"They might not be dead yet," Leon spoke in a low voice. "If they really are the legendary Sword and Shield heroes, I doubt they'd go around killing people like that."
"Hah!" Hagrid chuckled and retorted. "What if the ones who died were the same people who hunted, captured, and drove out large numbers of Pokémon? The Sword and Shield heroes are Pokémon. Of course they'd take the Pokémon's side."
"If that's the case," Leon raised his voice, "then I still want to see the bodies!"
He strode to the tent flap, lifted a corner, and looked back at Shiro and the others. After a brief silence, he said, "I'm going to stop the sandstorm. I'll also block the wild Pokémon so they can't return underground for now. You all should take the chance to follow B5's mapped path and search for them. It'll be much safer since they've already scouted the route."
Hearing this, Marvin and Nessa both turned to Shiro. He was the backbone of their special team now, and by far the strongest. They trusted his judgment.
After thinking for a bit, Shiro finally nodded in agreement.
As Leon returned the gesture and stepped out into the storm, he turned to face the row of researchers inside the tent.
Leon was right—the group of wild Pokémon that had given B5 the most trouble underground had already withdrawn. As long as they moved quickly and stuck to the known path, they had a good chance of finding the missing team.
As for Zacian and Zamazenta, Shiro remembered that they lived in the Slumbering Weald in southern Galar. Only their phantoms had been seen here, which meant their real bodies probably weren't present.
Besides, these two were known to be among the more friendly legendary Pokémon—lawful and good in nature.
For now, the underground ruins were relatively safe. Their mission was search and rescue, and if needed, containment. All they had to do was bring back the people—or bodies—and stop the sandstorm. That would be enough to call this a successful operation.
"Um... shouldn't we take off the bandages now?" Hagrid asked hesitantly. His glasses were slipping down his nose, but with his hands bound, he couldn't adjust them. "You'll still need our help with directions... right?"
Shiro snapped out of his thoughts. He glanced at the group of nervous, mostly useless researchers, then turned to Allister.
"Untie the one with glasses. Leave the rest tied up. Just make sure they stay alive."
Allister nodded silently and gave a small wave. Dusclops floated over and loosened Hagrid's restraints.
The rest of the researchers, however, were bound even tighter. The tall, brown-haired man who had been wrapped like a mummy finally managed to poke his head out, gasping for air like a man nearly drowned.
Seeing this, Hagrid knew exactly what he had to do. He bowed slightly and asked in his most helpful voice, "So, I was wondering if maybe I could—"
"Stop talking and get to work," Shiro cut him off. "Draw up the route map and upload it to our comms. Now."
"R-right..." Hagrid swallowed his words, shooting a wary glance at Dusclops and the strange, masked child who stood silently nearby. He moved quickly.
Under their watchful eyes, Hagrid took only five minutes to compile the full route data. He then inserted Shiro's comms device into the terminal and began the transfer.
Moments later, the map appeared clearly on the screen. Shiro checked it, nodded in satisfaction, then put on his mask and stepped out of the tent.
Marvin and Nessa followed closely behind. Allister took his time, slowly drifting out of the tent while perched on Dusclops's back.
Back inside, Hagrid and the rest of the researchers lay tightly bound in the corner, wriggling and whimpering against their restraints.
Outside, Shiro and his team pressed on through the howling wind and stinging sand, heading toward the large, worn-down stone statue. Time and erosion had stripped away its features, leaving only the faint silhouette of what had once been a mighty figure.
Shiro stared up at the monument, his instincts telling him this was a depiction of Zacian.
'Since the heroes of sword and shield were two beings, then maybe the other statue was also hidden somewhere in this desert.'
As the thought crossed his mind, he pulled out a flashlight and shone it toward the pitch-black cave up ahead, barely tall enough for a person to walk through. Judging by the clean break marks around the opening, it had likely been carved out by company people themselves using tools.
The interior walls were made of brownish-yellow stone, forming a spiraling tunnel that descended into the earth.
Due to the sandstorm above, the tunnel floor was buried under layers of sand. As Shiro stepped in, his boot sank deep before touching solid ground.
"Stay sharp. Be ready to release your Pokémon at any moment," he warned, holding the light as he moved forward.
At the same time, he released Gastly and Dreepy. The two ghost-types were perfect for this kind of environment, able to glide through narrow and twisting spaces with ease.
The faint purple flames around Gastly also provided extra light.
"Gaaass!"
Gastly, like a glowing purple sphere, floated up and down joyfully through the tunnel. Dreepy, a bit timid at first, quickly caught up and started mimicking the Ghost-type, weaving through the descending passage.
They moved forward for a few dozen meters without encountering any wild Pokémon.
The stone tunnel gradually became flatter.
According to the map, another ten meters or so would bring them into a large cave network dug out by Ground-type Pokémon
The flashlight's beam couldn't reach far, so Shiro focused on the purple shimmer of Gastly's glow to spot changes in the terrain.
After a few more steps, Gastly suddenly vanished ahead, and Dreepy darted out of view.
"We've reached the underground space," Shiro murmured, carefully stepping forward. Once he confirmed there was no danger at the edge, he entered the cavern.
Soon after, Marvin, Nessa, and Allister arrived. With all their lights turned up to full brightness, they could barely make out the space around them.
The cave stretched wide, shaped like a flattened oval that spanned several hundred square meters. Thick stone pillars of varying sizes were scattered throughout, connecting floor to ceiling.
The ground was coated with a layer of sand, probably blown in from above. At the far end, two dark tunnels opened to the left and right.
Gastly and Dreepy hovered back and forth between the two entrances, unsure of which path to take.
Shiro checked the route on his comms device, then pointed to the right.
"This way."
The moment he spoke, the two Pokémon eagerly shot into the right tunnel. Shiro tested the ground briefly, then followed after them.
This tunnel was wider, nearly three meters across, and kept the same rounded shape. Thankfully, there wasn't much sand—just solid rock beneath their feet, allowing for a faster pace.
Since Leon was heading west to stop the wild Pokémon from stirring up more sand and to block them from lingering along the far western coast, the time left for Shiro's team was limited. They likely had only three to four hours.
Still, Shiro trusted him. Even if they didn't make it out in time, Leon would definitely keep those wild Pokémon from escaping back. Most importantly, he had Drakloak with him.
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