Only three Tentacruel remained, but Skorupi was still enjoying its meal.
"Let it eat. Golurk, you're up. Use Ice Punch," Tetsuya ordered. Golurk advanced without going all-out this time. It threw out consecutive Ice Punches, turning all three Tentacruel into blocks of ice.
The entire group of sixteen Tentacruel had been wiped out!
At this point, the crowd that had just been terrified had yet to fully recover.
"The Tentacruel are all dead…?"
"We… we're saved…?"
Shouts erupted from the crowd. Perhaps this was the release after all that pent-up fear. Every one of them had practically walked through death's door.
"Waaah! Once we get to Sunnytown, I'm definitely going to ***!"
---◓---
By now, Skorupi had already finished absorbing the Tentacruel's poison and wore a thoroughly satisfied expression.
"There are still three over there. Take your time," Tetsuya said. Skorupi immediately crawled over. It was the height of summer, and ice-chilled toxin really was an irresistible temptation for Skorupi.
At that moment, the captain walked over and said, "Thank you so much. You didn't just save my ship, you saved the lives of everyone aboard! Once we reach shore, I'll make sure to reward you generously."
"Sure," Tetsuya replied symbolically.
The crowd then came over one after another to thank Tetsuya, showering him with every kind of praise, but he simply let it all go in one ear and out the other.
The ship continued sailing onward. Skorupi also finished absorbing, then casually tossed their corpses into the river. It patted its belly and lay down on the deck. Tetsuya recalled Skorupi, letting it slowly digest inside its Poké Ball. It was so full that it would not be able to move properly for quite some time.
---◓---
As they were about to reach Sunnytown after crossing most of the river, they spotted five speedboats. Officer Jenny was aboard the lead boat, while the other four appeared to belong to the Sunnytown police. Five Wartortle were desperately fending off the attacks of ten Seaking and were clearly on the verge of being overwhelmed.
"Look! That must be the Sunnytown police who were coming to rescue us!" One person shouted.
Looking into the distance, one of the speedboats had already been overturned by a Seaking's Horn Drill, sending the officer aboard into the water. Fortunately, Officer Jenny reacted quickly and drove her own boat over in time to rescue the officer.
"Everyone, hang in there! Leader Giovanni will be here to support us very soon!" Officer Jenny shouted, encouraging everyone. Now only four Wartortle remained, and the situation was becoming increasingly dire.
The moment Tetsuya heard the name "Giovanni", he had already made up his mind. Perhaps he could speed up the process of meeting Giovanni himself.
"Go, Golurk."
Tetsuya threw Golurk's Poké Ball once again, and Golurk flew straight out.
Two Seaking were charging toward a Wartortle with Horn Drill, while the Wartortle was caught between attacks from both sides and had no way to defend itself. It could only withdraw into its shell and leave everything to fate.
Officer Jenny was secretly anxious as well. One Wartortle had already been incapacitated. If this one were defeated too, they would have no way of stopping this school of Seaking. Thinking of the entire ship full of people still waiting for her rescue only made her even more frantic.
Suddenly, a Golurk descended from the sky. It grabbed one Seaking by each horn, spun its body violently, then flung them away with the momentum. The two Seaking were hurled all the way toward the horizon!
"A Golurk…?"
Officer Jenny voiced her confusion. She saw that a ship was already approaching from behind, and standing at the very front of the deck was a valiant young man.
It was Tetsuya!
The remaining eight Seaking saw their two companions sent flying by Golurk and immediately shifted their attention to Golurk.
The eight Seaking gathered together and simultaneously unleashed Water Gun at Golurk.
"Golurk, Heavy Slam!"
At Tetsuya's command, Golurk charged forward. It was true that Golurk "feared" Water type, but its body was protected by six layers of energy and wrapped in the Steel-type energy of Heavy Slam. It could even break through the powerful currents of the glacier falls, so these insignificant Water Guns were nothing to fear.
Golurk descended, gleaming with a silvery metallic luster. The eight Water Guns merged into a single water column whose power far surpassed that of Hydro Pump, yet it was effortlessly broken apart by the force of Golurk's Heavy Slam.
Boooom!
Golurk's Heavy Slam slammed directly into the surface of the river. Water instantly erupted seven or eight meters into the air, and all eight Seaking were sent flying along with the surging water.
"Thunder Punch! Make them disappear."
As soon as Tetsuya finished speaking, Golurk's rocket propulsion burst into action. It charged ahead with both fists leading, circling around the towering spray of water. All eight Seaking were punched away until they vanished without a trace.
The entire battle had become Golurk's personal show, and everyone gathered around to watch Golurk fight.
The Seaking siege had been broken!
Officer Jenny gave Tetsuya a standard salute. "Thank you for rescuing us, Trainer! Once we get ashore, I'll be sure to commend you properly."
"Mm, I answered Gym Leader Giovanni's call in the first place. This is all something I should be doing," Tetsuya said, putting on quite a show.
At that moment, an enormous speedboat was approaching.
"It's mr. Giovanni!" Officer Jenny said.
As soon as Officer Jenny spoke, almost everyone's eyes turned toward the speedboat. Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of Kanto's strongest Gym Leader, who was also a member of the board of directors of Silph Co., indeed the model of a successful man.
Giovanni was tall and stood at the very front of the speedboat. No matter how the river wind blew against him, his expression remained unchanged. Under the gaze of the crowd, Giovanni finally arrived alongside Officer Jenny's speedboat.
"Officer Jenny, where is the group of Seaking that attacked you?" Giovanni asked.
"Thanks to that young Trainer on the ship, the Seaking were driven back. He was also the one who repelled the group of Tentacruel that attacked their ship," Officer Jenny said as she pointed toward Tetsuya.
Giovanni nodded and could not help taking a few more looks at Tetsuya standing at the bow.
"Oh, right! Leader Giovanni. He's also a Trainer who answered your call," Officer Jenny said.
"Oh~ Is that so…?" Giovanni asked Tetsuya.
Tetsuya nodded and said, "Hai."
"What's your name?" Giovanni asked.
"Tetsuya."
Giovanni nodded and said, "I've remembered it. Once you get ashore, go register at the Pokémon Center in Sunnytown."
After saying that, Giovanni instructed his subordinates to turn the speedboat around, and they departed.
"Then, I'll see you on shore, Tetsuya." Officer Jenny also drove her speedboat toward the shore first.
Naturally, the ship could not compare with their speed. What should have been only half a day's journey ended up taking until a little after one in the afternoon to reach the port of Sunnytown because of these two incidents. By then, Tetsuya's stomach was already growling with hunger.
Fortunately, as soon as they reached shore, the captain pulled him toward the grand hotel in Sunnytown. Naturally, he intended to treat Tetsuya to a lavish meal.
•.
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+50 chp 🅿️🅰️✝️🆁 🅴🅾️🅽 /romeloff