Arriving at the former location of the giant seal stone, John spotted a purple stone slab embedded in the sunken earth, bearing a white ghostly symbol.
"This can't be..." John took a sharp breath and quickly picked up the slab, immediately checking its properties on his Pokedex.
[Spooky Plate: One of the creation slabs. The holder becomes immune to and can absorb Ghost-type effects. Ghost-type move power increased by 500%.]
"It really is the Ghost-type creation plate!" John's grin stretched ear to ear.
When his treasure detector had given readings earlier, he'd wondered what could possibly rank higher than legendary Pokemon items.
Now it made perfect sense, there were no other items except Arceus's world-creating plates that could reach this level.
Moreover, what else could radiate Ghost-type energy purer than the Spirit World itself, except the very Ghost-type plate used to create the world? Perhaps the Spirit World itself was formed by Arceus using the Spooky Plate.
Whether in anime or games, there were very few descriptions of the Spirit World's origins. John had no way of knowing the complete truth.
But compared to the Spirit World's mysteries, John was even more puzzled by something else, why hadn't Zoroark taken the plate?
If Zoroark had been equipped with the Spooky Plate, its Ghost-type power would have increased fivefold. Even using every trick in his arsenal, John might not have been able to defeat it.
He couldn't figure it out, but decided to let it go for now.
He'd use a Soothe Bell later to ask Zoroark what had happened.
"I think when we get back this time, John, you owe us dinner," Harrison said, hands on his hips with his head tilted.
John quickly secured the Spooky Plate in his backpack before turning around in agreement.
"Absolutely! What would you like to eat, Harrison?"
"Then I want the works, premium lobster, kobe steaks, and some vintage wines."
"Deal! Order whatever you want!" John agreed proudly. It was just dinner, how much could it possibly cost?
The harvest from this trip was unprecedented: an ancient Zoroark and a creation-level item, the Spooky Plate. Either one alone would drive people insane with envy.
"But before that dinner, we need to explore the Sanctuary a bit more. Your Pokemon are pretty cool, I want to catch one too!"
Damian nodded in agreement. "These extinct Pokemon... we should find as many as possible. Through breeding programs, we could help them reproduce in this world again."
John couldn't help but chuckle.
Finding another Zoroark, huh?
The Hisuian form Zoroark should be able to breed with normal Dark-type Zoroark. But John remembered seeing that the one he'd captured was male.
Even if bred with an ordinary Zoroark, the offspring would probably just be normal Dark-type Zoroark.
He could only hope there really was a female Hisuian Zoroark somewhere in the sanctuary.
"Alright, let's search the sanctuary thoroughly."
The three left the cave. Before departing, John had Gardevoir scan the entire cavern with Psychic to confirm no treasures were missed, then they departed. Once John had secured the Spooky Plate, Psychic-type moves became usable again.
Apparently, the Spooky Plate was the reason Psychic-type moves couldn't be used in the sanctuary.
This wasn't reflected in the Spooky Plate's attribute panel, and John speculated it might be due to Ghost-type's natural resistance to Psychic-type.
But it was just a theory, he'd test it slowly after returning home.
Damian and Harrison didn't ask about what John had discovered and pocketed.
Although no one had explicitly discussed exploration protocols for this ancient sanctuary, everyone understood and silently followed the principle of "finders keepers."
Leaving the cave, everyone began searching the entire ancient sanctuary for more Zoroark.
Without the Spooky Plate suppressing Psychic-type abilities, their exploration speed of the ancient sanctuary improved dramatically.
In less than an hour, they'd explored the ancient sanctuary, an area comparable to a small province.
No Hisuian Zoroark were found. However, more Basculegion like the one Damian had captured, plus additional Hisuian Typhlosion, were discovered. Each one was weaker than the two Damian had already captured, though.
Harrison also made a catch, he successfully captured a Hisuian Decidueye with impressive sniping abilities.
Everyone had good harvests this time around.
However, this was only the first step in exploring the Sanctuary.
Beyond Pokemon resources, Pokemon item resources were also major prizes.
So even though John had promised dinner, it would probably be delayed a few days. Since they could now use Psychic-type moves to search, the three planned to turn this place inside out.
Better not to leave anything for whoever came later.
Damian even deliberately instructed John and Harrison to search more thoroughly. When he left this time, he didn't plan to leave his Alpha Dusknoir guarding the entrance, he'd report this location as soon as they returned home.
Afterward, various nations would intervene to formally and scientifically develop this sanctuary.
So the three temporarily made camp in the ancient Sanctuary and began searching for Pokemon items hidden throughout the area.
John also pulled out his Dowsing Machine and started hunting.
While it was impossible to find items on the same level as the Spooky Plate, this unexplored sanctuary surely contained one or two legendary Pokemon items.
By the time Damian and Harrison were ready to leave the ancient sanctuary, John had harvested two additional legendary Pokemon items.
[Cursed Haunting Gem: When using Ghost-type moves, attack power increases by 120%. Ghost-type moves gain Curse effect, reducing opponent's Attack, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Defense by 1 stage when hit. Rechargeable and reusable.]
[Ghostly Spell Tag: Ghost-type move power increased by 70%, greatly improves Ghost-type control abilities, 30% chance of inflicting Flinch status when Ghost-type moves connect.]
All were Ghost-type Pokemon items.
This was presumably due to the Spooky Plate's presence and influence.
This could also be seen from how the most powerful Pokemon in the ancient sanctuary were all Ghost-types.
The ancient Sanctuary hadn't become a ghostly nightmare realm like some haunted islands, perhaps because the Spooky Plate's influence hadn't fully spread throughout the area.