He knows Pokémon better than me.

It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Xiaozhi and Douzi immediately offered to help.

"Oh~ that's great, haha~!"

Adek laughed heartily and agreed.

Being around young boys and girls makes me feel younger!
So the three formed a temporary team and headed towards the main station in Jinlun Town. After explaining their purpose to the staff at the front desk, a middle-aged man in uniform quickly came to greet them.

"Mr. Aldeck! Welcome to Golden Wheel Town!!"

The visitor was the station manager of Jinlun Town Station, who was also the town's mayor. He was about fifty years old, with a goatee, chubby, and very enthusiastic.

Currently, only a very small number of people know that Aldak has retired. In the eyes of most Undisputed players, he is still the current Undisputed champion with a very high status.

Adek laughed and waved his hand:

"Don't be so formal. I'm just an ordinary person now, occasionally doing some work for the United Alliance."

The station director took it as modesty and remained very polite.

"Are you investigating that undeveloped area beneath Jinlun Town?"

Upon learning the purpose of Adek's trip, he immediately offered to help and quickly summoned two people over.

"Let them lead the way; they know the underground area best."

Standing next to him were twins, both wearing guard coats; one was impeccably dressed, the other was ragged.

These were the two brothers who had just fought a major battle as subway managers.

Ash and Touko exchanged a wink with the two of them, as if to say hello.

The two brothers tilted their heads, puzzled as to why Ash and his brother had returned, this time bringing the Unova Champion with them.

"Hello, Mr. Aldeck!"

Bei Shang and the other person quickly bowed respectfully to Adek as juniors.

"Oh, Kita-Sho-kun is back after all~ I was so worried when I heard you were missing, haha~"

Adek patted North Shang on the shoulder and laughed heartily.

Is this tattered outfit some kind of trendy fashion?

Next, the twins led the way, taking the three of them down to the second basement level of the platform. Along the way, Nanxia didn't forget to introduce:

"Golden Wheel Town is now the railway hub of the United States, with almost all lines and station facilities built above ground."

He then pointed to the ground beneath his feet.

"However, in the past, Jinlun Town was actually the most developed mechanical industrial town. At that time, in order to store equipment and mine ore, a very large space was dug underground. Of course, it was all abandoned later."

Bei Shang tacitly picked up the conversation and continued:
"When modern railways were officially planned, the engineering team actually considered converting underground spaces into railway tunnels and incorporating them into the United Express route map. They even designed a complete plan. However, this project was not implemented in the end."

"Because during the period of abandonment, the underground caves became home to a large number of wild Pokémon, and have become a complete ecosystem."

Nanxia shrugged, revealing a somewhat helpless expression:

"The project was difficult to advance even then, and as for now..."

He simply shrugged.

"Then that's even more impossible."

Ash and Touko exchanged a glance, and both of them gave each other a knowing look.

Still carrying on the legacy of the Plasma Team—

Team Plasma's extreme "Pokémon coexistence with nature" philosophy has also influenced and given rise to countless extreme environmentalists in the Unova region.

If construction to develop underground space is announced today, tomorrow there will probably be a group of people blocking the entrance to Jinlun Town Station with banners and protesting.

This group of people would love to live on the roadside or on a park bench, while their Pokémon live in a large villa. Arriving at the second basement level, there's also a platform passageway, indicating that a subway was likely planned to be built here. However, after walking about 50 meters along the platform passageway, they reached the edge.

Further ahead, the area was blocked off by an iron fence, resembling an abandoned, dilapidated construction project.

Beside it, there was only an inconspicuous little iron gate embedded in the wall.

Nanxia stepped forward and opened the door with her key.

Click!

Behind the door was a downward-sloping metal staircase, and cold air slowly rose from the darkness, carrying a slightly damp, metallic smell.

"Go down from here, and ahead lies a completely undeveloped, abandoned cave area."

Nanxia stepped aside to make way for the entrance passage.

They are only responsible for leading the way, not for participating in the adventures.

Alder took the lead and walked at the very front. Ash and Touka exchanged a glance and quickly followed. They stepped on the metal steps, making a creaking sound as they walked.

"By the way, Ash, there's something I should tell you in advance."

Just as they were leaving, Bei Shang suddenly added a reminder:
"Recently, the wild Pokémon in this underground cave seem to have become a bit restless."

Nanxia added that even their friendly, smiling faces became somewhat serious:

"Yes, it's been like this for the past year. In the past, people would occasionally go down to patrol, but now no one dares to go down."

"No one can say for sure why."

The wild Pokémon that used to live below were not aggressive. They would scurry into the deeper parts of the cave as soon as they heard human footsteps or saw lights.

Now they will actively attack humans.

If the three of them can find out the reason, it will be a great help!
"In the last year?"

Ash frowned. More than 40 new Mega Stones had been found in the Kalos region, which seemed to have happened within the last year.

Could there really be some connection?

The three of them walked down the metal stairs and arrived at the ground below.

The light quickly dimmed, with only some light source near the platform.

"Pikachu~!"

Pikachu perched on Ash's shoulder, its tail swaying gently.

The next second, a layer of light yellow light slowly emanated from it.

Flash!
The light was not glaring, but rather had a warm glow like that of a lantern, yet it spread out in an unusually wide range, extending in all directions.

The area, roughly forty meters in front and behind, was illuminated clearly.

The once pitch-black underground cave instantly became almost like a street at dusk.

Adeker couldn't help but glance at Pikachu a few more times, praising it:

"Ash, as expected of your Pikachu, you're amazing!"

Generally speaking, a Pokémon's Flash ability can only illuminate a small area around it; five meters in front and behind is considered pretty good.

Thrown into a dimly lit cave, the Flash spell can barely make out the path beneath your feet; anything further away remains completely dark.

But now—

With Pikachu's Flash spell, the abandoned underground space was almost completely exposed.

The cracks in the stone wall, the metal supports left over from the early days of Golden Wheel Town, and the piles of rubble in the corners—all of it was clearly visible! (End of Chapter)