"Pikachu!"
Xiao Zhi couldn't help but shout Pikachu's name when he saw Pikachu fall from the sky after blocking the attack.
Before he could give any commands, the aftermath of the explosion caused the wooden board Xiao Zhi and his group were on to shatter. Gengar barely managed to withstand the shockwave and flew up to catch Pikachu.
Xiao Zhi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Pikachu was fine. He then saw several yellow dots approaching in the distance and muttered, "Who is that..."
Before he could finish, Xiao Zhi fainted.
As the yellow dots got closer, Li Qingfeng also saw who they were.
'It's connected, as expected.'
The arrivals were Dragonite, and the stone hanging in Li Qingfeng's heart finally fell.
These Dragonite were originally out looking for food until they suddenly saw the clear sky in the distance become overcast. They immediately felt something was wrong.
The leading Dragonite, with its speed of circling the earth in 16 hours, was the first to arrive in front of Xiao Zhi and pick him up.
"Gengar?" (Who are you? What are you doing with my Trainer?)
Gengar, holding Pikachu, flew in front of the Dragonite and asked with concern.
These Dragonite were slightly stronger than it. Gengar felt confident in a one-on-one fight, but in a group fight, it truly had no chance of winning.
"Woo~" (We are good Dragonite, here to help humans stranded at sea return to land. Before that, let's go to our island first.)
Dragonite picked up Xiao Zhi in a princess carry, and the other Dragonite also picked up Team Rocket Trio, then flew into the dark clouds.
These Dragonite said something to Gengar, probably telling it to follow them to Dragonite Paradise.
Along the way, Gengar marveled at the surrounding environment; it was its first time floating at sea. As for Li Qingfeng, he was naturally observing what was different about these dark clouds.
Passing through the sudden dark clouds, the Dragonite quickly entered another area also covered by dark clouds.
These dark clouds formed a ring-like structure, with the central part resembling a paradise. Dragonite Paradise was located within it.
The Dragonite placed Xiao Zhi and Team Rocket Trio on the beach. Just then, a Pokémon covered in light blue scales with a pair of purple eyes crawled over to Xiao Zhi.
'Oh, a Dratini.'
Li Qingfeng recognized this Pokémon, and seeing how close it was to these Dragonite, it was clearly Xiao Zhi's future general—Dragonair!
It had a small white protrusion on its forehead, which was a developing horn, and white fins on both sides of its head, with a large, round white nose on its face.
Its size indicated it was growing towards being a Dragonair, estimated to evolve into a Dragonair after a few more sheds.
Dragonite gently poked Xiao Zhi's face with its claw. Seeing no reaction from Xiao Zhi, it poked him several more times.
Dratini used its tail to sweep the sand off Xiao Zhi's face and clothes, cleaning him thoroughly.
Gengar placed Pikachu next to Xiao Zhi, then burrowed into Xiao Zhi's shadow. The Dragonite were startled by this sight; it was their first time seeing a Pokémon able to burrow into someone else's shadow.
These Dragonite idly looked down at Xiao Zhi. After a while, Xiao Zhi also woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw six pairs of eyes staring intently at him.
"What's going on?!"
Xiao Zhi's eyes widened, and he sat up straight.
To have so many Dragonite looking at him right now made him feel... overwhelmed?
"Woo~" (Hello, human~)
Dragonite greeted Xiao Zhi with a smile.
Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up, and he immediately thanked them. Pikachu, meanwhile, started playing with Dratini.
"Woo~" (You're welcome~)
Dragonite nodded slightly, and the other Dragonite then went to various parts of the island.
At the same time, Team Rocket Trio also woke up. When they saw so many Dragonite, their mouths almost watered.
Xiao Zhi, standing nearby, said irritably, "Don't get any ideas about them. Remember, they saved our lives."
Kojiro gave an awkward smile. Would they really plot against these Dragonite?
It was hard to say.
"We're going to look around. Little brat, you can explore on your own for now." Musashi pulled Kojiro and Meowth away, leaving Xiao Zhi standing alone.
Xiao Zhi sighed, then looked at Pikachu, who was playing with Dratini, and smiled, "I can't believe you two became friends so quickly?"
Dragonite patted its back, gesturing for Xiao Zhi to follow. Pikachu jumped onto Xiao Zhi's shoulder. Dratini, having just become friends with Pikachu, also wanted to stay on Xiao Zhi's shoulder.
Xiao Zhi bent down, allowing Dratini to slowly climb up.
Dragonite led Xiao Zhi into a dense forest, where many Dragonite lived. Each Dragonite was busy with its own tasks, filling the entire forest with vitality.
"Oh, right, pokémon index. I need to scan it."
Xiao Zhi pointed his pokémon index at Dratini, and after recording its information, he swiftly moved to a riverbank.
Upstream of the river was a waterfall, and Li Qingfeng suddenly understood. The index had mentioned that Dratini inhabit fast-flowing waters like waterfall basins, growing by repeatedly shedding their skin.
It seemed this was the habitat of Dratini.
'Li Dage, were these Dratini this big when they were born?' Xiao Zhi asked curiously, seeing many shed skins by the river.
Li Qingfeng nodded and replied, 'Yes, they are already quite large when they are born. They repeatedly shed their skin almost once a day, which allows their bodies to gradually grow longer.'
Xiao Zhi realized. So Dratini were this big from the start. He had thought they needed to shed many times to grow this way.
Dratini jumped from Xiao Zhi's shoulder into the water, and Pikachu followed suit. Xiao Zhi watched the scene before him and also jumped into the water to play with them.
"Alright, everyone, come out!" Xiao Zhi placed his poké balls on the shore, and all five Pokémon inside were released.
Squirtle, seeing it could play in the water, unceremoniously jumped into the water and frolicked with Pikachu.
Bulbasaur and Butterfree were not averse to water; they were quite adaptable to it. However, Charmander and Pidgeotto were not very fond of contact with water; they preferred to avoid water sources.
"Squirtle." (Bulbasaur, come play in the water with us!)
Squirtle immediately thought of its good buddy. With such a good opportunity to play in the water, it definitely had to invite him along.
"Bulbasaur." (No, I'll just stay on the side.)
Bulbasaur shook its head. It was a lone wanderer; how could it play in the water here?
...
...
"Bulbasaur." (It is quite comfortable.)
"It smells so good."
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