Chapter 1096: The Black Hole Beneath the Stone Coffin

Chapter 1096: The Black Hole Beneath the Stone Coffin To Yuga's surprise, the first reaction of the Stoutland and Furfrou upon seeing him and Absol wasn't one of caution or fear, but rather astonishment.

It was only when Yuga closed the distance between them again that they growled low, warning him not to come any closer.

Stoutland's ability was Intimidate, and as soon as Yuga and Absol approached, it activated. However, the level gap between Stoutland and Absol was so large that Intimidate had no effect.

"Absol!!!"

Sensing Stoutland's Intimidate ability activate, Absol let out a long howl and triggered its own ability, Pressure. Stoutland and Furfrou managed to take a few steps back under the pressure, but the younger Furfrou, Lillipup, and Herdier behind them were pinned to the ground, unable to move, letting out whimpering sounds from their throats.

Stoutland and Furfrou were smart. After sensing the power difference, they didn't engage Absol recklessly but instead tentatively tried to retreat.

When they realized Yuga and Absol wouldn't allow them to leave, they understood that Yuga intended to capture them.

"Stoutland..."

Stoutland was the first to step out from the group, letting out a deep growl as it issued a challenge to Yuga. Even though it knew it couldn't escape or win, its innate pride wouldn't allow it to surrender without a fight.

Yuga admired Stoutland's actions. As a male Pokémon stronger than its mate, it took responsibility for the situation.

Since Yuga was still riding on Absol's back, he didn't send it into battle. Instead, he released Abomasnow. Being a pseudo-Elite level Pokémon, Abomasnow easily defeated Stoutland.

Seeing her mate defeated, Furfrou immediately wanted to step forward to continue the challenge, but was stopped by Stoutland's gaze.

After defeating Stoutland, Yuga's capture of the family became unexpectedly smooth. Stoutland didn't let his mate or children make any futile resistance.

Once the Stoutland family was captured, Yuga immediately took out some Pokéblocks for them to eat. He had followed them all the way and saw them eating some unknown wild fruits, which surely hadn't filled them up.

Those unknown fruits weren't berries and didn't contain as much energy. Without a large enough quantity, they wouldn't have been enough to satisfy the Pokémon's hunger, and to top it off, the taste was less than desirable.

Among Yuga's main team of Pokémon was a Sawsbuck, who was a Normal-type, and it usually ate a combination of universal Pokéblocks and vitality Pokéblocks. Although Sawsbuck had been sent back to the daycare, Yuga still had plenty of universal Pokéblocks left, more than enough to feed Stoutland's family until he left the Santalune Plateau.

At the very least, the system's trainer shop could refresh with a large amount of unlimited berries daily, so there wouldn't be a problem handling it; they wouldn't go hungry.

When Yuga gave them the Pokéblocks, the young Furfrou, Lillipup, and Herdier devoured them ravenously, while Stoutland and Furfrou looked on with emotion.

After asking them a few questions, Yuga learned that Stoutland and Furfrou had once been the Pokémon of a trainer who came to the Santalune Plateau for adventure.

However, their former trainer encountered a blizzard and an avalanche in the mountains, tragically perishing in the snowstorm. Only Stoutland and Furfrou survived the avalanche. After enduring many hardships, they escaped the mountains and settled on the Santalune Plateau, where they gradually had a few offspring.

It had been so long since they last ate Pokéblocks that Stoutland and Furfrou had almost forgotten their taste.

What surprised them even more was that Yuga could understand what they were saying. This was the first time they had encountered a human like that.

Yuga's friendly attitude also gave Stoutland and Furfrou a sense of relief. With their whole family to take care of, if they had encountered the wrong person, they couldn't fight and couldn't run—it would have been truly hopeless.

After hearing their story, Yuga finally understood why Stoutland's family stood out as an "exception" among the low-potential Pokémon of the Santalune Plateau.

Stoutland and Furfrou were originally bought from a breeder that was affiliated with the League by their former trainer. The League had carefully bred their genes for a long time, so their offspring were mostly of yellow potential.

Yuga admired the League's gene selection and breeding techniques.

Once Stoutland's family was full and satisfied, Yuga continued his search for the tomb's location. He recalled the two young Furfrou, two Lillipup, and one Herdier into their Pokéballs, leaving Furfrou and Stoutland to guide the way.

Having lived by the lake and at the foot of the snowy mountains for many years, Furfrou and Stoutland were far more familiar with the area than Sneasel. After Yuga described the location, the two Pokémon led him directly to the tomb.

The location of the tomb wasn't hard to find—it was very close to the snowy mountain, as it lay completely exposed on the surface. Once you knew the exact direction, it could be spotted at a glance.

The tomb had remained intact all these years purely because of the harsh climate and the lack of resources on the Santalune Plateau, which discouraged people from visiting.

When Yuga reached the tomb's entrance, he found that many Ice-type Pokémon had built their nests there. He had to admit, the tomb was an excellent place to shelter from the wind and rain.

In order to avoid provoking hostility from the Ice-type Pokémon, Yuga recalled Absol, as it was too large and imposing. Instead, he released Aegislash and Mismagius. Compared to the intimidating Absol, these two appeared much less threatening. Besides, there were already a few Ghost-type Pokémon residing in the tomb along with the Ice-types.

The tomb was a typical underground burial site, resembling an underground palace. Likely due to geological activity, its entrance had been exposed to the surface.

"Mismagius, give us some light."

The entrance to the tomb was a long stone corridor. Since no sunlight could reach inside, it was not only dimly lit, but the walls were also covered in thick ice. The moment Yuga stepped inside, a chilling, gloomy air washed over him.

"Mismagius!"

Mismagius responded, summoning a bright red flame with its Mystical Fire move. The corridor instantly became illuminated, and Yuga even felt a bit warmer.

However, the flame also caught the attention of some Ice-type Pokémon that was resting in the corridor. They glanced at Mismagius, but quickly closed their eyes again, resuming their nap.

The Pokémon here weren't particularly strong, and as long as they weren't disturbed, they didn't dare to initiate any conflict.

The stone corridor was incredibly long. The farther Yuga walked, the colder it became, to the point where the chill felt almost unbearable.

"Aegislash, are you sure this is your master's tomb?" Yuga asked, his voice trembling as he hugged his arms for warmth. It was simply too cold.

"Aegislash..."

Aegislash wasn't entirely sure. It thought this might be the place, but its memories were unclear.

Receiving no useful information from Aegislash, Yuga had no choice but to press on. The deeper he went, the more he noticed the stone corridor widening.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, Yuga finally exited the stone corridor and stepped into a high-domed chamber. The room was home to numerous Bergmite and Avalugg.

Sensing that their territory had been invaded, the Bergmite and Avalugg stared menacingly at Yuga, with some even looking ready to attack.

"Mismagius!"

Mismagius, in a show of intimidation, launched a fiery beam with its Mystical Fire. The intense heat immediately scared the Bergmite and Avalugg into hesitating, too afraid to make any sudden moves.

As Yuga scanned the room, he noticed several small Aspear Berry trees growing inside the domed chamber, each tree bearing various sizes of berries.

Aspear Berries thrive in cold environments and don't require much light, which explained why so many were growing there. The Bergmite and Avalugg likely made their home here to claim this small Aspear Berry orchard. Having a patch of berry trees in the Santalune Plateau was quite a luxury.

Without provoking the Bergmite and Avalugg, Yuga, under the protection of Mismagius, Stoutland, and Furfrou, passed through the chamber and finally reached the main tomb.

Just like the previous domed room, the main tomb also contained a larger Aspear Berry grove. However, this time the grove was occupied by a group of Glaceon.

The main tomb was far larger than the earlier chamber, but due to the passage of time and the rampant plant growth, it had become unrecognizable. There were no longer any clear signs that this was once a burial site.

According to Ogata's friend, they hadn't truly ventured into the tomb. Because of the intense cold and the number of Glaceon inside, they didn't dare enter. Even Aegislash was something they had found in the outer stone corridor, so Yuga hadn't received any information about the presence of Glaceon in the main tomb.

When Yuga entered, all the Glaceon had gathered on top of a large ice boulder in the center of the main tomb. He suspected that the presence of this many Glaceon was somehow connected to this ice boulder.

There wasn't a single Eevee in the group—it was entirely made up of Glaceon. Yuga guessed that newborn Eevees must evolve into Glaceon as soon as they come into contact with the ice boulder. With their low initial levels, they could easily level up near the boulder and subsequently evolve into Glaceon.

Yuga counted the Glaceon—there were about thirty of them. Although they were fewer than the previous group of Bergmite and Avalugg, their overall strength far surpassed the others, which explained why they could claim such a large Aspear Berry grove.

Likely influenced by the massive ice boulder, the Glaceon' potential was much higher than that of the other Pokémon outside. Through his Insight ability, Yuga could see two green orbs among them, with most of the others showing yellow orbs. Red and orange orbs were relatively rare.

Noticing Yuga's arrival, the Glaceon leapt down from the ice boulder, lining up in a threatening formation as they attempted to drive him away.

To avoid damaging the environment in the main tomb, Yuga commanded, "Mismagius, use Mean Look."

"Mismagius!"

In response, Mismagius's eyes emitted two beams of dark light, which formed a pair of enormous eyes floating in the air. As soon as the eyes appeared, all the Glaceon were immobilized, unable to move a muscle.

Satisfied with this, Yuga nodded. "Stoutland, Furfrou, and Sneasel, knock them out."

Upon hearing Yuga's orders, the three Pokémon sprang into action. Sneasel, in particular, was eager to please Yuga. Ever since Stoutland and Furfrou joined the team, Sneasel felt that its status was being threatened.

If it even lost its usefulness as a guide, how would a weakling like it continue to get enough food? Sneasel decided it had to prove its importance and make Yuga see it in a new light.

When it came to speed, Sneasel was unmatched. It knocked out the lower-level Glaceon one after another with ease, leaving Stoutland and Furfrou in the dust.

"Sneasel!"

After completing its task, Sneasel grinned and jumped to Yuga's side, looking for praise.

"Well done," Yuga remarked absentmindedly, his attention focused on the Glaceon. His offhand compliment was enough to make Sneasel beam with pride, feeling like it had earned Yuga's favor.

Yuga captured all the Glaceon in Poké Balls. Even if a Glaceon or Eevee wasn't particularly talented, they were always among the most popular Pokémon.

As for the rare ice boulder and the Aspear Berry grove, Yuga left them untouched. The Pokémon of the Santalune Plateau already had a hard enough life—he didn't want to compete with them for resources. It wouldn't be long before another group claimed the area.

With two green-potential Glaceon captured, Yuga's mission had made some progress.

After dealing with the Glaceons, Yuga explored the main tomb further and finally found a stone coffin buried beneath the roots of a Aspear Berry tree. The coffin, made from some unknown stone, was wrapped in tree roots, yet remained remarkably intact.

"Is this your master's?" Yuga pointed at the stone coffin and asked Aegislash. Clearly, there were no burial items left. Even though the Santalune Plateau was rarely visited, over hundreds of years, someone had surely explored this tomb. Neither Yuga nor Ogata's friend was the first or second group to come here.

Aegislash didn't respond. It sliced through the roots entangling the stone coffin and pushed off the lid. Inside, it was completely empty.

"What's going on?"

Yuga stared in surprise at the moss-covered bottom of the coffin. This particular moss only grew in extremely low temperatures and was used as a rare medicinal herb. But it also hinted that the coffin had been empty for a long time.

Aegislash wasn't surprised. The moment it saw the coffin, it remembered—this wasn't its master's coffin, but its own.

It had been the guardian of this tomb, and the stone coffin was a decoy designed by the tomb's owner to mislead grave robbers. Anyone who opened it would have been attacked by Aegislash, which had been lying dormant inside.

However, Aegislash had slept for so long that its level had regressed, rendering it ineffective as a guardian. Its appearance in the outer corridor was likely due to some grave robber taking it out at some point.

"Aegislash, are you okay?" Yuga called out softly, noticing the Pokémon's silence.

"Aegislash..."

I'm fine.

Aegislash snapped out of its thoughts and refocused on the stone coffin. Sёarch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Aegislash, Aegislash, Aegislash..."

Let's Move the coffin.

Aegislash instructed Yuga.

Nodding, Yuga released Dragonite to help push the coffin. Unexpectedly, it didn't budge. Unconvinced, Yuga summoned Charizard and Absol as well, but still, the coffin didn't move an inch.

"Are you sure this thing can be pushed?" Yuga began to suspect that the coffin was fused with the ground, making it immovable.

"Aegislash!"

It can!

Aegislash affirmed.

Out of options, Yuga released Decidueye, Abomasnow, Kartana, Chimecho, and Vivillon. Any Pokémon capable of physical strength pushed, while those like Chimecho and Vivillon used their psychic abilities to help. Even Sneasel pitched in.

Finally, the coffin moved.

Beneath it lay a dark, gaping hole. Yuga realized that the real tomb of the master had its own hidden chamber. The difficulty of moving the coffin had preserved the secret for all these years, preventing anyone from discovering the hidden tomb.

What Yuga didn't know at that moment was that the dark hole before him would soon change the fate of both him and Florges.