Chapter 18: Secrets of the Desert

A week had passed since their trip to Galar, and not much had happened. Despite having a new goal to work towards, Ash would have to wait until the new season started in three months. Luckily, his work with Professor Cerise, plus time with Lillie kept him more than busy.

At the moment, he and his companions had just landed in the Unova region. They had gotten word from Professor Xander, the leader of the archeological dig from Johto, that he had discovered the ruins of an ancient civilization in the Desert Resort and had invited them to join in, which they eagerly accepted.

"Alright, time for adventure! Desert Resort, here we come!"

Goh looked at his Rotomphone, checking the map function as they walked through Route 4

"Let's see. According to the map, we should be coming across the entrance to the desert right about…woah."

Goh stopped in his tracks, staring out at the seemingly endless sea of sand that awaited them. Ash, undaunted by it, gleefully stepped out onto it.

"Come on, guys! We won't get anywhere just standing around here!"

"Ash, wait! I don't think that's such a good idea!"

"Why not? Its just some- OW OW OW OW, HOT HOT HOT!"

Goh and Lillie just sighed as Ash jumped back onto the pavement, trying to soothe his burning feet.

"I tried to warn him."

"How are we going to cross the desert?"

"Need a hand, folks?"

From behind came a woman dressed in exploring gear and a cowboy hat, taking her backpack off as she approached.

"Yeah. Who-"

"Name's Kira, Pokemon Ranger. You folks heading out to explore those ruins?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Yep. Been assigned out there to make sure no poachers or thieves disrupt the wild Pokemon out there. Looks like you need some help crossing the desert. Lucky I came along. You guys have any flying types?"

"Yeah, why?"

Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a pokeball attached to a coil of rope. Tossing it up, she revealed a Braviary wearing a harness. Pulling out a sled,

"A little thing I call Sand Surfing, that's why! Sure, you could just have them fly you there, but this is more fun! Get yourself some rope, tie it to your flyer, and soar across the desert!"

"Wow, that sounds awesome!"

"There should be a rental shack a mile back with everything you need. Toodles!"

And she took off, kicking up a wave of sand as Braviary pulled her along.

"Woah, that looks awesome! Let's give it a try!"

"Totally!"

"I'm game!"

After finding the shack and renting the necessary equipment, the trio set off across the desert. Ash was being pulled along by Dragonite, Goh had chosen his Beedrill, and Lillie borrowed Ash's Pidgeot for the trip. Although it took them a while to get the hang of it, they soon were blasting across the desert sands, having the time of their lives.

"This is so much fun!"

"This reminds me of the time we went Mantine Suring, right Ash?"

"Totally! Last one there's a rotten egg!"

And Ash made Dragonite speed up, quickly passing Goh and Lillie.

"Hey, no fair! Beedrill, don't let him win!"

"Drill!"

"Hey, wait for me!"

For a while, Ash and Goh were neck in neck, but Goh was beginning to pull ahead. Just then, Ash saw a big sand dune up ahead, and got an idea.

"Dragonite, head for that big sand dune!"

"Dragonite!"

Dragonite sped up, heading straight for the dune as Ash had directed!"

"Hey, no fair! I never said you could cheat"

"You never said I couldn't, either!"

But Ash soon found that this wasn't as good of an idea as he had thought,as while he got a great amount of speed and height, he soon found himself out of control.

"AAAH! How do I stop this thing?!"

"Just let go!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"Oh, right. On second thought, don't do that!"

But Ash couldn't hold on forever, and eventually lost his grip just before disappearing over the horizon.

"Ash!"

Worried, Beedrill and Pidgeot sped up, hoping to find Ash before he got into too much trouble. Luckily, they didn't have to go looking too hard, as they found Ash head first in the sand, trying to free himself. Pikachu was right next to him, just shaking his leg. Lillie raced over to help him out, only to slap him hard across the face.

"Ow! Yeah, I guess I deserved that."

"Honestly Ash, you can be so hard headed sometimes."

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

Ash turned to find a Litwick staring up at him, making him jump.

"D-did that Litwick just talk?"

"Um, Ash?"
It was only then that Ash saw Professor Xander running towards them.

"Oh. That makes more sense."

"I saw something hit the ground, and came running. You're not hurt are you?"
"Nah, I'm fine. Trust me, I've been through worse."

Xander breathed a sigh of relief, then motioned to the area around them.

"Welcome to the Colossus Ruins!"

"Why is it called that?"

"A good question, Lillie. Come take a look at this."

He led them towards a large stone monument, covered in writing of an unknown language.

"What language is this?"

"Ancient Unovan. It's taken a while, but we've managed to decipher it. According to this, these ruins are the catacombs of an ancient civilization, a place to bury their dead. We believe that somewhere in here lie the treasures of their kings, but the tablet comes with a warning: those who dare to disturb the resting place of the dead shall face the wrath of the Colossus. Defeat him, and the path to your desires shall be revealed."

"...What does that all mean?"
Xander just shrugged his shoulders.

"Hard to say. It could be a bluff to scare off graverobbers. Still though, be careful down there. Colossus or no Colossus, these tombs usually have some sort of booby traps."

"Don't worry, we will!"

The trio soon found themselves wandering a long, dark hallway, lit only by torches lining the walls. Lillie shivered, and held onto Ash's arm.

"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this? Something just feels…spooky, like we're not supposed to be here."

Ash smiled, and gently patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lillie. I'll protect you from any- WOAH!"

"ASH!"

Ash, not looking where he was going, stepped on a switch, opening up a trap door beneath him. He had just enough time to push Lillie to safety before falling, closing his eyes and waiting to hit the ground…

"Meditite, use Psychic!"

Just before he hit the spike bottom, a psychic glow enveloped him, saving him from an untimely fate. Slowly he was raised up back to solid ground, Lillie hugging him tightly as Kira approached, her Meditite floating beside her.

"Good thing I came along. You alright, Ash?"

"Yeah, thanks for the save."

"Good job, Meditite. Return."

After placing the Fighting/Psychic type's Pokeball on her belt, she dug into her backpack and pulled out a flashlight.

"I think it'd be best if I stuck with you three from here on. There might be more just like that."

"Yeah, good call."

Kira took the lead, her flashlight shooting out a beam of light that made it easier for them to spot any steps that could set off a trap. Without further incident, they made their way into a large room, filled with row upon row of coffins.

"Woah."

"This must be the burial chamber of the kings. The ancient Unovan people had great respect for their leaders, and made sure they were buried with all of their riches. Of course, these were kept in a separate chamber, so any treasure thieves who were lucky enough to make it this far would be dissuaded by a mostly empty room."

"Woah, that's so cool! How do you know all of that?"

"Professor Xander is my dad, and he's always telling me stories like that. He's the one who convinced me to become a Pokemon Ranger."

"Woah, that must be so cool!"

"Meh, it's alright. It would be better if he didn't ramble so much."

Just then, two of the coffins began to shake. Arms and legs sprouted from beneath them, revealing them to be a pair of Cofagrigus.

"Woah!"

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

"Double Kick, Scorbunny!"

"Goh, wait!"

"Oh, right! Scorbunny, wait!"

But the realization had come too late. Scorbunny leapt, foot extended to kick the opposing Pokemon, only for it to go right through them. Confused, he tried again with the same results. Goh just laughed nervously.

"Guess I forgot Fighting types couldn't hit Ghost types."

Luckily, Pikachu was more than enough for the two ghost types, his Iron Tail sending them scurrying off into the shadows, but not before opening their mouths and releasing two captives. One was a boy with blonde hair and goggles, while the other was a blue Psyduck.

"Whew! Thanks for the save, I thought I'd never get out of there!"
Kira groaned when she saw whom they had saved.

"Oh great. Not this again."

"Oh, hi, Kira."

"Wait, you guys know each other?"

"Unfortunately. Ash, Lillie, Goh, meet my stepbrother, Shane. Shane, meet Ash, Lillie, and Goh. Shane, what are you doing here?"

"Chill out, Kira! I just came here to catch some cool Pokemon!"

"This isn't a playground Shane, you could've gotten seriously hurt! There's a reason why I didn't want you coming here!"

"I'm not a little kid, I'm a Pokemon trainer! I can take care of myself!"

"Oh yeah, it really looked like you were doing a bang up job there!"

"Hey, cut me some slack! They snuck up behind me, that's all!"

Just then, Professor Xander entered the chamber. Having overheard the argument, he quickly stepped into diffuse the situation.

"Now let's all just calm down! Now Kira, Shane is right. He has every right to be here as much as you do, and you can't control what he does."

"Thank you."

"And Shane, Kira also has a point. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. This is a dangerous place, and I don't want you getting hurt."

Shane and Kira just growled, and turned away from each other, much to the Professor's annoyance. Goh, looking to turn the conversation in a different direction, examined Shane's Psyduck.

"This is a Shiny Pokemon, isn't it? You don't see too many of those, do you?"

"Nope! And this was the first Pokemon I ever caught, too. And ever since then, I've dedicated my life to building a complete Shiny Pokedex!"

"Really? That's so cool!"

"Right? Check out my list so far."

Taking out his Rotomphone, he handed it to Goh, who scrolled down the list. So far he had a Psyduck, an Onix, a Slakoth, a Swinub, and a Bagon.

"Woah, and these are all Shiny Pokemon? Impressive!"

"Thank you! Nice to see SOMEONE appreciates my hobbies."

Kira just rolled her eyes.

"But…your list is kind of small, isn't it?"

"Well…its not like Shiny Pokemon grow on trees or anything. But I'm not going to give up!"

"Sometimes I wish you would."

"Kira!"

"What? Do you know how many times I've had to bail him out of trouble?"

"You know what, I don't have to take this! I'm leaving!"

"Good riddance!"

But as Shane made his way to the exit, he stepped on a hidden switch on the ground, causing the room to shake.

"Now you've done it!"

"What? What did I do?"

Just then,a hidden panel in the wall slid open, revealing a pair of glowing eyes.

"I don't know, but something tells me we're about to find out."