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"Waiting like this isn't a good solution… Should I use Teleport to force my way in? But there are too many guards on the outer perimeter. I'd probably be discovered the moment I enter. Looks like the League is determined to secure this place… what a headache."
Standing near the edge of the security perimeter at the entrance of the abandoned power plant, Sato used his psychic sensing to probe the situation inside. The more he saw, the more troubled he became.
He had already been here for over an hour and had a fairly clear understanding of the situation.
The reason the entrance to the abandoned power plant was under lockdown was that a Pokémon riot was currently taking place inside. According to the League's official explanation, they had sealed the entrance to prevent reckless Trainers from going in and getting themselves killed.
However, Sato knew that was only a surface-level justification. The League's true intention was to prevent latecomers from taking advantage of the chaos and reaping the benefits.
If his guess was correct, the riot inside the power plant had likely been triggered by League personnel—or by some Trainers who had already entered. They had probably encountered Zapdos… and provoked it.
Clearly, time was running out. If he stayed here any longer, he might not even get a share of the spoils.
Fortunately, among the large crowd of Trainers gathered at the entrance, there was no shortage of impatient people. Most of them had come for Zapdos or treasures, and they all understood that the longer they delayed, the slimmer their chances became.
Thus, before Sato could even decide to disguise himself as the masked figure and force his way in, a long-brewing disturbance erupted.
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted for everyone to charge in together. Immediately, several prepared individuals took the lead, commanding their Pokémon to tear open multiple gaps in the security line set up by the League enforcers.
The majority of Trainers present had long been dissatisfied with the League's blockade. This resentment had built up over time, reaching a breaking point. All it needed was a spark.
And those instigators became exactly that spark.
Seeing others take the lead in ignoring the League's warnings, many Trainers followed suit, thinking, "They can't punish everyone."
Although the League enforcers at the entrance were not few in number, they were vastly outnumbered by the crowd. Moreover, as official personnel, they were restrained in their actions and unable to deal harshly with the surging mass of Trainers.
As a result, the defensive line was quickly overwhelmed. The tightly shut steel gate was smashed apart by the combined attacks of numerous Pokémon.
With the defenses broken and the gate destroyed, even those who had been hesitating made their choice—they followed the crowd and rushed into the abandoned power plant.
Sato blended into the crowd as well. However, to avoid being held accountable later by the League, he switched to his alternate Bounty Hunter identity—Raiden Suzuki.
Seeing that they could no longer stop the influx, the League enforcers simply gave up trying to block them. They stood aside coldly, watching as Sato and the others entered. Some even showed mocking expressions in their eyes.
The League's warning about a Pokémon riot was no exaggeration.
Not long after entering, Sato and the others began encountering wild Pokémon with intense hostility in their eyes.
Most of them were Electric-type Pokémon, launching fast and fierce attacks. Under these sudden ambushes, many unprepared Trainers immediately suffered heavy losses.
"Good thing I'm wearing a rubber suit underneath… Otherwise, with this density of Electric-type attacks, I'd definitely be injured."
Sato narrowly avoided an Electro Ball attack from a hidden Electrode lurking in the shadows. However, because his body brushed against a metal wall, he was instantly caught in the aftermath of a nearby Electrode's Thunderbolt. Fortunately, his rubber suit protected him from being knocked unconscious by the powerful current.
Very quickly, the first wave of Trainers eliminated by wild Pokémon appeared—their numbers reduced by at least a third.
The abandoned power plant was once known by the people of Mauville City as New Mauville. It wasn't just a power plant—it was an unfinished underground city.
Originally, New Mauville was a massive long-term project led by Mauville Holdings, with Wattson as its chief engineer.
Unfortunately, due to the enormous scale of the reconstruction, the mayor of Mauville City feared it would disrupt nearby Pokémon habitats. In the end, the project was halted halfway through.
Even so, as an underground city, its sheer size remained astonishing.
Over the years, countless wild Pokémon had occupied and partially transformed it, turning it into a vast underground labyrinth.
Although Sato and the other Trainers seemed numerous, entering this enormous underground city was like a few drops of rain falling into a vast lake—utterly insignificant.
After breaking through the first wave of wild Pokémon, Sato followed the crowd through an underground passage and arrived in a massive subterranean space filled with countless structures.
Though these buildings were heavily decayed and overgrown with unknown vegetation, the sheer scale made it feel like he had entered a real city. For a moment, he felt incredibly small.
"Zapdos must be somewhere in this maze-like city… This is going to be troublesome. Enemies are everywhere."
Looking at the towering, dilapidated buildings covered in vines—and sensing the hostility of the wild Pokémon lurking within—Sato's expression grew serious.
Suddenly—
Rumble… rumble…
A loud crashing sound came from the area to his right. Sato immediately turned to look.
"ROAR!"
Just as his gaze shifted, a swift Manectric burst through a wall from a nearby building directly ahead of him. Its jaws, crackling with arcs of electricity, opened wide as it lunged toward him.
At the same time, several Voltorb and Electrode of varying sizes rolled out rapidly from the hole in the wall. As they spun forward, their bodies glowed with blinding electric light.