The cold mountain wind howled.
At that moment, north of Blackthorn City, three Charizards were flying in a single-file line, speeding over a mountain range.
As the clouds covering them drifted away, the sunlight shone down, illuminating the faces of the trainers on the Charizards.
Needless to say, this was Natsui's group, having departed from the Blackthorn Gym.
In the formation, Lance rode his Charizard at the front, acting as the leader. Clair followed closely behind, and at the very back were Natsui and Sabrina, sharing his Charizard.
As Dragon-type Pokémon trainers, Lance's and Clair's Charizards were very strong. At this moment, with three Charizards gathered together, each one looking ferocious, they presented a very imposing sight.
And their destination this time was the Dragon's Den within this mountain range. By passing through the Dragon's Den, they could reach the holy land of the Dragon Tamers—the Dragon's Holy Land.
On the way, Natsui also heard the whole story from Lance.
It turned out that the Pokémon Hunter with the Dark Ball was none other than the highest-ranking executive of Team Rocket—Vicious.
It was unknown why this infamous Pokémon Hunter had set his sights on the Pokémon of the Dragon's Holy Land, to the extent that Lance, upon receiving the news, had to drop his work and rush back here to deal with this tricky enemy together with Clair.
Top Executive, Vicious, Pokémon Hunter…
Natsui carefully searched his memory.
He had some impression of this person. He remembered that he had appeared in the fourth movie as the main villain and had even involved Ash in an incident that spanned 40 years.
However, as far as he knew, although Vicious was a high-ranking executive of Team Rocket with great power and authority, he was extremely ambitious and was not content to be subordinate to Giovanni. Their ideologies clashed, and he had long wanted to replace him, lead Team Rocket, and conquer the world.
It could be said that Vicious embodied the traits of most villains: evil, deceitful, and completely self-centered. He would not only harm others and Pokémon but also take whatever he wanted. He was a complete and utter villain.
But… Natsui remembered that he should be chasing Celebi right now. Why had he come here?
Just then, Clair looked back at Natsui. Seeing that he had kept up after flying for so long, she couldn't help but praise, "Not bad. To be able to keep up with our speed, it seems you've raised your Charizard very well."
Natsui was not modest. "Training is only one part of it. The main thing is that my Pokémon has great natural talent."
Through their brief interaction, Natsui found that this woman had a tough exterior but a soft interior. She was decisive, and her words and actions were full of confidence. Her personality was quite bold, and she was easy to get along with.
After flying for another ten minutes or so, they finally landed in front of a lake.
Although the lake was not large, the current was very turbulent. Natsui looked towards the source and saw that in the mountain beside the lake, there was a dark water cave, and a continuous stream of river water was flowing out of it.
From a distance, the rocks outside the water cave, whether naturally formed or carved later, looked like a gaping mouth with two fang-like rocks on the top and bottom, making the cave look very eerie.
Charizard folded its wings, and Natsui leaped down.
As soon as he landed, a short, silver-haired old man suddenly rushed out from behind a nearby rock and quickly came before them.
"Young Miss! Young Master Lance! You've finally arrived!"
Seeing the old man, Lance didn't exchange pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Kabu, what's the situation? Where is Vicious?"
The old man named Kabu had clearly been waiting for a long time. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I've been tracking him. I saw him enter the Dragon's Den with my own eyes."
"He's already in the Dragon's Den!?"
"Damn it!" Clair turned to look at the water cave and shook her fist. "How did he get here so fast? And how did he know the entrance to the Dragon's Den was here!?"
As she spoke, she saw Kabu sizing up Natsui and Sabrina and briefly introduced them.
"This is Kabu. He is the butler of our Dragon Tamer clan and has served us for decades. He also serves as a referee at the Blackthorn Gym. Kabu, these two are the helpers we've invited. One is the Indigo Conference champion, Natsui, and the other is the Saffron Gym Leader, Sabrina."
Kabu quickly greeted them.
By Natsui's estimation, he was at least in his seventies, wearing a well-fitting suit. His face had few wrinkles, and he was full of spirit, his eyes very bright.
"So you are Mr. Natsui!" Kabu said with pleasant surprise. "I've heard of your great name and deeds. With your help, we now have a better chance of catching that Pokémon Hunter."
Just then, Lance recalled his Charizard and took out another Poké Ball, interrupting their conversation.
"Alright, there's no time to waste. Let's go to the Dragon's Den too. We must stop Vicious before he enters the Holy Land and enslaves the Pokémon there."
With that, he turned to Natsui. "The next part is by water. The water conditions there are quite complex, so be very careful."
"I understand."
Lance and Clair simultaneously released their Gyarados and leaped onto their backs.
As expected of Dragon Tamers, whether it was the Charizard from before or the Gyarados now, Lance's and Clair's Pokémon had a high degree of overlap.
But speaking of overlap…
Under their watchful eyes, Natsui opened a Poké Ball and also released his own Gyarados.
SPLASH!
Gyarados's huge body crashed into the water, sending up countless waves.
It let out a long roar, then looked ferociously at the other two of its kind. Even though they were also Gyarados, Lance's and Clair's were clearly outmatched in presence. Under its intimidating aura, they couldn't help but retreat a step.
It was obvious at a glance which was stronger.
Sensing that this Gyarados was somewhat different, Clair looked at Natsui strangely. "Lance said you also had a Dragon-type Pokémon, and I didn't think much of it. I never expected you to have both a Charizard and a Gyarados. If an outsider didn't know better, seeing us stand together, they would definitely think you were also from a Dragon Tamer clan."
"Can't be helped," Natsui said with a shrug and a smile. "Charizard and Gyarados are both Pokémon I really like. How could I miss out on them?"
This sentence clearly won a lot of favor with Clair. She nodded, then shifted her gaze to the numerous scars on Gyarados's body.
These scars, big and small, covered almost its entire body.
They say scars represent honor, and even without asking, Clair knew that this Gyarados must have been through thrilling, major battles to have become so ferocious.
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