Chapter 82. Guarding Evergreen City

Sakaki stood in front of the Viridian Gym. Many people here recognized him, and upon seeing him, the crowd fell silent.

“I am Sakaki, the Gym Leader of Viridian Gym. Please, everyone, stay calm and trust us. We will definitely find out the cause of the chaos in Viridian Forest and resolve this matter. There’s no need to worry, and I hope that those with the ability will join Officer Jenny and help defend Viridian City.”

Sakaki was truly influential; people quickly volunteered to join the defense force.

Sakaki’s words were sincere, without a hint of deception. This was the Rocket Team’s headquarters—he naturally didn’t want anything to happen to his base. In a way, Sakaki was a rather responsible Gym Leader for Viridian City.

Just as Sakaki and Officer Jenny were reassuring the citizens, countless Pokémon suddenly appeared in the sky, and many more poured into the city from the ground: Raticate, Caterpie, Weedle, and other species surged in, throwing the entire city into panic.

“Ding! Emergency mission triggered.

Mission One: Defend Viridian City. Join other trainers in protecting the city. Success will earn you a special reward.

Mission Two: Capture and Release Pokémon. Battle the wild Pokémon, capture them, and then release them once the incident is resolved. The system will reward you based on the number of Pokémon you capture and release.”

Cheng Cheng hadn’t expected the system to assign these two tasks; even without them, he would have joined in defending the city. But the second mission—releasing the Pokémon—did surprise him.

“Everyone, please form teams on your own and use Poké Balls to capture the wild Pokémon. Once the situation is under control, we’ll release them all together.”

At this moment, Sakaki echoed the system’s instructions, encouraging all trainers in Viridian City to help protect it.

Nurse Joy arrived with a large supply of Poké Balls, and the owners of various shops also donated many more, distributing them to trainers willing to help with the capture effort. Cheng Cheng received many as well.

With the trainers willing to help, plus Sakaki’s subordinates, there were over 200 people—quite a sizable force.

Everyone dispersed and began capturing the Pokémon in the city.

“Ash, Shigeru, let’s form a team of three. That way we can look out for each other.”

“Alright.”

Both agreed, and together they formed a small team to capture Pokémon.

The crowd spread out, and Cheng Cheng’s group picked a corner of the city to defend. Swarms of Caterpie and Weedle crawled around them.

“Come forth, Gardevoir and Chimecho.”

“Gardevoir, Chimecho, use Hypnosis together!”

“Chime~”

“Garde~”

Both Pokémon unleashed Hypnosis at once, causing many wild Pokémon to collapse in sleep.

“Go, Poké Ball!”

Cheng Cheng tossed the Poké Balls, capturing over twenty Pokémon in one go.

“I’ll deliver these Pokémon; you two keep going.”

Cheng Cheng gathered the Poké Balls and had Gardevoir use Teleport, instantly arriving at the collection point. He handed the Poké Balls to Nurse Joy and took more Poké Balls before teleporting back.

“Gardevoir, use Shadow Ball. Chimecho, use Psychic.”

“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”

“Charmander, Ember!”

With the combined efforts of the trio, many more Pokémon were captured. This scene played out all over Viridian City: trainers capturing Pokémon, handing the Poké Balls to Nurse Joy, and immediately returning to capture more.

But there were simply too many wild Pokémon. Even with all the trainers and Rocket Team members, they couldn’t keep up with the influx, especially the flying Pokémon. They could barely manage the ones on the ground, but those in the air were much harder to catch.

“I’ll leave this area to you. I’m going to help with the flying Pokémon.”

“Come out, Lunatone!”

“Lunatone, use Rock Slide!”

A barrage of rocks rained down from above, knocking many flying Pokémon from the sky. Cheng Cheng swiftly used Poké Balls to capture them all, having Lunatone continue with Rock Slide and Stone Edge.

Most Psychic-type Pokémon could float on their own, so Gardevoir and Chimecho were also busy. Still, the pressure from the air was intense, and many Pokémon launched attacks at them. Faced with such overwhelming numbers, the trainers had no choice but to dodge for now.

“Bzzzz—Bzzzz—”

Suddenly, a tremendous buzzing filled the sky.

This was bad—a swarm of Beedrill.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of Beedrill surged out of Viridian Forest, nearly blotting out the sky. Beedrill were far more aggressive than other Pokémon.

“Everyone, take cover!”

Someone shouted a warning, and people began to seek shelter. Many had already been attacked by Beedrill.

“Gardevoir, Teleport!”

Cheng Cheng quickly had Gardevoir teleport him to Ash’s side. Ash’s team was under attack as well, and Cheng Cheng’s Pokémon helped fend off the assault.

Suddenly, Cheng Cheng sensed an immensely powerful presence—a giant Beedrill appeared before the crowd, larger than any ordinary Beedrill. Cheng Cheng instantly realized this must be Sakaki’s ace Beedrill.

He quickly checked the Pokémon’s data and was astonished.

Pokémon: Beedrill

Type: Bug/Poison

Level: 89

Grade: Deep Blue

Rarity: Common

Ability: Swarm

Hidden Ability: Sniper

…

Battle Power: 14,560

Moves: Poison Sting, Twinneedle, Pin Missile, Bug Buzz, Swords Dance, X-Scissor, Lethal Sting.

Learned Moves: Double Team, Protect.

Though its move pool wasn’t extensive, its battle power was overwhelming, and its level was extremely high.

Although Beedrill could not Mega Evolve yet, Cheng Cheng believed that once Mega Stones were discovered, Beedrill would evolve again and become even stronger.

Sakaki’s Beedrill flew toward the swarm, emitting a piercing buzz. The entire swarm quickly gathered around it—several thousand strong by Cheng Cheng’s estimate.

Two Beedrill lunged at Sakaki’s Beedrill, but with a flick of its twin needles, both dropped instantly.

With Sakaki’s Beedrill leading, the entire swarm calmed down. Meanwhile, Ash’s Pidgeot and several other Pidgeot worked together to control the entire Pidgey flock.

Other powerful Pokémon emerged, uniting the various groups. People spread out strategically, and the chaos was temporarily subdued.

Once order was restored, Sakaki spoke again.

“Everyone, please do not worry. We have already dispatched professionals to investigate the cause of the incident. There’s no need for concern, and I’m sure we’ll have answers soon. Thank you all for battling alongside your Pokémon to defend our city. As thanks, the Sakaki Group will provide compensation to all trainers.”

The situation was soon under control, and Sakaki sent Rocket Team members to investigate deep within Viridian City. Cheng Cheng wanted to see for himself, but under Sakaki’s close watch, he dared not make any moves.

Cheng Cheng stayed in Viridian City with Ash and Shigeru. Two days later, Sakaki announced what appeared to be the truth of the incident and distributed compensation.

Though many still harbored doubts, the generous compensation eased their concerns, and no one pressed further.

Cheng Cheng, Ash, and Shigeru all received their payments. Shigeru chose to stay in Viridian City, while Cheng Cheng decided to return to Pallet Town with Ash.

Cheng Cheng knew this incident was far from simple and certainly not as Sakaki had claimed. He was convinced something significant had occurred at the heart of Viridian Forest.

After one last glance at the Viridian Gym, Cheng Cheng left the city. On the way back with Ash, he saw a spaceship bearing the League’s insignia soaring overhead—it seemed the League intended to intervene.

What would the League do? Cheng Cheng didn’t know. It had little to do with him. Though curious about what had happened in Viridian Forest, he kept his curiosity in check and returned to Pallet Town with Ash.

Yet something troubled him—though the Viridian City incident had been resolved, the system hadn’t ended his mission.

Cheng Cheng asked the system about it, but it replied that the mission was not yet complete. There was nothing he could do; he simply had to wait.

Back in Pallet Town, the two went straight to Professor Oak’s lab.

“Ash, Cheng Cheng, welcome back.”

“Gary, it’s been a while!”

It was not Professor Oak who greeted them, but Gary. Ash and Cheng Cheng had hoped to see the professor, but he had apparently left for Viridian City.

Knowing Professor Oak wasn’t in Pallet Town, Ash decided to head home.

“Cheng Cheng, you must come over and visit sometime!”

“Of course, I will. I’m staying here at Professor Oak’s, so you can find me anytime.”

After bidding Ash farewell, Cheng Cheng entered the lab and inquired about Professor Oak’s journey to Viridian City.

Gary didn’t know the details—Professor Oak had been directly summoned by the League.

Cheng Cheng hadn’t expected the League to call Professor Oak away—it must have been a matter of great importance!

Thus, the Viridian Forest incident came to a temporary close. Cheng Cheng stayed at Gary’s house for the time being and continued his research on Fairy-type Pokémon.