"Luucaarr!"
Soon Lucario detected something.
Without wasting time, Ethan mounted Vibrava and followed Lucario with all his Pokémon.
Along the way, thanks to Lucario's aura perception, several silhouettes of Pokémon appeared, most of them Rock-type.
"That is... Golem?"
Suddenly he saw a figure that was both familiar and strange: an Alolan Golem.
Alolan Golem has short forelegs with only two fingers, and its feet also have two claws.
On the ridges above its eyes and on its upper lip it has black bar-shaped stones. On its chest, black ferruginous sand particles cling together, forming something that looks like a beard.
On its back it has a structure similar to an electromagnetic cannon.
Unlike the normal Golem, the Alolan one is Rock- and Electric-type, a difference caused by the region.
Although he was still not completely sure that this place was Vast Poni Canyon, he could already confirm that it belonged to the Alola region.
Thinking of this, Ethan became excited.
In Alola there were not only exclusive Pokémon or regional forms: the Z-energy system and Totem Pokémon also originated there.
And Totem Pokémon were precisely the current focus of Ethan's research.
Perhaps here he could achieve a decisive breakthrough in his research.
Thinking about it, his eyes shone.
If this place was truly Vast Poni Canyon... would the Totem Kommo-o be here?
"Lucario, from now on ignore the other Pokémon. Focus only on searching for Kommo-o."
Ethan licked his lips with excitement.
"Luucaarr!"
Lucario nodded and began sensing with all its strength.
Soon it found something and ran toward a direction.
After advancing some distance, a Hakamo-o appeared before Ethan.
"So there really are Hakamo-o here."
Ethan fixed his gaze on it.
Hakamo-o also stared at him.
Suddenly it rushed directly toward him.
Sandslash stepped forward to intercept it.
After barely a single exchange...
Hakamo-o was sent flying with one claw strike.
Sandslash's current strength was simply too great; ordinary wild Pokémon were not opponents at all.
Defeated, Hakamo-o looked fearfully at Sandslash and then quickly fled.
"Let's follow it."
Vibrava flapped its wings and Ethan followed.
RUMBLE!
RUMBLE!
They had not gone far when the ground began to tremble violently.
Then a gigantic figure appeared before Ethan.
"What a huge Kommo-o... Could it really be the Totem Kommo-o?"
Ethan's eyes shone.
A normal Kommo-o measures around 1.6 meters, but this one was nearly five meters tall. It was three or four times larger than a normal one. That size perfectly matched that of a Totem Pokémon.
"Now all that remains is to verify whether it possesses Totem aura."
Size alone was not enough for confirmation; the Totem aura was the true source of its power.
"Koomom!"
The enormous Kommo-o had also discovered Ethan and roared loudly.
Behind it, Hakamo-o looked at Ethan with a pitiful expression, as if complaining.
"Well... it seems we'll first have to defeat this Kommo-o before talking about anything else," Ethan murmured, while Sandslash had already stepped forward, clearly ready to begin the battle.
"Koomom!"
Another powerful roar echoed in the air.
Suddenly, a terrifying pressure rushed forward—it was the Totem aura unique to Totem Pokémon.
However, Ethan vaguely sensed that the Totem Kommo-o that had activated its Totem aura was different from the previous ones. Besides its imposing presence, its body had also released an even stronger force!
"Its strength has increased... This Totem Kommo-o already possesses the ability to control the Totem aura."
Ethan was surprised at the sight. He had not observed this change before in either the Totem Sandslash or the Totem Drapion.
"Could it be because we are in the Alola region... or is there another reason?"
Now that his own power level had reached that stage, Ethan's perspective had also expanded greatly.
At that moment, he began thinking about the hidden mysteries behind Totem Pokémon, showing a thoughtful expression.
"Koomom!"
"Sha!"
While he was reflecting, the two Pokémon on the field had already begun fighting.
Sandslash had also sensed that the Totem Kommo-o was extremely strong, so from the start it used the combined move Spin Drive.
In an instant, the power of the move accumulated perfectly to its maximum point, charging with a terrifying wave of energy toward the Totem Kommo-o.
For its part, the Totem Kommo-o concentrated Fighting-type energy in its fist. With the monstrous strength of its enormous body and the reinforcement of its Totem aura, it decided to withstand Sandslash's attack head-on!
BOOM!
The two collided violently.
Both attacks, equally powerful, exploded and released terrifying energy.
Then it could be seen that the two attacks were locked in a stalemate in the middle of the field, with neither managing to overpower the other!
"Quasi-Elite level!"
"This wild Kommo-o has reached the Quasi-Elite level!"
Almost immediately, Ethan deduced Kommo-o's strength. Totem Pokémon, especially those that mastered the use of Totem aura, could experience a truly terrifying increase in power.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The two Pokémon continued fighting fiercely, completely evenly matched.
"Ethan..."
At that moment, several figures suddenly appeared in the sky.
They were the other members of the group, drawn by the noise of the battle. They had thought Ethan was in danger.
"My god, it's huge!" exclaimed Thomas in the League's common language.
"It's a Totem Kommo-o."
"It seems that's our mission target!"
The others also turned their gaze toward the Totem Kommo-o on the field.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The battle continued.
No one spoke; they all watched attentively.
While they were astonished by the strength of the wild Totem Kommo-o, they also felt deep amazement at the terrible power of that Sandslash.
"A Quasi-Elite level attack!"
With their experience, they could clearly see that Sandslash's attack already possessed power equivalent to that of a Quasi-Elite level Pokémon.
"KOOMMOMM!"
Just as the five had gathered, a roar came from the depths of the canyon.
Immediately afterward, a large number of Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o ran from the distance, cautiously looking toward Ethan and his group.
They could sense that the aura of several Pokémon present was strong enough to rival that of their king.
BOOM!
Another explosion echoed.
The two Pokémon clashed again and then separated.
The Totem Kommo-o stepped back until it stood in front of the Hakamo-o, looking with a grim expression at the other Pokémon accompanying the five humans.
Even facing Sandslash alone was already extremely difficult for it. If the other Pokémon joined the battle, its defeat would be inevitable.
"Kommo-o, we haven't come to fight with you."
Seeing that the Totem Kommo-o had been intimidated, Thomas stepped forward surrounded by Dragonite, Garchomp, and Goodra.
Then he took out his Rainbow Stone, releasing the aura of the lord of Dragon Valley contained within it, which made the Totem Kommo-o startle once again.
"That's right. I came here to take you with us to Dragon Valley."
Thomas quickly explained his purpose and looked at the Totem Kommo-o, waiting for its decision.
"Koomom!"
The Totem Kommo-o showed some hesitation. Its clan had protected this place for a very long time. But with the merging between the real world and the Secret Kingdom, it had already sensed that the Dragon-type energy of this Secret Kingdom was slowly disappearing.
It probably wouldn't take long before that energy was completely exhausted.
If what that two-legged creature said was true, then Dragon Valley would be an excellent new home for its species. Moreover, other members of its kind would also live there.
Seeing the hesitation of the Totem Kommo-o, Thomas smiled slightly. He knew that Kommo-o had already begun to believe his words. He did not rush and allowed it to think calmly.
Meanwhile, they would take the opportunity to fully explore this Secret Kingdom and bring back all the Dragon-type Pokémon living in it.
(End of chapter)