I caught a Pokémon

Xia You nodded politely to Xiao Chao. Since they weren't familiar with each other, she didn't say anything to him. After waving her hand, she took Xiao Xia to the light rail station and left.

Although the scenery outside the window was the same, the two people's feelings were very different from when they arrived.

"Sigh..." Xiaoxia sighed, somewhat nostalgic, "It was more fun when there were more people. We would chat and laugh together, and it felt so joyful. Time would fly by. Unlike now, it's just the two of us, and it feels so lonely."

"There's nothing we can do about it." Xia You understood Xia's feelings. Not to mention her, even he himself felt a sudden emptiness after the excitement. "After all, we are trainers. Our main job is to hone our skills, challenge gyms, and catch Pokémon. When we retire and have some free time, we can always get together like we have these past few days."

"When you retire?" Hearing him say that, Xiaoxia couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. "You're only this old and you're already thinking about retirement? Isn't that a bit too early?"

“This has nothing to do with age.” Xia You leaned back to make herself more comfortable and laughed. “Whenever I feel tired, I will stop and rest. Of course, this doesn’t mean now. At the very least, I will wait until I challenge a few more regions and win more regional tournaments.”

"It doesn't sound that far off," Xiaoxia said, her eyes bright as she looked at him. "As long as you keep moving at your current pace, I believe you'll achieve your goal in no time!"

"Then I wish you good luck!"

As they were talking, the light rail train had already returned to Water Town.

When Xia You got out of the car, she habitually took out her phone to ask Xi Jiana where she was, but she saw that Xi Jiana had sent her a message more than half an hour earlier.

At that time, Xiaoxia and I had just boarded the light rail, and we were looking for seats and chatting while enjoying the scenery, so we didn't notice the notification sound.

Upon opening the window, they discovered that Higanbana had already arrived in Lilycove City and was waiting for them in a forest outside the city!

Wow, that's fast!

In less than two days, she had already traversed most of the Hoenn continent. It was clear that she was in a great hurry about this matter. Even riding a Flying-type Pokémon, she must have been traveling day and night, probably without even having time to rest.

"I didn't expect her to be in such a hurry, but it's fine, we've rested long enough, let's go and meet her."

Without stopping, Xia You and Xiao Xia headed straight for the outskirts of Shuijing City after leaving the station.

When they arrived at the agreed location, from a distance, they saw Higana leaning against the trunk of a large tree, resting with her eyes closed!

When I saw her again, Xijiana was still dressed the same way, but compared to before, she looked more travel-worn and her face was a little haggard.

Upon hearing footsteps, Higana, who had been feigning sleep, immediately opened her eyes.

Compared to the relatively friendly atmosphere before, their reunion now felt somewhat unusual, and even their relationship had become neither friend nor foe.

Squinting at Xia You for a while, and when he got closer, Xijiana coldly said, "Come with me," before releasing a Salamence and climbing onto its back.

Judging from the looks of it, there is still a long way to go.

Xia You and Xiaoxia exchanged a glance, Xia You shrugged, took out a Poké Ball and released his Dragonite, and he and Xiaoxia mounted it as well.

At this moment, Higanbana had already ridden her Salamence into the sky and was flying straight to the southeast.

Following far behind, watching Xijiana's retreating figure, Xiaoxia, who was sitting in front of Xia You, turned around and smiled at him, "What did you do to her? Why does she seem to have a big problem with you?"

When Xia You made the phone call, it was behind Xiao Zhi and his friends' backs. Xiao Xia only found out later that Xia You was talking to Xi Jia Na, so she naturally didn't know what the two of them were talking about.

However, judging from their current appearance, it seems that something unpleasant has happened between them?

This puzzled Xia, since this person had helped them before. Although her personality was somewhat peculiar, and her impression of Xijiana was mixed, she still hoped that having one more friend was better than having one more enemy. She didn't want Xia You to become her enemy.

"What could I do to her? I just provoked her with my words." Xia You glanced at Xijiana in front of her and laughed. "It's also because her personality is too extreme. If she were more open-minded and flexible, we could have cooperated and achieved a win-win situation. We wouldn't have ended up in this situation."

Xia You was right. If Higanbana was willing to cooperate with him, although he would take the black Rayquaza from the Sky Pillar, he would definitely not let her suffer any losses.

As compensation, I will at least capture the regular Rayquaza I encountered in Larus City and exchange it with her. From the perspective of the capture relationship, it can be said to be a win-win situation for both parties.

And for the Meteorites who have been searching for Rayquaza, isn't this the very wish that their ancestors have been pursuing throughout their lives?

Unfortunately, personality determines everything, which completely eliminated this possibility for Sigana.

But at least the two have not fallen out yet, which gives the situation a chance to turn around.

The two Pokémon flew away from Hoenn and headed towards Sootopolis Island, one after the other.

Compared to taking a boat or walking, this method was undoubtedly much faster. In just a few hours, the outline of Glass Island came into view. However, Higana did not land there. Instead, she used Glass Island as a reference point and began to turn southwest.

Countless small islands swept past them, and after flying for nearly an hour, a seemingly deserted island appeared before them.

Seeing that Sissana was about to land, Xia You signaled Dragonite to follow while also taking in the small island in front of her.

The island is actually not very large, about the size of two football fields combined, and it looks barren, with nothing but a few small hills and yellow sand covering the entire island.

Why did we come here?

Although she was puzzled, Xia You remained outwardly calm and showed no emotion.

When the two Pokémon landed, they scattered the yellow sand on the island.

When Xia You jumped off the Dragonite and looked around, she realized that something was wrong.

This place is so desolate that there isn't even a single wild Pokémon around!

Not to mention bird Pokémon, you can't even see a single water-type Pokémon!

This is highly abnormal!

But the more he acted this way, the more nonchalant he became, maintaining an air of nonchalance to keep Xijiana guessing!

Sure enough, seeing him like this, Higana's previous doubts subsided a bit.

Could it be that this man had actually been to the Sky Pillar before?

Otherwise, it's hard to explain why he remained so calm after seeing such a scene!

Chapter 726 Pillars of the Sky

With her feet firmly planted on the yellow sand, Xia You followed behind Xi Jiana, continuing towards the center of the island.

The entire island can be described as being completely visible, and the Sky Pillar was nowhere to be seen. Logically speaking, the Sky Pillar is soaring into the clouds and should be visible from a distance, but there is no trace of the building here.

Fortunately, Higanbana quickly revealed the answer.

She walked between two somewhat weathered rocky hills, took out a small key-shaped ornament from her bosom, and placed it in a very hidden groove in a stone statue. After a flash of light, the scenery behind the rocky hills suddenly changed!

Although the land was still covered in yellow sand, the view suddenly opened up before them. It was no longer that small island. Almost instantly, a vast desert appeared before them, and in terms of area, it was at least dozens of times larger than what they had seen before they arrived on the island!

And at the very edge of the field of vision, a colossal stone tower rising from the ground and soaring into the sky suddenly appeared before us.

Pillar of the Sky!

So that's how it is. This is the barrier set up by the Glass People that Higana mentioned...

This barrier completely conceals the true nature of the island, making it appear ordinary from the outside, like an inconspicuous deserted island. But little do people know, there is a hidden world inside the barrier!

That's an amazing feat! I have no idea how they did it!

How was this stone tower, hundreds or even thousands of meters high, built?

It's truly breathtaking.

After doing all this, Xijiana glanced at Xia You again, and seeing that he still had no change in expression, she silently looked away.

To be honest, given these protective measures, she really didn't know how this man had discovered this place before.

"Next comes the final test." Higana gazed ahead, speaking calmly to Xia You. "Here lies treacherous yellow sand, a scorching sun, and fierce sandstorms. All those chosen must trek through this sandstorm and reach the tower. This is a test of their willpower, and also a testament to our Meteor People's commitment to our ancestors and Rayquaza..."

However, before she could finish speaking, a dark shadow flashed beside her. When she looked again, Xia You had already ridden past her on his Dragonite, and in the blink of an eye, he had already flown far away!

Higana: ...

Xia covered her mouth, looked at her and laughed, "It seems that I'll have to walk there with you."

Higana: ...

Xijiana clenched her fists, watching Xia You walk away, and could only sigh helplessly.

……

The yellow sand below flashed by.

In terms of distance, the entrance is at least 5 or 6 kilometers away from the Sky Pillar. Such a distance would not seem like much on flat ground, but in such sand dunes, it would undoubtedly be quite strenuous to walk.

As for what test Xijiana just mentioned?

Do not make jokes.

He wasn't chosen by the Meteor Dwellers; he came to steal Rayquaza!

There's no need to follow these people's customs, nor is it necessary to waste energy on such unnecessary things.

In just a few minutes, Xia You arrived in front of the Sky Pillar. Upon closer inspection, the Sky Pillar appeared even more magnificent and spectacular, resembling a tall tower. Looking up from below, one could only see it extending deep into the white clouds, with no sign of its top.

The walls are built of thick stone, and after countless years, the exterior has remained intact, bearing only a few traces of time's ravages, without much damage. Apart from a large gate serving as the entrance and exit, the entire tower has no other entrances, only dozens of narrow windows on each floor to ensure that the tower is well-lit.

The Dragon Altar is located at the very top of the tower. Logically, if you fly there, you should have a chance to attract Rayquaza.

But before that, I need one more thing.

Thinking of this, he patted Dragonite's neck, signaling it to land at the entrance.

After jumping off the Dragonite and landing on the solid ground in front of the tower, he looked back but didn't see Higanbana or Misty. It seemed that even though he had gone ahead, Higanbana had adhered to the tradition of the Meteor Dwellers and was walking here.

It's really hard to judge someone with that kind of personality...

But that's good, it gives me some time.

Without further hesitation, he pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the Sky Pillar.

crunch...

This heavy door, which had not been opened for who knows how many years, was opened once again.

Looking inside, the first floor of the Sky Pillar is a spacious hall, estimated to be two or three hundred square meters. However, it is much more dilapidated than the outside. Broken and collapsed stone pillars can be seen everywhere. Various murals are still carved on the walls, but most of them are no longer recognizable. Yellow sand blows in through the windows, burying some corners. Everywhere you can feel the weight of time left here.

Sunlight streamed in through the small window, making the room not as dark as it appeared.

As soon as Xia You stepped into this place, she suddenly had a strange feeling that she couldn't explain.

It was as if this place was protected by some strange force; the air and walls seemed to have become unusual. However, this did not surprise him. After all, if there were no force maintaining this place, such a building could not have stood until now; it would probably have collapsed into the long river of history long ago.

I glanced at the mural on the wall. Although there were no words, I knew at a glance that it was about the battle between Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon thousands of years ago, and how Mega Rayquaza intervened to stop them.

Sure enough, in addition to being passed down by word of mouth, the Meteor People also imprinted this event here. In this way, even if there were gaps in history, as long as these murals are seen, the legend will continue to be passed down forever.

Looking away, Xia You took out her Poké Ball and released all her Pokémon with a wave of her hand.

Looking at the Pokémon, he instructed, "Everyone, spread out and start from this level, going upwards to find a peculiar stone!"

"A stone?" Gengar, who also popped its head out, asked in confusion, "What kind of stone?"

Xia You shook her head: "I don't really know what kind of stone it is, I only know that it is very special and its shape is very similar to that of a key stone."

"Key Stone!?" Gengar was clearly extremely surprised to hear this name. "It's here... could it be prepared for Rayquaza!? But you clearly told me before that Rayquaza's Mega Evolution doesn't require Key Stones or Evolution Stones at all?!"

“We really don’t need either of those.” Xia You nodded, her tone hesitant. “That’s why I said I don’t know what it is, but one thing is for sure: Rayquaza does react to it!”

This is actually something that Xia You herself finds very puzzling.

Logically, to Mega Evolve Rayquaza, you only need to teach it the "Dragon's Eye" skill; you don't need any Key Stones or Evolution Stones.

But he clearly remembered that it had indeed been shown in the official animation. In the animation, even the black Rayquaza was attracted to that Key Stone, abandoning Sidana and reacting to it instead!

This does seem rather strange.

But one thing is for sure: whatever it is, you can't go wrong by getting your hands on it!

Xia You clapped her hands to get the Pokémon's attention, and solemnly said, "Alright, everyone, let's get moving! Time is of the essence. We must find that rock before Higanbana arrives!"

As the Pokémon scattered, Xia You and the others searched each floor together.

In his memory, it was just a round stone about the size of a fist, like an inconspicuous and common pebble, except that one side of it showed the characteristics of an evolution stone, which made it so different from others.

However, although each floor here is not very large, it is quite difficult to find things.

In fact, apart from the first two floors, which had a lot of yellow sand, no sand was blown into the upper floors, which reduced the possibility that the stone was buried by sand.

But the real trouble is those broken stone pillars, stairs, and reliefs!

We didn't know what had happened inside the Sky Pillar before. There was extensive damage here, and countless pieces of the same color were scattered on the ground, obscuring and confusing them, making it quite time-consuming and laborious to find them.

And most importantly, the ground here is covered with cracks in some places. What looks like solid ground is actually quite fragile. If you step on it, you will fall down along with the stones!

This slowed Xia You down a bit more.

Fortunately, he clearly remembered that the stone was round, which allowed him to easily remove any substandard pebbles.

Moreover, a sudden inspiration led him to a brilliant idea!

He took out a flashlight and scanned the tower. According to the reflective properties of the key stones, as long as they were illuminated by the flashlight, they would definitely reflect light, and even the slightest light would be noticed by his Pokémon!

Surprisingly, it actually worked.