Gyarados's Rain Dance was at the "Proficient" level, but it clearly couldn't compare to Dragonair's Rain Dance.
If estimated by skill proficiency, Dragonair's was at minimum at the "Expert" level.
Of course, this was because Dragonair naturally possessed the ability to manipulate weather at will, giving it a power boost to the Rain Dance move, something Gyarados couldn't match.
Splash! Splash!
Just then, two Dratini also leaped out of the water.
Seeing her children appear, Dragonair's emotions became even more agitated.
Whoosh!
Dragonair suddenly spewed scorching breath from its mouth, sweeping toward Caster on the shore and the dragon traitor who had lured it to bite the hook.
It was the Dragon Breath move!
Seeing this, Pikachu on Caster's shoulder immediately leaped up and deployed a translucent barrier in midair, blocking all of the Dragon Breath outside.
"Dragonair, I mean no harm."
Caster quickly stepped forward to state his intentions.
"I caught you only because I wanted to make friends with you."
But Dragonair had already entered fight-or-flight mode. It couldn't hear Caster's explanation at all and only wanted to defeat this detestable human and that damned dragon traitor.
With a fierce swing of its tail, Dragonair condensed a tornado that roared toward Caster. As it passed over the lake surface, it drew large amounts of water into it, forming a waterspout.
Meanwhile, Dragonair's main body hid within the tornado, waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack.
"Looks like I'll have to find a way to defeat Dragonair first."
Caster shook his head, feeling somewhat helpless.
At the end of the day, this was all his fault. He acknowledged that.
"Dratini, counter with Water Pulse!"
Buzz!
An cyan water-type energy ball condensed in Dratini's mouth, then was rapidly fired forward.
The moment it touched the tornado, the energy ball exploded into massive waves accompanied by peculiar vibrations. The vibrational waves spread outward in expanding rings.
Boom!
The waterspout was instantly dispersed by the vibrating water, breaking apart into countless raindrops that fell from the sky.
At the same time, Dragonair, which had been hiding within the waterspout, was unavoidably affected. The strange vibration waves disturbed its mind, causing its thoughts to become chaotic.
Dragonair had fallen into a confused state.
"Truly worthy of a 'Mastered' level Water Pulse. Not only is its power stronger than ordinary Surf, even the probability of triggering confusion is incredibly high."
Watching this scene, the corners of Caster's mouth lifted slightly.
In the games, Water Pulse had a twenty percent chance of triggering confusion.
But Dratini's Water Pulse proficiency was at the "Mastered" level, so the probability of triggering additional effects was naturally higher.
According to Caster's estimation, it was already approaching fifty percent—terrifyingly high.
Taking advantage of Dragonair's confusion, Dratini immediately used Extreme Speed to close the distance while dealing damage, then followed up with a point-blank Icy Wind.
Dragonair fell heavily onto the shore, its eyes spinning.
This Dragonair's energy intensity wasn't weak; in raw power alone, it even surpassed Dratini. But it relied almost entirely on instinct. It committed to large-scale attacks without probing first, exposed its position inside the waterspout, and failed to account for status interference. In contrast, Caster targeted weaknesses methodically. Once confusion set in, the outcome was already decided.
"Dratini~"
Seeing this, the wild Dratini was beside itself with rage and quickly moved forward to shield its mother behind it.
Although it knew it probably wasn't a match for the human, it was willing to fight for its mother until the very end.
"Dratini, I'm sorry for hurting Dragonair, but I really mean no harm!"
Caster raised both hands and cautiously approached, trying to make himself appear gentle and non-threatening.
"Dratini~"
Perhaps because it was naive and easily deceived, or perhaps because it saw the powerful dragon traitor at Caster's feet, the wild Dratini didn't dare act rashly.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Caster quickly took out a Potion spray and applied it to Dragonair's wounds.
Before long, Dragonair slowly woke up. Dratini cried out in joy and threw itself into its mother's embrace.
"Dragonair, you're awake?"
To prevent Dragonair from being triggered again, Caster kept his distance from the mother and child.
"Dragonair~"
Seeing Caster, Dragonair immediately shielded Dratini behind it, the wariness in its eyes not yet dissipated.
"Dragonair, I'm really not a bad person, and I have no ill intentions toward you or your child."
Caster smiled, trying to make himself look as gentle as possible.
"I heard that Dratini once appeared in the Safari Zone, so I brought my Dratini here to investigate. Come to think of it, my Dratini has never seen another of its kind before."
Dragonair listened in silence.
Caster could see that its hostility had lessened, but it still remained guarded.
If he truly meant harm, he wouldn't have healed it after gaining the advantage.
That thought seemed to reach it.
This was the moment.
Caster subtly activated the energy orbs stored within his fishing space.
Two faint glimmers appeared in his palm.
He gently offered one to Dragonair and one to her child.
"Dratini~"
"Dragonair~"
The moment they consumed the orbs, expressions of bliss appeared on both their faces. The lingering hostility in Dragonair's gaze vanished entirely, and Dratini even began circling Caster with visible affection.
"Do you want to eat bait? Come, have a bite."
Caster attached fresh bait and held it out to the naive wild Dratini.
This time, Dratini showed no hesitation and swallowed it in one gulp.
[Caught "Dratini," rewarded with 1 Dragon Rush TM.]
Looking at the reward displayed by his cheat ability, Caster couldn't help but grin.
"Mission accomplished."
The three dragons began playing by the lakeside while Caster immersed his consciousness into his fishing space.
Within the space, an cyan pearl floated gently up and down.
[Rest: Psychic-type move. The user enters a sleep state to restore all HP and cure all status conditions.]
[Ancient Dragon Orb: A pearl formed in ancient times by condensing a miraculous weather aura. After fusion, it allows a Pokémon to freely switch between sunny and rainy weather and slightly increases the power of Dragon-type moves.]
[Dragon Rush: Dragon-type move. The user tackles the target while emitting a frightening aura. May cause the target to flinch.]
"The ability to freely change between sunny and rainy weather?"
The descriptions of Rest and Dragon Rush were within Caster's expectations, but the effect of the Ancient Dragon Orb left him pleasantly surprised. His heart began pounding.
"Does this mean that if a Pokémon fuses with the Ancient Dragon Orb, it would gain an ability equivalent to a weather setter?"
He quickly shook his head.
"No. It's even better than a regular weather setter. Normal weather setters can only create one type of weather upon entering the field. But the Ancient Dragon Orb allows free control over both sunny and rainy weather at will."
The more he thought about it, the brighter his eyes became.
In addition, the Ancient Dragon Orb slightly increased the power of Dragon-type moves—another excellent bonus.
Splash! Splash!
Just as Caster was still immersed in his excitement, the Dragonair mother and child playing by the lake suddenly dove into the water and disappeared, leaving only ripples behind.
"Hmm?"
Caster and Dratini both looked puzzled.
The next second, a young trainer emerged from the rocky forest not far away.
When he saw the Dratini beside Caster, his eyes widened dramatically.
"Dra... Dratini?"
Shock flashed across his face, quickly replaced by overwhelming joy.
"So the legend about Dratini in the Safari Zone is true. There really are Dratini here!"
He completely ignored Caster.
Instead, he swiftly pulled a Safari Ball from his pocket and hurled it straight toward Dratini.