With such a massive body, each step it took was equivalent to Nathan walking a hundred.
After riding atop the Avalugg for five to six hours, Nathan finally arrived at the edge of the glacial canyon.
"Thanks a lot. Here, these are for you."
Nathan placed some Pokéblocks in front of the Avalugg as a token of gratitude.
Though small in size, the Avalugg could smell the delicious aroma emanating from the Pokéblocks
It opened its enormous mouth and swallowed them all in one bite—along with a chunk of nearby ice.
"Tasty!"
After devouring the Pokéblocks, its small, delicate eyes widened in delight.
But compared to its colossal body, those widened eyes still seemed quite small.
"I'll bring you some more when I come back,"
Nathan chuckled, seeing how much the Avalugg enjoyed the treats.
Thanks to the Avalugg, Nathan saved a tremendous amount of energy.
But now, faced with the immense, seemingly bottomless glacial canyon before him, he felt a headache coming on.
What now—was he supposed to fly across?
"Come on out, Flygon!"
Nathan released his Flygon, hoping it could carry him across the canyon.
But the moment Flygon emerged, it began to shiver uncontrollably due to the extreme cold.
After feeding Flygon a few Pokéblocks to warm it up, Nathan climbed onto its back.
Flygon spread its wings and took off toward the opposite side of the canyon.
However, just after lift-off, a violent gust of icy wind swept past.
A thin layer of frost instantly formed over Flygon's wings.
Its flight became unstable, the flapping of its wings erratic, and it wobbled mid-air, looking like it could crash at any moment.
Alarmed, Nathan quickly had Flygon retreat and land back on solid ice.
Standing once again on firm ground, Nathan exhaled in relief.
They had nearly plummeted into the seemingly endless depths of the canyon.
Thank goodness that cold wind came early.
Had it struck halfway through the flight, he probably wouldn't have survived to tell the tale.
Sighing, Nathan returned Flygon to its Poké Ball.
He then spent the next hour standing still, carefully observing the pattern of the canyon's cold winds.
He discovered that these icy gusts followed a fairly consistent cycle, appearing once every two to three minutes.
Unfortunately, that wasn't nearly enough time for Flygon to make it across.
And Frosmoth couldn't carry him while flying either.
Now what? Nathan felt completely stuck.
Frustrated, he began walking along the edge of the glacial canyon until he spotted a narrow crevice.
It wasn't large—but just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
"Looks like it's up to me again,"
Nathan muttered, taking a deep breath as he stared down at the crack at his feet.
If only those freezing winds weren't a problem, he could've flown straight across, even if it meant risking being spotted by wild Pokémon.
Pulling out an ice pick and other gear, Nathan began his descent through the crevice into the depths of the canyon.
For safety, he released Frosmoth as a precaution—if he slipped, it could help protect him.
------------
An hour passed, and Nathan had no idea how far he had descended.
Even when he looked down, the canyon floor still seemed impossibly far below.
"Damn it, just how deep is this canyon? Any deeper and I'll be below sea level!"
He grumbled, frustrated by how distant the bottom remained.
The sound of thunk thunk thunk echoed around him as he slowly drew nearer to the bottom.
Three hours later, both his arms were sore and weak, and his legs felt wobbly from exhaustion.
But finally—his efforts paid off. Nathan reached the canyon floor!
From his backpack, he took out a miner's lamp and strapped it to his head.
Due to how deep this place was, there was hardly any light at all.
As he made his way along the canyon bottom, a cold wind would blow through every couple of minutes—
like something out of a horror film.
"It's so gloomy down here… There shouldn't be any Pokémon living in this kind of environment, right?"
Nathan muttered under his breath, looking warily at the harsh surroundings.
His voice was soft, yet he could still hear a faint echo.
"An echo? That means the ground down here isn't flat. Great…"
He had hoped the bottom of the canyon would be relatively level, but the presence of echoes proved otherwise.
After resting for a bit, he continued onward.
Following the compass, he trekked up and down the uneven terrain.
But due to the pitch darkness, he had no idea how far he'd really gone.
Still, he stayed true to the direction indicated—at least he wasn't lost.
Eventually, worn out beyond belief, he found a large hollow that offered some shelter from the wind and climbed in to rest.
In this kind of place, he couldn't even hope to light a fire.
Instead, he ate some high-calorie chocolate and other rations, then slipped into a double-layered sleeping bag and fell into a deep sleep.
The Poké Ball on his chest—containing Volcarona—continuously emitted heat, keeping his body temperature stable.
After a full rest, Nathan quickly packed up and resumed his journey, continuing to follow the compass.
However, after walking for a while, he noticed something odd.
He hadn't ascended in quite some time.
Before falling asleep, the path had still gone up and down—even if just slightly.
But now… all he'd been doing was going down. More and more.
"What the hell… Am I supposed to walk all the way to the bottom of the sea to see the view?"
Nathan muttered sarcastically.
All he wanted was to cross this canyon and reach the map's marked location.
But after entering, it seemed like there was no way out.
He couldn't even see the auroras above anymore.
And when he shone his miner's lamp upward, it didn't reach the ceiling at all.
"Screw it! As long as I'm headed in the right direction, I'll eventually reach the end!"
Steeling himself, Nathan pushed forward—until he reached a large depression in the canyon.
Once inside, he noticed faint tremors traveling through the ice around him.
He pressed his hand against the ground and felt them clearly.
The vibration was rhythmic, but not like something hitting the ice...
It felt more like... the rumble of flowing water.
"Wait a minute—could that be seawater underneath?!"
Nathan exclaimed in shock.
If that were the case, then the ocean was just beneath his feet!
Alarmed, he lay down flat, shining his lamp onto the ice below, carefully examining it.
But as Nathan was busy observing what lay below the ice…
something else was watching him.
In the darkness, light was the brightest and most tempting presence.
And right now, the brightest thing was Nathan's headlamp.
The creature lurking below had been watching for a while.
Seeing Nathan make no move, it suddenly launched itself upward.
Just then, Nathan saw two glowing green eyes charging straight at him from beneath the ice.
Startled, he leapt back instinctively—only to slip and fall.
Boom!
A deep, heavy thud rang out beneath him as the ice trembled violently.
"OH SHT! OH SHT! OH SH*T!!"
Without a second thought, Nathan scrambled upward as fast as he could.
But whatever was below the ice had no intention of letting him go.
It rammed into the ice again and again.
Each impact worsened the cracks in the already stressed ice.
As the saying goes—a dam a thousand miles long may collapse from a single ant hole.
Once the cracks formed, they spread like wildfire.
In just a few moments, the entire floor of the pit shattered with a deafening roar.
The immense pressure of the ocean burst through.
Seawater gushed in violently.
Nathan, who had barely climbed out of the pit, was instantly swept away by the surging currents.
The powerful, high-speed flow pulled him in.
And this… was only the beginning.
As that section of ice gave way, the cracks continued to spread.
Within two to three minutes, one after another, jets of seawater erupted throughout the canyon floor.
At the center of the largest water column, Nathan was already unconscious.
The booming roar echoed across the canyon as the sea consumed it.
Nature's power is limitless.
Within moments, the glacial canyon had been completely flooded.
--------------------------
"Ugh… it hurts…"
Nathan groaned as the pain in his back roused him from unconsciousness.
He opened his eyes to find himself inside an ice hut.
Volcarona was pressed close to him, keeping his body warm.
Frosmoth stood nearby, watching over him silently.
"Where… where am I?"
Nathan rubbed his aching head and murmured in confusion.
(End of Chapter)