Master Katsuragi returned, and due to a small incident, Torii's departure to the Sinnoh region was deyed by a few more days.

  He once again boarded Master Katsuragi's private helicopter, with the destination being Rusturf City in the western Hoenn region.

  Unlike Petalburg City, Rusturf City is known for its refreshing air. Although it is close to Mt. Chimney, due to the wind direction, volcanic ash does not blow here.

  From an economic standpoint, Rusturf City, a windy pteau with fragrant grass, attracts many frail patients for recuperation, making it more prosperous than Petalburg City.

  "Is the matter serious?"

  "Several workers were injured, and the construction of Rusturf Tunnel has been halted. Although nearby trainers were summoned to find the cause, they were unable to solve the problem."

  Torii and Master Katsuragi were talking. Their trip to Rusturf City was to resolve an engineering accident caused by Pokémon.

  To provide convenient roads for traveling trainers, the Hoenn League decided to open up the mountain road from Stone Town to Rusturf City. This mountain road was tentatively named "Rusturf Tunnel." However, when the project was halfway through, a group of Whismur came out to stop it.

  These Whismur are very cunning and disciplined. Whenever trainers come to guard, they will secretly hide. As long as the trainers leave and the workers start to continue working, or when manpower is cking at night, the Whismur will collectively come out to sabotage.

  The actions of the Whismur gave the person in charge of the project a terrible headache. This person reported the news upwards, but the Hoenn League did not have suitable personnel to put on such a small matter at this time. It would be a bit of an overreaction to interrupt the tasks of the Elite Four and special operations personnel for the Rusturf Tunnel project.

  Moreover, the upcoming Ever Grande Conference requires too much manpower.

  In the eyes of the higher-ups, such small problems were just due to the ck of ability of the person in charge, and could be completely solved by outside trainers.

  However, until the end, several workers were accidentally injured, causing an uproar in the local area, and the League became nervous, terminating the Rusturf Tunnel project. Under pressure from public opinion, the League immediately invited Master Katsuragi, who was active nearby, to participate in the investigation, and mobilized the Petalburg Woods rangers and local police to assist in this mission.

  "The families of the workers are making a fuss, and the League has no choice. Other capable people are too far away from Rusturf City, so they had to ask the Breeder's Association for help."

  "If ordinary people are injured again, the League's newly established reputation will be affected."

  "Although trainers were found to drive away the Whismur, the Whismur simply don't know how to give up..."

  "For events caused by such Pokémon, if you only let the trainers solve it with brute force without finding the cause, it is fundamentally a palliative solution that won't work."

  Master Katsuragi shook his head and expined to Torii.

  "Whismur? Could it be that the construction of the tunnel disturbed the Whismur... No, Whismur are not affected by sound moves at all. Don't these Pokémon have a 'Soundproof' ability?"

  Also called a characteristic, the term "characteristic" has not yet been officially popurized. Some extraordinary pces of Pokémon are often referred to as "unique talents" by Breeders at this time.

  "If the noise generated by the construction of the tunnel disturbed the Whismur, it seems unreasonable. The League should try to choose sections without Pokémon living there when building tunnels, right? Then the intention of the Whismur to sabotage is worth investigating."

  Master Katsuragi was stunned for a moment, and then looked at Torii with satisfaction. "That's right, Whismur does have a 'Soundproof' ability. If the person in charge of this project can be clear about this, he should know that the breakthrough of the matter is not to drive away the Whismur."

  "We're here—"

  As soon as Master Katsuragi's helicopter nded, the police and staff were waiting below, making Torii have to once again marvel at the status of a top Breeder.

  It's boring to say, but after arriving at the pce, Master Katsuragi didn't have time to take care of Torii, a brat. Torii was also happy to be idle, and prepared to take Beautifly and Swablu to conduct some practical battles.

  The mountains near Rusturf Tunnel gathered many young trainers, all of whom were previously invited to solve the Whismur incident. Now that the incident has escated, they have not seen the results, and they are not willing to leave directly.

  The police have sealed off most of the area, and the trainers are quite helpless about this.

  However, the trainers are also bored and dazed. In some open areas around, there are often groups of two or three trainers gathered together to battle.

  Torii was attracted by the sound.

  "Water-type vs. Grass-type, I'm afraid he's going to be in danger."

  "Tetsuya has already won three consecutive victories, right? Can the other party hold on, or is it in the case of attribute disadvantage..."

  The battle was in full swing, and the trainers watching the battle focused on the two Pokémon on the field. Torii was no exception.

  Grovyle, Marill.

  ...

  ...

  Grovyle's developed leg muscles can produce amazing explosive power. The leaves on his hands will also show the ability of a bde during battle. Marill was quickly defeated under Grovyle's high-frequency suppression of Leaf Bde.

  The victory was decided.

  The people watching the battle immediately excimed: "Four consecutive victories, already four consecutive victories."

  Four consecutive victories?

  Torii squeezed to the front, wanting to see who was so amazing.

  The winner was a young boy, about eleven or twelve years old, with a broad face and brown hair that seemed to be fixed with hair gel into a strange hairstyle.

  Torii walked to the front, and the boy immediately grabbed him and said, "Friend, did you see my strength this time?"

  After speaking, he shouted to the trainers watching the battle: "Is there anyone who wants to challenge me? If not, is there anyone who wants to join me now?"

  "Since we're all here, how can we come in vain? Just five people. After we gather five people, we'll set off into the mountains. The police are investigating, and we have to investigate ourselves to find the mystery of the Whismur incident!"

  Tetsuya was very enthusiastic, but this seems to be a characteristic of every young trainer. After seeing Tetsuya's strength, several people were obviously very excited about his proposal. Most trainers are restless, and this kind of thing is constantly stimuting the fiery hearts of young trainers.

  "I'll come."

  "I'll join."

  "Count me in."

  In just two breaths, three trainers, two men and one woman, stood up together.

  The police have clearly stiputed that trainers are not allowed to continue the investigation. Workers have already been injured. If trainers are injured again because of the Rusturf Tunnel incident, then the situation will be further expanded.

  "Four people, is there anyone else?!"

  Tetsuya looked around, hoping to find another teammate, but everyone else had reason prevail, deciding not to join in the fun.