Chapter 471: The Ashen Desert
The Ashen Desert, located to the west of the Kubfu Alliance and in the southwestern part of the East Continent, was the largest desert on the planet's surface. This desert, along with the mountain range to its north, effectively divided the East Continent in two.
To the east lay the territory of the Kubfu Alliance. To the west was the territory of another major power: the Sinnoh League.
Naturally, there were smaller alliances scattered around the two giants, but most of them existed at the mercy of the larger powers. Of course, there were also rebellious factions like the Star Brilliance Alliance, which, despite being located near the Kubfu Alliance, constantly stirred up trouble, clearly not on friendly terms. It was no secret that they received funding from both Sinnoh and the White Eagle Alliance across the ocean.
Similarly, the Kubfu Alliance secretly funded a few restless smaller alliances west of the Ashen Desert, in Sinnoh's backyard. The same political games were played on the West Continent, an ocean away. This was an unspoken understanding among the world's three major powers.
However, this understanding hadn't always existed. In the past, the region around the Ashen Desert was a land of constant conflict. Long before Arthur's arrival in this world, wars had been raging near the desert. First, humans fought against Pokémon and Legendaries for control of the desert's resources. Later, the Kubfu Alliance and the Sinnoh League propped up their own proxy forces to fight over the distribution of those resources.
In his past life, Arthur had secretly traveled to that region and, without revealing his identity, participated in the proxy wars. He had even clashed with Champions from the Sinnoh League on the battlefield, though neither side had officially revealed their identities at the time; it was an unspoken acknowledgment.
After he arrived in this world, he read through the history books and learned that even after the Great Reconciliation between humans and Pokémon, the conflicts around the Ashen Desert hadn't ceased. They had continued intermittently for nearly fifty years. Even today, skirmishes still occasionally broke out.
The reason for this was the presence of two critically important resources in that desert: oil and Sand Apricorns. The former was the foundation of modern industry, and the latter was the primary raw material for manufacturing Poké Balls. Neither the Kubfu Alliance nor the Sinnoh League would ever back down when it came to these two resources.
Because of the frequent wars and the violent nature of human activity, wild Pokémon were often caught in the crossfire, even after they had long retreated from the resource zones. For this reason, a Legendary Pokémon had always been stationed in the desert to stand guard. And not a minor Legendary like Suicune or Zapdos, which Arthur could have soloed in his prime, but a major Legendary on the level of Ho-Oh or Lugia.
Even among Legendaries, there were tiers of power. The Legendary Beasts—Suicune, Entei, and Raikou—and the Legendary Birds—Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres—were all considered minor Legendaries. During the war era two hundred years ago, it was common for a single human Champion to be able to hold their own against a minor Legendary. The strongest among them could even defeat one single-handedly. Just like how Arthur, with his full team, had once beaten down Suicune and kicked Articuno around. He had fought nearly all of them.
That was an era when the individual strength of human trainers reached its peak—a golden age of brilliant, powerful figures. No other period in human history had produced so many powerful trainers. It was unlikely to ever happen again, given the changes in warfare philosophy, the proliferation of technology, and the decline of individual heroism.
However, even in that most glorious era for humanity, major Legendaries were still beings that the Champions had to look up to. In his prime, Arthur and his full team could have easily defeated and even captured a minor Legendary, like the one currently lounging in front of him. But back then, at the mouth of the sea, he could only delay Lugia, relying on the army to slowly chip away at the wild Pokémon's territory. Forrest Sr., who was arguably the strongest trainer on the East Continent at the time, had a disastrous encounter with Kyogre at sea. Later, when Rayquaza appeared, nine of his twelve main Pokémon were killed in a single battle. He never recovered from the blow and died of illness shortly after. This was likely why that aged Salamence of his still hated Caterpie to this day, wanting to chomp down on any it saw.
Major Legendaries were the backbone of the Pokémon world's forces and the main pillar of resistance against humanity. Every single one was crucial, a lynchpin holding the Pokémon world together. And yet, a major Legendary was permanently stationed in the Ashen Desert, not to reclaim territory, but merely to shield the region from the aftershocks of human wars, to prevent them from dragging Pokémon into their conflicts when things got heated. This alone showed the sheer intensity the wars there had once reached.
Even today, the area around the desert was a high-risk zone. But Arthur had no choice. He had a reason he had to go.
Suicune's eyes held a playful glint as it considered his question. "Why on earth would you want to go there? Is there a special reason?"
"That's none of your business."
"Hmph. Such an unfilial son. Is that any way to speak to your mother?" Suicune teased, a hint of its former queenly demeanor returning. But then, it kindly answered his question.
"For the past fifty years, the Legendary guarding the Ashen Desert has been Groudon. You'd best not provoke it. As for the situation there, I don't know much, but it's supposed to be relatively peaceful now, compared to the past few decades. I've also heard that there are now 'Three Phantoms' and 'Seven Chieftains' in the desert, all very famous Pokémon. I can give you some information on them later, as a thank you for the candy."
As it spoke, Suicune extended one of its flowing ribbons, wrapped it around the imitation Rare Candy in Arthur's hand, and then gently tossed it into its mouth. "Mmm, human inventions truly are wondrous. A very nice flavor. A pity it has no effect on us Legendaries anymore. This is an imitation, right? I wonder what a real Rare Candy tastes like."
Arthur chimed in at the perfect moment. "You'll have to wait until I win an international tournament for that. You know it's not easy. Even I'm not completely confident right now. If I fail, you'll get nothing. Other champions probably won't be bringing you such a precious treasure."
Suicune shot him a look. "If you want something in return, just say it. I've lived for hundreds of years. Don't think you can fool me."
Arthur went along with it smoothly. "Alright, I'm going to the Ashen Desert. How about you sponsor me a little?"
"...You're certainly direct."
Arthur shrugged. "As you wish."
Then, an idea seemed to strike Suicune, and a mischievous smile spread across its face. "I do have quite a few wonderful treasures here. So, how about you call me 'Mother'? Make me happy, and I'll lend them to you."
"..."
"Think about it. The Ashen Desert is very dangerous."
"..."
"You seem determined to go. Let me guess… there's a Pokémon you care about there, isn't there?"
"..."
"Ohohoho~!"
Suicune finally dropped the gentle mask it had worn for decades and, for the first time in over a hundred years, let out its signature, triumphant, three-part queenly laugh.
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