After crossing and a brief stop at the territory of Earl Ruize, they finally arrived at the Pokémon Domain. Aven led them straight to the now rocky mountain within the Safari zone.
"Infernape, welcome home. From now on, this rocky mountain will be where you live," Aven said to the Infernape before him.
"Rhyy! Rhy! Rhyyyy!"
Rhydon beside Aven also voiced its welcome.
Originally, this rocky mountain had been the habitat of the Rhydon and its tribe. Now, it was welcoming new companions.
"Well… would you like to come forge together?" Rhydon asked enthusiastically.
"Feeer?" "Forging?"
Infernape looked confused and was promptly dragged by Rhydon toward the blacksmith workshop on the mountain.
There, Rhydon immediately demonstrated how forging was done—skillfully igniting the forge and repeatedly striking with Fire Punch.
During the forging process, Rhydon also explained its unique training method to Infernape, instantly sparking Infernape's interest.
Before long, the sound of clanging metal echoed continuously throughout the rocky mountain.
Watching this scene, Aven smiled with quiet satisfaction. This time, Rhydon had truly been a great help—he had been worrying about how to get the Infernape interested in forging.
Now, if Infernape could develop a passion for blacksmithing, he could gradually guide them into forging work and turn them into partners of the master blacksmiths.
Once that happened, the Poké Ball factory could be fully established, laying the groundwork for the upcoming mass production plan. At that point, the era of trainers could be truly ushered in.
After settling the Infernape tribe, Aven headed straight for the Black Coast. With the land development over this period, the construction progress of the coastal town had advanced significantly.
In order to successfully develop the coastal settlement and turn it into a maritime trade town, Viscount Daly had invested an enormous amount of effort. The overall framework of the town had already been completely formed.
"Your Highness Aven, give me another three months, and Azure Town will be fully completed!" Daly declared confidently.
"Mm, you've worked hard. You've done an excellent job," Aven said, nodding in satisfaction.
He then signaled for Daly to accompany him to the study. He intended to inform Daly about Meteor City and see whether Daly had any additional information regarding Almia Region.
"Your Highness Aven… you actually brought Meteor City under your control directly?" Daly exclaimed, as expected, his face filled with shock.
That was Meteor City—yet it had been taken over just like that. Such a feat was more than enough to inspire awe and admiration.
When he then heard about Heatran and the Almia Continent, his astonishment deepened even further. This journey to Meteor City had truly yielded tremendous gains for Aven.
"Your Highness Aven, are you saying that the Lord of Meteor City also came from the Almia Continent?" Daly's pupils contracted sharply.
He had never imagined that there were compatriots from his homeland on the Sinnoh Continent—and that they were so close by.
Moreover, through Aven's words, he finally learned the approximate location of the Almia Continent, allowing him to prepare for the eventual return to his homeland.
"Almia lies to the southwest of the Sinnoh Continent… we were just about to explore in the wrong direction," Daly said, drawing in a deep breath.
Because his family had landed on the southeastern edge of Sinnoh, he had always believed Almia lay to the southeast as well and had planned to explore in that direction.
If that had truly been the case, all their efforts might have ended up being completely wasted. Thankfully, he had obtained this information early, avoiding future mistakes.
"The information should be accurate," Aven said.
"Moreover, there are also clues about Darkrai and Heatran—everything lines up."
After thinking for a moment, Aven recounted the incident of the sunken ship discovered off the coast near Marina City. With that, everything fell neatly into place.
"Heatran… it should originate from Boyleland in the eastern part of the Almia region," Daly said.
"The only place in Almia that could possibly house Heatran would be there. Boyleland has a Boyle Volcano."
Daly shared the information from his memories. His family had preserved a large collection of books, including maps of Almia.
Based on Heatran's identity as a Fire-type guardian deity, Boyle Volcano was undoubtedly the most suitable habitat for it.
In truth, whether it was Azelf, Darkrai, or Heatran, guardian deities had always existed first, with tribes gradually forming around them afterward.
"It does seem likely," Aven said slowly. "But I still don't understand why Heatran disappeared from Boyleland."
"And another thing, is the Heatran discovered by the Sorcerer Organization truly the one that vanished from Almia? And that Heatran was sealed… who sealed it? Why can the Volcanic Keystone break the seal?"
Aven organized all the information he had gathered, faintly sensing that there was something deeply unusual about the entire matter.
Daly also fell silent. After a long moment, his gaze hardened with resolve.
"No matter what, once we find Heatran, all the mysteries will be unraveled!"
"Looks like I need to accelerate the construction of the town and the ships," he said, clenching his fist.
His family's dream had always been to return to their homeland. Now that everything had become possible, he had to seize this opportunity firmly.
"Indeed, especially the construction of ships," Aven agreed.
"Whether it's searching for the Almia Continent or looking for Heatran, everything depends on having a sturdy vessel."
"You don't need to worry about materials at all. Every resource in Meteor City is at your disposal. All you need to do is complete the ship as quickly as possible!"
Hearing Aven's words, Daly nodded solemnly. With all conditions now in place, he would spare no effort to see it through.
After another detailed discussion with Daly regarding shipbuilding, Aven left the still-under-construction Azure Town and headed toward the nearby aquatic Pokémon cultivation zone.
Splash—
As he approached, the sound of surging waves reached his ears. Large numbers of Water-type Pokémon were living within the waters.
After this period of development, the number of Water-type Pokémon in the water breeding zone had increased significantly. It was no longer limited to just Magikarp and Tentacool.
At the same time, many trainers could be seen within the zone, including even novice trainers. All of them had come specifically for Magikarp.
The news that Magikarp could evolve into Gyarados had already spread completely. Magikarp had officially risen to become one of the most suitable Pokémon for beginner trainers—once evolved into Gyarados, they would possess formidable combat power.
"Relying solely on the Tentacool tribe is still not enough," Aven muttered.
"Before setting sail, we must assemble a maritime trainer escort force."
Aven had already begun laying out his plans for navigation. After all, the matter of Heatran was now pressing—he needed to go to sea as soon as possible.
If time did not permit, he even planned to abandon reliance on ships altogether and instead lead the Sea Knights directly across the ocean to the opposite continent in search of Heatran.
After handling all matters within the Pokémon Domain, Aven headed straight for Aspiration City.
Whether it was the construction of the Pokémon League or the search for Heatran, everything had to be thoroughly discussed with Princess Mira.
(End of Chapter)