Zeth didn't linger at the base of Navel Mountain. As soon as the Sea Ruby Badge was secured in his case, he returned to the boat. The cold wind of the peaks was quickly replaced by the salt-spray of the open ocean as Kael throttled the engine toward their next destination.
The journey to Trovita was a period of forced calm. Zeth spent the hours on the deck, not in rest, but in deep meditation with his Aura. He could feel the "Wall" pressing against his senior-tier Pokémon. Charizard (Lvl 60) was silent in his ball, his energy dense and unmoving, like a star that had reached equilibrium. Rhydon (Lvl 52), despite the new Tectonic Plating, felt the slow-down too—the raw power was there, but the "bridge" to the next level of strength required something more than just winning battles.
Zeth and Kael docked at Trovita Island, but not for a badge. With the Spike Shell Badge already secured from their previous encounter with Rudy, Zeth used the island's unique limestone pillars to run high-intensity drills for Ceruledge and Armarouge.
He didn't need to prove anything to Rudy again; he needed his team to reach the Deep Gold synchronization required to survive what was coming next. The training was cold and efficient—Zeth pushed the "Knights" until their armor glowed with thermal stress, refining their ability to move as a singular unit.
"Three badges down," Kael remarked, checking the logs. "Only Kumquat Island and Luana stand between us and the Winner's Cup. We could be there in two days."
"We aren't going to Kumquat yet," Zeth said, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "The team is hitting the Wall. If I take a Level 60 Charizard into the Orange Championship without breaking his plateau, we risk a stalemate. We need high-density mana."
Just as they prepared to depart Trovita's neutral waters, the boat's long-range radio began to scream with a high-priority Team Rocket encryption. It was a Priority Alpha—the kind only sent when a "Natural Disaster" or a "God-Tier Opportunity" is detected.
Intercepted Transmission: Location: Sector 7-G (The Dead Zone). Phenomenon: Unstable A-Rank Gate Manifestation. Warning: Spatial flickering detected. Estimated collapse in 72 hours. Orders: All nearby high-tier operatives to converge for resource extraction.
Kael's face went pale as he looked at the energy readings on the radar. "Zeth... this isn't just a gate. The energy spike is off the charts. It's flickering in and out of our dimension. If we get caught inside when it 'blinks,' we're deleted from reality."
Zeth's emerald Aura flared slightly. This was the SS Anne situation all over again, but the stakes were higher. An A-Rank Gate was the only place where Pokémon like Charizard (Lvl 60) and Cloyster (Lvl 51, Deep Gold) could find opponents strong enough to force a level-up or a Legacy Move epiphany.
"Turn the boat, Kael," Zeth commanded, his voice dropping into that familiar, surgical coldness. "We're going into the Dead Zone."
As the boat sped toward the coordinates, the sky began to turn a bruised, sickly violet. The "Dead Zone" was an area of the ocean where even wild Gyarados feared to tread. In the distance, a massive rift in the air pulsed like a dying star—tearing open to reveal a glimpse of a jagged, crystalline world before snapping shut again.
The boat cut through the violet-tinted waves of the Dead Zone, the engine's hum drowned out by the unnatural static of the flickering A-Rank Gate. Zeth didn't stand on the deck alone. Beside him, leaning against the railing with a predatory stillness, was Houndoom.
The hellhound's black fur seemed to drink in the sickly light of the rift. His horns, curved and ivory-white, hummed with a low-frequency vibration. He wasn't just a Pokémon; he was Zeth's signature—the silent partner that represented the "Real Zeth" better than any Prodigy mask ever could.
"The Wall is staring us in the face, isn't it?" Zeth whispered, his hand resting on Houndoom's cold, bony skull.
Houndoom let out a low, rumbling growl that vibrated through Zeth's palm. At Level 50, Houndoom was reaching his biological limit for his current tier. To hit Deep Gold and unlock the Legacy Moves that would make him the "Ace" of the Winner's Cup, he needed to devour the high-density energy of an A-Rank environment.
"Zeth, the radar is lighting up!" Kael shouted from the bridge, his voice tight with anxiety. "The League Interceptor is closing in from the East. The Team Rocket Transport is coming from the North. They're going to collide right at the mouth of the Rift!"
Zeth looked at the rift. It pulsed—one, two, three—then vanished for five seconds before tearing open again.
"We aren't waiting for the invitation, Kael," Zeth said, his emerald Aura beginning to bleed into Houndoom's shadow. "If we wait for the clash, the Gate might stabilize, and the League will set up a perimeter we can't break. We go in during the next 'Blink.'"
"Kael, prep the submersible mode," Zeth commanded. "When the Gate flickers, it creates a gravitational vacuum. We're going to ride that suction straight into the core. Houndoom, Dark Pulse: Radar Dampener."
Houndoom stood, his eyes glowing a malevolent red. He didn't fire a beam; he released a rhythmic pulse of dark energy that acted as a "Black Hole" for radar waves. On the screens of the League and Rocket ships, Zeth's boat simply disappeared.
The Rift tore open—a massive, jagged wound in reality that revealed a world of floating, crystalline obsidian and rivers of white-hot mana.
"NOW!" Zeth roared.
The boat surged forward. As they crossed the threshold, the A-Rank Environmental Pressure hit them like a physical wall. The sky turned into a kaleidoscope of shattered dimensions.
SYSTEM WARNING: A-RANK PRESSURE DETECTED. Environmental Effect: Aura consumption increased by 300%. Condition: Pokémon below Level 50 will suffer "Stat Decay" unless protected by a Domain.
Zeth slammed his hand onto the deck. "Houndoom—Battlefield Core: Abyssal Eclipse!"
Houndoom let out a howl that wasn't a sound, but a ripple in space. Instead of a fire-based core, he used his Light Gold potential to manifest a Shadow Domain. A dome of pitch-black darkness enveloped the boat, acting as a pressurized "diving bell" that shielded them from the A-Rank radiation.
"We're in," Kael gasped, staring out the reinforced glass at a world that defied every law of Kanto geography. "But we're not alone."
Through the shifting crystals of the Gate, Zeth saw them: Guardian Pokémon. Not the weak Lvl 40s of the Orange Islands. These were Lvl 65+ Cradily and Armaldo, their bodies reinforced by the Gate's raw mana, their eyes glowing with the primal hunger of an A-Rank territory.
Zeth stood at the edge of the boat, Houndoom's flames flickering with a blue tint in the high-oxygen atmosphere.
"The League and Rocket will be here in minutes once they stabilize their own shields," Zeth said, his voice dropping into that surgical, cold tone. "We have a narrow window. We hunt the Aether Crystals to break your plateau, then we vanish before the 'Main Event' starts."
He looked at Houndoom. "This is your hunt. Show them why you're the face of this team."
[Objective: Extract Aether Crystals from the Crystal Spires.] [Obstacle: Lvl 65+ Ancient Guardians (Prehistoric Variants).]