Sup!
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Clair was straightforward by nature. She didn't notice Caster's anxiety, and seeing that he didn't refute her, she took it as confirmation.
"According to records in our family archives, one of our ancestors once encountered a flying Gyarados out at sea.
Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts to breed a flying Gyarados, that ancestor died without ever succeeding.
I thought it was just wishful thinking..."
Clair looked at Caster excitedly: "But your Gyarados can actually hover in midair, which means the records in our family archives are real!"
"What? Gyarados can really fly?"
Clair's words delighted Caster.
He'd actually been hoping for this all along.
As a Flying-type Pokémon, Gyarados should theoretically be capable of flight.
This was even reflected in the games.
However, in the anime world, flying Gyarados had never appeared.
Even Lance's red Gyarados, when battling Leon's Charizard, could only crawl on the ground.
Right off the bat, it lost in terms of presence.
If Lance's red Gyarados could fly, who knows who would've won that battle against Leon?
As for why the current Gyarados couldn't fly, they were simply too weak, especially lacking proficiency in Flying-type moves.
After all, according to Pokédex entries, Magikarp was incredibly powerful in the distant past.
But as time passed, Magikarp grew weaker and weaker until it became the current deadweight.
And Caster had TMs. As long as he allocated points, he could continuously increase skill proficiency, giving him a real chance to restore the ancient glory of flying Gyarados.
Of course, Caster had only been toying with this idea before, constantly experimenting in that direction.
But Clair's words essentially skipped the trial-and-error phase and directly gave Caster the answer key.
That answer being: Gyarados really could fly!
This filled Caster with motivation.
A flying Gyarados; now that's something to work toward!
Seeing Caster's shocked expression, Clair felt rather smug.
This was the foundation of their thousand-year-old family. Even just a few scattered records, when taken outside, could sometimes create massive waves.
Caster glanced at Clair and probed: "So, what brings you here?"
"By my calculations, mastering Bounce while still a Magikarp would best activate Magikarp's Flying-type bloodline.
Then, when Magikarp evolves, that bloodline advantage amplifies further, which gives it hope of truly flying."
Clair didn't hide her intentions, stating directly: "So I want you to teach my Magikarp the Bounce move."
"Just as I thought, she wants me to teach Bounce!"
Caster's expression stiffened.
On one hand, he didn't really want miraculous items like TMs to become public knowledge.
On the other hand, he didn't actually have a Bounce TM on hand right now; even if he wanted to teach it, he couldn't.
After all, he wasn't actually a real move tutor!
Seeing Caster's troubled expression, Clair quickly added: "I know teaching Magikarp Bounce must be extremely difficult, but I'm willing to pay an adequate price."
"Hmm?"
Glancing at the beauty standing so close, Caster's heart stirred: "Any price?"
"Why don't you state your requirements first?"
Clair's eyes flickered; she neither agreed nor refused.
Caster blurted out: "I want a Dratini!"
The Dragon Tamer clan's most renowned signature Pokémon was undoubtedly Dragonite.
Without exaggeration, the Dragon Tamer clan was the best in the entire Pokémon world at raising Dragonite.
While Caster could go to the Safari Zone and try to catch the wild Dratini there...
If he could obtain a Dratini carefully bred and raised by the Dragon Tamer clan, that wild Dratini wouldn't be worth it.
After all, that wild Dratini's mother was only a Dragonair, and its father's identity was completely unknown.
In contrast, the Dragon Tamer clan had not just gym-level Dragonite but also Elite Four-level and Champion-level Dragonite, and more than one of each.
There was no comparison!
For a Dratini, Caster felt he could make an exception and teach once.
As long as he was careful and found somewhere private to do the teaching, Clair probably wouldn't discover the TM's existence.
After speaking, Caster looked at Clair with some embarrassment.
After all, just for teaching one move, he was asking her to provide a pseudo-legendary baby.
Even though Caster's skin was as thick as a city wall, he felt somewhat awkward at this moment.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Clair immediately shook her head: "Dratini are late bloomers and extremely rare. The destination of each one must be reviewed by the family's council of elders; I can't make that decision on my own."
"However, I can submit a request to the elder council, though it'll still be very difficult."
Clair didn't completely shut the door, indicating she could try, though the chances might not be great.
"Then I want to train at the Dragon's Den. Of course, if I could also learn some of your Dragon Tamer clan's secret techniques, that would be even better."
Caster immediately took a step back, changing to a relatively simpler request.
Principles are just that flexible!
"You actually know about the Dragon's Den?"
Clair looked surprised.
The Dragon's Den was a dragon sanctuary guarded by the Dragon Tamer clan, home to many Dragon-type Pokémon or Pokémon with dragon bloodlines, but few outsiders knew about it.
Yet Caster, a rookie trainer from humble origins just starting out, actually knew about it?
"This kid sure has a lot of secrets."
Clair studied Caster, her eyes glinting.
"Just heard about it here and there!"
Caster quickly laughed it off.
"Pi~"
Pichu on Caster's shoulder also called out, trying to help its trainer cute its way through.
Fortunately, Clair didn't dwell too much on this matter, because while the Dragon's Den was a dragon sanctuary, it wasn't absolutely forbidden to outsiders.
If Caster wanted to train there, she could agree to that herself.
As for secret techniques, as long as they weren't core family secrets, teaching Caster one or two wouldn't be a big deal.
"I can agree to that condition directly."
After thinking it over, Clair said, "If you can successfully teach my Magikarp to learn Bounce, I, Clair, won't go back on my word.
Not only will I let you enter the Dragon's Den, but I'll also apply to the family to teach your Gyarados the Dragon Dance secret technique."
"That sounds great!"
Caster laughed heartily.
Dragon Dance, also known as the "Dragon destroyer," was a godly boosting move for Dragon-type Pokémon that could simultaneously enhance both attack and speed.
Once the boost was complete, sweeping teams wouldn't be far behind.
But what Clair didn't know was that Caster's real purpose in proposing to train at the Dragon's Den wasn't actually to train, but to fish.
As long as Dragon-type Pokémon took the bait, things like Dragon Dance would be easy to get.
If he could catch a few Gyarados, Dratini, Dragonair, or Kingdra, forget Dragon Dance; he was confident he could even obtain Draco Meteor and Outrage.
Of course, the Dragon Tamer clan's secret techniques contained thousands of years of their family's wisdom and surely had superior applications.
If Caster could obtain those, even better.
"Alright, then it's a deal."
Clair extended her hand and shook Caster's; the deal was sealed.
"In that case, I'd say we're friends now."
Withdrawing her hand, Clair played with the whip in her hand and pouted: "So accept my friend request first!"
"Huh???"
Caster looked completely baffled.
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