Edward narrowed his eyes at Zoroark but didn't say anything. He simply continued reading the novel in his hands.
How did things escalate to this point?
Fifty years ago, the largest multinational corporation in the League regions began secretly dumping nuclear waste into the ocean. They used their connections to bribe many high-ranking officials within the League.
As a result, the matter was hidden for five full years—until a Pokémon Professor, while studying marine Pokémon, noticed something was wrong and exposed the entire scandal.
But thanks to the company's enormous wealth and influence, they dispatched experts who declared, "Nuclear wastewater is safe," and "The pollution is limited in scope." Since the dumping had been ongoing for five years already, the news gradually faded out of public attention.
No one cared about the nuclear waste being dumped into the ocean—except for a few passionate advocates—until mutated Pokémon affected by the waste began attacking humans. Only then did the public finally start taking the matter seriously.
The punishment against the corporation was harsh. It was wiped out from the League's history, and all high-ranking executives were sentenced to death.
But none of that could undo the damage.
Soon after, Pokémon Professors discovered that these mutated Pokémon were drastically different from their normal counterparts. They were far more aggressive, completely irrational, and acted like lunatics—driven only by basic survival instincts.
Even their elemental types had changed due to the nuclear contamination. After countless sleepless nights of research, Professor Oak of the Kanto Region led a team that published a groundbreaking paper:
"A Research Summary on Nuclear Waste's Effects on Pokémon"
In it, a brand-new Pokémon type was introduced for the first time: Nuclear Type.
"Nuclear? What the heck is that supposed to be?" Edward looked at Zoroark with a strange expression. "You're not… a transmigrator too, are you?"
"It's just the latest in physical science research—a fascinating kind of energy," Zoroark replied matter-of-factly. "Although it's not yet used in real applications, I thought it'd make for great material in fiction."
Edward gave it a squinty look.
In the Pokémon world, nuclear energy had indeed been discovered, but it was still far from being harnessed effectively.
He didn't expect Zoroark to think that far ahead. But then again, it did hold a PhD in physics.
…
"This Crawdaunt is probably a Nuclear–Water type, right?" Lewis asked as he licked his lips while staring at the Crawdaunt whose shell had cracked from a powerful Mega Kick by Norman's Slaking.
This Pokémon was absurdly powerful.
After all, it had tanked a brutal attack from Norman's Slaking—famous for its raw power—and only had its shell broken.
"Most likely," Officer Jenny Chase nodded, watching the intense battle unfold on the television with anxiety.
Most nuclear Pokémon ended up replacing one of their original types, much like fossil Pokémon.
Take the Aurorus, for example. It was supposed to be an Ice–Dragon type, but being revived from a fossil changed it to Rock–Ice.
Likewise, nuclear Pokémon were typically dual-typed: Nuclear plus one original type.
Under nuclear waste mutation, the rate of variation was staggering. A 17-meter Crawdaunt was already on the scene—and they'd even heard rumors that a 42-meter-tall mutant Tentacruel had emerged near Vermilion City in Kanto.
A massive wave of nuclear-contaminated seawater had crashed into Vermilion, easily flooding the city's defensive walls. Cleaning up the radioactive aftermath cost an astronomical amount of money.
In the underground shelters, people watched the battle nervously as Norman and members of the League's special operations unit launched attacks to prevent the monstrous Crawdaunt from advancing.
The Crawdaunt, clearly annoyed by the resistance, raised its massive claw—and then spat out a torrent of green-glowing bubbles.
Bubble Beam!
Lewis licked his lips again, analyzing the situation.
He wondered how he and his Pokémon, Blazefang, would deal with such an attack.
Nuclear-type moves had only one real property: they carried radioactive and corrosive effects.
So those giant bubbles were basically mobile radioactive bombs—getting hit would be a nightmare.
Even with the League's most cutting-edge medical technology, Pokémon heavily contaminated by nuclear radiation couldn't be fully cured.
So the best strategy was to avoid the bubbles altogether.
In the footage, five men in black cloaks stepped forward. With a wave of their hands, five Dragonites took to the sky and whipped up a violent tornado, scattering the toxic bubbles and even blowing the radioactive mist back at Crawdaunt.
But Crawdaunt slammed its claw down, disrupting the vortex.
As powerful as Tornado was, it had limits. The sheer size difference made it impossible to ignore. Even five Dragonites couldn't whip up enough force to seriously threaten this behemoth.
Fortunately, reinforcements arrived. Skarmory and Aerodactyl dove in to distract Crawdaunt, while dozens of Electric-type Pokémon unleashed a storm of lightning.
Crawdaunt shuddered violently under the assault.
"Looks like we've got it under control," Officer Jenny Chase exhaled, her clenched knuckles slowly regaining color.
"They're getting bigger," Lewis muttered, watching Crawdaunt slowly retreat under Norman's lead.
Nobody else had noticed, but he had.
Each attack saw these mutant Pokémon growing larger and more unstable.
That didn't seem like a good sign.
He suspected that something was driving these crazed Pokémon out from the deep sea.
And if that were true… then just how massive was the creature responsible?
Lewis cast a worried glance at Chase.
Should he convince his sister to leave Petalburg City early?
This place was going to be in serious trouble sooner or later.
Because, if you really thought about it…
One of Hoenn's legendary beasts—Kyogre—was a sea-dwelling Pokémon.
And if even Kyogre ended up mutated by nuclear waste…
Lewis shuddered at the thought.
"Boss, what do you think?" Zoroark looked at Edward with hopeful eyes.
Edward rubbed his temples.
Not bad. So far, not bad at all.
"You should submit it. Try sending it to Durin Publishing and see what they say," Edward finally said, deciding to encourage Zoroark.
(End of Chapter)
TN: This story sounds good tbh.