Chapter 10 A Test in Paradise
"I'm here at the port with the captain who was saved by the Pokemon Dragonite. Let us hear what he has to say. It must have been tough for you, right?" A news reporter is talking on the television, as she is interviewing a captain.
Ash and Serena are watching the news as Serena says, "Now and then, you hear about Dragonite rescuing shipwrecked people."
"Dragonite...I think I am not sure if I want to meet one..." Ash says as he remembers Iris' Dragonite, who has given him some shivers.
"Even though you want to see one, it might be difficult." Professor Cerise says.
Ren says, "Allow me to explain, Dragonite is a Pokemon that's evolved from Dragonair, which was evolved from Dratini. It is a very popular Pokemon, but not many are known to live in the wild."
"What, really?" Serena asks.
"We're not sure where its habitat is, either." Chrysa says.
"And I remember that the only way for people to get Dratini is to go to the Safari Zone...but..." Ash says as he remembers the warden who tries to threaten them with the gun.
"Well, there are rumors of an island where only Dragonite live." Professor Cerise says.
"An island where only Dragonite live?" Ash is now interested, and so does Serena. Professor Cerise just laughs and says, "It is just a rumor."
Ash types on his Rotom Phone and says, "Well, if we try to pinpoint out all the sightings from the past couple of years, we might be able to find it."
Then he shows the map displaying the Dragonite sightings from the last few years, and all of which seem to center around a certain area. Serena says, "It really is suspicious."
"That really is fascinating." Professor Cerise says.
"That settles it, then!" Ash says.
"Yeah, we have no time to waste." Serena adds. "Let's go search for Dragonite island!"
Traveling aboard a ship, Ash notices Serena bringing a lot of Pokeballs, and Ash asks, "Why do you bring a lot of Pokeballs? Serena?"
Serena says, "Well, according to the data on the Pokedex, it is said that Dragonite has a low catch rate, bringing more will make sure that it will be captured."
"I see." Ash says. "We can also store them for other Pokemon that we found as well."
As the ship docks, Ash says, "I thought about renting a boat to take us the rest of the way, but we might as well catch a Pokemon!"
Serena says, "According to our Pokedex, there are Dewgong around here."
"And that means we've got a ride to catch." As Ash and Serena are rushing to the docks, Team Rocket was just behind them and they also plan to capture a Dragonite for the boss, as they were mad that Ash and Serena took their Machamp and Beartic.
"Here it is!" Ash says as they spot a Dewgong, Ash throws a Pokeball, but it pops out almost immediately.
"Looks like Dewgong also has a lower capture rate..." Serena says.
"Then let's battle, Pikachu can use Thunderbolt." Pikachu fires a Thunderbolt at the Pokemon, causing it to get shocked as well as paralyzed. "Now let's try it again."
Serena throws the Pokeball, and this time Dewgong is captured.
As they are riding on Dewgong, a female Dewgong swims past and suddenly Ash's Dewgong is charging at the female one.
Ash groans and says, "No way...don't tell me I captured another Pokemon that has a similar attitude as Oshawott..."
"Or Clemont's Chespin..." Serena says as Dewgong is running at full speed. Ash says, "Please, stop, Dewgong!"
But Dewgong is not listening and Serena says, "Ash! In front of you!"
The couple is terrified as Dewgong is taking them into a storm, while Dewgong lost sight of the female one and it is heartbroken. Just then, a Thunder is charging at them, as Pikachu reflects it with his own Thunderbolt, but it causes some waves and they all fall into the water fainted. Before passing out, Ash sees a group of Dragonite flying towards him.
Ash feels something poking him as he slowly wakes up, he notices a lot of Dragonite with a Dragonair looking at him. Serena is also the same as they are surprised.
"Ash, these are Dragonite, right?" Serena asks.
"Yeah, and a Dragonair as well." Ash says. "It seems like they saved us."
After looking around, they find themselves on the beach of an island, and Serena says, "This must be the Dragonite Island!"
"Yeah, we are saved by Dragonite! What a rare experience!" Ash says. "Thank you so much, Dragonite."
The Dragonite nod, then Ash realizes something, "Wait, where is Dewgong?"
"Oh no, don't tell me he is still out there..." Serena says with horror on their faces, but a Dragonite and a Dragonair don't want them to worry as they show them around the island.
"Are they trying to show us around?" Serena asks.
"All right! Let's explore the Dragonite Island." Ash says, and Pikachu, Sylveon, and Scorbunny all nod in agreement.
Traveling through the island's lush forests, they see Dragonite all over the place. Serena takes out the phone and asks, "Rotom, tell us where we are."
"GPS signal is not found." Rotom replies.
"We've got no coverage...but I guess it is true since it is mysterious." Ash says.
The group arrives on a clearing, where a trio of Dragonair is dancing together. As their body is glowing and they start flying around, Ash notices that their guide Dragonair is looking sad.
"So that's how Dragonair flies into the air..." Serena says.
Pikachu and Sylveon suddenly are terrified as Scorbunny appears with a cover over its head. Ash asks, "Is this Dratini's shed skin?"
Serena asks, "Scorbunny, where did you find it?"
Scorbunny leads them to a cave behind a waterfall, where multiple shed Dratini skins are lying around.
"There are so many of them..." Serena says.
"Serena, over there!" Ash says as they see a Dratini shedding its skin in front of their own eyes. They decide to take a picture of the Shedded skin for research purposes, and Ash asks, "Serena, is that okay?"
"Stretch it a bit more, so we can see its shape better." Serena says as Ash is doing the same. "All right, that's good."
As the two sit around, Serena says, "Dratini's shedding skin is really valuable. Boots made from it are super luxurious."
"Really?" Ash says as he knows how Serena likes to talk about fashion. Ash says, "But Pokemon sure are mysterious, huh?"
"How so?" Serena asks, and Ash says, "You know, Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite...I feel like Dragonite is sticking out from the three of them."
"Now that you mention it, you'd think it'd become something more like a Milotic." Serena says, "Which we have from my Hoenn Journey..."
"I know, right?" Ash says. "So I was wondering, why does it get arms and legs?"
As they ponder, their Dragonite and Dragonair guides sense something and start moving away, prompting Ash and Serena to follow them. As they walk, Serena says, "Hey, Ash. I think I've figured out the secret of this island."
"Secret?" Ash asks in confusion.
"Watching how Dragonair plays earlier, I realized Dragonair is said to have the ability to manipulate the weather. It's a sign of them releasing their powers. This means, this island is surrounded by a constant storm caused by Dragonair's powers, and that's why nobody can find it." Serena says.
"Now that you mentioned it, that could be the reason." Ash says.
Arriving at the beach, Ash and Serena see multiple Dragonite taking flight and effortlessly flying into the storm around the island. Ash says, "Looks like the storm doesn't bother them one bit."
However, the Dragonair that they had been following struggles to get airborne, and is left behind as the last Dragonite leaves.
"So that one can't fly?" Serena asks with sadness.
Again and again, it flaps its wings but keeps falling back down. Ash approaches Dragonair and says, "Dragonair, how about we train together?"
After trying to do it after a while, Dragonair keeps failing. Serena says, "Ash, did you notice the other Dragonair making some weird movements before they started flying?"
As she shows the video, Serena says, "They were twirling around...kind of like a dance..."
"Dance...could it be Dragon Dance?" Ash asks as Serena checks her Pokedex. "Dragon Dance, a move that combines concentration and rhythmic movement to increase the physical skills of a Pokémon."
"That might be right, the Dragonair were using this move to take off!" Serena says.
"Okay, now let's try to have Dragonair learn the Dragon Dance." Ash says. "How about we do an example?"
"An example? How?" Serena asks, but then she is surprised after hearing Ash's plan. "Are you sure you are going to do it?"
"I'll be fine! This'll let me move in the air!" Ash says.
Ash has Pikachu use Electroweb on some rocks, creating a bouncing platform to practice on.
"Now check this out, Dragonair!" Ash says as he jumps on it, however, he is shocked and falls off.
"See? you can't use Electro Web as a trampoline..." Serena frowns.
"I'm fine. Pikachu, let's try it again." Ash says as he tries again, and he is shocked again.
"I am not going to give up until it is over..." Ash says as Serena recognizes the motto. "We figured out how Dragonair fly, I'd better give it a good demonstration."
As he jumps in for another attempt, Dragonair joins him, and the two manage to endure the shock to bounce into the air. Ash notices Dragonair starts to glow, and he says, "That's it, now you need to spin some more! Dragonair!" Ash says.
During the second bounce, Dragonair successfully uses Dragon Dance and finally gains flight.
"It's flying!" Serena says in delight as they are all happy. Ash says, "You did it, Dragonair!"
Dragonair gives Ash a wrap around and Serena can only smile, "Never give up until it is over...even if it damages you a lot..."
However, Dragonair suddenly senses something and prepares to take off. "Let's go check it out." Ash says as he tries to board it, but he notices the skin is too slippery.
They hear a sound and they find Dewgong on the shore, still heartbroken of having lost his crush. Serena says, "Dewgong! You came back at just the right time!"
Dewgong is still sad as Serena can only sigh, and then both Ash and Serena are riding on Dewgong to follow the Dragonair.
When they are swimming in the ocean, they find a Dragonite being in a cage and a raft is shaking with four figures on it. Ash yells, "What are you four doing here?"
"Prepare for trouble!" "And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation." "To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!" "James!" "Team Rocket blasts off with the speed of light!" "Surrender now or prepare for a fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" "Wobbuffet!"
"Team Rocket! Let go of that Dragonite!" Ash yells.
"No thanks! We did finally catch it!" Jessie says.
"And then Pikachu shows up, our ship truly has come in." James says.
"We'll do a triple catch; Dragonite, Dragonair, and Pikachu so that we will offer them to the boss!" Meowth says.
"C'mon, Rocket Prize Master Machine!" Jessie and James yell in unison.
Pelipper appears and he drops the machine, and they use Meowth's coin again, this time they send out a Wailord.
Jessie looks at the information and she says, "It can only use Splash?"
"No problem, a flop from an amazing POoemon is gonna be one epic splash for sure." Meowth says.
"Use Splash!" James orders as Wailord jumps into the air, causing a giant splash that sends both sides around.
While Team Rocket is still recovering, Ash says, "Now Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu uses the move to break free of Dragonite. James realizes the situation and he says, "At this rate, they are going to get away!"
"Wailord, use another Splash on Dragonite!" Jessie orders, which actually ends up breaking Team Rocket's raft apart. One of the logs from the broken raft hits Wailord in the face, and it flails in pain, creating a huge splash that sends Ash flying into the air.
"Ash!" Serena says in horror.
Dragonair dives down from the sky to save him, but its slippery skin prevents Ash from grabbing ahold of it. "Dragonair!" Ash yells.
Suddenly, Dragonair starts to glow and evolves into a Dragonite, who uses its newly developed arms to grab Ash and save him just in the nick of time. Ash says, "Dragonite...you evolved!"
Meowth says, "Now there are two Dragonite..."
"What a wondrous moment..." James says.
"Hey! This isn't the time to be awestruck!" Jessie yells at the two males.
Just then, the first Dragonite then promptly flies in front of Team Rocket, its face twisted with anger.
"Whoa, it is crazy mad..." James says.
"Do you want to come with us?" Jessie asks, and Dragonite uses Hyper Beam point-blank, not only sends Team Rocket flying but also destroys the Pokeball of Wailord.
"We're blasting off again!" Team Rocket yells again before they are out of their sight.
After Ash and Serena get on Wailord's back, Serena hugs Ash and she says, "Ash... you scared me...I thought something at Prism Tower is going to happen again..."
"I am safe, and I think I figured out the reason why Dragonite grows arms. It's gotta be so they can protect others."
"That sounds pretty great." Serena says with a smile. "All right, now that we have a bigger Water Pokemon for us to go home, let's go."
But suddenly, the newly evolved Dragonite pulls Ash into a tight, friendly embrace. Ash says, "I...can't...breathe..."
After breaking the hug, Ash looks at Dragonite and asks, "Wait, are you...?"
Dragonite nods as Serena says, "It wants us to catch it."
Ash smiles, "Thank you, that really makes me happy. Dragonite, we are looking forward to working with you."
Ash tosses the Pokeball, and the Dragonite is captured, they are happy that they got a Dragonite, and Wailord also makes a celebratory water spout.
Back at Cerise Laboratory, Professor Cerise says, "Incredible! I can't believe Dragonite Island actually exists. Well done, you two."
"This announcement will cause quite a commotion." Ren says.
Perhaps." Cerise says, "But let's keep quiet about it."
"Why is that?" Chrysa asks. "It is such a grand discovery."
"I think...the mystery surrounding the Dragonite is part of their appeal." Professor Cerise says.
Dragonite gives Professor Cerise a friendly bear-hug, and the others are laughing.
Here is a new chapter, and in this chapter, Ash has captured the Dragonite like in the anime. I hope you like this chapter and we will have Chloe moments in the next chapter.
New Pokemon: Dewgong, Wailord, Dragonite