Chapter 176: My Dad Beat You Before
The video continued playing.
The outline of the Abyssal Ruins grew increasingly distinct amid the surging waves.
Miori rode on Hydreigon’s back, the sea breeze blowing her loosely tied hair into a complete mess.
She swept it back with one hand, only for it to slap across her face again the instant she let go.
"My hairstyle is completely ruined."
Miori spat out the strands stuck against her mouth.
"Hydreigon, could you fly a little more steadily?"
Hydreigon released an exceptionally perfunctory growl.
Emolga flew directly in front of Hydreigon and pointed at the fur on its forehead, which the wind had parted perfectly down the middle. It then released a displeased cry.
"Emolga~"
"See?"
Miori spread her hands.
"One of your passengers has already turned into a middle-parted squirrel. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"Rrrgh." (It suits Emolga.)
Emolga immediately became furious.
It wrapped both paws around Hydreigon’s central head, opened its mouth, and bit down.
Hydreigon cried out in pain. All six of its wings lost their coordination at once, causing its entire body to trace an enormous S-shaped path through the sky.
"Both of you, stop it!!"
Miori clung tightly to the scales on Hydreigon’s back.
"There’s an ocean beneath us! If we fall, we’ll have to swim all the way to the Abyssal Ruins!!"
Emolga didn’t release Hydreigon until it had styled the central head’s fur into the same middle part.
It then flew aside and began laughing.
Miori expressionlessly slapped a hand against her forehead.
"What terrible thing did I do to deserve traveling with a group of clowns like you?"
The Abyssal Ruins were now directly ahead.
Its main entrance consisted of an enormous stone slab covered in ancient writing. Ghostly blue light seeped through the cracks around it.
Miori had Hydreigon land on the stone platform outside the entrance before approaching the slab and briefly examining it.
"How do we open this door?"
Emolga flew up to the slab and knocked against it with one paw.
A deep, muffled echo came from within.
"Emolga, emolga, emolga."
"You think it’s voice-activated?"
Miori planted her hands on her hips.
"Then let me try—Open sesame!"
The stone slab didn’t move.
"Hocus-pocus!"
The stone slab didn’t move.
"Team Rocket are idiots!!"
The stone slab remained completely motionless.
[VIP Chat Group]
[Skyla]: Hahaha! I nearly spat my water all over the screen! Where does Miori learn all this strange knowledge?
[Dawn]: Miori looked so serious while reciting those spells! Does she genuinely believe the stone door is voice-activated?
[May]: More importantly, what were those incantations? "Open sesame" makes sense, but what was "hocus-pocus" supposed to accomplish?
[Diantha]: As an actress, I appreciate Miori’s talent for improvisation.
[Lorelei]: That child’s thought process certainly differs from that of ordinary people.
The video continued playing.
"All right. So you want to do this the hard way."
Miori planted her hands on her hips.
"Hydreigon, use Hyper Beam!"
All three of Hydreigon’s heads opened their mouths simultaneously.
Three orange beams of energy converged in the air, forming one massive pillar that struck the stone slab head-on.
BOOM—!!!
The slab exploded into countless fragments that scattered in every direction.
Miori recalled Hydreigon and strode into the ruins.
"You could have opened normally, but no—you had to wait until you were hit by a Hyper Beam before cooperating."
Emolga poked its head out from atop hers, pointed ahead, and released an exceptionally wary cry.
"Emolga."
"I know."
Miori adjusted her sunglasses.
"Everyone inside must have heard an explosion that loud. But that works for me. Now I won’t have to search for them one at a time."
The interior of the Abyssal Ruins was far more spacious than Miori had imagined.
The domed ceiling rose so high that she could barely see its top. Every wall was densely covered in ancient writing, with each line emitting a ghostly blue glow.
Miori lifted Emolga down from her head and lowered her voice.
"We’ll split up. You take the passage on the left, and I’ll take the right. Send a signal when you find Meloetta."
Emolga saluted with one paw, spread its wings, and disappeared into the darkness of the left-hand corridor.
Miori released Zeraora before entering the passage on the right.
This corridor was considerably narrower than the main hall.
Miori and Zeraora had only just rounded the first corner when they encountered four patrolling Team Rocket members.
The captain at the front froze when he saw Miori, then immediately raised his communicator.
"An intruder! Right-side passage! Requesting reinforcements—"
Before he could finish, Zeraora transformed into a streak of golden electricity and flashed past him.
The four members hadn’t even managed to raise their Poké Balls before electricity surged through their bodies.
They collapsed onto the floor in a neat row, twitching uncontrollably, their hair blasted into four matching afros.
Miori stepped over them without slowing down.
"Sorry. I’m in a hurry."
Proceeding in this manner, Miori traveled for approximately three minutes before reaching a circular stone chamber.
Its door had opened only halfway, leaving a gap barely wide enough for a person.
Miori turned sideways and squeezed through.
The secret chamber was much larger than she had expected. Its domed ceiling stood nearly three stories high, while countless glowing blue crystals had been embedded in the surrounding walls.
A gigantic ancient bronze mirror floated at the center of the chamber.
A small figure lay curled up within the middle of its reflective surface.
Meloetta.
Layer upon layer of dark-purple energy chains were wrapped around its body. The other end of every chain connected to the frame of the Reveal Glass, as though something were slowly draining away Meloetta’s power.
Miori’s pupils contracted slightly.
She was about to approach Meloetta when Zeraora suddenly extended one paw in front of her and released a warning growl toward the door behind them.
Miori heard it too.
Steady footsteps were approaching from outside.
They weren’t the hurried steps of someone running in panic.
They were unhurried and deliberate—the crisp sound of dress shoes striking stone.
The door opened.
Giovanni stood in the entrance.
He wore an impeccably tailored dark-gray suit, with his left hand resting inside his pocket. His expression carried the same calm, indifferent smile of someone who believed everything remained firmly under his control.
Two Pokémon emerged from behind him—
A Nidoking and a Nidoqueen.
Both released deep growls simultaneously.
Zeraora moved in front of Miori, electrical arcs exploding throughout its mane.
"Mr. Giovanni."
Miori’s voice was neither humble nor confrontational.
"My apologies, but I’ll be taking Meloetta with me."
Giovanni raised an eyebrow.
"You know who I am?"
"Of course."
Miori tilted her head and revealed an exceptionally brilliant smile.
"My dad beat you before. And you ran away rather quickly back then. He didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye before you slipped away."
The smile remained on Giovanni’s face, but the corner of one eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Asher’s daughter."
He slowly nodded.
"No wonder you managed to reach this place. However, your manner of speaking is even more irritating than your father’s."