Realistically, they could have waltzed through Rustboro without raising much of a fuss. Howard was moderately noteworthy in the city from his time lecturing at the university, but Adrian had the unfortunate label of being a turncoat.

"Draconids?" The admin's cigarette lost a centimeter as he took a deep drag. "A bunch of really bothersome people that pray to a dragon and have hero complexes."

He thought of Roy Aker and freya morningstar as he spoke. When it was clear that Adrian wanted an actual answer and not a halfhearted joke, the admin thought for a moment before continuing. It wasn't his specialization, and Draconid lore was often buried in cliffsides and deep in Meteor Falls, but it wasn't a complete mystery.

He'd be a pretty shitty historian situated in Hoenn to not know about them.

"Put simply, they're people who talk to dragons. They coexist alongside them, and they charted the stars in the sky." Howard sucked his teeth and scratched his chin. "They're all pretty strong trainers, I've heard."

His eye flicked to Adrian. Howard had little fear for Draconid ruins. They were history. History was dead and buried, and even if it wasn't, Howard didn't mind.

"Why the interest?"

---

Adrian Malcolm

Freya Morningstar was the talk of the town. Howard couldn't blame Adrian for trying to brush up on his history. If anything, he respected Adrian's newfound interest.

"They're as big of a deal as the capabilities of the people within the group. If the modern generation of Draconids were pathetic, then the group would be lost to time. They've persisted, and Rayquaza destroyed that meteor and saved Sootopolis. We respect the accomplishments of the people, not of the group." Now that he said it, it was a remarkably un-historian thing to say. Howard quickly corrected himself. "Though the Draconids as a whole are important, yes."

They owed him a giant. Regidrago was connected to them in some way, even if Howard himself didn't know how or why. Had the Draconids built it, or had the ancient civilization that had built the other four offered a helping hand?

It was strange.

"Sure. I used to play here when I was a kid, actually. I know the range pretty well." Time spent with Roy Aker had gone down the drain, and the wonder of childhood had been placed with the methodical clockwork of adulthood. "Wait..."

Howard poked his head out from behind Adrian. In the depths of the cave, where the phone's light did not shine, were a dozen spectral wisps.

"What the...?"

'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE' The wisps rapidly approached.

"OHSHITWHATTHEFUUUUUUUUUU-"

---

Adrian Malcolm

Adrian Malcolm was a moron. An idiot. Yveltal must have killed the majority of his braincells. That was the only way that Adrian throwing his phone at the incoming swarm of specters made any smidge of sense. As it was, the horde of draconic ghosts simply shrieked and went around the phone as it bounced against the floor.

Snap! Snap! Snap! Several photos were taken as the phone bounced against the rock floor.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!" Howard yelped, before running into a wall due to the lack of light. Yet without the light, the admin glowed faintly in the darkness as Dynergy rushed through his body like divine circuitry. It offered a faint glow, better than none at all. "ADRIAN!!!"

Rather than reach for a Pokeball, the admin elected to turn around and run, before stumbling on another rock.

"Dammit!" A Pokeball fell from his belt, erupting open to reveal the Skeledirge from the admin had used against Registeel. "Owowowowow..."

Setet growled at the horde of phantoms, which in its spectral light revealed themselves as Dreepy.

---

Adrian Malcolm

While Adrian dances with Dreepy, Howard loses fights to a cave wall, Dreepy included. The only thing that saved the admin was the fact that he seemingly tasted terrible. Each time a Dreepy gummed at his limbs, they squirmed off, as if tasting something revolting.

Seriously? This was the guy who had seized Petalburg?

"This is why I don't go delving in Galar!"

Eventually, the admin is left to wrestle one Dreepy alone. His fight is a Herculean one, but Setet comes to his defense by scaring it away. Together, he turns towards Adrian and his Shadow Arbok. A large swath of fire flew over Adrian's head, before sputtering against the wall.

The phone was so close, within a hand's reach.

So Setet gave Adrian a Helping Hand.

---

Adrian Malcolm

"Ow... Ow... Ow...!" The admin looked up, a bruise forming on his forehead where he had run into the wall. A few tears were welling in his eyes as he held his head. "This hurts! Fuck!"

If the fact that Howard Slayte, archaeologist extraordinaire, had gotten mauled in a cave of Dreepy without putting up much of a fight, his capability would become the stuff of jokes. Forget that he fought Terrakion, Suicune, Mesprit, and Wo-chien in rapid succession. No, the fact that he and Adrian had lost to Dreepy would ruin their credibility.

This secret could never leak.

Yet to keep such a secret would ruin the admin's belief in free knowledge. Howard looked at Adrian's phone, frowning. There were a few funny images in there. Hm...

"You can't leak those, Adrian. They'll kill our credibility. If I see those on the internet, I'll kill you." Howard chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Unless we distort the truth, like myths of old..."

What this would result in was a mystery, for the cave entrance was approaching.

---

Adrian Malcolm