Fortunately, not every part of the wetland was difficult to traverse.
After having Ash's Staraptor circle overhead a few times, they spotted what appeared to be an official road built by Pastoria City not far away.
The ground there was firmer, with boardwalks and long bridges built in some places. It was far better than blundering through the wetland on their own.
That was good news.
Delighted, they hurried toward it. But just as they reached it, before they could set off again, they suddenly sensed something. A moment later, they all looked up at the sky.
A Pokémon resembling a white cloud or an airship suddenly swept overhead, flying in the direction they had come from.
There was nothing particularly strange about that in itself.
After all, with so many Pokémon in the world capable of flight, having one or two fly overhead was perfectly ordinary.
But this Pokémon wasn't alone. Looking closely, they could vaguely make out someone sitting on its back, though it was too far away to tell who that person was or what they looked like.
Although they couldn't make out the person up ahead, the person above could see them.
They had initially thought it had nothing to do with them, but to their surprise, after flying past, the Pokémon circled back, looped overhead a few times, and finally descended slowly to land before them.
Only then did Xia You see exactly what Pokémon it was.
It was a Togekiss!
As Togepi's final evolved form, Togekiss measured over a meter and a half in length. Its body was covered in fluffy white fur, and it had broad, triangular wings. Red and blue triangular markings dotted its lower belly, and its two tiny feet were set close together. The spikes at the front of its