Chapter 188: The Swords of Justice
N and Ryan bid farewell. Zekrom would likely take some time to recover, so for now, N could only walk back.
Ryan watched N leave, then said to Frost, "You should return to the guild first. I need to go somewhere."
Frost nodded, released his Arcanine, and rode off. Ryan then released Charizard. As soon as Charizard appeared, it looked towards Ryan. Now that it had reached Tier 3, it most wanted to return to the manor and battle the other Legendary Pokémon.
Ryan patted Charizard on the back and said, "Take me to the Abyssal Ruins first. Since we've come to Unova, we must visit there. And since you've reached Tier 3, it's time to test yourself against those Legendary Pokémon."
Charizard was puzzled, but it knew Ryan wouldn't harm it. Ryan jumped onto Charizard's back, and under Ryan's guidance, Charizard flew towards the Abyssal Ruins.
After a day's flight, they arrived at an area in the eastern waters of Unova. According to the electronic map, beneath this area lay the Abyssal Ruins.
Ryan returned Charizard and changed into diving gear on his boat. With Milotic's help, he dove towards the ruins. There were numerous Pokémon in the water, including some Basculin and Frillish, both native to Unova, but Ryan showed little interest in them.
After diving for some distance, Ryan, aided by the sunlight, spotted the Abyssal Ruins in the distance. Milotic also increased its swimming speed, diving directly towards the entrance.
However, just as they entered, a sudden surge of water swept Milotic and Ryan out. Ryan and Milotic rolled several times in the sea before regaining their balance. Confused, Ryan instructed Milotic to continue. Milotic once again plunged into the ruins, but this time, there was no current to carry them out.
But the complex maze of passages within the ruins proved daunting. After exploring for quite some time, the current erupted again, forcibly sweeping Ryan and Milotic out of the ruins. Undeterred, Ryan plunged back into the ruins, only to be swept out again moments later.
He was speechless. Perhaps this was like the game mechanics, where after a certain time limit you'd be immediately swept out of the ruins. But here, a current would periodically surge, sweeping across the entire structure.
If working with the system didn't work, then force it! Milotic led Ryan back into the ruins. As the current rushed towards them, Milotic, without hesitation, launched a powerful Iron Tail, piercing through the wall. Ryan clung to Milotic, and the two of them escaped the current's pull.
Seeing this method work, Ryan no longer needed to rush to find the exit. He slowly searched the bottom floor of the Abyssal Ruins. After enduring three consecutive surges, he and Milotic finally found the passage to the second level.
When Milotic led Ryan into the second-level passage, he discovered that it was strangely devoid of water. He removed his scuba gear, took a breath, and asked, puzzled, "Air? And it's so fresh! What's going on?"
Milotic shook its head, indicating it had no idea. Ryan first returned Milotic and released Alakazam, saying, "Alakazam, help me scout ahead."
Alakazam nodded, slowly sending out its psychic senses, and then signaled to Ryan, indicating that there was no danger.
Ryan nodded and, with Alakazam, began to explore the ruins on the second level. Along the way, Ryan discovered several stone tablets inscribed with ancient text, but he couldn't decipher their meaning, so he moved on.
After searching the entire second level and finding nothing significant, he headed to the third level. Upon reaching the third level, he was shocked by what he saw.
"The Swords of Justice? Why are they here?" Ryan looked at the three Pokémon frozen in ice, somewhat surprised.
But what caught his attention even more was the stone tablet on the wall behind the three Swords. It was fragments of Arceus's Plates! Ryan walked over and carefully counted them. Aside from the Splash Plate, the Pixie Plate, and the Draco Plate, all the other Plate fragments were there.
Ryan was overjoyed. He had come to the Abyssal Ruins only for the Reveal Glass, but he hadn't found it yet, and he'd already discovered 14 different Plate fragments. Adding the Swords of Justice, it was an incredible find!
Ryan immediately collected the Plate fragments and, without hesitation, gave the Mind Plate to Gallade, replacing its Leftovers. Then, the remaining Pokémon were given Plates one by one. While the chances of mastering Origin Power by carrying the Plates were low, it was worth a try, wasn't it?
After distributing the Plates, Ryan sent out Charizard and signaled it, which then launched a Flamethrower at the Swords of Justice, helping to melt the ice.
Once the ice had completely melted, the three Swords of Justice finally collapsed to the ground, exhausted. After some consideration, Ryan took out three Revival Herbs and fed one to each of them. After all, he didn't have a Master Ball, and the chances of capturing them with an Ultra Ball were too low. He also didn't particularly desire Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion. While it would be great if he could capture them, it didn't matter if he couldn't.
The Swords of Justice ate the Revival Herbs and recovered. They looked at Ryan and gave him a soft cry as a token of their gratitude. Curious, Ryan asked, "How did you end up frozen here?"
The three Swords of Justice all shook their heads and remained silent. Ryan was helpless: after all, they wouldn't tell him, and he couldn't force them.
Once they recovered somewhat, they called out to Ryan a few times and left, preparing to exit through the lower level. Ryan didn't try to stop them, as they'd indicated they owed him a favor and would definitely repay it when the time came. The favor of three Legendary Pokémon was quite valuable; after all, they wouldn't refuse to help Ryan when he needed them.
After watching the Swords of Justice leave, Ryan stood and resumed his search. On the third floor, he found many ancient gold and silver artifacts, but they weren't of much use to him, so he took some as souvenirs.
Later, Ryan reached the fourth floor. Here, he finally found the Reveal Glass, which had been placed on an altar.
"Finally," Ryan smiled, taking it down from the altar.
Thousands of miles away, in an unknown valley, a Pokémon awoke from its slumber. It stretched, gently leaped from the treetops, and floated into the air.
It looked towards the Abyssal Ruins and murmured, "Did someone take the Reveal Glass? Should I go take a look? The Swords of Justice should still be in there, so let's go check it out."
Then, humming a tune, it quickly flew towards the Abyssal Ruins.
(End of Chapter)