Charmeleon thumped his chest loudly, wearing a confident expression that said, "Leave this to me!"
When Xia You returned to the dining table, Haunter leaned over and asked curiously, "Why leave this to Charmeleon? Wouldn't looking after Dratini yourself be better and more efficient than having a Pokémon do it?"
"Of course I'll be helping out," Xia You said with a smile. "But their Chinese names both have the word 'dragon' in them, after all. Surely they'll find it easier to communicate than other Pokémon would!"
Seeing that Haunter still looked puzzled, Xia You continued, "All right, it's actually because of Charmeleon's careless personality. Even with specific instructions from me, he probably won't notice the subtle changes in Dratini's emotions at all. But that very roughness in how he does things will let him gradually influence Dratini and change his personality!"
"For example, I once knew someone named Uzumaki. Through his tireless efforts and his willingness to keep reaching out even when he got the cold shoulder, he eventually became good friends with a rather psychologically unhealthy Uchiha kid."
"So I firmly believe that if anyone can successfully turn Dratini around, it has to be Charmeleon!"
After leaving Fuchsia City, Xia You continued south. Following a night camping in the wilderness, he reached the southern coast of the Kanto Continent.
He continued along the coastline and soon found a seaside town whose name he didn't know.
Seeing several fishermen unloading their boats at the pier after returning from sea, he approached and asked, "Sorry to bother you, but do you know where the Seafoam Islands are?"
"The Seafoam Islands?" A weather-beaten old fisherman took a few puffs on his pipe and eyed him sidelong. "They're along a sea route to Cinnabar Island, a very long way from here. But