章節 1235: Helioptile And Druddigon
The afternoon matches were relatively less intense, and the results were quickly determined. Ultimately, the rankings from 13th to 8th place were: Yūrei, Aaron, Yoshiko, Take, Tougen, and Minori.
Once the afternoon matches concluded, Yuga headed to the Pokémon Center. He had arranged to meet someone nicknamed "Handsome Lad" there, and he had already brought Feebas along when he returned at noon.
At the Pokémon Center, Yuga found Joyka and asked, "Has someone named Handsome Lad come here looking for you?"
Joyka looked up at Yuga and replied, "That person is waiting for you?"
Yuga asked, "Is there a problem?"
Joyka shook her head. "No problem. Look, he's sitting right over there." She then pointed to a table by the window in the lobby, where a young man wearing a hat was seated. Joyka thought to herself that anyone bold enough to use "Handsome Lad" as a name or alias must have exceptionally thick skin.
Yuga walked over and politely asked, "Hello, are you the one who wants to trade for my Feebas? Are you Handsome Lad?"
Yuga suddenly felt a bit embarrassed just saying the nickname out loud.
The young man sitting there abruptly looked up and froze for several seconds upon seeing Yuga's face. "You..."
Yuga noticed his stunned expression and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
The young man was indeed good-looking, but Yuga thought to himself that even someone as handsome as him didn't call himself "Handsome Lad." This guy might be a tad narcissistic (just kidding).
The young man snapped back to reality and asked, "Are you the Pokémon Collector?"
"Pokémon Collector" was the username Yuga had chosen in the chat group.
Yuga smiled and nodded. "That's me."
The young man gasped audibly, clearly shocked to find out that the person he was trading with was the legendary figure himself.
Earlier that day, he had attended the duel tournament in person and had seen Yuga from afar on the referee's platform. Naturally, he was aware of Yuga's identity.
Seeing the young man dazed again, Yuga couldn't help but speak up. "May I sit down so we can discuss the trade?"
The young man quickly stood up, flustered. "Oh, my apologies! Please, have a seat."
Yuga chuckled at the man's nervous demeanor and sat down. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Shimizu Yuga—"
Before Yuga could finish, the young man interjected, "I know who you are! Allow me to introduce myself first."
Yuga wasn't surprised that the young man recognized him and smiled. "Sure, go ahead."
The young man cleared his throat and, slightly nervously, introduced himself.
His name was Hiro, and he was 18 years old, six years younger than Yuga. He was from the Kalos region but was currently in Hoenn for personal reasons. Being close to Verdanturf Town, it was convenient for him to come and trade for Yuga's Feebas.
The Pokémon he intended to trade for Feebas was a Helioptile. It had recently hatched from an egg he had purchased back in his hometown.
Hiro explained that his hometown's daycare offered a unique service where they mixed various Pokémon eggs together, set a uniform price, and let customers choose based on their intuition and luck.
The Pokémon egg's potential varied greatly, with the lowest being red potential Pokémon eggs and the highest being blue potential Pokémon eggs. Hiro wasn't sure if anyone had ever gotten a blue potential Pokémon egg, but he had been lucky enough to pick a green potential Pokémon egg.
The uniform pricing of these Pokémon eggs was much higher than low potential Pokémon eggs but significantly lower than high potential Pokémon eggs. Most people would end up with a loss, but a few lucky ones could get something exceptional.
Yuga was familiar with this type of service because many daycares in Hoenn offered similar options, though it wasn't a suitable practice for YoYo Day Care.
Hiro's egg hatched shortly after he arrived in Hoenn, resulting in a Helioptile.
However, since Hiro specialized in Water-type Pokémon, he wasn't particularly fond of Helioptile and decided to trade it away. He just hadn't found the right opportunity until he came across Yuga's post in the group chat.
After listening to Hiro's story, Yuga didn't immediately agree to exchange Pokémon with him. Instead, he started a casual conversation, subtly probing for information and trying to get a sense of Hiro's character.
Once Yuga felt he had learned enough, he said, "May I have the honor of seeing your Pokémon?"
"Of… of course." Hiro agreed instinctively, though he wasn't sure why Yuga wanted to see his Pokémon.
Throughout their conversation, Hiro remained visibly nervous around Yuga, answering every question without hesitation. This made it easy for Yuga to gather information.
If this young man wasn't exceptionally good at pretending, then he was definitely an honest person, Yuga thought.
With Hiro's consent, Yuga led him to the Pokémon Center's backyard. There, Hiro released his six Pokémon: Clawitzer, Barbaracle, Floatzel, Pelipper, Octillery, and Starmie.
As soon as they were released, the Pokémon crowded around Hiro, affectionately interacting with him. It was clear they shared a deep bond.
Seeing this, Yuga felt reassured. A Pokémon's attitude toward its Trainer can often reflect the Trainer's character. While Yuga couldn't fully assess Hiro's skills, at least his Pokémon genuinely liked him.
This was enough for Yuga to feel confident about entrusting Feebas to him.
Moreover, Hiro wasn't weak. His strongest Pokémon, Clawitzer, was already close to the pseudo-Elite level. While this didn't make him a prodigy, it placed him comfortably above average for his age.
"Gym Leader Shimizu, what do you think of my Pokémon?" Hiro asked eagerly.
"They're excellent. I can see you've trained them with care," Yuga replied with a smile.
"Thank you for the compliment, Gym Leader Shimizu!" Hiro beamed with pride at the praise.
"Now let me show you Feebas. If it agrees to have you as its Trainer, we'll proceed with the exchange," Yuga said.
Though Yuga was satisfied with Hiro, the final decision lay with Feebas. If it wasn't willing, Yuga wouldn't force it.
"Alright," Hiro responded excitedly.
Since the backyard wasn't suitable for Feebas, they returned to the Pokémon Center lobby.
On their way, Yuga asked Blissey, "Blissey, could you please prepare a basin of water for me?"
"Blissey~"
Blissey patted its chest in affirmation and quickly brought over a basin of water.
Once everything was ready, Yuga released Feebas from its Poké Ball into the water.
"Feebas, this is the Trainer I've chosen for you. What do you think?" Yuga asked.
Feebas, slow to react as usual, took a long time to turn around and look at Hiro, coincidentally meeting his gaze.
Hiro couldn't discern any particular reaction from Feebas. It just seemed unusually sluggish.
"Don't be fooled by how slow Feebas appears—it's actually very smart. Look here…" Yuga said as he flipped Feebas onto its side to show Hiro. "See this scale? It's a sign that Feebas is about to evolve."
Hiro leaned in to see. Sure enough, there was a prism scale on Feebas's belly. It was small but quite beautiful.
However, Hiro couldn't shake the feeling that Feebas was looking at him strangely. He squinted for a better look, but then dismissed it as his imagination.
What Hiro didn't realize was that Feebas was internally fuming, silently ranting about both Yuga and him: A lady's belly is not for casual inspection, let alone touching! So disrespectful! However, its outward expression remained as blank as ever.
After finishing the introduction, Yuga tapped Feebas's head and asked, "Well? Are you willing to have him as your Trainer?"
Feebas stared blankly, blowing bubbles in the basin.
Seeing no reaction, Yuga added, "If you stay silent, I'll take it as a yes."
At this, Feebas finally blinked. Yuga knew this meant it had agreed.
Hiro was overjoyed at Feebas's agreement. He took out a Poké Ball and said, "Let me show you Helioptile too." With that, he opened Helioptile's Poké Ball.
In a flash of red light, a small Helioptile appeared in front of Yuga.
...
[ Helioptile ]
Type: Electric, Normal
Ability: Dry Skin
Gender: Female
Potential: Green
Level: 5
Moves: Pound, Electric Terrain
...
Just as Hiro had mentioned, this Helioptile was indeed a newborn. However, it had inherited the move Electric Terrain, which was quite impressive. Trading it for Feebas was undoubtedly a fair deal for Yuga.
The young Helioptile seemed a bit shy. When it noticed the unfamiliar Yuga, it instinctively hid behind Hiro.
"Come here, don't be afraid," Yuga said, taking out a Pokeblock holding it in his palm as he beckoned to the Helioptile.
Thanks to the extraordinary affinity brought by Celebi's blessing, the Helioptile quickly lowered its guard. Not only did it accept the Pokeblock from Yuga, but it also affectionately rubbed its cheek against his palm.
The Helioptile's skin was still tender and soft to the touch, given how young it was.
Seeing how well both sides were getting along, the two decided to proceed with the trade. Before finalizing it, however, they had Feebas and Helioptile undergo a potential assessment at the Pokémon Center in front of Joyka to ensure mutual reassurance.
Once the trade was complete, Yuga said his farewells to Feebas and brought the Helioptile home. By then, the sky had begun to darken.
When Yuga arrived home, dinner was already laid out, and Audino quickly ushered him to wash up and eat.
After finishing dinner, Yuga headed to the Ecopark. He took Helioptile to the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark and brought it to Druddigon, saying, "Hey, Druddigon, I've got a job for you."
At that moment, Druddigon lay motionless on the ground like a lump of dough, completely drained of energy.
Before Yuga arrived, it had just endured challenges from a Noivern and Aerodactyl couple, a Kommo-o, and a Flygon. Now, it was so exhausted that it didn't even want to lift a claw to acknowledge Yuga.
Seeing its sorry state, Yuga smirked inwardly, thinking: Let's see if you dare slack off again in the future.
Since it didn't respond, Yuga gave it a nudge with his foot. "Hey, get up. If you don't, I'll call Dragonite Mama to come fetch you!"
At the mention of Dragonite Mama, Druddigon immediately scrambled to its feet, shooting Yuga a look of exasperation, as if to say: What now?!
At that moment, it sorely missed the carefree life in the new Ecopark where no one bossed it around.
Yuga picked up the Helioptile and placed it in front of Druddigon. "Here, this little one is your responsibility now."
Although Helioptile wasn't a Dragon-type Pokémon, it had dragon lineage in its blood. Living in the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark wouldn't be a problem.
Startled by the sudden proximity of the tiny Pokémon, Druddigon hurriedly backed away, almost losing its balance.
Looking at the delicate and fragile Helioptile, Druddigon worried it might accidentally harm it. Taking care of this little thing? What a joke!
"Helioptile~"
Although Helioptile was a bit timid, it unexpectedly didn't seem afraid of the big, goofy Druddigon. Instead, it tilted its head and let out a soft cry toward it.
Yuga guessed that it might be because Druddigon, after gaining weight, no longer looked as intimidating as before.
>―(〃°ω°〃)→
S-So cute…
Druddigon was instantly struck in the heart by Helioptile's adorable demeanor. How could such an incredibly cute creature exist in this world?!
But it still shook its head and backed away two steps. No… I can't. I can't do it.
Holding Helioptile, Yuga took a step forward and said, "You can. Believe in yourself."
I can't…
Druddigon backed away another two steps.
Yuga didn't move forward this time but stared directly at Druddigon. "Really can't?"
Druddigon wanted to keep insisting it couldn't, but under Yuga's gaze, it felt an overwhelming sense of threat. Almost involuntarily, it blurted out, "I can!"
Yuga smiled in satisfaction. "Now that's the spirit. I knew you could do it."
Then he turned to Helioptile and said, "Helioptile, from now on, Druddigon will take care of you. Make sure to listen to it, okay?"
"Helioptile~"
Helioptile obediently nodded.
After Yuga left, Druddigon slumped onto the ground, locking eyes with Helioptile in an awkward stare-off. Helioptile wasn't scared at all. Instead, it trotted over and rubbed its cheek against Druddigon's face, nearly giving the larger Pokémon a heart attack.
Druddigon stiffened, then sternly said, "From now on, don't do that without my permission. Got it?"
Helioptile obediently nodded.
"And you better listen to me from now on. Understood?"
Helioptile nodded again, just as obediently.
…
After lecturing Helioptile for a long time, Druddigon flopped back onto the ground to rest. It was still aching all over from earlier.
Helioptile watched Druddigon for a moment, then found a spot near its neck and lay down as well.
Before long, a Hydreigon descended from the sky, landing beside Druddigon. Noticing Helioptile, it loudly exclaimed, "Druddigon, when did you have a kid?!"
Helioptile was startled by Hydreigon's sudden appearance and quickly scrambled to hide behind Druddigon's tail.
Druddigon glanced nervously at Helioptile. Seeing that it was unharmed, it let out a sigh of relief before roaring furiously at Hydreigon, "What's it to you?!"
With that, Druddigon lunged at Hydreigon with its jaws wide open.
Hydreigon spread its wings and took off into the sky, leaving Druddigon biting at thin air.
Before long, the two Pokémon were locked in a fierce battle. The other Pokémon nearby saw what was happening but acted as if they hadn't noticed a thing.
As a Pokémon at the Elite level, there was no way Druddigon could lose to Hydreigon. Just as Hydreigon was on the verge of defeat, it suddenly shouted toward the distance, "Honey… my wife Salamence… your husband's being bullied!"
In no time, Salamence arrived on the scene, and the one-on-one dragon fight quickly escalated into a three-way dragon brawl.
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