"Prepare yourself. We will open the alternate dimension for you shortly. At that time, only you, as the key holder, will be able to enter."
"Remember, do not resist during the process. You will feel some discomfort upon entering the dimension, but this is a normal phenomenon."
Standing amidst a pile of sophisticated instruments and listening to the researchers' instructions, Gu Yuan suddenly felt like a lab rat. Shaking off this strange feeling, he gestured that he was ready.
Immediately after, the machinery roared to life. Blue fluorescence emerged, growing increasingly dazzling. Finally, when the light reached its peak, a pitch-black hole appeared before Gu Yuan's eyes. It continued to expand, its edges shimmering with blue light.
Simultaneously, the stone in Gu Yuan's hand was no longer plain and unadorned; instead, it began to glow brilliantly. Before he could figure out what was happening, the radiant blue light enveloped him and pulled him into the black hole.
The moment Gu Yuan entered, the hole snapped shut.
At this moment, he felt as if he were in a dreamlike tunnel, with the surrounding walls emitting kaleidoscopic, brilliant lights. Unfortunately, Gu Yuan had no heart to admire this beautiful sight; instead, he couldn't help but feel tense.
Fortunately, this state did not last long. He saw what looked like an exit ahead, and then he tumbled out of the opening.
Landing nimbly on the ground, Gu Yuan immediately released Charizard and the others. At the same time, Gengar and the rest merged back into his shadow to perform their close-protection duties. After ensuring there was no immediate danger, he finally surveyed his surroundings.
Everywhere he looked, there were towering trees. According to the intelligence, the time period here likely corresponded to some point in ancient history, so there were no signs of human architecture. There were only giant trees, making it look like a primeval forest.
The only difference was that the environment felt quite dry, and it was inhabited by creatures like Pokémon.
"Let's go. We'll head to the center of the forest first to meet Moltres and that mysterious Pokémon."
After a brief observation, Gu Yuan prepared to execute his most important mission: finding a way to capture Moltres and the mysterious Pokémon.
He navigated carefully through the forest. Following Team Rocket's previous sweeps, the number of wild Pokémon here had decreased drastically. Various resources, such as Berries or herbs with special effects, had also been mostly scavenged. Originally, Team Rocket planned to use their final few entries to take everything that remained, but they hadn't expected Gu Yuan and the others to seize the opportunity first.
Gu Yuan didn't particularly care about these resources. Agatha had simply told him to collect them if found, but it didn't matter if he couldn't.
As he moved forward, the System's detection function discovered a Pokémon within this alternate dimension. Driven by curiosity, he decided to go take a look.
With the help of Teleport, he quickly found the Pokémon: a Drednaw.
Drednaw is a dual Water and Rock-type Pokémon. It has a very brutal nature and sometimes hides by the water's edge, stretching its neck to bite down hard on prey when they come to drink.
When Gu Yuan spotted the Drednaw, it spotted him too. Even though it only had Senior Rank strength, the moment it saw him, its eyes burned with the fury of an intruder entering its territory. However, Team Rocket's previous raids had made it cautious, and it didn't dare to attack lightly.
Drednaw usually appears in the Galar and Paldea regions. It seemed this alternate dimension belonged to Galar or Paldea in ancient times. After all, alternate dimensions are different from the actual continent; one cannot judge the internal situation based on their external entrance location.
"Finish it, Alakazam."
Satisfying his curiosity for a moment, Gu Yuan directly had Alakazam strike. Although the Drednaw tried to resist, the massive gap in strength made its struggle a joke. After locking it inside a Poké Ball, Gu Yuan prepared to hand it over to the League after leaving.
After confirming there were no other Pokémon nearby, he continued deep into the forest. It must be said that this forest was quite large; otherwise, Team Rocket wouldn't have failed to capture all the Pokémon after so many explorations.
Compared to the intelligence the League obtained from Kamiyama, Gu Yuan knew much more, such as the general distribution across the forest. Although the location of Moltres was marked, he still wanted to explore the area first. Who knew if there were any hidden existences?
However, he had underestimated Team Rocket. After wave after wave of looting, almost everything of value had been taken. Even the Pokémon were few and far between; he didn't encounter many along the way.
But like the Drednaw, these Pokémon were basically from Galar or Paldea. Therefore, the Pokémon capable of injuring Moltres might also be an existence from these two regions. Even after narrowing down the search range, Gu Yuan couldn't figure out what Pokémon could injure a Moltres at an equivalent level of strength.
One must realize that even with Charizard, Gu Yuan didn't have absolute confidence in defeating a Legendary Pokémon at the same level.
Ultimately, after a day of exploration, although he failed to find Moltres, he discovered one of the remaining Leader Rank Pokémon in the forest: a Copperajah.
Copperajah is a Steel-type Pokémon, standing over three meters tall and weighing over six hundred kilograms. The impact of seeing a giant elephant, shaped like a two-story building, charging toward you is unimaginable.
The next moment, Charizard rushed out. Sensing the Copperajah's strength, its eyes filled with a surging battle intent.
"Go, Charizard! Blast Burn!"
Flames spewed forth as a fireball like a falling sun descended. The charging Copperajah had no way to dodge. A glint of determination flashed in its eyes as it released Superpower, making its charge even more imposing.
Unfortunately, it underestimated the power of Blast Burn. The moment it collided with the flames, the explosive force halted its charge, and the fire immediately swallowed it.
"Charizard, Fire Spin!"
The moment Blast Burn engulfed the Copperajah, Gu Yuan ordered another attack. A vortex of fire rose, trapping the Copperajah inside. For a Steel-type like Copperajah, Gu Yuan treated it like a large piece of steel being smelted, testing whether it could endure the incineration.