Before stepping in, Shiro expected the interior edges to share the same red hue as the outside. Instead, it was a swirl of iridescent colors, like oil shimmering on the surface of water.
Ahead, the terrain remained grassy fields and dense forest, but unlike the outside world, everything here was cast in an eerie grayish-red tint, giving the landscape an unsettling feel.
As Shiro scanned his surroundings, his eyes landed on a strikingly out-of-place blue stone nestled in the grass ahead.
"What is that?"
He knew that in this strange space, Pokémon resources and items would occasionally appear. But the item before him was so close to the edge of the border, standing out too obviously. Shiro couldn't believe no one had noticed it.
"Corvisquire. Gastly."
At his low command, Corvisquire immediately understood and flapped its wings, unleashing Air Cutter. Gastly followed suit, forming several small Shadow Balls that shot toward the blue stone alongside the wind blades.
Shiro guessed it might be a Water or Ice-type evolution stone. Left out in the open like this, it was either a trap or guarded by a Ground-type Pokémon beneath. If there was no ambush, then Gastly and Corvisquire's attacks alone wouldn't be enough to destroy it.
Whoosh!
The sharp wind blades sliced through the surrounding grass and soil with ease. After Rookidee evolved into Corvisquire, its moves—especially Air Cutter—had become much more powerful.
The moment the first strike landed, the dirt beneath the stone began shifting and churning.
As the barrage of wind blades connected and Gastly's Shadow Balls exploded nearby, the disturbance in the soil gradually settled. Moments later, two large, grayish-brown ears emerged from the ground.
Shiro narrowed his eyes and took a cautious step forward, scanning the area.
Only after confirming no other trainers were lying in wait did he signal Corvisquire and Gastly to approach.
"Coorv!"
With swift precision, Corvisquire latched onto the plump rabbit-like Pokémon—no, it was more than just plump.
The creature's ears were thick and massive, even larger than its body. Brown fur covered the sides, with a yellow patch running down its middle.
"Diggersby?"
Shiro recognized the Pokémon instantly. It was a Normal and Ground-type, known for its digging abilities.
This one was likely a native of this area. The space distortions here often transported Pokémon from other places, which could include many powerful and rare ones.
"An Intermediate level Diggersby… judging by its condition, it seems to have good potential," Shiro muttered, as he casually tossed a Poké Ball, capturing the Pokémon.
He had no plans to train it. A wild Pokémon with good potential like this would fetch a decent price on the black market.
After securing the capture, he bent down and picked up the blue stone.
Just as he had suspected—it was a Water-type Evolution Stone, though only of Intermediate quality.
There were four qualities of evolution stones: basic, intermediate, advanced, and perfect.
Even though this one was only of the intermediate quality, evolution stones were still quite rare. In the black market, it could easily fetch a few hundred thousand Pokédollars.
"Corvisquire, fly up and scout the area. Look for anything unusual," Shiro instructed, sending his Pokémon into the sky while he remained on the ground, waiting.
This was his first time inside a Dynamax den, and he wasn't about to take unnecessary risks. Even a simple evolution stone was guarded by wild Pokémon, not to mention the Dynamax Pokémon and other rare resources inside.
With a powerful beat of its wings, Corvisquire shot toward the top of the semicircular energy dome.
In front of the small grassy area where Shiro stood, there was a particularly dense forest, where flashes of Pokémon moves were visible from time to time.
Beyond the forest was a hill, around it gathered a group of trainers dressed in gray uniforms.
"Corv!"
Corvisquire swooped down after scouting, landing next to Shiro.
"You mean there's a hill up ahead, with a lot of people, like the ones we saw before... the ones from Macro Cosmos?" Shiro murmured, watching Corvisquire nod. He understood his current situation now.
He knew he had to avoid any contact with Macro Cosmos as much as possible. If there was no way around it, escaping was the top priority.
Shiro decided to stay near the edge of the forest, searching for Pokémon with good potential and valuable resources.
...
Meanwhile, on the hill in the distance, members of the Macro Cosmos company, positioned in a loose formation, were slowly closing in on the center. In the middle of their encirclement lay a semi-transparent Pokémon, sound asleep.
The Pokémon, its light-blue body resembling a lizard, trembled slightly. Its four smaller paws curled into a ball as it rested on the soft grass.
Its black head, shaped like a large arrowhead, lay on the ground. On top of it was a much smaller, similar looking Pokémon.
"Drakloak and Dreepy have shown no reaction. Team B5, keep advancing." The leader of the group tapped his earpiece, signaling the other team members to move forward.
Dreepy, Drakloak, and Dragapult are famous pseudo-legendaries in the Galar region, with Ghost and Dragon typings. They are incredibly powerful.
Just the first evolution, from Dreepy to Drakloak alone required reaching level 50. Only upon reaching level 60 could Drakloak evolve into Dragapult.
This late-blooming dragon represents an overwhelming physical strength and potential far surpassing that of other Pokémon.
Every Dreepy that evolves can reach at least Elite-level strength.
Under normal circumstances, these Pokémon lived near the remote Lake of Outrage, guarded by many powerful adult members of their kind.
The Dragapult species were very protective of their offspring. Drakloak, in particular, were known to carry a Dreepy on its head at all times, training it until it evolved. If it lacked one, it would become uneasy, even trying to adopt other Pokémon as stand-ins.
The spatial disturbance of this place just so happened to lead these two here.
Upon discovering these rare Pokémon in this Dynamax den, the Macro Cosmos investigative team immediately called for backup. Within a few minutes, the hunting team, riding their fastest flying Pokémon, arrived at the scene.
Although there weren't enough personnel to deal with other trainers, most knew better than to cross paths with Macro Cosmos. And to avoid disturbing their target, the hunting team didn't release a single Pokémon. They also kept their distance from the main attraction of this Dynamax den—a Gigantamax Machamp.
While Machamp was a rare and strong Pokémon, it paled in comparison to the two pseudo-legendaries.
The hunting team moved in slowly, each step carefully placed on the grass. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.
A wild Pokémon of this caliber, at elite level, could disappear in an instant if startled. Once it left the Dynamax area, tracking it down again would be nearly impossible.
Among the hunting team members, only the captain possessed an Elite-level Pokémon, and it was a mind-controlled one created by Macro Cosmos.
They had to be extremely careful.
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