"Let's just explore here, any higher up would be too dangerous." Sieg stood atop a massive boulder, lifting his gaze to the towering Mt. Chimney that pierced the clouds.
The whole mountain rose up to about 1500 meters, and where he stood now was barely over 400 meters up, somewhere around the mid-mountain zone but slightly lower.
Even so, the Pokémon living at this altitude were generally around level 20 to 30.
This was already the upper limit of Sieg's exploration range for now. Any higher, and he'd likely run into Pokémon above level 40.
From maps or when seen from afar, Mt. Chimney might look small, but only by standing here in person could one truly grasp how massive it really was.
At mid-mountain, Sieg was already slightly out of breath. It wasn't just the elevation, the dormant volcano's unique environment also caused mild oxygen deficiency.
The air carried a hint of volcanic ash, making it even harder to breathe.
Sieg had his Murkrow constantly purify the surrounding air while he donned the oxygen mask he had prepared in advance.
He found that the Pokémon here weren't only Fire-type. He also ran into plenty of other types, like Mightyena or Machop.
What's more, it wasn't just Hoenn Pokémon, he even saw species from other regions.
Most of these Pokémon existed in groups. Lone ones were rare, but that made sense. In order to survive in these harsh conditions, banding together was the only way.
Night slowly fell. Sieg found an open, rocky spot to serve as his campsite.
This place was littered with exposed rocks, their surfaces veined with red lines that seemed to pulse with the heat radiating from Mt. Chimney.
Naturally, this area was also beloved by Rock and Fire-type Pokémon.
After a full day of intense training and battles with wild Pokémon, his team was exhausted, but the gains were worth it.
Murkrow had leveled up once more, now reaching level 22.
Just as Sieg was about to pitch camp on the spot, the flicker of flames somewhere along the mountainside startled him awake.
"What's going on! I remember the wild Pokémon in that area should have been cleared out already, right?"
Sieg instinctively glanced at Murkrow, hurriedly stuffing his gear back into his spatial backpack. When camping out in the wild, the most crucial thing was preventing surprise attacks from wild Pokémon.
Judging by the nearby traces, Pokémon had definitely passed through here recently, so this place was no longer safe for camping. He either had to move or drive the Pokémon away.
Murkrow flapped its wings with perfect understanding and flew ahead to scout.
Sieg carefully crept along the exposed rocky ground, draped in his night cloak, inching toward the source of the firelight while hiding his presence under the cover of night.
After crossing piles of jagged, uneven boulders, he finally caught sight of the figures behind the flames.
Hiding behind a giant rock, he could just barely make out two figures in red clothing, commanding their Pokémon as they surrounded a wild Torkoal.
Both figures wore red hooded cloaks, hoods drawn tightly so not even a bit of their faces showed.
On their clothes was a black insignia, which from afar looked like a small mountain, but also a little like the letter M.
Team Magma!
In an instant, Sieg realized their true identity.
They were members of Team Magma, the same group he had already encountered back in Verdant Tunnel.
Sieg pressed his back tightly against the rock, his expression dark. He hadn't expected the plot to advance by several years, with Team Magma already making Mt. Chimney one of their bases.
Or maybe they were still in the exploration phase?
Sieg didn't dare underestimate them for a moment. His mind raced. Just how many Team Magma members were on this mountain right now?
Were these two an advance scouting squad, mapping the area, or had they just arrived?
He signaled a few hand gestures at his Pokémon, giving Murkrow instructions with a glance to circle around from the side.
Before taking off, he strapped a small night-vision camera to Murkrow's body.
Sieg hesitated only briefly, then took advantage of the night and his night cloak to crawl forward on his stomach, inching closer.
They were in the open, he was in the shadows.
That was Sieg's biggest advantage. More so, a stealthy ambush at night was practically natural for Murkrow and Umbreon.
Once Sieg finally closed the distance, he could roughly catch snippets of their conversation.
"Sir, you're amazing! You took down that level 30 Torkoal like it was nothing!" The smaller, younger man's flattery was obvious.
The other man clearly enjoyed it, his rough voice booming, "Haha, don't worry! Stick with me and you'll never have to worry again!"
"Ugh, we just got unlucky, getting stuck on guard duty out here."
The shorter man asked, "Sir why did the organization come all the way to Mt. Chimney anyway? It's so hot here! If it weren't for that Tatsukiro guy's Ice Pokémon keeping us cool, I'd be cooked by now!"
"Who knows?" The bigger man's tone was uncertain too. "But I heard from the squad leader, we're collecting something."
"What, could it be…"
"Alright, stop guessing! We're making side money during break time, this goes against the rules. Let's hurry back before someone catches us."
After hastily tidying up the scene, the two men left, taking the captured Torkoal with them.
Hidden behind the rock, Sieg could feel his heart pounding.
He had just overheard plenty of valuable information from their chat. First, Team Magma was clearly planning to make Mt. Chimney their base, and they were steadily moving in.
Second, they seemed to be collecting something.
The first point was fine, but the second… Sieg knew they were probably gathering meteorites or something similar, trying to awaken Groudon!
"Why am I worrying about this now, though? That plan shouldn't even start until the story kicks off, which is at least seven or eight years from now."
What he really needed to figure out was how to leave Mt. Chimney safely. Judging from their conversation, it sounded like Team Magma had people all over the mountain.
Yet Sieg hadn't seen any when climbing up.
So Team Magma's activity must be concentrated at altitudes above 400 meters.
"Am I really going to have to just head straight back down…"
Right now, Sieg was torn, deep in thought.
But just as he was racking his brain, the pitch-black Murkrow swooped back in, wings stirring a light breeze as it landed steadily on a boulder.
Seeing this, Sieg quickly stepped forward and unfastened the night-vision camera from Murkrow's body.
He immediately powered up the recorder, eyes glued to the screen.
Sending Murkrow ahead had two purposes. First, to check whether there were more Team Magma members nearby.
After all, if he acted recklessly, he could easily alert others.
Second, he wanted to scout the surrounding terrain.
In daylight it was still easy to make things out, but under the night sky, visibility dropped drastically.
Watching the footage, Sieg felt a tinge of worry. Amid the dim video, clusters of red dots flickered all over the mountains.
No doubt, those were Team Magma members.
"Huh, there's actually a little trail here?!"
Hunched over, Sieg slipped into the narrow path hidden in the night. A small sign beside it glowed faintly with a few words:
Blazing Trail.