It was night on Melemele Island, and in a normal hotel room near the airport, the curtains weren't fully drawn, leaving a small gap.
Chen Kai sat in a chair by the window, leaning back slightly, his phone screen long since dark, reflecting the faint, moving light spots outside the window.
He wasn't looking at his phone; he was just unconsciously caressing the cold screen, his gaze unfocused as he looked out at the night.
Miraidon stood beside him; it had woken up normally that morning.
It didn't know why, but as soon as it entered the supermarket, it fell asleep and missed many things.
In the distance, an airplane was slowly descending, the roar of its engines growing from far to near, then gradually fading, like the unresolved thoughts in his mind.
Tomorrow, Chen Kai’s family had to return to their home country.
They were originally supposed to stay one more night at Boss Zhou’s guesthouse, but the battle between Tapu Bulu and the Nihilego was too intense.
Yesterday, the island announced that everyone should try to stay indoors.
Chen Kai’s family arrived on Melemele Island early to wait for their flight.
During the day, Chen Kai had already found general information about the Aether Foundation.
The history of such a large company's rise to power was easy to find with a little time.
The Aether Foundation on Blue Star was different from the one in the game; it had existed for nearly a hundred years, so long that even its founders had passed away.
The Aether Foundation's rise to prominence began around 70 years ago, after the leading Pokemon military-industrial enterprise in the Unova region was brought down by the Tapu.
The Aether Foundation quickly stepped in, becoming the new leading Pokemon military-industrial enterprise.
And a Pokemon military-industrial enterprise, as the name suggests, is a company that finds ways to use Pokemon for military purposes.
Generally, even if a Pokemon and its Trainer don’t have a deep bond, they at least know each other and are familiar.
Military-industrial enterprises don't care about such things; they train Pokemon to be obedient creatures.
As long as they receive an order from above, they don't care what the order is and will execute it unconditionally.
As for more powerful or disobedient Pokemon, Chen Kai guessed they would be treated like that Zapdos, with technology directly applied.
Because of this, the Unova region's government, though only established for about two hundred years, was the strongest government on Blue Star, without a doubt.
Even Dragon Country lagged behind.
After all, the conventional approach first involves a Trainer, who then trains his Pokemon.
They say it takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to educate a person.
For a country, training a suitable group of Pokemon takes even longer than cultivating a group of talents.
But Pokemon military-industrial enterprises are much faster; they capture a Gym Class or Champion Class Pokemon, put an instrument on it, and it either obeys or dies.
The efficiency increased by more than several times.
It was precisely because of this that the Unova region was able to become the strongest nation on Blue Star in just a century.
Chen Kai felt an instinctive aversion to such things, but as Tapu Bulu said, there was more than one Pokemon military-industrial enterprise in the Unova region.
Even if one was destroyed, it would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.
If Chen Kai had come to Alola alone, he might have gone directly and killed that sly, bespectacled man.
But Chen Kai's parents and grandparents were all here.
If Chen Kai really caused a stir, and Alola was completely locked down like France, this time there would be no Grandma Ju to take them away.
“Sigh…” Chen Kai sighed.
Inside the room, in stark contrast to him, were two little ones whose energy seemed overly abundant.
The first to start making noise was Swablu.
This little one seemed to have mistaken the soft hotel bed for a cloud, flapping its cotton-wing-like feathers, happily bouncing around on the bed, emitting crisp “Swablu! Swablu!” cries.
Every now and then, it would peck at the warm yellow lampshade of the bedside lamp with its small beak, or try to push the fluffy pillow onto the floor.
Its small eyes sparkled under the light, full of curiosity about everything, showing no sign of any tension it might have experienced during the day.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Seadra had buried its entire body in the white foam bubbling in the bathtub.
It narrowed its eyes slightly, enjoying the soothing sensation of the warm water – it was said this could soften its hard spines a bit, making them less prickly.
It was trying to relax.
“Swablu! Swablu—!” Outside the room, Swablu was treating the soft, large bed like a trampoline, flapping its cotton wings, happily jumping up and down.
Its crisp chirping sounded particularly piercing in the relatively enclosed room.
It had come to terms with it; anyway, it couldn't go back to Bai Weimin's side, and it was too dangerous outside.
Besides making it exercise regularly, Chen Kai was pretty good.
So, it might as well try to pass the days with Chen Kai!
But Seadra's brow (if it had one) furrowed.
It flicked its tail in dissatisfaction, splashing a few drops of water, and let out a low Growl towards the outside:
“Seadra…! Seadra!” (Quiet down…! You're so noisy!)
Swablu, who was playing excitedly, heard the sound and stopped, turning its small head towards the bathroom.
Its small eyes blinked, seemingly finding Seadra’s appearance in the foam a bit comical, and it couldn't help but mutter softly:
“Swablu~ Swablu…” (Hmph~ Ugly fish makes trouble…)
The words weren't loud, but in the quiet night, they clearly reached Seadra’s ears.
“Seadra—?!!”
Seadra was instantly provoked!
It suddenly lifted its head from the foam, the foam sliding down its spines.
Although it itself disliked its own hard spines for not being beautiful enough, being directly mocked by Swablu like this, and to its face!
It absolutely couldn't accept it!
In a mix of shame and anger, Seadra didn't even think, opening its mouth!
“Psh—!” (I'm a Dragon, not a fish!)
A precise and rapid little 'Water Gun' instantly shot out, crossing the bathroom doorframe, accurately hitting Swablu, who was still showing off on the bed!
“Swablu—!!!”
Swablu had no idea it would be suddenly attacked and was hit directly by the Water Gun!
Its fluffy, soft, cotton-cloud-like feathers were instantly drenched, sticking tightly to its body, its entire physique rapidly shrinking, turning into a disheveled, dripping 'drowned chicken'!
The icy feeling and the sudden attack first stunned Swablu, then boundless anger surged up!
“Swablu! Swablu! Swablu!!!” (Ugly fish! You! How dare you!)
It trembled with rage (though more from the cold), its soaked wings flapping with difficulty.
It suddenly flew up from the bed, rushing towards Seadra in the bathroom without a second thought, its tiny beak aimed at Seadra’s exposed head, ready to peck!
Seadra, seeing that the other party not only didn't apologize but dared to counterattack, also flared up in anger.
Watching Swablu charge furiously, it slyly took a deep breath, a strange purple glow appearing in its throat, and then—
“Phew—!”
A Dragon Breath, carrying a sweet, fishy scent and perfectly controlled in power, spewed forth!
This breath wasn't at full power, but Seadra had battled with Chen Kai for a long time; how could Swablu withstand it?
This 'Dragon Breath' carried an irresistible pushing force!
“Swablu-ya!!”
Swablu, having just taken flight, was directly blown by this Dragon Breath, tumbling several times in the air, then dizzyingly falling back onto the soft, large bed with a “splat.”
Although it wasn't injured, it was even more disoriented, and its feathers were even messier.
Seadra smirked disdainfully:
“Hmph, Seadra.” (Hmph, so it’s just a little weakling.)
Chen Kai was finally pulled back from his spaced-out state by this sudden “indoor water battle” and Pokemon conflict.
He and Miraidon turned their heads, looking at Seadra in the bathroom with a “it started it” expression, then at the wet, dazed, trembling Swablu on the bed, and the water stains on the carpet…
“You two…” His voice was filled with weariness and a hint of helplessness, “Don't you want to sleep tonight, is that it?”
He had only learned today, after scanning with his Pokedex, that Swablu was also female.
Name: Swablu
Type: Normal + Flying
Level: Normal Class (around Level 25)
Ability: Natural Cure
Gender: ♀
He walked to the middle to stop Swablu, who was about to fly over and peck again, and at the same time raised his hand to signal Seadra not to fight anymore.
Due to the Trainer's intervention, the conflict shifted from 'physical' to 'verbal,' but the intensity remained undiminished.
“Seadra!” (Drowned chicken!)
“Swablu!” (Hedgehog girl!)
“Seadra!!!” (Drowned chicken!!!)
“Swablu!!!” (Hedgehog girl!!!)
…
Chen Kai let out a deep, helpless sigh and rubbed his temples.
Miraidon raised its paw, patted Chen Kai, and comforted him, “Take it easy.”