just like this example of Luo Mu's.

The Dragonite did not even need to get serious and easily ended the battle.

As expected.

Next, the other wild Dragonites that appeared on stage followed in the footsteps of the Shiny Dragonite.

This was also something Luo Mu had anticipated.

From watching the Dragonite Chief train them yesterday, Luo Mu had roughly gauged the strength of these wild Dragonites.

If those gentle Dragonites, who possessed almost no combat experience and relied entirely on natural growth and time to evolve, were equivalent to the main forces of Elite Trainers,

then these warlike wild Dragonites were, at best, comparable to the main forces of regular Gym Leaders.

His current Dragonite could easily defeat even the main forces of the Elite Four, let alone these wild Dragonites.

Before long, all ten wild Dragonites participating in the Chief selection were knocked to the ground by his Dragonite.

The gazes of the surrounding Dragonites, who had been aggressively spectating, shifted from their initial curiosity toward a fellow species from outside to respect.

—Even within the Dragonite clan, the rule of "might makes right" was unavoidable.

His Dragonite's formidable feat of defeating ten opponents alone had won their acknowledgment.

The Dragonites with hands clapped and applauded, while the handless Dragonairs and Dratinis celebrated with cries.

Even Luo Mu and his group became the focus of attention here.

—Simply because the Dragonite that had defeated the other ten wild Dragonites now possessed the opportunity to battle the Dragonite Chief and gain the other's recognition.

Luo Mu also turned his gaze toward the Dragonite Chief, slowly narrowing his eyes.

There was too little intelligence; he could not yet make a definitive judgment on just how strong the Dragonite Chief truly was.

However, he thought that through this battle, he should be able to catch a glimpse of the secrets behind that so-called "mysterious power."

(End of Chapter)