The Pokémon items weren't particularly heavy, so Yuga and his group could carry them with ease as they left. However, the jewelry and valuables posed a challenge to transport immediately.
If Yuga were alone, he could have simply stashed them in his system backpack without any issues. But with others present, he faced a dilemma.
Fortunately, Marlon assured them that someone would come later to retrieve the items, so Yuga and his group entrusted the valuables to him.
As they exited the ruins, they encountered no further Pokémon attacks. Yuga had already captured the Litwick and Chandelure, while the Cofagriguss and Yamasks had learned their lesson from their encounter with Volcarona. Now, they only fled upon seeing Yuga.
Their exit from the ruins was smooth. After emerging from the water's surface of the pond, they officially left the ruins behind.
In reality, the ruins had other exits, which were typically used by Volcarona, Darmanitan, and the swarm of Woobat and Swoobat that inhabited the ruins for hunting.
However, these exits were well-hidden, making it difficult for anyone unfamiliar with the area to find them. Even though Volcarona had revealed the exit's location to Yuga, he couldn't verbalize it. Instead, they retraced their steps, navigating through the water pool to leave.
By the time Yuga and his group exited the water pool, night had fallen completely. They realized they had to hurry back to Castelia City if they wanted to make it to tomorrow's tournament in time.
For their return journey, they decided against using their Land Pokémon and instead opted for their Flying Pokémon for a direct flight. The Pokémon items were securely fastened to their Flying Pokémon.
Fortunately, the trip back was uneventful, and they encountered no nighttime Pokémon ambushes.
Upon arriving at their accommodation, it was already midnight. Each of them parted ways to return to their respective dormitories. Yuga, while no one was watching, stowed away the Reaper Cloths and Dusk Stones into his system backpack.
However, as Yuga reached the door of his own room, he spotted two people sitting on the ground outside. In the dim light of the streetlamp, he recognized them as Mayor Ishida and Liliana.
Seeing Yuga return, Mayor Ishida appeared with a face full of tears and said, "My little ancentor, you've finally returned! You nearly gave us a heart attack waiting for you!"
Yuga hadn't realized it was already this late. He had informed Mayor Ishida and Liliana of his departure from Castelia City, but he hadn't disclosed his destination. He had no idea he had kept them waiting for so long.
After leaving Castelia City, Mayor Ishida had been anxiously pacing like an ant on a hot pan. By nighttime, he had even contemplated giving up on the tournament the next day.
It had been an exhausting day for Mayor Ishida. After all, he had pinned his hopes on Yuga to bring honor to Verfanturf Town. The prospect of Yuga giving up the tournament after coming this far had nearly overwhelmed him with despair.
Wasn't it hard enough? Finally, there was a chance for Verfanturf Town to rise, but then this happened. It was truly heartbreaking.
However, Liliana understood Yuga's character well. She didn't believe he would easily give up on the tournament. So, she had been providing encouragement to Mayor Ishida and had waited with him all this time, even until midnight.
Fortunately, Yuga had returned, and Mayor Ishida and Liliana were on the verge of tears.
Realizing the reason for their distress, Yuga felt guilty and said, "I'm sorry for making you worry."
At this moment, Yuga began to think that he shouldn't have easily agreed to explore with Marlon and the others. At the very least, he should have waited until after the tournament before making such decisions. Acting recklessly without considering others' feelings didn't seem like the right thing to do.
It wasn't just Yuga who was feeling this way; the others in the group were also facing criticism from their fellow teams. They deeply realized the rashness of their journey.
Seeing Yuga apologize now, Mayor Ishida was in no mood to scold him. He was just relieved that Yuga had returned promptly. He even felt the need to thank his lucky stars, hoping that Yuga's upcoming match wouldn't face any unexpected setbacks.
Mayor Ishida patted Yuga on the shoulder and said, "Whether you apologize or not isn't important. What matters most now is that you get some rest and prepare yourself in the best condition for tomorrow's competition."
Facing Yuga, Mayor Ishida's fatigue was evident on his face, and this made Yuga feel even more guilty.
Yuga replied, "Don't worry; I'll do my best in the competition tomorrow. You should go rest as well."
Mayor Ishida chuckled, "That's good to hear. I'll leave you to rest then. Both Liliana and I are heading back."
After bidding farewell to Mayor Ishida and Liliana, Yuga also felt extremely tired. He quickly washed up in his room and then lay down to rest.
It had been an exhausting day for Yuga. The battle with the Shiny Cofagrigus had taken a toll on both his mental and physical strength.
However, the Pokémon had endured even more hardship. Before resting himself, Yuga made sure they had a good meal.
It was the first time Volcarona and Darmanitan had tasted human-made food, and they found it delicious. While the taste of Pokéblocks couldn't compare to the diverse and flavorful human cuisine, it was certainly better than the wild berrys they had been used to. Volcarona and Darmanitan thought it was heavenly, although this was largely due to their limited exposure to human food.
Volcarona and Darmanitan believed that they had made the right choice by following Yuga. If they had chosen to return to the wild, they couldn't be sure if they would have enough to eat every day.
Volcarona, despite its considerable strength, wasn't guaranteed to find a place with abundant food. Moreover, it had Darmanitan with it.
However, following Yuga meant they wouldn't have to worry about their livelihoods anymore. This thought made Volcarona and Darmanitan quite excited.
For wild Pokémon, the two most basic needs were food and reproduction. Now, following Yuga, they no longer needed to worry about their sustenance. It was no wonder that Volcarona and Darmanitan felt this way.
Having slept late the previous night, Yuga woke up feeling a bit drowsy the next morning. However, the thought of the tournament today dispelled his sleepiness, and he got out of bed.
Today's competition was crucial for Yuga and his group because it would determine whether they could obtain a Gym Leader position.
In the previous round, there were a total of 32 participants, and today's competition would decide the top 16 who would earn the right to become Gym Leaders.
While this number might seem fewer compared to previous years, the slots for the competition weren't fixed. It depended on the number of Gyms disbanded in the past years.
The Gym Leader qualification tournament was held every four years. The reason for the fewer slots this time was that there had been a minimal number of disbanded Gyms in the past four years.
This was seen as a positive development for the Pokémon League, indicating an overall improvement in Gym quality across different regions.