Chapter 613: Five Years of Accumulation
When Arcanine, who was traveling north with several other grassland Alphas, saw the Overlord Mega Charizard Y fly overhead, his eyes widened with deep worry.
Could this guy have already wiped out the northern Dragon Clan?
Arcanine couldn't help but feel such concern.
As a powerhouse of the same caliber.
He knew very well.
If he wanted to, he could wipe out the grassland Dragon Clan within five minutes.
Let alone the Overlord Charizard, whose strength was only greater than his own.
Therefore.
Arcanine and the others quickened their pace towards the north.
He even left the other grassland Alphas behind, using Extreme Speed to travel alone.
When he arrived at the Dragon Clan's heartland.
Seeing that the Dragon Clan was safe and sound, with at most some damage to the terrain, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
More accurately.
It was Kazuya being fine that made him sigh in relief.
Arcanine had high expectations for Kazuya, hoping to see some great feats from him in the future, and didn't want him to die prematurely.
After confirming everything was fine.
Arcanine turned and left.
He didn't even intend to greet the Dragon Clan members.
There was no need.
They weren't that familiar with each other anyway.
Appearing at a time like this might even provoke the already tense nerves of the Dragon Clan.
Three days passed.
Nothing happened.
Kazuya's injuries recovered on the very first day.
The following two days were dedicated to two matters.
One was related to Mega Evolution.
For example.
What exactly was this Mega Evolution between him and Cynthia?
Or.
How did that Super Charizard Y, who was suspected to be his dragon dad, manage to make that form his default state?
Regarding the former.
After a series of tests, Kazuya reached a very stable conclusion.
He could indeed link with Cynthia to achieve cross-time-and-space Mega Evolution.
And the medium transmitting Cynthia's spiritual power was the photograph among his held items.
[Cynthia's Heart]
This item was like a combination of a Mega Stone, Key Stone, and Mega Ring all rolled into one.
It could receive Cynthia's spiritual power across time and space, then project it onto Kazuya, thereby achieving Mega Evolution.
But its usage had limitations.
Just like normal Mega Evolution.
Synchronization.
Only...
When Kazuya and Cynthia were together.
This synchronization was incredibly simple.
Because the situations they faced were identical, and they could feel each other's hearts at all times, it was very easy to achieve synchronization.
It could be said.
They could Mega Evolve whenever they wanted.
Even if they wanted to Mega Evolve just to use full power while taking a dump, it would be absolutely no problem.
But it was different now.
Now.
Kazuya had to express a sufficiently strong desire to battle before Cynthia, on the other side, could sense it and respond.
If Cynthia couldn't sense it, Mega Evolution couldn't be achieved.
For instance.
If Kazuya had to face a powerful enemy in the middle of the night.
But Cynthia on the other side was in a deep sleep.
Then Mega Evolution couldn't be achieved.
This power was somewhat unstable.
Which led Kazuya to the other question mentioned earlier.
How.
Could he make the Mega state his normal state?
By raising his level?
Kazuya didn't think so.
Among the squad of Charizards that attacked a few days ago, the leader was already at an upper Gym Leader level, yet hadn't achieved Mega Evolution either.
Could the level requirement be even higher?
Kazuya thought it unlikely.
He believed this Mega Evolution was no longer tied to level, but required fulfilling some other condition.
What exactly that condition was, he currently had no clue.
He could only research it later.
He could even just run to the volcanic mountain range and ask that Mega Charizard Y, who was likely his dragon dad.
He felt the other party probably wouldn't refuse.
Setting these aside for now.
The other matter Kazuya pondered during these three days.
Was naturally the issue of the Dragon Clan's development.
The Dragon Clan had been frequently targeted for trouble recently.
And every time, they managed to scrape by without actual harm.
This could be attributed to good luck.
But they couldn't count on being lucky every time.
Ultimately.
The Dragon Clan's current strength still didn't match their current reputation, nor could it handle the troubles associated with their status.
The solution was simple enough.
Accumulate strength.
Develop quietly.
While growing stronger, they could incidentally do some things beneficial to the Dragon Clan.
Thus.
After not resting for long, the Dragon Clan was about to start making new moves again.
Actively picking fights with other clans.
Fights.
Not killing or wars.
Actively challenging them, stopping before going too far, not crippling or killing, and not plundering territory or resources.
Correspondingly.
If these territorial clans were unable to deal with other enemies due to the Dragon Clan's challenge.
Then the Dragon Clan would step in to help, which also provided an opportunity to fight someone else.
However, although the grassland was vast.
Kazuya didn't plan to let the Dragon Clan members roam too far.
Just issuing challenges everywhere within the northern grassland was fine; it would be easier to provide support if anything happened.
Moreover.
This was limited only to the Rampardos, Kommo-o, and Cyclizar clans.
Only these three clans.
Were suited for this activity.
The Bastiodons' speed truly wasn't suitable for running around everywhere.
They could only guard the home while conducting internal training.
If their leveling speed was a bit slower, so be it.
Even during fights, Bastiodons mostly couldn't participate much anyway.
As for the Goodra clan.
Kazuya had already found a new main quest target for them—the swamp.
Conquer the swamp.
Incorporate the swamp into the Dragon Clan's territory as well.
This was the new mission for the Goodra clan.
A mission that would keep the Goodra clan occupied for a very long time.
In reality.
Kazuya didn't want the swamp territory.
Because the living environment there was too harsh; apart from the Goodra clan, no other Dragon Clan member wanted to live there.
But that was also the very reason to conquer it.
The Goodra clan.
Needed that environment to grow.
The grassland wasn't suitable for them.
It wasn't humid enough here, nor did it have the food they liked. The Goodra clan needed to return to the swamp, and wanted to return to the swamp.
Furthermore.
The swamp.
Was a natural barrier separating the grassland from the other two territories.
Because of the environment here, the Pokémon living in the rocky mountains and the snowfields couldn't cross over.
This was a good thing.
It allowed the Dragon Clan to avoid attacks from the rear, only needing to consider the clans to the south.
If they could claim this natural barrier as their own.
Then in the future, the Dragon Clan's northern territory would be completely secure.
No need to worry about being stabbed in the back.
And if they encountered trouble, they could retreat into the swamp.
It could be said.
Apart from being unsuitable for Dragon Clan members to live in.
The swamp was truly perfect in every way.
So Kazuya planned to temper the Goodra clan while incidentally taking down this territory.
To prevent some restless new Overlord of the swamp from causing trouble again.
How long these endeavors would last.
Kazuya couldn't be sure either.
He just temporarily set a small goal—five years.
Accumulate strength for five years first.
After five years, decide based on the Dragon Clan's situation.
Whether to expand.
Or continue holing up.
In an era separated by 46 million years of time.
Cynthia stood on the balcony of Cameran Palace, lowering her tightly clasped hands from her chest.
She took a deep breath.
Wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
Very tired.
More tiring than the first time she and Lucario attempted Mega Evolution.
Cynthia had to achieve true total concentration, emptying her mind, to successfully convey her 'feelings'.
She didn't know how vast the river of time these feelings had crossed.
She only knew.
As long as it succeeded, it was fine.
As long as it could help Lucario, it was fine.
"Big Sister Shirona?"
Little Princess Rinen skipped over and hugged Cynthia.
Only then did she realize that Cynthia's clothes were soaked with sweat.
"I'm fine."
Cynthia smiled and shook her head.
It had been a month since she arrived in the Era of Magical Beasts.
In this era, she used the name 'Shirona'.
She had heard.
That this was her original name.
It was only changed to Cynthia later.
And.
She herself also preferred the name Shirona.
More than half a month ago.
Cynthia accepted Rinen's invitation and stayed here in the Kingdom of Rota.
Even.
Due to her staggering depth of knowledge and combat capabilities.
The Queen of Rota, Rinen's mother, offered excellent terms to hire her as Rinen's teacher.
But Cynthia wasn't interested in those material things.
She was someone who pursued spiritual wealth over material wealth.
However, Cynthia still agreed.
For no other reason.
But a single sentence from the Queen: When Rinen becomes Queen, as her teacher, you will be the State Preceptor of the Kingdom of Rota.
[State Preceptor]
This status, this title, held an inexplicable attraction for Cynthia.
Was it because of the status, honor, and power of a State Preceptor?
Of course not.
To put it bluntly.
With Cynthia and Garchomp's strength.
In any country in this world, let alone State Preceptor, even if she wanted to sit on the throne as the ruler of a nation, she could do so at will.
Does one know the meaning of 'I don't eat beef' (i.e., supreme authority)?
Cynthia had that strength.
Could there be any other reason for her to be tempted by the position of "State Preceptor"?
Because her adorable baby Riolu had once served as the State Preceptor in the Kingdom of the Vale a thousand years ago.
Therefore.
Cynthia also wanted to become a State Preceptor.
This way, she would be just like Lucario.
"The Kingdom of the Vale, huh..."
Cynthia looked south and murmured.
Both being a thousand years in the past.
If she went to the Kingdom of the Vale in the Unova region now, would she encounter the Riolu that had time-traveled back then?
Cynthia was very curious.
She absolutely had to go take a look.
However.
The journey was far.
Without airplanes and cruise ships, she was somewhat bewildered, worried about getting lost.
Relying solely on Garchomp for travel would truly be too exhausting; she needed to make more preparations.
"The Kingdom of the Vale? In the south?"
Rinen's ears twitched, and she looked up at Cynthia.
She knew.
In the central region of Kanto, there was another human kingdom.
That kingdom had just undergone a coup d'état a few days ago.
The original Silph royal family was completely slaughtered.
The newly enthroned was a nobody named Sakaki Shiro.
Whenever this matter was mentioned.
Mother would become incredibly anxious.
Worrying that this Sakaki Shiro was a man of wild ambitions.
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