On an ordinary day, the spring rain began to fall.
Many Pokémon in the territory disliked rainy days.
The five Minccino, who had originally planned to go out to bask in the sun and check on the fruit trees, were forced to stay inside the wooden hut. They huddled in front of the wooden window, gazing out at the steady spring rain.
"Kiri…" the Minccino cried pitifully.
The rain soaked their fur, making them extremely uncomfortable.
"Well, the rain will probably stop soon. You can go out and play then!" Lucien said with a smile.
However, the Minccino's expressions suddenly grew even sadder when they heard this.
"Kiri…" one of them said, a look of despair on his face.
After the rain, the roads had become muddy, and running on them would only get them all covered in mud.
This was undoubtedly a very difficult situation for the clean-loving Minccino.
Lucien: "..."
He was also very helpless about this.
Lucien sighed and said, "You guys just stay inside until the rain stops. If you get cold and damp, I'll have someone light the fireplace for you."
"Kuuuu!" Lucien was the best!
The Minccino cheered.
"Snivy, Dratini and I are going out for special training. Do you want to come?" Lucien stood up and asked.
"Snivy."
Snivy proudly crossed her arms. She didn't have the Minccino's obsession with cleanliness.
Lucien understood what she meant and nodded. "Alright, if you're afraid of getting dirty, just stand on my shoulders!"
She didn't want that! Snivy thought proudly.
She jumped off the bed, held her head high, and walked out the door with grace.
However, when her feet touched the ground, dirty water mixed with mud immediately climbed up her legs.
Snivy: "!!!!"
Lucien approached from behind, carrying Dratini. Seeing Snivy's expression, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Come up! Your special training is on hold today. This weather is perfect for Dratini to practice a special move, so I'm taking her out to try it out. You can also watch and see, maybe you'll get some inspiration."
Lucien squatted down and wiped the mud off Snivy's feet with a handkerchief.
Snivy supported Lucien with her hand, though the feeling was a little strange...
"Okay, now that's clean, you can come up too!" Lucien gestured with his eyes to his shoulder.
Seeing this, Snivy raised her head proudly, hugged his arm, and sat on it.
Humph, if that's the case, she reluctantly agreed!
Lucien went out with his umbrella. It was raining, and everyone stayed home, so the territory was mostly deserted.
They made their way to the river.
Today, Lucien planned to teach Dratini a special move.
It's not an offensive move, but one that can alter the weather.
[Rain Dance: A Water-attribute move that summons rain clouds for a certain period of time, causing rain to fall. It also increases the power of Water-attribute moves and reduces the power of Fire-attribute moves.]
With this move, Dratini can use it to bring down rain if the territory encounters natural disasters like drought.
"Dratini, today I'm going to teach you the move called Rain Dance."
Lucien reflected on the anime Pokémon using this move, then explained its effects in detail.
"Huh?" Dratini seemed to understand.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I can guess how it works," Lucien pondered.
The Pokémon uses its Water-attribute energy to sense water molecules in the air, resonating with them and causing rain to fall.
"Don't worry, let's first feel the traces of raindrops falling and flowing through the air," Lucien said.
Dratini poked its head out of the river, looked up at the sky, and felt the steady rain falling on it...
Lucien and Snivy stood on the shore, watching the scene from under umbrellas.
Speaking of which, before evolving, Dratini had little to do with weather or meteorological forces.
But after evolving into Dragonite, she gradually mastered the power to manipulate the weather.
During this period, even though Dratini lacked wings, she was still able to fly.
In that distant future, some scholars discovered that Dratini's flight was due to her ability to manipulate the winds and soar into the sky.
For this reason, it had been worshipped as an agricultural Pokémon since ancient times as a weather controller.
Ancient people believed that Dragonite could control the weather, and they would bring endless offerings to the lake where Dragonite roamed.
As to whether Dragonite actually had this power, Lucien was unsure; after all, he had never seen a real Dragonite.
Only after Dratini evolved would the answer be known.
The gentle spring rain fell relentlessly on Dratini.
At first, Dratini couldn't calm down and take it in, her gaze constantly drawn to Lucien and Snivy on the shore.
Lucien, perceptive, noticed Dratini's situation and spoke at the perfect moment: "Focus! Focus. Don't let anything else distract you. We're here with you."
"Woo…!"
Dratini concentrated hard, trying to sense the abundant moisture in the air.
Water… So much water!
Dratini felt a surge of blue energy filling her surroundings.
She tried to connect with it, to make contact, but the energy seemed to be deliberately avoiding her.
A moment later, Dratini opened her eyes.
"How's it going?" Lucien asked with concern.
"Woo…"
"Don't worry. Nothing is achieved overnight. Take your time. If you failed this time, maybe you'll succeed next time," Lucien encouraged.
Dratini quickly perked up: "Woo!"
Not wanting to disappoint Lucien, she closed her eyes again and tried to sense it.
An hour later, the rain stopped.
Dratini was forced to interrupt the training.
Lucien glanced up at the gloomy sky and held out his hand to Dratini. "We'll continue next time. Come, let's go back!"
Dratini obediently returned to Lucien's arms.
They returned home. Lucien had a maid light the fireplace and sent Dratini over to warm herself and dry off.
Meanwhile, Lucien pondered various matters within the territory.
For example, with the help of the Simsear, a large quantity of bricks had already been produced. It was time to officially begin building a more sturdy house.
However, just then, Lucien heard Dratini's cries, as if expressing endurance.
He turned to see Dratini, who had emerged from the fireplace, crawling to the table and rubbing her body against the legs.
The next moment, a flash of light suddenly shone from Dratini's body.
Was that... evolution? Lucien was stunned.
No, not evolution!
Watching the skin slowly peeling off Dratini,
Lucien immediately understood what was happening.
These days of special training had inflated Dratini's life energy to a new level. Unable to contain this energy, Dratini began to shed her skin!
In other words, Dratini was growing and becoming stronger.
While Lucien was stunned, Dratini had completely shed her mysterious glowing skin.
The light on Dratini slowly dissipated, and she straightened up again, looking at Lucien with her large, black, bright eyes.
Seeing Dratini, now slightly larger than before, Lucien was genuinely happy for her.
"Congratulations, Dratini!"
"Woooooo!"