Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 478 The Reclusive Dragon-Headed Groundhog

"But... hehehehe."

After Alice read the contents of the business card, she scratched her head sheepishly.

"I'm not very good at reading."

Alice said softly:

“My mother-in-law sent me to many schools, but I was asked to drop out of them all.”

"So, so Grandma told me to come find Grandpa Shaka and come to the dojo to learn."

"Don't worry, our academy focuses on practical projects, and there are combat scenarios every few steps."

Natsume thought about the Dark-type Pokémon colony distribution map he had made at the academy last night and nodded seriously.

"Really!" Alice's eyes lit up.

"The dragon-headed groundhog has woken up."

The proud son's voice rang out, drawing Alice's attention.

"Thank goodness, Dragon Head Mole, you're alright!"

"Thank goodness, Dragon Head Mole, you're alright!" Dragon Head Mole slowly opened its eyes, and Alice immediately rushed over in surprise, wanting to hug it.

However, the dragon-headed gopher's reaction was unexpected.

"bass--!"

Its eyes, which had just regained their sparkle, instantly lost all light and became lifeless when they met Alice's outstretched arm.

Immediately afterwards, it abruptly curled up, its hard crest and arms tightly clenched, its entire body like a giant, all-rejecting silver drill, firmly nailed to the ground.
No matter how Alice called out to it, it remained motionless.

"What...what's wrong?" Alice's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, her little face full of confusion and helplessness.

Just then, a crisp laugh, clearly mocking and with a hint of barely perceptible schadenfreude, rang out.

"Oh dear, Alice, you look so disheveled!"

At the edge of the crowd, one figure stood out.

Her fiery red short hair, like a leaping flame, was held down by a playful beret, while her red and white striped overalls accentuated her sharp lines.

Her entire being exuded a meticulously crafted artistic flair, the complete opposite of Alice's—if one ignored the undisguised, slightly smug smile on her face.

"Who is this?"

Natsume and Takako stared blankly as the pretty girl crossed her arms and walked toward Alice.

"Langrey? What are you doing here?"

Alice looked up at the other person with a strange expression.

Langley?
Natsume narrowed his eyes.

That name sounds familiar. Have I heard it somewhere before?

After a while, Natsume suddenly remembered that this seemed to be Iris's rival in the original story—the guy who specialized in breeding Ice-type Pokémon and called himself the "Dragon Destroyer".

Langley strolled up to Alice, tilting his head slightly. His icy blue eyes swept over the withdrawn drill and the bewildered Alice, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"Tsk tsk tsk, isn't this Alice, the Champion, from our Dragon Village?"

Her voice was clear and crisp, but her tone carried a deliberately drawn-out mockery.

"What? You got carried away after winning the championship and went to challenge real masters, and now even your partner is depressed? Oh~" She blinked, feigning surprise, as if suddenly remembering something:
"I almost forgot, you, the trainer with a 99-game winning streak in Dragon Village, don't seem to have a single decent Dragon-type Pokémon?"

Her words were slightly sarcastic, and her eyes were full of hostility towards Alice, the representative of the Dragon Village.

"Oh, so I still beat you, this so-called Dragon Destroyer." Alice scratched her head.

"What did you say?" Langley broke down in an instant.

So we met at the baby cup event before, which is so much earlier?

A knowing glint flashed in Natsume's eyes.

Although calling the Baby Cup winner "Champion" and referring to themselves as "Dragon Destroyer" are a little awkward, both of them are still at the age of being a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur).

Natsume stood to the side, watching with great interest.

"Anyway, my Dragon Head Mole is the best!"

Alice snorted and picked up the curled-up dragon-headed ground squirrel.

"The best?"

Langley chuckled as if he had heard something amusing; his laughter was like a wind chime, yet carried a chilling undertone.

"Look at it now, it's like a coward hiding in a turtle!" She deliberately took two steps closer, bent down, and the brim of her beret almost touched Alice's forehead:
"You don't even have the courage to face failure, and this is your best friend." She deliberately imitated an adult's tone, adding a harsh edge.

"You are not allowed to insult the Dragon Head Mole, nor are you allowed to insult the Land of Dragons!" Alice was so angry that she jumped up and down.

"If you're so capable, then fight me!"

"Oh? Fight me?" Langley raised an eyebrow, a hint of excitement and delight flashing in his icy blue eyes.

She didn't give Alice a chance to back down. She took a few steps back and stood still. With a flick of her wrist, a high-grade ball with an ice crystal pattern appeared in her palm.

"Come out, Tundra Bear, and show this champion what true power is!"

A flash of white light appeared, and a tundra bear with a robust build, covered in thick white fur, and exuding a cold aura appeared in the scene.

It let out a low growl, its icy breath condensing into white mist in the air, and its sharp gaze locked onto the reclusive drill bit on the opposite side of the field.

The crowd that had initially intended to disperse gathered again.

"Your Pokémon evolved?" Iris stared blankly at the enormous Ursaring.

"Dragon Head Mole, get up! Let's show her what you're made of!"

Alice shouted anxiously.

However, the dragon-headed groundhog remained unresponsive.

"What? You're scared now?" Langley crossed his arms and sneered leisurely, "Or are you saying that you, the champion, can't even command Pokémon in battle? You're really useless!"

"No, that's not true." Alice was so agitated that her blood boiled.

"Dragon Head Mole, get up! Use the straight-pump drill!"

Under her repeated urging, the silver drill finally unfolded extremely slowly, with a reluctant stiffness. The dragon-headed ground squirrel stood up again, but its eyes remained vacant, and its movements were unusually sluggish.

"Roar." It let out a low whimper, devoid of any power.

"Dragon Head Groundhog, quick, use the straight-through drill!" Alice anxiously gave the order again.

The dragon-headed ground squirrel hesitated for a moment before starting to spin, but at a much slower speed than before, and the gleam of its silver drill seemed dim.

“You’ve regressed, Alice.”

Langley's voice carried a hint of pleasure, "Freezing Beam!"

The tundra bear clasped its paws together, and a beam of icy blue light instantly condensed and shot out.

Alice shouted urgently, "Get out of the way!"

But the dragon-headed ground squirrel seemed frozen, or perhaps it had lost the will to dodge altogether, standing there blankly.

boom! ! !
The frozen beam hit its mark squarely.

The dragon-headed mole was instantly frozen inside a huge block of ice! It remained in the same dazed and stiff posture it had been in before being hit.

Instant kill!

Langley gracefully recalled the Tundra Bear, clapped his hands as if brushing away non-existent dust from his gloves.

However, the moment she turned around, her icy blue eyes inadvertently swept over Natsume, who stood calmly watching from the sidelines.

A fleeting glint of intense curiosity and eager fighting spirit flashed across her eyes.

This trainer's Dragonite is incredibly strong.

Although the battle between the opponent and Iris just now seemed strange, that Dragonite's size and strength were real!
If you can defeat him, then you can be considered a true "Dragon Destroyer".

Langley paused slightly. She wanted to challenge Natsume immediately, but seeing his calm, unwavering eyes, like a deep pool, and the blue-haired woman next to him who looked like she was not to be trifled with, she felt a little apprehensive.

In the end, the little girl's pride and a touch of cowardice prevailed.

She simply gave Natsume a deep look, her eyes filled with a mixture of inquiry and defiance.

Then, raising her delicate chin and tossing her beret, she walked away from the battle zone with a still proud but seemingly quickened pace.

Jiaozi immediately stepped forward to treat the dragon-headed ground squirrel.

Alice stared blankly at the limp body of the dragon-headed ground squirrel after the ice melted, then looked in the direction where Langley had disappeared. A huge sense of frustration made her feel cold all over.

She subconsciously looked at the dragon-headed ground squirrel again—it had just been placed on the ground by the proud child, and immediately with a "whoosh," it shrank back into that cold, all-rejecting silver drill with even greater speed and more resolute posture!

"What...what happened?" Alice's voice was trembling with tears, completely panicked.

"She must be angry," Natsume said as he approached.

In the original storyline, Dragon Head Mole was driven to despair by Shaka. Now it's him who's driven to despair?

No, that's not right. He probably became withdrawn after being hit hard by both himself and Langley.

"Angry?"

Alice paused for a moment, then pulled a small jar from her thick hair.

"Here, have your favorite jam. Don't be angry."

However, this time seemed different from usual; the dragon-headed mole ignored Alice.

"During our battle just now, when it first charged through the drill hole, Dragon Head Mole felt the difference in skill," Natsume suddenly said.

Alice paused for a moment, then turned to look at Natsume, who said without any mercy:

"Perhaps the current leader is questioning your command abilities."

"Ah? What should we do?"

Alice lowered her head in disappointment, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

"Kacha~"

Natsume's keen telekinetic abilities allowed him to perceive a faint flash of light.

Turning around, I saw that Langley hadn't left; instead, he was hiding in the crowd, holding a camera.

With a hint of panic at being discovered, the latter hurriedly put the camera away.

"Mr. Natsume."

Jiaozi tugged at Natsume's sleeve.

"Yeah, relax."

Seeing that Alice was about to cry, Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly.

The other person is too young and not nearly as strong as they were at the start of the journey.

Natsume handed Alice a bottle of purple potion.

"Give it an injection, and it will stop being autistic immediately."

"What is this?" Ellie asked, her voice trembling with tears.

"Doping," Natsume said bluntly.

"."

Seeing Alice remain silent, Natsume added:

"Don't worry, there are no side effects."

This is a rage potion; it has a similar effect to a stimulant.

Natsume stared at the curled-up drill bit for a long time.

Dragon Head Mole, Bangalore's best brother.

Moreover, he seemed to have seen the Dragon Head Gopher included in the super-evolution gene pool of the Carlos region.

Alice stood there, holding the potion in her hand, at a loss, without making a move.

Helpless, Natsume picked up the business card that had fallen to the ground and handed it to Alice, saying:

"Come with me to the academy, and I'll help you two get back together."

(End of this chapter)