Under the watchful eyes of the Pokémon and Ma En, Deino nodded with a smile.
Seeing Deino agree to go with him, Ma En couldn't contain his excitement. He immediately hugged Deino's head and gently stroked it.
From the shadows, Haunter suddenly emerged, spinning excitedly around Ma En and Deino. The reason for its joy was simple—it finally had a younger sibling to look after.
After capturing Deino in a Poké Ball, Ma En bid farewell to the Hydreigon couple and made his way back to the entrance of Dragon's Den, retracing his original route.
Upon reaching the exit, Ma En and Launce thanked the Dragon Elder before preparing to return to the Kanto Region. However, this time, their destination was Vermilion City.
As he watched Ma En and Launce depart, the Dragon Elder let out a thoughtful sigh. He turned his gaze toward the horizon and murmured,
"The world is becoming more interesting… but whether this change is for better or worse remains to be seen."
With that, he turned around and walked back toward the Dragon Shrine.
---
On the Journey Back
As they traveled toward Vermilion City, Launce couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.
"Ma En, what's up with your Deino? Why does it act so differently from the others? And why did both you and the Dragon Elder make such strange expressions back there?"
Hearing this, Ma En chuckled as he recalled Deino's hilarious response.
"Deino's answer was simple," Ma En explained, "It doesn't think it's strange at all. Instead, it thinks its two brothers are the strange ones. According to Deino, its siblings are just… well, a bit dumb."
Launce blinked in surprise. "Huh? But the behavior of those two Deino was completely normal. That's just how Deino usually are!"
"Exactly," Ma En said with a smirk. "That's what makes my Deino special. Unlike most of its kind, its rationality suppresses its instincts."
---
The Nature of Hydreigon
Most Dragon-type Pokémon were known for their violent personalities. However, in addition to being a Dragon-type, Deino also belonged to the Dark-type.
Dark-type Pokémon were generally considered to be aggressive and unpredictable, making Hydreigon—a Pokémon that combined both Dragon and Dark elements—exceptionally violent.
Even when compared to other fierce pseudo-legendary Pokémon like Salamence and Garchomp, Hydreigon's temperament was significantly worse.
In the wild, Hydreigon attack anything that moves and will even devour their targets if they are edible.
Unlike other Pokémon, Hydreigon don't rely on rational thought; instead, their instincts drive their actions, making them extremely dangerous.
However, Ma En's Deino was an exception.
From the moment it was born, its rational mind had always dominated its instincts.
While its siblings bit anything they could find, Deino would first sniff the object carefully to determine what it was. Only after confirming it was edible would it lick or bite it.
For example, while its two brothers mindlessly chewed on tree trunks, Deino figured out how to pick and eat the fruit growing on the branches instead.
This unique behavior caught the attention of the Dragon Elder, who frequently patrolled Dragon's Den.
Curious, the elder had once asked Deino why it acted so differently.
Deino's response?
"Because my brothers aren't very smart."
When the Dragon Elder heard this, he was completely dumbfounded.
Looking at Deino's expression of pure disdain as it observed its siblings, the elder wanted to tell it,
"It's not that your brothers are weird. You're the odd one here."
---
A Different Kind of Deino
Unlike other wild Deino, who only ate, played, and slept, Ma En's Deino spent its time training and thinking about the world outside Dragon's Den.
It didn't want to live aimlessly like its siblings. It had a deep curiosity about the outside world and a strong desire to grow stronger.
So when Ma En appeared and asked it to travel together, Deino immediately agreed without hesitation.
Because it, Deino, was a smart dragon.
A dragon who would become stronger through experience and exploration.
---
Arriving in Vermilion City
Upon reaching Vermilion City, Launce parted ways with Ma En. As an investigator, he had other tasks to complete, and his journey took him elsewhere.
Ma En, on the other hand, checked into the Pokémon Center and rented a private training room.
The first thing he did was analyze Deino's battle data using his Pokédex.
---
Pokédex Entry: Deino
Name: Deino
Gender: Male
Type: Dark, Dragon
Ability: Hustle
Potential: Elite-level
Current Strength: Elite-level (Beginner)
Moves Known:
Dragon Breath
Bite
Assurance
Crunch
Dragon Pulse
Draco Meteor (Inherited)
Double Hit (Egg Move)
---
After reviewing Deino's stats, Ma En couldn't help but be impressed.
"As expected of an Elite-level offspring," he thought. "Its talent and move set are top-notch."
In addition to its inherited moves, Deino had also been training itself from a young age, making its overall strength far above average for its species.
---
Energy Cube Experimentation
Ma En decided to stay in Vermilion City for a while to focus on a new project—Energy Cubes.
He had previously studied their formula but had never attempted making them himself. Now, he wanted to try producing them on his own.
Unlike Cerulean City, which was famous for its water-type Pokémon, Vermilion City was a major economic hub of Kanto, rivaling Saffron City and Celadon City.
This was largely due to its massive harbor, which welcomed the world-famous S.S. Anne every year and served as a docking point for ships traveling to other regions.
Thanks to this natural advantage, Vermilion City's economy was extremely developed, meaning Ma En could easily find and purchase all the necessary ingredients for Energy Cubes.
---
Challenges of Making Energy Cubes
Producing Energy Cubes was not as simple as throwing berries into a machine and mixing them together.
The order in which ingredients were placed mattered.
The precise weight of each ingredient needed to be measured.
The mixing time had to be carefully controlled.
Even with a proper formula, Ma En's first few attempts ended in failure.
But fortunately, he had a deep wallet and was able to buy ingredients at wholesale prices. This meant he could afford to experiment and gradually master the technique through trial and error.
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