The opening battle completely ignited the arena.
Cheers erupted—
And even more trainers were eager to challenge Ethan.
The matches that followed grew increasingly intense.
Ethan rotated through his Pokémon one after another—
But he deliberately held back his strongest ones.
Like Metagross and the rest of his god-tier team.
Letting them fight?
That would feel like rigging the matches.
After the challenge event ended, Ethan didn't linger.
He left the arena early.
According to their plan—
They should've already entered the Daling Mountain Range today.
After a proper night's rest at the hotel—
Ethan and Aurore set out again before dawn.
Compared to the Duanbai Mountains—
The Daling Mountains were richer.
More Pokémon.
More resources.
And most famously—
The Fire Mouse tribe.
Deep within the range lay a massive volcanic region—
The Hala Volcano Cluster.
Even on a global scale—
It ranked among the largest.
The Fire Mouse tribe lived within it.
And among them—
There was said to be a terrifyingly powerful Pokémon.
A Typhlosion.
No one knew its exact strength.
Some claimed it was Champion-tier.
Others said Totem-tier.
But one thing was certain—
It wasn't weak.
If it were only Champion-tier—
It would've already been thoroughly investigated.
After all—
Donghuang was full of capable trainers.
If even they couldn't determine its strength—
Then it was something… beyond ordinary.
Not long after entering the Daling Mountains—
The system activated.
[Ding! Detected: Red Opportunity]
[Please acquire immediately]
[Ding! Detected: Golden Opportunity]
[Please acquire immediately]
Then—
Again.
And again.
Eight times in total.
1 Red.
1 Golden.
6 Blue/Purple (split evenly).
Ethan paused.
Then smiled.
He had expected maybe one or two opportunities—
Like in the Duanbai Mountains.
But eight?
This trip—
Was already worth it.
Since the Sea Cliff Island expedition—
He had rarely encountered so many at once.
That place had more opportunities—
But access was extremely limited.
The Daling Mountains, on the other hand—
Were open to Donghuang trainers.
As for outsiders?
They'd be driven out.
Poachers?
If things got bad—
They wouldn't leave alive.
"Let's head to the Hala Volcano Cluster first," Ethan said.
Since they were already here—
He wanted to see that mysterious Typhlosion for himself.
After all—
The unknown was always the most intriguing.
"Sounds good," Aurore nodded.
"My mom marked it on the map too."
"Lots of strong Pokémon there."
With their goal set—
They didn't linger in the outer areas.
They headed straight for the volcanoes.
Along the way—
They noticed something.
There were more people here.
In the Duanbai Mountains—
Seeing three groups in a day was already a lot.
Here?
They ran into seven or eight groups easily.
Most of them—
Had the same destination.
The Hala Volcano Cluster.
Because for any trainer—
Catching a powerful Pokémon—
Was irresistible.
By the time evening approached—
They had arrived near the volcano region.
And the difference was immediate.
The number of people surged.
Just in the nearby area—
There were already four or five camps set up.
Ethan was about to pitch his tent—
When someone approached.
"Hey—you're… wait…"
The guy squinted.
Then froze.
"ETHAN?!"
"Oh my god—this is insane! I actually ran into Ethan in the wild?!"
That one shout—
Drew attention from nearby camps.
Soon—
People from two camps gathered around.
"…Uh, hello," Ethan said.
"HELLO HELLO!" the guy blurted excitedly.
"You're my idol—no wait—I mean, I'm your fan!"
"I love your Metagross! My goal is to raise my Beldum into one just like yours!"
Before Ethan could react—
The guy grabbed his arm and kept talking non-stop.
He even released his Beldum—
Asking how to train it into a powerful Metagross.
Ethan blinked.
For the first time—
He felt like maybe…
He was actually an introvert.
"…Hey, it's getting dark," Ethan said quickly.
"How about we set up the tent first?"
"I'll help!"
…Big mistake.
"Us too!"
Within minutes—
Everyone joined in.
Ethan didn't even get a chance to help.
Five minutes later—
The tent was fully set up.
Efficient.
Too efficient.
And then—
No one left.
Especially that overly friendly guy.
He literally dismantled his own tent—
And set it up right next to Ethan's.
"…No sense of boundaries at all," Ethan muttered.
"Idol! Can you teach me how to train a Metagross like yours?"
The guy was back again.
Relentless.
Ethan sighed.
"It's not that complicated," he said.
"Take good care of your Pokémon."
"Build a strong bond."
"Provide proper resources."
"And train consistently."
"Do that…"
"And your Beldum will grow strong too."
He paused.
Then added inwardly—
And maybe…
Get a little lucky.
After all—
For a Pokémon to truly become powerful—
It took 90% effort—
And 10% opportunity.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
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