"Not at all!"

  Before Lance could even finish his sentence, August cut in decisively.

  He had already missed out on the chance to catch a Dratini, and now that another opportunity had presented itself, there was no way he was letting it slip away.

  Some might ask why he didn't first inquire about what kind of Pokémon it was before making a decision… but August didn't think that was necessary.

  After all, any Pokémon chosen by Lance for his secondary team couldn't possibly be bad, right?

  This was his trust in Lance's judgment!

  As for the personality issues Lance mentioned, August wasn't concerned in the slightest.

  First, he possessed the [Viridian Power], which made communication with Pokémon exceptionally easy. Many supposedly difficult Pokémon posed no challenge for him.

  Second, he had Gardevoir.

  As the undisputed ruler of both the nature preserve and the wild zone, Gardevoir might behave docile and gentle in front of him, but in the eyes of other wild Pokémon, she was an undeniable queen.

  So… let's take it!

  Lance hadn't expected August to agree so quickly and was briefly stunned.

  But he quickly smiled. "Well, if you're willing to take it, that's perfect. To be honest, I've been struggling to decide where to pce this little one."

  As he spoke, he pressed the button in the center of an Ultra Ball.

  "Come on out and meet your new Trainer!"

  A fsh of white light burst forth.

  A small, light blue Pokémon with a silver-gray, rock-hard skull appeared before August.

  "Bagon!"

  "This is… a Bagon?"

  Though August had anticipated that any Pokémon given by Lance wouldn't be ordinary, he was still slightly surprised.

  Bagon—Shelgon—Samence.

  Its final evolved form, Samence, was one of August's all-time favorite Pokémon.

  Meanwhile, Bagon blinked its big eyes upon seeing August.

  Without the slightest hint of wariness, it trotted straight over, hugged August's pant leg, and started rubbing against him.

  "Doesn't seem like there's any personality issue?"

  August had already prepared himself mentally—whether this Bagon was timid, aggressive, or antisocial, he had ways to deal with it.

  But from the looks of it, there was no issue at all.

  In fact, it was so naturally affectionate that he didn't even need to put in any effort to bond with it.

  Lance shook his head with a helpless expression. "That's what I thought at first too. Just keep watching…"

  Huh?

  Hearing that, August lowered his head again and looked at Bagon.

  At that moment, the little dragon was gazing up at him with big, watery eyes, clutching his pant leg with one hand while pointing at its open mouth with the other.

  "Bagon!"

  With [Viridian Power], August easily understood what it meant.

  Hungry!

  Bagon clung tightly to August's leg, looking as if it wouldn't let go unless it was fed.

  …

  After fetching a portion of Pokémon food and giving Bagon a few energy cubes—ones he had recently crafted using a recipe obtained from the system—August finally managed to free his leg.

  "This is the personality fw you were talking about?" August asked, watching as Bagon devoured the food ravenously, looking utterly satisfied.

  He still didn't quite understand. So far, it just seemed like this Bagon had a big appetite.

  Lance was an Elite Four member, after all. There was no way he couldn't afford to feed one Pokémon, right?

  Seeing August's puzzled expression, Lance shook his head. "Just wait a little, and you'll understand."

  He then gnced toward Bagon.

  At the same time, August noticed something peculiar.

  This Bagon… was eating really fast.

  No, not just fast—absurdly fast.

  Under the watchful eyes of both trainers, Bagon finished an entire day's worth of food—enough to sustain a Dratini for a full 24 hours—in just five minutes.

  Arceus only knew how it managed to pack all that food into its little body without even the slightest bulge in its stomach.

  Then…

  With those same big, watery eyes, Bagon looked up at August again, its expression practically screaming: More!

  August's mouth twitched.

  Okay, now he got it.

  He scooped out another portion of food for Bagon.

  Lance spoke up. "When I first got this Bagon, I noticed its insatiable appetite."

  "Apart from this one fw, it surpasses others of its kind in every way—its physical strength, its speed in mastering moves, and even its fighting spirit."

  "I had some researchers from the Pokémon League examine it, and they concluded that this Bagon was born with an exceptionally strong physique. The trade-off, however, is that it requires an enormous amount of food to sustain normal growth."

  "It spends most of its day either eating or sleeping to digest its food. That alone makes it impossible to fit into my training schedule for the secondary team."

  "I see…"

  August stroked his chin, now understanding why Lance had given up on training this Bagon.

  Its gluttonous nature was just a surface issue—the real problem was that its excessive eating and digestion time left it with no room for structured training.

  Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon already took a long time to raise.

  And this particur Bagon needed double the time. No wonder Lance had decided against keeping it.

  However, August wasn't particurly concerned about Bagon's voracious appetite.

  In fact, he already had an idea.

  "I understand. I'll take good care of this Bagon."

  August looked down at the now-sleeping Bagon, curled up beside his leg, and smiled.

  Lance hesitated. "Don't force yourself. If it's too much, I can take you to the League's Pokémon storage and let you pick a starter instead!"

  "If Bagon really doesn't work out, I can keep it myself—it's not a big deal."

  …Wow.

  Elite Four members really were loaded.

  But August wasn't about to give up on Bagon.

  "No need. I really like this little one."

  He activated [Viridian Power] and gently stroked Bagon's head.

  Bathed in the soothing energy, the sleeping Bagon seemed to be having a sweet dream, a blissful smile forming on its face.

  "Well… alright then."

  Since August was firm in his decision, Lance didn't press further. He simply handed over the Ultra Ball and added,

  "As for Bagon's food expenses—if you ever feel overwhelmed, you can submit a report and apply for a special breeding subsidy."

  "There's a subsidy for this?"

  August had been a ranger for two and a half years, but he had never heard of such a thing.

  "Normally, no. But…"

  Lance gave him a knowing wink.

  August understood instantly.

  …Well, if it was that easy to squeeze money out of the League—

  "In that case, please help me apply for as much as possible!" he said, keeping a completely straight face.