Idle Chatter in the Room

After chatting by the airport for nearly an hour, everyone finally came to their senses and drove to a hotel in Jubilife City. Although their true destination was near Mt. Coronet, they had no choice—the airport was close to Jubilife City. They could only stay here first, then head over to set up camp once everything was ready.

Blake and Steven, who had gotten carried away with their conversation, kept talking the whole way. Before long, Cynthia could not resist joining in as well.

"So, do ghosts really exist?"

Cynthia asked curiously. As a historian and mythologist, if ghosts truly existed, she could ask them about many things. That could resolve quite a few mysteries.

"They do exist. My family records clearly documented them. However, the conditions for a ghost to form are extremely harsh. Not every ghost can wander the human world. The ones that appear are usually earthbound spirits, and remaining in the world for too long is not good for them. Ghosts that linger often have unresolved obsessions. If those obsessions go unfulfilled for too long, they may become evil spirits. Those are usually quite dangerous, and the existence of many Ghost-type Pokémon is actually meant to deal with such evil spirits."

Blake explained. He did not want Cynthia to seek out ghosts because of a momentary curiosity. In truth, even Ghost-type Pokémon had a hard time dealing with genuine evil spirits.

"Even if I wanted to find one, I probably couldn't. Ghosts are the sort of thing you can only encounter by chance. Ghost-type Pokémon are much more reliable."

Cynthia said helplessly. Ghosts were not something one could simply go looking for, and she probably would not be able to communicate with one anyway.

"That is the right way to think about it. Ghosts are not easy to deal with. It is best if you never encounter one. If you do happen to run into one, remember that leaving immediately is the best choice."

James, seated in the front passenger seat of the business vehicle, turned around as he spoke. At the same time, he gave Blake an approving look. Not putting others in danger merely to show off was the best choice.

"Still, I am really curious about the place we are heading to this time. Dr. James, could you tell us about it?"

Steven asked curiously. To keep Steven from running off on his own, Stone had not told him where the destination was beforehand.

"The location? It is an underground ruin discovered near Mt. Coronet. However, preliminary geological surveys confirmed that the entire ruin was not originally underground. It sank beneath the surface due to geological collapses, underground rivers changing course, and other reasons. It was first discovered by a ranger taking shelter from the rain in a cave, who accidentally found it while following a karst cavern. After excavation work, most of the area is now safe. But it is still an underground ruin, and many places have collapsed. That has turned it into a habitat for many Pokémon, so do not let your guard down. There are quite a few wild Pokémon there, and some collapsed areas still have not been fully explored. So remember: do not wander off. Follow instructions, understand? This is not a joke. No one can guarantee what ancient ruins might contain. In the past, a Dragonite that had lived for thousands of years and was far stronger than a Champion was discovered in one ruin."

James was extremely serious. This archaeological excavation involved three newcomers, all of them teenagers. No amount of emphasis on safety would be too much.

"Don't worry, Dr. James. I have received miner training. My father took me everywhere to dig for stones when I was little, so I understand very well that I must follow the arrangements of professionals. I definitely will not go looking for trouble."

Steven promised.

"I will not run off either."

Cynthia hurriedly promised as well.

"You already reminded me again and again before we left, Dad. I would not joke around with my own life."

Blake said with a smile.

"Good. We will rest for two days after arriving at the hotel and wait for the rest of the team to arrive. During those two days, I will give you some basic training classes. Steven, right? You said you have undergone some training before. When the time comes, you will be the group leader for the three of you. You should learn faster than the others."

James smiled, completely washing away the sternness from before.

"Roger! Mission guaranteed!"

Steven said with a laugh. The car was immediately filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Before long, they arrived at the hotel—the finest hotel in all of Jubilife City. Every room was a business suite. Stone truly had money to burn, and Blake and Steven had been assigned to the same room.

"This is really too extravagant, Mr. Stone."

James said somewhat embarrassedly as he looked at the entire floor that had been booked.

"Not at all, not at all. We will still need to trouble you, Mr. James. I cannot offer much help in other respects, so I can only assist with food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation."

Stone said without concern. This was only because they were in Sinnoh. If they had been in the Hoenn Region, he could have prepared an entire row of villas as a rest area. One floor was nothing worth mentioning.

"This place is really nice, isn't it, Haunter?"

After entering the room and putting down his bag, Blake smiled at Haunter, who was looking around curiously beside him.

"Gastly! (~￣▽￣)~"

Haunter was clearly thrilled. The business suite's information sheet even listed various services specially prepared for Pokémon, making Haunter eager to try them.

"Everyone, come out!"

After entering the room, Steven released his Pokémon as well: a silver-white Metang, a Beldum, an Aron, an Aggron, and a Skarmory. In an instant, the suite's living room was filled with the gleam of metal.

"You come out too."

Seeing Steven's actions, Blake threw his Poké Balls as well. Dreepy and Dhelmise immediately appeared in the room.

"This is... Dhelmise!"

The moment Dhelmise's enormous body appeared in the room, Steven's gaze was instantly drawn to it. Although Dhelmise was not a Steel-type Pokémon, its Steelworker Ability made Steven value it greatly. Unfortunately, Dhelmise was almost nonexistent in the Hoenn Region.

"That is right. I met Dhelmise on an abandoned ship. He was my second partner."

Blake patted Dhelmise's body, helping him relax. The Pokémon was somewhat withdrawn, and Steven rushing right up to him had stressed him out a little.

"Really impressive. I have heard that this seaweed is actually the true body of Dhelmise, while the ship's anchor can be replaced. Is that right?"

Steven said as he carefully observed Dhelmise's every movement.

"That is right. So there is no fixed size for Dhelmise. It all depends on how much seaweed it has, as well as the size of the wheel and anchor it is wrapped around."

Blake explained.

"Pokémon really are fascinating."

Steven straightened up. He could tell that Dhelmise was clearly uncomfortable and had only stayed because Blake was calming him down. To spare Dhelmise's feelings, he naturally chose to keep his distance.

"Dree!"

By then, Dreepy had shaken off his initial confusion and begun looking around. He soon noticed many unfamiliar figures nearby, but the naturally bold little fellow was not intimidated in the slightest. He flew up to these unfamiliar big friends and greeted them.

"This is... Dreepy, the pseudo-legendary Pokémon from the Galar Region?"

Steven was surprised again. He had not expected to encounter two uncommon pseudo-legendaries in one day—besides Gible, there was also Dreepy!