Master Craftsman of the Pokémon World

Johto region, Blackthorn City.

Pokémon Center.

This city stands among the mountains and is home to all Dragon-type trainers.

Blackthorn City has many Dragon-type Pokémon and is responsible for delivering mail throughout the Johto region. Some remote mountain areas and far-off places rely on Dragon Pokémon for long-distance flights. Not too long ago, the local Pokémon Center did a check-up on these Dragon Pokémon who were out delivering mail.

One Charizard drew the Center's attention. Recently, its workload has increased, and its delivery speed has become incredibly fast—much higher than before.

At first glance, this might be good news. However, the sudden jump in speed seemed suspicious to the Pokémon Center staff, so they called in Clair, the Blackthorn Gym Leader and a Dragon Pokémon expert.

Although Charizard isn't a Dragon-type by default, it's in the Dragon Egg Group, so it's counted as a "Dragon Pokémon" here!

Clair, the Blackthorn Gym Leader, has blue hair, a tight blue outfit, dark-blue thigh-high boots, plus the must-have item for every Dragon tamer—a black cape.

Accompanying Clair is her cousin, Lance, the current Champion at Indigo Plateau and the "Dragon Master," also known as the "Flying-type Master."

However, Lance came here mainly to mail a few items. He had just finished chatting with Hikaru and rushed over. Then he found out about the odd Charizard situation.

"So this is the Charizard?"

Clair examined the Charizard and ran some tests. The results left her quite surprised. Compared to other Charizard, this one's speed had substantially increased, almost reaching the level of Dragonite, which is known for its swiftness.

Speed is a key Pokémon stat. Typically, it affects which Pokémon moves first in a battle. But in real life, it also literally affects flight and movement velocity.

In the usual moveset, there are also techniques like Agility and Tailwind, which clearly boost a Pokémon's movement speed as well as their initiative in battle.

Hence, an increase in Speed's individual potential influences not just who moves first in combat but also a Pokémon's actual traveling speed in daily life!

"It's definitely an unusual jump, yet there's no harm to the Charizard's body. Actually, it looks even stronger. What in the world happened?"

Clair looked questioningly at the burly Charizard. It puffed out its chest confidently, roaring loudly.

"Oh, it seems pretty happy about this boost. Tell me, which route has it been working on recently?"

Standing next to Clair, Lance finally spoke. He studied the excited Charizard thoughtfully, looking as if he'd figured something out.

"Let me see…" Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center took out a stack of paperwork and carefully checked the Charizard's delivery history.

"It's marked as being to the 'Shinto Region.'"

"Shinto? What's that?" Clair blinked, and Lance froze for a moment before bursting into laughter: "Aha, so that's it!"

"Charizard, you must have gotten something nice from one of your customers, right?" Lance patted the Charizard, which jumped in surprise. It definitely hadn't told anyone. How'd he figure it out?

"Char!" Charizard groaned, a bit unwilling to admit it.

Lance crossed his arms confidently. "Relax, I understand. I'm guessing it wasn't like you demanded anything from them. Probably the customer gave you something to make deliveries easier?"

Charizard scratched its face with a claw: "Char…"

"Cousin, what are you talking about?" Clair was confused. She turned to Charizard, hands on hips, scolding, "What's going on? Spill it!"

"Char!" Seeing no way to hide it, Charizard walked over to its work box and pulled out a meticulously carved wooden Charizard figure.

"Knew it!" Lance's eyes lit up. He hurried over and picked up the ancient-looking sculpture for a closer look, with Nurse Joy and Clair also coming over to examine it.

"What an old carving. Is it some kind of ancient relic?" Nurse Joy wondered, flipping through Charizard's records again. Indeed, there were many sculpture-related shipments in the log.

"No, it's a replica, made by a very skilled craftsman," Lance confirmed the sculpture's origin. "But right now, I can't sense any special power from it."

"Maybe that's because Charizard already used it?"

Charizard nodded, letting out a couple of "Char, char" sounds, indicating that the sculpture lit up once and never lit up again. Now it's just a collectible.

"A carving that can raise a Pokémon's speed? I've never heard of such a thing. Could it be carved from some special wood?" Clair was puzzled. She turned to Lance, suspicious, "Why did you guess it right away?"

Smiling confidently, Lance replied, "Because I'm also a regular at that shop!"

"Thanks to that incredible craftsman's items, I managed to beat my rival Lorelei! Now my team of dragons is truly invincible!"

"Speaking of which, if this carving can boost speed for Dragon-type Pokémon, I'd like to buy a batch to make my Dragon team even stronger!"

"Wait!" Clair blinked in confusion. "Cousin, are you saying you beat Lorelei?"

"That's right. Let me explain." Lance paused, remembering he hadn't done much to promote Hikaru's shop yet. That was an oversight.

But it's not too late to share now!

"The so-called Shinto Region is actually an area bordering Johto and Sinnoh. There lives a very skilled maker of special items. He can craft all sorts of remarkable battle and non-battle tools. Using his items grants incredible buffs to Pokémon!"

"Before, I bought an item from him called a 'Focus Sash.' With it, even if a Pokémon is hit by a normally one-hit KO attack, it can stay standing and keep fighting. Actually, if a Pokémon's bond with its Trainer is strong enough, it can endure multiple hits without going down!"

"It's thanks to that that my dragon team defeated Lorelei's ice team!"

Lance puffed his chest, exuding an air of absolute confidence. Clair stared at him wide-eyed.

"You're making this up, right? A shop that sells items like that?"

"Hmph, I know words alone aren't enough to convince you. But I've got the Focus Sash right here. You can see for yourself."

From under his cape, Lance pulled out a Focus Sash. Who knows where he was hiding it. He handed it to Clair and also forwarded Hikaru's shop info to Clair and the startled Nurse Joy.

"I came here to pick up some deliveries, so I'll give this Focus Sash to you!"

Taking the sash, Clair looked it over thoughtfully, then turned back to Lance, her eyes suddenly shining.

"So if I can also buy items suited for my Dragon Pokémon, I can beat you, right?"

"Uh…" Lance suddenly remembered how competitive his cousin was.

"You still need more training—"

"Oh, come on! You only beat Lorelei because of that item!" Clair lowered her head, scrolling through the shop's wide range of goods on her device, her eyes growing ever brighter.

"We're both dragon trainers, but you never acknowledge my strength! Well, now that I can buy high-grade items, if I beat you, you'll have to shut up!"

"Hmph, even picking the right item can be tricky for you." Lance tried to rain on her parade."I chose Focus Sash specifically to counter the Ice weakness. But we both have Dragon Pokémon, so maybe Focus Sash isn't always the best choice."

"That's because some of your dragons aren't even Dragon-type!" Clair snarked.

Waving his hand, Lance said, "Anyway, if you want to buy suitable items to fight me, go for it. I'll be waiting at Indigo Plateau."

"Sometimes you have to accept failure to move forward."

He then opened his own device to browse Hikaru's store at high speed.

Now that we have items like these, battles might change drastically!

I can't be overconfident. I should get some new gear. Lance thought it over and quietly sent a private message:

["Shop owner, do you provide advice on move and item combos?"]

(End of Chapter)

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