As soon as Flygon noticed Aven's arrival, its silhouette swiftly descended from the sky, gliding down in a graceful arc. In the blink of an eye, it landed right in front of Aven and lowered its head obediently, allowing Aven to gently stroke it.
"This is Flygon. You should have seen it before," Aven said as he introduced it to Kale.
At the same time, he turned toward Flygon and introduced, "This is Kale. His territory is Marina City—the city located beyond the Coastal Mountains."
Flygon, of course, knew that there was a human city behind the Coastal Mountains. Back when it had explored the mountain range, it had once flown across the entire stretch of mountains and reached the human territories beyond.
Now, upon hearing Aven's introduction, a look of surprise clearly surfaced on its face. It evidently had not expected that the human standing before it was actually the lord of that territory. After glancing at Kale, then at Aven, Flygon quietly let out a small breath of relief.
If that was the case, then it meant that both sides of the Coastal Mountains, the front and the back, were now territories under Pokémon Domain's stewardship. With such a situation, Flygon's entire tribe would be far safer, no longer needing to fear threats coming from the other side of the mountains.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Flygon," Kale greeted politely.
His gaze then swept toward the distance, where numerous Pokémon had begun gathering from within the mountains. Among them, he even spotted some Pokémon that originally belonged to the Coastal Mountains.
After Garchomp had returned and taken control of the mountain range, all the Pokémon tribes dwelling within it had been completely unified.
Although the Coastal Mountains had indeed been home to several powerful Pokémon groups—some even containing habitats of pseudo-king-level Pokémon none of them were able to resist under the presence of a king-level Garchomp and a pseudo-king-level Flygon.
However, strictly speaking, the Garchomp tribe was not a traditional, tightly-bound Pokémon tribe. It was more like a tribe formed around Garchomp's protection—a gathering centered around a single overwhelming powerhouse. Because of this, the tribe possessed exceptionally high inclusiveness.
Thus, the various Pokémon tribes of the Coastal Mountains were able to merge smoothly into Garchomp's group. The tribe expanded larger and larger, growing in size until even the two pseudo-king-level Pokémon tribes were eventually absorbed.
If one were to officially classify Garchomp's group as a true tribe, then at this moment, the Garchomp tribe had likely already become the single largest tribe in all of Pokémon Domain!
This was undeniably good news for Marina City as well. With this, they no longer had to worry about threats coming from the Coastal Mountains.
Now that the dangers from the mountains had been fully eliminated, Marina City could finally begin developing in peace. Though the threats from the sea still existed, they would no longer affect the main development of Marina City's inland region.
In fact, Marina City could even rely on the Coastal Mountains to establish a Pokémon Breeding Zone, merging their own breeding area with Pokémon Domain's.
Now that Marina City had formally become a part of Pokémon Domain—and would soon join the Pokémon League—building Pokémon Breeding Zones was inevitable.
A breeding zone established using the Coastal Mountains as its backbone would allow Pokémon Domain and Marina City to be tightly interconnected. It would save Marina City a tremendous amount of effort in the future.
Moreover, Marina City's future trainers would be able to travel through the Coastal Mountains and directly reach the breeding grounds on Pokémon Domain's side—creating a completely seamless connection. This would be nothing but beneficial for Marina City's trainers.
"Mm. Using the Coastal Mountains to build a breeding zone is indeed an excellent idea," Aven said with a smile, nodding in approval. Then he took out a blueprint and handed it to Kale.
Kale received it and discovered that it was a map. A long winding line had been drawn across it, cutting through the entirety of the Coastal Mountains and linking Pokémon Domain with Marina City.
"Lord Aven… this is…?" Kale's eyes flickered in surprise.
"Yes," Aven replied calmly. "Just as you see—I intend to carve out a road through the mountain range that connects Pokémon Domain to Marina City."
Aven carefully explained the entire plan, then immediately brought Kale to the excavation site.
By this time, thanks to the combined efforts of Pokémon like Geodude, Onix, Trapinch, and Sandshrew, a massive section of the rocky mountain had already been hollowed out. Piles of gravel were continuously being hauled and dumped at another designated area.
When Kale arrived, he happened to witness a large Onix eating. Its massive mouth opened wide and chomped directly into the rock face, biting off an entire chunk before swallowing it whole.
For an Onix, its entire life was a process of constantly consuming rock—absorbing the minerals within and gradually refining and strengthening its stone body, patiently awaiting the day when it would undergo its final evolution.
All along the rocky walls, numerous large holes could be seen. These were all made by Pokémon using the move Dig. With Dig, they were able to bore through even the toughest stone with ease.
But the most efficient of all were the Rhydons. Their powerful drill-like horns spun rapidly as they rammed straight into the mountainside, effortlessly carving out enormous tunnels in moments.
This construction team made up entirely of Ground-type Pokémon could easily be considered the most efficient workforce in the entire world. At this rate, it likely would not take long before they truly completed the enormous project of opening up a road through the mountains.
"Lord Aven!"
In addition to these Pokémon, Master Thomas and the members of the construction ministry were also present at the site.
They had originally come here to capture Ground-type Pokémon for the construction team. But after learning about Aven's ambitious plan, they immediately decided to stay and assist.
The blueprint Kale was holding was actually created by this very construction team. Based on the geological structure of the Coastal Mountains, they had plotted the route with the lowest difficulty for excavation, greatly reducing the workload.
Of course, the construction team had another major motive for doing this—to find and recruit Pokémon with high potential for construction work. The excavation process gave them the perfect opportunity to observe these Pokémon closely and slowly build rapport with them.
At present, Master Thomas had already taken a strong liking to several Pokémon well-suited for construction. The one that interested him most was Onix.
This Pokémon's massive body, with some towering as high as a three-story building, was itself a tremendous advantage. It could help with high-altitude construction far more effectively than any ladder.
With Onix around, they wouldn't even need ladders anymore. Workers could simply stand on its body during construction. Compared to ladders, Onix was far more stable and flexible, drastically improving work efficiency.
Furthermore, Onix possessed immense strength. It would be incredibly useful whenever materials needed to be transported. Tasks like excavation and tunneling were even more suited to it.
"Alright, continue with your work. I just happened to pass by today," Aven told Master Thomas with a nod.
He and Kale did not disturb the busy Pokémon. Instead, they walked deeper into the Coastal Mountains, for Aven had another purpose for coming here.
The official Trainer Examination was about to begin, and Aven was still searching for suitable Pokémon to be used in the combat assessment. To serve as proper assessment Pokémon, he intended to gather representatives of every elemental type.
Thus, his purpose here was to look for Ground-type and Rock-type Pokémon—especially the purely Ground-type Sandshrew and the Rock-type Sudowoodo.
Sudowoodo, in particular, was one of his main targets. With its rocky body disguised as a tree, many trainers tended to mistake it as a Grass-type Pokémon at first glance.
Aven believed that during the practical exam, many examinees would likely misjudge its typing—making it a surprisingly tricky assessment Pokémon.
"Lord Aven, you mentioned the official Trainer Examination… has it already started?" Kale asked, eyes brightening.
When Aven had given him the Pokédex handbook earlier, he had mentioned the exam as well. Kale had originally been preparing to participate.
"Yes," Aven replied with a nod. "The written portion of the Trainer Examination has already concluded."
"The practical combat assessment will be held the day before the Pokémon League Conference begins."
Aven smiled as he spoke. Counting the days, there were only about ten days left until the practical exam.
"As for you," Aven continued, "I will personally grant you the status of an official trainer."
Kale opened his mouth, unable to hide a hint of regret. Although being directly appointed was an honor, not taking the exam himself felt a little disappointing.
"Since you came early, help me look for assessment Pokémon," Aven said, continuing deeper into the mountains. He roughly remembered the habitat where several Sudowoodo resided.
Soon, they had fully entered the mountain interior. Along the way, Aven continuously searched for suitable exam Pokémon. Besides typing, strength was also an extremely important factor.
"So, this is part of the exam content?" Kale murmured thoughtfully. It genuinely seemed quite interesting.
Aven's eyes also contained anticipation. "Yes. To earn the reward of a Poké Ball, they will definitely give it everything they've got."
"Poké Ball?"
Kale's eyes flickered. He had never heard that term before.
But he quickly reacted—Aven must be referring to those special berries that could store Pokémon within.
"Yes, that is a Poké Ball," Aven said, taking one out and handing it to Kale.
"I planned to give this to you earlier. It's Empoleon's Poké Ball. If you hold it, you can store Empoleon inside whenever you wish."
Kale accepted it, stunned. "I… I can use a Poké Ball as well?"
"Of course. A Poké Ball is just a tool—nothing like a sealing technique," Aven laughed as he explained how to operate it.
The moment Kale pressed the button, a beam of red light shot out and instantly absorbed Empoleon into the Poké Ball.
Staring at the vanished Empoleon, then at the Poké Ball in his hand, Kale's eyes filled with disbelief. He had actually done it.
"That's all there is to it," Aven said. "As long as one becomes an official trainer, they can receive their own Poké Balls."
"If that's the case, they really will fight with everything they have."
(End of Chapter)