By the time Ethan and Aurore arrived at Ha'er City, night had already fallen.
They found a random hotel and rested for the night.
Early the next morning, the two set out straight for the Duanbai Mountain Range.
The night before, while having dinner, they had asked around and learned that just a few days ago—
A trainer had captured an extremely rare Pokémon somewhere within the mountains.
Less than half an hour later, they arrived at the outskirts of the Duanbai Mountain Range.
Even before entering, they could already see quite a few trainers gathered around.
Some were here to catch Pokémon, while others had set up small roadside stalls.
Most of what they sold were Pokémon-related items—
Various berries, like colorful specialty berries, different kinds of mints, and even some with unique effects.
Aside from naturally occurring items, there were also handcrafted goods.
For example—incense.
Incense wasn't just useful for Pokémon; trainers could benefit from it too.
Occasionally, there were even vendors selling orbs.
But for Ethan, those were practically useless—just ordinary items with minimal effect.
After buying some incense, the two officially entered the mountain range.
Inside the mountains, they still encountered people from time to time.
But the deeper they went, the fewer humans they saw—
And the more Pokémon appeared.
Some timid ones would immediately flee at the sight of humans.
Others were much bolder—
A few even climbed right onto Aurore's shoulders.
"There are so many Pokémon here," Aurore said with clear envy.
"In the Northern Alliance, we have places like this too… but it's nothing compared to Donghuang."
"We'll get there eventually," Ethan replied casually.
"At this rate, Pokémon might become so common we'll have to start controlling their population."
With human intervention, Pokémon numbers across the world were steadily increasing.
In a few years, overpopulation might even become a real issue.
[Ding! Detected: Red Opportunity — Darmanitan's Toy]
[Recommendation: Acquire immediately]
The system's voice suddenly rang in Ethan's mind.
Unfortunately, it didn't provide a location.
Ethan could only continue deeper into the mountains with Aurore, silently hoping they'd stumble upon it.
It wasn't that he didn't want to search—
The Duanbai Mountain Range was simply too vast.
For now, he decided to leave it to chance. If they still hadn't found it by the time they were about to leave, he'd search more thoroughly.
They walked, stopped, explored—
Before long, the sky gradually darkened.
They had encountered quite a few Pokémon, but none that truly caught Ethan's interest.
After all, this wasn't a place like the Cloud Mountain Dragon Valley—
Finding rare Pokémon here wasn't easy.
Eventually, they found a flat area near a water source and set up camp together.
Night fell completely, wrapping the sky in darkness, leaving only scattered stars and a crescent moon.
"So beautiful…" Aurore whispered.
Ethan glanced up briefly, then went back to preparing food.
The scenery was nice—but he had other priorities.
He had already released Metagross to stand guard.
Wild Pokémon could be unpredictable.
At best, your tent might get stolen while you slept.
At worst—your entire luggage could vanish.
"Pibo~"
Just as Ethan finished cooking and was about to eat, he looked up—
And saw a small Pokémon standing not far away.
A Cleffa.
Its big, round eyes stared curiously at the fire.
"Want some?" Ethan asked, scooping out a portion and offering it.
Cleffa sniffed cautiously, then took a small bite.
"Pibo!!"
Its eyes lit up instantly.
It began bouncing excitedly, clearly delighted by the taste.
"So cute!" Aurore turned around and immediately melted.
She walked over and gently patted Cleffa's head, and it happily accepted the affection.
But then—
"Pibo~"
"Pibo~"
More voices echoed from the surrounding forest.
Ethan and Aurore turned—
And watched as one Cleffa after another emerged from the trees.
Within minutes, their campsite was surrounded by an entire group of Cleffa.
"…I think we just stumbled into a Cleffa nest," Ethan said helplessly.
"And they've got their eyes on our food," Aurore added.
Sure enough, every single Cleffa was staring at Ethan's pot.
In the end—
One pot wasn't nearly enough.
Ethan and Aurore ended up cooking two more full batches before the Cleffa were finally satisfied.
"Pibo~"
Full and happy, the Cleffa bounced around the campsite, filling the quiet night with lively energy.
Seeing they meant no harm, Ethan let them be.
After all—
Who could resist being surrounded by a group of adorable Pokémon?
Exhausted from the day's journey, the two quickly finished eating and crawled into their tent.
Late night.
They were sleeping soundly—
When suddenly, loud cries from outside woke them up.
Ethan lifted the tent flap—
And saw the Cleffa… dancing.
Aurore soon woke up as well, both of them staring in confusion at the dancing group.
"Pibo~ Pibo~!"
One Cleffa ran over, tugged at Ethan, then pointed at the sky.
"…A meteor?" Ethan blinked.
"You want me to dance with you?"
Cleffa were nocturnal Pokémon—but Ethan and Aurore had spent the whole day traveling.
They were exhausted.
"Pibo~!"
The Cleffa insisted, tugging him again.
Ethan sighed and exchanged a helpless look with Aurore.
Moments later—
They stepped out and joined the Cleffa in their strange little dance.
Their bodies were tired—
But their mood was unexpectedly light.
Being pulled into a dance by Pokémon under a starry sky…
It was a first.
And a memorable one.
But then—
Mid-dance, Ethan suddenly stopped.
His eyes locked onto the sky.
The "meteor"…
Was getting bigger.
And bigger.
A bad feeling crept into his chest.
"…That's not a meteor."
His expression darkened.
"That's a damn incoming strike."
Since when do meteors get bigger like that?!
That thing—
Was coming straight at them.
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