Naoki put a warm coat on Koraidon, while Raifort released her Grumpig from the Poke Ball.
"Grumpig, use Flash!"
With a command, an intense light burst forth from Grumpig, as if someone had suddenly turned on a powerful flashlight, illuminating everything around them.
Raifort clapped her hands in satisfaction: "Now we can set off with peace of mind!"
Naoki felt exhausted inside.
Raifort appeared scholarly, like a learned person.
Yet in truth, she was undeniably a formidable woman.
She was someone who could dive into the depths of ocean ruins in one go.
Zorua led the way ahead, Grumpig provided illumination, and Raifort and Naoki followed with Koraidon in tow.
After about fifteen minutes of trekking on the sand, Zoroark came to a halt.
The surroundings were vast and empty, with nothing in sight.
Raifort looked around in confusion: "Strange... isn't there an entrance to go underground?"
Zoroark gazed at a depression in the ground ahead.
Upon closer inspection, Raifort quickly noticed something unusual: "It's a quicksand terrain! Could the entrance be beneath here?!"
Zoroark confirmed with a nod.
Raifort immediately became excited: "Great, put on your goggles and dust mask, we're going down!"
Naoki's eyes widened; was Raifort really intending to jump into the quicksand?
But, could this really lead directly to the underground ruins? Is it not dangerous?
"Trust me!" Raifort had already put on her gear, she recalled Zoroark and Grumpig into their Poke Balls, "I'll jump first, follow me!"
With that, she leaped into the quicksand terrain.
Raifort's body was quickly engulfed by the quicksand, as if swallowed by a desert monster.
Naoki looked on in shock.
Raifort couldn't have perished, could she? After all, the game's storyline never indicated that Raifort had explored such a place before.
And now, because of his involvement, Raifort had boldly ventured over...
Just as Naoki was worried, a shout suddenly echoed from below.
Listening carefully, it was Raifort.
"Hey! Come down now!"
Naoki breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Raifort was fine, and he didn't hesitate anymore. He helped Koraidon cover its nose and mouth and jumped down with it.
They were slowly engulfed by the quicksand. Before long, Naoki felt a sense of falling and, together with Koraidon, landed on a soft pile of sand.
When Naoki opened his eyes, he saw Raifort standing before him with Zoroark and the glowing Grumpig, smiling.
"Grumpig!"
Naoki had just ingested quite a bit of sand and hurriedly spat it out.
"The first time is always like this." Raifort laughed, "You'll get used to it over time."
Naoki was filled with frustration, and after confirming that he had spat out all the sand from his mouth, he spoke:
"This is the first and the last time. Once we gather Gimmighoul's Gold Coins, I won't be tomb raiding again!"
Upon hearing this, Raifort gazed at his Nanjing with interest: "Oh? Really?"
Naoki stood up from the ground and helped Koraidon brush off the sand: "Of course."
"Even if raiding a tomb could yield a treasure trove of valuable gold and silver?"
"I don't lack money; I don't see any use for it."
Perhaps he'd buy a few more villas, but given the situation now, he probably wouldn't leave the Pokemon on the ranch to vacation in a villa, unless he brought them all along.
"I understand." Raifort smiled and stopped questioning, then turned to look forward: "Let's continue!"
Beneath the quicksand lay another world, with a scene vastly different.
Ancient buildings buried in sand, dilapidated ruins of watchtowers...
Naoki observed more closely, but Raifort seemed uninterested in these.
She followed the path downward without stopping; eventually, only the light from Grumpig illuminated their way, and the surrounding air began to thin.
This meant they had descended very deep.
Suddenly, Raifort stopped in front of him.
Naoki was slightly puzzled and asked: "What's wrong?"
"Come and see." Raifort beckoned.
Naoki stepped forward and saw where the previously narrow and chaotic tunnel suddenly ended.
And before them was a vast, endless space swallowed by darkness.
"This is..." Naoki murmured.
Raifort explained: "If I'm not mistaken, this would be an underground cavern formed by tectonic movements two million years ago."
"I read some related materials in the Paldea Academy library; it said that this land was struck by an unprecedented earthquake long ago, creating this large cavern, and it's said there is more than one in the Paldea Region."
"Large cavern..." Naoki repeated softly.
Raifort's face bore a thoughtful expression: "During the Paldea Empire era, a Ruinous Pokemon named Ting-Lu triggered an earthquake in the capital, causing the ground to split and leading the prosperous capital into this very place."
Naoki recalled another matter.
Could the tectonic movements two million years ago have been caused by Regigigas shifting the continental plates?
Naoki remembered that Regigigas's Pokédex entry described it as follows: Regigigas, a colossal Pokemon, is said to have once pulled continents with ropes, forming today's various regions.