Chapter 165: Entering An Advanced Secret Realm

The 25th Advanced Secret Realm was located to the west of the Imperial Capital, with the expansive White Mountain Range behind it—one of the most infamous forbidden zones in Drakoria.

The White Mountains span several provinces in Drakoria, but the true danger lies at the mountain range's core.

Inside, it's not just Elite Pokémon; even Champion-level Pokémon roam freely.

Some even claim to have encountered Celebi, the Time Pokémon, deep within its reaches.

On his second day as a member of the school team, Julian requested leave, which his homeroom teacher, Frank, and the school team coach, Wade, both approved. His destination: the 25th Advanced Secret Realm.

Julian had done plenty of research on this Secret Realm beforehand, but various reasons had delayed his visit until now.

As for venturing into the depths of White Mountains, it was far too dangerous. Without at least reaching the Elite level, trying to explore the center would be suicidal, while the outskirts offered little reward.

Each year, many trainers who think they're strong enough attempt to explore the forbidden area. Even if they avoid the core, bad luck on the outskirts can still be deadly.

All Advanced Secret Realms were guarded by at least a military regiment of 9,000 troops or more.

Among them, there must be at least one Elite and ten pseudo-Elite trainers on standby.

The purpose of the stationed forces was, of course, to prevent Pokémon riots from spilling out of the Secret Realm.

The last riot of the mid-level Secret Realm nearly destroyed Yuan County.

If an Advanced Secret Realm were to experience such an outbreak, the impact would be dozens of times worse.

Advanced Secret Realms typically housed multiple Elite-level Pokémon.

And they were also a significant asset for any country. Besides monitoring the area, the military also prevented foreign spies or terrorist groups from infiltrating.

Julian handed over his entry pass to the guard, who conducted a thorough check and confirmed his identity before allowing him to proceed.

"Student Julian, the maximum time allowed in an Advanced Secret Realm is one month. If you don't return by the deadline without a valid reason, you won't be permitted to enter any Advanced Secret Realms for the next five years," the officer warned.

Julian nodded, well aware of the rules.

Entry time for basic realms was seven days, ten days for intermediate ones, and a full month for advanced realms.

These time limits prevent trainers from overstaying, hiding valuable items, and having allies take them out before someone else enters.

The cycle repeats, allowing teams to gather rare items continuously.

As he stepped into the Advanced Secret Realm, Julian didn't feel any particular difference.

His Metagross, however, squinted its eyes, looking noticeably comfortable. The energy within Secret Realms was highly suitable for Pokémon growth, especially in advanced ones.

Humans might not feel it, but Pokémon could sense it distinctly.

This was why Pokémon rarely left their realms.

Unlike basic or intermediate Secret Realms, which could be entered by paying a fee, tickets for Advanced Secret Realms couldn't be bought with money alone, limiting access and preserving the ecosystem.

Upon entry, Julian's psychic ability detected nearly a hundred Pokémon within a 500-meter radius, and soon, a Pidgeot appeared overhead.

A pseudo-Elite Pokémon at that.

Entrance points vary; some were on the outskirts, some in the mid-regions, and others near the center.

In the 25th Advanced Secret Realm, the entrance happened to be closer to the middle.

The Pidgeot above him was clearly the ruler of this area, claiming the entire territory as its domain.

Anyone entering the Secret Realm must first face this Pidgeot. If they can't even defeat it, they'd better turn back.

For over ten years, this Pidgeot had served as a gatekeeper, challenging newcomers but never being captured—it just stayed here, guarding its territory.

The Pidgeot circled in the air, eyeing Julian with a bit of hesitation. The Pokémon by his side looked quite formidable.

After more than ten years of fighting, this Pidgeot had grown smart, developing keen instincts that told it when an opponent was too strong.

Its sharp eyes and intuition both signaled that this trainer and his Pokémon weren't to be trifled with.

So, with a final glance, the Pidgeot flew away.

Julian wasn't surprised; the guidebook mentioned that this Pidgeot knew how to pick its fights, avoiding those too strong to handle.

With the Pidgeot backing off, the hidden Pokémon nearby naturally didn't dare to challenge him.

They quickly retreated, some of them even running away in a rush, worried Julian might target them.

"Come out, Dragonite"

Julian called, releasing his Dragonite and climbing onto its back.

Although Metagross could fly, Dragonite was both faster and more comfortable for long-distance travel.

He took out his Dowsing Machine, which showed ten red dots within a 50-kilometer radius, each marking a treasure. However, the small dots didn't pique Julian's interest much.

His main goal for this visit wasn't just to hunt for Secret Realm treasures; he was also here to train his Growlithe and Aron.

These two would be key parts of his team someday, especially Aron, but right now their levels were significantly lower than his Metagross and Dragonite.

"Head west," he directed.

...

Julian checked his map, not paying much attention to the red dots on the Dowsing Machine.

If something bigger showed up later, he could always adjust his route. About 90 kilometers west of the Secret Realm's entrance was a known area where groups of Slakoth lived.

At Dragonite's speed, they reached the area in just over ten minutes, even at a casual pace.

Below, an orchard stretched out, full of berry trees, each with a few Slakoth lying on the branches.

Beneath the trees, many Vigoroth roamed, full of restless energy.

Julian even spotted a few Slaking dozing nearby.

Slaking, with a base stat total of 670, even exceeded the stats of some legendary Pokémon, making pseudo-legendaries look weak by comparison.

Yet due to its Truant ability, this Pokémon was considered useless competitively.

Slakoth shared this Truant ability, but it would change to Vital Spirit when evolving into Vigoroth, only to revert back to Truant as a Slaking.

Researchers worldwide had been studying these Pokémon, hoping to find a way to alter Slaking's ability.

Out of curiosity, Julian used his Probing Eyes on the Slakoth and Slaking. As expected, all of the Slakoth—over ten thousand of them—had the Truant ability, and so did the Slaking.

While it's known that Pokémon can undergo color mutations, or "shiny" variations, no ability mutations had been discovered so far.

However, in the anime, Alain's Charizard seemed to have the Water Absorb ability—which was really strange.

It seemed like the creators had deliberately wanted to prevent a certain someone from winning the championship, so they gave Charizard this odd Water Absorb trait.

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