1. Ash's Story (Part 7: Kalos)

Chapter 24: Ancient Power

Glittering Cave swallows the sunlight almost the moment we step inside.

The entrance behind us narrows into a pale shape, and the path ahead bends between black stone, luminous moss, and crystals bright enough to make the darkness shimmer instead of disappear. Every step echoes longer than it should. The cave smells damp, mineral-sharp, and old, like the ground has been saving secrets for longer than any map can remember.

Pikachu's ears twitch from my shoulder and his meaning reaches me in a careful spark. "The cave is beautiful, but beauty here does not mean safe."

Serena walks close beside me while Fennekin's ears tilt toward every sound. "The crystals are amazing."

Alexa raises her camera slowly. "Glittering Cave is worth an article by itself."

Terry stops before a wall where thin fossil shapes are trapped inside layers of stone. "Pictures are safe. Prying something out because it shines is not."

Calem looks toward the deeper tunnel. "The assistant should be somewhere inside."

"We find the assistant, get the key, and return to the Fossil Lab," Clemont says. "Simple in theory."

David glances at a distant rumble. "Caves usually dislike simple theory."

We move slowly after that, because the cave forces patience. There are narrow places where our shoulders almost brush the walls, then wide pockets where the crystals make the ceiling look like a night sky caught underground. Some of the crystal points reflect our faces in broken pieces. Every reflection looks slightly delayed, as if the cave is thinking before it lets us pass.

Bonnie grips Clemont's sleeve while Dedenne peeks from her arms. "It is pretty, but I do not want to get lost."

Clemont takes out a small light and checks the path marks. "That is why we stay together."

Elline points toward a patch of glowing moss growing beside an old fossil layer. "The light here is natural. That makes it beautiful, but it can also trick the eye. Bright spots make dark holes harder to see."

Serena nods and keeps Fennekin close. "Then no running."

Chespin looks like he wants to argue, but one glance into a dark crack beside the path changes his mind.

That rumble becomes clearer as we move. A wild Onix slides through a lower tunnel, its body scraping stone in a deep grinding rhythm. Farther ahead, two Rhyhorn push past each other near a crystal outcrop, their horns leaving fresh marks against the rock. We keep our distance, following Terry's advice and the path's natural curve.

Then something warm tugs at my aura.

I stop near a cluster of crystals where a round stone rests half-hidden in fossil grit. It has the strange inner shine I have learned to recognize since coming to Kalos.

"Check this out," I say, kneeling carefully. "It is another Mega Stone."

Calem crouches beside me. "I wonder what kind."

Before I can lift it, several heavy footsteps approach from the dark. Wild Kangaskhan emerge between the crystals, all staring at the stone. None of them attack, but every one of them watches me like a mother watching a stranger reach toward a child.

Elline lowers her voice. "That might be Kangaskhanite."

Serena nods slowly. "The Kangaskhan are reacting to it."

My own Kangaskhan's Poké Ball shakes once at my belt. I understand then. The stone is not only treasure. It is a bond calling to a family.

The largest wild Kangaskhan's meaning reaches me through her stillness. "That stone belongs to protection, not greed. If you take it, carry the bond with respect."