14 Rescue & Retreat
Earlier, Kanraku had happened to witness Floyd fighting alongside his beasts, which left him feeling ecstatic. This was the first foreigner he had seen coordinating and fighting together with creatures so seamlessly. He had mentioned this possibility to people time and again, but aside from himself, who always initiated conversation with these creatures, people still harbored reservations.
Then, he saw the shocking scene of Floyd trying to protect the creatures, and them rejecting his protection to shield him instead. Blastoise was about to intervene when they all witnessed an unexpected scene—the creatures moved in sync. Kanraku didn't know what it was, but watching it was still a shock to him. In Floyd, he felt like he was seeing a long-lost friend.
"Professor, you must save him."
Kanraku was snapped back to reality when he heard Suzuki speak. He then turned his attention to the people surrounding them.
"Who are you?"
"Are you a foreigner?"
"You shouldn't be meddling in what we're doing here."
"We are from the BloodSmoke Association; we are assigned to arrest someone here."
The people looked wary as they glanced at the large blue turtle creature by Kanraku's side.
"Ahm, ehem, Ah, Good Morning… I… me, my name… is… Kanraku Hiroshi… I'm from… the country… of Nihon… I'm a… professor in… biology… this guy… is my guest." Unlike Suzuki Akiko, who could speak fluently in English, Kanraku struggled and stuttered while introducing himself and pointing at Floyd. Although he could understand English, he was still struggling to speak it fluently.
Kanraku Hiroshi!
Floyd looked at him and the large Blastoise by his side—one of the three original starters from the Kanto Region in Pokemon, and among the first three starters to ever appear in the Pokemon franchise. It's also one of the most favored regional starters by the majority of people, along with Venusaur and Charizard and their pre-evolutions, the adorable Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
He hadn't expected to see one here, especially a fully evolved one. The level requirement for Wartortle to evolve into Blastoise was level 36, but the aura emanating from this Blastoise felt similar to that of the Dragonite Mother, albeit slightly weaker.
The Dragonite Mother was the strongest Pokémon Floyd had ever encountered, and now another formidable one had appeared.
He turned his gaze to Kanraku Hiroshi.
The one that he was looking for?
"I am one of the Elite Hunters of the BloodSmoke Association; my name is Henry. There is something I need to tell you. This task was assigned to us by the executives of the BloodSmoke Association, and this guy dared to attack one of my men; we need to catch him," Henry, one of the elite hunters, introduced himself. He remained cautious due to the presence of the creature by Kanzaku's side, not acting rashly, but a hint of greed flickered in his eyes, revealing his desire to catch it and sell it.
"Sir, don't listen to him, they're trying to steal my partner!" Floyd shouted, feeling that Kanzaku was his only hope.
Partner!
Kanzaku's eyes shone upon hearing that, but he felt hesitant to speak, so he called Suzuki and spoke in his native language.
"Hello, my name is Suzuki Akiko. Professor Kanzaku is wondering if there's any way to resolve this? We can offer any compensation you want."
"No!"
"This guy has caused us a lot of trouble!"
"Yeah, we must apprehend him to make an example; otherwise, it will tarnish the reputation of our association."
Everyone was shouting, paying no consideration to a foreigner like Kanzaku.
But Henry suddenly raised his hand to stop them, and the noise abruptly ceased.
"Anything we want, you say?" He asked with a malicious smile.
Hearing his tone, Kanzaku frowned slightly and then explained to Suzuki. Suzuki, on the other hand, hesitated but eventually said, "Yes, anything you want, as long as it's reasonable."
"We want that beast," Henry pointed to Blastoise and then smiled at them.
To be honest, Henry hadn't planned to negotiate from the start. He had simply proposed a condition to see if it could be met. The blue creature looked powerful; it might pose a problem for them in a fight. It would be better to strike a deal, take the beast, break the promise, then eliminate all of them and complete the task with the smaller creature (Dratini). Capturing this large creature would surely boost his reputation and bring in money. It was like killing three birds with one stone.
Hearing that, Kanzaku took a deep breath, rage boiling in his eyes, but he forced himself to calm down. How dare this man ask for his partner as compensation?
"My Partner… is not… for sale!" Kanzaku resolutely declared, looking coldly at Henry.
'It seems a negotiation cannot be reached. It seems we can only fight,' Kanzaku thought then said "Partner, deal with it, but don't kill."
"Blastoise~" Blastoise nodded and then made a move.
"Be prepared; that creature is going to attack!" Someone shouted.
Hydro Pump!
"Dodge!"
"A Monster!"
"Use RPG, hurry up!"
Shing Shing
Two rounds of RPG were launched towards Blastoise.
Pew Pew
Blastoise used Water Gun twice, each colliding with a round equally.
Seizing this opportunity, the hunters initiated their attack on Kanraku and everyone else.
Pew
Pew
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Taking advantage of the situation, Horsea, positioned herself atop Floyd's head, and used Water Gun to shoot at them.
Axew, on the other hand, reappeared from the ground to assault some individuals, utilizing First Impression, Breaking Swipe, and Dragon Claw. With the enhancement from Dragon Dance, he felt improvement in his fitness; both his speed and strength had increased.
Dratini remained on Floyd's arm, continuously moving from tree to tree to avoid the barrage of bullets directed at him.
The situation was tense, with both sides maintaining a passive stance. Kanraku sweated slightly. Although the fight was balanced, the opponents had the upper hand, given their familiarity with the terrain. Reinforcements would arrive in just a few minutes.
"I can only rely on everyone; please help me this time," Kanraku murmured, closing his eyes and activating some of his power, while Blastoise continued to defend using Rapid Spin Move.
A few seconds later, the ground vibrated with the sound of numerous stomping feet. Suddenly, several beast without iron rings appeared, glaring coldly at the hunters: 1 Pidgeotto and dozens of Pidgeys, Sandslash and few Sandshrew, Machop and Machoke, Diglett and Dugtrio, Meowth and Persian, 1 Raticate and dozens of Rattata, three Hisuian Growlithe, Bellsprout and Weepinbell, Eevee and an army of Wartortle emerged from the water, rapidly advancing towards them.
"What... is happening?"
"How come there are so many creatures?"
"No one warned us it was dangerous here! How come?"
"Did we disturb something?"
"I don't know, but there's one thing we should do."
"What?"
"Run!"
Panic ensued among the hunters, leading them to flee. Witnessing this, others followed suit. Only half remained, standing vigilant.
Henry observed the scene, doubt filling his gaze as he looked at Kanraku.
"What on earth are you doing? Allying with creatures? Why? Are you betraying humans?"
"I'll give you… a chance… stay away here… I'm counting 10." Kanraku has no time to talk with this guy.
"What do you mean?" Henry inquired.
"9."
"I don't understand."
"Now, stay away… or else… they will attack… later… 8," Kanraku warned him.
"You're clearly betraying humans! I will report this."
"7."
"You…"
"6."
"We…"
"5."
"I…"
"4."
Rattata…
Wartortle…
Machoke…
Meowth…
The surrounding area echoed with the countless roars of Pokémon, all eyes on the creatures encircling them.
"3."
"Let's Go!" Henry didn't wait any longer and commanded.
"Sir…" his subordinates were reluctant, their teeth gritted. They were so close.
"Let's Go!" Henry repeated.
"Everyone, please make way," Kanraku spoke in his native language.
Unexpectedly, the beasts made way, allowing Henry and his subordinates to retreat.
Surprised by their action, Henry turned back to Kanraku and declared:
"Kanraku Hiroshi… I will remember you!"
