Chapter 015

"This is going to be a huge mess" thought Alex, while having breakfast. He just heard from Roger that the Zubat flock decided to camp in the Bloodsap tree forest.

Bloodsap was not an important product by any means, but it was one of the ingredients of Potions, Elixers, Pokemon food, Human food and had a bunch of use in industries like dyes, paints, construction, manufacturing etc.

But only a small amount of Bloodsap was needed for all these, so it isn't that valued. A dozen trees, with enough nutrients and water, could produce enough Bloodsap to meet all the needs in a small town. Plus, there were thousands upon thousands of trees in multiple locations across the world. Hence the plants were not really valued. No major forces had any plants for Bloodsap as they left it to the locals, who could easily supply multiple cities with a single plant.

Due to this abundance, no one really minded the Zubat flock that shared the trees. In other places, as he had heard, Pokemon like Sentret, Weedle, Heracross, and Pinsir also depended on these trees for sustenance and wouldn't conflict with locals unless their area was entered. Because of this abundance and low importance, there wasn't really a backup plan. Hence, unless the Bloodsap plant was recovered, fast, there was going to be a major deficiency of Bloodsap in Celadon, Saffron, Cerulean, and many other smaller towns and cities in the region.

"Roger said that more rangers are being called from nearby places. The current team of rangers are moving towards the plant to combat the flock. What do you think will be the result?" asked Joseph?

"Well, the Crobat itself is not the problem. However talented it is, or whatever treasure it has consumed, it cannot defeat the many rangers with Psychic Pokemon. The problem is the Zubat flock. It will be difficult to battle the thousands of Zubat, even if the rangers, Officer Jenny, Uncle Roger, and the volunteers who have gone to the plant have a team full of 6 Pokemon, which I don't think they do" analyzed Alex. "On the other hand, due to it being daylight outside, the flock is essentially trapped inside the plant. Uncle Roger and the others just have to monitor the plant for now. Due to the seriousness of the situation, I'm sure rangers will be deployed from everywhere. Then they can slowly work on dispersing the flock and capturing the Crobat."

"Which means the entire fight and capture will take place in the plant. I don't think I can see that Crobat after all" said Joseph sadly.

"Cheer up man! In half a year, after completing the PIT, you will definitely receive an adventure sponsorship. At that time, you can capture a good Zubat. Fast forward a few years and voila, you own Crobat. No need to be so sad about this one" comforted Alex.

"Yeah" muttered Joseph, but he still looked sad. They both finished their breakfast and went to the study room.

The study room was an empty room on the ground floor of Cherry Grove. In it were some tables and chairs, a single computer, and a blackboard. Only children talking the PIT were allowed in it. Sometimes, local volunteers would offer some lessons in this room. Roger also tried to teach us himself a few times a week, whenever he was free. The rest of the time, the children taking the PIT would self-study using some books that were donated to the orphanage. Lily and Jack were already in the room, both intently reading a book. When we entered, they looked up, nodded, and went back to their books.

Greeting them, Alex and Joseph also picked up a book and started reading.

After a while, Alex started to feel thirsty. He walked out of the room and went to the hall to get some water. Suddenly he heard the raid shelter alarm again. He was stunned, and went into the hall to see if he could find Jasmine. When he entered the room, he could see Roger standing there, talking on his phone. He looked a little roughed up, with clothes torn and a few streaks and bruises on his hands and face. Roger put down the phone and turned around.

"Hello Alex, hello Joseph" he greeted Alex and the now entering Joseph. "Quite a mess we are in now huh? Two raid shelter alarms in less than a day?" he joked with a smile.

"What happened? Why is the raid shelter alarm on? Is the flock travelling back to the caves?" asked Alex.

"Well, kind of. They are travelling back to their cave. But it wasn't of their own accord. Concerns were expressed about what would happen to the flock if we waited till afternoon, when the rest of the rangers arrive to chase them out. They would die in the blistering sunlight you see. So it was decided to open the sunroof of the warehouse, and switch on all the lights of the plant. Just like we predicted, the Crobat lost control of the Zubat, and all of them are now flying back to the caves. All the rangers are back in town ready to ambush the Crobat. As the battle may be intense and the remaining Zubat may riot, we decided to sound the raid shelter alarm just in case" said Roger.