Milk produced by a Senior-level Miltank was extraordinarily nutritious. For a Dratini with its current constitution, just two mouthfuls were enough to fill its stomach.
If it got greedy and drank more, it would only end up with diarrhea, unable to absorb the excess nutrition.
Once Dratini shed its skin and transitioned from the infant stage to the Rookie stage, its body would grow stronger. At that point, it could absorb more nutrients, allowing for much faster growth.
With a Senior-level Miltank at his side—and with Mei herself still growing—Yozora had every confidence. Raising a Dratini was hardly a problem. Even if he got a Larvitar later, he wouldn't feel pressured.
"Dra… Dratini?"
Jun's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
He had worked tirelessly just to obtain a single Dratini Egg. Yet Yozora already had a living, breathing Dratini in his arms.
From Jun's perspective, Yozora was different from him. Yozora was just the child of an ordinary family—he shouldn't have this kind of advantage.
"Brother Yozora, don't tell me… you actually caught that Dratini in the wild?" Jun asked cautiously.
"That's right."
Yozora nodded. "Dratini are nearly impossible to buy in the market. If they were, you wouldn't need to work so hard to collect all those tokens."
Jun gawked at him, his eyes turning green with envy.
To capture a wild Dratini… what kind of luck was that?!
But soon, Jun calmed down. No matter. He was about to receive his own Dratini Egg anyway.
He handed over one hundred thousand tokens to the manager. After strict verification, a high-ranking supervisor personally delivered a Pokémon Egg to him with great care.
Yozora scanned it with his system. Sure enough, it was indeed a Dratini Egg—and one with Champion-tier potential.
"Not bad. This department store really is trustworthy, no scams here," Yozora thought to himself, quietly nodding. His impression of the place improved considerably.
"Brother Yozora, I'm thirteen this year. In just two more years, I'll officially become a trainer at fifteen. When that time comes, I'll challenge the League!"
Jun hugged the Egg tightly, his eyes sparkling with dreams of the future. "You'll see! I'll become your strongest rival!"
"Good." Yozora smiled and nodded.
No matter what, that kind of ambition deserved encouragement.
"What, you don't believe me? You have Dratini now, but I'll have mine too. When it evolves into Dragonite, I'll sweep everything before me!" Jun puffed up, clearly dissatisfied with Yozora's easy smile.
Yozora couldn't help but shake his head with a laugh.
A Dragonite, huh…
Easier said than done.
Gary Oak had received his Dratini at seven years old. Now, at nearly sixteen, it had only just evolved into Dragonair.
To reach Dragonite… that was no simple feat.
"Yes, Dragonite is very strong. But first, you need to actually raise one," Yozora chuckled, sharing a few training insights with him before leaving the department store for his real destination—Saffron Gym.
Saffron City was a bustling metropolis, and Saffron Gym was no less impressive: a massive, grand structure that stood as its centerpiece.
Yet inside, the atmosphere was oddly quiet. Few people lingered, giving it an eerie air.
Yozora entered the central hall. A vast battlefield stretched before him. Across from it stood a crimson sofa.
On the sofa sat a slender young woman with long, straight black hair, cradling a doll in her arms—Sabrina.
She looked to be in her early twenties. Her features were delicate, her skin pale and flawless—undeniably a rare beauty.
But her body was so thin it gave off the impression of frailty, as if she might be blown away by the slightest breeze.
In truth, however, Sabrina was anything but weak.
As one of Team Rocket's three top executives, her abilities were beyond doubt. More than that, she was also a psychic of extraordinary power.
Her father, too, had psychic abilities.
But from the moment she was born, Sabrina's power far surpassed his—by tenfold, by a hundredfold.
She was a once-in-a-generation prodigy. Even Psychic-type Pokémon paled in comparison to her overwhelming abilities.
"I am Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron Gym. Here, the rule is simple: the loser becomes one of my dolls for a week."
She smiled sweetly, almost chillingly, as she looked at Yozora. Around her on the sofa sat seven or eight dolls—male and female alike.
Most likely, they were all challengers who had lost within the past week.
"Well then," Sabrina asked, eyes fixed on him, "do you still dare to challenge me?"
Yozora froze for a moment.
Turning living humans into dolls?
Just how far did her psychic powers extend?
But fear never crossed his face.
Since he had come here, there was no turning back.
"No problem. My name is Yozora, from Pallet Town," he declared, stepping confidently onto the battlefield.
Sabrina rose gracefully from her seat and smiled. "The rules are three-on-three. The challenger may switch Pokémon freely."
With that, she sent out her first Pokémon—a Kadabra.
[Kadabra (Psychic-type): Senior-tier peak, Gym Leader potential.]
Kadabra, the evolved form of Abra, was among the most iconic Psychic-type Pokémon. It stood upright like a humanoid fox, its fur golden, a spoon gripped firmly in its hand.
Kadabra seldom relied on physical strength. Instead, it channeled psychic power through its spoon to unleash devastating attacks.
But the spoon in this Kadabra's hand wasn't ordinary.
Extending his Aura, Yozora sensed it immediately. That spoon radiated powerful energy. It wasn't just a utensil—it was a rare held item: the Twisted Spoon.
When a Pokémon held this item, the power of its Psychic-type moves was boosted by fifty percent!
Twisted Spoon, Championship Belt, Spirit Cloak—such items were priceless treasures, each worth millions, even tens of millions.
This Kadabra's level and potential weren't particularly high.
For Sabrina, it wasn't a core battler at all—merely one of the Pokémon she used for routine Gym challenges.
And yet, it wielded a Twisted Spoon—clearly, Sabrina didn't hold back when spending.
This woman was undoubtedly rich and elegant, a true heiress. Yozora couldn't help but wonder: why would someone like her join Team Rocket? Was it just a warped sense of thrill?
From his Aura, Sabrina's presence was icy, yet not dark. Perhaps, in her mind, the greatest cruelty was turning people into dolls—she had never killed anyone.
By this measure, she didn't seem like a truly evil person.
Yet she was a high-ranking commander of Team Rocket, one of the trio at the very top. The rise of Team Rocket was inseparable from her power.
This was true malice—empowering the wicked.
...
...
(End of Chapter)