Diancie floated gracefully, her delicate hands lightly gesturing as pink Aura infused the ground.
In an instant, the surrounding earth shimmered with a dazzling pink glow, dreamlike and surreal.
After a moment, Diancie slowly opened her eyes and spoke softly.
There are indeed minerals underground, but they're even more volatile than [Blastfire Stone]."So easily explosive?
Akira frowned, thinking this type of ore seemed difficult to preserve, and there was no immediate use for it yet.
He decided to set it aside for now and not take it.
Meanwhile, the memory transfer was nearing its end.
As the last fragments of memory were copied, Porygon-Z slowly floated over to Akira's side.
The final result was roughly as expected.
Similar to Don's current memories, only a portion could be retrieved—the rest even Don himself couldn't recover.
However, Porygon-Z could combine these memories with the original manuscript Don provided to form a more complete recollection.
Having a supercomputer for a brain sure was convenient.
Unfortunately, neither the original manuscript nor Don's memories contained much detail about the Kurta Clan in the Dark Continent.
According to Don's memories, he had visited the area and met with the Kurta Clan a few times before leaving.
There were no in-depth conversations.
He only knew they lived in this general area, but not the exact location.
But Akira didn't mind.
He had plenty of ways to find people, and he wasn't in a hurry anyway.
Judging by the progress of the incubation bar, this gestation period wouldn't be short—he had ample time to stay here.
Having made up his mind, Akira released Arcanine and led Diancie up the volcano.
Arcanine hadn't seen action in a while, though Akira had let it gain some experience points earlier.
Its current strength was S-rank, more than sufficient as a mount.
As for Diancie, it was there to detect ores—first, to avoid "landmine-like" ores along the way.
Second, to keep an eye out for any rare ores.
"Woof woof!"
Once mounted on Arcanine, Akira's progress sped up considerably.
The dog's casual sprint covered significant ground.
However, the volcano was terrifyingly vast, and Akira couldn't estimate how long it would take to explore the entire area.
But since it was a volcano, fiery elements were likely abundant here, with no shortage of [Disasters] and [Hope].
...
Before long,
Akira rode Arcanine to a barren area where the ground was composed of reddish rocks.
They resembled the [Red Rocks] seen on Blaze Rock Island, and such rocks were everywhere in this volcanic region.
From above, the entire area looked as if it were engulfed in flames.
Naturally, the temperature rose noticeably the higher they climbed.
After just a short ascent, Akira estimated the temperature had already reached 30°C—who knew how hot the crater would be.
No vegetation was visible around, just fiery red rocks and unnamed pits of varying sizes.
Suddenly, several fireballs of different sizes leaped out from the pits, crashing onto the ground and scattering sparks.
The intense heat scorched the rocks, leaving behind charred marks as sizzling sounds echoed loudly.
Then, the fireballs began transforming, expanding from relatively spherical shapes and quickly enlarging.
Finally, they took on humanoid forms—adult-sized with distinct limbs and torsos, their heads blazing clusters of fire.
Akira's lips twitched as he muttered, "Fire sprites from the forest?!"
"Don't tell me ice or snow people will pop out on the snowy mountains too?"
The fire creatures before him bore a striking resemblance to characters from a small game in Akira's memory, albeit in an enlarged form.
Admittedly, their faces were particularly horrifying—with hollow mouths and eyes that faintly exuded an evil aura.
In the next moment, as if prearranged, the fire creatures simultaneously swung their arms, sending balls of flame flying outward.
Akira couldn't be bothered to move.
Arcanine swayed left and right effortlessly, dodging the fireballs with ease.
The fireballs struck the ground, exploding on impact and leaving small craters in their wake.
For a moment, the sound of explosions echoed continuously without end.
Diancie yawned and casually flicked a finger, summoning a pinkish aura that descended upon the scene.
The fire creatures immediately dropped to their knees, feeling as if an enormous mountain were pressing down on them.
Even their flames diminished significantly—from proud infernos to feeble candlelight.
These fire creatures weren't particularly strong, merely A-rank in power.
A simple [Gravity] from Diancie was enough to immobilize them completely.
Seeing this, Akira promptly tossed several [Sealing Bags], capturing the fire creatures without hesitation.
Thankfully, the [Sealing Bags] were made of special materials.
An ordinary plastic bag wouldn't just fail to contain them—it would be incinerated the moment it got close.
At the moment, Akira wasn't sure what use these fire creatures might have, but capturing them first couldn't hurt.
Perhaps handing them over to Meowth could lead to some energy-related invention?
After all, elemental entities like these were quite rare.
He could hardly recall encountering many of them before.
A cluster of flames capable of independent movement—such phenomena only occurred in the Dark Continent.
The fire creatures were just a minor detour. After swiftly subduing them, Akira continued onward.
Soon, he arrived at a stretch of magma fields.
These volcanoes were all active, though their eruption frequency was unclear.
At the very least, Akira noticed magma was a common sight here.
Before him now was a vast pool of magma, its glowing red currents flowing sluggishly within.
A pungent odor permeated the air, prompting Akira to don the gas mask specially crafted by Meowth.
Gazing at the enormous magma pool, Akira felt no particular thoughts—only an overwhelming sense of heat.
But just then, he suddenly noticed another incubation bar appearing in his mind.
A second incubation bar?
Akira was surprised.
The first one had just appeared not long ago, and now here was another.
And its progress was advancing rapidly.
Still, the commonality remained the same.
Since this was a volcanic region, it was likely Fire-type.
Staring at the radiant magma, Akira narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Magma, huh..."
There were plenty of Fire-type Pokémon, but adding the magma condition narrowed the possibilities significantly.
Magcargo? Magmar?
Akira stroked his chin, pondering another question.
Why could a pool of magma give rise to a Pokémon?
Was there some hidden mystery here?
Upon closer inspection, Akira noticed something unusual within the magma pool.
It seemed there was something lurking within the molten rock.
Taking a deep breath, Akira focused intently, expanding his Aura outward in a spatial formation.
[En]
The massive [En] enveloped the entire magma pool, allowing him to perceive everything within it clearly.
Although the intense heat of the magma somewhat affected Akira's perception, his SS-rank abilities allowed him to discern details despite the interference.
"How is this possible?"
"There are fish inside?"
Akira was astonished.
His En provided information about numerous creatures swimming within—clearly some kind of fish.
But how could fish swim in magma?
Wouldn't they instantly turn into grilled fish?
Wait...
It seemed there really were fish capable of swimming in magma.
Akira's expression turned peculiar as he realized which Pokémon might emerge from this spawning ground.
One of the calamity Pokémon from the Paldea region—Chien-Pao!
Chien-Pao could manipulate flames reaching 3,000 degrees Celsius.
It melted rocks and gravel to create seas of magma, swimming leisurely within.
Its eyes resembled magatama beads, said to have incited countless conflicts, gathering emotions of envy.
These envious flames coalesced, giving birth to this Pokémon.
There were four calamity Pokémon in total: Ting-Lu, Wo-Chien, Chi-Yu, and Chien-Pao.
These four were the secondary Legendaries of the ninth generation, on par with Landorus in terms of tier.
Fire-type, magma, and a fish—considering all factors, Akira could only think of Chien-Pao. It matched perfectly.
Chien-Pao was also an excellent Pokémon with a base stat total of 570.
Naturally, Akira was thrilled. Currently, he only had one secondary Legendary, Landorus...
Chien-Pao might become his second.
However, Akira sensed the fish in this magma pool weren't ordinary.
The mere ability to swim in magma proved their uniqueness, making them worthy of capture.
No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than the magma pool rippled violently, launching countless magma orbs skyward.
The overwhelming barrage wasn't random—most targeted Akira's location.
Arcanine growled low and transformed into an orange-red streak of light, effortlessly dodging the raining magma.
The surrounding rocks weren't as fortunate, instantly blanketed by molten projectiles that sizzled upon impact.
Arcanine steadied itself, now positioned at a safer distance from the pool.
"Did the fish inside do this?"
"Didn't expect them to have offensive capabilities."
While one or two magma orbs posed little threat, the sheer volume escalated the danger exponentially.
It was like an entire wave of magma crashing down.
An ordinary person would vanish instantly—even a Nen user wouldn't fare much better.
As Akira pondered, the magma pool stirred again, this time with far greater intensity.
The molten substance converged, forming a fountain-like shape that centralized into a massive, fish-like construct—a gargantuan magma fish.
Then, an enormous magma sphere separated from its body, seemingly composed of countless smaller orbs fused together.
Its target? None other than Akira himself.
"A-rank... Hmm, the leader might be S-rank?"
Facing the magma fish's assault, Akira remained expressionless, calmly assessing each opponent's strength.
This lineup could put up a fight, but it wasn't worth deploying high-tier Pokémon for.
After all, the enemies were numerous but their strength varied greatly—it was merely the power of numbers at play.
Then...
Let it come.
With a thought from Akira, a grayish-purple figure materialized in the air.
Most of the Pokémon's body was gray in color.
It had a pair of wings with purple membranes and four sharp claws.
Its face was somewhat ferocious, with jagged teeth and eyes filled with malice, exuding the aura of a sky overlord.
Two horns adorned its head, clearly marking it as a dragon.
This was one of the ancient overlords of the Pokémon world—Aerodactyl!
Back then, Akira had hatched Aerodactyl from the fossil-rich Flare Rock Island and later raised it to S- rank in the Dark Continent.
After all, pushing a Pokémon from S-rank to SS-rank was somewhat difficult in the 1.9 borderlands.
But elevating a Pokémon from A-rank to S-rank was relatively simple—just grind a few monsters for experience points.
After all, S-rank monsters were everywhere.
The next moment, Aerodactyl erupted in dazzling light, its entire body enveloped within.
Mega Aerodactyl!
Immediately, the sharp rocks covering its body returned, now harder than diamonds.
A savage and domineering aura exploded outward, unmistakably marking its status as an apex predator, its eyes gleaming with sharp intensity.
Mega Aerodactyl soared freely through the vast sky with an air of arrogance.
It let out a loud cry as it flew.
Its jagged teeth were fully exposed.
It was said to use its saw-like teeth to sever opponents' throats, tearing prey apart before devouring them.
Its serrated teeth could even shred the skin of Steel-type Pokémon.
An immense pressure descended upon the area—Aerodactyl's ability, [Pressure].
In reality, Aerodactyl's Pressure worked differently, halving the power of enemy attacks.
It also accelerated energy consumption, and most importantly, it was an area-of-effect ability.
Thus, the massive school of Magikarp shrank dramatically, their size diminishing in an instant.
From high above, Aerodactyl gazed down at the fish swarm, thick yellow Aura bursting from its body and swirling around it.
Gradually, countless razor-sharp stone blades formed and shot toward the fish, slicing through the air itself.
The sound of rending air erupted.