Flame Valley.
Area "B5".
In area "D3", Natsuhiko encountered a remarkable group of Houndoom, among which one Houndour barely met his requirements. At least this seemingly "risky" action yielded some results, as he gained something.
However, in this area "B5", he couldn't find any ideal Pokémon.
Luckily, Nanmu and Ishino were continuously gathering intelligence for him and promptly delivered it to him through Salandit.
Looking at the paper handed over by Salandit, it had some area codes written on it, with one of them marked prominently.
"'A2' area, an unassigned zone with a relatively high danger level, huh?"
Natsuhiko pocketed the piece of paper.
Being unassigned suggested a higher possibility of encountering rare Fire-type Pokémon.
After leaving area "B5", Natsuhiko headed straight for area "A2".
This place was already near the depths of Flame Valley, where one could see the end of the vast Grand Canyon of Flame Valley from afar.
The "A2" area was not a small canyon split, but rather a space within the crevice of Flame Valley's fractured rock layers, with the entrance resembling a narrow tunnel into a cave. After entering and walking for a while, one could reach the position of area "A2".
It was a vast space within the canyon walls of Flame Valley, filled with towering rock columns and stalactites hanging from above, creating an impression of stepping into a densely rocky stone forest.
You couldn't see the end at a glance.
Moreover, the temperature in this fractured space was very high, excessively so compared to Flame Valley, which was already quite hot.
Natsuhiko had to unfold his superpower, isolating some of the heat before he could walk here.
The path here was extremely difficult, with jagged rocks on the ground like sharp blades scattered everywhere,
even specialized outdoor boots would turn to tatters within moments on such a road.
Luckily, Natsuhiko was a Superpower User, capable of isolating certain damages.
Rumble——
Not long after entering, suddenly a roar was heard from inside, along with the vibration of the fractured space.
Dust and rock debris scattered from the top, accompanied by sharp stalactites falling down.
Here, one must be cautious of sharp ground and be wary of these stalactites that might fall at any moment; getting hit could be close to facing death.
Upon hearing the commotion, Natsuhiko hesitated slightly, then followed the sounds.
Before long.
He saw scattered fragments of rock pillars on the ground, along with a colossal creature.
Onix!
It was frantically flailing its body, thrashing against the ground, causing collapsed rock pillars along with continuous rumbling, and the shaking of stalactites falling from above.
This Onix was struggling, as it was under attack.
Attacking it were ants with metallic luster laying on its body, but larger than real ants, appearing as if enveloped in steel with circular patterns akin to mechanical components, with sets of massive fangs biting firmly onto Onix's body.
Durant.
An Insect-type and Steel-type Pokémon, these ant-like Pokémon prefer living in caves or rocks.
As Insect-type Pokémon, their favorite food is tender and delicious leaves of various kinds, and as Steel-type Pokémon, they can also draw nutrients from rocks to maintain growth and survival.
Evidently, Natsuhiko stumbled upon this group of Durants hunting Onix.
A typically grown Onix can reach over eight meters, nearly nine meters, definitely a colossus among Pokémon, whereas a Durant, even when fully grown, is at most around thirty centimeters, rarely exceeding fifty centimeters in size.
Such an enormous size gap created this stark contrast in hunting behavior.
A thirty-centimeter Pokémon hunting nearly nine-meter colossus?
But such is the reality.
Onix's colossal size grants it formidable strength and a sturdy body, but also some shortcomings like maneuvering in narrow spaces, meticulous operations, etc.
With thirty-centimeter Pokémon clinging to it, Onix struggled but couldn't touch the existence on it.
A densely packed swarm of Durants, at least dozens, clung tightly to its body, continuously tearing at it with their sharp fangs.
Its proud sturdy body didn't appear very fibrous under Durants' metallic teeth.
Constantly, rock debris fell from its body.
Accompanied by Onix's increasingly frantic thrashing and rolling, along with continuous roaring.
No matter how it tried to use the ground and rock pillars to shake off the Durants wedged in its body's crevices, it could only shake off a few of them sparingly.
But the fell-off Durants weren't heavily damaged, flipping over and crawling back onto its gigantic body.
Moreover.
The Durants were moving with planned, well-coordinated movements, with a leading Durant constantly issuing orders, making their hunt quicker.
This kind of hunting was unprecedented for Natsuhiko.
Admitting its visually impactful shock was inevitable.
It's like a swarm of ants conquering an elephant.
Durants truly counted as nemeses of Onix-type Pokémon.
However, just as Durants were about to bite through Onix's toughest outer shell, reaching its truly weak inner parts, Onix suddenly stopped struggling.
Narrowing its eyes as if making a decision.
Its body suddenly slithered, rapidly moving in a certain direction.
Onix's linear crawling speed is quite fast; rock pillars and extended ground stalactites hardly hindered it, crashing past them, all breaking.
Standing there, Natsuhiko didn't attract their attention; watching the rapidly departing Onix, he pondered for a moment, then opted to follow.
Onix-type Pokémon are not common; they hold certain value.
Moreover, Onix actually has an evolutionary form, Steelix, but it hasn't been discovered; capturing an Onix to use as academic research to confirm Steelix's existence could be a plausible choice.
With this in mind, Natsuhiko stepped forth, accompanied by Yujira and others, chasing them.
Soon, Onix burrowed into a downward-extending narrow tunnel, feeling a heat wave upon approaching the tunnel.
Stopping at the chaotic tunnel entrance, Natsuhiko vaguely saw flickering fire lights at the tunnel's end.
Perhaps... This tunnel's bottom is the key place of this area.
Might even hold the reason why Flame Valley's canyon temperature remains so high.
No longer hesitating, within Yujira's psychic wrapping, he leapt, swiftly descending downwards.
Finger-thick tongues of flame kept emerging from the rock crevices.
Upon reaching the bottom, Natsuhiko raised his eyes to see a type of Fire-type Pokémon.
Surveying the surroundings further validated his suspicion.
This surely explains one of the reasons Flame Valley maintains perpetual high temperatures, because, to put it bluntly, Flame Valley is like a giant iron pot being roasted over flames!!