The old man was right. This was the underground Magma Cave beneath Hammerlocke. If they fought here, the collapsing city would bury them all.
Champion Class Pokémon possessed terrifying power. Even Elite Four Class Pokémon could easily destroy all of Hammerlocke if they held nothing back, let alone the countless Champion Class Pokémon outside now.
Even Apollo and Wojin had been holding back in their clash. Otherwise, all of Hammerlocke would have been destroyed.
Of course, what the Doomsday Cult feared clearly wasn't destroying Hammerlocke. They simply didn't want to be buried underground themselves.
The Awakened might have been stronger and longer-lived than ordinary people, but they still couldn't survive being buried alive.
"What? Losing your nerve already? Were you so sure we wouldn't dare attack either?" Xiao Ran sneered when he saw Dick stop.
"Isn't that precisely the case? Young man, even a Legendary Class Regirock couldn't save you if Hammerlocke collapsed!" the old man said leisurely.
In all his years, he had weathered every kind of storm. He knew full well that taking down Xiao Ran and the others would be difficult if he couldn't fight at full strength. Rather than try, he might as well settle down and talk things through.
As long as they stalled, Eternatus would revive on schedule, and they would have more time to make their preparations.
"I've always thought this passage from Hammerlocke to the underground Magma Cave shouldn't exist!" Xiao Ran turned and looked at the stairway behind him.
They hadn't come out through it, but the stairway existed both in the game and in reality.
At his words, the old man frowned slightly, an uneasy premonition stirring within him. Still, he believed Xiao Ran wouldn't dare act rashly.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that since this passage