"Wow, what kind of puppy Pokémon is that? It's so cute~"
---
"Look at that one~ It's a red monkey!"
---
"Is that Unova's regional bird? It's gray! I've never seen it before~"
Along the way, Phoebe was the most excited. Every time she saw a Pokémon she didn't recognize, she just had to get closer to look. Within minutes, she'd be drawn away by a new one.
Sato had a decent understanding of Unova's Pokémon, but he had no intention of showing it. He let everyone flip through their paper Pokédex guides, trying to look them up.
After all, it was everyone's first time here… how would you explain it if you were already so familiar with Unova?
"Lillipup, a Normal-type puppy Pokémon. It looks nice now, but after it evolves… not so much."
Ryoko, diligently checking the Pokédex, explained it to Phoebe, but she was clearly too slow to keep up.
"Let me see, let me see~ Ugh… I was thinking of catching it too." Phoebe made a face and turned away. Lillipup's evolution was Stoutland, and its looks were definitely not her "style".
"Aren't you a Ghost-type specialist? Lillipup doesn't seem like your kind of Pokémon at all."
"Cute is justice!!! You wouldn't understand." Phoebe rolled her eyes at Sato, and Ryoko beside her nodded in agreement.
"Phoebe, look at this one~ Isn't it super cute and super moe?"
"It really is! It's called Minccino? That's it, I'm definitely catching one before we go back!" Phoebe's eyes lit up as she declared her intent with full confidence.
"If you like that one, then I'll pick this one. I won't fight you over it," Ryoko said, as if she had planned this all along, and turned the "Pokédex" to another page with a giggle.
"Aaaah! This one's almost too cute to be legal… and it's cute even after evolving!"
Mark couldn't help but run over for a peek. The page showed a Pokémon called Lilligant, and he muttered, "…Grass-type."
"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" ×2
Mark shrank away and scurried over to Sato's side.
No longer disturbing the two girls who were deep in their own little world, Mark muttered beside Sato, "…We won't run into them… we won't run into them… we won't run into them…"
Sato couldn't help but laugh. With Mark's "divine intervention", the chances of encountering Minccino or Lilligant were practically zero.
So never underestimate anyone. Mark's "talents" were beyond anything Phoebe or Ryoko could imagine.
Of course, Sato didn't intend to stop them. Mark was his "subordinate", Phoebe and the others were not.
---
Traveling, resting, and traveling again. Although the five of them were all curious about Unova's Pokémon, none of them seemed inclined to catch anything on a whim.
Even Phoebe and Ryoko mostly just talked big. When it came down to actually catching a Pokémon, they'd definitely consider many factors.
So after two days of travel, no one had caught a single new Pokémon, but because of that, their interest in the Village of Dragons only grew.
And at that moment, the Village of Dragons was already right before them.
Suddenly, a group of deep green Pokémon came rushing past them, then ran on without a care, only one of them briefly stopping to glance at the strangers before quickly trotting after the others.
"Don't those Pokémon look kinda like… what's-it-called?"
"It's Axew!"
"So many of them? No one's catching any?" Phoebe was clearly shaken. Even though she specialized in Ghost-types, that didn't mean she didn't know how rare Dragon-types were.
"Hehehe, just try catching one and see what happens."
Suddenly, a farmer-looking uncle stepped out of the forest beside them, with freshly picked wild Berries strapped to his back.
Thud~ Thud~ Thud~
Footsteps echoed as a full-grown Haxorus slowly followed behind and came to stand beside the farmer "uncle".
Peak Elite.
All five of them immediately sensed Haxorus's level. It wasn't enough to frighten them, but it definitely came as a surprise.
Farmer + Haxorus… no matter how you looked at it, the pairing seemed odd. But the way the man and his Pokémon moved together was incredibly in sync, clearly the result of a long partnership.
"Excuse me, sir, but have we officially arrived at the Village of Dragons?" Joseph was the first to react and politely asked.
"Where else would you see so many Dragon-types living so freely together?" The farmer was clearly proud of the Village of Dragons, his face full of superiority.
"Judging by your outfits, you must be Trainers who came here on purpose. Follow me!"
It was obvious the farmer had seen outsiders before. He motioned with his mouth, then turned and walked into the village.
"Are you here for Druddigon or Axew? Just a kind reminder, if you're aiming for Axew, you might all end up empty-handed. And once you choose Axew, you won't be allowed to go back and buy a Druddigon if you fail the trial."
The farmer uncle was very blunt, directly saying "buy," clearly not worried about how anyone might react; this was their territory, after all.
Still, the fact that they only had one chance to choose made the group frown a bit. Why hadn't they heard about this rule before?
"Newbies again, huh? Oh wow, there's five of them this time!"
A curly-haired "auntie" came over to greet them and joked with the farmer "uncle" in passing.
"Yeah, I'd better take them to see Wilma quickly. Catch you later, catch you later."
"Catch me later, huh? Be careful, if your old lady finds out you said hi to me, she'll chase you down~" the auntie teased boldly, laughing as she walked away.
"Ahem… let's go, let's go!" The farmer blushed with embarrassment and urged Sato and the others forward at a brisk pace.
"Sato, come on. What are you staring at?" Mark suddenly turned back and called out when he noticed Sato lagging behind.
"It's not the one," Sato shook his head slightly, then jogged a few steps to catch up with the group.
Once they were out of sight, a Deino suddenly poked its head out from the grass nearby, staring motionless in the direction where Sato had gone.
Just moments ago, it had clearly felt a strange and powerful force pulling at it, but then, it vanished without a trace.
Deino didn't chase after it. Instead, it turned back and disappeared into the grass.
Soon after, the farmer brought Sato and the others to a wooden cabin in the heart of the village.
"Exeggutor, you're supposed to be waiting here for Wilma, right?" Standing outside the cabin was a completely unremarkable Exeggutor, blankly guarding the door with its three vacant faces.
"Egg?"
Exeggutor slowly turned around, and the main door of the cabin creaked open on its own. Then it went right back to standing perfectly still.
Once again ignored, the farmer uncle pointed awkwardly at the open door. "Go on in. Wilma is inside. I've got something else to do."
"Thank you, sir!"
They all thanked him. The farmer simply waved his hand and walked off with Haxorus, not looking back.
The five of them exchanged glances, then lined up in unison and entered the cabin.