Alex looked around and only saw forests. He kicked the ground and only felt dirt. It was clear he was on solid ground.
"What do you mean?" he asked the teleporter.
"I mean, we are literally standing on a Torterra's back," he replied. "This particular Torterra has been sleeping in this part of the sea for a long time. Surrounding it are other Torterra that are part of its nest. The entire group of islands in the area are Torterra that moved here a few decades ago. We use them as a location to jump between Johto and Hoenn because they don't care about any threats on their backs. Even if it's a champion, they don't react at all. They'd probably lose their minds if you attacked them, though."
Alex looked around, utterly amazed by the implication. If a Pokémon could grow in size to the point it became an island, what was stopping other Pokémon from doing the same?
"Do you know why they are so large?"
"All I know is that some scientists went crazy and made them this large. The Torterra moved here after the lab was shut down, and they've been growing ever since I first saw them."
The fact that Pokémon could be scientifically made larger was a very interesting concept to Alex. If scientists could enlarge Torterra to the point of becoming islands, then what about other Pokémon? A Mantine stretched to impossible size could carry an entire city across the sky. A Wailord grown further might become a continent adrift at sea. The thought opened doors to possibilities that felt both exciting and unsettling.
"Do you mind if we explore a little more?" Alex asked.
"Go ahead. Alakazam needs to rest after hopping so many times. We'll start teleporting again after a few hours."
"Thanks."
As Alex was about to turn away, the teleporter called out.
"Oh, you might want to come with me first so I can show you to the camp. It's where I'll be waiting for you."
"Camp?"
"This is the exact center between Cianwood City and Ever Grande City. Teleporters with weaker Pokémon tend to stop here for the night to rest. You won't have that problem with my Alakazam since he's an Elite, but weaker Pokémon need a night's rest before they can continue teleporting. That makes this the ideal place to set up camp. Nothing fancy, since we don't want to piss off the Torterra by drilling into its back for a foundation, but it does have a market and places to sleep or hang out."
"Alright," Alex agreed. He wanted to see the camp as well.
They walked a bit further until Alex spotted a village of over a hundred houses surrounding an open market, where trainers were selling supplies and various resources.
"Dung! I have some fresh dung here!"
"Selling an entire intact scale!"
"Fresh fish! Caught this morning!"
Alex raised a brow at some of the questionable items for sale.
"Dung?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah. It's a thriving business here. Torterra dung, once desalinated, turns into some of the best fertilizer for crops. A few of the Torterra here are even owned by the Moomoo Farm."
"Interesting."
Alex figured that anything the Moomoo Farm used on their crops to feed Miltank would be good enough for his own. Kaia would probably love to get her hands on some.
"I wouldn't recommend buying it, though," the teleporter warned. "Most of what's sold here hasn't been desalinated yet, and the salt would ruin most plants."
"Then why are they selling it?" Alex asked.
"To sell in bulk to farmers who handle their own desalination. Independent farmers can't compete with the big corporations when it comes to netting Torterra dung, so they come here hoping trainers will sell it fresh. The trainers usually net dung alongside the corporations, but since the corporations won't pay marked-up prices, the extra goes to the farmers instead."
"I'm surprised no one has a monopoly on this nest."
"The money isn't that great. There are plenty of cheaper alternatives. Torterra dung might be the best, but if the crops only turn out a little better, it isn't worth the expense. As for the Moomoo Farm, they only get what they need and aren't in the business of selling fertilizer."
That made sense to Alex. He was interested in the dung for personal use, but building an entire infrastructure to sell it for peanuts wouldn't be worth the effort.
He was interested in buying some samples to see if desalinated dung worked better than their current fertilizer. But he was on a mission to gather ammo, and there wouldn't be any space for it.
"I'll be over there if you need me," the teleporter said as he pointed to what looked like a bar.
"Sure."
Alex headed off on his own, releasing Hydreigon and recalling Arcanine and Gardevoir before taking to the sky. He wanted a proper look at the island.
Once they broke through the canopy, the first thing Alex noticed was the gigantic tree to his right. It was an impossibly large oak tree, its trunk spanning several hundred meters across, dwarfing everything around it. Its branches stretched wide enough to cover entire hills, and the dense canopy loomed high above, casting vast shadows over the smaller trees and undergrowth that formed a forest on the Torterra's back.
The second thing he noticed was the Torterra's spikes to his left, massive and jagged, stretching for kilometers and rising like a rugged mountain range. Their sheer size and irregular peaks made the landscape feel as if they were gazing at a distant, rocky horizon rather than the back of a Pokémon.
The higher they flew, the more Alex could take in the full scale of the Torterra. It spanned several kilometers in diameter and could easily be mistaken for a massive island. He could only imagine how much larger it would be if it were standing.
The sea was shallow enough to reach only its shell, making it look as if the Torterra were just taking a dip in a puddle of water. Maybe that was why they had moved here, they were thirsty.
Alex started looking around and noticed that there were similarly sized islands scattered nearby. There were easily more than a dozen scattered everywhere. It looked like an archipelago.
"This world is so magical," Alex said aloud to himself. He couldn't help but admire the breathtaking sight before him.
He circled to the back of the Torterra and noticed shipyards built along its rear. It was the harvesting station for the dung, a full operation complete with ships designed to catch solid waste as it was excreted.
Returning to the island, Alex released Arcanine and Gardevoir so they could record the teleportation route back here. He added an extra instruction to ensure nothing was overlooked.
"I want both of you to pay attention to the sea as well," he said. "We can't be sure if the Torterra might move in the future, so make sure you map the surrounding waters too."
They nodded in response before taking off.
Meanwhile, Alex took a quick tour around the camp. The houses looked prefabricated, as if they had simply been placed here. That made sense if digging too deep wasn't allowed.
As he walked, he noticed groups of people arriving and waiting as well. He could bet that whoever owned this camp paid teleporters to stop here. The prices for goods on the island were easily two to three times higher than on the mainland, so they must be making a considerable income from all the visitors. If these travelers also needed to spend the night, their income would be even higher.
He eventually made his way to the bar, where he saw his teleporter chatting with the bartender. It seemed even his teleporter was part of their little operation. Sadly, it worked.
Alex took a seat and ordered whiskey before getting on his phone. He had taken plenty of pictures when he was flying over the Torterra so he could show it to Alvera. It seemed being a father had indeed changed his mentality.
He noticed he was more aware of cute things, always thinking about getting them for his daughter or taking pictures. He had never paid attention to such things before, always focused solely on potential threats in the area. Now, he was far more mellow, even though he was still a battle maniac.
He also realized he was far more opinionated and intolerant when it came to child predators. If he ever returned to Velvet Reflections, he would likely have killed everyone involved rather than simply handing them over to the police.
He couldn't imagine living in a world without his daughter.
While he scanned through his pictures, deleting the uninteresting ones and thinking about getting Alvera a Torterra plushie as a gift, his teleporter came over.
"Alakazam has rested enough. We're good to go if you're ready."
Alex nodded, downed his drink in one go, and headed out of the bar.
They made it outside the camp, where Arcanine and Gardevoir were waiting, before they all teleported to their next destination.
A few teleports later, they finally made it to Ever Grande City.
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