"It's a ship made from ironwood…"
Aven breathed in surprise.
Such ship-building techniques were already quite advanced—easily capable of supporting long-distance voyages.
Yet even this sturdy vessel had been torn open. A huge hole gaped in the ship's central hull, where seawater had flooded in.
From the damage, Aven could only conclude that the ship had been attacked by an extremely powerful Pokémon. Judging from the shape of the hole, it seemed likely to be the result of a beam-type attack and fired by a Pokémon of terrifying strength.
And strangely… despite the ship sinking, the cargo inside was almost completely untouched.
From this, Aven concluded that the attackers were likely human forces. All they needed was to sink the ship, then retrieve the goods later—a fairly easy task.
Just at that moment, the Bibarel began emerging one after another, hauling up everything they had recovered from within the sunken ship. The large crates they brought up each looked extremely heavy.
"Only cargo, and not a single crew member's corpse?"
"It seems that by the time this ship sank, everyone had already managed to escape."
"Of course, it's also possible that after the ship went down, their bodies drifted to some other location."
Aven pondered silently. Meanwhile, the big crates had all been loaded onto the fishing vessel, causing the entire boat to sink noticeably lower into the water under their weight.
"Empoo!"
Empoleon stepped up to the nearest crate. Its steel wings lifted high, then came slashing down with tremendous force!
With a sharp crack, sparks scattered as the iron lock on the cargo crate was sliced cleanly apart by its Steel Wing attack.
Empoleon then hooked its wing under the lid and pried the crate open, immediately revealing the large quantity of metal tools and weapons stored inside.
"They're all iron goods…" Aven and Kale exchanged a look.
They approached the crate, taking out a few pieces of ironwork to examine them carefully.
Suddenly, a particular marking caught Aven's eye, an emblem of a sword and hammer crossed together.
"Aven, Your Highness, this is Meteor City's emblem!"
"All of these iron tools were produced in Meteor City!"
Kale recognized the mark at once. Although Marina City and Meteor City were far apart, the emblem of Meteor City was something he naturally knew.
"Meteor City?"
"If the ship departed from Meteor City, it's entirely possible that it drifted here."
Aven continued examining the contents of the crate. It was filled to the brim—an entire shipment of weapons. What he still could not tell was whom they had been intended for.
At that moment, Empoleon had already opened a second crate. This one contained several heavy tablets made of dark, stone-like material—dense and extremely sturdy.
"Aven, Your Highness, come look at these stone slabs," Kale said gravely as he handed one over.
Aven accepted it. Carved into the slab was a relief sculpture—rough, but clear enough for him to make out the silhouette of some creature.
The being resembled a strange mix between a spider and a tortoise, its four legs sprawled low against the ground. Its body was etched with mysterious patterns and ridges.
"This Pokémon… is Heatran?" Aven's pupils contracted sharply.
Silhouettes of countless Pokémon flashed across his mind, and in the end, he found that the figure carved on the slab matched the legendary Lava Guardian almost perfectly.
No way… could it really be Heatran?
Realizing this possibility, Aven felt a surge of shock wash over him.
Could it be that this long-distance merchant ship had actually been on a voyage to search for Heatran? And for some unknown reason, it sank here before it could reach its destination?
"Aven, Your Highness, do you recognize this Pokémon?" Kale asked.
To him, Aven was the most knowledgeable person he knew—someone who had even created the unbelievable Pokéball.
"Mhm. If my guess is correct, this is a guardian deity." Aven gave a simple explanation about Heatran.
After hearing it, Kale was equally stunned. Guardian deities were exceedingly rare in this world. He never expected to hear news of one in a place like this.
"Kale, do you know what guardian deity Meteor City worships?"
Kale thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know which guardian deity they worship, but from what I've heard, their people revere the God of Craftsmen."
The God of Craftsmen… Aven fell silent.
Heatran's other title was "Flame-Steel." A Fire/Steel legendary Pokémon—its nature matched perfectly with the identity of a craft-god's avatar.
Splash—splash—
As the two spoke, more Bibarel emerged from below.
They were hauling up the last of the remaining crates. This should be the final batch.
"Lilli…"
Lilligant looked at the crates being carried over and suddenly showed a strange expression.
Her gaze settled on a particular iron chest. From that chest, she could sense waves of scorching heat radiating outward.
"Lilligant, did you find something?" Aven asked, puzzled.
"Lilli."
Lilligant nodded and pointed at the chest, indicating that something inside it was emitting a hot, fiery energy.
"Heat? Could it be a fire-type resource?" Aven's expression tightened.
He immediately instructed Empoleon to cut the lock. Empoleon swung its steel wing again, breaking the iron clasp in a single strike, then lifted the heavy lid.
The moment the chest opened, a surge of scorching air burst outward. Even after being submerged at the bottom of the sea, the interior of the chest still radiated intense heat!
Aven hurried closer—and what he saw inside made his eyes widen.
The crate was packed full of fiery-red stones—Fire Stones, exactly the precious evolution stones he remembered.
"Fire Stones… and there are so many of them!" Aven's face lit up with joy.
Around Aspiration City, Fire-type Pokémon were nearly extinct. Ever since he completed the forges in Fairhaven, he had wanted to capture a few fire-type Pokémon, but that endeavor had never succeeded.
Yet he had heard that around Meteor City, fire-type Pokémon were abundant. Judging by this entire crate of Fire Stones, there must be a Fire Stone ore vein near Meteor City.
"Lilli…"
Lilligant approached the chest as well.
She quickly sifted through the Fire Stones, eventually pulling out a rock that looked quite different from the others.
Compared to the gem-like shine of the Fire Stones, this rock appeared ordinary—like a piece broken off a mountainside.
Yet in Lilligant's eyes, it stood out sharply. Within the rock, she could almost feel a flame burning ceaselessly.
Closing her eyes, she entered her natural communion state. In her mind's eye, she seemed to witness a massive volcano erupting endlessly, molten lava flowing like rivers.
Clearly, this rock contained extremely concentrated natural energy—energy that flowed like magma within it, radiating an intense fiery heat.
"What kind of stone is this?"
"Could it be a Heat Rock? But it doesn't quite look like one…"
Aven listened to her explanation, his face filled with confusion. As a Pokémon breeder, he had seen many resources, but none matched this mysterious magma-infused rock.
Still, from Lilligant's description, it seemed perfect for training Rhyperior. And with all these Fire Stones, he could easily construct an environment overflowing with fire-type energy.
"Aven, Your Highness, all the cargo from the wreck has been brought aboard," Kale reported as he approached.
He, too, had seen the crate full of Fire Stones. He immediately understood its value—but he had no intention of claiming any of it. Naturally, everything belonged to Aven.
"Mhm. Then we should return."
"Take all the iron tools back to Marina City. There must be blacksmiths there—have a trustworthy one reforge everything. Make sure no one recognizes that this ironwork came from Meteor City."
Aven gave his instructions seriously. Just that one crate of Fire Stones alone told him how valuable the cargo on this ship had been.
If this ship truly came from Meteor City, they would certainly try everything in their power to recover it.
If people in Marina City were found using Meteor City's weapons, Meteor City might suspect Marina City of sinking the ship and looting its cargo.
"I understand, Aven, Your Highness."
"I'll make use of these iron tools discreetly. No one will learn of their origin."
Kale took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart. With these iron tools, Marina City's development would speed up tremendously.
"Mhm. Have the blacksmiths model their reforging after the farming tools used in the Pokémon Domain."
"These weapons are excellent, but what Marina City needs most right now is land cultivation. Farming tools will be far more useful."
After giving all the instructions, the two set off as the fishing vessel began its return journey. But compared to when they first departed, the heavily loaded boat moved far more slowly.
Fortunately, the voyage ended safely, and they returned to Marina City's harbor without incident. Kale then arranged for knights to unload all the iron tools and transport them into the city.
As for Aven, he did not return to Marina City. Instead, he planned to bring the Fire Stones back to the Pokémon Domain.
Along with the Fire Stones, he would also bring the stone tablets—aside from the one depicting Heatran, there were several others, covered in carvings none of them could read.
Once he returned, he intended to study them thoroughly—and also begin preparations for establishing contact with Meteor City. He felt the time had finally come.
Between Aspiration City and Meteor City lay the Aspiration Mountain Range and the Meteor Crater zone. Dangerous, yes—but nothing he couldn't handle now. With several king-level Pokémon protecting him, he could cross even Mt. Coronet if needed.
"Aven, Your Highness, please leave Marina City to me," Kale said, bowing deeply from the docks.
With spring plowing underway, Marina City's land development was progressing smoothly, and its administrative system was forming steadily.
Thanks to careful planning, the systems of the Pokémon Domain didn't conflict with Marina City's original structure—in fact, efficiency had increased dramatically.
"Mhm. Once I return, I'll send more people to support Marina City's construction."
"If anything happens, seek out the Garchomp tribe in the Coastal Mountains. They will deliver messages to the Pokémon Domain at top speed."
"And don't halt the construction of the Water-Type Breeding Zone. Follow the training manual I left behind. First train several strong water-type Pokémon, then help them establish their own tribes."
This had been Aven's current project. Now that he had to return home, Kale would have to continue it.
To be fair, Marina City had always been skilled at training water-type Pokémon—Empoleon itself had been raised using techniques passed down from generations of Marina City lords.
But compared to Aven's training methods—combined with the many auxiliary potions he provided—the old techniques now seemed crude by comparison.
Once Aven returned, he would also begin scouting the Black Coast for a location to build a new Pokémon Breeding Zone, eventually linking it with Marina City, wrapping the entire coastline shared by Aspiration City and Marina City under his domain.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Well, we gonna go to Veilstone now.