In the forest.
"Just drop me off here, I'll make my way back tonight... I might not even come back, so don't bother picking me up."
Baimu turned over and climbed down from Lei Gong's back, setting Mawile on the ground and casually speaking.
Lei Gong: "..."
I never said I was going to pick you up.
It didn't want to engage, lest this guy starts asking for more unreasonable demands, allowing him onto its back this morning is already regrettable enough.
After all, for a long time, it had never let anyone onto its back.
It didn't expect to break the rule for Baimu, a human little ghost whom it had known for less than a week.
"Roar!"
Lei Gong let out a low growl, its massive body agilely leaping high, spanning several meters in a single bound, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished into the forest with continuous jumps.
"This guy... Is its original form not a tiger but a kangaroo?"
Baimu was a bit confused as to why it chose a leaping style of running.
Mawile looked at the completely unfamiliar surroundings, pulling at his pants, "Chiduo?"
"Another three kilometers or so forward."
Baimu pointed towards the west, from the current viewpoint, one could vaguely glimpse the blurred outline of human structures.
According to Da Wu, nowadays the largest population in Meteor Village is still the elderly and children, there are young adults but not many... Would bringing a Fairy Attribute Pokémon lead to being seen as a provocation?
But today, it's Mawile's turn, what can one do.
It's not a big problem.
Unless the Meteor People are a bunch of unreasonable folks, the probability of being viewed as hostile is small, at most just release Hydreigon.
Baimu approached Meteor Village with an extremely peaceful mindset.
Then——
"Ah! Who goes there~!"
A short figure with a rather abstract dragon head mask, with a coarse voice, suddenly jumped down from a big tree, posing an attack stance that seemed a bit odd.
Closely followed was a blue-skinned little dinosaur whose head looked like it was styled into a slicked-back hairstyle.
"Tatsi!"
Bagon shouted at Mawile beside Baimu's feet.
Mawile slightly frowned, not engaging with the somewhat dim-witted young dragon similar to Hydreigon.
However, in the end, it couldn't help but ponder whether all Dragon-type Pokémon are like this.
Are they?
Aren't they?
Meanwhile, Baimu, looking at the quirky costumed masked person, replied:
"If I must say, it's a hometown recognition."
"Hometown——Huh? Hometown recognition?"
The masked man was suddenly stunned in place, then casually took off the dragon head mask, revealing a wrinkled, aged face.
"Huh?"
Baimu was also dumbfounded.
He thought someone so short would be a little kid, but it turned out to be an elderly person.
"Are you that Baimu?"
The elder seemed to have heard of his name, quickly stepped forward to closely observe his face, eyes slightly cloudy with a hint of disbelief.
"It's me."
Baimu nodded slightly and said, "I happened to travel to Fallarbor Town, then something occurred, so I came over to take a look, sorry for the intrusion."
"——No intrusion! No intrusion, coming home can't be called an intrusion?"
The elder seemed to have confirmed something, his face blossomed with a chrysanthemum-like bright smile, incredibly kind saying: "Good child, you have suffered along the way, come quickly and follow me! Enter the village! I'll take you to see the Elder!"
He grabbed Baimu's hand, leading the way towards Meteor Village.
"Uh... Thank you..."
Baimu was forced to step forward, exchanging a glance with Mawile beside him, feeling this elder was somewhat too enthusiastic.
Are the Meteor People all this united?
Of course, having someone show the way is better than stumbling in aimlessly.
Through the vigorous forest.
A wide-open basin immediately came into view, the distant Rock Mountain housing Meteor Falls could still be seen, but right in front of them sits a tranquil village.
An array of Japanese-style wooden houses scattered neatly throughout, statues of Rayquaza and its signature scale patterns visible everywhere.
The sky was filled with flocks of Swablu and Altaria chirping and flying by, in a carefree manner, occasionally accompanied by Vibrava and Flygon, though relatively few.
On the ground.
Some bald sandy areas filled with various sized pits, undoubtedly created by Trapinch, awaiting someone with fate to bite——
Though it's unlikely to find such fools, it's part of their natural behavior.
The grasslands contained numerous playful Bagon and Shelgon, occasionally looking up at the Swablu and Altaria in the sky, revealing an appearance of great yearning.
"Why don't I see Salamence..."
Baimu was somewhat puzzled.
The elder guiding them turned upon hearing this, to clarify his doubt, "As for Salamence, most have been taken out by their trainers. Meteor Village has a tradition where the young Dragon-type Pokémon are entrusted to someone for cultivation. As long as they cultivate well or reach the final form, they're permitted to embark on a journey.
"Others have gone to the depths of Meteor Falls, that's their home, also where they gather and quietly reproduce daily, generally returning only at night."
The elder pointed towards Meteor Falls.
"I see."
Baimu nodded knowingly, realizing Meteor Village's model is similar to Unova Dragon Land, where cultivating Dragon-type Pokémon tasks are received.
Only, Meteor Village has slightly higher demands, Dragon Land has no requirements for traveling outside.
Meanwhile.
As the two swaggered into the village, they immediately attracted numerous gazes from the Meteor People.