16. Grass Z-Crystal

As Jacob left the Sceptile's territory, mixed emotions swirled within him. Watching the Treecko separate from its parent Sceptile stirred a feeling of reluctance in his heart.

The champion-level Treecko and the Sceptile Mega Evolution Stone bolstered Jacob's confidence considerably. If Treecko continued to grow stronger, becoming a Champion would certainly be within his reach. He could definitely compete for a position among the Four Heavenly Kings of the Southwest region.

"Ding, mission triggered, Dragon Pokémon Master."

[Dragon Pokémon Master]: Because the host captured Noibat and Treecko, the attributes of Noibat's final evolution, Noivern, are Flying + Dragon, and the attributes of Mega Sceptile are Grass + Dragon. Now a hidden task is triggered to become the strongest Dragon Pokémon Master.

Mission requirements: The first six Pokémon you capture must have dragon attributes in their final evolution or mega form.

Mission rewards: Rewards are issued according to the progress of the mission. Capturing three dragon-type Pokémon will reward you with the permanent TM Dragon Pulse, capturing four dragon-type Pokémon will reward you with Dragon Z-Crystal, capturing five dragon-type Pokémon will reward you with six A-level Dragon Scales, capturing six dragon-type Pokémon will reward you with all Pokémon's qualifications upgraded, from King level to Champion level, from Champion level to Master level, from Master level to Legendary level. The current progress is 2/6.

Failure penalty: None

...

The sudden task startled Jacob. How could he possibly become a Dragon-type Pokémon master after capturing only two Pokémon?

This completely contradicted Jacob's life goal. His ultimate dream was to become a Steel-type Pokémon master. Dragon-type Pokémon could easily be defeated by Fairy-type Pokémon. Only Steel-type Pokémon were both impressive and powerful, with the best defensive attributes in the entire universe.

The Steel type boasted ten resistances, one immunity, and weaknesses to only Fighting, Ground, and Fire types. Such powerful defensive attributes were unmatched in the entire Pokémon world. Certain Pokémon like Forretress and Bronzong were particularly exceptional with only one weakness: Fire-type moves.

In terms of appearance, Scizor, Aggron, Bisharp, Excadrill, Lucario, Aegislash, and Metagross were all impressive and formidable.

And what about the legendary Steel-types? Without mentioning Jirachi and Registeel, setting aside Melmetal and Celesteela, ignoring Cobalion and Genesect, look at Dialga, Solgaleo, and the sword and shield deities Zacian and Zamazenta. Four cover legendaries! This was the true power of the Steel type. In Jacob's heart, the Steel attribute was unquestionably the best in the world.

Why did this stupid system assign him this task? His dream was to become a Steel-type Pokémon master, not a Dragon-type master!

Jacob felt frustrated and angry, but he accepted the mission without hesitation. He had no choice—the system's offer was simply too generous. Just capturing six Dragon-type Pokémon would improve the qualifications of all his Pokémon, so Jacob had to accept it.

"It has given me so much. At worst, I can capture a Steel + Dragon Pokémon in the future to fulfill my dream."

However, there were only two Pokémon with Steel + Dragon attributes: Dialga and Duraludon, neither of which would be easy to capture. Dialga was a legendary Pokémon, and Duraludon didn't exist in the territory of China. It seemed he would have to drift away from his dream of becoming a Steel master.

"Goodbye my youth, goodbye my dream."

"Please don't contact me again, Metagross. I'm afraid that Dragonite, Tyrantrum, Garchomp, Hydreigon, Goodra, Druddigon, Salamence, and Haxorus may misunderstand me."

...

Meanwhile, in the core location of the secret realm, thousands of ancient trees stood tall.

Houndoom's figure appeared at the root of the Ancient Tree. Dante held the Grass Z-Crystal he had just obtained, a smile spreading across his face.

"Mission accomplished, we can retreat now." Dante raised his head toward the sky, took out a Poké Ball, summoned Mandibuzz, and prepared to leave the secret realm.

His identity was sensitive, and if discovered, would inevitably cause trouble.

Just as he was about to leave, a high-pitched sound wave accompanied by Bug-type energy came from the forest, launching a surprise attack on Mandibuzz.

"Bug Buzz!"

[Bug Buzz]: Bug-type special attack that uses vibration to emit powerful sound waves. Sometimes it will lower the opponent's Special Defense.

Two Volcarona appeared from the jungle, and it was these two Fire-moth Pokémon that had just unleashed their powerful Bug Buzz attack.

"Mandibuzz, hold on!"

Dante, who was about to leave, was interrupted by the sudden attack. He turned around, his body covered in a black cloak, and raised his head to look at the newcomers.

"Rory, the Bug-type Gym Leader from Starlight City, Frosthollow Province."

"Asher, the Fire Gym Leader from Olivine City, Frosthollow Province."

Dante recognized both men immediately. He had prepared a strategy before coming to Starlight City, so he naturally knew Rory. As for Asher, the youngest quasi-king trainer in China and recognized future King-level trainer, how could he not know him?

"Here comes trouble," Dante thought, unconcerned about Rory. His attention was entirely on Asher. Rory was the weakest among all the gym leaders in Frosthollow Province. His strongest Pokémon was only a Gym Leader-level Volcarona, which posed no threat to him.

The only concern was Asher and his Volcarona.

Looking at Asher, Dante saw a reflection of himself from ten years ago—just as spirited and ambitious, just as talented as a quasi-King trainer. However, Dante had never managed to enter the ranks of King trainers. In the end, he had betrayed the Pokémon Association and eliminated the entire Zhao family, all for the sake of the young Larvitar with King qualifications.

If it happened again, Dante would definitely take the same path without hesitation, or even earlier!

Meanwhile, Asher and Rory spotted the Grass Z-Crystal in Dante's hand. They already knew his identity before arriving, and they were filled with apprehension about confronting him, but their duty as guardians of the museum compelled them to stand up.

"Put down the Grass Z-Crystal in your hand," Rory demanded.

"Oh?" Dante looked at Rory and his son with a sarcastic expression. "Everyone's good at talking. Let's see how this plays out. Let me witness the strength of the Fire Gym Leader of Frosthollow Province."

Dante studied Asher with a playful look, took out two Poké Balls from his belt and threw them. "Go, Zoroark, Krookodile."

The appearance of the quasi-King-level Zoroark and Krookodile, coupled with the quasi-King-level Houndoom who was eyeing them menacingly, suddenly increased the pressure on Rory and his son.

Rory felt it most acutely—almost all his Pokémon were Gym Leader level, with his only Overlord level Pokémon being a Scizor that he had only recently trained.

Bug-type Gym Leaders had always been considered the weakest among all Gym Leaders, largely due to the inherent limitations of Bug-type Pokémon.

It was an indisputable fact that Dragon-type Pokémon were naturally stronger than Bug-type Pokémon, with only a few Bug-types able to match Dragon-types in power.

Scizor was one of those rare powerful Bug-type Pokémon and was Rory's trump card.

"Go, Scizor!"

Rory recalled his Volcarona and sent out his Scizor. In a quasi-Champion-level battle, the Gym Leader-level Volcarona would be of little use.

"A Shiny Pokémon?" Dante eyed the Scizor with interest. "Is this the trump card you've been keeping, the secret weapon you prepared for this year's Gym Leader ranking competition?"

In the real world, Shiny Pokémon were not only aesthetically pleasing but also represented excellent potential and formidable strength. Because Shiny Pokémon symbolized mutation, they were typically the strongest of their species and natural leaders of their groups.

"Asher, what about you?" Dante shifted his gaze. "What's your trump card? I don't believe you only have one quasi-King-level Pokémon, Volcarona."

"As expected, you figured me out. In that case, I won't hide anymore. Come on, Groudon!"

Asher's words startled Dante. He stared at Asher in disbelief, shocked at the possibility. How could Asher possess a legendary Pokémon like Groudon? Dante panicked and looked toward where the Pokémon was materializing, only to see clearly that the Pokémon Asher had actually sent out was Blaziken.

Dante suddenly realized he'd been tricked and caught sight of the smirk on Asher's face. Asher had dared to play a prank on him! Recalling his own panicked reaction and embarrassing expression just moments ago, Dante grew increasingly furious!