Chapter 158:Rescue in Progress! Heracross Mega Evolution!

Kiko stared blankly at Natsume, who stood above the water’s surface.

When the swarm of Gyarados appeared, everyone here was filled with despair.

However, when Natsume and the others showed up, light shone brightly within the dark space-time distortion.

“Dragonite!”

Dragonite swung a punch.

Ice type energy rapidly condensed and crashed into the front of the Gyarados swarm.

The chill emanating from Dragonite's fist enveloped the Gyarados ahead like a beam.

Under the impact of the cold, they were all frozen.

The Gyarados floated on the water’s surface, becoming lifelike ice sculptures.

The water’s surface also froze with that punch!

An icy path leading to the outer edge of the space-time distortion appeared.

Snowflakes floated gently in the air.

Rumble rumble~

Purple currents continued to spread through the sky.

Natsume lifted Kiko out of the river water and asked, “Are you okay?”

Kiko suddenly opened her arms and hugged Natsume tightly, tears flowing uncontrollably.

“I thought I was done for.”

Natsume gently patted Kiko’s back. 

“Everything is okay now.”

Kiko felt her body go weak, trembling slightly.

It was clear that she had been frightened.

“I’ll get you all out of here soon.”

Just as Natsume was saying this, a Barraskewda shot up from the water's surface, heading straight toward Natsume.

“Sirfetch'd!”

On the ice, Sirfetch'd stepped forward.

Leaf Blade!

The green light extended from the long sword in Sirfetch'd's hand and slashed at Barraskewda.

Bang~

This Water type fish Pokémon immediately lost the ability to battle from Sirfetch'd's strike.

“Natsume Gym Leader?”

Chigen looked at Natsume, momentarily stunned, then excitedly shouted, “Natsume Gym Leader is here! Everyone, listen to Natsume Gym Leader’s directions!”

Natsume's appearance instantly filled everyone with hope.

“Everyone, follow this path straight ahead, and you'll exit the range of the space-time distortion.”

Standing on the ice created by Dragonite, Natsume addressed the crowd: “Don’t crowd; form a line to evacuate in an orderly fashion.”

“Ah!”

“Don’t, don’t kill me!”

A terrified scream echoed from the water.

“Natsume, Natsume, help me!”

Natsume turned his gaze toward the sound.

Sho was being pulled by a Kabutops.

Sho was shouting desperately, struggling, “Save me! We are classmates!”

“It’s me.”

“Uh…”

Natsume sighed and said, “Calm down, that’s my Kabutops.”

“Kabutops.”

Kabutops rolled its eyes at Sho, which it had hooked with its sickle, then pointed the sickle in Sho’s direction.

“Kabutops.”

Kabutops looked at Natsume, asking if it could hit him.

Natsume replied, “Just let this frightened child go.”

“Kabutops!”

Kabutops, annoyed, tossed Sho up into the air.

“Cough, cough.”

Sho awkwardly knelt on the ice.

After spitting out the seawater from his mouth, he looked dazed and said, “Kabutops is yours?”

“I thought this was a Pokémon from the secret realm.”

“Because, didn’t the books say it was extinct in our world?”

Natsume chuckled, “That’s not important.”

“As long as everyone is okay, let’s head out with the others.”

“Glaceon~”

Glaceon ran across the ice.

It continually deepened the ice layer’s thickness.

Gardevoir used her Psychic abilities to pull everyone and Pokémon she could see from the river water.

“Vaporeon.”

Vaporeon swam in the water with Mikoharu hanging onto its neck.

“Be careful.”

Ahead, a fierce Sharpedo was swimming rapidly toward them.

Mikoharu could even see its sharp teeth.

On the ice, Arcevee jumped toward Sharpedo.

The moment it hit the water, Arcevee transformed into Vaporeon.

Aqua Tail!

“Vaporeon~”

The massive wave struck Sharpedo's face like a slap.

Bang~

Sharpedo's body collided with a large floating tree in the water.

Interestingly, just as Sharpedo was about to hit, its figure suddenly vanished.

“Vaporeon?”

Vaporeon emerged from the water with a puzzled expression.

“That’s one of the wonders of the secret realm.”

Natsume looked at Arcevee and said, “Pokémon can suddenly disappear and then reappear.”

“So you have to be very careful in here.”

“Vaporeon~”

Kiko had also managed to recover at this point.

She quickly stepped forward to pull Mikoharu up.

“Are you alright?”

Mikoharu’s gaze was fixed on Natsume.

“So this is Natsume Gym Leader, huh? You look even better than what I saw online.”

“And your strength too.”

“Sure enough, only seeing Natsume Gym Leader in person can help you understand the pressure he carries.”

Kiko quipped, “Hey, now’s not the time for that!”

Mikoharu mumbled, “I was just saying, but you already hugged him.”

Kiko's face flushed instantly.

The space-time distortion was extremely dangerous.

However, when Kiko saw Natsume appear, she inexplicably felt an overwhelming sense of security.

“Natsume Gym Leader.”

Kiyomasa approached and said, “Thank goodness you’re here; otherwise, there would have been major trouble today.”

“My name is Kiyomasa, and I’m one of the trainers responsible for safety here.”

Natsume nodded at him. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“How long has it been since the space-time distortion appeared until my arrival?”

Kiyomasa replied immediately, “Less than five minutes.”

This world places great importance on secret realm space-time distortions and their detection.

That’s why Natsume was able to receive news so quickly and arrive on time.

“I understand. For now, let’s work together to get everyone out of here.”

“Understood!”

Natsume looked toward the group of frozen Gyarados.

These Gyarados all had potential at the Gym Leader level, with an average level of forty-five.

The highest level among them was a level fifty-two Gyarados.

Natsume took out a Poké Ball and threw it at them.

In a flash of red light, they were all captured into the Poké Ball.

Secret Realm Exploration Mission

Task 1: Capture ten types of Water type Pokémon in the secret realm 1/10

Natsume checked the two latest tasks that had appeared.

Task 1 was the rescue mission.

This was what Natsume was currently doing.

On the icy pathway created by Dragonite, the rescued people and Pokémon were making their way out under the protection of Infernape.

“Infernape~”

Infernape faced away from the crowd, its eyes focused intently on the flowing water around it.

“Chah!”

Underwater, a Toxapex swam forward swiftly.

Pin Missile!

“Infernape.”

Here we go!

Infernape stood its ground, not dodging.

If it had evaded, then the Pin Missile would have struck the crowd directly.

“Infernape~”

Infernape took a deep breath.

Boom~

A surge of flames burst forth, melting the glowing white needles in the fire.

Swish~

Toxapex leaped out of the water's surface.

Its body, wrapped in the current, charged straight at Infernape.

Liquidation!

“Infernape!”

Infernape stepped forward to meet it.

Mach Punch!

Bam~ Bam~ Bam~

Fists rained down on Toxapex like a storm.

The surrounding water was forcefully scattered.

Toxapex, which had just leaped from the water's surface, was instantly knocked back down into the sea.

“Impressive.”

“Of course, this is Natsume Gym Leader's Pokémon after all.”

Looking at Infernape and the others, the students who had just felt despair were now relaxed.

“Sure enough, Gardevoir is the Pokémon I want to capture the most.”

Someone looked at Gardevoir with envy.

Gardevoir’s Inner Focus spread throughout the area.

All the Pokémon that Infernape couldn’t consider would be captured by Gardevoir’s Inner Focus and thrown far away.

“Ah!”

A student on the very edge of the group suddenly felt a chill at his feet.

A piercing cold sensation rushed to his head.

He looked down to see a ribbon-like object wrapped around his ankle.

“Jellicent~”

A haunting voice echoed.

A Jellicent surfaced from the water, revealing its large head.

What was wrapped around him was Jellicent's hand.

Jellicent, a combination of Water and Ghost types.

Most of Jellicent's body is composed of the same substances found in seawater.

They generally live in the underwater world.

As a Ghost type Pokémon, they typically feed on the life energy of other life forms.

It is said that many shipwreck incidents are often related to Jellicent.

Although they are such dangerous Pokémon, their name is oddly cute.

“Jellicent! It’s Jellicent!”

The student whose ankle was caught shouted in panic.

“Jellicent~”

Just as Jellicent was about to pull him into the water, Annihilape stepped on Jellicent's gauzy-like hand.

Annihilape stared at Jellicent.

“Jellicent!”

Jellicent glared at Annihilape with anger as a massive shadow of darkness slowly rose behind it.

The shadow was giant-like, evoking instinctual fear.

Annihilape watched this scene but simply felt inexplicably enraged.

“Annihilape!”

Phantom Force!

Annihilape leaped toward Jellicent.

Rage Fist!

Annihilape's fist smashed into Jellicent's body, sending it crashing back into the water.

Chigen stood in the crowd and shouted, “Everyone, stay away from the edge and walk in the middle of the ice path.”

“Sudowoodo~”

Sudowoodo looked at Annihilape with admiration and twisted its body at the edge of the group.

“Now is not the time for you to cheer.”

Chigen helplessly looked at his Sudowoodo. “For now, help me keep the group organized and ensure everyone's safety as we head out.”

“Sudowoodo~”

Sudowoodo reluctantly lowered its hands.

Just as it was about to return to the group, it suddenly looked terrified and called out frantically to Heracross.

“Sudowoodo!”

A Grapploct sprayed black ink toward Heracross.

Octazooka!

“Heracross!”

Pin Missile!

Bam~

This Grapploct seemed to have slightly stronger strength than Heracross.

The black Hydro Pump scattered the Pin Missile and successfully hit Heracross.

“Heracross!”

Heracross raised its hands in front and slid backward.

“Sirfetch'd!”

Sirfetch'd prepared to help.

“Heracross!”

Heracross reached out to refuse.

The Grapploct moved quickly.

It leaped out of the water’s surface, lunging at Heracross.

Heracross lowered its head slightly.

Horn Attack!

“Grapploct!”

Grapploct's eyes glowed a fierce red; it was clearly also in a state of confusion.

Even so, its battle instinct instinctively made it respond correctly.

Grapploct quickly jumped and circled around to Heracross's back.

“Heracross!”

Just as Heracross was about to turn around, it realized that several soft tentacles were already wrapped around its back.

“Grapploct!“

Grapploct’s tentacles instantly bound Heracross’s body.

This was a Fighting type move: Octolock!

It’s worth mentioning that this move has not been observed to be learned by any other common Pokémon.

“Heracross.”

Heracross struggled to break free from Grapploct's tentacles, but they only tightened around it.

“Grapploct!”

Grapploct growled lowly as it slammed Heracross into the ice.

As Grapploct and Heracross rolled on the ice, it continued to keep its grip on Heracross's body.

“Sirfetch'd.”

Sirfetch'd watched anxiously.

But at that moment, Heracross had not given up yet.

Natsume was also drawn in by their battle.

Name: Grapploct
Type: Fighting
Level: 56
Ability: Limber
Individual Values: HP 30, Attack 31, Defense 29, Special Attack 30, Special Defense 30, Speed 20
Moves: Octolock, Detect, Octazooka, Submission, Feint, Ice Punch, Brick Break, Close Combat
Inherited Moves: Circle Throw
Potential: Near Champion  

“The gym leader's jiu-jitsu master,” Natsume said softly as he looked at Grapploct’s data.

Grapploct was a Pokémon entirely made of muscle, and its main battle tactic was to use its tentacles to perform grappling moves.

Once it locked in a hold, unless there was a significant power difference, the opponent had almost no chance of breaking free.

Although Grapploct was powerful, Heracross clearly had no intention of giving up.

At that moment, its cheeks were flushed red from exertion.

Grapploct was still applying pressure.

Natsume encouraged, “Heracross, give it your all! Show it your guts!”

“Heracross!”

Heracross let out a low growl.

Light suddenly burst forth from Heracross.

To be precise, the light came from the Mega Stone on Heracross.

Natsume had a total of three Mega Stones.

One for Gardevoir, one for Heracross, and one for the future Blaziken.

At that moment, the Mega Stone corresponding to Heracross also gleamed brightly.

The light enveloped Heracross’s body.

Heracross began to grow larger in the light.

The incredible strength pushed apart Grapploct's tentacles.

Mega Heracross thrust its elbow and forcefully struck behind it.

Grapploct instinctively released its grip.

The power of Mega Evolution transformed Heracross into a terrifying force.

“Heracross!”

Mega Heracross stood up and grabbed Grapploct's body with one hand.

Brick Break!

Bam~

With a heavy blow to the head, Grapploct fell, dazed.

Natsume took out the Poké Ball he had and threw it at Grapploct.

Bang~

The Poké Ball opened, and the red light pulled Grapploct inside.

Shake~ Shake~ Ding.

Grapploct was successfully captured.

“Good job.”

Natsume patted Heracross and praised it.

“Heracross~”

Mega Heracross raised its arm, excitedly showing everyone its form after Mega Evolution.

This was the first time it had used Mega Evolution in battle.

“Sirfetch'd!”

Sirfetch'd fixed its sharp gaze on Heracross.

Sirfetch'd was eager to move.

Natsume said, “Now is not the time for you all to battle.”

“Let’s focus on the task at hand.”

“Sirfetch'd.”

Sirfetch'd acknowledged and then swung its sword at a leaping Swampert.

The battle with Heracross had fired up Sirfetch'd.

“Don’t, don’t hit!”

Kiyomasa exclaimed anxiously. “That’s my Pokémon.”

Sirfetch'd: “.......”

Sirfetch'd silently turned away.

“Sirfetch'd!”

Sirfetch'd charged at a Pelipper that suddenly appeared under the purple lightning.

Natsume smiled and said, “This guy.”

“Sorry, I’ll help your Swampert with some healing.”

At the edge of the space-time distortion, the first group of people had already exited the water-filled valley.

“Chansey~”

Chansey and Audino ran toward them.

“Serperior~”

Serperior and Arcanine were guarding the area.

In the distance, a large group of Flying type Pokémon in Pokémon uniforms was flying toward them.