"That's right, there should be a Sun Stone here." Zheng Fang walked into the pit, somehow pulled out a hammer, and with a thud, struck the surface of the meteorite.
"Wait—"
Bang bang bang!
Like a blacksmith, Zheng Fang rudely treated the meteorite and quickly cracked the outer layer, revealing an orange stone inside shaped like the sun, "Sure enough, there's a Sun Stone, hey!"
He tossed it over to Baimu, "You probably need this more than I do, consider it a meeting gift."
Baimu caught it quickly, nodding with a complex expression, "Thanks... but won't hitting it so hard damage the stone? Aren't you worried?"
"What? This is how we do it."
Zheng Fang cluelessly dug into his ear.
Baimu: "..."
Baimu felt that if this conversation were recorded and shown to Da Wu, Da Wu's goodwill towards the Meteor People might decrease several levels. That man treats stones like they're his wife!
"In any case, Solrock manifests its new companions through meteorites containing Sun Stones, similarly Lunatone uses meteorites with Moonstones to reveal new companions, though both of their activities occur at night." Zheng Fang jumped out of the pit.
"I learned something new."
Baimu nodded; the world of animation is indeed magical, even the birth of Solrock and Lunatone is so incredible.
Seeing them deep in thought, Zheng Fang suddenly became alert, patting their back, "Let's go, let's go, we're almost at the Dragon Nest, a place the giant dragons especially love to gather!"
"Alright!"
Baimu was indeed captivated by the term Dragon Nest.
In the game, Meteor Falls only has inner and outer areas and upper and lower levels; there's no Dragon Nest location, much like how there's no Dragon Sanctuary in the dragon cave in Yanmo City, probably a special place existing only in the animation background.
However, the Dragon Nest wasn't as close as Zheng Fang had claimed; they circled around for a good twenty minutes before successfully reaching a glowing exit, seeming to be on their way out.
They stepped inside, eyes immediately met with a white haze.
As their eyes gradually adjusted to the sunlight, Baimu lowered his hand revealing a surprised expression.
"This is—"
The sight before them was a lush jungle completely covering the meteorite crater, with a rushing stream surrounding the jungle, cascading from a waterfall further away.
Numerous Dragon-type Pokémon played here, including the fully evolved Salamence, Dragonite, and Kingdra, as well as Bagon, Dratini, and Horsea, even Druddigon and other Dragon-type Pokémon from later generations were present.
Of course, there were also some that weren't Dragon-types.
Dragon-type Pokémon of various generations played here carefree; they were initially cautious upon seeing the two but relaxed upon recognizing Zheng Fang's attire.
The Meteor People and the wild Dragon-type Pokémon of Meteor Falls have coexisted for thousands of years; they're quite familiar with each other and naturally wouldn't attack casually.
[Dragon Nest].
A paradise for dragons perfectly unfolded before Baimu's eyes.
It was entirely different from the barren, devoid of any flowers or trees, boss-lair-like images he'd imagined.
It was as beautiful as the Dragon Sanctuary.
Seemingly nestled within a valley.
"What do you think! Isn't it breathtaking?"
Zheng Fang proudly looked at Baimu; no one could remain calm upon seeing the Dragon Nest; ordinary people were already like this, let alone Dragon Tamers, surely by now he'd already be itching to pull out his Pokeballs—
Hm?
He didn't take them out!
Zheng Fang was astonished seeing Baimu's extremely restrained hand, more surprised than witnessing the Molten Rock Armor; he couldn't imagine a Dragon Tamer being able to hold back.
The prior record of genealogy proved beyond doubt that Baimu was a member of the Meteor People; evidently, this guy possessed incomparable tenacity!
Terrifying! What a terrifying man!
Meanwhile, the Mawile at Baimu's side silently tugged at his clothes, "Chidah."
Calm down a bit, your heartbeat's about to sound like thunder.
"Hiss..."
Baimu quietly inhaled, steadying his surging emotions; he had already decided, he'd definitely use clues in the Dragon Nest later.
Dragon-type Quasi-Gods, just choose one!
"Can, could you introduce them?"
He glanced at the slightly dejected Zheng Fang beside him, "There should be many non-wild Pokémon in the Dragon Nest, right?"
"Ah, yes."
Zheng Fang nodded, "Some Dragon Pokémon here were left by deceased predecessors; they wish to live and reproduce as close to Dragon Tamers as possible. The Dragon-type Pokémon you see, which the outside world thinks aren't originally from the Hoenn Region, came from this."
"Understood."
Baimu nodded.
The animation differs from the game; people actually exist, so they bring Dragons from other regions back, and as they reproduce, many dragons within the Dragon Nest aren't supposed to exist in the Hoenn Region.
That's normal.
Xiaochun specially went to the Jackola Islands in Super Wishes to capture a shiny Druddigon, and Lance used a Hydreigon in the Grandmaster Tournament during his journey; it's impossible for them to release Pokémon back to their original habitats after passing away, right?
Eventually, those Pokémon from other regions reproduce in different places, gradually expanding.
Some, affected by environment changes over time, might be called such-and-such Region's form.
Meanwhile,
Zheng Fang led Baimu on a tour of the Dragon Nest, trying to arouse their interest in Dragon-type Pokémon through this method, but alas the latter continuously acted extremely "calm."
Unable to bear it, Zheng Fang slumped to the ground in disappointment, "Baimu, I've rarely truly admired anyone in my life; you, I salute!"
Baimu: "???"
Soon,
After inspecting the Dragon Nest's various areas,
Zheng Fang inquired of familiar Dragon-type Pokémon.
When he learned from them that no strangers had intruded, he warned them once more before relaxing slightly.
Baimu's words were kept in mind by Zheng Fang; he himself knew human technology sometimes couldn't be resisted by Pokémon.
Arriving at another cave entrance,
"Let's go, the old village is just ahead."
Zheng Fang pointed ahead.
Baimu, seeing the Dragon Nest's scene, could more or less guess what kind of village the Meteor People used to reside in.
Indeed,
Passing through the tunnel, the sight before them was similar to the Dragon Nest's vibrant scenery; numerous ancient and complex single or double-story Japanese-style buildings scattered about, though the atmospherically appeared desolate due to years of abandonment.
In the village center, a grand temple far exceeding the scale of the Dragon Temple in Meteor Village stood silently, the torii before the gate and the giant Rayquaza statue in the courtyard filled with the marks of history.