Chapter 45: The Irresistible Annihilation
Who knows how much time had passed; the Shiny Magikarp (Kai) was still stuck.
Magikarp itself didn't have limbs like hands or feet, only a pair of fins to manipulate, attempting to break free from the crevice that held it.
Just then, a commotion arose.
Fortunately, the two rocks trapping Kai faced the center of Crescent Lake, so from its perspective, it could see what was happening in Crescent Lake.
"Snorlax, Pidgeot, what are you doing here?"
A cold, calm voice sounded. Kai remembered this was the voice of their Golduck Leader.
Looking from afar:
The Pokémon of Crescent Lake, usually scattered, were now gathered on the side facing the forest, forming a semicircle. In the center of the encirclement were the Golduck Leader, floating on the water's surface, and the elite Pokémon of their clan—Lapras, Gyarados, and Poliwhirl.
Opposing the Pokémon of Crescent Lake were a tall, fat, and sturdy Pokémon—Snorlax—and a large bird with feathers on its head fluttering in the wind—Pidgeot—as well as a flock of bird-like Pokémon flying in the air. Their eyes emitted a terrifying red light, and the malevolent energy around their bodies was so dense it almost formed a physical substance.
Snorlax stood on the bank and took a step forward. Its usually simple and affable face was now covered with a ferocious and fierce expression. "Golduck, our master has taken a fancy to your ability to foresee the future and wants you to contribute your power to our master's great cause of hegemony."
The Golduck Leader sneered. "Although I don't know what nonsense you're spouting, you'd better dismiss those ridiculous thoughts and scram."
It wasn't surprising that the Golduck Leader faced two Leader-level Pokémon with such confidence. After all, they were currently in Crescent Lake, the place in all of Newmoon Forest with the most abundant Water-type energy. If a battle started in such an environment, the endless supply of Water-type energy would become the Water-type Pokémon's greatest trump card.
The consistently irritable Elite Gyarados couldn't hold back. It roared, "Leader, don't waste words on them! Just wipe them all out, and it'll be over!"
With that, without waiting for the Golduck Leader's command, it flicked its dragon body and charged towards the Snorlax Leader in mid-air.
However, although the Elite Gyarados was reckless, it still possessed basic combat intelligence. It also knew that a Pokémon like Snorlax had thick skin and tough flesh, and physical attacks probably wouldn't be very effective. Therefore, it flew into the air, gathered energy in its mouth, and shot out a swirling wave of Water-type energy.
[Water Pulse], an elemental Water-type move that attacks the opponent with a wave of water. The accompanying shockwave can sometimes disrupt the opponent's senses, causing them to become confused.
"Take this, [Water Pulse]! Even if you're not injured, you'll be confused for a while. At that point, all it will take is one [Iron Tail] from me, and any so-called Leader-level Pokémon will be just that vulnerable..."
The Elite Gyarados, seeing the Snorlax Leader opposite it standing there dazed as if it hadn't reacted, felt a surge of pride.
The [Water Pulse], amplified by the Water-type environment of Crescent Lake, stirred up an even thicker torrent of water, swirling in the air and reaching its opponent in the blink of an eye. Yet, the Snorlax Leader merely raised its left hand, and "slap," the water wave crashed against the Snorlax Leader's thick left hand as if hitting a giant rock, splashing apart and dissipating into the air.
"What?!"
Seeing its confident move so casually caught, the Elite Gyarados was stunned.
The Snorlax Leader didn't give it time to adjust. Its obese body "thump, thump, thumped" as it ran forward. It clasped its hands together, grabbing the Elite Gyarados's tail, which had already gathered Steel-type energy, and then fiercely slammed Gyarados onto the ground.
"Boom!" A long trench was smashed into the lakeside earth. Fortunately, the soil by the lake was relatively soft and wet, so the Elite Gyarados, though seeing stars after being slammed onto the ground, did not sustain heavy injuries.
But for the exceedingly proud Elite Gyarados, this was utterly humiliating.
"Bastard! How dare you treat me like this!"
The Elite Gyarados's anger flared. For a moment, disregarding its dazed head from the impact, it flicked its tail, about to deliver a blow to the detestable creature before it.
Before it could flip over, a fist the size of a geodudeac companied by a chilling gust of wind, smashed towards its face.
"Slam!" The Snorlax Leader's [Mega Punch] once again slammed the Elite Gyarados to the ground.
"Aaargh—"
The explosively damaging punch even caused the Elite Gyarados's face to swell. It could only lie powerlessly on the ground, wailing.
"Enough!"
The Golduck Leader, as if unable to watch any longer, roared angrily in a low voice. Simultaneously, pinkish-purple light waves emanated from its body.
The light waves spread outwards in a ring, expanding at extreme speed.
Before the Snorlax Leader could react, it was hit by the expanding light wave. Instantly, as if crashing into an invisible barrier, its entire Pokémon self was sent flying, while other Pokémon hit by the wave were completely unharmed.
It was precisely the Golduck Leader's lv4 Psychic-type move, [Psychic]. This move originally attacked the opponent invisibly with powerful psychic force. The way the Golduck Leader executed this move not only skillfully allowed for selective targeting but also was able to send the massively built Snorlax Leader flying, demonstrating the strength of the Golduck Leader's psychic power.
"Caw—" The Pidgeot Leader shrieked, nimbly tumbling in the air to dodge the sweep of [Psychic], then spread its talons and lunged towards the Elite Gyarados.
"Hmph, get down!"
The Golduck Leader snorted coldly. The psychic intent emanating from its body changed from a ring shape to a beam-like energy wave, and "swoosh," it directly struck the Pidgeot Leader.
The Pidgeot Leader had intended to avoid it, but it hadn't anticipated the speed of this psychic beam and could only take the hit head-on. Pidgeot, as a species, inherently had weak defenses against psychic power. Taking this powerful psychic attack head-on caused turmoil in its mind, and it could no longer maintain its flight posture, falling to the ground.
"So strong!"
Seeing their clan leader display such might, the Pokémon of Crescent Lake couldn't help but cheer.
The Snorlax Leader and Pidgeot Leader, who had fallen to the ground, slowly stood up, the red light in their eyes growing ever brighter.
"Clap, clap." Suddenly, a sound of applause came from behind the two Leader-level Pokémon.
Upon hearing the applause, the Snorlax Leader and Pidgeot Leader's bodies abruptly stiffened. They hurriedly bowed, clearing a path in the middle.
A human wearing a black cloak walked out from between the two Pokémon, his voice filled with praise, "Truly worthy of being the king of psychic powers in Newmoon Forest. That [Psychic] was played beautifully."
"Human..."
The Golduck Leader stared coldly at the cloaked person.
The cloaked person removed his hood, revealing a pale face.
"My name is Jerrod. I am the head of Team Rocket's Ist Region Executives, and also one who wields the power of a god. Golduck, your power is something I greatly admire. I now give you a chance: are you willing to follow me and spread the glory of god throughout the world?"
The cloaked person, Jerrod, spoke with admiration in his tone, but to the Golduck Leader's ears, it was an arrogant and ignorant speech.
The Golduck Leader said disdainfully, "A mere insignificant human like you dares to claim to wield the power of a god? Utterly laughable."
Jerrod did not get angry. Instead, he shook his head with some regret and took out a pure black Poké Ball from his waist, distinguished only by a single white line separating its middle.
A restless energy emanated from the Poké Ball.
In Kai's eyes, the ensuing battle unfolded like this:
The Golduck Leader mobilized the waters of Crescent Lake, and waves several meters high surged up. However, from Jerrod's hand, a purple figure flashed out like a phantom. In an extremely brief moment, it shattered the imposing waves and then, with an air of casual ease, struck down all of Crescent Lake's strongest Pokémon, before standing suspended in mid-air. And the human calling himself Jerrod laughed maniacally, waved his hand, and a large flock of bird-like Pokémon swooped down, capturing all the Water-type Pokémon who had gathered together and couldn't dodge in time. The Golduck Leader and the various elite Pokémon, who had been knocked unconscious by heavy blows, were seized by Snorlax and Pidgeot. Then, this group of uninvited guests walked or flew back into Newmoon Forest.
No Pokémon noticed Kai, stuck in the crevice between the rocks.
What panicked Kai was that among the Pokémon captured by the bird-like Pokémon, its good friend—the blue Psyduck—was prominently among them.
After an unknown amount of time had passed again, Kai, still unable to break free from the rock crevice, was already hungry and exhausted. In its hazy consciousness, it only felt the lake water surge. The flowing current actually caused the rock crevice to loosen slightly. Kai naturally wouldn't give up this chance. Enduring the pain of being scraped by the sharp rock edges, it finally escaped its predicament.
Looking at the empty Crescent Lake, devoid of any Pokémon, Kai felt a wave of confusion: it wanted to rescue its friend, but it only knew [Splash], a completely useless and powerless move. How could it possibly face such a large group of enemies, let alone that figure which struck fear into the hearts of all Pokémon...
At this moment, it remembered the two Pokémon who had come to Crescent Lake that time.