Luna continued, "But the card-buying craze never really stopped. Rumor has it that after our class graduated, the shop owner near the school bought a whole apartment downtown."
Caleb: "Impressive."
Just then, Dragonite and Pachirisu returned.
Caleb glanced at the Tyranitar which was still suffering from Toxic's effects. He he said to Dragonite and Riolu, "We've still got a long night ahead. Let's rest for a bit."
Dragonite had been running around all day and was utterly exhausted. It yawned, sprawling out behind Caleb and using its claws as a pillow.
It even considerately left enough space for Caleb to lean against its side.
Holding Pachirisu, Luna watched this scene with envy. But clearly, Dragonite's luxurious 'body pillow' wasn't something an outsider like her could enjoy.
Caleb didn't sleep. Instead, he leaned against Dragonite with Riolu in his arms, resting with his eyes closed.
Riolu refused to sleep. After hearing their earlier conversation, it was afraid that if it closed its eyes, Caleb would be gone by morning...
....
Dawn approached, the sky faintly brightening...
From the depths of the forest came a thunderous crash, followed by a roar of agony.
Caleb opened his eyes and looked in that direction.
Everyone, humans and Pokémon alike, was jolted awake. Luna rubbed her sore neck, still half-asleep, "Is it over?"
Caleb checked his panel, but the main quest showed no signs of completion.
After a moment of thought, he said, "Let's go check."
"Did the Tyranitar not go down yet?" Luna muttered, hugging Pachirisu as she followed Caleb and Dragonite toward the source of the noise.
Amid the wreckage of shattered trees, they found the Tyranitar, who had now gone back to normal size, lying unconscious.
But something wasn't right...
Luna frowned, "Why hasn't the main quest been completed?!"
Just then, a dark purple glow streaked across the sky...
The night was too dim for Caleb and Luna to notice, but Riolu saw it clearly. Its small face turned serious as it described what it had seen to Caleb.
'Again, it's that dark purple glow...'
Every time a Dynamax/Gigantamax Pokémon appeared, that same glow flashed in the sky.
If that was the case…
Caleb's pupils contracted. He suddenly realized the situation might be far more complicated than it seemed.
'Liberating the island' wasn't just about defeating the rampaging Gigantamax Pokémon. From the very beginning, they had been misled by the clue fragments!
Sure enough, the next second, the island shook with several deafening roars.
Not far away, a heavily muscled Machoke began to grow at a visible rate.
"What… is this?!" Luna took a step back, staring up at the Gigantamax Machoke in disbelief.
Caleb used Scout on it:
[Gigantamax Machamp: Lv. 100]
"F*ck, run! Get out of here!" Caleb shouted at Luna.
Snapping out of her daze, Luna turned and bolted, still clutching Pachirisu. Over her shoulder, she yelled, "What's happening?! Why is there a Gigantamax Machamp now?!"
Caleb shot her a glance, retorting, "Focus! You're about to hit a tree!"
"Huh?!" Luna swerved left just in time.
Caleb: "We were misled by the clue fragments. The ones we have aren't complete!"
...
Soon, the two reached a relatively safe spot and stopped to catch their breath...
Luna clutched her chest, panting, "Then what do we do now? Where do we find more clue fragments?"
Sweat trickled down Caleb's face, sharpening his already striking features.
Luna stared, momentarily stunned.
Caleb wiped the sweat away with a frown, then he replied, "I don't know."
Luna snapped out of it, her cheeks flushing as she awkwardly stuck out her tongue.
Suddenly, a Talonflame swooped down and landed in front of them.
Luna recognized it immediately, "That's Setsuka's Pokémon! Why is it here?"
The Talonflame gave them a sharp look, then flapped its wings and took off again, glancing back as if waiting.
Luna blinked, then asked Caleb, "Is it… telling us to follow it?"
Caleb nodded, "Let's go check it out first."
With that, he and his team followed the Talonflame...
The bird Pokémon maintained a steady pace, ensuring the two could keep up. Before long, it led them to a narrow stone cave entrance.
Hayate and Setsuka stepped out upon hearing the noise, followed by Tristan and Walter.
Out of the seven players in this Scenario, six had now gathered here...
Caleb scanned the group but didn't see Drake.
Hayate noticed his gaze and explained, "Drake is dead. He was crushed by that Dynamax Tyranitar."
Hearing this, Caleb shrugged, unfazed.
Walter, however, spotted Luna and awkwardly greeted her, "Hey, Lulu! Long time no see! How've you been these past few days?"
Luna snorted and ignored him, turning to Hayate instead, "Why did you call us here?"
Hayate exchanged a glance with Setsuka, then waved his hand. A pale blue panel appeared before the group:
[Clue Fragment 3: Underground Cavern, Darkest Day]
All eyes locked onto the words 'Darkest Day'...
Every one of them had played Pokémon Sword & Shield. They knew exactly what that meant.
The Darkest Day referred to the event where Eternatus' energy leaked, causing Pokémon to Dynamax uncontrollably and rampage.
Tristan frowned, "So… this is the Galar region? But why is Eternatus on this island?!"
Hayate shook his head, "No idea. I just got this clue fragment. But based on the current situation, the cause of the Dynamax phenomenon is probably hidden in the underground caverns."
Luna understood immediately, "The final boss of this Instance run?"
Hayate nodded, sweeping his gaze over the group, "Exactly. That's why I gathered everyone. So that we could cooperate and escape this Instance together."
Caleb thought for a moment before asking, "Have you found the exact location of the cavern?"
Hayate shook his head again, "The underground network here is too complex. The two of us couldn't explore it alone. Let's head in first. This isn't the place to talk."
With that, he led the way into the cave...
Luna lingered at the back and whispered to Caleb, "What do you think? Can we trust them?"
"What do they gain from lying to us?" Caleb countered.
He had made enough noise 'fighting' those four Dynamax/Gigantamax Pokémon. There was no way the other players hadn't noticed.
Since they all wanted to escape this Instance, he didn't mind cooperating temporarily.
"Fine," Luna sighed, then grumbled, "Ugh, what a mess! The clue fragments we got turned out to be useless!"
Caleb reassured her, "Don't worry. At least we took down those four Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon. When the Instance ends, our rewards will definitely be way better than theirs."