Chapter 216: Failing
Maki and the others, who were still deciphering the ancient texts, stopped their work when they saw Terrance and Arvin return. Ishi stepped forward and asked, "Did you catch it?"
Arvin took out a Poké Ball and nodded, "Piece of cake."
Maki sighed in relief but glanced at the time and said helplessly, "It's too late today. Let's set up camp, eat, and rest. We will continue tomorrow."
"It should be nighttime outside the ruins, which isn't ideal for our next actions."
After everyone agreed, they started eating the pre-prepared dry food and began discussing strategies to deal with Regirock.
---
The next day.
The group gathered around, looking at the cracks on the ground, and took a deep breath.
Maki commanded and Arvin released Baltoy, and then under her instructions, he had it use Ancient Power to channel energy through the cracks according to a specific route.
Terrance and the others held their breath, not knowing what would happen next, as they all focused on the energy fluctuations flowing through the cracks.
Based on their analysis, the cracks seemed to be the patterns of a massive awakening ritual. They were trying to activate its power.
The remnants of the ancient text revealed that Ancient Power could activate the pattern for awakening Regirock. When the energy from Ancient Power fills the cracks according to a certain path, it would be the time for Regirock's awakening.
About five minutes later, the last pattern was traced by the energy fluctuations. Everyone watched without blinking as time passed... but nothing happened at all.
Silence, dead silence.
They observed for a few more minutes, until the energy fluctuations from Ancient Power started to solidify along the patterns. Eventually, nothing happened.
With a "bang," the rocks condensed by Ancient Power shattered into dust and disappeared into the air. The awakening pattern on the ground returned to its original state, and no one could see anything special about it.
"Did we fail?" Arvin asked, puzzled.
"We failed," Maki said after a moment of silence.
No one spoke, but disappointment was evident in their eyes. Terrance's tense heart relaxed, as he had thought a fierce battle was imminent...
"This is quite normal," Maki said.
"We traced four potential routes to the sleeping Regirock. This was just one of them; there are three more possible locations. It seems Regirock is sleeping elsewhere."
Ishi pondered, "Alright, we have enough food and water for three more days. Let's head to the next ruin immediately."
Though the first awakening attempt failed, it was somewhat expected. Many people had visited Desert Ruins. If Regirock could be found so easily.....it wouldn't have been left to them to discover.
Besides Maki, many others understood ancient texts, such as exploration teams, researchers, and even more experienced adventurers. However, Maki and her group were not discouraged.
Their information was extracted from two other ancient ruins, a coincidence that others might not share.
Thus, they still had a good chance of finding Regirock's true sleeping place.
**************
Two days later.
Everyone's expressions were gloomy, and even Terrance couldn't help but sigh.
They arrived at another ruin, deciphered the awakening pattern, and had Baltoy use Ancient Power to trigger the awakening ritual again. However, it ended in failure once more.
"There are still two more places!" Maki said, unwilling to give up.
"But we have no more food supplies. We need to return to the city to replenish," Terrance said.
The group sighed. In order to move around easily, they didn't bring much supplies initially. They had anticipated this result, and the only solution was to return to the city for resupply and then come back.
After these two failures, the group returned to the city. Albert suggested transferring his Piloswine, since they were already in the city and it would be convenient. He also said, "It's possible that Baltoy's Ancient Power can't trigger the awakening ritual...using another Pokémon might lead to new discoveries."
Everyone agreed with his suggestion and supported him in transferring Piloswine.
At the same time, Terrance raised a question: "If Regirock is sleeping in one of the ruins, why does each ruin have a similar awakening ritual?"
Everyone fell into deep thought. The two ruins they visited both had a crack-etched pattern in the center of the ground. Thinking deeply, they felt it was unnecessary.
"If Regirock is sleeping in the ruins, who created the awakening ritual? Ancient people?" Arvin scratched his head.
"It should be the ancient natives who guarded Regirock's slumber..." Terrance said. "Have you heard the legend about the origin of Claydol? There is a saying that they were formed from clay dolls made by ancient people twenty thousand years ago, which then came to life as Pokémon..."
"I've heard of that. There's a record that says Claydol are clay dolls from an ancient civilization that were given life after being exposed to mysterious rays of light," Ishi said.
Maki sighed, "Unfortunately, those ancient texts are so fragmented that we can't understand the full meaning. Otherwise, we wouldn't be so clueless now!"
"Regardless, we've made significant progress. There are over ten ruins in the Hoenn Desert, and we've successfully pinpointed four. We've already explored two. I believe we will make great discoveries at the remaining two," Ishi said.
Hearing this, the others felt that this was the only way to do it. After resting for a night and replenishing their supplies, they set off again into the desert.
The last two ruins were farther from their location, requiring more time to reach. Additionally, the roads were difficult to navigate and it was hard to find the right direction, so they spent a long time searching.
---
A week later.
Maki held the documents with trembling hands; this was the last ruin of the four.
They failed at the third ruin, and this was their final hope. If they failed again...they wouldn't know what to do at all.
"Let's start!!"
Baltoy and Piloswine were both outside. The two Pokémon took turns using their powers, but...
"Damn it—" Arvin cried out in frustration. Albert and Murasakibara were also disappointed. It was a complete failure. They had been toiling hard for over ten days, running around the desert non-stop, working hard like Houndoom. Little did they expect such a disappointing outcome in the end.
"Don't lose hope yet," Maki and Terrance both said; it was clear they had discovered something.
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