Chapter 608: Grassland Alphas Come Knocking
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
The grand plan to increase the clan's population turned out to be much harder than Kazuya had imagined.
After the matchmaking assembly ended, out of the hundred dragons who had seemingly caught each other's eye, only about ten pairs actually ended up together.
That is, 20 dragons.
A success rate of less than one-fifth.
In human society, this success rate would actually be considered quite high.
But this was Pokémon society.
They didn't have so many complex pros and cons to consider.
The reasons for not getting together were generally very simple: nothing more than having an unpleasant interaction while spending time together, the initial infatuation fading as quickly as it came, and thus simply giving up.
In this regard, Pokémon were not like humans.
Even if humans truly no longer liked each other.
They might continue to maintain the relationship for various reasons, perhaps even having children and spending their whole lives together.
Out of responsibility.
Or desire.
Or compromise.
Or something else.
But Pokémon didn't have these concepts, so their giving up was very clean and decisive.
Although the number of dragon cubs born fell far short of Kazuya's expectations.
There were still twelve newborns.
Among them, two were still in the egg stage, currently incubating under the strict supervision of Floette and their parents.
The remaining ten were:
Four Cranidos, two Cyclizar, two Jangmo-o, one Goomy, and one Shieldon.
"Shiel~"
"Mm, mm, eat, eat."
Kazuya lay flat on the grassland listlessly, perfunctorily responding to the little tyke on his stomach.
Perhaps it was because of the Dragon Stone.
After these little cubs were born, they loved snuggling up to Kazuya.
Their attitude towards him almost rivaled their attitude towards their own biological parents.
Kazuya didn't have much else to do all day anyway.
He just spent his time teasing these dragon cubs.
He actually quite enjoyed this daily routine.
However.
The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease.
When a Cyclizar rushed back to the Dragon Clan's heartland in a frantic hurry, Kazuya knew that these peaceful days were about to be disrupted again.
"Vroom! Vroom!"
"Did they come in?"
Kazuya frowned.
The Cyclizar said there were several big guys with different appearances in the south, each one as big as Kazuya.
These were clearly the Alphas on the grassland.
Why they had come together was unknown.
But in all likelihood, they were coming for the Dragon Clan.
"Vroom!"
The Cyclizar shook his head.
"Quite polite, aren't they? How many?"
"Vroom... vroom!"
The Cyclizar lowered his head and thought for a moment.
Over a dozen.
"A planned move, huh? Looks like they've been wanting to come over for a while."
Kazuya sighed.
Right now, there were only two paths left for their Dragon Clan.
One path.
Go over and see.
See what that group of Alphas intended to do.
If they had to fight, he would have to assess their strength before deciding the next steps.
The other path.
Run away directly.
Thanks to them wiping out the Overlord Arbok in the swamp.
The swamp was now an unowned land.
With the Dragon Clan's strength, they could directly move in and claim the entire swamp as their own.
But a place like the swamp was completely unsuitable for animal husbandry and farming, not to mention they would have to face new neighbors—the rocky mountains and snowfields.
So.
There was no choice.
Kazuya only had the first path to take.
Moreover.
He believed.
If the other party truly wanted to wipe out the Dragon Clan.
They wouldn't just send over a dozen leaders; they should have mobilized a massive army.
There was also a crucial point.
Kazuya specifically asked the Cyclizar if the other party had stepped into the Dragon Clan's territory.
They hadn't.
This was also a statement of their attitude.
An attitude that they hadn't come bearing malicious intent.
As for the purpose of their visit.
That was truly hard to say.
Could it be to persuade him to join the Grassland Alpha Alliance to resist the Charizard clan together, or something like that?
"Wait... Charizard."
Suddenly.
A flash of inspiration crossed Kazuya's mind.
He seemed to know why this group of Alphas had come.
"What an unprovoked disaster. Go find Floette and tell her to gather the entire army and prepare for battle."
Kazuya helplessly raised his hand and rubbed his forehead.
In this life, he really hadn't suffered less from the volcano Charizard clan's implications.
But there was nothing much to say about it.
He had also undeniably reaped all the benefits of being a Charizard.
If he had to do it all over again.
And choose among all the existing species in the Dragon Clan.
Kazuya would still choose Charizard as his reincarnation species, even though the potential of Kommo-o and Goodra was higher.
"Vroom!"
The Cyclizar nodded forcefully.
He started running at full speed, disappearing from Kazuya's sight in the blink of an eye.
Cyclizars weren't just great as a relief force, they were also excellent as messengers.
Even if they had an aerial unit.
On a flat terrain like the grassland, in terms of speed, probably few flying dragon species could rival the Cyclizar.
Unless it was...
The Dragapult line.
The Ghost Dragon's base Speed stat was a staggering 142.
Even a Cyclizar that specifically trained its speed from a young age.
At the same level.
Would likely find it hard to match a normally raised Dragapult that hadn't intentionally trained its speed.
Moreover.
Dragapult's body can turn transparent. Coupled with that bizarre speed, they were simply elusive ghost assassins; their threat level on the battlefield far exceeded the Cyclizar clan.
"..."
Watching the Cyclizar leave, Kazuya turned his head to look south.
He flapped his wings and took off.
He headed south at maximum speed.
Even though this group of Alphas didn't look like enemies, it was definitely right to have the Dragon Clan make defensive preparations.
And on Kazuya's side, he only needed to remember one thing.
[Maintain Altitude]
The advantage of being able to fly became exceptionally apparent at a time like this.
As long as his altitude was high enough.
Out of those over a dozen Alphas, at least ten of them wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
Like Spike the bulldog tied to a leash.
Powerless.
As for the remaining few that could fly...
They might not necessarily be able to catch up to Kazuya using Extreme Speed.
So for this trip.
Even if those over a dozen Alphas wanted to finish him off.
The success rate wasn't high.
After all, Kazuya also had Aura Power; if those Pokémon harbored murderous intent, he could sense it immediately and escape.
He wouldn't give them a chance to gang up on him at all.
In the sky.
"Hmm, so these are the bosses on the grassland? With this posture, are they expecting me to pay respects to the local dons?"
Kazuya could already see those over a dozen Pokémon.
When he saw that Arcanine.
A hint of caution revealed itself in his eyes.
He had heard from the Cyclizar that the Arcanine clan and the Charizard clan had been fighting for decades.
This meant Arcanine not only had a long-standing grudge against Charizards but his strength was likely quite formidable.
He had to stay vigilant.
And when he saw Florges.
A somewhat subtle expression appeared on Kazuya's face again.
He didn't expect Floette's mother to be there too.
He remembered the last time they met was over a year ago.
Florges seemed to have not changed at all.
But this was what was called normal.
Someone like Kazuya.
Who used one year to leap from a "fleeing dragon cub" to a "Dragon King dominating the north."
That was abnormal.
Simply a character straight out of a novel protagonist's mold.
Below.
"Woof..."
Arcanine looked at Kazuya in the sky and couldn't help narrowing his eyes.
The size of this Charizard.
Was even larger than he had imagined.
This meant this Charizard's talent was excellent. Given time, his strength surpassing the Alphas present would be no difficult task.
This was a matter that could be taken lightly or seriously.
It depended on the specific character of this Charizard.
"Flor..."
Florges's gaze, on the other hand, was very complex.
Who could have thought that the little dragon from back then could actually grow to this extent today? She just didn't know how her daughter was doing.
The distance between the two sides closed.
But stopped abruptly at a certain point.
Kazuya hovered high in the sky, looking down at them. His gaze swept across, and he felt a wave of relief in his heart.
The only one that could fly was a Swanna.
A naturally grown Swanna's move pool was quite pure, only possessing Water and Flying-type skills.
And Kazuya was immune to Water-type attacks.
The pressure plummeted.
"What is your purpose in coming here?"
Kazuya took the initiative to ask from the air.
"We heard there was a new 'Dragon King' in the north of the grassland, so we came specifically to take a look. You've been on the grassland for a while now; you should know our relationship with the fire dragon clan."
Arcanine shook his head, looking at Kazuya mostly with an expression of appreciation.
He appreciated children with potential.
Regardless of which species this child came from.
"I know, what does that have to do with me?"
Kazuya narrowed his eyes.
This group of guys isn't going to take their anger out on me, right?
He figured it wouldn't come to that.
Apart from that Feraligatr, the other Pokémon didn't show much desire to attack him.
"How is your relationship with the fire dragon clan at the volcano?"
"My brother and I were born there, but we ran away as soon as we were born. Until now, we haven't seen any other individuals of our kind."
Kazuya spoke frankly.
Perhaps distancing himself.
Could earn the trust of these grassland Alphas.
But he didn't want to act like a sycophant, deliberately lying to gain trust.
He was the head of the Dragon Clan, after all.
He truly couldn't bring himself to do something so degrading.
However.
These words from Kazuya made the over a dozen Alphas below stir restlessly.
After all.
Kazuya had also said it himself.
He and his brother belonged to the volcano Charizard clan by blood.
"Take him out?"
Feraligatr turned his head to look at Arcanine, asking for his opinion.
Kazuya admitting to the bloodline sounded to his ears equivalent to admitting he was in cahoots with the Charizard clan; he completely hadn't heard the latter part of the sentence.
Just as Arcanine was about to shake his head and ask a few more questions.
His gaze suddenly sharpened, turning to sweep across the grassland opposite them.
Pokémon after Pokémon emerged from the wild grass, looking at them with hostile eyes.
They were completely unguarded against the flying dragon overhead, and even vaguely held a posture of standing on the same battlefront as him.
From further north.
A massive unit was rushing over at maximum speed.
Floette and Charizard led around a hundred Rampardos, Hakamo-o, and Cyclizars, arriving at the battlefield.
When Arcanine saw the Floette leading the charge, he couldn't help but glance at the slightly secretly delighted Florges beside him.
Only now did he understand.
Why Florges had spoken up for the northern Dragon Clan back then.
He thought Florges was as rational as he was.
At this moment.
Behind Kazuya, who was all alone just a moment ago, hundreds of Pokémon had gathered.
There were Dragon Clan members.
And there were also Pokémon who had made their homes in the safe zone.
Whether living alone or bringing their families along, they had all now become a part of the Dragon Clan's territory.
They weren't protecting Kazuya.
They were just protecting their hard-won, peaceful homeland.
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