Aven's sudden appearance from the teleport stunned everyone for a moment. Once they reacted, they quickly bowed deeply.
"Greetings, Your Highness Aven!"
"You may all rise," Aven said, waving his hand.
His gaze then fell upon Rhyperior and Heatran, both of whom were still gasping for breath.
If the voyage had lasted even a bit longer, he truly feared the two of them might have fainted aboard the ship.
Huff, huff, huff~
Rhyperior and Heatran both wore expressions of lingering fear.
They were finally on land—this feeling was simply too wonderful. The sea truly inspired awe, and neither of them ever wanted to experience that again!
"These two Pokémon are…?"
At the same time, Rhyperior and Heatran attracted everyone's attention.
Whether it was Rhyperior or Heatran, both were Pokémon no one present had ever seen before, yet everyone could clearly feel their overwhelming power.
Especially Rhyperior—its appearance bore some resemblance to Rhydon, immediately drawing the attention of the knights. Not to mention the iconic white ribbon tied around its head.
"Your Highness Aven, could this be…?" Sutter asked cautiously.
Although he was already certain in his heart, he still wanted to hear it directly from Aven himself.
"Is this formerly Rhydon, your Highness?" At this moment, Master Makin suddenly spoke up. "You succeeded?"
Back when they were researching Alchemy, Aven had mentioned to him that Rhydon and Onix could evolve even further. The Pokémon before them was clearly Rhydon before!
"That's right. This is Rhyperior—the evolved form of Rhydon," Aven said with a smile and a nod.
After hearing his confirmation, everyone present couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
They all knew what further evolution of Rhydon meant.
At present, the Aspiration City Knight Order was composed largely of Rhyhorn. After Aven systematically summarized the evolution methods of Rhyhorn, more and more of them had evolved into Rhydon.
This had greatly increased the combat power of the entire knight order. A charge launched by large numbers of Rhydon was already terrifyingly powerful.
But now, seeing this Rhyperior before them, they couldn't help but imagine a formation of countless Rhyperior charging together. That scene would be utterly horrifying—what knight order could possibly withstand it?
"Your Highness Aven, have you already mastered the method for evolving Rhydon?" Master Makin asked expectantly.
Aven gently shook his head. "Not yet. But I already have some ideas. Later, I'll find you and study it in detail."
Hearing this, Master Makin's eyes lit up, his face filled with impatience. If the situation weren't inappropriate, he would have wanted to drag Aven off immediately to begin research.
The last time they went to Meteor City, he had already successfully recruited a large number of blacksmiths and brought them back to the Pokémon Domain.
Thinking of the expressions on those blacksmiths' faces when they first saw Poké Balls, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but lift. Poké Balls were truly perfect works of art!
Those blacksmiths had now entered the Poké Ball Factory to learn how to forge Apricorns. Once they mastered the technique, they would be able to produce large numbers of Poké Ball molds.
In addition, the Poké Ball Factory had recruited many artisans to manufacture other components required for Poké Balls. In this way, a complete Poké Ball production chain had already taken shape.
Of course, one had to mention the Infernape tribe Aven had brought back. Many Chimchar and Monferno, in order to obtain sufficient Pokémon food, had entered the Poké Ball Factory to work, greatly increasing forging efficiency.
Fire-type Pokémon truly provided tremendous assistance in forging. This time on Stark Island, Aven had also captured some Fire-type Pokémon, and they too could be sent to work in the Poké Ball Factory later on.
In the future, he would find ways to bring back even more Fire-type Pokémon and transform Stark Island into a Pokémon cultivation area, allowing those blacksmiths to attempt capturing Fire-type Pokémon there.
"Um… Your Highness Aven, the Pokémon beside Rhyperior…" Phyllis shifted her gaze away from Rhyperior.
As the finance officer, she had become increasingly sensitive to the Pokémon industry. She naturally understood what Rhyperior's evolution method represented.
If the Pokémon Breeding House were to release a method for the evolution into Rhyperior, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation. Countless trainers with Rhydon would rush to buy it at any cost.
But now, her attention had been completely drawn to the Pokémon beside Rhyperior. In her mind, the image of that stone sculpture she had once seen involuntarily surfaced.
Although the Pokémon carved on that sculpture had been very vague, she could still see similarities in this Pokémon.
Her words drew everyone else's attention as well, and their gazes all turned toward the other Pokémon they had never seen before. Though they didn't recognize Heatran, everyone could feel the immense pressure it radiated.
No matter what, this was undoubtedly an incredibly powerful Pokémon—one they had never seen before—and clearly another formidable Pokémon newly captured by His Highness Aven.
"This Pokémon… it's Heatran," Aven said, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
Hearing this unfamiliar name, most people were confused. But Daly, Phyllis, and Master Makin all widened their eyes.
They had naturally heard of Heatran before. In fact, they had already harbored some suspicions, but since Heatran was the guardian deity of Meteor City, they hadn't dared to associate it with a guardian god.
Yet now, Aven had personally confirmed it. Even if they wanted to doubt it, they couldn't—this was indeed a guardian deity!
"Your Highness Aven, this is a guardian deity?"
"That's right. This is the guardian deity, Heatran, a legendary Pokémon."
This simple exchange made everyone present draw in a sharp breath. Immediately after, uncontrollable excitement appeared on every face.
What a guardian deity represented was something they all understood very clearly. This was an enormous boost to the strength of the Pokémon Domain. The Pokémon Domain now truly possessed the potential to become a full-fledged city.
"To think that Your Highness Aven actually succeeded in capturing a guardian deity," Daly clenched his fist, feeling extremely fortunate about the decisions he had made in the past.
Now that he was already a member of the Pokémon League, being able to personally witness its rise was also a source of immense pride for him.
At this moment, the ironwood ship had fully docked. The knights of the Sea Guard disembarked and gathered together with the knights already present.
At the same time, the captured Sorcerers were escorted ashore. Large numbers of Sorcerers, clad in black robes, were arranged into a loose formation, their faces filled with dejection.
"Sutter, take the knights and escort these Sorcerers away," Aven said.
"Later, cooperate with Mismagius and interrogate them thoroughly to extract all the information they know."
Sutter, already well-practiced at such tasks, suppressed the excitement in his heart and led the Sorcerers away.
"You may all go as well. This evening, I will hold a celebration banquet in the castle. Remember to attend," Aven said.
The officials exchanged glances, smiled, bowed, and then withdrew. Every one of them looked relaxed, genuinely happy for the development of the Pokémon League.
Watching the officials leave, Aven nodded in satisfaction. The growth of the Pokémon Domain could not have been achieved without their efforts.
Going forward, the Pokémon League would need even more work from these officials—especially in planning the development of places like Meteor City and Stark Island.
But now was not the time for that. He still needed time to fully digest the gains from this trip to Stark Island.
"Your Highness Aven, how was the voyage at sea?" Mayor Daly stepped forward and asked.
"Mm, it was very good," Aven replied.
"This ironwood ship is fully capable of long-distance voyages."
"Next, begin constructing more ironwood ships. I need them to open up maritime trade for the Pokémon Domain."
He didn't hesitate to offer praise. "From now on, the construction of ironwood ships and the development of maritime trade will all be under your management."
Hearing this, Daly immediately bowed excitedly. "Understood, Your Highness Aven! I will spare no effort to build ironwood ships and open up maritime trade for the Pokémon Domain!"
After all the officials had withdrawn, Aven returned to the ironwood ship. On the deck, there was still a massive wooden crate.
As he approached it, waves of icy cold power could clearly be felt seeping out. Inside was the great Sorcerer who remained frozen solid.
Although the Sorcerer was still sealed in ice, with Lilligant's life energy sustaining him, there was no need to worry about his life.
"Gardevoir, use Psychic to move the crate off the ship," Aven said.
Wrapped in a blue psychic aura, the entire crate floated up and slowly drifted toward the shore.
"RHY!"
By now, Rhyperior had fully recovered.
It walked over to the crate, lifted it up with ease, and prepared to head toward Lake Valor.
Only under Azelf's guardianship could Aven feel completely at ease awakening the black-robed great Sorcerer, extracting the secrets he wanted from his mouth, and verifying the suspicions in his heart.
(End of Chapter)