Chapter 116: The Furious Corphish
"Poor little guy," Will said, shaking his head as he looked at the flashing egg.
Being born early might be a good thing in other circumstances, but in this situation, it was a disaster. If this Pokémon hadn't been turned over to the League within seven days, it would most likely be released into the wild. A Lv. 5 Pokémon trying to survive in the wild... even if it lived, it wouldn't be a good life.
But he just sighed. There was nothing he could do to save it right now. He rolled over, turning away from the light, and went back to sleep.
The next morning, he opened his eyes. He saw the blue-haired man holding the egg with a troubled expression. Will just grinned.
"Cham?"
"It's too late. The closest drop-off is the Indigo League in the Johto region, but we were just there. This time we have to go to Sinnoh. That's at least another four or five days. Counting the travel time, this Pokémon definitely won't make it in time."
The blue-haired man scratched his head. A Pokémon egg or an infant could be exchanged for a lot of money at the League. The market was worse every year, and the reward from the League was less and less. They risked so much to steal these eggs; losing one now was, of course, a painful loss.
"Cham?"
"Looks like we can only... wait a minute, Medicham, look over there."
Suddenly, the man noticed Will's gaze, and he turned, holding the egg. Will hadn't expected to be dragged into this just by watching the show.
"Grovyle, this egg is yours now. Take it with you when you disembark," the man said, approaching the cage and taking out a key to unlock it.
Seeing the cage open, Will stood his ground, not moving. The man nodded in satisfaction and then handed the green egg to him. Will took the egg, having no intention of wasting words on the man, nor of trying to run. Setting aside the fact that the Medicham was watching him like a hawk, there was no point in escaping the cage.
As for the egg... "It's fine, I'll take it. When I get to the Johto region, I'll find a good home for this kid," Will thought, looking down at the egg in his arms with a somewhat dazed expression. He was reminded of the days he had spent hatching his Zubat on Mt. Silver.
He wondered how his Golbat was doing now. The history books hadn't recorded that.
Will sat down with the egg, using his body heat to keep it warm. His Golbat was different from Charizard and Gliscor. After all, those two had been "picked up" and had spent more time with Liz. But he had personally hatched that Golbat and raised it for a long time.
But unfortunately, the books didn't record much about those specific Pokémon from a thousand years ago. His own records as the "Guardian Dragon" were plentiful, but 90% of it was fabricated nonsense that didn't match the historical facts.
The egg flashed, and would even tremble occasionally. The little one inside seemed to be excited by the warmth of its "parent."
Nearby, no one could have understood the shock the Corphish felt when it woke up and saw its good buddy, Grovyle... hatching an egg.
"Hey-hey?!"
The Corphish stood in its cage, staring blankly at Grovyle. Its expression turned from confusion to grief and then to fury. Gradually, the Corphish turned bright red, like a boiled lobster.
"HEY-HEY-HEY! HEY-HEY! (You bastards! What did you do to my buddy last night! He's not even a month old!)"
"HEY-HEY! (Let me out! I'm gonna fight you to the death!)"
"Hey, you're so loud. Quiet down," Will said, adjusting the egg and frowning at the Corphish. Although its heart was in the right place, he really didn't want to listen to its antics right now.
"Heyyy~" the Corphish rattled the cage bars, weeping. But after crying for a while, it just fell asleep, snot bubbles popping from its nose.
Will didn't know how much time had passed, but he felt the egg's flashing was getting faster. With his experience hatching his Zubat, he knew the baby was about to come out, probably in three or four hours at most. Just as he was preparing to welcome the baby in his cage, the ship stopped.
"Looks like it's time to get off," Will said, lifting his eyes from the egg and looking outside the cargo hold. As expected, the blue-haired man had appeared again.
"Time to get off, you two little ones."
"Hey-hey?" Hearing this, the Corphish woke up instantly.
The next moment, the Medicham appeared from behind the man, waved its hands, and a blue telekinetic energy lifted both giant iron cages, moving them out of the cargo hold. Only after leaving the ship did Will get a clear look...
It was a medium-sized pirate ship. Just from what he could see, there were seventy or eighty people on board. But the ship was in tatters; it looked like it had recently been through a battle. They must have stolen it from a group of pirates.
"No wonder you don't care if we see you," Will muttered, clutching the egg.
They were two Pokémon. Even if they saw the ship, how could they describe it to humans? And even if they could, the ship would probably be scuttled by the time they reached Sinnoh. This crew would definitely switch ships. Memorizing this one was useless; the police would only be able to find it at the bottom of the ocean. And even if the maritime police found them before they reached their destination, this group had nothing to fear. They didn't look like pirates. They could just say they'd stolen the ship from pirates, and that the eggs were stolen by them, too.
As for remembering their faces... Will looked at the blue-haired man. He was too generic. If he changed his hair color, Will probably wouldn't recognize him in a few days. And in the Corphish's eyes, all humans probably looked the same, just as he couldn't tell the subtle differences between Pokémon of the same species.
"This little island doesn't look like it has much to eat. I'll have someone leave you some food and water. You be good and wait for rescue, okay?" the blue-haired man said with a wave.
The Medicham then moved the two large cages off the ship and onto the shore. Will observed his surroundings. This wasn't so much an "island" as it was a giant, barren reef. You could see the other side from where they stood. There wasn't a single blade of grass.
"HEY-HEY!!"
The moment the Corphish landed, it saw Tom in another cage, lying motionless. It immediately went frantic.
"Calm down. Captain Tom is probably just unconscious. He's not injured. These people didn't hurt him. He'll wake up soon," Will called out, calming the Corphish. He was worried that if it overreacted, the man and his Medicham might not bother unlocking their cages.
"Hey," the Corphish heard this, nodded, and waited impatiently, silent.
Thump. Two wooden boxes were tossed down. They likely contained the food and water. Then, the blue-haired man and the Medicham floated down to the beach, took out a key, and unlocked all three cages.
"Hey-hey!" The Corphish shot out and immediately rushed to Tom's side. It watched him for a few seconds, then put its head to his chest and listened, only then confirming that Tom was indeed fine. But it wasn't about to let the man leave.
"HEY-HEY?!" The Corphish chased after the blue-haired man and the Medicham, shouting angrily. It was asking them where they had put Tom's speedboat.
"...This is not good," Will thought, feeling that something bad was about to happen. He knew how much that speedboat meant to the Corphish.
He thought back carefully but didn't remember seeing the speedboat on the pirate ship. A crew like this would never bring it on board; it was evidence. If they had just left it behind, it could be dealt with. Will swallowed, his gaze shifting to the deck of the pirate ship. A dozen or so people had gathered, urging the blue-haired man to come back. Every one of them had a Pokémon by their side, and none looked to be below Lv. 25.
"Hm? That speedboat? What do you think? Obviously we destroyed it. If it was found..."
Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh!
Before the man could finish, the Corphish's eyes went red, and it unleashed a Bubble Beam. But the Medicham had been watching it the whole time. It instantly blocked with a Psybeam. The commotion was not small, and the people on the pirate ship, hearing the noise, all began to come ashore.
"Stop it! It's just a boat! Be careful, they'll attack Tom!" Will yelled, running to the Corphish's side and grabbing it. No matter what their code was, these people were still criminals. Who knew if they would kill them all and dump them in the sea if they were pushed too far?
"Hey, hey... I'm letting you go out of the goodness of my heart, and you attack me? Did you really think we wouldn't hurt you?" the blue-haired man's expression hardened as he threw up his hands.
"HEY-HEY!!!" The Corphish shoved Will to the ground and charged forward with its pincers raised.
"Tch," the blue-haired man clicked his tongue.
The next moment, seven or eight attacks shot out from behind him. Flamethrower, Razor Leaf, Thunderbolt, Mud Shot, Ice Beam, Water Pulse... The power of each move looked like it came from a Pokémon above Lv. 30. If the Corphish took that hit, it would be in a world of hurt. And on this isolated reef, being seriously injured was no different from being dead.
Will put the egg down on the ground and shot forward with [Extreme Speed]. His speed was so fast that even the blue-haired man stumbled back a step in shock. But Will's target wasn't him. The Medicham was blocking the man with Detect; he couldn't get to him even with Extreme Speed, and there was no point.
His target was the Corphish.
BOOM!
Will slammed into the Corphish from the side. Because his level was low, his attack power wasn't strong, but his sheer speed and force were enough to tackle the Corphish and send them both tumbling aside.
KABOOM!
The seven or eight attacks missed them and slammed into the reef, causing a small explosion.
Will ignored the blast, gritting his teeth as he pushed himself up. Using Extreme Speed with his current body was just like using Double-Edge. In his past life, his reaction time couldn't keep up. Now, it was the opposite: his nerves could, but his body couldn't support it.
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