Dragon Island, central lake.
A group of Dragonite surrounded the larger Dragonite in the center, looking at it with curious and innocent eyes.
"Awoo?" (How did you transform like this?)
"Awoo awoo?" (Amazing! Does this mean you can play with us now?)
"Awoo!" (Come with me to pick Berries! And catch fish in the sea!)
"Awoo～"
Naoki sat on the grass, leaning against Koraidon, munching on sunflower seeds while listening to the group of Dragonite chatting.
The ambient noise here was overwhelming, and after quite some time, he only caught a few phrases that he couldn't understand.
The large Dragonite seemed to quite enjoy the goodwill shown by the group of Dragonite.
After becoming smaller, it didn't look as frightening as before, and its aura was much less imposing, becoming rather ordinary.
But Naoki could guarantee that its strength hadn't diminished at all, and if provoked, the large Dragonite would probably unleash its fury without hesitation.
Not sure what the group of Dragonite said to the large Dragonite, Naoki soon saw the group flying away with it, not knowing where they went.
Naoki didn't bother with it, assuming they wouldn't go off to destroy the world, right?
Then, he turned his gaze to the normal-sized Alcremie and the other Pokemon nearby.
They were playing happily with a group of Dragonair and Dratini.
But...where did Pawmo go?
Naoki stood up and looked around, but couldn't find any trace of Pawmo.
At that moment, a loud thunderclap suddenly came from the other side of the island.
Naoki and the nearby Dragonite froze, then flew into the air to check the situation.
Naoki also mounted Koraidon, following the Dragonite to the source of the sound.
From a distance, he caught sight of Pawmo on the sea surface.
Pawmo was charging up.
The once-clear sky quickly became covered with storm clouds, and terrifying electric energy gathered within them, ultimately forming a blue bolt of lightning that struck Pawmo.
With an enthusiastic cry of "Ba-moh!", a blue electric spark surrounded Pawmo's fur, and its eyes were completely filled with light.
A powerful surge of electricity erupted from it, concentrating downwards towards the sea.
"Kaboom!"
A thunderous noise followed, raising massive waves on the sea.
When everything calmed down, Pawmo grinned, revealing two sharp little teeth.
Nearby, several Dratini looked at the lightning-wielding Pawmo with admiration.
If they had hands, Naoki had no doubt they'd be clapping fervently.
"You scared me..."
Naoki breathed a sigh of relief; he thought Pawmo had gotten into a fight with a wild Dragonite.
At this moment, Pawmo noticed him too.
"Ba-moh!" it called happily, flying over.
Seeing this, Naoki thought Pawmo was a bit too reliant on flying, since gaining the ability to fly, he rarely saw Pawmo run on the ground.
"This won't do!" Naoki said.
"Ba-moh?" Pawmo paused, a bit puzzled.
Naoki asked, "Do you want to evolve into Pawmot?"
Pawmo nodded repeatedly, its eyes full of determination: "Ba-moh!"
Naoki explained to it, "Continuing like this, you won't be able to evolve into Pawmot."
While Pawmo was in a daze, he continued, "As far as I know, for Pawmo to evolve into Pawmot, it needs to run hard on the ground, and after covering a certain distance, it can evolve into Pawmot while running."
Pawmo immediately understood Naoki's meaning: "Ba-moh..."
Naoki chuckled: "So, starting today, you need to return to basics, not rely too much on flying, and try to start running."
"Ba-moh!"
"That's the way!"
Naoki patted its head: "Now go play with the Dratini, and after we get home, we'll run together."
He needed some exercise as well.
Having been eating lavishly every day and with Pokemon helping with farm work, there wasn't much he really needed to do, which led to significant weight gain.
Naoki pointed to the lake behind him: "I'll be over there, so come find me when you're done playing."
"Ba-moh!" Pawmo nodded, indicating it understood.
Naoki rode Koraidon back to the central lake.
As soon as he landed, the group of Dragonite that had flown off earlier returned.
Each Dragonite was carrying a pile of Berries in their arms, with a few holding some sea bass.
Seeing this, Naoki raised an eyebrow slightly.
Then, he saw the large Dragonite carrying a pile of Berries, walking towards him, and placing the Berries before him.
"Roar!"
The large Dragonite sounded quite pleased.
Naoki looked at it for a while, then took out some sunflower seeds and resumed munching.
The large Dragonite's voice automatically translated.
"Roar...roar!" (My...friend...thank you...food...gift...for you!)
Upon hearing this, Naoki was stunned for a moment.
So, does this mean the large Dragonite considered him, a human, a friend?
He hesitantly asked, "Friend?"
Then, he heard the large Dragonite speak haltingly: "Roar, roar...roar!" (You...Mew, Bear...Help me...find companions...I thank you...you are friend, mine!)
It seemed to be quite new to this unfamiliar world and still not quite adapted, so its ancient Dragonite speech was unclear.
But despite this, Naoki understood the large Dragonite's meaning.
Honestly, he felt quite happy about it.
"Do you plan to live here from now on?" Naoki asked again.
The large Dragonite nodded: "Roar!"
"That's great!"
Naoki sincerely felt happy for the large Dragonite.
The large Dragonite ran off.
Watching its back, Naoki suddenly thought of Bill, who was investigating the large Dragonite.
He wondered how Bill would feel upon learning about the large Dragonite's current situation.
Given Bill's personality, if he learned that the large Dragonite found its desired companions, he would likely be happy for it.
Naoki picked up the Berries given by the large Dragonite from the ground, handed one to Koraidon beside him, and took one himself to start munching.
"How wonderful!" he said with emotion.
"Ah gah sss?" Koraidon turned to look at him.
Naoki said to it, "I never thought there would be a day where I would personally participate in this world, helping Pokemon like some... like some people."
Koraidon didn't quite understand: "Ah gah sss."
Naoki chuckled: "You can sort of understand it as, I'm very happy about helping Pokemon and receiving appreciation from them."
If his journey to this world had any meaning, this might be why he exists here.
——To meet more Pokemon, help them, and heal himself.