Chapter 75: Power of Nature

After capturing the Pidgey, Maki continued his journey with Charmander and Cottonee toward their destination.

On the way, he didn't encounter any Bug Catchers. After all, in this remote wilderness, weak Pokémon like Caterpie were little more than a free meal for passing Pidgey or Spearow.

As night fell, Maki gathered some branches and had Charmander start a fire in a relatively open area. Having a Fire-type Pokémon definitely had its perks—no need for a lighter.

If there was one issue, though…

"I prepared so many Pokéblocks, but it looks like they'll only last a few more days."

Maki shook an empty box that had once been filled with Pokéblocks. Not even a single crumb fell out, leaving him with a look of helplessness.

"Burp~"

Sitting nearby, Dragonite let out a satisfied belch, patting its round belly before turning to Maki.

"Boo~"

[You should be grateful I'm even here to take care of you, brat. So what if you're running low on Pokéblocks?]

To be fair, the amount of Pokéblocks Maki had wasn't a lot for Dragonite. If not for the fact that it had been spending most of its time in its Poké Ball without much physical activity, Dragonite's food consumption would have been even greater.

"Dragons are supposed to be omnivores, right? Why don't you try eating some grass? In case we ever run out of food completely, we might not be able to afford feeding you."

"Boo?!"

[Are you insulting a dragon's dignity?!]

Dragonite replied sternly while giving Charmander a firm pat on the head. To Dragonite, this little Charmander could at least barely count as part Dragon-type.

"Boo?"

[Kid, don't you think I'm right?]

Charmander, happily munching on its food, was caught off guard by Dragonite's sudden question and nearly choked.

"Char!"

Charmander quickly nodded, and Dragonite turned to Maki with a triumphant look, as if to say:

See? Even your Pokémon agrees with me.

"…How childish."

Dragonite didn't stay outside its Poké Ball for long. After finishing its meal and giving Charmander a few pointers, it returned to the ball.

Maki then turned to Cottonee. "Cottonee, have you noticed any changes over the past few days? Anything related to using moves?"

Though it had only been a few days since Cottonee hatched, most Pokémon have very short infancy periods—especially Grass-types. Maki was curious to see if Cottonee had already learned some moves.

"Cotton?"

Cottonee gently swayed in the air, its leafy appendages wiggling as if concentrating on something.

A faint white glow appeared around its orange eyes—so faint that, had it been daytime, Maki might not have noticed at all.

But the next change was more obvious. Cottonee turned towards Charmander, and a similar light momentarily flickered around its body.

Maki raised an eyebrow, quickly realizing what was happening. He immediately gave an order.

"Charmander, use Dragon Breath."

Charmander had no time to process the change in its body. The moment it heard Maki's command, it instinctively reacted.

A stream of pale blue Dragon-type energy surged from Charmander's mouth, striking a nearby tree with increased force.

After launching the attack, Charmander froze. That move… felt stronger than usual. Had it improved that much already?

"So it's Helping Hand, huh? Expected, but still a really useful move."

Helping Hand itself doesn't deal damage, but it boosts the power of an ally's move. Whether in a Double Battle or the wild, it can be extremely effective.

This was also Cottonee's first time using the move, yet it already showed promising results. With some training, its potential could be further unlocked.

One thing Maki noticed was that Cottonee's preparation time for Helping Hand was extremely short—almost as fast as a trained Pokémon's execution speed.

This subtle advantage was easy to overlook, but Maki had been paying close attention. And this—this was the power of Prankster. Once Cottonee learned more status moves, this ability would become even more evident.

Realizing the boost in power hadn't come from itself, Charmander looked slightly disappointed but quickly got over it. Instead, it scooted closer to Cottonee.

Who wouldn't want a partner that could power up their moves?

In Charmander's mind, the future was clear—once it evolved into Charizard, Cottonee would buff it up from behind, and it would charge into battle, taking down opponents with ease!

Maki had no idea what was going through Charmander's head. If he did, he probably would've sighed and told it, You're still too naive, kid.

Helping Hand was useful, but since Cottonee naturally came with the move, it wasn't exactly a surprise.

Then, Cottonee demonstrated its next move. Fine threads of cotton split from its body, extending toward Charmander.

"Cotton!"

Cottonee strained with effort, but Charmander simply blinked in confusion, completely unaffected.

"Ahem, that's enough. I get it now."

Maki quickly stopped Cottonee. Absorb was already a weak move, and Charmander's Fire typing resisted Grass-type attacks. Even if Cottonee kept trying, it wouldn't drain anything substantial.

"Cotton~"

Cottonee sighed in relief.

Next, Cottonee used Fairy Wind. This time, it made sure to aim at a patch of grass instead of Charmander.

Maki estimated that while Fairy Wind would deal slightly more damage than Absorb, it likely wouldn't be much stronger—after all, Fire-types resist Fairy moves too.

However, what happened next caught Maki off guard.

Cottonee concentrated hard, and a green energy sphere slowly formed in front of it.

Energy Ball?

Maki froze for a moment before breaking into a grin. Now this was the move he had been hoping for!

There was no way a newly hatched Cottonee could naturally learn Energy Ball. It wasn't even in its list of inheritable moves.

Which meant—

It's Nature Power!

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