Once they left the cave entrance and reached the open space, the two old men finally had room to let loose. They released their Garchomp and let them charge across the surface of the lake, stirring up the calm water to provoke whatever Pokemon lived inside.
After knocking out two bad-tempered Gyarados, they finally found what they were looking for.
Spotting only White-Striped Basculin was not enough proof that this was truly an ancient ecosystem. That was why the two old men made such a mess of the lake, they wanted stronger evidence, so that when the Champion sent by the Alliance arrived, there would be clear proof of the Secret Realm's worth.
The Pokemon living peacefully in the volcanic lake had their calm lives ruined by this sudden disturbance. Once the schools of fish were stirred into a panic, each of the two old men picked out a target.
Mort chose a male Basculegion. As the evolved form of the White-Striped Basculin, this Pokemon could act as a sign that the ancient ecosystem here was real.
Gilbert, meanwhile, chose a Hisuian Qwilfish. Finding a Pokemon like this was almost enough to confirm that this was another entrance to the Hisui Secret Realm.
Neither Pokemon stood a chance. Both were defeated and caught without any real struggle.
Of course, they would not end up as partners for Mort or Gilbert. Instead, they would stay and be cared for at the Layered Peaks Gym, waiting for some staff member there to take a liking to them before finding their true Trainers.
Having caught what he came for, Mort was not ready to stop. He wanted to fly over the volcanic region and scout around further.
Since Mort looked down on Nova's flying partner for being too slow, he had Nova ride along on his Garchomp instead.
The three of them pushed through the roaring cold wind as they climbed, and within moments they had already reached an altitude of several hundred meters. Once they crossed the ring of peaks, the land below the volcano opened up beneath them.
Because the volcano sat at such a high altitude, their view stretched out incredibly far once they cleared the mountains.
Just as the earlier scouting report from a Corviknight flying high above had suggested, the open space here seemed almost endless.
To the east of the volcano lay a narrow strait, and beyond that strait stretched an endless continent.
On the other side of the volcano was a wide, deep blue ocean.
In other words, this volcano actually sat on a geologically active point near the edge of a continental shelf. A powerful eruption long ago had formed this offshore island, with the volcano at its center.
This was an important discovery.
It was well known that every Hisui Secret Realm found so far lay deep within the continent. A few determined explorers had tried to cross the entire Hisui landmass to find the limits of this separate dimension...
...but almost all of them had failed. Only a handful survived to finish an exploration route. According to those survivors, the continent inside the Hisui Secret Realm truly did have an edge, and beyond it lay a vast ocean, though no one knew for certain if more land existed across that sea.
The Secret Realm entrance that Nova had discovered sat just a short distance from the very ocean those explorers had described. Not only did this confirm their reports, it could also give a new group of explorers a starting point to study the marine areas of the Hisui Secret Realm.
If there truly was another continent across that sea, the value of this entrance would be almost impossible to measure.
The three of them circled the offshore volcanic island together. To be careful, they chose not to fly deep into the continent across the strait. Instead, they set up camp on the island for two days, studying its geography closely before finally deciding to head back.
Two days after returning to the Desert, the Champion of the Norlandia Alliance, known as the "Dragon Fiend Emperor," arrived just as planned, bringing along several Trainers from the Purple Dragon Gym.
He was a man who looked extremely capable, though his clothing was anything but plain.
Standing over two meters tall, he was the tallest person Nova had ever seen in this life. Even Gilbert, with his unusually large build, stood a full head shorter than the Dragon Emperor.
His hair was cropped short, and he wore a dark purple battle robe stitched with nine golden dragons, as though he worried people might somehow forget he specialized in Dragon-type Pokemon.
The Dragon Emperor's face was firm and serious, and his sharp features made him seem hard to approach. Combined with an expression like he was always owed money, it was easy to see why people called him a "Fiend."
It was clear this man was not someone to take lightly.
Still, unlike the version of him Nova had seen on television, the Dragon Emperor did not seem to put on airs now that they had actually met.
He treated Mort and Gilbert with easy respect. Nova's stingy old master, on the other hand, acted as if he outranked the Champion himself.
Mort said, "Well now, little Remington, you came all this way and didn't even bring a gift. When you visit your elders, you're supposed to show some respect."
The Dragon Emperor clearly did not know how to handle an old troublemaker like Mort. He simply glanced at Gilbert and gave an awkward smile, silently asking for help.
Mort was difficult for the Dragon Emperor to manage, but not for everyone.
A playful voice called out from behind the Dragon Emperor.
"Yoo-hoo!"
Nova froze at the sound of that voice. It was not because he recognized who it belonged to, but because that single greeting somehow filled him with unease.
One of the Trainers who had come with the Dragon Emperor from the Purple Scale Dojo stepped forward, a tall woman standing well over 1.9 meters.
She strode over on long legs toward the sulking Mort. "Senior Mort, that's not fair to my big brother. Of course he brought something. Didn't he bring me?"
As she spoke, she reached out to pat Mort's balding head, but Nova caught her arm before she could.
"Miss Diane, please mind your manners."
After all, Nova was standing right there. He was not about to let this woman treat his master's head like a toy.
Mort was so annoyed his scalp nearly twitched off his head. "Nova! You little troublemaker! Don't! Get! Involved!"
The woman, called Second Miss Diane, licked her dry lips, which had cracked slightly in the desert air, and turned her pale purple eyes toward Nova.
"Well, aren't you a handsome one. Do you like big sister that much already? We've only just met and you're already holding my hand. Isn't that moving a little fast?"
But no matter how she teased him, Nova's expression stayed calm, and his grip on her arm did not loosen even slightly.