After resting for one night in the resort city of Porta Vista, Paul, Ash, and their party bid farewell to Professor Oak again and set off along the coastline.
Today, they arrived at the yacht marina, where they could take a boat to the next city.
But, well...
"Ash, do you think you're cursed?" Paul looked at Ash with disgust.
"Alas," Ash resigned himself to his fate and lay down on the side of the pier. "Anyway, I'm doomed to miss the boat."
Thanks to Ash's usual luck, Paul and the others watched the ferry, which ran every three hours, drive away right in front of their eyes.
Brock looked up at the sky. "Well, life is unpredictable."
"Forget it, I don't want to wait any longer. I'll go ahead on Gyarados," Paul patted his pants and stood up. Waiting around wasn't in his character.
"But, Paul, it's better for us to act together," Misty tried to persuade him to stay.
"Yes, yes, crossing the sea alone is too dangerous," Brock also added.
"Ah," Paul sat down helplessly. He pulled out a fishing rod from his backpack and prepared to fish to pass the time.
"Pika? Pikachu!!" Pikachu noticed something at this time, pointing to the sea and shouting.
"It's a Horsea, so cute!!" Misty said in surprise.
Paul and the others looked along Pikachu's little paw. It was indeed a scarred Horsea. It looked like some Pokémon had hit its left eye, leaving a mark.
Ash took out the Pokédex and recited its entry for everyone.
Seeing Ash and the others looking at it, Horsea immediately became agitated and spat ink into the sea indignantly.
"Hey kid, why are you spitting ink?" Ash said with disgust.
"Never mind that, the most urgent thing now is to treat Horsea," Misty quickly threw a Poké Ball. Horsea was caught!
Paul eyed her doubtfully. * I suspect you're just worried Ash and I would try to catch it first. *
"Look, the patterns the Horsea sprayed seem to be jellyfish, right?" Paul pointed to the surface of the sea.
"Really!" Brock looked at the sea with interest.
Boom!! Suddenly, a violent explosion occurred on a working ship not far away.
* This is it? * Paul had a flash of inspiration. He'd almost forgotten this was the yacht dock from that incident – there should be giant Tentacool and Tentacruel affected by strange chemicals in the sea.
Just as Misty was about to show her skills and prepare to save people, Paul got up and quickly left the area.
Arriving at a telephone booth, Paul dialed the number of the police station. After notifying Officer Jenny about Nastina's illegal construction impacting wild Pokémon habitats and the potential danger from giant Tentacruel, Officer Jenny said that police forces could be deployed within an hour.
Honestly, Paul had to thank his status as a trainer recognized by the League. If an ordinary person had reported it, it's likely no one would have believed them.
After handling this, Paul returned to the pier, just in time to see Ash and the others coming out of Nastina's hotel, cursing.
"Damn it, that old woman actually said that Tentacool are disgusting! She's the disgusting one!!" Misty complained uncontrollably.
Ash and Brock had no choice but to follow obediently.
"Hello," Paul waved, indicating he was back.
Ash immediately told Paul what had just happened.
"I see. Misty did the right thing this time," Paul patted Ash and Brock on the shoulders. "This area was originally the habitat of Tentacool and should have been a conservation area, but Nastina built here arbitrarily just to make money. If this continues, the enraged Pokémon will attack humans sooner or later."
"What?!" Brock was taken aback.
"I understand," Ash lowered his head. Just moments ago, he'd been thinking it was a pity to miss the one year lunch voucher Nastina had promised. Now he felt a little ashamed.
At this moment, Nastina's voice came over the pier radio again. She was actually openly offering funds to encourage trainers to confront the Tentacool.
In the end, it was the idiots from Team Rocket who accepted the task. They drove a yacht out to sea to hunt the Tentacool.
"Those two troublemakers," Paul spat.
"Don't gather! Spread out now!!" The flashing police lights signaled their arrival. A large number of police officers appeared at the yacht dock under the leadership of Officer Jenny.
"Officer Jenny, I'm going to stop those two attacking the Tentacool! Please disperse the crowd and arrest Nastina!" Paul released Pidgeot and flew towards Team Rocket!
Officer Jenny nodded. "Leave it to me!!"
"Pidgeot, catch up with that ship!" Paul grabbed Charmeleon's Poké Ball and stared intently at Team Rocket.
Boom!! Unexpectedly, Team Rocket's ship was blown up by an attack from the Tentacool before they even got close. Special chemicals spilled from the wreckage.
"It's over!" Paul gritted his teeth. "Pidgeot, use Whirlwind to send these two idiots flying!!"
Pidgeot swung its wings powerfully, and the strong gust scattered Team Rocket into the air, turning them into distant specks.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Suddenly, a giant Tentacruel appeared in front of Paul.
"Damn it, don't let it reach the coast!!" Paul clenched his teeth. If such a large Tentacruel rushed into the yacht dock, it could cause heavy casualties among ordinary people. * We have to stop it here! *
"Young man, get out of the way! I, Officer Jenny, will handle it here!" Officer Jenny caught up.
"Please stop joking!" Paul replied firmly. "I am a Pokémon trainer officially certified by the League. I will never allow wild Pokémon to cause chaos like this!"
Officer Jenny was momentarily stunned by Paul's serious words. * This young man actually has such a strong sense of responsibility! *
"Go, Empoleon! Tell Tentacruel we want to talk!" Paul sent out Empoleon.
"Poleon!!!" Empoleon rode a massive wave, soaring upwards to stand domineeringly opposite the giant Tentacruel! As an Emperor Pokémon, Empoleon's presence commanded respect, conveying their desire to parley.
Tentacruel considered Empoleon's imposing presence and agreed. A tentacle stretched out and picked up Meowth, who had been knocked into the water when Team Rocket was defeated earlier. Tentacruel's eyes flickered, and it began to use Meowth to speak.
"Trainer of the Empoleon Pokémon, what do you want to talk to me about?!" Meowth relayed.
"I should be asking you, what do you intend to do? Lead your group to destruction?" Paul refused to give an inch, looking straight at the Tentacruel.
"Humans destroyed our living place, so we are going to destroy theirs now. Only then will they know our pain! Let human beings feel the pain!!" Meowth spoke for Tentacruel.
* Where did it learn those lines? * Paul thought privately.
"Do you think that hurting each other can achieve your goal? Humans also have powerful trainers. Do you want your group to be surrounded and wiped out by strong trainers, or even the Elite Four and Champion?!" Paul continued to press.
"It doesn't matter! We wouldn't be able to survive anyway!" Tentacruel retorted via Meowth.
"Who said that!" Paul yelled. "Humans made mistakes before, but the bad people among them will not succeed, and friendly humans are still the majority! The police officer has arrested those who disturbed your habitat! You will not be disturbed again in the future!!"
Tentacruel looked at Officer Jenny. Officer Jenny saluted formally and answered righteously. "Nastina, who destroyed the Pokémon's ecological environment, has been arrested according to law. League officials will establish a conservation area in this sea. In the future, no one will be allowed to build any structures here in violation of regulations!"
Tentacruel stared intently at Paul and Officer Jenny. After a minute, the huge body turned and swam back towards the deep sea.
"I'll give you humans a chance this time. Next time, we won't show mercy," Meowth relayed its final words.
After leaving this message, the giant Tentacruel finally left quietly.
"Phew, that was too close," Paul wiped cold sweat from his brow. Although it didn't possess the overwhelming power of some ancient Pokémon, its huge size meant that if a fight had broken out, Paul would likely have been in serious trouble.
"Fortunately, we had you this time, Mr. Paul. The police department will report your heroic actions and ensure you are commended," Officer Jenny looked at Paul appreciatively.
"Commendations aren't necessary. Just properly establish the conservation area here," Paul said, looking out at the blue sea. "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you. If we humans continue to ignore the ecological environment of Pokémon and only care about our own convenience, one day, people will be swallowed by their own greed."
Officer Jenny nodded in agreement. "Exactly. We must protect the environment in which we live. We must live together with Pokémon and nature in a friendly way."
Paul looked into the distance with emotion. * Yes, protecting the environment is protecting ourselves. *
The incident that almost turned into a devastating attack finally came to an end. The trainers who had greedily gathered at the pier wanting to earn bounties by hunting Tentacool were taken in for questioning one by one by Officer Jenny. It's said that Nastina also faced serious legal consequences. A tragedy nearly caused by human greed concluded abruptly.
They successfully boarded the departing connecting ship, and the journey of Ash and Paul's group had to continue.