Blue skies and a turquoise sea.
The third day after the Lilycove Contest ended.
Ten thousand meters in the air, Baimu sat aboard a plane bound for Kalos. The Hoenn Continent had long since vanished from view outside his window, and he felt a pang of regret that he hadn't spotted Rayquaza...
All right.
He was actually relieved.
Everyone knew Rayquaza was the lord of the skies, and it attacked anything that intruded on its territory. Just look at the alien Deoxys in those two movies. In one, Rayquaza smashed Deoxys's body apart and sent its core crystal sinking to the bottom of the sea for who knew how many years. When Deoxys finally woke up and went looking for its companion, Rayquaza came after it again.
Admittedly, the "overbearing and tyrannical" Rayquaza had ultimately been pushed around by the humans' Box of Creation and the ocean, but the incident still showed how much it hated trespassers.
That was why Baimu had always felt uneasy about flying through Hoenn.
As it turned out, he had clearly misjudged Rayquaza. Even Legendary Pokémon in the animated world were more creatures of feeling than divinity. They weren't going to cause a horrific disaster for hundreds of people on a whim.
As he pondered this, several bursts of giggling came from beside him.
Baimu turned. In the seats next to him, Mawile and the Dreepy Siblings were huddled around a phone, watching a comedy variety show. The three little Pokémon were laughing so hard they rolled about in their seats.
Air travel in the Pokémon World was interesting. Pokémon were allowed aboard, but there were height and weight limits, and each one needed a ticket and its own seat regardless of size. Before boarding, professional detection equipment checked whether anyone was sneaking Pokémon through.