Meanwhile, outside the Dragon's Den...
The Dragon Tamers conducting the ceremony all opened their eyes at the same moment after finishing their prayers.
For just an instant, a faint blue-purple light seemed to flash through every one of their eyes.
"It looks like some people couldn't resist temptation after all."
Clair, standing at the very front of the crowd, spoke in an icy tone.
"That's simply human nature. Desire and greed have no limits."
The Elder of the Dragon Clan, however, remained remarkably calm.
Leaning on her cane, she slowly rose to her feet.
"The ceremony must continue. I'll leave things here to all of you. I'm going inside to take a look."
"Yes, Elder!"
The Dragon Tamers all lowered their heads before returning to their original positions.
The Elder slowly walked to the water's edge and gave a sharp whistle.
"ROAR!"
A deep roar echoed across the lake.
A four-legged Dragon-type Pokémon suddenly appeared in the sky.
It possessed two magnificent crimson wings and a long tail. Its body was dark blue, while the underside of its neck, limbs, and tail were deep red.
Its lower jaw and belly were protected by three armored plates, remnants of the sturdy shell it possessed before evolving.
Above its eyes were two crimson ridges, while three small triangular fins extended from each side of its head, helping it maintain balance and achieve even greater flight speed.
It was none other than Salamence, Hoenn's famous pseudo-Legendary Pokémon.
With Intimidate and Moxie as its possible Abilities, it radiated overwhelming dominance even while standing still.
Its powerful aura spread across the entire area without the slightest attempt at concealment.
"Alright, alright. Time to take care of business."
The Elder smiled warmly as she gently stroked Salamence's head.
Despite its fearsome appearance and naturally fierce temperament, Salamence behaved like an obedient child in front of her.
It quietly lowered its head.
The Elder stepped onto its back with practiced ease and took her seat.
"ROAR!"
With another mighty roar, Salamence shot toward the entrance of the Dragon's Den like a missile.
The Dragon Tamers, still struggling under its overwhelming pressure, smiled helplessly.
None of them were worried about the Elder's safety.
If Dragonite was the Guardian of the Dragon's Den among Pokémon, then the Elder was its human counterpart.
There was no way someone holding that position could be weak.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if old age hadn't weakened her stamina and prevented her from commanding Pokémon in prolonged battles, every Dragon Tamer present could attack her together and still fail to defeat her.
After all, Dragon-type Pokémon generally lived much longer than most other species.
The stronger they became, the longer their lifespans tended to be.
While they couldn't compare to Ghost-type Pokémon in longevity, most of the Elder's Dragon Pokémon were still effectively in the prime of adulthood despite their actual ages.
Their overall combat ability had never been greater.
Even if, for argument's sake, her Pokémon had become slightly weaker over the years, nobody believed anything inside the Dragon's Den could truly threaten her.
Not only were countless powerful Dragon Pokémon living within, but the Guardian Dragonite also shared a close relationship with the Elder.
That Dragonite was an extraordinarily powerful pseudo-Legendary in its own right.
What truly interested everyone now was which of the ten Trainers inside had entered the Dragon's Den with ulterior motives.
Once they found the culprit, the Dragon Tamers wouldn't mind teaching them firsthand what Dragon Rage truly meant.
"Focus."
Clair spoke calmly without opening her eyes.
The slightly distracted Dragon Tamers immediately cleared their thoughts.
Before each of them floated a Dragon Fang that had been blessed during the Ascending Dragon Ceremony.
It emitted a faint glow, pulsing gently in rhythm with their breathing.
"Garchomp."
"But why not? The Guardian gave me this flower, didn't it? It's not like I'd do anything harmful."
Standing atop a sand dune, Silas continued negotiating with the prince Garchomp.
He wanted to visit the Dragon Sanctuary.
As the deepest region of the Dragon's Den, it was normally closed to outsiders.
Very few people even knew it existed.
Silas himself only knew of its existence but had no idea where the entrance was or how to reach it.
If he wanted to go there, he'd need help from one of the Pokémon living here.
Without question, the Garchomp standing before him was his best option.
However, faced with Silas's request, the prince Garchomp shook its head furiously.
Bringing a human into its own clan's territory wasn't a problem. It had enough standing within the clan to make that decision, especially for someone as unusual as Silas.
But taking an outsider into the Dragon Sanctuary. The Garchomp had no doubt its father would skin it alive.
Even within the Dragon Clan, only a select few people were qualified to enter the Dragon Sanctuary.
Silas certainly wasn't one of them.
The Garchomp understood perfectly well that these were two completely different matters.
Even producing the Guardian's flower wouldn't change anything.
"I see..."
Silas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then his eyes suddenly lit up.
Smiling at the Garchomp, he released both Pidgeot and Gallade.
"Pidgeot?"
Pidgeot tilted its head in confusion.
"Come on. Let's go take a look over there. Just take a look."
Silas casually climbed onto Pidgeot's back while Gallade used its Psychic powers to steady him.
He pointed toward the direction in which the Garchomp chieftain had disappeared.
Pidgeot immediately understood what its Trainer was planning.
While silently admiring Silas's creativity, it took to the sky without hesitation.
"Garchomp!"
The prince Garchomp's expression changed instantly.
Seeing Silas flying away, it hurriedly chased after him.
Back where he had started, Blaziken rolled its eyes.
This dragon is way too easy to fool.
Pidgeot was unquestionably faster than Garchomp.
With Gallade's Psychic protecting Silas from the strain of high-speed flight, there was absolutely no need to slow down.
Yet somehow, Garchomp was still barely able to keep up by following Pidgeot's flight path.
That was obviously the plan all along.
Blaziken folded its arms smugly.
Its intelligence completely outclassed the Garchomp's.
Feeling rather pleased with itself, it stood there proudly. Then it watched as its Trainer and teammates disappeared into the distant sky, becoming tiny black dots.
Its expression instantly froze.
Wait...
You all flew off on Pidgeot.
Then how am I supposed to get there?!
Its face instantly twisted in agony.
"Blaziken!"
It slammed both feet into the ground.
Sand exploded into the air.
Blaziken immediately burst into its maximum speed, sprinting after its Trainer.
Thanks to its previous training along the coastline, running at high speed across loose sand was hardly difficult for it.
In fact, it was surprisingly easy.
The only real problems were the distance and its stamina.
Blaziken had never imagined that the Dragon's Den stretched so incredibly deep.
Neither had Silas.
Although Pidgeot had deliberately slowed down a little to allow the Garchomp behind them to keep up, it was still flying slightly faster than the speed of sound.
Even at that speed, it took more than two minutes before they finally reached their destination.
A rough estimate put the distance at well over fifty kilometers.
And that was only because the Garchomp clan already lived deep within the Dragon's Den.
Otherwise, they likely would have had to travel even farther.
Looking at the long river and several waterfalls before him, Silas narrowed his eyes.
"Pidgeot."
Pidgeot obediently landed.
"Gallade, I'll leave it to you."
Silas patted the Psychic Pokémon beside him.
"Gallade."
Gallade withdrew the Psychic power protecting its Trainer and silently nodded.
An invisible wave of mysterious energy spread outward from its body.
Pidgeot flapped its wings uneasily.
For some reason, it felt a strange sense of unease.
Silence fell over the area.
Only the sound of rushing water from the river remained.
"Garchomp!"
A familiar dark-blue figure finally arrived moments later.
The Garchomp hurried over, anxiously shouting at Silas.
Are you trying to get me killed?
Do you want my unborn child to inherit my position after my father skins me alive?
Silas rolled his eyes.
To be fair, this Garchomp really was incredibly unreliable.
Still, judging by its reaction, it didn't actually seem too concerned that Silas had come this far.
It was simply complaining out of habit.
Silas frowned.
That meant Garchomp was completely confident he wouldn't be able to find the entrance to the Dragon Sanctuary.
He turned toward his Psychic-type partner.
Gallade had grown considerably stronger recently, but reaching the next level would still take time.
Perhaps that was why Garchomp remained so confident.
However, Silas didn't believe there was anything that could completely hide from Psychic perception.
If Gallade couldn't detect it, then it simply wasn't strong enough yet.
After all, Mewtwo could accomplish virtually anything with its Psychic powers.
Its abilities were on an entirely different level.
By the same logic, Sabrina's Psychic powers weren't far behind.
"Garchomp."
Garchomp suddenly looked curiously at Pidgeot.
There were Flying Egg Group Pokémon living within the Dragon's Den.
Altaria and Noivern both belonged to that Egg Group.
Silas had long suspected that Pidgeot's father might have been one of those species.
Still, this was the first time Garchomp had ever seen a Pidgeot quite like this.
There was also a faint trace of Dragon-type energy surrounding it, making the bird even more mysterious.
Ignoring Garchomp's curious gaze, Pidgeot lazily sprawled across the ground, happily enjoying the cool mist drifting over from the waterfalls.
Ah this feels amazing.
It leisurely rolled onto its back.
After spending an entire week sleeping in Pokémon Center rooms, it had nearly been roasted alive by the heat constantly radiating from Blaziken.
Every night it had survived only by forcibly stealing Alolan Vulpix away from Silas's arms.
As for what happened to its Trainer afterward.
Pidgeot figured humans had air conditioning.
He'd survive.
Besides, whenever Blaziken stayed beside Silas, it kept its body heat completely under control.
Pidgeot was convinced Blaziken was simply jealous of how quickly its own strength had improved.
Well that was only natural.
After all, it had inherited Ho-Oh's power.
Pidgeot stretched its wings lazily.
Such is the dull and lonely life of the strong.
Just then, a cloud of dust began approaching from the distance.
Within it, a red figure gradually came into view.
A short while later, a heavily panting Blaziken finally arrived before the dragon and the bird.
"Blaziken..."
It shot an irritated glare at Pidgeot while complaining nonstop.
Pidgeot simply rolled over again, pretending not to hear or see anything.
Garchomp suddenly felt like an unnecessary third wheel.
"Gallade."
Just as Blaziken arrived, Gallade slowly opened its eyes.
It raised one of the blade-like arms on its elbows and pointed toward one particular waterfall.
Silas paused for a moment.
Then realization dawned on him.
"So that's how it is. I should've expected this."
"Garchomp?!"
Garchomp stared at Gallade in complete disbelief.
How in the world did it find it?
When its own father had first brought it here, it hadn't understood anything at all.
How could a Pokémon that was only Advance-level discover the hidden entrance to the Dragon Sanctuary?
What Garchomp didn't know was that the answer traced back to Silas's Gigalith.
After what they had discovered at Tohjo Falls, Silas had made sure to remember that lesson.
..
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