The wild Pokémon in the surrounding area weren't particularly strong.
Cain let Shelgon and Seadra take the lead.
Against the Pokémon inhabiting the outer zones of Meteor Falls, the two didn't feel much pressure.
Within a single day, the League managed to establish itself inside Meteor Falls.
In the two open spaces that Cain had previously marked, camps were set up.
One was under Drake's supervision, and the other under Sidney and Glacia. The distance between them wasn't great—they could reach each other in just a few minutes.
Afterward, the other League members received their tasks from Drake, organized into the pre-assigned teams.
The main mission was to clear the tunnels near the camps of wild Pokémon to ensure there were no problems.
Upon learning from Cain's information that Team Magma and Team Aqua had allied, Drake immediately reported to Juan.
Juan made a quick decision: he dispatched over three hundred League trainers as reinforcements.
This second wave didn't include any Elite-level experts, but it did bring a considerable number of Quasi-Elite trainers—true elite forces.
They formed the League's permanent corps, managed directly by the regional chairmen.
Individually, their abilities might not have been outstanding, but their teamwork in coordinated combat was exceptional—nearly flawless.
Considering the permanent troop count of the Hoenn League, the more than six hundred trainers deployed represented roughly one-third of its reserve forces.
That alone made clear how powerful the League truly was.
And that wasn't even counting the militarized trainers stationed in various cities, nor the strength of families like the Jennys or the Joys.
Along with these reinforcements came several Joys and their Pokémon, who set up a makeshift medical post to ensure the safety of the League's trainers and their Pokémon.
For the League, the actions of Team Magma and Team Aqua were nothing less than a military operation—treated as an open war.
When the massive machinery of the Hoenn League began to move, its power was terrifying.
In addition to maintaining a defensive force at headquarters, Juan redistributed part of the permanent troops across various cities under direct military command and his personal orders.
Each city had the support of the Officer Jennys, League police, Gyms, and even League researchers.
Juan was truly furious this time: any faction or individual daring to take a wrong step would be mercilessly crushed.
Not only did the League keep the underworld groups in check, but the influential families in each city also restrained their own members, forbidding any action.
Some initially thought it was an opportunity—but after witnessing how the League completely wiped out three small underworld organizations with overwhelming force, everyone stayed quiet.
Even in Mauville City, base of Team Heaven, the League stationed troops.
The retired Wattson returned to the front lines once again.
Fortunately, because Cain had ordered Rose and Skye to gather Team Heaven a few days earlier, the League had no excuse to attack them.
The Mauville City black market also chose to shut down temporarily.
Everything in Hoenn had to yield to the League.
The reckless actions of Team Magma and Team Aqua had triggered a chain reaction.
The main battlefield was now located in the underground tunnels of Meteor Falls.
For some, it was their first time there—and they hadn't imagined how complex the terrain would be.
If one looked at a map at that moment, they would see the League members moving like an army of ants, carrying out the central command's assignments with perfect order.
This wartime operation system was not only efficient but also rewarded every participant with mission points, crucial for their future progression.
The first tasks involved clearing the surrounding wild Pokémon.
Others worked on widening the tunnels that connected the two camps.
And, if possible, they were to excavate a large artificial chamber midway between them to establish the League's main base and prevent ambushes from Team Magma or Team Aqua.
The strongest trainers were sent deeper into the tunnels, following the map Cain had drawn, to gather intelligence on enemy movements and prepare the battlefield.
The more than six hundred League trainers moved like a perfectly oiled machine under central command.
Trainers with greater strength, like Cain, could take on solo missions and obtain firsthand information.
Depending on the difficulty and reliability of the reports, the League classified missions by rank, with corresponding point rewards.
The detailed map Cain had drawn when venturing alone into Meteor Falls, along with his discovery of the alliance between Team Magma and Team Aqua, had been classified by Drake as an S-rank mission.
All missions—clearing Pokémon, expanding tunnels, collecting intelligence—had their own levels of difficulty and rewards.
Shortly after the League's entry, Team Magma and Team Aqua noticed the intrusion.
Maxie and Archie had originally planned to finish their operation quickly and avoid contact with the League.
But the search had turned out to be far more difficult than expected, and they ended up trapped inside.
With no other choice, they ordered their men to patrol the tunnels and prepare for battle.
Fortunately, they had brought significant reinforcements from both organizations before starting—just in case this situation arose.
...
But things weren't that simple.
While both teams were locked in a standoff against the League at Meteor Falls, the very thing Juan feared most came to pass.
Although he had crushed several minor groups to intimidate the rest, there were still external forces waiting for their chance.
It was the Hunter Guild.
After being expelled from Hoenn like flies, their ambition had been fully exposed.
They couldn't give up such a rich prize.
Several of their top executives entered the region openly and brazenly.
The members who had remained hidden in Hoenn emerged from their hideouts, and various hunter groups that made a living capturing Pokémon to trade with the guild also appeared.
A single thread moved—and the entire web trembled.
The appearance of Team Magma and Team Aqua was the fuse; the Hunter Guild was the spark that ignited it.
And all of Hoenn's underworld forces became the bomb ready to explode.
Except for Team Heaven, all other factions began to stir.
Juan, as the head of the League, couldn't leave in person.
He had to coordinate with Drake, Sidney, and two other Elite Four members, along with the Jenny and Joy families and three chief-level researchers, to contain the Hunter Guild.
(End of Chapter)