Gary was relieved to see that Shelgon had already regained consciousness. He had expected it to need more time, but it had woken in less than an hour.
Approaching with a friendly smile, Gary said, "Shelgon, I'm sorry about earlier. I mistook you for a wild Pokémon and tried to catch you. Please forgive me."
Shelgon, still unsure of Gary's intentions, stared at him blankly.
From the dragon's bewildered expression, Gary could tell it was inexperienced and unaccustomed to dealing with humans—an easy target for deception if someone had ill intent.
"To make it up to you, here's an energy cube I made myself. It'll help you recover faster."
He held two brightly colored cubes in front of Shelgon.
Shelgon simply blinked, making no move to eat them.
"Ah—right. You can't eat in your current state." Gary scratched his head apologetically. After Bagon evolves into Shelgon, it seals itself inside its shell and absorbs energy through its skin until it has stored enough power to evolve again.
Shelgon let out a small, exasperated huff. The human seemed a little unreliable.
"Don't worry, I know you already have a Trainer. Could you take me to see them so I can return you?" Gary asked. "If you're willing, just call out twice."
"Gon! Gon!" Shelgon cried immediately.
Gary nodded to Eevee, who released its Psychic hold on the dragon. Free to move, Shelgon shuffled over to a nearby green crystal and settled beside it. A faint emerald light washed over its shell, knitting wounds and easing bruises.
"So that crystal has healing properties?" Gary muttered in surprise. "But when Aggron and Eevee touched it earlier, nothing happened. Why does it only react to Shelgon?"
He crouched beside the dragon. "Shelgon, what are these stones? Why can they heal you?"
"Gon…" Shelgon answered, but Gary couldn't understand a word. He was about to summon Latios to translate when a timid voice piped up behind him.
"Gu…"
Startled, Gary spun around. A Whismur had wandered up, trembling nervously. Eevee sensed no hostility, so Gary paid it little mind—Whismur was hardly dangerous.
"Gu! Gu! Gu! Guuuu!"
The tiny Pokémon suddenly shrieked at the top of its lungs, the sound echoing painfully through the cavern.
Gary winced. "Eevee, could you quiet it down?"
Eevee's eyes glowed, Psychic energy clamped Whismur's mouth shut, plunging the cave back into silence.
"Gon!" Shelgon barked reproachfully at Eevee.
With a sigh, Eevee released its hold, and Whismur resumed wailing. Clearly the two Pokémon knew each other, so Gary didn't interfere again.
A few minutes later, a figure appeared beside Whismur. The moment the little Normal-type saw her, it fell silent.
Gary's eyes widened. "Zinnia…!" He recognized the girl instantly. She was the current Lorekeeper of the Draconid tribe—though the Zinnia standing before him looked about his age, her sun-tanned skin and bright eyes gave her a hardy, vibrant air.
Zinnia's stance was guarded. Although she lived in remote Meteor Village, visiting Trainers occasionally passed through, so she knew how to spot an outsider—especially one dressed like Gary.
"Hello. My name's Gary. Is this Shelgon yours?" he asked politely.
"Hmm!"
Before Zinnia could answer, Shelgon trotted over and rubbed its head against her leg like an oversized dog.
"You again!" Zinnia scolded. "I told you not to wander off. We agreed you could explore once a week, and you slipped out anyway."
Shelgon ignored the reprimand and continued nuzzling her calf.
"Thanks for bringing him back," Zinnia said to Gary, softening.
"No problem. I actually mistook Shelgon for a wild Pokémon and tried to catch him, so I, er… roughed him up a bit. Hope you're not upset," Gary admitted.
"Gon! Gon!"
Shelgon immediately launched into a dramatic series of groans and complaints.
Gary sweat-dropped. A moment ago the dragon had been meek, now, in front of its Trainer, it was putting on a show.
Zinnia folded her arms. "Serves you right. If you'd run into someone less kind, you might not have made it back at all."
Shelgon wilted at the scolding.
Gary offered an awkward smile. At least Zinnia seemed reasonable.
"Let's head inside so Shelgon can rest," she said, returning the dragon to its Poké Ball.
Zinnia stepped up and offered a hand. "I'm Zinnia."
"Gary. Nice to meet you."
"What brings you to Meteor Falls, Gary?" she asked.
"I heard there were Dragon-type Pokémon here, so I came to look around. Then I ran into Shelgon and realized he already had a Trainer, so I followed him to make sure he got home safely."
Zinnia nodded, satisfied for now. "In that case, come on. I'll show you a place to rest—and maybe answer a few of your questions about those crystals."
Gary followed, curiosity piqued. Whatever the Draconid tribe was hiding in Meteor Falls, it clearly went far beyond ordinary gemstones.