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The sky was clear and bright.
Heavy, lead-colored clouds were scattered by a gentle breeze, peeling away to reveal a stretch of long-absent blue overhead.
The rain that had lingered for days finally stopped, replaced by warm sunlight spilling across the land.
Grrr—
Thick black rubber tires rolled over damp ground, carving straight tracks through the soft mud.
On the wide, empty road, three off-road vehicles raced forward, engines roaring. Each bore the familiar red-and-white Poké Ball insignia of the Pokémon League painted across the hood.
Fran sat quietly in the back seat of the middle vehicle.
She gazed out the window as the scenery rushed past, her expression distant, clearly lost in thought.
Silvery hair slipped past her ears and drifted gently with the breeze seeping in through the cracked window.
Her features were delicate and balanced. Clear, pale eyes like fresh snowfall reflected the light, and her small upturned nose gave her an air of youthful confidence.
She was slender, her fair skin contrasting softly with her rare silver hair, giving her an almost weightless, refined presence.
Even dressed in the standard red-and-white League trainer uniform, she looked less like someone on assignment and more like the cover of a lifestyle magazine.
At the moment, however, Fran was frustrated.
She had been a licensed Trainer for two years since graduating from the academy, and in her mind, she had proven herself across more than enough missions.
Yet now, with Nightmare Pokémon resurging and humanity facing its greatest crisis, she had not been assigned to the front lines she had hoped for.
Instead, under direct orders from the League's Falyn City branch, she had been sent to a small town far behind the main battle zones.
"…Seriously."
She exhaled softly, her chest rising and falling as she sighed.
Falyn City, one of humanity's nine remaining major strongholds, housed the largest and most prestigious Trainer Academy still operating.
Fran was one of its graduates.
Thanks to her top-tier performance, she had earned the right to remain stationed in Falyn City instead of being transferred elsewhere.
In her own assessment, after two years of real-world experience, she was already halfway into elite territory.
She might still lack some frontline combat experience, but facing Nightmare Pokémon head-on was well within her abilities.
And yet—
She couldn't help recalling her captain's words from a few days earlier.
The lecture itself had been repetitive. Caution. Patience. Risk management.
But the concern behind it had been genuine.
"…Fine," she muttered under her breath.
"Waiting a little longer won't kill me."
She lifted one slender arm, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.
Cool air carrying the scent of wet soil filled her lungs, clearing her head.
Basking in the warmth of the sun, Fran felt her mood steadily improve as her tangled thoughts began to settle.
She pressed both hands against her cheeks and gave herself a quick shake, as if physically pushing her doubts away.
Since she had already been assigned to the rear, she might as well focus on the mission.
Her destination was a small settlement known as Nance Town.
The population wasn't large, but it had once been famous for its textile industry.
During the early Dark Age, thanks to its abundance of Bug-type Pokémon resources, Nance Town had supplied woven materials and clothing to several nearby cities. It had been an important logistics hub.
Now, with industrial manufacturing slowly recovering, that advantage had faded.
The town's former bustle had disappeared.
The streets had grown quiet. Visitors were rare.
Recently, however, the Falyn City League branch had noticed something… off.
Staff stationed in Nance Town continued to submit weekly reports as usual.
But whether in written form or voice communication, something felt subtly wrong.
Nothing overt.
Nothing specific.
Just an unsettling sense that something was out of place.
Follow-up scans using Psychic-type Pokémon in Falyn City had confirmed the suspicion.
Something abnormal was happening in that quiet town.
What exactly, no one knew.
To be safe, the League assembled a small investigation team, built around two professional Trainers, and sent them in.
Under normal circumstances, any irregularity inside a populated settlement would receive serious attention.
But with the front lines stretched thin by Nightmare Pokémon incursions, manpower was scarce.
And Nance Town lay deep within human-controlled territory, surrounded by multiple cities.
The likelihood of Nightmare Pokémon appearing there was extremely low.
The stationed staff were still communicating normally, and no one appeared to be in immediate danger.
Given all that, sending just two Trainers was a reasonable decision.
Even if something unexpected happened, the team carried a direct communication device linked to Falyn City.
Reinforcements could be dispatched quickly if needed.
In Fran's mind, this was little more than a routine patrol.
She even suspected that overworked League analysts were reading too much into nothing.
A faint sense of annoyance crept in.
She hoped to finish the inspection quickly, return to Falyn City, and maybe, just maybe, get reassigned to the front.
Screeeeech!
The sudden scream of rubber against asphalt ripped through the air.
"Ah!"
The abrupt braking caught Fran completely off guard.
Thrown forward by inertia, her slender body lurched ahead, slamming hard into the seat in front of her.
The impact knocked the breath from her lungs.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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