Chapter 248: Golem

The sudden emergency stop threw the carriages into chaos. The cries of children, the curses of adults, and the groans of the injured all mingled into a cacophony of noise.

"Mommy, it hurts!"

"What's going on? I'm definitely filing a complaint!"

"Attendant! Attendant! My mother is injured!"

"If there's no reasonable compensation, I'm not letting you off the hook today!"

Some passengers were too consumed by anger to wonder why a high-speed train would come to such an abrupt halt mid-journey. Their fury clouded their judgment, and some even saw it as an opportunity to exploit the situation.

But where there were hotheads, there were also clear thinkers.

A few passengers seemed to realize something, their faces turning pale with fear and tension.

At that moment, the train's intercom crackled to life.

"Dear passengers, a large group of Geodude has been detected ahead of the train. Our personnel are already responding. Please remain calm."

"Injured passengers, please proceed to Car 3. If you cannot move, call for assistance from an attendant."

Although railway patrol teams regularly cleared wild Pokémon near the tracks, perfection wasn't always possible.

Every summer, there were incidents in the country involving wild Pokémon attacking high-speed trains. Unfortunately, these occasionally led to injuries or fatalities.

And this wasn't unique to Drakoria. Such incidents occurred worldwide, often with even poorer safety records abroad.

Even air travel wasn't entirely safe—there was always a chance of being attacked by Flying-type Pokémon.

When something went wrong with a plane, the survival rate was far worse than on a train.

To mitigate such risks, both airplanes and high-speed trains were equipped with security personnel. These guards were always Pokémon Trainers.

This train had ten Advanced-level Trainers and one Trainer at pseudo-Elite level.

Now, the pseudo-Elite Trainer led five advanced Trainers to deal with the Geodude ahead, while the remaining five guarded the train to prevent wild Pokémon from boarding and injuring passengers.

In the business-class carriage, Julian helped the attendant into his seat.

"Thank you, Mr. Walker"

The young woman said gratefully. If not for Julian catching her earlier, she would have fallen awkwardly to the floor and possibly even injured herself.

Listening to the announcement, Julian silently cursed his bad luck.

Of all the unlikely events, he had to encounter one.

"Can you handle the Pokémon outside?" Julian asked.

If they couldn't, he didn't mind stepping in to help.

"We can. We have a pseudo-Elite onboard," the attendant replied, her tone carrying a hint of admiration at the mention of pseudo-Elite.

For most people, Elites were lofty, unattainable figures. As a result, pseudo-Elites represented the pinnacle that the majority of Trainers could realistically aspire to reach.

For most ordinary people, a pseudo-Elite-level Trainer is often the highest-level Trainer they would ever encounter.

Julian nodded at this explanation.

A pseudo-Elite should be more than capable of handling the situation.

In the wild, it was extremely rare for Pokémon to reach the Elite level, and even pseudo-Elites were uncommon.

With a pseudo-Elite Trainer taking action, the problem would likely be resolved quickly.

About 500 meters ahead of the train, there was a tunnel. At the tunnel entrance, a swarm of hundreds of Geodude had gathered.

Upon spotting this, the train conductor had immediately activated the emergency brakes, bringing the train to a stop.

"Captain, we can handle these Geodude ourselves," one of the team members said confidently.

The Geodude weren't particularly high-level. As Advanced Trainers, the team could deal with them despite their large numbers—it would just take more time.

"Lure them out. The tunnel must remain intact," the captain ordered.

If the tunnel collapsed due to the battle, the railway would be unusable for a considerable time. That would disrupt more than just this train's journey.

"Don't worry, Captain," the team member replied confidently.

"Vileplume, use Sweet Scent!"

A Pokémon with a massive red flower atop its head appeared.

Vileplume's petals, known as the largest in the world, began to emit a pink, fragrant mist as it let out a soft cry.

Sweet Scent had a strong allure for Pokémon. Those with weaker wills couldn't resist and would instinctively move toward the source of the fragrance.

Fortunately, Sweet Scent had minimal effect on humans, so there was no risk of harming their own team.

As the mist spread, the Geodude at the tunnel entrance started showing expressions of bliss and fascination.

"It's working!"

The team member grinned.

If this operation succeeded, his contribution would undoubtedly be significant. He might finally have enough money this month to buy the Toxic Orb fragments he'd been eyeing.

Vileplume continued to release Sweet Scent while slowly heading toward the nearby forest.

Fighting in the forest would prevent damage to the tracks and tunnel.

One by one, the hundreds of Geodude began shambling out of the tunnel, following the scent.

But as more emerged, the captain's expression suddenly darkened.

The number of Geodude far exceeded his expectations, approaching well over 500.

When a Pokémon species' population reaches a certain size, it inevitably leads to the appearance of evolved forms—sometimes even final evolutions.

Sure enough, it didn't take long before the captain spotted Graveler among the ranks, following behind the Geodude.

Graveler's bulk was noticeably larger than Geodude, and there were a good 40 to 50 of them. Most were at the Advanced level, and a few had even reached the peak of Advanced.

"What should we do, Captain?"

The team was confident they could handle five or six hundred Geodude below the Advanced level with the help of their pseudo-Elite captain.

But now, dozens of Advanced-level Graveler had appeared.

While they were Advanced-level Trainers, not all their Pokémon had reached the Advanced level. Most of them only had two or three Advanced-level Pokémon at best, and some only had one.

The sheer number of Graveler clearly exceeded their capabilities.

Still, they weren't panicking—after all, their captain was a pseudo-Elite.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps echoed from deep within the tunnel.

The sound sent a wave of unease through both the captain, Lin Nuohao, and his team.

Moments later, a massive, rock-covered Pokémon resembling a boulder rolled out of the tunnel.

"Sure enough it's a Golem!"

The captain's expression tightened completely.

He could barely manage four or five dozen Advanced-level Graveler, but now a pseudo-Elite Golem had appeared.

This meant he'd have to engage the Golem personally, leaving the Graveler for his team to handle.

"What were the patrol officers even doing? How could such a massive group of Geodude—and even a Golem—end up near the tracks?"

One of the team members voiced what everyone was thinking. The gravity of the situation was clear: if this went wrong, not only could they all die, but the train passengers would be in grave danger too.

"It must've just migrated here," the captain said grimly.

The railway patrol would never make such a basic mistake. The only plausible explanation was that this Golem's group had recently moved into the area.