Of course, according to Duraludon's own version of events, it had simply lived in one place for too long and wanted a change of scenery.
It just so happened that the group of Garchomp had disturbed its peaceful life, giving it the perfect excuse to relocate.
It definitely wasn't because it couldn't beat those land sharks.
Silas rubbed his chin.
"So, in the end you just lost."
He delivered his final conclusion.
Duraludon's righteous expression instantly froze.
"Rooo! Roooo!"
It roared furiously.
If it hadn't just lost to Blaziken and exhausted all its strength, it would have shown this human exactly what the pride of a Dragon-type Pokémon meant.
Splash.
A small ball of water lazily struck Duraludon.
The spirited Steel Dragon immediately wilted, its eyes spinning as it fainted once again.
"Prin."
Standing nearby, Prinplup looked at it with utter disdain before spitting out another mouthful of water.
"That's it?"
Standing proudly beside Blaziken with its flippers on its hips, it looked as though it were borrowing Blaziken's authority to bully others.
Silas smacked it lightly on the head.
"I haven't finished questioning it yet. Couldn't you wait until afterward before knocking it out again?"
"Prin."
Prinplup nodded knowingly.
Got it. No problem.
"Rooo..."
Duraludon soon regained consciousness.
After all, Prinplup's attacks barely scratched it.
If Duraludon hadn't already been in such terrible condition, that tiny Water-type attack wouldn't have knocked it out.
The Steel Dragon immediately roared angrily at Prinplup.
You weak little Pokémon! I'll show you what the pride of a Dragon-type Pokémon..
Splash.
Prinplup looked innocently toward Silas.
This wasn't my fault.
It started it. I was only defending myself.
Prinplup felt perfectly justified.
Speechless, Silas grabbed Prinplup by the scruff and carried it behind him.
"If this keeps up, it'll never end."
Duraludon slowly opened its eyes once more.
This time, however, it didn't make another sound.
Instead, it stared mournfully at the spot behind Silas.
A mighty dragon brought low only to be bullied by a penguin.
I'll remember this humiliation.
Silas almost burst out laughing.
He had noticed that the Pokémon living in the Dragon's Den all had personalities vastly different from their wild counterparts.
A wild Dragon-type Pokémon would rather die than make such an expression or react this way.
"Maybe I should write a research paper about this. Living together in the Dragon's Den might really influence their personalities."
Silas fell into thought.
A moment later, he shook his head.
Since when did I start thinking like a researcher?
Besides, even if he wanted to publish research using data from the Dragon's Den, Blackthorn City and the Dragon Clan probably wouldn't agree.
Duraludon watched the absent-minded human alternately daydreaming and shaking his head.
This human doesn't seem very bright.
Silas finally came back to himself and smiled.
"Want me to do you a favor?"
"Roo?"
Still lying flat on the ground, Duraludon looked up at him.
Silas grinned.
"Take me to the Garchomp clan that bullied you."
"I'll beat them up for you."
"ROO?!"
Duraludon frantically shook its head.
It might be a little slow, but it certainly wasn't stupid.
Blaziken was stronger than it.
A little...
Okay, quite a bit stronger.
But it was still only within the Elite level.
That Garchomp clan, however, had a Champion-level elder.
More importantly those Garchomp had absolutely no concept of fair fights.
If someone offended them, the entire family from grandparents to hatchlings would rush in together.
Then its gaze landed on the vivid flower pinned to Silas's chest.
A trace of hesitation appeared in its eyes.
Maybe.. just maybe it could actually work?
Silas naturally noticed where Duraludon was looking.
Although he still didn't fully understand the flower's significance, that didn't stop him from using it to his advantage.
"You saw this too, didn't you?"
"I think driving you out is seriously disrupting the peace of the Dragon's Den. I believe it's necessary to have a little talk with those Garchomp."
As he spoke, he deliberately adjusted the flower to make it even more visible.
Duraludon subconsciously nodded.
Exactly.
Back in the deepest part of the Dragon's Den, it could feast on delicious mineral veins, and even the soil contained far richer energy.
Ever since moving here, it felt like its appetite had never been the same.
It hesitated.
Silas didn't rush it.
He merely smiled as he casually twirled the flower between his fingers.
Before long, determination replaced the uncertainty in Duraludon's eyes.
At worst, it would just get beaten up again.
The Dragon's Den guardians certainly wouldn't let it get beaten to death.
There wasn't much to lose by trying.
And if those Garchomp could be reminded that it wasn't someone to be pushed around.
Even better.
"Roo!"
With a fierce expression, Duraludon nodded firmly.
"Excellent."
"It's a pleasure meeting you."
Silas enthusiastically patted Duraludon's metallic body.
This big guy had saved him a tremendous amount of time.
According to Clair, among the three Garchomp clans in the deepest part of the Dragon's Den, only one possessed a Champion-level Garchomp.
The leaders of the other two clans were only at the Elite Four level.
Since he intended to catch a Pokémon here, naturally he'd aim for the offspring of the strongest clan.
Anything less would waste such a precious opportunity.
If Silas searched on his own, it would probably take several hours.
Of course, the offspring of the strongest individual weren't guaranteed to have the best potential.
Their chances were simply much higher.
It was entirely possible that one of the other two Garchomp clans also had a Champion-potential Gible.
Silas had already made up his mind.
As long as a Gible possessed Elite-Four level potential and didn't have an unbearable personality, he would immediately earn its parents' approval and catch it.
After all, Pokémon with Champion-level potential were unbelievably rare.
Even now, Silas still couldn't believe that he'd somehow found a Champion-potential Torchic among countless Pokémon with only Advance, Pseudo-Elite and Elite-level potential in the Viridian City black market.
To this day, he felt he'd probably used up all his luck at that moment.
Ever since then, he'd been cursed with terrible luck.
If not for Togekiss's Super Luck Ability occasionally rubbing off on its Trainer, Silas genuinely believed he was luckless incarnate.
And even if there really were a Champion-potential Gible.
It wasn't that Silas lacked confidence.
He simply doubted he could take it away.
A Gible with that level of potential was almost always destined to become the future pillar of its clan.
Although the Dragon's Den didn't suffer from serious competition over food or territory, having a powerful future leader was still invaluable.
Under those circumstances, persuading its parents and elders to let him take it away would be incredibly difficult.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if that particular clan happened to have no outstanding Gible among its younger generation, Silas would simply have to spend more time searching elsewhere.
And if all else failed, he could always bring out Togekiss.
With its Super Luck Ability, perhaps he'd literally stumble across a Champion-potential pseudo-legendary while walking around.
"Roo."
Duraludon nudged Silas impatiently.
What's wrong with this human?
He keeps spacing out every few minutes.
It couldn't wait to return to the Garchomp clan and settle the score.
"Sorry about that. Shall we get going?"
Silas recalled poor Prinplup into its Poké Ball with a flick of his wrist.
Otherwise, who knew how many more times Duraludon would get knocked unconscious before they even arrived?
Even he found it difficult to suppress his excitement.
A pseudo-legendary.
A Gible.
For some reason, he always felt that Prinplup and Gible made an oddly fitting pair.
He couldn't quite remember why, but the feeling lingered in the back of his mind.
Still, he'd learned that trusting his instincts usually wasn't a bad idea.
"Roo!"
Duraludon let out a loud roar, motioning for Silas and Blaziken to follow, then immediately dashed deeper into the Dragon's Den.
Judging by its speed, no one would have guessed it had been knocked unconscious several times just moments earlier.
"Gallade, I'm counting on you."
Instead of having Blaziken carry him, Silas released Gallade.
The main reason was simple.
Blaziken's lean build wasn't particularly suited for carrying someone on its back. The only practical way was to carry him in its arms.
That looked rather awkward.
In an emergency, appearances didn't matter.
But this wasn't an emergency.
Gallade, on the other hand, was a Psychic-type.
Using Telekinesis to lift and carry Silas while moving was effortless.
If they ever fell behind, Gallade could even use repeated short-range Teleports while carrying him.
It was taxing, but entirely within its abilities now.
The limitation was simply one of raw power.
As Gallade grew stronger, that weakness would naturally disappear.
The moment Gallade appeared, it understood exactly what was needed.
Blue-violet psychic energy instantly enveloped Silas.
Trainer and Pokémon floated just above the ground as they sped forward.
Blaziken merely shrugged before taking a light step, effortlessly keeping pace.
"Roo?"
Duraludon glanced back curiously at Gallade.
It was the first time it had ever seen a Pokémon like this.
However, after sensing that Gallade was only at the Advance level, it quickly lost interest and turned away.
Too weak.
Boring.
Inside its Poké Ball, Prinplup nearly burst out in anger.
It almost jumped out just to blast Duraludon with a Water Gun.
Fortunately, it restrained itself.
Listen to the Trainer.
Handle business first, then teach this guy a lesson.
Prinplup was also looking forward to seeing what kind of new teammate would eventually join them.
The scenery rushed past.
With Duraludon leading the way, Silas traveled almost in a perfectly straight line until they arrived at a vast desert.
"Roo."
Duraludon instinctively lowered its voice as it pointed toward the sands before them.
This was the territory of the Garchomp clan.
Silas raised an eyebrow.
The Dragon Clan had clearly gone to extraordinary lengths.
The environment inside the Dragon's Den was perfectly suited to Garchomp's natural habitat.
"Let's go take a look."
As he spoke, he casually grabbed Duraludon and started walking into the desert.
The token from the Ascending Dragon Trial and the proof of completing the Three Dragon Trial weren't just decorative keepsakes.
Before entering the Dragon's Den, Clair had sprayed every participant's token with an unknown liquid.
As long as the Trainers didn't make any overtly hostile or dangerous moves toward the Pokémon living inside the Dragon's Den, even a Champion-level Garchomp would do no more than drive them away instead of attacking.
Just as Clair had explained beforehand, the Dragon Clan could guarantee their basic safety.
Of course if someone deliberately courted death by provoking the dragons, those tokens wouldn't be nearly as effective.
Once a Dragon-type Pokémon truly lost its temper, it rarely calmed down until either its opponent or it itself was knocked unconscious.
...
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Btth: Ascend to Pinnacle (30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: My Martial is Tyranitar (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu