Lava Cave

Catching a Pokémon like that required a specially made Poké Ball. That was why the Hall had waited several months after discovering this Secret Realm before making its move. First, they had needed to research the Giant Poké Ball.

They had to develop a special Poké Ball capable of holding gigantic Pokémon. That was no easy task, because Poké Ball technology had not been invented by humans on Earth. It, too, came from Secret Realms. Even now, humanity had yet to fully decipher its principles and could only manufacture copies by following existing examples.

Fortunately, some adjustments were still possible. Otherwise, even Pokémon like Wailord would have been impossible to catch. Capturing the giant Tentacruel, however, was much harder. If it were easy, there would not have been an iron sphere half a person's height sitting on the reef. That had to be the Giant Poké Ball the Hall had developed, and judging by the situation, they currently had only one.

"So if we destroy that Poké Ball and take away the Hall's means of catching the giant Tentacruel, we can ruin their whole operation?" Jiang Cheng asked, looking bewildered after hearing Xiao Ran's explanation. He genuinely had not known that the Poké Balls he carried could not catch the giant Tentacruel.

"Exactly. We just need to destroy that Giant Poké Ball." Xiao Ran nodded, then stared at Jiang Cheng for a moment before asking, "How's your aim with a gun?"

"My aim? It should be... you want to shoot that Poké Ball and break it?" Jiang Cheng's eyes widened. He could hardly believe Xiao Ran's idea.

"Isn't that way too far? And look at that huge iron ball. Can this lousy gun even damage it?" Shen Yue asked doubtfully.

"That's why I asked how good his aim was. As for the Poké Ball, don't worry. Technology this underdeveloped requires extremely precise components. With a handgun's destructive power, hitting even a somewhat critical point should put it out of commission for now. By the time they fix it, the Alliance's Investigators will already be at their doorstep," Xiao Ran said with a shrug.

"Ooh... now that you put it that way, I suddenly really want to try." Jiang Cheng looked excited, but his face soon fell, and he lowered the gun.

"It's too far. I can't even guarantee I'll hit the Poké Ball, much less a particular spot on it," Jiang Cheng said in frustration.

"Ugh... so useless. Is it too late to get a new boyfriend?" Shen Yue shook her head and sighed.

"I'll do it. Where do I shoot?" Ye Ling was as concise as ever. She picked up the handgun from the ground and asked Xiao Ran.

"Lingling, you know how to use a gun?" Shen Yue asked in disbelief.

"I learned." Ye Ling's answer made Xiao Ran frown slightly. She spent every day with him, yet he had never seen her use a gun. There was no need to ask where she had learned.

"The Hall..." Xiao Ran clenched both fists, his gaze icy as he stared at the Hall bastards outside.

"There's a white spot a little to the right. It should be made of a special metal. Hit that, and the Poké Ball should be unusable for a while," Xiao Ran said coldly.

"Okay!" Ye Ling nodded and raised the gun to aim, but Xiao Ran stopped her.

"Wait. Let's find an escape route first. Once we fire, everyone from the Hall will come after us," Xiao Ran said gravely.

Five minutes later, everything was ready, and Ye Ling raised the handgun again. Hitting a particular spot on a sphere from several hundred meters away with this handgun would have sounded like a fantasy to most people. Yet when the gun in Ye Ling's hand fired, the stationary Poké Ball rolled from the impact, and a thin trail of black smoke rose from the white spot Xiao Ran had pointed out.

Bang!

"Beautiful!" Jiang Cheng exclaimed softly. Landing a shot from that far away left him no choice but to admire Ye Ling's marksmanship.

"Stop yelling. Let's go before they react!" Xiao Ran grabbed Ye Ling and turned, running into the dense forest.

"Shit, wait for us!" Jiang Cheng snapped out of it and hurried after them. He could already make out people running in their direction.

"What happened? Who fired that shot?" An angry shout rang out from the reef. Several black-robed figures quickly crouched and began inspecting the Giant Poké Ball.

"We don't know yet. The shot came from the forest. Someone else must have entered this Secret Realm through the entrance!" an operative reported with his head lowered.

"Useless idiots! Who was guarding the Secret Realm entrance? Why didn't they report the intruders immediately?" one Black-Robed Man demanded loudly. For the moment, no one could answer him.

"It's no good. The Poké Ball's switch has been damaged, so it can't close completely for now. In other words, even if we catch the Giant Tentacruel with it, it can escape right away," another Black-Robed Man said, standing after finishing his inspection.

"Can it be repaired?" the first Black-Robed Man asked. Unlike the others, his robe was embroidered with strands of gold, clearly marking him as someone of higher rank and status within the Hall.

"The switch mechanism is too intricate. We'll have to take it back to the laboratory for repairs!" The man shook his head, his face full of regret.

At those words, the leader's dark expression filled with murderous intent, his anger almost impossible to contain. Months of preparation and an enormous investment, only for everything to fall apart at the final moment when success had been within reach. The cost of failure alone would leave him unable to hold his head high in the organization, and the manner of that failure would make him a laughingstock for a long time.

"Pass down my orders. Abandon the Giant Tentacruel. Everyone is to enter the forest and find those little insects!" He took a deep breath and issued the order through gritted teeth.

The Hall's members withdrew one after another. The chains restraining the giant Tentacruel were released, and the various Pokémon were recalled into their Poké Balls. The noisy beach soon fell silent. Only a few black-robed figures remained on the reef, their faces grim and their cold gazes fixed on the dense forest nearby.

"There are too many of them. Our preparations won't slow them down for long. We need to find somewhere hidden as soon as possible and wait for reinforcements," Xiao Ran said breathlessly as they continued weaving through the forest.

Twenty minutes had passed since the shot. Although they had not been caught yet, they could already faintly hear movement not far behind them. Clearly, the diversionary traps they had laid before leaving had done little good. If they did not find somewhere to hide soon, they would be caught.

"Why does this feel like a mountain? We've been running uphill the whole time. I'm exhausted!" Shen Yue complained between gasps. By now, she needed Jiang Cheng to drag her along.

Fortunately, the Giant Tentacruel's earlier intimidation had left the Pokémon along their route with little desire to fight. Xiao Ran and the others were also sprinting the entire way, barely engaging with any Wild Pokémon. Despite running for so long, they had not encountered a single battle with one. Otherwise, they would have been caught in minutes, never mind twenty.

"If this really is an island, then it might actually be a mountain!" Xiao Ran said after a moment's thought.

"Ah... if only we had a Flying-type Pokémon right now. It could carry us straight out of here," Shen Yue said miserably.

"No use. Fly, and we die!" Ye Ling shook her head and pointed at the sky. Flying would make them obvious targets, and the bird Pokémon overhead alone would be enough to stop them in their tracks. Birds were far more territorial about their airspace than other kinds of Pokémon.

"Sneasel!" Suddenly, Sneasel, who had been scouting ahead, returned and called insistently to them.

"Did you find something? Take us there!" Xiao Ran asked. When Sneasel nodded, his voice immediately brightened with excitement.

With something new to investigate, Shen Yue forgot her exhaustion. They followed Sneasel and hurried forward. Soon, a cave entrance more than three meters high appeared before them. Its dark opening resembled a gaping maw from the abyss, making them hesitate to approach.

"This? Are we going in? With an entrance that big, we won't be able to block it, will we?" Jiang Cheng asked uncertainly.

"Look around. Going in is our only option," Xiao Ran replied, pointing at their surroundings.

Apart from the cave, towering cliffs surrounded them, stretching at least several hundred meters as far as they could see. Taking a detour would make it impossible to evade the Hall's search. The cave was their only way forward.

"Well... fine. But what if there's no way out inside?" Jiang Cheng asked helplessly.

"There is. Wind's coming out. It's not a dead end," Ye Ling said with certainty.

"Yes, and I can feel heat coming from it, along with a strong sulfur smell. This cave should lead to an area with Magma," Shen Yue added with a nod. Her family ran a Fire-type Gym, so she was intimately familiar with the feel of flames.

"Tch, don't tell me this leads underground beneath the Secret Realm? We just survived a flood, and now we're going to face a fire?"

"Enough. Stop wasting time. If we don't leave now, the Hall will catch up." With that, Xiao Ran entered first. The sounds behind them were growing clearer. Their pursuers were already very, very close.

"Fine, fine. We'll figure it out as we go. Feels like that's all we've done today!" Jiang Cheng grumbled helplessly as he followed the others into the cave.

"Hall Master, they've entered the Lava Cave. Should we keep pursuing them?" On the reef, a Hall operative approached the black-robed group to report.

"The Lava Cave? They certainly know how to run!" The black-robed leader addressed as Hall Master sneered. "Keep chasing! Why wouldn't we? Not only will we pursue them, I'll go myself and see just who dared to ruin the plan I spent so long preparing."

With that, the black-robed leader summoned an Aerodactyl and took the lead, flying toward the cave.