Rota Gym.
"I wonder what kind of Pokémon the League will give."
Dylan retrieved a Pokéball from the transfer machine, sent over by Officer Jenny from Vermilion City. Dylan was quite curious.
"Gym leader, quickly let it out so we can see~"
The receptionist and Selene were also very curious, urging him.
This was the reward for the gym leader defeating a high-ranking member of Team Rocket and saving the S.S. Anne. The League surely wouldn't give something inferior, right?
"Come out."
Dylan opened the Pokéball.
"Mi~"
A flash of white light, and a soft, melodious hum sounded. A Pokémon, resembling a water serpent, landed on the ground, looking at Dylan with its gem-like, purple-black eyes filled with curiosity.
Seeing this Pokémon, Dylan raised an eyebrow. The receptionist and Selene also widened their eyes, and the receptionist even covered her mouth in surprise.
"This is..."
"Dratini!"
The receptionist exclaimed, and Selene also called out the name of this blue serpent-like Pokémon in amazement.
Its back was covered in light blue scales, its belly bright white. Its purple eyes were bright and clear, revealing a naive purity. It had a white bump on its forehead, white fins on both sides of its head, and a big round nose, looking extremely cute and soft.
It was a Dratini from the Kanto region!
The pre-evolution of Dragonite, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon!
"The League is really generous?"
Dylan squatted down to look at the adorable Dratini, still a bit surprised.
He thought the Kanto League wouldn't be stingy, but he didn't expect them to be this generous.
This was a Dratini, which eventually evolves into Dragonite!
The rarity of Dragonite was undisputed. Excluding the legendary Pokémon, Dratini and Larvitar were the rarest and most precious in Kanto.
Larvitar's exact habitat was only Mount Silver, which was very dangerous with high-level wild Pokémon. Regular trainers could hardly find Larvitar and might even lose their lives there.
Dratini's exact habitat was only the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn City, controlled by the powerful Dragon Clan. It was their sacred place.
Apart from these two places, encountering wild Larvitar or Dratini was extremely rare.
"Mi~"
Dratini's bright, clean eyes looked at Dylan curiously, its cute demeanor making the receptionist and Selene's eyes almost turn into hearts.
"Little one, I'll be your trainer from now on. I'll take good care of you."
No matter why the League was so generous, a free Dratini was not to be refused.
"Mi~mi~"
Dylan gently scratched Dratini's chin, and the green light of the Viridian Force flickered slightly. The natural aura made Dratini very comfortable, closing its eyes and humming happily, getting quite close to Dylan.
Indeed, the Viridian Force was very useful.
"Such a cute child."
Dylan carefully picked up Dratini. Dratini, understanding, wrapped its slender body around Dylan's arm, nuzzling his cheek affectionately.
Hmm, it seemed to have a clingy personality.
"So cute! Gym leader, can I pet it?"
The receptionist pleaded, her eyes fixed on Dratini. It was one of the most precious Pokémon in Kanto.
"You have to ask the little one."
Dylan replied with a smile.
"Little cutie, can I pet you? You're so beautiful."
"Mi?"
Dratini tilted its head in confusion.
"Don't act so cute. I can't handle it."
The receptionist covered her nose, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"Here, I have some snacks." She took out a box of Pokéblocks and held it out to Dratini.
Dratini sniffed the air, seemed to catch a good scent, and poked its head towards the Pokéblocks.
Chomp~
Dratini bit into a Pokéblock, and the receptionist gently petted its head.
"Such fine, smooth scales. They're so cool." She exclaimed.
'Beep~ Dratini, Dragon-type, Dragon Pokémon.
Ability: Shed Skin.
Moves: Dragon Tail, Thunder Wave, Twister, Leer, Wrap, Extreme Speed (inherited).'
It inherited Extreme Speed. Just like the ones in the Dragon's Den.
Dylan looked at Dratini's information on the Pokédex. In the second-generation games, passing the Dragon's Den elder's test would earn you a Dratini with Extreme Speed.
Considering Kanto League's Dratini, it was likely from the Dragon's Den. After all, Lance was from the Dragon Clan, born in Viridian Forest but still connected by blood, and he wouldn't lack Dragonite.
As the Kanto Champion, Lance had full access to the Dragon Clan's resources.
"Now, I have two Dragon-type Pokémon, both pseudo-legendaries."
Dylan played with the cute Dratini, feeling quite pleased.
Hmm, maybe I could form a team of Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries to defeat Lance. Show him what true Dragon mastery is!
Or maybe an fairy or Ice team. Either way, to defeat Lance.
The afternoon passed quickly, with two more challengers, both of average strength. Dylan easily won with his Gloom.
No standout challengers, leaving Dylan somewhat disappointed.
He could understand why many gym leaders slacked off; too many challengers were just average.
This world had no shortage of geniuses, but also no shortage of mediocrities.
Still, Dylan handled the challengers seriously. Watching their panic when their Pokémon were poisoned was quite amusing.
It was a way to find fun in the mundane battles.
But he still longed for a rival like Red. That kind of battle was what he looked forward to.
In the evening, Ilene's video call came through.
"Dylan, I've uploaded your battle with Red."
Ilene's bright smile appeared on the screen, excitedly reporting.
She spent all day editing the video, taking a lot of time since it was her first time.
She wanted to do it herself, as it was Dylan's first battle video uploaded online.
"Thank you. I'll treat you to a big meal tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll hold you to that."
Ilene's smile grew sweeter.
"By the way, you should check it out. It's been up for over an hour and the response is great."
She urged him, having waited an hour before notifying Dylan. The video was performing better than expected.
"Sure."
Dylan ended the call and immediately checked the League's official website.
In this world, the Pokémon League was the biggest draw, and battle videos were posted on the Kanto League's official site.
He found the 'I Am the Queen' uploader and saw the pinned video.
'A Battle Between Strong Peers!'
The title was a bit plain.
Dylan paused, then clicked in.
The video started without unnecessary introductions, directly showing referee Leah announcing the rules. Interestingly, Leah's face was pixelated.
Ilene probably contacted Leah about it.
The battle commenced, and Dylan watched intently, treating it as a review.
"More interesting than watching anime battles."
Dylan concluded. Not bad, if he said so himself.
He scrolled to the comments, curious about the audience's reactions. The video had over fifty thousand views and more than ten thousand comments, indicating good reception.
'Wow, learned something new. Poison-type Pokémon can be used like this...'
'Feel sorry for the opponent. Those Toxic Spikes gave me chills. Poor Pikachu!'
'Isn't this the deviant??? Can't handle such an opponent!'
'So the trainer using Poison-type is a gym leader? Never heard of him.'
'Haha~ Watching live, the battle was fantastic. The trainer in the hat was strong too, but the one using Poison-type was stronger.'
'As expected of Gym Leader Dylan! I will definitely use Poison-type Pokémon well!'
Dylan read the comments with interest.
He had a feeling the Rota Gym was going to gain popularity, and...
A notification popped up from the gym leaders' group chat, mentioning Dylan. It was from Daisy of the Cerulean Gym.
It seemed gym leaders watched videos too, especially the younger ones.
At this moment, at the entrance of Rota.
Two figures, one tall and one short, entered Rota.
"Rota Gym?"
A young man with purple mid-length hair looked at the sign, his eyes dazed.
Due to certain reasons, he was filled with self-doubt, unsure if he should continue as a trainer.
Beside him, a silent boy quietly watched his brother.
"Let's go, Paul."
The young man called to his brother, Paul, and walked into Rota, with Paul following silently.
The young man was still confused and hesitant, but maybe... he could challenge a gym one more time.
But it would have to wait until tomorrow, as it was already evening.