Pokemon: A New Path

Chapter 209: Lugia, your ultimate move is mine now!



"Besides this, do you have any other new moves?" Naoki asked again.

'New moves?' Dragonite blinked its big eyes, and after a moment of silence, a lightbulb seemed to go off above its head as realization struck.

"Ouch!" Dragonite exclaimed excitedly.

Naoki raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Alright then, let's see what you've got!"

Dragonite flew to a more open area of the lawn, and Naoki, along with a group of curious Pokémon, followed to watch the demonstration.

Dragonite focused, taking a deep breath and feeling the newfound power flowing within. After eating the special buns, it had developed a heightened sense of the air around it and could manipulate flying energy with far greater precision.

It glanced at Naoki for a moment, then suddenly flapped its wings. A powerful gust of wind blasted forward, sweeping across the open field.

Naoki blinked in surprise.

"Is this... a storm? No, it doesn't seem like it," he muttered to himself. He had seen Dragonite use the move Hurricane before, and this wasn't the same.

"This seems more like a pure flying-type wind attack," Naoki speculated. "However, the strength and appearance are clearly enhanced. The Storm Buns must've boosted Dragonite's control over its flying-type abilities."

Naoki's thoughts briefly wandered to Dragonite's earlier use of Rain Dance. He couldn't quite see the full range, but he was sure it had covered the nearby towns.

A question popped into his head. 'Could the Rain Dance of a regular Pokémon cover such a large area?'

Obviously, it couldn't.

While Naoki pondered, Dragonite moved on to its second demonstration. It folded its wings as if preparing something special.

The next moment, Naoki saw a swirling ball of air forming in front of Dragonite. The compressed wind spun rapidly, gathering into a small cyclone, which Dragonite launched effortlessly.

It controlled the direction of the cyclone with precision. Upon impact, the air vortex expanded, transforming into a powerful whirlwind that lingered in the sky for a while. Naoki stared, speechless for a moment.

If he wasn't mistaken, that move resembled Lugia's signature Aeroblast attack.

'Did Dragonite just mimic that legendary move?'

"Ouch?" Dragonite landed in front of Naoki with a proud grin, waiting for praise.

Naoki chuckled softly, still amazed. "Well done," he said, though his mind was racing with the thought of how Lugia might react to this imitation.

Dragonite cheered, clearly thrilled by the praise. "Awooo!"

But that wasn't all!

Dragonite could already envision the possibilities-if it were at sea, it could summon storms, and whip up tsunamis in an instant, like the legendary giant Dragonite of old. And with thunder...

This kind of power was beyond anything Dragonite had ever imagined.

Overjoyed, Dragonite embraced Naoki in a big, happy hug.

Dragonite hadn't forgotten that everything it had today was thanks to Naoki.

Even without those magical buns, it would have been more than satisfied.

Seeing this, the two wild Dragonites and five Dragonairs standing nearby couldn't help but feel envious.

They all knew why Dragonite had grown so strong.

Within moments, the dragons-both big and small-gathered around Naoki, eagerly asking if they could have the same thing.

Seeing their hopeful expressions, Dragonite proudly puffed up its chest and exclaimed, "Awooo!"

'Did you see that? This is the best trainer!'

The other dragons stared, speechless.

Naoki spread his hands, sighing with a hint of amusement, "Sorry, there's no more. That kind of food is rare. Unless, of course, you can bring me some of Lugia's feather powder."

One of the Dragonairs blinked in confusion and asked, "Woo?"

'What's a Lugia?'

"Lugia," Naoki explained, "is the legendary God of the Sea. It sleeps deep within the ocean's trenches. Lugia has the power to calm the seas and protect both the oceans and the Pokémon that live there."

The two wild Dragonites and the five Dragonairs all looked puzzled, feeling a bit embarrassed. They had never heard of, let alone seen, such a Pokémon before. Even if they wanted to help Naoki find it, they wouldn't know where to start.

Suddenly, the shiny Dragonair remembered something that had happened on the ranch.

Naoki had once worshipped a legendary Pokémon he called the "King of Bountiful Harvest." According to Butterfree, whenever Naoki prayed to this deity, the crops on the ranch would grow rapidly overnight.

That was the blessing Naoki received from this god.

Dragonair used its imagination and wondered-if they did what Naoki did and offered their prized fruit to the Sea God maybe their prayers would be answered too?

They didn't need massive pumpkins or corn; they just wanted a simple feather-like the scales that occasionally fell from their own bodies.

Excited by the idea, Dragonair quickly shared its plan with the others.

Upon hearing it, the eyes of all the Pokémon lit up with excitement, eager to give it a try.

The Pokémon stopped playing in the ranch and immediately prepared to return to Dragonite Island. Before leaving, they didn't forget to pick up their own boxes of Poffins.

Seeing them leave, Naoki was surprised. "Why are you heading off so early today? Aren't you going to play for a bit longer?"

"Woo!"

The two wild Dragonites didn't respond, and the five Dragonairs followed them as they flew towards Dragonite Island.

Naoki stood there, slightly confused.

He didn't have the translation seeds with him, so he couldn't understand exactly what the Pokémon were saying. But judging by their expressions, they must have something important

to take care of, right?

Shrugging it off, Naoki turned his attention back to his own Dragonite and summarized the improvements the Storm Bun had brought to it.

"In general, you didn't learn any new moves, but your control over flying-type energy has greatly improved," he mused.

Before, Dragonite could influence the nearby weather by releasing a mysterious aura, but it couldn't manipulate airflow at will.

Now, it could.

"I really wonder what Lugia's reaction would be if it saw Dragonite using its Cyclone attack,"

Naoki chuckled to himself.

Would this count as a face-to-face rivalry?

Unfortunately, Naoki couldn't go too far at the moment, and even if he went to Johto, there

was no guarantee he would see Lugia.

After all, he had turned the Silver Wing into buns, so summoning Lugia wasn't an option

anymore.

But Naoki wasn't discouraged. He knew there would be more opportunities in the future!

...

Life on Dragonite Island continued as usual-calm, peaceful, and lively.

After returning to the island from Naoki's ranch, Dragonairs and Dragonite immediately dugNôv(el)B\\jnn

up the fruits they had hidden in the bushes.

Since Dragonairs didn't have proper hands yet, it couldn't hold the fruit itself, so it let the two

Dragonites carry them.

Together, they made their way to the beach.

The Dragonites, filled with excitement, stood on the shore and gazed at the calm blue sea.

Then, they tossed the fruits into the water.

As the waves gently rolled in, the fruits bobbed along the surface before disappearing

beneath the water, carried out to sea.

The Dragonites watched eagerly, wondering, 'Will the God of the Sea receive our offerings?'

At that moment, a few other Dragonites on the island noticed their actions.

Curious, they gathered around and asked, "Awoo?" (What are you doing?) Dragonite cheerfully replied, "Awoo!" (We're offering gifts to the God of the Sea! Naoki said

if we do this, the God will hear our prayers and give us even better gifts!)

Hearing this, the shiny Dragonair felt a pang of guilt.

After all, Naoki hadn't exactly said that. It was something Dragonair had deduced from

observing Naoki's daily activities.

Dragonair quickly recalled the details of Naoki's rituals.

Everything they were doing matched what Naoki had done before, so... surely, there wouldn't

be any problem, right?

*******

Bonus Chapter at 500 Power Stones

If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 240 at patreon.com/Keepsmiling818.