"Come on, come on, push harder!"
Maki cheered on Whimsicott while urging it forward.
"Whim!"
Whimsicott took a deep breath, gathering energy as a miniature sun formed above its head before being released into the space above.
As Sunny Day took effect, the entire area was illuminated, revealing the full scope of their surroundings to Maki.
"I knew it."
Maki murmured to himself as he took in the sight before him. The area was a scaled-up version of an altar—one that was almost identical to the one on Mt. Moon! That explained the eerie sense of familiarity he had felt earlier.
"Ka~"
Whimsicott's Sunny Day wasn't strong enough to completely light up the space, leaving the farthest reaches shrouded in haze, making it difficult to discern the full scene.
However, the unexpected sound that broke the silence of the cavern was anything but reassuring.
Whimsicott, now exhausted, gently floated down with Maki before collapsing onto his head, completely spent.
"Whim~"
—Couldn't we have used Sunny Day while standing on the ground before flying up?
"Shh—there's something making noise over there."
Maki hushed Whimsicott, though he wasn't about to admit that he simply hadn't thought of that before.
Moving cautiously toward the source of the sound, Maki signaled Charmeleon to illuminate the area ahead with Flamethrower.
"Golurk!"
Maki's pupils contracted as Charmeleon's fire lit up the cavern, revealing a Golurk standing over three meters tall!
Its body bore numerous enigmatic spiral markings, but the central spiral was missing, replaced by what looked like a deep crack. Several sections of its body resembled buttons, giving it a mechanical appearance.
Golurk was likely one of the earliest artificially created Pokémon. Ancient civilizations had constructed them as laborers, instructing them to protect both humans and Pokémon.
Due to their immense strength, however, Golurk were often stationed as guardians, watching over ruins for centuries.
Yet, the origins of their creation remained a mystery. Many still marveled at how such a Pokémon had been brought into existence.
After all, even to this day, the only widely known Pokémon created by humans were Porygon and Ditto.
The Golurk before Maki seemed to have been dormant for an immeasurable length of time. Its arms trembled slightly as though on the verge of awakening, shaking off accumulated dust and revealing the intricate patterns covering its body.
"Let's get out of here!"
Maki's expression darkened the moment he laid eyes on the Golurk. Without hesitation, he leapt onto Absol's back. While all Golurk shared similar appearances and this one had yet to fully awaken, it was difficult to gauge its strength.
But one thing was certain—the more significant the ruin, the stronger the Golurk guarding it.
And this altar… not only was it located within this secret realm, but based on Maki's hypothesis, it could very well be connected to the Alolan Legendary Pokémon, Solgaleo. The eerie resemblance between this altar and the one in Mt. Moon only deepened his unease.
It was hard not to arrive at ominous conclusions.
In short, he had zero intention of staying in this creepy place any longer—especially since strange noises had started echoing from other corners of the cavern, identical to the sounds they had just heard.
Yeah, there was no need to say anything else. It was time to run.
But just as Maki resolved to flee, the Golurk before him suddenly opened its eyes, lowering its head slightly. The golden glow of its gaze locked directly onto him.
Maki: "…"
You really didn't have to wake up so fast. You could've stayed asleep a little longer—we were just about to leave, you know.
The markings on Golurk's body began to emit a radiant glow. Even without Whimsicott's Sunny Day, its full form was now clearly visible.
But that wasn't good news.
Because at that very moment, multiple golden lights began to flicker in the distance, spread throughout the cavern.
Anyone with a working brain could figure out what that meant.
Maki: "…Uh, happy Lunar New Year, Big Brother? Big Sister?"
His mouth twitched.
Golurk had no gender, so calling it "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" didn't really make sense.
But that wasn't the issue here. There were too many Golurk.
Even if their individual strength was only at the Ultra Ball tier, their sheer numbers alone made them a force Maki couldn't hope to handle. He had struggled just to take down a Magmar earlier—even with Mawile's Mega Evolution.
And now? Maki barely had enough energy left to function. If Mawile Mega Evolved again, it would probably drain every last drop of his stamina.
Maki stared into the Golurk's glowing eyes, realizing that running wasn't an option.
With this many Golurk, he wouldn't stand a chance. Even one stray punch from them would be enough to send him flying.
Now that Golurk had fully awakened, Maki could roughly estimate its strength.
Nothing crazy—just Ultra Ball tier.
You know, the kind that could one-shot every single one of his Pokémon.
Faced with this reality, Maki completely abandoned any thought of running.
Alright, fine. Do whatever you want. If you've got the guts, go ahead and punch me to death.
Adopting a defeated mindset, Maki resigned himself to staring into Golurk's glowing eyes, completely unmoving.
This reaction wasn't without reason.
Maki understood Golurk's guardian instincts. They were programmed to defend ruins at all costs. If they perceived someone as an intruder, they would attack relentlessly until the threat was neutralized.
In other words, once Golurk marked him as an intruder, nothing he did would matter. He'd either have to fight or escape.
And since he wasn't strong enough to defeat them, standing still was his only option.
Since Golurk hadn't attacked yet, there was a high probability that it hadn't classified him as an intruder.
As Maki watched in tense silence, Golurk's eyes flickered, and it began to speak in a language he couldn't understand.
The deep, guttural sounds echoed through the cavern.
Maki glanced at Whimsicott and the others, signaling them to translate.
But all of his Pokémon shook their heads—none of them understood it.
It wasn't even Pokémon language.
Thud.
Golurk took a step forward, moving closer to Maki as though it were sensing something.
The proximity instinctively made Maki take a small step back.
Yet, Golurk did not react to his movement. Instead, its eyes continued to glow—flashing in a pattern that seemed almost… deliberate.
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