Stark Island is a massive island located to the northeast of the Sinnoh Region.
Because a living volcano, the Stark Mountain—stands upon the island, the overall temperature of the entire landmass is extremely high.
At the same time, due to the harsh living environment, the number of native inhabitants on Stark Island is quite small, and most of them are concentrated in the southwestern part of the island, far away from Stark Mountain.
However, the area around Stark Mountain itself is a paradise for Fire-type Pokémon. Especially on the mountain itself, nearly every Fire-type Pokémon species that can be seen across the Sinnoh Region resides there.
Therefore, if you come to the Sinnoh Region and find yourself lacking Fire-type Pokémon, traveling to Stark Mountain is never a wrong choice!
At this moment, on the summit of Stark Mountain, a large number of sorcerers wearing hooded robes had already gathered. Their robes came in four colors—black, brown, blue, and green—each representing a different faction of power.
Aside from the ordinary sorcerers stationed on the slopes below, four individuals were standing directly at the crater of Stark Mountain.
"Black Robe, the last operation to capture Azelf failed—you must bear full responsibility for this!" As soon as the four gathered together, two of them immediately voiced their accusations.
During that previous operation, in order to create the conditions necessary to capture Azelf, they had directly confronted Mesprit and Uxie at the height of their power…
Originally, they had all believed that the operation would certainly succeed. After all, they had prepared for it for several years. Yet in the end, not only did it fail, they had even lost Darkrai!
"Hmph! If it weren't for the fact that you obtained the recognition of the Overgod and were granted the power of the Overgod, I would have killed you on the spot!" The two did not bother to hide their anger in the slightest.
"I know. What happened last time truly exceeded my expectations," the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer said, frowning.
"I never imagined that Azelf would form a connection with a second person, and through that connection obtain even greater power!"
"That man called Aven—I underestimated him. Through the construction of the Pokémon Domain and the development of the Pokémon League, he has gathered an extraordinarily powerful force of will around himself!"
The Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer frowned deeply. He had never expected that, as the Shadow King, he would end up in such a predicament. However, when he considered the gap in strength between himself and the two standing before him, he forcibly suppressed the anger boiling in his heart.
"Black Robe, do you really think that guy, Aven will come?" Suddenly, the man in the brown robe, who had remained silent all this time—spoke up.
"I have already delivered the message to them," the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer replied. "If they do not wish to allow Heatran to fall into our hands, they will certainly come to contest it."
"They possess the Volcanic Keystone, so this is also an opportunity for them. And if they want to defeat us successfully, they will definitely bring the Lake Guardians with them."
After hearing this, the brown-robed man nodded. "Heatran is connected to the Creation Trio. If Azelf and the others receive the news, they will surely come."
After a brief pause, he continued, "If we can successfully capture the Lake Guardians this time, all of your past mistakes will be completely forgiven. Moreover, I will personally report the credit that belongs to you."
Upon receiving the promise he desired, the Black-Robed Grand Sorcerer finally breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze drifted toward the direction of the main island of Sinnoh Region, silently hoping that bastard, Aven would not disappoint him.
This time, they were fully prepared. As long as the enemy dared to come, they were confident they could keep them all here. Once the Lake Guardians left their own domains, they would no longer be so powerful!
"Let us begin lifting Heatran's seal now."
"Whether the Lake Guardians come or not, we must destory Heatran's seal and subdue it."
"At that point, even if we succeed in capturing the Lake Guardians, we will still need to use Heatran's connection to Palkia and Dialga to capture the Twin Dragons of Time and Space," the blue-robed and green-robed Grand Sorcerers reminded.
Hearing this, the brown-robed sorcerer nodded and shifted his gaze back toward the active volcano beneath them. Within the volcano, several snail-like creatures whose bodies flowed with molten magma could be seen slowly writhing.
…
Out on the open sea, the ironwood ship cut through the waves, riding directly into the wind.
With the protection of the Sea Guard, they encountered very few threats along the way.
Of course, the dangers at sea were not limited to attacks from Pokémon—there was also the ever-changing and unpredictable weather of the ocean itself.
Just like now.
The sky was darkening at a visibly rapid pace. Above the ironwood ship, Pelipper and Wingull cried out incessantly, signaling that a violent storm was indeed approaching.
"Your Highness, should we detour around that stormy area?" City Lord Kale came to the bow of the ship, his expression filled with worry.
Having lived by the sea all his life, he could easily judge the scale of the storm ahead. A tempest of this magnitude would be difficult for even the sturdiest ship to withstand—they were in real danger.
"A storm? It's fine. We'll just go straight through it," Aven replied calmly.
As he spoke, he took out more than a dozen Poké Balls and released them. Instantly, more than ten Cherrim appeared at the bow of the ship, blooming into brilliant flowers.
The escort Pokémon on this voyage were not limited to those in the sea. With Poké Balls at his disposal, Aven could effectively carry an entire Pokémon army with him.
Besides him, many of the knights also carried Poké Balls at all times. In the event of combat, they could summon several times their usual fighting strength in an instant.
"Lilligant, work together with the Cherrims to disperse the storm!"
At his command, Lilligant nodded. At this moment, a milky-white light had already gathered atop the golden flower on its head, solar energy surging continuously.
In the next instant, a blazing orb of fire condensed into existence. After gathering the combined power of all the Cherrim, it shot straight into the sky.
Immediately, the pitch-black sky seemed as if a tear had been ripped open in a dark curtain—or like a single drop of water falling into a pond, sending ripples spreading outward in all directions!
BOOM!
It was as if a muffled thunderclap exploded in midair. The dark clouds were blown apart in an instant, dispersing completely into nothingness.
Gradually, only a blazing sun remained hanging high in the sky, waves of warm sunlight shining down upon everyone's faces.
"The storm… was dispersed just like that?" The onlookers were all stunned by the sight.
Especially the knights of Marina City—this was one of the rare times they had seen Aven personally take action. Yet with just this single move, they were left utterly dumbfounded, their shock quickly turning into elation.
As long as Prince Aven was present, future sea voyages would no longer need to fear even violent storms. For navigation, this kind of support was simply invaluable!
Some of the Marina City knights even thought of the typhoons that often struck the city during summer. With the power of Pokémon, could it be that Marina City might one day no longer have to fear storms at all?
(End of Chapter)