The Extreme Speed move made Dratini's speed incredibly swift, and the deep purple sludge ball condensed by Koffing couldn't even touch Dratini before it quickly dodged past it.
Dratini, like a streak of light, swiftly darted through the air, appearing instantly in front of Koffing and launching a powerful attack.
Koffing realized the situation was bad; it desperately tried to dodge but was still hit by Dratini's Extreme Speed!
"Koffing!"
When Kojiro saw Koffing get knocked flying backward, he also recalled it into its poké ball.
Now that Koffing and Ekans had both lost their ability to battle, Meowth, the only one with fighting capability, stepped forward.
"Let's talk nicely, Meow. Dragonite is still... where's Dragonite?!"
Meowth was about to say that it was all a misunderstanding and that peace was paramount when it realized that the controlled Dragonite was gone.
Then he looked towards Xiao Zhi's location and saw Pikachu grinning at him. A Dragonite, with some wood shavings on its body, had appeared beside Xiao Zhi.
Team Rocket Trio chuckled awkwardly: "Haha, don't hit our faces!"
Our kind-hearted Dragonite also fulfilled their wish to fly; both Dragonite simultaneously used Whirlwind to lift them into the air, then flew up and used their tails to swat them to a distant land.
"This feels so annoying!" *3
---- Back to the beach ----
Xiao Zhi patted Dragonite's head and thanked him, "Dragonite, thank you so much. I'll still need you to take me to the city's edge later."
"Woo~" (It's nothing. If it weren't for you, some of our companions here would probably have been captured.)
Dragonite shook his head. If it weren't for Xiao Zhi, he would still be trapped in that device on the beach. He had a pretty good impression of Xiao Zhi and was willing to mess around with that Dratini; his command ability was also quite good.
After resting for a while, just as Xiao Zhi was sitting on Dragonite's back, preparing to leave, Dratini crawled over.
"Dra." (Can you not leave?)
Water shimmered in Dratini's eyes; he didn't want the friend he had finally made to leave just like that. Dragonite immediately understood what he meant and put Xiao Zhi down.
Xiao Zhi saw Dratini wanting to stick close to him and then glanced at Dragonite. He nodded towards Xiao Zhi, indicating for Xiao Zhi to take Dratini with him.
Li Qingfeng suddenly said, "I wonder if Da Mu's application has been approved. Xiao Zhi, let's send Gengar's poké ball back later, and then give Dratini to Da Mu when we see him."
After all, Da Mu was coming to Lampu Luji later. If Dratini was sent over, no one would take care of him, and he would surely cry to death.
"Mm-hmm!"
Xiao Zhi nodded repeatedly, then took out a poké ball and leaned down to touch Dratini's head.
Dratini transformed into a red light, entered the poké ball, and stopped moving after just one shake.
Yes, another critical capture!
"Dratini, please take care of me from now on!"
After capturing Dratini, Xiao Zhi felt great, as if he had wind beneath his feet. He hadn't expected to capture so many rare and powerful Pokémon one after another.
Li Qingfeng smiled and cheered him on, "More powerful Pokémon will be waiting for you in the future. Keep up the good work; the most important thing right now is to win the Indigo Plateau Conference."
"Li Dage, don't worry, I'll definitely bring back a Champion title. My goal is to be a Pokémon Master! Winning is inevitable!"
Xiao Zhi gave a simple, honest smile. With so many powerful Pokémon now, winning the conference was a sure thing.
"Alright! Dragonite, I'll leave it to you. Drop me off near Lampu Luji City, and I'll walk the rest of the way." Xiao Zhi sat on Dragonite's back again.
This time, it was truly taking off. After passing through the thunderclouds, they flew for a while longer. Xiao Zhi saw the distant beach, which looked like the spot he had agreed upon with Takeshi and the others.
Dragonite took Xiao Zhi to a secluded place, and after safely landing him, he told him some precautions regarding Dratini.
After Xiao Zhi repeatedly promised to protect Dratini, Dragonite flapped his wings and departed.
Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, Xiao Zhi called Da Mu, only to find that he wasn't at the research lab.
"Li Dage, thankfully I listened to you and sent Gengar's poké ball back, otherwise Dratini would have had to stay there for a while longer." Xiao Zhi felt quite fortunate.
Now, Da Mu was nowhere to be found, and he couldn't reach his mom either. Could they have gone on a trip with the people from Masara Town?
Thinking this, Xiao Zhi couldn't help but sigh. These people really made him worry. Walking out of the Pokémon Center, Xiao Zhi also wandered around Lampu Luji, wanting to see where Takeshi and the others were.
"Hmm? Why do the staff in this shop look so familiar?"
Xiao Zhi arrived at a small seaside shop, where there were three waitstaff. Upon closer inspection, it was Takeshi, Xiao Xia, and Xiao Mao!
Around them were also some cute Pokémon: Squirtle, Eevee, and Growlithe.
Seeing this situation, Xiao Zhi felt a bit strange. He hadn't expected the formerly dissolute young master, Xiao Mao, to be working as a waiter here.
He walked up to Xiao Mao, patted his shoulder, and said, "Xiao Mao, why are you working here?"
Xiao Mao heard the familiar voice, turned his head, and saw Xiao Zhi's familiar face, instinctively saying,
"I thought you... you wouldn't be able to come to Lampu Luji for a while longer."
Fortunately, Xiao Mao managed to turn the conversation around in time, otherwise, it would have been quite awkward.
However, compared to the original story, Xiao Mao's group of girlfriends hadn't appeared for a long time. They hadn't shown up the last time in Cerulean City.
Li Qingfeng estimated that Xiao Mao had probably sent those girls home after hearing Xiao Zhi's words later. After all, the car had been returned to Masara Town, so Xiao Mao couldn't let them suffer with him.
Hmm, he's a good boy.
Xiao Zhi chuckled and whispered in Xiao Mao's ear, "Hey, let's not talk about that. I'm telling you, after the St. Anne sank, I also got a lot of opportunities."
"Oh? How so? Did you capture a rare water-type Pokémon?"
Xiao Mao was very curious. Xiao Zhi's luck had always been good, and if it were him, it was indeed possible he had gotten a great opportunity.
Takeshi and Xiao Xia were equally curious. They walked over, wanting to hear what opportunities Xiao Zhi was talking about.
"It's not convenient here. Let's go somewhere private and talk." Xiao Zhi looked at the surroundings and found that there were indeed too many people. The matter of Dratini couldn't be known by outsiders.