Returning to the room.
A sliver of sunlight pierced in from the east horizon.
The morning mist seemed a bit loose, somewhat ethereal, gradually moving. The fog accumulated overnight, the haze accumulated from the cold, reluctantly disappeared under the urging of the sunshine.
Sleep was obviously out of the question. After preparing breakfast to replenish the energy of the Pokémon, Natsuhiko came to the table and opened his computer.
The alliance had been deliberately blocking the commotion in Goldenrod City, as making it public might cause unnecessary panic.
But this time, even the wild Pokémon had entered.
Clearly, the matter couldn't be concealed any longer.
So he wanted to see if there was the latest news about the Goldenrod City incident online.
Indeed.
After opening the homepage of the alliance website, Natsuhiko saw the news about Goldenrod City pinned at the top.
And the interest in it was increasing rapidly to the naked eye.
Clicked casually to open it.
"According to the latest report, a large number of wild Pokémon have appeared within Goldenrod City in the Kanto Region…"
The background seemed to be a news worker, with scenes of alliance trainers battling wild Pokémon somewhere in Goldenrod City.
The fortunate thing is, the number of wild Pokémon in Goldenrod City is not too large, and the trainers in Goldenrod City are quite strong. Many trainers have arrived from various regions and cities because of the Grandmaster Performance Tournament.
"Such an invasion should soon subside, but if we can't find the source, things will only get worse."
The news content was very ordinary, just talking about things Natsuhiko already knew, but none of the key elements.
The comments below were somewhat interesting though.
Many expressed sympathy.
However, no matter how you look at it, there was a bit of schadenfreude, mostly from trainers outside the Kanto Region.
From this, it was not difficult to see that the relationship between trainers from different regions of the alliance wasn't very good.
No wonder they let Devon Company and Silver Company jointly come up with the "Frankenstein" tool.
To promote the connection between trainers of various major regions.
Anyway, with Devon Company and Silver Company taking the lead, this tool should soon be popularized in the Kanto and Hoenn regions.
Kanto and Johto are essentially one, so the Johto region naturally wouldn't have a bad effect.
Sinnoh Region is across the sea from Johto, located to the north of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, so it should also be affected.
Just as Natsuhiko was about to close the boring news, a sentence from the news reporter caught his attention.
"The Goldenrod City Trainer Guild is calling all trainers in Goldenrod City to unite. Any trainer with the title of Newcomer Trainer can receive tasks from the Trainer Guild and will be rewarded upon task completion…"
The reporter continued, but Natsuhiko couldn't help but chuckle.
"Task completion rewards? The danger and the rewards are totally out of proportion; only some fools would want to do these things."
Many of the wild Pokémon that have entered Goldenrod City have reached Senior Level.
Many of them even belong to groups, and one wrong move could result in being trapped.
Goldenrod City is really drinking poison to quench thirst.
"The task pool is rich and tasks are recorded on a points system where different levels of task difficulty correspond to different task points, ensuring that every trainer who has made contributions has an equal chance to receive rewards…"
Natsuhiko raised an eyebrow.
"A points system?"
The downside of a points system is obvious.
It will inevitably cause some stronger trainers to lose enthusiasm, as completing harder tasks may not necessarily yield ideal rewards.
But the benefits are also evident, as relatively weaker trainers may have a chance of unexpected gains.
And now, what kind of trainers are most in Goldenrod City?
Of course, it's the ones with comparatively weaker strength.
"Indirectly stimulating the trainers' enthusiasm…"
Indeed, the most troublesome problem isn't the strength of the wild Pokémon, but rather their numbers.
Stimulating the trainers' enthusiasm might not solve the problem, but it should help to alleviate it.
The alliance is still smart, using points to exchange for raffle opportunities, attracting many people's desire for small bargains and big prizes to draw more people in.
If it was a regular task mechanism, it would still gather a group of people, but likely a small one, since the risks involved are evident.
But switching to a raffle…
Anyone who likes to play games knows.
Like those incessant gambles for Wolf Boss, Cursed Monstrosity, etc.
The legendary draws pulling Thunder God, Xiao, Xiangling, and everyone's waifu.
Along with all sorts of SP and SSR with special teachers.
All tightly grasping people's inherent nature to gamble.
Because when expecting benefits, people prefer hoping for good results, and such results provide feedback in advance.
Maybe they are the one in a million Luck Emperor?
"Interesting, but what does it have to do with me?"
Natsuhiko still didn't want to get involved in this mess.
As he said initially, the rewards and the dangers aren't proportional.
He is still reasonably rational.
"This time, the Goldenrod City Trainer Guild has shown enough sincerity by opening up long-stored inventory, including various Evolution Stones, Miracle Seeds, Sharp Beaks, Non-Melting Ice, Sharp Claws, Quick Claws…"
His motion to close the laptop halted.
His expression changed several times.
Finally, it turned into a long sigh.
"No need, really no need…"
He slowly got up.
"After all, I have to stay in Goldenrod City for a while; it seems right to contribute to protecting Goldenrod City. The eggs cannot remain intact when the nest is upset."
Natsuhiko tried to convince himself.
"Indeed, deep down I'm still someone who holds justice, kindness, and brightness dear…"
No choice.
The reason he was unwilling to participate was that the rewards and the dangers weren't proportional.
But if they were proportional, or even if the rewards surpassed the dangers… then that might be different.
Some people would go all out for a rare Pokémon, fight fiercely for a rare item.
The world is bustling for profit, the world is bustling for coming and going due to profit.
Pursuing profit, is there anything wrong with that?
"No matter what, there shouldn't be any issue in checking it out first."
With this in mind, Natsuhiko called over his Pokémon.
Walked out of the villa.
After the commotion last night.
The once stable situation in Goldenrod City instantly turned chaotic.
All the supermarkets, shops, and warehouses were looted empty, and the residents of Goldenrod City began hoarding massive amounts of food and water resources.
Not only food for humans, but Pokémon food, tools, and materials were also looted.
Natsuhiko was glad that he had prepared sufficient food well in advance.
Enough for his Pokémon to eat for a month, or even longer with normal consumption.
If they are slightly frugal, they could manage for two months.
If the alliance can't solve this incident in two months, they might as well let Rocket Team manage the Kanto Region.
Originally the alliance intended to solve this quietly without alarming the public, but clearly that's not feasible now.
So for the alliance's credibility, the longer it takes to resolve, the greater the blow to the alliance's reputation.
This is also the reason for the Goldenrod City Trainer Guild's call this time.
After all, the alliance has many trainers, but only a few can truly be commanded like an army.
Otherwise, given the current number of trainers in Goldenrod City, if they could all be gathered, there'd be nothing to worry about.
...
...
The chaos in Goldenrod City.
Even taxis were gone.
Natsuhiko had no choice but to walk to the Trainer Guild.