Chapter 2

Safari Zone

26 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld

Taking another ride on Boriates' shoulder, it was not long before Volt and Kaiser reached the Dragonite breeding ground: a lake partly surrounded by cliffs, with groups of stone spires jutting out from the lakebed. Upon arriving at the lakeside, Boriates let the two down on the ground. Volt, being the one more used to riding on Boriates, had been holding the shock-proof case with the egg inside.

"Now, where should we put this egg?" asked Volt, taking the egg out of the case.

"Do you see them groups of spires juttin' outta the lake?" asked Kaiser. "Those're actually the Dragonite's nests. Each one of 'em holds one egg. This egg that Team Rocket just stole was the first one laid by the Dragonite this year. Just dive down an' put the egg inta one of the nests, an' let's get outta here."

Before Volt could reply, however, he heard cries coming from above. The cries came from a pair of creatures flying towards the lake: huge orange-skinned dragons with off-white underbellies. Their wings, which had a teal membrane, looked a little too small for their bodies, but he wasn't exactly in a position to judge them for it. Each dragon had two long, thin antennae extending from their foreheads. A small horn grew out of the crown of each dragon's head.

These must be the "Dragonite" Kaiser was talking about, Volt realized. I hope they're friendlier than the other species on this planet.

All of a sudden, the pair of Dragonite sped forward in tandem. Blue dragon-shaped auras materialized around each of them; the Dragonite pair's target was unmistakably Boriates.

Apparently not.

When the dragons collided with Boriates, the impact generated a shockwave that nearly toppled Volt and Kaiser. Due to the defensive boost granted by the Custom Battle Ability, Boriates stood fast. However, the unfazed robot did not deter the dragons in the slightest.

One of the Dragonite sped towards the ground. The other collected energy towards its mouth, then and fired it at Boriates' face. Boriates raised its hand to block the attack, then tried to swat the Dragonite away as if it were a fly. Yet with a flap of its wings, the dragon ascended high enough to dodge the giant hand coming towards it.

The Dragonite circled once, then dove at Boriates' head. To Volt's surprise, its right arm became enveloped in lightning as it dove. However, before the Dragonite could land its punch, a powerful backhand from Boriates knocked it out of the sky.

Enraged, the Dragonite generated the blue aura again and started rushing toward Boriates, but Boriates caught the Dragonite midflight and threw it into the lake.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone, the blonde and her partner had followed them to the lake, and were now hiding behind some foliage.

"Cass, you're such a genius!" said the male. "Once they put that egg back and return home, we'll snatch it with no one being the wiser!"

"That's why I make all the plans!" Cass replied. She looked out at the lake, then did a double take and gestured to a point above them. "Uh...Butch?"

"Yeah, Cass?" replied the male.

"What … is … that?"

Butch followed Cass's gesture. The two Rockets were dumbstruck at the sight: that same giant mecha from before was here as well! And more than that, it seemed to be able to stand unfazed before the assaults of an enraged Dragonite that had just burst from the lake with an angry roar.

"Uh, Cass?" Butch said.

"Yeah?"

"We don't have any mechas like that at HQ, do we?"

"No, Butch," Cass said breathlessly. "We don't."

Meanwhile, the remaining dragon was confronting Volt. After it landed in front of him, it pointed to the ground and barked authoritatively.

"Hold up, there," said Volt. "I am not trying to steal your egg."

"BOW! Bow bow!" the Dragonite barked, gesturing again at the ground.

"No problem, Dragonite," Volt said. Slowly bending his knees, Volt placed the egg on the ground and backed away a few steps. "I came here to give it back to you in the first place."

The dragon tilted its head in confusion. It then growled at Volt and barked some more, forcing him to back up even farther.

Watching the interaction, Kaiser noticed a faint detail on the Dragonite's horn. At once, Kaiser's eyes grew wide.

"Dragonite?" Kaiser said warily.

"Bow?" Dragonite turned towards the source of the voice. Its expression softened once it noticed Kaiser. After giving one last bark to Volt, it walked towards the old man, who then petted its snout.

"Nice ta see ya again, old friend," Kaiser said. "An' congratulations on yer new baby." Gesturing towards Volt, he explained, "This guy here came ta return that egg ta ya after Team Rocket stole it."

At the sound of the words "Team Rocket," Dragonite snarled.

After a few seconds, it turned to Volt and bowed down, giving a contrite "Bow" in apology.

"No worries, Dragonite," said Volt, petting the dragon's snout. "I understand how it must have looked. But do me a favor, would you?"

"Bow?"

"Could you please tell your mate to stop attacking my Bakugan? It's an impressive display of power, but it won't do any real damage."

The Dragonite barked in affirmation, then flew off to intercept its mate.

Meanwhile, Volt asked Kaiser, "How did you get it to stop being angry at me?"

"It's a long story, but the short version is that that Dragonite an' I have been friends for a long time. Most likely ya didn't notice it, bein' scared an' all, but there was a cross-shaped scar on the right side of her horn. I dunno how she got that scar, but that's how I recognized her. Yer lucky that she's the mother, otherwise we woulda had ta run outta here. Dragonite can be very protective of their eggs."

"One more thing," Volt replied. "She doesn't seem too fond of Team Rocket, either; she snarled at the mere mention of their name."

"She ain't 'fond' of Team Rocket? Now that's an understatement! A few years ago, they almost caused a human ta drown in this very lake! Of course she ain't 'fond' of Team Rocket!"

Volt then turned his attention back towards the sky. The father Dragonite, cloaked once again in the blue aura, was rushing towards Boriates yet again. Its trajectory seemed to be towards one of Boriates' knees.

However, his mate flew right in front of him, extending her wings and arms in a defensive stance.

The father immediately dropped the aura and took an upright position before his mate. "Bow?" he queried, a puzzled look on his face.

The mother then gave a series of barks, growls and gestures; Volt was hoping that she was telling her mate that everything was alright.

The father replied with another confused "Bow?"

The mother repeated the sequence of barks, then flew deliberately toward the lakeshore. Her mate followed a moment or two later.

When the Dragonite landed, the mother resumed her explanation to her mate, gesturing first towards Kaiser, then towards Volt.

The father looked at his mate, then at the egg standing undisturbed on the ground. He seemed to understand that his egg wasn't in danger, because he turned toward Volt and bowed politely. Then he picked up the egg, barked a grateful "Ba-ooh!" and plunged into the lake.

The mother was just about to follow its mate into the lake when Kaiser interrupted it. "Hey, Dragonite."

"Bow?"

"Thanks for believin' in me, old friend."

"Bow," it replied sheepishly.

"An' one more thing."

"Bow?"

"From now on, try takin' turns foragin'. That way, y'all won't leave the egg defenseless every time y'all go off to eat."

The mother Dragonite nodded, barked proudly, and dove into the lake with an almighty splash.

As soon as the Dragonite entered the lake, a familiar male voice rent the air: "Come on!"

"What was that?" Kaiser said, turning around.

"You idiot! We still could have gotten that egg if you hadn't just opened your big mouth!" said another voice.

"Not you again!" Volt said, now looking at the two Team Rocket members from before, who had come out of hiding.

"Yes, us again: prepare for trouble!" said the blonde.

The sound of a gunshot rang out.

"Uh, Cass, maybe we should leave the motto for later!" said the male.

"Darn right ya should; I already got enough of yer motto fer one day!" Kaiser said, a smoking pistol in his right hand pointing straight up. Turning to Volt, he said, "Hey, you! How much longer can that robot of yers stay out?"

Volt took a look at his Gauntlet. "Not much longer."

"Do ya think that ya can at least bring these two ta where they had me tied up?" Kaiser asked.

"No problem," Volt answered. "Boriates?"

Boriates grabbed the two Rockets in its fist.

"Perfect," said Kaiser. "Now let's see if we can get y'all to the authorities."

A/N: The reference to Team Rocket agents almost causing a human to drown is another call back to Episode 35. In a bid to capture the Pokémon in the lake, which included a Dratini, Meowth threw in an electric bomb, which would zap all the Pokémon in the water and cause them to rise to the surface. Ash jumped in to retrieve the bomb and almost drowned in the process, until he got saved by a Dragonair, which in this story is now the mother Dragonite.