"What were you just doing?" Raifort asked in surprise as she stopped to wait.
Naoki pulled a stone from his pocket: "I just found many stones here that look like gems."
Raifort glanced at them and guessed, "Perhaps they're some ancient creatures' fossils? There was a major crustal movement two million years ago that led to many ancient Pokemon's extinction."
"Ancient Pokemon..." Naoki couldn't help but ponder.
As far as he knew, there were 15 kinds of Fossil Pokemon discovered so far.
Kanto's Omanyte, Kabuto, Aerodactyl; Hoenn's Lileep, Anorith; Sinnoh's Cranidos, Shieldon.
And in Unova, Kalos, and Galar, they also have corresponding Fossil Pokemon.
Only the Alola Region and Paldea Region lack Fossil Pokemon.
"These ancient stones are quite valuable in the eyes of some fossil enthusiasts!" Raifort laughed. "I suggest you keep it well. If you have the opportunity in the future, you can use it to trade with other collectors."
Naoki thought about it carefully and realized she was right.
Moreover, since there's no facility to revive fossils in the Paldea Region, he'd have to go to the Kanto Region or Hoenn Region for revival.
But he didn't have much time next because, in a few days, when he got back, his little Eevee would hatch, and he would need to take care of it.
In that case, he'll keep this stone first and consider reviving it when there's a chance in the future.
He wondered whether fossil revival technology had become widespread by then.
The two continued forward and soon reached the entrance to the kingdom ruins.
The steps leading to the kingdom were full of cracks, covered with boulders and dust.
Raifort stepped forward and gently touched them, then blew the dust off her fingers.
"It seems that no one has visited this place for a long time. Just as well, I don't need to worry about someone else taking what I want ahead of time."
Having said that, Raifort looked up at the ruins of the kingdom standing in the darkness and flashed a slight smile back:
"Let's go. First, I want to find the secret chamber used to store secrets from the Paldea Empire period."
Naoki nodded, and they climbed the ancient steps; after passing through a crumbling archway, they officially entered the city.
Compared to the outside, the residential buildings inside the city had all become a collapsed ruin; just this sight was enough to give a sense of the destructive power of those few Treasures of Ruin during the Paldea Empire period.
It seems they weren't called Treasures of Ruin for nothing.
Just then, Naoki suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him.
As he prepared to turn and check, Koraidon reacted faster than he did.
"Agaa!"
With a mighty roar, a menacing aura surged from Koraidon, strong winds pushing back a few Duskull trying to stealthily approach from behind.
Naoki accidentally locked eyes with one of the Duskull, and the next second, he felt a chill run through him.
"Be careful! Duskull can absorb human bio-energy; try to avoid looking them in the eye!"
Raifort's voice came through.
Naoki quickly snapped back, glancing around, seeing a total of eight Duskull in front of him, always residing in this place and rarely seeing humans.
So even though Koraidon released its pressure, it didn't have much effect on them.
The eight Duskull pressed forward, and Naoki ordered in a low voice: "Flamethrower!"
"Agassi!"
Koraidon immediately opened its mouth wide, channeling fiery Fire Type Energy to form a scorching flame that engulfed the Duskull.
The Duskull cried out in pain, letting out a dull growl; only then did they feel fear and drifted back into the darkness.
"Be cautious, there seem to be more than just Duskull among the Pokemon here!"
Raifort received information from Zoroark and reminded.
"Got it!" Naoki nodded.
Raifort looked around, observing the structure of this place, and said: "This is the entrance to the kingdom. Based on the kingdom's architecture at the time, the main fortress should still be up there!"
The two continued upward, with Raifort identifying directions and seeking the target.
Meanwhile, Naoki and Koraidon kept a watchful eye on the surroundings to prevent unexpected Pokemon attacks residing in this place.
As a tomb raider and history teacher, Raifort seemed to know a lot about past events like this.
Gradually, they successfully arrived at the small wooden door next to the main hall of the castle.
"Here it is!" Raifort looked at the small door, her face filled with excitement.
Just as she was about to rush forward to open the door and search for the purpose of their trip, Naoki suddenly noticed movement from the piles of rubble on both sides of the path.
The next second, accompanied by two violent tremors, dust flew from the ground, and two gigantic Pokemon, akin to golems, suddenly leaped out.
They were Golurk!
One of the Golurk's heads rotated continuously, its eyes lighting up with yellow light, and its focus locked entirely on Raifort, who was aimed at the secret chamber.
The Golurk suddenly used High Horsepower and charged fiercely at Raifort, its right hand clenched into a fist and raised high.
"Watch out!"
Naoki shouted, and Koraidon immediately dashed forward, using Dragon Tail to repel the Golurk.
Meanwhile, Raifort's Zoroark squared off against the other Golurk.