Chapter 48: The Great Success of Rescuing Companions
Seeing that the plan conceived by Rio had succeeded, a slight smile couldn't help but appear on the Squirtle Boss's lips.
This was precisely the battle plan proposed by Rio earlier in Sunrise Valley, on how to achieve the goal of rescuing their companions when facing a severely imbalanced combat power situation.
First, the plan started with the Shiny Magikarp (Kai) and the Water-type Pokémon. They would infiltrate via the river and then, within the enemy's line of sight, pretend to be discovered unintentionally. At this point, the after-effect of the "berserk" Pokémon—their lack of clear reasoning—would become prominent. There would be a high probability that the enemy would mobilize to capture these "fish that escaped the net." At this time, Kai and the other Pokémon acting as bait would do their best to flee, luring most of the enemy Pokémon away.
Simultaneously, Rio, along with Machop, Geodude, Mankey, and other Pokémon who had mastered the [Dig] move, would excavate a giant empty cavern beneath the flat ground of the Toxic Swamp in advance, leaving a certain thickness of earth on top to conceal this cavern. After the cavern was dug, and noticing that Kai and his group had successfully drawn away most of the enemy Pokémon, they would then infiltrate the place where Flower (Vileplume) and the other Pokémon were imprisoned, awaiting the next step of the operation.
Then, the Squirtle Boss, along with Gloom, Beedrill, and other mobile or Poison-resistant Pokémon, would feign an attack on the Toxic Swamp. After luring Hegemon Nidoking out, they would immediately flee. At this point, Hegemon Nidoking (Rio had noticed this when observing its move list), lacking any pursuit moves, would definitely be unable to resist using the [Earthquake] move for a wide-area attack. This way, the power of [Earthquake] would be sufficient to shatter the remaining thin layer of earth, causing Hegemon Nidoking and other Pokémon to be trapped in the cavern.
Thus, most of the enemy Pokémon, as well as the most powerful Hegemon Pokémon, would be dealt with. The remaining Pokémon could then be handled with ease by the Squirtle Boss, given his Leader-level strength.
Of course, this battle plan also had many wishful-thinking aspects and quite a few loopholes. For example, the Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp might not have been lured out to chase Kai and his group, or the excavated cavern might have been discovered in advance, and so on. However, the situation was urgent, and Rio and the others couldn't afford to overthink it.
Fortunately, the plan had proceeded quite smoothly so far.
"All that's left is the final step: rescuing our companions."
Ignoring Hegemon Nidoking's heaven-shaking roars coming from his ears, the Squirtle Boss climbed up from the ground, straightened his askew sunglasses, and quickly walked towards the rows of caves in the rock wall.
Rio and the other Pokémon, who had been hiding on one side of the caves, had long since felt the tremors from Hegemon Nidoking's [Earthquake]. Seeing the Squirtle Boss, Gloom, Beedrill, and other Pokémon approaching, they knew the plan had been executed successfully.
"Quick, hurry and get them out."
Before Rio could finish speaking, Machop, Mankey, and the other Pokémon had already rushed into the caves impatiently.
The Sandshrew guarding the cave entrance had long since been knocked unconscious by Rio with a stick, tied up with vines, and thrown to the side.
Arriving in the caves, the captured Pokémon were trapped one by one in cages formed by rocks, their faces a purplish-black, looking dispirited as they slumped on the ground.
At this moment, another key point of the plan came into play.
Rio saw that all the Pokémon were in a "poisoned" state, so he took out various Berries from his [Backpack]: "Pecha Berries," shaped like pink peaches, for the Pokémon to remove the toxins from their bodies; round, blue "Oran Berries" for the Pokémon to heal their injuries; and "Energizing Apple Berries," which looked like apples, for the Pokémon to speed up their recovery of energy and stamina.
With several elite Pokémon from Sunrise Valley, plus a large contingent of Pokémon from Crescent Lake, if Rio hadn't possessed such an unreasonably limitless [Backpack], who knows how heavy a load he would have had to carry to bring so many Berries for the rescue.
While Rio was taking out Berries here, the Squirtle Boss and other Pokémon over there were continuously smashing the rock cages, freeing the Pokémon.
The Elite Machop, freed from its rock cage, smiled weakly at Rio while eating an Oran Berry. "Good kid, we owe you big time for this."
The Pokémon had already pieced together Rio's battle plan through snippets of conversation.
Rio chuckled. "From now on, no one can say we Fighting-type Pokémon only have muscles in our heads."
Scyther rolled its eyes from the side.
Fearing unforeseen complications, the Pokémon all sped up their efforts to rescue their still-trapped companions. After a good while of hard work, all the Pokémon in the caves were finally freed.
"Flower (Vileplume), Machop, and Scyther from Sunrise Valley; Poliwhirl, Lapras, and the blue Psyduck, etc., from Crescent Lake... Their Golduck Leader and Elite Gyarados are missing... Where did they go? They couldn't have gone there, could they..."
Rio glanced around, mentally counting the Pokémon present.
"Let's leave this place first."
The Squirtle Boss interrupted Rio's thoughts. He helped up Flower, who was still a bit unsteady on her feet, and gestured for the resting Pokémon in the cave to prepare to leave.
At this moment, the short, chubby blue Psyduck ran over to Rio's side with an anxious expression and asked, "Hello, have you by any chance seen a Magikarp with golden scales?"
Rio was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Ah? You're Magikarp's good friend, right? This time, it was also thanks to Magikarp's intelligence and his help that we were able to sneak in so easily and rescue you all."
Hearing Rio's words, the blue Psyduck finally breathed a sigh of relief, but its face still carried a hint of worry. "But I don't know how he is now..."
While the blue Psyduck was worrying to itself here, on the other side, Poliwhirl and Lapras, having recovered some energy, approached the Squirtle Boss as representatives of Crescent Lake to express their gratitude.
"What are your plans next?"
"We'll return to Crescent Lake first to recuperate, and then make plans from there."
A trace of gloom hung between Lapras's brows. Most of their clan had been captured here, and now their vitality was greatly diminished due to poisoning. Even if she was very anxious to rescue her own leader and the remaining companions, she was willing but lacked the strength. Therefore, returning to their dwelling to recuperate was the most important thing now.
The Squirtle Boss nodded without speaking, then turned and gestured for all the Pokémon to leave quickly.
The Pokémon who could barely move supported those who were too weak to walk, and one after another, they left the caves where they had been imprisoned.
The Pokémon arrived by the river in front of the Toxic Swamp.
Poliwhirl emerged from the group of Pokémon from Crescent Lake. The corner of its eye unconsciously glanced at the large pit in the distance, then it bid farewell to Rio, the Squirtle Boss, and the other Pokémon. "Everyone, we'll head back first. Thank you very much for your help."
"Alright, let's go too..."
The Squirtle Boss also let out a sigh of relief and was about to have everyone return to their respective homes.
Suddenly, a sinister voice sounded from behind them.