The next day, Ange did not follow the trend of digging for fossils anymore. It was fine to experience it once, but there was no need to get addicted to it.
In the morning, he sat leisurely in a dessert shop, drinking coffee while admiring the bustling street view outside the window.
Munchlax sat beside him, tucking into an extra-large parfait. The happiness brought by the sweets made it squint its eyes involuntarily.
Magearna sat opposite him, also savoring a piece of tiramisu.
As for Tyrunt, it was gnawing on a cow bone that had long since been cleaned of meat.
Just then, a familiar figure appeared in Ange's line of sight.
Aria?
Aria had already arrived in Ambrette Town?
Not only that, there was an Amaura following by Aria's side, so she had also gone to dig for fossils?
Aria also saw Ange, and she, too, looked surprised.
Ange waved at her, and he watched as she quickly walked toward the dessert shop.
"Ange, when did you arrive?" Aria sat opposite Ange and asked.
Ange replied, "I arrived the day before yesterday, what about you?"
"I arrived yesterday. I thought you hadn't arrived yet, so I went to dig for a fossil outside the town. I didn't expect that I actually dug one up." As she spoke, she gently patted the Amaura beside her and said, "Look, this child is the one I just took to the research institute to be revived from the fossil."
"Blu blu~" Amaura rubbed its head affectionately against Aria's palm.
It had just been revived from the fossil and felt extremely unfamiliar with this world, instinctively drawing close to Aria, who treated it the best.
Ange was surprised to hear this and said, "What a coincidence, I also went to dig for fossils yesterday, but I didn't see you."
Aria smiled and said, "There are so many people digging for fossils, and the environment of the fossil cave is complex, so it's normal not to run into each other."
Ange looked at Amaura and said, "My luck wasn't as good as yours; I didn't get anything."
Aria looked at Tyrunt in confusion and asked, "Then where did this Tyrunt come from?"
Ange laughed, "I got it by chance. Someone else might have revived it from a fossil."
Aria suddenly understood. She glanced at Magearna and Munchlax, and seeing that Magearna was a Pokémon she had never seen before, she couldn't help but feel surprised.
"Ninetales didn't come?" Aria asked with curiosity.
Ange explained, "Ninetales isn't my Pokémon; it just traveled with me for a while."
"So that's how it is." Ninetales' strength had left a very deep impression on Aria.
"Since we are both here, should we set off in advance?" Ange asked.
"Sure!" That was exactly what Aria was about to suggest.
Hearing the words of Ange and Aria, Munchlax immediately began to speed up its eating of the parfait.
Seeing this, Ange patted the back of Munchlax's head and said, "Eat slowly, don't rush. We will set off when you finish eating."
"Munch~" Munchlax slowed down its speed after hearing this.
Seeing the cream smeared all over the corners of its mouth, Ange quickly wiped it off with a tissue.
"Munch~" Munchlax raised a smiling face and leaned its head toward Ange to make it easier for him to wipe.
After wiping Munchlax's cheeks, Ange asked Aria, "Aria, would you and your Pokémon like to order a dessert? We can leave after we finish eating; it's not like we're in a hurry."
"Sure!"
Saying that, Aria released all of her Pokémon as well. Absol, a female Meowstic, and Pyroar were all Pokémon Ange had seen before.
After finishing breakfast, Ange and Aria set off together. Their destination was the Glittering Cave at the end of Route 9.
The two ends of Route 9 happened to connect Ambrette Town and the Glittering Cave, so the distance between the two was not far.
After leaving Ambrette Town, Ange put Magearna and Tyrunt into their Poké Balls, leaving only Munchlax by his side.
Then, he and Aria simultaneously took out their Poké Balls and released a Braviary and a Mandibuzz, respectively.
These two Pokémon were temporary flight mounts they had rented in town, wearing saddles and serving as specialized riding Pokémon.
Most of the Pokémon world had such rental services for riding Pokémon, operated by specialized Pokémon riding companies.
After the two mounted the Braviary and Mandibuzz and patted the necks of the two Pokémon, they took off after a cry.
Braviary and Mandibuzz were worthy of being professional-trained riding Pokémon; they flew fast and steadily. Almost in the blink of an eye, Ambrette Town gradually faded away from Ange and his companion's line of sight.
Not long after, the two reached their destination.
Ange took Munchlax and climbed off the back of the Braviary. After recalling the Braviary to its Poké Ball, he looked at the deep cave in front of him and said:
"Is this the Glittering Cave?"
After Aria recalled the Mandibuzz to its Poké Ball, she said, "That's right, the ruins I mentioned were discovered inside here."
Ange: "Then let's go in."
"Okay." As she spoke, Aria released her Absol.
Quite a few Pokémon inhabited the Glittering Cave. If one accidentally disturbed them, they might be attacked.
Immediately, Ange and Aria, each with Munchlax, entered the Glittering Cave one after the other.
The passage inside the Glittering Cave was very wide; even with two people and two Pokémon walking side by side, it did not feel crowded.
Although the light inside was dim, it did not affect vision much. The reason was that many glowing mosses grew on the cave walls, which could emit a faint green light.
These mosses were raw materials used to make the held item, Absorb Bulb. (Absorb Bulb: If a Pokémon holding this item is hit by a Water-type attack, its Special Attack is raised by 1 stage.)
Ange observed the surroundings while walking, and at the same time, he activated his Aura perception.
As they walked, a look of confusion appeared on Aria's face.
"Strange!"
Ange: "What's wrong?"
Aria replied, "It's too quiet! When I came last time, there were clearly many Pokémon here, but now I don't see any of them."
"Indeed, strange!" Ange could not help but frown, too. He really did not perceive any Pokémon's Aura in the vicinity.
"Let's go further in and take a look," Aria suggested.
Ange nodded.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a fork in the road appeared before them, and at the same time, a clump of Aura appeared in Ange's perception.
Ange stopped and said, "Let's find a Pokémon and ask about the situation."
"But the Pokémon have all disappeared," Aria frowned and said.
Aria already knew about Ange's ability to understand Pokémon language.
"Follow me." As he spoke, Ange turned and walked toward the fork on the right front.
They hadn't walked far before they heard bursts of faint groaning. They looked at each other, instantly understanding: a Pokémon was injured.
They hurriedly quickened their pace, searching in the direction from which the groaning came, and soon saw an injured Mawile in a corner.
The injured part of the Mawile should have been its foot. When Ange and Aria arrived, it was sitting on the ground, holding its foot and moaning in pain.
Seeing this, Aria hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to check the Mawile's injuries, but the Mawile was very vigilant. Seeing Aria coming over, it hurriedly raised the large jaws on the back of its head to threaten her, telling her not to get close.
Aria hurriedly said to soothe it, "Mawile, calm down. We aren't bad people; we just want to look at the wound on your foot."
"Absol~ Absol~" The Absol also helped its Trainer to persuade the Mawile.
"Mawi~ Mawi~"
The Mawile's large jaws opened and closed, clearly not relaxing its vigilance.
Ange spoke up to explain, "We just arrived at the Glittering Cave and discovered that the Pokémon here are all gone, so we wanted to come and ask you about the situation."
Hearing this, the hostility in the Mawile's eyes lessened a little, but it still didn't allow Aria to approach.
Just like that, the Mawile and Ange's group confronted each other for over ten minutes.
At this moment, the Mawile's whole body went limp, and it collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.
"Mawile?" Aria exclaimed, hurriedly picking up the Mawile.
Ange also hurried forward to help check on the Mawile's condition.
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious, it just fainted from physical exhaustion." After a check, Ange said to Aria.
Aria breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. She took out a Potion to treat the Mawile's injuries and fed it some Oran Berry juice that could replenish its energy.
As a Trainer who had been traveling outside, Aria always carried Potions and energy-replenishing juices on her.
Before long, the Mawile opened its eyes again. When it saw Ange and Aria so close to it, it was so scared that it hurriedly wanted to retreat.
However, there was a wall behind it, and it had nowhere to retreat.
Seeing this, Aria said, "Mawile, we really aren't bad people."
Feeling that its body had regained strength and the wound on its foot no longer hurt, the Mawile stared at Aria and Ange for a while and finally no longer held hostility toward them.
Ange asked, "Mawile, can you tell us what exactly happened in the Glittering Cave, and where are the other Pokémon?"
Hearing Ange's inquiry, a look of anger appeared on the Mawile's face.
"Mawi~ Mawi~" Bad people, there are bad people!
After sorting through the Mawile's messy words, Ange soon understood the general situation.
The Glittering Cave had been occupied by a group of strange people. They had captured all the Pokémon here, and the Mawile had only barely escaped under the cover of its companions.
Having understood the process of events, Ange asked Aria, "What should we do?"
Aria thought for a moment and said, "Let's check the situation first. I don't know who exactly occupied the Glittering Cave and did such a terrible thing."
As she spoke, a look of indignation appeared on Aria's face.
Ange asked the Mawile, "Mawile, are you the only one who escaped?"
"Mawi~ Mawi~" Also Solrock and Lunatone.
The Mawile answered.
Unfortunately, Solrock and Lunatone had gotten separated from it in the chaos.
Ange said, "Then let's look for Solrock and Lunatone first, and then see if we can find a chance to rescue the other Pokémon."
"Mawi~ Mawi~" The Mawile thanked Ange and Aria gratefully upon hearing this.
Then, Ange took out his phone, intending to report the situation here to Officer Jenny in Ambrette Town, only to find that the call couldn't be made at all.
Aria said, "It looks like the signal is being blocked."
Ange sighed deeply, "We'll have to find a way ourselves."
Aria nodded.
Ange suddenly had a bright idea again, then took out a Poké Ball and released the Braviary, took out paper and pen to write a note, and handed it to the Pokémon.
"Braviary, would you mind delivering this note to the Ambrette Town police station for Officer Jenny?"
"Goo~~" The Braviary took the note, nodded at Ange, and then flapped its wings to take off, returning along the original path.
"You have that trick up your sleeve, too!" Aria said, pleasantly surprised.
"There's always a way if there's a will," Ange smiled. "Alright, let's go find Solrock and Lunatone first."
Seeing this, the Mawile wanted to get up and search for its companions with Ange and Aria, but its injured foot hadn't fully recovered, and it almost fell over.
Seeing this, Aria hurriedly picked it up.
Although the Mawile was small, as a Steel-type Pokémon, it was actually quite heavy, weighing at least twenty or thirty jin.
Ange was just about to display his gentlemanly demeanor and ask Aria if she needed his help, when he saw Aria shake her head at him and wink playfully.
Ange immediately understood and knew that she had taken a fancy to the Mawile, so he silently kept his mouth shut.
Immediately, the two began searching for traces of Solrock and Lunatone in the cave, and Ange cranked his Aura perception to the max.
While passing a corner, Ange suddenly sensed two Auras approaching them.
It was human Aura!
Ange hurriedly used his hand to stop Aria.
Aria understood immediately, stopping silently against the wall with Ange, while giving Absol a look.
Sure enough, not long after, two people walked out from around the corner, a man and a woman. They were wearing red uniforms and red sunglasses, and even their hair was dyed red.
The man had a Houndour following by his side.
The woman had a Electrike following by her side.
It was Team Flare!
Ange recognized the identities of the two at once! This dress was just too iconic!
Ange finally understood who had occupied the Glittering Cave; it was Team Flare, who attempted to change the world.
The BOSS of Team Flare was Lysandre. He felt disappointed in the current world, believing that the world was full of sins and that the face of humanity was ugly.
Therefore, he wanted to destroy the old world and then create a new world.
Team Flare was founded by him to achieve his wish.
The moment the two Team Flare members walked past the corner, Absol and Munchlax jumped out simultaneously.
Absol used Night Slash, and Munchlax used Thunder Punch. The two Pokémon struck with lightning speed, defeating Electrike and Houndour in one move.
At the same time, Ange also flashed behind the two. Before they could react, they were knocked unconscious by Ange with a hand chop each.
Aria looked at Ange with a face full of amazement and said, "Ange, you're so amazing!"
Ange said modestly, "It's just average!"
Aria looked at the two Team Flare members and said, "How should we handle them?"
Ange thought for a moment: "Strip off all their clothes first!"
Aria looked terrified, "Strip off all their clothes?" Turns out you have this hobby?
Looking at Aria's expression, Ange could neither laugh nor cry, "What are you thinking? I mean, we change into their clothes so it's convenient to act."
Aria suddenly realized, "So that's how it is, you scared me to death."
Ange found the Poké Balls on the two of them, recalled their Houndour and Electrike, and then stripped off their clothes for himself and Aria to change into.
Finally, he took out a rope to tie them up, stuffed their mouths, and hid them in a secluded corner.
After doing all this, Ange said, "Let's go."
Aria adjusted the sunglasses on her eyes and said, "Will we really not be seen through like this?"
"Hmm~~" Ange stared at Aria for a few moments, "It's indeed not quite like it!"
Immediately, he pretended to rummage through his backpack, but actually purchased two red hats from the System Store.
He wore one of them on his own head and threw the other one to Aria.
"It's a lot more like it now."
Aria was surprised, "You even have this."
Ange explained, "When traveling abroad, one should be prepared for everything."
Aria: You're prepared a bit too thoroughly, aren't you?
After disguising themselves, the two continued to search for Solrock and Lunatone.
When passing another fork, Ange suddenly sensed two Auras belonging to Pokémon.
He was about to go over with Aria when he saw two other Team Flare members jogging over. Among them, one person said:
"Solrock and Lunatone seem to be over there."
Hearing this, Ange hurriedly came out from a corner and shouted loudly: "Big brothers!"
The two Team Flare members stopped and looked at Ange in confusion, saying, "Who are you..."
Ange said, "Have you two big brothers discovered Solrock and Lunatone? Why don't you leave it to me to capture them!"
One of the Team Flare members said, "That's fine, but how come you look a bit unfamiliar!"
Ange hurriedly laughed and explained, "I'm a little brother who just joined the organization."
The two suddenly understood, then said readily, "Alright, then leave it to you."
Anyway, catching a Solrock and a Lunatone didn't count as any merit, and it couldn't be better to have someone do the labor.
Saying that, the two turned around and prepared to leave?
However, just as they turned around, Ange gave each of them a hand chop.
The Gulpin and Croagunk following by their side immediately wanted to attack Ange upon seeing this, but were kicked away by Ange one by one.
Before they could crawl up from the ground, Munchlax and Absol jumped out from the darkness, defeating them with Night Slash and Fire Punch, respectively.
Aria followed out from the darkness and exclaimed again, "Ange, you're simply as powerful as a Pokémon!"
Ange cupped his hands modestly, "Too kind!"
Subsequently, Ange tied up the two Team Flare members and hid them in a corner again, and didn't forget to stuff their mouths with the rag he usually used to clean the stove.
Lucky for them!
In the corner around the turn, Ange and Aria indeed discovered Solrock and Lunatone.
Seeing Ange and Aria wearing Team Flare uniforms, Solrock and Lunatone were panicked and confused, immediately launching attacks on the two with Rock Throw and Confusion, respectively.
Absol leaped forward to block Lunatone's Confusion for Aria. It was a Dark-type Pokémon, and Lunatone's Confusion was ineffective against it.
At the same time, Munchlax also blocked in front of Ange, its fist overflowing with chill, shattering the incoming rocks with one punch.
Solrock and Lunatone still wanted to continue attacking, but the Mawile in Aria's arms hurriedly jumped out to explain.
"Mawi~ Mawi~"
Seeing the Mawile, the two Pokémon stopped their attacking actions with hesitation.
Ange also explained, "Solrock, Lunatone, we are here to help you. We only put on these clothes to hide our identities."
"Mawi~ Mawi~" The Mawile hurriedly nodded to indicate that everything Ange said was true.
With the proof from the Mawile, Lunatone and Solrock finally believed Ange and Aria.