Chapter 850: Home of the Dragons

In the snow.

The hoverbike sped along in solitude.

The Galarian Zapdos had completely vanished beyond the horizon; even the snowdrifts kicked up by its frantic dash were no longer visible, leaving behind only a narrow, trampled path in the snow.

"Too fast..."

All Baimu furrowed his brows, while Mawile beside him angrily urged its Trainer to continue accelerating.

It wasn't exactly being "stubborn"; it was just that when the Galarian Zapdos had thundered past them, a large portion of the white snow it kicked up had slammed directly into the sidecar's windshield.

Mawile considered this a rather malicious provocation!

He shouted, "The throttle is already floored!"

His voice was swallowed by the howling wind and snow.

All Baimu, who had previously claimed he wouldn't dare race in the snow, had pushed the speed to 150 miles per hour—which, converted, was nearly 240 kilometers per hour!

He hadn't dared to drive this fast even on the sands of the Orre region, yet here he was, drag racing in the Crown Tundra.

But you have to admit.

It was unexpectedly thrilling.

The dragon head wasn't as hard to control as he'd imagined, and the whistling cold wind rushing past was nothing compared to the thumping of his heart, which beat in sync with the engine's roar!

The possibility of wild Pokémon appearing in front of him at any moment made his palms sweat slightly; it was truly exhilarating!

Setting aside the need to chase the vanished Galarian Zapdos.

He actually enjoyed this feeling and suddenly understood why some people loved racing and loved watching others race. It was a completely different experience from flying on a dragon.

Hydreigon would never let him get into danger, so the initial thrill he felt soon faded away.

The awkward part, however, was that while his blood was boiling and his whole body felt restless, in reality, he was still only eating the Galarian Zapdos's "exhaust."

Half a tank of fuel was already gone...

Where did the bird go?

Did he lose it?

That shouldn't be possible! There were still tracks of it running in the snow!

His expression shifted between frustration and confusion.

The thrill of racing and the annoyance of being unable to catch up to the Galarian Zapdos intertwined, making him feel particularly uncomfortable.

Finally.

Under the high-speed dash, the bike successfully crossed the frigid Frostpoint Field, and the snow-covered ground melted into lush green grass, causing the Galarian Zapdos's tracks to vanish as well.

Suddenly, a large number of ruins appeared in the surroundings, and these ancient traces forced him to slowly decelerate.

Giant's Bed.

The site of ancient ruins in the Crown Tundra.

Registeel and Regirock, two of the Galarian region's legendary titans, had their own ruins here, which was also the place where one would encounter the steed of Calyrex—Spectrier.

This damn bird didn't fly off, did it?

All Baimu braked to a stop, looking blankly in the four cardinal directions, and Mawile stood up from its seat.

"Chiduo..."

In a spot where its Trainer couldn't see, it rubbed its waist and bottom; because the speed was so high, even the hoverbike had been incredibly bumpy, and it had really suffered.

After searching carefully in all directions, he still found no signs of the Galarian Zapdos's activity.

The corners of his mouth twitched as he said, "Is that it? I really just ate its exhaust the whole way!"

It seemed to be over.

The first legendary Pokémon encounter event since arriving in the Galar region...

How embarrassing.

He had clearly intended to have some intimate interaction with the Galarian Zapdos, but who knew he wouldn't even pass the speed-racing phase required to gain its recognition.

He had been passed over!

He really wanted to have Hoopa open a portal to pick him up, and then have Lady Ayana help upgrade the bike for a rematch!

He hadn't suffered this kind of grievance even when playing kart racing games as a kid!

All Baimu sighed helplessly, thinking how nice it would be if the Galarian Zapdos were a silly roe deer; it would run off, realize he hadn't caught up, and then turn back to take a look.

Although it would be highly insulting, at least it would give him some motivation to keep chasing.

Was the bond sparked by the bike too shallow?

He counted the legendary Pokémon he had a good relationship with.

Aside from the Shiny Rayquaza, which was curious about him personally and only stuck around because it wanted to see something interesting, and the three titans he had actively captured, the rest were bonds forged through helping them in times of crisis.

The Galarian Zapdos...

Being a creature whose "exhaust" he could only eat, he figured it wouldn't be thinking of him either.

"Don't let me see you at Giant's Foot!"

All Baimu made up his mind to give the bike a second, major modification.

Even though he was someone who prioritized safety, after having one racing experience, he had no resistance to racing again.

——

Giant's Bed, from west to east.

The natural environment in this area is quite favorable.

The ruins visible everywhere proved that this place had once been home to many humans, but nowadays, most humans lived in central and northern Galar, and the southernmost tip was already rarely visited.

This indirectly proved that Calyrex, the former King of Galar, had been completely forgotten by the world, existing only in legends known to a few.

According to the lore.

Calyrex was a Pokémon that needed people's faith to gain power, but in the game, just by summoning back its steed and achieving the rider-and-steed state, its strength soared to the point of surpassing most legendary Pokémon.

So, how terrifying must Calyrex have been in its prime?

Could Glacial Lance really shatter stars?

Could Astral Barrage really whip up blizzards?

He was very much looking forward to it.

The hoverbike drove through Giant's Bed, and the noisy exhaust attracted the attention of many wild Pokémon, who curiously watched the rare human riding what appeared to be some unknown Steel-type Pokémon, showing off as he passed through.

This included many Ghost-type Pokémon that came out to be active in broad daylight.

All Baimu was also observing them, and when he saw a wild Dreepy looking over, he couldn't help but slow the bike down even further.

"This is—"

The Rotom Phone said, "Old Cemetery. That's what it's called on the map. It's said that many warriors were buried here thousands of years ago, and their heroic spirits guard the south of the Galar region."

"Heroic spirits guard the Galar region."

All Baimu knew that feeling was likely impossible; as far as he knew, the only destination for souls was the Spirit Realm. If they stayed in reality for too long, they either became wandering spirits with lingering obsessions or turned into terrifying evil spirits.

Hmm.

There was also a slim possibility of them becoming Ghost-type Pokémon.

He checked the time and was surprised to see it was already past four in the afternoon. Had he really been racing the Galarian Zapdos for that long?

If he hurried, he could reach the Frigid Sea ruins before dawn tomorrow, but there didn't seem to be any need to rush. Who could snatch them from him?

Currently, only the Pyramid King Brandon in the world possessed the three titans.

Let's set up camp!

All Baimu decided to spend the night at the Old Cemetery.

Ghosts?

He wasn't afraid at all; he had five of them at home, and every single one was super strong.

Finding a flat area, he released his Pokémon and began assigning tasks to those who could help.

But soon, he discovered something unexpected.

After Dragapult came out of its ball, it didn't turn invisible as it usually did.

It stared blankly at its surroundings.

All Baimu suddenly realized something and said, "Is this your old home? Wait! Then is this your old home too?"

He turned to look at the Dreepy siblings, but the latter two shook their heads innocently.

"Then you—"

"Lutuo~"

Dragapult nodded with a complex expression, confirming the Trainer's guess; it had indeed lived here for a very long time.

Until it encountered that heartbreaking event.

All Baimu gasped and hurriedly looked at the spot where he had just discovered the wild Dreepy, but the other party had already vanished.

Was it possible that the little Dreepy had once been raised by Dragapult?

Was that not possible?

Just as he was about to fall into deep thought, Dragapult suddenly flicked its tail against the back of his hand.

Slap!

"Hiss! What's wrong?" All Baimu asked, rubbing the back of his hand, but he noticed the socially anxious dragon's expression wasn't particularly good; it was silently gazing in a certain direction.

The nest it used to live in?

He understood.

Dragapult didn't dare return to that heartbreaking place alone and hoped he could do something.

At the very least, that's what its tail was saying.

All Baimu decisively stopped the Pokémon from setting up camp and announced, "Everyone! Let's go visit Dragapult's home! Let's go take a look over there!"

The Pokémon looked at each other and then turned to look at Dragapult.

Visit the socially anxious dragon's home?

This guy was indeed a bit unusual today; it hadn't even turned invisible and was appearing openly outside.

"Guroar~!"

Aggron, as the ace, was the first to express its stance, and the other Pokémon slowly responded. Hydreigon, usually very active, was a bit restless at the moment; it was throwing a tantrum.

If it had been the one to go, the Galarian Zapdos definitely wouldn't have gotten away! Why ride a bike!

Hydreigon still held hostility and prejudice toward the hoverbike; to other Pokémon, it was just a dead object, but it believed the hoverbike wasn't much different from Aggron.

Both were usually silent but occasionally restless, both were made of metal, and both would snatch away its mission.

Was there a difference?

None!

However, it had to let the Trainer see it throwing a tantrum; sulking alone wasn't what Hydreigon wanted, so it followed behind the large group.

Dragapult silently moved toward the familiar place.

It was too familiar with this place; in the years it couldn't even count, it had witnessed the changing of eras, the blooming and falling of flowers, and the birth and death of countless Pokémon.

But it had never thought it would be "betrayed."

Yet it couldn't blame anyone.

The other party had simply grown up.

A haze drifted through Dragapult's slit-like eyes; it began to worry that the familiar ones were living in its nest, and suddenly it didn't want to go anymore.

But just before it could retreat.

A hand suddenly came to the top of its head and patted it gently.

"What are you trembling for? Is it 'homesickness'? Don't be too excited; you can consider this a 'triumphant return,' right? Do you have any friends here? Call them all over, and I'll grill something for them to eat so you can save some face."

All Baimu said with a laugh.

Then the Dreepy flew up, burrowed into the launch holes on its head, and curiously asked it questions.

Dragapult stared blankly at him, then looked up at the Dreepy brother who had landed to look at it, and the Dreepy sister who was bullying her brother as usual.

Its heart suddenly calmed down.

Huh?

What was it afraid of just now?

Dragapult recalled that it had actually accepted everything in the past long ago; after all, it had a Trainer who was so good to it, and two Dreepy who followed it wholeheartedly.

The Dreepy brother who always wanted to play with it, and the Dreepy sister who had hated it at first but could now talk to it properly.

Dragapult already had everything it wanted.

That's right.

The Trainer was right; it could be considered a "triumphant return."

Dragapult wrapped its long, slender tail around All Baimu's arm, and Hydreigon behind them saw this, its three faces changing color, and it hurriedly flew up to wrap its tail around his other arm.

"You guys—"

All Baimu, nearly lifted off the ground, couldn't help but want to curse.

But thinking that this was Dragapult's home, he prepared to save some face for it.

The socially anxious dragon's skin was too thin; what if he was too harsh and it ran away from home again? Should he have Hydreigon go find it again?

They moved forward ostentatiously.

All Baimu's team was truly too conspicuous, especially Steelix; its size of over twenty meters would likely be mistaken for some kind of small Dynamax Pokémon in the Galar region.

Come to think of it.

The Crown Tundra was also a place where Galar particles were unstable, and there were always wild Pokémon that would suddenly Dynamax and cause destruction.

Perhaps that was one of the practical reasons why the Galar region hadn't developed the south.

He suddenly turned and asked, "Have you ever Dynamaxed?"

Dragapult had stayed in the Old Cemetery for so long, it couldn't have never had a turn, right?

"Lutuo..."

It nodded, indicating that it had indeed Dynamaxed before.

But it couldn't be counted as experience.

Because after Dynamaxing, it didn't look for other wild Pokémon to fight at all; it just silently waited for the Dynamax to end and then found a place to sleep.

Dragapult's principle was: if the Pokémon doesn't offend me, I won't offend the Pokémon.

The wild Pokémon in the Old Cemetery were actually quite warlike, otherwise it couldn't have reached such a high level; the reason they didn't rush up just now was mainly because the aura of Aggron, Hydreigon, and Steelix was quite intimidating.

Being warlike and mindlessly provoking were two different things.

A while later.

Dragapult brought the Trainer to a place where scattered broken walls were arranged, and many house ruins that didn't look completely collapsed had been pieced together like building blocks, or rather, repaired with rubble and bricks.

On the surface, it looked like there were traces of human activity.

"Lutuo."

Dragapult let go of All Baimu's hand and wandered toward the largest building.

And sensing intruders.

Some wild Pokémon living here popped their heads out—

They were all Ghost-type Pokémon.

Phantump, Trevenant, Sableye, Gastly, and Haunter.

All Baimu looked around, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he looked at the corner, picked up the Galarian Corsola from the top of Blissey's head, shook it slightly, and whispered, "Look! Your kin!"

Without a doubt.

The gray-white round stone appearing in the corner was a wild Galarian Corsola.

The lazy Corsola was so angry it opened its eyes and poked the Trainer with its smoke-like tentacles.

"Sang!"

Kin is kin!

What does that have to do with it!

All Baimu wouldn't let it go, ignoring the drained stamina, and discovered a broken round stone with only half left, on which a gray, misty object felt his gaze and suddenly expanded!

"Sang!"

The huge gray-white Corsola vengeful spirit suddenly pounced toward All Baimu, but before it could get close, the lazy Corsola erupted with even larger smoke, fiercely enveloping the Corsola vengeful spirit.

Cursola!

The Corsola in his hand vibrated violently, as if doing something.

Faint screams emerged in the air.

"Sang—"

"Alright, don't bully them too much, I forgive it."

All Baimu waited for a while and stopped it. Only then did the Corsola retract its smoke-like tentacles with satisfaction, its deep red eyes like lit torches.

And the Cursola that had launched the surprise attack was listless, its eyes extremely resentful.

Obviously, after the confrontation between the two sides.

As the evolved form, the Cursola had suffered a big loss, and his own lazy Corsola had eaten its fill. ===== CHAPTER 851 =====