"You all clean up the battlefield first and escort these Sorcerers back," With the battle over, Aven ordered his forces as he put away the red crystal.
At his command, the knights immediately saluted and sprang into action, gathering the Sorcerers together and using the Poké Balls Aven had provided to store the Sorcerers' Pokémon.
Although Poké Balls produced by the Pokémon Factory were still very limited, Aven had brought nearly all of them along for this operation, and now they proved invaluable.
With the Sorcerers' Pokémon captured in Poké Balls, all hidden dangers could be neatly packed away.
Once these Sorcerers and Pokémon were taken back to the Pokémon Domain, they would undergo strict interrogation. After all the necessary information was extracted, they would face the judgment of justice!
What followed was simple enough. All the Sorcerers were escorted along the same route they had come from, back to the ironwood ships, while their Pokémon were carried away together in Poké Balls.
"Mado, deploy some knights to garrison Stark Island."
"From now on, this island will become one of our most important development sites."
Aven turned and issued instructions to Mado beside him. Since Heatran had no intention of leaving Stark Mountain, he could only find a way to incorporate this place into his territory.
Moreover, the primeval forest on Stark Island was rich in all kinds of resources, including a large number of Fire-type Pokémon—resources the Pokémon Domain sorely lacked.
He could completely transform this primeval forest into the largest natural Pokémon breeding zone on the Sinnoh Region, attracting more trainers to come here for training and to capture their desired Pokémon.
At the same time, in the southern portions of Sinnoh there were many indigenous tribes—an extremely valuable population. He could establish the Pokémon League on Stark Island, promoting development among these backward tribes.
"Lord of Meteor City, Heatran is the deity your people worship, correct?" Aven turned his gaze toward the Lord of Meteor City, who looked somewhat dazed.
Hearing this, the Lord of Meteor City snapped back to attention and hurriedly replied, "Whether Lord Heatran remembers us or not, it is still our Guardian Deity!"
"Good. Then you will also remain at Stark Mountain to guard Heatran," Aven nodded with satisfaction.
But upon hearing this, the Lord of Meteor City's expression changed drastically. He was the Lord of Meteor City—if he stayed on Stark Island, what would happen to Meteor City?!
"Don't worry. I'm keeping you here because I have a task for you."
"In the time ahead, I will also transfer the Meteor City Knight Order here."
"What you need to do is negotiate with the indigenous inhabitants of Stark Island and bring Stark Island under the jurisdiction of the Pokémon Domain."
Aven spoke calmly and methodically. He knew the Lord of Meteor City excelled at warfare—something even Sutter, the commander of the Pokémon Knight Order, could not match.
Entrusting this task to the Lord of Meteor City put Aven completely at ease. Only by successfully conquering Stark Island could the Pokémon League system be implemented here—something every emerging power had to go through.
Although Aven had always considered himself an unqualified ruler, after so much experience, he had matured greatly and understood that many things, even if he disliked them, still had to be done.
"Conquer Stark Island…" The Lord of Meteor City's expression changed once again.
Meeting Aven's serious gaze, he knew that His Highness Aven was not joking.
But he also understood that if he agreed, he would inevitably lose control over Meteor City, transforming from its lord into a pioneer of the Pokémon Domain.
"I understand your concerns," Aven continued.
"As long as you successfully take Stark Island, it will belong to you from then on. You can rebuild a city here."
"As for the dangers during the pioneering process, you don't need to worry at all. Heatran will help you conquer this land and establish a city that worships Heatran."
"And isn't that… the long-cherished wish of your clan?" Aven said, his expression solemn and sincere.
By doing this, he indeed intended to remove the Lord of Meteor City from Meteor City, making it easier to implement the Pokémon League system there and fully integrate it into the Pokémon League, achieving centralized authority.
He had always known that the Lord of Meteor City was not someone willing to submit easily. Allowing him to remain as the city lord back then had merely been a temporary measure to stabilize Meteor City.
But now, with Heatran, the Guardian Deity of Meteor City at his side, Aven could gain the people's support in Meteor City at the fastest possible speed. After all, the one recognized by the Guardian Deity was the city's rightful ruler by nature!
…
The ironwood ship set sail once more from Stark Island.
After passing through the long strait between Stark Island and Meteor City, then following the coastline to circle past Marina City, it finally arrived at the Black Coast.
Behind the ironwood ship, the sea guard fleet followed closely. Gyarados, Tentacruel, and Bibarel surrounded the vessel from all sides, forming a tight protective formation.
After this long voyage, it was clear that confidence now showed on the faces of the members of the Sea Guard. Even if they were to undertake another long-distance journey, they were confident they could deal with the dangers of the open sea—after all, they had His Highness Aven personally overseeing everything!
In the end, the ironwood ship returned to the Black Coast and docked steadily at the harbor of Azure Town. At this moment, the officials of the Pokémon Domain had already been waiting at the pier for quite some time.
"They're back. And the ironwood ship is completely intact—looks like this voyage went very smoothly," Mayor Daly said as he stood on the pier.
Holding a telescope in his hand, he carefully observed the ironwood ship from afar. The unnamed vessel showed no signs of damage at all, allowing him to finally let out a sigh of relief.
However, he still didn't know whether His Highness Aven had ultimately found Stark Island. After all, sailing across the sea was no easy matter, and unexpected incidents were bound to occur.
"Finally back at the Pokémon Domain," Aven murmured as he gazed toward the Black Coast.
The sea always made people feel a trace of unease. Now that they were finally about to dock, the tension he had been holding onto gradually eased.
He turned his gaze toward the cabins behind him. At this moment, his Pokémon all looked rather unwell—clearly, the long voyage had left them exhausted.
In particular, Rhyperior and Heatran. Both Pokémon were extremely afraid of water, so ever since boarding the ship, they had been restless and uneasy, even showing clear signs of seasickness.
It was hard to believe that one was a King-tier Pokémon and the other a Guardian Deity, yet they had been utterly defeated by something as mundane as seasickness. They looked utterly listless, as if they might faint at any moment.
"Hang in there just a little longer. We're about to dock," Aven squatted down and comforted the two Pokémon.
After hearing his words, both Pokémon struggled to lift their heads, hope flickering in their eyes. Were they finally about to reach land?
"Heat…"
After a short while, Heatran collapsed back down again.
Then, with an apologetic expression, it glanced at Rhyperior beside it.
If it weren't for staying with Heatran, Rhyperior could have rested inside that small ball like the other Pokémon.
"Rhyyyy~"
Seeing this, Rhyperior forced itself to stay alert and gave Heatran a thumbs-up.
It was just seasickness—how could something like that possibly defeat it… urk, urk…
"Heat… Raaan…"
Heatran sighed. If it had known, it would have gone into that little ball as well.
Thinking of this, it sighed once more. Perhaps because it had been sealed for such a long time, it instinctively rejected that ball, which so clearly resembled a sealing artifact.
Although the other Pokémon all said that it was extremely comfortable inside, it still felt a strong instinctive aversion.
But compared to seasickness, it felt that maybe it really should give it some serious thought. Perhaps the next time it boarded a ship, it could try staying inside that ball.
"Lilli~"
Lilligant sat at the bow of the ship, her body shimmering with waves of life energy as she helped the two Pokémon recover their strength.
In truth, she wanted to say that if they really couldn't endure it, they could simply fall asleep—but since the two of them didn't bring it up, she naturally wouldn't mention it either.
If this could successfully help Aven capture Heatran, that would be even better. And so, the three clever little companions all chose to remain silent.
At last, the ironwood ship docked. Aven immediately had Gardevoir use Teleport, and together with all his Pokémon, they vanished from the deck and reappeared before the waiting officials on the pier.
(End of Chapter)