Chapter 44: The Clumsy Dragon Takes Flight

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"Bleat?"

Ride Sheep let out a puzzled bleat.

The other two Ride Sheep also looked over in confusion.

Naoki instantly felt a bit awkward.

Fortunately, at this moment, a light bulb seemed to appear above one of the Ride Sheep's heads, as if it had suddenly understood.

"Bleat!" Maybe the Trainer wants to give the milk to the other Pokémon in the Ranch!

They can produce a lot of milk, and if there are baby Ride Sheep that need it, they will feed them.

If there are no baby Ride Sheep, they will store it temporarily.

Therefore, the three Ride Sheep were completely indifferent to this.

"Bleat, bleat~"

Want some milk? Here, have some! After all, you are our Trainer and you feed us such delicious food!

Seeing the appearance of the Ride Sheep, Naoki felt a bit puzzled. He tentatively asked, "Are you willing to share your milk with me?"

"Bleat!" The Ride Sheep all nodded at the same time.

Naoki felt a surge of joy, but he had a feeling that the Ride Sheep had misunderstood something. After a moment's thought, he explained his plan to sell the sheep's milk to earn money.

Pausing, Naoki added, "I will use the money to buy more ingredients to make more grass balls for you."

"Bleat?"

The Ride Sheep looked bewildered, as if asking how many more grass balls that would be.

Naoki thought for a moment and replied, "A lot, a lot. You'll never finish eating them in your lifetime."

"Bleat~!"

After hearing this, the Ride Sheep's eyes all lit up, and they looked as if they couldn't wait to give all the milk in their bodies to get the grass balls.

Naoki: "..." There's no need for that.

He felt relieved and smiled at the Ride Sheep, saying, "Then it's settled."

The Ride Sheep will provide milk, and he will take care of them for the rest of their lives, making a mutual agreement to stay together.

The night was deep.

The vast Ranch was shrouded in darkness, and the Ride Sheep yawned and lay down on a patch of grass. After flattening a large area of grass, they quickly fell asleep.

In the wooden house, the Salt Stones, full and content, snuggled together and fell into a deep sleep.

Naoki stood at the door, looking at the Pokémon in the room, a slight smile curling his lips.

The Ranch was really getting livelier.

"You should go rest too!" Naoki said to Goomy, who was standing by his side. "I have to go out again tonight, so you don't have to wait for me. Go to sleep!"

"Goomy..."

Goomy nodded obediently.

Naoki patted its head, then gently closed the door and rode on Gurdurr, flying towards Big Pot Lake.

Following his memory, Naoki arrived at the cliff top again.

Even before he got close, he saw that familiar figure.

Dragonite was still sitting there, looking up at the moon with a lost expression.

Gurdurr slowly landed, and Dragonite turned to look at the sound.

Naoki thought that the Dragonite would fly away like it did the previous days, but to his surprise, it didn't leave. Instead, it remained sitting there, motionless.

Upon closer inspection, compared to the previous days, this Dragonite seemed to have more noticeable wounds and looked quite ragged.

Huh? Injured?

Naoki instinctively took out a tree fruit with restorative properties from his backpack and offered it.

Dragonite blinked, looked at the tree fruit in the human's hand, then looked up at the human.

"Eat it!" Naoki said. "It will heal your wounds."

"Roar..."

Dragonite sighed softly, declined the human's offer, and closed its eyes again.

Naoki didn't feel disappointed. Instead, he sat down next to Dragonite with Gurdurr and looked at the moon together. "Are you troubled by something?"

"Roar..."

Hearing this, Dragonite lowered its head.

"Goomy?" (Is it because the other Dragonite thought you were too weak that you came here?)

At this moment, Gurdurr suddenly asked a question.

Upon hearing this, Dragonite's head snapped up, and its face showed a look of surprise.

"Roar?" (How did you know?)

"Goomy." (I just know.)

Gurdurr tilted its head, intentionally leaving it a mystery.

Dragonite sighed again, "Roar..."

That's right, it was a very weak Dragonite. Because it was naturally clumsy, while other Dragonite could learn many powerful moves during their growth, it couldn't learn any.

As it grew, Dragonite gradually accepted this reality. However, not long ago, it fell in love with another Dragonite.

But that Dragonite rejected it because it couldn't use Dragon Tail.

Dragonite felt very sad and came to this place every day to mope alone.

Today, it had tried to strengthen itself by fighting other Dragonite, but instead of getting stronger, it ended up with a lot of injuries.

Thinking about this, Dragonite couldn't help but sigh again.

Naoki watched Gurdurr talking to Dragonite with curiosity.

As a human, he couldn't understand what the two Pokémon were saying, but it seemed that Gurdurr was getting along very well with Dragonite.

At this moment, Gurdurr asked, "Goomy?" (Have you ever thought about finding a human Trainer to help you get stronger?)

Hearing this, Dragonite blinked, looking puzzled. "Roar?" (Human Trainer? What's that?)

Gurdurr: "Goomy." (They are humans who can help Pokémon get stronger, evolve, and learn moves.)

Dragonite's eyes widened, and it asked in disbelief, "Roar?!" (Me too?)

Gurdurr nodded confidently, "Goomy!"

Dragonite was excited and quickly asked, "Roar?" (Where can I find them?)

This guy is still so clueless... Gurdurr felt a bit exhausted and looked at Naoki by its side.

Dragonite followed its gaze and then asked hopefully, "Roar?" (Is he a Trainer?)

Gurdurr nodded.

In the next second, Dragonite stood up excitedly.

Naoki was taken aback. Then, Gurdurr used its claw to take a Poké Ball from Naoki's pocket.

Naoki: "?"

He was confused as he took the Poké Ball from Gurdurr. Before he could ask, he saw Gurdurr and Dragonite talking to each other.

Then, Dragonite extended its claw.

The moment it touched the Poké Ball's button, its body was enveloped by a red light and was sucked inside.

Watching this, Gurdurr felt very satisfied, "Goomy!"

Now, I can finally get a good night's sleep!

Naoki was still confused. He looked at the Poké Ball in his hand and then at Gurdurr, unable to resist asking, "What did you say to it? Why did it suddenly change its mind?"

"Goomy..." Gurdurr shook its head, indicating it didn't say much, then pointed at the Poké Ball, flexed its arm, and showed off its muscles.

Naoki was slightly stunned and guessed, "It wants to get stronger?"

"Goomy!" Gurdurr nodded happily.

What the...?

To get stronger, it needs a Trainer?

This Dragonite seems like a clueless idiot...

But I'm not a Trainer!

Naoki looked at the Poké Ball in his hand.

This... should count as capturing, right?

(End of Chapter)