Six hours before the Heiwa City Disaster Warning Center issued the disaster alert.
Minato and Eevee were practicing the Sand Attack move in the woods near Minami Town.
"Eevee!"
Eevee stared at the ground before her with a serious expression, concentrated, and swept her short, thin leg forward. In the next moment, a cloud of dust rose up, containing large amounts of sand and dirt that surged rapidly toward the area before Eevee.
DUANG...
The large rock Minato had brought over was struck squarely by the incoming Sand Attack. It shook slightly, then its surface was covered with a thick layer of sand.
"Excellent."
Minato wiped his sweat. He hadn't expected Eevee's efficiency in practicing Sand Attack to be so much higher than Quick Attack.
Over the past half month, although Eevee could use Quick Attack quite proficiently now, she used Sand Attack even more proficiently. One could say she could hit wherever she aimed.
Moreover, the visual effect of Sand Attack looked much stronger than when they were at the beach.
At first, Eevee's Sand Attack merely involved manipulating a small pile of fine sand and pushing it out. But now, as Minato saw, it had the feeling of a mini sandstorm sweeping in. This showed that Eevee's control over Ground-type energy was very good.
"Being able to comprehend Sand Attack from building sandcastles, Eevee definitely has talent in this area..."
Minato smiled. Eevee could now use both Quick Attack and Sand Attack proficiently. During special training, Eevee's basic qualities were also improving steadily every day. Then there was their hidden trump card—the Anticipation Ability. Although Eevee still hadn't mastered it well, she was much better than at the beginning.
Her strength, after three weeks of special training, could be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes. Eevee's temperament had also changed greatly.
If someone were told she had just been born a month ago, no one would believe it.
"Eevee, next we'll do Quick Attack training. Same rules as before: 800-meter distance, must return within 90 seconds, with no more than 5 mistakes."
Since it was an obstacle course, the actual distance exceeded 800 meters, but this was no longer a difficult challenge for Eevee, who could use Quick Attack proficiently.
"Eevee!!"
Seeing Eevee was ready, Minato took out his watch to time her. However, at that moment, he suddenly felt something wasn't right. At the same time, Eevee also tensed her body and looked around vigilantly.
"You also feel something's wrong, right?"
"Eevee." Eevee nodded.
The two of them almost simultaneously felt an inexplicable sense of oppression. After hesitating for a moment, Eevee moved. She gently shook the cream-colored fur around her neck, followed by her smooth brown fur. Her fluffy tail tapped the ground, her long ears swayed slightly, and she looked at the sky with worried eyes.
Compared to the depression Minato felt, the instinctive alarm brought by the Anticipation Ability made Eevee even more sensitive.
"Let's withdraw first."
Minato immediately thought to terminate the special training. As he tightened his clothes, Eevee quickly jumped onto his shoulder.
However, after Minato had only taken a few steps, the change had already occurred. An invisible tide of energy blew through, and the spatial structure of the Earth here seemed to be rewritten instantly, causing countless unstable dimensional channels to appear...
They were inevitably swept in.
"Damn it!"
"Eevee!!!"
These were the last thoughts of Minato and Eevee.
...
Eyes closed, eyes opened—the surroundings had become unfamiliar.
Minato's heart pounded, his face blank, completely unaware of what had happened.
Eevee also hugged Minato's neck tightly, frightened by the bizarre changes.
Both of them were nervous—one more than the other. Encountering this kind of thing, not fainting from fear, was already pretty good.
Purple, blue, cyan...
Three colors enveloped them, and their shades constantly shifted before Minato and Eevee's eyes. White cracks occasionally appeared on them, nearly blinding the two of them. Fortunately, this visual bombardment didn't last too long before their vision was completely covered by a white light.
"Damn it."
Minato and Eevee shuddered. When they opened their eyes again, they continued to doubt their lives.
"Did I transmigrate again?"
"Eevee?"
This should be a jungle...
Minato looked around, then suddenly seemed to think of something, instantly showing a bitter melon face.
He had somewhat guessed what was going on.
Special Zone!
They must have accidentally entered a Special Zone!
Since the large-scale integration of Special Zones with Earth nearly a century ago, the appearance of Special Zones has never stopped.
Every time a new Special Zone appeared, it would inevitably bring harm to the local ecology and towns.
It was precisely to guard against the dangers of Special Zones that the Trainer Association established branches in every region—to react in time when new Special Zones appeared.
"Special Zones are classified by size as: Extra-large, Large, Medium, Small, and Ultra-small..."
"Generally speaking, the smaller the Special Zone, the faster it integrates with Earth's space, and the more unstable space-time channels connecting the two different spaces surround it."
"Eevee and I entered the Special Zone so easily—this is most likely an Ultra-small Special Zone. The danger shouldn't be too great... right?"
Minato himself lacked confidence. He took out his phone; sure enough, due to the Special Zone, it didn't work. Even the watch he used for timing was completely ineffective. Just as the textbooks taught, electronic devices were all useless. This failure would continue until the Special Zone was completely integrated with Earth and the surrounding spatial magnetic field gradually stabilized.
"Eevee, let's just stay here and not move. We'll wait honestly for rescue," Minato said cautiously.
Every Trainer Association branch had devices to detect Special Zone fluctuations. The larger the scale of the Special Zone, the easier it was to detect the fluctuations.
Some large and extra-large Special Zones, because their fluctuations were obvious, could even be detected months before appearing, giving the Trainer Association ample time to react.
But Ultra-small Special Zones, Minato remembered, could only have their fluctuations detected approximately 6 hours after appearing. This was a bit of a trap, so the ones currently endangering ordinary people were generally Ultra-small Special Zones.
According to the Trainer Association's reminders, the correct thing for ordinary people who accidentally enter Special Zones to do is to find a safe place, not move, and wait for Professional Trainers to come to the rescue.
Although Minato was a Trainer, he didn't plan to run around courting death, because the Pokémon in Special Zones weren't very friendly.
Before and after the Special Zone made contact with Earth, perhaps due to some differences, the vast majority of Pokémon inhabiting the Special Zone would become extremely frenzied, highly aggressive, and destructive. Even some gentle-tempered Pokémon were no exception.
Academically, this condition was called Otherworld Syndrome, but students preferred to call it "failure to acclimatize."
This condition in Pokémon, besides artificial treatment, required a long time to ease before they could return to their original temperament.
"Stay calm, must stay calm." Thinking of this, Minato looked at Eevee. OH,h baby, we really are unlucky.