The tall knight seated at the head of the table swept his gaze across the room. His hoarse voice echoed slowly through the hall.
"This boy's Infernape…"
"You all saw it. It can transform into a giant ape and become even stronger."
"If I'm not mistaken, it has the ability to revert to a Primal Form."
"This is the power the Primal Order has been pursuing all along!"
The leader's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he stared at the video, watching the golden giant ape radiate overwhelming power.
A fanatical gleam flashed in his eyes.
The other knights also looked visibly excited.
"Some of our Pokémon can enter Primal Forms, but they lose control in the process. At best, they're only incomplete specimens."
"But this Infernape not only grows far larger, it can still obey its Trainer's commands. Clearly, it hasn't lost control."
"If we can obtain experimental data from this Infernape, then I believe…"
"We may finally achieve the perfect Pokémon Primal Form we've been searching for!"
"When that time comes, the Primal Order will become the strongest organization in the world!"
"Then we will find the legendary Primal Three…"
"And the day the Primal Order rules the world will be within reach!"
The leader's eyes burned with ambition as he spoke in a low, grave voice.
The other nine knights showed traces of longing.
At that moment, the last knight stood up and addressed the leader.
"Judgment… where is this Infernape?"
"Let me bring it back."
The knight wore flame-colored armor, with a blazing emblem engraved on his chestplate.
He was the Tenth Knight of the Primal Order, the knight who represented flame.
Title: Flame Knight.
The tall leader wore black armor, with a sacred sword hanging at his waist.
He was the First Knight of the Primal Order, the knight who represented judgment.
Title: Judgment Knight.
To Judgment Knight's right stood a knight clad in white armor. Judging from the shape of the chestplate, she was clearly a woman.
She had pale blue eyes that shimmered with a faint glow. Her clear, elegant voice slowly rang out.
"According to our investigation, this Infernape belongs to a Hualis high school senior named Aaron. He is preparing to enter university."
"What's strange is that all records related to Aaron are encrypted."
"We cannot access his detailed information."
"However, we can confirm that the tournament he participated in was the Fighting Tournament held in Grit City, Hualis's so-called Fighting City."
She was the Third Knight of the Primal Order, the knight who represented wisdom.
Title: Wisdom Knight.
"Hualis?"
Flame Knight frowned slightly, hesitation appearing on his face.
Hualis was the strongest region in the world.
It was also the most mysterious.
It held tremendous influence on the international stage.
Furthermore, Hualis was recognized as one of the safest countries in the world. Its crackdown on crime and dangerous organizations was unmatched.
Because of that, Hualis was known as a graveyard for criminal organizations.
Once you went in, you might never come back.
Wisdom Knight seemed to notice Flame Knight's concern. She blinked her pale blue eyes and looked at him.
"Relax. We have people inside Hualis who will assist you."
"As long as you don't make too much noise, Hualis won't notice you."
Flame Knight nodded after hearing that.
"Alright. Then I'll make a trip to Hualis."
"And while I'm there, I'll see just how dangerous this mysterious region really is!"
Flame Knight laughed heartily, a confident grin appearing on his face.
"Flame… one more thing."
"That boy is no ordinary Trainer. All of his information is encrypted, so be careful."
Wisdom Knight suddenly warned him.
"Tch…"
"He's just some brat. What could he possibly do?"
Flame Knight spoke with disdain.
"Don't worry. I'll be careful."
After saying that, Flame Knight turned and left the hall.
Only the remaining nine knights stayed behind in silence.
"Judgment… Hualis isn't like other countries. Not long ago, the Symbiosis Society was wiped out overnight…"
"That incident caused a massive uproar."
"And we still don't fully understand Hualis's true strength. Wouldn't infiltrating Hualis this suddenly be too risky?"
The knight seated to Judgment Knight's left spoke up. He wore armor mixed with white and blue.
He was the Second Knight of the Primal Order, the knight who represented eternity.
Title: Eternal Knight.
"I know. But Hualis doesn't have the attention to spare right now."
"According to reliable information, Hualis's top combat forces are currently fighting Auroria along the border."
"And I heard one of their Champion-level Trainers was gravely wounded and is on the verge of death."
"Hahaha… do you really think Hualis still has time to bother with us?"
Judgment Knight spoke confidently to Eternal Knight.
"I see. Understood."
Eternal Knight nodded.
Right now truly was the best opportunity.
"Continue carrying out the plan. We must locate the ruins of the Primal Three as soon as possible."
"Yes."
…
The Primal Order was far from the only organization targeting Aaron.
Many dangerous organizations had already set their sights on his overwhelmingly powerful Infernape.
That terrifying giant ape transformation.
If they could uncover the secret behind it and obtain that power for themselves, then for every organization in the world…
It was an irresistible temptation.
Meanwhile…
Somewhere within Hualis.
Deep underground stood a massive steel structure.
A giant capital letter L stood out sharply.
Aaron was very familiar with that symbol.
It was the emblem of the Pokémon Hunters.
Inside the steel structure, in one of the rooms, the area was filled with training equipment.
A muscular man was dragging several hundred pounds of weight as he walked forward.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Heavy breathing echoed through the room.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
At that moment, the comm watch on the man's wrist suddenly rang.
The burly man stopped and answered the call.
A synthesized voice came from the communicator.
"Taishan… there's an S-rank mission."
"Capture an Infernape."
"The information has already been sent to your communicator. Check it yourself."
The burly man opened the file.
A photo immediately popped up.
It was a picture of Aaron commanding Infernape in battle.
Below it was the pitifully small amount of information available on Aaron.
The burly man frowned slightly and asked,
"Why is there so little information?"
The synthesized voice replied once more.
"The target's information is encrypted. We can't crack it."
The burly man hung up without another word, his eyes fixed on the image of the boy and his Infernape.
No one knew what he was thinking.
…