The mine was filled with a damp, decaying smell, and water droplets constantly fell from the walls, their 'drip-drop' sounds echoing in the silent mine, adding to its eerie and terrifying atmosphere.
Grandma Ju held her phone, its dim light illuminating only a small area.
She leaned on her cane, taking each step carefully, afraid of stepping into an empty space or encountering danger.
She couldn't help but sigh, "Oh, didn't they say I was getting a vacation? What kind of situation is this?!"
In reality, Grandma Ju, like Liang Zhi, was also one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Dragon Country.
She was old and had already prepared for retirement, even submitting her resignation, but the Champion of Dragon Country, hearing that Chen Kai had suddenly dropped out of school and gone to Western Europe for a trip, quickly asked Grandma Ju to come and help look after him.
Helplessly, Grandma Ju could only postpone her retirement plan and travel all the way to France to look after this young man, who was highly regarded by both the Champion and Liang Zhi, also one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
As soon as she returned to the mayor's house, intending to see what Chen Kai was doing, she found that Chen Kai wasn't there.
Upon inquiring with the mayor, she learned that Chen Kai had, for some unknown reason, suddenly gone to the town's abandoned mine, which had been deserted for decades; the mayor's pleas were useless, so Grandma Ju rushed after him, feeling she couldn't leave her protection target alone in such a place.
Just then, a dark purple figure floated out from underground; it was Grandma Ju's Gastly.
As soon as Gastly appeared, it frantically told Grandma Ju that it hadn't found Chen Kai, but it had seen the blonde woman named Noma pass through a stone wall, which had startled it, making it think Noma was a "ghost" like itself.
Grandma Ju's heart was burning with anxiety after hearing Gastly's description.
She had only reminded Chen Kai last night that Noma had ill intentions, but she hadn't expected the child to be so naive and fall for it so easily.
She knew she had to get to the location of that wall as quickly as possible.
However, the mine's terrain was complex, and her movements were slow, making her worried that Chen Kai had already encountered danger brought by Noma.
So, she made a decisive move, pulled a Poké Ball from her waist, and threw it with force.
With a "bang," the Poké Ball opened, a flash of white light appeared, and Drifblim emerged.
Drifblim's plump body floated lightly in the middle of the mine, its upper half purple and its lower half light purple.
Four streamers extended from the light purple part, with yellow tips.
Its two small red eyes curiously looked at Grandma Ju, with yellow X-shaped markings below its eyes—this was indeed the Ghost-type Pokémon, Drifblim.
Grandma Ju quickly said, "Drifblim, hurry, take me to the stone wall Gastly mentioned, Chen Kai might be in danger!"
Drifblim heard the command, its body swayed slightly, it puffed itself up, then its streamers wrapped around Grandma Ju, and it simultaneously used the Use Wind move, quickly floating in the direction Gastly indicated.
Being carried by Drifblim was not a pleasant experience. After all, there were rumors that Drifblim was formed from the aggregation of despairing souls, and the gas inside its body was made of spirits.
Although Grandma Ju had been with Drifblim for a long time, she didn't know if this rumor was true.
Even as an expert in raising Ghost-type Pokémon, she usually tried not to let Drifblim carry her in flight, because Ghost-type Pokémon naturally carry a chilly aura, and being entangled by its streamers always felt like being bound by an invisible force, far less comfortable than riding a regular Flying-type Pokémon.
Not to mention, Drifblim's streamers slowly wrapped around her arms and waist, the icy touch making Grandma Ju, who already had chronic back pain due to her age, shiver involuntarily.
Fortunately, led by Drifblim, Grandma Ju quickly arrived in front of the stone wall.
Grandma Ju rubbed her old back and complained, "Oh dear... my old bones..."
She panted, gritting her teeth and cursing, "That brat Chen Kai, I warned him, but he didn't listen at all. When I catch him, I'll have to hit him on the head with my cane!"
Gastly floated around her, letting out "hehehe" laughter, seemingly finding her appearance amusing.
Drifblim also covered its face with its streamers, as if trying to stifle laughter.
Grandma Ju glared at them, "What are you laughing at! Especially Drifblim, every time you carry me, I feel like my back is going to break. I won't take you out next time!"
While complaining, she poked the strange stone wall with her cane.
Surprisingly, the cane passed through with only a little effort.
"Hiss—" She poked it with her cane, then pulled it back, "Could this be a Secret Realm entrance?"
As one of Dragon Country's Four Heavenly Kings, Grandma Ju had visited most Secret Realms around the globe, so she immediately recognized this as a potential Secret Realm entrance, though she still found it incredible.
"I've never heard of a Secret Realm in the Vosges Mountains! And I don't have the key to enter the Secret Realm, so is this Secret Realm gate just wide open?"
To be cautious, she decided to send Gastly in first to check the situation.
"Gastly, go see what's inside."
Gastly gave a "hehe" laugh and easily entered the stone wall.
Not long after, it floated back, excitedly circling Grandma Ju, indicating that it was safe inside.
"Alright, if there's no problem, then this old woman will go in and take a look too." Grandma Ju leaned on her cane and carefully stepped forward.
The moment she passed through the stone wall, the scene before her didn't change much; it was still a mine.
But unlike the outside, the rock walls here were embedded with more fluorescent minerals, emitting a soft glow that illuminated the entire cave like a dream.
Moreover, Grandma Ju could feel that the air was filled with a certain ancient and pure energy, making her aged and tired breathing feel lighter.
"This place... is interesting." Grandma Ju narrowed her eyes, looking around, "Where did that brat Chen Kai and that bad woman run off to?"
Finding nothing around, Grandma Ju could only continue deeper into the mine, but she hadn't gone far when suddenly, several sparkling Carbink emerged from a crack in the rock wall ahead.
They had gem-like bodies and round eyes that vigilantly stared at Grandma Ju, seemingly very angry about the human intrusion.
They chattered a lot, and through Gastly's translation, Grandma Ju roughly understood that these Carbink were angrily accusing her, a human, of intruding into their kingdom.
"Oh? Little ones, don't be nervous, I'm just here looking for someone..." Grandma Ju tried to appease them.
However, these Carbink clearly didn't want to listen to her explanation.
They looked at each other, nodded, and then suddenly rushed forward in unison, their bodies glowing with a faint pink light, clearly preparing to attack!
"Tsk, so you won't be reasonable?" Grandma Ju snorted coldly, pulled a Poké Ball from her waist, "Sableye, play with them!"
A red light flashed, and an eerie, sinister Sableye appeared before her.
Its two large eyes looked at the Carbink, revealing a greedy expression—as a Pokémon that feeds on gems, Sableye is naturally the Carbink's natural enemy, which was why Grandma Ju sent it out.
"Shadow Claw!" Sableye's sharp claws were instantly covered in dark energy, striking fiercely at the Carbink leading the charge.
A Gym Class (level 60+) Sableye easily dealt with these low-level wild Carbink; in just a few rounds, several Carbink were dazed and retreated.
Sableye honed its claws, its eyes gleaming with greed, clearly wanting to eat these Carbink as a snack.
"Stop, stop! No eating!" Grandma Ju sharply ordered, "We're here to find someone, not to hunt!"
Sableye pouted, somewhat unwillingly retreating.
However, the defeated Carbink screamed in terror, their sharp cries echoing through the mine, too late for Grandma Ju and Sableye to stop them.
In less than a minute, many Carbink continuously emerged from the cracks in the rock walls and the holes in the ground.
Grandma Ju stood in the fluorescent mine, looking at the dense swarm of Carbink before her, her hand gripping her cane trembling slightly.
"This..." Her throat tightened, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, "Did this old woman just poke a Carbink nest?"
As far as the eye could see, the entire mine's rock walls, ground, and even the stalactites above were covered with sparkling Carbink.
Their round eyes stared at her in unison, their gem-like bodies reflecting dazzling light.
And the Carbink were very angry now; this anger wasn't just about the human invading their kingdom, Grandma Ju felt it was more because of Sableye...
Grandma Ju somewhat regretted sending out Sableye.
Even more terrifying, Grandma Ju could feel that the energy fluctuations of many of the Carbink were ridiculously strong!
"How is that possible..." she murmured, "Carbink can't evolve, can they? Their base stats aren't high, so how could there be a bunch of Elite Class and Champion Class (level 70-80) ones in a mine near this town?!"
In all her years, she had never seen such an outrageous Carbink population!
Sableye, which had been quite arrogant, suddenly flinched and instinctively took two steps back, hiding behind Grandma Ju, after sensing the levels of the surrounding Carbink and their anger—it also felt that the situation was very bad!
The Carbink were completely unwilling to communicate with Grandma Ju; they pressed closer, and their bodies began to glow with a brown light, clearly preparing to launch a collective attack.
Seeing this, Grandma Ju sent out all six of her Pokémon: Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Drifblim, Sableye, and Arbok.
As one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Grandma Ju's strength was considerable, and most of her Pokémon had reached Elite Class (level 70+), but facing the siege of dozens of high-level Carbink, her chances of winning were slim!
"Tsk, I can only retreat first. I can only protect myself now, Chen Kai, you'll have to rely on yourself!" Grandma Ju made a decisive decision, suddenly waving her hand, "Arbok, Haze! Gengar, Shadow Ball cover!"
"Swish—" A thick black smoke instantly filled the entire mine, obscuring the Carbink's vision, their angry Growls rising and falling, while their attacks also came crashing down.
Fortunately, Drifblim's streamers had already wrapped around Grandma Ju's waist, carrying her in a rapid retreat.
The Carbink's attacks whistled past Grandma Ju's clothes, chilling her to the bone.
She directed Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar to constantly harass the Carbink behind them, while she herself rode Drifblim, quickly returning towards the entrance.
Behind her, the enraged Carbink pursued relentlessly, their gem-like bodies glinting with dangerous light under the illumination of the fluorescent minerals.
Finally, after a difficult escape, Grandma Ju and her Pokémon arrived in front of the stone wall they had just entered.
Grandma Ju's heart filled with joy, thinking she could finally escape danger. She was about to pass through the stone wall as easily as before, but as she approached it and extended her cane, she found that the stone wall had become as hard as ordinary stone, and her cane almost broke.
Grandma Ju was dumbfounded, her eyes wide, unable to believe what was happening before her. The stone wall, which had just been unobstructed, was now like an insurmountable high wall.
She hit the stone wall hard, her heart filled with despair. And at this moment, the Carbink had surrounded her and her Pokémon, their bodies glinting coldly, ready to launch a new round of attacks at any moment.
Seeing this situation, Grandma Ju complained in despair, "What sin have I committed! These people, they come to deceive an old comrade like me, 69 years old, to suffer in this broken mountain cave!"