Chapter 81: To Live Under the Same Sun as You
In Dragonite Valley, the hillsides were dotted with caves where the colony took shelter from the elements. For Zubat, who couldn't be exposed to sunlight, these caves were a constant necessity. While Ryū trained with the Dragonite leader, Zubat would obediently stay inside.
A week passed in a flash.
Today, under the bright sun, Ryū was learning Fire Spin. The Dragonite leader wasn't trying to harm him; instead of a direct hit, he surrounded Ryū in a giant vortex of flame. This allowed Ryū to personally experience the move and figure out how to break free. The leader's mastery was on another level entirely. A normal Fire Spin was a simple wall of fire; this was a "Flame Cage," a constantly rotating, oval-shaped prison of fire with no gaps, not even at the top.
In a nearby cave.
"Zubat, Zubat!"
The little one felt the heat wave from outside and grew extremely anxious, flapping his wings and circling the damp cave. He tried to step out, but the scorching sunlight immediately caused a burning pain on his wings, and he quickly shrank back in fear.
Inside the flame cage, the temperature was rising.
[Chilling Water]
Ryū swung his tail, sending streams of low-temperature water at the flames, but they were instantly vaporized into steam. The move only briefly lowered the temperature.
[Water Pulse]
He then spat a larger ball of water at one spot on the fire wall, preparing to charge out right behind it.
"I'm betting on this one!" he thought, gritting his teeth.
The next moment, the Water Pulse burst like a balloon hitting a needle, having almost no effect on the fire wall.
'Water Pulse, I will never believe in you again!' was Ryū's last thought before he fainted from the heat.
The Dragonite leader saw a scorched, black snake fall out of the dissipating flames and quickly had another Dragonair feed him a Rawst Berry to treat the burns.
"ZUBAT!!!"
Just then, a sharp cry came from the distance. The leader turned and his eyes widened. Zubat had rushed out of the cave. The leader was startled; he knew Zubat couldn't withstand the sun.
But the next moment, all eyes were focused on the small, flying Pokémon.
A minute ago, Zubat had sensed Ryū's aura weakening. He could no longer care about anything else and rushed headlong into the light. He had no eyes; he couldn't see. He didn't know what was causing his body so much pain, but the agony couldn't stop his desperate cries for Ryū.
The desire to be closer, to be by his side, to live under the same sun, converged into a single, overwhelming wish.
I want to change.
The energy within Zubat surged uncontrollably. A light more dazzling than the sun itself burst forth from his body. When it faded, the flames ignited by the sun were gone.
In a brand new form, he flew towards Ryū.
"Golbat, Golbat!"
After evolving, he no longer feared the sun. He no longer needed Supersonic to sense the world; he could see its brilliant colors for himself. But his gaze went straight to his beloved Ryū, the first living being he had ever sensed.
"Oh wu." The Dragonite leader breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought his heart had turned to stone after a thousand years, but he was still moved by the powerful bond between these two.
Ryū woke up the next day. He looked at the Golbat guarding his left and the Shiny Dragonair on his right and decided to sleep a little longer. Half an hour later, he finally woke up and accepted Golbat's new form. Though stronger, its appearance was certainly a downgrade, on par with the green Shiny beside him.
"Golbat, congratulations. You can see the world now," Ryū said, though he was a bit puzzled. He didn't think Zubat had reached the proper level for evolution yet.
"Golbat, Golbat," his friend replied, affectionately hugging him. With a 3-meter-long body and a nearly 6-meter wingspan, he easily enveloped Ryū's entire head in his embrace.
"Forget it," Ryū thought, seeing Golbat so happy and healthy. Evolving a level or two early shouldn't be a problem.
[Inorin Note:
My apologies for the lack of updates; it's been over two weeks since I last uploaded this novel. I'm finally able to post again, and I will do my best to maintain a consistent daily upload schedule from now on.
As of right now, I am doing a mass release of all chapters up to 150. I would normally schedule one chapter every 30 minutes, but scheduling that many would be too time-consuming, so I have uploaded them all at once for you to enjoy.
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