The rain finally stopped around noon.
The clouds in the sky dispersed, revealing a bright but not blinding sunlight.
Naoki took off the hood of his raincoat and gazed at the Dragonite in the distance, who was in a state of contemplation. He asked Koraidon below him:
"Koraidon, do you think Dragonite can successfully comprehend Rain Dance?"
Koraidon opened its mouth and yawned: "Ah gaa ss..."
Suddenly, Dragonite snapped its eyes open.
And then, the sky changed.
The clouds that had just dissipated quickly gathered again, converging and colliding above Dragonite's head.
Watching this scene, Naoki felt a little excited in his heart.
Success?
However, the imagined rain did not come.
The clouds gathered rapidly and then rapidly dispersed again.
The weather became clear once more.
Seeing the failure of Rain Dance, Dragonite dumbfoundedly looked up at the sky, seemingly puzzled.
Naoki, riding Koraidon, flew to its side and asked, "How's it going?"
"Awooo..."
Naoki followed its gaze to the sky, pondering in his heart, and asked again, "Is it the same as Thunderbolt earlier?"
Dragonite carefully felt for a moment, then showed a bewildered expression.
It didn't understand either.
Seeing this, Naoki fell into deep thought.
Thunderbolt is a renowned move among Electric Type moves, and correspondingly, its difficulty level for learning increases too.
Judging by Dragonite's earlier performance, it seemed to be mimicking the process of lightning striking it and then being launched by it.
But it didn't grasp the essence of Thunderbolt, which is why it failed to use it.
So what about Rain Dance?
Dragonite had just successfully summoned the clouds, needing only the last step to effectively execute Rain Dance, but it failed at the crucial moment.
However, Dragonite seemed to have sensed something from this rain.
That was already enough. At least it could already summon clouds, and with more practice, it would eventually succeed in using Rain Dance.
After all, this was its first try, and it was already quite good.
Naoki felt satisfied. The thought that Dragonite seemed to have become smarter also crossed his mind.
Even though it had inadvertently grasped Thunder Punch, Dragonite comprehended Rain Dance on its own.
For an ordinary Pokemon, this was indeed something extraordinary.
Could it be that the lightning strike earlier knocked some sense into Dragonite?
However, considering that Dragonite had already comprehended Dragon Tail in just a few days, this indicated that its perception wasn't bad; it just had a straightforward mind and didn't know how to properly use moves.
Remembering how Dragonite was deceived earlier, Naoki thought this might be the case.
Moreover, this Dragonite was quite diligent!
If this were true, then he had indeed found a gem!
The group returned to the ground, and Naoki led Dragonite to the farmland area to set its future training direction.
"No rush about Thunderbolt, first try to achieve Rain Dance quickly. From now on, practice Rain Dance here!"
"Awoo~" Dragonite agreed happily. Even without Naoki's words, it would still practice Rain Dance until it successfully used the move.
Seeing this, Naoki laughed and said, "Once you master it, the watering job will be entrusted to you, alright?"
"Huh?" Dragonite blinked, looking puzzled.
Naoki didn't explain to Dragonite but instead told it a story.
The protagonist of the story was a Pokemon named Keldeo.
It was diligent and hardworking, practicing sword drawing and wielding daily. After drawing the sword ten thousand times, it finally comprehended an unparalleled divine move.
With just one Sacred Sword, it defeated the Legendary Pokemon Kyurem, known as the strongest dragon.
Here, Naoki shifted the tone of his words, exaggerating with rhetoric:
"Maybe you can only make it rain in this small area now, but if you keep practicing, one day the whole world will be shrouded in your rain, and all Pokemon will look up to you."
"Awoo!"
Dragonite's eyes lit up instantly.
Although it didn't know what Kyurem was nor who Keldeo was, they sounded impressive!
It immediately took on the task of watering, turning around to stand in front of the farmland area, diligently practicing Rain Dance.
Naoki: "..."
Truly innocent and pure-hearted!
He patted Dragonite on the shoulder, smiling: "Work hard!"
While Dragonite practiced there, Naoki turned around, took off his raincoat, draped it over the fence, and headed towards the Chicken House.
On the way, Naoki continued to ponder if there was any kind of dish that could help Dragonite.
Unfortunately, he couldn't figure out any cuisine that could enhance Dragon Type Pokemon.
This left Naoki feeling a bit troubled.
What if he tried unconventional items?
Like Dragon's Fang or Dragon Scale.
Grinding these into powder and making dishes for Dragonite, would it strengthen it?
Naoki was tempted to try, but obtaining these two items was difficult.
Even though he could pull a tooth or pluck a scale directly from Dragonite, this Dragonite was still young and hadn't reached the age where its scales fall off or teeth fall out.
Forcibly pulling scales or teeth would cause considerable harm to it and hurt like hell.
Naoki continued to ponder.
His brain was working rapidly, from Pokemon moves to in-game items, and various dragon-related objects.
And just then, Naoki suddenly noticed a move.