Chapter 52: Who Is It That Protects Everyone?
A series of Pokémon information appeared in the [Pokédex]. What shocked Rio was that the title of every Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp now included the words "Berserk Enhancement," and their leader—Hegemon Nidoking—had an additional "Presence" information compared to what he had seen before.
"A Hegemon's Presence?!!"
Like the Hegemon title, it bore the word "Hegemon"; this must be a characteristic unique to Hegemon-level Pokémon. And this Hegemon's Presence that Hegemon Nidoking had activated—Berserk Qi—just its name and explanation alone were enough to know how powerful it was!
And the facts proved it. The Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp, after being buffed by the Hegemon's Presence, instantly turned the tables and suppressed the Pokémon from Sunrise Valley and Crescent Lake.
"You seemed to be having a lot of fun fighting just now, didn't you? Hmm?!"
Nidoqueen, with a cruel expression on her face, swung a claw with an agility that belied her massive body.
Dodge it, quickly!
Rio screamed desperately in his heart, but his body was suppressed by that formless pressure, making him half a beat too slow, as if disconnected. He was then directly hit by Nidoqueen's strike.
"Ugh..."
Fortunately, the sturdy external armor on his body barely withstood the slash. But before Rio could react, Nidoqueen's claws were already waving frantically.
"[Fury Swipes]!"
Although Nidoqueen's claws were relatively short, their tips were still extremely sharp. Coupled with the speed of the [Fury Swipes] move, it directly scratched trails of marks on Rio's armor, and the heavy force behind it meant Rio's body underneath the armor was also suffering from the attack.
"[De... Detect]!"
Rio arduously channeled the energy in his body, trying to use the [Detect] move to dodge this frenzied slashing attack. But before the familiar feeling of time slowing down could arrive, he saw a large foot stomping fiercely towards him.
"Hah! Still trying to dodge?"
"Boom—" Dust flew. Nidoqueen delivered another [Stomp]. This time, it pinned Rio firmly to the ground, using its weight to press down on him so he couldn't get up.
"Pfft, cough, cough—"
Stepped on at the waist with immense force, no matter how hard Rio's armor was, the force was still transmitted through the armor to his body. He was stomped so hard his vision went black, and a mist of blood sprayed from his mouth.
Just as Rio was being frantically slashed by Nidoqueen's [Fury Swipes], Poliwhirl and Machop wanted to come forward to help, but they had barely moved when several thick tails instantly bound them tightly.
A large snake head approached with a sinister grin.
"You... weren't you put to sleep by [Hypnosis]?"
Machop said in disbelief.
Arbok grinned sinisterly, tilting its head to point at a pile of damaged snake skin on the ground. "[Hypnosis] is useless against us. We just need to shed our skin to get rid of this kind of abnormal status."
As it spoke, its snake tail continuously tightened, binding Poliwhirl and Machop so tightly they could barely breathe.
On the other side, Sandslash swatted away an incoming [Water Gun] with one claw. Its body lit up with a yellowish-red earth-type energy as it roared, "Die for me!"
"Bang!" The earth beneath Sandslash shattered, and countless rocks flew up, smashing towards Flower (Vileplume) and Lapras.
Facing the rocks falling from the sky, the petal storm from Flower was directly shattered.
"Dangerous!"
Lapras hastily pulled Flower over, shielding her under its own hard shell.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!" The rocks fell like a sudden downpour, crashing onto the Pokémon's bodies and causing immense damage.
…
In just that instant, the great advantage held by the Pokémon of Sunrise Valley and Crescent Lake was drastically reversed.
Witnessing his companions fall into peril one after another, the Squirtle Boss was already burning with anxiety. He gathered the surrounding Water-type energy, a small wave just beginning to form under his feet as he tried to go and rescue his companions, when he was seized by his shell with a tyrannical, immense force and lifted into mid-air.
"Where. Do. You. Think. You're. Going! "
The words, enunciated one by one like the ferocious cry of a demon, rang out. The Squirtle Boss turned his head and saw Hegemon Nidoking's fierce face, glowing with a piercing, malevolent light.
"Damn it..."
The Squirtle Boss struggled forcefully, attempting to break free from the claws that held him like an iron vise.
But the strongest point of a turtle-type Pokémon is the shell on its back, yet its weakest point is also precisely the shell. Once the shell is grabbed, a turtle-type Pokémon's short limbs can only wave helplessly, unable to break free easily.
"[Water Gun]!"
Since he couldn't break free with his limbs, the Squirtle Boss immediately drew a large amount of Water-type energy into his mouth and shot a jet of water at Hegemon Nidoking, trying to force it to release its claws.
"Slap!" Like swatting a mosquito, Hegemon Nidoking, holding the Squirtle Boss with its right claw, casually waved its left claw and directly slapped the powerful water jet apart.
"Listen to the cries of your companions, and then, submit in endless regret! Hahahaha..."
Hegemon Nidoking laughed maniacally, the red-black energy on its body fluctuating even more intensely.
It did not launch any further attacks on the Squirtle Boss but held onto his shell tightly, forcing the inescapable Squirtle Boss to watch the situation of his companions being counter-attacked.
"Am I going to experience the pain of my companions being tormented once again..."
Witnessing his wailing companions, the Squirtle Boss struggled desperately, his heart in agony.
Not far away, the Oddish siblings were knocked to the ground by the ferocious Diglett.
"Am I once again unable to do anything..."
Not far away, Machop, Mankey, and Geodude's faces turned blue from the poison of the Nido-family's poison stings.
"Am I a failure again, just like... when 'he' abandoned me so long ago..."
Not far away, the Pokémon of Sunrise Valley and Crescent Lake, because their strength was suppressed and their individual strength was originally inferior to the opponent's, were being beaten badly by the Pokémon from the Toxic Swamp. Some Pokémon were even so heavily injured that they collapsed on the ground, on the verge of death.
Seeing the helpless looks and pained expressions in the eyes of the Sunrise Valley Pokémon, the Squirtle Boss's heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.
He closed his eyes in pain.
Before his eyes, the image of that youth with blue-green hair, whom he thought he had forgotten, seemed to appear—that disappointed, and finally, indifferent gaze, and those sighs of dejection.
"Forget it. A powerless me shouldn't have resisted fate in the first place. Let it be. I'm tired..."
A dejected expression appeared on the Squirtle Boss's face, and his limbs, which had been struggling desperately, also slowly stopped moving...
"!"
Suddenly, it seemed as if a powerful electric current shot through the Squirtle Boss's heart.
"Bullshit! Don't give up!"
In the Squirtle Boss's mind, a small, dog-shaped Pokémon with blue-black fur shouted at him.
"This is the Sunrise Valley you built with your own hands! These are the companions you protected with your own hands! How can you give up at a time like this!!!!"
"They trust you, believe in you, and rely on you! Therefore, the only one who can save them is you!!!!"
Rio endured the crushing pain, the Aura pulsating from his body connecting with the Squirtle Boss.
"Look at the voices in your companions' hearts!"
"Aura Power, forever in my heart! Give me... a LINK!"
Rio gathered all the energy in his body, concentrating his spirit and will as never before. A blue light emanated from him, spreading out to connect with all the Pokémon of Sunrise Valley, standing out conspicuously amidst the all-encompassing red light.
"This is..."
Countless images flooded into the Squirtle Boss's mind like a tide.
…
"Useless trash that can't fly!" Several young Scyther mocked a small, thin Scyther below, whose wings seemed unable to fully extend.
"..." The small Scyther said nothing, its face just filled with dejection.
The scene changed. A Squirtle wearing sunglasses smiled and extended a hand to this small Scyther, bringing it to a beautiful valley and saying to it, "What does it matter if you can't fly? As long as you're strong enough, you can absolutely become a powerhouse."
"Welcome to your new home! From now on, I'll train with you!"
And so, rain or shine, a Squirtle and a Scyther could always be seen at the valley entrance, constantly sparring and training. Finally, one day, the Scyther spread its strong wings and soared into the sky. And when it turned its head, it saw those eyes, hidden behind the sunglasses, showing a look of relief.
…
"Is this... Scyther's memory?" The Squirtle Boss felt it silently.
One after another, scenes flowed past his eyes like a revolving lantern.
…
Several Oddish were being chased by Pidgeotto, fleeing in panic.
The moment they were about to be caught by the Pidgeotto, a Squirtle jumped out, blocking their path.
"You naughty rascals, always sneaking out. Just you wait till I deal with you when we get back!"
A helpless yet doting voice sounded in the Oddishs' ears.
And what remained in the Oddishs' eyes was a back that was not tall but gave them an immense sense of security.
…
A Caterpie stared eagerly at the verdant leaves at the top of a tree but was unable to climb up because the trunk was too slippery.
Just as it was overcome with craving, a Squirtle's Water Gun gently shot down those delicious leaves, allowing the Caterpie and others to excitedly feast upon them.
…
Machop, searching everywhere for the Professor, arrived at Sunrise Valley and was warmly hosted by Squirtle leading a group of Pokémon.
…
Mankey, Geodude, and other Pokémon were taught various useful combat techniques by Squirtle.
…
Goldeen, Poliwag, and Squirtle frolicked in the water pool, the latter even lulling the young Pokémon to sleep at night.
…
"Do you want a Berry?"
A small, thin Oddish rolled up several Berries with the leaves on its head and handed them to Squirtle.
"Uh, okay, thank you."
In the Oddish's vision, the Squirtle before it had a scar on its face. His tone exuded an air of indifference, as if he had lost his purpose.
The two Pokémon silently ate Berries in this quiet atmosphere.
When it was time to part, Squirtle said to Oddish with some hesitation, "I'm leaving. Be careful not to be noticed by those birds again."
Watching this lonely figure turn to leave, Oddish couldn't help but call out, "Why don't I go with you? We can find a place to live together."
Squirtle turned back, bewildered. "But, where can we find a place..."
"I don't know, but I believe we'll find one eventually..."
Along the way, they encountered many things, met many Pokémon, and went to many places.
Time sped up.
In front of the valley in the west of the forest, a Snorlax, an Oddish, and a Squirtle—three Pokémon—looked at the rock wall entrance they had painstakingly chiseled open, smiling happily with soot on their faces.
At this moment, all the bewilderment and loneliness on Squirtle's body dissipated.
…
An azure blue glimmer lit up on the Squirtle Boss's body.
Unconsciously, two streams of tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.