On the outskirts of Mt. Silver.
Amid the vast expanse of silver, there was a striking patch of green that stood out clearly.
Only upon getting closer did one realize that it was a small military camp.
More than a dozen tents were spread throughout a fenced-off encampment.
Quite a few people in military uniforms were moving back and forth inside.
This was the station of an inspection squad the Military had deployed to the outskirts of Mt. Silver to monitor Registeel's movements.
Normally, the unit kept around twenty people stationed here.
Half were logistics personnel.
The other half were responsible for inspection duty.
All of the members were elite Trainers at the peak of Gym-level strength.
The captain, meanwhile, had reached a level approaching the Elite Four.
Boom!!
At that moment, a sudden noise rang out through the previously quiet camp.
Everyone inside instinctively stopped what they were doing.
Following the sound, they were shocked to find a military squad member lying at the camp entrance!
Beside him was a Noctowl on the verge of collapse.
Th-That wasn't the Number One member who had been assigned to monitor the situation at Mt. Silver today?
How had he ended up here?
And with such severe injuries at that?
After recognizing the wounded man, everyone in the camp felt their hearts tighten.
They quickly dropped what they were doing and rushed over to help him up.
"Take me... to see the captain..."
Number One coughed once.
He spat out two broken teeth and a mouthful of bloody phlegm, his voice trembling and his expression grave.
Hearing that, the unease in everyone's hearts intensified even further.
Something really had happened inside Mt. Silver.
Otherwise, with injuries this severe, Number One would have chosen to get treatment immediately.
Several people lifted him onto a stretcher.
Then they hurried into the tent at the very center of the camp.
"What happened to you, Number One? What happened that left you so badly hurt?"
The captain stationed at the camp rushed over the moment he saw Number One's condition and asked urgently.
"Captain!"
Number One struggled to his feet.
He swayed so badly that the captain quickly stepped forward to steady him.
"Mt. Silver... something happened..."
"Melmetal and Registeel... started fighting..."
"The aftermath of the battle spread across a huge area and covered the entire Mt. Silver range..."
"I was afraid that once they lost control of their emotions and anger, the flames of war would spread to the joint encampments on the outskirts of Mt. Silver!"
"Oh, right... GeoGreymon was also in Registeel's cave..."
Number One finished this long report in broken fragments.
After taking several huge breaths,
it was as if he had finally completed his mission.
With a satisfied expression, he fainted.
The news he had brought back struck the entire camp like a bolt from the blue and terrified every inspector present.
This camp structure
had already existed for decades.
And during all that time,
the only unusual development had been Registeel showing a bit of abnormal activity some time ago.
But afterward, it had fallen back into slumber.
Naturally, all members of the inspection squad had subconsciously believed
that Registeel would not wake up.
But who could have imagined
that this third-tier Legendary would revive today!
And on top of that,
it had started fighting another third-tier Legendary, Melmetal!!?
The amount of destruction caused by a collision between two third-tier Legendaries needed no explanation.
Every Pokémon in the entire Mt. Silver range would be affected.
If those two creatures ended up fighting their way outside,
and the flames of battle spread into areas where humans were active,
then it would unquestionably become a catastrophic disaster!
What baffled them even more
was why a world-shaking clash between two third-tier Legendaries
would involve GeoGreymon as well.
What exactly was going on?
A series of questions surfaced one after another.
Looking at the unconscious Number One inspector,
everyone knew there was no chance of getting more detailed clues out of him right now.
No!
GeoGreymon was the treasure of the entire Northern Military Division!
Absolutely nothing could happen to him!
And as for those two third-tier Legendaries,
their situation had to be investigated clearly!
"Number Two through Number Nine! Attention!"
The captain's expression suddenly turned resolute.
Looking at everyone, he issued his order with complete seriousness.
"Yes, sir!"
The eight members straightened their backs and saluted.
Without the slightest delay,
the nine of them mounted their Flying Pokémon and quickly headed for Mt. Silver.
"Captain, should we contact the Minister's side?"
"If this really involves two third-tier Legendaries, I don't think we'll be able to handle it."
While flying,
someone voiced his concern.
"No. There's no time!"
The captain shook his head.
He lowered his body,
and the Steelwing Crane beneath him suddenly accelerated.
"A large number of the Military's forces have already been pulled away to deal with Team Dark. What's happening here can only be handled by us!"
He spoke in a deep voice.
He knew
that the Minister's side was in an even worse situation than theirs.
Not only did they have to face Team Dark's active forces,
they also had to deal with a controlled second-tier Legendary.
At a time like this,
they absolutely could not be distracted further.
The inspector who had raised the question nodded and fell silent.
The Flying Pokémon were extremely fast.
Cutting through the airflow,
they rapidly closed in on Mt. Silver.
Strange!
Why was the Mt. Silver range so quiet??
After drawing near,
they sensed the unnaturally still atmosphere within the mountains.
At once, confusion rose among them.
And after the confusion,
came even greater caution and vigilance.
Experience told them that when something was abnormal, there was always a reason.
They couldn't sense even the slightest trace of battle.
And that meant the result might be even more terrifying than if the two Pokémon were still engaged in a fierce clash here!
"Look! What's that?!"
Hovering in the sky above Mt. Silver as they observed,
someone suddenly made a new discovery.
Following the direction he pointed,
everyone realized that it was the cave where Registeel had been sleeping.
At that moment,
a shining humanoid Pokémon forged from liquid alloy
and a massive Pokémon that looked like a red-headed giant
came rushing out from the passage one after the other.
Both were frantic and panicked
as they fled wildly into the distance without any clear direction.
"Melmetal! And Registeel!"
"My God! It really is two third-tier Legendaries!"
"They look pretty badly injured!"
"Wait, that's strange. What are they doing? Running away?"
"No way, right? How could they possibly be fleeing? These are third-tier Legendaries. What could make them feel fear?"
"..."
Voices of discussion rang endlessly through the sky.
Looking at Melmetal and Registeel's abnormal behavior, everyone wore expressions of confusion.
"Could GeoGreymon be chasing them?"
Someone suddenly blurted that out.
But the moment he finished speaking, he shut his mouth again.
How could that be possible!
GeoGreymon was only an Elite Four-level Pokémon right now!
How could it possibly have the power to send two third-tier Legendaries fleeing in panic?
"Look! Something's coming out of the cave!"
Someone suddenly shouted in a raised voice.
In an instant,
everyone's attention snapped back to the mouth of the passage once more.
There,
a vague yellow shadow
was flickering into view!
(End of Chapter)
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