Seeing Sato's confused gaze, Cynthia kindly explained.
"The Sunyshore Power Plant uses coal to generate electricity. Since it's not exactly environmentally friendly, its output is tightly regulated and has been decreasing year by year.
Look closely at the row of Fire-type Pokémon below. Look at what they're holding!"
Sato narrowed his eyes, staring at the uneven, dark clumps in their hands. After hesitating a moment, he said, "Coal?"
"No! That's freshly solidified magma. I don't know how the Magnezone modified the generators, but they're clearly using magma directly!"
Cynthia's voice was firm, but what she said left Sato internally shaken.
That was magma!
Even humans didn't have the technology to directly utilize still-hot magma, yet Pokémon had already done it.
"Glaaaa~"
Just then, as the two were deep in observation, Cynthia's Glaceon let out a pained whimper and retreated behind Umbreon, looking pitiful.
Cynthia immediately knelt down in concern. "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
Glaceon shook its head, glanced at the pit, and took two more steps back. Its eyes clearly showed distress and discomfort.
"Gla… Ceon!"
"UMBREE!"
Umbreon panicked, hopping around Glaceon and even activating Wish on its own, hoping to ease its partner's pain.
A beam of red light shot from the Poké Ball in Cynthia's hand, retrieving Glaceon immediately.
Then, Cynthia found herself under Umbreon's intense, watchful stare… clearly demanding an explanation.
"We can't feel it, but Glaceon hinted that the concentration of Fire-type energy here is extremely high! Putting it back in the Poké Ball is the simplest and safest way. Once we leave this place, it'll be fine."
Cynthia gently patted Umbreon's head as she soothed it.
Umbreon instinctively tried to dodge, but then remembered… Cynthia was its partner's Trainer. Which made her… its mother-in-law? Mmm…
Better show some "respect". A pat wasn't going to kill it. That's what Umbreon told itself!
Then Cynthia's hand moved behind its head and scratched the back of its neck.
Umbreon instantly collapsed to the ground in bliss!
It turned to look at Sato, eyes full of unwavering devotion, as if to say: 'I'm not falling… I'm just playing along!'
A moment later, Cynthia scratched its most sensitive spot: the big ears…
"Ummm~♥"
SO GOOD♥!
Sato: '…'
Thankfully, Cynthia didn't spend too long petting it. She knew it wasn't playtime.
But when she finally pulled her hand away, Umbreon wore an unmistakably reluctant expression.
Sato: 'Hah!'
---◓---
The power plant being overrun by Fire-types was most likely due to the underground magma river shifting course.
Electric-types had learned to convert magma into the electricity they needed; likely at a much higher efficiency than before. That's why both sides had chosen to cooperate, helping each other thrive.
Still, the ability to transform magma into usable energy fascinated both Sato and Cynthia.
Without much hesitation, they decided to continue exploring deeper.
As always, Gengar's Spatial Barrier cloaked them, its powerful concealment making everything seem effortless.
Descending into the pit, the rising heat could be felt clearly, even through the Spatial Barrier.
The surrounding area was inhabited by numerous Fire- and Electric-type Pokémon. Of course, most of the Electric-types stayed near the perimeter, after all, the intense heat wasn't comfortable for them either.
Carefully evading the roaming wild Pokémon, Sato and Cynthia soon made their way near the massive generators.
Now up close, Sato could see even more clearly. The magma chunks the Fire-types were hauling still glowed faintly red, the heat visible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, Cynthia was fully focused on observing the operations of the Magnezone, seemingly trying to decipher the core principle behind magma utilization.
The two of them were engrossed in their observations, until Gengar let out a sudden urgent warning.
Two overly curious Growlithe had clumsily wandered over, tilting their heads as they stared at the area where the Spatial Barrier was active.
Sato and Cynthia exchanged a look and held their breath, hoping the Growlithe would simply walk away.
But in the next moment, one of the Growlithe suddenly spat out a small Ember; not strong at all, clearly not intended as a real attack.
And yet, that tiny Ember was all it took to expose them!
The flame struck the Spatial Barrier with a soft "puff," and one of the Growlithe tilted its head in confusion. But a second later, it began howling wildly…
"GROOOOOW!"
The howl instantly drew the attention of countless Pokémon in the pit, all of whom turned to scan the area with heightened alertness.
Then the other Growlithe aggressively launched a Flamethrower at Sato and Cynthia.
The Flamethrower hit the Spatial Barrier again with no visible effect, but this time, all the other Pokémon saw it.
Suddenly, flames and lightning from all directions flooded the area, completely engulfing the barrier surrounding Sato and Cynthia.
BOOOM!
Fire- and Electric-type moves were inherently explosive. The sheer number of moves combining at once triggered a massive blast, filling the pit with thick smoke and debris.
Within the swirling smoke, Sato finally figured out how they'd been discovered!
'Light refraction…'
The air around the Spatial Barrier was significantly cooler than the rest of the magma-filled pit.
When the hot airflow from the magma river swept past, the air density near the barrier changed accordingly.
And when light passes through areas of uneven air density, slight irregular refraction occurs.
Which meant… in the eyes of the Growlithe, the barrier looked like a shimmering, jelly-like "giant egg"!
That's why the Growlithe had tested it with a small Ember.
And that test had exposed everything…
When the smoke finally cleared, Sato and Cynthia no longer bothered hiding and revealed themselves before the mass of wild Pokémon.
Of course, by now, they were already surrounded by their own partners.
On Sato's side, Umbreon took the lead, Krookodile held the rear, and a Sharpedo hovered beside him.
Cynthia, meanwhile, had sent out Eelektross, another Gastrodon, and Milotic. Three Pokémon all at Peak Ace level.
Clearly, both Cynthia and Sato shared the same mindset. Even surrounded by wild Pokémon, they wouldn't waste the opportunity to train their team.
Most Fire-types were hot-tempered, and Electric-types were notoriously impulsive. The moment they spotted Sato and Cynthia, they didn't hesitate to rush them all at once, no time for talk.
But Sato and Cynthia didn't flinch in the slightest, immediately commanding their Pokémon to strike back.
And just like that, the entire pit descended into utter chaos…
•
•
Merry Christmas!
First Christmas here… ugh, this really isn't my thing… but hey, thanks for sticking with me up to this point. Hopefully by next Christmas I'll still be around…
I'd "gift" you some chapters, but… I'm not Santa bro, and I'm busy even right now haha!