The area just outside Haicheng's main gate was once the battlefield where death beasts had laid siege to the city.
The terrifying power of Groudon's Precipice Blades had reshaped the very terrain.
Even now, magma still flowed in places.
Locals had given this scarred land a new name: Crag Ravine.
To the east of the ravine, the Pokémon Corps advanced in orderly formation.
To the west, Su Bai led the charge, alongside Wang Tao and a few long-time customers. Also at the front was an elite A-rank awakened team led by Liu Yunshuang.
Behind them were the students of Haicheng First High, faces lit with excited anticipation, followed by groups of social awakeners—more subdued, more solemn.
Unlike the spirited students—young and fearless—the awakeners better understood what this expedition truly meant. Their thoughts ran deeper, heavier.
Liu Yunshuang, the strategist of the A-rank squad, now held a map, analyzing it with calm precision.
"According to intel, just ahead lies a cluster of C- and D-ranked death beasts.
It's a designated cleanup zone."
"The students are too excited.
The awakeners, on the other hand, are lacking confidence."
"This place isn't particularly dangerous, so it's a perfect warm-up to level everyone's mentality."
Su Bai nodded.
"Exactly. For a spot like this, we don't need to step in ourselves."
"Wang Tao, Liu Yunlan—have Hippopotas and Growlithe take the lead. Set the pace of the assault."
"Before we reach a truly threatening zone, these low-level death beasts are perfect for battle drills."
Wang Tao grinned and nodded.
"You don't need to tell me twice. Death beasts are great training dummies!"
Death beasts offered far more experience than ordinary training battles—possibly even more than regular Pokémon matches.
The veteran customers knew this well.
At this point, using a mid-stage Torterra for battle would be a waste; the gains just weren't worth it.
Most of the regulars—aside from Li Xiaoyu—had newly acquired Pokémon. This was the perfect chance to train them up.
"Hey, Ji Wei, your Sandile still hasn't evolved?"
Su Bai looked over, frowning slightly. Ji Wei's training methods seemed… lacking.
Sandile was supposed to evolve at level 29.
And Ji Wei had gotten his Sandile a while ago—he'd even used it during the deathbeast siege!
Ji Wei's face darkened. Liu Yunshuang's Jigglypuff had already evolved into a Wigglytuff, and his poor little Sandile was still just a baby…
"What can I say? Our squad's always busy…"
He spread his hands with a helpless sigh.
"We're constantly traveling between missions, most of our time is spent on the road.
And our opponents are usually A-rank death beasts—there's rarely a safe moment for Sandile to join the fight."
Their A-rank team had five members:
Ji Wei the berserker, Liu Yunshuang the songstress, Master Shi Ce the warrior, Sun Ling the mage, and Zhang Wenhao the cleric.
With such a powerful team, their assignments were high-risk and non-stop.
For a baby-stage Pokémon like Sandile, it was hard to even gain battle experience.
Su Bai could now understand—Ji Wei's Sandile hadn't evolved not for lack of effort, but because opportunities had simply been too rare.
"Hmm? Something's coming…"
Just as Su Bai was about to continue discussing Pokémon development, his expression shifted.
A rustle in the trees ahead—and then, from the dense underbrush, a small head poked out.
Its rodent-like face was twisted, blood-red eyes brimming with hate and hunger as it glared at the humans.
Then a second… a third… a fourth…
A whole swarm of grotesque little heads emerged.
A wave of rotting stench rolled toward them, thick and nauseating.
"Ugh, Rotmice... One of the worst types," Liu Yunshuang muttered, pinching her nose.
Even though she looked like a delicate beauty, she was an experienced A-rank warrior.
For such a seasoned fighter to visibly recoil—these things must really stink.
Su Bai wrinkled his nose as well, though his eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Rotmice—C-rank death beasts, live in colonies.
Strong territorial instincts, and rarely share space with other beasts."
"Small, fast, bodies are half-decayed. Poison-type."
"Individually weak—but in swarms, more dangerous than many B-rank beasts."
"These guys… are perfect for beginner-level Pokémon!"
He turned to address the group behind him.
"Everyone—it's time to show what you've got!"
A stir ran through the Trainers.
And almost as if provoked by the noise, the restless Rotmice swarmed out in a crazed, frenzied charge!
But what greeted them was something they had never seen before—Pokémon.
"Hippopotas—use Sandstorm!"
Before Su Bai could even react, Wang Tao had already grinned and tossed out his Poké Ball.
Out popped the heavy-set, dopey-faced Hippopotas.
At Wang Tao's command, it stomped down with a thunderous thud!
Though still in its baby form, Hippopotas was massive—and its stomp made the ground tremble.
Moments later, a fierce sandstorm erupted out of nowhere!
The swirling dust swept toward the charging Rotmice.
The front-runners were instantly thrown off their paws, flipping and tumbling.
While the damage wasn't fatal, it disrupted their momentum.
This was Hippopotas's ability—Sand Storm.
Much like how Water-types could summon rain, Ground-types like Hippopotas could summon sand.
Even indoors, it could conjure up elemental sand. But here, in open terrain, the storm was enhanced by natural debris—sharpening the storm's edge.
Unlike the passive effect in games, Sand Stream here was clearly controllable in real life!
"Follow up! Use Sand Tomb!"
Wang Tao grinned wider.
At his command, Hippopotas opened its massive jaws and roared.
The sandstorm swirled tighter, forming a giant vortex!
A large group of Rotmice were swept inside!
The high-speed sand blasted them from every angle—leaving bloody pits and tears across their rotting hides.
Hippopotas couldn't kill that many on its own—it was still a baby Pokémon, after all.
But its two skills had completely disrupted the enemy's charge!
Then—like a floodgate had burst—the Trainers behind erupted into action!
"Ekans, use Poison Sting!"
"Sandshrew, Rollout!"
"Bellsprout, use Vine Whip—smack 'em hard!"
During the march, to conserve energy and speed things up, most Pokémon had been stored in their Poké Balls.
Now that battle was upon them, Trainers couldn't wait to let them loose!
In a flash, over two hundred Pokémon filled the battlefield!
Some soared in the air.
Some bounded across the ground.
Others galloped on all fours.
All around, brilliant and chaotic energy erupted as countless moves slammed into the charging Rotmice!
And so… the Trainers' first real battle began!