Dragon Nest.
There's still some time before dark.
After understanding Hydreigon's daily behavior, Baimu and Elder Qing Liu didn't leave the "Kindergarten."
Instead, they took out the crafted saddle.
"Growl!"
Upon seeing the saddle, Hydreigon's eyes quickly lit up. Unlike the somewhat slow Trainer, it almost immediately recognized what the item was.
"Want to try riding it? Do you still have the energy?"
Baimu asked with a smile.
Hydreigon's three heads nodded rapidly, eagerly twisting its body toward the Trainer, its tail wagging like a propeller and its back rising and lowering as it approached him, "Growl! Growl!"
Come on! Come on!
"Don't rush." He studied the placement and orientation, quickly finding the correct way to use it.
The saddle's raw material is a kind of synthetic leather and thickened fabric, very durable and resistant to pulling. To ensure safety, a safety strap is specially installed, with the only metal part being a crossbar as a handhold.
It has a similarity to the ride Pokémon in Alola, albeit more lightweight and foldable, thoughtfully accommodating him as a traveler.
Sitting on it is also quite stable, and the backside doesn't feel uncomfortable temporarily.
Not sure about long durations.
"Uncomfortable?"
Baimu leaned down, bringing his head close to Hydreigon to inquire about its feelings, like if there's anywhere uncomfortable or painful—
None at all.
Only barely suppressed excitement.
"Growl!"
Hydreigon threw its heads back and roared like an unleashed dog, quickly flapping its six flipper-like wings into the sky, ignoring the gazes of other dragons.
It had long wanted to carry the Trainer for a flight.
Having been unable to safely carry a rider due to its body structure, it could only watch other Pokémon take their Trainers, but now it finally fulfilled its wish, excitedly spinning in circles mid-air.
Looking like a spinning top.
Initially, Baimu got a thrill similar to a roller coaster, which could not be obtained by riding Flygon or Steelix.
But as the rotation speed increased, Hydreigon showed no signs of stopping.
The thrill gradually turned into discomfort.
"Stop! Stop!"
Baimu shouted loudly. Seeing Hydreigon not stopping, he directly reached out to grab the flaring hair on its neck, forcing the middle head backwards, "Stop!"
Hydreigon, whose scalp was strained causing its face to twist, finally slowed down its rotation.
"Idiot! Do you want to kill me to split the inheritance and return to your Dragon Land?"
He slapped its head swiftly and, hearing its aggrieved whining, released his grip. Some Pokémon, if not strictly controlled, would do foolish things, and Hydreigon is one of them.
Now looking around.
Baimu suddenly realized he was high above the ground; dozens of meters higher, he might be able to touch the clouds.
Looking down, the Dragon Nest transformed from a basin-like mountain terrain into an irregular circular bonsai, with Meteor Falls' mountain ranges appearing much smaller, and various meteorite craters coming into view.
Even the ancestral land not far away was clearly visible.
"The high sky truly offers a panoramic view..."
He murmured softly, yet found many Swablu swiftly flying past, and higher still, a few Hoppip swaying with the wind overtaking them.
Undoubtedly due to Hydreigon deliberately flying slowly to enjoy this moment longer.
"Why don't we speed up a bit?"
"Growl~"
Hydreigon responded softly, but its speed showed no signs of increasing.
Baimu: "..."
Alright.
Flying slowly is fine too, let's discuss important matters.
The high-altitude cold airflow blew by, producing subtle noise like a giant fan rotating, flying too fast is indeed not suitable for conversation.
He sorted out his words, adjusting it to a level that Hydreigon could understand, warning it to never run off to dark caves to do strange things with any female Dragon-type Pokémon, or Pokémon belonging to the dragon egg group.
Don't go into the woods either!
If not obedient, he would be particularly angry.
Hydreigon heard the Trainer's unusually serious tone, and already annoyed with entanglement, its three heads nodded frantically, firmly declaring it would keep clear of unfamiliar female Dragon Pokémon.
"That's more like it. You're still too young to meddle in such affairs."
Baimu nodded with satisfaction.
He never thought one day he'd have to consider his own Pokémon's lifelong matters, while he himself is still in a state of solitude.
Piplup?
This one is different; he's well aware that Piplup is purely entertaining, and Mawile's personality also destined it to have a hard time finding a suitable mate.
Hydreigon is still too young and undeveloped in many ways, don't think it's currently wholly uninterested in female dragons; it's merely not at the age of awakening. In the animated world, Pokémon are creatures with normal reproductive desires.
He wouldn't want to inadvertently become the owner of a breeding dragon.
Oddly enough, Hydreigon being so popular is quite intriguing; perhaps it's dashing? Yet so coquettish with bad breath.
Speaking of which, does Ash Ketchum's Charizard in Charizard Valley get similar treatment?
"Laying eggs..."
Baimu gazed at the distant appearing Meteor Village, pondering deeply for a moment.
——
Days passed calmly without any disturbances.
Meteor Falls remained peaceful, and the absence of Rocket Team was causing Baimu some distress.
If he hadn't had confidence in Lei Gong, he might have gone to apologize to Da Wu and the elder for delaying them unnecessarily for so long.
To be honest.
While obviously it's better for Rocket Team not to show up, he secretly thought it might be easier if they just came.
After having such a ridiculous thought, Baimu quickly chastised himself.
Seeing the inevitable drop in vigilance among Zheng Fang and the rest at Meteor Village, he hesitated to raise the issue, because if they asked when Rocket Team would come, he couldn't answer.
Should he just pretend it didn't exist?
After all, the elder completely showed no intention of blaming him...
This slightly anxious mood inevitably affected the Pokémon—
Issues arose in the coordination between Blissey and Mawile.
During Altaria's intensified training, Blissey's singing indeed improved, successfully creating notes that dramatically weakened hypnosis effects to produce vivid sound effects, enhancing the musical senses of both Mawile and Baimu significantly.
But the two couldn't synchronize in melody and dance.
Blissey involuntarily tried to accommodate Mawile, speeding up its singing whenever Mawile danced too quickly, causing Mawile to speed up to match the song's rhythm.
Eventually, they fell into a crazy accelerating loop.
Amusingly, Baimu attempted to control the rhythm using his guitar upon witnessing this spectacle, only to be consumed by Blissey and Mawile's "head-on collision," failing to fulfill the role of a leader.
It turns out inheriting a musician's guitar memories doesn't necessarily mean inheriting their musical talent.
Of course.
Baimu considered removing Mawile's dance segment to focus solely on the auditory and visual effects produced by singing and other moves for a colorful performance, hoping the coordination would proceed more smoothly.
Mawile threatened to stomp on his foot in a refusal.
Upon reflection, this situation was hardly unexpected; all along Blissey coordinated with Mawile in a supportive role. Becoming the leader suddenly proved challenging, even if it understood the need to seize control, it couldn't resist trying to accommodate Mawile.
Covering his eyes to avoid watching?
That would be missing the essence; singing and dancing aimed to serve a more dazzling performance, not merely to perform.
Every aspect was quite bothersome.
The three often sat in a row after practice, sighing silently as the day set for the Gorgeous Competition approached with only three days left.
Would it be enough in three days?
Baimu had already started considering delaying for another seven days or so.
However, amidst these frustrations, there were reasons to be happy, such as the improvement in the jumping height of the Shiny Feebas which was inching closer to the top of Dragon Gate Waterfall.
Comparatively, it has made significant progress from a few days ago.
It's likely it won't take much longer to successfully leap over the Dragon Gate Waterfall.
Baimu never imagined that the Pokémon that once troubled him the most now seems to be the most promising and hassle-free.
Oh, and there's Porygon.
Initially unable even to balance, Porygon could now speed through uneven dirt roads at forty miles per hour, leaving most Bagon far behind, except for the flying Swablu and Vibrava.
It's estimated that it won't be long before it turns into a small motorcycle.
Overall, the independent Pokémon were progressing rather smoothly, contrary to Blissey and Mawile, which had stagnated due to his influence.
"When will these days end?"
Baimu pondered.
Meanwhile, several kilometers above in the sky, inside a cloaked massive airship, another group of people shared similar sentiments.
"We can't continue living like this anymore!"
One Rocket Team member moaned plaintively, while other Rocket Team members in the control room expressed indifferent agreement, worn out.
They had been lingering above Meteor Falls for nearly two weeks.
Their hesitance to act stemmed from the keen vigilance of Dragon Nest Pokémon, which left no opportunities, accompanied by an increasing number of suspicious figures around Meteor Falls.
While they themselves were undoubtedly the most suspicious group, the excessive presence of unidentified individuals deterred Rocket Team from taking risks.
Did the secret leak out?
Theoretically unlikely, yet in recent days the depths of Meteor Falls have seen Meteor People with powerful Dragon-type Pokémon wandering around.
Prompting further hesitations.
If given the choice, they really wouldn't want to make a grand commotion.
Moreover, the so-called Super Stone Mine currently seemed mere wishful thinking of a handful of clumsy scientists; no traces were found.
The sub-base at Chimney Mountain previously reported detecting vast amounts of Super Energy, but after half a year yielded nothing, even encountering Lei Gong and being wiped out by a mysterious woman.
Apart from collecting a few scarce Super Stones and Key Stones, the organization's investments in Hoenn Region couldn't be recouped.
This led to a desperate idea to target Meteor People—
More precisely, by stealing.
According to one research scientist's study of Hoenn's historical documents, Meteor People are the group that first mastered Super Evolution, intrinsically connected to Super Evolution.
"Stop complaining, I too want to return to land and find some amusement, but completing the mission is more crucial." The heavily muscular fair-haired man with sunglasses laid back in the directing seat, feet placed on the control panel, hands resting behind his head, spoke in an incredibly deep voice.
His outer calmness didn't betray the inner agitation,
"Alright..."
The Rocket Team members responded weakly.
Suddenly.
A silver-haired man entered from outside, "Pusen! It's time to change targets!"
"Hmm?"
Pusen quickly stood up and looked at his old partner Bashu, "Change targets? What do you mean? Weren't you going to investigate the Super Stone Mine?"
Ignoring that line of questioning, the silver-haired man swiftly approached the computer and tapped a few keys, revealing a map on the windshield, "Look in the southeastern direction of Meteor Falls, at that village over there."