Chapter 629: The Ancestor of Birds
It had been eleven years since Kazuya arrived in the Ancient Era.
By now, he had become a powerhouse at the mid-tier Elite Four level, boasting a panel level of Lv. 75. With his full combat potential unleashed, he could comfortably square off against opponents at Lv. 80. If his adversary happened to belong to the Dark, Ground, or Water types, it wouldn't be a problem to push that upper calculation by another two or three levels.
Of course, this peak combat output was somewhat unstable. Kazuya could never guarantee that Shirona, situated in a distant, separate era of time, would seamlessly catch his "signal" and possess the immediate leisure to offer a response. Stripped of Mega Evolution, his baseline capabilities would suffer a significant decline. Even against a professionally countered matchup, he could at most match a floor-level Champion.
Yet, in Kazuya's estimation, this magnitude of individual strength was already more than sufficient to safely launch a deep exploration into the Rocky Mountain range. Even a chaotic warzone like those rocky peaks couldn't possibly be a place where Elite Four and Champion-level entities roamed the earth by the dozens.
Therefore, after formally entrusting the jurisdiction of the Dragon Clan to his younger brother, Kazuya set off alongside Floette. Under the reluctant, lingering gazes of his three young nieces and nephews, he winged his way toward the northern Rocky Mountain range.
This time, he was resolved to plunge deep into the rocky peaks to thoroughly chart the interior's political landscape, doing his absolute best to unearth concrete clues regarding the origin of Dragon-type natural energy.
In reality, it was only because Kazuya lacked critical historical data—specifically, the fact that his dragon mom was a Mega Charizard X—that he felt compelled to target the perilous Rocky Mountains first. Had he possessed that fragment of intel, he wouldn't have needed to rush into such a cutthroat warzone; he could have simply journeyed to the volcano to extract the parameters directly from his dragon dad before formulating a strategy.
Watching the silhouettes of his older brother and sister dissolve into the distant horizon, brother-kun slowly withdrew his gaze. Today, he radiated a level of maturity that was incomparably sharper than a year prior. It was precisely because of this blossoming stability that Kazuya could comfortably depart, confidently leaving the safety of the collective anchored to his younger brother's guardianship.
"Roar."
Mimicking his older brother's structured demeanor, brother-kun began delegating tasks to the assembled dragons. Over eleven years of constant exposure, even if he hadn't personally masterminded the logistics, he had witnessed the execution countless times; structuring the daily patrol routes was hardly a challenging assignment.
The deployment mirrored their standard daily security routine: the martial elites of the Rampardos and Cyclizar lines marched out to sweep the parameters of the northern grassland. The Bastiodon line, whose lack of agility made sweeping movements impractical, remained stationed to garrison the clan's core heartland, fiercely shielding the agricultural farmlands, pastures, and young dragon hatchlings.
The Goodra line spent the overwhelming majority of their time deployed deep within the swamp, only returning to report their status once every few days, making them an erratic variable that couldn't be factored into the daily schedule. Finally, the Altaria clan, whose sparse population left them incapable of blanket-covering the wider territorial limits, was exclusively charged with patrolling the skies immediately flanking the heartland.
On the whole, the defensive bulwark safeguarding the Dragon Clan's inner sanctum rested almost entirely upon the robust shoulders of the Bastiodon line. Beyond their static defense, the collective relied heavily upon the rapid response times and reinforcement speeds of the Cyclizar and Altaria clans.
Yet, this defensive matrix harbored a glaring, fatal vulnerability.
The defensive proficiency commanded by the Bastiodon line was undeniably absolute. Even though their average developmental level had gradually fallen behind, leaving them near the bottom tier of the six great tribes' current progression, their raw capacity to absorb pressure left them as the undisputed Top 1 when it came to fortress defense. With the Bastiodon line digging their heels into the dirt, it was more than enough to completely shatter a frontal assault launched by the vast majority of the grassland's native clans.
However, "the vast majority" was a highly specific qualifier—it left a lingering margin of failure.
When facing an adversary that commanded the skies, the Bastiodon line found themselves profoundly hard-pressed. Their colossal, blocky physical structures and short, robust necks rendered them immensely clumsy and powerless against an airborne threat. This exact limitation was one of the premier drivers behind Kazuya's frantic desire to secure an aerial force; historically, the Dragon Clan's anti-air capabilities sat right on the precipice of nonexistence.
Even now, their airborne assets remained desperately sparse, limited to a single flock of Altaria that held a meager ten mature fighters capable of deploying for actual combat. Against a skyward threat, the Bastiodon line's only avenues of active retaliation were limited to the Dragon Breath technique passed down by Kazuya, or the Ancient Power they unlocked biologically.
While it was more than sufficient to guarantee their personal survival, trying to shield and preserve other assets under their watch became a grueling, ineffective task. This remained a deeply severe, unavoidable dilemma plaguing the structure of the Dragon Clan—their anti-air presence was empty and hollow, yet they possessed zero immediate avenues to rectify the vulnerability. It was the exact reason Kazuya constantly agonized over securing a dedicated flying vanguard.
Coincidentally, destiny has a cruel habit of mocking mortal designs. Perilous events almost always manifest at the most inopportune moments.
It was like holding a tight crosshair angle in a tactical shooter, perfectly smoking off two lanes, only for an aggressive defender to unexpectedly flash through the cloud right when your teammate chooses to pull out a knife to rotate—a complete catch-22. The current status quo of the Dragon Clan mirrored this exact script: the adversary arrived precisely when Kazuya—their undisputed Top 1 anti-air asset—was absent from the territory.
Far to the south of the volcanic mountain range lay a gargantuan primeval jungle. The apex sovereigns governing this tropical rainforest were a massive flock of Archeops.
During the modern League Era, due to the genetic distortions introduced by fossil resurrection technology, Archeops existed as a dual Rock/Flying-type Pokémon. But in the true Ancient Era, they were an entirely pure, single Flying-type species.
Yet, lacking a secondary typing didn't mean they were weak. While a single attribute narrowed their offensive coverage, it simultaneously stripped away a massive layer of structural vulnerabilities. For a species whose base stat distribution was exceptionally elite—boasting high dual offenses coupled with fierce speed—a single typing was hardly a regression; it was a sleek refinement.
Their lineage was universally revered as the First Ancestor of Birds. However, the genetic blueprint inside their bodies was immensely complex, containing vestigial traces of both Dragon and Bug-type traits, though the avian sequence occupied the dominant proportion.
Perhaps because of this evolutionary transitional state, the Archeops' actual flight capabilities were remarkably weak. The musculature controlling their wings along their back was relatively frail; conversely, the raw speed they could unleash when sprinting across the earth using their powerful rear legs was lightning-fast.
Aside from their physical parameters, it was imperative to note that the Archeops clan possessed an exceptionally high level of tactical intellect. They were born with an innate blueprint for coordinated pack-hunting, and they held the capacity to accurately gauge an adversary's threat level based entirely on outward physiology. On the whole, they were a highly formidable clan—at the very least, their capability to bully weaker species was remarkably fierce.
Coupled with a tropical rainforest environment that served as an absolute paradise for bugs and birds, the Archeops naturally and logically secured the throne as the Overlords of the jungle.
However, whenever the peak of summer arrived, the Archeops clan grew intensely, erratically restless. The scorching climate brought immense physical discomfort to their heavily plumaged bodies. Consequently, during the vast majority of the day, they would hole up inside the cool shade of hollowed tree trunks or mountain caverns to wait out the sun, only venturing out into the open to launch hunts under the cover of night. For decades, this behavioral cycle had remained flawlessly consistent.
But over the past few years, the baseline parameters of their home had steadily begun to shift.
A predatory species originally native to the northern volcanic mountains migrated down into the rainforest, and this incoming clan commanded a terrifying proficiency for nocturnal warfare. During the initial years of their displacement, this incoming vanguard avoided direct friction with the Archeops, choosing to launch stealthy hunts under the absolute mask of darkness to silently multiply their numbers.
Yet recently, the strength and unbridled ambition of this invading clan had grown overwhelming. They openly projected an intent to challenge the Archeops for the sovereign throne of the rainforest. They had even begun launching proactive nocturnal raids directly into the Archeops' nesting sites, carrying away the weak, juvenile Archen as prey.
Faced with this systematic predation, the Archeops found themselves entirely devoid of counter-measures. Their capacity to hunt at night wasn't born of specialized biological adaptations; it was merely a byproduct of their overwhelming level superiority crushing ordinary prey. In reality, their visual acuity suffered a massive degradation once darkness fell. How could they possibly compete against a species whose entire biological engine was purpose-built for midnight slaughter?
After enduring over two weeks of continuous, terrifying attrition, a wave of profound dread completely paralyzed the Archeops clan. They no longer possessed the psychological leeway to contest the territory with that invading species; their singular, overwhelming desire was to flee this crucible. As for the sovereign Overlord throne—that concept meant absolutely nothing to them anymore.
Their fundamental behavioral nature was structured exactly like this. Archeops was a species designed with magnificent combat parameters, yet their entire engine was completely undermined by a deeply rooted psychological flaw: Defeatist.
In the modern games, the mechanical expression was simple:
[Defeatist: Halves the Pokémon's Attack and Special Attack stats when its HP drops to half or less.]
This was an absolute, fatal trait. Spliced into the living reality of the Ancient Era, this disposition left the Archeops' true martial spirit looking utterly pathetic. Merely after enduring a succession of nocturnal ambushes—without even engaging in a singular, large-scale frontal clash—terror had already completely compromised their resolve, prompting them to launch a wretched, sweeping exodus.
And the Archeops translated that fear into immediate action.
Two days prior, seizing the exact window when the mid-day sun burned the brightest—the precise hours when that nocturnal invading species refused to operate—the Archeops mobilized their entire force. Beating their frail wings frantically, they launched a relentless march straight toward the north.
Sprinting toward the south was out of the question; their current habitat was already intensely hot, and venturing further south would mean immediate biological condemnation. Thus, they chose to carve a path toward the north.
They moved in a continuous cycle of frantic sprinting and brief, exhausted pauses. The moment the musculature of their wings swelled with agonizing, throbbing pain, they would collapse into the foliage to catch their breath for a fleeting second. Along this grueling migration, they didn't even dare to carve out a window to launch hunts for sustenance. A staggering number of juvenile Archen fell behind and were abandoned by the wayside, yet the main vanguard never dared to slow their pace, plowing forward with absolute desperation.
By the time they successfully breached the perimeter of the volcanic mountain range, the Overlord Archeops—who originally commanded a majestic body length of over thirty meters—had physically shriveled down to a meager ten meters due to absolute exhaustion and energy depletion.
The flock had originally intended to drop into the foliage to secure a brief window of rest, but they caught sight of a magnificent contingent of powerful fire dragons flying directly overhead. This spectacle struck such pure terror into the Archeops that they instantly wedged themselves deep into the underbrush, paralyzing their own movements, not daring to twitch a single muscle.
As established, the Archeops commanded a high level of tactical intellect, allowing them to accurately deduce whether a group of Pokémon was easy to dominate based on outward physiology. Logically, this trait should have been a magnificent survival advantage—but paired with the Defeatist disposition, it transformed into a psychological curse. It left them intensely fearful of launching an offensive against any formidable species, particularly those that commanded the domain of the sky.
An airborne adversary meant the enemy possessed the immediate capacity to hunt and run them down, multiplying the perceived threat tenfold in the Archeops' eyes.
Therefore, the moment the Charizards drifted out of the skyward sector, the Archeops scrambled out of the underbrush and resumed their frantic sprint through the forest floor, plowing ahead toward the north with unbridled desperation. Another massive wave of juvenile Archen succumbed to exhaustion and was ruthlessly left behind.
By the time their vanguard finally breached the perimeter of the grassland, the remaining demographic of the migration consisted exclusively of fully evolved Archeops.
Yet, as an apex Overlord clan that had thrived within a tropical rainforest for decades, even after enduring such a devastating toll of attrition, the remaining population of the flock still stood firmly above seventy. Furthermore, the level requirement for an Archen to evolve into an Archeops sat at a demanding Lv. 37—an exceptionally high evolutionary threshold. This mathematically guaranteed that the Archeops who had successfully ploughed their way from the jungle to the grassland possessed an incredibly formidable average level.
For the ordinary native clans of the grassland, the arrival of this desperate, high-level vanguard was nothing short of an absolute catastrophe.
Upon entering the grassland, the Archeops quickly perceived that the local resident Pokémon appeared, for the most part, remarkably weak and non-threatening. The suffocating aura of imminent danger finally dissolved. With their high-strung nerves relaxing, a wave of ravenous, gnawing hunger born from two solid days of continuous flight completely consumed their focus.
The Archeops narrowed their eyes, their predatory instincts instantly flaring. They resolved to launch a sweeping hunt across this grassland to sate their starvation. Their current physical status was severely compromised; if possible, it would be best to lock their sights onto targets that were entirely landlocked and appeared completely devoid of martial combat capabilities.
Thus... the Archeops began to hover and circle across the grassland skies, meticulously scanning the earth to select the perfect prey.
This clan appeared entirely too powerful.
That group possessed the capacity for skyward flight.
One native Pokémon lineage after another was bypassed by their gaze. Occasionally, a few ordinary wild animals roaming the grass failed to elude their talons, but that meager offering wasn't nearly enough to sate the collective starvation of over seventy ravenous Archeops.
Moving in this relentless pattern, they ploughed their way steadily toward the north. They crossed the geographical boundary separating the southern and northern grassland sectors. They breached a specialized perimeter completely wreathed in loops of black flowers.
And it was precisely within this sanctuary that the Archeops discovered the ultimate, flawless prey. In their absolute ecstasy, they threw back their heads, letting out a succession of hoarse, raucous shrieks that rent the quiet air.
Their predatory sights were locked directly onto the agricultural pastures nestled deep within the Dragon Clan's territory, and... onto the tender, adorable dragon hatchlings playing within the heartland.
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