Ever since learning that Shate's tribe was the Draconid people, Chen Shi had stopped feeling any urgency to leave.
He still did not know the true reason that great being had sent him here.
But for now, the most important event was the awakening of Hoenn's two idiots.
So all he had to do was remain with the tribe and wait.
For three days straight, Chen Shi stayed in the settlement.
He occasionally played with his Pokémon and also taught Shate some basic knowledge about Pokémon.
During that time, the Salamence that had left returned twice.
Each time, she brought herbs and other resources suitable for Dragon-type Pokémon for Bagon to use.
Chen Shi also gave Bagon some Pokéblocks.
Compared with the severely underdeveloped appearance it had when they first met, Bagon now looked much healthier.
That day, Chen Shi sat on a small wooden stump outside his cabin, resting his chin in one hand as he stared blankly into space.
Victini was fast asleep in his arms.
In the distance, Togekiss and Leafeon were playing with the children of the tribe.
After sitting there for quite some time, Chen Shi muttered,
"Dragapult, why don't we go out and look around?"
"Staying here all the time doesn't seem like much of a plan."
"Draga?"
(Where would we go?)
Dragapult poked its head out of Chen Shi's shadow.
"I don't know. We'll just wander around and see how other people in this era live," Chen Shi replied casually.
At present, the Draconid people were merely one of the lowest-ranking tribes.
They were extremely primitive and did not even know how to catch Pokémon.
Chen Shi wanted to visit some of the larger tribes.
Perhaps he might even discover something unexpected.
"Draga~"
(Didn't you say we were waiting for Groudon and Kyogre to awaken?)
Dragapult asked offhandedly.
Chen Shi replied helplessly,
"We are waiting for them, but we have no idea when they'll wake up."
"If we just sit here doing nothing, who knows how long we'll be waiting?"
Dragapult nodded indifferently.
"Draga~"
(Then let's go.)
"Alright. Let's go."
Chen Shi stood up with Victini still in his arms and called toward Togekiss.
"Little Plane, you two can stop playing now. We're heading out for a while."
"Toge!"
Hearing that they were going out, Togekiss's eyes lit up.
She immediately brought her close friend Leafeon over.
Several half-grown children ran over as well and asked curiously,
"Lord Qiu, are you leaving?"
Over the past few days, Chen Shi had gotten along fairly well with the tribe.
He did not put on airs and treated everyone in a warm, easygoing manner, so they had gradually grown more familiar with him.
That was especially true for the children.
Their minds were simple, and they had far fewer concerns than the adults.
During the first few days, they had still been frightened and restrained around Chen Shi.
But once they realized he was approachable, they completely relaxed and often gathered around him.
Now, the moment they heard he was leaving, they immediately came over to ask.
No one else in the tribe would have dared do so.
Chen Shi smiled.
"I'm only leaving for a while. I'll come back."
"You all need to listen to your elders and not wander outside the tribe."
"If you run into danger, it'll be too late to regret it."
One child with a runny nose nodded his little head.
"We know! We won't run around."
"Lord Qiu, you have to come back soon~"
Chen Shi gently rubbed his head.
"Alright, I know."
"See you later."
With that, he jumped onto Dragapult's back and flew north.
Togekiss and Leafeon stared blankly at Chen Shi and Dragapult's retreating figures.
Wait.
Had they forgotten something?
The two of them were still here!
Togekiss immediately panicked.
She had Leafeon jump onto her back and hurriedly flew after them.
...
Over the past few days, Chen Shi had learned a great deal about the surrounding region from Nio.
As the tribe closest to Meteor Falls, the Meteor Tribe lay north of the forest bordering it.
If one traveled south through the forest, they would reach Meteor Falls.
To the north were numerous tribes of varying sizes.
Among them, three large tribes held the greatest influence.
They were the Blazing Sun Tribe, the Stone Tribe, and the Psychic Tribe.
Just from their names, Chen Shi could roughly guess what kinds of Pokémon each tribe specialized in.
Of the three, he was most interested in the Psychic Tribe.
Nio had told him that it was ruled by women.
The magical beasts they commanded appeared and disappeared without warning and were exceptionally powerful.
It did not take much thought to realize that they specialized in Psychic-type Pokémon.
That immediately captured Chen Shi's curiosity.
Most Psychic-type Pokémon were highly intelligent and possessed strange abilities.
Even one thousand years later, they were not easy to catch.
Yet in this era, an entire tribe was famous for using Psychic types.
And it was a tribe ruled by women.
So Chen Shi decided that the Psychic Tribe would be his first destination.
After traveling for some time, they were nearing the tribe when Victini stirred in Chen Shi's arms.
"Vii~"
Victini rubbed its sleepy eyes, looked up at Chen Shi, and pitifully patted its little belly.
Chen Shi smiled and pinched its nose.
"You little glutton."
"All you do is eat and sleep."
"Vii~"
Victini puffed out its cheeks and glared at him unhappily.
"Fine, fine. I can never win with you."
Chen Shi sighed.
"Dragapult, let's stop for a while."
"We'll eat something first."
"Draga~"
Dragapult nodded and came to a halt in midair.
It then found an open patch of ground and descended.
Chen Shi jumped down while holding Victini and took a large quantity of Pokéblocks from his backpack.
Then he released the rest of his companions.
At that moment, Togekiss finally arrived with Leafeon on her back, breathing heavily.
The instant she landed, she began protesting.
"T-Toge... Toge!"
(Why were you flying so fast? Do you have any idea how hard it was to catch up?)
As she spoke, Togekiss revealed an aggrieved expression.
It was bad enough that Chen Shi had left without taking her.
He had not even waited.
How was a little quasi-Elite plane like her supposed to keep up with Dragapult, an Elite-level fighter jet?
Chen Shi scratched his head and turned toward Dragapult, who was holding a Pokéblock.
"Why were you flying so fast?"
"Why didn't you wait for her?"
"Look how exhausted our Little Plane is."
Dragapult's narrow eyes widened in shock, as though it had been struck by lightning.
How was this its fault?
Hadn't Chen Shi been the one who said not to waste time and to fly faster?
"Ahem..."
Chen Shi coughed awkwardly.
"Well, Little Plane, Dragapult didn't do it on purpose."
"Why don't we just forget about it?"
"Here. Have something to eat first."
As he spoke, Chen Shi placed Togekiss's share of Pokéblocks on the ground.
Togekiss let out a cold laugh.
Did he really think she did not know what kind of Trainer he was?
Togekiss was certain that Chen Shi had deliberately left without waiting for her and was now shifting the blame onto Dragapult.
And now he wanted to dismiss the matter with a few Pokéblocks?
Did he really think that would work?
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