Entering

Yuga and his team rested at the camp for half a day before being led by Lloyd to the entrance of the underground world.

The entrance to the underground world was exceptionally well-hidden; without guidance, Yuga's group would never have found it. It was a massive withered tree covered in moss and various types of vines, beneath which these plant vines concealed a large tree hollow.

"Through this tree hollow, you'll enter the underground world. Currently, some of our personnel are still executing tasks in the outer periphery of the underground world. If you encounter them, just act as if you haven't seen them. They've been informed about your situation and won't interfere with your mission," Lloyd said to Yuga's group as he pushed aside the plant vines covering the tree hollow.

Yuga's group nodded in understanding. The task of clearing the outer periphery of the underground world was not something that could be completed in a day or two, so it was not surprising that others were still inside.

Before entering the tree hollow, Lloyd handed each of them a spatial backpack, approximately half a cubic meter in size, filled with various emergency supplies.

Lloyd added, "Even though the League won't provide you with any support during this trial, we've prepared these supplies for you. We hope your mission goes smoothly."

Yuga hadn't expected them to provide these supplies, as he had already prepared many items in his own system backpack. It wasn't just Yuga; Sora and Christine also had their own spatial backpacks, and they had made thorough preparations before departing. They were not new Trainers and had plenty of experience in field adventures. They couldn't afford to ignore such basic knowledge.

However, all three of them accepted Lloyd's offer of the spatial backpack without hesitation. After all, an extra bag wouldn't weigh them down, and it might come in handy in the unpredictable underground world where unexpected situations could arise.

With the spatial backpacks in tow, Yuga and his group entered the tree hollow under Lloyd's watchful gaze.

Upon entering the tree hollow, Yuga suddenly lost gravity and began to fall straight down. This startled Yuga, as Lloyd hadn't mentioned that the tree hollow led directly downward.

However, this falling sensation was brief, and Yuga soon landed on a pile of dried grass. By the time he regained his senses, he found himself inside a cave.

When Yuga looked up, he realized that the tree hollow they descended through connected to the top of this cave. Fortunately, the cave wasn't very deep, and there was plenty of soft dried grass covering the floor. Without it, falling from such a height would have been painful at best.

Yuga climbed up from the grass pile, while Sora and Christine were busy removing bits of dried grass clinging to their clothing. Clearly, they had also been caught off guard by the sudden descent.

The cave appeared to be regularly frequented by Inspectors, as many areas were polished to a smooth finish.

"This passage should lead us into the underground world," Christine said, pointing to the cave's sole exit.

Sora agreed, "Time is of the essence; we should proceed immediately."

The passage leading outside wasn't long. In just over a minute, they reached its end. The other side of the passage was filled with a radiant green.

As Yuga and his group emerged from the passage, they were greeted by towering trees. Each tree trunk was so thick that it would require the embrace of four or five people to encircle it. The height of these trees was beyond imagination.

"It's truly a magnificent sight," Sora exclaimed as he looked up at one of the trees, which seemed to reach the sky.

The leaves of these trees were extraordinarily large, with each leaf being roughly the size of Yuga and his team.

"Is this the underground world? It's hard to imagine how these trees survive, and where is this light coming from?" Christine asked, puzzled, as she gazed at the endless forest of giant trees.

Yuga and Sora both shook their heads, indicating they didn't know the answers to her questions.

Yuga sighed, "This world is vast, filled with miracles that are beyond human comprehension."

This place reminded Yuga of the miraculous location where he had encountered the Guardian Orb and Trapinchs, but this place appeared to be even more expansive and mysterious.

Yuga continued, "Let's follow Mr. Lloyd's suggested routes and split up."

Christine and Sora released their own Pokémon and chose different directions to head off in. Christine went to the right, while Sora took the middle path, leaving the left path for Yuga.

As Yuga watched Christine and Sora head off, he released his Chatot and set off as well.

Chatot had been cooped up in its Poké Ball for the duration of their competition, and it was thrilled to finally be out. However, upon entering the dense forest, its demeanor turned cautious as it couldn't predict where danger might emerge.

After walking for a while, they encountered only a few weaker Pokémon; there was no other sign of danger. Yuga believed that the Inspectors who had been clearing the outer periphery of the underground world had played a significant role in removing hazardous Pokémon and maintaining the paths, saving them considerable effort.

As Yuga observed the plants along the way, he noticed that they were markedly different from those outside. The most obvious characteristic was their size; not only were the trees towering, but even the grass and flowers were exceptionally large.

Deeper into the forest, Yuga finally spotted ancient Pokémon that lived in this environment. The first ones he noticed were a few Archens.

These Archens had not evolved to their final forms yet, and their wings were not fully developed, preventing them from achieving free flight. Instead, they relied on gliding through the air.

When Yuga saw them, they were hopping and flapping their wings on the gigantic leaves, seemingly collecting tree berrys.

The tree berrys here were different from modern ones, and Yuga couldn't name them. However, they all had vibrant and attractive appearances, though it was uncertain whether they were safe to eat.

It was no wonder that Lloyd had prepared a spatial backpack filled with food for them. In such an environment of unknowns, running out of food could be extremely dangerous, as they had no way of knowing what was edible and what was not.

Although these Archens appeared young, they were quite aggressive. Upon spotting Yuga and Chatot, they immediately began squawking and baring their sharp teeth.