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Chapter 1394 - The Sundial and Olympia
The Dusknoir then recounted to Yuga how the Sableye had suddenly appeared. As for the Sableye's origins, the Dusknoir naturally had no idea.
After listening to Dusknoir's explanation, Yuga looked at the now-calm river surface and thought to himself: Could something be hidden beneath these waters?
"Alright, you should go rest and recover first. Here, take this!" Saying that, Yuga handed the ruby to Dusknoir.
Since the ruby was useful to Dusknoir, he naturally wouldn't be stingy with it.
"Dusknoir~"
Dusknoir excitedly took the ruby, and the yellow pattern on its abdomen suddenly transformed into a large mouth, swallowing the gem in one gulp. Then, without hesitation, it slipped back into the shadow space to recuperate.
As soon as Dusknoir disappeared, Gengar followed right after, diving into the shadows as well. Mismagius was just about to do the same when Yuga called out to it.
"Wait a moment, take me to the ghost ship."
"Mismagius~"
Mismagius nodded. After Yuga recalled both Absol and Florges into their Poké Balls, Mismagius carried him and flew toward the ghost ship.
Upon boarding the ship, Yuga saw the heavily injured Dhelmise. Without hesitation, he quickly took out a Max Revive and fed it to the Pokémon. Dhelmise's injuries were even worse than Dusknoir's.
Max Revive, true to its reputation as a miraculous healing medicine, worked wonders. In no time at all, Dhelmise's condition had greatly improved, and it cast a grateful look at Yuga.
After instructing Dhelmise to rest well, Yuga took a walk around the ghost ship. Seeing that none of the other Ghost-type Pokémon were injured, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, from the Ghost Pokémon onboard, Yuga learned that Milis, Argus, and the others had fallen into the river.
Since he was already planning to investigate the riverbed, he figured he might as well retrieve them along the way.
To be honest, Yuga suspected those people were probably already gone, but just in case, he decided to check.
It wasn't that he was particularly worried about them dying—he was more concerned about the possibility that they might have survived.
Just as Yuga was about to have Lapras dive into the river, Jessie and James hesitantly approached him and asked, "Um... um... Meowth... is it okay?"
Yuga replied, "Meowth is still in the Diamond Domain. It should be fine. Also, thanks for coming to warn me this time."
Jessie thought to herself: If our lives weren't at stake, who would've wanted to go warn you?!
But outwardly, she laughed and said, "Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing! If you really want to thank us, why not treat us to a big feast...?"
Hearing this, James tugged on Jessie's sleeve, but she ignored him and swatted his hand away.
Yuga looked at her with an amused expression and asked, "Treating you to a feast isn't a problem... but I'm just curious—how exactly did you two end up on my ship?"
"Ahaha..." Jessie was startled and immediately felt guilty. "Oh yeah, how did we get here? Uh... how? James, you tell him!"
James stammered for a long time but failed to come up with an explanation.
Seeing this, Yuga said, "Alright, just stay here and behave for now."
After speaking, Yuga had Chimecho create a psychic barrier and entered the river together with Lapras.
Seeing Yuga leave, Jessie and James simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew... that scared me to death!" Jessie said. "Do you think I was possessed just now? Otherwise, how could I have dared to make a request to him?"
James glanced at Jessie but didn't say anything. He thought to himself: Aren't you always like this?
After diving into the river, Yuga quickly found the collapsed area. It had long since been filled with river water, and the depths below were pitch black.
He took out a flashlight and had Chimecho carry him down while Lapras led the way.
Once underwater, Yuga discovered that the space below was more expansive than he had expected. However, aside from that, there was nothing particularly remarkable. Other than the mud and sand washed in by the river's currents, nothing else was present.
As for the corpses of Millis and the others, they had long since been buried under the silt, so naturally, Yuga found nothing.
After carefully searching the area, Yuga still found no clues. He was deeply puzzled: Where exactly did that Sableye come from? And why did it suddenly appear?
The incident involving Diancie and Sableye had been buried with the two Pokémon's deaths, leaving no third party aware of the truth. Yuga's questions had no answers, and he could only let the matter drop.
Unable to find any leads, Yuga surfaced and searched the surrounding area again. He still found no trace of Millis and the others, leaving him with no choice but to give up.
If he couldn't find them, so be it. Whether those people were dead or alive wasn't that important. If they managed to survive, then they were simply lucky.
Once he had handled everything here, Yuga planned to return to the Diamond Domain to bid farewell to Diancie and the others. It was time for them to leave.
To prevent any unexpected incidents, Yuga decided to leave Gengar and Mismagius on the ship before heading back to Diamond Domain.
He didn't rush to drive Jessie and James away either. Before leaving, he instructed Gengar and Mismagius to prepare a feast for them.
Since they had gone out of their way to deliver a message, it was only right to give them a small reward.
After Yuga left, Jessie and James were moved to tears when they saw the grand meal prepared for them by Gengar and Mismagius.
It had been far too long since they'd eaten such a good meal. The two devoured it like a storm sweeping through the land.
However, not long after they finished eating, Meowth returned from Diamond Domain.
Since it had gone there to deliver Yuga's message, the Carbinks that had captured it didn't give it a hard time. Instead, they personally escorted it out of Diamond Domain.
Upon emerging, Meowth saw that the battle had ended. Looking up at the ghost ship floating in the air, it let out a sigh of relief, thinking: As long as Jessie and James are safe, that's all that matters.
Just then, Jessie and James, having finished their feast, were abruptly thrown off the ghost ship by the Ghost-type Pokémon. They landed right in front of Meowth.
The two got up, and upon seeing Meowth safe and sound, they immediately hugged it tightly.
"Meowth, you're finally back! I was so worried about you!"
"Meowth, it's such a relief that you're okay!"
Meowth had been feeling quite touched—until its nose twitched. "What's that smell on you two? Why... why does it smell so good?"
Upon hearing that, Jessie and James hastily let go of Meowth. Jessie, looking guilty, stammered, "W-What smell? You must be mistaken."
"Y-Yeah," James chimed in. "We don't smell like anything."
Meowth didn't believe them. It moved closer and took another sniff. "This is a familiar scent—it's the smell of a feast!"
With that, it suddenly leaped up, pointing at the two and demanding, "Did you two eat a feast behind my back?!"
Jessie jumped up as well. "What nonsense are you spouting?! Where would we even get a feast?!"
Meowth refused to believe them.
"Don't try to fool Meowth! My nose is very sharp—I can smell the scent of a feast," Meowth said angrily. "I was suffering outside, and you two had a feast without saving any for me? That's too much, Meow!"
Thinking about how it had wandered around Diamond Domain for so long because it got lost, how its legs were nearly broken from running around, and how it was captured and interrogated by the Carbink for being a supposed spy, Meowth felt extremely wronged.
With that, Meowth pounced on Jessie. James tried to intervene, but he was quickly dragged into the scuffle. In just a few moments, their faces were covered in scratches from Meowth's claws.
Meanwhile, after returning to Diamond Domain, Yuga found that the celebration there had mostly wrapped up. Because of Yuga's imminent departure, everyone's enthusiasm had dwindled significantly.
Once the festivities had completely ended, Yuga bid farewell to Diancie and the others. Ash and his friends also agreed it was time to leave.
Diancie and the others understood that all gatherings must eventually come to an end. Though they were reluctant to part, they did not try to hold Yuga back.
"Mr. Shimizu has helped us so much, but we have little to offer in return. Please accept these as a token of our gratitude," said Dace.
As Dace finished speaking, the Carbink behind it stepped forward, placing one dazzling diamond and gemstone after another in front of Yuga.
Looking at the small mountain of diamonds and gemstones, Yuga was astonished. "All of this is for me?"
Dace nodded. "Yes. We may not have much else in Diamond Domain, but we have an abundance of gemstones. I know these are very valuable in the human world."
Unlike the gems that Diancie could create, the ones given to Yuga were naturally formed and carefully selected.
Yuga stood in silence for a long time, staring at the pile of jewels before him. He wasn't exactly an expert in jewelry, but he had eyes—he could tell that these were worth a fortune.
He suspected that even his entire net worth didn't add up to the value of this pile of gemstones.
So this is what it feels like to suddenly become rich? Pretty nice!
"Well, thank you very much," he said, wasting no time in storing the treasure inside his backpack.
He certainly wasn't going to refuse such a massive fortune for nothing. After all, helping Diamond Domain had cost him quite a bit—giant stone fragments, Fairy Gems, top-tier Pokeblock...
"And Ash, Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie—you all have some too," Dace continued.
"We do too?" Ash asked in surprise. "But... but we..." He felt like he hadn't done much to help Diancie.
"We should probably decline..." Clemont said, looking a little embarrassed.
Serena, though tempted by the shimmering gems, knew she hadn't truly earned them.
Seeing their hesitation, Dace's expression turned serious. "Please don't say that. If it weren't for you protecting Princess Diancie, she would have been captured by villains long ago!"
Back then, when the three Carbink ministers had to return to Diamond Domain for urgent matters, it was thanks to Ash and his friends that the inexperienced Diancie remained safe.
"But..." Ash wanted to argue further.
"Ash, Clemont, Serena, Bonnie... aren't we friends?" Diancie, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "Would you really reject this small token of appreciation from me?"
"This..."
Ash and the others suddenly looked conflicted.
"You guys should just accept it," Yuga added. "Once we leave, who knows when we'll meet again? Consider it a keepsake." Besides, it would be awkward if he were the only one receiving gifts.
Hearing Yuga bring up parting ways, both Diancie and Ash's group suddenly felt a heavy sadness settle over them.
"Alright then..."
Ash stole a glance at Yuga, realizing that every time he traveled with him, he always seemed to get some kind of benefit.
The gems Dace prepared for Ash and the others weren't as plentiful as Yuga's, but they were still immensely valuable.
After all, Diamond Domain was wealthy—giving away gemstones was nothing to them! There was a reason why Millis and Argus had gone through so much trouble trying to capture Diancie.
Having received Diancie's farewell gifts, Yuga checked the time and decided it was finally time to leave. Ash and his friends departed alongside him, with Diancie and the three Carbink ministers escorting them to the outside.
As the ghost ship steadily took off, Diancie continued waving, tears welling in her eyes as she said goodbye. Meanwhile, at the stern of the ship, Bonnie clung to Serena, crying uncontrollably.
Seeing that Yuga and the others had already left, Jessie, who was in the forest, noticed that Meowth was still slowly modifying the hot air balloon. She couldn't help but urge, "Can you hurry up a little? The twerps are about to disappear from sight."
Meowth glared at her. "People who eat alone have no right to talk to me."
Jessie, knowing she was in the wrong, touched her still-aching face and didn't dare say another word.
Since Dusknoir was still recovering from its injuries, Gengar and Mismagius took over piloting the ghost ship. With the two of them working together, the ship's speed actually increased significantly. In just a few days, the group arrived at their first human city—Anistar City.
Yuga happened to need to restock his supplies here, and Ash could also take the opportunity to challenge the Anistar Gym—a win-win situation.
Anistar City was quite a fascinating place. The Gym Leader, Olympia, was an exceptionally rare type of Psychic—a prophet.
Furthermore, she had taken in a considerable number of Psychic apprentices at her gym. Although their abilities weren't very strong, it was still quite remarkable.
Aside from that, Anistar City was famous for another thing—the enormous sundial standing in the city's port.
It was said that this sundial was made from a mysterious meteorite that had fallen from space and possessed an indescribable mystical power.
Of course, this was just a rumor—whether the sundial actually held any mysterious powers was unknown.
When Yuga disembarked at the port, he happened to catch sight of the sundial.
Anistar City was situated beside an expansive body of water, practically surrounded on three sides.
Yuga's ghost ship had landed in the waters near Anistar City instead of sailing directly into its territory. Instead, Yuga and his group entered the port by riding on Lapras.
The moment he laid eyes on the sundial, Yuga instinctively recalled the massive stone that had been fiercely contested by several legendary Pokémon.
Although the two objects didn't look the same, Yuga couldn't help but associate them with each other for some inexplicable reason.
Just as Yuga led Ash and the others onto the shore, a group of people blocked their path.
"Gym Leader Olympia?"
The one who had stopped them was none other than Anistar Gym's Gym Leader, Olympia.
"So it's Gym Leader Shimizu visiting Anistar City," Olympia said.
Yuga was baffled by her words. Aren't you the one who stopped me? Why are you acting like you just happened to run into me?
Seeing the confusion on Yuga's face, Olympia explained, "Yesterday, I suddenly sensed that an esteemed guest would arrive in Anistar City today. So, I decided to wait here in advance. Now that I see you, I realize that the person in my premonition was you."
Yuga was even more astonished after hearing this. So her reputation isn't undeserved after all. She's really that powerful!
"Wow, that's amazing!" Bonnie exclaimed directly in shock upon hearing this.
