"Kinda had to ignore them when they're everywhere."

The sand here was coarse, rough, and it got everywhere. It was a lesson he'd learned two times now, and the third time just served as a reminder. And the sun's oppressive rays forced him to forgo his beloved striped sweater - replaced with a striped t-shirt and a whole lotta sunscreen on the arms.

And a wide-brimmed hat to cover the head.

"Nah, you're right; there's a lotta Bug-y Ultra Beasts here. And crypts. And invisible statues that ask you riddles. Pretty sure we got a ghostly Landorus around here too."

Uxie let out a small hum of agreement, while Rocky merely kept its eyes forward, watching out for any threat. The Lycanroc was much more suited for the heat, though Uxie was managing well with a bucket hat of its own.

"Wonder which one we'll find this time."

Eris Halla

"Invisible invisible. Like, my Pokemon and the people I've been here with saying they can't see stuff."

Didn't make too much of a difference for him; he went off what he felt. It just meant he had less warning from the Pokemon (and people) that could give any.

Uxie nodded as Eris looked to it for confirmation - it was the truth.

"We actually did run into Landorus a couple of times! CIAN MAHER seemed really intent on getting them to stay with him!...though, Landorus was violent every time we encountered it. Also, it's a ghost, so I dunno if it's safe to bring outta here."

Granted, Melody Miro was able to get Meloetta (or a shard of it) out of the Mechanical Kingdom, so who knew what was possible?

Uxie informed Hideo that they'd found something - because Eris hit it foot-first

"It also keeps popping up in random places. Like, first it was in a tomb, then it was in a bunch of invisible ruins. I got no idea where it'll pop up again…though I guess we could check this place out? Rocky, mind giving us a bit of a layout?"

His Lycanroc let out a small grunt of affirmation, kicking sand up at the structure. Even if the structure was invisible, the sand could still be seen on it; it'd let them at least get an idea of what they were dealing with.

Though as they'd see, it was a tall structure, with nothing to stand on. There seemed to be some divots that they could place things into…

"Any chance you spot something we could put in these? Think Cian was able to unlock some stuff before, but he already had some seals on him to put in."

07 involve the discovery of ancient obelisks that possess holes for missing seals.

Eris Halla

"That's what Uxie said they were. I don't have any caught, and I dunno where we'd find them, in a desert as dry as this one."

If Eris didn't make the joke, he would; she snooze, she lose.

"I dunno, maybe? Both times, we were in ruins, so maybe it was protective over them…but not like there was any life other than us there." None that he was aware of, anyways. "No idea what it wants in a place like this. I know for sure it wasn't trying to make life here. Seemed more intent on taking life."

Could just be a vengeful spirit lashing out at anyone and everyone it could find - but then how did it get here in the first place?

Just another mystery to throw onto the pile.

Rocky ran over when Reiner called him over, aiding in digging (because what dog would refuse a request to dig a hole?). Uxie, meanwhile, watched as the kids' Pokemon and Mesprit dug down, looking for whatever was down there; it'd let them do the manual labor.

As they worked, Hideo noticed a strange noise in the distance. He cupped an ear, listening out for it. "Weird…kinda sounds like a battle's going on? I'm hearing attacks go off. Doesn't sound like anything Landorus's done yet."

Eris Halla

"Weird place for Landorus to die," Hideo said, trying to listen for those strange noises again - to no success. "Nothing's too alive around here, so I dunno why it's even here. Unless it was sent here to die."

He wasn't left with much more than speculation at this point.

A different noise caught his attention, one Eris took notice to. "Well, plenty of sun for it to work with," Hideo joked.

Uxie floated closer to the sundial, observing behind closed eyes. It watched as Eris brushed against the dial - and completely changed the time of day.

Naturally, all relayed to Hideo.

"That's…the opposite of what a sundial is for, isn't it? They tell time, not change it."

Uxie couldn't resist the temptation, brushing the sundial the opposite way Eris had done - reverting the time of day back to what it was before.

And then did so ago, the shadows moving as the time of day went back further.

"Gotta wonder who made something like that. Pretty powerful if it can change-"

Something flew through the sky, landing in the sands nearby. Hideo's Lycanroc immediately positioned in front of Hideo, ready for whatever just fell.

And once the sand settled, it'd be clear to see what it was: a Pheremosa, who seemed to have just been in a battle.

No, wait - Hideo could hear buzzing wings approaching fast; it was still in a fight with a Buzzwole.

"Ah crap," Hideo muttered.

Uxie, meanwhile, was preoccupied looking over the sundial, granting a passing glance at the incoming battlers so it could tell Hideo what they were.

Eris Halla

The two Ultra Beasts duked it out, Hideo's Lycanroc standing guard in case either decided to go for a different target.

Hideo was content to just let them fight - until that sudden Earthquake from the Buzzwole caused the sand around them to start shifting. "Ah shit," Hideo muttered, nearly losing his balance as he could feel the sand flow around his legs.

Fortunately, his Lycanroc was quick on its feet, chomping the back of his collar and pulling him away from being buried alive, dragging him to the sundial.

And the Pheremosa soon followed, for it was struck in the sundial's direction. Seemed it wasn't faring too well in this fight.

And that meant the Buzzwole was approaching them.

"Shit shit shit shit," Hideo muttered, trying to regain his balance, holding onto the sundial's platform for dear life. Uxie seemed more interested in playing with the sundial, and knew full well his Lycanroc wouldn't fare well, considering the one time he'd been around to witness a Buzzwole fighting. "Eris, we gotta-"

And yet, before they could get involved in a fight, Uxie pressed on the sundial one more time - this time, doing a full rotation. A bubble appeared around the platform, covering Hideo and Eris and their Pokemon.

Before, the time of day merely changed, the sun moving at their command; now the land itself moved back, the sand going back in place - and the Buzzwole was nowhere to be seen.

The bubble popped a moment later, the timeshift complete. Uxie giggled, looking around at the sudden change.

"...oh. Ok." A little anticlimactic, but a battle they never had to fight was about as good as a victory. "Guess we're alright then? Least we didn't have Landorus to-"

He could hear his Lycanroc growling, standing beside him. A sign there was still something there.

And sure enough, Uxie told him as much: everything within the bubble was still here. Including the Pheremosa. Tired, confused, looking around - but still there.

"...oh."

Eris Halla

It was an uncomfortable standoff - and an incredibly one-sided one. Both quadrupedal Pokemon were ready to throw down with the Pheromosa, but the Pheromosa was almost completely disinterested in either of them, instead focused on looking around and assessing the area around them. The only attention it gave the pair was enough so that it didn't step on either Pokemon or their trainers.

Hideo uncomfortably stood there, waiting for something to happen.

Eris urging Reiner to stand down was enough to get Hideo to do the same. "R-right. We're just here to look around! We don't gotta fight!" He knelt down to his Lycanroc. "C'mon Rocky, let's just let'em go."

His Lycanroc didn't break its gaze towards the Pheromosa, but the Lycanroc gradually backed off - pushing Hideo back as well.

The Pheromosa started to walk off, to go look for its herd…

Until Uxie floated over to it, chatting up the Ultra Beast. Its words were incomprehensible to the two kids, but to the other Pokemon, they'd know that Uxie was trying to talk it into coming along with them.

Rocky was not enthused by this prospect, looking at the pixie with an incredulous stare.

But the moment Uxie mentioned the prospect of not having to struggle for food or water in this desert, and would have even stronger opponents to fight, the Pheromosa paused.

A moment of consideration passed, Uxie offering a few more words.

The Pheromosa turned to the group, Uxie floating over to Hideo and offering a thumbs-up for all that could see.

For the one who couldn't see, Uxie applied that thumbs-up to his cheek.

"Uxie, what'd you-" The mental explanation followed afterwards, the boy now aware that the Pheromosa was going to follow with them outside.

"...Uxie, you gotta ask me that stuff first."

The pixie answered with a grin.

Eris Halla