Theo was right on time; he swooped down to the south dock astride an impressive-looking Salamence. It reminded her of the one she was trying to raise. It was a lot of work; after all, dragons were some of the most prideful Pokémon around. The older trainer did have a minor misconception, though; as he was about to find out when the two reached the secluded entrance to the Forbidden Crypt, the Halls of Origin weren't here.

"Great you could join me, Theo," Shalin greeted as she led the two to the cliffside entrance on foot. It felt weird going on foot for so long, but the terrain was just too difficult for a large Pokémon to handle, and the entrance was just too difficult for a large flying mount to land at safely. As she approached the sign, she took out her stack of six of the Medallions of Eight, each one depicting a different legendary Pokémon. She spread them out in front of the sign warning the explorer and friend of the great danger they would be in. While she was making sure all her supplies were in order, she recounted her journey so far to Theo.

The green Gale Medallion, depicting Therian Tornadus; the black Night Medallion, depicting Yveltal; the cyan Glacial Medallion, depicting Articuno; the silver Chrome Medallion, depicting Regigias; the two-toned red-and-blue Mirage Medallion, depicting Volcanion; and lastly, the royal purple Meteor Medallion, depicting Rayquaza. Acquiring each of those was an unforgettable adventure.

"Only two remain. One is here, deep within the Forbidden Crypt. Getting permission to come here was a nightmare, but I get the feeling this is going to be even more of a nightmare. The other one is somewhere in Mount Chimney, but the heat there makes it hard to make headway on finding it. Then there's a matter of sneaking back into Lake Sootopolis. I'm sure they won't let me back in there again easily..."

Once she had made sure all of her supplies were in order, Shalin sent out her Alolan Ninetales, Letheia, who looked like ready to fight whatever stood in her way. She climbed aboard the Fairy-type fox, who was at last warming up to the idea of being ridden. "It took a long time for me to befriend her. She's the same one from the Crystal Trench." Even tamed now, she could buck and thrash just as hard as she did then.

The entry chamber to the Forbidden Crypt contained statues of nine ghost-type Pokémon whose eyes seemed to stare at the two the whole time they were there. Included among them were Mismagius, Dusknoir, Gengar, and others. The girl's skin was already tingling at how haunted the place seemed to be. While exploring Mount Chimney was more physically oppressive, this was a mental and spiritual mess. She bravely coaxed her Ninetales forward, whom she could also tell was on edge.

The torch light past the statues did not come from natural colors, either; all of them glowed various reds, blues, and purples; the colors of WILL-O-WISPS. The four torches were inaccessible from their current location, encased in a rectangular wall of souls that split the room in two. Shalin peered across it, and could have sworn she saw more torchlight at the bottom of a pit there. On the inside of the wall of souls was a rotting, wooden chest.

To the east was a door under lock, chain, and key. "I'm glad I came with you; I would n-n-never have been able to come here by myself," Shalin stuttered. Was she scared of the paranormal?

Theo's Carbink helped with the lighting situation, though the extra illumination didn't make the tomb any less creepy. The decor featured lots of eerie shades of purple associated with ghost-type Pokémon. "Thanks, Theo," Shalin replied in appreciation. "That helps a lot." The bright light shed by the Carbink illuminated their direct surroundings, but much of the rest of the large, rectangular room split in two by the wall of souls was still dimly lit.

"I... yes." she paused. "I've had some very bad experiences with Ghost-type Pokémon before. Maybe if I found one I could fly on, it would help." If it wasn't obvious from how much they had traveled together, this girl truly was born in the saddle. "But what Ghost-types could even...?" There was Drifblim, but that was a Pokémon that was at the mercy of the wind. And without a way to control the wind, there was no point in being on one. She shook her head. "I should be fine with you, though."

As Shalin led the way around the tall of souls, there were several WILL-O-WISPs surrounding the wooden chest. Could the chest itself have been haunted? Either way, she had to get to the other side of that wall first. Unwilling to touch it directly, Shalin pulled out an unlit torch she had brought in case there were rooms that were totally dark. She slowly raised it toward the wall. When the two made contact, she could not push the torch forward any more. It appeared solid as stone.

Shalin stowed her torch and sent out Treble, her Kommo-o. "Try your CLOSE COMBAT," she asked of her Pokémon, who obliged. He shoved his fist into the wall, and it didn't move one bit. Not even as much sound from the impact. Growing frustrated, Treble started vibrating the scales surrounding his fists, and with a great deal of vigor at that. While it wasn't deafening like a full CLANGING SCALES attack would be, it was loud enough to drown out any conversation the two may have had going on. Not one bit of grinding noise, just the rattling of scales and the deep hum from the vibration that came with it.

"Seems like it's impervious to Pokémon attacks," Shalin observed, recalling Treble. "I've got one more thing I want to try." She sent our her green-furred Espeon. "Try to use your ALLY SWITCH with the chest!" With a cry, Starr glowed white...to no avail. The chest did not so much as glow white, nor did it move an inch. "Warded against teleportation, too..." she sighed, walking around the wall of souls and north into a chamber so dim that she could only see a row of objects that appeared to be tombstones arranged in a grid. Only the Carbink's light let them see at all, and even then, it appeared to be partially suppressed.

Not wanting anything more to do with that creepy room, Shalin and Letheia pushed further onward. No more than a split second after entering a chamber filled with debris on the west and north sides, a large coffin in a prominent spot close to the center of the room, a haunted-sounding voice echoed within:

"Be GoNe BeFoRe THe FiReS Go ouT, oR eLSe..."

When the first of four purple torches extinguished less than a second later, she high-tailed it out as quickly as possible, panting, her face flush. "What...w-w-w-w-what was that?!"

"Right, Dragapult!" Shalin answered with a smile, the first time she had genuinely smiled since entering the musty crypt. "I totally forgot about them! They were discovered recently, so they didn't come to mind right away." While it could be dangerous, the idea of being able to go ethereal with her Pokémon was exciting to think about. It could potentially open up entire new worlds to explore!

Grabbing a Poké Ball from her belt, Shalin sent out her Espeon, Starr, whose green fur radiated a bright light that illuminated much of the room for a second or two. She could have sworn she heard a ghostly shriek, which caused her to flinch sharply. Her hair stood on end, but she didn't make any noise. The Espeon, who was around the girl's height, mewed at Theo. "Starr, shed some light on that coffin with your DAZZLING GLEAM!"

As commanded, the psychic-type stood in the door frame, pointed her forked tail toward the room's center. A bright light pierced the room's darkness for a few seconds, revealing that another wall of souls surrounded the area the coffin was in on all sides but the far one. Furthermore, the back half of the room was filled with heavy-looking debris, making it all but impossible for the two to reach the coffin in time before all the lights went out. She did notice one way forward; a path to the east of the coffin room was not obstructed in any fashion. "Looks like we can go this way," she pointed out, recalling Starr. There was ample time for the two to make it, whether mounted or not.

Provided Theo would follow her lead, the two would be in a hall with similar lighting conditions to the entrance, as well as similar-looking statues of Ghost-type Pokémon whose eyes seemed to follow Shalin's and Theo's movements. These were arranged in a grid-like fashion with just enough room for Letheia to walk between them, single-file. The exception was the four in the center, whose red eyes flickered like strobe lights.

Four Alolan Marowak, appearing translucent, phased through the central statues and started twirling their flame-tipped bones. The leader of the four, who was Shiny, was by far the most mobile and unpredictable. The female wild twirled her bone-staff with great skill, launching green fireballs down a column of the grid in both directions, the close quarters making dodging difficult. One fireball struck Letheia in the back and grazed Shalin, the fairy-type rearing sharply after the INCINERATING projectile struck her.

It seemed like Theo and Shalin were on the same page about Dragapult. Was going into the ethereal really that different from teleporting astride Starr? In her eyes, not really! It would just take a little practice. More of a challenge would be in getting such a creature fitted. That wouldn't be her problem; it would be the tanner's probably. Of course, it would be expensive to get such an exotic Pokémon geared to mount. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Theo was quick on the draw, the STONE EDGE barrages slicing three of the four Alolan Marowak to shreds. That left just one for the rider to deal with. "Letheia, AQUA TAIL!" Shalin shouted. The ice-type sharply about-faced, trying to wrench her partner off in the process with a powerful kick. The recoil was strong enough to cause one of the girl's hands to slip from the reins as nine water-covered tendrils, all extensions of the Fairy-type's tails, slammed the wild. Their green flames hovered toward torches in the corners of the room. lighting the room up and revealing a wild Klefki in hiding. The small Steel-type circled Theo, then Shalin, a particularly large silver key hanging in the center of its keychain.

You got a SMALL KEY! This key will open any one lock. You can use it only in this dungeon.

With the small mischief lover willing to follow them, Shalin and Letheia led the way back to the long room with the wall of souls surrounding its center, gesturing for the wild to do its work. Floating down to the door under lock and chain, it inserted the key into the lock and turned, the four chains falling limp as the lock was released.

Another dim passage followed, this one more narrow than the others. Theo and Letheia able to walk next to each other, but not with a lot of room to maneuver. Furthermore, it was dark; there was just barely enough light to be able to see where they were walking. "Letheia, use your DAZZLING GLEAM!" Shalin buried her face in her hands to shield herself from the bright light. From the glimpse she caught, it looked like there were two torches surrounding a tombstone on the upper level of the extremely dark, tombstone-filled room they were in before.

With there not being enough room for both her Pokémon on the small ledge, Shalin was forced to withdraw Letheia and switch mounts to her Pyroar. Due to how stale the air was in the enclosed space, she had to be very sparing with fire attacks. Here, she felt it was needed. "Kiara, light them up with your FLAMETHROWER!" With a loud purr, the lioness did as asked, deeply inhaling before breathing two plumes of fire toward the large box torches, lighting them. An ethereal Hisuian Zoroark rose from within the tombstone the torches surrounded, holding in its hands the shield and sword forming an Aegislash. Moments later, a distorted voice pervaded the minds of the explorers:

"TRyiNG To BReaK My CuRSe, aRe You?! DoN'T Be SiLLy! i WoN'T LeT You!"

With a cackle, the Zoroark lunged toward Theo, sword pointed right at him...

Carbink's MOONBLAST earned an otherworldly cry of pain from the Zoroark, forcing both of them to fade into the ethereal. The two reappeared behind Shalin, backstabbing Kiara with its SACRED SWORD while the blade's wielder. In her pain, she bucked Shalin off, sending her flying over her mount's head and down to the lower level. The phantom knight followed her to the ground and pinned her, then raked across her body with claws filled with BITTER MALICE. Were it not for the BLUE VEST she wore after having acquired it from the Mirage Palace's freezing attic, it would have bled both her body and her soul!

Shalin struggled to her feet. Even if the claws didn't pierce her body directly, the impact of the strike against her protective gear was far from painless. While she couldn't fight from the saddle with Kiara in such poor shape, she was far from helpless. She still had her AVIAN BOW. Even if the Aegislash's shield could easily deflect even a Djinni-blessed Flying-type projectile, it would serve as a diversion.

She caught a glimpse of the duo out of her peripheral vision, her gaze immediately shifting their direction and letting a wind-coated arrow fly toward them. The ghost-type raised its shield to deflect Shalin's attack, only to leave themselves wide-open for a gout of FLAMETHROWER that left Kiara short on breath.

"NoT BaD! BuT iT WoN'T Go So WeLL NeXT TiMe!"

The Zoroark and Aegislash made a tactical retreat, fading into the ethereal and out of sight of all but ghost-type Pokémon. Kiara limped toward her trainer in a trail of blood from her rear. "You okay?" Shalin asked, to which she only received heavy breathing as a response. She walked around to her Pyroar's rear and noticed a nasty, deep wound the Aegislash left. This would certainly incapacitate her if left alone. "Starr!" the explorer released her green-furred Espeon, the only one of her Pokémon that did not wear a saddle or reins. "Make a WISH for Kiara's recovery!" The Espeon's forehead gem glowed red, then green. A full ten seconds passed before a green light washed over the lioness, the bleeding stopping. It wasn't a perfect cure, though; the cut itself was still open. She would have to watch her back well.

"You deserve a rest, Kiara. Return!" Shalin recalled her Pyroar and hopped on her Espeon's back instead. The psychic-type Eeveelution was on the small side for a mount Pokémon; the short distance between the tips of her shoes and the ground showed that much, but there was enough for her to comfortably be atop Starr. Without Kiara's mane, visibility would drop, though she still had Fairy-type attacks that could be a pinch light source if need be.

With the phantom's curse being lifted, the brightly lit coffin room stayed that way.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/713972277909389405/1044300456794529812/secret_sound.mp3[/player]

There was a lot more to the room than initially met the eye, as well; Shalin took a left, finding a cliff guarded by yet another wall of lost souls, solid as iron to the living. Beyond the wall was a large chasm, above which floated a small, glinting object she could not recognize. While it was impossible to tell how far the drop was, it could not have been too far, as there were flickering lights visible at what she presumed to be the bottom.

What was more immediately interesting, though, was a wooden study desk that was so derelict that it looked like it could fall apart at any moment. Pinned to it was a MAP of some kind. "Hey Theo, can you get a little light on this? It looks like it's a map, and I want to take a snapshot of it." Provided her partner would be able to supply a light that was not too intense, she would take a photo of it. Upon further examination, it appeared to be of the very cave network the two were in!

You got the MAP! The dark rooms are the ones you haven't been to yet.

With knowledge of the cave's layout at their disposal, planning a route to the Medallion would be a lot easier. "If what's happened in my other trips to similar places holds true, there should also be a compass to go with this map. If we can find it, that will help a lot." She still had a big task of her. With the walls of souls blocking the most direct path to the large coffin, the only way to access it had a lot of debris in the way. It would take time to clean out, but the two certainly had the Pokémon to get to it. She dismounted Starr and had her partner ALLY SWITCH with some of the largest pieces of debris, including some neither she nor the Espeon would have been able to move by hand.

The Carbink and Espeon worked together to clear a path through the heavy debris that would have required inhuman strength for the two to move out of the way alone. It was strength Shalin's scrawny body certainly couldn't exhibit. Viewing the coffin from the rear, it wasn't a coffin at all; the bottom of it had been removed, hiding a staircase to a lower level of the Forbidden Crypt! Down the two went, the Shiny Espeon surrounding her rider with a telekinetic field to make the rough ride a little smoother for her.

At the bottom of the stairs was an entrance to a wide hall, the center of which was littered with eight Golurk that appeared to be inert. She guided Starr to the east half of the hall, which was so dark it was difficult to see. "DAZZLING GLEAM, Starr!" The bright flash of light revealed a large switch that appeared to be rusted, with some corners on the upper level. She could not see around them in the brief moments of light the Espeon was able to provide; all she could see was the rusted metal switch in the southeast corner. Even with the combined weight of the green Pokémon and rider, it wasn't budging.

Turning back to explore the other side, Shalin checked her map and noticed they were directly underneath the room where she had previously found said map. She withdrew Starr and sent out Queen Zing, her Beedrill. "Cover your ears, Theo. This is gonna get rough," Shalin warned as she put her pair of earplugs in. She climbed between the giant insect's wings, her skin tingling as the drone of her mount's wings reverberated at deafening volumes, the echo serving as an amplifier. The two bobbed toward the ceiling, circling the side of the wall of souls she could only see through from the upper level. Her eyes caught the glint of a SMALL KEY hanging by a thread.

"TWINEEDLE, Queen Zing!" Shalin commanded. "Knock it down!" The giant wasp pointed her foreleg stings just above the metallic object, making a last minute trajectory adjustment using the power of her BEEDRILLITE to strike the thread squarely. All it took was one loud clink for the Klefki circling Theo to fly toward it and place it on its ring.

You got a SMALL KEY! This key will open any one lock. You can use it only in this dungeon.

With both of the sides of the hall leading to dead-ends with their current knowledge and equipment, the only way forward was through the south entrance. In its center was a coffin very similar to the first one, and it wasn't masking anything from the angle Shalin was standing at. It would be easily visible to Theo, as well, if he was anywhere close to her and the Espeon. The far side's passageway was locked, the Klefki pleading with Theo to let it unlock the door for him.