Chapter 44: The Noisy Whismur

"Um... are you interested?" Tetsu began to hesitate as no one else responded to his question. Feeling embarrassed, he turned to the closest person, a young trainer, which happened to be Darren.

However, as soon as he opened his mouth, he hesitated. Darren appeared to be around ten years old and was probably a new trainer. It wouldn't be good if anything unexpected happened deep in the mountains, and a new trainer might not even be able to take care of themselves.

Tetsu suddenly widened his eyes, fearing that Darren would agree. He didn't want to bring along someone who would be a liability. He had heard that the situation was serious, and he believed that having more people would make it safer. However, this did not include a newly-minted trainer.

Darren raised an eyebrow and hesitated for a moment. To be honest, he was curious about the situation, but considering he was here with Master Shozo, he knew it would be troublesome to agree. He quickly dispelled the idea.

Seeing the curiosity in Darren's eyes, Tetsu's face became bitter. He thought he was going to be in trouble.

"I-" Darren was about to decline, but another person interrupted him.

"Tetsu, right? Don't waste time talking to kids. The four of us are enough. A new and inexperienced trainer won't be of any help even if he comes along." One of the three trainers who had gone out first spoke up. He appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old and was wearing a blue jacket.

Tetsu didn't say anything, he just smiled awkwardly and silently agreed with what the trainer said.

Darren was stunned.

…

"Alright, don't mind him. Everyone starts out as a new trainer. Keep it up, and you'll eventually become an elite trainer." The female trainer interrupted, knowing that Darren's confidence was being attacked by the trainer in the blue jacket. It was best to stop the conversation.

Their attitude made it clear that they assumed Darren was a new trainer.

Darren didn't bother explaining himself. He decided to let it go. If he had registered as a trainer with the Pokemon League, he would indeed be considered new at his age. But being a breeder was an entirely different system from being a trainer.

"Alright, let's not argue anymore." Tetsu also felt uncomfortable seeing Darren being targeted. Although he was still young and had only been a trainer for a year, he believed his strength was good enough. He decided to take responsibility for inviting Darren and agreed to let him join. He could always take care of him if necessary.

Meanwhile, Darren was confused. When did he agree to join them?

Tetsu had forgotten that Darren hadn't finished his sentence. He had only seen curiosity and interest in Darren's eyes and subconsciously judged that he wanted to accept his invitation.

"Don't worry, you can follow me. My Roselia will protect you." The female trainer patted her chest and put on an "I've got your back" expression.

...

Darren declined again, but was immediately rebutted.

"Have confidence in yourself. We have five people, so it shouldn't be dangerous." Tetsu said.

"..."

"As a new trainer, are you going to back down after just a few words? Show some backbone, or I'll lose respect for you." The trainer in the blue jacket said.

"This is a good opportunity for training. Don't worry, my Pokemon will be there to help you at critical moments." The female trainer said.

"Just be careful." The last person spoke.

And so, Darren's polite refusal was interpreted as cowardice, and the group decided to convince the "new trainer" to join them.

The leader was a boy named Tetsu, who had just won four consecutive battles against some roadside trainers. The trainer in the blue jacket was named Zander, with a record of challenging three regional championships. The female trainer was named Sophia, training to become an top coordinator. The last member, Aiyue, was an apprentice from the Rustboro Gym.

Together with the innocent Darren, the five of them began to plan their journey into the mountains to unravel the mystery of Whismur's mischief.

The Rusturf Tunnel construction was interrupted. Whenever these trainers appeared, the Whismur would flee to the mountains, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike again.

After listening to Master Shozo's description, Darren understood the situation better than the others. He was also very curious about the reasons behind it all and eager to verify his own guesses.

The group planned to enter the mountains at midnight, when the police's guard would be weakest. Darren rolled his eyes at their plan, even though he was curious, he had no desire to join these kids on their adventure.

It was nighttime, and it was time to rest. After nearly a month of training on Mt. Chimney, Darren was exhausted and had no intention of getting into any trouble.

The four of them discussed excitedly, and finally, they agreed on a time and a meeting place.

With that, the group separated and went to prepare. But after Darren left, he had no intention of seeing them again. He needed to find a place to rest, and both his Swablu and Beautifly had their own training tasks to complete, there was no time to waste.

Master Shozo didn't give him any instructions, and Darren was at a loss. He wondered if Master Shozo had forgotten that he didn't have a trainer's license and couldn't stay at the Pokémon Center.

People like Darren were not uncommon. They brought their own tents and found suitable places to build temporary shelters.

Darren was not unfamiliar with this way of getting by, he was even skilled at it. He sighed, feeling like he was back in the same situation when he left Fallarbor Town.

...

The next morning, Darren was awakened by a loud noise.

The commotion was intense, and Darren walked outside, trying to figure out what was going on.

He circled around but found nothing. At that moment, two figures caught Darren's attention.

"Officer Jenny, and... Master Shozo..."

Darren hurried over to them, wanting to find out what had happened and how things had developed up until now.

…

"Darren?"

As he approached, Master Shozo obviously noticed him.

"I was drawn here by the noise," Darren said.

"You heard it too," Master Shozo frowned, "The situation is starting to become clear, but it will take some time to resolve."

"The noise came from Exploud, he seems to be the Whismur's leader, and there are also some Loudreds who are following him as the leader."

"Is it serious?" Darren was taken aback.

"They're very aggressive now, but they've retreated to the mountains."

"That's not good." Darren rubbed his head, feeling a headache. "Yesterday, it seemed like some trainers went into the mountains on their own. I don't know if they were intercepted."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jenny was surprised, "I didn't receive any information."

"If they went as planned, they're probably in the mountains now," Darren looked at Master Shozo.

If trainers were attacked by the aggressive Exploud, it would be inevitable that something unexpected would happen.

"I understand." The situation was indeed serious. After hesitating for a moment, Master Shozo threw a Poké Ball to Darren. "You know those trainers, right? Take Pidgeot's Poké Ball. See if you can find them and persuade them to wait for rescue, don't act rashly. Jenny and I will go to immediately investigate the situation with the Exploud."

"Can we trust him?" Jenny was surprised, looking at Darren who was only about ten years old.

"Don't worry," Master Shozo said, "He's a breeder. If anything unexpected happens, he's more capable than the average trainer, and he has Pidgeot with him, so there shouldn't be any accidents."