Just as Marlon had mentioned, the pond was indeed deep, with crystal-clear water. However, aside from the two Jellicent they had just captured, Yuga and his group didn't see any other creatures within the pond, except for some swaying aquatic plants.
It was only when they reached the bottom of the pond that Yuga and his group saw the entrance to the ancient relic that Marlon and Roxie had spoken of.
It appeared as a pitch-black opening, and in front of it was a blue barrier that kept the water at bay.
As Yuga and his group approached the blue barrier, they realized that it prevented them from passing through as well. When they reached out to touch the barrier, it felt like touching a layer of glass.
Observing this, Marlon took out a golden circular badge. The badge emitted blue beams of light that enveloped Yuga and his companions.
Now, when Yuga and his group touched the barrier again, they found it effortless to pass through the blue screen. As the blue light surrounding them merged with the barrier, Yuga and his companions passed through.
Inside the barrier, they found themselves in a corridor constructed of rocks. Although the air was quite humid, the barrier had prevented the pond water from seeping in.
"It's truly miraculous," Brawly marveled, brushing off the water from his clothes while looking at the golden circular badge in Marlon's hand.
Marlon adjusted her wet blue hair and said, "This circular badge is the key to this relic, which Roxie and I stumbled upon. We were quite startled the first time we entered."
"The wisdom of ancient people is truly remarkable," Sora chimed in, equally impressed.
Yuga suggested, "Let's proceed and explore."
The stone corridor ahead was pitch-black, devoid of any light. It was impossible to see its end at first glance. However, Marlon and the others had come prepared with lighting tools in their backpacks due to the damp environment.
Thanks to the lamps, Yuga and his group could clearly see that the corridor's walls were covered in green moss, and there was a musty smell in the air.
After walking a considerable distance, the light from their lamps seemed to attract some attention. Suddenly, they heard a cacophony of sounds, and a swarm of bats, including Woobat and Swoobat, flew towards them.
Woobat and Swoobat were Psychic-type and Flying-type Pokémon, and although their abilities weren't particularly outstanding, they were relatively rare outside. Yuga recalled that someone named Touya owned one. Surprisingly, there was a whole group of them here.
However, Yuga had no intention of capturing them, as they were incredibly fast fliers. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the dark corridor, making it challenging to locate them again.
The sudden appearance and disappearance of the bats startled everyone, but fortunately, these Woobat and Swoobat didn't seem to have hostile intentions. Given the narrow confines of the stone corridor, engaging in battle wouldn't be convenient.
Yuga wondered if this relic had other entrances or exits. Otherwise, how had these Woobat and Swoobat survived here? It didn't seem like there would be a source of food in this environment.
After walking past a flight of stairs, the stone corridor suddenly widened significantly. What was once a corridor barely wide enough for three people to walk side by side had now become spacious enough for a dozen people.
Not only had the width increased, but the height of the corridor had also grown substantially. What was once a two-meter-high passage had now expanded to an impressive four to five meters in height.
As soon as Yuga and his group stepped onto the widened corridor, a row of bright blue and purple candles on both sides of the walls ignited. The entire corridor was bathed in their light.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that these candles were actually Litwick, Pokémon of both Ghost and Fire types. They had flames on top of their heads resembling candles.
On both sides of the stone corridor, rows of candleholders were placed. These candleholders didn't contain regular candles or oil lamps but were occupied by Litwick.
As Yuga and the others gazed at these Litwicks emitting eerie blue-purple flames, an involuntary shiver ran down their spines. The atmosphere here felt distinctly sinister.
Despite the cute appearance of these petite Litwicks, they were not to be underestimated. With their tiny, bead-like eyes, they stared at Yuga and the others as they entered, giving off an unsettling vibe.
"When we came here last time, it was the same," Marlon explained. "However, these Litwick didn't attack us back then. We did see a Chandelure ahead, which seemed quite formidable. But fortunately, a Volcarona appeared at the time, so we decided to leave."
Marlon whispered an explanation to Yuga and his group.
Upon hearing this, they didn't disturb the Litwick further. Just as Marlon had described, the Litwick didn't attack them but rather observed them quietly as they continued deeper into the stone corridor.
As they ventured deeper, the distance from the Litwick grew, and the brightness within the corridor began to diminish. Yuga and his group had no choice but to activate their lighting tools once again.
However, as they walked out of the Litwick's range, they encountered something unexpected. On both sides of the corridor, there were elaborately patterned golden coffins.
Seeing these eerie coffins, Yuga found it very peculiar because he sensed a presence of life from them.
"Why are there so many coffins here? We definitely didn't see these during our last visit," Marlon exclaimed in surprise.
As Marlon finished speaking, these coffins suddenly emitted billowing black mist. Subsequently, they started moving, and long, skeletal arms extended from each side of the coffins.
When these coffins floated into the air and revealed their sinister eyes, Yuga and his group realized that these were not coffins at all; they were Cofagrigus, the Coffin Pokémon.
Unlike the passive Litwick they had encountered earlier, these awakened Cofagrigus immediately launched an attack on Yuga and his group. Clusters of eerie blue flames shot towards them like shooting stars.
"Get ready for battle!" Yuga shouted from the front. He released Chimecho and instructed it to use Safeguard.
Chimecho promptly created a green energy shield that blocked all the Will-O-Wisp attacks from the Cofagrigus.
While Chimecho defended, the others released their Pokémon and retaliated against the Cofagrigus with Water Spouts, Energy Balls, and Toxic attacks.
There were a total of eight Cofagrigus, and since they were known for their high Special Defense and Defense, the initial assault didn't do much harm. However, due to their sluggish speed, they made easy targets. Eventually, Yuga and his group managed to defeat them after a considerable effort.
Observing the defeated Cofagrigus on the ground, Brawly wondered, "Did we stumble into a nest of Ghost-type Pokémon? Why are there so many Ghost-types here?"
Marlon shook her head and replied, "I don't know either. Last time, we didn't venture this far, so we're not very familiar with the internal aspects of this relic."
Just as Marlon finished her sentence, the dark stone corridor suddenly illuminated, even brighter than the Litwick-lit section.
When Yuga and his group raised their heads, they saw a Chandelure hovering in the air. It had golden eyes and five ghostly blue flames on its lamp fixture, gently swaying, emitting an inexplicable eerie sensation.
The evolution of Woobat into Swoobat is based on friendship. However, as seen in the Pokémon Sword and Shield anime, where Pichu evolves into Pikachu through its relationship with Kangaskhan and its baby, wild Woobat can also achieve the required friendship with other members of their species to undergo evolution, without the direct involvement of a trainer.