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The interior of the sewer system was surprisingly spacious. In the center ran a main channel where sewage and pollutants were discharged, measuring about four or five meters wide. On both sides of this central waterway were walkways that were approximately two meters wide each.
There was a clearance of more than one meter between the walkways and the main drainage channel, which meant that sewage would rarely overflow onto the paths where they were walking. Electric lights illuminated the tunnels brightly, with light bulbs positioned at regular intervals throughout the underground network.
Although the smell was somewhat unpleasant, it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as they had feared. The odor was much more tolerable than when a Muk was present, or even compared to the natural scent of a Gloom, so they found they could get used to it relatively quickly.
Seeing that conditions down in the sewer weren't as horrible as she had imagined, Misty breathed a considerable sigh of relief.
However, looking at the extensive sewer system stretching out before them, they realized this network served the entire city. Just from their current vantage point, they could see passages leading in three different directions ahead of them.
There were undoubtedly other branch tunnels and connections throughout the vast underground maze. Such a complex system would make finding specific clues incredibly challenging.
"Where are we supposed to search in all of this?" Misty asked, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the task ahead.
"We don't need to search randomly. We just need to find the area directly beneath Honda's company," Ash responded calmly. Since this seemed to be connected to Honda's business interests, the logical approach was to locate his corporate headquarters.
"That makes sense!" Brock agreed with the strategy.
"Let me check the map," Brock said as he pulled out his city map for reference.
"According to this map, we should head north from here," he determined after studying their current location.
Although it wasn't specifically a sewer map, by comparing it with the city layout above ground, he could determine the general direction they needed to travel.
"Let's get moving then," Ash said without further discussion, immediately beginning to walk in the indicated direction. Pikachu and Brock followed close behind him.
They didn't encounter anything unusual along their route, which wasn't entirely surprising given the massive size of the sewer system they were navigating.
Although the environment appeared much cleaner than expected from the outside, the sewage flowing through the major waterways was still dark and murky, but this was understandable given the circumstances.
Gringey City was primarily an industrialized urban center. It was actually quite impressive that the sewers could handle all the pollution and waste with only this level of contamination visible.
While Ash and his friends were exploring the underground tunnels, the situation above ground in Gringey City had reached a boiling point. Large numbers of citizens had spontaneously gathered together in the streets, loudly shouting demands to expel all Grimer from their city.
Officer Jenny had deployed numerous police officers throughout the affected areas to maintain public order and hoped to temporarily suppress the growing unrest. However, because the Honda Group was secretly fueling the situation from behind the scenes, her efforts were meeting with limited success.
The citizens were extremely agitated and emotional at this point, making it nearly impossible for law enforcement to completely control the demonstrations.
Pokemon Center
"Electabuzz!" The injured Pokemon suddenly cried out.
Perhaps it had heard the angry shouting of the citizens outside, or maybe other troubled thoughts were preventing it from resting peacefully. Electabuzz's eyes suddenly snapped open as it awakened from its medically induced rest.
It sat up carefully on the hospital bed, immediately feeling sharp pain throughout its body, clearly indicating that it hadn't fully recovered from its injuries yet.
After looking around and recognizing that it was in a medical ward, and remembering seeing familiar faces before losing consciousness, Electabuzz finally relaxed. It knew that Ash and his friends must have been the ones who brought it to safety.
Click!
At that moment, the ward door opened and Nurse Joy entered with Chansey by her side. She was slightly startled to see Electabuzz awake, then her expression changed to one of pleasant surprise.
"You're finally awake! That's wonderful news. Ash will be so happy to hear about this, but he's not here right now," she explained with a warm smile.
"Electabuzz!" Electabuzz responded with obvious alarm, then quickly jumped down from the hospital bed.
"Wait... wait just a moment! Your injuries haven't healed completely yet!" Nurse Joy said with concern after witnessing this sudden movement.
She knew that Electabuzz had sustained serious injuries and definitely wasn't ready for strenuous activity. If it acted too recklessly, the Pokemon could easily make its condition worse.
"Electabuzz! Electabuzz!" Electabuzz immediately called out to Nurse Joy while making urgent gestures with its arms.
Even though Nurse Joy couldn't understand Pokemon language, after spending so much time working with various Pokemon, she had developed the ability to interpret their basic communications to some extent.
"Are you asking about Ash? Yes, Ash went out earlier. The situation outside is very chaotic right now, and I'm worried about how he's doing," Nurse Joy responded, having roughly understood what Electabuzz was trying to communicate.
Electabuzz's expression changed dramatically upon hearing this news. Learning that Ash had left the safety of the Pokemon Center, it displayed obvious anxiety and distress. There was something critically important it needed to tell Ash about what had really happened.
"Electabuzz!" it called out urgently.
After processing what Nurse Joy had told it, Electabuzz quickly rushed toward the exit. Seeing this sudden action, both Nurse Joy and Chansey were shocked by the Pokemon's determination.
Before either of them could physically stop it, Electabuzz had already dashed out of the medical facility on its own.
When it reached the area outside the Pokemon Center, Electabuzz immediately witnessed the large crowds of citizens in the streets, all shouting slogans demanding that the Grimer be driven away from the city.
Seeing this chaotic scene, Electabuzz felt a heavy sense of guilt wash over it. It had awakened too late from its injuries. It knew the real truth behind recent events, but hadn't been able to warn Ash in time.
However, it reasoned that Ash might have already gone to investigate and find answers on his own. Regardless of whether Ash had discovered the truth or not, Electabuzz knew it had to rush to the source of the problem and try to stop whatever was happening.
Ignoring the worried calls from Nurse Joy and Chansey who were chasing after it, Electabuzz left the Pokemon Center behind and rushed into the crowded streets filled with angry demonstrators.
"What should we do now? It's going to look for Ash, isn't it? With Ash there, everything should be fine," Nurse Joy said as she watched the determined Pokemon disappear into the crowd.
She looked around at the rioting citizens surrounding them. The situation this time seemed much more severe than the previous incident. She found herself unconsciously hoping that Ash would somehow be able to turn the tide of events once again.
Honda Group Headquarters
"Excellent! Absolutely excellent! Soon those annoying Grimer won't be able to interfere with my plans anymore," Honda declared with obvious satisfaction.
At that moment, in the executive offices of the Honda Group, Honda was watching the various street demonstrations throughout the city through multiple computer monitors in his office. He was clearly thrilled that his ultimate goal was finally within reach.
"Continue sending our people out to agitate the crowds. We must ensure that this momentum doesn't die down!" Honda commanded, still somewhat concerned that the current level of public outrage wasn't strong enough to guarantee success.
He immediately gave orders to his subordinates who were standing nearby.
Obviously, just as Ash had suspected, Honda had been sending agents to instigate and spread inflammatory information behind the scenes. This manipulation explained why the citizens were so emotionally charged and unified in their anger.
"Yes, boss!" his subordinates responded quickly after receiving their instructions, then promptly left to carry out their assigned tasks.
Meanwhile, down in the sewer system, Ash and his companions were gradually approaching the area directly beneath the Honda Group headquarters.
What surprised all three friends was that they hadn't seen any trace of Grimer during their entire underground journey. This unexpected absence made them increasingly suspicious about what they might discover.