Azure Valley

Azure Valley A crystalline biome unlike any other.
Azure Valley
Map Description
A unique habitat nestled within the Azure Ridge, formed through years of exposure to its unique mineral composition.
Connecting Locations
	↑
Route 5 ←	Azure Valley	→
	Peridot Town ↓

Azure Valley is the colloquial name for the unique biome that formed within the Azure Ridge - both within tunnels in the mountains themselves and in the mountain valleys surrounded by them. It is home to many Crystal-type Pokémon.

Description

The Azure Ridge - believed to be one of the most ancient features of the Miato Region - has been named for the blue, crystalline tint of its rocks - which possess a unique mineral composition and structure. While natural processes led to trace amounts of these minerals being present in most of Miato, the Azure Valley itself possesses by far the highest concentration of such - and being an insular biome, separated from the rest of Miato by the ridge itself, plant species found no where else can be found here, and new species of Pokémon and separated populations of species found elsewhere in the region have evolved to incorporate the local minerals into their bodies - either through direct consumption of minerals or though minerals dissolved in water or integrated into plantlife.

Azure Valley is, in fact, not one contiguous valley - but a number of mountain valleys connected to each other through a system of caverns and tunnels, formed both through abiotic (seismic activity, erosion by wind and water, etc.) and biotic (plant growth, Pokémon tunneling, etc.) activity. Water is common here here in the form of rivers, waterfalls and lakes, both over-ground and subterranean. Occasionally, wild crystal formations grow - almost organically - from the rocks and the ground, catching the light of the sun and faint mineral and biological luminescence and creating refraction patterns. There are plants here that cannot be found anywhere else - many of which presenting mineralized veins and leaf patches that change in color depending on how the light catches them. Researchers investigating the biology of Azure Valley endemic species seem to have come to the conclusion that the structure of mineralized inclusions in the plants allow access to a broad range of light spectra for photosynthetic purposes.

The complex nature of Azure Valley places many natural barriers in the way of would-be explorers - requiring the abilities of Pokémon to clear paths. This means that parts of Azure Valley are blocked off from trainers who have yet to gain these skills. Post-game, the entirety of Azure Valley is open for exploration.

Points of Interest

The Resonance Formation

The Resonance Formation is a massive crystal formation located in a clearing available the Labyrinth Badge has been obtained. It can resonate with Key Stone energy in a similar manner to Mega Stones - and should a trainer and a Pokémon with whom a strong bond exists attune their minds to this resonance as it spreads through the mineral veins of Azure Valley, and follow the trail to where a Mega Stone corresponding with that particular Pokémon resides.

The Spectral Nova Master's Cabin

In an isolated corner of Azure Valley, accessible roughly after the Wing Badge has been obtained, is a small cabin where an old woman resides. Dressed in a manner similar to Erol, this woman was actually Erol's master in the ways of Crystal-types and the former gym leader of Lapis City. She lives and meditates here - and she can teach any fully-evolved Crystal-Type Pokémon the ultimate Crystal-type move, Spectral Nova, provided that this Pokémon's happiness is maxed out.

The Azure Shrine

The relic known as the Azure Shrine is located deep into Azure Valley, in a section which only becomes available post-game. It appears to have something to do with the Elemental Pokémon - orb-like "torches" specifically attuned to the energies of their Elemental Rage forms are aligned in a formation within the shrine - and should all of them be activated together, the purified elemental energy spectrum resulting from such will revitalize and allow access to the long-buried Golden Guardian.

Wild Pokémon

Azure Valley is a haven for Crystal-types, many of which can be found here. Diamono and the occasional Irisail dominate the bodies of water, and Carminal and Sentinal perch among the trees, feeding on their unusual seeds. Muntjamp browse on low vegetation by day whereas Pangarnet and Pangolance emerge by night to forage for small bug-types.

Many species native to Azure Valley are products of adaptation and transformation of species found outside of Azure Valley. These Azure Valley Variants occupy many evolutionary niches in both the caverns and overground segments of the valley.