After nearly half an hour of cautious travel, Xinhai and his group finally reached the edge of the forest region.
When their feet once again stepped onto relatively soft soil mixed with humus, and their noses caught the scent of grass and trees instead of scorching sulfur, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"Rest here for a while and check our condition." Xinhai sat down against a sturdy heat-resistant tree, breathing slightly heavily.
The continuous high-intensity movement and tense responses had taken no small toll on both their stamina and mental strength.
Gardevoir floated nearby, her red eyes half-closed as she quickly recovered through Calm Mind.
Blaziken remained vigilant, standing on slightly higher ground as his blue eyes swept over the path behind them and the depths of the forest.
Xinhai quickly checked each of his partners' conditions, gave them water and Pokéblocks, and performed some simple soothing massages.
He knew the crisis was far from over. They had to restore the team to peak fighting condition as quickly as possible.
Just as he finished massaging Eevee's hind leg muscles, the Pokédex in his pocket suddenly began vibrating far more urgently and violently than it did for ordinary messages, accompanied by a distinctive buzzing alarm.
"Hm?" Xinhai paused, a bad feeling rising in his chest.
He quickly pulled out the Pokédex. Its screen lit up automatically, and a bright red warning box popped up.
``` [Emergency League Draft Order (Region: Southern Foothills of Mt. Chimney and Surrounding Areas)]
[All trainers within the draft area with a League registration level of Advanced or above, proceed immediately to the nearest designated coordinates (XXX, YYY...) to assemble. Repeat, proceed immediately to the designated coordinates to assemble.]
[Reason: A sudden large-scale incident involving abnormal rampages and migration among wild Pokémon on Mt. Chimney