Ever Grande City. Pokémon League Headquarters.
The slightly balding League Chairman, Sterling, made his way toward his office, paying no attention to the employees rushing back and forth around him.
"Remember to call the Elite Four. And there's also the matter of Lilycove City..."
He continued reminding the vice chairman beside him before entering his private office to spend some time with his secretary.
The vice chairman was a middle-aged man who wore glasses. He could only follow the chairman's instructions and direct the busy employees one by one.
The League Headquarters was quiet when there was nothing to do. The place was so peaceful that it was hard to spot anyone around. However, once things got busy, people would be running everywhere, yet the urgent matters would still pile up without end.
The Hoenn League Headquarters should have hired more staff ages ago...
The vice chairman sighed inwardly before hurrying to his office and calling the Elite Four.
* * *
At the Ever Grande City battle arena, Glacia hurried back after leaving the Pokémon Center.
As the first person to compete, she should have had plenty of time to return and watch the rest of the battle. However, what greeted her was not the intense fight she had expected. Instead, she found only torn patches of grass and a sunken battlefield, as though a giant had just finished smashing the place to pieces.
But the real problem had nothing to do with the damage.
There was not a single person in the arena.
For a moment, Glacia wondered if she had gone to the wrong battlefield. However, there was only one arena of this size in Ever Grande City. Besides, the traces of such an intense battle were undeniable.
There was only one explanation. Shiro and the others had finished fighting as quickly as possible and already left.
Glacia frowned in disbelief. She could hardly believe that the battle had ended and everyone had disappeared while she was merely making a round trip to the Pokémon Center.
So who won?
She already had an answer in mind. She simply did not want to believe it.
Glacia walked out of the arena in silence, feeling somewhat lost.
Fortunately, the communication device at her waist rang at just the right moment. A message from the League Headquarters had arrived.
[Elite Glacia, Professor Shiro has gone to Lilycove City to deal with the rampage of Water-type Pokémon. If you are available, please proceed to Lilycove City immediately and provide assistance.]
After reading the message, Glacia was even more confused.
If Shiro had gone to Lilycove City, what about Drake?
Shouldn't Drake have negotiated the payment with the people in Lilycove City before heading out to deal with the problem himself?
"Glacia..."
An elderly voice called out. It was Wattson, the Electric-type Elite Four member, who had yet to leave.
"Elite Wattson." Glacia politely nodded before asking, "Where did Elite Drake go?"
Wattson put away the little electric gadget in his hand and briefly explained what had happened after she left, mainly clarifying Drake's whereabouts.
"Team Magma is making a large-scale move? And he went with them to Littleroot Town!"
Glacia could barely hide her shock.
She knew that Birch seemed to be hiding some important item, but that was no reason for Team Magma to launch a large-scale raid on his home! And Drake had actually abandoned Lilycove City to head to Littleroot Town first.
Wattson, however, was not particularly surprised. His expression remained as calm as ever as he instructed her, "Glacia, it's probably too late to get to Littleroot Town now. Go to Lilycove City instead. You might still get to see Shiro after he's calmed the Water-type Pokémon down."
"Him? Calming down all those wild Water-type Pokémon?"
Only then did Glacia remember the serious problem facing Lilycove City.
If Drake refused to deal with it, Lilycove City really might be swallowed up by the rampaging Water-type Pokémon.
As for Shiro...
She admitted that the Galar Champion was quite powerful, but dealing with all those Water-type Pokémon would be extremely difficult.
None of the Pokémon he had with him seemed capable of solving the problem.
Unless he completely disregarded the lives of those wild Pokémon and simply unleashed powerful attacks to wipe them all out, turning the surrounding waters red with blood...
That was exactly the kind of method Drake preferred.
If they wanted to avoid such an outcome, they would definitely need her help!
Ice-type Pokémon were the best choice for handling this kind of situation.
Unable to hide her concern, Glacia hurriedly called out, "Elite Wattson! I'll head over first!"
Wattson acknowledged her before walking toward the League Headquarters with an expressionless face.
Before leaving, Drake had not explained how to deal with the rampaging wild Pokémon in Lilycove City.
If Drake had little to do with the rampage in the first place... then that guy Matt was definitely hiding something. It seemed that a few ordinary electric gadgets would not be enough to teach that person a lesson.
* * *
Lilycove City.
From the sky, the eastern sea was covered with countless densely packed, bulging shapes resembling leeches. They swarmed around the city, entangled with one another.
These wild Water-type Pokémon seemed to have begun gathering more than ten nautical miles offshore. They filled not only the surface waters around Lilycove City but also the depths of the sea, extending hundreds of meters below the surface.
Under normal circumstances, even if a group of Pokémon had gathered to seek revenge or had some other reason for acting together, such a situation would have been impossible as long as they retained their own consciousness.
No one, whether human or Pokémon, would feel comfortable seeing them writhing and tangled together like a mass of insects.
Yet the current situation was clearly unusual.
Shiro had already anticipated this and was not particularly surprised.
The Pokémon rampage in Lilycove City had clearly been deliberately orchestrated.
Riding Corviknight, he began his rapid descent.
As they approached Lilycove City's eastern coast, the situation at several large ports came into clear view.
Strange, choked cries echoed across the area as countless bursts of energy erupted and faded. Water-type moves were being unleashed indiscriminately, while waves occasionally surged up and crashed onto the ports and coastal roads.
Many Water-type Pokémon with vacant expressions writhed in the puddles on the ground. Meanwhile, the sounds of people arguing and shouting filled the air.
Shiro could clearly see that most people were consciously retreating westward, away from the eastern coast and toward the mainland.
Only a small number of reckless or thrill-seeking individuals continued approaching the shore, hoping to find some excitement while investigating what was happening out at sea.
Of course, after some Water-type Pokémon randomly unleashed their moves, the resulting waves swept briefly across the land. Some of those people then vanished without a trace.
Corviknight sped along the coastline. As Shiro headed toward Team Aqua's base, he also observed the extent of the wild Pokémon rampage.
If anyone around Lilycove City had the greatest influence over Water-type Pokémon, it was undoubtedly Team Aqua.
It was entirely possible that Team Aqua had caused this rampage to capture Water-type Pokémon on a massive scale.
The current situation was perfect for forcibly capturing them.
Of course, Shiro was also searching for the source of the rampage.
Perhaps it wasn't Team Aqua after all?
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