Chapter 10

"What in the world is this?" Rose gawked when we saw the interior of the cave that the mural was at. And that was a good question, as much as I hated what I just saw him do to Bede, who looked at us with anger, but at Rose even more so as he then simply tried to collect the shredded pieces of his battle card.

"I'd rather not talk to you right now, Rose. Especially after what I just saw," I frowned at him. It was as Bede said, there were a whole mess of Wishing Stars and Wishing Pieces on the other side of the mural. But they were NOT lying around on the ground! They were inside and making up a duo of golden statues that depicted two different canine Pokemon! And the one I recognized as the one that I met in the Slumbering Wield! I KNEW that these had to be the beasts that were mentioned in the Ransei tapestry in Hammerlocke! And the statues were fitted with tons of Wishing Stars and pieces all around them and even inside of the two statues!

"Incredible!" I heard the voice of Sonia say, meaning that Rotom did his job easily. "This must be those beasts that helped stop the Darkest Day all those years ago! It's probably been here for ages! Why would anyone want to hide this behind a stupid mural filled with graffiti anyways?" Sonia asked in confusion as I then gave Rose a very nasty glare and he looked at me with a glare of his own... and as for Oleana, she was next to him and looking to be uncaring about everything. But given the nature of Pugilis residents, she was probably containing tons of anger.

"Why don't you ask mister Rose, who just completely shredded Bede's league card because he claimed said graffiti was the true history of Galar, despite his exact phrase to Bede was 'find the Wishing Stars by any means necessary'? I could use this opportunity to ruin your good name in an instant, since Rotom is always recording everything," I said, him growling at me before then looking at Bede and then at me again.

"You're making me very mad right now," he frowned at me.

"Yeah, I'm making you mad by pointing out that you made a stupid mistake, despite being the second most important man in Galar. Leon is better, since he would NEVER hire thieves to steal Wishing Stars and Wishing Pieces from other members of the gym challenge!" I growled at him angrily. And when I said that, he gasped and shouted at me.

"I DID NOT HIRE ANY THIEVES! How dare you say that to me!" he shouted, Bede then clearing his throat.

"Sir, she's right. I stole some Wishing Stars and Wishing Pieces from some of the lesser gym challengers at your orders," he said, me then gasping at that as Rose then looked at me and then at Rotom and then at Oleana, who looked to be getting even more progressively ticked as her face started to contort to the infamous Pugilis glare.

"Oh dear, what a conundrum we have right here. What would the media say if they found out about this? Unless a certain very important person wants to cut a deal, per chance?" I asked, him then frowning before then stomping his foot on the ground.

"What. Do you want?" he asked while gritting his teeth, Oleana looking at him in anger, but not saying a word. Probably because she knew not to talk back to him. Rule one of Ransei, never backtalk your superiors. But considering that Rose was not the one who hired me for the gym challenge, I did not value him as important.

"Simple. Give Bede a new battle card that has all the same badges with it, do not have him hunting for anymore Wishing Stars or pieces, and, probably the hardest one for you to do, admit you were wrong. To. My. Face," I said, him then frowning as Oleana looked at me with a frown and she then started to speak, but not in English. She spoke in Ancient Ransei language so Rose wouldn't understand her words.

"Thanks for this, but he's not going to back down so easily. He's made me VERY unhappy right now," she said, getting some of her frustration out before Rose then simply got on his own phone (it did not have a Rotom in it) and proceeded to give out a call.

"This is Rose. I need you to print out a replica of Bede's league card. Have it delivered to Stow-on-Side ASAP. That is all," he said before then hanging up after. He then looked at Bede, who had finally stopped frowning at me and started to finally give a half-hearted smile, even though he did still have a glare on his face. "Bede, you are relieved of your duties of finding Wishing Pieces for Macro Cosmos..." Rose said to him.

"Finally," Bede frowned, giving some backsass without any issue. Rose then looked at me and spoke.

"I... was... wrong... I surely hope I do not encounter you again," Rose said before then walking off to his personal Corviknight Airtrain as Sonia had finished inspecting the interior of the place and Oleana stayed behind to speak to us, which Rose spoke up. "Oleana, come on," he said.

"Give me a second, please," Oleana said with a frown as she then looked at me with a frown. "Would you allow me to vent my frustrations to you in Ransei tongue? I do not want to risk backtalking to Chairman Rose. I still have to follow the Ransei rules, after all," she said, me nodding at her.

"Sure, go ahead. I know how Pugilis folk are when it comes to rage," I said. I then simply held my ears shut and my Pokemon then did the same thing as she then proceeded to shout and curse and blaspheme everything she could about Chairman Rose for doing everything that she just learned of, and how she felt absolutely betrayed at his actions because she didn't know a single bit of it! But in the sake of keeping this appropriate, I'm just giving you the bullet points.

"Hah... hah... I'm done... I'll see you later," Oleana said with a sigh before then going to the Air Train to meet up with Rose.

"I didn't expect that this would happen... but at least some things good happened because of it," Sonia smiled as she twirled her hair with her finger. Bede then walked over to me and simply gave me a small smirk.

"Thanks. If not for you, I would've been completely without hope. I won't forget this act of kindness. We are no longer enemies. We're just rivals in the gym challenge. If I'm fighting anyone in Wyndon, I want to fight you," he said, me smirking at that.

"It's a date," I smirked at him as he then went back to the stadium, and I then looked at Sonia with a smile. "So, what did you find in there besides the impressive statues?" I asked her.

"Oh, it was just indescribable! Tons of ancient treasures that were all as ancient as those statues! Treasure, tapestries, ancient scrolls from Ransei describing the rise and fall of the Galarian Warlords to the Darkest Day, and even mentioning that the names of those two Pokemon are Zacian, the queen's blade and Zamazenta, the king's shield! It's a truly historic find that should be left completely untouched!" she said with excitement.

"So, just out of curiosity, what should I do with that meeting with Chairman Rose?" Rotom asked.

"Do not send it, but keep it for possible future use. Just in case he might do anything else he might regret," I said, him nodding at that.

"But you do know what this means, right, mistress?" Primarina asked, me looking at her in confusion. "This means that you've found ancient Ransei History! If only Delibird had arrived an hour later than he did, we could've told your mom everything about what we just found! Who knows, maybe some of your ancestry was in this place!" she smirked at me.

"Only one way to find out! Gardevoir, can you sense if any of those items in that treasure trove have any traces of my aura to them?" I asked, her nodding as she then sensed with her magical mind, and she then got some Foresight into the mix.

"I can sense it. The original founder of Viperia, Nene's ancestor by 3000 years, was the one who created most of the items in this treasury, including the statues!" Gardevoir smirked widely, me looking at Sonia with a smile.

"I know you probably don't have any say in it, Sonia, but could you get this place recognized as a national treasure for Ransei instead of Galar? Because Gardevoir just told me that this entire treasury, save for a few items, was made by my ancestor, who founded Viperia in Ransei!" I smirked, Sonia nodding at that.

"I can certainly pull a few strings and call up some favors, especially after seeing you absolutely floor Chairman Rose of all people without fear! And also getting some legit dirt on him? Most thought him to be untouchable! The fact you have something against him as evidence is almost impossible," Sonia smirked, me nodding at that as I then looked into the sky and saw that it was 12:01. "Hey, want to get a bite to eat at the Pokemon Center? I'll treat you to some coffee after," she smiled at me.

"So I guess the coffee is not a part of the free expenses?" I asked, her nodding at that.

"It's specially brewed and imported from Hoenn. Mainly because Kabu introduced us to its amazing taste and a lot of people love it," Sonia smirked, me nodding at that notion as we then went to the center, and I took her up on her offer.

"This coffee tastes... unique," I admitted when I tasted the special brew from Hoenn. It didn't taste bad, not at all. I just never had a coffee that tasted like Cheri Berries before.

"It's a special brew that you make with the pits of a Cheri Berry ground into coffee grinds. Not nearly as good if it sits for a bit and gets cold, which we ended up getting some cold brew," Sonia said with a frown.

"Yeah, at least it was nice of the guy to give us the last two in stock, even if they weren't how it's made properly," I smiled.

"Don't worry, we get fresh shipments every Monday and today's Sunday. Come tomorrow, you'll probably get one freshly brewed," the owner of the coffee parlor smiled as I then had my team get some refreshments in the form of some meat-substitute Ponigiri for Pheromosa, Primarina, and Gardevoir and I got some special Pokeblocks to give to Klang (she had evolved after the fight with Kabu) and Binacle. As for Blacephalon, he simply laughed at the offer.

"Do you see any mouth on my gorgeous head, madomoiselle? The only thing this jester eats is the thrill of the performance!" he said happily.

"It's true. Blacephalon and Xurkitree are the only Ultra Beasts that don't require food to survive. All the others do... though I don't know how Stackatacka eats when it's a giant brick wall..." Pheromosa said in thought for a moment.

"And what was up with you feeling very annoyed at having to give us some rides up a rock wall? Were we too heavy for you?" Binacle asked her.

"No, it's not that. I just hate being grabbed on any part of my body unless I want to. I really didn't want to have us go up that wall with all of you holding onto me. If we weren't on the same side, I'd have gone crazy and attacked all of you," she said with seriousness.

"Gotcha. Do not touch without asking first, got it," I said, her then nodding at that. "So... can I be able to touch your hair?" I asked, Pheromosa looking at me in concern.

"I-Is there any reason?" she asked.

"Well, I've always had a thing for feeling the hair of my Pokemon partners. Primarina loves me brushing her hair and doing it in different styles, and not too many Pokemon have hair, y'know," I smiled, her frowning at that.

"Fine, make it at least five seconds tops," she said, me then going to her hair and running my hands through it. The hair in question felt a lot like it were straw instead of hair, including how it felt, but it was still extremely durable, much like most Pokemon with hair on their heads. And I only needed three seconds to get the gist of what to expect.

"It feels a lot like straw, which I didn't really expect," I smiled to her.

"I should just be grateful I have hair. Most other Ultra Beasts have no such luxury," she said with a smile.

"So do you want to feel my hair, miss Jo?" Gardevoir asked, me smirking at that and then petting my hand against her green bob, her giggling afterwards. "Cut it out, it feels funny," she smirked.

"To me it felt very thick and very luscious. Almost like it's always shampooed and conditioned," I smirked at her.

"Do you just have a thing for Pokemon with hair on their heads?" Sonia asked me with concern I simply smiled and nodded at her, showing something that none of the current partners expected as I then simply got onto my head and pulled off my hair.

"WHOA! Y-You're uh... you're uh-" Sonia asked before I then placed the rainbow colored curls back on my head as they were.

"Not a word to anyone, including friends about that, got it? It's how it is for all Ransei Warlords who happen to have a hidden transformation. They lose the hair atop their heads when they get their powers of Warlord, but said hair then turns into a magical wig that can be removed on a whim," I said with a smile.

"That's... the oddest thing I've ever heard... so your hair is also a part of your costume?" Nene asked.

"Yes, but keep it hush hush. That includes you, mister coffee guy," I said, him smirking at that.

"You have my word that I will not speak of this to anyone," he smiled as we then dispersed after the good food and I then looked at Gardevoir with a smile.

"Hey, Gardi? I promised Skorupi that I'd only have you on the team temporarily while we were by Rose, so I need to uphold that promise. Give Magnolia my condolences, okay?" I smirked, her nodding at that.

"She's been doing small tests with me to see if I can find out how to use telepathy. The answer is yes, but I'm uncomfortable with it. After all, most humans aren't too easy to speak to when they hear a Pokemon speaking English," Gardevoir explained.

"Tell me about it. All the stares I get when people hear me speak is a bit worrisome," Pheromosa said, me then looking at Rotom with a smile.

"I think we could tell that to Professor Magnolia. That you can, you just choose not to. You okay with that, Gardevoir?" I asked her, causing a smile to form on her face.

"I'd appreciate it," she said, me then having Rotom warp her to Magnolia and for Skorupi to come to our group, me then going ahead and bidding farewell to Sonia, but I did say one thing.

"Hey, Sonia? Just one more thing. The Darkest Day is going to happen again soon, but keep that silent. I have an idea it'll center at Hammerlocke Stadium, so try to find out as much as you can without getting found out, okay?" I said, her gawking before nodding.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Well... one of the letters I got from Ransei was from Hanzo, mom's most trusted ninja. And he said he found more ruins in Dragnor about the Darkest Day and mentioned that, from what he found out, the Pokemon in question that was defeated? The stone I have in my bellybutton is actually the creature's heart," I said, her gawking at that and poking it, me slapping her hand away. "No, don't want to risk anything," I lectured her.

"Fine, sorry... so why did it choose you?" she asked.

"No clue. But I do know that, as I walked through Route 6, I could hear the owner of the voice... it called itself Eternatus and it said it was growing in power, but it kept getting stolen. And when it got enough, then Macro Cosmos would be its target of vengeance," I said, Sonia nodding at that.

"I'll keep quiet, then. Let's agree to only speak of this in private. I'll get into the investigations, then, starting at Hammerlocke Stadium itself," she said, me nodding at that as we then moved out of the Pokemon Center, and I then heard a voice on the PA system.

"Attention all members of the gym challenge! We are taking last calls for the challengers at Stow-on-Side! If you do not arrive and apply within the next 30 minutes, you will be disqualified!" the voice said, me gawking at that as I saw that, in the distance, the sun was starting to set at 1:00 PM!

"OH SHIT! I need to get there right away!" I shouted as I then looked at the others and we then rushed off, me carrying Binacle as we then ran into the stadium, and I then took off my armor to show the jersey underneath so they could see me. "I'm here, I'm here! G-Max Jo waiting to be in the gym challenge!" I shouted as I gave him my league card by slamming it on the table, the guy smiling at me after.

"You do know we only did that because you were the last one on the list, right?" he asked, me looking at him and then face-palming myself.

"Sorry, I got very side-tracked by a couple things," I admitted truthfully.

"Yeah, some people said you were talking smack to Chairman Rose, but nobody could hear anything because of you being by the mural. And that the only things they saw were you breaking apart the mural to show a greater treasure behind the cave and that, when we saw Bede come here, we were told to give him a replacement league card. What happened up there?" he asked.

"Don't tell anyone, but what happened is that Rose was about ready to ruin Bede's life and I managed to blackmail the CEO into giving Bede his league card back," I said, them nodding.

"But that's not all that happened," I heard a voice say from behind me, me being shocked at how it was Bede! "Since he didn't like that he was forced to do so, though he gave me a league card again, he got my sponsorship revoked. Even if I wanted to, I can't continue in the gym challenge unless I get a new sponsor in the next 25 minutes," Bede said, me frowning at that... and then, I heard a voice say something from the east.

"Did I just hear that right?" asked the voice of Bea, her appearing from the restroom with some water on her hands. "If that's all, then I could speak to the gym leaders and see if one of them can be your sponsor... and since you have a lot of pink, I think I know just who to call," Bea said as she then got on her Rotom phone and called up another gym leader. "Hey, Opal? Can you go ahead and do me a favor?" she asked, me smirking at that. It was the old lady that was introduced after Bea and Allister were. "I want you to give a sponsorship to this gym challenger called Bede, since Rose ditched him... why should I? Well, one word. Pink," she said. And shortly after, the phone went down, and she looked confused. "Hello?... Opa-" she was about to finish before I saw a sight that made me immediately run into the entryway with my partners to go to the gym challenge. Opal slammed through the doors without a cane or umbrella and looked at Bede with excitement.

"OH! You were right! Pink! PINK! PPIIINNNKKK! ! !" she shouted in excitement, me then going through the doors without another word.