Chapter 19: Picked up by the Queen
Poliwhirl seemed only curious because it was the first time it had seen a Pokémon like Ryū. After greeting him, it gently put Ryū back into the lake.
"Are you the boss of this area?" This time, Ryū wasn't in a hurry to dive into the water. Instead, he turned to ask Poliwhirl.
"Yes," Poliwhirl nodded. This didn't surprise Ryū. After all, Poliwhirl was very large, a full 3 meters tall.
This was three times the value recorded in the Pokédex, a very exaggerated size, and it must have had a "Head" bonus. "Then how long have you been the boss?" Ryū asked.
"I don't know. It's been a very, very long time."
[...]. Ryū was stunned. He had forgotten that wild Pokémon had no concept of time.
They simply didn't know how many days or years had passed. In fact, even his own concept of time had become blurred, and he could only judge the passage of time by the changes in the sky.
Ryū thought for a moment and decided to go ashore to take a look. He just needed to move slowly along the riverbank. The people of the Silph Tribe had caused a fire nearby, and he just needed to see the traces of the fire to get a rough idea.
"Can you help me get up?" Ryū asked Poliwhirl.
"Okay." Poliwhirl nodded, picked Ryū up again, and placed him on the ground.
Returning to the ground, Ryū felt slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps because a Dratini's skin is so delicate, it starts to dry out after leaving the water. It was fine for a short time, but if it stayed out for too long, problems would likely arise.
However, this was not an issue for Ryū. He only planned to look around the vicinity. After greeting Poliwhirl, Ryū slowly wriggled forward along the bank.
He wriggled for more than 10 minutes, only advancing about 10 meters. However, these 10 meters were enough for him to make a judgment.
The lake where he was reborn was the small lake next to his territory from his previous life. He didn't know who owned that territory now. If it belonged to his companions from his previous life, then perhaps in this life, he could become the leader again in the body of a Dratini.
But he felt that this possibility was very low. When he looked up and scanned the area, there was no trace of fire in his sight.
This meant that a considerable amount of time had passed since that big fire, at least years. He now suspected that Kikō and Suzume might even be dead. After all, the average lifespan of Bug-type Pokémon is very short.
Even a Champion-level Bug-type Pokémon might only have a lifespan of a mere 100 or 200 years. Pokémon like Torkoal and Squirtle have a lifespan of several hundred years from birth, not to mention Ghost-type and Psychic-type Pokémon. So he was now very doubtful whether he would be able to see his subordinates from his previous life in this lifetime.
"Sigh... Hey, hey, hey!!"
Just as Ryū was leaning against the bank, looking at the lake and sighing, he suddenly felt something pick him up, which startled him greatly. Ryū struggled frantically, trying to dive into the lake immediately. However, because his level was too low, he had almost no strength and was held tightly in the other party's arms, unable to move.
"You..." Ryū thought he was going to restart again. He turned around angrily, ready to see which person dared to be so disrespectful to him, the Beedrill Boss. However, when he turned around, he was stunned.
What appeared before him was a mature and beautiful face. But this was not the reason Ryū was stunned. The reason he was stunned was because he felt this face looked so familiar!
"Little guy, why are you here alone in a daze? Are you in a bad mood? It's the first time I've seen you in this forest." The older sister with a mature wife's charm reached out and gently stroked the small white fin on Ryū's head, then couldn't help but smile sweetly.
"Who are you? Hiss... Why do I have a sense of déjà vu? Could it be an NPC I saw in a game? No, there's no Johto Region content from the Monster Era in the game..." Ryū frowned as he looked at the woman in front of him.
Buzz~
Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he heard a sound that was familiar beyond familiar: the sound of a Beedrill flapping its wings! Ryū tilted his head and looked behind the woman.
4 Beedrill floated quietly in mid-air, each standing 3 meters tall. They had all reached the final size of Ryū's previous life.
'These 4 Beedrill are high-level! They definitely can't be the boss, so their level is at least 40 or even higher!' Ryū made an instant judgment.
"My name is Liz Royal Dragon, the Queen of the Royal Dragon Kingdom. You little guy are so cute, come home with me." Liz was charmed by Ryū's actions and decided to take this little Pokémon back to the Royal Palace.
She had basically seen most of the Pokémon on Mt. Silver. The slightly cuter ones were nothing more than Pikachu, Nidoran♀, Vulpix, and Poliwag. But in reality, they didn't truly touch her heart. Only this little Pokémon in her arms completely fit Liz's aesthetic, and every move could charm her.
Even that soft, sweet voice was incredibly cute in Liz's ears.
"?!". Liz?! Ryū, the entire Dratini, was completely stunned.
He didn't expect that little girl from back then to have survived and even become the Queen of the Royal Dragon Kingdom.
'Have we entered the Kingdom period? No wonder Liz has Beedrill following her. Humans should have learned to harness the power of Pokémon by now.'
'Although the relationship between humans and Pokémon is still not very good, the theme of the current era should be the war between humans and humans...' Ryū lowered his head and kept thinking about the current situation.
He didn't even notice that Liz had stood up and was walking out of the forest with him in her arms. By the time Ryū felt the breeze of the grassland, it was too late. But it didn't matter.
In Ryū's opinion, becoming the Queen's Pokémon, under Liz's protection, he should be able to safely and peacefully pass through the first stage, the Dratini period. Perhaps he could even grow safely to the final stage, the Dragonite period. By then, with his quasi-divine combat power and a level of 50 or higher, he wouldn't be invincible, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about being killed by humans again.
"Speaking of which, why didn't I see how good this country girl's foundation was back then?" Ryū turned his head to look at Liz, who was holding him.
Liz returned a gentle smile. She had the Royal Dragon family's signature fiery red long curly hair, coupled with fair skin and gentle eyes. The contrast with that little girl from back then was truly too great. It's no wonder Ryū didn't recognize Liz immediately; no one would have dared to believe it.
"Speaking of which, I should give you a name." Liz held Ryū, frowning and thinking seriously.
5 seconds later. "Let's call you Aran."
"Aran? I knew you wouldn't come up with a good name. I hope you won't fuss about changing my name when you see me evolve into a Dragonite." Ryū shook his head helplessly.
He didn't know that he had thought of the wrong character.