Around noon, after Lionel rounded a steep ridge, the view before him suddenly opened up.
A relatively flat plateau appeared ahead, with two temporary tents scattered at the edge, where a family was sitting and resting.
A middle-aged couple with their two children, all wearing professional hiking gear, were accompanied by a sturdy Camerupt and an elegant Ninetales.
The Ninetales' nine tails swayed gently behind it, its smooth fur glistening in the sunlight.
"Finally ran into some other people."
Lionel felt a surge of joy and quickened his pace.
Having traveled alone in the mountains for the past few days, he hadn't seen another human besides Pokémon; seeing his own kind now brought an inexplicable sense of warmth.
Hearing footsteps, the family all turned their heads.
The eyes of a young boy, about ten years old, lit up, and he suddenly pointed at the Metang beside Lionel and shouted, "Wow, it's Big Brother Lionel!
I'm your fan! I've seen the videos of you competing in the Pokémon Contest! Your Beldum—how did it evolve into a Metang? That's so cool!"
Lionel was a bit surprised, then smiled warmly and politely responded to the boy's enthusiasm.
"Dad, Mom, it's Big Brother Lionel! Can I see Milotic? The Milotic in the video is super beautiful!"
Seeing this, Lionel took out a Poké Ball and released Milotic.
When Milotic appeared, it manipulated water vapor to hover, gently flicking its tail fin as soft ripples of water emanated around it, drawing exclamations of wonder from the young boy and girl.
The boy's parents quickly stood up, the middle-aged man scratching his head sheepishly. "Sorry, the kid is just too excited; we've caused you some trouble.
We are the Fujino family from Lavaridge Town.
I'm Fujino Ki, this is my wife, my son Fujino Ken, and my daughter Fujino Na. It's the holidays, so I brought the family to see the Lava Lake at the top of Mt. Chimney. We're just getting ready to head back down now."
"It's fine, they're very cute."
Lionel shook his head with a smile.
Fujino Ki handed over a bottle of drink. "Come, sit down and rest for a bit. Have some water first."
Lionel didn't refuse; he sat on a nearby rock, took the drink, unscrewed it, and took a sip.
The cold liquid flowed down his throat, instantly dispelling much of the sweltering heat and making him squint comfortably.
"Are you also here to visit the Lava Lake at the summit?"
Fujino Ki sat down beside him and asked curiously.
Lionel nodded. "In a way, yes. I also wanted to see if there are any Pokémon I'd like to catch on Mt. Chimney."
"Oh? What kind of Pokémon are you looking for?"
Fujino Ki became interested. "The common ones on this mountain are Torkoal and Magcargo. You see Camerupt occasionally, but they seem to have become rarer lately."
"I'm looking for Vulpix and Magmar."
Lionel didn't hide his intentions;
"But after these few days, I've only seen two Vulpix and haven't encountered a single Magmar."
"Vulpix, huh—"
Fujino Ki rubbed his chin with a knowing look. "If you had come a few days earlier, you might have still run into a few near the summit, but now, most of them have headed down."
"Headed down?"
Lionel was stunned for a moment. "Why?"
"It's all because the tourism industry in Lavaridge Town is getting more and more popular."
Fujino Ki's wife smiled and took over the conversation, her voice gentle and pleasant. "The hot springs in Lavaridge Town have become increasingly famous over the past two years, attracting a lot of tourists.
Those tourists love to leave food in the bushes near the mountainside at the foot of the mountain.
Things like Pokémon Crackers and such. Over time, many Vulpix have been lured down there."
"Exactly,"
Fujino Ki added, "Vulpix are very smart; they know where there's a steady food source.
Even though the temperature is a bit lower at the foot of the mountain, there's not as much competition from other Pokémon, and they get fed by humans. Life is much more comfortable than at the summit.
The ones left near the summit now are mostly Torkoal and Magcargo. They have high environmental requirements and can't leave high-temperature areas."
Lionel realized.
So that was it. No wonder it was hard to see Vulpix in the mid-to-high altitude areas these past few days; they had been lured away by the food down the mountain.
In that case, if he wanted to find a Vulpix with the Drought ability, he would have to go down the mountain near Lavaridge Town to try his luck.
"What about Magmar? Do you know where they might be?"
Lionel asked again.
At the mention of Magmar, Fujino Ki's brow furrowed. "Magmar... they've become increasingly rare these past few years.
We used to see a few near the Lava Lake at the summit occasionally, sometimes even seeing Magby following adult Magmar around.
But in the last couple of years, people have been coming to see the Lava Lake so often that Magmar have gradually vanished."
"Some say the increase in tourists disturbed their habitat, others say—well, no one knows the exact reason. Regardless, we haven't seen a single one during our trips up here these past two years."
Fujino Ki's wife added.
Lionel fell silent; it seemed finding a Magmar would be even harder than he had imagined.
"But if you want to look for Magmar, you can check around the Lava Lake at the summit more often. Most recorded sightings of Magmar were near the summit."
Fujino Ki suggested to Lionel.
"Thank you for the guidance." Lionel stood up. "I'll head to the summit first to check. If there's no luck there, I'll head down towards Lavaridge Town to try his luck finding a Vulpix."
Before parting, Fujino Ken and Fujino Na insisted on taking several photos with Lionel. One moment they were pointing at Metang, the next they were crowding around Milotic, their faces flushed with excitement.
Lionel patiently cooperated until the family waved goodbye with smiles. Only then did he recall Milotic and continue climbing upward with Metang.
After learning where the Vulpix had gone.,Lionel felt less anxious.,His steps became much lighter..
Since there might still be traces of Magmar at the summit, he had to go and check no matter what.
The closer he got to the summit, the more intense the heat waves became, as if he were inside a giant steamer.
The sound of "glug, glug" began to reach his ears—the sound of magma churning underground, like the heartbeat of the earth.
After climbing for about another forty minutes, an open plateau suddenly appeared before Lionel.
Lionel's footsteps abruptly stopped at the edge of the plateau. He instinctively took a deep breath, only to slightly frown as he was choked by the scorching heat waves in the air.
When his gaze finally fell upon the scene ahead, all discomfort was instantly forgotten, replaced by an indescribable sense of awe.
Even the Metang hovering beside him let out a short, astonished low cry.
The grandeur was reflected in its red eyes, and its body vibrated slightly, as if it too were struck by this power of nature.
Looking in the direction the plateau extended, a boundless Lava Lake stretched across the horizon.
Dark red magma churned slowly in the lake, as thick as boiling blood, with bubbles the size of basketballs constantly rising to the surface.