"Mining ban?"
Isobe Himeko froze for a moment at those two words, a hint of confusion crossing her face.
This was the first time she'd ever heard of such a rule.
"That's right."
Miyazato Aisa nodded.
"Mt. Silver is the largest natural mining area and the biggest source of Steel-type materials."
"Inside the mountain range, there are huge numbers of Steel-type Pokémon living there."
"And among Steel-type Pokémon, quite a few have the habit of eating ore and Steel-type items."
"So when the League carried out large-scale mining, it naturally triggered their dissatisfaction."
"After bloodshed and conflict incidents occurred, the Military issued the mining ban."
"It's been so many years now—if you go in this time, you'll definitely be able to find quite a lot of Steel-type materials inside."
After giving Himeko a quick rundown, Aisa finished her explanation.
Himeko nodded after listening, finally understanding the reason.
"The Military has reserved an entry slot for you."
"If other people want to go in, they'll have to compete with the Military side."
Aisa continued.
"Compete? Why do they need to compete?"
Himeko was puzzled again.
"Because the slots are limited. They can't let too many people go in."
"And besides, Mt. Silver is jointly owned by the Military and the Academy, so they have to compete for access."
Aisa explained.
"The Military side and the Academy side are practically at each other's throats over it!"
She added that with a wry smile and a shake of her head.
"Is it really that sought-after?"
Himeko couldn't help asking.
In her impression, Mt. Silver was just a huge mining area.
The Pokémon inside and the habitats of other wild Pokémon didn't seem that different.
The only real difference was that there were large numbers of Steel-type Pokémon here—
And that the so-called "Steel Titan," Registeel, was said to be slumbering here as well.
If you were talking about pure attractiveness,
it probably wasn't even as alluring as Dragon Valley.
Could it be that these people were just like her—coming for the Steel-type materials and items inside the mountains?
"You don't know this—some time ago, when the inspection squad was monitoring Registeel's condition, they accidentally discovered a Tyranitar population inside Mt. Silver!"
"Not only that, they also detected the presence of a Metagross population, and a Lucario population."
"And because these are newly discovered populations, there aren't any Elite Four-level overlord bosses among them."
"That's why our Military people and the Academy people are squeezing in no matter what—everyone wants to go in to capture those Pokémon!"
Aisa continued, clearing up Himeko's doubts.
Tyranitar?
Metagross?
Lucario?
No wonder people were practically fighting to the death over it!
These were all rare, powerful Pokémon.
Tyranitar and Metagross were both top-tier picks below the third-tier Legendaries—pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
As for Lucario—
its handsome appearance and formidable combat power
had also made it a dream Pokémon for countless Trainers.
Himeko listened and nodded quietly.
If she hadn't become Shiko's Trainer,
maybe she would have been tempted by those Pokémon too.
But—
now that she had Shiko,
most of her energy and attention was focused entirely on him.
What's more,
she still had Lopunny and Gardevoir—two little ones with extremely high potential—that needed continued nurturing.
She truly didn't have the time
to raise a brand-new Pokémon as well.
"I'm not that interested. I only care about the materials inside the valley."
Himeko said softly.
"I understand."
Aisa smiled brightly at that.
Her gaze drifted toward the front yard outside the window, where Shiko's figure could be seen.
If she had a Pokémon like that,
she probably wouldn't be able to muster much interest in other Pokémon either.
...
Early the next morning,
Aisa and Himeko set off toward the area near the Mt. Silver range.
Tsuchida Dayu had already been successfully sent to the Northern Military Division.
And because of her major contribution this time, Himeko had received commendation from above.
As for the reward, it hadn't been issued yet.
But judging by the Military's usual style of doing things,
it would definitely be extremely generous.
At the same time,
outside Mt. Silver,
uniformed Military members stood in clearly separated groups.
They sized each other up with wary, contemptuous looks.
This time, there were a total of seven entry slots for Mt. Silver.
On the Pokémon universities side,
one of the slots had been given to a long-established big-name figure at Elite Four level.
On the Military side,
they originally wanted to reserve the slot for their own Elite Four members,
or for veteran members who had made enormous contributions.
However,
those people all seemed to have little interest in entering Mt. Silver to capture Pokémon.
In the end,
Kenjiro simply left that slot to Himeko.
As for the remaining five slots,
they would be fought over by a total of ten people from the Military and the Pokémon universities side.
...
"The rules are simple: each person sends out one Pokémon for a free-for-all."
"The last five people still standing will earn the right to enter Mt. Silver."
The competition rules sounded simple and brutal.
A ten-Pokémon brawl with no room for niceties.
Of course,
given the circumstances,
this was also the fastest way to filter out the winners.
The Military's contestants
were young elites selected by the Military—capable, independent operators.
All of them started at Gym level at minimum.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon universities side
were all exceptionally talented young-gen genius students.
On average, their overall strength was slightly higher than the Military side's.
Even the weakest of them were mid–Gym level.
However,
compared to those pampered prodigies raised in a greenhouse,
the Military's young elites
had taken part in real crisis operations and truly fought with their lives on the line.
Their combat discipline and experience exceeded those academy geniuses by a wide margin.
So once the fighting really started,
who would win wasn't certain at all.
"The match begins!"
As soon as the referee gave the order,
on the empty field,
the Military competitors and the Pokémon universities competitors
all sent out their Pokémon in unison.
Once the combat Pokémon were out,
the situation immediately became interesting.
It was obvious—
without even needing to discuss it, both sides arrived at the same tacit understanding:
each side chose to join forces internally and deal with the other side first.
A massive free-for-all
mysteriously turned into a two-team group battle.
That was normal.
After all, each side had five people,
and there were five entry slots for Mt. Silver.
The rules didn't forbid teaming up.
So as long as they beat the opposing side into the dirt, the slots would be theirs.
Everyone here was smart.
No discussion needed—the coordination was terrifyingly high.
But what differed from expectations was this:
on the Military side,
five people sent out five Pokémon.
But on the Pokémon universities side,
those genius students
only sent out four Pokémon.
"Moronobu! What the hell are you doing?"
"Hurry up and send your Pokémon out! Take them down and we'll all get the slots together!"
"Move it! Stop dragging your feet!"
"…"
On the Pokémon universities side,
everyone's eyes and attention
were focused on a young man with a lazy expression.
He looked indifferent and slack, with chestnut-colored frizzy hair and freckles on his cheeks.
(End of Chapter)
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