Do You Want an Opponent? (Please Follow and Vote!)

Do You Want an Opponent? (Please Follow and Vote!) Canalave City Eastern Suburbs.

"Come out, Aerodactyl."

Wataru threw a Poké Ball. Amid a flash of red light, an imposing Aerodactyl appeared.

"Roar—"

Its cry echoed through the mountains and forests. What a Flying-type Pokémon!

"Koujie!"

It can fly!

Gastly's eyes sparkled. Setting everything else aside, Wataru's Pokémon really were all cool.

"Jing He." Wataru looked at Jing He.

Based solely on what he could observe now, Aerodactyl did not have any major problems. It was probably just because it had only recently been caught, so it was not particularly close to Wataru yet.

Of course, Jing He could not figure everything out with just a glance in such a short time. Otherwise, he would not be a Pokémon Psychology expert—he would be a Pokémon fortune-teller.

"Can you have it use a move? Anything will do," Jing He said.

Wataru nodded.

With a broad wave of his hand, he shouted, "Aerodactyl, Dragon Dance!"

"Roar!!"

Aerodactyl threw back its head and roared, its aura instantly rising. Its massive wings beat as it lifted into the air, and the howling wind whipped the surrounding grass and trees into motion. It looked exceptionally fierce.

The corner of Jing He's mouth twitched.

There was really no need to use Dragon Dance just to emphasize it.

Still, as Aerodactyl used the move, its Pokédex entry appeared in Jing He's vision.

Aerodactyl

Type: Rock-type, Flying-type

Ability: Intimidate

Moves: Bite, Ancient Power, Supersonic, Wing Attack, Scary Face, Rock Slide, Roar, Crunch, Iron Head, Take Down, Stone Edge, Dragon Dance, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Dragon Breath

Mood: Normal, despondent (This is not its era)

Condition: Excellent (It has recovered fairly well)

Friendship: 0 (Look at me! You insect crawling on the ground!)

Aerodactyl was a vicious Pokémon from ancient times, violent by nature and once the ruler of the vast ancient skies.

It was said that ancient Aerodactyl had possessed the Dragon-type, but after slumbering in rock for too long, its typing had changed.

An old-era survivor?

Jing He subconsciously glanced at Gastly beside him.

This little fellow was over a thousand years old too, right? "Koujie?"

Noticing Jing He's gaze, Gastly gave him a puzzled look.

It licked its tongue, its smile vicious and adorable.

Jing He looked away.

He rubbed his chin lightly. "The problem isn't too serious. The changes in era and environment probably made it difficult for it to adapt at first. Combined with its nature and the length of its slumber, that caused an excited emotional breakdown."

"Can it be treated?" Wataru asked.

"Actually, if you give it time, it can recover on its own. It might just take a while—three to five years."

Three to five years? Before Wataru could speak, Jing He continued, "Of course, if we combine psychological treatment with physical intervention, it'll be much faster."

That made Wataru breathe a sigh of relief.

How much combat strength Aerodactyl could display was a matter for later. He simply did not want to see it suffer so much.

"What should we do?"

"If I were handling it, I would—"

"Kou, Koujie!!"

Gastly suddenly shouted.

It—it flew away!

Hm? Wataru and Jing He both turned toward Aerodactyl.

The Aerodactyl that had flown high into the air after using Dragon Dance was now beating its wings and flying toward the forest, getting faster and faster. It seemed extremely urgent.

Both their expressions changed.

What was going on? From this distance, it had already gone beyond a Poké Ball's recall range.

"Up ahead is the Verdanturf Mountain Range."

According to the Hoenn Region map, Canalave City was located in the far west of Hoenn. To the east lay the Verdanturf Mountain Range, followed by Verdanturf Town.

If it flew deep into those mountains and forests, it would be truly difficult to find.

Wataru immediately vaulted onto Charizard's back and said to Jing He, "I'll go after it!"

Jing He hurriedly said, "Don't stop it. Let's see what it wants."

Wataru paused before nodding.

"Alright!"

With a beat of its wings, Charizard used Dragon Dance as well and shot into the sky, gradually closing in on Aerodactyl.

"Koujie."

Gastly swallowed.

Doesn't he get dizzy?

Every Pokémon had a different posture when using Dragon Dance, but one thing was similar. Since it was a "dance," movements were unavoidable—spiraling upward, for example.

Charizard had spun around many times just now to accelerate.

Doesn't he really get dizzy? Jing He's expression darkened.

Was that the issue here? After a brief pause, he said, "Let's go take a look too."

The wilderness of the Pokémon World was not safe. It could even be called extremely dangerous. As a teacher at the Pokémon Academy, Jing He knew that better than anyone.

But this place was close to Canalave City, and because the Devon Corporation was excavating Granite Cave in the Verdanturf Mountain Range ahead, they had driven away many nearby Pokémon. As long as they did not go too deep, the danger was not particularly high.

Of course, some weaker and gentler Pokémon still remained.

Many wild Pokémon could be seen amid the dense grass.

Jing He even spotted some Bug Catchers crouching beside the grass. They clearly wanted to "exchange pointers" with him, but Jing He wisely chose not to see them.

They were all struggling people. There was no need to take their spending money—and there was not much to take anyway.

Fortunately, Aerodactyl had not flown too far. It landed before entering the Verdanturf Mountain Range.

It stopped in front of a recently excavated tunnel.

There were plenty of large machines here.

The forest and mountain had both suffered considerable damage.

There were hardly any traces of wild Pokémon left nearby.

Jing He could not help frowning.

This was the harm humans inflicted upon nature and wild Pokémon.

Aerodactyl's sudden appearance clearly frightened many Devon Corporation workers. Several Machop and Gurdurr stood nearby, watching it warily.

The construction team leader beside them was on the phone.

Jing He quickly walked over and took out the Devon Corporation Consultant identification Stone had given him yesterday.

"Sorry, we'll be leaving soon."

The construction team leader froze upon seeing the ID.

After saying a few more words to the person on the other end, he hung up.

"Mr. Consultant, this is..."

Jing He shook his head without explaining further.

He stepped forward.

There, he saw Wataru and the Charizard standing beside him.

Their expressions were complicated.

Aerodactyl had already landed.

In its claws, it held an orange-yellow piece of amber covered in dirt. It let out a low cry, its voice mournful and helpless.

Aerodactyl had a habit of liking amber. Perhaps it was because amber reminded it of its former companions.

After all, unlike Wataru's naturally awakened Aerodactyl, most Aerodactyl nowadays had been revived by extracting genes from amber.

Perhaps this piece of amber carried the scent of one of its own kind.

"Koujie..."

Gastly murmured. Aerodactyl's situation stirred a trace of sympathy within it.

Jing He brushed aside its mist, feeling the tingling in his fingertips, and gave it a comforting look.

"Koujie~~()"

Waves appeared in Gastly's eyes.

I have Jing He. I'm not lonely!

"Jing He, Aerodactyl..."

Wataru opened his mouth, unsure how to continue.

"I know someone who might be able to help it."

Jing He sighed and took out a Cheri Berry.

Wataru's eyes lit up.

"But this only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. Aerodactyl still needs to regain its confidence—or rather, find a new goal."

"A new goal?"

"Crunch." Jing He bit into the berry, yet his words remained clear. "For an Aerodactyl that was once the ruler of the skies, the best way is to find it an opponent—a powerful opponent!"

"Then I can have Charizard, or Gyarados—"

"Your Pokémon won't work. They're too close to it, so it won't have the desired effect. If they're too distant, it could easily create internal conflict. It has to be someone else."

At that, Wataru's gaze unconsciously shifted toward Gastly.

Gastly jerked violently.

"Kou, Koujie?!"

What are you looking at me like that for? That look is way too malicious!

Making it fight Aerodactyl—wasn't that just making things difficult for a ghost? "Gastly isn't strong enough. And since Aerodactyl was a ruler of the skies, its target should preferably be a Flying-type Pokémon."

Jing He's words made Gastly let out a long breath.

That scared the ghost out of me.

Wataru looked troubled.

Should he go find Clair? But Clair was ultimately still a little too weak.

"It's fine. I already have someone in mind."

As he spoke, Jing He took out his phone and made a call.

"Teacher Jing He?"

A voice came from the other end.

"Steven, do you want an opponent? I'll send one over to you in a moment."

"Huh?!"