Before long.
The wobbly Steelix arrived near Meteor Falls.
To avoid being too flashy, it tried to fly close to the treetops. Unfortunately, this approach only ended up scaring the wild Pokémon in the sky first, then the wild Pokémon on the ground.
Imagine how any Pokémon picking Tree Fruit would feel if they looked up and saw a huge creature flying overhead.
It's like the feeling of an airplane flying ten meters above your head.
After Baimu noticed this, he decisively ordered Steelix to fly a bit higher, worrying that Miss Jun Sha might come looking for him again.
Luckily, the vicinity of Meteor Village doesn't seem to be under Miss Jun Sha's jurisdiction.
"Almost got invited for tea."
He jumped off at the familiar cave entrance and patted Steelix's huge teeth.
"Roar?"
The latter couldn't understand anything.
"Ha… it's normal not to understand. Anyway, thanks for your hard work, take a short break." Baimu thanked Steelix, initially planning to call it over for some bonding, but now it seemed more like he was calling over a flying vehicle.
Lets reward it properly tonight.
He recalled Steelix into its Pokéball and stepped towards the interior of Meteor Falls.
After coming here two or three times, he naturally remembered the route, getting lost was difficult. Even more strangely, the wild Pokémon no longer ran away when they saw him, at most giving him a glance before continuing their own tasks.
"Could they see a Meteor People title floating above my head?"
Baimu pondered for a few seconds and dismissed this unrealistic fantasy.
Maybe they've remembered my scent.
As he passed through the roaring Dragon Gate Waterfall, the Pokéball containing the Shiny Feebas shook gently twice, seemingly wanting to come out and continue challenging.
"Don't rush, take a good rest."
Baimu patted the Pokéball.
Yesterday when climbing the waterfall, this guy collided with a wild Magikarp that fell, resulting in losing quite a few scales, which made him very upset.
But the Shiny Feebas itself showed no reaction, as if it didn't feel the pain.
He understood it was because it considered climbing past the Dragon Gate Waterfall the most important thing in its life, even injury wasn't in its focus.
Seeing that, Baimu gave all the Pokémon a break.
It's good to have earnest desires, but too extreme and obsessions aren't.
Soon he passed the domain of Solrock and Lunatone, these two Pokémon have quite fixed schedules; one wanders with sunlight, the other with moonlight.
On cloudy days, they all rest.
Such peculiar ecological traits are rare in the games.
Finally, the Dragon Nest was in sight.
Baimu slowed his pace walking out from the cave, immediately catching the attention of two Shelgon resting near the entrance.
The three exchanged looks, then the Shelgon silently lay down, calmly turning their gaze away.
"… There's really no title hovering above my head?"
He glanced up, blue sky and white clouds drifting, nothing else.
It's only his second visit to the Dragon Nest, yet these Dragon-type Pokémon recognize him? How extraordinary.
Baimu was originally prepared to call over Hydreigon, but seeing this situation now, he felt an impulse to see what Hydreigon was up to.
Thus, he walked along the river on the edge of the Dragon Nest, searching for Hydreigon's figure.
He walked forward while being watched by various Dragon-type Pokémon.
Though none came to bump him or bite him, it inexplicably made him feel a bit creepy, why were they staring at him? Did he have flowers on his face?
He didn't quite understand.
Thankfully, this situation didn't last long. Baimu soon heard the raspy voice of his own Dragonair, only his family's Hydreigon could sound so energetic even while hoarse.
He hurried towards the direction of the sound, then witnessed a scene that nearly made his jaw drop.
Hydreigon was being surrounded, dragged by various Dragon-type Pokémon, constantly being rubbed against all over its body, and they were even posing strange belly-up gestures.
"Sizzle…" Hydreigon looked at them in distress, its expression full of confusion and doubt.
"Seeking... partners?"
Knowledgeable Baimu immediately saw through the intentions of these fellows, his face rapidly changing after a moment of shock. He quickly ran in Hydreigon's direction, shouting as he ran, "Underage! No way! Absolutely not! Let go of my dragon! You shameless creatures!"
Hydreigon was only a little over a year old, though it had evolved into its final form, it was still young! Seeking mates is absolutely out of the question! At least until it's five!
He couldn't accept his underage little dragon being tempted by the female dragons in the Dragon Nest, this couldn't even be considered as pushing the boundaries, it's criminal! Absolutely criminal!
And upon hearing its trainer's voice, Hydreigon's face showed joy, it cried out as it freed itself from the female dragons' binding, flying over in joy and tears.
"Sizzle——"
It held Baimu's hands with its two mouths and rubbed cheeks, putting on a terrified look.
Since being strictly prohibited by Aggron and other Pokémon from biting the Trainer's head, it can only express its affection in this way, but it feels unexpectedly good.
Not far away.
The female dragons looked at each other, all showing strange expressions when they saw this scene.
"Scatter! All of you scatter! Stop thinking about those things all day long, really!" Baimu pulled out one hand, trying to shoo away those Dragon-type Pokémon.
But these wild Dragon-type Pokémon weren't so obedient; instead of leaving, they actually approached.
Until a roar came from above his forehead.
"Shaaaa!!"
The female dragons shuddered and simultaneously retreated.
Baimu pulled out his other hand and discreetly wiped it twice on Hydreigon's fur, looking at it with some surprise, "You're quite powerful, scaring them all away with just a roar?"
"Shaaaa~"
Hydreigon looked at him proudly, swinging its tail with a cocky attitude, slapping his leg with a "pah-pah-pah" sound.
"That hurts, don't hit so hard."
Baimu smiled and patted its head, then ran to the nearby stream to wash his hands, to prevent the saddle made by Elder Qing Shan from being corroded by saliva.
However, before he could take out his backpack, a short figure emerged from the bushes beside, followed by a group of Dragon-type Pokémon coming to watch.
"I wondered who it was, a bunch of dragons running over to shout at me, turns out it was you! Baimu Boy!"
The visitor was none other than Elder Qing Liu, who had initially brought him into the village.
"Grandpa Qing Liu! Why are you here?"
Baimu asked in surprise, "Weren't you at the village entrance?"
"Oh, just came over to take a look!"
Elder Qing Liu beamed upon hearing the word "grandpa," his expression instantly softened, "Here to pick up your Worldly Demon?"
He froze, "Worldly Demon?"
Then immediately turned to look at Hydreigon.
Hydreigon, feeling guilty, turned all three heads away, refusing to meet the Trainer's gaze.
"Why do you say that? Did it cause trouble?" Baimu chose to ask Elder Qing Liu.
"No trouble really."
Elder Qing Liu pinched his not-so-long white beard and smiled, "Your dragon was exceptionally quiet when it first came to the Dragon Nest, totally different from when it's with you, I thought I was seeing things."
"...Then?"
"Then it got targeted."
Elder Qing Liu stated matter-of-factly, "In the Dragon Nest, every dragon must find its place; though it looks like prosperity now, it's actually due to the hierarchy having been established."
Baimu, hearing this, formed a rough idea of the upcoming content and examined Hydreigon's fur but found no wounds.
As expected.
"When your dragon arrived, it didn't greet the 'big brother,' which made three young Salamence target it. These strong guys have always been the tyrants here, almost all the females admire them greatly."
Elder Qing Liu inexplicably produced a smoking pipe but didn't light it, just pretended to puff, "Your dragon is so big, attracting a lot of female attention, seen as a challenge, so they planned to beat your dragon up, but the result... look over there."
He pointed the pipe towards a distant cave where three Salamence, looking rather unnatural, were crouched.
"They were no match, defeated in one go."
Elder Qing Liu sighed deeply.
Baimu nodded and looked at the pipe, "What's with this?"
"Quit long ago, but sometimes habitually pull it out." Elder Qing Liu waved his hand and put the pipe away, "Anyway, after one battle, another would come. Your dragon has fought ten rounds, winning all ten, looking so fierce that dragons fear it, becoming the strongest among the young dragons. At least before Xijana's Salamence arrived, it was like this."
"Then why isn't it injured..."
"There's a spring over there, the water has healing properties, and your dragon didn't suffer serious injuries, so it healed quickly."
"I see!"
"Speaking of which, I'm curious about the personality of your dragon, how on earth did you train it to be so fierce, it even scares me." Elder Qing Liu asked curiously.
"Just trained it normally... is it really fierce?"
Baimu looked at Hydreigon, which rubbed its big heads against his face, showing no hostility, seeming increasingly like a Husky.
He couldn't help but imagine this fellow having two dragon personalities.
Elder Qing Liu continued, "But you should be happy for it, finding a mate won't be a problem. So many female dragons in the Dragon Nest, whether of the same species or other species, all fall for it at first sight."
"Uh, let's talk about this later... it's still young..."
"Young?"
Elder Qing Liu looked up at the Dragonair, much larger than typical Hydreigon, with a question mark on his forehead.
"I mean age! It's only a little over one year old! A little over a year is definitely not acceptable, this isn't even about puppy love, it's absolutely out of the question."
At this point, Baimu was like a conservative parent.
Which made Elder Qing Liu laugh heartily.