Sato patted his backpack, still occasionally seeing flashes of those items in his mind. The surprise had come so suddenly and so overwhelmingly that it still felt unreal.
Coming back to his senses, Sato noticed Rhyperior and the others eyeing him eagerly, as if they were waiting for something.
After a brief moment of thought, Sato chuckled helplessly; he had figured out why…
Rhyperior, Armaldo, Cradily, and Claydol were the four E4 level bosses of the underground cave, all of whom had been defeated by Sato's team.
Now, with Rhyperior, Armaldo, and Cradily having already paid a treasure each for their freedom, it was only natural that Claydol should share both the fortune and the burden.
A real family should stick together! Cough!
As for why Sato left Claydol for last… it wasn't just because of its tendency to flee. Psychic-type Pokémon were generally smarter, and there was no way it would cluelessly hand over a treasure like Armaldo had.
Now that Cradily hadn't resisted, and Rhyperior and Armaldo were even sneakily hoping Claydol would fork something over too…
No matter how much Claydol struggled, it would all be in vain.
But just in case…
"Gengar, get ready to use Mean Look."
"Gen~"
In the next moment, Sato tossed out the Dusk Ball containing Claydol. The final Elite Four level Pokémon of the cave appeared once again.
At the same time, Mean Look activated, completely locking down Claydol's Teleport for the time being.
Right after that, Rhyperior and Armaldo got to work doing what they did best -passionately persuading Claydol- while even Cradily occasionally nodded along in support.
Sato stood silently and watched as the floating Claydol began trembling faintly in the air.
Probably… furious.
It could handle facing a godlike opponent…
But having a bunch of pig-like teammates?
THAT WAS UNBEARABLE!
Claydol felt like its entire existence had been cursed.
But then, Sato unexpectedly spoke; offering freedom without requiring a treasure in return.
"Take me out of here, and I'll give you your freedom."
As soon as Sato said this, all four Pokémon fell completely silent. Sato's heart sank too. As expected, there was something wrong with this cave!
A fully self-sustaining underground ecosystem, a stable social hierarchy… clearly, this underground cave hadn't formed overnight.
Sato had also kept a close eye on the crack in the dome above. But from start to finish, not a single Flying-type Pokémon had passed through it.
Or rather… it seemed like all Flying-types were deliberately avoiding it!
"…Is it impossible to leave?" Sato asked grimly, frowning.
Claydol shook its head and began muttering, while Gardevoir translated simultaneously.
"No one has ever left. Only living beings come in, none have ever gone out."
Sato fell silent, then pointed toward the crack in the dome and asked, "What about there?"
At that, all four Pokémon shook their heads with even greater intensity than before.
They exchanged uncertain glances, and finally, Claydol slowly explained again.
The crack in the dome looked like a direct path to the outside, but it was more like a long, narrow projection screen. What it showed was the sky outside, and it served as an indirect source of light for the underground cave.
No one knew how it worked or why it was there. But every Pokémon that had tried to pass through it… was completely absorbed and vanished without a trace!
"When a living being approaches the crack, an invisible force draws them in, accompanied by an illusion that they're just about to escape. In the end, without exception, they're pulled in."
Claydol finished speaking, and Gardevoir translated it in sync. Sato glanced at her, only to find that she remained unusually calm after hearing it all.
"You know how to get out?"
He couldn't hold back and asked Gardevoir directly.
Gardevoir calmly nodded, shocking the others so much they almost burst into laughter!
Thankfully, the four Pokémon remembered they were no match for Gardevoir, so they held back their mockery… but their eyes were full of disbelief!
"How do we get out!?" Sato asked again, urgently.
Gardevoir pointed at the crack in the dome above, as if she hadn't heard Claydol's explanation at all.
'Headstrong Gardevoir…?'
Sato was silent for two seconds, then solemnly nodded; he would trust Gardevoir's judgment.
Gardevoir smiled, and that graceful profile left Rhyperior and Armaldo both dazed…
"Since we've found the way out, there's only one thing left to do."
Sato didn't press for more details. If Gardevoir was confident, he would cooperate without question.
He turned to Claydol with a calm look that said everything without needing words. But Claydol still tried to play dumb, blinking all its eyes innocently, as if it had no idea what was going on.
Sato was just about to speak plainly, when Rhyperior nudged Claydol and let out two loud cries. Even without translation, Sato understood perfectly.
"Brother, it's your turn to hand over a treasure!"
Claydol: ...
'SCREW YOU!' (╯>д<)╯┸┸)` ν °)
In the end, Claydol couldn't escape and reluctantly handed over a treasure that left Sato thoroughly satisfied.
Sato didn't know what others had gained from entering the Origin Forest, but as far as he was concerned, he couldn't be more pleased.
This journey to the Origin Forest had significantly boosted his overall strength.
Now, the only thing left was to escape this underground cave, and leave the Origin Forest within the allotted time.
"Gardevoir, it's all yours!"
Gardevoir calmly nodded, then softly gave Gengar a few instructions before silently waiting by Sato's side.
Gengar raised its hand and conjured a Spatial Barrier, lifting both Sato and Gardevoir into the air, slowly flying toward the crack in the dome.
Claydol and the others exchanged looks. For a moment, they didn't know whether to stop them or be relieved.
At the same time, more and more Pokémon in the cave looked up at Sato, watching as he and his two companions flew straight toward what many believed was certain death.
One human and two Pokémon, under the eyes of countless others, rapidly approached the dome's crack; and the closer they got, the more Sato realized how massive it truly was.
"Voir~"
Gardevoir called out softly, and Gengar immediately stopped. They were now less than ten meters from the crack.
Then, Gardevoir took out the Nightmare Orb and held it to her chest, slowly channeling her rarely-used Dark-type energy into it.
In the next moment, an energy wave that didn't belong to Gardevoir -but one that Sato found incredibly familiar- began to emanate from the Nightmare Orb…
At that very moment, on the other side of the Pokémon world, Darkrai suddenly opened his blue eyes(?).
"Where exactly are you going… to require the use of my power?"