"So… Mind telling us why we're here so late at night?" David asked.
The Herba Mystica group was in a large mining district in Area Three of the East Province.
"According to Arven's notes, the Lurking Steel Titan is living in these mines." Hope said. "But man, there are so many tunnels around."
"Hmm…they don't look man made though." Twilight said. "It's almost like something ate through the dirt."
"Like a worm?" Al asked.
"Yeah…like a…" Twilight said as they turned to see a large worm's head looking at them as it sweated.
"AAAH!" some of them screamed.
"Bzzt! Orthworm, the Earthworm Pokémon! A Steel type! This Pokémon lives in arid deserts. It maintains its metal body by consuming iron from the soil." Rotomphone said.
"Huh, no wonder it looks robotic." Al said.
The group and the giant Orthworm continued to look at one another before it turned tail and ran.
"It ran away?!" they all called out.
"Well, I guess we gotta do this now…" David said..
"Aw man, there's gotta be a better way to get that…" Scarlet said before his eyes fell on Luffy. "...Wait a second. Luffy, you ever been in a rodeo before?"
"I've ridden a bull. But I get the idea." Luffy said, stretching an arm as he grabbed onto the Orthworm.
Orthworm cried as he burrowed underground and started going all over the place.
"Follow that worm!" Bow said.
The group followed the large Orthworm as it rampaged across the mining area.
"Don't let go, Luffy!" Roy called.
"Shishishi! Course not!" Luffy laughed as he pulled on the worm before flinging it into the air.
"You idiot! We're trying to catch up to the worm, not throw it to the moon!" Bakugo called out.
"No worries…it's coming back down." Ginseng said as Orthworm crashed right into the earth.
"Oof. That was a very loud thud." Kokichi said.
Orthworm recovered, shaking out the dizziness. Clearly ticked off at Luffy pitching it into the air, it let out a roar of anger, clearly ready to fight as six arms popped out of its sides.
The Lurking Steel Titan
Orthworm
(Cue: Theme of Digga-Leg- Super Mario Galaxy 2)
"Whoa… This is kind of freaky." Tenko said.
"This Pokemon is a tribute to you, Tenko. Let's go, Primeape!" Himiko said.
"Hope you don't mind some help, little lady." Balthus said as he and Mushti, the newly evolved Hariyama stepped up next to them.
"Here comes one more to the party guys, Rutega's here!" Bow said as he saw the female Sayain coming in fast on Koraidon.
"Sorry I'm late!" Rutega said as she brought out a Pokéball to join the fight. "Let's do it, Lucario!" Rutega said, sending out her Alpha Lucario.
"There sure are a lot of Fighting-types here." Rantaro said.
"Well, this Orthworm is a Steel-type, so it kind of works out." Kokichi said.
Orthworm started the fight by whipping up a Sandstorm with the aptly named move.
"Sandstorm, ain't nothin' for Lucario!" Rutega smiled. "Punish it with Close Combat!"
Lucario nodded and rushed in with fierce fists.
"Keep it up!" Adora said.
"Death is comin! Mushti, Arm Thrust!" Balthus said as Mushti rammed its large hands into the worm.
Orthworm let out a howl before it went and broke open a cavern as it ducked its head inside. The group knew what this meant, it was eating the Herba Mystica it recovered, as it was snacking on a white glowing version of the plant as Arven arrived.
"Wow, you guys work fast!" Arven said as he arrived, looking at Orthrowm. "So that's the Lurking Steel Titan? Kind of cute to be honest. However, I need that herb." he said, drawing a Pokéball. "Let's go!" he said sending out a mushroom like Pokemon that resembled Tentacool.
"A Tentacool?" Zephyr asked.
"Bzzt! Toedscool! The Woodear Pokémon! A Grass and Ground Type! Though it looks like Tentacool, Toedscool is a completely different species. Its legs may be thin, but it can run at a speed of 30 mph." Rotomphone said.
"Well, hopefully it can keep up!" Rutega smirked. "Alright Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
Lucario shot its signature attack at the powered up Orthworm.
"Got a little something special in mind. Rage Fist!" Himiko said. Primape burned with anger as it delivered one nasty punch to Orthworm.
"Mushti, how about giving our large friend here a Seismic Toss?!" Balthus said as Mushti closed in and lifted Orthworm up before heaving it into the air as it soon crashed back down.
The steel type titan recovered and charged in, Looking for an Iron Tail.
"This should set it up for the final Blow! Toedscool, use Grass Knot!" Arven said as Toedscool set the attack up and Orthworm fell for it, tripping itself up and falling right over. "Now! Bury this thing!"
"With pleasure! Lucario, BONE RUSH!" Rutega ordered, as Lucario formed his bones and leapt up to strike rapidly from above.
"Alrighty… Now for a Dynamic Punch!" Himiko said.
Both hit at the exact same time, bringing the Steel Type down for the count.
(end Song)
"Good work, you guys. That's one more Herba Mystica for us." Adora said.
"Let's head in and claim it before the titan recovers." Arven said as they headed inside to see another batch of the herb. "And there it is, the Salty Herba Mystica. Who's up for a nighttime sandwich picnic?"
Arven made a bunch of Sandwiches from the Salty Herba Mystica they claimed. Soon enough, it was time to eat. Everyone enoyed their meals before Koraidon and Miraidon came up for a taste.
"Well, guess we know what that means." David said as he gave a portion to Miraidon.
"I wonder what abilities they'll regain next." Yuri said.
"Sure it'll be something good." Rutega said as she gave a portion to Koraidon.
"Hmm…looks like the muscles in Koraidon's legs and the parts in Miraidon's legs have been strengthened. Both of them should be able to jump higher now." Twilight said.
"Looks pretty sick for making big jumps." David said.
"You're tellin' me!" Rutega smiled. "Wanna go try it out?"
"Oh, very tempting." David said with a laugh.
Natyal had a small smile before she heard a voice.
"At last…a worthy candidate…I shall be waiting for you at my shrine." the voice said.
"Huh…" Natyal said as she looked around.
"Something up?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight…do you know anything about…shrines?" Natyal asked.
"In this region? Well…I did do some research. See…there are four shrines all across Paldea. Each of them built to contain certain Pokémon. According to some lore, the king of Paldea received gifts from a far off region: a vessel, a sword, a set of tablets and some beads. However…they weren't exactly…good gifts." Twilight said.
"Oh boy. I know where this is going." David said.
"Those four items were actually four Pokémon. Some call them the Treasure Quartet, but they're better known as the Ruinous Pokémon. Luckily, trainers back then were able to quell them and seal them behind four shrines in the north, south, east and west." Twilight said.
"And there it is." David said.
Natyal looked and saw a gate that had blue lines across it. "What's this gate?"
"That holds the Ruinous Beads Or rather the Pokémon. It's called Chi-Yu." Twilight said.
"I don't know… Somehow I get this feeling they are not all they're cracked up to be." David said.
"Guys…I'm setting them free." Natyal said.
"You can't be serious. Do you know what happens to people who do that?" Kaito asked.
"With malicious intent, yes. The result would be obvious." David said.
"You won't talk her out of it. She's an animal lover after all." Jexi said.
"Yeah, we know Natyal by now. She loves all kinds of creatures. I'm sure you feel bad for all four of these guys." Hope said.
"Yes. They do not deserve eternal imprisonment, rather they should be allowed to live free. And one of them I hope to be worthy of being their Perfect Link in return." Natyal said.
"...Just be careful." Rutega said, having Pokémon ready to help just in case.
"Well, in order to set them free, we'd have to pull the stakes keeping their shrines sealed. Should be eight for each one." Twilight said.
"Sounds like a good scavenger hunt. We'll let the other teams know about your Aspirations, Natyal, and we'll make sure to find time to go see each of the Ruinous Quartet." Hope said.
"You have my thanks, Hope." Natyal said.
"What're friends for?" Hope asked. "Speaking of which… Arven, how's Mabosstiff doing?"
Arven was in the middle of feeding his partner some of his own sandwich. Mabosstiff then gave a small bark.
"He…he spoke!" Arven said with glee.
"Heh. That's some good progress right there." David said.
"Yay!" Nuna cheered.
"That's awesome." Rutega smiled. "I wonder if I need to meet back up with the others for the next Team Star Raid. I better go and check."
"Well have fun. We'll be heading to the Asado Desert next to face the twin titans roaming it." Jexi said.
"Oh yeah. Shun'ei notified us about them while he was in the area." David said. "You think he may have seen them as he was passing by?"
"Looks like it." Twilight said looking at the pictures of the titans Shun'ei's group got a picture of. "They look like Donphan…but they can't be regional forms since Donphan already populate Paldea as its current form."
"If you ask me, the one with the big tusks kinda looks like its Ancient Ancestor." Bow said.
"But that would be impossible. Not even some Legendary Pokémon can live for that long." Twilight said.
"Hmm…seeing them…it's like being reminded of Koraidon and Miraidon…" Ginseng said.
"That's a good point. Maybe they come from the same place as Koraidon and Miraidon." Jexi said.
""Maybe…" Rutega said as she got on Koraidon. "Catch you guys later!"
"Meet you in the Asado Desert!" Bow said as Rutega rode off. "Well, Donphan or not, we gotta fight those two to recover the next Herba Mystica, so let's get to it."