Join my p@treon for more chapters
[email protected]/Tempest_29
Green blushed deeply while Eddie maintained his composed expression.
Neither spoke for a moment, creating an unexpectedly intimate atmosphere between them.
"Ahem... Green, what brings you here?" Eddie finally broke the silence after letting the tension linger for a few minutes.
This wasn't the time for romance, after all. Both he and Green carried heavy burdens on their shoulders. While occasional moments like these were pleasant, if they wanted a real relationship, they needed to handle their current responsibilities first. At the very least, Eddie had to defeat the person who cast such a dark shadow over Green's heart.
Green startled, then seemed to snap back to reality. She realized she had just been lost in romantic thoughts—which wasn't unusual for a girl her age. Love was natural, wasn't it? But to let her mind wander like that in front of Eddie, who understood her so well... it was embarrassing.
Though Eddie hadn't said anything directly, Green could tell he had probably guessed what she was thinking. Fortunately, he had tactfully changed the subject, sparing her further embarrassment.
"Eddie really is considerate," Green thought gratefully. "He's definitely the right person for me."
But she also knew her mission wasn't complete yet. There was no time for romance now. She could see that Eddie understood this too, so they maintained this unspoken understanding between them.
"Hehe~ I'm here for my Eddie, of course!" Green had fully recovered her composure now, even using the intimate nickname that made Eddie smile slightly.
It seemed that while Green claimed she wasn't ready to discuss romance, she was willing to engage in some harmless flirting. Since they both understood each other's feelings, and Green had relaxed enough to be playful, this could be considered her taking the initiative.
"For me? How exactly do you mean 'for me'?" Eddie asked, clearly enjoying Green's affectionate nickname.
"Hehe~ There's a legend about Dratini in this Safari Zone! I thought my Eddie might need this Pokemon, so I came here to catch one for you!"
Green decided to mention the Dratini first rather than discussing the Seafoam Islands.
"Look at this device—it can detect Dragon-type Pokemon! This is something I, Green, took from Team Rocket after quite a struggle. Because of this, Team Rocket might be hunting me again. You'll have to protect me, Eddie!" Green produced the device she had just acquired, putting on an exaggerated expression of distress as if she had truly endured great hardships to obtain it.
"You must have stolen that from Cassidy and Butch," Eddie realized. "Those two probably brought it when they came to catch Dratini. I actually feel sorry for them, running into you."
Eddie now understood why he had seen Cassidy and Butch in such a pitiful state earlier. He had thought they encountered some powerful Pokemon in the Safari Zone and were being chased. Instead, they had met Green, who had apparently defeated them and stolen their equipment.
"Okay, okay, don't ask so many questions! If you keep questioning me, this girl might start disliking you. Let's just take the device and go find Dratini!" Green said with mock indignation, though she smiled warmly at Eddie without releasing her Jigglypuff.
Eddie understood immediately and released his Charizard.
After climbing onto Charizard's back, Eddie extended his hand to Green. She smiled and took it, allowing him to pull her up beside him. They flew together on Charizard just as they had before, but this time Green didn't blush—she simply smiled contentedly.
"Green, check the device for directions," Eddie said, focusing ahead as he searched for any sign of the Dratini.
In the anime, they had simply mentioned "Dragon's Den" before cutting to the location. In reality, Eddie had no idea where exactly to look.
"Let me see... the device is responding to the northwest. Let's head that way," Green said, consulting the detection device to guide Eddie.
Eddie nodded and directed Charizard in that direction.
With the detection device's help, Eddie and Green didn't spend long in flight before arriving at a crystal-clear lake.
"This matches the anime perfectly, though it's larger than I expected," Eddie thought to himself.
Actually, that made sense. There wasn't just one Dratini here—there was also a Dragonair. Moreover, other Water-type Pokemon inhabited this lake, so of course it would be bigger than the small pond shown in the anime. A tiny lake would have been unrealistic.
"Hehe, Eddie! The detection device shows Dragon-type Pokemon in this lake. Should we dive in to search for them, or try to lure them out slowly?" Green asked with a grin after Eddie landed Charizard and she hopped down.
Honestly, her first instinct was to use some dramatic method to force all the Pokemon out of the lake at once—that would be the most efficient approach. However, such behavior would be unreasonable and too harsh toward the Pokemon. If they did that, any Dragon-types would surely emerge angry and attack them immediately.
They were here to catch Pokemon properly, not like Team Rocket who captured Pokemon just to sell them. Their purposes were completely different, so naturally their methods should be different too.
"Dratini evolves into Dragonair at level 30, and Dragonair evolves into Dragonite at level 55. I don't know what level the Dragonair here might be, so we should proceed carefully," Eddie said thoughtfully.
He couldn't be certain of the Dragonair's strength, though he wouldn't fear it even if it were above level 50. However, caution had always been Eddie's guiding principle. Moreover, with so many plot changes, he worried that what awaited them in the lake might not be a Dragonair at all, but something else entirely.
If that happened, things could become very difficult.
A level 54 Dragonair and a level 55 Dragonite might seem only one level apart, but their power levels were completely different. To put it in perspective, consider the difference between a level 19 Magikarp and a level 20 Gyarados. Would anyone say that's just a one-level difference?
So Eddie's caution was perfectly reasonable.
Of course, even if there really was a Dragonite in the lake, Eddie had ways to defeat it. It would just require more effort.