Chapter 366

Following Zhenya's guidance.

Baimu arrived at a broad open space and met the younger generation of Meteor Village who had not yet left on their journeys.

Bigmouth Kid could no longer endure the environment saturated with Dragon-type Pokémon and voluntarily asked to return to his Poké Ball; unable to persuade him otherwise, Baimu complied.

Looking around, there were three young people including Zhenya, alongside a group of boys and girls no older than eleven, and a little girl as young as four.

"I've heard so much about you! My name is Lian Zuo!"

"Me! Peng Peng!"

"Datalong."

"I'm Qianjin! Nice to meet you!"

"Yuzi~"

The group surrounded Baimu and enthusiastically introduced themselves without needing Zhenya to introduce him—even the youngest girl squeaked out her name in a tiny voice.

He responded to each one in turn.

There were only about ten people total—fewer than he'd expected.

But judging from the size of Meteor Village and the number of houses, the total population might be only a thousand or so; excluding the young Dragon Tamers who had left on journeys, having this many children remaining was already quite good.

After all, the people of Meteor had passed down their lineage in the Hoenn region for two thousand years—how had their population grown so little?

Baimu harbored doubts but didn't dwell on them—he wasn't a sociologist. He glanced twice at the girl named Yuzi, because she was holding a pale purple, oval-shaped slime—Slimepuff.

Although most Dragon-type Pokémon in Meteor Village were native to Hoenn, occasional Dragon Pokémon from other regions did appear… as well as Pokémon once classified as Dragon-type, such as Charizard, Gyarados, and Aerodactyl.

In the anime's context, each Pokémon's type was deliberately planned by creators through various factors—not because they had a "I am Dragon-type" symbol on their forehead.

Of course, just like this sixth-generation Slimepuff and the Gyarados that Miss Xijiana had shown earlier, Meteor Village also had Dragon-type Pokémon from other generations.

But their numbers were few.

Perhaps I could use that species-value-limited clue here? If I hit the jackpot, it would most likely be one of these different-generation pseudo-legendaries.

Baimu's quiet thought arose, then quickly sank—he remembered his newly evolved Bagon, and his unevolved Shiny Feebas and Poliwhirl.

Human energy is limited.

Just recently he'd felt guilty about spending less time with his Bagon as his team grew larger—now he was eager to catch another? What kind of logic was that?

Even if acquiring new Pokémon was unavoidable, he had to wait until his current ones had matured to a certain stage first.

"Baimu! Baimu! You must have a Dragon-type Pokémon too, right?"

The call pulled his wandering thoughts back.

At that moment, Baimu saw the young Dragon Tamers watching him with curious eyes, and he nodded: "I do… have one…"

But it's not a Dragon-type Pokémon—it's a Husky-type Pokémon.

"Can we see it?"

"Let's battle! See whose Dragon is stronger!"

"Yes! Brother Zhenya, come on! As the strongest young Dragon Tamer in the village, you should welcome Baimu with a fiery battle!"

"Baimu-nii~ Yuzi wants to see a Dragon-type Pokémon~"

These extreme Dragon fans shouted over each other—even the youngest child specifically freed one hand to grab Baimu's sleeve, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

Zhenya also smiled and said: "If you don't mind, shall we have a Dragon-type Pokémon battle?"

"No! Come with me first!"

Lian Zuo, tall and thin with a bob haircut whose bangs nearly covered his eyes, reached out to cut in, his face flushed bright red from excitement, "C-Can we, Baimu?"

"Of course."

Baimu gave a slight nod and turned to find everyone else naturally stepping back, giving them ample space without needing any prompting.

Come to think of it.

Though he'd sensed it earlier, now looking down at the ground, it was clearly a battle arena repeatedly repaired and renewed from countless fights.

They deliberately chose to meet here…

He couldn't help smiling: "You didn't plan this whole thing to battle me from the start, did you? Pretended to be so warm and welcoming so I couldn't refuse?"

He'd intended only a light joke to lighten the mood—but the group all guiltily turned their heads away.

Baimu: "..."

"B-But you're from outside!"

One child, perhaps only eight or nine, couldn't hold back: "The older brothers and uncles who came back before kept praising you, saying you might be the best Tamer of our generation! We were all just so curious—"

"Ahem, sorry, this idea was mine—you can blame me." Zhenya, exposed, spoke with obvious embarrassment.

Lian Zuo's face turned even redder: "I-I-I—"

So all this time your face was red from nervousness.

"Hah…"

Baimu sighed and rubbed his forehead—he had no intention of being angry.

After all, it was just a harmless little trick, meant only to get him to agree to a battle… Didn't Zhenya ever leave the village? Didn't he know the unspoken rule that a Trainer's gaze meeting another's signals the start of a battle?

The Dragon Elder's decision to relocate to Meteor Falls and increase contact with the outside world was truly an excellent one.

"I'm not blaming you… Forget it. Let's settle this with a battle."

He looked across at Lian Zuo: "Any rules? Like flipping a coin to decide who attacks first?"

"N-No rules!"

Brother, are you stuttering?

Seeing this, Baimu tossed up a Poké Ball and released Bagon.

"Grrrr—"

Bagon appeared in midair, letting out an extremely hoarse roar.

The crowd, who had been feeling guilty as sin, lit up in unison at the sight.

"Triple-headed dragon!"

"So buff! And so huge!"

"Why doesn't it look that fierce? I remember Wulang's Triple-headed dragon was especially ferocious — anyone who dared look at it would get roared at. Last time I passed by their house, I didn't even dare make a sound."

"That's just you being a coward! And who says a Triple-headed dragon has to be fierce? I think All Baimu's Triple-headed dragon is great!"

"Isn't the Triple-headed dragon a really hard one to raise? Its growth cycle is way longer than the others…"

"So cool! So cool! Yuzi thinks it's so cool!"

The surroundings quickly grew noisy.

Which then turned into waves of cheers egging both sides on.

This made All Baimu realize that, compared to words, these Dragon Chefs cared more about strength — the moment they saw a powerful Dragon-type Pokémon, they got hyped on their own.

He looked toward the distant Lianzo.

"I-I-I'm coming!" the latter tossed out a Poké Ball, face flushed red.

Bang!

Light flickered.

A flying dragon appeared — body a uniform teal-green, two long thick antennae growing backward, a pair of broad green wings edged with red lines, and red hemispherical shells covering both eyes.

The mysterious Pokémon Flygon, the former Land Dragon.

He chose this as his follow-up?

All Baimu was a little surprised, but didn't look down on the idea for it, and said quickly: "Nasty Plot!"

"Sha-sang!"

The Triple-headed dragon let out a low growl, and as it observed Flygon, it suddenly showed an extremely sinister expression; the glow of raised stats lit up across its body.

At the same time, Flygon beat its wings violently, and a gale kicked up countless grains of sand as it charged toward the Triple-headed dragon.

"Dragon Claw!"

Lianzo, whose command came a beat slower, had no intention of buffing Flygon at all and chose straightforwardly to launch an attack.

Swish!

A jade-green glow enveloped Flygon's rather short claws, forming laser-like energy blades; accompanied by a howling gust, it rushed at the Triple-headed dragon — which had just finished Nasty Plot — and slashed down hard!

Sizzle!

"Dragon Pulse!"

All Baimu's extremely calm voice rang out.

"There's no way an attack order can make it in time now, right?" someone nearby cried out in alarm.

And just as that person said, when Flygon launched its attack, not dodging but counterattacking absolutely couldn't make it in time — but there was one thing he might not be clear on.

A battle could achieve a greater result by paying a small price!

The Triple-headed dragon swiftly raised its two smaller heads, took Flygon's Dragon Claw head-on, and at the instant the Dragon-type energy exploded into smoke, blasted a tri-colored scorching Dragon Breath right back at it!

Dong!

Terrifying energy tore through the smoke and slammed into Flygon's body; from the outside it looked like a massive energy dragon head had it locked in its jaws and shoved it backward — a good dozen-plus meters before it exploded violently.

Boom!

Smoke billowed skyward.

"Roost!" All Baimu issued another command.

The Triple-headed dragon stared at the smoke ahead and slowly landed, its body wrapped in a pale-white glow; countless feathers materialized out of thin air and settled onto it, causing the wounds on its two smaller dragon heads to heal rapidly.

And by the time the smoke cleared, the Triple-headed dragon's condition had already fully recovered.

On the other side.

Flygon, sprawled on the ground, struggled to flap its wings trying to get up, but after only a couple of thrashes its eyes rolled back and it passed out; its body was covered in numerous burn marks, looking none too lightly injured.

The watching crowd was dumbstruck, their gazes shuttling back and forth between Flygon, the Triple-headed dragon, and All Baimu, all wearing the same blank-stare expression.

An instant… instant kill?

Just like that, in one round?

"So strong…"

"Even Zhenya's dragon couldn't pull that off, right?"

"Amazing! The Triple-headed dragon is amazing!"

Adoration quickly surfaced on these young Dragon Chefs' faces, and they cheered loudly; the little distance that had existed between them and All Baimu vanished completely.

Zhenya and the last youth, Peng Peng, exchanged a glance, equally full of disbelief and shock.

In the arena.

Lianzo pulled a long face as he comforted Flygon — before the battle, how could he have guessed it would end so quickly? Why was the Triple-headed dragon this strong?

"I-I lost."

He recalled Flygon and said.

All Baimu gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

"Sha-sang…"

The Triple-headed dragon let out a rather bored sneeze; it still preferred the back-and-forth kind of battle, like the one earlier with the Tyrantrum — opponents that just wouldn't fall no matter how you hit them were the interesting ones.

A Pokémon like Flygon that dropped after one casual attack — how could that show off its strength?

Fortunately, it soon drew its second opponent.

"Can I battle you, All Baimu?"

Peng Peng walked over with a solemn expression; just looking at his face you might think he was a little chubby, but once your eyes moved to his muscular, bulging arms, you'd realize this guy just had baby fat.

"Of course."

Baimu glanced at the Three-Headed Dragon. "It still has plenty of stamina, but should we wait for the boost move to wear off?"

"Thanks! No need!"

Peng Peng, face taut, gave a slight bow, then hurled the Poké Ball forward.

Pop!

A flash of white light.

An Altaria, with cloud-like pure-white fluffy wings, appeared and let out a clear, pleasant cry.

"Julu~"

Although Baimu was a little disappointed it wasn't another Dragon-type pseudo-legendary, this so-called "dragon traitor" Altaria was something to be wary of — who knew if it might use Fairy-type moves like Moonblast.

"Draco Meteor!"

Baimu gave the command without hesitation.

Right now the Special Attack boost from Nasty Plot hadn't faded, so the Draco Meteor unleashed now would be amplified to an utterly terrifying level!

"Sha-sang!"

The Three-Headed Dragon tilted its head slightly and concentrated. An orange-red mass of energy gathered at its chest and belly, radiating a dangerous ripple that made the surrounding air tremble.

Peng Peng, who seemed to understand how fearsome Draco Meteor was, shouted quickly: "Moonblast!"

"Julu!"

Altaria beat its cloud-like wings. The phantom image of a moon appeared above its head, continuously channeling energy into its beak to form a pink energy sphere, which it then fiercely hurled at the Three-Headed Dragon!

Whoosh!

The instant Moonblast shot forth, the Three-Headed Dragon also fired its fully-charged Draco Meteor skyward!

The orange-red energy orb streaked into the air at tremendous speed and exploded like fireworks, splitting into countless blazing meteors that shrieked through the wind!

"Dodge it!"

"We'll dodge too!"

Both trainers gave similar commands at the same time, but the ones who needed to evade were worlds apart.

The Three-Headed Dragon beat its wings rapidly to face the incoming pink orb. A sudden climb in altitude let Moonblast whistle past it and crash into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Altaria, meanwhile, had to weave and dodge continuously in midair, just barely evading the Draco Meteor shards that seemed almost to have eyes of their own, constantly encroaching on its flight path.

Boom boom boom—

The meteors slammed into the ground, blasting open rings of bright fire and smoke. The watching crowd had to retreat once more, putting distance between themselves to avoid stray hits.

"It even knows Draco Meteor?!"

"We're done for! How long is cleanup gonna take this time?"

"Three-Headed Dragon, awesome!"

Amid the smoke they screamed and shouted, but Zhenya kept his eyes fixed on the Three-Headed Dragon and Baimu, his gaze trembling as if pondering something.

One had to admit.

Altaria's movements were still very nimble — not a single meteor had managed to land on it.

It dodged every single one.

Peng Peng's previously tense expression quickly eased.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to realize that sometimes a move can be used not only to attack, but also as a technique to restrict the opponent's movement space.

When Altaria thought its fancy dodges were impressive enough, it didn't realize it was also creating an opening for the Three-Headed Dragon.

"Sha-sang!"

"Dragon Pulse!"

Baimu responded to the latter's prompt and issued the command.

In an instant.

Light blazed from the Three-Headed Dragon's three mouths. Azure, sky-blue, and purple-red energy surged forth, merging before it into an enormous energy dragon. Its withered-looking energy wings spread fully, scraping the air with a fierce roar as it charged at Altaria!

Peng Peng's face changed.

"Dragon Pulse!"

He knew the Altaria no longer had much energy left to dodge, so it could only clash head-on with a move of its own.

"Julu!"

Altaria drew a deep breath, dragon flame flickering in its beak — but its speed wasn't fast enough, or perhaps the Three-Headed Dragon's attack was simply too swift, so that before it could even fire its Dragon Pulse, it was already swallowed by the energy dragon!

The clawing, fanged energy dragon bit down on Altaria, abruptly adjusted its bearing, and slammed it viciously into the ground!

Boom!

The earth shook violently. The surging Dragon-type energy detonated in a blinding flash of white light, and a visible shockwave rolled outward in all directions, sending sand flying and turf peeling up!

The watching crowd had no choice but to turn sideways to dodge the oncoming dust and grass clippings. Their clothes whipped in the gale as if having a fit.

A moment later.

The light dimmed.

On the crude battlefield, countless small craters and one large crater appeared before their eyes, and in the center of the large crater lay Altaria, a pair of spiral eyes showing.

It had clearly been hit by Dragon Pulse and lost the ability to battle.

"One move again?"

"Doesn't Draco Meteor lower Special Attack?"

"Feels like this Three-Headed Dragon might be even stronger than Wulang's…"

"How could it not even take one Dragon Pulse?"

"So awesome! Three-Headed Dragon is so awesome!"

The aspiring Dragon Tamer trainees murmured among themselves, unable to imagine how swiftly Pong Pong's Altaria had been defeated.

"Sah—"

The three-headed dragon let out a deafening roar, proclaiming its second victory.

The power it gained from evolution far exceeded its expectations; it couldn't even believe it had become this strong—could even Bonsly match this power?

Bai Guang, meanwhile, was relieved that this Altaria didn't know Dazzling Gleam; before the three-headed dragon learned Protect, he had no real counter to such a wide-area Fairy-type move.

It had to be brute force.

If his own output wasn't high enough, being overwhelmed or even knocked out early wouldn't be surprising at all.

【Honestly, I've been using Yeguo Reading to follow updates lately—easy source switching, lots of voice options, works on Android and iOS.】

But.

This shows how truly difficult it is for everyone to learn moves—not just him, whose Pokémon move learning slowed down after accumulating too many.

Luckily, there's the simulator's move reward.

"I lost!"

Pong Pong recalled the Altaria and bowed in defeat; his straightforward, decisive posture strangely gave Bai Guang the feeling he was facing a martial artist from a film.

"Sah…"

The three-headed dragon flew over, making a whining, affectionate sound; Bai Guang softly praised it and stroked its large head, then turned to Zhen Ya, "When is your big boss ready to step in?"

"Me?"

Zhen Ya, watching from the sidelines, blinked in surprise, hesitantly glancing at the three-headed dragon. "Why not let your three-headed dragon rest first? It just fought two battles—it must be exhausted."

"Hmm… Let me be clear—I don't mean to look down on Pong Pong or Lian Zuo, but right now, the three-headed dragon is in peak condition and doesn't need rest."

Bai Guang patted the three-headed dragon's chin; the heavy, thudding sound made the creature close its eyes in delight.

The duration of Trick lasted much longer than expected.

It still hadn't faded yet.

The onlookers, hearing Bai Guang's words, all turned their gazes to the hesitant Zhen Ya.

"Brother Zhen Ya! Say yes!"

"I want to see your battle with Bai Guang!"

"Brother Zhen Ya! A fierce dragon vs. dragon battle! Aren't you excited to see such powerful Dragon-type Pokémon right in front of you?"

Zhen Ya, however, replied: "No, I just don't want to use a wheeling strategy…"

Before he could finish.

Because he saw Bai Guang turn sideways and make a courteous gesture—after you.

At this point, refusing would be impolite.

Zhen Ya pulled out a Poké Ball and stepped onto the spot where Pong Pong had stood.

He had to admit that Bai Guang's three-headed dragon was far stronger than he'd imagined—but according to the elders, Bai Guang had been raising Pokémon for less than half a year, and the time spent raising the three-headed dragon was even shorter.

How did he do it?

Zhen Ya couldn't imagine it, yet felt perhaps this was what a genius was like—just like that person their own age who had far surpassed them.

But he certainly wouldn't give up easily.

Besides, the battle hadn't even begun—no one could definitively say who would win!

"Go! My partner!"

Boom!

A flash of Bai Guang.

A tall Pokémon, resembling both a dinosaur and a shark, with a five-pointed star on its snout, appeared on the battlefield.

"Kabu!"

Garchomp let out low growls, its golden eyes fixed intently on the three-headed dragon across from it.

"Garchomp?"

Bai Guang tugged at the corner of his mouth; finally he saw a pseudo-legendary—but why not Flygon? There were so many Bagon and Shelgon in Meteor Village… fine, Altaria and Sandshrew were understandable.

Is it even reasonable for people from Meteor Village to pull out Garchomp?

Whatever.

Whoever it is—just fight seriously!

"Dragon Pulse!"

"Charge! Dragon Claw!"

Both sides issued their commands nearly simultaneously.

But the three-headed dragon moved faster than Garchomp; from its three mouths, light flashed—vivid blue, sky-blue, and violet-red energy surged forth, rapidly forming a snarling energy dragon before it.

The energy dragon "flapped" its withered wings and roared as it charged toward the rushing Garchomp.

Garchomp, seeing this, immediately spread its wide shark-like fins like a great bird's wings, causing emerald-green light to spread across them, forming sharp energy blades that cut unhesitatingly toward the incoming energy dragon!

Shuu—Peng!

Air exploded, colorful Dragon-type energy detonated into thick smoke, the gale blowing Bai Guang's and Zhen Ya's hair.

Then.

Garchomp burst through the smoke, still charging toward the three-headed dragon; the faint, fleeting wisps of smoke clinging to its body showed it had taken little damage.

At the same time, its running speed was astonishing—it reached the three-headed dragon's side in the blink of an eye!

"Sah!"

The three-headed dragon's eyes widened slightly—not in shock, but in delight; it loved opponents who could go multiple rounds with it, letting it fully understand just how strong it had become!

"Dragon Breath!"

"Dragon Rage!"

Once again, the commands came at nearly the same instant.

But this time the two Pokémon launched their attacks in perfect sync as well—Hydreigon blew a thick, sky-blue wave of dragon flame forward, while Garchomp fired a purple energy blast from its mouth!

The two Dragon-type energies of different colors collided with a thunderous crash!

Boom—!

The violent explosion seemed ready to pierce straight through one's eardrums; the searing air currents warped the air, as if about to vaporize everything around them, and thick smoke rolled forward like a towering wall, instantly blanketing the entire field.

The aftershock of the moves was far stronger than All Baimu had anticipated.

It was supposed to be nothing more than a clash between Dragon Rage and Dragon Breath.