Moreover, many details require careful observation of the mountain wall to find clues, which is difficult to see when riding Garchomp.
In the end, this investigation could only be paused temporarily.
Compared to the Space-Time Rift high in the sky, what truly made the two realize that the situation at the Coronet Highlands was getting worse was the wild Pokemon living here.
The Pokemon here are very strong!!
This was fully anticipated.
Coronet Highlands is originally more dangerous than the Obsidian Fieldlands and Crimson Mirelands, with a harsher living environment. Naturally, the Pokemon that can seize territory here aren't weak.
But being strong and going crazy are entirely different things.
"Roar!!"
A wild Golem was knocked back by the Razor Shell, and the Hisuian Samurott didn't wait for Cynthia's next command like usual.
Instead, it stepped forward voluntarily, directly targeting several Pokemon further away that had just been drawn by the commotion of the battle.
Cynthia's eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"Samurott, come back."
"Roar..."
Samurott's body paused for a few seconds, and finally, it seemed to return from a state of unusual excitement, slowly retreating to Cynthia's side.
Just this much was already very abnormal.
Samurott has been through numerous battles with Cynthia. It wouldn't suddenly become so restless just from defeating a few wild Pokemon, nor would it nearly fail to execute Cynthia's first command.
Ash's eyes glowed blue as the Aura Power quickly enveloped the surrounding area.
The emotions of the surrounding wild Pokemon quickly fed back through the Aura.
Anger, restlessness, and an intense desire to fight that couldn't be suppressed.
"Sis, it's not just those few from earlier."
Ash's expression gradually became serious.
"Most Pokemon nearby have similar issues; Samurott should have been affected after spending some time here."
Cynthia gently petted the Samurott, now calm again, and looked at the wild Pokemon that hadn't left yet.
"It's very similar to the Boss Kricketune in the Obsidian Fieldlands."
This statement immediately reminded Ash of what happened shortly after they arrived in the Hisui.
The Boss Kricketune at the time was also unusually agitated, causing trouble everywhere with its clan, and it wasn't until Cyndaquil defeated it head-on that Ash had the chance to further deal with it using the Power of Viridian.
Later, they also found out that Kricketune's abnormality was connected to the environment influenced by Kleavor near the Grandtree Arena.
The biggest difference between the two situations now, however, is the scope.
In the Obsidian Fieldlands incident, the only serious anomalies occurred mainly with the Boss Kricketune and some Pokemon near the Grandtree Arena.
But in the Coronet Highlands, it's not at that level at all.
Over the past few days, Ash and Cynthia have investigated several locations, and in every area they entered, the emotions of the Pokemon nearby were almost more agitated than normal.
In other words, the influence might already encompass more than just a single mountain or arena.
But rather the entire Coronet Highlands!
"The area of influence is too vast..."
Ash frowned, looking towards the depths of Mount Coronet.
If the cause of all this is indeed the King Electrode at the Moonview Arena, then the impact of this King now far exceeds what they experienced with Kleavor and Lilligant.
Cynthia considered for a moment, organizing the current situation in her mind.
"There are two possibilities."
"Electrode itself is quite a restless Pokemon, and now affected by the anomalous power; if its unrest spreads outward with its power, then it makes sense for this agitation to envelop the Coronet Highlands."
Ash quickly asked, "What about the other possibility?"
"Time."
Cynthia didn't pause for long, directly expressing her other speculation.
"When we first came to Hisui, the Kings had already entered an abnormal state, but the frenzy wasn't as serious as it later became."
"Kleavor would still rest and accept offerings at the time; when we went to intervene, the impact on surrounding Pokemon only became significantly larger."
"Lilligant had a similar situation, indicating that the longer the anomalous power remains within the Kings, the more severe the frenzy may become."
Ash understood immediately what she meant.
It's been over a month and a half since they arrived in Hisui.
And Electrode has not been truly dealt with since.
If the anomalous power keeps deepening within it, causing its influence to expand from the Moonview Arena to the entire Coronet Highlands, this isn't entirely impossible.
Furthermore, both reasons could coexist.
No matter the truth, they can't treat Electrode as a deferred task anymore.
If delayed further, the influence on the wild Pokemon of the Coronet Highlands will only get worse.
This half month of field training isn't all bad news.
During their investigation of the Coronet Highlands, Cynthia's Eevee finally underwent evolution.
Dazzling white light constantly gleamed around Eevee, and its petite body gradually transformed.
Once the Evolutionary Light fully dispersed, a Sylveon with white main color, ears, and ribbon-like tendrils with pink and blue patterns appeared before everyone.
"Bui~"
Sylveon happily ran to Cynthia, and the ribbon-like tendrils naturally curled around her wrist.
Cynthia's smile noticeably brightened.
From the beginning, the direction she chose for Eevee's cultivation was Sylveon.
Thankfully, it didn't turn out differently.
Not long after the evolution of Sylveon, Ash's Goomy also evolved.
But after the Evolutionary Light dissipated, Ash circled the newly-evolved Sliggoo several times, his expression growing more intrigued.
"Why does it feel different from the Sliggoo I've seen before?"
"Wooah?"
Sliggoo itself didn't feel anything wrong and happily rotated its body.
The truth is, the differences are rather apparent.
Sliggoo's head isn't too different from the normal Sliggoo Ash has seen.
But its lower body has a large spiral hard shell, almost entirely enclosing its lower half. From afar, it looks like a snail with a large external shell.
Ash used the Arceus Phone to scan it.
Soon, an unexpected piece of information appeared on the screen.
"Steel Attribute and Dragon Attribute?"
Ash's eyes slightly widened.
The usual Sliggoo series is solely Dragon Attribute, but in the Hisui Region, Sliggoo gains the Steel Attribute additionally.
Thus, this Sliggoo, despite its large hard shell affecting its agility compared to its normal form, has improved Defense Ability and attribute resistance.
Steel Attribute combined with Dragon Attribute.
This combination looks outstanding.
"Not bad, Sliggoo, you've evolved toward defense!"
"Wooah~"
Sliggoo happily swayed its body, its large hard shell following in a gentle shake.
As for capturing new partners, Ash and Cynthia haven't been doing so over the past month.
The Hisui Region indeed houses many Pokemon that are unseen in later generations, and many regional forms differing from modern ones.
Under usual circumstances, Ash would feel compelled to befriend any interesting Pokemon he encounters.
But the situation is unique now.
They don't even know when they can return, let alone confirm if the Pokemon captured in this era can leave with them.
If unable to take them along, capturing more now would only lead to a harder farewell.
So until this matter is settled, neither of them is expanding their teams further.