Rapidash was fast. Like, almost unbelievably fast at some points. I knew he wasn't going faster than a car or anything like that, but the harsh blow of the wind just made everything seem like we were traveling at an extreme speed.

As Solaceon Town had such a heavy focus on equestrian practices, just like the route to the south, the route to the north was relatively flat. Sure, there was overgrown, tall grass in places, but that proved no issue for Rapidash.

His long legs easily bypassed any obstacles that might slow him down, and his well practiced psychic powers let him detect and curve around wild Pokémon hiding within to not disturb them.

What was even more impressive was that his stamina lasted a lot longer than I expected. Not only did his ability, Run Away, mean he was specialized in running, but his healing move of Morning Sun let him recover some of his energy when he slowed down, allowing him to push on for longer.

My only complaint was that his long mane tended to be blown back by the wind and get in my face, but I could at least push it to the side where it didn't bother me as much. Togepi, however, loved the fact that his mane blew around her in bright colors. Since she wasn't the biggest fan of being in a Pokéball while awake, she rode with me on Rapidash's back. She had her own little miniature saddle in front of me that was specially designed for Pokémon like her.

I had to say, I appreciated this world's foresight.

If this trip was solely over flat ground, Rapidash could have probably made time comparable to Altaria; he was that fast. Alas, even he had limits on how long he could run for, and the terrain was swiftly becoming more rugged and less suited for a mount.

After an incredibly impressive couple hours of running, I hopped off Rapidash's back and took the saddle off of him.

He was huffing and puffing for running so long, but I could tell he was in a great mood.

"That was an incredible job," I said. "Get some rest for now."

Rapidash closed his eyes as Togepi was deposited in my arms and he was returned. Sighing, I turned my attention northwards.

"And now we walk," I declared.

Togepi chirruped happily.

There was a bit of a fork in the road at this point. To the east lay the path to Veilstone, and to the northwest lay the past to Celestic Town. I'd flown over this part once before, but we hadn't lingered since we were rushing to Veilstone. This time, we'd be traveling northwest towards Celestic Town, so this was quite literally treading new ground for me.

As Rapidash had brought me quite a distance, we'd been making good time. However, the rest of the way I'd need to travel on foot.

This section of Route 210 was located in a deep valley that stretched out for miles. Not only was it was rocky and craggy, but its nature as a valley meant that the morning fog would last hours upon hours.

Each day was spent dealing with low visibility and a moist chill in the air. Altaria could undoubtedly clear a space around myself as we traveled, but such an act was likely to interfere with the local environment, so I held back.

While I did bring Altaria with me, my team size was back down to the normally allowed six. Alongside Altaria, Rapidash, and Togepi, I also had Ninetales, Kirlia, and Mawile. Togepi was due to have her first battle at any moment, so I didn't want to be caught out technically breaking the League's team size limits.

Kirlia stayed out at this point to travel and practice protecting my mind, as discussed with Rapidash recently. Togepi stayed out too, not enjoying being inside a ball.

The fog was thick and dense, even this late in the day, and the only reason I could even tell the time was because I had the technology to do so.

A few hours later, around dusk, we met our first fellow traveler here. Well, it was entirely possible another had passed us by and we just hadn't seen them due to the fog.

“Ho there, trainer!” a man's voice called out.

I glanced up the side of a nearby cliff towards the voice of a figure obscured by the fog. This late in the day, it was mostly gone, but it still obscured some of his features.

With a barely visible, confident smile on his face, the shaded man hopped forward to land on a slope and slid down to move in front of me. His hair was done up in a spiked part and he had a deep purple cloak slung around his black outfit. It billowed in the breeze during his trip downwards.

“Say, aren’t you Alex, the Mega Pokémon Expert?” he asked.

“Fairy Type specialist,” I corrected. “I’m familiar with Mega Pokémon. I’m in no way an expert with them.”

Then again, I was the one who jumpstarted that years ahead of schedule, but I never actually dedicated time to learning more about it. Except, of course, when I learned from Professor Sycamore and trained under the Mega Evolution guru, Gurkinn.

I frowned.

Mega Pokémon expert was maybe not the worst description of me.

“Regardless, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!” the man asked. “Your Fairy Types versus my Dragon Types! For the last time, let us settle which is stronger!”

“Uh,” I said. “Well, what Pokémon do you have?”

“Ah, you seek to know the companions of the great Dragon Tamer Patrick!” he exclaimed boldly, bringing his arm out to cause his cape to wave behind him. “With me is the loyal Gabite, the sturdy Shelgon, the graceful Dragonair, and the young Bagon!”

My frown continued. His Pokémon weren’t even fully evolved. It might be a decent fight for the newly evolved Rapidash, but—

“Wait, did you say the ‘young’ Bagon?” I suddenly asked.

“I did indeed! Bagon is the newest member of my team, practically freshly hatched himself!”

A smile formed on my face.

“And has he had his first battle yet?”

“Nay! He has not!”

“Would he like to?”

The dragon tamer blinked at my sudden offer.

“Are you proposing that instead of using far more experienced Pokémon, we resort to those that have hatched only recently?”

“Well, yeah. I thought I was making myself clear. I have Togepi here with me who—”

“Marvelous! Simply marvelous! Instead of proving one Type reigns supreme over the other through powerful Pokémon, we shall see how they perform at their base! This shall be a battle of the ages!” he exclaimed.

He placed his hands on his hips, looking mighty proud of himself. At my side, Kirlia tilted his head at the man while Togepi cheered from where she was in my arms.

“Then, Togepi,” I said to the aforementioned Pokémon. “Looks like you’re going to have your first battle.”

Since it was so late, the man, Patrick, helped me find a place to camp before we planned to battle. The light of the sunset at the far end of the valley was just enough to allow Togepi and her opponent to see.

Rapidash was out, of course, his proficiency with Heal Pulse allowing him to heal any wounds the small Pokémon might get. He was rather nervous about this battle, however, as he stood on the side and paced back on forth.

Patrick had sent out his three other team members to cheer for Bagon, and I had sent out mine to do the same. Ninetales called out her name in support of Togepi while Mawile tried to comfort Rapidash by placing her hand on his leg.

I turned my focus to the impending battle.

"Ready, Togepi?" I asked her.

She hopped between each foot merrily.

"Bagon, prepare yourself!" Patrick yelled.

Bagon growled.

My opponent and I shared a nod.

"Let's start."

"Let us begin!"

"Togepi, Charm!"

"Bagon, Leer!"

It'd been quite some time since I'd had a battle at such a low level, so it was a little funny to see both Pokémon put so much effort into their moves for such little effect.

Togepi leaned forward and gave the Dragon Type a big smile, while Bagon turned its head to stare at Togepi with its lizard-like eye and narrowed it aggressively.

Honestly, I wasn't even certain the two moves had worked. Both sides had barely reacted.

"Go for Bite!" Patrick called out.

His little two-legged dragon rushed forward at Togepi, mouth open and growling.

Togepi tried to move back, but she had short, stubby legs whereas Bagon was like a miniature T-rex. The Dragon Type's jaws tried to bite down on Togepi but, unexpectedly, failed to do so simply because her eggy body was too wide to fit.

"Great, Metronome!"

"Ember!"

Bagon, following its trainer's orders, opened its mouth to fire off a few, measly flames. Togepi, meanwhile, waved her arms back and forth as the flecks of fire burned into her. She grunted from the pain slightly, but the weak attack was suddenly blown back by a powerful spin that used her whole body.

Togepi, using Rapid Spin from Metronome, tried to rush forward at Bagon. However, the attack was uncontrolled and overextended due to her hustle ability. It clipped Bagon, only slightly battering it, and she spun right past it and came to a stop a foot away. A smirk grew onto Patrick’s face.

"This is it, Bagon! Headbutt!" he yelled.

Bagon flung its armored head forward. Togepi experienced a cranium to the cranium and was smashed into the ground.

Before I could even tell Togepi had fainted, Rapidash was already dashing over to heal her up with Heal Pulse.

"Aha! Yes! I knew Dragon Types were superior to Fairy Types!" my opponent shouted.

Jumping back and forth in place, he cheered as his Gabite and Shelgon looked towards my team. Their eyes suddenly widened slightly in fear.

Glancing over, I caught a glimpse of Ninetales and Mawile sending death glares the Dragon Types’ way before stopping when they noticed I was watching them.

Bagon at least stayed behind to help Togepi up after Rapidash brought her back to consciousness. She smiled and shook the little Dragon Type's hand.

Later, once we settled down for the night, I gave making a meal for everyone a go. Patrick stuck around to eat with us.

"So what brought you to this route, anyway?"

"Why, training, of course!" he cheerfully responded. "The dense fog is perfect to train the senses, and the image of a dragon swooping down in the fog is appealing, no?"

I shrugged.

"Sure. I mean, Fairy Types are cooler."

"You may think so, but do Fairy Types have a move as cool as Draco Meteor?"

I immediately thought of Altaria's Pixilate-modified Hyper Beam. Patrick continued without me responding.

"There are rumors of a certain expert who lives on this route. If they're true, they state that she teaches the powerful Draco Meteor to any Dragon Types that seek her out. I plan to find her."

At first, I wanted to simply wish him luck, but a combination came to mind.

Altaria was the only Pokémon on my team capable of learning the move, which let it be a powerful nuke. I had Hyper Beam for when he was Mega Evolved, but what about the times he wasn't?

Draco Meteor weakened its user after its use due to the vast amount of energy required for its formation. Altaria had a solution to that in the form of Power Swap.

He could use Power Swap after a Draco Meteor to weaken his foes before using it again.

I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip me by.

"I'll help you find them," I said.

Patrick perked up from where he was digging into the meal I'd cooked.

"Truly?"

"Yeah, Altaria can learn the move. He stands to benefit a lot from it."

"Then let us be off!" Patrick exclaimed.

He began to stand up, only to realize he had a plate of food in his lap. He quickly caught it then sat right back down.

"In the morning, I mean," he said.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

To deal with the fog of Route 210, I released Altaria to clear it out in a radius around us. Immediately, he used his ability, Cloud Nine, alongside his move, Defog, to cause practically all of the fog to disintegrate with a single burst of wind. A cylinder of clear skies formed in the air, and for the first time in a while, I could see more than a few feet ahead of me.

"How graceful!" Patrick exclaimed upon seeing Altaria spiral in the air.

I let out a sigh, knowing what would happen next.

"More of a goof than anything else," I mumbled.

Like a homing rocket, Altaria turned midair to face my way and dived downward right at me. I braced for impact, but he slowed down just in time to casually land on my head.

My vision went white with feathers as he began to properly reorient himself. I had to hold my arm out to not lose my balance.

Patrick looked impressed, for some reason. I just commented on the need to move on.

With Altaria's help, alongside Patrick’s flying Dragonair, we moved down the route while keeping an eye out for the mysterious Draco Meteor master he had mentioned. There were tons of false positives, like other dragon tamers and traveling trainers nearby, but soon enough, we found our target.

It was naught but a little shack built into the top of the valley edge. Behind it, there was an open space in the forest that surrounded this area where bright lights kept being sent high into the sky and falling back down.

Patrick and I shared one look before knocking on the door.

There was a moment's pause before we heard the backdoor open up, the sounds of footsteps approaching, and then the front door unlocked. Honestly, we could have probably just walked around the side.

Opening up the door was a woman with gray hair and wrinkles so deep, her eyes almost appeared closed. She gave us a polite smile as we stood outside her house.

"Yes? How may I help you?"

"Are you Grandma Wilma?" Patrick asked.

I blinked.

The woman who taught others Draco Meteor was called Grandma Wilma?

"I am she," she said. "Are you here to learn Draco Meteor?"

"We are!" Patrick said.

"Then come in. I made cookies. There are others training in the back."

I didn’t enter immediately. I was stuck outside due to how flabbergasted I was about this situation.

“Wait, just like that?” I asked.

The woman nodded sagely.

“Just like that.”

I couldn’t wrap my mind around a random person in the middle of nowhere teaching the strongest Dragon Type move there was to literal strangers, but I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Numbly taking an offered chocolate chip cookie, we were escorted into her backyards where a few other Dragon Types were training.

As it stood, it was just a single Gible and an Altaria. Still, though, the two turned out to be the ones responsible for sending bright orange spheres of draconic energy far up into the air. Gible’s tended to fizzle out and fall into the distance, but the Altaria’s would burst in the air and send dozens of smaller meteors raining down into the open space below.

The old woman smiled proudly.

“I can see you’re a little confused about what’s going on,” she said to me.

Patrick was already sending out his Pokémon. Bagon, being so young, stayed in its ball.

“I am,” I said.

“Wondering why I’m not charging anything or asking for more information?” she continued.

I nodded my head, thankful she seemed familiar with my confusion.

In response to my reaction, she chuckled a bit, covering her mouth.

“I see it as a matter of fairness. Yes, I could choose to charge thousands of dollars, and sure, I could make myself exclusive to all but the masters, but what would be the point in that? I don’t need money, and I’d rather share knowledge than hoard it. There’s no reason to make something exclusive when there’s no need to do such a thing.”

“Wow,” I said, honestly amazed. “That’s very noble.”

“Bah, it’s just an old woman’s wish. Now then, are you going to send out your Pokémon?”

At her question, I sent out my own Altaria and was immediately assaulted by fluff.

“So how does Draco Meteor work, anyway?” I asked, muffled through my Pokémon.

Patrick and his Pokémon moved closer to Grandma Wilma to listen in.

“For starters, it’s quite like other moves, but it requires a Dragon Type to extend much more energy than normal. It requires a sense of stability, otherwise it's prone to bursting. Use too little, and you may end up like Gible here, whose attack doesn’t contain enough power to properly spread out. Use too much, and your attack may end up like the Altaria’s here, successful, but far too draining to use in battle.”

As she said that, I glanced over to the other Altaria currently present. The bird Pokémon was sitting on the ground, panting, trying to do its best to use Roost to recover.

“Is the attack anything like Dragon Pulse?”

“It’s certainly similar, but it has its own twist on its usage. Let me see... How do I explain it...”

Age proved to coincide with experience, as over the next few hours, the old woman ensured our Pokémon understood the basics of such a move. Altaria was no expert in it, by any regards, but he was at least able to send a ball up in the sky. I was impressed.

“This is amazing,” I said.

“This is adequate,” came the reply.

This woman was an expert in Dragon Types, and while it wasn’t my chosen Type, I couldn’t wait until I was just as skilled with the Fairy Type on my own.

“Alex!” Patrick suddenly yelled out. I glanced over to him. “Let’s have a battle!”

“I thought we already had one?”

“Yes, but, this time, I need to use it to train! Your Altaria has exceptional control over his own Dragon Type moves. Let me fight your Pokémon to help my own practice the move!”

“But Fairy Types are immune to Dragon Type moves?” I pointed out.

Patrick shrugged.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Let us go!”

Going along with his plan, and with the help of Grandma Wilma organizing everything, we took up opposite sides in the clearing to fight.

“Now, you two, make sure your Pokémon don’t damage my house,” she said.

I nodded before sending a signal to the members of my team standing on the sidelines to take care of it.

“Got it,” I said.

“Good. You two can begin whenever you want.”

“Rapidash, let’s go!”

“Demolish them, Shelgon!”

This would be Rapidash’s first true battle now that he was evolved, and I could feel my blood begin to pump faster. The only issue was that he only knew Fairy Wind for a Fairy Type move, but with a little help from Azumarill teaching him Play Rough, I knew he’d be fine.

“Let’s start with a Psybeam.”

“Protect!”

Rapidash was already building up speed by running around the edge of the set field, and, from his horn, a beam of iridescent light shot out. It impacted Shelgon, but the Pokémon had braced its body, making the most of its hard shell, to fully resist the attack.

“Good! Now ruin its speed! Use Flamethrower!”

“Guide it away from you with Mystical Fire,” I ordered.

Flamethrower was an attack that shot out a stream of uncontrolled flame, the Fire Type energy used to conjure fire, not control it. On the other hand, Mystical Fire was all about control rather than pure burning power, so as Shelgon’s face became obscured by a gout of flame, Rapidash conjured his own floating, flaming motes.

Using those motes, he let the Flamethrower hit his attack without any resistance. It seemed the Mystical Fire was completely consumed, but, by quickly moving his embers in place, the Flamethrower was redirected to curve around him.

Both Patrick and Shelgon had to pause at such a sight.

In all honesty, I didn’t even expect this to be possible, but Rapidash proved he knew what I meant and proved himself capable of the extreme once more. A large smile blossomed onto my face.

“Amazing, Rapidash. Now, High Horsepower!”

“Crunch, Shelgon!”

Rapidash’s hooves thundered against the ground, bringing up dirt and stone in his path forward. Shelgon ambled forward as well, moving at a much lower speed, until the two of them collided.

Shelgon tried to bite Rapidash’s leg, but Rapidash didn’t let that happen. His hoof was planted firmly onto Shelgon’s face with an impromptu Stomp before pressing down to continue his run with High Horsepower.

It was only thanks to Shelgon’s heavy armor that it was still conscious.

Patrick literally growled.

“We’re here to get stronger, not lose! See if you can stop it with Draco Meteor!”

Now, he and I both knew Rapidash was immune to that move. I wasn’t sure how it would help, but its use was the focus of the battle anyway.

From Shelgon’s head, a small orange ball “popped” out of its body and flew up into the air. Rapidash did pay attention to it just in case, as it might act similar to Dragon Claw, where a Fairy Type was immune to the attack’s Dragon Type energy but not the rending claws behind it.

As the attack burst, a handful of flaming orbs soared downwards from the sky. I watched as Rapidash nimbly avoided two of them but let a third graze him.

The effect was intriguing, to say the least. While Rapidash was wholly unaffected, the attack's hot flames left a burn mark.

Rapidash stopped running to stare at the streak in his otherwise spotless white hide.

“You did it!” Patrick cheered from the back. “Shelgon, I’m so proud of you!”

The two, piercing, yellow eyes that were barely visible from the front hole of the shell curled up into smiles. The Pokémon hopped back and forth between its front and back legs before Patrick’s and its face both became extremely serious.

“Now, to finish this. Shelgon, use Zen Headbutt!”

“Psychic,” I said calmly.

Shelgon only got a few feet forward before a blue glow emanated from around it and it was lifted up in the air. It flailed its legs around to try to escape, but that action soon stopped.

Rapidash wordlessly stared at it for a single moment before ruthlessly crushing it into the ground.

When the small dust cloud cleared, Shelgon was fainted.

Grandma Wilma clapped at the side.

“Impressive. A loss like that is sure to motivate a Dragon Type to become stronger in the future. Now, your next set of Pokémon?” she said.

I called Rapidash to return to the side of the field, where Kirlia used his Life Dew move to create a splash of healing water down onto Rapidash. The refreshing move caused the injury-less burn mark to dissipate. Rapidash sent Kirlia a grateful whinny.

I tapped Altaria, who had been on my head that whole time.

“Your turn,” I said.

He mournfully left his throne to flap over the field. Similarly, his Dragonair slithered onto the field from midair to face off against Altaria.

“Whenever you two are ready, go,” Grandma Wilma said.

“Draco Meteor!” Patrick immediately ordered afterwards.

I wasn’t able to give an order of my own before both Pokémon used the move.

In response, I just scratched the side of my head awkwardly, knowing the outcome. When it came to facing other Dragon Types, Altaria had always had a somewhat competitive streak. I should have expected something like this would happen, and it was my fault for not expecting it sooner.

Two bright orange balls flew up into the air before both of them burst. Altaria’s was much larger than Dragonair’s, and Dragonair’s also burst into less meteors total.

The difference in how the two Pokémon responded was different, too. Altaria chose to bunker down with both Roost and Cotton Guard to defend himself, while Dragonair took to the air to dodge as many as possible.

With Altaria’s strategy, he had braced himself for the two that came his way, taking a decent chunk of super effective damage, but not much overall. Dragonair, meanwhile, hurriedly tried to twist around in the air to move between all of the trajectories of the falling meteors.

Unfortunately for it, one of the attacks struck it right on its side. It let out a loud, pitiful cry, then Altaria suddenly burst forward.

One super effective Dragonbreath, and that was it.

Lightly singed, Altaria immediately returned to my head, causing me to stumble from the force of his landing. Patrick was dumbfounded as he stared at his Pokémon, unable to comprehend how quickly it lost.

“How long have you been training?” I asked from across the field.

“Half a year,” Patrick mumbled.

I whistled, impressed.

“That’s still really good, but Altaria’s been with me for, what? A year and a half? We’ve gone through a lot of tough challenges, more so than the average trainer. Your Pokémon are tough; they just went against the wrong opponent.”

My words were a little cocky, but they were based in truth as I had the experience to back them up. Rapidash walked forward to lay his head on Dragonair’s body to heal it from the injury it just took.

Patrick gave me a sad smile.

“Yes. Of course. Just the wrong opponent,” he said as he returned his Pokéball.

He stared at the ball in his hand for a long time before his smile stopped being so sad and turned completely genuine.

“Guess that means our potential to grow is still sky high, hm?”

“That’s the spirit!” Grandma Wilma said next to him. “Such incredible fighting spirits from the two of you. It’s no wonder your Pokémon picked up Draco Meteor so quickly.”

“Is there anything else we should know before heading out?”

“Nope! I trust you two to use the move properly. After all, Latias wouldn’t have allowed you to find my house, otherwise.”

Patrick didn’t hear what she said as he was busy talking animatedly with his Pokémon. I stared at the old woman as she gave me a small wink and a knowing smile.

I quickly pushed that out of my mind as I turned my focus to the next steps of my journey.

Altaria might have received a second extremely powerful move today, but I had something important to get to.

Cynthia’s grandmother laid ahead, and, with her, a conversation about both Arceus and the Pixie Plate awaited.