Ross' Fortune: Part 13

"The path of clues will continue; one leads to the next." Monica Chumandi, Mother of Isaac Chumandi, 1561

Ross' Group

"(Napoleon,)" Ross begged as they walked, "(you have to believe me!  I wanted to come back!  I really did!)"

"(Not going to cut it,)" the Floatzel scoffed.

"(I was having second thoughts about leaving, but I never got to follow through-)"

"(Tauros crap.)"

"(I was knocked out before I could decide, okay!?)"

"(You're pathetic, Ross.)"

"(Goom just said he liked something about me, that's why he-)"

"(Ross, shut-up!)" Napoleon snapped, making the group stop in place.  Turning to Ross, the Floatzel steamed, "(I'm still slightly sore from my little battle with that Swampert.  Not to mention I'm already annoyed with you for having us come all of the way out here just to save you.  If you know what's good for you, shut the hell up right now, before I shut you up myself!  Because the more you talk, the more tempted I am to let you try to get out of here by yourself.  Now, let's keep moving, and see if we can find anything before my patience runs thin.)"  He angrily turned around.

"(…I just wanted to say sorry about all of this,)" Ross muttered to himself.

"(Of course you did,)" Napoleon spat in a sarcastic tone.  "(Now zip it and let's go.  The longer we stay here, the bigger of a chance we'll get caught before I make up my mind.)"  The Floatzel continued walking again.  Ross turned to Cotton with a look that screamed, "I told you so."

"(…Okay, you were right that he wouldn't listen,)" the shiny Lopunny admitted before walking after her boyfriend.  "(I'll talk to him.)"  Ross, Danny, and Merry were about to follow, only for Ross to lose his footing on an exposed tree root, and he tumbled past Napoleon and Cotton and through some random foliage.  "(Ross!  Are you okay!?)"

"(Yeah, I'm fine,)" Ross called back.  "(But I think I stumbled onto something big.)"  The four other Pokémon pushed the foliage aside to see Ross dusting himself off at the mouth of a large cave.  After putting the helmet he had found in the temple back on, Ross bent down and picked something up.  He then turned to the group with a large bar of solid gold in between his paws.  "(I think we just got back on the trail of Sir Isaac, again.)"

"(What makes you say that?)" Napoleon questioned while Ross brought the bar closer to them.

"(Give me that!)" the Sableye spoke up, snatching the bar from Ross' hand.  "(A little disappointing, considering there's supposed to be a lot more… but it'll do for now.)"  Ross rolled his eyes before turning to the left wall of the cavern… when you're looking into it.  Sure enough, there was an inscription of Unown letters painted across the wall.  Merry curiously floated up to it, and began to read.

"('If you're reading this message,')" the Rotom began, "('then you must've figured out my first clue.  Have some gold for your trouble.  And don't fret about how there's only a bar and how El Pokémon de Dorado was picked clean… blame Bane for the latter.  Anyway, there's more gold where this came from.  Why don't you peak aside, treasure hunter?  Sir Isaac Chumandi, September 16, 1583.')"  Turning to Danny, she smiled, "(Poffin, I think this is it!)"

"(Hold on,)" Ross announced.  "(Sir Isaac said, 'first clue.'  This means that there's most likely more to this than we know.)"

"(Well,)" Napoleon replied, "(it can't hurt to check the place out.)"  The five slowly made their way into the cavern, not knowing what awaited them.

---

Skies Above Aztec Isle

Matthew was continuing his scan of the island, hoping to find Ross before it was too late.  So far, the Honchkrow had not found anything worthwhile.  But although he was scared for what grim fate awaited Ross should he fail, the brief reunion he had with his nephew made Matthew hope for the best.  Though it also made him wonder where the other kids on the ranch were…

However, the Honchkrow was soon quite literally smacked back into reality by a Swellow ramming into him at blinding speeds… otherwise known as a Quick Attack.  Matthew, after recovering his balance, took note of the male Swellow who ambushed him.  But the Honchkrow was forced to take note of a Fearow behind him, a Noctowl to the right, and a Staravia to the left.  "(Don't you know it's rude to hog the skies?)" Matthew began, scowling at the Swellow who ambushed him.

"(Well, you recovered quickly,)" the Swellow commented.  "(I was hoping I didn't have to rough my feathers up when I killed you.)"

"(…I take it you work for Bane or his hired guns?)" the Honchkrow questioned.

"(Yeah, we do,)" the Noctowl replied.  "(And we're on specific orders to kill anyone who are not us… or Chumandi.  And there aren't any Honchkrow in the Drunken Skeletons.  So, hold still, old bird!)"  The Noctowl flew towards him, hoping to take Matthew down with one Wing Attack… only for the bird to disappear from existence.  "(Wha…?)"  Before the Noctowl knew it, a sudden amount of shade appeared from nowhere right above him.  When he looked up, he gasped in shock.  "(Oh s-)"

WHAM!

Matthew's Faint Attack was very heavy on the Noctowl knocked it straight towards the ground at frightening speeds.  And considering how Matthew's ability was Super Luck, his Faint Attack was a huge critical hit, pretty much knocking the Noctowl out in one blow.  However, Matthew wasn't going to risk the chance that the Noctowl recovering, so he fired a Dark Pulse into the falling bird, snuffing what life the bird had left before letting him crash into the ground.

"(Holy crap,)" the Staravia breathed, looking at his fallen comrade.  "(What the hell is this guy!?)"

"(Nothing my Drill Peck can't kill!)" the Fearow simply answered before spinning towards Matthew.  However, the Honchkrow quickly flew out of the way of the attack and slammed a well-timed Night Slash into the Fearow's back, knocking him downwards.  After recovering from the attack, the Fearow angrily locked eyes with Matthew.  The Fearow lunged at the Honchkrow with his beak, but Matthew dodged each part of the Fury Attack with ease, catching the last one with his talons.  Matthew then slammed a Wing Attack into the Fearow's neck, easily breaking it before dropping the now dead Fearow to the ground.

"(You know,)" Matthew pointed out to the remaining two opponents, "(you don't have to end up like your friends.  Tell me what you know about Ross, and we'll just pretend that those two got themselves killed on their own.  I'm technically not supposed to battle, anyways.)"

"(Why?)" the Swellow questioned, somewhat shaking off Matthew's easy disposal of his two comrades.  "(You only get lucky, old bird?)"  However, what confidence he had left was shattered when Matthew seemed to cast an eerie glare from under his hat.

"(You clearly don't know my master and friends very well,)" the Honchkrow began, his voice deep.  "(You're very poorly researched, young man.  Otherwise, you would know that I'm my master's strongest Pokémon she brought here… and perhaps her deadliest.  Those two kills weren't luck, my friend….)" He then disappeared again, much to both birds' shock.  The Staravia felt an ominous wing to his neck.  "(It's all very lethal skill.)"

Matthew's Night Slash this time around drew blood from the Staravia's back.  The Swellow, no longer staying back, lunged towards the Honchkrow with a Quick Attack.  The Honchkrow barely dodged it by flying lower, and slashed the Swellow's stomach with what energy remained of his Night Slash.  While both of them were distracted by their wounds, the Honchkrow smacked them both towards the ground with a Superpower attack.  They barely recovered to see the Honchkrow coming at them again.

The Staravia winced, expecting the end, but he felt nothing.  He opened his eyes to see Matthew right in front of him, almost waiting for something.  The Honchkrow then flew upwards, and the last thing the Staravia ever saw was the shocked expression on the Swellow's face when an Air Slash was rushing towards the poor Staravia.

Matthew sighed as he watched the now dead Staravia plummet to the ground.  "(I was hoping you would've used Quick Attack instead of Air Slash,)" he said to his now sole opponent.

"(A casualty is a casualty,)" the Swellow scoffed.  "(Now there's nobody in the way of me ripping your head off!)"

"(Can you do that, though?)"  Matthew turned towards the Swellow, who was starting to glow with blinding light.  Matthew knew was about to happen and nearly swore under his breath.  Many people and Pokémon had heard of the move Sky Attack.  However, there was a reason why people preferred to call it by its far more fatal name- the God Bird.

It was an all-powerful Flying-type move where the user took a few minutes to prepare themselves by concentrating all of their power into one specific point, and then unleash it in an almighty charge that vaguely resembled the supposed wrath of Arceus, who is said to be the god of Pokémon.  Not too many Pokémon could attack properly before it was unleashed, because the light was too bright to get near without ruining your eyesight.  And avoiding it was equally hard; the light was often so bright you couldn't see where the attack would come from.  And considering how powerful the attack was and thanks to Superpower lowering his offensive and defensive capabilities, even Matthew's odds of survival of a direct hit were slim.  Even getting grazed by a Sky Attack would be very painful, and the shock which lead from it would set Matthew up for whatever the Swellow had next.

Matthew's brain was working on a thousand thoughts a second.  How could he dodge one of the most powerful Flying-type attacks known to Pokémon?  Going to the left or right would result in the Swellow's wings slashing open his chest, so that was out.  Going down was also suicidal; a Sky Attack would tear his head off from the Adam's apple up from that angle.  And he happened to like the ring that was around his ankle, so flying upwards and risking his legs wasn't an option either.  And he was not about to stand still or fly towards the attack with a Drill Peck for obvious reasons.  So, the Honchkrow only had one option.  Turning around just as the Swellow started to charge, he made a drastic plan to out-fly the Sky Attack.  And lucky for Matthew, despite his size, he was a fast flyer.

The Swellow was slightly confused by Matthew's sudden retreat, but didn't care as he pursued the large Honchkrow.  He had him on the run… and this would all be over as soon as he caught up.  However, what he didn't know was that Matthew was beginning to form a plan that started with the Swellow following him, Sky Attack and all.  And if the Swellow was as blinded by his pride and aggression as the Honchkrow was hoping, then he wouldn't notice that Matthew was leading him towards the forest.

"(You can't out-fly me forever!)" the Swellow laughed as the two birds went below the tree tops.  "(I'm going to rip you apart!)"  However, he stopped his mad laughing when Matthew casually began to fly vertical, revealing that he once again tricked the Swellow into doing something stupid- using a powerful physical attack straight into a large tree in the middle of a lush rainforest.  "(Oh son of a bitch!)"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!

Needless to say, the Honchkrow could only wince in semi-sympathy as he watch his enemy plow halfway through the tree, and falling out of the large hole he made, half-dead.

Matthew looked at the now broken Swellow with half-pity.  Both of his wings were broken, and several splinters he obtained from the impact were drawing blood.  "(Feel like telling me what you know about Ross, now?)" Matthew questioned, knowing that the Swellow could no longer attack him.

"(You... lucky bastard,)" the Swellow coughed, spiting up a bit of blood.  "(You and Chumandi... both of you are... lucky sons of bitches.  Word on the grapevine... is that he somehow got away from the delivery boy... and is... running free through the island.  Raiden and Goom... better hurry up before Bane gets him… they and their trainer are dead, otherwise.)"

"(And what have you heard about some young Pokémon?)"

"(Hell if I exactly know,)" the Swellow spat.  "(But I heard... that a small rival group... was found heavily wounded. They were talking all sorts of nonsense... claiming to have been ambushed... by a young Pachirisu... said he's the younger brother... of Chumandi... and a Houndour puppy was the kid's sidekick.  Don't know how the two pulled it off... but our boys easily... finished the job the two kids didn't.)"  Matthew's eyes boggled.  Scratch and Chewy were on the island, being pursued by another group besides the Drunken Skeletons.  "(Did I... strike a nerve in you?)"

"(As if I didn't have enough on my plate,)" the Honchkrow muttered to himself.  He was about to fly off, when he heard chuckling from the Swellow.

"(Don't think... you'll get far, here,)" the Swellow vowed.  "(There are more... of us Drunken Skeletons... where me and my unit came from.  We'll just hunt you down... and slaughter... every last one of you.  Your trainer… those kids… your friends… even Chumandi once Bane's done with him.  You'll all... be going... straight to hell.)"

"(You know,)" Matthew calmly scowled, "(you should've picked your final words a lot more carefully.)"  Matthew flew down to where the Swellow hit the tree.  There was a great gap in it- a simple Night Slash would easily send the tree collapsing.  "(When the gatekeeper to hell asks who sent you,)" Matthew ordered as his right wing started to glow an eerie violet, "(tell him former Elite Eight Champion Matthew says, 'Hello'.)"

He then slashed through the rest of the tree, and looked away as it fell towards the Swellow, who only screamed before it crushed him, ending his life.  Matthew then flew away from the grizzly scene of four dead Pokémon, for the Honchkrow had problems far more important than burying the bodies.  He had to find Ross, Napoleon his trainer, the children, their submarine, and get off the island before all hell broke loose if it hadn't already.

And the Honchkrow had already confirmed hell was about to unleash itself and its horror on this unholy place.

---

El Pokémon de Dorado

Jenna, Jake, Becker, Maggie, Ina, and their Pokémon all gasped in shock.  "(Oh Arceus,)" Saria breathed as she looked at the ancient city.

"(Daddy,)" Lizzie questioned, "(are we in El Pokémon de Dorado?)"

"(I believe we are,)" Logan answered, too awestruck to say anything else.  Digit was simply getting this all on camera.

"(This is going to skyrocket the show's ratings,)" the Porygon announced, getting in as much as he could.

"Here we are in the lost city of El Pokémon de Dorado," Maggie narrated, causing Digit to turn the camera towards her.  "Our pursuit of Ross has accidentally lead us to the ancient city of gold."

"You know," Ina voiced, making the camera Pokémon turn towards her, "it could be called that if it was more gold than clay bricks.  Something tells me that after Sir Isaac left, someone else must have taken all of the gold."

"I hate to say it," Jake agreed.  "But Ina's right- we're no less than four-hundred years late to this party."  Looking at the depressed Blastoise and Ursaring, he chuckled, "Sorry guys… it looks like no gold for us.  We'll just have to settle for finding Chumandi's corpse again after we find Ross."

"Well that stinks," Jenna sighed, walking through the city.  "I was at least hoping we'd find something… a clue or anything."

"Leafeon!"  "(I found something!)"  Saria spoke up.  Jenna looked towards the Leafeon, who was holding an old, worn out-looking collar in her mouth for her trainer to see.  Jenna picked up the collar, and began to study it.

"(Congratulations,)" Koops sarcastically announced.  "(You found a worn-out collar.)"

"(It's better than what we've found so far on our own,)" Pride remarked.  Looking at Saria suspiciously, the Luxray asked, "(In all seriousness, though, you seem to know that collar.)"

"(That's Ross' old collar he used to wear back when he was a Pikachu!)" the Leafeon explained, which brought curiosity out in Edna, Veruka, Vincent, and Rupert.  The four looked at it in their trainer's hands, and were shocked.  That was indeed the old collar they remembered him wearing when he was a Pikachu.  Many of the Pokémon younger than him- in this case, Saria, Iris, Edna, and Vincent- knew that their first sight after being born was their master and Ross wearing his collar.

"(I thought got rid of that old thing for his Focus collar once he evolved,)" Rupert noted.  "(I mean, it no longer fits, anyways, and it doesn't protect against moves that would easily take him down.)"

"(Actually,)" Edna remembered, "(Ross never did throw the collar away.  But he did give it up to someone close to him.)"

"(So, a hand-me-down gift,)" Veruka realized.  "(Maybe he gave it to Scratch or… some… thing… aw crap.)"

"Aw crap," Jenna breathed, looking at the collar in horror.  She and Veruka just had the same realization.  "Scratch is on the island!"

"Who?" Jake questioned, looking at the breeder.  She turned to him with a shocked expression on her face.

"Scratch is my Pachirisu!  He and Ross are like brothers!  Ross gave him that collar as a hand-me-down gift!  He just never wears it."  Suddenly, another memory chose to manifest itself in her mind.  "And I just remembered that there are Pokémon on the ranch whose kids have gone missing!  They must have come here looking for Ross, as he's been babysitting them!  Aw damn it!  Why do things have to get worse before they get better!?"

"(I didn't know Chumandi had a foster brother,)" Pride noted.  "(But why would he leave this collar behind if it's a keepsake from Chumandi?)"

"(Scratch and the other kids must have been captured,)" Veruka finally got out.  "(We'll have to look for them as well.)"

"(Fine,)" Pride replied.  "(What Pokémon are we looking for?)"

"(Well,)" Vincent answered, "(I'm pretty sure it was just Scratch, Sibelus, our master's simple-minded Chatot, Andrew, a Flaaffy, Velma, a Politoed who has a crush on Rupert-)"

"(I thought I told her I already had a girlfriend!)" Rupert interrupted.  Veruka and Vincent both rolled their eyes while Edna just giggled.

"(Oh, like Vanilla from Poké Chic Magazine would really give you the time of day!)" Vincent snickered, much to the annoyance of the Toxicroak.  "(Anyways, Helen's a Psyduck, Cole is a Torkoal, Chewy is a Houndour that likes biting Ross' tail, and we really have to find Sakura, who is a Chikorita.  Her grandfather would flip out if she were in danger.)"

"(Whose her grandpa?)" Honey slowly asked.

"(Leopold, the Charizard who trained my mother and me,)" Veruka answered.  "(And he's pretty protective of his granddaughter… well; it's good to know they're all on the same island as Ross.)"

"We'll have to split up again," Becker remarked at the realization that Jenna would want to look for the young Pokémon as well as Ross.  Pride and Koops just rolled their eyes, and began to walk away, Pride activating his eyes.  Logan and Lizzie were about to follow when Jadis placed a flipper on the Sceptile's shoulder.

"(We never said how we're splitting up,)" Iris pointed out.

"(And won't you two kill each other?)" Jadis questioned.

"(Trust me,)" the Luxray chuckled, "(I'm usually with Koops to spare your sanity.)"  Iris and Jadis both looked at their trainer, who just looked at Jake shrugging.

"They do this all of the time," Jake simply explained.  "They're more like brothers than they admit to."

"(The hell we are!)" Pride protested, making Koops snicker.  Iris tugged her trainer's leg, almost begging to follow Pride.

"Make sure they don't kill each other," Ina simply replied, rubbing her Glaceon's head.  The two turned to the other Pokémon.

"(Good luck, sis,)" Iris wished Saria before pulling her in a hug.  "(We'll see if we can find anything else.)"

"(Good luck to you too,)" Saria replied, returning the hug.  The six Pokémon started to head out into the city, searching for Ross and the children.  Everyone else began to look around their current location, hoping to find more clues.  Veruka looked down at Saria with worry.  She seemed to be smiling now, but the Infernape knew better.  The smile was a façade compared to Saria's regular smile.  The Leafeon was worried sick- first Ross, now Scratch was in trouble.  Saria had barely known a day without Ross- they've been friends since her first day alive.  And when Scratch was born, Saria took some time to play with him and Ross.  Veruka saw the anger and sadness in Saria's eyes when Mark badmouthed Ross- the Leafeon's mental state was nearly in tatters.  Saria was actually going to kill someone back there.

Veruka was hoping they could find Ross soon, because Saria's little world was slowly falling apart without him.

---

Chumandi's Cavern

"(Can you shine a little brighter, Merry?)" Danny questioned the female Rotom.  Ross and Merry were leading the group throughout the cave with their blue electricity.  Ross' cheeks were somewhat glowing, having been forced to keep his electricity inside for 72 hours so not to invoke the wrath of his captors, nor draw attention to himself.  Meanwhile, Merry was sparking with electricity as well.

"(I'm shining as bright as I can, Poffin,)" Merry replied.  "(It's too bad none of us brought a flash light.)"

"(I know,)" Ross replied, firing a Thunderbolt ahead to discharge some electricity he's been storing forward, hitting a pillar up ahead.  Wheezing a little, the Raichu added, "(It's also a shame that I was stuck on the same boat as a psychotic Marowak who may have had Lightningrod.)"

"(Yeah, that's sad,)" Napoleon remarked, his tone laced with sarcasm.  However, he noticed something about the pillar Ross' Thunderbolt hit.  It was somehow sparking with the electricity Ross fired into it… almost like a conductor.  However, after a few more seconds, the pillar lost its spark, and no longer was glowing.  He slowly walked towards it, and noticed two other pillars that looked similar to the one Ross zapped.  The one Ross' Thunderbolt struck had yellow Unown symbols engraved into it, spelling out the name of a certain legendary Pokémon's name.  "('Zapdos'?)"

Cotton walked over to one of the two remaining pillars, only this one had red Unown letters.  "(This one says, 'Moltres,')" the Lopunny pointed out.

"(And the blue pillar says, 'Articuno,')" Danny finished, looking at the last pillar.  "(The three legendary birds underneath Lugia?  What the hell are they doing here?)"

"(Well,)" Ross pointed out, "(the legends say that the citizens of El Pokémon de Dorado considered the legendary birds gods, so I wouldn't be surprised that they have statues set up for them… wait.  Merry, I need some light.)"  Ross pulled out Sir Isaac's diary as the Rotom flew towards him.  Ross opened the book, and flipped between the pages, muttering, "(I think I've seen these markings before… aha!)"  He found a page featuring the illustrations of the three pillars, with the yellow Zapdos pillar sparkling with electricity, the Articuno pillar encased in ice, and the Moltres pillar engulfed in fire.

"(And this page has to do with us, why?)" Danny questioned, looking at the illustrations.  "(Come on, let's get moving.)"  He was about to head further into the cave when he bumped into a large wall.  After recovering from it, the Sableye noticed that this is as far as they could go.  Merry lit up the cave some more, and the group saw it- a large mural of Ho-Oh and Lugia watching over the world, Ho-Oh watching from the sky, and Lugia from the seas.  "(Wow... that's one pretty-looking dead-end.)"

"(Amazing,)" Cotton breathed.  "(The citizens of the island really did worship the legendary birds.)"

"(And I bring up the question again,)" Danny insisted.  "(What does all of this have to do with the treasure and us?  And why is something as beautiful as this a dead end and not a rare treasure!?)"

"(Treasure hunting isn't supposed to be easy,)" Ross pointed out, placing the diary back in his knapsack.  "(Haven't you seen all of the movies?)"  Ross then looked at the Zapdos pillar, and placed his paws on it.  He then said, "(Well, here goes nothing.)"  He then unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt at point-blank range onto the pillar, making it spark back up… and electrifying himself as well.  He was soon thrown back by the shock, landing a few feet away.  The last thing he heard before passing out was Napoleon and Cotton calling him.

---

Chumandi's Cavern- April 11, 1580

"(…Isaac,)" Pucca's voice rang in the Raichu's ear.  "(Wake up.)"  Sir Isaac Chumandi opened his eyes to see the Raichu he met last night standing over him.  "(You know, you're kind of cute when sleeping.)"

"(Thanks,)" Isaac awkwardly replied after being helped up.  "(What happened last night?)"

"(When you touched that yellow pillar last night with your Thunderbolt, you got knocked out by the kickback,)" Pucca explained.  "(You know, an odd spot to sleep, too.  Nobody on the island knows how to open the gate here, but we know that it somehow involves these pillars.)"  She then pointed towards the three pillars and the large mural of Lugia and Ho-Oh.  "(Sadly, nobody who has tried to figure out this puzzle has survived.)"

"(Ah, the legendary birds,)" Isaac breathed, looking at the mural.  After a brief study of the three pillars, Isaac questioned, "(is there anyone on the island who can use any Fire-type moves?)"

"(Well,)" Pucca remembered, "(there's Kushina, the Vulpix you met yesterday.  Why?)"

"(I think I have an answer to your little riddle,)" Isaac explained.  "(Find her, and meet me back here in an hour.)"  Both Raichu left the cave.  Eventually, the two returned to the cave, Isaac bringing Gibbs, and Pucca returning with Kushina.

"(Any particular reason you brought us here?)" Gibbs questioned, looking at the mural.  "(Surly it's not because of the mural, is it?  Because although the sight's nice… I never knew you for an appreciator of art, Isaac.)"

"(Hear me out, okay?)" Isaac insisted.  Looking at the pillars, Isaac figured, "(This must be some type of ancient lock system.  From the looks of it, this may be a triple-synchronization lock.)"

"(Those actually existed before our time?)" Gibbs questioned.  Getting serious, he asked, "(What makes you think it's a synchronization switch?)"

"(Would you rather have me try all each pillar slowly?)" Isaac retorted.  "(That could take all day, and we don't know what may happen if only two pillars are activated at the same time.  I personally don't want to find out.)"

"(And you need our help to activate the pillars simultaneously,)" Kushina concluded.

"(Pretty much,)" Isaac answered.  "(Pucca, do you want to count to three while we charge our attacks?)"

"(Sure,)" Pucca replied while Isaac, Gibbs, and Kushina took their places around the pillars.  "(On three,)" she announced as they each charged their attacks.  "(One… two… three!)"  With perfect timing, the three Pokémon unleashed a Thunderbolt, Blizzard, and Flamethrower respectively into the pillars….

---

Present Day

Ross quickly sat up, knocking heads with Napoleon who happened to be standing over him.  As the two groaned in pain, Cotton questioned, "(W-what happened back there, Ross?)"

"(I don't know,)" Ross replied after he got up.  He looked at the Zapdos pillar to see that it was no longer crackling with electricity.  "(But that risky move I made may have helped me figure out how to open the gate.)"

"(Gate?)" Danny questioned, looking back from the mural towards Ross.  Looking at the mural, he questioned, "(You mean this thing is some type of ancient gate and there's more beyond it.)"

"(Possibly,)" Ross replied, reopening Sir Isaac's diary and flipping back to the page about the pillars.  After confirming his thoughts, the Raichu explained, "(You see, I just had the strangest out-of-body experience after getting knocked out.  I dreamed that I was Sir Isaac again-)"

"(Hold on,)" Napoleon interrupted.  "(What is this about 'again?')"

"(It's a long story,)" Ross answered.  "(Anyways, my dream showed me that these pillars are some ancient triple-synchronization security lock or something like that.  We have to activate the pillars simultaneously.)"

"(After what happened to you?)" Napoleon questioned.  "(You hit your head harder than I thought you did.)"

"(Trust me on this one,)" Ross replied.  "(I've been getting weird visions of the past every time I dream, lately.  I think this will work.  Danny just needs to use Will-o-Wisp on the Moltres pillar, I'll shock the Zapdos pillar again- but from a distance, this time- and you focus on Ice Punching the Articuno pillar.  Cotton will count to three before we launch our attacks, and Merry, just in case something happens, will have a Reflect up for us.)"  He noticed the shocked looks on the other four Pokémon's faces.  "(I can create plans on the fly.)"

"(Alright, we'll try it,)" Danny replied.  "(The sooner this works, the closer we get to the treasure.)"

"(If we must,)" Napoleon replied, heading towards the Articuno pillar.  "(But if this doesn't work or gets us all killed, you're getting blamed for it, Ross.)"  Danny just walked over to the Moltres pillar, and Ross stood near the Zapdos pillar once again.

"(Alright,)" Cotton smiled while Merry put up a Reflect barrier around both herself and Cotton.  "(On my three.)"  All three of the male Pokémon stated to charge up their attacks.  "(One… two… three!)"  The three boys unleashed their attacks into the pillars with perfect synchronization.  The pillars were now either aflame, frozen solid, or crackling with electricity.  Now that all three pillars were active, the mural on the wall started to glow before moving upwards, revealing a large platform suspended above a large pit.  The platform had several brown squares and one red square in a row.  Each of the red squares looked like they had average jumping distance between each other.  Ross wasn't sure why the platform was set up like that, but it didn't matter to him.

"(Well,)" Ross, smiled, "(this looks rather easy compared to our previous puzzle.)"

"(Perhaps too easy,)" Danny announced.  "(Look in that journal again, see if Isaac was kind enough to leave us a hint.  Either that or knock yourself out again and see if your ancestor figured this one out for us.)"

"(T-t-that one was an accident,)" Ross nervously waved off, opening the diary to the pillars again.  This time, he flipped a few pages ahead to see the platform.  What he read in the book was a bit suspicious, but he didn't want to risk anything just yet.  He picked up two small stones, and gently threw them towards the platform.  One of the stones landed on a red square, while the other landed on the brown square right next to it.  Now, the Raichu wasn't sure whether to blame the old age of the platform or if it was a trap, but the brown square that the second stone landed on went and fell out of place, down into the abyss.  "(Oh boy,)" Ross breathed while putting the diary away.

"(So,)" Napoleon concluded, "(it's just, 'step on red tiles, because brown tiles equal death.')"

"(Luckily for me,)" Merry pointed out, "(I can float.)"  Indeed, the Rotom probably had this particular trap easy compared to  the other four, who were not able to float or fly across.

"(Alright,)" Cotton decided, "(Merry, you go first, and I'll take the hard way.)"  The Rotom simply flew over the platform to the tunnel, and patiently waited for the others.  Cotton casually walked back, and took a look at the platform.  She slowly inhaled, and exhaled, having psyched herself up for this leap of faith.  She then quickly ran forward, and easily landed on the first red tile.  She then gracefully used Bounce to jump from one red square to the next, getting across the trap with ease.

"(You just got to admire her beauty,)" Napoleon smirked as the shiny Lopunny landed on the other side of the cave perfectly, as if she were in a Pokémon Contest.  Ross and Danny each rolled their eyes before looking towards the other side.

"(So, boys,)" Danny questioned.  "(Which one of us wants to attempt to make those jumps first and see if we can avoid falling to our deaths?)"

"(…May as well,)" Ross sighed.  He then backed up, and used Quick Attack to rush over the gap onto a red tile.  He then jumped onto another red tile, and made repeated jumps.  However, Ross, in the final stages of the jumping landed pretty hard, and misplaced his left foot on the brown square next to the red one.  "(Oh crap!)" Ross yelled before the tile began to give away.  Luckily for the Raichu, Napoleon was coming right behind him with Danny on his back.  The Floatzel used Aqua Jet to outrun the collapsing tiles and ram Ross onto the cliff's ledge, and clung onto it himself.  Cotton helped Napoleon and Danny- who was now soaking wet- up onto the cliff.  "(…Thanks,)" Ross breathed to Napoleon, looking at the now half-empty platform.

"(I'm still mad at you,)" Napoleon warned him, "(so don't think this changes the situation.)"

"(But the good news is thanks to that stunt,)" Danny pointed out, "(the likelihood of anyone being able to follow us this way just got slimmer.)"  The group silently walked into the tunnel, and were greeted with light coming from an opening on the side of the final room of the long cavern, along with several outdated weapons, hieroglyphics, and a few more Hoenn helmets like the one Ross was still wearing.

"(Something tells me that even though Sir Isaac was the first to figure this all out,)" Cotton announced while picking up an old Hoenn blunderbuss and handing it to Napoleon, "(that somebody got here between him and us.)"

"(Well, is it that obvious?)" Danny scowled underneath the diamonds covering his eyes.  Angrily kicking a helmet to the side, the Sableye growled, "(So much for getting rich off of this.  I was really counting on this one to be the treasure hunt of the century.)"

"(I wouldn't give up just yet, Poffin,)" Merry announced, making them all turn to her and what she was looking at- the hieroglyphics.  "(What do you make of all of this, guys?)"  Everyone turned to the one Pokémon holding most- if not all- of the answers:  Ross Chumandi.

"(Danny,)" the Raichu questioned, "(considering all of the things you do for money, wouldn't you know how to read hieroglyphics?)"

"(I've only raided an ancient tomb once, before!)" the Sableye answered.  "(I never bothered to study symbolism!)"  Ross just pulled out the diary, and skimmed a few pages for any rough translations of the glyphs.

"(I swear to Arceus,)" Ross sighed, "(Sir Isaac's diary is just a deus ex machina for us.)"  He eventually found the hieroglyphics on one page, and their translation on the next.  "(Okay,)" Ross announced, "(I found something.  Apparently, this whole cavern was the ancient vault for some big, golden statue of... Ho-Oh… I get it!)"

"(Get what?)" Napoleon questioned the Raichu while taking the diary.

"(What's not to get?)" Ross explained, grabbing the diary back.  "(El Pokémon de Dorado translates into 'The Pokémon of Gold.'  It wasn't a city of gold, but a golden idol, which explains the glyphs!)"  He pointed to a specific part in the hieroglyphics where there were people and Pokémon bowing down to a picture of what appeared to be Ho-Oh.

"(So we know that they worshipped Ho-Oh,)" Danny concluded.  "(And perhaps the biggest treasure that was here was a large statue of Ho-Oh made entirely of gold.  Now, this brings up the question:  What happened to my- I mean our statue?)"

"(I think Sir Isaac wants to talk about that,)" Cotton answered, turning to a wall that had a dagger embedded into it, holding a parchment, which was again written in Unown letters.  After removing the dagger, Cotton noticed that it was impaled into the skull of a Sealeo on the wall.  Ignoring the grim suggestion, the Lopunny read, "(I take it my diary helped you activate the door and survive the pitfall trap.  Luckily for me, I had won favor with the Pokémon's chief after saving them all.  I'm sorry I don't have anything to reward you with, as the golden idol was removed by the Hoenns this way by the time I had returned.  Well, maybe if you follow the golden trail, you might find something.  Hope you can swim!'  …What's that supposed to mean?)"

"(Cotton, check this out!)" the Lopunny turned to see Napoleon, Ross, Danny, and Merry looking at what appeared to be some kind of shiny, yellow dust right at the start of a set of sled tracks leading out of the large hole in the cave, and through the woods.  Napoleon scooped up some of the dust, and smiled, "(I think we found our trail.)"

"(I'll agree with Napoleon on this one,)" Ross replied.  "(If the Hoenns grabbed the treasure, they must have moved it over this way.)"  The five soon climbed out of the cave, and into the harsh midday sun.  They could all feel each other's anticipation- they were getting closer to the treasure.  However, were they being lead towards the treasure?  Or were they getting closer to a just another clue?  They had no idea.

---

At the Mouth of the Cave

Gill, Goom, and Yuki looked inside the cave with curiosity.  "(Are you sure Chumandi went this way?)" The Breloom questioned his Froslass girlfriend.

"(Well,)" Yuki replied while looking at the writing on the wall, "(he has been following Sir Isaac's trail this entire time.  I don't know how he's doing this, but Chumandi manages to keep at least one step ahead of us.)"

"(I guess the cleverness of the treasure hunter must run in the family,)" Gill smirked.  "(The Chumandi family line is very interesting… he must be a humble professional.)"

"(Actually,)" Goom corrected, "(when I spoke to Raiden, he said this was Chumandi's first big treasure hunt.  He's actually just an Egg watcher and baby-sitter.)"  The Swampert blinked at this in confusion.

"(You mean we, professional treasure hunters with several years of experience in our field both good and bad, are losing the race to find El Pokémon de Dorado's gold to a rancher Pokémon who is practically a rookie at finding lost and hidden fortune?)" Gill embarrassedly chuckled.  "(Man, if that wasn't a kick in the pants, I don't know what is.)"

"(You know, you take that pretty well,)" Goom laughed.

"(Considering we're dealing with Sir Isaac's brood, here, I have to take it well that some of his skills have been passed down through the generations.  Not to mention he has friends.)"

"(Well,)" Yuki announced, changing the subject, "(the longer we spend talking, the more time Chumandi has to get away.)"

"(Yeah,)" Goom agreed, "(but don't ancient caves usually have the more dangerous security defenses in case of tomb raiders?)"

"(I don't think the citizens of Aztec Isle were that clever,)" Gill chuckled.  "(Come on.)"  The three Pokémon walked into the cave, hoping to catch up.  Little did they know that they would encounter some major problems.