Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

Fortunately, their patient search finally paid off. Xia Shen received both good news and bad news from Zoroark.

The good news is that she found a large pile of stones that resembled the black, strange stones Xia Shen had described.

The bad news is that a group of guardian dragons lives near that pile of rocks, and because of the changes in their surroundings, they're currently in a somewhat... irritable state.

But having finally found the evolution item for Scizor, Xia Shen naturally wouldn't miss it.

He told Zoroark to wait by his side while he stood still, pondering how to acquire some black stones.

…………

According to the information provided by Zoroark, this group of guardian dragons consists of about twenty guardian dragons and forty shield dragons.

If it really comes down to a fight, we might not necessarily lose.

With the prestigious Rock and Steel type combination of the Guardian Dragon, if Ursaring and Garchomp charge in and unleash two Earthquakes, most of the weaker minions should be wiped out.

However, there are always some powerful figures in a group. If there is a level 60 or 70 guardian dragon, even all of your Pokémon combined would probably not be enough to defeat it.

There's no need to take risks; let's try to outsmart them.

Xia Shen decided to address the problem from its root cause.

So, what use do these guardian dragons have for the Black Stone?

Surely, a Shieldon that's been cleaned up can't evolve into a Guardian Dragon using a Black Gem, right?

I've never heard of that...

As he was pondering this, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he remembered the sticky dragons in the Red Lotus Wetlands and the steel mines of their tribe.

Could it be that this black strange stone is something similar to the City Guard Dragon and his companions?

It's not impossible.

This thing can evolve a Bug/Flying type Scyther into a Bug/Rock type Scizor.

In addition, it can also be obtained by defeating Golem in the game.

Perhaps this is the same resource that is of the same significance to the Shielded Dragon.

So, perhaps I can exchange it for a Steel Orb and a Rock Orb?

For the city-guarding dragon, this should be a deal that's guaranteed to make a killing.

Originally, only the Rock type was well-developed, but with this interaction, the guardian dragon group was able to develop both Rock and Steel types.

Surely no elf could resist such a temptation.

…………

Xia Shen originally thought so, but reality was quite different from his ideal.

The city-guarding dragon didn't listen to what Xia Shen wanted to say at all. As soon as it saw a stranger approaching, it immediately raised its vigilance to the highest level.

The already restless guardian dragons became even more agitated due to the inexplicable changes in their surroundings.

They bared their teeth and growled at Xia Shen, their hard stone shields rising up to protect the shield-armored dragons behind them.

It seemed to imply, "If you dare take another step forward, I'll fight you to the death!"

Helpless, Xia Shen had no choice but to retreat and wait for the city-guarding dragons' unease to gradually subside.

Fortunately, the guardian dragons were gentle by nature. Before long, they gradually lowered their guard after realizing that apart from the slight change in the environment, there was no other danger.

The original lined-up formation dispersed, and the little shield-armored dragons hidden behind the city-guarding dragons emerged, playing and frolicking under the protection of their elders.

The scene gradually appeared peaceful and serene.

Although the timing was about right, Xia Shen felt that rushing up like this was missing something.

After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly had an idea and immediately transmitted it to Zoroark.

[Could you transform into the city's guardian dragon and meet them first?]

Zoroark immediately understood Xia Shen's idea, responded, and transformed into the form of a guardian dragon.

Xia Shen recalled Moon Bear and took her towards the direction of the city's guardian dragon clan.

This time it went much more smoothly. The guardian dragons did not become wary or suspicious when they saw Zoroark disguised as one of their own kind.

As for Xia Shen, he seems to pose even less of a threat.

After some discussion, the leader of the city's guardian dragons agreed to the deal proposed by Xia Shen.

In a one-to-one exchange, Xia Shen took a bunch of steel gems that he had originally prepared for Nian Mei'er and exchanged them for about twenty black gems.

Just to be on the safe side, Xia Shen used his phone to have one of the beads in his hand identified.

[Black Stone: A black stone with glass-like properties that has a certain attraction for Rock-type Pokémon. It is also the item used for Scizor to evolve into Scizor.]

As expected, Xia Shen was completely relieved.

Twenty or so should be enough for now. Next, we can prepare to catch a green Scyther for testing.

With one worry gone, Xia Shen watched the little shield dragons enjoying the food he had brought and began to have wicked thoughts.

It seems that these two are missing from the Pokédex...

Having initially gained the trust of the Shielded Dragon clan, Xia Shen was planning to discuss with the Shielded Dragon leader about having his clansmen enter the small sphere.

In the distance, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the ground, growing louder as it approached.

…………

Upon hearing this thunderous sound, the shield-shaped face of the city dragon leader, who was communicating with Xia Shen, instantly turned serious.

"Bass—"

After throwing a sentence at Xia Shen, he quickly walked to the front and, together with his people, raised the shields on their faces, forming a solid defensive line.

The little shield dragons also stopped playing and pulled Xia Shen to hide behind the city-guarding dragons.

Perhaps because they were guests from afar, the fake guardian dragon that Zoroark had conjured was not brought to the battlefield.

She stayed beside Xia Shen, translating the words of the city's dragon leader through telepathy.

[His words were ambiguous; he only mentioned that a group of annoying bastards were coming.]

That damn bastard?

Xia Shen immediately realized that, in the spacetime distortion, who else could be the elf with such a poor relationship with the city's guardian dragons besides the Warhammer Dragon clan?

……

Both being ancient elves that lived 100 million years ago, the Warhammer Dragon and the City Guardian Dragon are two extremes in every respect.

The City Guardian Dragon is gentle by nature, while the War Hammer Dragon has a violent temper.

The city-guarding dragon has extremely strong defenses, and its head is shaped like an indestructible shield.

Warhammer Dragons possess exceptional physical attack capabilities; their skulls resemble an indestructible hammer.

In the hidden realm, investigators also unearthed ancient fossils of two guardian dragons and a warhammer dragon that died embracing each other.

This could not possibly be a suicide pact, but rather that these two mortal enemies perished simultaneously under the attack of their opponent, their bodies solidified by the power of time into this peculiar fossil.

In short, the feud between the Cityguard Dragon and the Warhammer Dragon is no less significant than that between Pidgeot and Finch, or between Scyther and Zangoose.

It seems I've been drawn into a conflict between two elven races.

…………

Xia Shen was wondering if he could act as a peacemaker or temporarily de-escalate the conflict between the two sides.

However, Warhammer Dragon didn't utter the word "talk" at all, and didn't stop its charging pace.

They directly used their own iron-hard skull to attach it to the shield faces of the city-guarding dragons.

Xia Shen rubbed his forehead, only then remembering that another characteristic of the Cranium-shaped dinosaur was that its brain was very small due to its large skull...

On a smaller scale, some elven archaeologists speculate that the Headbutt Dragon perished because it was too stupid.

Any elf with a brain wouldn't think of going head-to-head with the city-guarding dragon's shield-like head.

Split into two groups, flank them, and it'll be over in no time...

Of course, with its brain sacrificed, the Headbutt Dragon's attack power also became exceptionally terrifying.

At this moment, the Head-Raising Dragons, whose numbers were roughly the same as the city-guarding dragons, assigned targets and engaged in one-on-one battles with their mortal enemies.

The Warhammer Dragons' fighting style is extremely simple and brutal—they use Iron Head attacks to strengthen their skulls and then snatch shields with their heads.

The dragons defending the city responded in a brutal manner, reinforcing their [truly shield-thick] skin with iron walls while retaliating with the spikes on their shields.

In an instant, the entire territory of the city-protecting dragon was filled with the deafening sound of hammering.

Xia Shen originally thought that the city dragon, which had been nurtured by the black strange stone and was good at both offense and defense, would have the upper hand.

Unexpectedly, as time went by, the Headbutt Dragon fought with increasing ferocity.

The defensive line of the city-guarding dragons, which had been lined up in a row, was already beginning to crumble. Two or three of the dragons were retreating continuously, as if they were about to collapse.

The little shield dragons that were being sheltered began to panic, nervously whispering among themselves.

Xia Shen quickly asked Zoroark to translate online.

…………

"Hey—what's going on? How come those idiots are so strong today? Are Dad and the others going to lose?"

"Yes, they used to be beaten to a pulp by Father and his men."

"Look at those idiots, aren't their eyes a little off?"

"Yes, their eyes are even redder than before..."

Xia Shen was startled and looked up at the War Hammer Dragons, noticing something amiss.

The eyes of the Warhammer Dragon were originally a light red, but now, their eyes are a deeper red than blood, frighteningly so!

This is definitely not an ordinary state. Could it be... a sign of rebellion?

Xia pondered deeply.

Despite having "dragon" in its name, Warhammer Dragon has absolutely no relation to any Dragon-type Pokémon.

Of course, this is not a very accurate way of putting it, because they can learn from [their weaknesses].