Lin Feng nodded. This was exactly as he had imagined.
But after hearing the results, his gaze instinctively flicked toward the Salamence standing nearby.
Beside him, Gale, the Champion, added with calm authority, "If this Salamence truly is in such a condition, and you find you cannot calm it down, you should send it to the League. The League has specialized breeders who deal with these situations."
If it were any other breeder, Gale would have taken the Salamence away without hesitation. A Pokémon like this, filled with bottled fury and unstable emotions, was no different from a ticking bomb. No one knew when it might explode.
But Lin Feng had shown that he could suppress its rage, holding the ability to keep that bomb from going off. That was the only reason Salamence was still allowed to remain in this small town.
Lin Feng inclined his head again. If he truly found himself unable to ease Salamence's heart, he would agree with the Champion's words.
Seeing his resolve, Gale didn't press further. His eyes, however, drifted once more toward the mysterious Pokémon standing in the distance: Mewtwo. After a moment's thought, Gale purchased several bottles of juice from Lin Feng's nursery. His gaze lingered, then he quietly bought some rice wine as well, tucking both into his storage capsule.
With everything prepared, he mounted his Moltres, and with a rush of wings and heat, soared into the sky.
When they were far from the town, Gale finally asked softly, "Well, Moltres, what do you think?"
He wasn't speaking of Lin Feng, but of the humanoid Pokémon they had seen.
Moltres gave a low, resonant cry. "Keeeaaah… Very strong. Overwhelming. I would struggle even to hold my ground. Against that one, even I… could not win. Perhaps only if our clan's God descended, would there be any hope."
The bird's reply was solemn, almost heavy.
During its standoff with Salamence earlier, a single ripple of psychic power had washed over the field. Even though that psychic pressure wasn't directed at Moltres, it had felt like a mountain pressing down upon its body.
That Pokémon hadn't even meant to target it, yet the weight had been unbearable.
It meant only one thing: Mewtwo's strength far exceeded anything Moltres had ever encountered.
"So powerful?" Gale murmured in shock, the wind tearing at his hair as he looked down from the clouds.
If what Moltres said was true, that humanoid psychic Pokémon possessed a strength close to divinity itself.
The thought sent a shiver down Gale's spine. He glanced over his shoulder, back toward the town they had left behind, where Mewtwo still lingered. His expression was grim, his heart unsettled.
…
Back in Woodvale Town.
Lin Feng lowered his eyes from the sky and turned to face Salamence once more. "You heard, didn't you? In the human world, actions have consequences. Do evil, and there will always be a reckoning."
He stepped closer, his voice steady but firm. "You've seen it yourself. You may be powerful in the wild, but you are not invincible. If you cause destruction, if you harm innocents, humans will unite to hunt you down. What then?"
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
Lin Feng softened his tone slightly. "I know you hate humans. But remember this: the ones who captured you, experimented on you, drew your blood they were not all humans. They were only a small handful of cruel ones. Your hatred belongs to them, not to every person alive."
Salamence's wings shifted, but it turned its head aside, silent.
Lin Feng did not expect instant change. Hatred that deep could not be erased with a few words. But seeds, once planted, might one day grow.
He pressed further. "Think about this. If, because of your hatred, you hurt innocent humans, what happens then? Survivors will curse your name. They will grow, and in time, they may come for you. Is that truly the path you want?"
Salamence remained still, though its chest rose and fell with faint unease.
Lin Feng paused, then smiled faintly. "In that case… let me tell you a story."
His voice grew quiet, almost like a lullaby, weaving images into the air.
"Imagine I'm just a child. My family is happy. I have loving parents, and Pokémon that have grown alongside me since I was small. My father's Wigglytuff sings to me at night. My mother's Scyther stands tall and brave. Our Charizard is strong and dependable. And my closest companions a playful Pikachu and a gentle Eevee I adore them with all my heart."
His eyes softened as if he were seeing it himself.
"One morning, I go to school. I'm smiling, because I know when I come home, Pikachu will be waiting. Eevee will curl up in my arms. That thought alone makes my day brighter."
"But when I return…" Lin Feng's voice dipped low. "I see a Salamence. High above, its wings blot out the sun. It's battling my parents and their Pokémon. It's strong too strong. Even Scyther and Charizard fall, unable to stand against its fury."
Salamence's claws twitched slightly, its breath uneven.
"My parents' Pokémon see me. They rush to protect me. But Salamence seizes an opening. Dragon Claw strikes down. A Hyper Beam crashes through the ruins."
Lin Feng closed his eyes. "Pikachu and Eevee lie broken among the rubble. Wigglytuff is gone. My parents collapse, their Pokémon falling with them. In the chaos, trainers drive Salamence away… but everything I loved has already been destroyed."
The words lingered, heavy as chains.
"I grow up with that grief. I train. I rise. One day, I become Champion of a League. I hold the power to command the strongest trainers in the region. Now tell me, Salamence… what would I do? Would I hunt down the one Salamence who destroyed my life? Or would I unleash my wrath upon your entire species, wiping out every last Salamence and Bagon across the land?"
The dragon's head jerked slightly.
Though it had no intention of listening, the story clung to it, compelling as if enchanted. Before its eyes, visions unfolded itself soaring above a burning home, itself shattering the dreams of a small child. That child grew, matured, and became a powerful trainer.
The trainer rallied armies of humans, sweeping across valleys and mountains. Wherever there were Bagon, Shelgon, or Salamence, they were captured or slain. Cries and roars filled the skies, the kin of Salamence perishing one after another.
Salamence's heart pounded. It wanted to roar, to break free, to battle the human head-on. Because debts should be repaid to their true owners, not to innocents.
But in the vision, no matter how it thrashed, it could not move. Bound to the Champion's side, it was forced to witness its kind slaughtered one by one.
At last, the vision's world grew empty.
No Salamence remained on the continent.
When its body finally moved again, it was too late. The Champion only looked at it coldly and declared, "So there was one more after all. Creatures as violent and destructive as Salamence… do not deserve to exist."
The swarm of trainers surged forward. Its protests, its pleas, were drowned beneath merciless judgment.
Then crack!
The illusion shattered.
Salamence's vision refocused, the world re-forming into Lin Feng's nursery.
Lin Feng was still there, his expression calm. But his eyes were turned toward the Goodra playing in the sunlight outside, its laughter gleaming against the warmth of noon. Compared to Salamence's nightmare, Goodra's gentle smile looked painfully bright.
"No one is born unworthy of life," Lin Feng said quietly. "And no one escapes persecution from the world. The humans in that story were a shadow of what I could become if I let grief twist me. And the Salamence in that story… was a shadow of what you might become, if hatred consumes you."
He met Salamence's gaze.
"So tell me. What will you choose?"
Beside him, on the ground, a bottle of juice gleamed faintly in the light. Unbeknownst to Salamence, Lin Feng had slipped into it a trace of dream spinach extract the same essence he had used before, to help guide dreams.
Now the story had ended, but the choice remained.
The dragon's eyes flickered, torn between fury and thought.
And Lin Feng waited, silent, patient as stone.