"Skarmory! Metal Sound!!"
"Screee—!!"
A piercing, high-pitched sound wave burst from Skarmory's beak, echoing around the towering mountain peak ahead.
The invisible sound waves struck the Elite Four–level Dragon-type Pokémon that were locked in nonstop combat at the foot of the mountain.
That ear-splitting screech immediately threw the energy flow inside those Dragon-types into slight disarray.
In the next instant, the Pokémon all halted at once, raising their heads in unison to stare at the Skarmory hovering in the sky, wings beating.
From that silver, bird-shaped Pokémon, they felt an overwhelmingly intense aura of danger.
No doubt about it.
This Skarmory's level was above theirs!
Champion-level!
A human Trainer's Pokémon!?
Noticing the minister standing on Skarmory's back, the Elite Four–level Pokémon—who had just been tearing into one another—instantly reached a shared understanding and formed an alliance.
The human Trainer who had barged in before this mountain, and his Pokémon, were unquestionably invaders!
And to invaders…
These natives would naturally wipe them out first, then settle their own internal disputes afterward.
"ROAR!!"
More than a dozen terrifying presences locked onto Skarmory in an instant.
The overlapping pressure radiating from Dragon after Dragon piled together—so suffocating that even Aisa and Himeko, who weren't the direct targets, felt their hearts seize with dread and their bodies weighed down by the force.
And yet, when they turned to look, Minister Kenjiro remained perfectly still, calm and composed.
The two couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
As expected of a Champion-level Trainer!
To stay unshaken under such oppressive pressure…
It could only mean one thing—Minister Kenjiro had absolute confidence in his own strength.
Their gazes swept across the Pokémon below, identifying each powerful Dragon-type species.
Tyrantrum, Noivern, Duraludon, Altaria, Flygon…
Every one of them was an Elite Four–level Dragon-type with a formidable aura.
And among those figures, three stood out—three presences that were vastly more intense than the rest.
Garchomp!
Kommo-o!
Salamence!
Pseudo-legendary Dragon-types!
Born stronger than ordinary Dragons, their levels had reached the absurd heights of high-tier Elite Four.
Just looking at them made Aisa's scalp go numb.
Pick any one of those three at random, and it would be something his Dragonite couldn't handle.
"I'll take those three!"
"Aisa-kun, you handle the rest—stall them until Ukyo gets here!"
Minister Kenjiro laid out the battle plan, keeping the hardest three targets for himself and leaving the remainder to Aisa.
"Understood!"
Aisa nodded.
As long as he wasn't dealing with those three high-tier pseudo-legendary Dragons, everything else was manageable.
The remaining Dragon-types were Elite Four–level too, but most of them were only low-tier Elite Four.
If the goal was simply to hold them back, Aisa was confident his Dragonite could do it.
Besides…
He hadn't come this time with only a single Dragonite!
"Dragonite is yours to command!"
Aisa flipped down from Dragonite's back, then pulled another Poké Ball from his waist and threw it.
Red light gathered and took shape, revealing a Pokémon with a deep-blue back and a pale-blue belly.
From the back of its head down to its neck extended two fanlike, wing-shaped membranes, and along the ridge from its neck to its tail, well-spaced blue ice crystals glimmered like ornaments.
The Pokémon Aisa had sent out was none other than Aurorus.
The moment it appeared, the temperature in the area dropped sharply.
Strictly speaking, Aurorus wasn't a Dragon-type Pokémon—its types were Rock and Ice.
Not a Dragon…
But its Ice typing was an enormous threat to every Dragon here.
"Aurorus! Hail!"
As Aisa's voice fell, Aurorus lifted its long, slender neck and rumbled a low chant toward the sky.
In an instant, the sunlight vanished.
Dark clouds gathered in a flash, and tiny ice crystals began to fall from above.
Gradually, the hail grew larger and larger, until it became solid chunks of ice the size of half a fist.
The Dragon-types present had no way to dodge hail that dense.
In the blink of an eye, they were taking significant damage from the barrage.
Minister Kenjiro's Skarmory, however, was completely unaffected.
Skarmory's greatest strength lay in its terrifying defense.
Its alloy-like body could shrug off the impact of such harsh weather.
That was exactly why Minister Kenjiro had the confidence to have a single Skarmory hold off Garchomp, Salamence, and Kommo-o all at once.
Because those three specialized in physical offense.
Skarmory had a substantial advantage against them.
"Skarmory! Agility! Autotomize!"
Minister Kenjiro's command came down.
While the three Dragons were still being hindered by hail and hadn't reacted immediately, Skarmory moved at once.
As a Champion-level Pokémon, it had long since mastered self-buff moves to a flawless degree.
Almost all unnecessary motions in the move execution were stripped away.
In just a few breaths, Skarmory completed its speed enhancement.
Two stages from Agility.
Two more stages from Autotomize.
Now, Skarmory looked like a supersonic fighter jet circling through the sky.
Its speed reached an extreme.
Only blurred silver afterimages remained.
"Next! Spikes! Stealth Rock! Trap them!"
Minister Kenjiro issued the next orders in a deep voice.
On the other side, Aisa and Himeko worked together.
One commanded Aurorus.
The other commanded Dragonite.
Their coordination let them withstand the attacks of the remaining Dragons.
With Aurorus's Ice-type threat pressuring the field, Dragonite moved through the enemy line with ease.
Mach-level speed, combined with its own solid strength, allowed it—under Himeko's command—to quickly finish off another Elite Four–level Dragon-type.
"Nice!"
Seeing that, Aisa's expression brightened, and the pressure that had been building in his chest eased somewhat.
It was probably because Lopunny, Gardevoir, and today's GeoGreymon had all been so overwhelmingly strong that he'd overlooked the command talent Himeko had impressed him with back then.
But in that fight just now, Himeko once again showed him how outstanding she was as a Trainer.
"Hold on! Once Ukyo gets here, things will get easy!"
As Aisa spoke, he directed Aurorus to fire Aurora Beam, blasting a Noivern that had tried to sneak in from the flank to attack Dragonite.
Himeko nodded, focusing all her attention on battle commands.
At the same time…
Inside the valley, Shiko had already walked out of the rock cave.
Following the passage he'd used to enter, he steadily headed toward the outside.
The farther he went, the more clearly he heard the immense commotion outside the mountain—along with the repeated collisions of powerful auras.
What in the world was going on?
A chain of questions rose in his mind.
By all logic, where he had been should have been covered in an extremely powerful Dragon-type presence and pressure, keeping all other Dragon-type Pokémon in the valley from approaching.
Normally, that place was quiet—so quiet it was practically dead.
So why did it sound today like some kind of massive gathering?
Why was it so lively outside?
Could it be because he absorbed Regidrago's energy?
As Shiko analyzed, his steps carried him out of the mountain without him even noticing.
He reached the cave entrance he had used before.
Standing there, the aura clashes were even more obvious.
Shiko followed the direction of the energy fluctuations—and when he looked over, his face grew serious and heavy.
What is this?
Why are all the valley's Elite Four–level Dragon-types here?
And why are Himeko and Aisa fighting them?
Also…
What's with that old man and that Skarmory?
That strength is ridiculous.
Champion-level!?
It feels like I only took a nap inside…
and the outside world got turned completely upside down.
Wait.
Why is the mountain's original, crushingly oppressive aura gone?
No wonder.
No wonder all these Pokémon showed up here.
Shiko finally realized it.
The powerful Dragon-type pressure and aura that had always hung over the entire mountain…
must have been Regidrago's.
Now that Shiko had finished absorbing its energy, that invisible barrier disappeared.
And on top of that, this mountain had once spewed out a massive amount of Dragon-type energy crystals.
Of course the Elite Four–level Dragon-types in the valley would assume there was some rare treasure or valuable item buried within.
They couldn't get in before, but now they could!
With Dragon-types' naturally violent temperament, they were bound to charge in to hunt for treasure.
So that was why the entire valley had fallen into violent turmoil.
As for why Aisa and the others had clashed with them…
there was a very good chance it was because of Shiko.
"Perfect. Since everyone's here, I don't have to go looking one by one."
A meaningful glint surfaced in Shiko's eyes.
Regidrago's Dragon-type energy had been absorbed.
But those huge quantities of Dragon-type energy crystals the mountain had sprayed out…
he still hadn't obtained them.
And now, those things were all concentrated in the hands of the Elite Four–level Dragon-types in front of him.
When Shiko came out of the valley this time, he hadn't planned on visiting each of them individually to demand the crystals.
But now…
it looked like there was no need for him to go door to door.
Everyone had gathered.
Crush them all.
And the goods would naturally fall into his hands.
If he took every last Dragon-type energy crystal from these Elite Four–level Pokémon…
and absorbed them all…
how much would his Dragon-type law increase?
It should be enough to push past the ninety-percent threshold.
Thinking that, Shiko's eyes filled with anticipation.
When luck comes…
there's no stopping it.
Down at the foot of the mountain, the fierce battle continued.
At first, Minister Kenjiro's Skarmory seemed to be handling the three high-tier pseudo-legendary Dragons without trouble.
Relying on unrivaled speed, it launched several Dark Pulses mid-flight, dealing significant damage to the three Pokémon whose Special Defense had been lowered.
But the situation soon reversed.
Minister Kenjiro hadn't expected it…
Salamence—one of the three—had a Fire-type move with high proficiency and frightening power.
Under the relentless, near-suicidal pressure and pincer assault from Garchomp and Kommo-o, Skarmory had no room to evade.
It was forced to take Salamence's Fire Blast head-on.
Terrifying Fire-type energy seared Skarmory's alloy-like steel body.
At the tips of its steel feathers, clear black scorch marks appeared.
This is bad!!!
Seeing that, Minister Kenjiro's expression trembled.
That hit didn't just cut away more than half of Skarmory's stamina—
it also left it in the terrible state of being burned.
If the battle continued like this, it wouldn't be long before it exhausted itself, collapsed, and lost the ability to fight.
Minister Kenjiro turned his head toward Himeko and Aisa's battlefield.
Their situation wasn't much better.
Dragonite and Aurorus worked together and, under the siege of numerous Elite Four–level Pokémon, had managed to defeat three opponents with great difficulty.
But the two of them had reached their limits as well.
They were panting hard, with stamina and internal energy nearly depleted.
Aurorus's hail had already ended.
With the sunlight pouring down again—dazzlingly bright—there was no longer that annoying hail to slow things down.
The Dragon-types on the field grew even more irritable and frenzied.
The situation was turning grim.
Minister Kenjiro's face sank.
Meanwhile…
After Ukyo dealt with the weaker wild Dragon-type Pokémon outside the valley that had surrounded the Military members, he rode Charizard and hurried over to support Himeko and the others.
But he never expected this.
As Charizard flew low, tilting as it passed over a narrow valley pass—
it was ambushed!
From a stream below, two powerful Hydro Pumps shot up!!!
Before Charizard and Ukyo could react, both hits landed cleanly.
That Hydro Pump blasted Charizard's face with agonizing force, nearly knocking it out of the air!
Charizard gritted its teeth and barely stabilized, carrying Ukyo down to the ground.
In the stream, two seahorse-like heads surfaced.
Ukyo's expression grew heavy.
Two Dragon-type Pokémon.
Dragalge!!!
Kingdra!!
Their aura made it clear—these two were also rulers of this valley.
True Elite Four–level, without a doubt.
At this moment…
everyone who had invaded the valley was facing an enormous crisis.
And Shiko…
had already emerged from deep within the mountain and was closing in on the mountain's foot.
(End of Chapter)
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