Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

"Please have some. I'm sorry, but since there weren't any trainers here today, and it's past lunchtime... this is all we have left."

Nurse Joy brought bread, ham, and milk to Ash and his friends who were sitting in the restaurant, indicating that the Pokémon Center had not prepared lunch for them today.

"It's okay, this is enough."

Ash and his friends weren't too concerned about lunch, since Black Gold City seemed to be facing a more serious problem than they had imagined. Looking out the window at the swirling yellow sand, they had no appetite.

......

Each of the three was preoccupied with their own thoughts, and it took them about half an hour to finally finish the food on their plates. Meanwhile, the sandstorm outside was as fierce as ever.

Do you think there might be a connection between the two things?

"what's up?"

After hearing what Ash said, Dawn asked with a curious look.

"Are you talking about the connection between the disappearance of all the wild Pokémon in the mountains and the sandstorms that have swept through Blackgold City?"

“Hmm.” Ash nodded. “After all, both of these things seem to have happened recently, don’t they? I think it’s quite a coincidence… or rather, suspicious.”

Brock and Dawn both agreed with Ash's guess, since they couldn't think of any other reason besides this possibility.

"Let's ask Miss Joey."

Ultimately, they decided to first find Nurse Joy to confirm the situation around Blackgold City. If the sudden disappearance of wild Pokémon was due to some known reason, their conjecture would be disproven.

only--

"Huh? You guys said you haven't found any wild Pokémon in the mountains along the way?"

Miss Joy herself seemed even more surprised than they were.

"That shouldn't be the case... When Mr. Hyota went to the mountains to repair the road recently, he said that the Pokémon in the mountains seemed to be in good condition and even helped them a lot... It's only been a few days, how could the wild Pokémon in the mountains have disappeared?"

Nurse Joy frowned deeply. Clearly, neither she, nor even the people of Black Gold City, knew about the disappearance of the wild Pokémon in the mountains. After learning about it from Ash and the others, Nurse Joy realized that something was wrong.

"I understand. Anyway, I'll report it to the League first. By the way, are you going to challenge the Black Gold Gym?"

As Miss Joy spoke, her gaze shifted to Ash.

"Yes."

"In that case, could you please tell Mr. Hyota about this as well? Mr. Hyota is still in the mine. He seems to think that the current sandstorm is related to the situation in the mine, so he is investigating."

......

Having received Nurse Joy's request, Ash and his friends had no choice but to head towards the Black Gold Coal Mine, also known as the mine, south of Black Gold City.

Fortunately, before leaving, Miss Joey thoughtfully gave each of them a mask; otherwise, they would have been completely buried in sand just by walking into the mine with only handkerchiefs.

"Tsk, this is terrible... If this weather continues for a few more days, it feels like the entire Black Gold City is going to be completely paralyzed."

As they walked toward the Black Gold Coal Mine, Ash complained as he shook the sand and pebbles that he couldn't shake off from his shoes.

The sand and gravel in Black Gold City are already almost ankle-deep; if this continues, it will eventually turn into a desert.

"Why hasn't this been reported to the Alliance yet...? This has already become a disaster!"

Xiao Guang also looked exhausted, clearly unable to understand the matter either.

As the former Gym Leader of Pewter City, Brock clearly has more say in this matter than Ash and Dawn.

"After all, Blackgold City has encountered similar weather before, so it's probably not a good idea to report it to the League for help... Also, if they had to ask the League for help for every little problem, it would make the local gym leader seem incompetent. Perhaps that's one of the considerations."

Xiao Gang's guess was reasonable, and Xiao Zhi and Xiao Guang nodded in unison after hearing it.

......

Although they didn't encounter any trouble on the way from the Pokémon Center to the Black Gold Mine, the sandstorm outside seemed to have gotten stronger. After finally finding shelter in the mine and shaking off the sand, Ash and his friends were exhausted. The pain of moving forward through the sandstorm was much more painful than moving forward in the torrential rain.

"Pikachu~"

Pikachu, who had been hiding in the backpack from the beginning, seemed full of energy. It stood at the cave entrance watching the flying sand outside and exclaimed in surprise. It was not until Ash grabbed it that Pikachu lost its leisure to continue admiring the wonder.

"Stop making a fuss here and hurry up and go find Mr. Hyota... If we can't solve the current problems in Blackgold City, I feel like the gym battle can't proceed."

"Pikachu~"

"But speaking of which, there doesn't seem to be anyone at the entrance of the mine. Are they all on holiday?"

To Xiao Gang's surprise, there was hardly anyone in Black Gold City, and the mines in Black Gold City were also deserted. Had all the people in the Black Gold Mine gone deep into the mine?

"Is it okay to just go in like this? Will something happen...?"

Ash stood at the entrance of the mine and looked inside. Although most places were lit up, if you looked down into the deep, dark pit, you could clearly see that the underground was not fully illuminated. If Piao Tai was in the deepest part, there might be some problems if they went in unprepared.

"...But there's no equipment near the entrance...Let's just go inside for now. If we still can't find Mr. Hyota in the lit areas, let's wait for him to come out at the entrance."

Xiao Gang's suggestion was agreed upon by Xiao Zhi and Xiao Guang, and then they began to carefully move forward in the mine. However, with Pikachu's hearing, they should be able to make progress in this confined environment to a certain extent, right?

The three of them followed the direction of the miners' lamps laid out on the wall and groped their way deeper into the cave. At one point, Ash seemed to see a dark shadow flash before his eyes, but when he looked down at Pikachu, it seemed to have no idea what it was. Ash thought he had just imagined it and stopped paying attention to his fleeting feeling.

.......