The Dratini was completely engrossed in its meal, seemingly paying no mind to the words spoken next to it.
In fact, a long time had passed since its mother had left. Although it still thought of her occasionally, the wound was slowly healing, and it was no longer as heartbroken as it had been at the beginning.
After licking the can completely clean, it looked at Natsui again, clearly wanting more.
Seeing this, Natsui quickly took out a second can and held it out.
"Eat up, eat up. Eat as much as you want."
This time, the Dratini was a little bolder. It cautiously inched closer to Natsui and once again snatched the can away.
Watching it devour the second can until it was sparkling clean, Natsui couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
Such a tiny body, yet such a huge appetite. It's almost as much as two Wartortle!
Just then, Haunter looked up at the sky and said to Natsui, "It's getting late. We've already delayed here for too long. Shouldn't we be leaving?"
Natsui nodded, called his Pokémon together, and was about to leave on Zapdos when the Dratini, who had been staring at his back for a long time, saw that he was leaving and hurriedly followed, letting out a few soft cries.
"Huh?" Haunter said, surprised. "It wants to go with us!"
"Go with us?"
Natsui was stunned, feeling a sense of wonder.
As the only pseudo-legendary from the first generation, he was naturally very fond of Pokémon like Dragonite.
Before setting foot on this island, he had often thought about catching a Dragonite one day. But since arriving here and seeing these Pokémon live such carefree and peaceful lives, he couldn't bear to disturb the island's tranquility and hadn't entertained the thought of catching them.
But he never expected that now a pitiful Dratini would be willing to leave with him voluntarily. What an unexpected delight!
"Hey, Haunter, you don't think the reason it wants to follow me is just to keep eating canned food, do you?"
"Give yourself some credit for knowing that much," Haunter rolled its eyes at him. "Living here, I bet it's long since gotten tired of those berries. I'm afraid that in its eyes, your backpack is a bottomless pit. As long as it follows you, it can eat those different-flavored cans every day."
Alright, although the method was different, Natsui was naturally very happy to be able to catch such a precious Pokémon just with canned food.
He turned his head to look at the few Dragonite nearby. Seeing they had no objections and instead had looks of relief on their faces, Natsui gestured to them, then crouched down, took out an empty Poké Ball from his backpack, and faced it towards the Dratini.
"Have you thought it through?" Natsui asked solemnly. "If you leave here with me, it might be a very, very long time before you can come back here, you know!"
The Dratini licked its lips, seemingly not hearing what Natsui was saying at all. Instead, it seemed to think the Poké Ball was another tasty treat and slowly approached it.
The moment its nose touched the switch, with a flash of red light, it was directly sucked into the Poké Ball!
The Poké Ball shook slightly, and after a soft 'click,' it fell completely still.
Sigh, what a little foodie!
Natsui shook his head helplessly at this, but regardless, after traveling for so long, he had finally caught his ninth Pokémon!
...
Riding on Zapdos's back, Natsui passed through the circular storm and left Dragonite Island.
Once his phone regained its signal, he pinpointed his location and set off once again towards Fuchsia City.
The air at high altitude was very cold, and flying against the wind made it almost difficult to breathe. He quickly patted Zapdos's back, telling it to lower its altitude, which made him feel much better.
The sea surface zipped by rapidly beneath his feet.
At Zapdos's speed, he flew for a long time until he reached the coastal waters. To avoid being spotted, Natsui switched back to Gyarados and swam to the shore.
Fuchsia, a gorgeous and brilliant pinkish-red color.
As an important city in the southwest of the Kanto region, Fuchsia City's most famous landmark, aside from the Fuchsia Gym, was the Safari Zone not far from the city.
There, for an entrance fee of 500 Poké Dollars, people could get 30 Safari Balls and freely catch Pokémon in that natural Pokémon habitat.
Because no battling was required—one could catch Pokémon simply by throwing Safari Balls, rocks, or bait—many ordinary people would travel from far and wide every year to catch their first Pokémon here.
However, for Natsui, there was nothing here worth catching anymore. So, when he passed by the Safari Zone, he merely gave it a casual glance before leaving hastily, heading straight for Fuchsia City.
However, upon entering the city full of tall buildings, he learned from his navigation app that the Fuchsia Gym, unlike other gyms, was not built within the city but was hidden deep in the mountains outside of it.
With no other choice, after restocking on fresh water and food in a shop, Natsui had to set off on foot again, heading towards the mountains.
Frustratingly, the path to the Fuchsia Gym was very rugged. Most of it consisted of uneven mountain trails, even requiring him to wade through streams and cross a single-log bridge, making every step more draining.
Strange cries echoed from the dense forest, and there was no telling what kind of Pokémon were peeking out.
Seeing Natsui slow down, Haunter suggested, "How about it? Want me to use the wind to help push you forward?"
"Forget it," he said, shaking his head in refusal. "Walking on a path like this is tiring, but it's not without its benefits. Let's just consider it exercise."
"I really don't get it," Haunter said, looking around puzzled. "Why build a gym in such a remote place? It's clearly meant for trainers to challenge for badges, yet they build it so far away. I bet by the time we get there, we won't even need to battle; the exhaustion alone will be enough to take someone down."
"Well..." Natsui tightened his backpack straps and said as he walked, "The Fuchsia Gym Leader is Koga. He's not only a Poison-type Pokémon expert but also a ninja, said to be a descendant of the Iga-ryu school. That's why he secludes himself in the deep mountains for training. So, this path can be considered a test for trainers."
After another ten minutes of walking, when they finally reached a high slope and looked down, they at last saw a spacious, multi-leveled courtyard on a cliff on the other side!
The style of the courtyard was simple and elegant, and inside, all the buildings were connected by covered walkways, forming a massive complex!
Looking closely at the courtyard's main gate, one could just make out the four large characters on the plaque: Fuchsia Gym!
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