Chapter 1058: The Sleeping Legend and the God of Nightmares

After hearing Cresselia's story, Yuga and the others began selecting the treasures they wanted to take with them. Besides the countless valuables, there were many items useful for trainers, as the original owner of the Mirage Tower had been a powerful Beast Master.

Since the items in the annex were placed haphazardly, the group searched for their desired items separately.

Yuga came across several of the pearls similar to those on the third floor's wall. Considering the pearls' power could benefit Solrock, he decided to take a few, secretly storing some in his system backpack when no one was watching.

These pearls were the most abundant items aside from the treasures, so taking all of them was impossible. Yuga took a few openly and then discreetly stored some in the system backpack for later use.

Believing these pearls might aid Solrock's training, Yuga suggested that Ash and Brock, who also had Solrock, select a few as well.

Each pearl was about the size of a fist, so a few didn't take up much space in their backpacks.

Ash and Brock remembered how Solrock absorbed the pearl energy on the third floor, so they followed Yuga's advice.

Besides the pearls, Yuga found two Electirizer items, which were exclusive to Electabuzz, so he gave one to Ash. He kept the other for himself, even though he had no use for it, as a collector's item.

Yuga also found various other useful items for Pokémon training and filled his space backpack to the brim.

As they were searching separately, Yuga didn't know what the others had chosen. However, May and Max trusted him enough to let him check their selections, worried about picking useless items.

Though young, Max had a good eye for valuable items. Aside from some common items like the King's Rock, he found a particularly beautiful and complete fossil.

"When we return to Venderturf Gym, I'll use the fossil revival machine to bring this fossil back to life. The revived Pokémon will be yours to raise," Yuga said, patting Max's 's head.

"Really? That's awesome!" Max was thrilled, nearly bouncing with excitement.

"But since you're still young, you can't flaunt the Pokémon until you turn ten, when you can officially register it under your name," Yuga warned in advance.

"I know, I know," Max said, already aware of such rules from his dream of becoming a trainer.

Max's space backpack was small, so he couldn't carry much. Seeing all the treasures he couldn't take made him heartbroken—clearly, he had the makings of a little treasure enthusiast.

When checking May's selections, Yuga was surprised to find not only trainer items but also several colorful gems.

Yuga thought it was normal for a girl to like beautiful things, and the gems were small, so he didn't comment.

May, noticing Yuga's attention to the gems, felt a bit embarrassed. Among the three of them, only she had chosen something decorative, while Yuga and Max had picked practical items due to their limited backpack space.

Seeing that Yuga didn't criticize the gems, May sighed with relief. She simply liked the gems' appearance and wanted to keep them as collectibles.

The most valuable item May found was a Mega Stone for Lopunny, though unfortunately, she didn't find the corresponding Mega Ring. Unbeknownst to Yuga, Ash had actually found the Mega Ring, but Yuga was unaware of this as he hadn't seen Ash's items.

"This is a Mega Stone for Lopunny. Once you capture a Lopunny and get a corresponding Mega Ring, you can use it to Mega Evolve Lopunny," Yuga explained to May.

"Lopunny can evolve further?" Max asked in disbelief. He knew Lopunny was an evolved form of Buneary, but further evolution was new to him.

Mega Evolution knowledge was still somewhat obscure and not widely known. It was unsurprising that Max, being young, didn't know about it, as it wasn't common knowledge.

"Mega Evolution is a special battle state that temporarily evolves a Pokémon using a Mega Stone and a Mega Ring. It doesn't last permanently, and the Pokémon will revert to its original form after the battle…" Yuga patiently explained Mega Evolution to May and Max.

Once he finished, Ash, Brock, and Lovia returned with their chosen items.

"Let's leave once we're done selecting," Yuga said to the group.

He didn't ask Lovia and the others about their findings, and they didn't volunteer any information.

After leaving the annex, Yuga looked up at Cresselia hovering above and asked, "Can we see that person?"

Cresselia knew who Yuga was referring to and hesitated before replying, "Alright, but he shouldn't wake up. Please avoid waking him intentionally; he might get upset."

The group nodded in agreement.

Under Cresselia's guidance, they arrived at the main hall deep within the palace. There, they saw a massive stone bed.

Lying on the bed was a giant, at least three meters tall, dressed in tattered clothes. The giant looked peaceful, and if it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, they might have thought he was dead.

"Is he really still alive?" May asked, holding her breath and whispering to Yuga.

"He should be," Yuga nodded, speaking softly. As he looked at the giant, he had a growing suspicion.

"Incredible, he's really been alive for hundreds of years?" Max asked in disbelief.

"Maybe even more," Yuga murmured quietly. Without waiting for others to speak, he looked up at Cresselia and asked, "Can I know this person's name?"

Cresselia thought for a moment before answering, "His name is AZ."

Just as Yuga had suspected. The giant, three meters tall and alive for hundreds of years, immediately brought AZ to mind.

AZ was a famous king from the Kalos region three thousand years ago. His best friend, Flabébé, had died in war. To revive her, AZ created the legendary ultimate weapon. The weapon ended the war, and Flabébé was revived, allowing them both to achieve eternal life. However, the weapon caused countless innocent Pokémon deaths. When Flabébé learned of this, she felt guilty and left AZ, disappearing without a trace.

After Flabébé's disappearance, AZ also went missing in search of her. These events were well documented in Kalos history and legends.

However, with Yuga's past life memories, he also knew that AZ was related to Lysandre; AZ's brother was an ancestor of Lysandre. Unfortunately, as a fan of the anime, Yuga only had a vague understanding of the game's background and wasn't sure about the connections between the game and anime. Considering his previous experiences, he thought he might have memorized the details if he had known about his current situation.

In the main anime, AZ did not appear, but that didn't mean AZ didn't exist or that the AZ here wasn't the game's AZ. Thus, the connection between AZ and Lysandre remained unknown.

Knowing the identity of the person in front of him, Yuga said to the others, "Let's leave here first." The others nodded in agreement, no longer dwelling on AZ.

"I'll take you to Darkrai. Whether you can persuade it to let you leave depends on you," Cresselia said.

Following Cresselia, Yuga and his group left the main hall.

Unbeknownst to them, several months after they left the Mirage Tower, Lysandre found AZ on the other side of the Hoenn Desert and brought him out. By then, AZ had already awoken, and Lysandre managed to convince him to leave. With two Legendary Pokémon guarding AZ, Lysandre wouldn't have been able to take him without AZ's consent.

But that was a story for later, and Yuga's group was unaware of it.

When parting ways, Cresselia dropped a beautiful feather, saying, "This is one of my feathers. It might help you at a crucial moment."

Yuga recognized it as the Lunar Feather, an essential tool against Darkrai, and gratefully accepted it.

Leaving Cresselia's palace, Yuga and his group followed her instructions, winding through several corridors until they reached a massive golden door.

This golden door was as heavy as the white door in Cresselia's palace, requiring several Pokémon to open it.

Yuga released his Absol, which had immense strength. With a powerful shove, the door creaked open.

Before they could enter, they heard wailing from the other side of the door.

"What… what is that sound? Is there a ghost in there?" Max trembled, hiding behind Yuga.

"Doesn't that sound familiar to anyone?" Ash suddenly asked Max and May.

Max hesitantly replied, "Team Rocket?"

"No way?" May denied it but inwardly agreed with Max.

Team Rocket? Yuga thought it was likely, given their persistent nature. It wouldn't be surprising to find them here.

"Let's go in and see," Lovia said. She had heard of Team Rocket but was puzzled about their connection to Ash and May.

The group entered through the door into a palace similar in size to Cresselia's but with a different style.

In the palace, the most striking feature was the long staircase and the golden throne at the top, occupied by a menacing black Pokémon—Darkrai, Cresselia's archenemy.

Lying at the base of the throne were the source of the wailing sounds: Jessie's Wobbuffet, James's Weezing, and Meowth. They were asleep and suffering from Darkrai's Nightmare ability, trapped in a nightmare.

"Darkrai!" Darkrai's harsh cry reverberated, and a strange wave spread out, making Yuga and his group feel drowsy.

At that moment, the Lunar Feather on Yuga began to glow with a soft, colorful light, dispelling their sleepiness. Even Wobbuffet, Weezing, and Meowth, who had been in nightmares, woke up.

Seeing Darkrai on the throne, the trio of Team Rocket screamed and scrambled back in fear.

Meowth, noticing Ash, cried out, "Hey, kid! Save us! This guy is terrifying!"

"Ah, kid! This is great! We're saved!" Jessie exclaimed.

"You're our heroes! Meowth will be forever grateful!" Meowth added.

Following Jessie's lead, Meowth and James also noticed Yuga and hurried to hide behind them.

"Pathetic!" Max muttered under his breath.

Yuga thought to himself that Max had forgotten his own fearful reaction to the wailing earlier.

Darkrai, ignoring Team Rocket, focused entirely on Yuga, who held the Lunar Feather. As an old adversary, Darkrai recognized the feather.

"Ugh… ugh…"

Sensing Darkrai's hostility, Yuga's Absol jumped in front of him, blocking him with a threatening growl and activating its Intimidate ability. An overwhelming mental pressure emanated from Absol.

The effect of Absol's Intimidate was intensified by the inherent Royal Aura from the King's Rock, making it far stronger than usual.

Feeling the immense threat from Absol, Darkrai rose from its throne, glaring fiercely at Absol below.

The powerful aura emitted by Darkrai prompted Absol to Mega Evolve.

"Absol!" Mega Absol let out a long howl, its aura increasing dramatically, unwilling to back down even before a Legendary Pokémon.

The two Pokémon faced off, ready for a potential battle.

(End of Chapter)