"Woohoo!"
High above, the Salamence tore through the sky at breathtaking speed. Its movements were so swift that it left faint afterimages in the air, and its blood-red wings carved bright crimson streaks across the open heavens. It was every bit the fearsome Pokémon it was known to be — the so-called "Blood-Stained New Moon" when unleashing its Mega Evolution.
Feeling the raw thrill of soaring through the sky, David could not hold back a loud cheer. In that moment, he finally understood what it truly meant to be a Dragon Tamer.
"No wonder Dad and my sister always want to hop on Dragonite whenever they get the chance," he thought, grinning into the rushing wind. "This feeling really is something else."
There was a clear difference between riding your own Pokémon and riding someone else's. This felt personal — like the Salamence was an extension of himself.
David looked down at the Mountain below. The once towering peak had shrunk to little more than a tiny speck from this height. The secret realm, which was not particularly large to begin with, looked even smaller now that he was up in the sky looking down at it.
In no time at all, the Salamence had carried David on a full lap around the entire secret realm.
But David was clearly not satisfied. He had the Salamence circle around several more times, unwilling to come down just yet.
The hot air currents rising from the underground cave, the fierce winds whipping through the sandy terrain below, the unpredictable gusts and headwinds — none of it posed the slightest trouble for the newly evolved Salamence. Its crimson wings cut effortlessly through every current, parting the air as though it were nothing at all. Air resistance, which would challenge most Pokémon in flight, barely seemed to exist in front of it.
Taking full advantage of still being inside the secret realm, David let himself enjoy every second of it. Out here, he could ride the Salamence freely without worrying about anything. He could fly in whatever direction he pleased and do whatever felt most exhilarating.
That freedom would not be possible in the outside world. Flying in the wilderness was fine, but urban areas had strict regulations about riding Flying-type Pokémon. Trainers were required to complete specialized training and obtain an official flight license before they were allowed to do so.
"Shelgon had already watched most of the flight license tutorial videos back when he had nothing better to do," David reminded himself, lying back comfortably on the Salamence's broad back. "Now that he's evolved, I'll sign him up for an in-person training course as soon as possible so we can get that license sorted."
The Salamence's body was truly massive. David could lie on its back with plenty of room to spare — he could probably roll around a couple of times without even coming close to the edge. With the Salamence's size and strength, carrying David alone was trivial. It could easily carry seven or eight people at once without any strain.
As for the flight license David had mentioned — he had actually started planning ahead long before today.
Back during winter break, when Shelgon was still in the middle of storing energy for its evolution, David had already begun showing it video tutorials for flight license training. Shelgon had been conserving energy during that period, spending most of its days resting and sleeping. It only occasionally participated in battles when David called it out, so it had plenty of idle time on its hands.
Watching flight training tutorial videos had been a good way to pass the time.
And Shelgon, who had longed for the open sky ever since it was a young Bagon, did not find the videos dull in the slightest. Watching other Pokémon soar freely through the air had captured its full attention. It watched every video with genuine interest.
So by the time it had evolved into Salamence, it had already completed nearly all of the required video learning content. All that remained was enrolling in a few hands-on practical sessions at an in-person training course.
After three full laps around the secret realm, David finally and reluctantly guided the Salamence to land.
The secret realm still felt a little too small for his liking. Once his team was strong enough, he would take the Salamence out to the open wilderness and fly without any limits — that was when it would really feel exhilarating.
Still, there was something worth noting about the Salamence's current condition. After its evolution, it had already reached the peak of the Superior level, standing just one step away from entering the Professional stage. On top of that, a large amount of the energy it had absorbed from the Breath of the Sea God had not yet been fully processed, and that energy was still steadily strengthening it from the inside.
His Salamence had the potential to cross that threshold at almost any time.
It was honestly remarkable. In little over a month, that same Bagon who had only just entered the Superior level was already on the verge of breaking through to the Professional stage. At level thirty-nine, it had become the highest-leveled Pokémon on David's entire team.
To put that in perspective — even Zorua, who had consistently held the top spot in terms of level and had benefited greatly from the Ice Feather during winter break, had only just reached level thirty-eight. Kirlia and Lucario were even further behind, sitting at level thirty-seven and thirty-five respectively.
Of course, it was worth remembering that this kind of rapid growth had come at the cost of two legendary resources tied to a First-tier God. Knowing that, the result was not as surprising as it first appeared.
Still, David could not help but feel a little sorry for Lucario. Among all the Pokémon on his team, Lucario was easily the most disciplined and hardworking. It trained consistently, never slacked off, and gave everything it had — and yet, it still could not keep up with what David privately called his team's "cheaters." Lucario would probably be frustrated about that for quite some time.
All in all, at this point in time, the Salamence had firmly taken the position of the strongest battler on David's team.
Even so, despite Shelgon having completed its evolution and become the powerful Salamence it was today, David did not pack up and leave right away.
When he had originally brought Shelgon to the secret realm for its evolution, David had planned to take three to five days off from school. But once the principal and his teachers heard the full details of David's situation, they were generous — they approved a full week's leave on the spot.
The only condition was that he return to school before the week was up, because that was when the visiting delegation from the Sakura country would be arriving for an exchange program.
It was an important occasion. David was the school's top representative in every sense of the word — both in name and in actual ability — and his absence at such a time simply was not an option. He had to be back at least one day before the delegation arrived.
So, with a few days of his leave still remaining, David spent the following nights at camp inside the Vanguard Secret Realm. After setting everything up and making sure all was in order, he settled down beside his Pokémon on a stretch of soft grass and looked up at the night sky.
Perhaps because of how Pokémon had shaped the development of civilization, productivity in the Pokémon world had advanced significantly. Traditional energy sources were used more efficiently, and environmental pollution had been greatly reduced as a result. Because of this, the night sky in the Pokémon world was extraordinarily clear and beautiful.
Even here, reflected through the sky of the secret realm, the stars carried a quiet, unique charm.
The night passed quickly.
Since he still had several days of leave left, David was in no hurry to go. He made good use of the time, spending each day helping the Salamence adjust to its new body while continuing his own training and review of relevant knowledge. The special environment of the Vanguard Secret Realm made for good training conditions, and the days passed steadily.
When his leave was nearly over, David finally prepared to leave with the Salamence.
Before departing, the Salamence had fully adapted to its new form. It had grown comfortable with its body and the surging strength that came with it. Its movements were smooth and confident, and it responded to David's guidance without hesitation.
The moment David climbed onto its back and the Salamence burst out of the secret realm — rising swiftly and vanishing into the clouds — David felt a wide smile spread across his face.
He had timed it perfectly. The evolution had been completed just before the Sakura country delegation arrived. That meant he could give them quite the surprise when the time came.
He was looking forward to seeing how that would go.