A little farther on, Rope hears strange noises. He waves Rotom back into his backpack, then puts it down on the ground and walks forward cautiously with light gear, quiet steps, and alertness.
He hears a rustling sound, but isn't sure what it is, so he has to put his gear down first; after all, elemental transformation can somehow transform clothes, but not backpacks and their contents...
Rope can't figure out how this works, but he can only use this power without knowing what it is, and then make it "Cosmic Will"(I can't even explain this thing, I can't give a satisfactory principle, so that's how it is).
But the good thing is that it doesn't delay use, and you don't need to get too hung up on instinct-like things.
It's not like Rope has to make everything that should be clear.
Or perhaps there simply aren't any people who face the world with the mindset of having it all figured out. If there were, such a person would either become insane or a legend.
Rope continued to tiptoe forward and the voices became clearer.Rope faintly heard "Coming?" "Shift's over, take a break." And so on.
Rope took a few more steps forward, carefully pushed aside the bushes, and then looked over there.
Sure enough, a dozen guys in protective suits and gas masks were standing by the river. And soon, Rope's attention was drawn to something in the river.
Rope frowned slightly, then stepped back, then returned to where he had put his bag.
Rotom Pokédex had gotten out of his pack at some point, and when he saw Rope return, he asked softly.
"What happened. Loto?"
Rope said softly, "There's a construction site up ahead, and it seems that some workers are dredging the river."
Rotom sniffed and was instantly puzzled that Rope was whispering so quietly, "Why are you whispering if there's nothing else going on? Loto."
Of course, Rotom didn't let go of his voice when he said this, knowing that as jumpy as Rope was with his errands, there was often a reason for these behaviors that got him in more trouble.
At least the kind that would convince him of himself.
Rotom was ready for Rope to say something along the lines of, "This smells like a spy joint, it's cool."
"The silt in the river over there didn't look right, so I decided to take a look, but I can't just go over there, I have to stumble across it and make it as less contrived as possible."
Rope said with a rather serious look in his eyes as he picked up his backpack.
[Eh...].
Rotom, who was already prepared for Rope's strange reasoning, was momentarily at a loss as to how to react to this serious reasoning, and could only remain silent in response.
Luckily, Rope didn't really care about this guy's reaction, all he could think about right now was what was piled up in that river just now.
Rotom also consciously flew back, he just intended to give Rope a little help. As soon as the sound of battle occurred on Rope's side, he could rush to call for reinforcements.
It was a pity that Rope didn't have any Pokémon around that could store items, like a Gengar with an interdimensional stomach or something like that. Otherwise, they could have brought along a microwave, refrigerator, lawnmower, or some other kind of electrical appliance that would then give Rotom some fighting power.
However, Rope and Rotom are not considered to be in a submissive relationship, so Rotom cannot eat Rope's Flame-Flame Fruit bonus.
But as a partner, if Rope was really in a crisis, how could Rotom have ignored it?
With this thought in mind, Rotom started thinking in his backpack. How can he give himself a combat power that's not too bad to look at?
Rope didn't know what Rotom was thinking, otherwise he wouldn't have stood by.
Unfortunately, he didn't.
He had walked to the bush where he had originally seen the river. At this point he was standing and wasn't hiding his whereabouts as well as he could, so he saw where the workers had first looked at him and looked at him warily.
Rope had a smile on his face, but suddenly felt all three of the Pokémon balls around his waist jump uneasily, and the Rotom in his backpack linked directly to Rope's invisible communicator.
"This place is making me uneasy, Rotom, I want to escape, Rotom."
Rotom's voice even vaguely took on a trill.
[There's still something odd about this place.]
The smile on Rope's face didn't change, but a gleam of gravity passed through his eyes.
Rope's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes showed a glint of gravity. He knew that his Pokémon had all seen the world, and Rotom and Entei had even followed him to face the Hupa's Evil Thoughts. Even Charmander and Growlithe had followed along in the Pokémon ball to feel the Legendary Pokémon's breath.
And it starts to get uneasy before they even reach the river...
Is it hard to believe that it's really Eternatus or Arceus?
Under the mask, Rope's smile faded.
[If that's really the case, there's going to be big trouble... damn it, I'm not going to be a Shinigami schoolboy from the Pokémon world...]
Rope thought so, then quickly adjusted his mindset and once again assumed a curious but gentle expression.
Walking towards the workers over there, he took two steps out of the forest and out of the forest, bowing slightly to the workers in the sunlight.
"Hello everyone, I'm a Pokémon researcher passing through here, there's a bit of restlessness among the Pokémon in my Pokéball, and I sensed a bit of poisonous energy earlier, so I came over to investigate. I hope I didn't disturb you all."
The workers were sort of relieved to hear Rope's words. In fact, as long as it wasn't that kind of crazy Pokémon rushing over they wouldn't be too nervous.
After all, they were just little people. And even if their Pokémon didn't want to appear here, they were still following them in the ball, even if they were still uneasy.
So it wasn't that they didn't have the ability to defend themselves. It was just that they didn't want their Pokémon to be embarrassed.
"Hello this researcher, we are workers from Cerulean City Water Supply, and we are here to perform the job of dredging. We're very supportive of your work, but I'd like you to show us something that proves your identity and that we ask the company before we start the investigation."
Jun to looks at Rope's face and says seriously.
They were also wondering what was happening here, it was certainly good to have a researcher here to study.
But they were also instructed by the company not to disclose this to the outside world. That's why they had to report it in advance even for trainers like this who came to the door on their own.
Rope sniffed and gave Toshi to a rather surprised look. He was quite impressed with this worker's in-and-out maneuvering. It was important to realize that any Pokémon researcher was considered an upper class person in this world. It wasn't that simple to go in and out in front of upper class people.
"I can give you something to prove my identity, but as I recall, your Cerulean City water company doesn't own this river either, only the right to use it, and not the only right to use it. The dredging is certainly your responsibility, but I don't seem to be obligated to cooperate with your work."
Rope said nonchalantly.
And so, the atmosphere was tense.