Landing on the side of the mountain that faced the sea, David and Uncle Zayn immediately spotted several Dratini playing happily among the coastal reefs below. The small Pokémon darted in and out of the water, clearly enjoying themselves.
Looking further up the slope, David could also make out a group of Gible and Bagon in the distance. Aside from the Dragonite family, the main territories of the Garchomp and Salamence families were located elsewhere, but these young ones had gathered here nonetheless. They were likely all cubs that had chosen to leave the Ten Thousand Dragons Nest and follow a human Trainer — all here for the upcoming Dragon Festival.
The festival had not yet begun, however, and the sudden appearance of two humans immediately drew attention. A Dragonite that had been keeping watch on the mountainside swept down swiftly, its large frame positioning itself firmly between the young Pokémon and the two newcomers.
Then it got a closer look at Uncle Zayn.
The wariness in its eyes vanished at once, replaced by a warm, enthusiastic cry.
"Roar~!"
David could tell right away. This Dragonite clearly knew Uncle Zayn well.
"It's you! It's been a while." Uncle Zayn stepped forward with a familiar ease and reached up to scratch behind the Dragonite's head as it leaned down toward him. "So it's your turn to bring the young ones for the Dragon Festival this year. Your Family Head must be around too, then? We've got some things to discuss with them."
The Dragonite let out another happy rumble and nodded. Then it lowered itself to the ground and turned sideways, gesturing for Uncle Zayn and David to climb on. It was going to take them up to the Family Head itself.
David was quietly surprised. He knew Dragon-type Pokémon well enough to understand how rare this was. Dragon-types were proud by nature, and it was almost unheard of for one to allow anyone other than its own Trainer to ride it — except in emergencies, like Dragonite occasionally rescuing sailors lost at sea. Even then, it was not something they did lightly.
But this one didn't hesitate at all.
Uncle Zayn helped David onto the Dragonite's back, and once they were both seated, the Dragonite's small wings beat once — and they shot forward like an arrow.
"Whoa—!"
The moment they were airborne, David braced himself. Dragonite was considerably faster than Tropius, and he had half-expected a rough ride. But a few seconds in, he realized he felt completely fine.
The scenery was rushing past at incredible speed, yet there was no pressure bearing down on him, no biting wind. The Dragonite was flying with perfect control, managing the airflow around them so precisely that David only felt a light breeze against his face — less resistance than when he was sprinting on the ground.
Once they had settled into the flight, Uncle Zayn leaned in and told David the full story behind this particular Dragonite.
It turned out the Pokémon was not originally from the Ten Thousand Dragons Nest at all. Over twenty years ago, when it had still been a Dratini, it had somehow become separated from its parents under unclear circumstances. Alone and vulnerable, it had eventually been caught by a group of Pokémon poachers who planned to sell it overseas — domestic sales of Pokémon carried far too much risk and fetched lower prices, so traffickers often moved their catches abroad.
The Dratini had been helpless. It had no way to fight back, and hope had all but disappeared — until Uncle Zayn happened to come across the group by chance. He dealt with every one of them and freed the Dratini on the spot.
He did not catch it, though. Instead, he brought it to the Ten Thousand Dragons Nest and spent time helping it learn how to survive in the wild. The Dratini grew, evolved, and eventually became the Dragonite it was today.
Even though Uncle Zayn had never formally caught it, the Dragonite considered him no different from its own Trainer.
The trip to the summit took under two minutes.
The moment David set foot at the top of the mountain, he finally understood what it truly meant to be in an S-rank Secret Realm.
Dragonite, Hydreigon, Garchomp, Salamence, Baxcalibur, Goodra, Dragapult, Kommo-o — fully grown, adult pseudo-legendary Dragon-type Pokémon stood across the peak, one after another. The combined weight of their presence was something David could feel pressing on his chest just from standing among them.
But none of that was what stopped him cold.
The Dragonite carrying them brought David and Uncle Zayn to another Dragonite near the center of the summit. The moment David saw it, he felt his breath catch.
This Dragonite was enormous — at least three times the size of a normal Dragonite. It was not a Totem Pokémon, but whatever it was, it had long since surpassed what any ordinary Pokémon should be capable of. The Dragonite they had ridden up here, itself a solidly built creature, looked almost like a young child standing next to it.
Among Dragon-types, widely known for their powerful builds, size was a general marker of strength. And this one was unlike anything David had seen before.
Its body was also covered in scars — dense, varied, and severe. The largest of them had torn clean through its abdomen at some point. These were not small wounds. They were the kind that changed a Pokémon, that left marks not just on the body but on how it carried itself. The usual round, almost jovial appearance of the Dragonite family was completely absent here. In its place was something ancient and fierce — an aura that felt almost suffocating.
And then there were the scales. Dragonite's scales were ordinarily nearly invisible, but this one's were unmistakable — layer upon layer of dense, fine dragon scales covering nearly every inch of its body, forming what looked like a natural suit of armor. David recognized what this was from the Moore family's private records. It was the sign of Multiscale taken to an extraordinary level of development.
The Moore family even had secret techniques devoted specifically to cultivating that ability. And it was worth taking seriously — outside of the Dragonite line, only Lugia was known to naturally possess Multiscale. The ability not only dramatically increased the Pokémon's defense, but through its development, also built up a strong resistance to Ice-type energy over time.
David's older sister, Aria, had won a remarkable victory at the Cloudspire High School Cup singles tournament using her own Dragonite — defeating three opponents from Ice City University in a row — and Multiscale had been a decisive factor in making that possible.
This Dragonite in front of him had to be the Family Head that Uncle Zayn had mentioned.
David steadied himself and quietly activated his scanning ability.
[Name: Dragonite]
[Type: Dragon / Flying]
[Gender: ♦]
[Energy Level: 99 (Legendary )]
[Ability: Multiscale]
[Aptitude: Crimson +]
[Held Item: Dragon Fang]
[Known Moves: Dragon Breath, Extreme Speed, Water Pulse, Flamethrower, Thunder, Thunder Wave, Roost, Dragon Rush, Dragon Dance, Aqua Tail, Agility, Rain Dance, Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, Hurricane, Safeguard, Blizzard, Hyper Beam…]
Legendary.
The rest of the information barely registered. That single word was all David could focus on.
This Dragonite — this scarred, towering, ancient Dragonite — was a Legendary-level Pokémon.
And not just Legendary. It stood at the peak of it.