Uniform

Hearing Ninetales' response, Gary asked excitedly, "Is there really treasure? Where is it? Show us!"

However, Ninetales did not move at his words. Instead, it looked at Yuga and asked, "I heard that you're planning to go to the Tree of Beginning?"

Yuga was surprised. "How did you know?" Although Ninetales posed it as a question, its tone was certain, clearly not seeking confirmation.

Ninetales lifted its head proudly, its nine tails swaying gently. "Nothing in this forest escapes my notice!"

It turned out that the moment Yuga and Gary had entered this ancient forest, they had been secretly reported by some inconspicuous wild Pokémon to Ninetales. This included part of their conversation, so Ninetales was naturally aware of their plan to meet Mew at the Tree of Beginning.

"What does our trip to the Tree of Beginning have to do with getting the treasure?" Gary asked in confusion.

Ninetales answered, "It's certainly related! If you can help me meet Mew, then the treasure is yours. Otherwise, I won't hand it over to you!"

"You want to meet Mew? Why would a Ninetales want to meet Mew?" Gary couldn't understand Ninetales' desire to meet Mew.

Hearing Ninetales' words, Yuga had an inkling. A Level 99 Ninetales… if it wanted to meet Mew, there could only be one reason.

To gain a purple potential and become a Level 100 Pokémon!

"Since you're curious, I may as well tell you!" Ninetales cast a glance at Gary.

It turned out that part of the legend circulating in the forest was indeed true. Ninetales did have a treasure, left behind by a renowned pirate.

This pirate was Ninetales' former master.

This pirate master had lived almost eight hundred years ago, when this area was more than just a vast forest; it was home to a small village.

The pirate, who had roamed the seas all her life and amassed countless riches, eventually brought her treasures here to this secluded village within the ancient forest to retire. The village was close to the Tree of Beginning, and nearly all of the villagers were devoted followers of Mew.

In the end, the pirate passed away, leaving all her treasures to her only Pokémon, Ninetales. The villagers never knew this, always believing the pirate to be an ordinary person.

Ninetales hid the treasure and, as it grew stronger over time, became the guardian of the village.

However, the village eventually disappeared with the passage of time, and this place gradually transformed completely into a forest. But Ninetales never left; it remained, guarding this place to this day.

The idea that a Ninetales can live for a thousand years is no myth, especially the one as powerful as this Ninetales.

The Ninetales before Yuga and Gary had been thriving here for hundreds of years since the village disappeared. However, it wasn't because of a deep attachment to the village—Ninetales had another reason for staying.

Although the village had perished, Ninetales learned a secret from one of the village elders: if a Pokémon wished to surpass its limits, it would need a Legendary Pokémon's blessing.

At first, Ninetales paid little attention to this so-called secret. But upon reaching Level 99 without a hint of progress, it couldn't ignore it any longer.

It was no secret that Mew resided at the Tree of Beginning. So, to break through its limits, Ninetales made a special trip to the Tree of Beginning, hoping to obtain this so-called "Legendary Pokémon Blessing."

The villagers were Mew's devotees, and the "god" they spoke of was naturally Mew.

However, meeting Mew was no easy task. The Tree of Beginning was guarded by the Three Regis. It was difficult enough to confront them without having reached Level 100; even if it had, Ninetales would still be unable to handle an attack from all three.

Other than the Pokémon that originated from the Tree of Beginning itself, the area was unwelcoming to outsiders. Thus, Ninetales' plan to meet Mew failed.

In the years that followed, Ninetales tried repeatedly to bypass the Tree of Beginning's defenses to meet Mew, but each attempt ended in failure.

Eventually, it came up with a plan: to spread rumors of the treasure and use it to lure others into helping it break through the Tree of Beginning's defenses.

However, nearly a century passed, and not one could accomplish this task.

The rumor that the treasure could strengthen Pokémon was, of course, false. It was just a tale Ninetales spread to mislead others. As for the few Elite-level Pokémon that had appeared, they were born thanks to a few top-grade evolution stones in its master's treasure hoard. This helped confirm the legend's credibility.

Those Pokémon had no idea they were being deceived by Ninetales and firmly believed in the rumors it spread. In reality, human treasure doesn't necessarily hold allure for Pokémon.

Yuga and Gary being brought here by Pidgeot was actually the result of Ninetales' manipulation. From Pidgeot's encounter with Yuga to the hints about the treasure, everything was under Ninetales' control.

Ninetales is a mystical Pokémon, especially one that has lived for 800 years. It can grasp a subtle, indescribable thread of the future that hangs in the air.

From the moment it saw Yuga, it sensed that this human could help it, which is why it suddenly tested Yuga's strength to confirm its intuition.

Yuga did not disappoint! Over all these years, aside from the three regis at the Tree of Beginning, this was the first time Ninetales had been forced into such a tight spot!

Of course, Ninetales wasn't going to tell Yuga and Gary all the truth.

The version it told them was that its master's greatest dream was to visit the Tree of Beginning and meet Mew, but this wish had gone unfulfilled until the day they died. Ninetales hoped it could fulfill this wish on behalf of its master.

If Yuga and Gary could help, it would reward them with the treasure left by its master.

This half-true tale added a touch of credibility, but Yuga and Gary weren't fools. They wouldn't trust an 800-year-old fox so easily.

"How can you prove you're telling the truth? What if we help you and don't get the treasure in the end? That would be a huge loss!" Yuga questioned.

Ninetales was momentarily taken aback. "Then what do you suggest? My master is long gone; I have no way of proving it."

"At the very least, we need to see where the treasure is," Gary said. "You can't just dangle promises in front of us and expect us to obediently follow."

After a moment's thought, Ninetales replied, "Alright, I'll show you."

Confidently, Ninetales felt that even if Yuga and Gary saw the treasure, they'd still be within its grasp.

Ninetales leaped off the pedestal and walked to a small house at the center of the stone pillar, releasing a burst of flames onto the ground.

Strangely, the flames followed the patterns etched into the ground rather than spreading randomly. In a short while, the patterns lit up entirely, forming an intricate image.

With a rumble, the flames gathered back at the small house, which slowly began to shift, revealing a hidden pit beneath its original position.

The mechanism was quite clever! Yuga thought silently as he observed the pit. Gary, equally surprised by its appearance, eagerly took out his camera and started filming.

"Is this an ancient ruin?" Gary asked while filming.

"No idea," Yuga replied, shaking his head.

"Follow me," Ninetales instructed and jumped into the pit.

Yuga and Gary quickly followed. Inside, they found a long stone staircase winding downward into the pitch-black darkness below.

Blue ghostly flames suddenly flickered from the tip of Ninetales' tails, drifting to the stone walls and lighting the wall-mounted lamps one by one.

"It's a bit creepy," Gary muttered, rubbing his arms to ward off the chills.

"That's Will-O-Wisp," Yuga remarked.

"Such a show-off," Gary mumbled under his breath.

Guided by Ninetales, Yuga and Gary soon found themselves before the pirate's treasure.

The ground was littered with gold and silver, countless ancient treasures, and even many fossils of ancient Pokémon. If these were all revived using a fossil revival machine, they would be valuable fossil Pokémon!

Seeing this treasure, Gary was dumbfounded. "It's real… are we about to strike it rich?"

Besides gold, silver, jewels, and antiques, Yuga also discovered several crates filled with evolutionary stones and elemental gems—Fire Stones, Thunder Stones, Water Stones… Fire Gems, Water Gems, Thunder Gems… Most of the stash consisted of Water Stones and Water Gems, while only a few Fire Stones and Fire Gems remained, likely already used by Ninetales.

For Ninetales to have grown as strong as it was now, it must have consumed an impressive amount of resources.

"Well, are you satisfied? As long as you help me fulfill my wish, all this is yours!" Ninetales said, slightly arrogantly.

Yuga turned his head to Ninetales and suddenly said, "I think even if we don't help you, we can still take this treasure."

Ninetales sensed something amiss and its expression changed drastically. "What do you mean?"

Before it could react, a powerful force struck it, sending it flying into the wall with a violent crash.

It turned out that Dusknoir had appeared behind Ninetales without it noticing.

Like Ninetales, Dusknoir was also a Master-level Pokémon. Although it was slightly lower in level, it had lived even longer and accumulated extensive combat experience, making its strength not much less than Ninetales's.

Originally, Dusknoir had been at level 96, but since joining Yuga, it had leveled up to 97, only two levels lower than Ninetales's 99.

Dusknoir was Yuga's trump card for daring to confront the 99-level Ninetales head-on!

If Ninetales had been at level 100, Yuga wouldn't have risked this, but level 99 and level 100 are worlds apart, so Yuga wasn't about to hand over the initiative to Ninetales.

"You dare to ambush me?!"

Enraged by the sneak attack, Ninetales hadn't expected Yuga to still have a trick up his sleeve—such treachery!

Sliding down from the wall, it opened its mouth to spit flames in retaliation, but found itself unable to move.

Dusknoir had cast Mean Look on Ninetales, the intense psychic pressure slowing its movements to a crawl.

Bang!

Dusknoir approached and delivered a Thunder Punch directly to Ninetales's face, knocking its head to the side and rendering it unconscious.

Gary was stunned by Dusknoir's sudden appearance and its series of actions.

"This…this…" Gary, holding his camera, couldn't get a word out.

Yuga chuckled and said to Gary, "This Ninetales wasn't being honest; sometimes a good beating is the best reassurance."

Gary nodded his head, still in shock: Alright, fine, you're the boss. Whatever you say!

Then, he watched as Yuga pulled out a purple Poké Ball and tossed it at Ninetales, capturing it without any resistance.

"Is that a Master Ball?" Gary gasped.

Master Balls had been heavily regulated by the League from the start, and their high production costs meant only a few existed in the world.

Yuga smiled. "I stumbled upon it by accident. Didn't think it'd come in handy today!"

In fact, he had acquired the Master Ball one morning at Professor Oak's lab from the system store. He'd thought it was useless at first but hadn't expected it to come in handy today.

Since the system update, Poké Balls and berries are now available as fixed items, so they can be bought without waiting for a refresh. However, the Master Ball is unique, classified as a purple item, just one tier below the rarest gold items. This was the first time Yuga had ever encountered it in the shop.

If this Ninetales hadn't seemed so unreliable, Yuga wouldn't have been interested in using a Master Ball to restrain it.

There was an achievement reward in the system that also awarded a Master Ball, but unfortunately, he hadn't unlocked it yet.

After releasing Ninetales from the ball, Yuga had Chimecho heal it, and soon it woke up again.

As soon as it saw Yuga, Ninetales was furious and prepared to attack him, only to see Yuga take out the purple Poké Ball and capture it again.

The Poké Ball shook continuously, but no matter how hard Ninetales struggled, it couldn't break free from the Master Ball's constraints. It was rumored that the Master Ball could even contain Legendary Pokémon, and now it was clear that reputation was well-deserved!

Yuga and Gary stared at the Master Ball for about an hour, watching as Ninetales finally quieted down, and the ball ceased to shake.

Yuga picked up the Master Ball, released Ninetales, and saw it lying weakly on the ground. Smiling, he asked, "Have you calmed down?"

Ninetales raised its head and demanded, "What do you want from me? Let me go, and the treasure is all yours!" Forced into submission, it had no choice but to concede.

Yuga asked, "What were your original plans? Tell us, and then I'll decide whether to release you."

Ninetales glared at Yuga with rage, but intimidated by the Master Ball, it reluctantly revealed everything.

The Master Ball was different from a regular Poké Ball; its interior was like a prison, unfriendly to the Pokémon trapped within. This was one of the reasons the League had banned further production of Master Balls.

After listening to Ninetales, Yuga thought to himself, Just as I suspected. It was seeking Mew so it can upgrade its potential.

After a moment of contemplation, Yuga said to Ninetales, "We can help you to meet Mew, but not only will you have to give us the treasure, you'll also need to escort us to the Tree of Beginning."

Though they were on a League-mandated mission to meet Mew and shouldn't encounter danger, Yuga knew it was always better to be safe than sorry. According to Ninetales, the Tree of Beginning didn't welcome outsiders. It had its own will, and the three Regis that was guarding it were also not an easy opponents.

Already under their control, Ninetales had no reason to refuse.

Thus, Yuga and Gary decided to leave the treasure here for now and planned to enlist Professor Oak's help to retrieve it later. Without exposing the system's spatial inventory, Yuga and Gary couldn't carry all these items at once, and they still had a mission to complete.

Before they set out, Ninetales reactivated the mechanisms in the underground lair and dispersed the Elite-level Pokémon guarding the pillars, then departed with Yuga and Gary.

With Ninetales, a native guide, leading the way, Yuga and Gary quickly made their way through the dense, primordial forest.

Throughout the journey, Gary showed intense interest in Ninetales, conducting detailed measurements of its body and attempting various experiments to verify the many legends surrounding it, which irritated Ninetales to no end.

If asked who Ninetales currently despised the most, it wouldn't be Yuga, who had beaten and captured it, but Gary, who kept experimenting on it. And with Yuga's deliberate indulgence, Ninetales couldn't even vent its anger at Gary.

Not long after leaving the forest, Yuga and Gary finally saw the colossal Tree of Beginning looming in the distance.

They were about to continue toward the Tree of Beginning when two people blocked their path.

"Stop right there! You're not allowed to proceed!"

Seeing the attire of those blocking their way, Yuga and Gary immediately realized: They were forest rangers!