Chapter 44: Sudden Change at Crescent Lake
Outside the valley, a Magikarp covered entirely in golden scales lay unconscious in the shallow part of the stream.
The little Oddish sister carefully patted the Magikarp with the leaves on her head, causing the latter to twitch.
"Is this Pokémon a Magikarp? Its color is so strange. Could it be sick?"
"Little sister, stay away from it."
The eldest Oddish brother quickly used his leaves to pull his little sister away, far from the Magikarp, fearing this strange Pokémon might transmit a virus.
The other Pokémon also mostly watched from a distance with expressions of curiosity and slight disgust.
Have none of you ever seen a Shiny Pokémon? Rio inwardly mocked the other Pokémon's vigilance, but he also realized a fact: Shiny Pokémon, which were highly sought after by human trainers, were regarded as "mutated" and "weird" individuals within Pokémon communities, often ostracized by their own kind.
Recalling the bullying this golden Shiny Magikarp had endured at Crescent Lake not long ago, it was likely also caused by this mentality of rejecting the "different."
"So, it seems neither humans nor Pokémon can tolerate the 'different' ones within their own groups," Rio sighed.
However, the Squirtle Boss was well-informed. Having battled various human trainers in the past, he had seen many Shiny Pokémon and naturally knew this wasn't caused by any virus. On the contrary, he was more concerned about the hidden meaning behind the Shiny Magikarp collapsing here: he also knew there was such a Shiny Pokémon in Crescent Lake, and this Shiny Magikarp fainting here, did it mean something unexpected had happened at Crescent Lake?
He felt the immediate priority was to heal the Shiny Magikarp and then get information from its mouth.
So, the Squirtle Boss walked forward and lifted Magikarp's tail.
Don't be fooled by the "carp" in Magikarp's name into thinking it's small; this species normally grows to nearly 1 meter in length. But the Squirtle Boss himself was only a little over half a meter tall and could only barely drag Magikarp by its tail.
Seeing the other Pokémon looking unwilling to help, Rio sighed again and helped the Squirtle Boss lift the Shiny Magikarp's head.
The two Pokémon carried the Shiny Magikarp to the edge of the water pool.
"Splash, splash," active Water energy flowed from the Squirtle Boss's hands, nourishing the Shiny Magikarp, allowing its extremely fatigued body to regain vitality.
The Shiny Magikarp's consciousness gradually returned. The moment it woke up, a hint of vigilance flashed in its usually round, vacant eyes. After clearly seeing its surroundings, it calmed down again.
"Thank you."
The Shiny Magikarp softly thanked Rio and the Squirtle Boss. Then, disregarding its not yet fully recovered body, it flipped over and "plop," fell into the water pool, absorbing water energy on its own to restore its strength.
"How did you end up collapsed in front of the valley? Did something happen at Crescent Lake?"
Seeing the Shiny Magikarp had recovered some energy, the Squirtle Boss didn't delay any longer and asked directly, getting straight to the point.
As the Shiny Magikarp recounted, the assembled Pokémon began to learn about the events that had occurred not long ago.
…
Time rewound to yesterday.
Hegemon Nidoking led the Pokémon of the Toxic Swamp surging menacingly towards Sunrise Valley. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Snorlax Leader and the Pidgeot Leader led a sky full of Flying-type Pokémon towards Crescent Lake.
Of all this, the Shiny Magikarp, far away in Crescent Lake, was naturally oblivious.
Day after day, it struggled to swim in the rushing current of the waterfall, wanting to reach the very top. As for why it did so—whether it was a longing from its soul or the pursuit of an unknown dream—it itself didn't know. Even if it was ostracized and bullied by other Pokémon, it still wanted to cross that highest peak.
Moreover, it had a very important friend, a good friend who didn't mock, reject, or bully it.
This time, just as the Shiny Magikarp was once again washed to the bottom by the waterfall's current, a boisterous voice sounded.
"Kai, look quickly! I found a really big Berry!"
The Shiny Magikarp tiredly blew a few bubbles, floated up from the lake, and looked towards a blue Psyduck paddling over cheerfully from the bank.
This was its friend, a blue Psyduck, a Shiny Pokémon among Psyduck. Just as the Shiny Magikarp with its golden scales looked very different among a school of red-scaled Magikarp, its friend was born with blue fur, a special existence among a flock of Psyduck with bright yellow fur.
But its friend was fortunate. Their leader, the Golduck Leader of Crescent Lake, had also evolved from a Psyduck. Therefore, even if the Shiny Psyduck was a different existence, under the Golduck Leader's authority, other Pokémon didn't dare to bully it easily. Yet, even if they didn't dare bully it, other Water-type Pokémon were not very willing to play or train together with the blue Psyduck.
However, the Shiny Magikarp was not so lucky. Even though the leader of the Magikarp clan—an Elite Gyarados—was one of the powerhouses of Crescent Lake, because the Elite Gyarados itself also greatly disliked its own kind with this peculiar color, coupled with the natural weakness of Magikarp as a species, this led to other Water-type Pokémon ostracizing and bullying the Shiny Magikarp even more wantonly. Only the blue Psyduck still regarded the Shiny Magikarp as its friend.
Perhaps it was their shared specialness and loneliness that led the blue Psyduck not to take pleasure in bullying the Shiny Magikarp like its other companions. Instead, it often sought out the Shiny Magikarp to play together and especially loved to share collected delicacies with it. Over time, the two Pokémon formed a deep friendship, and this was one of the reasons the Shiny Magikarp tolerated staying in Crescent Lake and didn't leave.
Because it was afraid that if it left, the blue Psyduck would lose its only friend.
As the Shiny Magikarp's thoughts wandered, the blue Psyduck had already swum in front of it. Its small, short hands clumsily broke open the Berry with effort and handed half to the Shiny Magikarp, a simple, honest smile on its face. "Here, for you. You need to eat well to have the strength to keep swimming."
Feeling the emptiness in its stomach, the Shiny Magikarp didn't stand on ceremony and opened its mouth, swallowing half the Berry in one gulp.
The sweet juice of the Berry continuously seeped out in its mouth, so delicious that the Shiny Magikarp's large eyes narrowed. "Mmm, mmm, really good."
The blue Psyduck scratched its head, a self-satisfied smile appearing. "I found this on the bank with great difficulty. If only my legs weren't so short and I could climb trees, I could have picked a few more from the tree. Such a pity."
"How has your headache been lately?"
Psyduck, as a species, often suffered from headaches due to overflowing psychic power. The blue Psyduck was naturally no exception.
The blue Psyduck looked troubled. "Still the same old. It's really unbearable when it hurts. Luckily, I don't remember it after the pain passes."
The two Pokémon chatted while eating Berries.
Unfortunately, they hadn't chatted for long when a group of Water-type Pokémon swam over. One of them, a normal-looking Psyduck, hurriedly dragged the blue Psyduck away. "Quack, why are you playing with this 'monster' again? Let's go, quickly."
The blue Psyduck didn't have time to say anything, only managing to cast an apologetic look before being pulled away by its kin.
The Shiny Magikarp was already used to being ostracized by other Pokémon. Seeing its friend leave, it intended to challenge the waterfall again to temper its body.
However, the remaining Water-type Pokémon seemed unwilling to let it go just like that.
"How about we..."
A few Tentacool snickered, whispering amongst themselves.
Suddenly, the Tentacool, with mischievous grins, extended their tentacles, channeling water energy to stir the lake water. Soon, they had whipped up a rapidly spinning whirlpool.
The Shiny Magikarp, caught off guard, was swept into the whirlpool. Dizzy and disoriented, it actually got stuck in a crevice between two rocks, unable to break free for a moment.
"Heehee, monster, you can just enjoy yourself here slowly."
The other Water-type Pokémon also watched with schadenfreude as the Shiny Magikarp was tormented. After making fun of it for a while, they swam away, laughing.