Chapter 53: Bagon, and the Possibility of a Mega-Evolved Salamence?

Hearing this, a flicker of reluctance crossed the girl's face, but quickly, as if she'd made some kind of decision, she nodded and replied, "I'm sure!"

"Growww!" Bagon, however, kept shaking its head repeatedly, unwilling to part with the girl before it.

Seeing this, the girl, who went by the name Jane, looked troubled before softly saying, "You need to be brave, little dragon. Once I get away from those bad people, I'll come back and find you here."

Bad people? Kawaki felt somewhat surprised.

It seemed, though, that upon hearing this, the Pokémon became even more anxious. Kawaki noticed its emotional state was shifting from distressed to worried and concerned.

"It's very worried about you," Kawaki said with some surprise. After a moment's thought, he asked, "I just heard you mention bad people. Did something happen?"

Jane looked at the proprietor in front of her, recalling in her mind how he'd interacted with the Pokémon at the Daycare over these past two days, and how he'd rescued that Ursaring.

She opened her mouth, and finally decided to speak, "Actually... little dragon isn't really my Pokémon."

Kawaki raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

The girl said, "My name is Jane, and I'm a trainer who set out from Littleroot Town. Not long ago, while traveling through a forest, I discovered Pokémon poachers capturing Pokémon in that forest."

"This was one of them. I managed to have my Pokémon, Beautifly, use Sleep Powder on those poachers without them noticing, and I quietly released the captured Pokémon."

"After that, I've been running away with little dragon ever since, because it's so rare that those Pokémon poachers won't give up on us. They've been tracking us the whole time. Yesterday at Meteor Falls, we finally managed to shake them off, but for some reason, they always seem to find our location."

Upon hearing this, Kawaki immediately realized something.

He quickly pulled Bagon out from his bag and, under the girl's confused gaze, carefully examined its body. Sure enough, Kawaki soon discovered a small tracking device on an inconspicuous part of Bagon's body.

Seeing this, Jane's face changed.

Kawaki said, "Just as I thought. This Bagon has been fitted with a tracking device."

"That's why!" Jane's expression darkened. Of course those Pokémon poachers could always find her location.

Pokémon poachers... this kind of situation was something a little girl alone couldn't possibly handle. After a moment's thought, Kawaki asked with some confusion, "Why didn't you call the police? I happen to know Officer Jenny from the nearby Fallarbor Town. Maybe she could help you."

"Call the police..." Jane shook her head, "It won't help. I tried calling the police before when I was in Verdanturf Town, but those Pokémon poachers are so elusive. The moment they found out I'd called, they disappeared without a trace. Officer Jenny searched for several days but found nothing."

"Officer Jenny can't stay with us all the time, and I can't just stay in one city indefinitely either, so..."

Because she was a trainer traveling to challenge gyms across Hoenn and collect badges.

So the best plan she could think of was to secretly leave little dragon with someone else to care for it while she led those Pokémon poachers away.

But now it seemed that was impossible.

Little dragon had a tracker on it, and those bad people would catch up soon.

"There's a way now," Kawaki said, looking at the tracking device in his hand. He understood the nature of Pokémon poachers in this world, and he couldn't just stand by and watch this little girl face them alone.

"Huh?!" Jane seemed confused.

Currently, there were two methods to solve this. The first was to install this tracking device on a flying-type Pokémon and have it carry it away from Fallarbor Town, fly out to sea or another region to mislead the poachers. The second method was to use this tracking device as an opportunity to capture the Pokémon poachers.

Thinking about how those poachers would likely continue capturing other Pokémon after leaving, Kawaki didn't hesitate to turn around and call Fallarbor Town's police station using the Daycare's phone.

The laws in this world were extremely harsh when it came to punishing Pokémon poachers, since such activities didn't align with the fundamental values of the major Pokémon Leagues.

Once caught, criminals would face ten to fifty years in an offshore prison, or in more serious cases, even life imprisonment.

The phone rang a few times.

Soon, a voice came through, "This is Fallarbor Town Police Station. I'm Officer Jenny, the stationed officer here. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Officer Jenny, it's me, Kawaki. I've got a trainer here who's being tracked by Pokémon poachers. Her Pokémon has a tracking device attached, and I think those poachers will arrive here soon."

Upon hearing this, Officer Jenny's tone immediately became serious.

"Keep yourselves safe. I'm on my way right now!"

With that, Officer Jenny left the station, hopped on her motorcycle, and sped toward Kawaki's Daycare with the throttle full open.

"Alright, Officer Jenny from Fallarbor Town is on her way here," Kawaki said, turning to Jane.

"I'm so sorry!" Jane quickly bowed in thanks, "Thank you for all the trouble!"

"No need to be polite," Kawaki said with a smile, shaking his head. He glanced over at Bagon beside him.

Seeming to realize it wouldn't have to separate from Jane after all, Bagon's happiness and mood began rising at a visible speed.

Along with it, its affection toward Kawaki climbed from 0 to 20.

Then, text appeared before Kawaki's eyes.

[Bagon's mood has risen, happiness +130! Received Bagon's gift: Bagon's Habitat.]

[Bagon's Habitat: A place where the Dragon-type Pokémon Bagon lives. There, a Bagon lives alone. Your actions moved Bagon, and it gave you its companion's habitat as a gift.]

The text didn't stop there. Following Bagon's gift came Jane's gift.

[Jane's mood has risen, happiness +70. Received Jane's gift: Dragon-type Pokémon Affinity.]

[Dragon-type Pokémon Affinity: You naturally possess an affinity with Dragon-type Pokémon. Dragon-type Pokémon will become friendlier with you more easily. You helped Jane, and she gave you this talent as a gift.]

Kawaki: "?"

He watched as Bagon affectionately pounced into Jane's arms, the two of them eagerly celebrating that they were finally safe, while the text continued to float before his eyes. He stood there stunned.

Bagon's habitat and affinity with Dragon-type Pokémon?

A thought crossed Kawaki's mind.

He recalled that among those Mega Stones Archie had given him before, there was an evolution stone corresponding to Salamence.

Could it be... that he could now have a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution?!