Fortunately, Dragonite's back was wide enough, barely managing to accommodate Deino as well.
After coming out, Deino looked at the sad expressions of Ice Vulpix and Fire Vulpix. After hesitating for a moment, it bumped its head lightly against Theo, signaling for him to tie its hair into two braids again.
Once the braids were done, Deino moved closer to Ice Vulpix and began making funny faces.
Ice Vulpix lifted its head, and the moment it saw Deino's appearance, it could not help but burst into laughter.
It turned out that Theo's braiding skills were far inferior to their mother'. The two braids were uneven, one higher and one lower, making Deino look even more ridiculous than before.
Hearing her sister's laughter, Fire Vulpix also raised its head. When it saw Deino's comical appearance, it too could not hold back and started laughing.
Seeing this, Deino stopped making faces and joined the two of them, laughing heartily.
Watching the three little ones laughing together, Theo could not help but smile as well.
Dragonite carried Theo and his group as it sped through the sky. Before long, the figures of Professor Oak, Professor Birch, and the red cocoon formed by Larvesta came into view.
On the coastal cliff, the two professors were busy working around the red cocoon.
And beside it, in addition to Pidgeot, there was another Pokémon that Theo found extremely familiar from memory, yet had never personally seen in this world.
It stood upright on two legs and possessed the classic features of a Western dragon. Its body was entirely orange-red, with a pale yellow belly, and the tip of its long tail burned with a fierce flame.
Its appearance bore some resemblance to Dragonite, but it looked far more imposing. Especially its large dragon wings, which radiated an overwhelming presence.
In contrast, Dragonite appeared round and chubby, with short, small wings. When the two were compared side by side, it almost felt like this Pokémon was the true Dragon-type.
This was the iconic Fire-type starter of the Kanto region, Charizard.
Despite having "dragon" in its name and an appearance far more fitting of a Dragon-type Pokémon, Charizard was not Dragon-type at all, but rather a Fire and Flying dual-type. It was truly quite something.
As Theo focused his gaze on Charizard, the system interface in his mind displayed its information:
[Pokémon: Charizard]
Type: Fire / Flying
Category: Flame Pokémon
Ability: Blaze (When its HP is low, the flame on its tail burns more intensely, greatly increasing the power of its Fire-type moves)
Moves: Air Slash, Heat Wave, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Flame Charge, Seismic Toss, Dragon Claw, Infernal Abyss, Fire Blast, Flare Blitz, Dragon Dance, Outrage, Scorching Sands, Focus Punch, Solar Beam…
"What a ridiculously luxurious movepool," Theo thought to himself in amazement.
For close combat, it had Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw, and more. For ranged attacks, it had Fire Blast, Heat Wave, Scorching Sands, Solar Beam…
It was a perfect dual-style fighter, with no weaknesses in either close or long-range combat. Truly worthy of being Professor Oak's original partner Pokémon.
Theo recalled that in a movie from his previous life, Professor Oak had once owned a Charmeleon in his youth. It was very likely that this Charizard was that same Pokémon.
Now, with the successful research into both Mega Evolution X and Y forms, its strength would increase even further. Calling it one of the strongest Fire-type Pokémon would not be an exaggeration.
At this moment, Professor Oak and Professor Birch were packing up their instruments, clearly having completed their examination of the red cocoon.
As Dragonite landed steadily, Charizard immediately stepped forward. It raised its claw and bumped fists with Dragonite, letting out a low roar as if greeting it.
Fire Vulpix jumped down from Theo's arms and was instantly attracted to the flame burning at the tip of Charizard's tail. It trotted over eagerly, trying to pounce on it.
Charizard, feeling a natural affinity toward this fellow Fire-type Pokémon, especially one with the Drought ability that made it feel particularly comfortable, showed unusual friendliness.
It gently swayed its tail, making the flame dance more brightly and lively, teasing Fire Vulpix into circling it excitedly.
"Finished visiting family?"
Professor Birch walked over with a smile and said to Theo,
"Perfect timing. Phoebe just sent a message saying that Mt. Pyre has been fully cleared. The rangers have inspected the area, and there are no remaining people. We can set off now."
Professor Oak added,
"We've already recorded all the data from Larvesta's cocoon. We also contacted Champion Cynthia and Professor Juniper earlier and confirmed everything again with Champion Alder. All the precautions for the evolution have been sorted out.
Now we were just waiting for you. We can head to Mt. Pyre together and complete the final evolution."
A warm feeling rose in Theo's heart, and he quickly expressed his gratitude.
"This really troubles both of you. Larvesta's evolution is my own matter, yet you've both put in so much effort…"
"Ah, no need to be so polite. That sounds too distant."
Professor Oak waved his hand, his eyes shining as he stared at the red cocoon.
"To witness such a unique evolution of Larvesta with our own eyes, Birch and I couldn't be happier. This is a rare research opportunity, something we would eagerly wish for."
Professor Birch also smiled.
"That's right. It's not often we encounter such an unusual evolution method. Being able to witness it firsthand is a great joy."
"Alright, alright, let's not waste time. Come on, let's go to Mt. Pyre. I can't wait any longer."
Professor Oak waved his hand, urging Theo and Professor Birch along. His impatient nature was already showing.
At that moment, Dragonite suddenly lifted Theo onto its back and let out a series of low roars toward Charizard and Pidgeot, as if making a serious proposal.
How about having a race to see who was the fastest?
Charizard turned its head and raised an eyebrow, while Pidgeot flapped its wings excitedly, both clearly agreeing to the challenge. However, Pidgeot then cast an unhappy glance at Dragonite, as if saying,
"You're carrying the lightest load. That's not fair."
"Draa!"
Dragonite immediately became anxious. It pointed its claw first at Fire Vulpix on Charizard's tail, then at Deino on the ground, and finally at Ice Vulpix in Theo's arms, indicating that all three of them would be riding on its back.
With all of them together, the total weight would be about the same. It was definitely not cheating.
Hearing this, Charizard looked skeptical.
When it had just been playing with Fire Vulpix, it had already noticed that the little red fox was as light as a feather. The white one that looked just like it was probably the same. Their weight hardly counted at all.
That left only the one beside them, that sneaky little creature constantly sizing up both Charizard and Dragonite, looking somewhat dark and oddly ugly, with two strange braids on its head… Deino.
So Charizard reached out with its claw and grabbed Deino, lifting it up and weighing it back and forth a few times.
Caught suddenly, Deino let out panicked cries, struggling desperately but unable to break free.
After weighing it, Charizard let out a few roars toward Pidgeot and nodded. Clearly, Deino's weight satisfied it. Dragonite was not cheating after all.
(End of Chapter)