The eastern suburbs of Lumiose City, right next to Kalos Route 16, had always been a sacred sanctuary for anglers.
Even with the fine drizzle falling like a veil, quite a few fishermen still stood by the riverbank today, quietly waiting for their catch.
However, beneath this tranquil curtain of rain lurked figures that did not belong here, also hunting for prey.
Pokémon Hunters!
Four men and women dressed in gray hoodies with their caps pulled low were conducting a search through the woods alongside a Mightyena.
The damp rain, thick with the scent of mud and rotting leaves, perfectly masked their quarry’s trail, bringing their tracking to a standstill.
“Useless trash!
Three of you couldn’t even trap a single Greninja?!
What on earth am I paying you for?!”
The woman leading them had her face obscured, but her figure was voluptuous, though her tone lacked any grace as she harshly berated the three subordinates beside her.
Facing her fury, the remaining three could only lower their heads in silence, not daring to talk back.
They hadn’t anticipated that just as they were about to throw electric shackles over the heavily injured Greninja, a few anglers would suddenly wander out from a secluded spot.
The fishermen had superior numbers and unknown strength.
Unwilling to start an unprovoked fight, the hunters had used the excuse of “you can’t chum the water here” to shoo them away.
But in that brief window, Greninja had dragged its battered body into the river and vanished.
“Hmph!
That Greninja was requested by a private client, paying three times our usual rate.
We prepared for over half a month for this.
If it gets away, you don’t need to take responsibility anymore.
Just apologize with your lives!”
“!!!”
Hearing this, the three felt the hairs on their necks stand on end.
They knew all too well that their leader meant every word.
This woman had once been the top deputy of Hunter J, the legendary hunter who even had records of capturing Legendary Pokémon.
It wasn’t until a year ago, due to conflicting ideals, that she split off to establish her own organization, Hunter Z, starting from scratch.
However, most insiders knew the truth: she had lost a power struggle against Hunter J and barely escaped with her life.
Consequently, she was extremely taboo about anyone bringing up the past, and out of fear of Hunter J, she had laid low without making any big moves.
That was until a month ago, when rumors spread through the underworld that Hunter J had failed a mission in the Sinnoh region, her body never even recovered.
Overjoyed, Hunter Z finally stopped hiding and resolved to pull off a major score—taking over all of Hunter J’s former business.
Hunting this Greninja was the starting point of her ambition.
“Boss, further ahead is the Lumiose City suburbs,” the hunter walking in front suddenly stopped and reported.
“What are you afraid of?!”
Hunter Z strode forward, her handheld monitor transmitting live aerial footage from a Drone Rotom.
The rain didn’t affect the clarity of the feed as she swiftly analyzed the situation.
“Greninja is heavily injured and can’t go far.
It could only find a place to hide.
The upper stream of this river connects directly to the sewer inlet of the Lumiose suburbs.
In such a short time, there’s no suitable cover around, and the Drone Rotom didn’t spot it either.
It most likely crawled inside.”
After confirming a route clear of trainer patrols, Hunter Z issued her orders sharply, and the four quickly moved into action.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the sewer.
“I thought it would be filthy…
This sewer is cleaner than I imagined.
People must clean it regularly, right?
But it sure is huge.
I wouldn’t dare wander around without navigation…”
Mishiro held up his Rotom Phone for illumination as he walked cautiously along the iron walkway beside the sewer channel.
The metal creaked underfoot, sounding as though it might snap at any second.
The gloomy, silent environment constantly tested his nerves, but luckily he wasn’t alone—Squishy was resting safely inside his pocket.
After rushing over here, he realized he was barely prepared, lacking information on Greninja’s exact condition or the strength of the hunters.
Thus, after entering the sewer, he moved with extreme caution.
“Kyu~”
At that moment, Squishy chimed in with a warning from his pocket.
Ever since its first transformation into its 10% Forme, its various senses had been gradually improving, though it still preferred to remain low-profile.
Mishiro stopped in his tracks at the sound, realizing he had arrived at his destination.
Looking down into the partially purified wastewater below, he saw a dark shape curled up there.
It was a Pokémon lying motionless, as if life had already departed from it.
The light from the Rotom Phone illuminated its deep black body, with white bubbles adhering to its limbs, four-pointed star markings like shuriken on its legs, and most strikingly, the bright red “scarf” wrapped around its neck.
[Type: Water / Dark]
[Ability: Protean (Changes the Pokémon’s type to the type of the move it is about to use)]
[Moves: Night Slash, Quick Attack, Aerial Ace, U-turn, Facade, Swords Dance, Shadow Sneak, Substitute, Double Team, Extrasensory, Water Shuriken]
[Favorability: 0 (Deep hatred for humans)]
[Status: Severely Injured / Near Death (Wounds continuously deteriorating, stamina nearly exhausted, consciousness almost lost)]
[Basic Information: A wild Greninja that grew up alone after being rejected by its pack for being Shiny.
Unsocial and solitary, but frequently helps weaker Pokémon.
Ambushed by Pokémon Hunters a few hours ago and escaped into the sewer while gravely injured.]
“Found it!”
Mishiro was delighted.
He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.
What surprised him even more was that this was a Shiny Greninja.
No wonder it had drawn the poachers’ pursuit.
However…
Noticing the “0” points in favorability, Mishiro was certain that if he blindly approached right now, Greninja would attack him with the last of its strength.
He wasn’t afraid of getting hurt, but in Greninja’s current state, doing so might literally cause it to drop dead on the spot.
Just as he was pondering how to rescue it without triggering its defenses, the system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
[You have witnessed Greninja in a sewer safe zone with your own eyes.
Create a Legend File?]
“???”
Mishiro was stunned, completely failing to understand this sudden prompt.
“Let’s create it first and see what it is.”
[Created Legend File: *Sewer Greninja*]
[A Greninja victimized by the game developers’ internal spite: its popularity never loses, but its competitive strength never wins…
Not only is its viability in the sewer tier, but even its main stage has become an actual sewer.
It is either being persecuted or on its way to being persecuted.
As a Greninja fan, you must prove its strength—at least in this sewer home turf, Greninja will never lose to anyone!]
[File Mission: Win a battle using Greninja in any sewer battlefield.]
[Sub-quest: None]
[Rewards: *Dark Pulse* TM, Greninja follow-up file intel, Legend Points × 100]
“You damn Greninja hater!!!”