The morning air at the base of Mt. Coronet didn't just feel cold; it felt heavy. This wasn't the gentle, floral breeze of Eterna City. This was the breath of the ancient world. The mountain range stood like a jagged wall of white marble, its peaks disappearing into a swirling crown of clouds that looked more like a gateway to another dimension than simple weather.
I stood there, bundled in my new thermal gear—a sleek, navy-blue jacket with a reinforced collar and heavy-duty hiking boots. I felt a bit like an overstuffed Marshmallow Man, but one look at the frost on the nearby pine needles told me I'd made the right choice.
"Alright, let's see. The tunnel to Celestic Town should be... just past that ridge," I muttered, flicking open my Pokédex.
Usually, I didn't need the thing. I knew my types, I knew my moves, and I had a decent sense of direction. But Mt. Coronet was a labyrinth of caves and magnetic anomalies. One wrong turn and you could end up in the underground ruins or wandering toward the freezing summit where even the air seemed to crystallize.
As I rounded the final bend toward the main tunnel entrance, I didn't find the quiet, industrious scene of a construction crew I expected. Instead, it looked like a high-speed chase had come to a grinding halt.
Blue-and-white police cruisers were parked haphazardly, their lights flashing rhythmically against the stone walls. A group of men in neon vests were huddled together, some with bandages around their arms, talking rapidly to a very frustrated-looking Officer Jenny.
"Is the situation that bad?" she was asking a man in a tattered Ranger's uniform.
"Worse than we thought," the Ranger replied, wiping sweat and soot from his forehead despite the cold. "We've tried sending in squads of local Trainers to flush them out, but these aren't your average wild Pokémon. They're organized. They're actually using tactics."
I slowed my pace, ears perking up. Tactics? From wild Pokémon?
I drifted toward the edge of the crowd, trying to look like a disinterested traveler while soaking up every bit of info. Apparently, the tunnel maintenance—a routine once-a-month job—had been violently interrupted. A colony of Geodude had suddenly turned the tunnel into a fortress.
"Normally, Geodude just sit there and pretend to be rocks until someone accidentally kicks them," one of the workers complained. "But these guys? They wait for us to get deep into the shaft, then they block the exit with Rock Slide. They aren't trying to eat us; they're trying to keep us out. It's like they're guarding something."
The League was stumped. Gardenia, the nearest authority figure, had just left for a summit at League HQ. Sending in an Elite Four member for a few unruly pebbles was seen as "overkill," so they were currently relying on a volunteer force of Trainers.
"Brute force won't work," the Ranger sighed. "Every time we send in a Water-type to clear them out, they retreat into the cracks where we can't follow, then pelt us with rocks from the ceiling. It's a treat-the-symptom-not-the-disease situation."
I looked at the dark maw of the tunnel. If the path was blocked, I'd have to take the long way—a massive detour through the Cycling Road, through Hearthome, and up through the jungle. That was a two-week hike.
"Well," I whispered to Sylveon's Poké Ball on my belt. "Looks like we're stuck here for a bit. Might as well make the most of it."
Since the tunnel was officially "Police Business Only," a makeshift camp had sprouted up nearby. Dozens of Trainers, mostly those who were also waiting for the path to clear, had turned a flat patch of grass into an outdoor arena.
The sound of cheering and the familiar crack-boom of moves clashing drew me in. In the center of a large circle of spectators, a battle was reaching its climax.
"That's five in a row for him," a guy next to me whispered. "His Nosepass is a tank."
I looked at the field. On one side stood a Floatzel, its yellow flotation sac puffed out, dancing around with impressive speed. On the other side was a Nosepass—a literal block of stone with a large, magnetic red nose. It looked battered, covered in scratches and damp spots from the Floatzel's Water-type pokes, but it hadn't moved an inch from its spot.
The Trainer, a guy named Marcus, looked completely calm.
"One final strike! Floatzel, finish him with Aqua Jet!"
Floatzel became a blue blur, encased in a high-pressure stream of water. It rocketed across the field like a torpedo, aimed straight for the Nosepass's center.
"Now! Time for the flip! Nosepass, use Pain Split!" Marcus commanded.
My eyes widened. Pain Split? At this level?
A haunting, pale glow erupted from the Nosepass. A white circle of energy shot out, tethering the stone Pokémon to the incoming Floatzel. For a split second, the air between them shimmered.
Visibly, the Nosepass's cracks seemed to seal, and its posture straightened. Meanwhile, the Floatzel's "jet" sputtered. Its eyes widened as its stamina was literally ripped away to fill the Nosepass's tank. The Aqua Jet hit, but the impact was weak.
"Now! Grab it!"
Nosepass's stony arms clamped down on the Floatzel like a vice. Before the agile Water-type could slip away, Nosepass's body flickered with a sharp, yellow light.
"Quick Attack!"
BAM!
Nosepass slammed its entire weight into the Floatzel at point-blank range. When the dust cleared, the Floatzel was out cold, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
"Five wins! The guy is a genius!"
I nodded to myself. Not a bad strategy. He used the Floatzel's own health as a battery.
But the battle wasn't the end of the show. As Marcus walked over to pat his Nosepass, the magnetic air of Mt. Coronet seemed to react.
The blue hum that usually hung around the mountain intensified. Static electricity made the hair on my arms stand up. The Nosepass began to glow—not the white light of a move, but the brilliant, blinding blue-white light of evolution.
"No way," I muttered. "He's doing it right here?"
The magnetic field of Mt. Coronet is famous for triggering specific evolutions. Nosepass, when exposed to the mountain's core magnetism, transforms into something much more formidable.