Now, let us begin the chapter! (-o-)
Ray sat at the table, awaiting his grandmother's return. He had cooked up a big pot of curry and rice, and his Pokemon were all out of their Pokeballs and happily chowing down. Yet Ray did not have much of an appetite. The sense of wrongness from before had only grown stronger, and the fact that his grandmother was late by thirty minutes only made it worse.
His grandmother was never this late to return home, at least not without her sending her Fletchinder to deliver a message explaining it. Ray kept checking the window for the familiar red and gold bird, but nothing had shown up yet. The sun was sinking below the horizon now, but Ray could not enjoy the sunset this time.
"Dra-gon?", asked a curious voice, and Ray turned to see Winona, his signature Dragonair, looking at him with concern.
"My grandmother has yet to return, and it worries me.", Ray explained, "She's never gone this late, right? At least without an explanation?"
"Gonair.", agreed Winona.
"I'm thinking we should go look for her.", continued Ray, "If something bad has happened...we need to get moving."
He whistled, and his four Pokemon quickly gathered around him. Checkmate loomed above them, looking ready for war. Besides him, Vivian looked eager for an adventure, his bushy tail wiggling excitedly. Winona hovered protectively besides Ray, an aura of power beginning to hum around her.
And then, standing mysteriously in Checkmate's shadow, there was Sentinel.
Sentinel was Ray's newest Pokemon, a Golett that he'd found tromping through the hills. Ray had been training with this spooky, silent fellow for a while, and knew that it was surprisingly loyal and protective. Sentinel was also quite distant, though, and Ray did not feel like they were close friends yet. But he hoped to become as close friends with it as he was with the rest of his Pokemon.
"Alright, gang, I'm going to be riding Checkmate around the village in order to see if we can find my grandmother. I'll be carrying most of you in your Pokeballs, but if our mission is unsuccessful or we find there's danger afoot, I'll send you out. Okay?", explained Ray.
There was a chorus of agreement from his Pokemon, except for Sentinel, who just gave a subtle nod of its head.
"Alright then. Pokemon, return!", Ray said, holding out three of his Pokeballs. Checkmate was left out, and squawked excitedly.
The two of them headed outside, and Ray shivered in the cold air. That was odd, seeing that it was the middle of summer, but Ray did not have time to wonder about it. He leaped onto the back of his Corviknight, and they promptly took off.
As they flew, Ray scoured the ground nervously, but he saw nothing strange. Then he saw a strange light in the hills.
Right where the dig site should be.
"Checkmate, over there! Something strange is going on!", Ray cried, pointing in the direction of the light. As they flew over there, the light faded away, but Ray realized it was shaped similarly to a bird Pokemon, although what kind he had no idea.
As they flew closer, Ray spotted a gaping dark hole in the side of one of the hills, a square one that looked like a doorway.
"Are you kidding me? They already opened the tomb!? That might explain the strange light...", Ray thought out loud.
Checkmate whirled in for a landing, where Ray saw Professor Cypress, the twin men, and Clara racing over to the gateway.
Ray landed and immediately leaped off his Pokemon, glaring at the four archeologists. "Are you serious!? I didn't think you were opening the tomb tonight!"
"I swear, it wasn't us!", cried Daren, "We just saw the strange light, and when we got over here that gateway was right there! We had no idea it even existed!"
Aaron added, "Although I try not to be superstitious, something seems really weird about this. I don't see any signs of what could have possibly caused that light."
Professor Cypress said, "I suspect tomb robbers or the like, perhaps seeing that we found a site here and wanting a chance at some riches. If so, we must hurry and find them before they exit the tomb. Alexandria, go!"
She tossed out a Pokeball, and appearing was an Ampharos.
"Alexandria, use Flash to illuminate the area. We're going to search the tomb.", commanded the professor.
"Pharos!", cheered Alexandria, and the red orbs on her head and tail lit up with a blinding light.
"Now, before we enter the tomb, let's figure out what Pokemon we have and how they could help us here.", stated the professor, "I have Alexandria here, as well as a Meganium, a Murkrow, and a Girafarig. What about all of you?"
"I got my Crobat, my Golem, and a Torkoal.", stated Aaron.
"Steelix, Quagsire, and my super awesome ALOLAN Golem here!", declared Daren.
Janet said, "I have a Xatu, Altaria, and Armaldo."
Ray said, "And I have my Corviknight, an Eevee, a Golett, and a Dragonair."
"A WHAT!?", exclaimed Aaron and Daren at the same time.
"That's quite a rare Pokemon.", the professor commented, "I would like an opportunity to study it at some point, after this business is concluded."
"Maybe, but no guarantees.", replied Ray, "Winona's very special to me."
"Of course.", agreed the professor, "Now, we really should get going, if there are indeed tomb robbers in there. Alexandria, lead the way."
"Amph!", declared the Ampharos, who started making her way into the tomb. Everybody followed after her, looking around curiously.
Inside, the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees, causing Ray to shiver. Clara was rubbing her bracelet worriedly, looking around anxiously. Ray wondered if she sensed the intense wrongness the place was radiating.
But what was causing it?
"Look.", hissed Aaron, "Footprints. Several of them."
Indeed, there were at least three pairs of footprints in the dust ahead of them, as well as the footprints of several Pokemon.
"There's trouble ahead, that's for sure.", commented Daren, "But Ferris should be able to handle it, with your help. Especially with that Dragonair."
Ray looked around the tunnel they were walking through. It was made of solid stone, with a roof supported by elaborate columns. In between each column were suits of old armor, for human and Pokemon alike. All of them were adorned with a symbol of a rising sun, except styled to look like a bird Pokemon.
A very similar bird Pokemon to the shape of the light display.
Clara looked curiously at the columns. "Ooh, these look to be inspired by Mid-Hisiuan design elements, but the Pokemon designs at the top are reminiscent of Early-Unovan architecture. The symbolistic art on the armor though resembles Galarian imagery during the pre-Darkest Day period. This is incredible, a direct sign of global trade in the medieval period! Or wait, maybe the varied styles means this is its own culture with no connections to those ones? Hmmm..."
Aaron said, "Let's geek out about the architecture after these invaders are dealt with, shall we?"
"Yeah, you're right, but it's just so fascinating! Like look, the Pokemon shown on this armor seems to resemble popular depictions of the deity known as Ho-Oh, yet that column seems to feature Moltres. This is -"
"The find of the century, yes, but we can't properly study it if some rascals steal all the treasures in it.", interrupted Daren.
"Okay, fine.", conceded Clara.
Soon, they reached a pair of stone doors, upon which was an image of the bird Pokemon as well as a weird shadow Pokemon facing a strange looming creature.
"Whoa, now that's interesting.", commented Daren, "That looks like symbolic Legendborn art to me."
"What are those two Pokemon?", asked Aaron, "And what in the world is that thing in front of them?"
Ray answered, "That is the Wings of Joy and the Master of Shadows, the two Pokemon who blessed the knights of the village. The Phoenix Knight and his brother, the Silent Guardian, specifically. As for the thing in front of them...that is meant to represent the Darkness."
Daren replied, "So...this IS a representation of the Legendborn. Did they really exist?"
"I believe so.", stated Ray, "This tomb just helps confirm it."
"Not necessarily.", retorted the professor, "But we have yet to see all the mysteries that lie within. Let us open those doors and continue our way in."
Aaron and Daren pulled open the doors, then yelped and leaped back in surprise as a Pokemon materialized in front of them. Alexandria quickly scurried into hiding, causing the light to dim considerably.
"Dusknoir!", it bellowed, the strange mouth on its stomach opening to reveal an infinite blackness.
"It's a Dusknoir! Quickly, we must fight it! Go, Yaga!", cried the professor.
A small black crow with a headress resembling a pointy hat appeared, squawking sinisterly.
Aaron shouted, "I choose you, Dracula!", sending out his Crobat.
Daren cried, "Let's get him, Ferris!" Appearing was his Steelix, which filled up most of the passage.
Clara frowned. "Well, I don't have any type advantages, so...go, Nimbi!" In a flash of light, her Altaria appeared.
Ray said, "Alright, let's go, Vivian!", sending out his Eevee. He knew Vivian would be immune to any Ghost-type moves the Dusknoir might use, plus he knew Bite, which would come in handy for super-effective hits.
The Dusknoir roared in challenge, and started readying a Shadow Ball. Daren quickly shouted, "Ferris, use Crunch!" With a metallic screech, his Steelix lunged forward and chomped the Dusknoir's arm, causing it to lose concentration.
"Yaga, ready a Sucker Punch if it tries to attack again.", commanded the professor. Her Murkrow squawked eagerly and summoned dark energy around its foot.
"Dracula, use Poison Fang!", shouted Aaron, and his Crobat lunged, chomping down on the Dusknoir's other arm. It cried out in pain.
"Nimbi! Dazzling Gleam!", shouted Clara. Her Altaria lit up with light, blinding the Dusknoir. Ray followed up by having Vivian use Bite, which made the Dusknoir even angrier.
The Dusknoir bellowed, then summoned forth a burst of dark energy and blasted Ferris with it, causing the Steelix to fall over and knock down a few pillars. The tunnel shook ominously, and the professor shouted, "We need to get this Pokemon handled quickly, or else it might bring the whole tomb down on us!"
Yaga cawed as she used Sucker Punch, a little late but dealing a brutal amount of damage. The Dusknoir glared at them, then disappeared into the wall. Everyone braced themselves, in case it reappeared elsewhere, but it seemed to have left.
"That was over too quickly.", grumbled Aaron, returning his Pokemon. Daren did the same, uttering a quick note of thanks for Ferris doing well. Everyone else returned their Pokemon, and Alexandria appeared from where she'd been hiding.
"Let's hurry, before we attract any more Pokemon.", stated the professor, and they quickly ran through the doorway.
They found themselves in a large antechamber, off of which there were three passageways. Several Spinarak webs dotted the room, and there were wisps of purple smoke emanating from where a few Gastly were hiding. A quick look around the room revealed that the robbers had hurried down the left path.
"That way, Alexandria.", commanded the professor, and the Ampharos toddled over to the left path. As she did so, though, her light revealed a massive painting on the wall.
It showed two human knights, surrounded in auras shaped like the two Pokemon on the door, channeling energy through their weapons and surrounding the Darkness in chains. Below it was a massive army, all staring at the heroes.
"Whoa...did they...seal the Darkness?", asked Daren.
Ray replied, "I do not know. None of the stories I've heard said that the Darkness was sealed, usually they said it was destroyed. This is...troubling."
Then they heard something heavy hit the ground in the room ahead of them.
"Quickly! That sounded bad!", shouted Clara, and they raced down the passage, arriving at a large chamber.
In the center of it were three people dressed in long dark cloaks, flanked by a Houndoom, a Mightyena, and a Mismagius. In front of them was a large golden coffin, with its lid cast carelessly aside.
The three figures whirled around, revealing that they were wearing strange dark masks that were styled to resemble demonic faces. The middle one was holding a strange black pendant, which seemed to drain all heat and light from the room.
"Ah, you're just in time.", they said, in a distorted male voice, "We were just about to awake our ancient master! I'm sure you'll love to meet them!" (-o-)
AN: Who are these strange people, and what is that pendant? Find out next chapter! As always, reviews are appreciated, and I am still accepting OC's! See you next time!