The Black Hole

Seeing Robert approach, Yuga immediately pulled him over and pointed at the iron object. "Robert, come take a look at this."

Robert crouched down, touched the iron object, and tried to flip it over, but it wouldn't budge.

After examining it for a while, Robert stood up and said to Yuga, "This might be an anchor."

"An anchor?"

"Yes, a ship anchor, a metal device used to stop ships. It's connected by a chain to the ship, and when thrown into the water, it holds the ship in place."

"Hold on, no need to explain so much. I know what an anchor is, but why would there be a discarded anchor here?"

Upon hearing Yuga's question, Robert was also puzzled. He crouched down to examine the anchor again, stood up, and said, "The style of this anchor doesn't resemble modern anchors. It's just that the rust has taken over, so we can't see its original appearance."

Just as Yuga was about to respond, the system's voice echoed in his mind.

[ Congratulations, host, on triggering the quest: Sunken Ship Remains. ]

[ Description: As a man equipped with a system, you'll inevitably encounter unexpected events. Find the sunken ship remains and learn about its past. ]

[ Reward: Choose one qualification for opening a Sub-Ecopark. ]

[ The benefits from the system came at just the right moment. Yuga thought, "I truly am a man with a cheat system. ]

Based on the system's hint, there should be an ancient sunken ship nearby, and the anchor likely belonged to that ship.

Robert, noticing Yuga lost in thought, waved a hand in front of him and said, "Hey, what are you thinking? You're so absorbed in thought."

Snapping back to reality, Yuga hurriedly said, "Oh, nothing, just thinking about this anchor. You think there's a sunken ship around here, which is why we found this old anchor?"

Robert nodded in agreement. "That's quite likely. It also explains why there's so much treasure beneath this beach."

Yuga pretended to be surprised and said, "Well, let's go find it then!" He slowly led Robert into helping him search for the sunken ship.

"Sure, let's give it a shot. Who knows, we might actually find it," Robert readily agreed.

"Since we dug up this anchor here, why don't we start here?" Yuga suggested.

"Alright, Baltoy, come over and use Dig," Robert agreed and called his Chimecho.

"Linoone, you too, help out with Rotottiler." Yuga addressed his Linoone.

Both Pokémon jumped into the pit and started using their skills to break the rocks beneath the sand.

As the hole transitioned from a sandy pit to a rocky pit, growing deeper and larger, they found nothing. Robert spoke up, "What if it's not here? Should we search elsewhere?"

Yuga thought for a moment and found the idea reasonable. Just as he was about to suggest moving to another location, a loud boom resonated. The bottom of the pit collapsed, revealing a pitch-black hole.

Baltoy fell with the collapsing pit, quickly flying back up. However, there was no sign of Linoone.

"Where's Linoone?" Yuga didn't see Linoone coming up and anxiously asked Chimecho.

Chimecho pointed to the black hole below, indicating that Linoone had fallen down.

"Linoone!" Yuga leaned over the pit and shouted down into the black hole.

"Linoone, can you hear my voice? If you can, answer me!" Yuga called several times but received no response.

"We should go down and find it. Shouting might not reach it down there," Robert suggested.

"Alright." Yuga nodded.

Yuga and Robert summoned their Pokémon and prepared to enter the black hole. Before setting off, Yuga told Ringo, "Sister Koen, I'm leaving the little ones to you. I'll have Audino stay with you. If we're not back before dark, you can head back to the Seaside Hotel."

Suzuki nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of them. Go on without worries."

Upon hearing Suzuki's words, Yuga couldn't help but think: Did I just jinx myself?

With everything arranged, Yuga and Robert were sent into the black hole by their respective Chimecho using Psychic power.

Inside the hole, it was as dark as it had appeared from the outside.

However, Yuga and Robert were well-prepared. As soon as their feet touched the ground, Yuga turned on the flashlight he had prepared in advance.

However, when Yuga turned on the flashlight, he didn't see Robert, nor did he see their Chimechos. Instead, he saw a Corphish staring at him with wide eyes.

Without hesitation, the Corphish lifted one of its large pincers and swung it at Yuga, which startled him.

Luckily, Chimecho was quick to react. It first used Gravity to forcefully press the charging Corphish onto the ground and then used Confusion to render it unable to fight.

"What just happened? Are you alright?" Robert opened his flashlight too and looked at Yuga, concerned.

"I'm fine, just encountered a Corphish." Yuga pointed to the unconscious Corphish lying on the ground.

"Fine, just..." Robert's words were cut off as a roar echoed.

"Crawdaunt!" The voice carried immense anger.

Yuga and Robert turned around and shone their flashlights, revealing an enormous Crawdaunt charging toward them with bright red armor.

"It's a Crawdaunt. It's probably with that Corphish!" Robert exclaimed.

Before it could reach them, a series of bubbles rapidly floated towards Yuga and Robert.

Without hesitation, Yuga released his Absol and commanded, "Absol, use Psycho Cut!"

"Chimecho, use Astonish!" Robert gave his own command to his Chimecho.

The white blades of Psycho Cut and the black shockwaves of Astonish clashed with the Crawdaunt's bubble attack, causing a violent explosion. Rocks began to fall from above.

"Crawdaunt!"

Seeing its bubble attack ineffective, the Crawdaunt grew angrier. It used its Shell Blade and charged at Yuga and Robert.

"Absol, Sucker Punch!"

Robert's Chimecho, being a Psychic-type, wasn't at an advantage against the Dark-type Crawdaunt, so Yuga commanded his Absol to intercept the attack.

Absol collided with the Crawdaunt, generating a powerful impact that pushed them both back.

As the Crawdaunt regained its balance, it spat out clumps of black sludge from its pincers—Poison-type moves, Sludge Bomb.

"Absol, Psycho Cut!"

The white blades of Psycho Cut sliced through the sludge bombs, splitting them in half before they landed on the ceiling. Falling rocks followed suit.

At this moment, Robert suddenly realized something and shouted at Yuga, "Yuga, we need to retreat now! If we keep fighting, this place will collapse, and we'll be trapped."

Robert's words made Yuga realize the imminent danger. He quickly turned to Absol and Chimecho and said, "Don't linger in the battle, let's go."

With Absol and Chimecho in tow, Yuga followed Robert's lead and fled.

Looking back, Yuga saw the passage behind them collapsing due to the Crawdaunt's Sludge Bombs. The Crawdaunt itself was trapped behind a pile of rocks.