Cain returned to the valley accompanied by his Tyranitar.
Cain's Tyranitar wasn't the strongest in the valley, but it was the largest.
Even the leader Tyranitar had a noticeable size difference compared to him.
Still, Cain's Tyranitar showed great respect toward the leader Tyranitar.
From his perspective, the leader Tyranitar was an elder worthy of respect.
That leader had managed to ensure his group's survival in that place and had probably gone through more battles than Cain's Tyranitar could count with diamonds.
Maybe when he was still a Pupitar, he had taught them novel ways to fight.
But to be honest, the battle experience and strategies of the leader Tyranitar were far beyond what Cain's Tyranitar could imagine.
Cain had already noticed this during the previous fights with the Tyrantrum.
If this leader Tyranitar had grown up under Cain's training, he wouldn't be much weaker than his own Tyranitar after evolving.
Both Pokémon started from a similar base.
It was just that Cain's Tyranitar had the fortune of meeting a trainer like him.
Tyranitar's return was received with great enthusiasm.
Cain approached the leader Tyranitar and used telepathy to connect their thoughts.
"Leader, may I go see that place where the hearts of the Tyrantrum were once kept?" Cain asked directly.
The leader Tyranitar, upon hearing Cain, didn't hesitate for a second.
He made a gesture with his hand, signaling that he could go see for himself.
After all, during the battle against the Tyrantrum, if it hadn't been for Cain's help, they surely would have suffered great losses.
Besides, Cain's Tyranitar was also one of them.
And being a species that values strength so highly, even though Cain's Tyranitar wasn't the strongest, his imposing size had already earned the respect of many in the group.
So the leader Tyranitar had no reason to refuse.
Wild Pokémon have purer thoughts, without much malice or complication.
The fact that the leader Tyrantrum had planned a surprise attack was already a sign of unusual intelligence for a Pokémon.
Upon receiving permission, Cain didn't hesitate any longer.
He went with Slowking and Gengar toward the place.
The rest of his Pokémon stayed in the valley, exchanging experiences with the Tyranitar.
Cain also brought out a large reserve of Pokéblocks to strengthen the relationship with the group.
They arrived at a corner, and Cain had Slowking use his psychic powers to slowly move the rocks.
Beneath them, the object was revealed.
Two yellow hearts, now covered by a thin layer of rock.
These were the life cores of the two Tyrantrum.
It was unknown how the Tyranitar had discovered this form of use.
But that place was special: the hearts not only didn't lose their energy there, but could also absorb Rock-type energy.
After removing the stones, Cain had Slowking place the hearts to the side temporarily.
They were now fully encased, so there was no risk of energy loss.
They only required a bit of time to settle.
After removing them, it was revealed that the bottom of the hole was covered by a thin layer of earth.
Cain thought for a moment and took some in his hand.
Looking at it closely, he realized it wasn't earth, but a kind of very fine and slightly sticky sand.
What held it together was an extremely pure Rock-type energy.
"This feeling... I think I've experienced it before," Cain said as he rubbed the grains between his fingers.
He remembered a similar place, where the energy was so dense it could almost be touched.
Suddenly, his hand stopped.
The Gastly cave!
That cave on Trial Island, where the Ghost-type energy was so dense it became tangible.
The home where his Mismagius had once lived.
This place was very similar.
Cain said to Slowking, "Slowking, use your psychic powers to perceive what's underneath."
"Yadon!" Slowking responded.
His eyes shone with psychic energy, extending his perception underground.
Cain placed his hand on Slowking's back and released his own psychic power, joining his perception.
Slowking's perceptive ability was very wide, especially when focused in a single direction.
Soon, about 20 meters underground, they found an empty cave.
There, an extremely intense Rock-type energy could be sensed.
However, Cain quickly noticed a difference.
This cave was not like the cave with Ghost-type energy on Trial Island.
The difference lay in the quality of the energy.
Even though the Rock-type energy was very dense, it didn't reach the same level as the Ghost-type energy of the cave on Trial Island.
That indicated that, although this place was valuable, it didn't have the same degree of energy concentration.
BOOM!
As Cain and Slowking tried to investigate further...
A sudden mental boom shook Cain's mind, leaving him dazed.
The psychic exploration was abruptly cut off.
When he regained his senses, Cain was visibly surprised.
Something down there had detected Slowking's psychic perception!?
And not just anything—Slowking was at level 66. If it wasn't a Psychic-type Pokémon or something vastly superior in power, it shouldn't have been able to detect it.
But what happened was that something suddenly appeared and completely dispersed both Slowking's psychic energy and Cain's own psychic power.
Just by looking at Slowking's pale face, one could tell the impact on him was even greater than on Cain.
Even so, thanks to his greater power, he endured it better.
After this incident, Cain understood that the secret below wasn't something he could explore for now.
His strength was insufficient.
Very insufficient.
Although... he could still make use of this place in another way.
"Slowking, Gengar, widen the entrance to that unknown space a little. Not too much—just double its current size. But be careful not to let your energy enter the lower space," Cain instructed.
Both Pokémon nodded.
With energy flowing through their bodies, they began to dig cautiously.
Then, Cain signaled to Aggron and Carbink, who were playing nearby, to come over.
Although Aggron had some limitations, this place was of great benefit to Carbink.
Both Pokémon approached Cain with curiosity.
(End of chapter)