chsdbacks Chapter 103: The Silence of the Crossing Was Deafening
Chapter 103: The Silence of the Crossing Was Deafening
Chapter 103: The Silence of the Crossing Was Deafening
Well, now is not the time to lament that Mt. Surge is not tough enough.
Ze Shu's thoughts didn't last long.
He looked around at the Magnemite creatures that were floating in fear, and a few mischievous Thunderbolts—these were the guards left behind by Lt. Surge, who were now eyeing him menacingly.
We still need to deal with these guys.
so....
Suddenly, Ze Shu pulled a baseball bat from his waist.
Before the surrounding Magnemites could react, he swung his weapon around! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A small Magnemite was seen falling upwards involuntarily like a kite with a broken string, its eyes filled with a confused and doubtful look; on the other side, a wimpy Thunderbolt followed in Magnemite's footsteps, its body emitting white light, and it exploded in the air in a dazzling burst.
boom!
Suddenly, all of Lt. Surge's Pokémon that had been lingering around were cleared out.
Ze Shu weighed the baseball bat in his hand and said with satisfaction, "Solution!"
He bought this baseball bat specifically after leaving the Kanto Pokémon League. He originally wanted to buy a crowbar, but couldn't find one, so he bought the baseball bat since it looked nice.
Originally intended as a weapon to knock people across the river, it unexpectedly came in handy here.
It feels really good in the hand...:
I wonder if Wataru's head is as hard as Magneton's.
"Hmph... Zeshu, you're amazing!" Xiao Lan, who was standing to the side, was not surprised to see Zeshu resolve the matter so quickly. Instead, she took Zeshu's arm as usual. "With this, the matter of the Saint-Tiannu is simple now."
"
"Hmm... Just throw Lt. Surge's 'corpse' overboard. The boss's been knocked unconscious, so aren't we afraid these sailors might dare to resist..."
Ze Shu also agreed with Xiao Lan's words.
"but..."
He looked at the "sailor" who was affectionately linking arms with him, and a slight smirk appeared on his lips:
"Could you please stop hugging me like that burly man...?"
With a stubble beard, a burly build, and bulging muscles, this is how Xiao Lan is disguised now.
"Hehe...::" But as soon as he said that, the 'sailor's' unkempt face suddenly broke into a smug, childlike grin.
"So, Ze Shu, you like my original form, right? Then I, Xiao Lan, will reluctantly oblige you~ Xiao Bai, change back!"
"Mimi...Mimi!"
But then, the sailor's face gradually melted, and his originally burly body gradually became "petite," eventually coalescing into a pool of pink slime on the head of the little blue-white face.
Soon, a pair of beady eyes appeared out of nowhere in this puddle of pink slime, and it even twitched in a very human-like way, looking quite happy:
"Mimi...Mimi!"
The plan was successful!
It's Ditto...
At this moment, Xiao Lan also returned to her original appearance—fair skin, delicate earlobes adorned with azure earrings with a hint of rosy blush, brown hair falling beside her beautiful face, her face clean and fair, yet she appeared playful.
She couldn't help but laugh, seemingly pleased with her prank, and then said expectantly, "Compared to how she looked before... Zeki, you really do prefer Ran's original form, don't you?"
Ze Shu: "..."
No, how can you compare that unkempt sailor from earlier?
But seeing that Ze Shu didn't answer immediately, Xiao Lan pressed on, "Ze Shu, just tell me! Do you like Xiao Lan the way she is now?"
Ze Shu sighed helplessly, "Yes...yes."
Little Blue: "Hehe..."
Now that Ma Xueshi has been "killed," the remaining sailors are naturally easy to deal with—but Ze Shu wanted to try something different and faster.
They were too lazy to threaten them with Ma Xueshi's "body," since there were so many people, and no matter how much they were threatened, some would resist and some would run away. It was better to resolve the matter quickly.
He simply picked up the rocket launcher that Ma Xueshi had dropped on the ground and studied it for a while.
However, they discovered that the ammunition inside was mischievous grenades... seemingly specially selected and bred, relatively small in size, able to be loaded into the tube, and all in a dormant state, quietly preparing for launch.
"nice one."
As Ze Shu spoke, he pointed the rocket launcher at the more densely packed area of sailors below. With a deafening roar, flashes of fire and electricity appeared, and the electric-charged explosive grenade detonated...:
The sailors who were picking up the Poké Balls were also dancing in the electric sparks—their insulating suits could only prevent the residual current after the explosion, but when hit directly by the rocket launcher and completely covered, they naturally could not be "insulated".
As for those trainers below...:
They've already been attacked by rocket launchers, so one more attack won't make a difference. Having been in the Pokémon world for several years, Ze Shu already knows that the people in the Pokémon world have extraordinary physical constitutions; at least this amount of plasma won't kill them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The rocket launcher continued to fire, and the environment below was once again filled with electric current.
The sailors were performing a bizarre dance.
Then, Ash, whose resistance was maximized, took care of them one by one.
This time, even Xiaolan, who was used to Zeshu's unusual actions, couldn't help but twitch her lips. She looked at Zeshu firing the rocket launcher, then at Ash and Pikachu, who were gradually becoming as if nothing had happened in the plasma, and her expression grew strange:
"You guys really...worked together very well."
"That's...:" Ze Shu smiled, firing the last round of the Maslow's Bombardier rocket launcher. "The matter is more or less resolved. I'm too lazy to communicate with these sailors. Let's go down."
After saying that, he picked up Ma Zhishi's body and threw it off the platform.
Boom!
It hit another sailor on the head. The sailor, who was already terrified by the barrage of rockets, screamed "Oh my god!" and fainted upon seeing Ma Xueshi's "body".
?
We gradually walked down to the 'square' below.
Ash's hair was already standing on end from the electric shock, yet he continued to roar as he battled Pikachu. Even though this was the Pokémon world, it was a stark contrast to the trainers around him who were easily knocked unconscious by a single plasma shock.
As expected of a true rookie...
However, Ash was also somewhat delirious at this time, his body swaying and kneeling, yet he was still directing Pikachu to attack the unconscious enemies in front of him.
"Ash, that's enough... The opponents have all been defeated, there's no need to fight anymore..."
"Sawaki...? But why are you here...?" Hearing the voice, Ash turned around in surprise, but then realized, "The explosion just now, you helped..."
Before he could finish speaking, as if he had found a "pillar of support," he gradually fainted.
I just praised Ash's Super True Beginner Physique...:
Zeki: "...—
He and Blue boarded the ship in disguise, without telling Ash and the others, which is why Ash seemed so strange when he saw him.
But seeing Ash's unconscious body, he chuckled and summoned Pawn to carry Ash, along with Misty and Brock, who had already fainted beside him. Of course, he didn't forget Lt. Surge, whom he had thrown down from above.
Then.:
"What's going on with you guys?"
Zeki looked at the pitiful-looking Team Rocket trio with a strange expression.
"We...we, actually..." Meow Meow stammered as she explained, "Actually, we don't know anything about what's going on here..."
Do you believe it? We were just about to help that little brat, meow!
"We had no idea that Boss Masashi would do this... We just thought this was a fan gathering of Boss Sakaki... We were just being forced into this by Boss Masashi, meow~!"
Ze Shu: "...—"
No, you have both Lt. Surge and Sakamura as your leaders, and your Rockets' identities are also public knowledge. Doesn't that just expose Giovanni's identity as a "League mole"? Does your Giovanni boss even know he has three brilliant subordinates like you?
Although Zeki already knew about this.
However, it's difficult to keep a straight facial expression.
But Ze Shu's expression turned strange.
The three Rockets players were completely unaware of what they had just said; they simply stood there, trembling, and then...:
Meow Meow suggested:
"No need for you to knock us away, meow... We'll fly away on our own, meow~"
boom!
"I hate this feeling~"
Watching the Team Rocket trio pick up a Naughty Bomb from below, walk outside on their own, detonate it again, and then be blown into the sky, turning into three stars in the clear sky... Ze Shu twitched the corner of his mouth, while Xiao Lan covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Really..."
He shook his head helplessly.
Was it a lucky accident? It's hard to tell if they were clever or just had the intuition of comedic characters. After all, if the Rockets trio hadn't taken flight themselves, they might have ended up in the league's prison.
But being blown "flying into the sky" is actually a route of escape—although these three comedic characters, Ze Shu, don't really care whether they escaped or not.
After laughing, Xiao Lan looked around at the chaotic scene and said, "So... Ze Shu, what should we do next? It looks so messy, it's a bit troublesome..."
Ze Shu: "No need. We've already done so much, why would we need to handle this?"
He stroked the tiny Lugia that had flown in from outside—the sea storm that had just been stirred up was the work of the little Lugia. In this central sea area, the naval forces it could draw upon seemed even stronger.
He said:
"Speaking of which... is the Imperial Dragon Ferry really that slow? Why hasn't it arrived yet?"
Waited for a while.
Watari finally stood before Zeki.
He was disheveled and soaking wet, his beloved, carefully maintained cloak and clothes stuck together, and his once-tied, spiky red hair was now scraggly. But the two dragons surrounding him looked radiant.
Ze Shu: "You...who did this to you?"
"A storm at sea," Watari said through slight gritted teeth. "If it weren't for my Hakron protecting me, I probably wouldn't have been able to get here anytime soon."
Ze Shu: "Oh."
So it was he who caused this mess.
Let's stop this topic immediately.
"Since that's the case..."
Wataru interrupted, "I understand the specifics. What about the enemy? Is it Team Rocket? How do we capture them? What do you need me to do?"
Ze Shu: "I need you to clean up the mess."
Watari: "?"
He paused for a moment, then said, "So, you solved it?!"
Ze Shu nodded.
Silent and still.
He rushed here braving the sea storm, eager to strike down evil as quickly as possible, but little did he expect that Ze Shu had already dealt with it long ago...
Ze Shu suddenly asked, "So you came alone?"
Watari replied matter-of-factly, "Yes!"
Only he could cross a storm at sea.
Ze Shu said disappointedly, "How much battlefield can you clean up by yourself?"
Watari: "..—
"Who do you think you are!"
There were about a hundred trainers on the field. Although the plasma that permeated the field had weakened considerably, it was still not something Lance could handle alone. Even if he released his Pokémon, it would be the same—especially that Gyarados, whose ferocious face showed a hint of grievance as it hid far away.
Ze Shu advised, "Don't waste your energy."
Yu Longdu was extremely determined: "I can handle this."
Ze Shu: "..—·
Little Blue suddenly said, "Don't you guys want to know... this isn't the first time Lt. Surge has captured so many Pokémons and trainers. What will he do with them?"
They noticed that both Zeki and Watari were staring at them.
Xiao Lan smiled and continued, "During the camouflage, I went to the ship's control center and know that there's a location marked as important. Want to go check it out...?"
Ze Shu: "Of course."
Just as Xiao Lan said.
Following her steps, passing through layers of mechanisms or hidden passages, perhaps at the bottom of the ship, Zeki saw a room—silver-white and enclosed like a prison, with a tightly locked iron door. Zeki's keen hearing could even hear the faint sounds of struggling and desperate Pokémon coming from inside.
But before he could take any action...
As he silently followed, Lance felt the various emotions of despair and pain emanating from the power of Tokiwa, and his face began to contort slightly.
"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"
boom!
The tightly closed iron gate was suddenly blasted open, and Du rushed inside first.
Following closely behind, Ze Shu also saw the scene inside—a dimly lit space filled with cages, far more numerous and crowded than the "shelves" in the Jade Rainbow Game City, where Pokémon, severely injured from abuse, were trapped.
Struggling, screaming in pain, mournful cries...
Perhaps the room was too soundproof, because the door was blown open and these desperate sounds finally reached Ze Shu's ears.
Seeing this tragic scene.....
"This..." Ze Shu paused, stunned. "Lt. Surge!"
Little Blue covered her mouth in surprise: "I didn't expect this..."
Suddenly, Lance's face twisted in pain as he said, "These Pokémon are being brutally abused here because they refused to obey the new owners their captors gave them..."
"It's happening again... Damn humans! If they all disappeared...:"
Ze Shu interrupted him: "Don't rush to spout your cynical theories. Rescuing these Pokémon is the priority."
It took a lot of effort to gradually "transport" these exhausted Pokémon to the safe, sunny deck. Some were unconscious, others were still groaning in pain...
Zeshu's Pokémon walked anxiously through the crowd, its Healing Pulse and Healing Bell sounds echoing continuously. However, with so many Pokémon in its hands, it was still difficult to cover even a fraction of the area.
"I...I can help."
The painter, Jasmine, whom Zeshu had met by chance earlier, ran up to him, her body soaked from the rain and carrying her easel.
"Puddington, I pray! Blue King, mimicking the healing waves of almost identical dolls...::"
With Jasmine's help, the Pokémon's injuries were stabilized somewhat, at least preventing them from worsening due to lack of treatment.
At this time.
Inside the room where these Pokémon were just locked up.
Ze Shu began, "So many Pokémon are trapped here, yet there's no sign of a single trainer..."
Without even looking up, Lance channeled the power of Viridian and temporarily healed a Pokémon: "I just want to heal all these Pokémon, and what do I care about the humans who turned these Pokémon into this?"
Ze Shu: "·
Is this cynical and rebellious Lance afraid that all the trainers haven't died yet...? This guy is so stubborn and difficult to deal with.
Was it the power of Tokiwa that caused him to become like this...?
Thinking of the distorted expression on Lance's face when he sensed the thoughts of those injured Pokémon, Sawaki pondered this, but ignored Lance's attitude, simply saying to himself:
"Lt. Surge... probably wouldn't take out so many trainers. Even if he's from Team Rocket, he wouldn't dare do that... This requires the League to do the search."
Du gave a muffled "hmm".
Although he didn't care about the lives of humans, he still knew about his alliance members.
But thinking of what had happened to these Pokémon, his expression turned indignant. After healing the furball in his hand and handing it to the waiting Pawnblade soldier, he stood up, but instead of turning around, he turned his back to Zeki and suddenly said:
"With Lt. Surgeon executed, Vermilion City needs to elect a new Gym Leader, so..."
"I plan to hold a competition in Vermilion City as a warm-up for the Gym Leader election, and also as a way to attract people."
Ze Shu asked in confusion, "A competition?"
"Yes, a competition," Wataru said. "My Dragon Clan will also offer corresponding prizes."
Ze Shu remained silent.
If he remembers correctly.
In the special episode, there was a surfing competition, and Lance appeared in it, "rewarding" the winner with his Dragonair. Afterwards, he drove this "prize" Dragonair to wreak havoc in Vermilion City, destroying many things and disrupting a lot of order. It is said that he was looking for something that time.
Wataru's sudden and illogical proposal of this competition suggests he's not looking for anything, but perhaps... considering his twisted expression earlier, he might be planning something behind his "Humanity Cleansing Project"...
"So..." Ze Shu asked, watching Yu Longdu's retreating figure, "What was the prize you brought out?"
All that could be heard was Lance saying, "As a member of the Dragon-riding clan, I will naturally offer a Dragon-type Pokémon. And this prize... to support the vigorous development of Vermilion City, I will offer one of my main trained Dragonairs as the prize."
really...
Just as he guessed, Ze Shu twitched the corner of his mouth.
But Du continued speaking, and casually turned his head, spreading his arms in a gesture of absolute selflessness, as if ruling the world:
"So I wanted to invite you, Sawaki, to come along... Oh, Sawaki, what are you doing with that baseball bat?"
"No...no, it's for fanning."
Ze Shu casually put the baseball bat away.
Watari: "..."
Baseball bats are used for fanning the air?
"But then again..." Ze Shu put the baseball bat away, then subtly made a comment, "This prize..."
"While Dragonair is good, don't you have any other Dragon-type Pokémon? Why do you have to reward me with Dragonair or Dragonite?"
Du fell silent.
No, not really...
"That's true..." Ze Shu said again, "After all, you've crammed three Dragonite and Dragonair into your team, so you might not really have any other Dragon-type Pokémon. After all, your other so-called 'Dragon Pokémon' of the Flying type are hardly worth mentioning."
Yulongdu: "...—"
Is this targeting him?
"Why aren't you saying anything to refute me, Watari?"
"Didn't this hit a nerve?"
There was a moment of silence.
Du remained silent, not saying a word.
But in Ze Shu's eyes, Watari's silence at this moment seemed deafening.
Ze Shu's true intentions were finally revealed:
"How about we change this reward? Actually, I saw that the tsukyoku (traditional Tibetan cloak) with your 'Dragon Messenger' Dodo' autograph fetched quite a high price at auction."
"Well, what I mean is, I might be able to offer prizes for this competition."