After five days of thorough searching, Cain and Steven had explored the Great Desert of Hoenn, conducting an exhaustive investigation. However, due to the vast expanse of the desert, they had not found any traces of the Alliance traitor until that mont.
They were not only searching for the traitor but also had a second purpose: to allow their Pokémon to adapt to the levels of the wild Pokémon in the desert.
Only when their Pokémon were strong enough would they venture deeper, spending more ti in specific areas to search.
Despite the harsh desert conditions, the battle experience proved to be extrely beneficial for the levels of their Pokémon.
In just five days, Cain’s Poliwhirl reached level 31 and Marshtomp reached level 29, with daily progress. Steven’s Pokémon also beca significantly stronger: Anorith reached level 31 and Lileep reached level 33.
Although their official mission was to find the traitor, Cain had influenced Steven to also take the opportunity to train their Pokémon.
Finally, on a new day, Steven discovered sothing strange.
The two were following their usual plan when they passed through an area filled with cacti. Among them were several Cacturne disguised as cacti, which they easily defeated. After the battle, Steven found a small stone protruding from the ground, sothing he had never seen before.
With his curiosity piqued, he began to investigate it, and as he dug, he realized there was sothing larger underneath. The small stone was connected to a larger structure buried in the sand: the roof of an ancient building!
The spot where they were standing was the roof of that structure.
Although the Great Desert of Hoenn was full of ruins, many of which had already been explored by Cain and Steven, all the ones they had found up until now had been empty.
This ti, it seed they had discovered a ruin that no one else had seen before, as neither Cain in his records nor Steven in his mories recalled anything like this at that location.
Driven by curiosity, they began to carefully dig the sand that covered the ruin.
The sand, being fluid, made the process complicated, as each ti they dug, more sand would fall into the hole. Fortunately, with Poliwhirl and Marshtomp, they were able to wet the sand to prevent it from slipping, and Marshtomp solidified it with the move Mud-Slap.
After much effort, they managed to expose part of the structure’s roof.
It was an ancient building with a door carved with inscriptions that seed to be in an ancient language. Seeing those symbols, Cain had a feeling of familiarity.
After digging about two or three ters, they revealed the basic shape of the roof.
"What do you say? Should we take a look inside?" asked Steven, as both stood on what appeared to be a window in the roof.
"We definitely need to investigate," Cain replied. "It’s possible this is the place the Alliance traitor was searching for. If the traitor ca to the Great Desert of Hoenn, it was probably to find an undiscovered ruin. This could be it."
Steven nodded, agreeing with Cain’s reasoning.
With effort, they managed to open a sort of window or door in the roof. Darkness reigned inside, with no light source in sight.
Cain jumped inside with Marshtomp and Poliwhirl, falling about three or four ters. With his psychic powers, he controlled his descent to avoid landing too hard.
"No problem, co on down," he told Steven.
With grace, Steven brushed the dust off his coat, and together with Anorith and Lileep, he jumped inside. Cain, using his psychic powers, helped them land smoothly.
Once Steven was on the ground, Cain used his psychic powers to close the window above them. When the sun dried the sand, it would flow again, hiding the ruin completely once more.
Cain held a specially prepared torch, lighting the dark interior as Steven and his Pokémon followed him. The interior was remarkably intact, except for the thick layer of dust on the floor.
"This place is very solid," Cain observed. "Despite all the sand on top, it doesn’t seem to have suffered any damage. Look at the thickness of the dust on the floor; no one has been here in a long ti."
However, as he spoke, Cain pointed to an area where the dust was visibly thinner, about the size of a fist, with almost no dust compared to the rest of the place.
"This... doesn’t look like a footprint. Could it have been left by soone?" Steven asked.
"If it was left by soone, it ans whoever did it was experienced, and this is probably just a trace of their landing. After that, it seems they were cautious enough not to leave any more traces. If you’re not careful, you might miss this clue," Cain explained.
"So you think this could be the traitor’s hideout?" Steven asked, increasingly convinced of the idea.
"The dense growth of cacti outside would be a great landmark for finding this place. If it weren’t for my interest in stones, anyone would have passed it by."
"Yes, but be careful," warned Cain. "Our opponent isn’t easy, and this place isn’t either."
As he looked at the strange inscriptions on the walls, Cain felt sothing sparkle in his mind. Suddenly, he rembered where he had seen similar symbols before.
"This can’t be...," he murmured, shocked.
Before he could finish, the entire ruin trembled slightly. Fine dust fell from the ceiling, covering the floor once more.
Cain and Steven exchanged glances. Although the tremor wasn’t strong, both of them knew that sothing powerful enough to make that solid structure shake wouldn’t be ordinary.
Both adopted serious expressions.
(End of Chapter)
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