Chapter 832: The Former Cradle of Champions
On the snowy plains outside the Giant Chasm.
"Was this place always this cold? Have any of you been here before?"
With a layer of snowflakes on his head, Kazuya turned to his companions beside him.
The environment near the Giant Chasm was much colder than the one in the second world; the temperature must have dropped by at least thirty degrees.
He estimated the temperature in this snowy field right now was around minus fifty degrees Celsius.
Inside the Giant Chasm, it might reach minus seventy degrees.
It was a temperature where even breathing would cause damage.
And that was for Pokémon.
If it were a human.
Taking a breath in this place would instantly cause frostbite in the respiratory tract and lungs. It wouldn't take long before they collapsed and slept forever on the ground.
Even the Alabaster Icelands in the extreme north of the Sinnoh region didn't reach temperatures this low.
How could a place in the subtropical Unova region be like this?
This was clearly abnormal.
However.
Since it was Kazuya's first time visiting the Giant Chasm of the first world, he wasn't sure if it was a difference between the two worlds.
For example, was the Kyurem of the first world in Its complete form, with strength far exceeding the one in the second world, thus having a greater impact on the environment?
"I came here once with Riley a hundred and thirty years ago. It wasn't this cold back then. The temperature difference is just too vast."
Lucario shook his furry ears.
The snowflakes on his ears were shaken off, and a puff of hot air escaped his nose.
One could faintly see that Lucario's fur was already covered in ice crystals.
Mind you.
They had been in this snowy field for less than ten minutes.
Looking to the side.
Dragonite was shivering from the cold.
With a quadruple weakness to Ice, her resistance in this freezing environment was very poor.
Even though they had prepared cold-weather clothing in Lacunosa Town, it was of little use in this environment of minus several tens of degrees.
The one in the best condition was probably Skitty.
This child was curled up into a pink ball, nestled snugly inside Lucario's coat, feeling incredibly warm.
Of course.
The warmth was only relative to the other five Pokémon.
In reality, this child's little face was also flushed red from the cold.
"Alright, let's go."
Kazuya glanced at the Giant Chasm in the distance, got up, and prepared to leave with his companions.
"Master?"
Scizor looked at Kazuya in confusion.
Weren't they here to investigate if the Plate was present?
"It's pretty much confirmed. The Giant Chasm not only has Kyurem but also the Icicle Plate. We'll come back later."
Kazuya waved his hand dismissively.
Just a single Kyurem.
Couldn't affect the environment to this extent.
Even the combined Unova Dragon wouldn't.
Conversely.
If it were the combined Unova Dragon inside the Giant Chasm.
The surrounding environment wouldn't turn into this state of extreme cold.
Kyurem couldn't control the outward release of the freezing energy within its body; its cellular structure was unstable.
That was why it stayed inside the Giant Chasm all the time.
But the combined Unova Dragon possessed the powers of Fire and Electric, allowing it to draw those freezing energies back into its body. Unless it actively released its power, its impact on the outside world would be practically nonexistent.
Kazuya didn't think the combined Unova Dragon would be leaking energy even while sleeping.
So the one staying inside the Giant Chasm was highly likely a Kyurem that hadn't fused with the power of the Black and White Dragons.
And Lucario had also said.
A hundred and thirty years ago, the environment here was not like this.
The world was currently in the state of League Calendar Year 233, which was roughly the time Lucario had set foot in Unova.
At that time, Kyurem definitely existed inside the Giant Chasm as well, just like now, so Its influence needed to be ruled out.
Logically speaking, the environmental change shouldn't be this drastic.
Even if the sunlight overhead was almost nonexistent.
The problem was.
This place had always been covered in dense clouds.
It didn't get much sunlight in the past either, so it wasn't much different from now.
Thinking it over.
There was only one possibility left.
External influence.
During these years, something "new" must have appeared inside the Giant Chasm that could drastically affect the environment.
Apart from the Ice-type Plate—the Icicle Plate.
Kazuya couldn't think of anything in the Pokémon universe capable of doing this.
Perhaps future human technology could.
But the humanity of the first world had already lost its future.
"The Icicle Plate? That doesn't seem to be one of the Plates Lugia mentioned. Are we going to take it?"
Dragonite turned to look at Kazuya, a hint of worry in her eyes.
She was very bad at dealing with Ice-type Pokémon.
Facing Kyurem.
She worried she wouldn't be of much help, might fall in the first exchange, and end up dragging her companions down.
"Of course."
Kazuya nodded without hesitation.
He strongly suspected now.
That Shadow had secured all the crucial world-saving Plates, leaving only those that couldn't synthesize the Jewel of Life and the Adamant/Lustrous/Griseous Orbs on the Demon Gods outside.
Perhaps to increase the combat power of these Demon Gods.
Or perhaps to act as bait to lure them.
In short.
The four Plates Kazuya didn't have—Grass, Dragon, Steel, and Ghost—were highly likely on the Demon Gods accompanying Shadow, and Arceus probably had one of them.
If that were the case.
The conventional method of saving the world would be basically impassable.
And if they had to take the second path.
Then naturally, the more Plates they collected, the safer it would be.
The Icicle Plate could increase the damage of Kazuya's Ice-type moves, which was even more important than making him immune to Ice-type damage!
As everyone knows.
Ice-type Pokémon are hard to use.
But Ice-type moves are incredibly useful.
"Alright."
Dragonite nodded.
Since that was the case, there was nothing more to say.
As long as it was something Kazuya wanted to do, she would support it and try her best.
This was also what she wanted to do.
It was the reason she decided to leave the Dragon Clan's territory.
"Our strength is insufficient. The top priority is to increase our strength within three years. Lucario, one of us must break through to the Master level within these three years."
"Yes!"
Lucario nodded solemnly.
He would try his absolute best.
"Also, the Icicle Plate might be bait. Over the next three years, we must repeatedly scout the area around the Giant Chasm."
"If there truly is an ambush, we'll leave immediately. It doesn't matter if we lose track of the Icicle Plate later."
"Leave this to me, no one is more suitable than me. You guys just focus on training."
Kazuya said.
While leading everyone toward the inland sea between the eastern and central continents.
After arriving at the inland sea.
He summoned Samiya.
And immediately submerged into the ocean.
Their destination for this trip was the Blueberry Academy located beneath the sea of the Unova region.
This was an academy established and opened only in League Calendar Year 220. On its opening day, it shocked the world with its facilities, and within a mere decade, it earned the title of the "Cradle of Champions."
This title was truly not an exaggeration.
Blueberry Academy truly could cultivate a Champion-tier competitor within a few years.
Their strength might be far inferior to the League Champions of various regions.
But they were indeed Champion Trainers whose entire team had reached Lv. 80 and above.
Unlike the Naranja/Uva Academy, a comprehensive academy with a long history, Blueberry Academy was established solely for education in Pokémon battling.
Apart from Pokémon battling, it cared about nothing else.
Even the internal facilities and systems of Blueberry Academy were entirely designed to facilitate student battles and improve their strength.
However.
This approach was actually somewhat similar to pulling up seedlings to help them grow.
Strength improved quickly.
But there was a lack of accumulation in travel experience and social experience.
This easily created a phenomenon—the young Champions produced by Blueberry Academy had the strength of a Champion, but lacked the mindset and ability to bear the responsibilities of a Champion.
Of course.
This was an early rumor.
Later, Blueberry Academy also implemented education targeting this aspect, and the situation improved significantly.
And for the next three years.
Kazuya planned to use these facilities of Blueberry Academy to help himself and his companions grow stronger.
Among them.
The facility called the [Terarium].
Was the training ground Kazuya had eagerly anticipated even before arriving in the Unova region.
It was an Atlantis beneath the sea.
An underwater garden artificially created by Blueberry Academy.
It was divided into four major biomes: Savanna, Coastal, Canyon, and Polar, encompassing Pokémon from various regions and even famous landmarks from different regions.
This was absolutely the most suitable place in the Pokémon world for novice Trainers to grow.
If Kazuya had transmigrated to the Pokémon world as a human, he would feel it a loss if he didn't take a trip to this Blueberry Academy.
Moreover.
The crucial point was.
The sunlight and energy of the Terarium didn't rely entirely on the sunlight from the surface.
But on the spherical device suspended at the top of the Terarium—the Terarium Core.
The energy supply within the Terarium Core was quite complex.
Including but not limited to light energy, thermal energy, electrical energy, wind energy, natural energy, Terastal energy...
Merely losing sunlight.
Wasn't enough to stop the Terarium Core from operating.
Especially with the world refreshing every day.
The Terarium Core was full of energy every single day, completely capable of supplying the entire Terarium.
Until the world reversed back to League Calendar Year 220.
Would all this stop operating.
But there were still 13 years until that day arrived. By then, Kazuya and his party would have long left the Unova region, so they didn't need to worry about it.
Right now.
The existence of the Terarium Core meant that the environment within the Terarium was almost identical to what it was before the Great Darkness incident.
Here.
They could see green plants they hadn't seen in a long time and eat Berries they hadn't eaten in a long time.
It was simply a dream training ground.
The change in environment would also significantly improve their training efficiency.
Coupled with.
The various medical facilities of Blueberry Academy.
Saying their training speed would double compared to the past decade or so would probably be conservative.
The moment Samiya came to a halt.
Kazuya and his party opened their eyes in the dark seabed.
And strode towards the Blueberry Academy located beneath the sea.
Time flew by.
Kazuya and his party forgot how much time had passed.
They only knew it was probably time to leave this utopia.
After all.
When a Demon God came knocking.
It meant they had stayed in this area for over three years.
Fortunately.
The one who came knocking.
Wasn't some powerful Demon God.
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