Team Rocket's four Admins had no intention of making a move. Everything was proceeding according to Giovanni's plan.
Tetsuya's Beedrill attacked with incredible speed, taking down its targets with a single strike and beating the Pokémon in these waters so badly that they did not dare show their heads. Archer was also busy catching the Pokémon in this area, a sly smile appearing on his face.
Thanks to Tetsuya, however, they could catch even more Pokémon!
Archer had already come to recognize Tetsuya's strength, but Giovanni's impression of Tetsuya could not possibly be very deep yet. This meant Tetsuya needed to demonstrate even greater strength.
Ditto circled around the entire stretch of water. The five Gyarados behind it simply could not catch up, and the distance between them continued to grow. Two of them had already reached the limit of their stamina due to their accumulated injuries.
Ditto turned around and fired a Hyper Beam. Two Gyarados were caught in the attack and went down. Ditto then continued across the river, occasionally making provocative expressions.
Gyarados were naturally quick-tempered, and this only made them even more furious, as though they wished they could use Flamethrower!
Moreover, this was nothing short of an insult to Gyarados. This was a river, after all. Pokémon like Gyarados were more than capable of reigning supreme here, and virtually no Pokémon could compare to their swimming speed in the water. Yet now they were being led around in circles like dogs by this impostor.
The fact that these Gyarados had evolved from Magikarp in a river like this was enough to demonstrate their considerable power. If Ditto fought these five Gyarados head-on, it naturally would not gain much of an advantage. By relying on its greatest strength, its physique, to contend with them, Ditto steadily maintained the upper hand.
It simply took a little longer. After another half hour, the Gyarados finally exhausted their stamina and were defeated by Ditto. Archer gained another five Gyarados.
The Trainers aboard the ship, including Officer Jenny, all breathed a sigh of relief and convinced by Tetsuya's strength. Jessie began boasting about her relationship with Tetsuya.
"It's all thanks to you this time. Not only did you get our ship out of danger, you also saved the Trainers aboard Proton's ship. I'll make sure to report your contribution to the League." Officer Jenny gave Tetsuya a salute, after which all the police officers also saluted him in thanks.
Tetsuya nodded and said, "Un, it's what I should do."
"Tetsuya~ I never expected you to be this strong!" James admired Tetsuya even more now.
Just as everyone aboard the ship was cheering and celebrating…
Petrel's and Ariana's ships were sunk one after another by the Kingdra, and the Pokémon surrounded both ships.
Their situation was now even more critical than Proton's. Aside from Trainers with Flying-type Pokémon who could escape, the people aboard the ships had no way to flee. The hostile Pokémon had completely surrounded the ships, leaving no opportunity whatsoever to use the yachts.
The ships could only be watched as they slowly sank.
"We have to hurry and save the people on those two ships!" Officer Jenny said to Archer and Tetsuya upon seeing the situation.
"Their ships are already sinking. Even if we head over now, our ship won't be fast enough to reach them in time," Archer said.
"What are we supposed to do…? All the remaining hostile Pokémon have gone completely berserk. If they're allowed to attack… those people will undoubtedly lose their lives!" Officer Jenny was already sweating profusely with anxiety, while Archer looked completely unconcerned.
"Right now, our only option is to have those with Flying and Water-type Pokémon attack from the perimeter first and divert those Pokémon's attention. Then the Trainers aboard the ships will have a chance to use the yachts, and only then will we have a chance to save them," Tetsuya said.
"Hurry! I'll contact Officer Jenny on Proton's side and have them organize an attack as well." After saying that, Officer Jenny called the Officer Jenny on the other side.
Once Officer Jenny gave the order, the Trainers quickly responded enthusiastically. After all, they still had friends aboard those two ships.
Soon, Pokémon were circling in the air with their respective Trainers riding on them. One after another, they flew toward the two ships that were about to sink and launched their attacks.
"You're not going?" Archer asked Tetsuya.
"Of course I'm going. I won't… interfere with your plans," Tetsuya said with a faint smile.
Archer showed a surprised expression. He increasingly felt that there was much more to this Tetsuya than met the eye.
With that, Tetsuya threw Golurk's Poké Ball, climbed onto it, and flew toward the two ships.
"Ditto, Beedrill, follow me."
After recalling Houndoom, Skorupi, and Weezing, Tetsuya rode Golurk at the forefront, with Ditto advancing through the water and Beedrill following closely behind.
Golurk's speed naturally wasn't something ordinary Pokémon could compare to, and it arrived well ahead of the others. However, Golurk could only use long-range moves such as Stone Edge.
Sharp stones formed around its body, then the spearhead-like stones shot toward the surface of the water. Beedrill arrived in time as well, firing Pin Missiles at the water. The Water-type Pokémon were caught squarely by the surprise attack from behind, and their attention began to shift toward the rear.
After Tetsuya's Pokémon launched two rounds of attacks, the Trainers behind him arrived one after another, unleashing all kinds of moves toward the surface of the water.
"Trainer! Thank you for coming to our rescue." Seeing that help had arrived, the Officer Jennys aboard the two ships also began organizing a counterattack.
Caught between attacks from the front and rear, the hostile Pokémon were beginning to struggle to respond.
The nine Kingdra gathered together and simultaneously used Rain Dance. Dark clouds covered the entire river, and suddenly, torrential rain began pouring down, with raindrops as large as a Bean falling from the sky.
At that moment, all the Water-types on the river became excited, and in that instant, they launched their fiercest counterattack yet.
With such heavy rain pounding against the non-Water-type Pokémon, they could barely keep their eyes open. The Trainers riding Flying-types had no time to issue commands. In an instant, they were soaked from head to toe, with the fierce rain pelting their faces and eyes, leaving them incapable to launch an attack.
Many Trainers were unable to withstand this wave of attacks and were knocked down. Fortunately, Archer's ship had already deployed yachts, allowing them to escape disaster.
The Kingdra's Rain Dance activated their Swift Swim Ability, pushing their speed to the limit as they darted unpredictably across the river. Hydro Pumps followed, and many more Trainers were defeated. Even those fortunate enough to escape had no choice but to land on the yachts to take shelter from the rain.
By now, the hostile Pokémon were becoming increasingly excited. Fortunately, the "rescue operation" they had just organized allowed the people aboard the two ships to successfully disperse onto the yachts. Otherwise, the Trainers aboard both ships would have had no chance of escaping disaster.
But for now, they had merely moved the people from the two ships onto the yachts, temporarily sparing them from the danger of falling into the water. Yet faced with the hostile Pokémon's fierce offensive, their situation remained extremely precarious. If they could not mount a counterattack soon, all of them would be buried beneath the river.
Now only Archer's ship remained, and it had merely sailed to the outskirts of the waters controlled by the Pokémon. For the time being, Archer would not allow the Pokémon to destroy this ship.
Aboard the yachts, Petrel, Proton, and Ariana remained calm, without the slightest trace of panic. Everything was progressing according to their plan. By now, all the Poké Balls from the two sunken ships had been recovered by Team Rocket.
[All the Poké Balls from the three ships are now aboard our Team Rocket submarines.] Finiz, Team Rocket's highest-ranking officer on the water, sent a signal to the other four Admins by radio.
Archer and the other three Admins all smiled at the same time.
"Now we're just waiting for the final step of the plan," Archer said with a nod.
The battle continued…
Many Trainers were now trying to change the torrential rain using other Pokémon, but the Rain Dance from the nine Kingdra had firmly locked down the weather, and every attempt ended in failure.
"Ditto, Lapras," Tetsuya commanded.
The "Gyarados" on the outskirts transformed into Lapras in the blink of an eye and remained motionless on the river.
"Come out… Mamoswine!"
Tetsuya sent out the last Pokémon he had yet to use, Mamoswine.
Mamoswine stood on Lapras's back and let out a mighty roar, causing even the dark clouds in the sky to tremble.
Tetsuya, seated atop Golurk, was now the most at ease of them all. After all, with his psychic powers protecting him, this amount of rain could not affect him.
Tetsuya went to each of the four Officer Jennys in turn and had them send out every Pokémon capable of using Hail. They were to use Hail simultaneously when his Mamoswine sent an icicle as the signal.
By now, the Officer Jennys had complete faith in Tetsuya's capacitie and agreed with everything he planned to do.
With Mamoswine's current capacities, it would have no problem breaking through this rainy weather on its own. But this time, Tetsuya was using the strength of these Pokémon to launch a full-scale counterattack.
After returning to Ditto and Mamoswine, Tetsuya said, "Mamoswine, use Icicle Crash."
Mamoswine had undergone intense training at the glacier falls for half a year and had long been ready to come out and show its might.
When Tetsuya summoned them to battle, it had already prepared itself for an all-out fight!
The icicle was a full twice as thick as before. When it plunged into the water, the surface erupted several meters into the air. With its very first move, Mamoswine threw the entire surface of the river into complete turmoil.
"Hail!"
"Hail."
"Hail…"
The Officer Jennys in all three locations saw the disturbance on the water and issued their commands almost simultaneously.
More than a dozen Pokémon capable of using Hail all unleashed the move!
"Mamoswine, control the weather!"
Tetsuya shouted.
"Mamoooos…!"
Mamoswine also let out a howl of its own in response.
As soon as Mamoswine made its move, it gathered together the energy of all the Pokémon using Hail, spreading it throughout the sky under Mamoswine's control.
Everyone could not help but shiver and rub their arms.
The temperature began dropping drastically. Immediately afterward, the rain gradually froze and turned into hail, while enormous snowflakes came pouring directly from above.
This weather had now become the home field of Ice-type Pokémon. Although the Water-types on the river were highly resistant to Ice-type energy, being pelted by hail like this was anything but pleasant.
"Mamoswine, go all-out! Use Blizzard."
Standing on Lapritto's back, Mamoswine unleashed all the energy in its body. The hail and heavy snow in the sky immediately became even more intense. Then fierce winds began to howl, and a Blizzard swept forth, blanketing the entire area as it bore down upon the Pokémon throughout the waters.
Everywhere the Blizzard swept, the surface of the river froze solid!
The Kingdra sensed that this Blizzard was no ordinary attack and began joining forces with all the Water-type Pokémon to use their moves to resist it.
Water Gun, Hydro Pump, Bubble Beam, and other Water-type moves were unleashed all at once…
But the moment these moves encountered the Blizzard, they froze into ice!
Mamoswine's Blizzard already incorporated the frigid energy of Freeze-Dry, making it extremely effective against Water-type Pokémon as well.
As soon as the Blizzard reached the waters occupied by the hostile Pokémon, it merged with the Hail under Mamoswine's control, forming enormous blizzard and hail tornadoes one after another.
The Pokémon on the surface, including the Kingdra, were swept into the tornadoes one after another!
"Officer Jenny, hurry and organize for the boats to withdraw from the waters affected by the Blizzard." After giving Mamoswine its command, Tetsuya immediately notified Officer Jenny. Naturally, this would receive everyone's support, including that of Team Rocket's four "hidden" Admins.
Team Rocket's objective was only the Water-type Pokémon. If large numbers of Trainers were killed or injured, Giovanni's accomplishments would be greatly diminished, and the image he held in the hearts of Pokémon Trainers would also be ruined. Naturally, that would greatly affect some of his operations.
All the hostile Pokémon were now fleeing in panic, making this the perfect opportunity for the yachts to escape amid the chaos. Under Officer Jenny's arrangements, all the yachts successfully moved far away.
With no more concerns holding it back, Mamoswine could finally go all-out!
The Blizzard covered the entire stretch of water, and the tornadoes swept up nearly all the Pokémon whose stamina was already close to its limit. The tornadoes collided and intertwined, forming three blizzard vortices that churned across the river.
Team Rocket's Admins had now gathered aboard the only remaining ship. Watching Tetsuya's "exhibition", they could not help but nod. This person had to be reported to Giovanni. At the very least, after they left, they would need to conduct a detailed investigation into his background.
Looking at Mamoswine's current power, Tetsuya could barely contain his delight.
Originally, Mamoswine had only been able to control a single [Blizzard Vortex]. Although it now had the support of the Hail moves from more than a dozen Pokémon, controlling this much Ice-type energy was no easy task.
Mamoswine could now form and control three [Blizzard Vortices] at once, clearly demonstrating the results of the past half year of drilling.
---◓---
The Blizzard, Hail, frigid winds, and freezing air continued for nearly an hour before the river finally returned to calm. Large stretches of the river had been completely frozen over, and at the center of the frozen surface stood three vortices containing many Water-type Pokémon, nearly all of which had already been incapacitated.
With a motion of Archer's hand, Poké Balls were thrown out one after another. Even the Pokémon frozen inside the ice were successfully caught.
The entire river was now utterly silent. As the cold wind swept past, there was even a faint sense of desolation…