At dusk, the world transformed.
The vast desert turned desolate and bone-chilling. The parching heat of the day vanished, replaced by a wind that didn't just shove sand into your mouth—it made you shiver to the core.
Building a fire was out of the question; given the desert's conditions, finding fuel was a struggle anyway. Everyone simply huddled deep into their coats and cloaks, trying to endure the freezing onset of night.
As the brilliant sun dipped below the horizon, the difficulty of scouting spiked. Thermal imagers pointed toward the rocky plains revealed nothing but an empty void; the silence made it feel like a place no human belonged.
It was tedious.
But Kashiwagi actually enjoyed this tediousness. Compared to a bloody struggle for survival, the withered weeds looked delicate and lovely, and the distant mountains took on a sense of majesty.
Plus, there was the crisp, rhythmic chiming of the Soothe Bell.
Ding-ling-ling~ Ding-ling-ling~
As Mawile played with the other Pokémon nearby, the relaxing chimes drifted into everyone's ears, soothing their minds.
"Kashiwagi, is someone really coming? It doesn't feel like it at all."
A bored Otsuka held his binoculars. His voice had shifted from early-morning excitement to sheer exhaustion; scouting was a brutal test of patience.
Kashiwagi replied, "No one can say for sure. Maybe they can't break through at Mine No. 2 and decided to try a flanking maneuver here. Or maybe it's another faction entirely, disguised as Team Snarl."
"Another faction?"
"Yeah. You didn't think Team Snagem only had one enemy, did you? It's entirely possible for someone else to swoop in and kick us while we're down. All they'd have to do is kill everyone here and make it look like Snarl's handiwork."
"Holy crap... no way."
"Why not? Personal grudges aside, I don't think other factions want to see Snagem grow any more powerful. Everyone's afraid that if Snagem levels up, they'll be next on the chopping block. That's just common sense."
"When you put it that way, I almost wish we hadn't snatched this mine."
"Winning a kingdom is easy; holding it is the hard part. Especially with enemies surrounding us. The High Executives are probably caught between a rock and a hard place. With the Snarl Boss captured, whether they elect a new leader internally or have one dropped in from the outside, it affects us as neighbors. So, instead of sitting idle, they'd rather strike first and gamble on a path to the top."
After Kashiwagi finished speaking, the other four members of his squad looked at him with eyes full of admiration.
"Is this the power of knowledge? You know so much!"
Otsuka was deeply moved. He had been attending the literacy classes for a while now, and every day felt like a prison sentence. He often wondered what the point of learning to read even was. But seeing Kashiwagi look so wise rekindled his desire to study.
The other four felt the same.
"I'm just talking out of my ass. Don't take it too seriously." Kashiwagi gave an awkward laugh. He was just voicing his personal perspective; it wasn't necessarily the objective truth.
Perhaps other factions weren't that forward-thinking? Perhaps the Top Executives just wanted to kick a dog while it was down? There were too many possibilities.
"Alright, it's time to rotate positions. Pack it up."
Kashiwagi clapped his hands, calling out to Mawile, who was currently horsing around with a group of Pokémon. The little creature seemed to be playing "Big Sister," bossing Otsuka's Pokémon around and having the time of her life. She didn't want to stop.
"Maw-ile!"
"Now isn't the time. You can play all you want once this is over."
He coaxed her, and Mawile finally gave in, jumping into the back of the vehicle.
Kashiwagi turned on his walkie-talkie to contact the outer-circle members stationed elsewhere. Normally, they checked in every ten minutes if everything was clear, just to ensure there were no issues.
But being naturally cautious, Kashiwagi had forced them to check in every five minutes. Ten minutes of silence was enough time for a lot of things to go wrong. Five minutes was a much tighter window.
"Area Two, copy. Starting move."
"Area Three, copy. Starting move."
"Area Four, copy. Starting move."
"Area Five..."
"Wait." Kashiwagi suddenly cut in. "Area Four, what's wrong with your voice?"
"...Accidentally swallowed some sand. Cough, cough. Sorry, Captain."
"Fine. Continue reporting."
"Area Five, copy. Starting move."
Including Kashiwagi, there were ten areas in total, each covering a different direction. Under his command, they began to shift.
He let out a heavy breath, looking at his waiting teammates with a complicated expression. "Something's happened."
Otsuka and the others froze. "W-what?"
"The person in Area Four has been replaced. I've observed that area; there's no wind there. I should have heard the drone's hum in the background, but I didn't."
Kashiwagi sighed, immediately using his earpiece to try and contact the mine, but he was met only with the skree of static.
He had just been in contact with the mine a few minutes ago. To lose contact now was proof. Someone had used a jamming device to cut the mine off from the outside world, just like they had done during their own raid on the Snarl mine.
It was now a near-certainty that Area Four had been infiltrated.
The fact that they hadn't even managed to get a warning signal out, and that the mine was targeted so quickly, showed the strength of the attackers. Such a silent approach was terrifying.
He was suddenly glad he hadn't dispersed his squad. That tiny bit of scouting power wouldn't have been enough to even slow the enemy down.
I hope they've realized it back at the mine.
He checked his phone—no signal.
"Go back! Back to the mine!"
Kashiwagi told his four teammates. "We can't rule out the possibility that they're hunting us scouts. We have to regroup with the main force as fast as possible."
Staying with the large group increased their survival rate. Of course, that was only one reason. The other was that he still had four squad members back at the mine. He couldn't bear to just abandon them and flee to Pyrite Town without checking.
Besides, with Ayana stationed at the mine, the attackers might not have fully succeeded yet. There was no need to assume the worst before seeing the situation.
"Yes, sir!" Otsuka and the others shouted back.
----
Mine No. 1
Just as Kashiwagi suspected, communications with the outside world had been intercepted.
The Snarl ambush team, moving as if guided by an insider, had smoothly bypassed the defensive lines—both the ones Kashiwagi knew of and the ones he didn't—reaching the mine's exterior.
Though they wanted to maintain the stealth of the raid, they were eventually spotted by a vigilant Snagem member.
The moment the alarm blared within the mine, three Executives and two hundred Snarl members launched a full-scale assault. While it wasn't as seamless as a raid commanded by Ryuka, it caught the defenders completely off guard.
The main gate's defenses were breached. Countless Snarl members flooded in, beginning to wreck everything in sight and attacking anyone associated with Team Snagem.
"Smash it! Smash it all!" an Executive roared, directing his Mightyena and Houndoom to destroy the expensive heavy machinery.
"You're asking for death!"
A furious shout erupted from a small building, followed immediately by a massive pillar of water that blasted through the air, sending the Executive's Houndoom flying!
"Ambush!" the Executive waved his hand, shouting. His Mightyena lunged toward the source of the water, but mid-charge, it suddenly twisted its body away as a giant blue toad—Seismitoad—burst out of the ground exactly where it had been standing!
The Mightyena lunged with its claws, only to collide with the Seismitoad's vibrating arms.
Thump!
With a dull impact, both Pokémon were shoved backward.
An visibly enraged Ayana stepped out of the building, followed by an exceptionally large Quagsire.
But before she could say a word, another figure emerged from the smoke on her left.
"Yo, isn't this the great Lady Ayana? What a coincidence. My worthless little brother caused you so much trouble; I'm here today to collect the interest."
The dark-faced man smiled, looking about thirty percent similar to the man who had led the team at the Charity Gala.
"Too much talk," Ayana snapped. Even facing a two-on-one pincer, she didn't panic. Her expression grew colder and more focused.
Unfortunately, the first Executive didn't seem interested in staying for the duel. He turned to the dark-faced man. "I'll leave her to you. No problems?"
"No problem. Just watch!" the dark-faced man threw a Poké Ball and charged at Ayana.
The other Executive prepared to leave, directing his men to continue the pillaging.
"In your dreams!" Ayana ordered her Quagsire to use Hydro Pump to block his path.
In an instant, the scene spiraled into utter chaos.