"Ash, what are you doing?" Gary shouted.
Ash and his group, who were chatting with the middle-aged man, heard the voice coming from behind, and Ash immediately turned around.
"Gary...!" Seeing Gary, Ash was also confused.
The two looked at each other like this, and their hearts could not calm down for a long time.
Misty and Brock were also very surprised. They had met Gary once, and they knew that Ash had always regarded Gary as a strong rival, but they did not expect to meet here.
"Ash, what are you talking about?" Gary asked.
"We... didn't say anything, we were just asked to help," Ash responded.
"Help?" Seeing Ash's guilty expression, Gary questioned, "What can you help with? Are you sure you won't cause trouble?"
"Of course not, I'm very strong, and I have already obtained five badges," Ash said, turning the inside of his vest over, revealing five badges inside.
The five badges are the Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge, Thunder Badge, and Rainbow Badge.
"Sorry, I already have six badges," Gary took out his badge box and opened it, revealing six badges neatly placed inside.
"What! Professor Oak said before that you only got five badges," Ash was surprised.
Ash only got four badges a month ago and ran to show off to Professor Oak, but he knew that everyone else had got five badges.
For this reason, Ash rushed to challenge Celadon Gym and successfully got the fifth badge. He thought he had caught up with Gary, but he was unexpectedly surpassed by Gary again.
"Five badges were a long time ago, and you are really naive. The number of badges cannot prove the strength of a Trainer," Gary said.
"Yes, yes, yes! You are right!" Ash agreed very much. He always felt that he was very strong, and getting the sixth badge was a matter of time.
"Stop chatting, you two. Since you are both Trainers recognized by the Gym, come and help me," the middle-aged man in engineering clothes interrupted the conversation between Ash and Gary.
"What can I do for you?" Gary asked.
"Help me solve the Diglett here, and I will give you a reward: a free hot spring hospitality for four days and three nights in the hot spring town, with all food and drinks included," the engineer said.
What a coincidence!
Gary and Sabrina also planned to go to the hot spring.
However, Gary would not accept such a reward.
The reason why the Diglett stopped the project here is that once the project is completed, it will destroy the nearby ecology and cause the Pokémon here to suffer.
"What's wrong with the Diglett here? Why do we need to solve them?" Gary asked.
"We decided to build a reservoir here, but the Diglett have been causing damage. The project has been delayed for a long time. If it continues like this, the reservoir will never be built in a lifetime," the engineer said bitterly.
"It shouldn't be possible. Diglett is a very timid Pokémon. They usually don't actively attack other Pokémon. It stands to reason that they won't come out to cause damage. Is there any misunderstanding here?" Gary said.
"What misunderstanding could there be? Look at these water pipes. They were supposed to be transported here, but this big hole was made by the Diglett. They are just like pests," the engineer roared.
Gary was also frightened by the engineer's voice. He understood that the engineer was very angry now. After all, if the project was delayed for one day, he would have to pay one more day's fee.
"Then, uncle, do you want to know why the Diglett did this?" Gary said.
The engineer was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion, "How do we know this? Can the Diglett speak?"
"Sabrina, can you get all the Diglett around to come out?" Gary asked.
"No problem."
Sabrina closed her eyes and used telepathy to communicate with the Diglett hiding underground.
Soon, a small mound of earth appeared on the ground, and a short Diglett poked its head out, and then one by one, all the Diglett ran out.
"Ah! Damn Diglett." Seeing the Diglett popping out, the engineer was so angry that his teeth itched. If he didn't want to know why Diglett wanted to destroy it, he would have beaten them directly.
Gary squatted down and asked, "Diglett, why are you stopping the construction of the reservoir? Can you tell me?"
"Hiccup! Hiccup!" Diglett began to explain to Gary.
Ash and his group were dumbfounded. They didn't understand what Gary was doing.
"Gary, can you understand what Diglett said?" Ash asked curiously.
"No," Gary said.
Ash and the others were speechless. They thought Gary could understand what Diglett said.
"Diglett just said that if the reservoir is built, this forest will be flooded, and the Pokémon here will be homeless," Sabrina suddenly said.
"What! The forest will be flooded."
"That's terrible."
"If that's the case, we should stop it."
Ash and the others were tempted by the reward at first, but now that they knew the harm caused by building a reservoir, they immediately objected.
"Is this... true?"
The engineer is not a bad person by nature; he just didn't know that building a reservoir would cause such a thing.
"I don't know whether it's true or not, but it's certain that Diglett can feel the changes in the geographical environment. They must have felt that the construction of the reservoir would cause this place to be flooded, so they came out to stop it," Gary said. "Since you are engaged in construction, you should be able to find professionals to evaluate.
Pokémon in this forest are allowed to be captured, but this forest belongs to a protected area.
If it is really flooded, your company will not be able to escape the blame and will definitely be held accountable by the Pokémon League."
"This... I know, I will temporarily stop the construction of the reservoir. If it is really as Diglett said, our company will stop construction immediately," the engineer promised.
"Then, uncle, please send back those Trainers you invited, otherwise you will have to provide them with food and lodging," Gary reminded.
"Yes!"
The engineer immediately called his subordinates.
Since the reservoir could not be built, there was no need to invite Trainers to clean up Diglett.
Later, in order to thank Gary and others for their help, the engineer also warmly invited them to the hot spring town to play, and Ash and the others followed, which was considered a benefit.
The engineer contacted the company and asked them to send professionals to investigate. Only when it was confirmed that it was true, the reservoir project could be completely stopped.
Gary was not worried about this. This company was a formal company. If the forest was really flooded, the Pokémon League would definitely come to the door.
"Gary, who is this girl next to you?" When they arrived at the hot spring town, Ash began to be curious about Sabrina's identity.
"My name is Sabrina, and I am the owner of the Saffron Gym," Sabrina introduced herself.