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In the capital city, at a secret location on the ground level, a figure waited in the shadows. The man wore a long dark coat, his face hidden behind a mask and cap. Steam rose from the coffee cup in his gloved hands as he watched the distant entrance to the underground secret realm.

“Four,” he whispered to himself, counting the fourth Quasi-King level trainer who had been expelled from the secret realm. Dante checked his watch with practiced precision.

“Five more minutes, then I move.”

He lifted the coffee cup to his lips, savoring the warmth on this cold winter day. A weathered smile crossed his face as he glanced at the newspaper headlines spread across the small table.

“Grass-Bug Secret Realm Opens to Record Crowds – Over 2,000 Visitors on Opening Day”

“Rory,” Dante murmured, his voice carrying a hint of nostalgia. “Next time we meet, you’ll have to thank me for this.”

His thoughts drifted back to their youth. He and Rory had both started as ordinary people, common folk who chose completely different paths in life. If only he had followed Rory’s example – finding a good woman, settling down, meeting the right people. Would his life have turned out differently?

But he wasn’t Rory. The person he had loved was gone forever.

Now, all Dante could pursue was the relentless climb toward greater power.

Meanwhile, deep within the capital’s Dragon Secret Realm, events were unfolding rapidly. The mysterious middle-aged man clutched the pieced-together documents and photographs of Jacob and Nina tightly. As he prepared to leave, his Alakazam suddenly spun around, launching a Psychic attack at something behind them.

“Well, well. Looks like we’ve caught ourselves a big fish,” came a smooth voice from the doorway. A man in expensive clothing stepped into view, accompanied by a majestic Serperior whose regal bearing marked it as a Heavenly King-level Pokemon. “I never expected the Dawn Society to be bold enough to infiltrate the Dragon Realm. Tell me, who are you? Your face isn’t familiar.”

This was Mason, the youngest of the Four Heavenly Kings in South China and the nation’s only Grass-type Heavenly King. His ace Pokemon, Serperior, possessed Heavenly King-level power and the rare Contrary ability.

The masked intruder showed no reaction to Mason’s appearance, meeting his gaze with silent composure.

“It’s quite unusual to encounter someone with Heavenly King-level talent who isn’t registered with the League,” Mason continued, his tone conversational but alert. “I’m genuinely curious about your identity.”

Though Mason was already forty years old, his side career as an actor had kept him looking like a man in his twenties or thirties. His refined appearance and pretty-boy features were complemented by an impeccable suit, silk tie, and decorative brooch. His carefully styled hair suggested he’d been preparing for some formal event.

“I’d prefer to avoid violence,” Mason said, adjusting his cufflinks with practiced ease. “So I hope you’ll cooperate. Raise your hands, recall your Pokemon, and remove that mask.”

The mysterious man remained silent. Despite Mason’s polished appearance, he knew better than to underestimate a Heavenly King’s power.

Seeing no response, Mason sighed and began loosening his tie. “Very well then. I suppose I have no choice. Serperior, use Leaf Storm!”

At his command, Serperior’s body erupted with brilliant green energy. Countless razor-sharp leaves filled the air, nearly covering the entire room as they rushed toward Alakazam and its trainer.

“Alakazam, Protect!” the intruder shouted.

While his Pokemon deflected the Leaf Storm with a shimmering barrier, the man suddenly smashed through the nearby window and leaped out. In the same motion, he released his second Pokemon.

A Sigilyph materialized in the air, swooping down to catch its falling trainer with practiced precision.

“Return, Alakazam!”

After recalling his psychic-type Pokemon, the mysterious man showed no interest in continuing the battle. He simply flew away on his Sigilyph, disappearing into the distance.

Mason watched the retreat with a rueful smile. In such confined quarters, there was little he could do to prevent an escape once the intruder reached open air.

While Mason’s combat abilities were formidable, his pursuit capabilities ranked dead last among Heavenly King-level trainers. His only flying Pokemon was a Gym Leader-level Tropius, whose embarrassingly slow speed and relatively weak battle strength made aerial combat nearly impossible.

This limitation meant he excelled at defensive battles but was completely useless in chase scenarios. His colleagues had given him various nicknames over the years – “The Strolling King” and “The Land Warfare King” among them.

Part of this was due to his naturally unhurried temperament, but mainly because whenever trouble arose, he could only mount his Tropius and plod along at a leisurely pace. Despite these limitations, no one dared underestimate Mason’s head-to-head combat prowess.

“I need to get to the restricted area immediately,” Mason muttered, rubbing his temples. He had only taken over guard duty for the Dragon Secret Realm yesterday, replacing another King trainer, and now this incident had occurred. His luck was particularly bad today.

He had originally planned to rush to the restricted area as quickly as possible, but encountering the mysterious intruder had forced him to give chase, costing precious time.

“Tropius, take me to the restricted area,” he commanded, mounting his patient Pokemon.

Deep within the restricted zone, Anthony moved through the facility as if it were completely unguarded. His eyes gleamed with greed and excitement as they swept over the dozens of Pokemon eggs arranged before him. Without hesitation, he pulled out his backpack and began his work.

His first target was the Pseudo-legendary Pokemon egg housed in the special incubator. However, upon closer inspection, he discovered that the massive incubator contained only a single Pseudo-legendary egg. Anthony’s brow furrowed slightly. After all this effort, there was only one prize worth sharing?

But there was no time for disappointment. Even without the Pseudo-legendary, the other eggs were valuable. He needed to work quickly.

“Energy Ball!”

Suddenly, a sphere of concentrated Grass-type energy shot out from the distance, streaking toward Anthony’s position.

The Blastoise standing guard beside him stepped forward, activating Protect to deflect the incoming attack with a shimmering barrier.

“A Heavenly King-level Roserade?” Anthony’s expression grew stern as he recognized the Pokemon. This immediately brought Mason to mind.

The Heavenly King-level Roserade was practically Mason’s signature Pokemon. Anthony wasn’t particularly afraid of Roserade itself, but if the Pokemon was here, Mason couldn’t be far behind. Time was running short.

Despite Mason’s youthful appearance, his battle skills were rock-solid.

“Blastoise, intercept it,” Anthony commanded with confidence. His Blastoise possessed quasi-Champion level strength. Even with the type disadvantage, this Roserade wouldn’t be a match.

“Ice Beam!”

Twin beams of freezing energy shot from Blastoise’s cannons like laser blasts, moving too fast for Roserade to dodge. The twin barrels fired in alternating sequence, completely cutting off Roserade’s escape routes. Within moments, the Bouquet Pokemon was cornered with nowhere to run.

As the Ice Beam struck the frozen Roserade, its form suddenly changed, transforming into a simple flower while the real body appeared elsewhere.

“Substitute,” Anthony noted grimly.

The Substitute technique allowed a Pokemon to create a decoy using its own energy, taking hits in place of the real body. Roserade had used this skill at the critical moment to avoid the Ice Beam.

“Blastoise, Shell Smash!”

Taking advantage of the opening, cracks appeared across Blastoise’s shell. Its limbs extended outward, the twin cannons on its back telescoped to full length, and its overall size increased noticeably.

Shell Smash created deliberate fractures in Blastoise’s protective shell, allowing energy to flow more freely. While this reduced both defensive stats, it dramatically boosted attack power and speed.

“Skull Bash!”

Blastoise’s body suddenly retracted, then launched forward like a cannonball. Normally, Skull Bash required a Pokemon to withdraw into its shell and charge for several seconds, but Anthony’s training had reduced this preparation time to nearly zero.

The instant Skull Bash was terrifying in its speed. Roserade had no time to dodge and could only use Protect!

CRASH!

The light barrier shattered, and Roserade barely managed to deflect the Skull Bash with another defensive technique.

“Ice Beam!”

A freezing ray struck the red flower on Roserade’s right hand, encasing it in ice. At that moment, a clear dragon’s roar suddenly echoed from the adjacent room, only to cut off abruptly.

“Roar!”

Jacob, who had been hiding in the storage closet, never expected that one of the two Pokemon eggs he had concealed would choose this moment to hatch – specifically, the Bagon egg.

Even though he managed to capture the newborn Bagon in a Poke Ball as quickly as possible, he was still a moment too late.

Ding. Dragon Master mission completed.

Distributing rewards.

All Pokemon qualifications improved.

Unlocking branch missions.

Branch Mission 1: Lone Dragon Master – Capture twelve Dragon-type Pokemon in their final evolution or Mega form. Current progress: 1/12.

Branch Mission 2: Master of All Types – Captured Pokemon in final evolution or Mega form must represent all eighteen types. Current progress: 5/18.

Please make your decision promptly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep