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In the eyes of most people, a dragon's lair is undoubtedly a place full of opportunity—and in fact, that is indeed true. Dragon-type Pokemon are powerful and fond of collecting shiny things; therefore, their nests are usually filled with valuable gemstones and other treasures.
As an Altaria of the high Elite Four tier—and especially as a female dragon—her desire for shiny objects was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
With the entire expanse of the Slateport Woods as her territory, and countless Pokemon under her command, years of tribute from wild Pokemon had filled her nest with innumerable glittering offerings.
When the poachers stepped into Altaria's nest, every one of them was stunned speechless by what they saw. Their eyes were practically blinded by the dazzling treasure before them.
The walls of the passage leading into the nest were inlaid with rare gemstones. Illuminated by glowing plants and luminous pearls, the gems radiated a mesmerizing brilliance.
Because of this, the entire nest glittered like a palace made of candlelight and jewels.
In an instant, a surge of overwhelming greed ignited in the hearts of everyone who entered the dragon's lair.
Without a doubt—even if they failed to capture Altaria or obtain her egg—as long as they could take the gemstones before them, they would obtain an unimaginable fortune.
Driven by greed, everyone's breathing grew heavy, and their eyes burned with frantic hunger.
Most poachers were poor to begin with, and the reason they risked their lives in this trade was simple: they needed money.
Thus, faced with such overwhelming temptation, many could no longer suppress the intense desire clawing at their hearts.
Very quickly, when a lone poacher rushed toward the wall like a madman and pried a gemstone loose with his dagger, everyone else seemed injected with raw adrenaline and lunged toward the walls as well.
No matter the world, many can share hardship, but few can share wealth. The root of this lies in human nature itself.
Before wealth, very few can remain unmoved. Most desire to seize all treasure for themselves—and if anyone dares touch their riches, even family might instantly become enemies.
Now, within this overwhelmingly luxurious dragon's lair, the darkest corners of human nature were fully nourished and rapidly amplified.
Everyone was provoked by the massive fortune before them. Each person wanted more gems, yet none was willing to surrender the ones in their own hands.
"Hahaha! So many gems! I've struck gold!"
"Get out of my way, you useless trash—these are mine!"
"What?! You dare steal my gems?! I'll kill you! Muk, eat him!"
"Die! All of you! Every gem in your hands belongs to ME!"
"Mine. Mine! They're all MINE! Put down those gems right now!"
And so, with the wealth unevenly distributed, conflict erupted instantly.
Some strong trainers used their power to rob the weaker ones. Naturally, the weak refused to accept this.
They grouped together to fight back, stole from the strong, but then turned on each other again because the distribution was unequal.
In a short time, many poachers had barely set foot inside the lair before completely forgetting why they came. Instead, they fell into a brutal free-for-all over treasure.
Even the four major poaching syndicates—normally the most disciplined—fell into chaos as their lower-ranked members refused to hand over gems, clashing with their own leaders.
But the true danger of the dragon's lair was not the infighting.
The real threat came from the wild Pokemon hiding within.
Compared to the outside, Altaria's defensive arrangements within the lair were much stronger. After long years of remodeling, the cavern carved into the cliff had long become a shifting labyrinth.
Under the influence of Rock-type Pokemon guarding the area, the maze was capable of changing its layout.
Once inside, if one did not have a powerful Ground-type Pokemon, they could easily become trapped and die in this labyrinth filled with hidden dangers.
Death has a way of quickly sobering people. Once the number of casualties reached a certain point, and the gemstones near the entrance were nearly stripped bare, many poachers forced themselves to suppress their greed and hurried deeper into the lair.
When Sato arrived at the devastated entrance of the cave, the poachers had already advanced far inside.
"It seems arriving late wasn't a bad thing after all. I truly underestimated their greed. For a handful of gems, they abandoned their lives here… the saying really is true—'People die for wealth just as birds die for food.'"
Seeing the bloodstained entrance and the few leftover gemstones on the walls, Sato instantly deduced what had occurred. He couldn't help but sigh.
To Sato, gemstones no longer held much appeal—thanks to the massive bag of gems he received from Vanna, the Dragon girl.
Thus, while traveling deeper into the lair, Sato barely paid attention to the scattered gems on the walls.
Because of this, he encountered far fewer attacks than the treasure-obsessed poachers.
Using his psychic sensing ability combined with Crobat's ultrasonic scanning, Sato successfully avoided many unnecessary battles and always stayed on the correct path.
Along the way, he ran into several poachers. Many attacked him on sight, resulting in him unintentionally collecting over a hundred high-quality gemstones.
Before long, Sato finally caught up with the strongest group of poachers.
By now, the once-large crowd had dwindled to almost nothing. Many lone poachers and small groups had died near the entrance or gotten lost in the labyrinth.
At present, fewer than fifty people remained on the correct route toward Altaria's nesting chamber. Most belonged to the four major syndicates; aside from Sato, only four lone individuals remained.
It must be said—this Altaria truly understood luxury. She had commanded countless Ground-type and Rock-type wild Pokemon to construct an enormous and opulent nest.
After Sato and the others passed through the later half of the lair, a vast open space suddenly appeared before them.
The massive underground area was nearly half the size of a football field. A large underground lake occupied most of the space, and the surrounding cavern walls were also studded with colorful gems.
Bathed in the glow of luminous plants, the entire lake sparkled with dazzling radiance.
Those who made it this far into the lair were all mentally resolute. Sato and the others were not dazzled or distracted—many instead frowned deeply.