Stone Flower and Bunnelby

The entrance to the hidden tomb had no stairs, and if it weren't for Mismagius using Psychic to lift Yuga, he wouldn't have been able to descend.

Upon reaching the interior of the hidden tomb, Yuga realized that the space was vast, though its structure was relatively simple, with few decorations inside. At first glance, it appeared to be an unremarkable place.

The reason Yuga could observe the deeply buried tomb so clearly was entirely thanks to the large stone flower near the center of the tomb.

This stone flower was as large as a room, appearing translucent and crystalline, yet it emitted enough light to illuminate half of the tomb.

From the stone flower, Yuga sensed a strange energy fluctuation. This fluctuation was so powerful that it nearly caused the Grass-type energy within his body to surge uncontrollably.

"What is that?" Yuga asked Aegislash, while calming the restless energy inside him and pointing at the stone flower.

However, Aegislash didn't know what the stone flower was either. It only knew that this flower had been its master's most treasured possession and the only burial item in the tomb.

Though Aegislash had spent many years with its master, the stone flower had already existed by its master's side when they met, and its master had never explained the origin or function of the flower.

Yuga also learned from Aegislash that this stone flower used to be much brighter than it was now. In the past, it radiated so much light that it could turn night into day, whereas now, it could only illuminate half of the tomb.

Yuga understood. The stone flower needed energy to emit light, and after glowing for nearly 3,000 years, it was only natural that its energy was running low.

Behind the stone flower, Yuga saw the coffin of Aegislash's master.

The coffin was encased in an open stone sarcophagus, and within it lay a crystal coffin. Through the transparent crystal, Yuga could see the true form of Aegislash's master.

Three thousand years had passed, yet the person lying in the coffin remained lifelike, showing no signs of decay. Except for the pale face illuminated by the glow of the stone flower, they looked no different from someone merely asleep.

"How is this possible?" Yuga couldn't help but ask Aegislash.

Through Aegislash's explanation, Yuga learned that before dying, its master had swallowed a *Frost Stone* to preserve the body.

Yuga originally didn't know what a Frost Stone was, but after the system explained, he learned that it was an ancient term. In reality, the Frost Stone was a Heart of Ice, born from the essence of Never-Melt Ice.

The Never-Melt Ice is an item for Ice-type Pokémon, found only in glaciers and large frozen rivers. It's not only hard to come by but also extremely rare and difficult to mine. Most of the available Never-Melt Ice comes from the adventures of brave trainers.

As such, the price of Never-Melt Ice on the market is much higher than similar items. Yuga, however, equipped each of the Glaceon in his volcano sub-garden with one simply because he could afford it. Additionally, due to his status, he gets discounts when shopping in the League stores, something most people could never dream of.

If Never-Melt Ice is already rare, the Heart of Ice is even rarer. It only appears in places where large quantities of Never-Melt Ice are found, buried deep beneath ten-thousand-meter-thick, eternally frozen ice, embodying the essence of countless Never-Melt Ice shards. It is a true treasure.

The only known record of a Heart of Ice was linked to the mentor of Elite Four member Lorelei. Whether or not this now-deceased master trainer passed it on to his apprentice remains unknown. Even if he did, Lorelei likely wouldn't publicize it.

According to the system's assessment, the value of a Heart of Ice is equivalent to a gold item in the system store.

A gold item! Yuga had been in the Pokémon world for seven years and had only ever obtained one gold item: the Seed of Unknown, which shows how rare and valuable gold items are.

Yuga had personally experienced the power of a gold item. His Absol's smooth progression to Champion-level was largely due to the Seed of Unknown.

But now, a Heart of Ice—a treasure of equal value to the Seed of Unknown—had been used merely to preserve a body from decay. To Yuga, this seemed like a complete waste.

"The person is already dead. All that's left is an empty shell—what's the point of keeping it intact?"

Still, envy aside, Yuga acknowledged that the item belonged to someone else. What they chose to do with it was their business, not his.

Yuga had no intention of laying claim to the Heart of Ice. That would be morally wrong, and besides, Aegislash was standing right there! Angering Aegislash would be more trouble than it was worth.

What Yuga didn't know was that when Aegislash mentioned the Heart of Ice, it began secretly observing Yuga's actions and expressions. Seeing that there was no trace of greed in Yuga's eyes, Aegislash's opinion of him improved significantly.

Aegislash thought to itself: If Yuga had shown any interest in its master's body, no matter how much he had helped it, they could not have continued to coexist peacefully.

Aegislash knew full well the value of the Heart of Ice. Even though times had changed, a treasure was still a treasure. Resisting the temptation of such a rare item convinced Aegislash that Yuga was a righteous person.

Now that it saw its master's coffin undisturbed, Aegislash finally felt at ease. Its primary duty had always been to guard the tomb, and ever since it was taken out of the tomb, it had been worried that its master's resting place might have been disturbed. That's why it had wanted to return and check.

"Aegislash, now that your master is safe and sound, what are your plans? Will you stay here and continue guarding the tomb?"

Yuga asked Aegislash, looking at the person lying peacefully in the crystal coffin. But the more he looked, the more familiar the person's face seemed. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen those features somewhere before, yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember.

Then again, there were plenty of people in the world who resembled one another. Yuga didn't think too much about it. How could he have ever met this small-time king from Kalos from 3,000 years ago?

According to historical records, this small kingdom didn't last very long, and even this first-generation king barely has any mention in the annals of history. He certainly wasn't a well-known figure.

When Yuga asked the question, Aegislash fell silent. It actually enjoyed life at the YoYo Day Care, especially the environment of the Ghost Sea, which was its favorite.

However, it couldn't just leave its master here alone. What if someone found the tomb and disturbed its master's rest? Aegislash felt that this place was no longer as safe as it used to be.

Suddenly, a bright idea came to Aegislash. It requested that Yuga bring its master's remains back to Verdanturf Town and bury them in the Ecopark. In exchange, Aegislash would serve Yuga.

This put Yuga in a tough spot. He would love to have Aegislash's loyalty, but burying a stranger in his private territory just felt a bit uncomfortable.

Eventually, Yuga thought of a solution that would satisfy both sides. He suggested placing Aegislash's master in the Distortion World. After all, Aegislash was a Ghost-type Pokémon and could enter and exit the Distortion World through the Reverse Mirror.

When Yuga presented this idea, Aegislash gladly accepted.

In the Distortion World, the only resident was Giratina, so no one would disturb a deceased person.

Yuga added, "I have one more condition. Not only must you serve me, but the stone flower must also belong to me." He had a feeling the stone flower was somehow important to him.

Aegislash gazed at the stone flower Yuga was pointing to, thought for a while, and eventually agreed. It didn't know what the stone flower truly was, but since its master had passed away, it was now just an external object. If Yuga wanted it, so be it.

"Alright then, let's leave here as soon as possible," Yuga said happily. The tomb was empty, with nothing else of interest left, so there was no point in staying longer.

Yuga approached the stone flower, planning to store it in his system backpack.

The stone flower felt cold to the touch. Despite its name, it didn't feel like metal or jade but had a unique texture. Additionally, in the center of the flower was a cylindrical recess, as if something was missing from it.

From this cylindrical recess, Yuga deduced that the stone flower was a man-made artifact.

Despite its large size, Yuga's system backpack had unlimited storage capacity, so the stone flower was easily stored away.

As soon as the flower was gone, the tomb was plunged into total darkness. It became so pitch black that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Fortunately, Mismagius quickly lit a mystical fire, allowing Yuga to continue storing Aegislash's master's coffin into his system backpack as well.

After leaving the tomb, Yuga took a deep breath, feeling relieved. He had completed both of his tasks in Kalos, and now he felt free.

Noticing that it was getting late, Yuga decided to find a place to rest for the night. Tomorrow, he would head out with Sneasel to track down the Beartic that had taken over their territory. If he could capture one or two high-potential Pokémon, that would be ideal.

He had no intention of spending the night in the tomb. Although it provided shelter from the wind and rain, the atmosphere was far too eerie, and the chilling winds made it unbearable. Only Ice-type Pokémon could stay inside comfortably.

It was much better to pitch a tent outside. After all, Yuga had all the necessary camping equipment in his system backpack.

With the guidance of Stoutland and Furfrou, two native Pokémon, Yuga found a great spot sheltered from the wind and set up his tent.

On the Santalune Plateau, nightfall came quickly. Not long after the sun had set, the sky was completely dark. Once it was dark, the temperature dropped sharply. Yuga crawled into his tent and released all his fluffy Pokémon, including Absol. With everyone huddled together, the tent quickly became cozy and warm.

During the night, strong winds howled outside, but fortunately, Yuga's tent was of high quality; otherwise, it wouldn't have held up. The fierce winds did not disturb Yuga's sleep. He wrapped himself in his blanket, nestled beneath Absol's belly, and slept soundly, with the Stoutland family resting beside him.

By the time he woke up in the morning, the wind had already died down. Yuga stepped out of the tent, and the weak sunlight touched his face, as if the fierce wind from the night before had been just a dream.

Even though the sun had risen over the Santalune Plateau in the morning, the temperature remained astonishingly low. Yuga tightened his thick down jacket and couldn't help but shiver.

Last night, it was Abomasnow who kept watch for Yuga.

The cold night winds might have affected Ice-type Pokémon like Sneasel, but they had no effect on Abomasnow at all. Though both were Ice-types, their body structures were completely different.

Sneasel was, after all, still flesh and blood, but Abomasnow was like an ice tree, with a body structure similar to that of a plant, imbued with the Ice attribute, completely unaffected by the cold night winds.

After washing up outside, Yuga was about to head back into the tent to prepare breakfast for everyone when he saw Abomasnow carrying a Bunnelby over to him.

This Bunnelby was quite small, just a tiny bundle nestled in Abomasnow's palm, its ears drooping as if it had fainted.

Yuga touched its body and found it ice-cold. He asked Abomasnow, "Where did you find it?"

Abomasnow pointed to a corner of the tent, and Yuga suddenly understood. This little guy must have been hiding under the tent last night to shelter from the wind and cold, but unfortunately, it still fainted from the cold.

Bunnelby on the Santalune Plateau generally lived underground, feeding on the grass roots found on the plateau. Their living conditions were likely even better than the Stoutland family's, as there was no shortage of grass roots on the plateau.

Yuga figured that if this Bunnelby had stayed underground, it wouldn't have been knocked out by the cold. The Underground was much warmer than the surface.

Yuga took the Bunnelby from Abomasnow's hands and suddenly noticed that its color seemed much lighter than that of a typical Bunnelby.

Could it be a shiny Bunnelby?

Normally, Bunnelby and Diggersby have deep brown fur, which serves as their natural camouflage. If this color changes, its protective function is greatly diminished.

Could this Bunnelby have been driven out of its home because of its shiny coloration?

Yuga opened his Insight ability to examine the Bunnelby in his arms.

...

[ Bunnelby (Shiny) ]

Type: Normal

Ability: Huge Power

Gender: Female

Potential: Blue

Level: 7

Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Spikes.

...

Just as Yuga suspected, this Bunnelby was indeed a shiny Pokémon, and even more surprising, it had blue potential.

Yuga's Ecopark already had a shiny Ariados, but that Ariados only had green potential. He never expected that this shiny Bunnelby, which had practically delivered itself to him, would have blue potential.

Since entering the Santalune Plateau, Yuga had encountered mostly ordinary Pokémon, except for Stoutland and Furfrou who were once Pokemon belong to a Trainer, and the Glaceons that was affected by the Ice Rock. This shiny Bunnelby was the first high-potential wild Pokémon he had encountered, making it quite a rare find.

However, this Bunnelby was clearly very young. Otherwise, it wouldn't have collapsed right outside his tent.

Young Pokémon typically reach level 5 within two or three days of birth. Since this Bunnelby was level 7 and wandering alone, the only explanation was that it had either been driven away or its parents had met with disaster.

Carrying the Bunnelby into the tent, Yuga took out a bottle of Moomoo Milk from his backpack, heated it up, and fed it to the Bunnelby. In no time, the Bunnelby regained consciousness.

The young Bunnelby, not yet knowing the meaning of caution, wasn't afraid when it opened its eyes and saw Yuga. Upon realizing that Yuga had saved it, the Bunnelby became unusually attached to him.

And so, the Bunnelby joined Yuga's team.

After breakfast, Yuga and his Pokémon packed up the tent and set off toward the territory Sneasel had once called home.

Sneasel's territory was on a snowy mountain, though not the one near the tomb. It was quite a distance from where Yuga currently was.

The Stoutland and Furfrou had previously suffered a tragic incident involving their former trainer on the snowy mountain, leaving them with a psychological shadow. They were reluctant to step foot on the mountain again. Yuga didn't force them and decided that when the time came to ascend the mountain, he would let them rest in their Poké Balls.