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The early morning sun shone on the tent by the river in the forest.
As the first rays of sunlight touched the earth, the Pokémon began to stir from their sleep.
"Pika?"
Pikachu, who had spent the previous night playing with Lurantis before dozing off outside Evan's tent, was the first to wake up.
Blinking sleepily, Pikachu rubbed its eyes and shook its head.
"Pikachu!!"
It sat up, stretched, then scampered toward the river.
Reaching the water's edge, Pikachu plunged its face into the cool river, its tail swaying. After washing its face, it rubbed its cheeks before shaking off the excess water.
As Pikachu refreshed itself, the other Pokémon began emerging one after another.
"lura~!"
Lurantis stepped out of Evan's tent, still groggy, yawning as it stretched.
A moment later, Gardevoir gracefully followed.
Both Pokémon approached the river and began washing their faces.
As the Pokémon stirred, Evan and the others woke up as well.
Once awake, they started their morning routine—brushing their teeth and freshening up. Several of the girls tidied their hair, fixing the mess from sleep. When everyone was done, they sat together for a simple breakfast of bread and milk.
Since they weren't lighting a fire in the morning, they opted for a quick meal before packing up the tents.
With everything set, the group set off toward the mountains.
The forest was lively in the early morning, as Pokémon emerged in search of food.
Along the way, Evan and the others encountered many Pokémon—Furret, Mankey, Beedrill, Caterpie—common species that thrived in the area.
At one point, Evan even spotted an Alakazam. However, as soon as it noticed them, it swiftly used Teleport to vanish.
"You should stay alert," Evan reminded Rosa and Sophia. "If you see a Pokémon you like, don't hesitate to catch it."
Neither of them had completed their teams yet, so there was always the chance of finding an important addition.
Rosa and Sophia nodded.
"We'll keep an eye out," they assured him.
Though Evan had reminded them, they didn't seem too preoccupied with the idea.
Pikachu and the others led the way, and any Pokémon they battled were left behind.
If the injured Pokémon needed help, Evan and the others would stop to heal them.
If Rosa or Sophia wanted to catch one, they could do so without issue.
This was a simple and familiar process.
Evan's gaze shifted to Claire.
At that moment, she released her Ninetales, then casually climbed onto its back, letting it carry her instead of walking.
Evan sighed.
"You're so lazy," he muttered. "Making Ninetales carry you like that."
She wasn't even looking at the path—her focus was entirely on her phone.
Hearing Evan's comment, Claire scoffed.
"I'm chatting with Violet," she replied. "She's been gathering information on Magearna."
"She's sorting it out now," she added. "There are a lot of these artifacts you were talking about. Some are in museums, others are in the hands of private collectors."
"When she's done compiling the info, she'll send it over for you to confirm."
"Once she verifies everything, she'll figure out how to acquire the items."
"For now, I'm pushing her to hurry up, but she seems to be ignoring me."
Evan gave her a blank stare.
Who would want to deal with you this early in the morning?
You don't think you're being a little annoying?
I bet Violet wants to strangle you right now.
Just as Evan was about to say something, a powerful roar echoed from deep within the mountains.
The entire group instantly turned toward the source of the sound.
They looked up just in time to see an orange Energy Ball shoot into the sky.
The sphere burst apart, transforming into countless meteor-like projectiles that rained down.
Seeing this, Evan's eyes widened in shock.
"This is Draco Meteor!!"
The moment Evan recognized the Dragon-type move, he immediately called Pikachu and the others back.
Claire switched her mount to Evan's Charizard for the time being, letting it give her a ride through the sky.
After gathering the rest of the Pokémon, Evan turned to Dragonite.
"Dragonite, take us to the source of that Draco Meteor."
With a nod, Dragonite soared forward, picking up speed. The group followed closely behind.
As they rapidly approached, the sound of battle echoed through the air.
Soon, Evan and the others spotted two Pokémon clashing midair in the distance.
"It's Salamence!!"
"And there are two of them!"
Sophia was the first to exclaim, her voice filled with excitement.
From the way they were fighting, it was clear there had to be more than just these two.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be locked in such an intense battle.
It was rare for Pokémon of the same species to fight each other unless they were competing for leadership of their group—or for a mate.
"Let's get a closer look."
"Dragonite, speed up!"
Evan's heart pounded with excitement.
If this really was an entire Salamence tribe... could he somehow convince them to come with him?
The more he thought about it, the more the idea took hold.
Imagine having a whole group of Salamence at home.
Better yet, they could be trained to deliver packages.
A delivery service run by a team of powerful Dragon-types—wasn't this exactly what Mewtwo did in some stories?
The thought alone made Evan giddy.
Just as they got closer, several Salamence suddenly emerged, their fierce gazes locked onto the group.
"Roar!"
Upon spotting Dragonite, they immediately let out warning growls.
Evan and the others came to an abrupt stop.
Looking down, they finally noticed what lay below them—an enormous, flat terrain teeming with Salamence, Shelgon, and Bagon.
This was undoubtedly a full-fledged Dragon-type colony.
Claire was practically drooling at the sight of so many powerful Pokémon.
But even she knew better than to act recklessly.
The two Salamence that had been fighting stopped, now eyeing the newcomers with wary expressions.
"Easy now," Evan said calmly. "We mean no harm."
A dozen piercing eyes remained fixed on them, filled with both caution and intensity.
Anyone in their position would feel the pressure.
The power radiating from this group was undeniable.
Many were at the Elite level.
Some had even reached Championship-tier strength.
And at the center of it all stood one particular Salamence, exuding an overwhelming presence.
Dragonite had been watching it closely ever since they arrived.
There was no doubt—this was the leader of the tribe.