Rusturf Tunnel

Master Katsumune had returned, and because of a minor accident, Terrance's departure for the Sinnoh Region had been delayed by a few more days.

They boarded Master Katsumune's private helicopter again, bound for Verdanturf Town in western Hoenn.

Unlike Fallarbor Town, Verdanturf Town was famous for its refreshingly clean air. Although it was close to Mt. Chimney, the prevailing winds kept volcanic ash from blowing its way.

In purely economic terms, Verdanturf Town, a windswept highland scented with fragrant grass, was considerably more prosperous than Fallarbor Town, thanks to the many frail patients it attracted to recuperate.

"Is it serious?"

"Several workers have been injured, and construction on Rusturf Tunnel has stopped. Trainers from the area were called in to find the cause, but they haven't been able to solve the problem."

Terrance was talking with Master Katsumune. They were headed to Verdanturf Town to deal with a construction incident caused by Pokémon.

To provide a convenient route for traveling trainers, the Hoenn League had decided to carve a mountain passage from Rustboro City to Verdanturf Town. The passage had tentatively been named "Rusturf Tunnel," but halfway through construction, a group of Whismur had come out to stop the work.

The Whismur were extremely cunning and disciplined. Whenever trainers came to stand guard, they would hide, then emerge as a group to cause destruction as soon as the trainers left and the workers resumed work, or at night when there were too few people around.

The Whismur's behavior was giving the person in charge of the project a terrible headache, and he had reported the matter to his superiors. But the Hoenn League had no suitable personnel to spare for such a minor matter at the moment. Interrupting the missions of the Elite Four or special operations personnel for a tunnel project would have been overkill.

On top of that, the upcoming Ever Grande Conference required manpower in far too many places.

As the higher-ups saw it, any mishap with such a minor problem was simply due to the person in charge being incompetent. Trainers from outside could handle it perfectly well.

In the end, however, several workers were accidentally injured, causing a huge uproar in the area. Only then did the League grow concerned and halt construction on Rusturf Tunnel. Under pressure from public opinion, the League immediately invited Master Katsumune, who was active nearby, to participate in the investigation, and called on Petalburg Woods rangers and the local police to assist with the task.

"The workers' families have all kicked up a fuss, and the League has no other choice. Everyone else capable of handling it is too far from Verdanturf Town, so they had to turn to the Breeder Association."

"If any more ordinary people get hurt, the reputation the League has only just built up will suffer."

"They brought in trainers to drive the Whismur away, but the Whismur simply refused to stop..."

"When Pokémon cause incidents like this, relying on trainers to solve them with brute force without finding the cause only treats the symptoms, not the root. It won't work."

Master Katsumune shook his head and explained it to Terrance.

"Whismur? Could building the tunnel have disturbed them...? No, that's not right. Whismur aren't affected by sound-based moves at all. Don't they have a talent called 'Soundproof'?"

It was also known as an Ability, though the term had yet to come into common use. At this time, breeders often called some of a Pokémon's extraordinary qualities "inherent talents."

"If the noise from building the tunnel disturbed the Whismur, that doesn't seem to add up. The League would have tried to choose a route where no Pokémon lived, wouldn't it? That makes the Whismur's reason for causing trouble worth investigating."

Master Katsumune paused, then looked at Terrance with satisfaction. "That's right. Whismur do have a talent called 'Soundproof.' If the person in charge of this project had known that, they should have realized that driving the Whismur away wasn't the key to resolving the matter."

"We're here-"

As soon as Master Katsumune's helicopter landed, police officers and staff were waiting below, making Terrance marvel once again at the status of a top breeder.

It was rather dull, really. Once they arrived, Master Katsumune had no time to look after a little kid like Terrance. Terrance was happy to have the free time and planned to take Beautifly and Swablu out for some real battles.

Quite a few young trainers had gathered in the mountains near Rusturf Tunnel. They had all come after being invited to deal with the Whismur incident. Now that the situation had escalated, they were unwilling to leave without seeing how it ended.

The police had sealed off most of the area, leaving the trainers at a loss.

The trainers were bored out of their minds, however, and in some open areas nearby, small groups often gathered to battle.

Terrance had been drawn over by the noise.

"Water-type against Grass-type. I'm afraid he's in trouble."

"That's three wins in a row for Tetsuya, isn't it? Can his opponent hold on, especially with a type disadvantage...?"

The battle was at its height. The trainers watching from the sidelines stared intently at the two Pokémon on the field, and Terrance was no exception.

Grovyle and Azumarill.

Grovyle's powerful thigh muscles could produce astonishing bursts of speed, and the leaves on its arms could serve as blades in battle. Under the relentless pressure of Grovyle's Leaf Blade, Azumarill was soon defeated.

The match was decided.

The spectators immediately cried out in surprise. "Four wins in a row! That's four in a row!"

Four wins in a row?

Terrance squeezed his way to the front to see who this remarkable trainer was.

The winner was a boy who looked eleven or twelve, with a broad face and brown hair that seemed to have been fixed into an odd style with hair gel.

When Terrance reached the front, the boy immediately grabbed him and said, "Friend, did you get a good look at what I can do this time?"

Then he called out to the trainers watching, "Does anyone want to challenge me? If not, does anyone want to join me now?"

"Since we've all come this far, how can we let the trip go to waste? We only need five people. Once we have five, we'll head into the mountains. The police are investigating, and we'll investigate too and get to the bottom of the Whismur incident!"

Tetsuya was enthusiastic, though that seemed to be a trait shared by every young trainer. After seeing his strength, several people were clearly tempted by his proposal. Most trainers were restless by nature, and something like this constantly stirred the passions of young trainers.

"I'm in."

"I'll join."

"Count me in."

In the space of two breaths, three trainers, two boys and a girl, stepped forward together.

The police had explicitly forbidden the trainers from continuing their investigation. Workers had already been injured, and if trainers were hurt in the Rusturf Tunnel incident as well, the situation would escalate even further.

"That makes four. Anyone else?!"

Tetsuya looked around, hoping to find one more teammate, but reason prevailed among everyone else, and they decided not to get involved.