As soon as this deputy general saw Yuga and the others getting off the aircraft, he immediately saluted the crowd with a military gesture and shouted loudly and passionately, "Thank you all very much for coming to support the frontier development work!"
Yuga naturally stepped forward on behalf of the Trainers and responded, "It's all for building up the League. It's our duty. General, you're too kind!"
This deputy general looked to be in his early forties, wearing the special military uniform of the Pioneer Army, with a crew cut that made him appear both sharp and spirited.
Before arriving, a League official had already given Yuga a brief introduction. This deputy general was named Toyama and was currently the only person from the Pioneer Army who could be dispatched to help carry out the cleanup mission.
Naturally, Toyama also knew Yuga. He had always been very curious about this person who had suddenly descended and taken over his position as chief commander. He had heard of Yuga's accomplishments before, so he had no objections to the League's arrangement.
People with strength naturally deserve respect!
Besides, Yuga's role as the general commander was mainly for deterrent purposes—he didn't need to handle the actual affairs—so there was no threat to him.
"Mr. Shimizu, I look forward to working with you," Toyama said, giving Yuga another respectful salute. Then he turned to the other Trainers and said, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Toyama, and I'm the deputy commander for this mission..."
After a brief round of mutual introductions, Toyama said, "You've all just arrived, and I'm sure you're exhausted. Let me take you to the place where you'll be staying."
Following Toyama's lead, Yuga and the others arrived at the place where they would be living for the next month.
The Pioneer Army had arranged temporary wooden cabins for the Trainers to stay in. These cabins were neatly arranged in rows, and from the outside, they looked quite nice, but the interior was very basic—aside from providing shelter from wind and rain, they had nothing else.
Thinking about it, this made sense. The conditions here were limited, and time was tight. The fact that the Pioneer Army had managed to build so many cabins on short notice was already impressive. At least they didn't have people staying in tents.
Naturally, some people were dissatisfied with the living conditions, but before they could start complaining, Yuga shut them down.
"The conditions here are limited, but we're here to carry out a mission, not to enjoy ourselves. Before coming, everyone should have been mentally prepared to endure hardship. So even if you're unhappy now, don't say it out loud—otherwise, it won't sit well with others."
Yuga's words immediately silenced some of the Trainers.
Besides the fact that all resources acquired during the mission would belong to the Trainers themselves, the League had also offered very generous merit rewards for this mission. Otherwise, so many Trainers wouldn't have been drawn to participate.
But returns often come with risks. Besides the high danger level of the mission, the harsh conditions were something all Trainers should have anticipated.
Seeing how Yuga had suppressed the grumbling Trainers in just a few words, Toyama smiled and stepped forward, saying, "Everyone, get settled in first. Tonight, rest well. We'll talk about the mission tomorrow."
Yuga and Toyama played a good cop–bad cop routine, coordinating very smoothly.
Once all the Trainers had chosen which cabin they would live in, Toyama turned to Yuga and said, "Mr. Shimizu, shall we discuss tomorrow's mission?"
Yuga nodded and said, "Sure."
The two of them entered the wooden cabin that Yuga had selected. After a period of conversation, Yuga had a general understanding of the situation here.
This place had originally been the Pioneer Army's garrison, but after the front line was pushed deeper into the wilderness, the garrison had moved as well.
Most of the facilities that had originally belonged to the Pioneer Army had been destroyed during the Pokémon attack; otherwise, Yuga and the others wouldn't be staying in temporary wooden cabins.
At present, the Pioneer Army was tied up at the new frontier line and couldn't spare any personnel, so they could only dispatch one of their deputy generals, Toyama, to help clear the newly claimed area at the rear.
This particular wilderness in Unova had unique environmental features: the part near the human world was forested and not too large in area. But going deeper in, it turned into an endless expanse of grasslands—that was where the truly vast territory lay.
The Pokémon that had previously invaded the Pioneer Army's garrison originally lived in the forest. They guarded the boundary between the forest and the grassland and had always coexisted peacefully with the Pioneer Army.
After this invasion, they were driven by the Pioneer Army into the depths of the grassland, and the Pioneer Army's garrison was consequently relocated deeper into the grassland as well.
As for how vast the grassland beyond the forest truly is, even the Pioneer Army doesn't know. But according to the records left behind by the first generation of pioneers, when they first arrived, they once launched a large-scale campaign deep into the grasslands. However, all of them ended in failure, with heavy casualties.
There are not many detailed records, but those that exist are enough to show that the Pokémon deep within the grasslands are not to be trifled with.
Since then, the Pioneer Army had always guarded the frontier established by their predecessors and never pushed the boundary line further into the grassland. If not for the sudden outbreak of the Pokémon disaster this time, the Pioneer Army would not have recklessly entered the grasslands.
However, the Pioneer Army had now been dragged into the grassland.
After entering the grasslands, the Pokémon that had invaded the garrison allied themselves with some of the local grassland Pokémon, intending to reclaim their territory.
With the support of the grassland Pokémon, the Pioneer Army found themselves unable to overcome the Pokémon, which is why Yuga and the others were brought in.
Although most of the Pokémon had retreated deep into the grasslands, there were still some that remained in the rear of the Pioneer Army's territory. Yuga and his group's mission was to find these Pokémon and capture all of them.
Early the next morning, Yuga and Toyama gathered all the Trainers and informed them of their assigned tasks.
There were more than 800 Trainers from all over participating in this mission. According to the plan that Yuga and Toyama had agreed upon the previous night, these Trainers would be divided into squads of ten, with each squad dispersed into different regions to search.
Yuga and Toyama didn't force the Trainers into specific teams; instead, they allowed them to form squads freely. After all, teaming up with familiar people would naturally lead to better coordination.
In the end, three people couldn't find a team and were left on their own, so Yuga placed them into his own squad. This made quite a few people envious and regretful, silently cursing themselves for forming a team too early.
Toyama himself wouldn't be participating in the search missions—his job was to handle logistics—so Yuga's team had only those three members.
Once all the teams had been formed, Toyama and a few of his subordinates began distributing supplies, maps, and other materials to the teams. He then worked with Yuga to assign each squad their specific search areas.
Each team was given a specially-made communicator. Even if signal reception was poor in the wilderness, this device ensured that communication between teams would remain clear and stable.
After all tasks had been assigned, Toyama gave a stern warning:
"Our mission is extremely dangerous, and we could face life-threatening situations at any moment. So please take care to protect your team's communicator. If you encounter a situation you can't handle, don't hesitate to call for help immediately.
Remember, do not act recklessly. Acting tough here is no different than courting death. If you're going to throw your life away, don't drag your teammates down with you!
Also… every six hours, you must use the communicator to report your safety to me. If you don't follow the rules and something happens, don't say I didn't warn you!"
After General Toyama finished speaking, Yuga stepped forward and said:
"Alright, General Toyama has said everything that needs to be said. Grab your gear and head out!
Your electronic maps will guide you to your assigned areas, but don't rely too much on them. Maps are dead, but people are alive."
"Yes!"
The group of Trainers responded in unison and then set off to their designated areas.
Once everyone had more or less departed, Yuga turned to his three teammates and said, "Let's go too." As he spoke, he glanced at the electronic map in his hand and quickly chose a direction.
"Yes!"
The three team members quickly followed behind.
General Toyama shouted from afar, "Mr. Shimizu, safe travels!"
After leaving the garrison, Yuga released his Absol and rode on its back. At the same time, he said to the three team members behind him, "You all should use your rideable Pokémon too. That way, we can move a bit faster."
"Yes."
The three team members answered in unison. Rideable Pokémon were standard for Trainers like them who were often out on missions—no one would be without one.
Because a Pokémon disaster had just occurred, the surroundings along the way were especially quiet. Not even the sound of a single wild Pokémon could be heard. This was completely different from the Guli Mountains Yuga had visited before.
The wild Pokémon in the Guli Mountains had an overall stable relationship with the Pioneer Army stationed there, nowhere near as tense as the atmosphere here.
As the four of them traveled, they chatted along the way, and Yuga gradually became more familiar with the three team members.
All three of Yuga's teammates were male. The girls had long been "claimed" by other teams, and since there were relatively fewer female Trainers participating in this mission to begin with, it was impossible for one to end up alone and join Yuga's team.
These three team members came from Kanto, Johto, and Kalos respectively. All had signed up for the mission alone and didn't know anyone else, which was why they ended up without a team.
The Trainer from Kanto was named Yoshino. He was from Fuchsia City and was the youngest of the three—he had just turned 18.
Given the high level of danger in this mission, the League had imposed strict eligibility requirements for signing up. Not only did participants have to meet certain strength criteria, but their age could not be below 18. Yoshino just barely met the age requirement.
The reason he failed to join a team was probably not just because he didn't know anyone, but also because of his age—most people didn't want to bring someone so young along.
Take a look at the other Trainers: almost all were in their late twenties or thirties. For example, in Yuga's team, the one from Johto was probably at least in his forties.
This Trainer from Johto, a man in his forties, was named Raizo. Just looking at the rideable Pokémon he used, it was clear that his strength was quite solid. It's just that he looked a bit dopey.
Others probably didn't want to team up with him because his face, paired with his goofy grin, made him look too dopey. But whether he was truly dim-witted or just pretending, no one could really say.
Through their conversation, Yuga and the others learned that Raizo had a daughter who was a very talented Trainer. In Raizo's own words, his life had pretty much reached its peak, but his daughter was different—he absolutely had to support her all the way.
That's why he signed up for this mission.
As for Yuga's other teammate, his reason for participating was a bit bizarre—he was looking for a thrill.
This team member's name was Allard. He was from Snowbelle City in the Kalos region. According to him, he was 29 years old. Judging by his clothes and speech, his family background seemed quite well-off.
He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, was tall and thin, and looked refined and well-mannered—but unexpectedly, there was something odd about him. At least, that's how Yoshino and Raizo saw it.
Because of his comfortable background, Allard's life had gone smoothly up until the age of 25. Under his family's arrangement, he went to school, graduated, and became a League Trainer. His life had never seen a single ripple.
Until one day, one of his father's friend's Pokémon went berserk. He went to help stop it and was nearly killed by the Pokémon. That incident seemed to awaken something deep inside him.
So… so thrilling!!
After that, he began actively taking on some of the League's more dangerous missions, such as exploration and rescue operations. But even those didn't feel exciting enough to him.
His parents actually didn't want him to go out and take on missions. In their opinion, it was enough that their son had the title of League Trainer. It would be better for him to eventually inherit the family business.
But they couldn't sway their son. Allard continued to act on his own, taking on missions as he pleased and enjoying them immensely. But in his heart, he always felt that it was still far from enough—not thrilling enough...
Until he noticed this mission.
Yuga and his team quickly arrived at their destination.
The area Yuga was assigned to search was a swamp. Because of its complex environment, Toyama had classified it as one of the most dangerous regions.
Moreover, this swamp was located outside the forest and was part of the vast grassland.
"We're here. Everyone, stay alert."
As he spoke, Yuga released his Decidueye, Salamence, and Charizard to keep watch in the air and observe the surroundings and terrain.
"Yes!"
The other three team members followed his example and each released their Flying-type Pokémon to keep watch.
Looking at the bubbling, gurgling swamp in front of them, Yuga released his Lapras.
"Lapras, use Icy Wind."
"Hoo~"
As Lapras blew out a breath of cold air, a large portion of the swamp instantly froze over, giving them a place to step.
Seeing this scene, Allard's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Ama… amazing!"
Snowbelle City was a place in the Kalos region that experienced snow all year round, so it had many Ice-type Pokémon. As someone from Snowbelle City, Allard was naturally a skilled Ice-type Trainer. But it was his first time seeing Icy Wind used so effortlessly, like Lapras just did.
Raizo patted Allard on the shoulder and said in his dopey tone, "Of course it's amazing. Otherwise, how could someone like Mr. Shimizu be so famous?"
But I heard he's a Grass-type Trainer… The words reached Allard's lips but he swallowed them back down. Maybe he was just too ignorant and uninformed.
The group walked on for a while and, without realizing it, had reached the depths of the swamp. Suddenly, Yoshino spoke first, "Did you guys hear something?"
Crack... crack...
Of course they heard it—it was so loud!
Yuga furrowed his brows and said, "Get ready for battle!"
Upon hearing that, the other three said nothing and immediately had their Pokémon beside them stay on guard.
Crack… craaack... crack…
The sound grew louder and louder—it was the sound of ice cracking beneath their feet.
BOOM!!!
With a loud bang, one Pokémon after another burst out from beneath the ice, and in the blink of an eye, the four of them were surrounded.