"The relationship between Dragapult and Dreepy is somewhat similar to that between Remoraid and Mantine, but there are also major differences.
"At the very least, Dreepy doesn't require Dragapult in order to evolve.
"In the wild, once a battle begins, Dragapult launches Dreepy at supersonic speed as an attack.
"Because they're Ghost-type Pokémon, this method not only doesn't harm Dreepy, but actually excites them."
The Dragon Elder explained the Ghost Dragons to Silas with a warm smile.
Silas couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
"In that case, if they ever compete in official tournaments, the launch ports would probably have to be inspected."
As a Trainer, that was the first thing that came to his mind.
It could only be said that his train of thought was a little unconventional.
Thanks to the Dragon Elder's detailed explanation, Silas quickly understood why no one had ever encountered Pokémon like Dreepy before.
Fundamentally, Dreepy were not Pokémon that originated in the modern era. They primarily lived during ancient times.
After they died, however, they became Ghost-type Pokémon that wandered around the places where they had lived in life.
Needless to say, becoming a Ghost-type Pokémon after death was no easy feat, even for Dragon-type Pokémon with exceptionally strong spiritual power.
Therefore, among all the necessary conditions for Dreepy to appear, the existence of a Dragon Graveyard was absolutely essential.
Aside from the Dragon cemetery formed by the unique environment of the Dragon's Den, there were very few Pokémon graveyards in the world that truly deserved the title of a "Dragon Graveyard."
Places such as Pokémon Tower in Kanto, the Lost Tower in Sinnoh, Mt. Pyre in Hoenn, and the Celestial Tower in Unova contained the resting places of nearly every known species of Pokémon.
As a result, the Ghost-type Pokémon born there were usually species like Gastly or Drifloon.
Furthermore, most Dragon-type Pokémon had a habit of leaving for remote wilderness areas when they sensed the end of their lives approaching, spending their final days alone.
Perhaps they simply didn't want other Pokémon to witness their weakened state.
Of course, after becoming Ghost-type Pokémon, the greatest benefit was that they no longer had to worry much about lifespan.
Many people even believed Ghost-type Pokémon had no concept of lifespan at all.
The only thing sustaining their existence was life energy.
After all, judging from Ghost-type Pokémon discovered in ancient ruins, some had survived since before humanity even came into existence.
If Ghost-type Pokémon weren't so difficult to study, countless wealthy people would probably invest enormous fortunes researching them.
"Dree..."
One of the Dreepy flying overhead circled around its mother excitedly, seemingly telling her something.
Silas quietly had Zero scan it.
The Dragapult was at the Near Champion level, making it the strongest member of the group.
"Still Dreepy are really adorable."
Watching the little Pokémon spinning around him so fast they left afterimages, Silas silently closed his eyes.
If he kept watching, he was going to get dizzy.
Perhaps because they had never met outsiders before, the Dreepy were overflowing with energy.
Not only Silas, but even his ever-reliable Gigalith, who normally loved caring for young Pokémon, was beginning to struggle.
Several Dreepy floated straight through Gigalith's rocky body again and again.
For the first time in a long while, Gigalith didn't know how to react.
Chasing them away didn't seem appropriate. Their parents were watching.
But letting them continue wasn't much better.
Gigalith silently thought that it certainly wasn't some kind of pervert who enjoyed having other Pokémon constantly passing through its body.
The sensation was incredibly uncomfortable.
For once, a very obvious expression appeared on its normally stoic rocky face.
Silas forced his dizzy eyes open and rubbed his forehead.
"Come back, Gigalith."
A red beam of light recalled it into its Poké Ball.
Silas could have sworn Gigalith sighed in relief.
That alone was an incredibly rare sight.
Unfortunately, Gigalith's escape only made Silas's own situation worse.
Having never seen Poké Balls before, the Dreepy immediately became fascinated by the flash of red light.
They crowded together, stacking their little heads as they stared fixedly at the Poké Balls hanging from Silas's belt.
If Silas didn't have a habit of never carrying empty Poké Balls on the outside of his belt, he had no doubt these curiosity-filled little Pokémon would have happily climbed inside one themselves.
"...Wait a second."
He scratched his head.
"If they entered one on their own, the Dragon Clan couldn't exactly ask for them back afterward, could they?"
Dragon/Ghost-type Pokémon.
Extremely rare ones that didn't absorb life energy and didn't conflict with Psychic-type Pokémon either.
What could possibly be better than that?
Unfortunately, under the Dragon Elder's knowing smile, Silas ultimately couldn't bring himself to shamelessly hang an empty Poké Ball from his belt.
He silently made a promise to himself.
Once he left this place, he was definitely going to fix that bad habit.
After all, he wasn't going to throw an empty Poké Ball during a battle anyway.
Who knew? Maybe someday he'd run into another opportunity like this.
"You know about the Galar region, don't you?"
The Dragon Elder suddenly asked.
Silas nodded.
"I do. Why?"
He casually grabbed one of the Dreepy by the back of its neck to stop it from phasing through his body again, then looked at the Dragon Elder curiously.
"The League over there recently discovered several colonies of Dreepy living in Galar. After careful consideration, they've decided to classify them as that region's pseudo-legendary Pokémon."
The Dragon Elder casually dropped a bombshell.
Silas froze.
In other words had he just missed the chance to get at least two pseudo-legendary Pokémon for free?
He let out a long sigh.
"Elder you really didn't have to hit me where it hurts."
The Dragon Elder's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"However..."
She deliberately dragged out the last word without continuing.
Silas stared at her expectantly.
He suddenly had a feeling that his fortunes were about to change.
"Considering everything you've done, I'm willing to give you an opportunity."
The Dragon Elder didn't keep him in suspense for long. She tapped her walking stick lightly against the ground as she spoke.
Had Silas been a great help?
Absolutely.
No one had expected the three poachers to make such rapid progress.
The biggest reason was that, by pure coincidence, they had shattered the rock left behind by the Gym Leader from two generations before the current Dragon Clan.
That single act had instantly driven the Guardian Dragonite into a berserk rage, causing it to focus all of its attention on the unlucky poacher who had stayed behind to cover the others' escape.
If Silas hadn't delayed the other two poachers for several minutes at the exit of the Dragon Sanctuary, the Dragonite, consumed by Outrage, could very well have lost their trail.
And with the Dragon Elder still far away at the entrance to the Dragon's Den, she would never have arrived in time.
After all, the Dragon's Den had more than just its main entrance. There were several hidden exits as well.
Although very few people knew about them, given Team Rocket's capabilities and planning, they had undoubtedly informed the three poachers about every escape route.
With their strength, slipping past the Dragon Tamers guarding those exits wouldn't have been particularly difficult.
If they had escaped, the consequences would have been severe.
It was just like the Larvitar hatchlings on Mt. Silver.
The reason poachers and criminal organizations rarely targeted Larvitar wasn't because they lacked value. It was because the Johto League had protected them flawlessly for decades.
Since the League's establishment, not a single Larvitar hatchling had ever been successfully stolen.
Most poachers had been crushed into dust by enraged Tyranitar.
The lucky few who survived usually spent the rest of their lives enjoying free meals behind bars.
The enormous risk and miserable success rate made even profit-driven criminals lose interest in pseudo-legendary hatchlings.
They'd rather spend their time trying their luck in the wild.
At least there, there was still a chance of success, and the danger wasn't nearly as overwhelming.
Although the poachers hadn't stolen any Dragon-type Pokémon hatchlings this time, the sacred flame within the Dragon Sanctuary carried symbolic significance that exceeded the value of most pseudo-legendary hatchlings.
If Team Rocket obtained it and used it for their own schemes, the Dragon Elder could easily imagine the consequences.
By then, Lance would probably have no choice but to abandon everything else and remain in Blackthorn City to guard the Dragon's Den.
If that happened, Team Rocket's objective would have been achieved.
Without Lance constantly interfering with their operations, many of their plans could proceed far more smoothly.
That was exactly what people meant by saying it wasn't the thief you feared, but the thief who kept watching.
Before anything actually happened, everyone believed this operation offered terrible returns for the effort involved, especially while Lance was still so young.
But once someone succeeded even once, those despicable people would swarm in like vultures.
The Dragon Elder knew their nature all too well.
Dragonite giving Silas one of its Dragon Scales was simply its way of thanking him for restoring the memorial rock. It did not represent the will of the Dragon Clan.
However, the moment she decided to bring Silas into the Dragon Sanctuary, she had already planned to allow him to leave the Dragon's Den with one additional Pokémon.
As the human guardian of the Dragon's Den, she naturally possessed that authority.
And Lance would undoubtedly support her decision.
After all, he had proposed more than once that the Dragon's Den should open additional opportunities for talented Trainers who weren't born into the Dragon Clan.
"Really?"
Silas was almost numb after receiving one pleasant surprise after another.
First, he had encountered a newborn Gible Egg with Champion-level potential. Although it had cost him one Dragon Scale, he had been compensated with something even better.
And now he was being told he had the chance to obtain a second Dragon-type Pokémon.
Given his abilities, the Pokémon he would be allowed to take away would almost certainly be at least a pseudo-legendary with Elite-level potential.
Even for the Dragon Clan, that was far from insignificant.
Adding everything together, his trip to Blackthorn City had become unbelievably rewarding.
"Of course it's true," the Dragon Elder snorted. "Do you think I would go back on my word?"
"Of course not." Silas nodded repeatedly. "Who are you, Elder? A woman whose word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Once you make a promise, you never break it..."
His face was filled with an eager, flattering smile.
Seriously, anyone who heard this would probably kneel on the spot.
Some people would probably even ask her to become their honorary grandmother.
"However..."
The Dragon Elder narrowed her eyes and enjoyed Silas's compliments for a while before speaking again.
"You'll still have to pass a small test."
Silas wasn't surprised.
It was just like what had happened earlier with the Garchomp clan.
If he hadn't won over the young prince beforehand, its parents probably wouldn't have entrusted their child to him so easily.
The approval of the Dragon Elder and Dragonite was more like a key that opened the door.
It was hard to say whose approval mattered more, but the opinions of the Pokémon's parents were clearly the deciding factor.
In other words, the Dragon Elder's so-called test simply meant Silas had to convince the parents of whichever Pokémon he wished to take with him.
"So what's the test? I'm ready."
Silas's face was full of anticipation.
Failure?
Sorry.
That word didn't exist in his dictionary.
He had already made up his mind.
Today, he was absolutely leaving with two pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
The Dragon Elder smiled mysteriously.
"Don't be so impatient. The trial won't take place here."
As she spoke, she pointed her walking stick toward the Elite-level Dragapult flying overhead.
"That one will take you there."
There?
Where?
Silas was completely confused.
The Dragon's Den, the Dragon Sanctuary, the Dragon Graveyard.
He found it hard to imagine there being an even deeper area beyond all of those places.
"Let's go."
The Dragon Elder climbed onto Salamence's back first.
The Elite-level Dragapult also descended to the ground with two Dreepy resting inside the launchers on its head.
It stared at Silas for a few seconds before tilting its head, signaling him to climb aboard.
Silas hesitated briefly before climbing onto Dragapult's back.
Unlike its transparent tail, its back felt completely solid.
In fact, it was surprisingly comfortable for carrying a rider.
"Dree..."
One of the Dreepy poked its head out from the launcher.
Twisting its tiny body into a strange curve, it stretched out its tongue and licked Silas across the face.
It felt icy cold.
Silas instinctively shivered.
The little Dreepy looked delighted and immediately shared its excitement with its companion on the other side.
As a result, the other half of Silas's face quickly became the second Dreepy's new toy.
Silas felt like crying.
Sitting on their parent's back, he didn't dare stop them.
Who knew what kind of temper the massive Dragapult beneath him actually had?
From what he'd seen so far, it was rather aloof and definitely not something he wanted to provoke.
"Graah."
Dragapult seemed to notice the two little troublemakers becoming overly energetic.
Without the slightest hesitation, it flicked its head sharply.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Silas finally had the privilege of witnessing how Dreepy were launched like missiles.
Fortunately, they were fired straight ahead.
So as Dragapult continued flying forward, the two Dreepy quickly returned to their usual resting places.
This time, they remained much quieter.
Silas let out a small sigh of relief.
"Hm?"
He subconsciously sniffed the air.
"That smell..."
Rumble!!
A deafening roar echoed through his ears.
He looked down.
An endless expanse of surging blue water stretched out beneath him.
His eyes widened in shock.
"The ocean?!"
"That's right."
The Dragon Elder spread her arms toward the vast passage before them.
"This is the waterway that connects the Dragon's Den to the sea."
"The place you're about to visit is the true heart of the Dragon Clan, where countless powerful Dragon-type Pokémon have lived for generations."
"You may call it the Dragon Archipelago."
..
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