Xia Huna, a student who was having a nonsensical adventure, had no idea what sort of shenanigans were going on in the Dreamscape. All he knew was that he was being jolted around by his own Pokémon to the point where his bones felt like they were about to scatter. Fortunately, they arrived at the bandit's lair just in time, allowing Xia Huna some respite.
He reached out and felt his limbs, and wherever his hand touched, there was a rattling sound. Fortunately, young people had sturdy physiques, so no accidents occurred.
After resting for a while, Xia Huna pointed into the mountain stronghold and said, "Let's go in and see what we can scavenge."
Xia Huna had his own theories. In such a "mountain stronghold," wealth wouldn't be flaunted; nothing would be overtly displayed. Therefore, if they were to search, they'd have to look in places that wouldn't be easily discovered. However, once he saw the actual state of the stronghold, his thoughts changed.
To describe this so-called mountain stronghold as dilapidated would be giving it ten thousand points more credit than it deserved. All that could be seen were wild grasses. Although there were some buildings for people to reside in, some of these houses lacked walls, some lacked roofs, and some lacked both. In any case, they didn't look like places where people could live.
Xia Huna scratched his temples. "Is this place a mountain stronghold? Was I tricked by the bandits?"
Xia Huna touched his Poké Ball. "Go, everyone, search and see what's here." Although Xia Huna had his doubts, he couldn't just leave without searching.
Once the Pokémon were released, they dispersed like fish in the sea, disappearing in an instant. Only Diancie remained by Xia Huna's side. Xia Huna took two steps inside with Diancie when he heard Lycanroc howling excitedly, as if it had discovered something.
Xia Huna was overjoyed. As the saying goes, "seeing good fortune upon opening the door." This was truly good fortune. So why do humans like dogs... No, why do humans like dogs?
With that thought, Xia Huna walked over with Diancie. "Lycanroc, what did you find?"
Lycanroc extended its paw and pointed to a room nearby. Xia Huna patted its shoulder and praised it. "Well done! As expected of a Pokémon evolved from Rockruff, your nose is truly useful. Let me see what you found?"
Xia Huna peered into the room with interest and saw a three-legged table. On it was a plate holding various kinds of fruit, some diced, some cut into chunks, and some simply placed on the plate without even being cut. Seeing these things, Xia Huna lowered his head and looked at Lycanroc. "How could I forget you're a foodie? But, you know, wolves travel a thousand miles to eat meat. Even if you're starving, wouldn't it be better to find some meat? Where's your wolf dignity?"
Although Xia Huna said this, he knew very well that there was simply no meat in the stronghold. If there were even a little bit of meat, Lycanroc wouldn't bother with these fruits. Since evolving, Lycanroc had become increasingly picky.
Lycanroc let out a couple of calls, as if seeking praise, asking if it could eat. Xia Huna looked at Lycanroc's size and then at the small porcelain plate. "Is this little bit enough for anyone? I could finish it all by myself. Besides, you can't eat alone."
Xia Huna's words meant he had agreed, and Lycanroc happily led him to a large jar. It tapped the side of the jar with its paw, indicating that there was more inside. Xia Huna reached out and removed the seal on the jar. Inside were various processed fruits. Xia Huna shook his head in disbelief. "I've seen fruit platters before, and even fruit basins when I was craving something. But a fruit basin in a jar like this, this is truly my first time."
Jars weren't that uncommon. For example, a tea mug could be considered a jar. But Xia Huna gestured to the large jar before him; it was at least a meter in diameter. How much fruit could be in there?
Lycanroc tugged at Xia Huna's hand and asked if he wanted to call the other Pokémon to eat together now. Xia Huna sighed. "Go, go. Call everyone."
Lycanroc happily went off, while Xia Huna sat in the room, looking around. "This place must be the dining hall. Behind that curtain should be the kitchen. Besides fruits, there must be some vegetables in the kitchen, right? Even something like a potato could provide some starch. We can't survive by eating only fruit every day, can we?"
Thinking this, Xia Huna stood up and lifted the curtain. The inner room was indeed the kitchen. Seeing the kitchen, Xia Huna thought of the movie "Tunnel Warfare" he had watched in his previous life. So, Xia Huna bent down and examined the large pot in front of him. "There must be something hidden beneath this pot. Let me try to move it."
With that, Xia Huna gripped the rim of the pot with both hands and exerted force, only to land squarely on his backside. Xia Huna, rubbing his tailbone, stood up and stomped on the stove twice but heard no unusual sounds. This meant that at least there were no hidden tunnels beneath the stove.
He casually threw the large pot aside and found a cloth to wipe his hands, which were blackened by soot from the pot's bottom. He rummaged around a bit more and found nothing suspicious in the kitchen. It was less enjoyable than eating the fruit basin from the jar outside. However, when he came out of the kitchen, he found that the dining hall was empty. The plate and the jar were both empty, not a single piece of fruit, not even scraps or juice remained. Xia Huna gritted his teeth and cursed. "You bunch of ungrateful wretches! Have you no martial ethics? Couldn't you have left me a little bit?"
All the Pokémon looked somewhat embarrassed, and Lycanroc was particularly so. It wasn't that it had eaten a lot, but among all the Pokémon present, it was the only wolf.
He gently nudged Guagua's tongue twice and asked, "Are my eyes white?" Xia Huna came to Lycanroc's side and looked it up and down. "How exactly did you manage to eat that entire jar of fruit?"
...
Xia Huna, who had missed out on the fruit basin, had missed the opportunity to appreciate the bandits' culinary skills. Fortunately, his true objective lay elsewhere. He led his Pokémon to continue searching the bandit's lair, digging three feet deep in their search. Learning from the experience of Lycanroc finding food, Xia Huna directly asked Diancie to sense for any gemstones.
Diancie closed her eyes, spread her hands, and sensed. Then, she helplessly spread her hands, reporting her findings to Xia Huna: none. In this small area, there was nothing. Not only were there no gemstones that Diancie's kind would appreciate, but there weren't even any common precious metals. Let alone precious metals, Diancie didn't even find any Poké-Coins.
Upon hearing this result, Xia Huna almost cried. "What kind of unlucky place is this? They didn't even rob anyone, and they have no assets?"
Although Xia Huna knew Diancie's results wouldn't be wrong, he refused to believe it and led everyone to continue searching. Even thieves don't leave empty-handed, let alone Xia Huna. As expected, they soon made a discovery, or rather, something went wrong.
Double-tail Torkoal, acting on instinct, felt that there was something extraordinary in a large tree. It climbed up in a few swift movements, reached into the treetop, and was immediately hit by a bear trap.
Double-tail Torkoal cried out and fell from the treetop, shaking its hand to relieve the pain. Xia Huna heard the scream and rushed over, grabbing Double-tail Torkoal's paw and quickly removing the bear trap from its grip. Double-tail Torkoal looked at its reddened hand, then at the culprit nearby, and kicked the large trap aside.
After soothing Double-tail Torkoal's emotions, Xia Huna decided to climb to the top of the tree. After all, what kind of idiot would place bear traps at the top of a tree to catch mice? Moreover, bear traps on Pokémon Planet were different from those on Earth. On Earth, bear traps could only catch rats up to a certain size. On Pokémon Planet, bear traps could catch Pokémon as small as Rattata, and thirty-centimeter rats. Normal traps would be dragged all over the place. The fact that this was used for defense meant that the secret of this tree was not insignificant.
Xia Huna broke a branch off the tree and thrashed it around in the treetop, confirming there was only one trap inside. Xia Huna then climbed into the treetop.
At the top of the tree, Xia Huna discovered a trapdoor. He tapped it with his fingers, and a clear knocking sound echoed. Xia Huna was amused. He grabbed the pull ring on the trapdoor and pulled hard. With a creaking sound, a rope ladder appeared before Xia Huna.
Xia Huna peered down the rope ladder. "Good, I've caught you now. Diancie, give it a shot."
Diancie extended her hand and released a Rock Throw attack downwards. The stones fell vertically and shattered on the ground. Xia Huna listened intently but heard no alarm or trap being triggered. Xia Huna breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it. How could these people, who can't even be proper bandits, set up things like arrows or infrared alarms?"
System: Well, you're really daring to imagine. Forget bandits, even a large corporation wouldn't install infrared alarms in a warehouse.
Xia Huna, confirming it was safe, took the lead and charged in. He grabbed the rope ladder and descended. Upon reaching the ground, Xia Huna felt his feet slip, and he fell to the ground.
Xia Huna placed his hands on the ground, and a chilling sensation spread from his palms to every part of his body, sending a shiver through him and causing goosebumps to rise.
Normally, what should this place be? It should be the ground, meaning soil and sand. But this cold touch made Xia Huna feel it was metal. At this, Xia Huna dared not move. A metal plate laid on the ground could very well signify some hidden mechanism. If he moved carelessly and caused something to go wrong, it would be troublesome.