Chapter 93
Mike looked at the Baltoy floating before him and raised his camera to take several photographs.
Baltoy remained suspended in the air a short distance away, completely motionless. Its narrow eyes seemed fixed on Mike.
After staring at each other for a while, Mike exchanged a glance with Gengar.
Gengar nodded, then extended his thin bamboo staff and tried to poke Baltoy.
"Bal... toy..."
Hearing its cry, Mike politely introduced himself.
"I spotted you in the cave above and followed you down here. We didn’t know there was a ruin beneath the cave, so please forgive us if we’ve disturbed you."
Mike hung the camera around his neck, pressed his palms together, and bowed slightly.
Gengar and the others bowed politely as well.
After hearing him, Baltoy rotated its body in confusion.
"Bal... toy?"
[You... came... here?]
Perhaps it had gone too long without speaking, because its voice came out in broken fragments.
’Does it mean ’why we came here’?’
"I’m a..."
Mike pointed toward the camera.
"Photographer."
[Photo...]
"That’s right. Something like this."
Mike lifted the camera and took another picture of Baltoy.
Then he walked over, found the photograph on the screen, and showed it to the Pokémon.
Baltoy examined the image of itself and slowly rotated.
[It... looks... the same...]
"It’s called a photograph. It records exactly what you look like," Mike explained.
"How about I take several more pictures of you, and in exchange, you show me around these ruins?"
[Okay...]
"Then..."
Mike pointed at the wall, whose surface felt almost like compacted soil.
"Are there carvings beneath this?"
Baltoy thought for a moment, then nodded.
Mike asked Gengar to take out the drone and connect it to the camera. After switching it to recording mode, he had it follow beside them.
They were exploring an ancient ruin.
Of course he needed video footage.
Mike approached the wall first and used the light from Gengar’s headlamp to examine the patterns carved into it.
Far too much time had passed.
Large sections of the stone had blended with the surrounding soil, leaving only a few faint marks.
Mike gently wiped the wall with one hand, then blew away the loosened dirt.
The outline of a Pokémon appeared underneath.
"A Pokémon... Why does it look so familiar?"
Mike studied the image and rubbed his chin.
The Pokémon carved into the wall wore something resembling a conical hat and stood on two legs.
Unfortunately, the rest of its body had become too blurred to make out, preventing Mike from identifying it.
He examined the surrounding wall for other pictures or writing, then turned toward Baltoy.
"Do you know whether there are any other carvings nearby?"
Baltoy shook its head.
"Could you show me around?"
Mike asked Gengar for a Berry and offered it to Baltoy.
Baltoy accepted it with psychic power, placed it in its mouth, and began eating. Then it turned and floated deeper into the ruins.
Mike followed close behind.
He had to admit that the ’Escape Rope’ was absurdly long.
They had already walked for what felt like ages, yet it continued stretching without showing any sign of reaching its limit.
Should he praise the absurd technology of the Pokémon world, or the quality of items provided by the system?
The farther they followed Baltoy, the more spacious the cavern became.
Eventually, Baltoy brought Mike to the very end of the cave and stopped.
The chamber wasn’t particularly large. The glow from the Soothing Headlamp could illuminate the entire space.
Numerous ruined structures filled the chamber, although most had collapsed and become buried beneath dirt, leaving their passages completely blocked.
Mike also discovered that Baltoy wasn’t the only Psychic-type Pokémon living there.
There was also... Bronzor.
"..."
Mike immediately lifted his camera.
Without waiting for Bronzor to agree, he began circling it while continuously pressing the shutter.
Startled by the rapid clicking sounds, Bronzor’s eyes glowed with an eerie purple light.
A beam of psychic energy shot toward Mike, but Baltoy intercepted it.
"Bal... toy..."
[He... is... my friend...]
"Bronz—"
[Friend?]
Mike was surprised when he heard Bronzor’s voice.
"So that’s what a Bronzor sounds like?"
Unlike Baltoy’s hollow wavering voice, Bronzor sounded like someone lightly tapping a bronze mirror—cool, pleasant, and distinctly metallic.
Seeing how uneasy Bronzor appeared, Mike smiled.
"Are you hungry? Have something to eat."
The mysterious creatures of this world were actually very easy to win over.
Gengar had already learned most of Mike’s negotiation techniques.
Offer food first.
Talk afterward!
Bronzor didn’t usually eat many Berries, but faced with a variety it had never seen, it still accepted one with psychic power and took a bite.
Its eyes immediately widened.
Noticing its change in mood, Mike smiled.
"Would you like some more?"
Bronzor looked toward him and released a resonant metallic chime.
"Bronz—"
"Then could you and Baltoy cooperate while I take a few more photographs?"
Bronzor and Baltoy both nodded.
Mike immediately began directing them into different poses.
Baltoy had already grown accustomed to the camera and behaved naturally.
Bronzor’s movements were somewhat stiff, but under the temptation of more food, it still cooperated and attempted several poses.
’I’ve barely taken any. This isn’t nearly enough.’
Fortunately, Gengar was nearby preparing more Berries.
Mike reached out, took hold of Bronzor, and examined it closely.
It really did resemble a bronze mirror.
He turned its body around to see whether the back could actually reflect anything, but unfortunately, Bronzor’s rear surface was covered in a dull gray haze and couldn’t be used as a mirror.
Mike rubbed it curiously, but no matter how hard he tried, the gray layer refused to come off.
So was Bronzor not actually a mirror?
Had it merely been named Bronzor because its body resembled an ancient bronze mirror?
Mike vaguely remembered that Bronzor had first appeared in Sinnoh, and that Lucian’s strongest Pokémon was its evolved form, Bronzong.
"What a shame. It isn’t a real mirror, so I can’t use it to admire my ’devastatingly’ handsome face."
Mike sighed regretfully.
Pokémon were truly mysterious creatures.
Dugtrio had feet, and Bronzor wasn’t actually a mirror.
At some point, Gengar had crept closer.
Mike patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to go play somewhere else.
After absently playing with Gengar’s shadow for a while, Mike looked around and curiously asked Baltoy and Bronzor another question.
"How long have the two of you lived here? Have you ever encountered any other Pokémon?"
"Bal... toy..."
[No...]
Mike sighed in disappointment.
"What a shame. I was hoping we might find a Claydol and a Bronzong too. Then I could take a complete family portrait of both evolutionary lines."
"But that’s all right. I’ll encounter them eventually."
Mike wasn’t in a hurry.
After finishing their photographs, he walked to another wall covered in carvings and began carefully examining the images.
"These are all... Pokémon?"
"Bronzong, Claydol, and Typhlosion. What’s that one... some kind of snail? Which Pokémon looks like a snail?"
Mike studied the creature depicted with a huge shell on its back and two large feelers protruding from its head.
"Magcargo? No, that doesn’t look right..."
He frowned and continued examining the carvings.
Gengar had somehow obtained a flashlight.
He switched off his headlamp and used the flashlight to illuminate the wall for Mike, occasionally passing him a snack so he could remain focused on his research.
It appeared that discovering Baltoy and Bronzor wouldn’t be the only reward from this place.
"This..."
Mike’s quiet voice echoed through the chamber.
Snivy and the others softened their breathing to avoid disturbing him.
Even Beedrill reduced the frequency of his wingbeats.
"Is someone doing a ballet?"
"People already practiced ballet in ancient times?"
Mike leaned closer.
"No... that isn’t a person. Is it a Growlithe? A Growlithe dancing ballet?!"
His eyes widened.
He thought he finally understood when these carvings had been made.
"A Pokémon dancing like a ballerina, with long, slender legs and what looks like a skirt... Lilligant?"
"Hisuian Lilligant?!"
Mike exclaimed in astonishment.
He quickly stepped backward and stared again at the Pokémon carved into the wall.
"Then are these Pokémon from Hisui?"
"That snail-like Pokémon I saw earlier must be Hisuian Goodra!"
"And that Typhlosion is Hisuian Typhlosion!"
"Then the Pokémon near the entrance wearing something like a conical hat was... Hisuian Decidueye?!"
"This..."
Mike fell into thought.
Hisui.
Although the name felt distant and unfamiliar, he remembered that several groups of people had once migrated to the region.
As their population gradually increased, the settlements eventually grew into the Sinnoh of the modern era.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus had explained some of Hisui’s history, but far too much time had passed since Mike had played it, and he had forgotten many of the major events.
The Solaceon Ruins and Snowpoint Temple were supposedly built during that distant period as well.
Hisui...
Wasn’t that the name of the Sinnoh region from roughly a thousand years ago?
"These ruins have survived for over a thousand years? Holy crap..."
Mike could barely believe his eyes.
He had entered a random cave and stumbled upon ruins dating back more than a millennium?
Most of the structures had been buried beneath earth and debris, but enough remained visible to examine.
Realizing that Mike had discovered something extraordinary, Gengar set his chair aside, put away his bamboo staff, and took out the Rotom Phone.
He began controlling the drone himself, carefully filming every detail.
"Pokémon from the Hisui region..."
Mike gently traced one of the carvings with his fingers.
"Many of these forms must have already gone extinct."
He stood and brushed the dust from his trousers.
The surrounding walls were ancient, and broken remnants of collapsed buildings lay everywhere.
"Oh my god... Is that Corviknight?"
Mike stared at the enormous bird carved into another wall.
It didn’t look exactly like Corviknight, but there was still some resemblance.
"Bal... toy..."
[One... thousand years ago? I... don’t know... It has been... very long...]
"Yeah. It really has been a long time."
Mike sighed.
A thousand years...
These ruins had remained buried underground for a thousand years.
After finishing his examination of the walls, Mike approached the remains of the ruined structures and carefully studied their original design.
They didn’t resemble ordinary homes.
This place looked more like an area used to hold large ceremonies or gatherings.
"Phew..."
Mike blew across half of a stone tablet lying nearby.
The dirt shifted, revealing several faint lines beneath it.
"Writing?!"
Mike exclaimed in surprise.
"There really is writing here! Gengar, come over and film this. Bring me some light too."
"Gar—"
Gengar adjusted the drone and found an appropriate angle, aiming it directly at the stone tablet.
Then he floated over to Mike’s side.
Mike stared down.
"?"
"..."
A row of small characters had been carved into the tablet.
However, they weren’t written in any modern language.
They looked more like... Ancient script.
"I forgot... This writing is over a thousand years old. I can’t read it..."
Mike sat miserably on the ground and stared at the incomprehensible inscription.
Discovering ancient ruins and finding writing left behind by their inhabitants made Mike extremely happy.
Discovering that he couldn’t read that writing made him extremely unhappy!
{How could someone destined to become a Legendary Photographer casually discover an ancient ruin without exploring it properly? Congratulations! You have discovered ruins left behind in the Hisui region 1,640 years ago. It appears that something has been recorded here. Do you wish to understand the inscription? There is no need to worry. I have a solution.}
{Ancient Script: Allows you to read writing from every ancient period in this world.}
{Note: Ancient writing only.}
{Price: 18,888.42 Viewership Points. Original price: 58,888 Viewership Points.}
{A discount has already been applied. Would you like to exchange for it?}
"Alrea—"
Mike nearly answered before the word caught in his throat.
He stared at the price.
It had certainly been discounted, but the cost still hurt so much that it felt ridiculous!
The original price was nearly sixty thousand.
Had the system become arrogant after noticing that he finally had some Viewership Points?
Mike opened his status panel and checked his balance.
{Mike}
{...}
{Viewership Points: 18,988.42}
Mike: "..."
’Why are you suddenly acting so generous?’
’So this is what you were planning!’
’I have 18,988.42 points, and you’re charging me 18,888.42! You even want every decimal point!’
’And here I was thinking you had finally grown a conscience! Bastard!’
{I have a conscience.}
"..."
{Would you like to—}
"Exchange."
The moment he answered, a vast amount of knowledge poured violently into Mike’s mind.
He staggered into a corner, braced himself against the wall, and dry-heaved several times.
"Couldn’t you deliver it a little more gently? Ugh..."
Once the nausea subsided, Mike returned to the tablet, accepted the water Gengar offered him, and took a sip.
Then he carefully began reading the inscription.
"A terrible drought descended from the heavens, and the crops produced nothing. After the drought came thunder and raging storms. The village..."
Mike quietly read the text aloud.
Some sections had been damaged too badly to recognize, forcing him to skip them.
"With the storms and thunder running rampant, we held a ceremony and prayed for the gods to help us. We offered cattle, sheep, and pigs..."
"The storm and thunder appeared again. This time, two other figures emerged from within the clouds. Together, they drove away the beings of storm and lightning..."
"Afterward..."
"To express their gratitude, the people of the village built something for this... god..."
"It was..."
"From that day onward... and bestowed life and abundance upon the land..."
The remaining words had disappeared completely.
There was also a picture beside the inscription.
Mike examined it carefully.
Two Pokémon-like figures stood in the sky, looking down below.
He followed the direction of their gazes, only to find that the edge of the stone tablet had broken away.
Mike searched throughout the chamber but couldn’t find the missing fragment.
In the end, he returned to the remaining half and carefully analyzed the information recorded there.
"Why does this sound more and more like... the Forces of Nature?"
"The embodiments of storms and thunder would be Tornadus and Thundurus."
"And those other two figures..."
Mike looked at the image carved into the tablet and murmured, "The god of the fields... Wouldn’t that be Landorus?"
"As for this so-called god of spring..."
"Could it be the legendary fourth member of the group—Enamorus?"
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