After entering the room, Sieg found the entire turbine chamber filled with incomprehensibly complex abandoned equipment. Some screens still flickered with light, dimly illuminating the darkened space and providing minimal visibility.
Sieg didn't dare turn on his flashlight immediately.
If a Pokémon was hiding in some corner, suddenly switching on a light would be like announcing, "I'm right here, come attack me!"
The turbine room was massive, with a labyrinth of interconnecting passages. Sieg carefully pushed open the first door.
After confirming the interior was merely an ordinary break room, he finally exhaled in relief.
He and his Pokémon slipped inside, using it as a temporary rest area. The room's only ventilation came from a single window in the ceiling.
"Phew~~~"
Throughout the entire room, walls, furniture, everything, thick layers of dust had accumulated. Clearly no one had been here for years.
Sieg shone his flashlight on a patch of ground where the dust was noticeably thinner than elsewhere, revealing a faint pattern beneath.
"Is that... a footprint?"
Judging by the footprint's stride, someone had explored here long ago—the impression was extremely faint.
Though there was another possibility.
"Whoever left this footprint was a woman with an exceptionally light build."
That would explain the barely visible impression, nearly buried beneath the dust.
Before Sieg could search the room's corners for additional footprints, the entire power plant suddenly trembled.
"BOOM! Rumble~~~"
Fine dust particles shook loose from the ceiling and wall corners, falling like gray snow, adding another thick layer to the floor.
His Pokémon instantly assumed defensive stances.
Sieg quickly gestured for calm while perking up his ears, listening intently.
Though this abandoned power plant was small-scale, its construction materials were incredibly sturdy. Whatever could shake such a solid steel structure obviously wasn't ordinary.
Sieg's expression grew increasingly grave.
He first reloaded his crossbow bolts, and only after completing all preparations did he cautiously crack open the door and peek out, slowly advancing inward.
The turbine room was extraordinarily vast. Under dim lighting, he could barely see ahead—only pitch darkness stretched endlessly.
The entire space was relatively quiet. Aside from Sieg and his Pokémon's footsteps, only occasional "clink-clank" noises could be heard.
Sieg guessed these sounds came from small Pokémon living here.
As he drew closer to where the disturbance had originated, Sieg could distinctly feel the energy in the air growing denser, making breathing difficult in the sealed space.
Crawdaunt scouted ahead. Upon approaching the central area, its expression immediately turned uncomfortable, as if feeling oppressed throughout its body.
It seemed suppressed, dazed, and fearful.
For Crawdaunt, a reckless brawler who feared nothing, to show such an expression was shocking. Moreover, Sieg's Crawdaunt had been baptized by countless battles.
Even Sieg was momentarily stunned.
After all, even when facing powerful Elite-level Pokémon, Crawdaunt would charge forward without hesitation.
Sieg immediately went forward to comfort his Pokémon. If even Crawdaunt reacted this way, his other Pokémon were faring worse.
Except for Sandile, who seemed completely oblivious, the other Pokémon all displayed varying degrees of wariness toward this unknown sensation.
As if their very bloodlines instinctively feared whatever lay ahead.
"Could there be some incredibly powerful Electric-type Pokémon inside?"
Sieg couldn't figure it out. After considering every possibility, this seemed most likely, after all, Electric-types naturally countered both Water and Flying-types.
But for his Pokémon to be this terrified... could it be a quasi-Master-level opponent?
Quasi-Master-level Pokémon were level 60 and above.
To date, Sieg could count on one hand how many Pokémon of that caliber he'd encountered.
Sieg continued cautiously exploring the maze of passages, sometimes hitting dead ends, sometimes reaching forks in his path.
More often, he found only empty rooms and endless dust.
Naturally, he encountered traces of Pokémon presence, but they seemed to have been deliberately cleared out. Aside from claw marks on walls and obvious battle damage, he hadn't encountered a single actual Pokémon.
Finally, while exploring the fourth corridor, Sieg discovered something unusual.
Human footprints appeared on the ground, along with Pokémon tracks. Judging by their clarity, they'd been left recently.
Sieg concealed himself and silently crept forward.
From deep within this corridor, a faint aroma seemed to drift out.
"Food... cooking?"
As Sieg approached, he saw the room clearly showed signs of human habitation, no dust anywhere, the entire space unusually clean and tidy.
The corner was stacked with substantial supplies of food, water, and daily necessities.
Additionally, a campfire burned in the center with an iron pot cooking something.
"Looks like someone's using this as a temporary base. That explains why I haven't encountered any Pokémon, whoever's here must have cleared them out."
Sieg searched around, trying to locate the human occupant.
Unfortunately, he came up empty-handed. The room was completely vacant. Sieg slowly approached the campfire, observing the still-smoldering matches.
"They should've just been here. Otherwise, where did that noise come from?"
Just as Sieg prepared to leave the room, a shadow suddenly lunged from the corner. The entire room instantly blazed with electric light.
Not good!
Sieg immediately retreated while his Pokémon simultaneously activated Protect barriers.
Light-green shields materialized, successfully blocking the unknown creature's assault.
Sieg's eyes locked onto his attacker, a canine creature crackling with electricity.
Its body fur was blue with a yellow mane. Crimson eyes gleamed especially bright in the darkness. The yellow mane formed a lightning-bolt pattern draped across its body, with two upright horn-like tufts atop its head.
The Discharge Pokémon, Manectric.
After Sieg retreated into the corridor, he discovered the central hall's lights had been switched on. Standing in the middle was a young woman with short black hair, dressed in form-fitting athletic gear.
Her face seemed familiar.
Sieg muttered with some confusion: "Apprentice Kikuta?"
It was indeed the gym apprentice he'd defeated yesterday at Mauville Gym.
However, the young woman no longer wore yesterday's resolute expression. Her lips twitched slightly, and undisguised killing intent filled her eyes.
"Manectric, use Thunder Fang."
Before Sieg could question why she was attacking him, Kikuta swept her hand forward again, commanding Manectric to strike.
The attack target was Sieg himself.