In Meteor City, City Lord Shen paced back and forth inside his room, agitation written all over his face.
News had just arrived from the front lines: many territories had been attacked by an unknown force and had already fallen.
"Damn it… which faction is bold enough to attack Meteor City?!" His fist tightened in anger.
Because Meteor City possessed abundant mineral resources, it had always drawn the covetous eyes of neighboring cities.
But this time, the attack was strange. The locations being assaulted were coastal towns—meaning the enemy launched their assault directly from the sea!
Based on his understanding, there were not many cities across the entire Sinnoh Region capable of constructing large seafaring vessels. Meteor City itself only succeeded in creating ironwood ships because of its unique ironwood supply.
After a long moment, Shen's agitation gradually eased a little.
"As expected… without the protection of a guardian deity, a city will never truly know peace."
His gaze flickered, turning to the hanging scroll directly in front of the desk—on it was a depiction of Heatran.
Rumor had it that the first generation of Meteor City's founders came from another distant continent, and Heatran had been the guardian deity of their clan.
However, for unknown reasons, Heatran had one day left their tribe. And to search for Heatran, their ancestors abandoned their original homeland and sailed across the seas.
Eventually, they drifted to what would become Meteor City and built a settlement here. But as time passed, they never resumed their search for the lost guardian.
Again and again, ships in Meteor City were replaced, but the ancestral offerings brought from the distant continent remained unchanged. According to legend, as long as those offerings were made, Heatran would continue to watch over their people.
"But right now, the priority is to repel the invaders." Shen took a deep breath.
Without further hesitation, he took the ceremonial sword hanging above the calligraphy scroll and strapped it to his waist. Then he donned his gleaming mithril armor, a symbol of honor and strode out the door.
"Ferrr!"
Standing at the entrance was a monkey Pokémon entirely covered in reddish-brown fur, with flames burning atop its head.
The moment it saw Shen step out, the Infernape burst into even stronger flames, its eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Old friend… I'll be counting on you to accompany me onto the battlefield once more." Shen patted Infernape's shoulder. "Now, come with me to war!"
…
Meanwhile, in the Meteorite Mountain Range, Aven led the caravan forward along a narrow mountain path.
The area was filled with jagged rocky peaks. Under such conditions, carving out even a single usable road would normally be an extraordinary challenge.
Fortunately, their group included many Onix and Geodude, and with the help of Garchomp and Flygon, they forcefully cleared a path through the rocky terrain.
"The environment here might actually be slightly better than the Coastal Mountains." Aven glanced back toward the expanse of stony ridges.
Compared to the towering mountains near the coast, this region mainly consisted of rocky hills. As long as the stones were cleared, the path was relatively manageable.
Of course, all of this was thanks to the route map he had acquired from the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild, which helped them avoid countless obstacles and unnecessary detours.
"Your Highness Aven, we've found another Geodude nesting area ahead."
At that moment, a patrolling knight returned on his Mightyena.
Ever since they entered the Meteorite Mountains, the number of Rock-type Pokémon had increased dramatically. They had already encountered quite a few.
Naturally, the environment also grew more dangerous—with frequent rockslides along the way. These were, unsurprisingly, the handiwork of the Rock-types living here.
"We'll avoid this Geodude habitat for now," Aven said after a moment of thought.
As much as he was interested in capturing them, now was not the right time. Even though he had many Geodude and even Graveler accompanying the caravan, subduing an entire Geodude tribe was not something that could be accomplished quickly.
Still, he remained cautious. Aven marked the location carefully on the map, planning to return and develop this site later, capturing the Geodude tribe in a more controlled manner.
As they continued toward Meteor City, they suddenly noticed the air becoming increasingly hot and dry. It was still late spring and they were all wearing long sleeves—so such an abrupt rise in temperature was obviously unnatural.
"Rhhhhyyy!"
Sensing the unusual change in the air, Rhydon perked up, an excited gleam appearing in its eyes.
After entering the region, Aven had given it a task—to search for Fire-type Pokémon. And now, Rhydon was finally detecting the aura of Fire-types!
"A Fire-type Pokémon tribe!" Aven's eyes lit up as well.
He had never encountered any Fire-types in Aspiration City, making him all the more eager.
If he could capture several Fire-types, they would tremendously support the development of the forging workshops.
In fact, acquiring Fire-types was one of his main goals upon coming to Meteor City.
Now that Rhydon had a solid lead, Aven naturally would not let the opportunity slip by. He immediately ordered Rhydon to guide them in the direction from which the Fire-type aura radiated.
As they advanced, the surroundings grew hotter and hotter—but for Rhydon, this was nothing. After all, it was a Pokémon capable of training inside magma!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Suddenly, the deafening sound of a battle erupted ahead.
A moment later, pillars of blazing flame shot into the sky, dyeing the distant horizon a fierce, burning red.
"Fire-types… and extremely powerful ones at that!" Aven's expression grew even more delighted.
"RHYYYYY!"
Hearing the sounds of battle, Rhydon became even more excited, trembling with anticipation.
Before long, Aven and his Pokémon reached the source of the conflict—only to discover two Infernape engaged in a fierce battle. Surrounding them were numerous Chimchar and Monferno.
Chimchar was Infernape's initial form—small, monkey-like, its whole body a bright orange-red, with a small flame burning on its rear.
Monferno was Chimchar's evolved form. Its previously slender arms were now muscular, and a long tail grew behind it, the tip engulfed in blazing fire.
"It's an Infernape tribe!" Aven exclaimed in surprise.
Infernape, like Empoleon, was one of Sinnoh's starter Pokémon—possessing tremendous potential and extremely rare.
Yet here, there were five Infernape, and the total number of Monferno and Chimchar exceeded fifty—truly a large and powerful tribe.
Moreover, Aven could distinctly feel a particularly fierce energy coming from further back. One Infernape, larger and more muscular than the others, radiated an overwhelming aura.
It was unmistakably a King-level Pokémon.
(End of Chapter)