"Everyone, calm down. We're still not sure about the cause of the rift. Maybe it's just a natural disaster?"
"A natural disaster? A perfectly straight line that almost cut off the town? Are you delusional?! It's definitely caused by those Pokemon from the legends! I don't know why they did that, but we should take action now! Not sit here twiddling our thumbs!"
Shiftry, leader of the Silver Rank Team Shiftry, said in an impatient tone. Two Nuzleafs stood behind him, nodding in approval to their boss' words.
"Patience, Shiftry. Blindly taking action isn't the solution. The esteemed Wigglytuff Guild specifically asked all Exploration Teams to gather to discuss how we should handle this."
Alakazam, the leader of the Super Rank Team A.C.T., said as he closed his eyes and meditated. Charizard stood to his right, while Tyranitar was on his left. They were currently one of the highest ranking teams present at this meeting, so his words helped calm the other teams who were becoming agitated.
"Indeed. However, what Shiftry said is also valid. We don't know whether a similar phenomenon will occur again even at this instant. We must make a decision, post haste."
Dusknoir, the famous Master Rank solo Explorer, stated in a deep voice. Except for Wigglytuff, he was currently the highest ranking explorer in the entire Treasure Town.
Though he maintained an impassive expression, deep inside, he was getting impatient. There were no records of such a cataclysmic event happening at this point in time. Did his actions cause this mess? Or was it Celebi and Grovyle?
No, who was responsible for this isn't important right now. Instead, he needs to determine what was the reason behind this phenomenon.
"Kekeke, what should we even discuss? Chatot already said the energy residue showed signs of having enough power to split the entire continent. If a Pokemon is responsible for that, does anyone here think we can resist someone with that level of strength? And if it's a natural disaster, there's even nothing more we could do. Kekeke, idiots."
The words of Gengar, the leader of the Gold Rank Team Meanies, attracted looks of hostility from around the room. But he didn't care. He glanced around with impunity, the grin on his face not flinching even a little.
"Why are you even here, Gengar! And you as well, Skuntank! Do you even have any intentions of helping!?"
Beautifly, the leader of the Silver Rank Team Skies, said indignantly. Unlike everyone else, she noticed only these two teams had a nonchalant expression from beginning to end.
Paired with the prejudice from Skuntank and his team being just recently released from prison, as well as the bad reputation of Team Meanies, she couldn't help speaking out.
"Chaw-haw-haw! Chatot was the one who invited us. If I had the chance to choose, I wouldn't want to be here in the first place."
Skuntank chuckled evilly. However, when he met the warning gaze of a certain colorful bird, his laughter quickly subsided and he turned his head away.
"Ehem! Right now, we need to set aside our differences and cooperate. An unknown danger lurks in the horizon, and every little bit of help could be the key to survival!"
Standing behind Wigglytuff, Chatot spoke in a commanding tone.
Their Guild is still investigating the scope of the damage, but according to the initial reports, there was an approximately 100 meters wide line that stretched from below Treasure Town and their base, exiting at the side of the cliff walls.
And with the estimated energy level on-site, it should have enough power to travel through the seas and impact the other side of the continent.
Chatot was just thankful the cut was horizontal. The Treasure Town and the Guild is built near a cliff. If the line was vertical instead, there was a good chance the land would have been cleaved off and separated from the mainland, not to mention completely collapsing into the sea.
However, they couldn't only continue to rely on luck. They need to find out whether this is really caused by a Pokemon or a natural disaster, and determine whether it would continue to pose a threat.
"Chatot, How long would it take for Diglett and Dugtrio to determine the emergence of this…rift?"
"Ahem. Sir Dusknoir, we're not certain either. I have asked the two apprentices to follow the source of the line as early as possible. But since we don't know where it originated from…"
"I see. Indeed. My apologies for asking such a nonsensical question."
Dusknoir inwardly berated himself. His impatience was showing. He needed to calm down.
He took a deep breath and remained silent as the other Exploration Teams continued their discussion. There were suggestions about evacuating everyone in Treasure Town, as well as those who wanted to find the origin of the rift themselves.
However, all the proposals were shut down or fiercely debated- either due to being too risky, or too drastic.
Dusknoir shook his head. Right now, determining the correct course of action is impossible without learning what is the cause of the rift. Though from the available clues, he himself already had a suspicion on who's behind it.
Firstly, the chances of this being caused by a Legendary Pokemon is very likely, almost guaranteed even. And from Chatot's description of the damage, it should come from either a slash or a flat laser beam.
Dusknoir ran through all the Legendaries he knew, discarding those whose legends didn't match the attack pattern. In the end, he listed Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Keldeo, Zacian, and Chien-Pao as among those who can achieve this through slashing. But for the laser beam…
He frowned. There were too many Legendaries who could do that. Was this avenue of thinking not feasible?
Just as he was contemplating, the door of the meeting room suddenly opened. He raised his head and turned to look. When he saw the Pokemon standing there, Dusknoir narrowed his eyes.
Team Omnipotent Travelers.
He had heard many things about them. The rising star of Treasure Town. The Evolutionary Guides. And the next Wigglytuff Guild.
In just a few months, they had risen from Bronze Rank Explorers to the current Super Rank- a speed which could only be achieved by a few in the records of the Exploration Federation.
Of course, they were outpaced by himself who reached Master Rank in almost the same amount of time.
However, Dusknoir knew the reason he could obtain his current ranking is because of his future knowledge, as well as the blessings from Lord Dialga. Without it, maybe Super Rank was all he could achieve himself.
"Ah, Omnipotent Travelers! It's great you were able to come!"
Chatot flapped his wings in enthusiasm, the Travelers responding with the same positivity.
At the side, Dusknoir's gaze swept across all the members of the team. Then, he set his gaze on the leader of the team who sat on an unoccupied chair. Their eyes met, and they both nodded in greeting.
He had met this Dante once before, with the two of them briefly introducing their names. However, after that, he only saw the second-in-command, Pikachu at most.
Therefore, he was quite curious about the mysterious leader of this rising Exploration team.
"Bidoof found us when we returned to Treasure Town- said you had something urgent to discuss?"
Dante took back his gaze and asked Chatot. Although Dusknoir's expression was unreadable, he was sure the Ghostly Cyclops had uncovered his identity by now. After all, his current name should match his previous human name.
It would take a certain amount of stupidity to not connect such an obvious clue. And Dusknoir is far from being stupid.
"Yes. Ehem! Have you noticed anything unusual from the recent earthquake?"
"...ah. Is this why you gathered everyone?"
Dante glanced at the other Exploration Teams in the room, most of whom had a solemn expression. Suddenly, his confidence that nothing would happen to them after seeing the state of Treasure Town began to drop.
"That's right! Based on our findings, this earthquake was caused by a phenomenon that cut the continent in half!"
"I-in half?!!"
"Well…that is a bit of an exaggeration. However, it did run through the whole of the land here. And based on its power and trajectory, it may have even reached the Northern Desert and beyond!"
Chatot paused to let his words sink in. Even with the Travelers' strength, this level of power must have come as a shock. After all, as a veteran Explorer, this was also the first time he himself encountered an attack of this scale.
"Aha, haha…is that so…?"
"Eh?! Y-you, you aren't surprised by this?"
"I mean, I'm definitely surprised. For a whole different reason though…"
Dante muttered the last part to himself. Although he knew Mawile's attack was strong, he didn't expect it to be this strong. Splitting a continent with a single attack? That's something only Legendaries at the level of Dialga and the others can do, right? Have they finally reached this point in strength?
In contrast to Dante who was feeling wistful, Pikachu had to stop himself from trembling in fear. It's so over now! With that level of damage, aren't they guaranteed to become outlaws?
Chatot stared weirdly at Dante and his team before shaking his head. Well, it's good they could calmly accept this situation. Maybe their team could offer a solution that he and the others haven't thought about yet.
"In that case, what do yo-"
Chatot was in the middle of speaking when the ground rumbled. Almost everyone in the room had their heart stop beating- fearing it was another earthquake. However, they sighed in relief when it turned out to be just Dugtrio and Diglett instead.
"Dugtrio! Diglett! Have you found the source?"
Chatot asked in surprise. It wasn't even an hour since the two left, right?
"Yes. It was much nearer than expected."
"Y-yeah! It was just below the beach! Right outside Beach Cave!"
Diglett's words fell, and the whole room fell into a brief silence.
""B-b-b-beach cave!!?""
The various members of the Exploration Teams shouted in unison, their tone containing a mixture of disbelief, outrage, and…fear.
"That beginner dungeon?!"
"Y-yes!"
Chatot paced around the room. While it's great they had found the place where the rift came from, the fact it was so close made him worried.
"And? What else did you find?"
"And nothing more. The gap ended there. There were no traces of battle or things of that sort. Chatot, I think…maybe this is really just a natural disaster?"
Dugtrio's words caused sighs of relief to echo throughout the room.
"Hahaha! That's right! That's the only possible explanation! And it came from Beach Cave! There's no way a Pokemon from there would be able to release an attack like that! It must be a natural disaster!"
"Yeah! Everyone was just overthinking!"
Most of the Exploration Teams relaxed. Although it's the first time they heard of a natural disaster like this, they would rather believe the rift really was caused by it rather than a Pokemon who could cleave the whole continent.
However, not everyone was as optimistic about the situation. Dusknoir still had the same unreadable expression, Alakazam took a look at everyone and helplessly shook his head, while Gengar grinned and whispered "idiots".
And apart from the three, there was also Wigglytuff who hadn't moved from his position and didn't have a change in facial expression from beginning to end. Meanwhile, Chatot, who stood behind him, was staring in suspicion at the newly arrived Omnipotent Travelers.
As the Vice Leader of Wigglytuff Guild, he was involved in almost all operations of the Guild. Among them, of course, was knowing which tasks Exploration Teams often take. And when speaking of Beach Cave, a particular Exploration Team instantly came to mind.
"Don't tell me…"
Chatot recalled Azumarill's feat yesterday of punching a hole through the clouds. Then the team's track record of defeating Zapdos, as well as the illusion of Groudon.
A foreboding possibility emerged in his mind. Could they be…responsible for this?
He turned to ask their team, but found their white fox leader winking at him. With this, he had confirmed the result.
Chatot resisted the urge to facepalm. No, he must calm down. The Omnipotent Travelers are not the kind to deliberately release such an attack. Instead, they must have encountered a powerful opponent that required them to do so.
Yes, that's it! That must be the reason!
Chatot repeatedly comforted himself. He glanced at the other Exploration team in the room. He must get them out of here and ask Dante what happened.
"Haha, hahahaha! Indeed! It turns out it was just a false alarm. It must have just been the ground cracking in a straight line from the pressure of the tides. Everyone, I'm sorry for wasting your time."
"No, no, don't worry about it, Chatot. It was great we could think of countermeasures so early, even if it wouldn't be used."
"Hmph. Our team would leave first. We still have a task to do."
Shiftry clicked his tongue and walked out of the guild followed by his cronies. He was followed by the other Exploration Teams, who were more polite in walking away.
Soon, all the other Pokemon left the meeting room. Well, almost everyone.
"Sir Dusknoir, Alakazam, Gengar, don't you have something to do as well?"
"Please don't take us for fools, Chatot. That rift you described is very unlikely to be caused by a natural disaster. Why did you let them leave? Did you find some clue?"
Alakazam asked. Dusknoir and Gengar remained silently standing on the side, though that in itself was also their answer.
"Well…"
Chatot scratched his head. Inadvertently, he glanced at his Guildmaster for help. However, Wigglytuff still maintained the same placid expression from the beginning. With his years of accompanying him, Chatot knew the Guildmaster was very likely in deep sleep.
"It's alright, Chatot. I don't mind telling them about it."
At this time, Dante suddenly spoke up. He gazed at the three groups before him, though his attention was mostly focused on Dusknoir.
"Hmm? Dante, right? What do you mean?"
"It's about the rift. And the real cause behind it."
—
Meanwhile at the Northern Desert
"Ugh, of all the damn possible timing."
Grovyle grumbled as he dusted the sand off his body. It had been more than a month since he started his search for the Time Gear in the desert. More than a month spent with nothing to show for it.
Even so, his belief in saving the world hasn't wavered. But willpower isn't everything. With how hard he had been pushing his body, he felt himself getting more and more sluggish. So, with reluctance, he found a cave for a brief rest.
But as luck would have it, just as he was deep in sleep, an earthquake occurred. It caused the wall to give out, burying him inside. And after digging himself out of the debris, he was suddenly hit by a sandstorm.
At this point, he wondered whether the world was out to get him. Was it because his goal of changing the future goes against the natural order?
He sighed, though that didn't let him waver from his determination. After dusting off the remaining sand, Grovyle was about to continue his search when he paused.
Possibly due to the earthquake, a deep hole had formed in the sand before him. With his excellent night vision, he could see there was nothing at the bottom. However, this scene gave him an idea.
"Is the second Lake…underground?"
The more Grovyle thought about it, the more it made sense. He had already circled the entirety of the desert. At first, he thought the lake here requires some sort of puzzle to solve just like in Uxie's.
But what if that was not the case?
"It seems the world doesn't want itself to end on that path, after all."
Grovyle grinned. His mind whirled with possible locations where an underground lake could be hidden. With renewed vigor, his figure leapt and disappeared into the distance.