Pokemon: A New Path

Chapter 219: Forest Fire



Kosaji Town.

Dragonite slowly landed in front of a cozy mansion.

Naoki hopped off its back, walked up to the door, and knocked.

After a moment, Madame Dantes answered, her kind smile lighting up her face. She adjusted her reading glasses and gently said, "Come in!"

Naoki nodded and followed her inside. As they made their way to the living room, Madame Dantes said, "Half of the wool you gave me yesterday has already been made into fabric. At this rate, I should finish the rest in about two more days."

That meant the project would be done by August 19th.

Naoki had no objections. At Madame Dantes' invitation, he and Dragonite sat down on the sofa. Dragonite, being quite large, found the sofa a bit small and awkward, so it had to curl up, hugging its tail to make room.

Seeing this, Madame Dantes chuckled, "Dragonite is so adorable. Wait here for a moment, and I'll bring you some snacks."

"Oooh~"

Dragonite looked perfectly content despite its cramped position, happy to be here.

Naoki smiled politely, "Thank you, Madame Dantes."

"It's nothing," she said with a warm smile and headed to the kitchen.

As Naoki waited, he began mentally calculating the costs of getting custom-made clothes for Pokémon like Cyclizar.

Soon enough, Madame Dantes returned with a cup of tea for Naoki and a glass of berry juice for Dragonite.

She set the steaming tea in front of Naoki. "Here you go, Naoki."

Then she placed the glass of juice before Dragonite. "This one's for Dragonite, and here are some cookies I baked earlier. Help yourselves!"

"Oooh!"

Dragonite happily started munching on the cookies with its claws, clearly making itself at home.

Naoki couldn't help but ask, "Does Dragonite usually act like this when it's here?"

Understanding his question, Madame Dantes chuckled, "Dragonite's very well-behaved. Don't worry, I spoil it a little."

Naoki smiled awkwardly.

Madame Dantes lived in this small town with her husband, Wright, but Naoki had never heard much about their family. Judging by how much she adored Dragonite, it was clear she loved having the big dragon around.

Naoki made a mental note to send more ranch goodies her way. He decided not to dwell on the topic and instead turned to the matter at hand.

He handed over the measurements he had taken of Cyclizar earlier that morning. "Here are the height and waist measurements for Cyclizar."

Madame Dantes glanced at them and said gently, "Got it. I'll make the clothes according to these measurements."

Naoki asked, "How much should I pay you for this?"

Madame Dantes was momentarily surprised but then smiled and shook her head. "There's no need for money. I'm happy to help."

Naoki protested, "I can't just keep taking advantage of your kindness."

"It's only one set of clothes. Don't think of it as taking advantage. Consider it a gift from me to Cyclizar." Madame Dantes' voice was kind but firm.

Naoki sighed, "Alright, thank you very much for your help."

Madame Dantes beamed. "That's better! And honestly, we should be thanking you. If not for the fresh goat's milk you provided, Wright wouldn't have recovered so quickly."

Naoki was about to point out that she had paid for the milk, but then he realized that only Madame Dantes was present. "Where's Mr. Wright today?" he asked.

Madame Dantes laughed lightly, "Oh, him? He heard about some auction stalls opening at the Kosaji market, selling all sorts of items for trainers, and he rushed off to check it out."

Naoki smiled. "I see."

Finishing his tea, Naoki stood up. He thanked Madame Dantes again and said his goodbyes before heading back outside with Dragonite and flying back to the ranch.

Naoki had no choice. Since Mrs. Dantes wouldn't accept any money, he could only ask Dragonite to deliver some gifts from the ranch as a token of appreciation.

Looking at the crops, rock salt, berries, and fresh MooMoo milk arranged in front of it, Dragonite seemed confused.

"Oooo?" Dragonite tilted its head in puzzlement.

Naoki explained with a chuckle, "Since Madame Dantes won't take our money, we'll show our thanks with these gifts. If she ever needs help in the future and we lend a hand, I'm sure she'll thank us in a similar way. It's called 'human relations.""

So complicated...

Dragonite's head spun trying to understand, but after a moment, it gave up. It simply gathered up the gifts in its arms and flew off toward the town.

Alliance Calendar Year 198, August 18, Autumn.

Early that morning, Naoki was sleeping soundly, cuddling Pawmot when he was suddenly awakened by a loud alarm.

Naoki blinked groggily as he tried to shake off his drowsiness.

The sound persisted, growing louder, coming from somewhere near the ranch.

'Wait a minute... That sound...'

'It's the alarm from the town's fire department!'

A surge of panic jolted Naoki fully awake.

He wasn't the only one. Koraidon, who had been peacefully snoring on the bed, had also sensed something was wrong. It got up, walked to the window, and peered outside, a serious expression on its face.

The night sky was bathed in a reddish glow. Naoki quickly rushed to the window and gasped.

In the distance, flames blazed fiercely in the back mountain, lighting up the sky.

'Oh no! What Officer Jenny feared has finally happened!'

There was a fire in the back mountain!

This time of year, with the autumn leaves falling, dead branches and dried leaves were scattered across the ground like kindling. A fire in these conditions could easily spiral out of

-control.

"We need to help!"

Naoki quickly threw on some clothes and rushed into the living room where Koraidon was already waiting, alert and ready. He glanced at Cyclizar and Alcremie, who had been startled

awake.

"You two, stay here and rest," Naoki instructed gently, before racing outside with Koraidon and Pawmot close behind.

Just then, he saw Officer Jenny zooming by on her police motorcycle with her trusty Growlithe, headed toward the fire.

Spotting the lights on in the ranch, Officer Jenny made a U-turn and pulled up beside Naoki. Her face was serious as she called out, "Naoki, the back hill is on fire! It's dangerous here. The fire could spread to the ranch. You need to evacuate now!"

Growlithe barked urgently beside her, "Arf! Arf!"

But Naoki shook his head firmly. "I can't leave! This ranch is my home. It's where me and my Pokémon worked so hard... I have to protect it!"

"Where's Dragonite?"

Naoki shouted, and soon Dragonite flew over from the grass.

Dragonite, still groggy from being woken up, arrived at Naoki's side in a bit of a daze. But when it saw the serious expression on Naoki's face, it quickly snapped to attention.

"Do you see that?" Naoki pointed toward the back mountain, where flames were blazing into

the sky.

Dragonite turned its head and saw the red glow lighting up the sky. The whole dragon

immediately woke up.

Naoki quickly gave instructions, "Please, use Rain Dance! Make it rain around the area like

last time!"

Dragonite, sensing the urgency in Naoki's voice, nodded firmly before taking off toward the

back mountain.

Miss Jenny, who was watching, was momentarily taken aback by what she saw, but she quickly regained her composure. "If you want to help, follow me!" she said with determination. Naoki nodded, mounting Koraidon, and together they followed Miss Jenny toward the back

mountain.

As they arrived, Naoki could see that many humans and Pokémon had already gathered at the foot of the mountain. The situation was dire, and the flames had spread far and wide.

A firefighter ran up to the captain, his voice filled with worry. "It's no use! The fire's too big. Our Water-type Pokémon can only cover a small area with Rain Dance-it's not enough to stop the fire completely!"

The captain's expression was grim, but he remained composed as he issued an order, "Set up an isolation zone around the back mountain to prevent the fire from spreading to the fields

below!"

Just then, another firefighter rushed over. "Sir! Our helicopter has spotted a group of Pokémon trapped in the heart of the fire! They're... they're working together to fight the

flames!"

The captain's face tightened with concern. "We need to organize a rescue team immediately!" "Yes, sir!" the firefighter responded before hurrying off to relay the orders.

At that moment, large, dark clouds began to gather in the night sky. Under the light of the fire,

the shadowy clouds were stark and clear.

Then, with a deafening crack of thunder, it began to rain.

Huge, bean-sized raindrops pelted the burning land below.

The firefighters looked up in awe and relief. It was raining! Naoki breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness we made it in time..."

The rain intensified, quickly becoming a downpour. As the cold rain met the fiery blaze, the

back mountain was filled with the sound of crackling as the fire struggled against the

torrential downpour.

The flames were no longer spreading and gradually began to die down under the relentless

rain.

Soon, the fire was reduced to embers, and what was once a roaring blaze was now just smoldering ashes covering the charred land.

Everyone huddled under the fire truck's shed, watching the rain pour down outside.

Naoki, along with Koraidon, joined Miss Jenny and the other firefighters. Some of the firefighters, overwhelmed with emotion, murmured through tears of relief, "It's

over... thank goodness, it's over."

Miss Jenny, however, remained composed, scanning the area as she asked, "What's the

current status?"

The firefighter captain's tense expression eased a little. "The casualties are still unknown. We'll have to wait until the fire is completely extinguished to assess the situation." Miss Jenny asked, "Do we know what caused the fire?"

The firefighter captain sighed. "A trainer camping in the back mountain forgot to put out

their campfire before resting. When they woke up, the fire had already spread. They quickly

rode their flying Pokémon to contact the fire department."

Hearing this, Miss Jenny's face darkened. Just as she feared, this type of negligence had

caused the disaster.

At that moment, a surprised voice suddenly echoed from the captain's headset.

The middle-aged firefighter, eyes red from fatigue, thought there was another emergency.

He immediately frowned and barked, "Report the situation!"

"It's... it's Dragonite!"

Up in the sky, the firefighter piloting a helicopter to drop water bombs gazed in shock at the

scene below. Amid the night sky and heavy rain, a powerful and majestic Dragonite was flying above, surveying everything with calm authority.

The Dragonite flapped its wings, creating powerful gusts of wind that turned the falling rain

into a storm, directing it toward the flames that were still burning.

The firefighter quickly pieced it together.

This wasn't a random storm. The rain and winds were being controlled by this Dragonite!

In awe, he reported back. "It's a Dragonite! It's controlling the rainstorm and guiding it to

extinguish the fire. It's also creating winds to manage the rain's direction. Wow... What a

powerful Dragonite!"

"What?"

The fire captain on the ground was taken aback, his face filled with astonishment.

'A Dragonite? Where did a Dragonite come from?'

'No, wait-how could a Dragonite possibly wield such immense power?'

'Can a Dragonite really summon a torrential downpour of this magnitude?'

Miss Jenny was also surprised when she heard the report. She turned to look at Naoki, who

stood quietly nearby.

"Naoki?" Miss Jenny asked hesitantly, "Is it your Dragonite?"

Naoki nodded slightly. "Yes, that's it."

Miss Jenny's eyes widened.

That meant Naoki was the one who stopped the fire!

Upon hearing the conversation, all the firefighters nearby were stunned.

One of them stammered in disbelief, "Wait... is that Dragonite really your Pokémon?"

Naoki, looking a little sheepish, replied, "That's right."

Another firefighter, recognizing him, chimed in, "Wait a minute, I know you! You're Naoki, from Naoki Ranch! Aren't you a rancher? How do you have such a powerful Pokémon?" Naoki: "..."

How was he supposed to answer that?

He knew well that, in the eyes of most people, a rancher was just a humble, ordinary farmer.

And, to be fair, he could understand why people might be shocked. It's like hearing that aNôv(el)B\\jnn

farmer who grows crops suddenly started crafting high-tech machinery with their bare hands. "Hey, watch your mouth!"

The firefighter captain was the first to snap out of it. He glared at the firefighter who asked,

then turned back to Naoki. With a wide grin, he clapped Naoki on the shoulder with a big, firm hand and said:

"Well done, Naoki. On behalf of the Kosaji Town Fire Department, I want to express our sincere thanks!"

Miss Jenny, standing beside them, also looked visibly relieved. She gave Naoki a serious

salute and said, "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the police station too. It's all thanks to you,

Naoki."

"It was just a small favor," Naoki replied modestly, shaking his head.

At that moment, Miss Joy, who was in charge of rescue operations, arrived with her Chansey in

tow. They jumped out of their vehicle and hurriedly ran under the shelter to escape the rain.

"What's the situation?" she asked, looking anxious.

Miss Jenny responded, "The rain has weakened the fire significantly. But we're not sure about the injuries to the wild Pokémon yet. There's still a lot of work to do."

"I see..." Miss Joy's usual gentle demeanor turned into one of deep concern. Naoki quietly stepped aside, observing the expressions of everyone around him.

While the fire was under control, there wasn't a sense of relief. No one was smiling.

The reason was simple: stopping the fire was only the beginning.

The real challenge lay ahead-the recovery after the fire.

With winter approaching, the trees and plants scorched by the flames wouldn't have time to

regrow in just a few months.

And with so many wild Pokémon living in the back mountain, even if they survived the fire,

how would they make it through the harsh winter without food?

It was clear to everyone that the ecosystem of Kosaji Town's back mountain was in jeopardy.

Naoki felt a pang of helplessness. But then, an idea came to him.

'No, maybe it wasn't hopeless after all.'

If he could invite the King of Bountiful Harvests, then the damaged ecosystem could be

restored.

Not only that, but the presence of the King could also inspire faith and hope in both the humans and Pokémon of the town. The land might thrive again, faster than anyone thought

possible.

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