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The underground of the Ancient Castle was far more intricate than in the games. However, guided by a powerful psychic force, the quicksand automatically retreated before them, as if the sand itself had been imbued with "spirit and wisdom." This scene left the following workers, researchers, and psychics in awe.
Boss Clay held a map and used advanced detectors to roughly understand part of the Ancient Castle's upper structure, allowing them to move in the right direction. Even so, the workers still prepared rope lines; if they got lost, they could always use them to return to the second floor.
"These ancient people, seriously. Why make such a troublesome labyrinth? Wasn't this their living place? If they accidentally stepped out to use the toilet, they'd probably get lost in their own home!"
Boss Clay complained while looking at the structural scan from the detector.
Moreover, sometimes there were quicksand pits beneath their feet, which they had to carefully circumvent or risk being swallowed and forever lost in this ancient maze.
During this time, Hikaru saw something incredible.
Though he had already seen the Ancient Castle in dreams and even learned part of its ruin architecture style, this was his first time entering its true interior. At the end of solid stone-brick walls, inside rooms lined with exquisite pillars, the style of all the walls suddenly changed.
Rather than saying they were engraved with patterns, it was more like giant figures folding their arms across their chests.
[Obtained Craft Style: Ancient Giant Style]
[Description: A craft style obtained from the truly glorious depths of the Ancient Castle. The massive humanoid forms sealed within the walls are carvings worshiping the Ancient Giant King.]
[Effect: Fear +50%, Intimidation +30%, crafts made in the Giant Style can slightly shake a person's heart.]
A city worshiping the Ancient Giant King… In any case, Regigigas seemed to have left something here in the Ancient Castle, causing the ancients to carve these intimidating figures into the walls.
At this moment, a psychic wave suddenly emanated from ahead. In Hikaru's perception, familiar Pokémon were active in the darkness.
They were Sigilyph!
"Everyone, hide!" Boss Clay ordered, then whispered to Hikaru:
"We ran into these Sigilyph while clearing another tower. They originally lived here in the ancient city, but after we cleared the towers, they moved to the wild attractions outside."
"If you encounter them inside the ancient city, they'll attack indiscriminately. I suffered a lot back then!"
"But they should have fixed patrol routes. As long as we clear the area, they'll notice the environmental change and leave. Then there's no problem."
Everyone hid in another room, avoiding the patrol route of the Sigilyph, but other Pokémon still lurked in the shadows.
Yamask, Sandile—these were native to the upper levels of the castle, while the deeper areas were guarded by Cofagrigus, protecting treasures left by ancient kings.
For this exploration operation, this was merely a small episode. The expedition proceeded smoothly, and the ancient psychic power continued to rise. The deeper they went, the stronger the force became.
"Headcount, nobody fell into quicksand. Good. We've finished mapping this floor… Thanks, kid!" Boss Clay's workers, who had been scanning the route since entry, now completed the third-floor map entirely.
On to the fourth floor.
[Psychic intrusion blocked. You are now immune to mental weakening debuffs!]
Hikaru felt a tremor in his mind, like the ancient psychic ocean had been enraged, sending out waves from the castle depths.
"Wait!" Hikaru stopped everyone from moving forward.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Boss Clay asked, confused.
"No… The psychic energy is pulsing. Something is coming from the deepest part… It's Sigilyph!"
The psychic, Sairen, also sensed the surge. The Psychic-type Pokémon were rapidly returning, as if desperately trying to expel something terrible!
They began flying chaotically on the third floor, quickly spotting Boss Clay's group!
"Uwah, we've been spotted!? Aren't these guys supposed to follow fixed patrol routes?" Boss Clay reacted swiftly, tossing aside his briefcase and pulling a Poké Ball from his belt.
"If we're spotted, then I'm done playing around!"
Sairen was shocked. "We're fighting? Here?!"
Boss Clay shouted back, "Of course! Don't say stupid things. The only way to make wild Pokémon leave is to beat them down! That's common sense. These ancient guardians won't reason with you!"
"Go, Excadrill!"
"No… The ancient psychic seems enraged, but we did nothing!" Sairen couldn't understand. They'd cleared other castle areas before without provoking such a reaction…
"Boss Clay, are there other entrances to this Ancient Castle?" Hikaru asked.
In the game, the castle had only two entrances: one on the east side with Darmanitan, and the other the western Ancient Tower, both buried parts of the underground city.
"Ah! Of course there's more than one! We cleared the western tower before, but this city is huge. We also worked on eastern and northern areas—wait, you mean someone else dug deep inside and angered these guardians?"
Boss Clay understood. "But that's impossible! We were always troubled by quicksand, and the guardians in the other entrances were all released. They're sightseeing spots now!"
"And although the upper levels were cleared, the lower levels remain buried. These Sigilyph couldn't have just dug up through the quicksand to attack tourists, right?"
"No, I think they really can." Hikaru pointed to a patch of quicksand spurting up like a fountain. A huge flock of Sigilyph burst out from within!
"For us, quicksand is a trap. For ancient guardians, it's a shortcut."
Hikaru raised his hand.
Psychic Purge!
His psychic wave spread out, freezing the Sigilyph midair. They exchanged glances, then looked at Hikaru.
We are ancient mighty guardians!
Huh? You have psychic power?
You purified our rage…
Hm, but we're still guardians!
"Hey, your psychic ability is useless!" Boss Clay retorted.
Although Hikaru had erased their anger, the Sigilyph remained poised to attack.
Hikaru took out a Calyrex doll. The Sigilyph paused again, then resumed their attack.
"Hmm, this is useless. Their rage is gone, but the commands remain."
Sairen muttered, "Yes… the ancient psychic force is commanding them."
Seeing no other option, Hikaru prepared to use a special item he obtained from Pinwheel Forest.
But Boss Clay waved him off. "Ah! I don't care about these mysteries. Some ghost is ordering them underground? Whatever! I just want a good night's sleep… Psychic's useless now, so let's fight!"
"Excadrill, use Iron Head!"
Excadrill, the true "earth dragon," was Boss Clay's starter and his partner that helped him rise from the pit to his current position. Their synergy was perfect, and Excadrill's power was overwhelming.
At lightning speed, Excadrill slammed its steel-forged forehead into a Sigilyph, sending it flying.
A critical hit!
"Metal Claw!"
Excadrill's claws gleamed silver, slashing apart the Sigilyph's Psybeam attacks. But the enemy numbers were too great.
At this moment, Boss Clay's workers took action!
One by one, Poké Balls were thrown: Boldore, Roggenrola, Machop, Timburr, Ducklett, Gurdurr, Tranquill, Woobat!
The workers' greatest strength was their numbers. When it came to sheer manpower, the Driftveil City construction teams feared no one!
The battlefield turned into utter chaos. Countless moves blasted across the third floor: Psybeam, Flash Cannon, Air Slash, Hammer Arm, Water Gun, X-Scissor, Psychic!
"Muahahaha! Hey, you two go deal with that ancient psychic thing!" Boss Clay shouted to Hikaru and Sairen. "We'll hold off these guardians. Someone underground is messing around, right?!"
"Damn it, making me so busy tonight. Anyway, I'm counting on you!"
"Okay, go, my second Pokémon… Oh right, take the equipment with you. Don't worry about damaging it, the data transmits instantly!"
Sairen grabbed the scanner. Hikaru nodded to Boss Clay, then followed the psychic surge deeper into the fourth floor. As they descended, the quicksand vanished behind them.
On this floor, pitch darkness engulfed everything. Even the torches seemed to have their own will. Hikaru had always wanted to complain: in the anime and games, there were always random light sources in ruins.
"Torterra, use Flash!"
With a rumble, Torterra landed. The little tree on its back emitted brilliant light, and Sairen gaped.
"That's no ordinary Torterra."
"Regional form," Hikaru replied casually, scanning ahead. Here, the psychic tremors grew so intense even Sairen felt them—a desecrated fury.
But Hikaru sensed something else.
Awakened by the psychic tides, a force slumbering between the fourth and fifth floors… the power of a hidden god from a distant era!
"I'm starting the mapping!" Sairen operated the device, quickly revealing parts of the floor. But suddenly, a strong electromagnetic surge made the device glitch.
The ground rumbled. A vast force gathered, ready to erupt!
Meanwhile, deep within the fourth floor:
"This pulse… it's a radiant, burning power like the sun itself. It points directly to the final chamber—the lair of Volcarona."
"Though we've scanned countless times, nothing was as clear as this. The ancient psychic force is resonating with something. This resonance is giving us a perfectly clear route."
"For this moment, I've stayed here studying for years… To capture that ancient god and present it to Ghetsis-sama."
In the depths stood Plasma grunts dressed like medieval knights, along with an elder sage, all staring excitedly at their scanners.
How deep was the castle? How many rooms, how many guardians did it hide?
Years of research still yielded no answer. One couldn't help but wonder: what was this city even built for?
"Lord Yogus, we've detected a second pulse!"
A grunt pointed at the waveform on the scanner, shocked. "Besides Volcarona, there's another powerful force here that we never noticed before!"
"It's enormous… Is Volcarona on the move?"
"Split into two teams! One to here, the other with me to the deepest part of the castle!"
Yogus ordered, and the Plasma elites split into two squads to advance.
Back with Hikaru, amidst the swirling sands of the deep city—
Before him appeared an orange, muscular ancient god. Half its body floated above the clouds, its massive brown tail granting fertility to the land.
Landorus!
From its expression alone, it was clear. Though Landorus normally disliked conflict and preferred mediating disputes, its mood now was utterly foul. The raging psychic force of the ancient castle battered its mind, driving it into a blind frenzy.
"Mind Break."
Hikaru raised his hand, sending a powerful psychic strike—only for it to vanish before reaching Landorus!
Not only was the psychic force in the fourth floor extremely strong, there was another reason…
Scattered around Landorus were floating Stealth Rocks!
"Blocked."
Though his first attack failed, Landorus fully registered what had just happened.
Enraged, it attacked!
With Ground and Flying dual typing, Landorus was famed for "flying unfazed by Thunder, digging unfazed by Earthquake." Even in doubles battles it was overwhelmingly strong, hailed as the "true Bug King without Bug typing," and the poster child of Intimidate + U-turn. Its tremors made any Pokémon shiver.
But—
Hikaru drew out the Pinwheel Branch.
All the ground power within the Ancient Castle gathered. Torterra added its Grass-type energy, and the instant Landorus prepared to strike—
Biu!
A brilliant green arrow shot straight from the earth, striking Landorus from midair and slamming it to the ground!
Sairen exclaimed, "Eh?! What was that?!"
Hikaru smiled. "A magic wand given by the forest."
(End of Chapter)
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