"A tilted watchtower."
Seeing the tower-like structure Raifort had sketched by hand in the sand, Lucas frowned slightly.
He remembered that in the game, these watchtowers were basically landing points for the flying taxi you used to fast-travel while map-running. There were some items at the top, and a kind of Pokémon called Gimmighoul lived there, that was all.
But who built the watchtowers and what purpose they originally served was unclear.
Personally, judging from the degree of ruin on some watchtowers, Lucas felt they might be relics of the ancient Paldean Empire.
So Raifort was saying that beneath the Tilted Watchtower in the Asado Desert lay that official's tomb?
Then what about the other watchtowers...?
Seemingly reading Lucas's thoughts, Raifort smiled and explained, "The other watchtowers were probably just structures built by soldiers of the ancient Paldean Empire to monitor the surroundings and guard against invasion, deliberately placed where the view was wide."
"There are very few watchtowers left on the land of Paldea now, and quite a few are already half-ruined like the Tilted Watchtower."
"Others like the watchtower in South Province Area Two, or in West Province Area One, have avoided collapsing from age only because League-hired experts maintain them."
"What's special is this Asado Desert, not the Tilted Watchtower. The tower is merely a reference point for pinpointing the tomb's location."
Raifort explained things to Lucas very clearly, probably because she knew he was only helping out on a whim.
To Raifort, spending some words to give Lucas background was no burden—everything was for uncovering the truth behind old legends.
Next, Lucas and Raifort discussed many operational details and finalized a plan.
After finishing Raifort's matters—since they'd be acting together—Raifort grew curious about what exactly Lucas needed a whole day to do.
Was he going to catch rare Pokémon?
Or, more mundanely, try his luck seeking treasure the Paldean emperor might have left in this desert?
But Lucas's answer stunned Raifort for a moment.
"There's a widespread but unconfirmed rumor in Cascarrafa."
"Somewhere in the Asado Desert, there are creatures never before seen that can trigger earthquakes. Their stomps make the earth ring, and their movements whip up sandstorms..."
"I'm tracking signs of these mysterious beings."
As he spoke, Lucas showed Raifort the worn map Terry had given him.
Raifort took the map; as a professional, she immediately recognized it as a general map of the Asado Desert—with remarkably high accuracy.
But the most shocking thing was the messy red line drawn across it.
Raifort murmured, "Is this... a movement path, or an activity trajectory?"
To locate the tomb, Raifort had naturally also heard in Cascarrafa about the rumor of the great mysterious creatures.
She'd initially thought Lucas's idea was nonsense—trying to find nearly-unseen giant mysterious beings in this vast desert without gathering any intel first was far too naive.
But seeing this map, she instantly understood what Lucas was relying on.
"A friend gave it to me."
Lucas smiled slightly. Though he planned to head straight to the lairs of Iron Treads and Great Tusk, since he was temporarily letting Raifort join his team, he might as well offer a convenient pretext.
"I've verified most of the routes and thoroughly filtered them, so I'm confident asking you to wait just one day, rather than until I find them."
…
Night fell, and the desert cooled.
Lucas and Raifort had the Pokémon who could rest in their Poké Balls during the day take turns keeping watch, to prevent wild Pokémon from raiding the camp.
The two of them then returned to the tent, lay in warm sleeping bags, and drifted off to the crackle and pop of the campfire.
Raifort, meanwhile, curled up in the somewhat cramped space relative to the size of the off-roader, covering herself with several thick layers of clothing to sleep.
Before sleeping, Raifort had looked a little enviously at the tent. To carry enough supplies for desert travel, the seating space of the off-road vehicle had been compressed to the limit. She couldn't even stretch her limbs, let alone take out a sleeping bag.
By contrast, Lucas's place was both spacious and comfortable—truly enviable. If not for maintaining a woman's reserve, she would have shamelessly squeezed into his tent.
A calm night passed without incident.
…
The next morning.
The engine of the 4WD roared thunderously, the huge tires spun fast, and deep ruts were left behind.
The next moment—
With sand billowing everywhere, the off-roader shot forward like a bellowing beast under Raifort's driving, speeding toward Lucas's target location.
As the vehicle moved, many wild Pokémon fixed their gaze on the big machine, but showed no intention of attacking.
Some Pokémon, like Cyclizar, even seemed to race the off-roader, swarming alongside it.
If they'd had Mudsdale make this trip, it might have been evening before they reached Lucas's predicted destination.
But driven by the off-roader's wheels, the travel time was greatly reduced.
By around midday, less than ten kilometers remained to the target.
And that's when trouble struck.
At first, only a wisp of fine yellow sand drifted lightly in the wind.
In an instant, the force swelled, like a raging beast roaring through the desert. In just a few breaths, a sandstorm swept the surroundings, dyeing the sky a murky yellow.
Outside the windows the wind howled, the sand surged like a tide, pelting the vehicle with a hiss and scrape.
"A sandstorm."
Lucas and Raifort's faces grew solemn. After a smooth day, they hadn't expected to hit a natural disaster—just as they were nearing the target zone.
With visibility swallowed by sand and no sense of direction, moving rashly would be foolish.
Fortunately, before heading into the desert, Raifort had paid handsomely to upgrade and retrofit her beloved off-roader, so it wouldn't leak sand through window gaps or vents to foul the cabin air.
"Looks like we can only hunker down here for now."
Hands on the wheel, Raifort lifted one foot from the accelerator, hit the brakes, and yanked the handbrake, preventing the off-roader from being shoved around by the gale.
Lucas knew this was no time to force a march. He nodded, planning to wait out the sandstorm before deciding the next move.
He knew he could call out Dragonite, have it punch up through the sandstorm in one go, and shield him with a Windstorm Barrier while continuing on.
But considering Raifort had come with him deep into the Asado Desert, and that some wild Pokémon could still operate and strike opportunistically in a sandstorm, Lucas ultimately refrained.
After all, he'd come to the Asado Desert out of interest in what would happen if the two earth-shaking Titans were in the same desert, and for their lair's Herba Mystica and that mysterious evolution item.
Risking life and limb wasn't necessary.
Luckily, Raifort's custom off-roader was sturdy and heavy, and the sandstorm hadn't intensified to the point of flipping it.
The body swayed slightly from gales on all sides, but not too much. They should be fine riding this one out.
While waiting, Lucas and Raifort talked about the Treasures of Ruin she was interested in.
Legend says that in the time of the Paldean Empire, a visiting merchant had an audience with the emperor.
He brought four treasures from the eastern lands: a vessel, a sword, a scroll, and a jade.
He sold them to the emperor at an exorbitant price.
But that very night, the four treasures turned into four Pokémon and wreaked havoc in the imperial capital, directly causing its destruction.
The truth behind the chaos was that, as those treasures passed through many hands, human desire and curses gradually clung to them.
Then, under the final straw of the emperor's boundless greed, they became calamities and destroyed the capital.
If the emperor hadn't later called upon a renowned Pokémon envoy to quell the disasters after a fierce battle to protect Paldea, the region's legacy might have ended with that generation.
"These are fairy tales passed down among Paldeans. Their truth is uncertain. That's why I'm doing everything I can to verify the tale—the legend."
"Do you think it's fictional?"
Raifort asked Lucas in a slightly lost tone.
To investigate the authenticity of this tale, this legend, she had made many efforts.
She'd washed her hands of tomb raiding, properly earned a degree as an archaeologist, and even applied to teach history at Naranja Academy to access the largest library in Paldea.
She had spent a great deal of time, all for that seemingly nebulous story.
To her question, Lucas was silent for a while before speaking: "I think—"
Before he could finish, several massive booms detonated in the distance, and then the ground began to quake violently, as if trying to overturn the desert—like the earth-dragon turning over in the story.
Even Cascarrafa outside the Asado Desert was shrouded in a fierce earthquake. The streets were in chaos, some ranch fences collapsed, ordinary cattle and sheep bolted in fright, and Pokémon huddled together to calm their terror.
…
Asado Desert, inside the off-roader.
As the roaring drew nearer, Lucas and Raifort finally saw the culprits rolling at incredible speed and causing the quakes.
Raifort stared in shock at the two hulking silhouettes, faint through the storm but at least three to four meters tall, and whispered, "That shape... could those be Donphan?"
"But would there really be Donphan that gigantic?"
"No, those aren't Donphan!" Fixing his gaze on the two massive figures barreling like racers, Lucas spoke with iron certainty. "Their names are Iron Treads and Great Tusk!"