With no need to hunt for food anymore—and no fear of attacks from wild Pokémon—the story of this tribe soon spread beyond the mountains through the mouths of travelers and outsiders.
More and more humans learned of this place.
They longed for it.
People flocked here, hoping to live in this land of abundance. Among them were trainers who possessed Pokémon, as well as humans with unusual powers.
Some attempted to take the seeds grown here and plant them elsewhere.
But strangely, crops grown outside this land could never match the harvest here—sometimes they wouldn't even sprout at all.
The people believed it was because this land was blessed by a god.
Only under divine protection could the soil remain fertile and the climate so perfectly balanced.
As more people joined, the tribe grew ever stronger. Their territory expanded from a small area at the foot of the mountain to encompass the entire mountain base.
With an increasing number of Pokémon at their side, they no longer needed to rely on the guardian deity for protection. They could repel wild Pokémon on their own.
With safety assured and food plentiful, the people began to pursue comfort and convenience.
Technology slowly emerged.
By this point, they could no longer be called a mere tribe.
They had formed a true civilization—complete with history, structure, and culture.
From then on, the mysterious Pokémon rarely appeared.
But whenever it did, all the people would prostrate themselves in reverence, offering their worship.
Then, one day…
Thunder roared across the sky.
Fierce winds howled without restraint.
Hurricanes swept across the land, as if intent on erasing everything on the ground.
Lightning tore through the heavens, venting boundless fury.
Within the thick clouds, two massive silhouettes could be faintly seen—locked in battle.
One commanded lightning.
The other ruled the raging winds.
The clouds were too dense for anyone to see clearly what kind of Pokémon could wield such overwhelming power.
The people below had lived under the protection of their guardian for generations, enjoying calm weather and peaceful lives. They had never witnessed such a terrifying natural disaster.
Fear spread through the crowd.
At that moment, the high priest fell to his knees, facing the mountaintop in prayer.
Seeing this, the others hurriedly followed suit, kneeling and begging for their god to appear.
Their prayers seemed to be answered.
The mountaintop suddenly erupted in radiant light.
After an unknowable span of time, the mysterious Pokémon once again took flight from the peak!
Its light pierced the clouds—and only then did the people finally see the truth.
High in the sky, a colossal dragon and a gigantic bird were locked in a fierce battle!
Oliver and Mu Xue exchanged glances, shock plain in their eyes.
Once again, the passage came to an end—opening into another vast chamber.
"Do Pokémon like this… really exist?" Mu Xue murmured softly, unsure whether she was asking Oliver or herself.
The power displayed in the murals far exceeded her understanding.
A Champion-level Pokémon could easily destroy a town.
But the forces depicted here were capable of reshaping the heavens and earth themselves.
This was no power a mere Champion could possess.
Oliver tried to reassure her.
"These are murals, after all. There's probably some exaggeration involved."
Compared to the murals above, these carvings were less weathered—but many sections were still too eroded to make out clearly.
The battling Pokémon were little more than outlines.
Large portions of the story Oliver had reconstructed were based on context and educated guesses.
Yet Mu Xue's concern was far from unfounded.
In the current world, Pokémon fell into two categories:
Those that emerged from secret realms, and
Those born after leaving them—through breeding or research.
Setting aside breeding, creations like Porygon and Ditto were products of human research.
If the worlds beyond the secret realms truly housed Pokémon of such unimaginable power…
Would they one day arrive on Earth as well?
And if that happened—
How could humanity possibly resist them?
Before they could continue the discussion, Sandie alerted them to faint sounds of battle coming from below.
The two quickly located a staircase and continued downward.
With every step, the noise of combat grew louder.
At the bottom, the stairs opened directly into a massive hall.
And in the center of the room—
A group of people were commanding their Pokémon in a fierce assault against a towering Rhyperior.
They were unmistakably the same Pokémon hunters who had entered the ruins earlier.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage