The chilly mountain wind howled.
At that moment, north of Blackthorn City, three Charizard were speeding over a mountain range in a single-file formation.
As the white clouds obscuring them drifted away, sunlight spilled down, illuminating the faces of the Pokémon Trainers riding them.
Needless to say, this was Xia You and his group, who had set out from the Blackthorn Gym.
Lance rode his Charizard at the head of the formation, leading the way, with Clair close behind. At the very rear, Xia You and Sabrina shared his Charizard.
As Pokémon belonging to Dragon-type Pokémon Trainers, Lance's and Clair's Charizard were exceptionally strong. With the three Charizard gathered together, every one of them looked fierce and imposing.
Their destination this time was the Dragon's Den within this mountain range. Passing through it would bring them to the Dragon Tamers' holy ground-the Dragon's Sacred Land.
Along the way, Xia You also listened as Lance explained what had happened.
It turned out that the Pokémon hunter carrying Dark Balls was none other than Team Rocket's top executive-Vicious!
Who knew why this notorious Pokémon hunter had set his sights on the Pokémon in the Dragon's Sacred Land? After receiving the news, Lance had been forced to drop his work and hurry back here to deal with this troublesome enemy alongside Clair.
Top executive, Vicious, Pokémon hunter...
Xia You carefully searched his memory.
He did have some recollection of this man. He remembered that Vicious had appeared in the fourth movie as its main villain, even dragging Ash into an incident spanning forty years!
But as far as he knew, although Vicious was Team Rocket's top executive and held considerable power, he was extremely ambitious and unwilling to submit to Giovanni. Their ideals clashed, and he had long wanted to replace Giovanni, take