Chapter 35: The End Of The Assessment

Altaria.

The mother of the Swablu has been watching over them all this time!

Looking at the still unconscious Swablu, thoughts flooded Darren's mind., confirming many things: "I should have known long ago, how could your mother not be guarding you at all this time, and even, Master Shozo must have left me a back-up plan to protect me..."

The feeling of being spied on once seems not to have been groundless after all?

Every move Darren and Swablu made seemed to be under observation.

Yes, he understood.

He felt a slight relief in his heart, when Darren came to his senses, the Seviper had already been frozen into an ice sculpture by an Ice Beam, frozen in front of Darren and his group.

Ice Beam?

Looking up at the Altaria elegantly circling in the air, the true king of Mt. Chimney, Darren couldn't speak for a while.

Looking at the unconscious Swablu, Darren had nothing to say at this point.

In his view, all of this was his fault as a trainer.

The sound of a light voice brought about a refreshing sensation that washed away all exhaustion from Darren.

The medicine's efficacy... gradually kicked in.

Five minutes later.

Swablu slowly opened his eyes, looking around in confusion.

"Are you okay, Swablu..." Darren immediately asked when Swablu woke up, and seeing Darren was unharmed, Swablu seemed to calm down gradually.

With a slight chirp, Swablu signaled to Darren not to worry.

However, not long after, Swablu saw the elegant figure hovering in the air, and the pulsating feeling transmitted in its blood made Swablu's eyes freeze and become somewhat dazed.

The connection and resonance of bloodlines, the feeling between Pokemon is clearer and more obvious than that of humans.

Looking at the figure in the sky with some confusion, Swablu was at a loss.

"That's your mother." Darren looked down at Swablu.

"She saved you and saved us."

Swablu naturally understood Darren's words, but all these things made it difficult for it to accept them all at once.

After all, it has been following Darren since birth...

...

One hour later…

Following the Altaria, Darren arrived at Mt. Chimney.

Darren was worried, worried about his dereliction of duty, worried that he had put Swablu in danger, and worried that he would not earn the recognition of Altaria.

"Chirp~~"

"Chirp~~~"

Seeing Darren's worries, Swablu chirped softly, comforting him instead.

"Let's go." With a bitter smile, Darren followed closely behind Swablu, climbing step by step up the mountain.

"Clang!!!!"

"Clang!!!!"

As a rock fell, Darren watched stunned, trying to climb more carefully.

Another hour later, Darren arrived at the mountaintop.

"This is..."

The mountaintop was veiled in clouds and mist, disguising its volcanic nature. The lush grassland and colossal nest on top of it gave Darren a surreal impression, as though he had been transported to another world.

"Is this still Mt. Chimney?"

Altaria.

The owner here had arrived early, and it had been waiting here for a long time for Darren.

Nervously staring at Altaria, Darren's heart pounded uncontrollably.

This situation was something Darren had not anticipated at all, caught off guard, he did not know how to speak, so Darren just firmly stared back at Altaria.

"I..." After being silent for a long time, Darren was about to speak when suddenly, there was a loud rumbling sound in the sky. Not only Darren but also Swablu turned their heads to look.

With a loud screech, a figure flew out of the huge flying craft in the sky, with yellow and brown feathers, magnificent wings, and black and white color contrasts along the edges of the eyes.

Shozo's Pidgeot?

Then...

The helicopter slowly landed and descended onto the top of the small mountain. Master Shozo walked out of it with a smile, and at the same time, ripples suddenly appeared in the surrounding space. A Pokemon holding two spoons, with a brown and yellow coat, resembling a fox, appeared out of nowhere in front of Darren and the others.

"Long time no see, Darren."

"Altaria's appearance marks the end of the assessment, right? Alakazam has already informed me through telepathy about the details. So...what do you think? After the month-long effort Swablu have gone through with this trainer, did he gain your recognition?"

Master Shozo rarely had such a dignified tone, looking directly at Altaria, waiting for its answer.

"The secret observation...not only Altaria, it seems that Master Shozo's Alakazam has also been by my side all along."

"What about the assessment result...there's not much time left until the one-month deadline, but unexpectedly, Altaria has arrived early. Does this mean you recognize this trainer?"

Darren also cast a hopeful gaze at Altaria.

He was very nervous at the moment. For Darren, the month of rain and wind with Swablu had already cultivated a deep emotional connection between them. This was not something that could be achieved by simply catching some random Pokemon on the side of the road. Moreover, trust, which required a lot of time to cultivate, was also something that they naturally had an advantage in.

"I don't know why, but Swablu really likes to quietly climb on people's heads and pretend to be a hat."

"It has wings like cotton, and when it gently lands on a person's head, it looks like a cotton ball."

"Swablu has wings as light and fluffy as cotton. This Pokemon isn't afraid of people. In fact, on the contrary, it will land on people's heads and sit there like a cotton-fluff hat."

From the scene of its birth until now...

Even Altaria seemed to understand something, looking at Darren and Swablu with the same longing.

After a long time...

With a long cry, Altaria flapped its wings and looked at Swablu and Darren.

"Leave Swablu here and let's go." Master Shozo took Darren's arm and spoke first.

"But..." Darren opened his mouth slightly, unable to understand.

"Let Swablu and Altaria decide. They also need to get to know each other as a mother and child." Shaking his head, Master Shozo said to Darren.

"I understand."

Darren nodded, slowly letting go of Swablu and saying to Altaria, "I will come back in one day."

"Wait for me...in one day." Gently stroking the restless Swablu, Darren spoke softly. For the Swablu who had been with him all this time, they had cultivated a strong emotional connection, but Altaria was still its mother after all, and Darren couldn't ignore their relationship.

Reluctantly letting go of Swablu, Darren and Master Shozo finally boarded the helicopter together.

Finally, accompanied with the melodious and agile call of Altaria, the helicopter slowly rose into the air and gradually disappeared into the clouds and mist.