The Storm Approaches

Five days later,
Rockridge Village.

"Hey, there's actually a Water Stone today." Bruce stood in front of the boy's booth, picked up a crystalline stone, and sighed softly.

After half a month, he finally found a stone of good value in Rockridge Village.

Unfortunately, he probably won't be coming back for a long time.

This is his last patrol.

Two days remain until December. In December, he will return to school to participate in the university student league, so he won't be able to stay at the Vortex base.

The boy raised his chin and said proudly: "I picked it up on the mountain!"

"You picked it up?" Bruce was a little surprised.

The boy nodded frantically like a chicken pecking at rice, his little face full of pride.

"My mother's illness hasn't been cured for a long time, so she can't climb the mountain."

"I'm the only man in my family." After saying this, the boy puffed out his chest and stood up straight.

"Seed, seed~"

The second Seedling Pokemon behind him looked at him, quickly stretched out two Vine Whips from both sides of its body, and scratched the boy's armpit.

"Ha ha ha~ Ha ha, it tickles, stop Bulbasaur!" The boy reached out to stop Vine Whip and played rough with Seedling Pokemon.

Bruce smiled slightly, looked at the warm scene in front of him, and then coughed lightly: "I want this Water Stone."

"What would you like?"

The boy stopped playing, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Bruce intently. It seemed he had been prepared for a long time and immediately said, "I want spicy noodles!"

After finishing, he looked at Bruce anxiously.

"Spicy noodles..."

Bruce nodded slightly, took two packs of spicy noodles from his backpack, then took out some snacks and threw them over together.

"Eat fewer spicy noodles; they're not good for your health."

"Yes." The boy nodded repeatedly and hugged Seedling Pokemon tightly in his arms as if he had won a treasure.

Bruce tossed the Water Stone into his backpack, then looked at the boy and said, "Alright, see you next time."

"Hmmmm."

"Goodbye, big brother~" The boy raised his right hand and waved to Bruce.

The four patrol team members quickly gathered at the head of the village. Compared to Bruce, who found a piece of Water Stone, the other three found nothing.

"Next time, luck must be better," Lucas said helplessly, spreading his hands.

"Brother Lucas, next time you'll do better every time." Benjamin couldn't help but complain.

Lucas patted Benjamin on the head with a smile and continued: "In Donghuang, this is called positive and optimistic spirit."

"No matter what difficulties you face, you always think next time will be better."

"Alright, hurry up and let Young Master Bayne feel our deep friendship for him during this last patrol mission," Lucas said again.

As a result, the three sent out their Pokemon one after another to find wild Pokemon for Bruce.

Now Metang's level has reached 44, just one level away from evolution. This speed of progress is beyond Bruce's expectations.

Judging by this speed, Metang could successfully evolve into an invincible and domineering Metagross in a few days at most.

It's a pity that Metagrossite hasn't been found yet.

And because Bruce focused on improving Metang's level during this period, Gardevoir's progress has been relatively slow and is now only at level 41.

As for Galar Ponyta, its level has unknowingly been raised to level 26, which can be considered Extreme Speed progress.

This is the result of Bruce not focusing on training it.

"Once the freshman exchange competition is over, we can focus on training the Galar region Pokemon."

Bruce looks forward to the moment when Ponyta evolves into Rapidash.

Of course, the elder brother Blaziken in the team has not stopped progressing and is still the number one in the team.

But since Gardevoir can undergo Mega Evolution and if Metang evolves into Metagross, they will strongly challenge its number one position.

Blaziken wants to keep its top spot, and there's no room for slack in the future.

So, the four-member team began to search for traces of wild Pokemon, helping Bruce start his leveling journey.

Unknowingly,

As night fell, the bright moon hung high in the night sky, and the cold moonlight shone on the earth.

A group of people arrived at the temporary camp.

Since they had been leveling up all day, there was little time to rest. The four quickly finished their dinner and went to bed to rest.

That night, the temporary camp was very quiet, and several wooden houses stood silently in the cold wind, like silent guards watching over Diamond Forest.

But tonight, Diamond Forest was not at peace.

The afternoon wind was cold, the moon was high, and from time to time, fierce beast roars that were supposed to be flying birds could be heard.

"How are the preparations?"

In a deeply hidden cave, faint conversations could be heard.

"Boss, everything is ready, and all the brothers are in position."

"I contacted the other three organizations, and they're all ready to start at any time," said a slightly hoarse voice.

"Alright."

The man stood still in silence, and the bright light shining on his broad shoulders on the smooth stone wall made him look taller and taller.

"Continue the notice, no one can act without authorization before the operation begins."

"Violators will be stabbed," he said in a low voice, but his tone was like that of a fierce demon, making people shiver.

"Understood." The other person nodded slightly.

Then he paused and couldn't help but whisper, "Boss, I heard the other three organizations...seem to have hidden motives."

"Heh heh heh." Hearing this, the man known as the boss sneered and said bluntly, "How could they not have their own agendas?"

"It took half a year to reach this cooperation, and only then were the basic aspects of the cooperation determined.

"However, regarding the arrangement of Diancie, no rules have been set for a long time."

He spoke at a slow pace, but his tone was chillingly cold: "The four organizations are invading from four different directions, and this implicates the defensive force the most here.

"When entering Diamond Forest, it's all up to your ability."

"Except for the members of the organization, everyone else is an enemy."

"I don't care which organization Diancie ends up in; we must grab it!"

"Diancie is ours," he said harshly, staring intently.

Hearing this, he paused and then continued: "Although King John Bayne is old, I don't know if his Contest Condition has started to decline, but his reputation still exists, so he must not be underestimated."

"Avoid King John Bayne and the Police Guard as much as possible, and let other organizations face him..."

"Understood." The other person nodded slightly.

"Alright, this invasion is extremely dangerous. The best outcome is that most of the operation personnel die or are injured, but they'll successfully capture Diancie."

"Order, whoever captures Diancie, I can promote them to deputy leader."

"Understood!" the other person said suddenly, their eyes lighting up.

"Withdraw and wait for the action to start tomorrow." The boss let out a low noise and waved his hand.

Half an hour later,

Deathly silence returned to the cave, with only the boss staring intently at the stone wall on one side, lost in thought...

"Diancie..."

"I will catch you for sure," he whispered softly.

The last day of December, 11:30 AM, with good weather.

"Today is a good day."

Bruce got up early in the morning and was moving around in the open space in front of the wooden house.

"Yes, these should be the last days of good weather." Lucas looked up, and the direct sunlight forced him to raise his right hand to block his eyes.

After November, the days of heavy snow will come.

At that time, the entire Diamond Forest will be covered in silver and turn into a world of ice and snow.

"Let's go, Young Master Bayne, today is your last patrol day."

"Don't rush today; try to give your Pokemon more experience," Lucas said slowly.

The four quickly set off down the road, heading toward the Vortex base while starting the leveling journey.

"Did no more Pokemon appear today?"

Not long after setting out, Bruce looked to the left and right and spoke unconsciously.

Hearing this, Lucas glanced at Bellsprout hidden in the forest to the right, then stroked his chin and said, "It seems like more than yesterday."

"But it's a good thing and saves us from searching everywhere," he smiled again.

Hearing this, Bruce also smiled.

Then, he sent out Ponyta and Metang, letting the former run freely while the latter began leveling up.

Metang seemed to know it was close to evolving; it was very urgent, resolving each battle simply and roughly, and earning experience points quickly.

Unknowingly, the sun set in the west, and the glow of the setting sun dyed the mountains red.

"Hey, it's time," Lucas said, looking at the time.

"Alright, let's stop here. Let's head back to the base directly without stopping," he said again.

"Okay," the three replied in unison.

In fact, there was nothing to do in Diamond Forest at night; it was better to return to the Vortex base at once.

Bruce looked up and saw the road ahead getting narrower and what he saw were two steep rock walls over 100 meters high.

This is the last barrier before entering Diamond Forest, behind Rockridge Village.

"Just reached here," Bruce couldn't help but sigh.

I was busy leveling up today and lost a lot of time, so I only got here at sunset.

"Wait." Suddenly, Benjamin, who had been silent all this time, raised his head and looked at the sky not far away. From a distance, he could vaguely see birds circling in the air.

"The bird circles but doesn't fly; I'm afraid there's an ambush below." He fixed his eyes and spoke in a deep voice.

Ambush?