Chapter 528: From Crisis to Event Raid
"So you're saying Sinnoh lost all their Seeds?" Arthur asked from his hospital bed.
Forrest didn't seem to be in a rush to leave. He sat down by the bed, ready for a chat.
First, he corrected Arthur with a faint smile. "It's 'certain interested parties.' If you say the Sinnoh League directly and word gets out, they might demand an apology."
Arthur scoffed. "Heh." He didn't care.
But he understood Forrest's intention. Without concrete evidence, accusing the Sinnoh League would just drag him into an endless war of words, which wasn't worth it for a public figure.
Arthur had anticipated this. That was why he had killed Kuisqi without hesitation. He knew that if he brought him back alive, it would just turn into endless wrangling. Sinnoh's diplomatic department would deny everything, and Kuisqi would likely be bailed out through diplomatic channels.
Sinnoh was one of the world's three superpowers, alongside the Kubfu and White Eagle Alliances. Capturing one of their Champions wasn't enough to force their hand. So Arthur had simply cut him down, ending the trouble once and for all. After that, he had Lina burn the body to ashes, leaving no trace. Since he had already acted decisively then, he found it easy to accept the situation now.
"Fine, 'certain interested parties,'" Arthur conceded. "So, did these interested parties lose all their Seeds?"
Forrest smiled approvingly. "Yes. It's strange, actually. First, wild Pokémon attacked one of their bases. At that point, they still had the capability to counter-attack and potentially retrieve those Seeds. But they misjudged the situation and chose to bunker down instead. This gave our personnel precious time to mobilize and move in."
Arthur nodded. He didn't realize that the reason behind this misjudgment was Linda overthinking things, mistaking the little dragonfly's master for a terrifying hidden boss. Without Arthur knowing, the enemy had already placed him on a pedestal, giving him far more credit than he deserved. Arthur had no idea he was supposedly that awesome.
For now, Arthur simply asked, "So, are most of the Seeds in the hands of the Kubfu Alliance now?"
Forrest's expression turned helpless. "Not really. Our forces assembled and were just about to conduct precision strikes on the remaining two bases where the Seeds were held. But then, many other factions joined in and breached those bases before we could. Now, we don't even know exactly which factions got their hands on them. All we know is that there are too many organizations and individuals currently collecting these Seeds in the Ashen Desert."
Arthur was curious. "How did it turn out like this?"
Forrest spread his hands, mimicking Arthur's signature gesture. "It can't be helped. Legendary successions have always been either very sudden and fast, or very hidden and unknown to the public. This is the first time in history that a Legendary succession has been completely exposed, with clear human involvement. Naturally, many people are interested.
"Furthermore, Ho-Oh and Rayquaza arrived in the Ashen Desert area. Seeing that the situation had spiraled out of control, they came up with a solution: they promised that anyone who helps them find the most compatible Seed will receive a precious Sacred Ash and a scale from Rayquaza. As a result, even more trainers from all over the world are now interested in participating in this event."
"..."
Arthur didn't know what expression to make. It seemed that overnight, a massive crisis involving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on the border had turned into a desert-wide treasure hunt game open to everyone...
It felt... weird.
Arthur's expression was now perfectly described by the meme: Is that even allowed?
"Are you guys... not going to do anything?" he asked Forrest. He knew Forrest still had some connections in the military.
Forrest smiled bitterly. "We wanted to at first. But there are just too many factions rushing in to join the fun. Even our Alliance doesn't have the capacity to quickly collect all the Seeds after the matter was fully exposed.
"Besides, Sinnoh and the White Eagle Alliance are fueling the fire. To dilute the impact of the previous incident and clear themselves of suspicion regarding the plot to harm hundreds of thousands of people in the border alliance, Sinnoh was the first to step up and say they would maintain order for this 'event'! They also established a rule that armies would not be involved, allowing trainers from all over the world to enter the desert and compete freely, forcing our Alliance to take a stance."
Sinnoh's mindset was: We got caught doing something bad, but there's no hard proof yet. We need a new hot topic to divert public attention so we can let the previous matter cool down quietly.
Plotting to kill a Legendary, violating the Great Reconciliation, deliberately endangering hundreds of thousands of lives in a border city! Any one of these was a crime against humanity. Even an attempt was enough to bring massive public condemnation.
But the key was: it was just an attempt! So as long as the topic changed fast enough, they might escape the brunt of public censure.
Since the Kubfu Alliance had entered the fray with the moral high ground and gained an advantage, Sinnoh didn't want them to reap all the benefits. So, they decided to muddy the waters.
Forrest continued, "The White Eagle Alliance is far away on the West Continent and couldn't send troops anyway, so they fully supported Sinnoh's proposal. This caused us to lose public support. Plus, the incident had such a huge impact that too many trainers from around the world have already arrived. It's uncontrollable. So, this morning, the Alliance announced that we agreed to Sinnoh's proposal."
Arthur asked, dumbfounded, "So, this whole thing has really turned into an event?"
The jump was too fast for him to accept. He had risked his life to stop a human tragedy, and the next second, the officials turned it into an "event"?
It felt like a legendary event being turned into a raid dungeon for entertainment.
Guessing that Arthur might be feeling a bit down, Forrest comforted him. "Don't worry. The Kubfu Alliance will never forget your contribution. You'll get the honors and rewards you deserve. Also, although the three alliances agreed that their armies wouldn't participate directly, there's no rule against trainers from the three alliances participating on their own. If you plan to participate after you recover, we will fully support you. The organization has already approved it."
"..."
Arthur was still speechless, but he nodded. At least it was good that someone remembered his efforts. And honestly, he was quite interested in the Sacred Ash and Rayquaza's scale promised by the Legendaries. The former had an extraordinary appeal to all Fire-type Pokémon, and the latter was an irresistible temptation for any Dragon-type!
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