The sound just now did not mean that something was wrong with Silas's wristwatch.
As indicated by the flashing red alert notification, the beeping sound was meant to emphasize the urgency of the situation.
This was not the first time Silas had encountered a temporary mission issued by the League to directly affiliated Trainers.
The previous time—when they had cleared out a Team Rocket underground research facility in Viridian Forest, had also been a temporary assignment.
However, unlike that previous mission, the way this one was issued was rather shocking.
The earlier task had merely been released as a temporary mission and did not force affiliated Trainers to participate. Simply put, it was similar to a bounty mission officially released by a regional Pokémon League.
This time, however, the task was an emergency mission, directly entering a mandatory conscription state. That meant all affiliated Trainers in the vicinity were required to participate, or they would face penalties issued by the League afterward.
This was an extremely rare form of mission.
Normally, such a situation meant that something capable of threatening nearby cities had occurred.
Otherwise, the League would not act in such an uncompromising manner.
"Serperior, return for now. Pidgeot, I'm counting on you."
After checking the assembly location listed in the mission notice, Silas decisively recalled the still-confused Serperior and released Pidgeot instead.
"There."
As Silas flipped onto Pidgeot's back, he pointed in a direction at the same time.
"Pidgeot—!"
Although it didn't understand why its Trainer was in such a rush, sensing Silas's movements and emotional state, Pidgeot beat its wings the moment he was steady, shooting straight into the sky.
Once airborne and scanning the surroundings, Silas could vaguely make out two or three other Pokémon in the distance, also carrying people as they ascended into the sky.
All of them were heading toward the same destination—
The Forest Ranger Command Center.
Thanks to Pidgeot's astonishing speed and Silas's exceptional physical endurance, the pair were the first to arrive.
After landing and recalling Pidgeot, Silas directly took out his red Pokédex to prove his identity when approached by a Forest Ranger.
"Second corridor after entering, turn right. Second room."
After verification, the ranger informed Silas of the assembly location at rapid speed.
"Thank you."
Silas nodded to him and quickly entered the command center.
Pushing open the door, he saw several Trainers already seated in small groups inside. Clearly, he wasn't the very first to arrive.
That was only natural—Silas's previous location hadn't been especially close. No matter how fast Pidgeot was, it couldn't conceptually shorten distance.
He casually found a seat toward the back and sat down.
About five to six minutes later, the number of Trainers in the room had already reached twenty.
That was a considerable number.
After all, this was merely a forest in the Johto region that wasn't particularly large or famous, nothing like Viridian Forest.
"We apologize for conscripting you so suddenly, but this incident absolutely requires your assistance."
As the Trainers were observing one another, a deep male voice came from the doorway.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Morinan, captain of the Forest Ranger team for Heracross Forest."
Standing before the gathered Trainers was a man with a thick beard—Morinan.
"The situation is urgent, so I'll keep this brief. If you have questions, you may ask them after I finish."
Morinan was extremely decisive, getting straight to the point.
From his explanation, Silas and the other Trainers gradually came to understand the cause of the mission.
Situations capable of threatening cities were actually quite limited, nothing more than natural disasters or man-made calamities.
Man-made disasters were easy to understand. Usually, they involved dark organizations causing major incidents and certainly not small ones. These were typically linked to major regional criminal groups, such as Team Rocket.
Smaller organizations simply didn't have the capability to cause large-scale incidents.
Another possibility was similar to the mission previously carried out at the Falls, where human expansion into living space had triggered Pokémon riots that impacted cities.
This type occurred more frequently, as humanity had never stopped exploring and expanding into the wilderness. Even long-established cities inevitably encountered such situations from time to time.
This was also one of the reasons why so many wild Pokémon ended up living within cities.
As for natural disasters, there were simply too many to count.
The Pokémon world also experienced earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and other natural disasters, and their power and destructive potential were even more terrifying than in Silas's previous world.
No one knew whether this was due to the existence of elemental energy.
Not to mention the chain reactions following such disasters—Pokémon riots were practically the norm, as living creatures instinctively fled toward safer places.
Between the two, natural disasters were obviously much harder to deal with.
This time, Heracross Forest was facing exactly such a headache-inducing natural disaster.
As mentioned before, to the west of Heracross Forest lay a river, forming the boundary between it and Pinsir Forest.
However, rather than a river, it was more accurate to describe it as a cliff, with the river flowing at its base.
Travel between the two forests was typically done via a suspension bridge above the cliff.
The primary reason for this was the river's tendency to experience sudden and frequent surges in water level.
Without this terrain, it wouldn't just be the forests at risk—several nearby towns might have faced flooding as well.
Tracing the cause further back, it ultimately came down to the topography of the four neighboring regions: Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn.
First, Sinnoh, located furthest north, had the highest overall elevation. Aside from the surrounding seas, lakes were relatively rare there, and Mt. Coronet remained snow-covered above the mid-slopes year-round.
Next came Kanto, slightly lower in elevation and mostly situated to the west.
Kanto had the most human-friendly terrain and climate—plains, mountains, hills, and islands could all be found there. As a result, it supported an especially diverse range of Pokémon.
The remaining two regions, Johto and Hoenn, were somewhat awkwardly positioned.
Hoenn fared better. Located in the southeast, much of the region consisted of mixed land and sea. Tropical rainforests existing side by side with deserts were entirely normal.
Some locations in Hoenn could only be reached by water, and a few islands even submerged periodically.
These were lingering aftereffects of the ancient territorial conflict between Groudon and Kyogre.
After all, how many people had seen a city built atop a dormant undersea volcano? Sootopolis City in Hoenn was exactly that.
Johto, wedged between these regions, hardly needed further description.
Simply put—it was full of lowlands and forests.
This peculiar terrain meant Johto was especially prone to disasters such as tsunamis and floods.
The river beside Heracross Forest was one such location.
The problem was that the river's surging water levels followed no discernible pattern, making it extremely troublesome. The Forest Rangers had to devote a significant portion of their daily effort to monitoring it.
It wasn't that they lacked countermeasures—they had dealt with this for many years and were practically experts by now.
But this time, the sudden flood was far more violent than ever before.
According to measurements taken with professional equipment, the river would overflow the suspension bridge and enter the forest within two hours.
Within five hours, it would breach the forest's defensive line and head straight toward human settlements.
Silas's memory was exceptionally sharp. As Morinan gave his detailed explanation, Silas even began constructing a mental map.
"So if it advances along this route… this flood could potentially reach Violet City, couldn't it?"
Reaching this conclusion, Silas sharply inhaled.
As for why it stopped there—that was obvious. Beyond Violet City lay the sea. Once the floodwaters reached it, they would naturally dissipate.
If this truly happened, it would be a devastating blow to the already struggling Johto League—a disaster on top of disaster.
Thankfully, the Forest Rangers had discovered the situation in time.
Naturally, this operation wouldn't involve only the twenty Trainers present.
After Morinan reported upward, the Johto League had already reacted with remarkable speed.
Personnel and supplies were already on their way.
Natural disasters might be powerful, but as long as they were discovered in advance, they were not unsolvable in a world where Pokémon existed.
What people feared most were natural disasters that struck without any warning at all.
Perhaps in Silas's previous life, that kind of thing would have been unrealistic, since most natural disasters showed signs beforehand.
But here, success and failure alike were both tied to Pokémon. In a world where Pokémon existed, anything could suddenly happen.
An earthquake might simply be Groudon turning over in its sleep underground, while a tsunami could be Kyogre sneezing.
Based on the information Morinan deliberately shared to stabilize morale, Silas estimated that one or even several of the Johto League's eight Gym Leaders would most likely arrive to deal with the situation.
His senior "disciple brother" was probably out of the question. Fighting-type Pokémon were rather lacking when it came to handling floods.
However, as for which Gym Leader could deal with a flood, Silas already had a candidate in mind.
As the nearest advance unit, what Silas and the others needed to do was not particularly complicated, mainly to assist the Forest Rangers in calming the Pokémon in the surrounding area.
That said, it was by no means an easy task.
The Forest Ranger team had only sixteen members. Adding the twenty Trainers present brought the total to just thirty-six people.
The forest might be small, but that was only when compared to Viridian Forest. Thirty-six humans—even counting their Pokémon—were nothing more than a drop in the ocean when spread across the entire forest.
Moreover, the Rangers still needed to keep a significant number of personnel at the command center to monitor the river's water level and handle coordination and command duties.
As for how to calm the Pokémon
The simplest and most direct method: knock out any Pokémon that escaped the forest, secure them temporarily, and release them back into the wild after everything was over.
Protection was protection, but priorities still had to be distinguished.
"So you're saying the twenty-eight of us have to cover the entire forest's defensive line?"
A middle-aged male Trainer looked grim.
"Unfortunately, to be precise, it's two forests."
Morinan chuckled as he delivered even worse news.
"We could probably station fewer people in Heracross Forest, right? After all, Pinsir are much more aggressive. The Heracross might not even run."
Another Trainer immediately began proposing strategies.
Whether it was difficult or not no longer mattered. There was no way to avoid a conscription mission, he had no intention of ending up on some unknown League blacklist.
Morinan shook his head.
"That won't work. There have been precedents—when their lives are truly threatened, Heracross will still flee.
"And because they're stronger, once something goes wrong, they're actually more troublesome than Pinsir."
"Honestly, it's not that bad. The main side we need to defend is the western side, where the terrain is higher. We can't do much about whatever slips through on the other side."
Another Trainer spoke up.
That was true. Pokémon fleeing from floods would instinctively head toward higher ground. They might not understand terrain, but they knew where survival lay.
"This time, the League conscripted only Trainers above Pesudo Elite level from both forests. Unfortunately, that amounts to only the twenty of you present here. The weaker Trainers have already been ordered to evacuate."
When it came to manpower shortages, Morinan looked visibly distressed.
If he had enough personnel, nothing would be a problem but he simply didn't.
Below Advance Trainers were of no help at all against waves of wild Pokémon. In fact, they would only get in the way.
"We've already prepared all defensive positions based on the habits of the major Pokémon groups in the forest. You only need to choose the location best suited to your Pokémon. If there are any conflicts, report them immediately."
Morinan placed a schematic diagram on the blackboard at the front of the room. Scattered across it were more than twenty red markers—presumably the prepared positions he mentioned.
"I'll take Position 3. My Pokémon are well suited to dealing with Butterfree."
"Position 5 is mine, that area fits my style."
"I'll take 8."
"22 for me."
Understanding the urgency of the situation, the Trainers quickly divided up all defensive points.
Silas also chose one of the more difficult positions to defend.
"Then… I'll be counting on all of you."
Morinan bowed deeply to everyone.
"Just doing our duty."
Everyone shared the same attitude. This was a belief instilled in every League member from a young age.
"Mr. Silas, please wait a moment."
Just as everyone was leaving the room, Morinan called out to him.
"Is something the matter?" Silas asked curiously.
"Well, it's like this. Among all the Trainers conscripted this time, you are the strongest. Even my own strength is far inferior to yours."
Morinan began by offering Silas praise.
Then, somewhat awkwardly, he continued:
"According to the original plan, I was supposed to handle mobile defense as the team captain. However, I personally believe you're better suited for that role. Would it be possible for me to defend the area you selected, while you take responsibility for mobile defense?"
So-called mobile defense was, quite literally, like being a brick—wherever unexpected danger appeared, that was where you were sent.
After all, although there aren't any Elite Pokémon in the entire forest, there are still quite a few pseudo-Elite Pokémon. Most Advanced trainers don't have the ability to simultaneously deal with a pseudo-Elite Pokémon and a group of Adavance and ordinary Pokémon.
This was both the most dangerous and the most exhausting position.
...
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