The evening breeze blew gently as Sato leaned alone against the balcony railing, gazing out at the most bustling port city in the Unova Region.
"Zoro~?"
Zoroark quietly came up beside Sato and called out softly. Seeing that Sato didn't move, it chose not to disturb him.
When standing upright, Zoroark was quite tall, so it had to rest both hands on the railing, mimicking Sato's posture as it looked out into the distance.
"Zoroark."
"Zoro?"
Zoroark immediately turned its head, as if it had been waiting for Sato to call out.
"This might be your hometown."
Zoroark tilted its head, its watery blue eyes showing a surprisingly human-like look of confusion.
It understood what a hometown meant: the place where life begins, and the final resting place one dreams of after death.
But Zoroark shook its head. It didn't recognize the Unova Region as its home, and instead pointed to Sato.
Sato grinned and turned his head back toward the beautiful neon lights of Castelia City.
Zoroark obediently stayed by his side. It liked quiet, and it liked this kind of atmosphere.
"I was actually thinking... maybe we should find you a female Zoroark here?" Sato suddenly blurted out.
"Z-Zo?" Zoroark instantly tensed up, staring at its Trainer in disbelief.
'I'm still just a baby, what do you mean?! The shameless Trainer! ("｀Δ´)ゞ'
"Rooo!" Zoroark growled angrily at Sato, then turned around and leapt back into the room to rest on its own.
"Haha…HAHAHA…" Sato laughed heartily for a while, suddenly thinking it might not be such a bad idea. As a Trainer, he naturally had to care about his partners' lifelong happiness too.
Though most of Sato's team was still quite young, perhaps that "big bro" Weavile was worth considering.
"Sigh… I really must be too bored…"
---
With only two months to spare, it was out of the question to travel across the entire Unova Region.
So the five of them naturally chose to rely on public transportation. Compared to Kanto or Johto, the Unova Region was far more modernized, with a very advanced high-speed rail system.
Traveling from Castelia City to Opelucid City by train took a little over three hours, drastically cutting down on transit time.
This was, of course, exactly what Sato had hoped for. After all, even arriving so many years early, he still had no idea what the situation in the Village of Dragons would be.
If not for knowing that the Zweilous had already been born -and having such a good opportunity presented to him- Sato would never have set foot in the Unova Region this early.
The train ride was exceptionally smooth. In just over three hours, the five of them had arrived in another city nearly a thousand kilometers away: Opelucid City.
"Alright, we're in Opelucid City. Where do we go next~?" Phoebe was the first to speak after getting off the train, her eyes naturally turning to Sato.
"I heard Opelucid City has the strongest Gym in the Unova Region, Opelucid Gym. Why don't we pay it a visit?" Sato said without hesitation.
The others nodded casually, clearly indifferent, showing a "do whatever you want" attitude. They seemed far more curious about the unfamiliar Pokémon carried by passing Trainers.
Seeing this, Sato didn't say more. He pulled out a travel guidebook he had bought in advance and began flipping through the map of Unova cities.
Over the span of more than ten years, a city could change drastically, so Sato truly had no idea where Opelucid Gym was located.
Following the map, the group strolled leisurely through Opelucid City, admiring its exotic charm.
Whenever they came across something interesting, they stopped to look. And if they liked it, they bought it. Clearly, none of them were short on cash.
Although Sato was a bit eager inside, he had no reason to rush everyone along… especially now that they had "new friends" with them.
Since they had already arrived in Opelucid City and the Village of Dragons was just a day's walk away, Sato still had a full two months. It was more than enough.
With that mindset, Sato was able to settle down and join the group's sightseeing, treating it like a relaxing vacation.
So, by the time the group finally reached the front of Opelucid Gym, half a day had already passed.
Even more frustrating, after all that effort to get there, they couldn't even enter. An old man guarding the entrance stopped them at the door.
"Leader Drayden is away. Come back in a few days."
"Why a few days? Doesn't the Leader live here in Opelucid City?" Ryoko asked thoughtfully at that moment, earning so much gratitude from Sato that he didn't even know how to thank her.
"Well, no. The Leader isn't originally from Opelucid. He went back to his hometown this time," the old man replied kindly, continuing to explain.
"Then, Grandpa, may I ask~ Did Leader Drayden mention when he'd be back?" Ryoko continued asking, so considerately that Sato was speechless with appreciation.
"Hehe, probably in about a month. If it's urgent, you can go to the Village of Dragons to find him," the old man replied with a cheerful smile, clearly won over by Ryoko calling him Grandpa.
Sato could barely hide the smile on his face. His original plan had been to use Drayden as a reason to guide everyone to the village.
When he first learned that Drayden wasn't at the Gym, Sato's heart had skipped a beat, he was even about to switch to a backup plan.
But unexpectedly, Ryoko's few offhand questions had effortlessly solved the problem for him.
After all, it had been Sato's idea to come to Opelucid City. If he kept trying to steer the group toward some specific destination during the trip, anyone would grow suspicious.
But now, Sato could naturally voice his curiosity: "Village of Dragons… sounds like an incredible place?"
"Of course! The Village of Dragons is the homeland of Dragon-type Pokémon. Over there, Dragon-types are as common as household pets!" The old man was clearly in high spirits, happily sharing everything he knew.
The more the old man talked, the happier Sato became. Because the more information he shared, the more natural the group's visit to the Village of Dragons would appear.
"Aren't Dragon-types supposed to be rare? If what you say is true, wouldn't the Village of Dragons constantly attract trouble from people with bad intentions?" Mark couldn't help but ask.
The old man gave Mark's messy chicken-nest hair a disapproving glance, clearly not eager to answer. But when he saw Ryoko and the others all looking equally curious, he subconsciously cleared his throat.
"Ahem… well, that's because Wilma is there. She's one of the top-tier powerhouses in the entire Unova Region. Nothing in the Village of Dragons escapes her grasp."
"The entire Village of Dragons?"
The group was a bit stunned. Even if it was a village, it had to cover a fair amount of land, right?
Controlling the whole place?
They had to admit: they were now extremely curious about the village.
'All it would take was one more little push, and the trip would be a done deal.'
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150 pw = extra chap
Ptreon/Romeloff