As Ash, Gary, and Paul descended from the sky, Gary asked Ash with a slightly puzzled expression, "Ash, what were you doing just now?"
"Huh? Isn't it obvious? I'm teaching Dragonair how to fly! Let me tell you, Dragonair..." Ash gestured animatedly as he explained Dragonair's situation to the two, however, neither was particularly concerned. A Dragonair that couldn't fly was indeed unusual, but not as unusual as a human who could fly.
What they were interested in was...
"Why are you teaching Dragonair to fly? Have you already decided on the Pokemon you want to capture?"
"Uh... not yet, but I'm quite fond of this Dragonair. I want to teach her to fly first and then talk about capturing her."
Paul raised an eyebrow; here we go again... A non-flying Dragonair, along with her slow progress inside Dragon Island, clearly indicated that this Dragonair was an average, if not quite poor, Quasi-God.
Of course, outside, even a Quasi-God with a poor talent would still be quite attractive, but inside Dragon Island, you couldn't say Quasi-Gods were everywhere, but there were so many compared to outside.
In this situation, Ash still wants to choose this useless Dragonair, just like he chose the abandoned Chimchar.
Is this guy deliberately collecting trash?
Gary's expression changed upon learning Ash's target was this Dragonair, but his thoughts were different from Paul's; he sincerely believed that Ash was about to capture another extraordinarily talented Pokemon.
Ash had a habit of regularly reporting his travel experiences to Professor Oak, and out of curiosity, Gary once asked Professor Oak how Ash found those extraordinarily talented Pokemon and why he could accurately capture them each time. Among the many Ash captured, the number of talented ones could be counted on both hands.
Could it be that Ash had the ability to discern the talents of Pokemon?
The truth shocked Gary; rather than having the ability to see through Pokemon talents, Ash seemed to deliberately choose those that were deemed talentless.
His Pokemon included the abandoned Charmander, a Riolu that started as a weakling, along with Bulbasaur and Squirtle, also discarded by others, while Pikachu was a mischievous one...
If you only looked from a few kilometers away, you would think Ash's Pokemon had nothing to do with extraordinary talent; instead, they were all the so-called useless ones.
Yet, the wonder of Ash lay in the fact that he could 'turn waste into treasure'; those seemingly useless Pokemon became incredibly powerful in Ash's hands, appearing as if they had great talent.
In truth, Ash had merely uncovered their talents. If it were anyone else, even with hidden powers within these Pokemon, they would remain useless.
Take, for instance, Chimchar, of which Gary was also an eyewitness. In Paul's hands, Chimchar couldn't showcase its talent, but under Ash's care, it was as if it transformed into a completely different Pokemon.
Thus, even though this Dragonair seemed quite weak, Gary still believed that if it were Ash, he would definitely be able to draw out Dragonair's potential, possibly making her a top existence among the Dragonite clan.
Paul didn't respond to Ash, instead, he looked around and chose a direction to walk off.
Although he was somewhat interested in whether Ash could unlock Dragonair's potential, it was more crucial for him to find the Pokemon he wanted to capture now; who knows when he'll have another chance to enter Dragon Island?
Gary stayed a moment longer before saying to Ash, "I'm going to find my own Pokemon. You take your time here."
"Alright, go ahead... Oh, head east; there's a Bagon with excellent talent over there. Whether you can find and gain the recognition of the Salamence clan depends on you." Ash waved goodbye to Gary but then suddenly remembered to advise him.
The Bagon Ash mentioned was the only Quasi-God with the strongest talent, aside from the Dragonair before him, since he entered Dragon Island.
Talent only decides a Pokemon's lower limit; it's the Trainer who decides the upper limit.
However, Ash believed that Gary would surely be able to bring out Bagon's talent.
Gary paused for a moment, then showed a joyful expression and thanked Ash before quickly heading east.
Based on Ash's special ability, Gary had no doubts about what Ash said; if Ash said it was talented, it must be talented.
For the first time, Gary truly felt what it meant to rely on connections while traveling; if it weren't for Ash, he might have had to circle the entire Inner Island and hastily capture a seemingly good Pokemon due to time constraints.
Now, he only needed to carefully choose among the Salamence group.
After Gary left, Ash continued to teach Dragonair how to fly. Despite only partially understanding, Dragonair gradually began to levitate.
Ash's method, though slightly clumsy, struck at the essence; simply put, it was about controlling power to lift oneself off the ground. Ash relied on sheer force, while Dragonair utilized the power of wind.
One of the reasons Dragonair couldn't fly before was because he couldn't even manipulate the wind's power, let alone fly.
However, since receiving Ash's unusual guidance, for some reason, he suddenly became able to manipulate the winds; controlling the wind elements made flying relatively easy.
In just half a day, Dragonair, who hadn't been able to fly since evolving, took off!
Pikachu watched in amazement, clapping his paws together. That's Ash for you; it's no surprise he can accomplish anything, but witnessing Ash actually succeed still leaves one marveling—is this something humans can achieve?
Where would you find someone who could teach a Pokemon skills and flight?
After taking off, Dragonair's lively eyes welled up with tears; she could finally... finally fly!
She was no longer the outlier among Dragonair!
All this was thanks to Ash, the one who landed on Dragon Island.
"Uh, can I follow you?"
In the air, Dragonair earnestly asked Ash.
Before Ash could ask her, Dragonair instead requested to stay by Ash's side.
Both for the kindness he showed and his abilities as a Trainer, Dragonair had profound admiration for Ash.
Although she resolved her flight issue, her slow progress in training remained unaddressed.
After evolving, for reasons unknown, her strength grew exceptionally slowly, despite rapid growth before evolution.
This issue was even more severe and challenging than not being able to fly, but Dragonair believed that if it were Ash... he would definitely solve her problem.
Ash's kindness was immeasurable, and all she could do was follow him and offer her modest strength to him, even at the cost of her life!
Thus she proposed first to stay by Ash's side, leaving Ash flabbergasted—it was supposed to be me capturing you, so why is it the other way around?