Nina hardly needed to explain what a Pokeball was to Dratini. Her new partner was a fast learner and had already grasped the concept during the viewing of the Safari Zone video.

The moment that Nina expanded her Safari Ball, Dratini booped his nose on the button, disappearing in a flash. The Ball didn’t even shake as the button lit up once, making a satisfying noise to indicate a successful capture.

Nina simply sat in a daze, reveling in her long awaited moment. She was now a Pokemon Trainer in all but name. However, the moment didn’t last as her Pokegear once again buzzed angrily at her to get moving.

“Dammit Kumiko…” Nina released Dratini from the green camo patterned Pokeball as she replied to the frantic woman. “Dratini, go ahead and say goodbye to your family first. We need to be leaving soon.”

Nina replied to Kumiko’s text message: “Sorry, got held up by sad pokemon. Give me five minutes to say my goodbyes and I’ll be on my way. Please don’t be too upset.”

Dratini was now being swarmed by his sibling in a group cuddle. It seemed the little ones finally caught up on what was happening. Dragonair nuzzled her head against the departing Dratini, then began singing a beautiful melody.

Sharp howls and low moans suffused the cavern walls. Everyone went silent as they became entranced by the Dragon’s song, feeling a peculiar mix of sadness and delight at the same time. It was a song of departure and new beginnings, sounding both melancholic and hopeful at the same time.

By the time it ended, Nina felt a trickle of tears running down her cheeks. A sentiment shared by Dratini as he was bawling his eyes out, nuzzling fervently against his mother. Dragonair hummed sounds of assurance to her child before gently pushing her away, signaling that it was time to go.

Dratini slithered away reluctantly, slowly going towards his new partner at a deliberate pace.

“Are you sure about this, buddy? It’s still not too late to change your mind,” asked Nina. But Dratini simply shook her head and gave her a resolute nod. “Alright, let's go then.”

Dratini took one last look at his family before returning to his Ball. And Nina performed another curtsy. “Thank you for entrusting me with your child. I will do my best to ensure he reaches his full potential. And I swear I won’t divulge the location of your nest to any outsiders,” swore the girl.

Dragonair let out a satisfactory cry and Nina dove back into the water where she came from.

***

To say that Kumiko was unhappy with Nina when she returned to the lake was an understatement. The woman was fuming so hard that she could see smoke coming out of her ears. “I sense a lecture coming…”

“Before we start, Kumiko. May I return Lotad to the lake first? Please, I owe him that much at least.”

Kumiko nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Nina felt quite guilty that she had left her new friend alone in the pond for such an extended period of time. They were having such a good time in Dragonair’s nest that they had completely forgotten about the Lotad.

So she offered to carry him back to the lake, while his other two friends dove back down to play with the Dratini some more. Nina was assured that Poliwag and Staryu could make their own way back. Likely using Staryu’s underwater route that they skipped over just now.

“Thanks Lotad, I wouldn’t have found my new partner without you. I don’t have any more Berries to share but I’ll make sure to grab you some apples before I leave.” Nina winked. “Don’t tell the other two, okay? It’ll be our secret.”

Lotad quacked in response then steadily drifted away from shore.

“I’m surprised you didn’t keep the little guy. I bet he’d be willing to come along.”

Nina looked up to see Stephen approaching her. From the looks of his face, it seemed that the man was trying to rescue Nina from his wife’s wrath. Something that Nina greatly appreciated.

“I’m sure he’d be willing if I asked, but Lotad is part Grass Type and I have… What’s the opposite of a green thumb? A black thumb?”

Stephen laughed at the girl’s confusion. “Yeah I get what you mean. I’m really bad with plants as well.”

In her past life, Nina had always been team green. Miles always went for the Grass starter because he always thought they looked cooler and/or cuter. However, in the actual Pokemon world, rearing a Grass Type required a trainer to also be a competent botanist. Which was something that she simply did not have the drive for.

“Nina!” Yelled Kumiko. But before she could continue, Charlie excitedly ran up to his friend and interrupted his mother’s flow.

“Nina, Nina! Guess what?”

Nina happily played along of course, if it meant delaying the inevitable. “Did you catch your starter, Charlie?” She answered while giving the boy a cheeky grin.

“You bet I did!” He exclaimed, before throwing out a Safari Ball. “Come on out, Poliwag!”

A flash of light, and what came out was indeed the swirly tadpole pokemon. It wasn’t the same one that Nina had befriended. In fact, this one was clearly female, based on the direction of its belly swirl.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Great choice,” praised Nina. “Poliwrath will be a Fighting and Water Type, so you can take advantage of both your parent’s knowledge to train her up properly. And if you ever decided you wanted to specialize, you could always pivot to Politoed instead.”

However, Charlie’s shoulders slumped at the girl’s praise much to her bewilderment. “I’m sorry, Charlie. Did I say something wrong?”

“You were supposed to ask me why I chose Poliwag…” He muttered, eliciting a laugh from Nina.

It seemed the boy had intended to show off by explaining his rationale to the girl he liked, only for said girl to steal his thunder.

“It’s okay, buddy. We all know how smart you are. Otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten into the Vermillion Flame right?” That seemed to cheer him up a little. “Just make sure not to over rely on your parents, okay? It’s always better to form your own methodology,” continued Nina.

“She’s right, son. Your mom and I want to see you become a trainer good enough to surpass the both of us. You can’t do that if you’re hanging by our thighs your whole life.”

Charlie gave a determined nod at his father’s advice.

Then it was finally time for Nina to face the music as Kumiko loomed over her, growling like an Arcanine. “Nina…”

Nina turned around sheepishly and cranked up her charm. “I’m sorry for making you worry, Kumiko. I swear I have an explanation.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Asked Kumiko, a clear edge in her voice.

“I… Well, it’d be easier if I just show you. Do you mind giving me a bit of space?”

Everyone backed away a few steps at Nina’s request. The girl did not want to overwhelm her sheltered pokemon with the presence of too many people in one go.

Taking in a deep breath, Nina took out a Safari Ball. Everyone watched with bated breath as the girl summoned a long, noodly, eel-like creature.

Kumiko was the first to gasp. “That’s… Nina, that’s a Dratini!”

“Tini!” Cried Dratini, as he excitedly looked around at his new environment then went up to the blue haired lady who called his name.

“Tin tin Dratini!” Greeted the little Dragon as she nuzzled against Kumiko’s hand

Nina chuckled at her partner’s friendliness, making a mental note to educate Dratini about stranger danger.

“I think he’s trying to introduce himself, Kumiko.” Nina lightly clapped her hands to get the Pokemon’s attention. “Hey buddy, I’m right here.”

Dratini snapped his head at the familiar voice of his partner, cheerfully rushing into Nina’s embrace. “Tiiin!”

“There’s my handsome prince. Do you like it here? It’s nice to get some sun, huh?”

Dratini purred against Nina, but just as quickly got distracted when he laid eyes on Charlie and his Poliwag, slithering over to say hi. This repeated itself multiple times with each member of the group as Dratini marveled in fascination at all the different looking humans.

“I know you said there might be some of them here. But how in Arceus did you manage to actually capture a Dratini?” Asked the bewildered Stephen.

Nina hesitated. “I… I can’t say. Rather, can I trouble you to request a private meeting with Mr Masayuki when we get back. I need his advice.”

Stephen recognised the severity of her tone and gave her a serious nod in return. “Will do. In the meantime, you might want to keep Dratini in his Ball until Masa gives the okay. No point attracting any unwanted attention.”

Nina felt a little bad because she had wanted to show Dratini around the area where he had unknowingly lived in his whole life. But she understood Stephen’s reasoning and readily complied.

***

“You’ve really gone and done it huh, girlie? Can’t believe Victoria actually let you get away with taking one of hers.”

“Victoria is the Dragonair?” Asked Nina in return. She and Masayuki were currently alone in a conference room.

“Yeap, no idea who named her but she does kinda seem like a Victoria doesn’t she?”

Nina recalled the regal matriarch of the Dratinis and giggled. “She kinda does.”

Nina looked towards Dratini who was in the midst of curiously examining a projector, giving himself a fright every time he saw his distorted reflection in the projector lens. The reserved demeanor of the mother Dragon was quite a stark contrast to her son’s unbound enthusiasm for all things new and interesting.

“This is okay… right?” Asked the suddenly timid girl.

Masayuki raised an eyebrow at the question.

“I mean for me to take Dratini away like this.”

Masayuki hummed. “Little girl, the Safari Balls are designed the way they are for a reason. If Noodles over there was unwilling, you wouldn’t have been able to contain him. Besides, you captured him in the presence of his mother, a full grown Dragonair. If she took issue with it then you’d be a stain on her nest right now, not talking to me.” Assured the Ranger.

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just… I don’t know if I’ll be able to take good care of him. All the publicly available information that I managed to find regarding Dratini’s species indicate that they’re very sensitive creatures, requiring clean water and the right environment to grow up right. My family and I live in a two bedroom apartment in Cerulean City. I doubt that’s the ideal environment for a fledgling Dragon.”

Masayuki chuckled and ruffled Nina’s hair, much to her annoyance. “Well girlie, I can tell you care and that’s already the most important part.”

“Care and affection can only do so much when your Pokemon is sick and starving,” interrupted Nina.

“However,” continued Masayuki. “I think you’re misunderstanding something here. Have you ever thought that all the information you found on Dragon Types feel a bit iffy?”

Nina nodded. “Dragon Tamers are a secretive bunch and they often jealously guard their secrets.”

“That is true,” affirmed the older man. “But what about the League? It’s easy enough to find official records on the lifestyle and habitats of Growlithe for example. They even willingly released information on the fact that Arcanine, a previously Legendary Pokemon, evolved from using a Fire Stone on Growlithe. But what about Dragons?”

Nina ruminated on the question, trying to recall any available information for the Dragonite line in the public database. Getting access to Pokedex-like information without an actual Pokedex wasn’t impossible, but it was a bit of a challenge.

However, before she managed to think up anything of note, Masayuki provided the answer. “Dragon Types are dangerous, even among Pokemon. You’re right that those egotistical Dragon Tamers aren’t big on sharing, but that’s only part of the story. The League is also intentionally holding back on giving out information related to Dragons as well.”

Nina sat up in attention at the revelation, trying to work out the underlying rationale behind such a decision.

“Not only that, but they also intentionally muddy the waters by throwing in some filth from time to time.”

“Because they don’t want bad actors to easily get their hands on Dragon Pokemon…” Realized Nina.

Knowledge was power, and if villains like Team Rocket had a complete understanding of Dragon Types; where to find them, how to cow and manipulate them. They would be a nightmare to deal with.

“Ne’er-do-wells are a fact of life,” stated Masayuki. “And you gotta understand that a single rogue Dragonite can destroy an entire town if you get them angry enough. The world is already struggling enough with rampaging Gyarados as it is. We don’t need to add Dragons to the pile.”

Dragons also had an innate sense that enabled them to discern the character of a human. Hence why Giovanni isn’t flying around with a Dragonite. But a Dratini hatched and raised in captivity wouldn’t know any better.

“It all makes sense now…” Mumbled Nina. “But it still doesn’t solve the problem. Rather, it makes it worse! How am I supposed to take proper care of Dratini if I can’t even get basic information about his diet?”

“Tiin?”

Sensing his partner’s distress, Dratini climbed up to Nina’s lap and booped her on the nose. The girl giggled.

“Thanks buddy, you always know how to cheer me up,” said Nina as she reciprocated the boop.

Masayuki chuckled. “Don’t worry girlie, we’ve been looking after Victoria and her brood for years now. While we try to be as hands off as possible, there have been times where we needed to step in every once in a while. I can compile some basic information for you on how to care for Noodles over there. It won’t be anything too extensive though, else I’ll get in trouble with the League.”

Nina thanked the senior Ranger profusely for his kindness.

“Don’t mention it. When I say basic, I do mean basic — you’ll know what to feed him and how to avoid accidentally killing him and stuff. But don’t expect anything advanced like movesets and training regimes.”

Nina shook her head. “No, that’s all I need. I’ll figure out the rest on my own. Training a Pokemon wouldn’t be fun if you have a cheat sheet to look at.”

Masayuki let out a boisterous laugh, mildly startling Dratini’s sensitive ears. “Attagirl, that’s what I like to see in a trainer. Oh, and don’t worry about that clean water stuff. It’s all nonsense. Your boy is a proud Dragon, not some fragile Milotic. He can handle tap water just fine. I mean I dunno if you’ve heard, but there’s a whole island of Dragonite somewhere out there and sea water is anything but clean.”

“Huh, that actually does make sense…” It had been a long time since Nina watched the Pokemon anime, not since Miles’s childhood. But she did kind of remember the Dragonite island that Masayuki mentioned. “Maybe we can go visit once Dratini is fully evolved”