Elf: Seriously? You only get a cheat code when you're about to die?

Chapter 207 The King's Trial

"You'll see soon enough," Ayaka said with a playful smile to Anjie.

Then, to Anjie's surprise, Ayaka took out a palm-sized gray stone slab from her backpack.

She pointed the stone slab at the wall, and suddenly blue six-pointed star patterns began to appear on the slab.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of light was projected from the pattern onto the wall, and at the same time, patterns emitting a blue light began to appear on the wall.

Then the cracks appeared along the lines, and the originally smooth and flat wall bulged out in some places and sank in others. Finally, a relief wall appeared in front of Anjie and Xuanxiang.

The relief depicts a middle-aged man wearing a crown and a Pokémon.

The Pokémon is Aura Lucario, specifically its Mega Evolution form.

The man looked somewhat like a king.

Lucario and the human male simultaneously raised their hands, together lifting up a sphere.

If Anjie's guess is correct, then the sphere should be the externally emitted waveguide power.

There is also a large handprint on the drill ball.

Ayaka pointed to the relief and said, "Look, this is the entrance to the ruins. If I'm not mistaken, only the messenger of the Waveguide can open it."

Anjie keenly noticed a line of words beneath the handprint, but he realized he didn't recognize a single one of them.

"What does this say?" he asked.

Ayaka enunciated each word clearly: "The power of Aura is with me!"

"You actually know him!" Anjie exclaimed in surprise.

Ayaka looked displeased upon hearing this. "What do you mean? Is it strange that I know you?"

Anjie quickly waved her hand, "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue! I just didn't think of it."

"Hmph~" Ayaka snorted coldly, then explained, "This is ancient script from the Carlos region. I have some knowledge of this."

Anjie gave her a thumbs up and said admiringly, "Amazing!"

After the two fought Team Flare together, they became much more familiar with each other and started talking more casually.

Ayaka pointed to the handprint and said, "Put your hand on it and try inputting waveguide into it."

Anjie nodded and stepped forward, putting his waveguide gloves back on. Without the gloves, he couldn't project his waveguides with his current abilities.

He placed his palm into the palm print and, as Ayaka had instructed, input the waveguide into it.

Suddenly, a blue light emerged from the relief, followed by a dent in the relief and the appearance of a crack.

With a deafening roar, a stone door slowly opened in front of the two, behind which was a long, bottomless stone staircase.

"It's open!" Ayaka exclaimed with delight. "It's finally open!"

God knows how much effort she put into finding someone with wave-guiding abilities.

Anjie said, "Let's go inside and take a look."

"Okay!" Ayaka nodded.

The two then walked into the stone gate one after the other.

"Gang~"

"Awoo~"

Munchlax and Moltres each stayed with their respective masters (trainers).

The light behind the stone gate was very dim, unlike the glowing moss outside, which did not affect visibility even without any means of assistance.

However, Ayaka was prepared. She took out a flashlight and turned it on, instantly brightening the surrounding area.

"I wonder what's down there," Ayaka said as she walked.

Anjie said, "Hopefully we'll make some surprising discoveries, so our trip won't be in vain."

"Yes!" Ayaka nodded.

This ruin had been sealed away for who knows how long. As Anjie and his companions walked along, they found nothing except for the pervasive smell of decay.

The two walked for an unknown amount of time until the downward stone steps finally disappeared, replaced by a straight corridor.

Unlike the bare stone steps, the walls on both sides of this corridor are carved with various forms of Riolu.

Some were laughing loudly, some had sorrowful faces, some were roaring angrily... each one was incredibly vivid.

Anjie said, "The person who carved these must have been a master."

As Ayaka walked around and looked at the ruins, she couldn't help but remark, "Was the owner of this site some kind of Riolu fanatic?"

Anjie laughed and said, "Riolu is so cute, it's no big deal if people like it a little."

Ayaka muttered, "This can't be described by just saying 'I like you'."

They soon reached the end of the corridor.

The end of the corridor was initially dark, and Anjie and the others couldn't see what was ahead.

The moment they stepped out of the corridor, they saw one after another of eerie blue flames ignite, and Anjie and the others finally saw their surroundings clearly.

This is a huge circular space, resembling the hall of a palace.

The walls of the hall were decorated with small boat-shaped lamps, each containing a candle spirit.

Those pale blue flames were the candlelight atop the Candlelight Spirit's head.

"Mmm~~"

"Mmm~~"

"Mmm~~"

……

Dozens of Candlelight Spirits all looked at Angel, Munchlax, Ayaka, and Flareon.

"Gang~" Master, they're a bit scary.

The little Snorlax tugged at Ange's clothes and said.

"Awoo~~" Ayaka's Flame Lion let out a roar.

Moltres is a King Pokémon, it won't be scared by such a small situation!

"Hey la~~~"

At that moment, the chandelier hanging above Anjie and the others suddenly swayed and then floated down from the dome.

It turned out that it wasn't a chandelier at all, but a crystal chandelier disguised as one.

The crystal chandelier spirit floated directly in front of the two, its golden eyes gleaming.

Anjie and Xuanxiang looked wary, fearing that the chandelier spirit might suddenly launch an attack.

At the same time, Munchlax and Flareon stepped forward to protect Angel and Ayaka behind them.

However, the chandelier spirit not only didn't attack, but after observing the two of them, it spoke telepathically:

"The trial...the trial begins...the trial begins..."

Telepathy? The two were startled at first, then wondered:

Trials? What trials?

Before Anjie and Xuanxiang could figure it out, they saw the Crystal Chandelier Spirit fly away, and in its place appeared two Shielded Sword Monsters in front of them.

"For Lu~"

"For Lu~"

The two shield-wielding sword monsters roared, then simultaneously drew their swords and attacked Ange and Ayaka.

Seeing this, Ayaka naturally launched a counterattack without hesitation: "Fire Lion, breathe fire!"

"Awoo~~~" The Flame Lion roared, leaped into the air, and spewed a stream of flame at one of the Shielded Sword Monsters.

At the same time, without Ange's command, Munchlax stomped its foot on the ground and bouncyly leaped into the air, swinging its fiery fist at Aegislash.

Flame Fist!

Upon seeing this, the two Shielded Sword Monsters quickly retracted their attack stance, transformed from sword form into shield form, and activated the skill King's Shield.

Aegislash's special ability is Battle Switch, which means it will switch to sword form when using attack skills and to shield form when using King's Shield.

In its sword form, Aegislash's base stats are concentrated in Attack and Special Attack, while in its shield form, its base stats are concentrated in Defense and Special Defense.

Of all the known Pokémon, only Aegislash possesses the Battle Switch ability.

A transparent barrier appeared in front of the two Aegislash monsters, blocking the attacks of Flareon and Munchlax respectively.

As soon as Flareon and Munchlax landed, the two Aegislash monsters transformed back into their sword forms. Their swords stood upright, and dazzling light burst forth from their blades.

It's a Fighting-type skill, Holy Sword!

Coincidentally, both Flareon and Munchlax are weak to Fighting-type moves.

Just as the Aegislash's holy sword was about to strike, Ayaka shouted, "Fire Lion, get out of the way!"

Anjax and Munchlax exchanged a glance, then nodded to each other in perfect unison.

"Awoo~~" The Flame Lion obeyed Ayaka's command and leaped away from its original spot.

With a loud bang, a deep sword mark was cleaved into the spot where the Flame Lion had just stood.

"Gang~~" The little Snorlax raised its hands on the spot, its round hands radiating cold air, and actually performed a feat of catching a blade with its bare hands.

Click-clack~~~

Aegislash's blade was caught between Munchlax's hands and quickly frozen by ice.

Aegislash tried to pull the sword out of Snorlax's hand, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't succeed.

Just then, Ange punched the Shielded Sword Monster from the side.

With a loud clang, the Shielded Sword Monster screamed as it was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

Angel and Munchlax pressed their advantage, their figures flashing and disappearing from their original spots, appearing in the blink of an eye beside the Aegislash that had just taken flight, flanking it from the left and right.

Before it could react, the master and apprentice simultaneously threw punches.

With a thud, the Shielded Sword Monster lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

(Personal setting: Ange's attacks using the waveguide are not of the fighting attribute, but are non-attribute attacks, which are neither strong against nor weak against any other.)

Everything has a waveguide, but waveguides themselves have no type; they only acquire a type when used as a move by a Pokémon.

At that moment, the chandelier spirit descended from the sky, repeatedly chanting, "Trial successful! Trial successful!"

So what exactly is this trial? An Jie wondered.

Just as he was about to take Munchlax to help Ayaka, he was stopped by Chandelure.

"No one is allowed to interfere with the trial! No one is allowed to interfere!"

Upon hearing this, An Jie had no choice but to stop.

This crystal chandelier spirit looks very intimidating.

However, Ayaka doesn't need Angel's help. Although her Flame Lion isn't as powerful as Absol, it's still quite strong.

Furthermore, the Fire/Normal type Flame Lion completely counters the Steel/Ghost type Aegislash, so Flame Lion quickly won the victory.

"Trial successful! Trial successful!" The crystal chandelier flew to Ayaka's side like a spirit and said to her.

Ayaka, leading the Flame Lion, walked to Ange's side and whispered, "So what exactly is this trial?"

Anjie shook her head: "If even you, the discoverer of this historical site, don't know, how would I know!"

To their surprise, the two discovered that the crystal lamp spirit's eyes emitted a blue light, and the candle spirits nestled in the lamps flew up and landed on the ground, lining up neatly in two rows, as if welcoming Anjie and Xuanxiang.

The telepathic chandelier spirit then announced, "Trial participants, please step forward to collect your trial rewards!"

Anja and Ayaka exchanged a glance, then followed Snorlax and Flareon through the passage between the two rows of Litmus.

When they reached the deepest part of the space, the two saw a cylindrical stone platform, and there seemed to be something on the platform.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the two crowns were dazzling and inlaid with various gemstones.

The crown was inlaid with a Mega Stone in the very center.

The two crowns are exactly the same, and each crown, including the Mega Stone, is inlaid with nine gems of different colors, making them look extremely valuable.

"There are words here!" Ayaka suddenly said, looking directly at the stone platform.

Upon hearing this, An Jie looked over and found that it was still ancient writing that he didn't recognize, so he asked:

"What did you write?"

As Ayaka looked around, she replied, "This is a trial ground, prepared by the kingdom for its two sons."

Anjie looked puzzled: "Then why are these things still here? Did the king's son fail the trial?"

Ayaka shook her head. "Then I don't know, it's not written here."

At this moment, the Crystal Chandelier Spirit flew above the two of them and explained, "Because the country perished before the trial even began."

Anjie asked in surprise, "Doesn't that mean you've been guarding this place the whole time?"

The chandelier spirit nodded: "That's right."

Upon hearing this, Anjie and Xuanxiang couldn't help but admire the crystal chandelier spirits for their dedication and responsibility.

"Take the rewards from the trial and leave!" the Crystal Chandelier Spirit urged the two.

Upon hearing this, Anjie and Xuanxiang each picked up a crown.

Later, through Chandelier's explanation, the two learned that the king's original reward was not just two crowns, but also two Riolu eggs.

However, over the long years, the two Riolu eggs had long since hatched and left the Trial Grounds.

Chandelure said, "However, I have prepared other Pokémon for you."

Then, at its signal, the Shielded Sword Monsters that had just been defeated by Anjie and his companions reappeared, each carrying a single sword sheath.

"For Lu~~"

At the signal of the two Shielded Sword Monsters, two single-scabbarded swords flew to Ange and Ayaka's side.

The Chandelure Spirit said, "I have selected two of the most outstanding single-bladed swords from the Aegislash race to serve you!"

As its voice faded, one after another, sword monsters with single sheaths, double sheaths, and shields appeared in the darkness.

They are all members of the Aegislash tribe.

They all stared at Anjie and Xuanxiang, as if to see if the two were worth following with their sword sheaths alone.

It is said that the Aegislash has the ability to see at a glance whether a person has the qualities of a king.

After speaking, the spirit of the crystal chandelier addressed the two single-edged sword sheaths, saying, "Come, begin choosing the masters you will protect!"

Anjie examined the two single sword sheaths in front of him and was surprised to find that one of them was actually gleaming.

The blade of a regular monocle is white, the ribbons on the hilt are generally dark blue with light blue tips, and the eyes are also blue.

The blade of the glittering monopod is red, the ribbon on the hilt is generally red with purple ends, and the eyeballs are also purple.

In fact, the eyeball in the scabbard is its true form.

The eyes at the junction of the hilt and blade of the two single-edged swords kept turning around, scrutinizing Anjie and Xuanxiang. After a long while, they each floated to the side of their chosen master.

The gleaming single-edged sword sheath chose Anjie.

Ayaka was chosen as the standard single-edged sword sheath.

"Looking forward to your guidance from now on, Dujianshe!" Ayaka said happily.

She didn't care whether her sword sheath was shiny or not.

"Yo~~" Dujianshe nodded with narrowed eyes and wrapped the ribbon on the hilt around Ayaka's arm.

Seeing this, An Jie said to the gleaming single-edged sword sheath beside him, "Single-edged sword sheath, I look forward to your guidance in the future!"

"Yo~" The glittering monocle sheath flew around An Jie's head happily, looking like it was in a good mood.

Of course, it had wanted to go out and see the world for a long time.

"You've gotten everything you needed, you can leave now." The Crystal Chandelier Spirit urged the two to leave quickly.

The trial is over, and this place will be their territory from now on. The Crystal Lamp Spirits don't want to waste time with humans.

Seeing this, Ange and Ayaka had no choice but to leave the ruins with their Pokémon. At the same time, Chandelure took back the stone slab that Ayaka used to open the ruins.

Clearly, they don't want anyone to bother them again.

After leaving the ruins, Ayaka held the crown in her hands, looking at the Mega Stone embedded in it with a puzzled expression, and asked:

"What kind of Pokémon's Mega Stone is this? Could it be Lucario's?"

Anjie glanced at the Mega Stone embedded in her crown, then at Ayaka's, and shook her head, saying, "Neither!"

Clearly, even the king cannot simply collect any Mega Stones he desires.

Neither of the two Mega Stones belonged to Lucario.

Ayaka looked at Angie in surprise and asked, "You can recognize what kind of Pokémon's Mega Stone this is?"

Anjie nodded and said, "If I'm not mistaken, yours is Mawile's Mega Stone, while mine is Gengar's Mega Stone."

Anjie himself never expected that what he received would be Gengar's Mega Stone.

Hearing Anjie's words, Ayaka was overjoyed. "Great! I was just thinking of taming Mouthief!"

Anjie said, "Then let's go see Maw of Mouth and the others!"

He also wanted to subdue Sunrock.

"Okay, let's go, let's go!" Ayaka couldn't wait and walked ahead.

Anjie and his friends quickly found the Big Mouth Baby and his friends again.

Having survived this ordeal, Mawile, Solrock, and many other Pokémon hid deep within Shiny Cavern.

Upon seeing Mawile, Ayaka cut to the chase and said, "Mawile, do you want to come with me?"

Mouthball was taken aback by what it heard. It looked at its companions, then at Ayaka, its face showing hesitation.

At that moment, a rock crab stepped forward and pushed Mawile towards Ayaka.

The baby turned around in surprise and saw that everyone was looking at it with encouraging eyes.

After this experience, they realized that having a trainer willing to protect them is a good thing.

With Maw of Mouth following Ayaka, not only will we no longer have to suffer from hunger, but we will also receive protection, which is much happier than staying in Shining Cave.

They hope that Maw of Mouth will find happiness.

Feeling everyone's good wishes, tears welled up in the baby's eyes.

Finally, it mustered its courage and rushed into Ayaka's arms.

Ayaka hugged Mawile and said, "Mawile, from now on we're partners!"

The baby with the big mouth stopped crying and smiled, nodding vigorously.

(End of this chapter)