Chapter 295: Return to Dragon Island
Seeing that Latias had already reached Level 54, Hikaru was surprised.
It felt like Latias's level had never really stopped climbing.
Every few days—maybe ten at most—it would gain another level.
Latias tilted its head in confusion.
"Mmm?"
Sakura, however, was clearly excited.
"Big bro, let's go already!"
The others had already set out a while ago. She was eager to return to Dragon Island—mainly to visit "Eighteen."
"Then..."
Hikaru turned back to the two elders and gave a quick nod.
"I'll be off then."
Once they gave their approval, Hikaru jumped onto Latias's back.
Sakura, grinning, recalled her Dragonite and hopped up behind him without hesitation.
As they lifted off into the sky, Hikaru suddenly got an idea.
"Hey, Latias—let's test out my Dragon Mastery!"
But not just his Dragon Mastery.
He also equipped the [Dragon Knight] trait onto himself.
He wanted to see just how far he could push Latias's current potential.
The nearly-advanced level of Dragon energy surged from his body and flowed into Latias.
At first, Latias's body trembled, clearly not used to the overwhelming energy. Its pupils widened in surprise.
But moments later—it gave an exhilarated cry!
The power Hikaru transferred into it wasn't just familiar in aura—
It tangibly enhanced its energy control and agility.
"Destination: Dragon Island—let's go!"
With a sharp call from Hikaru, Latias shot forward with a speed that broke all their previous records.
"This speed..."
Lance couldn't help but remark,
"It's almost rivaling a Champion-level Dragonite now..."
Hayashi Dou, however, scowled.
"Just go already... That kid gives me a headache."
---
Dragon Island.
It didn't take long.
The storm that surrounded Dragon Island was soon visible in the distance.
Latias paused at the edge of the storm wall.
They waited for Sakura to release her Dragon Mastery.
Sure enough—
A familiar, friendly-looking Dragonite emerged from the storm clouds.
"Eighteen! Over here!"
Sakura called out to it, waving from afar.
The chubby Dragonite flapped over with a cheerful squint and a happy "Wuu~!"
After being led in by Eighteen,
Hikaru realized—he was the first to arrive?
Though the other teens had left earlier, it seemed their Dragonites weren't as fast as Latias.
On the shore, the same white Sealeo, Dratini, and Dragonair lounged about.
This time, however, Sakura didn't stop to chat.
She only exchanged a few words before pulling Hikaru along,
"Come on, big bro! We got here first—let's go pick!"
She looked as excited as if she were the one picking a Pokémon.
Hikaru wasn't too familiar with Dragon Island,
And given that most of the Pokémon here were quite strong, he didn't want to recklessly scan the area with his Aura.
So, he simply followed Sakura's lead.
Under her guidance, Latias carried them through the forest canopy.
Their flight startled a group of Swablu into the air—
Which in turn triggered a reaction.
A Baxcalibur, with jagged horns and an imposing presence, burst through the trees. It had likely been sleeping and was disturbed.
Still seated on Latias, Sakura gave a respectful gesture,
"Sorry, sorry!"
The King-tier Baxcalibur just gave a faint smile and stepped aside.
No wonder this was called Dragon Island—
All sorts of dragon-types lived here!
Soon, under Sakura's directions, the trees thinned out.
In their place—
Hot springs nestled between the trees, steam rising into the misty air.
Other dragons became scarcer here.
Instead, many Dratini and Dragonair floated through the haze.
Mostly Dragonair.
Sometimes, a glimpse of a Dragonite winged across the sky.
The sight of their ribbon-like bodies slithering through the fog was mesmerizing.
Once Sakura released her Dragon Mastery, none of the Pokémon attempted to block their path.
Eventually, Latias descended into a wide clearing Sakura had pointed out.
It was a massive hot spring—at least the size of a football field.
And surrounding it—
More than a dozen Dragonite.
The rest were Dratini playing at the water's edge, or Dragonair floating through the mist, practicing moves.
Some Dratini curled along the rocks, rubbing their bodies in preparation to shed their skins.
Shedding...
That was part of the evolution process for Dratini and Dragonair.
These Dratini were likely from the latest batch of eggs.
When Hikaru and Sakura appeared,
Several curious Dratini and Dragonair flew over to inspect them.
On Dragon Island,
Humans didn't just pick Pokémon—Pokémon also chose their trainers.
Every year, new human trainers came to the island.
And the Pokémon would judge for themselves whether they wanted to go with them.
Some simply didn't want to leave.
As for how they made their choices—
The strength of the human's Dragon Mastery was a key factor.
After all,
Pokémon didn't really care about looks.
So—
These Dratini and Dragonair were immediately drawn to Sakura.
They chirped happily, circling around her.
Sakura quickly waved her hands,
"No, no—sorry! I'm not here to choose a partner this time. He is!"
She pointed to Hikaru.
The Pokémon turned to look at him instead.
King, King, King...
Three Pokémon—two Dragonair and one Dratini—each with King-tier potential.
Once, Hikaru would've been thrilled.
But now—
Knowing he was just a stand-in for Sakura in this ritual...
He only smiled politely and turned them down.
After all—
Sakura had told him before.
If he nurtured a Dratini egg with Dragon Mastery while it was still dormant,
The resulting Pokémon would be more deeply attuned to him upon hatching.
And Hikaru preferred raising Pokémon from scratch.
Watching them grow stronger, bit by bit, by his side.
That was the best feeling in the world.
Turning away from the offers,
Sakura quickly led him to a new area.
A small, elevated hill.
Unlike the misty hot springs, this place was lined with simple caves.
Following her inside—
Hikaru finally saw the true objective of their visit.
Nestled beside a mother Dragonite,
Were two smooth, orange-yellow eggs.
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