Chapter 51: Good Pokémon Award
The video continued playing.
Viridian Forest.
The young Dragonite waddled along the forest path with Raina’s photograph held in its mouth, its round body swaying from side to side.
[VIP Chat Group]
[Iris]: It’s so young! Won’t it get bullied in the forest?! ๐·°(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°·๐
[Professor Oak]: Hmm... Viridian Forest is home to many wild Pokémon. For a young Dragonite to enter alone...
[Lance]: The wild Pokémon of Viridian Forest are highly territorial. Beedrill swarms and Fearow, in particular, are rarely friendly toward intruders.
[Ash]: I was chased by a flock of Spearow in Viridian Forest too! It was terrifying!
[Pikachu]: Pika, pika! Still traumatized.
[Leon]: Still, the Dragonite species naturally possesses a certain degree of intimidation, and its size alone should discourage most attackers. It probably won’t be in too much danger.
[Raihan]: Leon, you’re tempting fate.
Before he had even finished speaking, the Dragonite in the video encountered a swarm of Beedrill.
The leading Beedrill was nearly half as tall as a person. Its twin stingers gleamed coldly beneath the sunlight, while dozens of Beedrill crowded behind it. The collective buzzing of their wings was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.
Dragonite tilted its head at the swarm.
The Beedrill had lived in Viridian Forest for many years and were among the dominant forces within this part of the forest.
Their leader had seen countless human Trainers pass through and many Pokémon intrude upon its territory.
However, it had never seen the round little orange creature standing before it.
The Beedrill leader decided to teach the intruder a lesson.
It raised both stingers and assumed an intimidating pose.
Dragonite blinked.
The Beedrill leader vibrated its stingers and led the swarm into a dive toward the young Dragonite.
Dragonite merely raised its left claw.
Thunder Punch.
Golden electricity erupted from its claws as its fist slammed directly into the Beedrill leader’s face.
The Beedrill leader spun through the air like a baseball struck by a home run. It smashed through three trees before finally coming to a stop, its eyes transformed into spirals.
The remaining dozens of Beedrill slammed on the brakes simultaneously.
They remained suspended in their diving postures but no longer dared move forward.
Upon seeing this, Dragonite raised its right claw.
Ice Punch.
Frost gathered around its claws before it punched a nearby tree so thick that two people would have been needed to wrap their arms around its trunk.
Ice began spreading outward from the center of the trunk, rapidly climbing toward the crown. Within seconds, the entire tree had become an enormous ice sculpture.
Crack.
The frozen tree split down the middle and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The Beedrill swarm immediately turned around and vanished within three seconds, as though they had never been there.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"One punch?! It only took one punch?!"
"Beedrill: I’ll have you know I’m one of this region’s rulers.
Dragonite: What’s a ruler?"
"The Beedrill’s stingers are still twitching! Hahahaha! It has probably never been electrocuted that badly in its entire life!"
"Dragonite: My father is a Champion-level Dragonite. What are you?"
"Person above, that was incredibly hurtful to the Beedrill."
"Beedrill: I would like to formally withdraw from Viridian Forest."
"That swarm retreated faster than I can empty my online shopping cart."
"What did that tree do wrong? Why did it have to be frozen?!"
"Tree: I didn’t bother anyone."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Bruno]: Holy crap! That was incredible!
[Leon]: Excellent punching technique! The angle and force of both strikes were extraordinarily precise. It has clearly undergone rigorous training.
[Lance]: It also incapacitated its opponent in a single blow. That power is genuinely absurd.
[Steven]: @Asher, how exactly do you train your Dragonite? Even a young Dragonite from your family is this powerful?
[Asher]: I don’t know. They learned it themselves.
[Steven]: Even you don’t know?!
[Asher]: It has arms and legs of its own. It isn’t as though I can control everything it does.
[Wallace]: What exactly are you responsible for at home?
[Asher]: Being handsome.
[Wallace]: ...
[Brock]: Somehow, I can’t argue with that answer.
The video continued.
The commotion caused by the fleeing Beedrill alerted one of the rulers of the forest’s upper canopy—a gigantic Pidgeot.
Pidgeot locked its gaze onto the orange Pokémon below and released a piercing cry.
Dragonite looked up at it.
Then the corner of its mouth curled into a crooked smirk.
The scene changed.
Pidgeot lay sprawled across the ground. The crest atop its head had been frozen into an ice sculpture, both wings were still twitching, and its unfocused eyes stared into the sky as though it were contemplating the meaning of its existence.
Not long afterward, a Fearow approached from the east.
It was Pidgeot’s longtime rival for territory and had occupied the eastern side of the forest for years.
Upon seeing Pidgeot lying on the ground, Fearow visibly stiffened.
Dragonite stopped walking and turned toward it.
Fearow looked at the fallen Pidgeot.
Then it looked at Dragonite’s raised fist.
It made an exceptionally wise decision.
Fearow immediately lay flat on the ground and folded its wings against its body.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Pidgeot: I should’ve checked my horoscope before leaving home today."
"Fearow: I surrender! Is surrendering not enough?!"
"Fearow: I’ve fought Pidgeot for years and never managed to win. After watching it get defeated instantly, I suddenly achieved enlightenment."
"Fearow: I may be weak, but at least I can read the situation."
"Beedrill: Welcome to the Viridian Forest Victims’ Association."
"Current members of the Viridian Forest Victims’ Association: the Beedrill swarm and Pidgeot."
"Pidgeot’s entrance from the sky looked so impressive, but it remained impressive for less than three seconds."
"Three territorial rulers: one electrocuted, one beaten into the ground, and one voluntarily lying down."
"Dragonite: I’m not targeting anyone in particular. I’m saying that everyone present is trash."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Gary]: This Dragonite has exactly the same air as Asher. It shows off without even appearing to try.
[Ash]: Does it? I thought it looked awesome!
[Pikachu]: Pika, pika!
[Gary]: Which is precisely why someone at your level can’t compare to Asher.
[Ash]: Gary, are you trying to start another fight?!
The video continued playing.
Nighttime, deep within Viridian Forest.
A Pokémon hunter wearing night-vision goggles crouched among the bushes. His sniper rifle was loaded with tranquilizer darts.
His partner crouched beside him with a crumpled photograph in hand. The photograph depicted a young orange Dragonite.
"Target confirmed. Dragonite is sleeping on a tree stump."
The hunter licked his lips.
"Take it alive. Selling it on the black market will earn us enough money to live comfortably for the rest of our lives."
His partner put away the photograph, a greedy smile spreading across his face.
"That little thing has spent the last few days fighting Pokémon all over the forest. It must be exhausted by now."
The first hunter raised his tranquilizer rifle and aimed at the dozing Dragonite.
The next moment, a swarm of Beedrill emerged from the surrounding bushes and encircled them.
Hunter B swallowed as he stared at the coldly gleaming stingers.
"Boss, what do we do now?"
Hunter A smiled.
"Don’t worry. I have sleep rounds. At worst, we’ll retreat and come back another time."
"Boss, I think it’s already too late."
"Hmm?"
Hunter A raised his head.
A round Dragonite stood directly in front of them.
The corner of its mouth slowly curled upward.
Three seconds later...
The two hunters lay stacked atop each other, their faces bruised and swollen. Hunter A’s leg continued twitching, the tranquilizer rifle had been reduced to scrap metal, and their night-vision goggles had shattered.
The young Dragonite dusted off its claws despite there being no dust on them, then lowered its head and inspected its pile of "spoils."
It tilted its head and thought for a moment, seemingly trying to remember something.
Oh, right.
Its father had said that whenever it caught bad people, it should deliver them to the city.
The young Dragonite seized both hunters by their collars, spread its wings, and took off.
Viridian City Police Station.
Officer Jenny was working at her desk.
Her partner Growlithe lay on the floor, dozing.
Growlithe’s ears twitched before it suddenly raised its head in alarm.
Officer Jenny looked up.
"What is it, Growlithe?"
Growlithe barked toward the entrance.
A heavy thud came from outside, as though something weighty had just been dropped in front of the door.
Officer Jenny stood and opened it.
Two unconscious men lay outside, both beaten black and blue.
Beside them was a leaf bearing a clearly stamped paw print.
Over the following several days, Officer Jenny in Viridian City opened the station every morning to find several bruised and unconscious wanted criminals piled outside the entrance.
"Eleven wanted criminals have been delivered to us this week alone."
Officer Jenny stared at the thick stack of completed case reports in her hands, her expression complicated.
"Our station’s case-clearance rate has already exceeded twelve hundred percent."
"The chief said he wants to give it a Good Citizen Award."
"It’s a Pokémon. It can’t receive an award meant for humans."
"Then we’ll give it a Good Pokémon Award."
"...Does that award exist?"
"We’ll create it now."