Pokémon: My Parallel World Daughters Revealed

Raina pushed aside the last wall of bushes, and the view before her suddenly opened up.

Atop an enormous boulder stood a small mountain made entirely of Berries.

Dragonite sat at the summit with its tail curled around itself.

It had grown noticeably larger since leaving Cerulean Gym. Its orange scales gleamed beneath the sunlight, though its body remained as round and plump as ever.

Several Beedrill stood around it, using their twin stingers to cut Berries into evenly sized pieces. Fearow fanned Dragonite with its wings, while several Spearow divided the fruit into small bowls made from leaves.

Butterfree flew over and circled Dragonite once.

"Butterfree~"

Boss, these Oran Berries ripened today. I picked out the best ones.

Pidgeot placed its basket down.

"Pidgeot~"

There are more over here.

Dragonite accepted a Berry, took a bite, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Dragonite~"

Not bad. Today’s quality is better than yesterday’s.

Pidgeot and Butterfree simultaneously breathed sighs of relief.

The Beedrill leader flew over to deliver a report.

"Beedrill, Beedrill~"

Boss, another group of Trainers has arrived outside the forest.

Dragonite didn’t even open its eyes. It merely raised one claw and yawned.

The Pidgeot leader replied:

"Pidgeot~"

The Boss says to make them line up first.

The Beedrill leader added:

"Beedrill."

They’ve already entered the forest.

Inside the bushes, Raina crouched down and lowered her voice.

"Eevee, Gengar, listen carefully."

Eevee and Gengar leaned closer.

"That Dragonite looks extremely powerful, and it has an entire group of Pokémon acting as bodyguards."

Raina lowered her voice even further.

"We definitely can’t defeat it in a frontal battle."

"Eevee, Eevee?"

"So..."

A sharp glint flashed through Raina’s eyes.

"Eevee, I’ll attract its attention while you sneak around and attack from the side!"

Eevee stared at Raina before pointing at its own face.

"Eevee?"

Me?

"Yes! You! You’re our ace!"

"Eevee, Eevee!"

Since when did I become the ace?!

"Starting now!"

"Eevee, Eevee, Eevee!"

Then why don’t you fight it from the front yourself?

"Because I’m responsible for distracting it."

"Eevee."

That isn’t fair.

"Five servings of snacks."

Eevee’s ears twitched.

"Eevee."

What happens if it steps on me and flattens me?

"Ten servings, plus priority access to all desserts for one month."

"Eevee."

Deal.

Without another word, Eevee leaped from Raina’s shoulder and silently slipped into the nearby bushes.

Gengar watched the entire negotiation between the two partners, scratched its head, and decided not to offer an opinion.

The commotion on Raina’s side soon attracted the attention of the Beedrill swarm. Their leader hurriedly reported to Dragonite.

"Beedrill, Beedrill~"

Boss, there’s another intruder. Should we beat her up?

"Dragonite."

Beat her up.

"Beedrill!"

Understood!

Seeing this, Raina stopped trying to hide. She stood upright and waved her arms dramatically.

"Hey! Over here! Look over here! Dragonite, I’m going to catch you!"

The Beedrill swarm was about to move when Pidgeot suddenly extended one wing and stopped them.

Pidgeot narrowed its eyes and carefully examined Raina before lowering its head toward Dragonite.

"Pidgeot, Pidgeot."

Boss, that Trainer looks like the person you’ve been waiting for.

Dragonite froze.

It pulled out the photograph again and held it beside Raina’s face for comparison.

Sure enough, she was the person it had been waiting for.

Dragonite’s eyes instantly lit up.

She’s finally here.

I’ve been waiting forever.

It had spent every day in Viridian Forest eating so many Berries that it was nearly sick of them.

Its subordinates were certainly obedient, but how could wild Berries possibly compare to the specially prepared Pokémon food it ate at home?

Besides, its father’s boss had promised that following Raina would mean enjoying the finest food, receiving free meals and lodging, and having anything it wanted.

Its father’s boss had personally guaranteed it.

Dragonite jumped down from the Berry pile.

The ground trembled when it landed.

Dragonite raised its head and puffed out its chest, its gaze sharp and its presence intimidating.

Pidgeot and Fearow flew down from the branches and landed behind Dragonite, one on either side.

Eevee poked half its head out from the bushes and pointed at itself with its tail.

Raina nodded firmly.

Eevee closed its eyes and charged toward Dragonite as though resigning itself to its fate.

Raina also prepared to throw a Poké Ball.

"Blastoise, come—"

Before she could finish, Eevee burst out of the bushes and slammed headfirst into Dragonite.

Dragonite paused.

Hmm? Was I just attacked?

Whatever. It doesn’t matter.

The next moment, the young Dragonite threw itself backward without the slightest hesitation.

"Dragonite~"

Ah! I’ve been defeated!

It closed its eyes, allowed its tongue to hang from the corner of its mouth, and lay completely motionless.

A three-second silence descended over the entire clearing.

The Pidgeot and Fearow leaders stared at each other.

Was this really the same boss who had single-handedly beaten the entire forest into submission only a few days ago?

Eevee looked down at its own tiny body, then at Dragonite lying on the ground.

Its expression immediately filled with pride.

"Eevee~"

When did I become this powerful?

Gengar covered its mouth, its shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

Raina stared blankly at the fallen Dragonite.

"What just happened?"

She put Blastoise’s Poké Ball away, then tentatively threw an empty Poké Ball.

The Poké Ball shook twice before releasing a click.

Dragonite had been caught successfully.

Raina crouched down and picked up the Poké Ball, still completely bewildered.

"...That was all it took?"

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

"Hahahahahaha! I saw it! I saw Dragonite open its eyes!"

"Dragonite: I’ve fallen! Ah, I’m dead! Hurry and throw the Poké Ball!"

"Look at how proudly Eevee is holding its head up! Hahahaha! It genuinely believes it won!"

"Eevee: I’m incredibly powerful!

Dragonite: Yes, yes, you’re incredibly powerful. Now hurry and make your Trainer catch me!"

"I give that acting performance one hundred points!"

"I captured Pidgeot and Fearow’s expressions! I can use them as reaction images for the rest of my life!"

"Beedrill leader: My entire understanding of reality has collapsed."

"Dragonite: Ah! It’s Tackle! I’m dead!"

"Eevee: Was I always this strong?"

"Raina: I’ve seen every possible situation... Actually, I’ve never seen anything like this."

"The rulers of Viridian Forest: Is this plague finally leaving?!"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Lance]: ...

[Leon]: ...

[Cynthia]: ...

[Lance]: I had already prepared to record the battle because I wanted to study how this Dragonite fought. Instead, the entire thing was an act.

[Cynthia]: I had my notes ready as well...

[Leon]: I even devised three possible strategies Raina might use. Yet she simply caught it like that?

[Wallace]: Its acting genuinely was impressive. That performance was more natural than those of some contestants I’ve seen at Pokémon Contests.

[Diantha]: If there were an acting competition for Pokémon, this Dragonite could win the championship.

[Gary]: Seriously? There should have been at least one proper battle!

[Brock]: Perhaps this Dragonite simply doesn’t care about such formalities.

Within the video, the Pidgeot leader was the first to recover.

It looked at the bewildered Raina as memories of everything it had experienced over the past several days flashed through its mind.

As long as Dragonite remained, the entire forest would have to continue obeying its commands.

They had to wake before sunrise every morning to gather Berries.

The slightest mistake would earn them a single glare from Dragonite, frightening Pidgeot so badly that its entire body trembled.

But everything was fine now.

Dragonite was leaving.

Pidgeot immediately reached a decision.

It wiped the corner of its eye with one wing, forced out several tears, and turned to exchange a meaningful glance with the Pokémon behind it.

Fearow understood immediately. It covered its face with its wings and began shaking its shoulders.

"Fearow, Fearow——"

How touching! The Boss has finally found somewhere to belong!

The Beedrill leader’s twin stingers trembled, but it also forced itself to produce a mournful buzz.

"Beedrill, Beedrill."

We will miss you.

Raina released Dragonite from its Poké Ball.

The moment it emerged, Dragonite instantly recovered from its previous near-death state. It threw its arms around Raina, its eyes sparkling brightly.

"Dragonite~"

Boss, I’m following you from now on!

Dragonite showed none of the unfamiliarity expected from a newly caught Pokémon. It immediately sat down, patted its stomach with one claw, and extended the other toward Raina to ask for food.

"Dragonite~"

I’m hungry.

Raina paused before taking a Pokéblock case from her backpack and handing it over.

"Here. You can eat these."

Dragonite accepted the Pokéblocks and lowered its head to smell them.

Its eyes instantly lit up.

They smelled exactly like the ones from home.

Its father’s boss hadn’t lied to it.

Dragonite immediately began devouring them.

Raina crouched beside it and gently rubbed its belly while watching it eat.

Dragonite was so absorbed in its food that when she touched it, it merely grunted without even raising its head.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Erika]: Now that Raina has caught Dragonite, her next destination should be Cerulean City... which means she’s about to challenge her own mother.

[Cynthia]: The Cerulean Gym battle will carry a completely different meaning from the others. Cerulean City was where Raina’s journey began, and now she’ll return as a challenger to face her own mother. The emotional weight of this battle will be considerable.

[Leon]: Regardless of the result, it will undoubtedly be an excellent battle.