Stolen Artifact

2 Chapters today.

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Aaron, a young man dressed in a black vest and yellow pants, with short green hair spiked in the middle, stood confidently.

Born with the unique ability to communicate directly with Bug-type Pokémon, Aaron was once the Bug-type Elite Four member of the Sinnoh region.

However, due to the butterfly effect caused by Reid embarking on his journey, Volkner snapped out of his confusion early and won the battle of Elites, taking Aaron's place in the Elite Four.

With Volkner's promotion to the Elite Four, the position of Gym Leader in Sunyshore City became vacant.

After some discussion, Aaron chose to take over the Sunyshore Gym as the new leader.

As a former Elite Four member, taking over the strongest Gym in Sinnoh wasn't an issue. The only difference was that it just transitioned from an Electric-type Gym to a Bug-type Gym.

In the days that followed, whether it was facing challenges from new trainers or preparing to defeat Volkner to reclaim his Elite Four seat—or even aiming to surpass Bertha, ranked third—Aaron quietly continued to improve himself.

But recently, Aaron noticed a problem.

"When Volkner handed over the Sunyshore Gym to me, aside from the Gym badge and control over the Sunyshore Tower, he also gave me a token.

"A token with a lightning symbol engraved on it, made of something ancient."

Aaron paused for a moment, then continued, "But two days ago, when I came back and, on a whim, decided to check the warehouse, I found that the token, which had been sitting in the corner, was gone.

"I searched the entire Gym, even asked Officer Jenny and Pokémon skilled in tracking to help search, but we couldn't find it."

Next to him, Volkner added, "Honestly, I don't even know what that token is for. It was passed down to me by the previous Gym Leader, and when I reported it to the League, they only told me it was an old artifact."

"It's more than just old…" Reid began to explain slowly, "That token is likely at least one to two thousand years old. And it's not just the Sunyshore Gym—almost all officially recognized Gyms have one."

"What?"

Aaron and Volkner were both surprised by this.

After the initial shock, confusion followed.

If the token had such a long history, why hadn't the Sinnoh League taken it for research or placed it in a museum? Why had it been passed down from one Gym Leader to the next?

Sometimes, Reid couldn't quite understand what was going on in the minds of the League's high-ranking officials and elders.

Reid didn't answer their confusion but was aware of the actual purpose of the tokens.

Due to Sinnoh's long history, many ancient ruins were scattered across the region. These ruins were mostly built by the ancient Sinnoh people to worship Pokémon that were once regarded as totems.

The tokens were keys to these ruins.

Not the kind of keys that simply opened the doors, but ones that allowed access to the deepest secrets hidden within.

For example, in the Galactic arc of the Diamond and Pearl series, Team Galactic used three tokens to enter the depths of the Solaceon Ruins and took the "Spear Key," which could unlock the Spear Pillar on Mt. Coronet.

However, with the passage of time, most of these ruins had disappeared, and without the ruins, the tokens became nearly useless.

But now, one of these seemingly symbolic tokens had been stolen.

Why?

Could someone have discovered a surviving ruin, learned the true nature of the tokens, and stolen one to unlock the secrets?

Seems unlikely.

Earlier this spring, Reid had patrolled the entire region out of boredom and found no hidden ruins along the way.

But if there were no ruins, why would the token be stolen?

Or maybe the token had some unknown purpose?

Reid wasn't sure.

However, the fact that someone capable of stealing the token with a Gym Leader of Elite Four caliber around, without touching leaving any traces, showed that they were highly skilled.

And had an incredibly bold attitude.

If you're going to steal the token, at least steal something else to cover your tracks, confuse the investigation, and mislead the League and police.

But no—this was brazenly announcing that the token was their sole target.

Since there are so many unknown factors, Reid didn't want to blindly chase after something with no clues, wasting time searching the entire region.

After careful thought, Reid decided to investigate the other Gyms in secret.

Whoever dared to do this was undoubtedly extremely confident in their skills.

Reid needed to find a better approach.

Since it was about the token, they wouldn't stop at stealing just one.

No ruin could be fully opened without at least two or three tokens. A single "Lightning Token" wouldn't suffice.

If the thief struck again, Reid might be able to catch them in the act.

Besides, with the matter of the Lake Guardians being handled by Lucian, and dedicated teams investigating the events, Reid was once again relatively free.

This gave him time to deal with the thief.

But he couldn't allow them to run rampant.

"Volkner, contact the other Gyms in Sinnoh on my behalf. Tell them to tighten security for the time being.

"Even if we don't need the tokens, they should at least be discarded by us and not stolen by someone else."

Volkner promptly began making the calls.

However, Aaron didn't seem to have any intention of leaving. Instead, he stared intently at Reid.

Reid noticed the strong fighting spirit in Aaron's gaze and smiled.

"What is it? Got something on your mind?"

Aaron nodded seriously. "It's been almost two years since we last faced off. My usual opponent has been Volkner, but I feel like sparring with you would give me a significant boost."

"Are you sure?"

Reid raised an eyebrow.

It was great when someone wanted to challenge him.

But using a sparring match with him to boost one's strength? That seemed... a bit difficult.

His battles usually ended in an instant.

"I'm sure!"

"Well… alright."

Since Aaron was so determined, Reid had no reason to refuse.

"So, should we head to the Gym now?" Aaron asked.

"No."

Reid shook his head. "Let's go outside. I'm afraid the Gym's too small for a battle of our league."