"Took you guys long enough."
"Che, that's easy for you to say. You left us to fight the other four Golems!"
Dante chuckled at the aggrieved expression on Pikachu's face. He dispersed the large illusion of an arrow he made to guide them here, then tapped his paws at the unconscious figure of Cofagrigus underneath.
"Well, one of us had to track this guy down. If I hadn't done so, he would have run away with the treasures."
And it was quite a taxing job, too. He had to repeatedly knock Cofagrigus out amidst his constant protests, until all the Reviver Seeds stored in his body were depleted.
"Oh. Hehehe, great job!"
Pikachu gave Dante a thumbs-up. He glanced around the room, taking note of the strange Pokemon with chains sleeping on the couch. Then, he zoomed in on the conspicuous dark hallway.
"So~ have you checked for treasures already?"
"Nah, I was waiting for you. I can't risk this guy escaping while I'm distracted."
"Let me handle him!"
As soon as Dante finished speaking, Mawile swooped in from the side. She picked up Cofagrigus with one of her jaws, holding him in the air alongside Regieleki.
"Why are you so cautious? Did he do something?"
Pikachu poked Cofagrigus' unconscious face. Normally, after they knock out the dungeon Pokemon, they would just leave them there. Regieleki is the only exception until now due to how hard it is to take down once it breaks free.
"Kinda. I'll explain it on the way back. For now, let's search this place so we can finally rest."
Dante said while glancing at the yawning Ninetales and Eevee. They were already sleepy before. And after such a grueling battle, the two looked as if they'd pass out at any moment.
"Yosh! It's treasure hunting time!"
Hearing Dante's words, Pikachu rushed towards the open hallway. And with Dante's nod, Riolu and the others followed suit. In the end, only Dante, Mawile, and the sleeping Victini were left in the room.
"What's the matter, Dan? Aren't we going to follow them?"
Mawile tilted her head in confusion, Regieleki and Cofagrigus moving along with her movement.
"They're more than enough to search there. And with Pikachu, I doubt any hidden rooms will escape his vision. For us, we can search Cofagrigus."
"Him?"
Dante nodded. When he followed the coffin Pokemon earlier, he clearly saw him taking out dozens of Blast Seeds from his shadows. This can only mean one thing- he had access to a shadow space.
The Shadow Space is a kind of storage area that Pokemon with great mastery over the shadows can use. At least, that's what he heard from other Explorers. Dante himself isn't sure how it works, with him not being able to do the same.
However, even though he can't access the shadow space, he could enter the shadows and search for it.
"Mawile, please keep watch. If he wakes up, quickly knock him out."
"I understand!"
Mawile nodded solemnly and stared intensely at Cofagrigus, watching his every action.
Dante took a deep breath, then…his body sunk into his own shadow. Just like every time, he felt his consciousness expand and merge into a larger whole.
He sensed the shadows of Mawile, Regieleki, Cofagrigus, Victini, the walls, and even the trees outside the base. He could merge his consciousness into a single spot among them, to achieve a quick travel. But that was not what he needed to do now.
He concentrated on Cofagrigus' shadow. His was the same as Mawile and all the other Pokemon Dante had sensed, except for a single spot in the middle of his shadow which was inky-dark.
Right then, Dante knew he found his target. But as he was about to check the place, he felt another consciousness trying to share the same spot as him. It tried pushing him out, but it disappeared shortly after.
"Sorry, Dan. Did he disturb you?"
Dante heard Mawile's apologetic voice as he emerged from Cofagrigus' shadow.
"No, you did a great job- knocking him out so swiftly. I'm just thinking how to access that space."
Although he determined what was likely the shadow space, when he tried to enter, it was as if he hit a brick wall. Cofagrigus appeared to have condensed the shadows and made it solid.
Unless he can manipulate the shadows and unravel it, then the only way he can think of to access that space is by destroying it altogether.
"I can't learn something like this so quickly. Then the second path it is."
Dante muttered. He closed his eyes, and his body shimmered with Dark-type energy as he used Nasty Plot to increase his Special Attack. After a while, he reached the maximum boost.
With Mawile's encouragement, he dived into the shadows to try once again. This time, the range his consciousness can reach expanded to more than twice of before. He can even feel the potholes from the battlefield with the Regis.
Dante shook his head. He poked the solid shadow in the middle of Cofagrigus. This time, it felt more like biscuit flakes than a brick wall.
With one solid push, the dark barrier broke. Then, it started to expand, its color getting lighter and lighter.
On the outside world, Cofagrigus woke up with a scream. An excruciating pain attacked his whole body. Fortunately for him, Mawile knocked him out before he could experience it for a second longer.
Just as the Mega Pokemon was worried whether Cofagrigus had disturbed Dante once again, she felt something off.
From beneath her, a Blast Seed shot up from the ground. She sidestepped to dodge, when another item, this time a Cheri Berry, emerged from behind her.
All around the room, all kinds of items started to appear. If one looked closely, the point where these items appeared are from the shadows cast by the environment.
This was the scene Dante lay witness to when he emerged.
"Huh, so this is what happens if a shadow space is destroyed."
Dante muttered while glancing at the continuously spilling treasures. The phenomena lasted for a solid minute before it petered out. At this point, the items had piled up to increase the height of the floor of the room by more than half a meter.
"I'm so glad the Item Menu has an auto-sort function. Manually organizing these would be so tedious."
Dante said in relief. He conjured a platform under the items. Then, he lifted them into the air to funnel towards the Treasure Bag.
He did it six times before all the items in the room were finally placed inside the storage.
"You know, with so many items here, I'm starting to wonder whether he even had a treasure room in the first place."
Dante said playfully to Mawile. He can just imagine the look on Pikachu's face when he returned without finding any loot.
Sure enough, just as he was checking out the drops while chatting with Mawile, their other team members returned with a despondent expression.
"Bad news, Dan. This hallway only leads to a room near the entrance of the Mystery Dungeon. We groped the walls on our way back, but there were no hidden doors."
Pikachu's ears flopped against his head. His face scrunched in frustration as he glanced around the room.
"There should be another secret door here. Maybe can destroy the walls to check for them-"
"Hahaha, calm down. Mawile and I already found where the treasures are."
"Really!?"
Light returned in Pikachu's eyes. He stared eagerly at Dante, waiting for his explanation.
"Yup. And I've just finished sorting them out. Except for the berries, evolution stones, and other miscellaneous items, these are the most important."
Dante took out a pile of items in front of him. At this time, his face had a massive grin. As someone who lived for three thousand years and is connected to the final boss, he expected to gain a lot from Cofagrigus. And he wasn't disappointed.
Among the items that were in the shadow space, Dante obtained another Key Stone. And not only that, there were also the Mega Stones of Venusaur, Charizard, Slowbro, Scizor, Manectric, and Abomasnow.
Just this had him laughing out loud.
Then there were the Legendary remnants like the ones from Zapdos' treasure room. When he absorbed the Spectral Mist, which was part of Marshadow, his Ghost moves gained a 10% increase in power. In addition, he was also able to control Ghost-type energy more proficiently.
Azumarill, who absorbed the Primordial Seawater, obtained the same benefit just in regards to the Water-type. And now, they had all types of Legendary remnants. With this, everyone in the team could absorb one.
Dante even planned to see what would happen if they absorbed two or more. Is it possible for their moves to gain a 100% increase in power?
And then there were these two items:
Intrepid Sword: The sword wielded by the Legendary Pokemon, Zacian. When held by a Fairy-type Pokemon, it boosts their Attack by 10% every time they strike their opponent. (Maximum of 200%) At the same time, they have a chance to comprehend the move: Behemoth Blade.
Note: There are additional effects when held by the following Pokemon: Zacian
Dauntless Shield: The shield wielded by the Legendary Pokemon, Zamazenta. When held by a Fighting-type Pokemon, it boosts their Defense by 10% every time they block an attack. (Maximum of 200%) At the same time, they have a chance to comprehend the move: Behemoth Bash.
Note: There are additional effects when held by the following Pokemon: Zamazenta
A held item that increases the Attack or Defense just by fighting. And they can boost the initial stat by up to three times! Not to mention the possibility of being able to learn these powerful-sounding moves.
Dante already planned to give the shield to Riolu, the only Fighting-type Pokemon in their team. And for the sword...
He glanced at Mawile, Azumarill, and Ninetales, the three Fairy-types in his team. Mawile already has her Mega Stone, while Ninetales acts more of a support and a special attacker. So it seems his Golden Bunny will change his class from a brawler to a swordsman.
Thinking of this, Dante chuckled. Next time, Azumarill can cleave the clouds in two instead of punching a hole in them.
Shaking his head, he turned to the last, but arguably most important item he got from Cofagrigus. He smiled wickedly as he held up a remote control. Oh, this would change everything