Standing in the Dragon's Holy Land, Clair cautiously surveyed the surroundings. Seeing that everything was as usual and there was no sign of Vicious, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"Good, it seems our choice was correct. That Pokémon Hunter hasn't arrived here yet."
Lance nodded. "We can't let our guard down. Anyway, let's go to the shrine first and report the situation to the Great Elder."
The Great Elder? Who's that?
With this question in mind, Natsui followed Lance and Clair towards the center of the valley.
Along the way, the Pokémon living here cast curious glances at them. But perhaps because they were used to dealing with the Dragon Tamers, they weren't as wary or hostile towards humans as other wild Pokémon. A few bold ones even greeted them in a friendly manner.
They walked to a pond deep in the valley, and under a few solitary large trees, Natsui saw a shrine.
Lance pointed. "We're here. This is the Dragon Shrine."
Natsui looked at the shrine. It was shaped like a small temple, covered in vines and flowers. On either side of the shrine stood two stone pillars carved with inscriptions, looking very mysterious.
But just like the shrine, these two pillars had been weathered by the wind and rain and were full of the traces of time. It was impossible to know how long they had been there.
And what caught Natsui's eye the most was a flame burning brightly in a stone basin inside the shrine.
Even without any fuel, the flame still burned vigorously, never extinguishing.
Noticing Natsui's gaze, Lance smiled. "A long time ago, after the battle with that Dragon-type Pokémon, our Dragon Tamer clan built this small temple to pray for peace with Pokémon. And here, we enshrine this important artifact called the 'Flame of Prayer'. It is a miraculous fire that has been burning for five hundred years and continues to burn to this day."
A flame that has been burning for five hundred years?
What incredible power.
One could only imagine how majestic and powerful that Dragon-type Pokémon must have been back then.
At that moment, inside the shrine, an old man in a suit of armor and a helmet was dozing off on a cushion, holding a dragon-headed staff.
The old man was short, about 1.2 meters tall by Natsui's estimation. He had thick, long white eyebrows that completely covered his eyes, and a white, goat-like beard that obscured his entire mouth. These symbols of longevity left only his nose and deep wrinkles visible on his face.
Steady snores came from his nose, and he didn't even notice Natsui's group approaching.
Judging by his age, the old man was even older than Kabu, at least in his nineties. Natsui had to be careful with his movements, afraid of startling him and causing some problem.
The group exchanged a look, and finally, Lance cleared his throat twice, cautiously approached, and whispered.
"Great Elder… Great Elder…"
Lance wanted to wake the old man, but after a long wait, there was still no reaction.
He sighed, but didn't dare to raise his voice. It was hard to imagine that this great Elite Four member was now standing there as helpless as a child who had made a mistake.
Fortunately, just then, footsteps came from behind the shrine, and a Dragonite walked over.
Unlike other Dragonite, one could see the strength of this one at a glance.
Clair explained softly, "This Dragonite was the Pokémon of the gym leader from two generations ago. After he passed away, the Dragonite inherited its master's will and has been protecting this land ever since. It's well-loved by the Pokémon here."
The Dragonite was clearly very familiar with Lance and the others. It waved to them in greeting, and seeing that they seemed to have something to report to the Great Elder, it began to gently shake the old man's body.
Woken by the Dragonite, the Great Elder yawned, slowly woke up, and only then noticed that there were a few more people beside him.
"So it's you…"
Hearing the old man's voice, Lance, Clair, and Kabu quickly bowed. From this, one could see that they all held this Dragon Elder in high esteem.
Natsui also followed their lead and bowed. And when he looked up, he was surprised to see a Rayquaza ornament on the old man's helmet.
The Rayquaza figure was lifelike. But… as a legendary Pokémon that lived in the ozone layer and had never landed on the ground, few ordinary people knew of its existence. Yet this Great Elder not only knew of it but also used it as a totem on his helmet. It seemed this Dragon Tamer clan must have had some dealings with Rayquaza…
Could it be that the Pokémon that fought with the first Dragon Tamer was Rayquaza?
Lance respectfully recounted the events.
"A Pokémon Hunter?" Despite his age, the Great Elder's mind was still sharp. He struck the ground hard with his dragon-headed staff and said in an aged, deep voice, "We must not let him disturb the peace here! We must stop him!"
With that, he turned his head to look at Natsui.
The Great Elder's bright eyes revealed a deep wisdom, and he looked directly into Natsui's eyes, as if he could see through his soul.
"Young man, your destiny is intertwined with Dragon-type Pokémon. Both now and in the future, you have a great affinity with the way of the dragon. Are you interested in joining our Dragon Tamer family and becoming an outstanding Dragon master?"
Hearing this, Natsui didn't think much of it, but Lance and the others were greatly shocked.
As long as they could remember, Dragon Tamers had always been cultivated from within the family. They had never heard of anyone being invited to join.
If Natsui were to join, it would truly set a precedent.
"Me?" Natsui was taken aback, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but although becoming a Dragon Tamer sounds great, besides Dragon-type Pokémon, I also like other types of Pokémon very much."
Hearing Natsui's refusal, the Great Elder didn't seem surprised, just sighed with a hint of regret, then turned his gaze to Sabrina.
"As for you, young lady, your destiny is unpredictable. Psychic power is the source of your strength. While it protects you, it also binds you. It seems you are destined to have no affinity with the way of the dragon in this life."
To be honest, the fact that he could see that Sabrina had psychic powers proved that this Great Elder was no ordinary person.
Indeed, this world not only has magical Pokémon, but many humans have also become abnormal.
Sabrina, of course, scoffed at the idea of becoming a Dragon master or a Dragon Tamer.
She was about to say something when she suddenly heard a loud bang from the distant mountain. Everyone turned to look and saw an explosion on the mountainside, amidst choking smoke.
And among the shattering rocks, a dark cave entrance was revealed.
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