Paldea Region.
Through the golden rings provided by Hoopa Confined, Dylan and his companions arrived in Mesagoza, the largest city in Paldea.
The Paldea League was located just nearby, and it was also where Red's upcoming challenge against Geeta would take place.
But the most striking landmark in Mesagoza was undoubtedly the Naranja Academy, an institution with over eight hundred years of history.
It was one of the world's most prestigious academies—even Steven and the others were curious about this ancient school.
"Arven."
"Dylan, long time no see."
Under Geeta's guidance, Dylan's group was granted a tour of Naranja Academy, during which he contacted Arven. Nemona and Juliana were both away, pursuing their next ranked challenges in the World Championships.
Arven himself had no interest in competition—and besides, he hadn't forgotten the task Dylan had entrusted to him.
"I made sure to finish my history course. Professor Raifort told me more about the Treasures of Ruin. It's not entirely confirmed yet, but what we do know is that they're currently sealed away."
Arven unrolled a map on his desk as Dylan's group gathered in his classroom.
"Thank you for going through the trouble," Dylan nodded. Of course, he already knew most of this.
"There are four Treasures of Ruin in total, and they're sealed in four different corners of Paldea," Arven said, pointing to four circles marked on the map.
"These locations are based on Professor Raifort's research—they're approximate, not exact."
"I was planning to check them out myself, and if they turned out to be real, I'd have contacted you."
"No need for that," Dylan replied, patting Arven on the shoulder. "The general area is enough. Thanks, Arven."
"It's nothing. I owe you everything. If it weren't for you, I…" Arven's voice dropped as he thought of his late parents.
"Oh, and even if we find the shrines, we can't release them unless the seals are undone," he added quietly.
"That's fine," Dylan said with a small smile. "I have my ways."
Finding the shrines was the only part that mattered. As for how to unseal them—that wasn't a problem.
In the games, one would need to remove eight stakes for each shrine. Dylan didn't have that kind of time.
"Yeah, that sounds like you," Arven said with a small laugh.
After marking down the rough locations of the four shrines, Dylan wasted no time. He summoned Reshiram outside Mesagoza and soared westward.
After about an hour of flight, they reached the West Province (Area One).
"Peppa, could you give me a hand? Try sensing where the shrine might be."
Dylan patted his backpack, waking up the 'sleepy Clefairy' nestled inside.
Peppa poked out a round little head and began to radiate psychic energy, scanning the area for anything unusual.
Before long, her senses led them to the base of a tall mountain.
"So that's the shrine?" Lillie asked curiously, gazing at the circular structure built into the mountainside.
It resembled a great stone gate, bound tightly with four massive iron chains.
"That's right—this is the Icerend Shrine," Dylan said, turning a Luxury Ball in his hand as he observed it.
"During the Paldean Empire, a merchant sold four treasures from a distant eastern land to the king—a vessel, a sword, a tablet, and a bead."
"But that very night, the treasures transformed into Pokémon and brought ruin to the royal capital. It's said that they were Pokémon all along."
"Over the ages, they absorbed so much greed and malice that when the king's own desire touched them, they awoke."
Dylan calmly recounted the ancient legend.
"The 'Treasures of Ruin'—the name itself doesn't sound benevolent," Lillie murmured.
"What happened after that?" Leaf asked, clearly intrigued.
"Afterward, the king summoned Pokémon tamers to subdue them. Each was sealed within its own shrine using eight stakes."
Dylan shrugged, then chuckled lightly.
"And apparently, only those with pure hearts, free of wicked thoughts, can break the seals."
He wasn't sure if that was true. In the games, the protagonist—Juliana—was certainly pure-hearted, but Dylan knew he wasn't.
Still, that didn't matter. He wasn't planning to use the 'proper' method anyway.
"Terapagos."
He tossed the Luxury Ball, and the adorable little turtle appeared before him, yawning.
"Terapagos, please clear away those chains."
"Tera~!"
The small creature straightened up, glowing brilliantly as it transformed into its Terastal Form.
It opened its mouth, unleashing a three-pronged blast of fire, ice, and lightning that tore through the shrine's chains.
BOOM!
The explosion echoed through the mountain, smoke rising thickly into the air.
When it cleared, the chains had been shattered to bits.
A pale golden light and chilling air began to seep out from within the shrine.
"It's coming out," Dylan said with a grin.
With a low growl, a sleek white shape leapt from the shrine, landing before them. Its icy blue eyes fixed coldly on Dylan and his companions.
"What is that?" Lillie blinked. She thought it was… beautiful, in a fierce sort of way.
It resembled a snow leopard, its fur pure white, with pale blue diamond-shaped crystals embedded in its body—and the most striking feature of all were the broken sword blades extending from its jaws like fangs.
It was none other than Chien-Pao, one of the Treasures of Ruin!
'Beep—Chien-Pao, Dark/Ice-type. The Disaster Pokémon.
Ability: Sword of Ruin.
Notable Moves: Sheer Cold, Sacred Sword, Recover, Abyssal Lunge…
Dex entry: The hatred of those who perished by the sword's edge was bound to the snow, giving birth to this Pokémon.'
Hearing Rotom Dex's explanation, both Lillie and Leaf looked a little unsettled.
"Born from the hatred of those slain by swords? That's… disturbing," Leaf muttered.
If Dylan knew what they were thinking, he'd have said it wasn't strange at all.
That was exactly what the Treasures of Ruin were—manifestations of negative emotions.
Chien-Pao from hatred and resentment of the slain; Wo-Chien from the fear of ancient curses; Chi-Yu from jealousy born of endless conflict; and Ting-Lu from the grudge of those punished for recording the king's sins.
"Disaster" was never a word meant to sound kind—and neither were these Pokémon.
"Chien-pao!"
The snow leopard growled lowly, its voice rasping and sharp.
"Now, now, no need to be so aggressive. Is that how you treat the one who just freed you from centuries of confinement?" Dylan said with an amused smile.
"How long has it been since you were sealed away? You probably don't even remember. The world's changed a lot since then."
"I saved you—you could at least show some gratitude, maybe even devote yourself to me?"
At those words, Chien-Pao's eyes grew even colder, and the air temperature dropped sharply.
"Chien-pao!!"
It lunged forward, fangs bared.
"Quite the wild one," Dylan murmured thoughtfully.
Not all Pokémon in this world were inherently good. Take Yveltal, for example—a Pokémon embodying death and destruction. Some were simply born with a darker nature.
The Treasures of Ruin were the same, born from negativity itself.
Still, that was fine. Evil or not, they could be trained. Controlled. Guided.
Dylan never liked suppressing his Pokémon's nature—but with beings like Yveltal or the Treasures of Ruin, leaving them unchecked would only bring catastrophe.
"Terapagos, give our new friend a proper welcome."
At his signal, Terapagos moved forward.
Even in its second form, it was easily powerful enough to handle Chien-Pao—especially since the leopard was still weakened after being sealed for centuries.
The battle didn't last long. The capture, however, took more time.
"All right, on to the next one," Dylan said, turning the Luxury Ball containing Chien-Pao in his hand.
The Treasures of Ruin were far too dangerous. Even sealed, someone could accidentally unleash them someday.
Better that he take them all into safe keeping.
A shame, though—if he'd had Chien-Pao back when he fought Lance, that battle would've been even more thrilling.
For an Ice-type, Chien-Pao was remarkably strong.
Reshiram's wings spread wide, the white dragon soaring gracefully toward the next shrine.
By the time Dylan returned to Mesagoza, dusk had fallen.
"Dylan~!"
At the academy gate, a cheerful voice called out. The girl's eyes sparkled as she ran up to him.
"Nemona, you seem in high spirits," Dylan said with a smile.
"My ranking's up to seventeenth! I think I'll be challenging the Masters soon!" Nemona grinned brightly, her energy contagious.
"That's impressive. But if you're aiming to challenge me, you'll need to keep pushing," Dylan said warmly.
It wasn't surprising. As the 'prodigy protagonist' of Scarlet and Violet, Nemona's talent and strength were exceptional.
Reaching the Masters was well within her grasp—though even for her, climbing any higher wouldn't be easy.
(End of Chapter)