[Emergency Evacuation Notice: All residents of Petalburg, please proceed immediately to designated shelters. Crawdaunt attack incoming!]
[Please follow the guards' instructions to prevent accidents!]
[Repeating...]
As the blaring sirens echoed through the high-pitched speakers, Lewis took a deep breath and adjusted his brand-new hat. In front of him, chaos erupted.
The once lively and peaceful shopping street was now in total disarray. People were scrambling to escape, their panic infectious. Pokémon could be seen here and there amidst the fleeing crowd.
"Everyone, please proceed to Shelter No. 37! Stay calm and evacuate in an orderly fashion! Return your Pokémon to their Poké Balls! Do not panic! Avoid stampedes!" Lewis shouted loudly.
In emergency evacuations, stampedes were the biggest threat. Lewis's nerves were taut as he shouted, his eyes scanning for any signs of danger.
Thankfully, this wasn't the city's first evacuation. Petalburg's residents had grown used to this kind of emergency drill. With Lewis's guidance, the evacuation proceeded smoothly. Soon, the streets were empty.
"Blazefang, check if anyone's left behind," Lewis instructed his Arcanine, his partner and first Pokémon.
Blazefang lifted his nose and sniffed the air. After a moment, he shook his head. Only then did Lewis breathe a sigh of relief.
Although he'd successfully cleared the area, it was time for him to leave as well.
"Crawdaunt, huh?" Lewis glanced back at the city behind him. The once lush Petalburg Forest was no longer visible. All he could see now were the towering steel walls and shadowy figures leaping toward them.
Humanity was now reaping what it had sown.
"Lewis! Have your civilians been evacuated?" a voice called from the distance as another Arcanine approached, carrying Lewis's older sister—Officer Jenny Chase.
"Yeah, sis. Everyone's out," Lewis replied as he climbed onto Blazefang, who wagged his tail excitedly.
Blazefang loved racing against Chase's Arcanine, Gale. Their current record stood at 1 win and 24 losses—the only win being when Gale had an upset stomach.
"Good. Let's go. The rest is up to the League's Special Task Force," Chase exhaled deeply, relieved that her brother had handled things well.
After all, this was Lewis's first day as a ranger guard. For a rookie to be thrown into such a crisis right away—it wasn't easy.
"You guys finished your end?" Lewis asked as he and Blazefang ran alongside Chase and Gale toward the shelter.
"Of course. The captain was worried you'd screw up your first day, so he sent me to help. But you did well, little bro," Chase said with a proud smirk.
Still, the approaching Crawdaunt left her uneasy. She couldn't help but worry there might be casualties.
Lewis scratched his head, sensing her concern but unsure how to comfort her.
Luckily, the shelter wasn't far. Soon, he spotted it at the end of the street—a reinforced underground facility. It was the closest shelter to the city walls.
He calmly instructed Blazefang to stop, then returned the grumpy Pokémon—still salty over losing to Gale—to its Poké Ball. Lewis followed his sister into the shelter.
Inside were members of the Pokémon League's emergency response: Jennys, Joys, and various staff huddled together in hushed discussion.
"If the Special Task Force fails..." Lewis murmured. He knew why this shelter was so close to the walls—because if things went wrong, they'd be the backup.
Standing in the dim lighting, Lewis stared at the screen mounted on the wall, his fingers tightening unconsciously.
Onscreen, a Crawdaunt was crawling out of the ocean.
That in itself wasn't strange. Crawdaunt were known for their aggression, but they weren't particularly strong—just medium threat level Pokémon. Lewis had eaten Crawdaunt before, stir-fried with garlic. It was delicious. The meat near the claws was firm and tender.
But then the camera zoomed in.
A grim-looking Gym Leader Norman appeared in frame—and behind him, the Crawdaunt loomed.
Compared to Norman, the Crawdaunt was massive. Like a human standing next to a Shiba Inu.
Data flashed across the screen.
Estimated height: 17 meters
Weight: unknown
Covered in green algae
Enormous claws
Just looking at it gave people chills.
"That's huge... Isn't this a bit too much?" Lewis gulped as he read the screen.
A seventeen-meter-tall Crawdaunt? You'd think it was Dynamaxed—but this was Hoenn. Hoenn didn't even have Dynamax phenomena.
"It also looks like its body is corroded. And its eyes are glowing green," Chase muttered, worry etched across her face as she stared at the screen.
Onscreen, Norman and the League agents had begun deploying their Pokémon, launching attacks on the towering monster.
"Reaping what we sow…" Lewis muttered, shaking his head solemnly.
Giant Pokémon now attacked human cities, destroying everything in sight.
To defend themselves, humans had built towering alloy walls, trying to repel the very Pokémon who were once trusted allies.
Former partners. Former helpers.
…
"Boss, what do you think?" Edward scratched his head as he looked at Zoroark, who had just handed him a script.
At first, Edward thought it was another submission from a fan—he received lots of them.
But to his surprise, it was written by Zoroark itself.
"You sure this isn't a script? It reads like a novel. And what's with all these giant Pokémon?" Edward asked, visibly confused. He had genuinely thought it was a script at first—but it clearly wasn't.
This was the first time he'd learned Zoroark could write fiction. Honestly, it was eye-opening.
"Hehe~ Just read a little more, boss. You'll get it~" Zoroark replied with a mischievous grin.
(End of Chapter)