Chapter 152:The Murals of the Underground Cave! Watanabe's Worries

Natsume surfaced and pushed his hair back.

The heavy rain was pounding down on the pond around him.

A group of Poliwag gathered by the pond were startled by Natsume and his friends suddenly jumping in, and they quickly shrank back to the pond's edge.

Natsume waved at them, greeting them.

“Squirtle~”

“Mudkip~”

Squirtle and Mudkip poked their heads out of the pond one by one.

They looked at each other and shared silly smiles.

Natsume surveyed the area.

He was now outside the farm's bounds.

Surrounding the pond was a vast forest, with a waterfall cascading down from a height behind it.

This waterfall must usually be hidden from sight; it was only visible today due to the heavy rain.

“Milotic~”

Milotic swam up to Natsume, signaling for him to follow her down.

Beneath the waterfall lay an underground cave.

“Underground cave?”

Natsume instantly became interested. “Let’s go check it out.”

“Milotic~”

Milotic was the first to dive in.

The water below was warm and comfortable.

Many Pokémon living in the water began to stir at this moment.

Barboach, Stunfisk, and various other Pokémon emerged from the water's surface.

Natsume swam past them, following Milotic through a narrow underground tunnel.

The tunnel was long, and Natsume was starting to lose patience.

About half an hour later, a large space suddenly appeared ahead.

Here was a junction with multiple waterways leading in different directions.

“Wait a moment, Milotic.”

After speaking to Milotic, Natsume reached the shore.

He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

Psychic was the best waterproof bag for Natsume.

So, even though it had followed Natsume underwater for a long time, it was unaffected.

“Squirtle~”

Squirtle, Vaporeon, and Mudkip also jumped onto the shore.

They shook their bodies, curiously examining the surroundings in the flashlight's beam.

On the walls around them were ancient murals.

Many details had become quite vague due to the passage of time.

In several places, there were even signs of damage from outside forces.

However, one could still roughly discern the stories depicted here.

Natsume moved closer, shining the flashlight on the murals.

The patterns seemed to describe a giant palace rising over the sea under a full moon.

Countless people were seen kneeling in the water, worshiping it.

“A palace on the sea?”

Natsume murmured, “Could it be the Temple of the Sea from the legends?”

Natsume carefully observed the mural's contents.

Drip, drip~

The sound of water droplets falling down the stone wall echoed occasionally.

The surroundings were quiet, making it very clear to hear.

“Mudkip.”

Mudkip looked around nervously.

“Squirtle.”

Squirtle patted Mudkip, indicating that everything was fine.

Squirtle and Mudkip wandered around the area.

“This is Manaphy, isn’t it?”

Natsume noticed a painting that resembled Manaphy.

However, there were many heart-like marks on this painting, making it look like black lines had been smeared across the original mural.

“I can’t see clearly.”

Natsume mumbled before using his phone to take a picture.

If it really is the Temple of the Sea, then this should be the Water Tribe's build.

Regarding the Water Tribe, both Onami and Watanabe are knowledgeable.

Natsume planned to ask them.

“Squirtle.”

Suddenly, Squirtle noticed a spherical object on the wall that was still moving.

Curiously, Squirtle leaned closer and poked it.

“Woobat~”

The fleshy ball suddenly let out a sound and turned to face Squirtle.

“Squirtle!”

Surprised, Squirtle stepped back, raising his hands defensively, watching the unknown life form before him.

Hearing Squirtle's cry, Natsume directed the flashlight at the Pokémon.

Name: Woobat
Type: Psychic/Flying
Level: 20
Ability: Unaware
Moves: Gust, Attract, Confusion, Tackle, Air Cutter
Inherited Moves: Supersonic
Potential: Gym

“It's a Woobat.”

Natsume looked at the Woobat and said, “No wonder there are so many heart-like marks here.”

Woobat is a very peculiar Pokémon.

They have no limbs, just a blue spherical body and a pair of black bat wings.

Woobat usually resides in dark forests and caves.

Due to the lack of limbs, they sleep by suctioning their noses to the walls.

Woobat's nose is large and heart-shaped, which is why it leaves heart-shaped marks on the walls.

“Woobat~”

Woobat appeared startled as well.

Thinking Squirtle was about to attack, it quickly flapped its wings and used Air Cutter.

“Vaporeon~”

Vaporeon reacted swiftly, quickly countering.

Vaporeon used Quick Attack, charging in and colliding into Woobat from the side.

Bam~

Air Cutter went wide.

Under the impact from Vaporeon, Woobat hurriedly flapped its wings to regain altitude.

“Are you okay, Squirtle?”

Natsume walked over to Squirtle's side.

“Squirtle.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Squirtle placed his hands on his hips and glared at Woobat.

Natsume chuckled and said, “Let’s just observe for now.”

“The battle between Vaporeon and Woobat has already begun.”

Vaporeon and Woobat were roughly equal in level.

Though Woobat had the flying advantage, the cave wasn’t very spacious, so it couldn't fly far.

“Vaporeon~”

Vaporeon took a deep breath.

Water Gun!

The Water Gun shot toward Woobat, who was above in the cave.

“Woobat~”

This Woobat was quite fast and easily dodged Vaporeon’s attack.

“Vaporeon.”

Just as Vaporeon was about to continue his assault, he suddenly felt a force of Inner Focus attempting to seize him.

It was Woobat's Confusion.

Seeing Vaporeon freeze up, Natsume quickly shouted, “Vaporeon, use Quick Attack toward the underground river!”

“Vaporeon!”

Vaporeon glowed slightly.

Whoosh~

Vaporeon broke free from the grasp of Confusion and dove into the water.

Once in the water, Vaporeon immediately felt much more comfortable.

This was its battlefield.

“Woobat.”

Woobat floated on the water's surface, looking down at Vaporeon.

Vaporeon quietly appeared behind Woobat.

Vaporeon was a Pokémon that could completely blend into the water.

When it moved underwater, all you could see was the water flowing past.

Whoosh!

Water Gun shot out.

Bang!

Woobat was completely unprepared for the Water Gun from behind.

Its body was hit directly, causing it to plummet.

“Vaporeon~”

Vaporeon leaped out of the water, opening its mouth to grab the falling Woobat.

Splash~

Vaporeon dragged Woobat into the water.

“Woobat.”

Once Woobat hit the water, it immediately panicked, struggling desperately.

Natsume quickly purchased a Poké Ball from the FarmGame, then threw it underwater.

Bam~

The sense of security from the Poké Ball made Woobat stop struggling.

Shake~ Ding~.

Woobat was successfully captured.

“Vaporeon~”

Vaporeon jumped back onto the shore, carrying the Poké Ball in its mouth.

“Nice job.”

Natsume took the Poké Ball and smiled at Vaporeon, saying, “You did great.”

“Vaporeon~”

Vaporeon lifted its head, rubbing its neck against Natsume's arm.

Natsume patted Vaporeon’s body, then stood up and said, “Come on out, Woobat.”

“Woobat~”

As soon as Woobat emerged from the Poké Ball, it instinctively flew upward in a hurry.

It shot up very quickly.

Thud~

Woobat's head collided forcefully against the rock wall above.

From the sound, it did not seem like a light hit.

“Woobat.”

Woobat immediately had watery eyes.

Natsume looked at Woobat and said, “Let me heal you.”

A light green glow appeared in Natsume’s hand.

Woobat sensed the surge of Life Force within the green light.

After a moment of hesitation, Woobat landed in Natsume's hand.

The Energy from Eternity Power began to nourish Woobat’s body.

“Woobat~”

Woobat let out a pleasant moan.

“Woobat, are you the only one here?”

“Woobat.”

Woobat shook its head.

Its companions had all flown out to find food.

Natsume curiously asked, “So why didn’t you go out with everyone?”

“Woobat~”

Because it was lazy and didn’t want to go out.

Even though it hadn’t done much, it still felt exhausted.

So, it wanted to sleep.

“Ah.”

Hearing Woobat, Natsume laughed and said, “I see. Then come with me.”

“I’ll take you to a different place to rest.”

“Woobat~”

Woobat had no objections.

“Woobat, do you know where these passages lead to?”

“Woobat.”

Woobat perched on Natsume's hand and pointed its wings at the waterways, explaining where they led.

They went deep into the mountains, through the forest, and along a long river.

“I see.”

Natsume thought for a moment, then checked the time.

It seemed that there wasn’t anything else in this area.

“Let’s head back for today.”

“The time is getting late.”

The way back was much simpler.

After a few Teleports with Psychic, Natsume found himself back behind the house at the farm.

“Everyone, take a break.”

“Good night.”

Natsume said to Vaporeon and the others by the river.

“Vaporeon~”

Vaporeon acknowledged him and then returned to the water.

Milotic nuzzled against Natsume's cheek before diving back in.

Holding Woobat's Poké Ball, Natsume walked toward the cabin.

Gardevoir was already waiting at the door.

She handed Natsume a towel and draped it over his shoulders.

Then, she used another towel to dry Natsume's hair.

Gardevoir looked at Natsume and gently said, “It must be raining heavily outside.”

Natsume smiled at Gardevoir and replied, “Yeah, it looks like it will continue for a while.”

“By the way, I caught a new Pokémon.”

“Come on out, Woobat.”

“Woobat~”

Woobat settled on Natsume's shoulder, curiously surveying the Pokémon in the room.

Woobat has eyes.

But its long fur covered its eyes, making it look like it didn’t have any.

“Noibat.”

Noibat looked at Woobat with curiosity.

Natsume turned to Noibat and said, “Noibat, you’ll be in charge of Woobat."

“You're both nocturnal life forms, so you should get along well.”

“Noibat~”

Natsume patted Noibat's little head, then looked at Misaki and said, “I’m going to take a shower first.”

Misaki's face turned slightly red.

“Okay.”

Minato-machi Water Tribe Pokémon Breeding Center.

Rumble rumble~

Minato-machi is a coastal city, and the Water Tribe Breeding Center is located right by the sea.

From here, you can clearly see the ocean.

Just as Watanabe had settled into bed, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Manaphy, Manaphy.”

Watanabe mumbled as he got out of his room and walked to the water tank in the living room.

The Manaphy Pokémon egg was floating inside.

“It’s still there.”

Watanabe breathed a sigh of relief.

Though, he had only just entered the bedroom.

Watanabe pondered, feeling troubled.

What if a thief broke into the house?

Would the Manaphy egg be stolen?

I suppose it would be better to move the tank to my room.

Thinking this, Watanabe turned to Floatzel, who had followed him out, and said, “Everyone, let’s lift the tank back inside.”

“Floatzel~”

Floatzel nodded slightly, and they began to lift the tank.

However, the door to the bedroom was a bit narrow, making it difficult to get it through.

“Let’s set it down for now.”

After thinking for a moment, Watanabe added, “Forget it, I’ll just sleep in the living room.”

“Alright, everyone, let’s move the tank back.”

“Floatzel~”

Floatzel helped Watanabe lift the tank back.

“Well, if I’m going to sleep outside, shouldn’t we bring the bed out too?”

“Floatzel?”

Floatzel looked at Watanabe in disbelief.

It felt like ever since Watanabe brought the Pokémon egg home, he had been acting rather odd.

“Forget it, I’ll just sleep on the couch.”

Watanabe mumbled as he lay down on the sofa.

He turned on his side, his gaze fixed on Manaphy’s Pokémon egg.

Half an hour later.

“Damn!”

Watanabe cursed and sat up.

“I can’t sleep at all.”

“No way, I definitely need to upgrade the security at home tomorrow.”

“I should upgrade it to military-grade standards.”

“Manaphy’s Pokémon egg, after all, is tied to the stability of the entire ocean.”

Watanabe paced back and forth, murmuring to himself, “I wonder if anyone else noticed it back then.”

“Probably not… wait, Otakai saw it.”

Watanabe irritably ran his fingers through his hair.

He ended up pulling out a handful.

“Anyway, let’s check the group chat's reaction.”

Watanabe took out his phone and opened a group chat.

It was a fishing group.

Many fishing enthusiasts on the island he was on today were in this chat.

“Back then, it seemed like the sea was glowing.”

Watanabe opened the chat and saw someone had posted that message.

His heart tightened immediately.

“Glowing? Could it have been Chinchou or Lanturn swimming up?”

Someone replied: “Chinchou's glow is really bright.”

Watanabe quickly typed, “Yeah, I think it was Chinchou too.”

“In fact, I saw one.”

Just as Watanabe finished typing this, he received a mention: “Hey, Watanabe, are you okay today?”

“I was really scared when I saw you getting swept away.”

As Watanabe spoke, the focus of the conversation suddenly shifted to him.

“By the way, I think I saw Watanabe pick up a Pokémon egg too.”

Watanabe hurriedly typed, “You must have seen wrong?”

Otakai suddenly chimed in, looking confused: “Isn’t that a Pokémon egg?”

Pop pop~

Watanabe inexplicably slapped himself.

He usually stayed composed, so why was he struggling to articulate today?

Watanabe understood that all of this stemmed from Manaphy’s Pokémon egg.

Just as he was debating how to respond, someone in the group suddenly posted: “Have you heard? There have been reports of Lugia appearing again recently.”

“There seems to be a lot of news about Lugia lately.”

The news about Lugia sparked a new round of discussion.

Everyone stopped paying attention to Watanabe’s situation.

This made Watanabe breathe a slight sigh of relief.

“That’s good.”

The more you say, the more mistakes you make.

Watanabe decided to toss his phone aside, staring anxiously at the Pokémon egg in the tank.

“Who would have thought I’d experience something like this while maintaining peace in the ocean?”

That night, Watanabe stayed awake, gazing at Manaphy’s Pokémon egg without closing his eyes.