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After passing the scrutiny of those weathered veterans, the Dragonite quickly led David back down to where the young Pokémon were staying — which turned out to be the same spot at the foot of the mountain where David had first seen the Dratini playing along the shore.
"Roar~ Roar~..."
Once they arrived, the Dragonite explained that David was free to approach any Dragon-type Pokémon here until the Dragon Festival officially began the following day. He could challenge them to a battle to win their trust, or try any other approach — as long as the Pokémon itself was willing.
With that, the Dragonite turned and left, pausing briefly to look back at David and call out once more before going. If David had caught it right, it sounded something like encouragement.
He couldn't help but smile. He raised a hand in return, then turned and headed toward the young Pokémon.
David's first stop was the beach.
Beyond the Dratini he had noticed earlier, he now spotted Horsea and Feebas moving through the shallows as well. He thought about it for a moment and decided it made sense. Not every Trainer who came for the Dragon Festival would succeed in earning the recognition of a pseudo-legendary cub. The Dragon Festival drew plenty of hopeful participants each time, but most went home disappointed. Capturing a pseudo-legendary here was not something that simply happened because you showed up.
The Pokémon in the Ten Thousand Dragons Nest were not like ordinary wild Pokémon. As the top S-rank Secret Realm it was, resources were never in short supply, and many of the older Pokémon here had once traveled the outside world alongside Moore family Trainers. Their standards reflected that experience. A Trainer who expected to win them over easily would find themselves humbled quickly.
Most who came with high expectations ended up settling for something else. And even that required genuine effort, because in the Ten Thousand Dragons Nest, forcibly capturing a Dragon-type Pokémon through battle was forbidden unless the Pokémon itself consented to the challenge. When a young Pokémon agreed to a battle as a way of deciding, it at least meant the Trainer had made some impression — that the Pokémon did not outright dislike the idea. Getting to that point, however, was where most people struggled. Many of the pseudo-legendary cubs simply refused to engage at all.
Still, pseudo-legendary Pokémon were not the only option at the Dragon Festival. The Pokémon gathered here were generally of excellent aptitude — most at least purple-level, with the lower end sitting at blue-purple.
Running a quick scan across the group of Horsea and Feebas playing in the shallows, David confirmed as much. Several registered at purple or deep purple aptitude. But one Feebas in particular stopped him.
It had reddish-purple aptitude.
Now that the system had flagged it, David looked more carefully and could actually see the difference. Its scales caught the light with a faint luster the others lacked, and its eyes — typically the glassy, listless expression Feebas were known for — held just a hint more life to them.
[Name: Feebas]
[Type: Water]
[Gender: ♀]
[Energy Level: 18 (Normal)]
[Ability: Adaptability]
[Aptitude: Reddish-Purple]
[Held Item: None]
[Moves: Dragon Breath, Dragon Pulse, Mist, Brine, Iron Tail, Attract, Splash, Tackle…]
David let out a low breath. Hidden ability — and it had already inherited both Dragon Breath and Dragon Pulse? That kind of Dragon-type move inheritance pointed to a very strong Dragon bloodline. This Feebas was almost certainly descended from a pairing between Milotic and a Dragon-type Pokémon somewhere down the line.
Feebas were not rare by any measure. They were one of the most widely distributed Water-type Pokémon in the world, second only to Magikarp in sheer population. But a Feebas like this one was a different matter entirely.
David glanced at it one last time and moved on. His goal was a Dragon-type partner, and this Feebas was not it. He did find himself wondering, though, whether anyone else at the Dragon Festival would have the eye to notice what it was.
Those qualified to participate would already have access to a high-quality Prism Scale. And if this Feebas were ever to evolve, the Milotic that emerged from it would likely carry light-red aptitude — an immediate and dramatic jump in power. Milotic was already one of the strongest Pokémon below the pseudo-legendary tier. A Milotic at that aptitude level would be worth more than most pseudo-legendary cubs.
Whether anyone would recognize it was their business, not his.
He passed the Horsea and Feebas and made his way toward the Dratini.
Even without having awakened the Dragon-Taming Power, the Moore family bloodline in him seemed to put the Dratini at ease. None of them shied away. A few of the smaller ones even slithered closer, tilting their heads to look at him with open curiosity, as if they would not have minded at all if he chose one of them then and there.
Their aptitudes were solid — consistently above purple-level on average. For any Trainer, a Dratini like one of these would be almost impossible to say no to.
David looked at them for a while. Then he kept walking.
None of them had grabbed him. And if he was going to be here, he might as well see everything before deciding. Making up his mind this quickly would be doing himself a disservice.
He left the beach and headed toward the mountain. The Dragon-type Pokémon that preferred drier conditions would be up there — the ones he had seen earlier when they first arrived.
It looked like a short walk from the shore. The Dragonite had made the distance feel like nothing both times it carried him. On foot, it was another matter.
David walked at a steady pace for nearly half an hour before reaching the base of the mountain.
As soon as he arrived, a small group of Trapinch surfaced nearby, popping up from the ground in little bursts of dirt. They took one look at the unfamiliar human standing not far away, let out startled squeaks, and dove back underground just as quickly.
David stared at the empty dirt for a moment, his expression flat.
He pressed on. From Trapinch to Axew, Noibat to Jangmo-o, Gible to Frigibax — he moved through the mountain, taking his time with each group. There were some impressive individuals among them, more than a few that would have been easy choices for most Trainers. But none of them made him stop.
At some point, while he was turning things over in his mind, he realized he had wandered off without paying attention to where he was going. He looked up and found himself at the base of a sheer, barren cliff face. No Pokémon in sight. He muttered quietly under his breath and turned to head back.
Then, at the edge of his vision, something fell.
A shape dropped from somewhere above and tumbled through the air directly in front of him.
David's eyes locked onto it before it even hit the ground.
One look, and there was only a single thought in his mind.
That's the one.