"Hehe, thank you, Dragon Elder.
And thank you, everyone. I'll take good care of it."
Silas grinned as he made his promise to all the Dreepy gathered around him.
Although they were saddened to temporarily lose one of their companions, the Dreepy all knew this was a good thing.
They had always dreamed of seeing the outside world.
"Dree..."
One after another, the Dreepy circled around Silas, saying their farewells to their chosen companion.
A flash of red light appeared.
The Dreepy that had just been caught immediately popped back out of its Luxury Ball, its eyes brimming with tears.
"Dree..."
"Dree~"
Their cries echoed across the shoreline.
Nearby, the playful Prinplup cautiously poked its head out of the sea, gazing enviously at the Dreepy.
"You're back?"
Silas immediately noticed the little troublemaker returning from its swim.
"Prin!"
Prinplup nodded happily before kicking off the water and leaping ashore.
"When we go to Hoenn next year, you'll be able to swim as much as you want. Johto doesn't really have that many large rivers."
Silas casually patted its head without minding its soaking wet body.
Prinplup's eyes lit up instantly.
As a Water-type Pokémon, it naturally preferred environments filled with water, especially the ocean.
Back when it had been a Piplup, things hadn't been so bad. Although it loved swimming, the vast underground river beneath Mortar Mountain had been more than enough for its small body.
But ever since Silas caught it and it evolved into Prinplup, it hadn't had a chance to truly enjoy swimming.
Today had been the first time in quite a while.
"Prin! Prin!"
Prinplup spun around excitedly on the spot.
Silas smiled and shook his head.
Pokémon really were simple creatures.
Even hearing about something scheduled for next year could make them this happy.
Then again, maybe they wouldn't have to wait that long.
Once everything in Blackthorn City was finished, he still had to complete Professor Elm's commission.
Surely the Pokémon Marine Research Institute wasn't built on top of a mountain.
Splash!
Lost in thought, Silas suddenly felt something cold strike his face.
He wiped it away and immediately saw Prinplup hastily turning into a beam of red light and diving back into its Poké Ball.
"You little rascal."
Silas laughed.
He didn't even need to think.
Prinplup had obviously shaken seawater all over him.
"Gallade."
Standing nearby, Gallade's eyes glowed with blue-violet psychic energy.
Using Telekinesis, it effortlessly lifted every drop of water off Silas's body and flung it away.
"You're no better."
Silas rolled his eyes.
"You saw what Prinplup was about to do, didn't you? You deliberately waited until after it finished before helping."
Gallade blinked innocently.
I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
"You little brat. You're even naughtier than when you were younger."
Silas sighed helplessly.
Every single one of them had been corrupted by Pidgeot, the team's big brother.
Inside its Poké Ball.
Pidgeot, who was lazily resting on the ground, suddenly shivered.
Tilting its head in confusion, it wondered,
Huh? Did that Ghost-type guy leave some lingering injury on me?
After a moment of puzzled contemplation.
It lazily rolled over.
A warm crimson healing glow briefly flickered across its body before fading away.
Closing its eyes comfortably, Pidgeot decided. Forget it, sleep comes first.
"Dree~"
Having finished saying goodbye to every one of its companions, Dreepy happily floated toward its new partner, its human Trainer.
Since it had spent its entire life on this island, it didn't really understand what a human Trainer was.
But, they should be just like the Dragon Elder.
A good person.
"Dree~"
It opened its big round eyes, then landed directly on top of Silas's head.
Silas couldn't help but laugh.
Come to think of it, his head always seemed strangely popular with Pokémon.
Pidgey had done it.
Torchic had done it.
Alolan Vulpix had done it.
And now Dreepy was doing it too.
Still Compared to the others, Dreepy was by far the most suitable passenger.
Pidgey always turned his hair into a bird's nest.
Torchic nearly set it on fire.
Alolan Vulpix practically froze his scalp solid.
If he hadn't strongly protested and made them stay on his shoulders instead.
He probably would've been bald by now.
Dreepy happily wagged its tail.
Its body was tiny, and it weighed almost nothing.
[Dreepy
Category: Lingering Pokémon
Type: Dragon / Ghost
Height: 0.54 m (Average: 0.5 m)
Weight: 2.2 kg (Average: 2.0 kg)
Ability: Infiltrator
(Passes through the opposing Pokémon's barriers, substitutes, and similar protections when attacking.)
Hidden Ability: Cursed Body
(When hit by an attack, it may disable the attacker's last move for a short period.)
Moves: Sucker Punch (Egg Move), Dragon Tail (Egg Move), Quick Attack, Astonish, Bite, Infestation.
Level: 10 (Beginner)
Potential: Elite Four
Training Plan: Under Development..]
Looking at the detailed information displayed by Zero, Silas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
The Dreepy evolutionary line certainly had interesting Abilities.
According to the Dragon Elder and his own observations, their Abilities remained unchanged all the way through their evolution into Dragapult.
The other standard Ability, according to the Dragon Elder, was Clear Body, which prevented most stat reductions caused by opponents.
Compared to Infiltrator, it was difficult to say which Ability was actually better.
Take Pidgeot's battle against Dragapult earlier as an example.
If that Elite-level Dragapult had possessed Infiltrator instead of Clear Body, Pidgeot's Substitute strategy would have failed from the very beginning.
The outcome of the battle would have been completely different.
After all, Infiltrator ignores Substitute, allowing attacks to strike the real target directly.
Double Team was unaffected, however, since its copies were merely illusions rather than actual barriers capable of absorbing damage.
If that had happened, the injured Pidgeot might never have been able to successfully execute Feather Dance followed by Sky Attack.
Then again if Silas hadn't already known Dragapult possessed Clear Body, he never would have instructed Pidgeot to fight that way in the first place.
As for the Hidden Ability, Cursed Body, he didn't pay it much attention.
Abilities that relied on lucky activations were practically "sometimes" in the truest sense under the command of someone with his average luck.
Still if it happened to trigger once during an intense battle, it could completely turn the tide.
Temporarily disabling an opponent's move at a critical moment was more than enough to decide victory.
The moves Dreepy already knew, however, pleased Silas greatly.
Sucker Punch and Dragon Tail were obviously inherited through Egg Moves.
After all, besides Dreepy and Dragon-type Pokémon, there were virtually no other Ghost-type Pokémon living on the islands.
The chances of inheriting Ghost-type moves were therefore rather slim.
On the other hand, this particular Dreepy had mastered all four of its normal moves.
It seemed it had been raised by excellent parents and companions.
As for the rest of the moves it would gradually learn through training.
Silas felt confident leaving that to himself and Dreepy's senior teammates.
To be perfectly honest, he didn't believe his team currently had any weaknesses when it came to move training.
Even weather-based moves, which they hadn't known how to teach last year, were no longer a problem.
As long as Dreepy attended his "classes" obediently, learning new moves would be remarkably easy.
As for the "Training Plan: Under Development" displayed by Zero.
Silas smiled helplessly.
Neither Zero nor he was omniscient.
They couldn't simply create the perfect training regimen out of thin air.
Dreepy was an entirely undocumented Pokémon species.
Both he and Zero needed time to study it before drawing any reliable conclusions.
He knew how to raise Ghost-types.
He also knew how to raise Dragon-types.
But combining both typings wasn't as simple as one plus one.
"Oh, right, Elder."
Silas looked toward the Dragon Elder, who was chatting with the Dragapult nearby.
The Dragon Elder seemed to know exactly what he was about to ask.
"Don't worry. Once you leave, I'll have someone send you all of our research regarding the Dreepy line, along with my personal thoughts on raising them."
"Of course," she added with a smile, "they're only suggestions."
"Thank you very much."
Silas hurriedly expressed his gratitude.
That information alone would save him an enormous amount of time.
Naturally, he'd keep it confidential.
After all, it represented years of painstaking research.
In this world information was the greatest form of wealth.
Then he scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"If possible could I purchase some Dragon-type training materials from the Dragon Clan?"
"You know how scarce they are on the market. It's not really about the money."
Thanks to the Bug Catching Net business, money wasn't nearly as pressing an issue as it had once been.
Supporting two full teams of Pokémon even with two Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries was still well within his means.
Unfortunately he soon realized he had underestimated the situation.
"Of course."
The Dragon Elder nodded casually.
No individual or organization possessed more Dragon-type resources than the Dragon Clan.
The Dragon's Den, Dragon Sanctuary, and Dragon Archipelago produced staggering amounts of Dragon-type materials every single year thanks to their incredibly rich Dragon-type energy.
Otherwise, they could never support so many Dragon Pokémon.
Besides silas wasn't asking for freebies.
Selling excess inventory while making a profit was simply good business.
She casually sent him a detailed catalog.
There was no need to prepare one specifically.
The Dragon Clan already operated this business.
"These are our public prices," she explained.
"For you, I'll offer a ten percent discount."
"But you aren't allowed to resell anything."
"Of course not. Thank you, Elder."
Silas had thanked her so many times that he'd almost lost count.
Then he opened the catalog, the moment he did he froze.
Ignoring the nine-digit price tags attached to Dragon Fang and Dragon Scale, those were famously expensive anyway, especially high-quality ones.
Why were Belue Berries, Rabuta Berries, and Ganlon Berries, all used for raising Dragon-types, so incredibly expensive?
And those Poké Block recipes.
What in the world?
Why did Dragonite alone have thirteen different recommended formulas?
Silas's head filled with question marks.
His mathematical instincts immediately calculated the total cost.
Raising both Gible and Dreepy merely to their second evolutionary stages.
Would require nearly nine figures.
Reaching their final evolutions?
At least two or three times that amount.
And if he wanted them to reach their full potential as Champion-caliber Pokémon.
He'd better prepare a ten-digit budget.
Silas's left hand, wearing his Pokétch, trembled uncontrollably.
This was nothing like he'd imagined.
"The market prices aren't this high are they?"
He asked cautiously.
The Dragon Elder kindly explained.
"You're right. But the market only sells a dozen or so at a time. The Dragon Clan sells them without quantity limits."
Silas clutched his chest in pain.
So wholesale was actually more expensive than retail?
That completely violated common business logic. He looked utterly miserable.
But what could he do?
The Dragon Clan set the prices.
"When you've decided what you want, just send the list to Clair."
"She'll handle everything."
The Dragon Elder smiled so broadly that her eyes nearly disappeared.
Who said opening Dragon's Den to outsiders wasn't profitable?
If someone caught a Dragon-type Pokémon. Where else were they going to buy Dragon-type training supplies?
Wouldn't they end up paying the Dragon Clan anyway?
Even if it wasn't a pure Dragon-type, no Trainer would ignore the Dragon bloodline within their Pokémon.
That meant, they'd eventually purchase the Dragon Clan's exclusive enhancement medicines.
Who was the easiest customer to make money from in this world?
Pokémon and their Trainers.
"Understood."
Silas accepted with gritted teeth.
It wasn't that his Bug Catching Net business couldn't afford to support two Dragon-type Pokémon.
That industry generated tremendous profits.
The problem was cash flow.
If he poured all his money into the unborn Gible and newly acquired Dreepy immediately.
The development of his other ten Pokémon would inevitably slow down.
Yet he couldn't afford not to invest.
For Pokémon with exceptional potential, everything before reaching the Elite level represented their greatest growth period.
Simply put, the more resources invested during this stage.
The greater the rewards after evolution.
This was especially true for Dragon-types.
Beneath the moonlight ailas wore an expression of utter despair.
The Dragon Elder, meanwhile, smiled brighter than ever.
Blackthorn City Pokémon Center
Silas collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion.
Perched on top of his head, Dreepy floated curiously around the room, poking at everything it could find.
Having just left the Dragon Archipelago, everything in this new world fascinated it.
"Vulpix!"
Below it, the snow-white Alolan Vulpix bounced around excitedly, enthusiastically introducing every corner of the room to its new companion.
At last, the tiny Alolan Vulpix finally had another playmate besides Piplup.
When Piplup had evolved into Prinplup not long ago, it had been depressed for quite some time.
Fortunately, Prinplup hadn't grown too large yet, so it quickly adjusted.
Now that another Pokémon roughly its own size had joined the team.
Alolan Vulpix couldn't have been happier.
Silas carefully took the Gible Egg from his backpack and placed it beside his bed.
Stretching comfortably, he sighed with satisfaction.
"Man i really hit the jackpot this time."
..
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