Serena didn't disturb Shoryu's training and instead quietly found a spot where she and her Pokémon began their morning exercises.
Because she was a Performer (who also worked as a Coordinator), Serena's training moves were very elegant and dazzling. The Chatot and Fletchinder perched on the dojo wall watched with great interest.
Due to the blessing of Ho-Oh, Fletchinder had an especially strong affinity for Fire-type energy. Whenever Serena's Delphox used Fire-type moves, Fletchinder couldn't resist leaping into the flames to dance through them, causing the fire to swirl and flow beautifully around it. Watching this scene, Serena's eyes lit up with excitement.
To have moves behave as one imagines, mastery over the technique and precise control of elemental energy are absolutely necessary—and clearly, Fletchinder could do both with ease.
But admiration aside, Fletchinder wasn't Serena's Pokémon, so no matter how impressed she was, there was nothing she could do.
Meanwhile, Shoryu had already noticed Serena. Since he came early, he also finished training early. And because he didn't have school that day, he squatted to the side and quietly watched Serena train.
Serena's morning exercises went on for quite some time that day. When she finished, the sun was already high in the sky. She saw Shoryu squatting nearby and gently asked, "Little one, have you had breakfast yet?"
Shoryu shook his head.
Serena happily said, "Then let's have breakfast together."
And so the two of them went together to the amusement park restaurant. Shoryu usually ate there with Beidou as well.
After breakfast, Chatot took the initiative to suggest taking Serena on a tour of Verdanturf City. Serena went to ask Yuga for permission. Yuga thought it was perfect timing since he was too busy to accompany her himself, and Chatot knew Verdanturf City like the back of its hand anyway.
After Serena and her group left, Yuga went to find Flabébé to talk about the idea of having Haruki become its Trainer. As expected, Flabébé didn't object.
Since Flabébé had no objection, the next step was to talk with Haruki and his parents. Both sides had to be willing for it to work out—if Haruki didn't like Flabébé, then it wouldn't be possible.
Because there was no school today, not long after, Haruki arrived at the YoYo Day Care with Natsuhiko, and soon they were happily playing with Flabébé, Gothita, and the others.
As it happened, Haruki's and Natsuhiko's moms came by as well. It turned out they had plans to go shopping together later, so they conveniently dropped off the kids first and also planned to buy some Pokéblocks for their Chikorita and Buneary.
After saying hello to Suzuki Koen, the two mothers were about to leave when Yuga called out, "Haruki's mom, please wait a moment."
They stopped in their tracks, and Haruki's mom asked curiously, "Mr. Shimizu, is there something you need?"
Yuga nodded and said, "There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Could I trouble you for just a few minutes?"
Haruki's mom glanced at Natsuhiko's mom, who gave her a small nod, so she agreed:
"Of course."
So Haruki's mom was invited into the meeting room, and Yuga didn't beat around the bush. He directly explained the situation with Flabébé and told her his idea.
After listening, Haruki's mom readily agreed and said, "I'll ask Haruki once we get home. If he's willing, I have no objections."
Yuga said gratefully, "Thank you so much."
"No need to thank me, Mr. Shimizu. You're being too polite," Haruki's mom waved her hand and added, "Besides, you've clearly put a lot of thought into this for Flabébé."
Yuga smiled wryly and said, "There's no helping it. After all, I do share part of the responsibility for what happened to Flabébé."
Haruki's mom immediately replied in a righteous tone, "How could you blame yourself? Obviously, it's the fault of those with ill intent."
Yuga didn't say anything more and simply smiled as he saw Haruki's mom out of the meeting room.
After seeing off both Haruki's and Natsuhiko's moms, Yuga looked at Flabébé, Gothita, Haruki, and Natsuhiko playing joyfully at the entrance of the store, their faces full of laughter. He thought to himself: I hope Flabébé can find a good home this time.
Afterward, he headed over to the new shop to practice making Pokéblocks and incense. Daily training couldn't be neglected!
Meanwhile, Serena and Chatot had arrived on Verdanturf City's main street. Serena expressed her desire to go see the venue where the Pokémon Contest were held.
Although Serena didn't make it in time to participate in Verdanturf City's Pokémon Contest, now that she was here, how could she not go take a look at the place where the contest was held!
Aside from Chatot, Fletchinder was also by Serena's side. Since Yuga didn't really trust Chatot to be reliable, he also sent Shoryu to accompany her.
After arriving at their destination, Serena looked at the grand Verdanturf Arena in front of her and exclaimed in awe, "The Pokémon Contest venue in Verdanturf City is so magnificent!"
Although the Verdanturf Arena had already lost its status as Verdanturf City's most iconic building to the Battle Arena, it was originally a large-scale venue co-built by Devon Corporation and the Pokémon League, so naturally it wasn't something that the contest halls of ordinary cities could compare to.
Chatot now saw itself as a proud "citizen" of Verdanturf City. Hearing Serena praise the City like that, it immediately puffed out its chest with pride and said: "Of course! This Verdanturf Arena is a large-scale comprehensive venue. It's not only used for hosting Pokémon Contests — all major competitions or events in Verdanturf City are held here."
"I see, Chatot, you sure know a lot!" Serena said with a look of realization.
"Of course!" Chatot replied, completely full of itself from Serena's praise.
Unfortunately, the Verdanturf Arena was currently closed for maintenance, so they weren't allowed to go inside to visit the main arena. Serena felt very disappointed and had no choice but to walk around the outside.
Although it wasn't the contest season in Verdanturf City, there were still many Coordinators practicing outside the Verdanturf Arena, so the area was very lively.
Outside Verdanturf Arena was a vast open space, which made it a perfect place for Coordinators to train. As a result, it had already become the largest gathering place for Coordinators in the whole City.
Not only that, but there was also a small marketplace nearby where Coordinators would trade items and resources with each other.
While watching the other Coordinators practice, Serena was greatly inspired. Many creative ideas flashed through her mind, so she also gave a small performance with her Pokémon, which was met with unanimous praise from the other Coordinators.
Just as Serena and her companions were enjoying themselves, someone suddenly tilted their head and fainted, collapsing straight to the ground. Fortunately, the people around caught them in time.
However, this was only the beginning. One after another, more people and Pokémon began to collapse, and panic quickly spread through the crowd.
"What… what is going on?" Chatot exclaimed in shock.
But just as it finished speaking, Shoryu's body suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground.
"Kiddo!" Chatot cried out in alarm.
"Shoryu!"
Serena quickly rushed over to pick Shoryu up, but just as she squatted down, a wave of overwhelming drowsiness suddenly surged through her. The next moment, she collapsed right beside Shoryu.
"Little beauty! Little beauty!" Chatot shouted loudly, then turned its head in a panic and said to Fletchinder, "Quick! Go get Yuga!"
When its mind went blank, the first person Chatot thought of was, of course, Yuga.
Fletchinder flapped its wings and took off into the sky, but it had barely flown a few meters when it suddenly plummeted straight down and crashed onto Chatot.
"Ow ow ow, that hurts so bad!"
…
The Verdanturf City Police Department quickly received multiple reports — not only near the Verdanturf Arena, but also in several other locations around the city, people were suddenly fainting without warning. In an instant, the entire City fell into chaos.
When Yuga received the emergency notice, he was terrified and rushed over to the area near the Verdanturf Arena. He soon found Chatot and the others.
But he had only just arrived when Chatot also fainted.
Yuga immediately began checking on Serena, Shoryu, and several of the Pokémon, and quickly discovered that… they seemed to be asleep?
Just then, Officer Saskia arrived with her team. So many people in Verdanturf had suddenly collapsed that the police department was overwhelmed, and she had to split up and act separately from her uncle, Masato Shirai.
"Gym Leader Shimizu, did you find anything?" Officer Saskia asked.
Yuga frowned and said, "I found something, but I'm not sure if it's correct."
As he spoke, he suddenly pulled out several masks. After putting one on himself, he handed the rest to Saskia and the accompanying officers.
"Put these on."
"Gym Leader Shimizu, what's this about?"
Saskia was puzzled in her heart, but her hands didn't slow down. She followed Yuga's lead and put on the mask, and the other officers did the same.
If it's Gym Leader Shimizu saying it, there's no mistake!
But why did Mr. Shimizu have so many masks on him? Although the officers were confused, none of them dared to ask.
"I'll explain later."
As he spoke, Yuga took out a Poké Ball, released Dragonite, and said to it, "Go and bring Nurse Joy here."
"Dragonite~"
Dragonite nodded and disappeared into the sky in the blink of an eye. A few minutes later, it returned carrying a disheveled-headed Joyka.
Dragonite released its arms and gently set Joyka down. Seeing this, Yuga said to her, "Quick, come check their condition."
Joyka's heart was still pounding. She glared at Yuga and said, "I'll settle accounts with you later." Then she walked toward the unconscious Shoryu.
As expected of Joyka, after a brief check, she quickly discovered the reason behind everyone's unconscious state.
"This is caused by inhaling an excessive amount of Sleep Powder."
Yuga thought to himself: As expected.
Joyka naturally accepted the mask Yuga handed to her and put it on as well.
"Sleep Powder?" Saskia exclaimed in surprise, "But where did so much Sleep Powder come from in Verdanturf City?"
Joyka shook her head. She was a Pokémon doctor, not a police officer or detective—how would she know the cause?
"The Sleep Powder particles are very fine and float in the air. You can't see them with the naked eye. Anyone who stays in this area long enough will naturally inhale a large amount."
Yuga said, "Now that we've found the cause, we need to evacuate these people immediately. If they keep inhaling more Sleep Powder, it'll be bad.
"But the most urgent thing is to find the source of this Sleep Powder in the air. Otherwise, the situation will only keep getting worse."
"Understood. We'll investigate right away," Saskia said seriously.
Yuga instructed Dragonite to take Serena, Shoryu, and the Pokémon back home, while he stayed behind to help.
After discovering the cause of the unconsciousness, the Verdanturf Police Department immediately sprang into action.
Since Sleep Powder floating in the air relies on wind to spread, the first thing they needed to understand was the current wind direction in Verdanturf City.
There was no official weather monitoring agency in Verdanturf, so the police went to the power station. Because they raised a large number of Sunflora, they had to monitor the weather in real-time.
The people at the power station had also fallen unconscious. But once they heard that the police were there to investigate the cause of the people's fainting, they immediately offered enthusiastic help.
Once the wind direction was confirmed, the police borrowed a device from Joyka that could detect the concentration of Sleep Powder in the air. Soon, they were able to roughly determine the direction in which the Sleep Powder was spreading.
As expected, the Sleep Powder spreading through Verdanturf City originated from the nearby Petalburg Woods.
Logically speaking, Petalburg Woods shouldn't have any Pokémon capable of producing large quantities of Sleep Powder. The Beautifly and Venomoth that live in large numbers in Petalburg Woods can only learn Stun Spore and Poison Powder, respectively—neither of them can use Sleep Powder.
Besides, with autumn arriving, these two species had already embarked on their migration journey long ago.
To figure out the cause of the Sleep Powder's appearance, the Verdanturf City Police Department organized a small team to enter Petalburg Woods for investigation. The team was led by Saskia.
To be on the safe side, Masato Shirai requested that Yuga accompany them. Seeing that Serena and the others had already regained consciousness thanks to Joyka's treatment, and considering that this matter concerned the safety of Verdanturf City, Yuga—being the Gym Leader—felt it was his duty to assist. So he agreed.
Before Yuga and the team set out, Verdanturf City had already implemented preventive measures against the Sleep Powder. Everyone going outside was required to wear masks, and the police also advised citizens to stay indoors as much as possible until the issue was resolved.
After making the necessary preparations, Yuga and his team departed.
Once they entered Petalburg Woods, the first people Yuga sought out were the forest rangers, as they were the ones most familiar with the woods.
The current rangers in Petalburg Woods were no longer the ones Yuga had known before. Those had already been gradually reassigned from the forest.
Even so, the current rangers were very cooperative with Yuga and the team's investigation.
However, after a round of questioning, the rangers all reported that there had been no recent abnormalities in Petalburg Woods.
Yuga, thinking quickly, asked, "Then have any Pokémon groups passed through Petalburg Woods recently during their migration?"
One of the rangers replied, "Of course! It's currently peak migration season, and plenty of groups have passed through Petalburg Woods."
"Could you tell me which ones?" Yuga continued to ask.
The rangers immediately started recalling.
"There were Tropius, Swablu… Masquerain, Jumpluff…"
As they remembered, the rangers listed off each migrating group one by one.
"Wait a second—you said there was a group of Jumpluff that passed through?" Yuga suddenly caught the key point.
A ranger answered, "Yes, the Jumpluff group was quite large. When they passed over the skies above Petalburg Woods, they were so densely packed that it was a spectacular sight!"
Yuga and Saskia looked at each other, and at the same time they both had the same hunch—Verdanturf City's Sleep Powder problem was likely linked to those Jumpluff.
Among all the migrating Pokémon groups that had passed through Petalburg Woods, only they were known to produce Sleep Powder.
"Are you sure the Jumpluff group already left Petalburg Woods?" Yuga asked again.
The rangers answered firmly, "Absolutely. We watched them fly out of Petalburg Woods with our own eyes."
However, Yuga felt that something must have gone wrong somewhere, so he asked again, "Can you show us the migration route of the Jumpluff group?"
"Of course."
The rangers quickly drew out a route map showing the Jumpluff group's migration path and handed it to Yuga and his team.