"We won!"
With the battle over, Adrian, who had been on edge, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This battle was much easier than he had imagined.
After all, his trump card, X Attack, hadn't even been used, and the enemy had already fled.
If it had truly come down to a life-or-death struggle, Adrian would have immediately activated X Attack and infused it into Gyarados, boosting its physical attack by two stages.
Then, he would have Pichu ride on Gyarados and use help at the right moment to fight with all their might.
Anyway, Adrian was specifically wearing a life vest, so even if he fell into the sea, there would be no immediate danger to his life.
Fortunately, the situation didn't escalate to that point.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, the captain fled even faster than a rabbit, showing no desire to continue the fight.
"Gyarados, Pichu. You both did very well!"
Adrian patted the two pokémon and activated several energy cubes to replenish their stamina.
Pichu, in particular, became the MVP of this wild battle, defeating two pokémon in a row—a truly brilliant record.
Because this guy was small and hadn't evolved yet, he was always underestimated by opponents.
But precisely because of this, he could achieve miraculous effects at critical moments.
"Aoh roar~"
"Pi~"
As the energy cubes took effect, the two pokémon immediately closed their eyes and enjoyed them.
"Lost, lost! The captain lost!"
"Danger! Let's go!"
On the illegal fishing boat, many crew members had been watching Adrian's duel with the captain.
Seeing the captain defeated and fleeing, the crew immediately began packing their catches and evacuating, showing no desire to fight on.
Because they were just ordinary sailors, although they also had pokémon, their strength was not great.
If even the captain was no match, then there was no point for them to stay.
They were seen carrying their packages, then releasing pokémon like Seaking, Seel, and Corsola, putting on underwater breathing apparatuses, and disappearing into the water, carried by their pokémon.
Before leaving, some crew members looked at the Chinchou in the cabin, which were unconscious but hadn't yet been checked for Deep Sea Scales, and said with heartache, "What a pity for this cabin full of Chinchou. How many Deep Sea Scales must there be?"
"Are these illegal operators rabbits? Why do they all run faster than the last?"
Adrian saw everything but didn't approach rashly. Instead, he waited until both pokémon had recovered to their optimal state before directing Gyarados to approach the fishing boat.
However, to be safe, Adrian still patrolled the surrounding sea area once, confirming that all illegal operators had left, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"This light is..."
As he neared the fishing boat, Adrian immediately spotted a huge yellow lampshade hanging at the bow of the boat. It looked somewhat like a Chinchou's tendril and also flickered with electric arcs.
Adrian's heart stirred, guessing that this device might be what attracted the Chinchou.
According to the Pokedex, the constantly flickering light on a Chinchou's tendrils is their only means of communication.
And this light, very likely, was constantly broadcasting false or distress signals to the surroundings, continuously attracting Chinchou, only to catch them all at once.
"Gyarados, use Dragon Breath on this yellow light."
Adrian waved his hand and quickly ordered Gyarados to destroy the yellow light, to prevent more innocent Chinchou from being attracted.
Under the scorching breath, the yellow light instantly shattered, unable to function normally anymore.
Then, Gyarados leaped lightly, directly onto the deck.
At this time, the fishing boat was empty. All the illegal operators had already packed their catches and dispersed underwater, escaping, while Adrian was fighting the captain.
On this specially modified illegal fishing boat, Adrian also saw ubiquitous metal Lightning Rods, which should have been installed to prevent the Chinchou from rioting.
"So many Chinchou? What a sin!!!"
Adrian, who had jumped onto the deck, came to the cabin entrance and immediately saw a large number of Chinchou floating unconscious in the water, densely packed, almost filling the entire cabin.
This number must have been several hundred!
Ordering Gyarados to guard the deck, Adrian entered the cabin with Pichu.
Inside the cabin, several track-like machines extended into the water, continuously pulling up the unconscious Chinchou and placing them on a platform, where pokémon or crew members would check them for Deep Sea Scales.
At the end of the inspection platform was also a track machine; after being inspected, the Chinchou would be transported by the track to the stern of the cabin and dropped back into the sea.
The entire process was like an assembly line.
Whether it was fishing or obtaining Deep Sea Scales, everything was highly efficient.
Adrian couldn't even imagine how many Chinchou would fall victim in a single day.
However, now all these machines were destroyed, broken in half in the middle.
"This water also has problems; we must release the Chinchou back into the sea as soon as possible!"
Looking at the pool full of unconscious Chinchou, Adrian was worried.
"Yo ji~"
Just then, a Chinchou in the pool vaguely woke up.
When it saw the unfamiliar environment, the pool full of its fellow victims, and Adrian, the 'bad guy,' that Chinchou became agitated.
Even though it was listless and weak, it still wiggled its tendrils, releasing a large amount of electricity that enveloped the surroundings.
Electric-type move: Discharge!
"Pi~"
Pichu was greatly surprised and quickly stood in front of Adrian.
However, the electric currents shooting towards Adrian had only flown a few meters before they deviated from their trajectory and were absorbed by the sharp rods in the cabin.
It turned out that various parts of the cabin were also equipped with numerous metal Lightning Rods.
The Chinchou's Electric-type moves had been completely neutralized!
The other Chinchou in the same pool, however, due to the conductivity of the water, were shocked numb by their companion.
"Yo ji Yo ji Yo ji~"
Under the effect of the electric currents, more Chinchou woke up.
When they clearly saw their surroundings and recalled the scene of being caught by the large net, their eyes turned blood red, and they looked at Adrian with hatred.
Zzzzz!
They instinctively released electric currents to attack Adrian, but they were all absorbed by the cabin's Lightning Rods, not only rendering them ineffective but also causing them to be shocked and fried themselves, making their injuries even worse.
"Chinchou, calm down. I'm not a bad guy; I'm here to save you..."
"Pi Pichu"
Adrian tried to appeal to the Chinchou's reason, and Pichu also helped, but it was completely useless.
Seeing that electricity was ineffective, some Chinchou began to indiscriminately use Water Gun, while others emitted strange, special sonic screeches.
Before long, the Chinchou in the entire cabin descended into chaos.
"Oh no, that sound just now was Supersonic. These Chinchou have fallen into a state of confusion!"
Watching the densely packed Chinchou riot uncontrollably, Adrian's expression changed dramatically.
However, the cabin's pool was too deep, and the conveyor belt was broken. Coupled with the sedative effect of the water in the pool, the Chinchou were actually in very poor condition, yet they couldn't escape the cabin pool.
And the riot had already begun; unless these Chinchou exhausted their stamina, it would be impossible to stop them.
"I can only wait for Officer Jenny and the others to come and handle it..."
Adrian sighed, feeling powerless.
He currently only had Pikachu and Gyarados. They could handle rough work like fighting, but delicate tasks like soothing pokémon's emotions were simply beyond them.
"But if this continues, the condition and injuries of these Chinchou will probably worsen further, won't they?"
Looking back at the listless Chinchou in the pool, Adrian was about to walk out of the cabin.
But just then, a captivating song suddenly came from the sea, seemingly far and near, ethereal and melodious.
Under the cover of the song, the Chinchou, who had been in chaotic frenzy, slowly calmed down.
"This song... does it seem to purify pokémon's negative emotions?"
Adrian, who witnessed all this, widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
A normal Sing move would only put pokémon into a 'sleep' state, just like the singing Jigglypuff.
But a magical song that could soothe pokémon's emotions was not simple.
Before long, as the Chinchou in the cabin regained their senses, the singing from the sea also began to fade and soften.
"This is the vast open sea, could it be..."
Adrian's heart stirred, and he thought of a possibility, so he quickly ran out of the cabin onto the deck.
He looked around, trying to find the source of the singing, but he couldn't distinguish it at all, and there was nothing on the sea surface, only constantly surging waves.
Seeing the singing about to disappear, Adrian took a deep breath and shouted, "Manaphy..."
۞۞۞۞
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