Orange Islands
After spending a day resting and training on an unknown island, Paul finally climbed back onto his Garchomp and prepared to set off once again.
However, not long into their flight, Paul suddenly caught sight of a dark blur streaking rapidly across the ocean's surface.
"A powerful Pokémon?"
That was the first thought that flashed through Paul's mind.
"Follow it. Let's see what it is."
Without hesitation, Paul patted Garchomp on the head, signaling it to give chase.
If he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, Paul might have chosen to ignore it.
But now that this Pokémon had appeared right in front of him, there was no way he would just let it slip away.
"Gaa!"
Garchomp understood immediately, surging forward with a sudden burst of speed.
The dark figure was incredibly fast, disappearing toward the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Yet Garchomp wasn't slow either—after a few boosts from Dragon Dance, its speed surged dramatically, and the gap between them began to close.
As they drew nearer, Paul was finally able to get a good look at the Pokémon.
It had a large, round orange body, a goofy but somehow endearing appearance, and a pair of tiny, almost absurd wings beating rapidly on its back.
It was none other than Dragonite.
Sensing Garchomp's pursuit, Dragonite instantly accelerated even further, using Extreme Speed to vanish from sight in a flash.
Perhaps in the confines of a battlefield, Dragonite's straight-line flight might be limited. But here, over the vast expanse of open ocean, its speed was undoubtedly among the fastest in the world.
And beyond that—
"Its flying speed is even faster than Garchomp's after stacking multiple Dragon Dances... Its strength must be immense. At least Champion-level—or maybe it already belongs to a Trainer."
Paul narrowed his eyes as he watched the rapidly retreating figure, speculation flashing through his mind.
Still, he firmly commanded Garchomp:
"Keep accelerating. Catch up!"
Sure, Dragonite was likely a Pokémon let out by a Trainer for some free flying.
But considering Dragonite's long lifespan, it wasn't impossible for a wild one of Champion caliber to exist.
And unless proven otherwise, Paul had no intention of letting such a powerful Dragonite slip away. Even if it turned out to be a naturally slow-growing one whose talent wasn't exceptional, capturing it as a sparring partner—or even simply as a guardian—wouldn't be a bad outcome.
"Gaa!"
Garchomp folded its wings tightly against its body and with another Dragon Dance, launched forward like a bullet.
From a distance, the two Pokémon—one dark, one bright—chased each other across the ocean, a thrilling pursuit.
At last, after more than an hour of relentless chasing, Dragonite suddenly banked sharply toward a new direction, descending toward a small island.
It landed gracefully near the edge of a square on an island.
"Gaa!"
Garchomp followed close behind, touching down on the island while panting heavily from the prolonged exertion.
The square wasn't very large, but at its center stood a statue—
and astonishingly, the statue was a perfect likeness of the Dragonite now standing before them.
"It seems... this one already has a Trainer."
Paul thought silently to himself, already more or less guessing who the Dragonite's owner might be.
"Dragonite, you're back even later than usual today."
A young man called out as he walked over. He was well-built, a Poké Ball hanging at his chest. Smiling, he reached out and gently placed his hand atop Dragonite's head, ruffling it affectionately.
"Fuwuu~"
Dragonite let out a soft murmur, stretching out a small claw to point at Paul and the Garchomp standing beside him.
"Hello there. I'm Drake, Orange Crew Supreme Gym Leader of the Orange League." The young man introduced himself warmly.
"This is my partner, Dragonite. So, you were the ones chasing after it for so long? Dragonite says it had a lot of fun."
Paul nodded politely.
"I'm Paul, from Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region. I'm currently on my way to Kanto to visit Professor Oak."
After introducing himself, he added courteously,
"I mistook your Dragonite for a wild Pokémon and tried to catch it. I hope you don't mind."
"Trying to capture my Dragonite, huh? You've got confidence, kid."
Drake chuckled and shook his head lightly at Paul's "outrageous" approach.
It wasn't arrogance on Drake's part — rather, it was simple fact.
His Dragonite was exceptionally powerful; even most Elite Four members wouldn't dare guarantee victory against it in a fair one-on-one battle.
For a young Trainer like Paul to express a desire to catch it... Drake could only admire his self-confidence.
Judging from the strength of that Garchomp, even with a few more Pokémon joining in, it probably still wouldn't be enough to defeat Dragonite.
"Well then, how about a battle with me?"
Paul, unfazed by the uncertainty, wasted no time issuing a challenge.
Though he knew his team's overall strength might not match Drake's, winning wasn't the only point of a battle.
The most important part of challenging a Trainer... was the experience gained, not necessarily the victory itself.
"Haha, no, no, no."
Drake waved his hand with a laugh, turning him down.
"I'm the Supreme Gym Leader of the Orange League, after all. If anyone could just walk up and challenge me, I'd never get a break."
He smiled good-naturedly but was firm.
"If you want to face me, you'll need to earn four Badges and officially qualify through the Winner's Cup. Only then you can challenge me properly."
If he accepted every random challenge, he'd be overwhelmed with battles all day long.
Plus, as the Supreme Gym Leader, he was something of an ambassador for the Orange League — a public figure bound by certain expectations.
Accepting duels freely just wasn't an option.
"Is there no other way?"
Paul asked, his tone was calm yet persistent.
Paul frowned. He had no interest in playing "house" with the Orange Islands' bunch of boring Gym Leaders—collecting badges and challenging them one by one.
Such a hassle. Wouldn't it be much simpler to skip all that and just seek out Blue, Red, or maybe head back to Sinnoh and directly challenge Volkner or Gardenia instead?
"As long as it's an official battle or tournament, I'll accept the challenge." Drake said seriously.
"But the difficulty won't be low."
Paul suddenly asked, "What about the challenge match of the Champions League?"
"I'll accept it." Drake replied without hesitation. "If you go through the Champion League to challenge me, I'll take you on!"
As one of the League's top members, it was natural that Drake was part of the Champion League list.
An internal member challenge like this could very well serve as grounds to bypass normal procedures and initiate a Victory Cup Tournament.
"Then I'll come back to challenge you later." Paul said bluntly.
Without wasting another word, he jumped onto the back of his Garchomp and took off.
After all, he wasn't fully confident he could defeat Drake right now. It made more sense to head for Viridian City first, challenge Gym Leader Blue, and use that as a foothold to join the Champion League and submit a formal challenge application.
By the time he completed his journey through Pallet Town and wrapped up his planned itinerary, the Champion League's internal arrangements would probably be finalized as well—making it the perfect moment to return and face Drake.
"Well? Do you think he might be a good opponent?" Drake gently patted his Dragonite as he watched Paul vanish into the distance.
"Fwoo~!" Dragonite nodded enthusiastically, then clenched its fist and raised it high, letting out a confident roar.
Paul and his Garchomp might prove to be formidable opponents, but defeating Dragonite?
Dragonite had full confidence—it would never happen.
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