Just as Xiao Zhi was about to take the three of them to a quiet place to show them his Dratini, two familiar voices came from the doorway:
"Hi, Xiao Zhi."
"Xiao Zhi, long time no see."
The four of them looked in the direction of the voices, and unexpectedly, it was Da Mu Xuecheng, wearing beach shorts and flip-flops, and Xiao Zhi's mother, Hanako.
"Professor Da Mu, Mom?! Why are you two here?"
Xiao Zhi was incredibly surprised. No wonder his phone couldn't get through. It turned out they had come to Lampu Luji for a vacation!
"Our Masara Town just had a team-building event, and I saw that your place here was quite lively, so we came. Speaking of which, what was the opportunity you just mentioned, Xiao Zhi?"
Professor Da Mu was most curious. Xiao Zhi had received a rainbow wing right after leaving home, and this was Ho-Oh's feather. Since that incident, Ho-Oh had never appeared before humans again.
He had also informed the League about Xiao Zhi possessing the rainbow wing, using it as a condition to apply for the removal of Xiao Zhi's Pokémon carrying limit.
Xiao Zhi walked outside, and the others followed behind him, wanting to hear what he had to say.
It wasn't until they reached a beach with no strangers around that Xiao Zhi finally said, "That would be... I caught a Dratini!"
At these words, the five of them were greatly shocked. They hadn't expected Xiao Zhi to have caught such a rare Pokémon.
One should know that Dratini was originally thought to be a Pokémon that only existed in fantasy. If it weren't for Elite Four Lance and Professor Da Mu both having Dragonite, they would have thought Dratini was just a hypothesis.
"Wait, I remember the League's application hasn't come down yet, and Dratini sheds its skin every day. It wouldn't happen to be at the research lab already, would it?"
Professor Da Mu thought that Xiao Zhi might have previously believed he was still at the research lab, and then transferred Dratini's poké ball back.
Thinking of this, Professor Da Mu was about to leave. Xiao Zhi showed an expression of 'just as I expected' and laughed, "Professor Da Mu, I didn't transfer Dratini's poké ball back; instead, I transferred Gengar's poké ball back."
Professor Da Mu also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Xiao Zhi's words. It would be terrible if Dratini was left in its poké ball unattended. He thought for a moment and said,
"Xiao Zhi, regarding Dratini, I suggest you leave it with me for now. Let me help you take care of it for a while. Frankly speaking, I'm quite skilled at taking care of Dratini."
"Plus, its shedding frequency is a bit high, and I don't think you'll always have time to stay by its side. How about I transfer it back to you when it's close to evolving?"
Xiao Zhi thought carefully for a moment and still released Dratini. In this situation, it was definitely necessary to ask for the other party's opinion.
Professor Da Mu stroked Dratini's head, recalling his own past, and felt a little emotional: "Ah, Dratini, my Dragonite was once a Dratini too."
Dratini smelled the scent of its own kind on Professor Da Mu and felt particularly close.
After Xiao Zhi relayed Professor Da Mu's words to Dratini verbatim, the Pokémon nodded towards Xiao Zhi, agreeing to stay with Professor Da Mu for a period of time.
"Oh, by the way, Brock, Xiao Xia, Xiao Mao, why are you three working here?"
Xiao Zhi thought, Xiao Mao hadn't answered his question earlier, so now he would ask properly.
Xiao Mao waved his hand and replied, "I saw that the owner of the shop next door was a bit unpleasant, feeling like he was oppressing people, so I came to help that old man attend to some customers."
"Yes, that old man is indeed a bit pitiful. I didn't expect the owner of the shop next door to be so hateful." Brock folded his arms, his tone quite displeased.
With their help, Grandpa Liu's shop's profits were soaring. Unexpectedly, the old woman named Granny Jin, upon learning of this, would come to cause trouble every now and then, all for Grandpa Liu's boat.
Xiao Xia shrugged and said, "Yeah, my Squirtle was even tripped by her trickery. But now there's more foot traffic, so Granny Jin can't cause trouble anymore."
'Hmm, congratulations, Coca-Cola.'
Li Qingfeng, upon learning of this, was genuinely happy for Grandpa Liu.
The Team Rocket Trio had just been sent flying by Dragonite in the previous chapter, and it was impossible for them to appear again in a short time, which meant Granny Jin now had no helpers, and everything was developing in a good direction.
However, Kojiro's famous cross-dressing scene was gone, but this could also be considered a good thing, after all, it's always a bit strange for a man to suddenly become so big...
"Xiao Mao, taking this opportunity, I want to challenge you!"
Xiao Zhi took out his poké ball and aimed it at Xiao Mao.
At the same time, he said to Li Qingfeng in his mind, 'Li Dage, you don't need to help me this time. I want to rely on my own command to battle Xiao Mao.'
Li Qingfeng nodded: 'Good, this time it's entirely up to you. I also want to know who is stronger between you and Xiao Mao now.'
Xiao Mao looked at Xiao Zhi, a little troubled. His ace was completely suppressed by Pikachu. If it evolved into Blastoise, there would still be some chance of winning.
"Alright, in that case, I will certainly accept your battle request."
Xiao Mao thought for a moment and agreed to Xiao Zhi's battle request. This was his first time battling Xiao Zhi's Pokémon, and he had to take it seriously.
Professor Da Mu patted the two on the shoulders and said, "Then I'll be your referee."
"Thank you, Professor Da Mu."
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Under Professor Da Mu's guidance, Xiao Zhi and Xiao Mao finally arrived at a spot next to Grandpa Liu's shop.
The space there was larger, suitable for Pokémon battles, and at the same time, it could also attract some foot traffic for Grandpa Liu's shop.
Grandpa Liu naturally had no objections. It was already very kind of them to help him, and now they just needed to borrow the adjacent area, which was no inconvenience at all.
After choosing the location, Professor Da Mu stood at the self-made referee's spot, waiting for the two to finish preparing.
The surrounding tourists, seeing that there was a Pokémon battle to watch, also stopped to observe.
Once the two were ready, Professor Da Mu explained the rules:
"One Pokémon can be used. When one party's Pokémon loses its ability to battle, that party loses. The match begins now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Zhi and Xiao Mao simultaneously took out their respective Pokémon.
When Li Qingfeng saw these two Pokémon, he was a little surprised. He hadn't expected that the Pokémon they each chose would have similar strength and no type advantage.
It was clear that both of them wanted to have a fair battle.
----
Dratini's introduction comes from the Pokedex.