The caravan rattled gently along the winding dirt road, flanked by golden wheat fields and slow-rolling hills. Shion sat by one of the cart windows, chin resting on his hand, eyes wide as he watched the scenery pass. The world outside Riverleaf was vast. It had shape and sound and movement—too much to take in all at once, yet he wanted to remember every detail.
Occasionally, a wild Pokémon darted through the grass. A Rufflet soared overhead. The road creaked under the Mudsdale's pace. And the sky, a brilliant ocean of blue, seemed to stretch forever.
He had never been this far from home.
Dunlin noticed the look on his face and chuckled.
"Enjoying yourself, lad?"
Shion blinked out of his trance and nodded. "It's… amazing. It's like the world is so much bigger than I ever thought."
"Ah, you've got the travel bug," Dunlin said, patting a sack of spices beside him. "First time beyond your village?"
"Yeah. First time seeing mountains this close too."
Dunlin's expression softened. "You've got the eyes of a first-timer. I remember that look. The awe of the unknown."
Shion smiled, but a quiet thought crept into his mind.
"I've… lived in Riverleaf my whole life," he said slowly. "I barely know anything outside of it. I've heard of places Soldris Peak, the Great Lake, the other kingdoms but that's it. I don't really know… how everything connects."
Dunlin raised an eyebrow, then leaned back with a grin.
"Well then, let's fix that."
---
The Three Kingdoms of Elvaris
Dunlin shifted to a more comfortable position, brushing crumbs off his tunic. His voice took on the tone of a storyteller.
"Elvaris is a ring. A circle of realms around the cursed heart the Deadlands, where Arceus battled the beasts from beyond."
Shion nodded.
"To the west, where we are now, lies the Ravelle Kingdom," Dunlin continued. "Peaceful, mostly. Agricultural. Known for our fine grains, decent knights, and even better bakers. King Hadren Ravelle sits on the throne. Old, but still sharp. He was a general once, before peace set in."
Shion blinked. "I've never seen a king."
"Neither have I, and I sell him tea," Dunlin said dryly. "He's a cautious man. Keeps Ravelle out of the bigger fights."
Dunlin raised a hand, tracing an imaginary circle in the air.
"To the east lies the Obelia Kingdom. A land of high cliffs, cold minds, and colder steel. Scholars and engineers. They're always building bridges, airships, rumor has it that they have created a weird mechanical Pokemon . Queen Ilvara rules there. Cold as a Glaceon's breath, and twice as calculating."
Shion leaned in. "Are they… enemies of Ravelle?"
"No. Not allies, either. Call it neutral rivalry. We trade. We nod politely. But we don't trust each other."
He shifted again.
"Now, down south is the Aldara Sultanate. Sand dunes, massive cities built in stone and gold, and oases where beauty blooms in the dust. They've tamed the desert. Their Pokémon are fierce and loyal. Sultan Hameed al-Rashan rules there bold, theatrical, some say arrogant, others say genius."
Shion blinked. "He sounds… powerful."
"He's both," Dunlin said. "But Aldara is proud. They don't take orders from anyone. Ravelle and Aldara share decent relations but they've butted heads before, especially over trade routes and artifact recovery rights."
"Artifact recovery?" Shion asked.
Dunlin nodded, eyes gleaming. "Elvaris is old, boy. Ancient temples, sealed ruins, relics from the age of Arceus and the Plates. Everyone wants a piece of that divine pie."
Shion looked out the window again, stunned. "I never realized it was all so… complicated."
"And that's just the surface." Dunlin grinned. "There are smaller city-states, nomadic tribes like those on the Isle of Varis, rogue mountain enclaves, the Great Lake in the north that never freezes… And then there are the things not spoken of in polite company."
"Like…?"
"The Deadlands. The wild places nothing live there it is said that it is the place where arceus and the otherwoldly beast fought ."
Shion sat back, digesting the knowledge.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"For what?"
"For helping me see more of the world."
Dunlin chuckled. "You'll see more than you bargained for, lad."
---
Kiba, who had been running alongside the cart, suddenly growled.
The cart slowed.
"Hold," Jareth called from the front. His voice was calm, but there was a steel edge to it. "Something ahead."
Shion stood and squinted past the curve of the road.
A group of five figures stood blocking the path two with traveling cloaks, the rest with hooded faces. Several had Pokémon beside them he could just make out a Machoke, a Krokorok, and something long and slithering maybe a Seviper.
"They don't look like travelers," Fena muttered.
"Bandits?" Shion whispered.
"Likely," Jareth said.
Dunlin groaned. "Every trip. Every single trip."
Shion's hand hovered near Kiba's Poké Ball.
One of the cloaked figures stepped forward.
"Turn over your supplies," he called. "We'll let you walk."
The way he said it it was too casual. Not a threat. A ritual.
Jareth narrowed his eyes. "No deal."
The cloaked man smirked. "Then we'll take it by force."