The permit process took two days longer than expected.
"Archaeological expeditions into municipal infrastructure require seventeen separate approvals," the city clerk explained, her tone suggesting she'd delivered this speech many times. "Structural engineering certification. Emergency services notification. Environmental impact assessment. Historical preservation acknowledgment. Insurance documentation..."
"We have all of those," Kiyomi interrupted, sliding a thick folder across the counter. "Prepared and notarized."
The clerk blinked, clearly unused to applicants arriving fully prepared. She leafed through the documents with increasing surprise, Professor Elm's endorsement letter, structural assessments from a licensed engineering firm, emergency response protocols signed by Vermillion's Officer Jenny, liability waivers, equipment manifests, and a detailed expedition plan with timed check-in requirements.
"This is... comprehensive."
"We've done underground work before." Kiyomi's smile was professional but carried an edge of impatience. "Mt. Moon taught us the importance of proper authorization."
The approval stamp came down with satisfying finality.
They descended at dawn on the fourth day.
The access point Kiyomi had identified was located in the basement of an abandoned warehouse in the old harbor district, a building scheduled for demolition next year, its foundation revealing gaps that corresponded precisely to the ancient tunnel surveys. The warehouse owner, happy to delay his demolition costs, had granted access in exchange for a modest fee and a copy of any historical findings.
"Gear check," Sasuke said, his voice carrying the crisp authority of someone who'd led expeditions in far more dangerous conditions. "Headlamps?"
"Functional." Three voices confirmed.
"Emergency beacons?"
"Charged and calibrated."
"First aid kits?"
Miyuki patted her pack. "Comprehensive. Including supplies for Pokémon trauma treatment."
"Communication devices?"
"Linked to the surface relay we set up yesterday," Kiyomi confirmed. "Four-hour check-ins with the city emergency coordinator."
Sasuke nodded, satisfied. His Landorus hovered at reduced size beside him, the Legendary could compress its form for indoor navigation while maintaining full power if needed. Victini perched on his shoulder as always, its small body radiating warmth against the cool underground air.
"Pokémon assignments," Sasuke continued. "Landorus handles structural emergencies. Miyuki's Shaymin on air quality and healing support. Kasumi's Togekiss provides illumination. Kiyomi's Ninetales handles hostile encounters. Questions?"
"None," Kiyomi said. "Let's move."
The basement opened into darkness.
The tunnels were older than Kiyomi had expected, and better preserved.
What she'd assumed would be rough-hewn passages carved for utility purposes revealed themselves as proper streets, complete with worn cobblestones and the remnants of building foundations lining either side. The ceiling arched overhead at nearly three meters, high enough that even Sasuke could walk comfortably upright.
"This was a city," Kasumi breathed, her Togekiss casting gentle light across the ancient architecture. "A real underground city."
"Pre-modern Vermillion," Kiyomi confirmed, her tablet already recording everything. "Before the harbor expansion, before the industrial revolution, when the population was perhaps a tenth of its current size. These streets would have been above ground then."
"What happened?"
"Development. Each generation built on top of the previous one. Foundations became basements, streets became tunnels, buildings became buried. The city grew upward while its past sank downward." Kiyomi paused to photograph a doorway still bearing traces of faded paint. "This is why I love archaeology. The past doesn't disappear, it just gets built over."
They moved through the underground streets with careful attention, Sasuke taking point while Landorus drifted overhead, its ground-sense abilities detecting structural weaknesses before they became dangerous. The air was cool and still, carrying the mineral scent of old stone and deeper earth.
"Here," Kiyomi said, stopping at an intersection. "According to the ancient surveys, the shrine district was northeast of the main thoroughfare. We follow this passage for approximately four hundred meters."
The side passage was narrower, clearly less traveled even in its active days. The cobblestones gave way to packed earth, and the ceiling lowered to perhaps two and a half meters. Moisture gleamed on the walls, groundwater seeping through stone that had been underground for centuries.
"Watch your footing," Sasuke said. "The surface is uneven."
They proceeded single-file, Togekiss's glow casting long shadows ahead. The tunnel curved gently, following what might have been an ancient stream bed, and the architecture changed subtly, less residential, more ceremonial. Carved symbols began appearing on the walls: lightning bolts, storm clouds, stylized bird shapes that Kiyomi recognized immediately.
"Electric-type iconography," she murmured, photographing each carving. "Pre-modern artistic conventions, but the subject matter is unmistakable. We're on the right path."
"The journal mentioned lightning strikes," Miyuki said. "Where lightning struck, the shrine was built. Should we be looking for scorch marks? Impact evidence?"
"After two hundred years, surface evidence would be degraded. But..." Kiyomi turned to Sasuke. "Landorus. Can you sense anything unusual in the geological structure ahead? Electromagnetic anomalies, perhaps?"
The Legendary Pokémon's eyes gleamed. It extended one massive arm toward the tunnel ahead, and the ground beneath their feet trembled faintly as it communed with the earth itself.
A low rumble emerged from Landorus's throat, communication Sasuke seemed to understand instinctively.
"There's something," he translated. "Two hundred meters ahead and thirty meters down. Electromagnetic signature unlike anything in the surrounding stone. Landorus says it feels... old."
"Old is exactly what we're looking for."
The collapsed section appeared after another hundred meters.
The tunnel simply ended, a wall of fallen stone and earth where the ceiling had given way at some point in the past. The debris filled the passage completely, tons of material that would take conventional excavation equipment days to clear.
"Can you handle this?" Kiyomi asked Sasuke, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.
"Landorus can handle almost anything." Sasuke studied the collapse with analytical eyes. "But we need to do this carefully. The wrong approach could trigger additional cave-ins."
The Legendary Pokémon floated forward, its hands pressing against the debris pile with surprising gentleness. Earth-type energy began flowing through the collapsed material, not forcing, but persuading. Stone shifted against stone with grinding protests. Soil compacted and redirected. Support structures formed where none had existed, stabilizing the surrounding tunnel even as the blockage itself began to reorganize.
It took nearly an hour. Landorus worked with patience that belied its immense power, each movement precisely calibrated to maintain structural integrity. Sasuke stood nearby, occasionally offering quiet guidance that suggested a deep partnership built over their years together.
"Clear," Landorus finally rumbled, the first actual word it had spoken since entering the tunnels.
The passage beyond was narrow but navigable. And different.
The stone here had been worked with obvious care, smooth surfaces, precise angles, symbols carved with artistic intention rather than casual marking. The air carried a strange quality, a subtle electrical charge that made hair stand on end and caused Victini to chirp with increased alertness.
"We're close," Kiyomi whispered.
The tunnel opened into a chamber.
The Thunder Shrine had survived.