He knows Pokémon better than me.

Chapter 4326 Southern Mine

Thanks!

Ash expressed his gratitude and carefully put away the orange-red feather.

You get a free ride and a small surprise gift.

Not bad, not bad!

However, there's one more thing he needs to ask.

"By the way, have you seen these two people in the mine recently?"

Ash took out his Rotom phone, pulled up a picture of Sord and Hilde, and showed it to Galarian Zapdos.

"Thunderous chirp."

Galar Zapdos stared at the screen for a couple of seconds, then quickly shook its head.

I've never seen a human with such a strange appearance.

Xiao Zhi put away his phone, not expecting any clues immediately.

Even if those two people are in this mine, they are most likely in the southern mining area, not in this completely abandoned northern area.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to ask again if there were any cave forks leading to the southern mining development area.

If you can't get in through the south gate, then sneak in from the other side!

This time, Galarian Zapdos nodded and even took the initiative to lead the way.

"Raichoo~!"

It raised its head and let out a cry, its tone carrying a hint of smugness.

It had already figured out all the branching paths here.

The interior of the mine is actually completely open, similar to the second mine to the east.

The original purpose was to allow people to travel from the southern entrance all the way to Caolu Town.

It's just that the Marocmont Group is mining here now, and the area has been artificially blocked.

Fortunately, they are now very close to the barrier.

After walking for a few minutes, the man and the bird arrived at what seemed to be a dead end, with a wooden frame more than two meters high and several thick wooden planks blocking their way.

Of course, once you turn over, you'll see that there's still a path ahead.

Sizzle—!

Galar Zapdos leaped lightly onto the wooden frame, still surrounded by a constant crackling of electricity.

However, instead of flipping over, it crouched down like a mother hen and lay there.

"Raichoo~!"

Zapdos shook its neck, indicating that Ash should go over there by himself.

Further ahead lies the area of ​​human activity, where people smash stones every day.

And its gait is accompanied by a frenzied, thunderous background noise; if it continues forward, it will be spotted in no time.

It doesn't like people coming up to it and disturbing its life in the mine.

"Thanks, you've been a great help!"

Xiao Zhi was overjoyed and expressed his gratitude once again.

I never expected that Galarian Zapdos, despite its fierce appearance, would have such a warm personality.

It certainly saved him a lot of trouble.

He raised his hand and pointed it forward, his eyes glowing blue, and the power of wave guidance spread out once again.

However, after the waveguide extended forward for more than ten meters, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier and could not go any further.

Xiao Zhi's eyes sharpened.

Sure enough, the source of the signal jamming must be up ahead.

Ash then nimbly flipped himself up, leaped lightly, and landed on the other side.

It still features Pikachu on its shoulder and Victini floating above its head.

"Thanks, I'll walk by myself from now on."

Ash waved to the Galar Zapdos, lowering his voice considerably.

Only then did he begin to look around.

The surrounding environment hasn't changed much; the rock walls are still inlaid with luminous crystals, illuminating the mine with a soft glow.

After walking several meters forward, he looked back—

The Galar Zapdos remained perched on the wooden frame, stretching its neck and staring at him curiously.

She looked as if she was waiting for him to come back.

Could it be that she's planning to book a return ticket and wait for him to board the train?

"Galácticos still has a lot of good birds~"

Ash couldn't help but sigh, and continued walking forward, his pace unconsciously slowing considerably. He hadn't gone far when the light sources on the rock walls on either side were no longer just those strange glowing crystals.

Even from a few meters away, you can see electric lights hanging on the wall, making the road much brighter than before.

Clearly, there is human activity here.

Unfortunately, waveguide power is basically unusable here.

I guess it's some kind of black technology that Chairman Loz came up with again?

Ash could only look up at Victini above his head:

"Please, help me sense if I'll encounter any other humans around me."

"When you encounter a fork in the road, try to choose the one where you won't bump into anyone."

"Piccoo~!"

Bictini's eyes immediately lit up.

Finally, it's its turn to come in handy!

It immediately flew up from above Xiao Zhi's head and floated ahead to lead the way.

In this environment, the power of waveguides cannot be used, but Victini's "Will to Victory" perception ability is a different mechanism.

Just like everyone has a waveguide.

Similarly, everyone has, to some extent, the will to win.

Even if the willpower is zero, it is still willpower.

This allows one to easily sense strangers approaching from the surroundings.

Upon reaching a fork in the road, Victini hovered in mid-air, sensing its surroundings for a moment.

"Piccoo~!"

Soon, it raised its little hand and pointed to the relatively narrow path on the far right.

Xiao Zhi understood and immediately followed the directions inside.

We hadn't gone very far when we could already see the tracked mining cars operating normally.

Clang clang clang——!

There are even automated mining machines, with drill bits constantly breaking through rock layers and sending the fragmented ore along the transport track into mining cars.

It's completely automated!

Only a few miners are responsible for daily patrols and maintenance; the level of modern mechanization is quite high.

Of course, the impact on the Pokémon ecosystem should also be significant.

"No, there really isn't."

Ash hasn't seen a single wild Pokémon yet.

However, there's not much he, an outsider, can do about it.

"Piccolo, Piccolo~"

Bictini, however, helped him avoid several miners along the way.

However, it seems that simply hiding is not enough to truly infiltrate and gather intelligence.

It would be best to change your clothes first!

So Xiao Zhi changed his approach and whispered:

"Victini, find me someone who's alone first."

"Bick?"

Victini blinked, carefully surveyed the area, and then led Ash into a small passageway.

Inside, a miner was sound asleep, which saved us the trouble of finding an angle to ambush him.

With no one else around, Ash whispered his instructions:

"Pikachu, electromagnetic wave!"

"Pikachu".

Pikachu moved quickly, leaping up and unleashing a dense current that instantly struck the miner.

"Huh?!"

The miner's body stiffened, and before he could even open his eyes, a numbness spread throughout his body.

His vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Sorry, can I borrow this for a moment?"

Ash quickly stepped forward and skillfully removed the equipment from the other person.

To put it simply, it's just a bright yellow and red vest and a blue hard hat, which you can easily put on.

Looking down at his disguise, he nodded in satisfaction.

Now we can finally walk out with our heads held high! (End of Chapter)