I caught a Pokémon

Blastoise followed him steadily, like a submarine. Greninja swam nimbly around him, occasionally flipping over and disappearing behind the coral reefs before reappearing. Milotic cruised in deeper waters, its slender body drawing graceful arcs in the current. Dawn's Piplup spun around merrily, bubbles rising from its mouth in strings.

As the dive deepened, the light gradually dimmed.

From dazzling golden white to soft azure, and then to serene indigo, the water temperature also changes. The warmth on the surface gradually fades, replaced by the coolness of the deep sea, and the halo overhead grows farther and farther away, as if seen through a layer of flowing glass.

But the view actually became clearer.

Without the scattering of sunlight, the outline of the seabed gradually emerges.

First came undulating sandy land, then vast stretches of coral reefs, their colors even more vibrant than those seen through the tunnel glass. A group of fish-like Pokémon swam past them, then turned back, circled around them once, before swishing their tails and swimming away.

Xia You also saw the glass waterway lying quietly on the seabed, like a white line.

A few hours ago, they were still inside, but now they are outside.

After adjusting the buoyancy, I continued to descend.

More and more Pokémon gathered around. Corsola peeked out from the crevices of the reef, and several Staryus lingered on the rocks, turning slowly. A giant Wailord swam slowly by in the distance, causing the water to sway the group. Milotic stood firmly in front of Xia You until Wailord had gone far away before stepping aside.

Makomo gestured in the water, pointing downwards.

Xia You looked in the direction she pointed, and the outline of a ruin became clearer and clearer.

Chapter 1404 A Novel Adventure Experience

The closer you get, the clearer the outline of the underwater ruins becomes from the darkness.

The first thing you see are the tops of several crooked stone pillars, covered with coral and seaweed, but beneath those colorful marine creatures, you can still see the traces of human carving.

Further down is a more complete structure, like the walls of a building. Although most of it is covered by sediment, the regular edges and layers are still clearly visible.

However, because it was underwater and the surrounding environment was dark, the whole thing could not be seen clearly. It could only be vaguely seen that it was roughly a square pyramid structure, and there were some collapsed houses around the pyramid.

It must have been a temple or something similar...

The Pokémon had no idea what archaeology was; they simply swam around the group, playing while remaining vigilant for any potential dangers.

Blastoise swam steadily on the outermost edge, its calm eyes constantly scanning the surrounding darkness.

Greninja frogs nimbly dart among the colonnades of the ruins, like dutiful scouts.

Milotic cruised below them, its slender body drawing graceful arcs in the deep blue water.

Bogaman stayed close to Hikaru, glancing around nervously from time to time.

Meloeta, on the other hand, swam merrily through the water, seemingly enjoying herself immensely.

Surrounded by several Pokémon, Makomo approached the ruins.

Although she is not from an archaeology background, she still has a strong desire and interest in exploring such an unexpectedly discovered underwater site.

She gestured with her hands, her eyes sparkling with excitement, her meaning clear—she wanted to go inside and take a look.

Just then, the Greninja swam back from the depths of the ruins. It appeared silently in front of Xia You and made a gesture: It's safe inside.

Xia You nodded, then glanced at the oxygen gauge on her wrist. The needle was steadily pointing to the green zone, which meant that they had enough oxygen to stay underwater for a long time.

Since that was the case, he gestured to Makomo and Hikari, and then the three of them swam into the ruins together.

The internal passageways were much more spacious than they had imagined.

The roads are interconnected, like a net laid on the seabed, linking the entire city together.

The stone pillars are taller than they appear from the outside; even though most of them are buried in sediment, the exposed parts are still several meters high.

The pillar is covered with dense patterns, not naturally formed textures, but rather characters or some kind of ancient symbols, which have been washed by the sea for countless years, yet are still faintly discernible.

Makomo swam to a stone pillar and carefully brushed away the sediment to reveal a more complete carving underneath.

Her eyes lit up, and she frantically gestured, but no one could understand what she was saying.

Seeing that the others didn't understand, she shook her head, took out her water-resistant camera, and started snapping pictures.

Xia Youfu remained in place, looking to the left and right.

The layout of the buildings here is vaguely discernible, with wide steps leading one by one into the deeper darkness, straight corridors with symmetrical grooves at intervals on the walls on both sides, as if something was once placed there, and square squares with neatly paved stone slabs on the ground. Although they are mostly covered by sea sand, the planner's care is still evident.

This city...

If it was ever a city, it lies dormant on the seabed, as quiet as a dream that has lasted for a very long time.

But why did it sink?

Is it because the sea level is rising?

Or is it crustal movement?

I don't know, but what is certain is that this city's ruins are shrouded in mystery, waiting to be explored and discovered by true professionals.

But it's definitely not them.

Their arrival here was more like that of a passerby, an unexpected visit.

At this moment, several fish Pokémon curiously swam up to them, but were immediately chased away by Xia You's Pokémon.

Actually, it's not just these few Pokémon; there are wild marine Pokémon everywhere here.

Sun coral peeked out from the cracks in the stone pillars, curiously observing the uninvited guests. Starfish clung to the ancient wall, slowly turning around. Several waddling fish swam over from the end of the corridor, but quickly turned and swam away upon seeing the group.

Clearly, this place has completely become their home.

Regardless of what happened here in the past, these Pokémon have replaced humans and taken over this place.

Makomo swam in front, and the camera never stopped clicking.

She discovered a relatively well-preserved stone door with a row of more complex symbols carved on the lintel, much more exquisite than those on the pillars. She was so excited that she almost took off her mask, but Xia You grabbed her arm.

This guy really gets a little carried away once he gets into research mode...

Shaking her head, Xia You asked the Pokémon to keep an eye on her, and then casually wandered around.

However, it can only be said that this place has no value other than its archaeological value.

There are no rare Pokémon, no treasures...

This naturally diminished the significance of this place in Xia You's eyes.

Well, let's just treat it as a novel experience.

They wandered around the ruins for a while longer, with Xia You's gaze frequently falling on the two 'mermaids,' Makomo and Hikari.

They were enjoying themselves as they swam from one place to another, and then from one place to another.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he checked the oxygen gauge and saw that the needle had deviated into the yellow zone. Only then did he swim to the two women's side, pat them on the shoulder, and signal that it was time to leave.

Although Makomo was still not satisfied, she knew it was time to go up.

She took a few last photos, carefully put the camera away, and followed Xia You and Xiao Guang upstream.

Blastoise and Milotic led the way, Meloetta swam happily beside them, Piplup pulled Dawn along, and Greninja brought up the rear.

When they surfaced, the setting sun had already painted the sky orange-red. Yami was sitting on the boat reading a book when she saw them emerge and quickly threw down the rope.

"You've finally made it aboard." She chuckled, reaching out to pull Xia You onto the boat. "You've been down there for almost three hours. Did you find anything?"

"No." Once on board, Xia You removed her breathing mask and took a deep breath of the sea air. "It's just an empty ruin, nothing but Pokémon. Time and ocean currents have probably washed away everything worth studying inside."

Hikaru and Makomo boarded the ship later. Upon hearing Xia You's words, Makomo smiled and shook her head: "Not necessarily. In fact, these kinds of relics have high research value, especially the inscriptions and murals, which are far more important than gold and silver treasures!"

Chapter 1405 Zhulan's Villa

For Xia You, the underwater ruins were just a minor incident.

But for Makomo, it was a source of pride to divert some of her attention from Xia You and focus it on the photos she had taken underwater.

After all, those words and images are not in modern language, and what they actually say and what their meaning is can only be understood through research.

Of course, this doesn't mean she's completely let go of Xia You. It's just that something new is affecting her now. When things are over, or when she's tossing and turning at night, she still can't help but think about how to get some fresher samples and data from Xia You.

For Xia You, understanding the meaning behind these words was quite simple: release his God of Time and let it take him back to before the ruins fell silent, so he could observe them up close.

Don't do anything.

Putting aside the possibility that people at the time might regard him as some kind of monster, he also wanted to avoid frequently disrupting time.

After returning the boat and diving equipment, the group rested overnight at the Pokémon Center in town. They continued their journey the next day after breakfast.

This time, however, they did not go through the underwater tunnel.

After all, once you've seen it a lot, it's just the same old thing. The initial novelty wears off, and it's not as interesting as what you see on land.

Heading south.

The road winds along the coastline, with rolling hills on the left and the azure sea on the right. The sea breeze blows in your face, carrying the salty and damp smell and the aroma of cooking smoke from distant fishing villages. Occasionally, you can see a few coconut trees growing crookedly on the cliffs by the roadside, as if they are gazing at travelers in the distance.

Needless to say, wild Pokémon are frequently seen peeking out from both sides of the road, which attracts a large number of new trainers to gather here.

With more people, naturally more troubles arise.

For example, along the way, they have encountered at least four or five waves of trainers who challenged them.

However, Xia You had lost the mood to play with these novices and left everything to Xiao Guang.

The result speaks for itself.

Dawn and Ash have similar fighting styles, but compared to Ash, Dawn is less careless and gives others no chance.

Without exception, all the trainers who came to challenge her were utterly defeated by her.

After walking for most of the day, the coastline ahead gradually opened up, and a dense cluster of buildings appeared in the distance.

“That’s Ripple Town.” Makomo closed her notebook and pushed up her glasses. “It’s a major town on the east coast of Unova, famous for its diving. It attracts a large number of people every year. I heard about it when I was in the research institute.”

As I got closer, it was indeed bustling with activity.

There are several diving equipment shops at the entrance of the town, with all kinds of masks and fins displayed in the windows. People come and go on the street, many of them wearing beach clothes or swimsuits, with sand on their feet, clearly having just returned from the beach. The roadside shops sell coconuts, grilled fish, and various seashell handicrafts, with vendors calling out their wares one after another.

"There are so many people!" Xiao Guang looked around, and Bogaman turned his head on her shoulder as well. "It's much more lively than those other small towns."

“Because this is a tourist area.” Yami smiled gently, her gaze falling on the rows of palm trees lining the street. “The environment is indeed very nice.”

Xia You slowed her pace, her gaze sweeping over the buildings on both sides of the street.

There are no dojos in Ripples Town. According to their usual route, they usually just pass through such places, replenish their supplies, and continue on their way. But this time is different.

Because both Zhu Lan and Jia Deliya have their own villas here.

Needless to say, Cattleya, as one of the Elite Four in the Unova region, has a lot of assets in Unova, and this villa happens to be the one she lives in the longest.

As for Zhu Lan, she was brought here by Cattleya.

As everyone knows, the two are close friends and, being women, it's inevitable that they would grow closer. Therefore, several years ago, when Zhu Lan first came to Hezhong, she bought a property here and became neighbors with Jia Deliya.

Although she might only come a few times a year, the place is still fully furnished and has a butler to manage it. This shows that compared to a typical rich heiress like Cattleya, she is also very wealthy and keeps a low profile, not flaunting her wealth.

As for why Zhulan went directly to Jiadeliya's place even though there was a home there...

Maybe he just wanted to keep an eye on her.

But unexpectedly, as I kept looking at myself, I became absorbed in it.

Right now, Zhu Lan and Jia Deliya are staying in Lianyi Town, waiting to participate in the upcoming Youth Cup. Now that she has become his woman and has come here, how could Xia You not go to see her?

and……

She had only recently become his woman, and he wasn't quite done with the romance yet.

"Brother Xia You?" Xiao Guang called out when he saw him lost in thought.

"It's nothing." Xia You withdrew her gaze. "We don't need to go to the Pokémon Center. I'll just take you somewhere else."

"Where to?" Xiao Guang asked curiously.

Xia You smiled but did not answer.

Driven by curiosity, the group followed the navigation and walked along the tree-lined path on the east side of the town toward the sea.

The houses here are noticeably sparser than in the town center, each one a detached house with its own yard, hidden behind palm trees and flowerbeds, so quiet you can hear the sound of the waves.

Makomo was flipping through the map when she suddenly looked up and said, "It seems like the villa area is just ahead of this road."

Xia You nodded.

"Does Brother Xia You have friends here?" Xiao Guang realized.