Pokemon : The Master of Dragon-Types

Edwin hadn't expected that the two problems plaguing Paradise Group would be resolved simply by Jacob showing his face — and that Jacob would walk away with even more than they'd hoped for.

Once the terms were settled, Som and Wynne had little appetite left for dinner or drinks and excused themselves early. An event of this magnitude meant they needed to get home and consult with their elders without delay.

After the two had gone, only Jacob, Edwin, and Sammy remained in the private room.

"You both heard the terms just now." Jacob looked over at Sammy, his voice unhurried. "The takeover of the remaining gray-market operations falls to you from here. Edwin and I will be away for a while — three or four days at the shortest, maybe one or two weeks if things run long."

"While we're gone, keep the pace slow. Stick to preliminary groundwork only. If you run into resistance, avoid open conflict where you can. Hold the line and endure it for now — we'll settle anything serious once we're back."

Taking over someone else's gray-market territory was, in practice, no different from stealing their livelihood out from under them. Cutting off a man's income was as good as striking at his family — conflict during the coming acquisitions wasn't a possibility so much as a certainty.

And when that conflict came, words wouldn't settle it. Strength would.

This, more than anything, was why Jacob had been so determined to help Edwin secure a Gigantamax Pokémon of his own. Only once Edwin's strength grew enough to be genuinely intimidating could he hope to absorb rival territory without the whole effort collapsing into open warfare.

"Understood." Sammy grasped the weight of it immediately, nodding. "I'll see to it... Boss."

"Don't call me Boss. Manager will do." Jacob turned to Edwin. "Pack your things and get some rest early. We leave for the Northwest region first thing tomorrow."

"Got it." Edwin nodded, a spark of excitement in his eyes.

The Northwest region stretched out beneath a sky thick with drifting dust, the blue overhead clear and pale.

Jacob and Edwin sat together on a soft sofa, watching white clouds drift past the window. Ten thousand meters up, Gigantamax Corviknight held itself aloft on massive, dark-red wings, drifting through the air like an airship.

A small cabin had been built across its back, fitted out with simple furniture and the basic comforts of travel. In practice, the Gigantamax Corviknight now functioned much like a private jet, making the journey remarkably comfortable.

A map lay spread across the table in front of Jacob, a red mark indicating the rough location where he'd calculated a Secret Realm Gap might be found.

"We should be there soon." The marked location was drawing closer by the minute — at Corviknight's speed, they'd close the remaining distance in five minutes at most.

"Mm." Edwin nodded, nerves building the closer they got. "Giovanni, what do you think we'll find in the Secret Realm Gap this time?"

"No way to know for certain," Jacob said, shaking his head. "But the terrain around a Secret Realm Gap tends to hint at what type the Gigantamax Pokémon inside will be."

"Given we're in the Northwest, I'd guess Ground or Rock type is most likely." He glanced at Edwin. "Any Ground or Rock-types you're hoping for?"

"Garchomp or Tyranitar," Edwin answered without missing a beat.

Jacob nearly laughed. The boy certainly didn't lack ambition — though apparently not enough to aim for something like Groudon or Diancie outright. Still, Jacob found he rather liked that kind of bluntness. An honest opportunist was a far easier man to work with than someone pretending not to want anything.

"Those two are unlikely to be what's waiting for us, though—"

Jacob's words cut off as a crushing pressure rolled over them out of nowhere, vanishing again almost as quickly as it had come, as though it had never happened at all.

He recognized the feeling instantly. His calculations had been right — there really was a Secret Realm Gap here. Their position had been slightly off from the mark, but luck had carried them straight into it regardless.

"Looks like we're in luck." Jacob rose with a smile and made for the door. "Edwin, we're inside the Secret Realm Gap now. Let's go meet your Gigantamax Pokémon."

Edwin startled at the words, then broke into a grin and followed close behind.

The moment they stepped out onto Corviknight's back, a wall of heat hit them, waves of flame rolling visibly through the air. Below, magma churned and boiled inside a volcano, sending up thick plumes of scalding steam.

A volcano. Open magma.

The scene left little doubt — whatever Gigantamax Pokémon called this Secret Realm home, it was almost certainly Fire-type. Only three Gigantamax Fire-types were known to exist: Gigantamax Charizard, Gigantamax Cinderace, and Gigantamax Centiskorch.

"This one's a Fire-type, no question," Jacob said, glancing at Edwin. "But the battlefield itself is brutal. There's nothing but volcano below us — without a Fire-type of your own, you'll be fighting entirely in the air. Be careful. If you fall, there's no pulling you back out."

Edwin nodded grimly. His strongest Flying-type was a Heavenly King-Level Noivern — serviceable, but barely enough to be useful in a fight like this.

As they spoke, something stirred beneath the surface of the magma. An orange-red shape moved through the molten rock, flat and serpentine, only its head breaking the surface as it tracked the Gigantamax Corviknight hovering above. Its crimson hide blended so completely with the magma that it was nearly invisible.

Then, without warning, a burst of crimson flame tore free of the magma, rolling waves of heat behind it as it streaked toward Corviknight.

"Watch out — Max Guard!" Jacob barked the order the instant he saw the fireball coming, and Gigantamax Corviknight threw up its defense just in time to absorb the blow.

Looking down, Jacob finally got a clear look at their opponent: a long, flattened body coiling through the magma like some kind of serpent, flames licking along its head and tail.

Gigantamax Centiskorch.

A Fire- and Bug-type Pokémon.

Jacob's expression turned serious as he studied it. Fighting — let alone capturing — a Gigantamax Centiskorch in an environment this hostile would be brutally difficult, and worse, he had no Pokémon of his own capable of surviving inside the magma itself.

"Edwin, do you have anything that can handle the magma directly?" he asked.

"I've got a Magmortar, but it's only Quasi-Champion level," Edwin admitted.

[T/N: Same as Quasi Master level, it is in between king and champion level]

Jacob's brow furrowed at that. Quasi-Champion level wouldn't come close to matching a Gigantamax opponent. That left only one option — they'd have to find some way to draw the Centiskorch out of the volcano entirely.