As a Dark type, Zoroark naturally has a type advantage over Golurk.
Though the battle didn't end as quickly as with Koraidon, its agile moves and type matchups quickly brought down the Golurk.
The eyes of the two defeated Golurk dimmed.
Raifort let out a sigh of relief: "You gave me quite a scare, good thing you're here. Looks like I found the right person this time."
Naoki gestured forward with his chin: "Let's take care of business."
"Mhm!"
Raifort then stepped forward and pushed open the door.
Naoki looked inside from the outside and realized it seemed to be a room used for storing books and archives in the past.
Dust-covered books and yellowed parchments were scattered everywhere. Raifort dove frantically into the room, searching for information related to the Treasures of Ruin.
With nothing better to do, Naoki sat on the steps in front of the castle hall, waiting with Koraidon.
While waiting, Naoki took out the "gem"-shaped stone again and played with it in his hand.
Koraidon watched the stone.
Naoki raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does Koraidon know what this is?"
"Ar-ghuh," Koraidon seemed unsure.
Seeing this, Naoki knew Koraidon didn't know.
He thought Koraidon, living in the past, might know something about it!
Come to think of it, once cleaned, this stone truly doesn't resemble a fossil. Instead, it looks more like a gem, somewhat similar to amber.
"Maybe I could make it into a pendant to wear around my neck as an accessory?" Naoki thought suddenly.
He picked up the stone and measured it against his neck with his hand. Not bad, apart from being somewhat large, it suited quite well.
At this moment, Raifort's excited voice came from behind.
"Finally found it! The parchment recording the Treasures of Ruin! With this, I can find those four Ruinous Pokemon!"
Naoki turned his head, recalling the legends of the Treasures of Ruin, he asked:
"Are you sure you want to unseal them? If the seals are broken and those Pokemon go berserk, what then for the Paldea Region?"
"Uh..." Raifort suddenly stammered.
With Naoki's reminder, she suddenly thought of something.
Legends say that those four treasures-turned-Pokemon of ruin became Treasures of Ruin due to absorbing human desire and greed.
Thinking of this, Raifort hurriedly checked the contents recorded on the parchment.
She was already skilled in ancient writings, and it didn't take long for her to decipher the text.
The parchment said: The king invited a renowned Pokemon Tamer to subdue the four Ruinous Pokemon.
The tamer then used eight stakes to suppress the Ruinous Pokemon, imprisoning them in four shrines.
"Those with greed in their hearts must not unseal them, or disaster will descend upon the world again. Only when those without distractions unseal them will the Treasures of Ruin reveal their true forms."
Raifort murmured the ancient text.
Only those without distractions can unseal them...
Is she such a person?
Ahem... could she not be? Her purpose in finding the Treasures of Ruin was to possess them and collect them as precious.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Raifort realized she couldn't give up so easily now that she was here.
Putting away the parchment, Raifort looked at Naoki who was waiting: "Ahem, my business is done. Next up is helping you collect gold coins! Come on, if I guess right, the way to the Treasure Vault is this way!"
Naoki glanced at Raifort's parchment but didn't ask much.
After all, his purpose here was to help Gimmighoul collect enough ancient gold coins to evolve into Gholdengo.
The two of them continued down the dilapidated road. After passing through most of the ruins, they finally found the castle's Treasure Vault.
Perhaps to deter theft, the Treasure Vault's door and walls were made of very sturdy material.
Even after thousands of years, rain and groundwater hadn't corroded them, keeping this place in its original state.
The door had a lock, and Naoki initially considered having Koraidon forcefully remove it, but then he saw Raifort pulling out a small metal piece from her bag and fiddling with the lock.
With a click, the lock opened.
Raifort pushed the door open. Before Naoki could feel surprised at her lock-picking skills, his eyes were caught by the dazzling pile of treasures before him.
Whoa! So many gold coins!
Standing at the door, Raifort smiled and said, "Looks like your wish can also be fulfilled now!"
Thinking about the imminent birth of Gholdengo, Naoki couldn't help but smile, then walked forward with Koraidon to start loading the gold coins into his bag.
After loading for a while, he stopped and lay down on the pile of coins.
Raifort: "?"
Naoki closed his eyes and said, "I always wondered when watching movies, what it feels like for pirates to sleep on a pile of treasure."
Raifort couldn't help but ask, "Do you know now?"
"Yes." Naoki sat up, "It's hard and not comfortable at all."
"Pfft!" Raifort chuckled.
Then Naoki started packing the pile of coins into his Space Backpack again.
Apart from the pile of gleaming coins, there were other gold and silver jewels.
Like the Golden Crown, Gold Necklace, a ruby the size of a pigeon's egg, a golden King's Scepter...
Naoki wasn't much interested in these things. Like the crown and scepter might have been used by a dead king, holding them is unnerving.
Therefore, Naoki said, "I just want the coins, you can take the rest!"
"You don't want them?" Raifort was somewhat surprised, she glanced at it and said, "Such a Golden Scepter could fetch tens of millions outside."
Tens of millions?
Upon hearing this number, Naoki's heart moved slightly.
But when he looked up and saw Raifort's meaningful gaze, he suddenly understood something.
Good heavens, Raifort was testing him!
Just now, Raifort read the content on the sheepskin scroll without hiding it from him, so Naoki heard about the information that only someone with a clear mind can lift the seal.
Choose a lifetime of wealth or choose four Ruinous Pokemon?
Almost without hesitation, Naoki had the answer in his heart.
He wants the Treasures of Ruin; he wants to have his own Snow Leopard Pokemon!
Therefore, Naoki firmly refused the other golden treasures: "No thanks, I just want these coins."
After all, his goal for this trip was these coins in the first place.
Upon hearing this, Raifort's face showed a sudden realization, and her tone was full of appreciation:
"Truly courageous... Alright, I understand. In that case, I'll take these. After I go back and thoroughly decipher these sheepskin scrolls, I might still need your help. Please take care then!"
"Alright." Naoki nodded with a smile.
*
This underground ruins exploration ended successfully. Naoki and Raifort left the underground cave along the way they came and returned to Asado Desert.
At this time, the sky was already bright.
The two, having not slept all night, were visibly tired.
Raifort drove, carrying Naoki and Koraidon directly back to Cascarrafa City.
They stood at the intersection to say goodbye.
Raifort: "Do you have any plans next?"
Naoki yawned: "Go home, and then sleep well. What about you?"
"I'm going to find a hotel to sleep for a while too. Well, thank you for today, let's cooperate again next time. See you later! I'm off!"
Raifort waved her hand, turned around and left, quickly disappearing on the streets of Cascarrafa City.
Naoki also mounted Koraidon and started returning to the ranch.
Koraidon was a bit tired too, so to get home quickly, it sped up.
So in less than ten minutes, it carried Naoki back to the ranch.
Back home, Naoki released all the Pokemon from the Poke Ball.
Naoki intended to give the coins in the backpack to Gholdengo, but he was too tired, he tossed the backpack full of coins into the living room and went to his room to sleep.
In a daze, Naoki felt something hard and rather uncomfortable in his pocket. He blindly reached it, took it out, tossed it aside, and then fell asleep deeply.
After a while, brother Indeedee came in with a cup of hot milk.
Seeing Naoki already asleep, brother Indeedee didn't disturb him further.
It picked up the messy clothes from the floor to wash them in the washing machine.
Just as brother Indeedee was about to leave, it saw the stone that Naoki casually tossed onto the floor.
Brother Indeedee walked over, picked up the stone, then left the room, placing the stone into Naoki's designated pile for storing Everstones, Fire Stones, Water Stones, and other items.