About ten minutes later, everyone who could still move had returned to the base camp.
For those who had unfortunately died in the blue crystal cavern, their close comrades in the B5 unit took it upon themselves to gather the bodies and carry them back to the surface.
As for the Pokémon and resources left behind by the fallen, those naturally became the reward for the ones who carried the bodies out.
By now, the sandstorm had nearly faded. Only a light sea breeze remained, occasionally carrying along a few harmless grains of sand. Looking out from the edge of the weathered statue, the setting sun cast a golden-red glow across the desert and its timeworn stone formations.
The B5 squad was busy packing up. They gathered precision instruments that had gone unused and loaded off-road vehicles with the basic supplies they'd brought with them.
Shiro and the others walked with Gareth toward the tents. As they neared, the captain stopped and asked, "Where's Leon? Was he the one holding off the sandstorm?"
"He's still out west," Shiro replied. "Now that the rescue's over, it's time for him to head back."
"I'll go get him, then," Gareth said simply. He gave a quick wave and turned to leave.
Since leaving the ruins, he had been fiddling with the communicator. But for some reason, the strange magnetic field that interfered with signals still hadn't gone away. Every message he tried to send just vanished like a stone sinking into the sea. Still, Gareth was a man of action. Once he made a decision, he didn't waste time.
After walking a few meters, he looked back and added, "Thanks again for everything. You all get some rest."
With that, he went to a nearby off-road vehicle. The four desert-ready tires rolled over the sand, leaving behind deep tracks as the vehicle bounced over the uneven terrain and quickly disappeared from view.
"Hey, Shiro..." Marvin leaned in and asked carefully, "We were knocked out too. After we woke up, we went looking for you... but you were still out cold. Those hunter guys carried you back. Nothing weird happened before that, right?"
Shiro shook his head and was about to answer when Nessa chimed in.
"Some of the squad members died," she said quietly. "Big holes in their chests, like they were clawed open by some kind of Pokémon. It looked like Sableye did it. But when we left the ruins, it was gone, like it vanished."
Shiro nodded slightly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Poké Ball containing Sableye. Sure enough, the Pokémon was awake, though it stood inside the ball looking dazed and unmoving.
Glancing at the nearby B5 members who were resting, Shiro gestured for Marvin and the others to follow him into the tent.
"It was this Sableye that killed those people," he said, placing the Ultra Ball in his palm. "I slept later than it did. Caught it while it was still confused."
"What kind of luck is that?" Marvin gasped and hopped closer, crouching to peer through the translucent part of the ball at the Pokémon inside.
The moment Sableye seemed to notice him, it opened its mouth and let out a furious roar. Then it suddenly lunged at the inner wall of the ball, making Marvin stumble back in fright. He nearly fell over.
Fortunately, the Ultra Ball was sturdy. There was no chance Sableye could break out.
"This thing's way too dangerous…" Marvin muttered. He took another step back, putting more distance between himself and the ball.
Even though he knew it couldn't escape, fear still crept in. Watching Sableye thrash inside, he couldn't help but picture himself getting torn to pieces by it bursting out of nowhere…
He quickly hid behind Allister.
Nessa, meanwhile, didn't pay the Ghost-type much attention. She looked at Shiro and asked, "Earlier, you seemed like you had a really high fever, but your forehead was cold. Are you sure your body's okay?"
"I'm fine. Just not used to the environment here. No big deal, really… don't worry." As Shiro spoke, he suddenly felt a sharp pang of hunger. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a handful of Pokéblocks, stuffing them into his mouth all at once.
If humans were categorized like Pokémon, Shiro figured he'd fall under Fighting or Psychic type. That was the reasoning behind his choice; he'd picked only Pokéblocks aligned with those two attributes. As he chewed and swallowed, a warm sensation filled his stomach, and the hunger faded almost instantly.
Nessa frowned at the sight.
While Pokéblocks were edible for humans—being made from berries and other natural ingredients—the concentrated energy and nutrients weren't something the human body could process efficiently. Eating that many at once could easily make someone sick.
But Shiro wasn't bothered in the slightest. Instead, he turned his focus to the Sableye inside the Ultra Ball and studied it.
He had a strange feeling, like the powers granted to him by Zacian and Zamazenta had begun to awaken after eating those Pokéblocks. Enhanced physical strength was one thing, but now he could sense the Pokémon in front of him with almost supernatural clarity: its level, ability, even more.
'Can I turn this into actual data? Like a proper interface?'
He concentrated, gathering his thoughts. Slowly, as if being drawn by invisible ink, lines of text began to form beside the Sableye in his vision.
[Name: Sableye
Type: Dark/Ghost
Level: 52 (Elite)
Ability: Keen Eye
Held Item: None]
These details weren't presented to him directly; rather, his senses offered raw information, and his mind converted them into words. It was a lot more efficient this way, no need to guess or rely on instinct alone.
"Much easier..." Shiro murmured to himself, continuing to test the strange powers Zacian had granted. But no matter how hard he tried, he could only observe. He couldn't affect the real world.
'Is Zacian's power too weak? Or am I lacking talent…?'
The doubt crept in briefly, but he waved it off a moment later.
'No way, it's definitely Zacian's fault. That dog's probably just weak.'
While Shiro silently experimented, next to him, Nessa had been watching his odd expressions and gestures with a puzzled look. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but was interrupted by Allister's voice.
"Something's missing."
"What is?" Marvin asked, stretching as he strolled farther into the tent. He flopped sideways onto a couch with a groan.
Nessa looked around. The instruments and tools inside were untouched, exactly as they'd left them. But something was off...
"The researchers," she said suddenly. "They're gone."
"Researchers?" Shiro blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He slipped the Poké Ball back into his pocket and scanned the tent with fresh eyes.
He'd been so caught up with Sableye and the awakening powers that he hadn't noticed it earlier. They'd arrived back on the surface before the B5 unit. If any of the team members had come in and taken the researchers away, they definitely would've been seen.
"I didn't see anyone from the company enter," Allister said with certainty. "And the bandages released by Dusclops were all solid matter, not energy. They wouldn't just disappear."
Shiro's eyes narrowed. A possible explanation clicked into place.
"It was the trainers from Stow-on-Side," he said. "They must've snuck in while the sandstorm eased up and took the researchers away."
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