After some searching for the location where its former masters, the Sorcerer Organization, landed, Dragalge successfully discovered the bay. Connected to the bay was a vast, dense forest.
It was precisely this immense forest that separated the northern and southern regions of Sinnoh. Its area was enormous, and its internal terrain extremely complex, making it rare for anyone to successfully pass through it.
Of course, with the power Aven currently possessed, traversing most areas of the Sinnoh region posed no difficulty at all. After locating the Sorcerer Organization's landing point, he directly led his Pokémon into the forest.
Since the Dragalge tribe was only responsible for maritime guard duties, it was unfamiliar with the situation inside the forest. From here on, Aven would have to conduct the search on his own.
"Dragalge, you've worked hard. Go back and rest well," Aven said as he took out a Poké Ball and recalled the Dragalge leader.
He then took out another Poké Ball. With a flash of white light, Luxray appeared, its entire body crackling with arcs of electricity.
After this period of training, Luxray had grown even stronger. Its physique had become more well-proportioned, and the Electric-type energy surging through its body was far more powerful than before.
Especially after Aven successfully obtained that King-level Manectric from the Sorcerer Organization, Luxray's rate of improvement had increased dramatically.
Previously, many of Luxray's training methods had been modeled after Manectric, including using its own electric currents to stimulate its body to enhance speed and physical condition.
Now that they had Manectric itself, they could directly study it, further refining the electric current training method. Moreover, Manectric's Mega Evolution power had also provided Luxray with tremendous inspiration.
Although Luxray could not undergo Mega Evolution, that did not prevent it from gradually approaching that direction—using the electric current training method to continuously amplify fluctuations in its life energy, thereby achieving further breakthroughs.
"Luxray, I'll be counting on you next," Aven said as he mounted Luxray's back and sprinted swiftly into the forest.
Behind him, Lilligant carried by the Mothim on her back, quickly followed, simultaneously activating her ability to sense life energy, constantly searching for any traces that Darkrai might have left behind.
Froslass and Gardevoir relied on their psychic power to control their movement, rapidly exploring deeper into the forest. With their assistance, the efficiency of the search was undoubtedly extremely high.
"Where exactly was Darkrai captured back then…?" Aven muttered as he continuously sifted through the memories of the black-robed Grand Sorcerer.
Although he had confirmed from those memories that Darkrai had indeed been discovered somewhere in this forest, the exact location was still difficult to pinpoint.
At this moment, he held a black crystal in his hand. As soon as Darkrai's presence was detected, the crystal would surely react—it was the object most closely connected to Darkrai.
…
Meanwhile, on a small island somewhere in the waters near Canalvein City—
Three Grand Sorcerers were gathered together. Behind them floated Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus.
"That Aven has come to this area as well?" The Green-Robed Grand Sorcerer's expression was grave.
Ever since their defeat on Stark Island, the Sorcerer Organization had suffered heavy losses. During this period, they had been carefully hiding throughout the Sinnoh region.
With Darkrai lost and Heatran failing to be captured, they had also realized that their overall strength had been severely weakened.
And all of this was caused by Aven. If they could eliminate Aven here, it would be an enormous help to the plans they were about to carry out.
"Should we make a move? If the Three Forces of Nature strike together in a surprise attack, we have a very high chance of killing him outright!" the Blue-Robed Grand Sorcerer said excitedly, licking his lips.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the Brown-Robed Grand Sorcerer rejected the idea outright. "It's impossible that he hasn't anticipated this, yet he still came."
"In this situation, he's most likely trying to lure us into making a move. Once we reveal ourselves, what awaits us could be a joint ambush by the Three Lake Guardians, Darkrai, and Heatran."
Hearing this, the other two Grand Sorcerers exchanged glances and nodded silently. This was still the Sinnoh Region—here, the Three Lake Guardians held an absolute advantage, making it unsuitable for them to appear openly.
Moreover, they had already reported the situation back to headquarters, and reinforcements were currently on the way. Once the other two Grand Sorcerers arrived, they would no longer fear the power of the Three Lake Guardians.
They were prepared to gather all the strength of the Sorcerer Organization and make a final, all-or-nothing gamble.
As long as they could successfully break the seal of the Demon God, they would fear neither their enemies on the Sinnoh Region nor those of the Kalos continent!
Of course, the risks of doing so were extremely high. The fact that the other two Grand Sorcerers had also left the Kalos Region meant they had completely abandoned it. From that point on, there would be no retreat.
Therefore, what they needed to do now was wait. If their reckless actions caused all their plans to fail, then everything would truly be over.
"So, are we just going to wait like this?" The Green-Robed Grand Sorcerer was still unwilling to accept it.
Even if they didn't act directly, it would be fine to cause the other side some trouble. He truly hated Aven to the core!
"I do have an idea," the Brown-Robed Grand Sorcerer suddenly said.
"If everything goes smoothly, we might even be able to use this to draw Aven away."
"When the time comes to carry out our plan, if that guy isn't around to interfere, I think everything will become much easier."
The Brown-Robed Grand Sorcerer narrowed his eyes. He naturally understood why Aven had come here—it was all for Darkrai and Cresselia.
…
Within the depths of the forest, Luxray's figure sprinted forward at high speed.
Just moments ago, the black crystal in Aven's hand had finally reacted, pointing toward an even deeper part of the forest.
Without the slightest hesitation, he urged Luxray to follow that direction. The Pokémon around him continuously radiated powerful auras, causing the surrounding Pokémon tribes to shrink back, not daring to block their path in the slightest.
Even if a few reckless ones appeared, Lilligant, Froslass, and Gardevoir would swiftly defeat and drive them away.
At last, relying on Luxray's speed, Aven quickly arrived in front of a cave. Inside, it was pitch-black, and waves of dense energy fluctuations poured out from within.
"Found it—this is the cave!" Aven's face lit up with joy.
"Lass!"
Froslass quickly floated over.
She could sense an abundance of Ghost-type Pokémon auras coming from within the cave.
Of course, this was no problem at all for Froslass. Leaving aside her strength, she was now the ruler of the Tower of Souls in the Pokémon Domain.
If these Ghost-type Pokémon were sensible enough, she wouldn't even mind bringing them all back to the Pokémon Domain as her subordinates.
After floating over and exchanging a brief greeting with Aven, Froslass drifted into the cave, intending to communicate with the Ghost-type Pokémon inside first.
Before long, she floated back out again, followed by a large number of Ghost-type Pokémon. Judging by their respectful demeanor, it was clear that Froslass had already successfully subdued them.
Soon after, the figure of a Mismagius floated over. When it saw the black crystal in Aven's hand, a look of fear appeared on its face.
"Are you here to ask about Darkrai?" Aven asked, looking at the Mismagius, then took out Darkrai's Poké Ball.
"Darkrai is here, but something has gone wrong with him. I need to find a way to save him as soon as possible."
After hearing Aven's explanation, the Mismagius bowed toward the Poké Ball in his hand, then quickly floated back into the cave, signaling Aven to follow behind it.
This cave, where Darkrai had once lived, was somewhat similar to the Abyssal Caverns. Inside was a labyrinth of intricate passages. Without a Ghost-type Pokémon to guide the way, navigating it would have been extremely troublesome.
Eventually, led by the Mismagius, they entered a grand hall. What came into view was a statue of Darkrai, and the surrounding walls were covered in all kinds of carvings.
In the ancient Pokémon world, most humans had their own beliefs. They recorded everything through statues or murals, so Aven was not particularly surprised by these carvings.
Those humans might have been the ones who had left the Almia Region together with Darkrai to come to the Sinnoh continent. However, after so much time had passed, no one knew where those people had gone.
Aven immediately began studying the carvings and soon discovered a map among them. On this map was a small island, and beside the island was the image of a full moon.
"The moon? Could this moon represent Cresselia?" Aven narrowed his eyes as he recalled Cresselia's other title—the Lunar Pokémon, the god of the crescent moon.
(End of Chapter)