However, how could Audino possibly have let it escape?
Audino radiated a large-scale Dazzling Gleam, bursting forth like a pink sun. The stone figurines turned into powder, akin to snow meeting the winter sun.
Similarly affected by the magical radiance, Dusclops couldn't successfully escape and instead ended up heavily wounded, lying on the ground.
During this time, while the curse's effect persisted, with Chimecho continuously using Heal Pulse on Audino, it not only emerged unscathed but also became more spirited.
Struggling to rise from the ground, Dusclops realized it couldn't escape. Its expression grew more ferocious, and the red light in its lone eye flickered intensely.
Audino's gentle nature led it to attempt communication with Dusclops, but it proved fruitless.
As communication failed, Dusclops's expression turned increasingly sinister, and it prepared to attack Audino again. Seeing this, Chimecho employed a gravity skill to suppress it.
However, the gap in their strengths was too vast. In the blink of an eye, Dusclops broke free from Chimecho's gravitational suppression and unleashed a fire punch towards Audino.
Yet, Audino managed to evade the attack. While Chimecho's gravity suppression had only lasted an instant, it was enough time for Audino to react.
Dodging Dusclops's fire punch, Audino countered with a fire punch of its own. Already heavily injured, Dusclops lost its ability to fight.
As Dusclops fell, all the stone figurines seemed frozen in place, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
With the stone figurines stopped, Yuga, panting heavily, resembled a fish out of water. Floette also lay exhausted on Yuga's head, not moving.
Although these stone figurines weren't strong and were fragile, their sheer number was overwhelming. Even with sturdy bodies, they couldn't help but be fatigued.
The Swellow, which had been flying in the air, descended to the ground, looking equally worn out. The exhaustion wasn't limited to their physical bodies; their taut mental state was equally taxing.
Yuga used a Poké Ball to capture the unconscious Dusclops and securely locked the Poké Ball's latch.
However, don't misunderstand—Yuga didn't intend to keep it. While Dusclops met Yuga's qualifications, it was simply too terrifying, not to mention its eerie and horrifying nature. Since it couldn't be communicated with, Yuga had no desire to keep such a huge problem around.
The reason for placing it in the Poké Ball and locking it was merely to prevent it from causing trouble upon waking.
Yuga found a spot in the square-like space, casually dug a hole, and buried the Poké Ball containing Dusclops. What would become of Dusclops from now on was beyond Yuga's concern.
After burying Dusclops, Yuga looked at the scattered stones and bones, as well as the intact stone figurines, feeling that the people who built these figurines were truly cruel.
Counting them, there were at least thousands of these stone figurines, densely packed in the entire square-like space. This implied that there were thousands of human remains here.
Just the thought of it sent shivers down one's spine.
"We should leave quickly; this place gives off an extremely unsettling feeling."
Yuga believed that the reason Dusclops had become must be related to these remains. Perhaps the heavy resentment in this place had affected Dusclops, rendering it devoid of reason.
Holding Floette, Yuga hurriedly left the area with Audino and the others.
After leaving the square space, Yuga released the previously incapacitated Absol and gave medicine to it. He also had Audino use Heal Pulse on it.
Upon waking, Absol felt ashamed of being defeated upon first encounter and blamed itself for not adequately protecting Yuga.
Yuga gently touched its soft fur and said, "It's not your fault. It's my mistake. I acted recklessly without properly understanding the enemy's identity and strength, putting you in danger and causing you harm. The one who should apologize is me."
Absol shook its head and licked Yuga's cheek with its tongue, indicating that it didn't blame Yuga.
Amused by its gesture, Yuga laughed heartily, "Let's not apologize to each other. The days ahead are long, so let's both keep striving."
Saying this, Yuga extended his right hand.
Absol stared at Yuga's hand for a moment, and then, with a resolute expression, placed its paw in Yuga's palm.
At this moment, Floette, in Yuga's arms, emerged and placed its small arm, not yet the size of a human finger, on Yuga's hand alongside Absol's paw.
Seeing Floette in this manner, Yuga burst into laughter and ruffled its tiny head, saying, "Floette, why are you so adorable!"
Unhappy about Yuga patting its head, Floette pushed Yuga's hand away and flew onto Yuga's head, ignoring him.
Meanwhile, Audino, Swellow, and Linoone watched Yuga and the others interact harmoniously, unsure of their feelings.
After a brief rest, Yuga and the group continued exploring, leaving that place behind.
After wandering for who knows how long, they arrived at a room-like space adorned with various murals on its walls.
Most of these murals depicted scenes of humans and various battles between Pokémons, clashes between two armies, and scenes of personal worship.
The armies depicted in the murals rode on various Pokémons, with a majority consisting of Houndooms, Camerupts, Gliscors, Flygons, and Aggrons. Among these, Gliscors were the most numerous, followed by Flygons, while Aggrons were the least in number, but each rider seemed like a commanding general.
Although these murals had become somewhat blurry over time, the initial attention to detail remained evident in most of the content.
Seeing these murals, Yuga finally became entirely convinced that this was an ancient ruin, and it had likely existed for a considerably long time.
While observing, Yuga suddenly spotted a section of text amidst the numerous murals.
However, this text was in Ancient Pokémon Script. Yuga had only seen it in history books during school, and even then, it was just in pictures. His original self didn't recognize half of it, let alone Yuga himself.