Chapter 477: The Ice Castle

The Ice Stone vein was not going anywhere, so there had been no reason to rush. Now that Avalugg was out of the way, however, Grant wasted no time.

"You're getting way too cocky, kid..." he muttered at Aaron before turning to the two technicians. "It should be safe now. Head back, bring the others over, and tell them to get ready to collect the Ice Stones."

"Got it!"

The two men hurried back through the passage, clearly eager to spread the news.

Grant turned toward Aaron and Ryan. "Come on. Let's see exactly what we found."

The three made their way over to the exposed section of the glacial wall. Once they were close enough for the lamps to illuminate it properly, all three stopped.

Ice Stones were embedded throughout the frozen surface.

Not a handful. Not dozens.

There were so many scattered through the glacier that counting them at a glance was impossible, and mixed among them were several unusually large stones whose clear blue surfaces radiated far denser energy.

Top-quality Ice Stones.

All three men's eyes immediately brightened.

Aaron wasted no time.

BOOM!

He drove a fist straight into the glacier.

The thick sheet of ice cracked apart beneath the blow, leaving Grant and Ryan staring at him in silence. Aaron calmly reached into the opening, pulled out two top-quality Ice Stones, and slipped them into his pockets.

Then he looked at the other two with a perfectly pleasant smile.

"You didn't see anything, right?"

Grant and Ryan exchanged a long look.

Their eyelids twitched.

Grant cleared his throat. "See what?"

"Nothing unusual over here," Ryan agreed.

Grant suddenly squinted at him. "Actually, Ryan, I think you've got something in your eye."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. Better take care of that."

"Good idea."

Aaron watched the two of them commit to the act with completely straight faces.

Neither man had any intention of arguing over two Ice Stones with someone who had just punched through a glacier bare-handed. And challenging the Pokémon League's Honorary General over it seemed like far more trouble than either stone was worth.

Before long, the rest of the expedition arrived with the necessary equipment. Specialized laser cutters were used to open a larger section of the glacier, allowing the team to extract the Ice Stones buried inside.

The work took roughly an hour.

By the time they finished, everyone was in a noticeably better mood.

The new secret zone had already proven how dangerous it could be, but discoveries like this explained why expeditions continued to take those risks. An entire Ice Stone vein was an enormous haul.

Once the site had been fully documented and the resources secured, the group retraced its route to the main cavern where they had set up camp.

It was already close to eleven by the time they returned.

Grant organized rotating watches for the night while everyone else settled into their tents to get some rest.

Aaron had been given a tent of his own. After the long day, he was more than happy to crawl inside, lie back on the cot, and stare at the fabric ceiling for a while.

Then he sighed.

Not a single Ice-type with Champion-level Potential or higher...

He frowned slightly.

Does this secret zone really have that few high-potential Pokémon?

After everything they had encountered—the Aurorus herd, Sandslash, and now the mutated Avalugg—none had met the standard he was hoping for.

Aaron shook his head.

Whatever. We've only been here a day.

Maybe the good stuff is deeper in.

With that thought, he closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

...

The night passed without incident.

Outside the cave, wind howled across the mountains and heavy snow continued to fall, but inside the camp the tents were sheltered from the worst of it. After the exhausting march and battles of the previous day, Aaron slept deeply.

He was eventually dragged awake by Grant.

"Aaron. Get up. Food first, then we're moving."

Aaron groaned, but there was no escaping it.

After breakfast, the expedition packed its equipment, checked its supplies, and headed back into the snow.

They pushed deeper into the secret zone, crossing a broad valley before reaching the base of an enormous snow-covered mountain.

According to their terrain scanners, it was the largest mountain they had detected anywhere in the secret zone.

More importantly, it appeared to stand near the very center of the region.

Aaron tilted his head back and studied the summit disappearing into the clouds.

"That thing is huge."

He glanced toward Grant.

"We're really climbing it?"

"Yeah." Grant looked up as well. "The center of a secret zone is usually where the biggest dangers are."

Ryan gave him a look.

Grant smiled faintly.

"And, usually, the best resources."

That was the reason they had come this far in the first place.

They were here to map the unknown area, identify its dangers, and find out what resources it contained. Turning around because the center looked intimidating would defeat the entire purpose of the expedition.

Aaron nodded.

"Fair enough. Let's go."

He and Greninja moved to the front, and the rest of the group followed.

Fortunately, the ascent was not as brutal as the mountain's size suggested. Rather than a sheer climb, a broad natural slope wound its way upward, giving the expedition a manageable route toward the summit.

...

Two hours later, everyone finally reached the top.

The wind was vicious up there.

Snow whipped sideways across the mountaintop, and the temperature displayed on their equipment had fallen to around -30°C. Without the insulated suits, exposure would have become dangerous within minutes.

The group pushed through the last stretch of snow—

and stopped.

"What the...?"

Someone near the front stared ahead.

At the summit of the mountain stood an enormous castle made entirely of ice and snow.

For a moment, nobody said anything.

The structure rose from the white landscape like something out of a fairy tale, its crystalline walls reflecting pale silver light through the falling snow. Towers of translucent ice climbed into the storm above, while frost-covered arches and walls glittered beneath the gray sky.

Aaron stared at it.

"So there's an actual castle up here..."

"Grenin..."

Greninja's low warning cry cut through everyone's amazement.

Aaron's attention sharpened immediately.

"Something's here."

That was all the warning the expedition needed.

Weapons came up almost at once as everyone spread their attention across the snowy summit and the strange frozen castle ahead.

Aaron narrowed his eyes.

"Stay alert. We may have company."

...