The Mission

"The Unova League recently discovered an underground world within the Pinwheel Forest. It's inhabited by numerous ancient Pokémon. The League wants to take control of this underground world, but they need the advance team to go in and assess the situation."

"An underground world?" Sora asked in astonishment.

Mr. Alder replied, "Yes, an underground world. It houses a complete ancient ecosystem with many Pokémon that existed in ancient times."

"Are you referring to Pokémon like the Carracosta and the Archeops?" Yuga inquired.

Mr. Alder looked surprised at Yuga's knowledge and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable."

Yuga rolled his eyes at the comment. Pokémon like Archen and Archeops were a bit troublesome due to their abilities, which held them back compared to other Pokémon. It was a bit of a shame given their excellent species.

"What do we need to do once we're inside?" Christine, who had been silent until now, asked.

"You just need to map out the distribution of different Pokémon species inside and record the general terrain. You don't have to do anything else," Mr. Alder explained.

With that said, at Mr. Alder's signal, a staff member placed three devices resembling smartphones in front of Yuga and the others.

"These are custom devices. When activated, they will automatically record the terrain and environment of the places you pass through."

Mr. Alder pointed at the three devices and introduced them to Yuga's group.

Yuga picked up one of the devices and examined it but couldn't quite understand the principle behind it. He could only marvel, "The power of science is truly amazing!"

Then Mr. Alder distributed a map showing the location of the underground world to Yuga and his companions, along with a brief overview of the situation.

Normally, this reconnaissance mission would be handled by more specialized League trainers. However, since Yuga and his team had just finished a competition, they were tasked with this mission, which served as their test.

The mission carried a considerable degree of danger. While their task was primarily to map terrain and observe Pokémon populations, ancient Pokémon were known to be more aggressive, and the underground world's inhabitants were an unknown factor.

Although some League trainers had explored the outskirts, the deeper regions remained uncharted.

Mr. Alder gave Yuga and his team the choice to accept or decline the mission. However, if they declined, their gym's level of support would be reduced to that of other trainers.

Yuga and his team didn't hesitate to accept the mission. They saw it as an opportunity and couldn't justify turning it down. This was a valuable opportunity for them.

Yuga speculated that if they did refuse, their gym would likely receive less support in the future. In the eyes of the League, trainers who couldn't accept even this level of challenge lacked the spirit of adventure and resilience, which were considered essential for trainers.

"When should we depart?" Christine asked.

"You can decide that yourselves. There's a one-week time limit. As long as you complete the mission within a week, I have no objections even if you leave on the last day," Mr. Alder said with a sly grin, revealing his flirtatious nature, earning a poke from his assistant.

Christine was visibly annoyed by Mr. Alder's behavior, her face turning ashen. She shot him a fierce glare, finding it difficult to respect the League Champion in front of her.

Not only Christine, but Sora, who had witnessed Mr. Alder's flirting during the award ceremony, wore an expression of awkwardness. However, none of the Elite Four behind him said anything, clearly familiar with Mr. Alder's behavior.

Seeing the expressions on the faces of Lorelei and Phoebe, Yuga strongly suspected that Mr. Alder had flirted with them too.

Yuga: "That underground world sounds a bit dangerous. Doesn't the League provide any support?"

Mr. Alder: "Support? What kind of support are you looking for?"

Yuga hesitated and said, "For example, some powerful Pokémon to accompany us."

Mr. Alder chuckled and shrugged, "Unfortunately, no."

Yuga rolled his eyes in exasperation, thinking, 'If there's no support, why even ask what kind we want?'

"But!" Mr. Alder paused and continued, "You can each choose two Pokémon from the underground world as your reward. However, whether they are good or bad depends entirely on your abilities."

The faces of Yuga and his two companions lit up at the unexpected bonus. They knew that once the League took control of the underground world, it would be designated as a protected area, making it much harder to capture Pokémon from there in the future.

"But remember, you can only capture two Pokémon, whether they're good or bad is up to you. Don't count on luck," Mr. Alder warned as he watched the three of them with pleased expressions.

The League possesses specialized equipment capable of detecting the number of Pokémon a trainer carries, even if the Pokémon are concealed within a spatial backpack.

In the Pokémon world, there exist spatial backpacks, which are high-tech devices. They vary in size, with the smallest being just large enough to hold a person's head and the largest reaching up to two or three cubic meters.

These spatial backpacks are not designed to hold living creatures; even Pokémon eggs cannot be stored within them. Additionally, if you place plant seeds inside, they'll lose their vitality and cannot germinate.

Yuga's system backpack, while unable to directly store living creatures, has no issues with Pokémon eggs, plant seeds, or even Pokémon stored in Poké Balls. It's highly versatile in this regard.

Space backpacks are quite expensive, so unless necessary, few people tend to use them. However, trainers who venture outside often find them invaluable, as they significantly enhance safety. Many trainers are willing to invest extra money for this added security.

As for the Leagus's Pokémon count detection device, Yuga isn't particularly worried. He doesn't believe that such a device can breach the advanced technology of his system backpack to detect its contents.

However, Yuga does have some concerns regarding his Shadow Space. He's unsure about the reliability of Marshadow's seal. While Ghost-type Pokémon have life forms similar to ghosts, they still emit life energy. If this energy were detected, it could pose a problem.