Dragonair descended slowly from the sky, and Yuga patted its neck, complimenting it before recalling both it and Florges into their respective Poké Balls.
"Um, how about we clean up the battlefield?" Yuga said with a cheerful smile.
The other two exchanged strange glances with Yuga.
Yuga chose to keep the three Swellow with high potential, while they didn't find any with such qualifications among the Taillow. The rest of the Taillow were to be prepared for submission.
The Swellow that Yuga kept would have their rewards deducted from the Merit Points they received. So, the other two didn't mind Yuga keeping them.
In truth, Yuga could have just taken both of them without any complaints since he contributed the most. After all, dealing with a few hundred Taillow would have been quite a task.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Flannery sighed and said, "I didn't realize you were this strong."
Flannery and Yuga had known each other for quite some time. Back then, when Yuga had just crossed over to this world, he had brought along Absol and Floette, who hadn't evolved into Florges yet, and they used to have fun battles on the outskirts of Lavaridge Town.
Now, with time passing, Yuga's strength had grown far beyond Flannery's reach. While she had always been aware that Yuga was stronger, she never imagined he would become this much stronger. It was hard for Flannery to hide her feelings of frustration.
Despite being younger than Yuga, she had been a trainer for a longer time.
Yuga, on the other hand, didn't know how to respond to Flannery. He was unaware of Dragonair's newfound strength since Dragonair had never used this move before. One could say that the misterious gem had not only granted Dragonair power but also control over thunder and lightning.
So, did Florges, who had also received a misterious gem, possess similar abilities?
"Hehe, it's all a matter of coincidence, coincidence!" Yuga chuckled casually.
Flannery rolled her eyes at Yuga and said, "I'd like to have a few coincidences like that!"
Beidou didn't have much of a reaction to Dragonair's performance. He hadn't known Yuga and the others for long and wasn't particularly familiar with Yuga's situation. He just assumed Yuga had always been this strong, perhaps a hidden genius from the Sootopolis Gym.
The Sootopolis Gym held a prestigious position in the eyes of trainers from Hoenn, whether it was because of the gym leader Juan or his renowned disciple Wallace. They were both admired figures among Hoenn's trainers.
After Yuga and his group left, Kondoh and his teammates emerged from not far away.
"That companion of Beidou's is way too terrifying!" the only female member of the team shivered.
Kondoh, too, nodded in agreement with wobbly legs. "I think we should stay away from them in the future!"
The thought of having screamed so loudly in front of such a terrifying person made Kondoh almost unable to stand.
The great Forest God, Celebi, please, take me back to the past. I promise to be more discreet.
That was the only thought in Kondoh's mind at that moment.
The team quickly agreed with Kondoh's suggestion, not wanting to provoke Yuga and his group. Only their team leader looked in the direction where Yuga and his group had left with an inexplicable expression.
Unbeknownst to Yuga and his group as they departed, Beidou's former teammates were right behind them and had witnessed Dragonair's impressive display.
After surviving the Taillow attack, the three of them finally arrived at the foot of the Dormant Volcano.
Looking up at their destination, which was now within reach, Flannery sighed and said, "We've finally arrived!"
Yuga added, "The Pokémon here will be even more dangerous than what we encountered before. We need to be extra careful."
This place was a paradise for Fire-type Pokémon. It not only provided the volcanic environment ideal for their growth but also contained Fire Stones, which were highly beneficial to them. In a way, this place could be considered the most perilous spot on the entire Illumina Island.
The other two nodded in agreement with Yuga's words, their expressions becoming more serious.
As they began their journey up the Dormant Volcano, Yuga and his group noticed a significant increase in temperature and a decrease in vegetation.
"Oh, it's a Slugma!" Flannery suddenly pointed to a Pokémon crawling slowly beside them.
Flannery's family in the Lavaridge Town had many Slugma and Magcargos because the Mt. Chimey near Lavaridge Town was rich in these Pokémon.
Slugma had a very gentle temperament, and even when they saw Yuga and his group, they showed no signs of aggression. Instead, they continued to crawl at their own pace.
None of the three attacked the Slugma because its slow and deliberate movements didn't inspire any desire for a battle.
As they watched the Slugma slowly move away, they continued their ascent up the mountain and encountered several more Slugma along the way, all of them behaving just like the previous one. Yuga, Flannery, and Beidou let them pass without confrontation.
"Could it be that there are only Slugma on this mountain?" Beidou sighed in frustration.
"It's impossible! The environment here is extremely suitable for Fire-type Pokémon, so it can't be just Slugma!" Flannery, the granddaughter of the Fire-type Champion, said confidently.
"What about other Pokémon?" Beidou shrugged.
Yuga thought for a moment and said, "We probably haven't gone deep enough yet."
Flannery nodded in agreement.
Indeed, when Yuga and his group reached halfway up the mountain, they were blocked by a Houndoom and six Houndour.
Unlike the Slugma, Houndoom and Houndour weren't as friendly. They snarled at Yuga's group and had no intention of letting them pass.
Yuga's Vivillon, Flannery's Houndoom, and Beidou's Delcatty immediately stepped forward, ready for a battle.
These seven Pokémon, except for the lead Houndoom, had mediocre strength, and their potential was all in the yellow range or lower.
Vivillon cast an Electroweb over them, and while they attempted to burn the net with flames, they didn't have the strength to do so before getting struck by the attack.
Delcatty's Thunderbolt and Houndoom's Thunder Fang quickly dispatched them with ease.
Yuga actually liked Houndour and Houndoom but regretfully, their potential didn't meet the requirements. They would only be used to exchange for Merit Points.
"We've finally encountered Fire-type Pokémon of a different species," Beidou remarked as he put Houndour into its Poké Ball.
Houndoom, which was fully evolved, was kept by Beidou separately because he needed to complete a task assigned by the Ever Grande City Day Care Center, bringing back a batch of Fire-type Pokémon as breeding seeds. Since he couldn't determine the potential of the Pokémon, he could only choose the ones with stronger abilities to fulfill the task.
Unlike the others, Flannery didn't have a specific task. Besides training, if she encountered a suitable Pokémon, she might choose to capture it for her own team. Thus, she wouldn't easily capture Pokémon.
After they tidied up, they continued their journey. Meanwhile, Professor Moore arrived at the Dormant Volcano's crater riding on his Charizard.