Chapter 503: I Want It All!
They returned to the Nidoking tribe's oasis, dusty and weary from the road. The moment Arthur and Skarner landed, Amani rushed over. "Are you alright? Why are you back so soon? Hey, where's the car you took?"
"..."
Arthur and Skarner were both at a loss for words. Fortunately, Arthur managed to change the subject. "Where's the Nidoking Chieftain? I have something to ask him."
Amani remembered. "Oh, he's in the central area. The Pokémon here said another Chieftain has arrived."
"Another Chieftain?" Skarner was surprised. Arthur, not being a local, might not know, but Skarner did: the desert Chieftains rarely visited each other. They were afraid of being ambushed and killed in another's territory. The Ashen Desert was not a place where all Pokémon lived in harmony.
The Krookodile Chieftain, as slippery as he was, would never have come to the Nidoking's territory if he hadn't been so desperate to find his heir. "Which Chieftain would come at a time like this?" Skarner wondered.
"I'm not sure," Amani replied. "The young Nidoran couldn't tell me what species it was, only that its aura was extremely powerful, no less than their own Chieftain's."
Skarner and Arthur exchanged a look, their curiosity piqued.
When they reached the center of the oasis, a green figure suddenly leaped out, letting out a cheerful "Flyy, gon!"
Greninja, who was beside Arthur, immediately dropped into a fighting stance. "Master, be careful!" it warned through their telepathic link. "This one says she's going to teach you a lesson for fifty strips of dried meat!"
Although he didn't understand the strange logic—what did dried meat have to do with teaching someone a lesson?—Greninja reacted to the hostility, stepping in front of Arthur, ready for battle.
But then, Greninja froze. The master's command never came. And even stranger, the powerful creature that had just appeared suddenly lost all its hostility, the aggression vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. What's going on?
Equally confusing was the attitude of Old Flame and Specter, who had just emerged from their Poké Balls. They showed no hostility at all. Instead, they looked... nostalgic and moved?
Then, the green creature's gaze landed on him. "Flyy, gon!"
Greninja was completely baffled by what it said next. The Flygon said: Master, you have a new doggy? Don't you love me anymore?
"Kouga?" Greninja tilted its head. What is all this nonsense?
It wasn't until Old Flame and Specter explained that Greninja finally understood: the Flygon that the Nidoran had mistaken for a Chieftain was actually one of their own.
Greninja was shocked. Does Master have Pokémon scattered all over the continent?!
At that moment, Specter was looking at the Flygon with a teasing expression. "Little dragonfly, it's been two hundred years, and you've gotten bold. You dare to teach the master a lesson now?" To him, her sudden appearance and declaration of war for fifty strips of dried meat was incredibly gutsy.
"Flyy, gon, gon~" The little dragonfly wagged her tail, her eyes darting around as she made a series of meaningless noises. She just wanted this embarrassing moment to be over.
But Greninja was still stuck on her previous words. "What does... 'doggy' mean?"
The little dragonfly seized the opportunity to change the subject. "Doggy means pet! It's a term of endearment humans use for their pets."
Greninja replied seriously, "I am not a pet. I am a ninja frog, a reliable fighter for my master. I am no less than my seniors."
But he hadn't expected her to be on a completely different wavelength. The little dragonfly smiled without a care in the world. "But I am~"
"???"
"You might not know this, little ninja frog, but I used to be the master's most beloved doggy. They were in charge of all the fighting, and I was in charge of being beautiful~"
Greninja was confused. Is that really how it was? He looked at Old Flame and Specter, only to see them both face-palming in unison.
Little dragonfly, it's been two hundred years. You're not a child anymore. Can you stop slacking off?
The little dragonfly put her hands on her hips, full of confidence. "Why stand when you can lie down~"
"..."
This was probably the first time Greninja had encountered a new companion with such a drastically different set of values. The pure-hearted ninja didn't yet have the words to describe this new senior. But he would soon come to know her by the same name as the rest of the Ashen Desert: "the scoundrel." The scoundrel dragonfly's fame was widespread among the Seven Chieftains and the Three Phantoms.
Fortunately, Arthur was more or less used to her flighty personality and erratic train of thought. The young Flygon of the past, while not as much of a scoundrel as she was now, had already shown signs of her goofy and free-spirited nature.
But seeing her again made Arthur very happy. "Well, what do you know. I looked everywhere for you, and you just show up. It's so good to see you, little dragonfly. Have you been well all these years?"
The little dragonfly's eyes darted around. "Flyy, gon~" — Master, you said you found me without any effort. Does that mean you won't cherish me? That makes me nervous. How about you write me a letter of guarantee? Promise that I won't have to train when I come back, that I'll have meat at every meal, paid vacation, combat bonuses, and a full-body spa treatment twice a year~
The little dragonfly floated in the air, listing her demands. Arthur listened to Greninja's translation without a word, just smiling. When she was finally done, he asked nonchalantly, "What's this about fifty strips of dried meat?"
The little dragonfly's expression froze, and she stopped swaying. Trying to outsmart me? You've still got a long way to go, kid.
But after putting the increasingly unruly scoundrel in her place with a single sentence, Arthur walked over, motioned for her to come down, and then opened his arms, pulling her into a silent hug.
The frustration and helplessness from his recent defeat were all pushed to the back of his mind. From the moment he had entered the Ashen Desert, he hadn't felt this at ease. "It's so good to see you again, little dragonfly."
The little dragonfly stiffened. For the first time, the lively, lawless wanderer of the desert was at a loss. "Flyy, gon." — Master, that's a low blow. In your human words, you're not supposed to get all emotional when we're talking about money.
Arthur let her go and tapped her on the head with a smile. "So, do you want the emotion or the money?"
The little dragonfly proudly put her hands on her hips. "Only young Pokémon have to choose. I'm an adult now. I want it all!"
Arthur rolled his eyes, no longer wanting to deal with this goofball, and tossed a Poké Ball at her. Although she had been rattling off a long list of conditions, and he hadn't agreed to any of them, when the red light of the Poké Ball flashed, it landed on the ground and didn't even wobble.
Capture—perfect.
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