Chapter 1081: The Black Hole Beneath the Stone Coffin

Yuga was surprised to find that the initial reaction of Stoutland and Furfrou upon seeing him and Absol was not one of wariness or fear, but of surprise.

It wasn't until Yuga closed the distance between them again that they growled a warning for him not to come any closer.

Stoutland's ability is Intimidate. However, due to the significant level difference between it and Absol, its Intimidate was ineffective when Yuga and Absol approached.

"Roar!!!"

Sensing Stoutland's Intimidate ability activate, Absol let out a long howl and used its Pressure ability. Stoutland and Furfrou were pushed back a few steps by the Pressure, while the young Furfrou, Lillipup, and Stoutland behind them were pinned to the ground, unable to rise, and kept whimpering.

Stoutland and Furfrou were smart enough to realize the strength gap and didn't recklessly attack Absol. Instead, they attempted to retreat cautiously.

When they realized that Yuga and Absol would not allow them to leave, they understood that Yuga intended to capture them.

"Roar..."

Stoutland stepped forward from the group first. It let out a low growl and challenged Yuga. Although it knew it could neither escape nor win, its pride wouldn't let it surrender without a fight.

Yuga admired Stoutland's spirit. As a male Pokémon stronger than its mate, it displayed commendable courage.

Since Absol was carrying him, Yuga didn't send it into battle but released Abomasnow instead. Abomasnow, a quasi-Elite Pokémon, easily defeated Stoutland.

Seeing her mate defeated, Furfrou immediately wanted to step up and continue fighting but was stopped by Stoutland's look.

After defeating Stoutland, Yuga found capturing the family to be quite smooth, as Stoutland did not let his mate and offspring resist unnecessarily.

Once Yuga had captured Stoutland's family, he immediately took out Pokéblocks for them. Following them, he saw they were eating some unknown wild berries, which were clearly insufficient to fill them up.

These unknown wild berries were not like regular berries and lacked the energy content. Without enough quantity, they couldn't fill the Pokémon's hunger, and their taste was quite poor.

Yuga's main Pokémon, Sawsbuck, which is also a Normal-type, usually eats a combination of Pokéblocks and Life Energy Pokéblocks. Even though Sawsbuck had been sent back to the daycare, Yuga still had plenty of Pokéblocks left, enough for Stoutland's family to last until he left the Sather Plateau.

If that wasn't enough, the trainer shop in the system's store restocks daily with unlimited berries, so dealing with their hunger wouldn't be a problem.

As the young Furfrou, Lillipup, and Stoutland devoured the Pokéblocks Yuga provided, Stoutland and Furfrou expressed their emotions.

Through questioning, Yuga learned that Stoutland and Furfrou had once belonged to a trainer who came to the Sather Plateau on an adventure.

Unfortunately, their original trainer perished in a snowstorm and avalanche on the mountain, leaving only these two to survive. After escaping the mountains, they settled on the Sather Plateau and eventually had several offspring.

Having not eaten Pokéblocks for so long, Stoutland and Furfrou had nearly forgotten their taste.

Yuga's ability to understand them surprised Stoutland and Furfrou greatly. It was the first time they had met a human who could do so.

Yuga's friendly demeanor reassured Stoutland and Furfrou. With their family in tow, they would have been in a dire situation if they encountered someone unkind—unable to fight or escape.

Understanding Stoutland and Furfrou's background, Yuga finally grasped why he found this "out of place" family among the low-quality Pokémon on the Sather Plateau.

Stoutland and Furfrou were originally purchased from a breeding house affiliated with the Alliance. Their genes had been stabilized through the Alliance's long-term breeding techniques, which is why their offspring mostly had Yellow-quality traits.

Yuga admired the Alliance's breeding technology.

After Stoutland's family was well-fed, Yuga continued to search for the tomb's location. He put the young Furfrou, Lillipup, and Stoutland back into their Poké Balls and kept Furfrou and Stoutland to guide him.

Furfrou and Stoutland, having lived at the base of the lake and the snowy mountains for years, were much more familiar with the area than Sneasel. After Yuga described the location, the two Pokémon led him accurately to the tomb.

The tomb was not difficult to find; it was very close to the snowy mountain and exposed on the surface, easily visible once the direction was known.

The reason the tomb was still intact was solely because of the harsh climate and scarce resources of the Sather Plateau, which discouraged people from visiting.

When Yuga reached the entrance of the tomb, he found it had been turned into a nest by many Ice-type Pokémon. The tomb was indeed an excellent place for shelter from the wind and rain.

To avoid provoking the Ice-type Pokémon, Yuga recalled the oversized Absol and released the smaller Aegislash and Mismagius instead. These two Pokémon were less visually intimidating compared to Absol and more suited for the environment, which also housed a few Ghost-type Pokémon.

The tomb was a typical underground mausoleum, resembling an underground palace. It was exposed on the surface due to geological movements.

"Mismagius, provide some light."

The tomb's entrance was a long stone corridor. Without sunlight, it was not only dimly lit but also covered in thick ice. As soon as Yuga stepped in, he felt a chilling coldness.

"Muu!"

Mismagius responded and used its magic to conjure a bright red flame in front of them, instantly illuminating the corridor and warming Yuga up a bit.

However, the flame drew the attention of some Ice-type Pokémon living in the corridor. They glanced at Mismagius but then closed their eyes again, seemingly uninterested.

The individual Ice-type Pokémon were not very strong, and as long as they weren't provoked, they lacked the courage to start trouble.

The corridor was very long. The deeper Yuga went, the colder it became.

"Aegislash, can you confirm if this is your master's tomb?" Yuga asked, hugging himself as he shivered from the cold.

"Ge..."

Aegislash wasn't sure. It seemed like it, but its memory was vague.

Without useful information from Aegislash, Yuga pressed on despite the cold. As he continued, he noticed the corridor widening.

After walking for what seemed like a long time, Yuga finally emerged from the corridor into a large dome-shaped chamber, where many Snorunt and Glalie were resting.

Noticing the intrusion, the Snorunt and Glalie stared at Yuga with hostility and even seemed ready to attack.

"Magius!"

Mismagius, with an intimidating aura, cast a magical flame that shot out as a fiery beam. The Snorunts and Glalies were instantly frightened by the intense heat, rendered immobile by the high temperature.

Surveying the room, Yuga noticed that the domed chamber was filled with small Lum Berry trees, heavily laden with Lum Berries of various sizes.

Lum Berries thrive in cold environments and require little light, so it's no wonder there are so many here. The Snorunts and Glalies likely settled here to claim this small grove of Lum Berry trees. Having a small orchard in the Sather Plateau is quite a luxury.

Yuga avoided provoking the Snorunts and Glalies. With Mismagius, Stoutland, and Furfrou protecting him, he navigated through the room and finally arrived at the main tomb.

Similar to the previous domed room, the main tomb also had a grove of Lum Berry trees, but on a larger scale, and was occupied by a group of Glaceons.

The main tomb was significantly larger than the previous domed room. Over time, the growth of plants had drastically altered its appearance, making it unrecognizable as a tomb.

According to Ogata's friends, they never actually entered the tomb. It was too cold inside with too many Ice-type Pokémon, so they didn't dare to go in. Even Aegislash was something they found outside in the stone corridor. As a result, Yuga didn't receive any information about the Glaceons in the main tomb from them.

When Yuga entered, all the Glaceons were gathered on a massive ice rock in the center of the main tomb. He suspected the presence of so many Glaceons was related to this ice rock.

The group consisted entirely of Glaceons, with no Eevees in sight. It was likely that Eevees evolved into Glaceons upon touching the ice rock. Newborn Eevees, being low-level, would easily level up near the ice rock and then evolve into Glaceons.

Yuga counted about thirty Glaceons. While fewer in number compared to the previous Snorunts and Glalies, their overall strength was far superior, which explained why they occupied such a large grove of Lum Berries.

Influenced by the massive ice rock, the Glaceons had much higher potential than other Pokémon outside. In Yuga's Keen Eye, there were two green light clusters, a majority of yellow ones, and fewer red and orange ones.

Upon noticing Yuga, the Glaceons jumped off the ice rock, formed a line, and menaced Yuga, attempting to drive him away.

To avoid damaging the environment of the main tomb, Yuga instructed Mismagius, "Mismagius, use Mean Look."

"Mismagius!"

Mismagius shot two beams of black light from its eyes, forming a pair of large, hovering eyes. The moment the eyes appeared, all the Glaceons were immobilized and could not move.

Seeing the Glaceons restrained, Yuga nodded in satisfaction and said, "Stoutland, Furfrou, and Sneasel, knock out the Glaceons."

Following Yuga's orders, the three Pokémon began their task, with Sneasel being particularly eager. Since Stoutland and Furfrou joined the team, Sneasel felt its position was under threat.

If it couldn't even serve as a guide, how could it stay relevant? Sneasel decided to prove its importance and earn Yuga's favor.

Sneasel's speed was exceptional, and knocking out one Glaceon after another was easy. It quickly knocked out the lower-level Glaceons, with Stoutland and Furfrou unable to keep up.

"Sneasel!"

After finishing the task, Sneasel eagerly jumped to Yuga's side, grinning for praise.

"Good job," Yuga said, though his focus was on the Glaceons, giving Sneasel only a cursory compliment. Nonetheless, Sneasel was thrilled and felt appreciated.

Yuga collected all the Glaceons into Poké Balls. Despite not being the most talented, Glaceons and Eevees are still among the most sought-after Pokémon.

Yuga didn't touch the rare ice rock or the Lum Berry grove. The Pokémon of Sather Plateau already had a hard life, and he didn't want to compete with them for resources. He believed it wouldn't be long before other groups took over this place.

With two green-potential Glaceons captured, Yuga made progress in his mission.

After dealing with the Glaceons, Yuga inspected the main tomb and eventually discovered a stone coffin beneath a Lum Berry tree's roots. The coffin, made of an unknown stone, was tightly wrapped in roots but appeared mostly intact.

"Is this your master's?" Yuga asked Aegislash, pointing at the coffin. There were no burial items left, and even though Sather Plateau is rarely visited, over the centuries, someone must have come here. Yuga and Ogata's friends were not the first or second to visit.

Aegislash remained silent as it cut through the roots around the coffin and removed the lid, revealing an empty interior.

"What's going on?"

Yuga was puzzled by the moss-covered bottom of the coffin. This type of moss only grows in extremely low temperatures and is also a rare medicinal herb. It indicated that the coffin had been empty for a long time.

Aegislash was not surprised because, upon seeing the coffin, it recalled that it wasn't its master's but its own.

As the guardian of this tomb, the stone coffin was a decoy to mislead tomb raiders. Once someone opened the coffin, they would be attacked by the slumbering Aegislash inside.

However, Aegislash had slept for so long that its level had degraded, losing its guarding ability. It probably ended up in the stone corridor outside because some tomb raider took it out.

"Aegislash, are you okay?" Yuga gently called to Aegislash, noticing its silence.

"Aegis…" I'm fine.

Aegislash refocused on the stone coffin.

"Aegislash, gislash…" Move the coffin.

Aegislash instructed Yuga.

Yuga nodded and released Dragonite to push the coffin, but to his surprise, it wouldn't budge. He tried Charizard and Absol, but the coffin remained unmoved.

"Are you sure this can be moved?" Yuga suspected the coffin might be fused to the ground; otherwise, why was it so hard to move?

"Aegislash!" Yes!

Aegislash affirmed.

In desperation, Yuga released Decidueye, Abomasnow, Kartana, Chimecho, and Vivillon. The strong Pokémon pushed, while the weaker ones used Psychic-type moves to assist, with Sneasel joining in as well.

Finally, the stone coffin was moved.

As Yuga looked at the dark hole beneath the coffin, he realized that the true tomb owner had a hidden burial chamber. The difficulty in moving the stone coffin had allowed this hidden chamber to remain undiscovered for so long.

At this moment, Yuga was unaware that this dark hole would soon alter his and Florges' fate.

(End of Chapter)