Under Milotic's exquisite control, the surging waves were tightly restrained. The attack's range was calculated perfectly—engulfing every opposing Pokémon while leaving the surrounding ruins completely untouched.
With just one move, nearly eighty percent of the Pokémon collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The remaining twenty percent were left battered and barely standing.
Just like the difference between skills released by Legendary Pokémon and ordinary ones, the water Milotic released was no longer ordinary water—it carried a trace of Primordial essence, the Primordial Water itself.
"How is this possible?!"
The Pokémon hunters cried out in shock.
Their Pokémon were absolutely not weak, yet they couldn't withstand even a single move. Even an average Gym-level Pokémon couldn't do something like this. Could this Milotic be beyond Gym level?!
Before they could react any further, Milotic's Water Pulse shot out again.
This time, the remaining Pokémon all collapsed, completely unable to continue fighting.
Behind Oliver, Mu Xue stood frozen, her lips slightly parted in disbelief. Under normal circumstances, even a Gym-level mid-tier Pokémon shouldn't be capable of this. Yet Milotic had done it with effortless calm.
And for some reason, she felt that Oliver's Milotic was… different from her own. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the feeling lingered.
"W-what do you want?" the leader of the hunters asked, his voice trembling.
Oliver turned to look at Mu Xue. She quickly composed herself, not wanting him to notice her momentary lapse.
"Freeze them," she said calmly. "We don't have time to deal with them properly."
The hunters had been tense beyond belief, but when they saw Oliver casually turn his back on them, their eyes lit up.
So young…
Even with a powerful Pokémon, what good was that?
The leader swiftly drew a handgun from his waist and aimed it at Oliver. In his eyes, even if Milotic noticed, it would be too late to react.
People like them—those who lived their lives inside secret realms—always had a trump card. Carrying a gun was perfectly normal. Many trainers stronger than them had died to such sneak attacks.
Seven steps away, the gun is faster. Within seven steps, it's fast and accurate.
Few people ever imagined that a Pokémon Trainer would resort to such a method.
The instant the man moved, Milotic erected a Protect barrier around Oliver. Against desperate criminals like these, Oliver had never lowered his guard—he had already warned Milotic in advance through Aura Power.
Even so, someone reacted even faster.
A cold glint flashed in Mu Xue's eyes. Her fingers twitched slightly—and Walrein responded instantly, firing a powerful Ice Beam.
Sensing its trainer's displeasure, Walrein subconsciously increased the output.
A chilling cold swept across Oliver's back. He turned around to see every Pokémon hunter frozen solid in thick ice. The leader remained locked in the pose of raising his gun, but he never got the chance to pull the trigger.
And whether it was imagination or not, this Ice Beam felt even colder than the ones Walrein had released earlier.
Oliver shivered, then raised his thumb.
"Impressive."
"Protecting your safety is my basic responsibility," Mu Xue replied calmly.
Oliver then turned his attention to the Rhyperior curled up in the corner. The moment Milotic stepped in, it had wisely retreated.
"Are you the guardian Pokémon of this place?" Oliver asked.
Rhyperior froze for a moment, seemingly processing the meaning of "guardian," then shook its head and let out a few low roars.
"So you're not… You wandered in by accident?"
As Oliver continued questioning it, Rhyperior kept explaining.
"I see."
Mu Xue watched in total confusion as Oliver spoke to himself.
Thanks to Viridian Power, Oliver could understand Rhyperior perfectly. It explained that when it was still a Rhydon, it had entered this place out of curiosity and discovered a special land within. Living there caused its strength to increase rapidly, so it had stayed ever since.
Rhyperior's words reminded Oliver of the Sceptile from the Qinglin Secret Realm. Could this place also be connected to something involving a Legendary Pokémon?
There were two reasons Rhyperior cooperated so readily.
First, it had personally witnessed Oliver's Pokémon effortlessly defeat the group that had been besieging it.
Second, this was the first human it had ever met who could understand its words, and curiosity got the better of it.
Rhyperior would fight ferociously against intruders when the strength gap wasn't too large—but in the face of an overwhelming difference, choosing survival was the wisest option. Reaching its final evolution hadn't been easy, and it had no desire to die meaninglessly.
These two humans were terrifying.
That much was crystal clear.
"Where is this 'blessed land' you mentioned?" Oliver asked.
Rhyperior hesitated. Then it noticed Milotic's gaze drifting toward it—dangerously.
Without another second of hesitation, it spilled everything it knew.
After hearing the explanation, Oliver shifted his gaze toward another staircase within the chamber—yet another path leading downward.
He wanted to ask more. After all, Rhyperior had lived here for so long and surely knew far more than they did.
"Wait," Mu Xue suddenly interrupted, eyes wide.
"Can you understand what Pokémon are saying?"
Pokémon understanding human speech was common knowledge. But a human understanding Pokémon speech? That was unheard of. At best, trainers developed intuition through long companionship—not true comprehension.
These were two completely different things.
Oliver replied calmly, "Isn't it normal for a Pokémon researcher to understand Pokémon?"
"That's not normal at all!"
Even Mu Xue couldn't maintain her usual composure this time.
In the end, she sighed.
"Forget it. If you don't want to explain, just pretend I didn't ask."
The two then headed toward the staircase leading further down.
Oliver suddenly stopped and turned back.
"Almost forgot," he said casually.
"We should collect the loot those Pokémon hunters already gathered."
After all—treasure was treasure, no matter who found it first.
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