Night fell, and the reservoir construction site lay in utter silence. With materials unable to be transported in, work had come to a halt. As the person in charge, Cole had no choice but to send the workers home for the time being to save on labor costs. They would only return once the Diglett disaster was resolved.
Inside a temporary office converted from a shipping container, a large incandescent lamp illuminated every corner of the cramped space.
Covered head to toe in dust, looking like a mud-covered monkey, Cole lay slumped in the middle of the sofa, sighing heavily. "This is killing me…"
He had spent the entire afternoon lugging dozens of kilograms of metal rods through the mountains, planting them one by one. He hadn't even had time for a sip of water.
Taking payment and delivering results was one of Kael's life principles. Cole had helped him secure Chansey—so naturally, Kael would help resolve the Diglett disaster.
On the laptop screen, a green topographic map was gradually taking shape. The signal rods planted throughout the forest were transmitting surface data back to the computer bit by bit.
Beep! Beep!
A red dot began flashing on the green map.
Kael immediately clicked it with the mouse. A string of coordinates appeared:
1127, 986.
"Time to work."
He grabbed his coat from the chair and headed for the door.
Cole shut his eyes in misery. His legs were still trembling from exhaustion. But for the sake of his future—and to avoid being reassigned by the League to sweep the streets—he could only grit his teeth and push on.
With a shout, he charged out after him.
"Come out—Rhydon!"
The moment he stepped outside, Kael unclipped the black Heavy Ball from his tactical belt and hurled it forward.
"Roar!"
Rhydon let out an excited bellow, its thick tail slamming against the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
Its massive arm extended before Kael. With a slight bend of his knees, Kael sprang up onto its forearm. Rhydon lifted its right arm toward its left shoulder, and Kael stepped again, climbing up to sit securely on its shoulder.
Seated on Rhydon's left shoulder, one hand gripping its horn, Kael declared loudly:
"Follow my command—move out!"
"Roaaaar—!"
Rhydon surged forward like a fully mobilized Tiger tank, charging across the ground with unstoppable momentum straight into the forest.
"Whoa!"
Cole, who had just run out behind them, nearly bolted back into the office at the sight of the towering four-meter-tall beast.
Squinting carefully, he spotted Kael sitting on the monster's shoulder and finally relaxed.
That Rhydon… was it really his Pokémon?
Watching the gigantic, pitch-black Rhydon recede into the distance, Cole's face was filled with shock. When had this kid captured such a terrifying Rhydon? Even Tyranitar—the so-called "Desert Tyrant" of Johto—would struggle to match its imposing size.
"Wait for me! I want to know what it feels like to ride something that big!" Cole shouted enviously, quickly grabbing an off-road bicycle left behind by a worker and pedaling after them.
...
Standing only 20 centimeters tall and weighing 0.8 kilograms, Diglett were among the smallest Pokémon in the world. Individually weak, they were exceptionally fast at retreating. It was said that at the instant they retracted into the ground, their top speed could reach Mach 3.
"Dig-dig~ dig-dig~"
Nocturnal by nature, the Diglett emerged in orderly lines like disciplined soldiers, each carrying a Berry as they hurried toward their burrows.
They had a habit of stockpiling food. Berries were their favorite, though when starving, they would gnaw on leaves or roots. They were strict herbivores.
Thud! Thud!
The ground began to tremble.
Startled, the Diglett halted in unison and turned toward the forest entrance.
A massive shadow loomed before them—a Rhydon standing over four meters tall.
They had seen Rhydon in the forest before—but never one this enormous.
And this pitch-black Rhydon was staring at them with unmistakably ill intent.
When alone, Diglett were timid. But in numbers, they feared nothing.
Believing the Rhydon had come to steal their food, the colony erupted in anger. Instantly, they burrowed underground, tunneling rapidly to surround Rhydon. Their best tactic against massive opponents was to hollow out the ground beneath them.
Rhydon's shattered-gold eyes looked down disdainfully at the tiny creatures surrounding it. Recalling Kael's command—once encircled, use Earthquake immediately—it acted.
"ROAR!"
Clenching both fists, Rhydon stomped its right foot down hard.
It did not use its full-strength Earthquake. Otherwise, it would have leapt into the air with both legs and crashed down with its full body weight to maximize the shockwave.
Boom—
Cracks spread outward from beneath Rhydon's feet at rapid speed. The Diglett that had just completed their encirclement—before they could hollow out the ground—were instantly stunned by the violent tremors.
Behind them, the remaining Diglett forces squealed furiously upon seeing their first wave wiped out. Opening their tiny mouths, they spat volleys of mud.
Diglett had few offensive moves—Sand Attack and Mud-Slap were their staples. Against Rhydon, such attacks were less than a tickle.
Another thunderous stomp.
A vast swath of Diglett collapsed.
Two consecutive defeats threw the colony into chaos. They began scattering in all directions, fleeing into the forest.
Rhydon did not pursue.
Instead, it began spinning the silver horn on its snout, digging powerfully into the earth. Despite its size, its tunneling ability rivaled that of Diglett. Before long, a massive tunnel wide enough for an adult man to walk through opened beneath the ground.
...
"You're sure the Dugtrio will appear here?" Cole asked skeptically.
His doubt was understandable. They now stood beside a small lake. Diglett and Dugtrio were Ground-type Pokémon—water was what they disliked most.
"Quiet," Kael said softly. "Watch carefully. And learn."