"A sacred Pokémon of Unovan descent," Shalin explained, recounting some of the details of the story the Lorekeeper Alexei Ivanov had told her. "It's an equestrian Pokémon with a big horn it wields like a sword. Might be the most nimble Pokémon on four legs. If I could pick one Pokémon to be my Patron, it would be Keldeo."

The question bore little thought. "Only one way to go, and it's through those Centiskorch. We fight only the ones we must, and leave the rest. Hyah!" With that, she spurred the Shiny Vaporeon forward, a WATER PULSE at the ready to carve a trail for Finn and herself to pass the aggressive fire-types. Though one did nick her and her mount with its blazing X-SCISSOR, the water-type's HYDRATION kept the skin from becoming too tender. It still hurt quite a bit, but the veil of water offered some protection against the fiery mandibles.

The longer they wandered, the more Shalin realized just how intricate the crater's tunnels were. Many of the rocky islands surrounded by magma were connected by pairs of one-way lava tubes of rock so dense that not even the heat of the crater would melt them. For every tunnel, it seemed there was a corresponding one that took them back to where they were; oftentimes, though, the pairs were nowhere close to one another.

After a copious amount of backtracking, Shalin and Rielle had led them to the tall slide at the one of the northernmost peaks of the crater. Provided Finn's timing was true, the two would be able to take the left fork, at last finding the way forward across a narrow cliff that would require the duo to withdraw their larger Pokémon and sidle across it. One false move could result in them going tumbling into the magma below.

The explorer is quick to scurry onto her Vaporeon's back once more, as the winding path took them to Death Crater's bottom level. The heat was seething, even suffocating for those not prepared with a water Pokémon or some other way to keep cool. Magma geysers, erupting like clockwork, sent thick slabs of rock with a much higher melting point into the air. With proper timing, it would be possible to leap across them, though the danger of splashing magma was a constant threat. With a Pokémon that could take the heat, air travel would be an option for crossing the magma lake as well, though several Volcarona, glowing bright as stars, would make that equally challenging. They all looked like they had HEAT WAVEs primed for discharge. "No wonder the ancients of Hoenn were confident the Halls of Origin would remain sealed for so long," she sighed, taking as deep of a breath as she could without inhaling too much of the burning air at a time.

Shalin nodded in agreement with Finn's decision to leave the Volcarona be. They were incredibly powerful bug-type Pokémon, one of the few insectile rides Shalin had not yet captured. Their wings fluttered in a blur, yet were almost silent, beating just below the threshold of human hearing in typical flight. If one heard a Volcarona's wings buzzing, the fire Pokémon was either taking flight, or it was on high alert. When she heard a low hum coming from them, she knew it was the latter. Finn's reckless antics caught the attention of the wilds, Faolan's EXTREME SPEED turning the Shadow Lucario into a magnet for their aggression.

While Shalin was worried for Finn and his Pokémon, she wasn't going to let this opportunity to cross relatively unscathed go to waste. She withdrew her Vaporeon for Letheia, an Alolan Ninetales whose bushy, snowy tails became coated with water in little time at all. Shalin thrust herself aboard, able to feel the fairy fox's wet fur below the saddle. "ICE BEAM, Letheia!"

The Ninetales reared, a cryogenic laser flying from her mouth and toward the free-floating slabs of rock her partner had crossed. While the ice bridge would not last for long, mist floating upward as it visibly melted, it lasted long enough for Pokémon and rider to cross. "And people call me crazy for riding on a giant Beedrill," Shalin panted as she safely crossed to a large, rocky island with another tunnel that took them beneath the crater. "We really are two different kinds of crazy, aren't we?" she sheepishly laughed, trying to break a different kind of ice.

After riding through another long and large lava tube that turned vertical, necessitating the use of her Flygon to climb it, Shalin found herself on the far west side of the crater, beyond where she had scouted with the insectile dragon previously. "Now we're cooking with gas!" she cried, pumping a fist. Flexing her arm muscles and invoking the immense strength her MACHO BRACE bestowed, the girl slid off her Pokémon's back and pushed the large boulder in front of her. With a loud splash, the thick and large piece of rock plugged the geyser that had blocked their way before.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/996935022286209055/1051780378999926835/OOT_Secret_Sound.mp3[/player]

"We did it," she sighed, still catching her breath somewhat from the breakneck pace her Ninetales had put her through. It looked like both Letheia and Sandy wanted to cool off for a bit before proceeding into uncharted territory. "We'll be able to get back here easily from the entrance, too. It makes me truly wonder if this place is completely natural. It seems too...sinister to be made by happenstance. I wonder who in Hoenn's ancient past had that kind of power..."

While it was a different kind of recklessness, Shalin and Finn resonated with one another well. "Finn, I like the way you think," she grinned. "I get the feeling this isn't the last time we'll meet." Oh Shalin, if she only knew she was trying to build a relationship with arguably the most dangerous criminal in all of Hoenn. Perhaps more so than declan walsh .

The new trail quickly took Shalin and Finn to another lava tube that ran parallel to the one that had just traveled across. Already tired of walking, she sent our Rielle, her Vaporeon, once more and took a seat atop the creature, keeping pace with the Harbinger or whatever mount he brought forth from his Pokémon team. "Convenient, yes, but terrifying to think of a civilization so advanced to be able to build tubes like this underneath, or even through, molten rock. You'd almost have to have a legendary Pokémon, like Entei, on your hands." It was the first, and only, fire-type legendary that came to mind, being a Johtonian by birth.

At the end of the long tube was a trail to the volcano's highest turret. The black dome and the basalt rock cliff surrounding the explorers nearly touched in places. As she and her Vaporeon climbed the narrow mountain pass, it is trivial to see a trail of Volcarona scales beneath them. These were far larger than the ones shed by the buzzing pests by the lava lake.

Out of the corner of her vision, Shalin caught a glimmer of a deep, red light. "What in the world..." She squinted toward it; while she was unable to make out the object, she could see just how much energy it was radiating. Though it was impossible to tell for certain, she had seen a similar glow seven times. "I can't tell for certain, but I think that's where the Medallion is at," she pointed to a peak on the southeast side of the sweltering hellscape. "I get the feeling figuring out how to get there is going to be the real problem." While it wasn't exactly a traditional COMPASS, it may as well have functioned like one.

The two worked well with one another; they were daring enough to visit Hoenn's most harsh environments, yet had enough of their wits about them to survive there. Being so far above the crater's liquid rock felt like being in an air conditioned room by comparison, despite the temperature still at a level much too elevated for humans and most Pokémon to survive for an extended period of time. Though she couldn't see it or feel it, the heat was starting to get to Rielle, small sections of the Shiny Vaporeon's tail becoming dry due to a small gap in HYDRATION. "Groudon's very possible," the water-type's rider nodded in agreement. "Yep! Onward we go!"

Another tunnel led upward, this one populated by Rolycoly-line Pokémon. At its exit, the girl covered her eyes; the light at its end was bright as the fun. If Finn's eyes could withstand the glare, he would be able to notice two red eyes from the center of the light giving both of them a death stare. Only one common Pokémon could do that: an Alpha Volcarona. The scales on the way up the trail meant it was overwhelmingly likely that the light source was one of the giant, burning moths. "So bright!" Shalin cried, bringing her Pokémon to a halt. Finn, with his knowledge, would have a better chance to prepare than Shalin would, simply riding her Vaporeon beyond the bright tunnel entrance.

Once the two emerged, the Alpha Volcarona would reveal its true form, buzzing its six wings and scattering its scales everywhere. Several piled up at the tunnel's entrance and beyond, preventing the two from escaping easily until they could defeat the blazing insect. The dry spot on Rielle's tail continued to spread as the latent temperature rose, making even Shalin a little dizzy. The bug-type then suddenly dove toward Finn with great speed in a FIERY DANCE!

Finn wasn't the only one the buzzing, fiery insect was after; when it found it could not touch the swiftly-moving fighter, it turned its attention to Shalin, overwhelming her and her Vaporeon with intense heat. Until her partner's Shadow Lucario came to her rescue, it felt like she was being cooked alive. Had she noticed exactly what Finn had done to get out of the way, she would have grown fearful of him. Thankfully for them both, she didn't; she was in survival mode herself, holding nothing back. The SHADOW WAVE and follow-up WATER PULSE grounded the red-eyed Pokémon. Even so, it continued to stir.

Tumbling over to right itself, the weak Volcarona flapped its wings more like a small bird than an insect. Its will to fight on was weak, its best chance at escape to try to take the two invaders with them. Many of the loose Volcarona scales exploded in pillars of flame, threatening to carbonize the bodies of those not protected from the heat in some fashion. In a desperation act of her own, Shalin hurled Treble's Poké Ball toward the Alpha Pokémon, the fighting-type quick to rake across the foe's heated body with a fiercely-vibrating DRAGON CLAW. Were Finn not overly knowledgeable about the species, it could have been frightening to listen to.

As the Alpha Pokémon passed on, its scales likewise vanished, though the largest one changed form into what appeared to be a rod with a blazing ruby at the end of it. Stumbling from her wounds, she lifted it out of the ground and examined it. As she pointed it in various directions, she noticed one of the flames its large jewel had faced had moved... retreated from the line trapping them in. Experimenting with it and swinging the ancient relic away from Finn, Shalin discovered that while it could not create flames out of nothing, it could manipulate existing flames. "While it will have limited use, being able to fan fire around seems like it will be really helpful here. More like a tool than a weapon proper."

You obtain the FIRE ROD! While it cannot create flames from nothing, it bestows upon its wielder the power to manipulate existing small flames. Watch your INFINITY ENERGY!

With her tool in hand, she took a rest at the peak's highest point, getting a good look at the crater beneath. She sent out her Shiny Espeon, Starr, who was quick to make a WISH for her trainer and for Finn. No command needed - she could see how hurt they both were. Once the deed had been done, she withdrew the Espeon and Kommo-o, leaving her next to her Vaporeon whose HYDRATION continued to keep her cool... but for how long?

"It's hard to remember everything about this place... do you recall any spots blocked off by flames? If you remember, it might be worth a look heading back. Not now, though... I need a little breather." Finn might have, too... until Starr's WISH came true.

"...You're right, Finn, there was! It would be worth a second look." With that, the two descended through the trail, finding it much less exhausting to travel downhill. After traversing back through magma tubes, the magma lake loomed beyond once more, the girl already sweating. With the Volcarona population greatly decreased, she felt comfortable soaring across the thermals on Sandy, her Flygon. The dragon-type caused ripples across the molten rock in the wake of her vibrating wings. Seeing several islets with flames blocking them, Shalin swing her FIRE ROD in their direction. A much larger gout of flames shout out from each of the small ones, displacing rocks at the top of each small cave mouth she aimed for.

Provided Finn was higher up, he could see lines of flame connecting each of the geographic features, creating an outline in the rough shape of the legendary Pokémon Entei's face. From her lower altitude, Shalin could not make out the shape.

The flames on all the islets receded, a hidden tunnel surfacing at its center, magma dripping on its outside. The tunnel is lit only by the colors of magma, Shalin quickly switching rides from Sandy to Letheia. She felt she had to save Rielle's strength and let the moisture build up on her skin again before bringing her into the hostile elements again.

[player]http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/Oracle/Oracle_Secret_Long.wav[/player]

Shalin began to huff, the heat getting to her. "Now... this takes us to the... northwest peak." As Finn sent out his own Alolan Ninetales, Letheia would gently bump snouts with the fellow ice-type if they allowed it. "Yours looks great too!" If his was big enough, maybe he'd be riding them, as well!

Beyond the end of the tube was another slide-like structure they could not fully see around, turning two separate directions at its end. This one, though, had plenty of steam vents to avoid! Cross-referencing her map, she pointed toward the tunnel exit they had encountered on the lower level. "I wonder if one of these shoots leads back there," she speculated aloud.

The mist did not go without appreciation, giving Shalin a chance to cool off. Their ice-type Pokémon wouldn't last forever, and with Rielle already starting to show signs of heat-related illness, they needed to move and make decisions quickly. While it would help prevent the formation of new burns, it wouldn't do much to ease the pain of the ones she already had. "Thanks for covering for me again. I wonder how many others in pursuit of power have lost their lives to this place..."

Following Finn's suggestion, Shalin got on her Ninetales' back, holding the ice-type's reins in one hand and the FIRE ROD in the other. "Where there's steam, there's bound to be fire. Best go in prepared!" With that, she guided her mount forward, finding it easy to turn down the steep, slippery tunnel thanks to sharp claws capable of gripping even the slickest ice. With ease, the two were able to maneuver around the many vents.

At the bottom of the tunnel, Shalin caught a faint glimpse of what appeared to be a flame at the bottom of a large pile of loose rock. "Stand back," Shalin advised, taking cover herself in the far corner as she lifted the FIRE ROD skyward. With a mighty explosion, the stones went flying mostly down the steep tunnel facing south, though a few went in the adventurers' direction. A particularly large one knocked the FIRE ROD out of Shalin's hand, though it thankfully bounced off the volcanic walls surrounding her and landed not far from her feet. A second explosion preceded loud rumbling from beyond where most of the avalanche fell.

"I don't know what that did, but it sounded big. Might be time to investigate the other side," she suggested. Unfortunately, there would be no easy way back to the top. Though there was a known path there, it was a long backtrack, and even Pokémon moves could only do so much to stave off the elements.