Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

The dominant spirits of the Hawaiian Secret Realm are different from the so-called dominant spirits outside.

In addition to their larger stature, they also possess the ability to command other spirits.

They are much more difficult to deal with than ordinary elf groups, so exploration teams generally don't deliberately provoke them.

Xia Shen had no such intention; his primary goal was always to help Meilutan find her family.

So as soon as he entered the secret realm, he released Meltan from its Poké Ball.

Breathing in the familiar air and feeling the scent of home, Meltan happily bounced onto Garchomp's head, pointing in a direction and calling out something in a guttural voice.

Seeing Meilutan's extraordinary excitement at returning home to find his relatives, Xia Shen and Yan Yan were also infected by his emotions and smiled slightly.

Although it usually plays happily with Woody Owl and Little Eagle, Xia Shen could sense that it always had something hidden in its heart.

Indeed, it's an obsession with hometown and family.

Xia Shen carried the Meltan back and gently stroked its screw cap. "Let's go, you lead the way, I'll take you home."

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Chapter 263 Meltan's SOS Signal

Similar to the Alola region in the game, the Hawaiian Secret Realm is also composed of four main islands.

The reason it is considered similar is that the very important artificial island [Etherland] in the game does not exist in the Secret Realm.

But the appearance of the Siamese fighting beast gave Xia Shen an immature guess—

Perhaps the Ether Paradise once existed?

However, Xia Shen had neither the time nor the ability to investigate. As soon as he entered the secret realm, he followed Meltan's guidance and headed to Akara Island, which was located in the northeast of the secret realm.

Akara Island is one of the four main islands, and its guardian deity is Tapu Lele.

Xia Shen and Yan Yan sat on Garchomp, studying the map in their hands.

This map, drawn and supplemented by the explorers over the past thirty years, is now quite complete.

The terrain, the distribution of Pokémon, and dangerous locations are all clearly marked.

Akala Island has a relatively flat terrain, marked with three prominent red markers on the map.

These are the volcano in the north of the island, the continuous waterfall in the northwest, and the jungle in the south.

Clearly, this is the location of the dominant elf on Akala Island, and also the area most incompletely explored by humans.

The awkward thing is that the direction Meltan pointed to was the waterfall area, one of the three areas.

The waterfall area, known as the babbling hills in the game, is a series of waterfalls that form a terraced landscape. It is a paradise for Alola fishing enthusiasts.

However, it is also one of the locations for the island pilgrimage, where the two dominant Pokémon, Wishiwashi and Dribou, reside.

The same is true in the secret realm of this world, where the dominant Wobbuffet school leads a group of aquatic spirits, including the Wobbuffet and the nanny Mambo, swimming in the sea.

The overlord, Dripping Spider, led Dripping Spiders and Rainwing Moths as they roamed the land.

These two groups of elves ruled the area, causing a lot of trouble for the explorers.

To this day, that area has hardly been explored; it's just a patch of red on the map.

The meaning of "Melutan" seems to be that the place where its people live.

…………

Regarding this, Zoroark provided the most accurate translation.

The Meltans feed on steel, forcing them to constantly wander. To prevent their companions from getting lost, they possess a method of sensing their group using sound waves. The Meltans have detected that their people are currently near the waterfall.

Xia Shen suddenly realized why it had made strange noises after entering; it was searching for its companions.

However, this position is rather awkward. The dominant group of Weaklings is not someone to be trifled with.

Wishiwashi is a very interesting Pokémon. In its single form, it is as weak as Magikarp.

But when they unite and form a school of Wishiwashi, even absolute ocean apex predators like Gyarados and Wailord have to give way.

Just by looking at its base stats in the game, you can tell that its base stats are only 175 when it's alone, which is even lower than Magikarp's 200.

However, the huddled form of Wishiwashi can have a base stat total of 620!

A stat even higher than a near-godlike character!

According to information provided by Lilif, the exploration team once saw a group of Wishiwashi gathered together to form a Champion-level Pokémon!

"How about we wait until your people move away before we go look for them?" Xia Shen and Meilutan discussed.

Although he once resolved the Crystal Lamp Fire Spirit incident, which was at the level of a second-level god, he relied on the power of the Three Saints and the Thundercloud.

It's fine to lend money if it's related to real-world safety, but I can't always think, "Anyway, with Yuxie and the others helping me, it doesn't matter how much I mess around."

If this continues, not only will it be difficult for Xyz and the others to help, but more importantly, it will create a dependency. What would be the point of all the hard training that he and the Pokémon have put in?

Therefore, Xia Shen decided that, at least in the Hawaiian Secret Realm, it would be best to avoid relying on the power of the Three Saints.

Meltan nodded without hesitation. Compared to seeing his former comrades again in the short term, the safety of his current comrades was more important.

In its mind, Xia Shen and Mu Mu Xiao were already people of equal status with the clansmen.

Since we're already home, it'll be easy to find companions, so there's no rush.

As for what else one can do in the secret realm if they don't seek out other Meltans?

"How about we go look for a fairy you like?" Xia Shen asked the girl beside him.

Yan Yan still doesn't have a sixth Pokémon, so this trip is a good opportunity to see if there's a suitable one.

Therefore, the task of helping Meltan find his family was temporarily put on hold, and Xia Shen and Yan Yan began searching for traces of the elves in places that had been explored more thoroughly by their predecessors.

…………

It's unclear when it started, but there's an unwritten rule for exploring all large, hidden realms: minimize human interference with the pristine environment.

Therefore, compared to the wild outside, the spirits in the secret realm are more uncontrollable and more dangerous.

Therefore, even in areas clearly marked on the map, Xia Shen and his team dared not slack off in the slightest and explored them cautiously.

Who can guarantee that those powerful Pokémon won't just wander around in low-risk areas out of boredom?

But it must be said that Hawaii is a truly vibrant place, with abundant sunshine making the vegetation grow exceptionally lush.

With sufficient resources for survival, the elves here will naturally be more active and numerous, at least much more so than in the Emerald Washing Realm.

Besides the Pokémon from the Alola region in the game, many other Pokémon from other regions also live here.

Many of the green caterpillars and parasitic worms, which are common in jungles around the world, live here.

The Goomy Dragon leading the way even attracted a Gooboo to approach, but clearly, Yan Yan, who had already bred one Gooboo, was not interested in the second one.

Not everyone is like Wataru, who enjoys raising pseudo-god babies as pets.

Logically speaking, the most valuable Pokémon for training and battling in the Secret Realm should be the pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Heartscale, and Yan Yan herself also has three Dragon-type Pokémon.

However, she showed little interest in the fighting dragon. Although she didn't say it explicitly, Xia Shen could vaguely sense that she was somewhat reluctant to accept it.

Come to think of it, most girls are somewhat attracted to good looks.

Xia Shen could exclaim, "How can there be such a handsome and adorable hatchling of a ichthyosaur!"

For them, "beauty with intensity" is a completely false proposition.

Pokémon like Pseudo-Mantis and Sweet Bass, whose various forms are quite attractive, simply don't fit well with Yan Yan's team.

So, from the jungles in the south of the island all the way to the volcano in the north, Yan Yan spent three days searching but still couldn't find the Pokémon she wanted.

However, whether it's holding hands to appreciate the natural scenery of the secret realm or the occasional battles between spirits along the way.

Or perhaps it's the unexpected surprise of finding a magical item that startles a powerful Pokémon, leading to a desperate and disorganized chase.

The exploration itself is a meaningful thing, so the two of them are not in a hurry.

Finding a spirit you click with is something that can only be encountered by chance.

…………

Meanwhile, Merutan continued to emit sound waves every two hours to check if his companions had left the area.

However, Xia Shen knew that things were not going well every time he saw its dejected expression.

On the morning of the fourth day after entering the secret realm, Meilutan anxiously woke Xia Shen up, as if he wanted to talk to him about something.

Summer, who had been in a daze, instantly snapped out of it and quickly summoned Zoroark to act as his translator.

After an explanation, Xia Shen's expression gradually became serious.

There's only one thing that could make the Meltan so worried: something must have happened to the Meltan people!

Logically speaking, a creature like Meltan, with its top made of screw caps and its lower body of liquid metal resembling mercury, should have no natural enemies.

Unless it's a metal-eating beast like Aggron that feeds on ore.

However, there are few mines in the Hawaiian Secret Realm, and Steel-type Pokémon are extremely rare, with even fewer Steel-type Pokémon that feed on metal.

So although they are not powerful, they live freely and comfortably.

However, according to Merutan, he had just received distress signals from a few Merutans.

The sound waves within the Melutan people are of many kinds, including searching, calling for help, and summoning.

Perhaps to surprise its companions, the Meltan did not emit any calls, so the tribe remained unaware that Xia Shen, the lost Meltan, had returned.

Unexpectedly, when it was checking as usual to see if its companions had left the area early in the morning, it received several distress signals, so Meltan hurriedly asked Xia Shen for help.

With the survival and safety of the Meltan tribe at stake, Xia Shen had no choice but to ride the Garchomp and fly to the Flowing Hill.

As for the dominant species, the Weakling School and the Dripping Spider, we can only observe them as we go.

If all else fails, they can just fly; after all, none of the elves they lead can fly.

Although it took three days to cross the entire Akala Island, the Garchomp can fly at full speed and return from the northern volcanic region to the south in just about two hours.

Before the sun was directly overhead, Xia Shen arrived at the babbling hills formed by waterfalls that stretched like terraced fields.

This waterfall area is much more spectacular than it appears in the game.

As Garchomp soared nearly a hundred meters into the air, Xia Shen could hear the rushing sound of water from there.