Want to read ahead. You know where..
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Boom!
Boom!
The sea trembled as the Gold Poaching Group's battleship fired shell after shell, echoing like thunder across the open waters.
Explosions burst around a desperate pod of Lapras, herding them ever closer to a jagged, reef-strewn island.
For three days and three nights, the Gold Poachers had hounded the Lapras without rest.
The majestic sea Pokémon—once symbols of peace and harmony—were now struggling just to stay afloat.
Their strength was all but spent.
Inside the armored cabin of the lead assault boat, a cold voice broke the static tension.
"Stick to the plan," said J, her tone sharp and emotionless.
"Drive the Lapras to shore. We start the capture the moment they land."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Understood!"
Her subordinates immediately increased the intensity of the barrage, their faces tight with anticipation.
More shells rained down, not meant to kill—but to terrify.
The Lapras, exhausted and frightened, had no choice but to flee the tainted water toward land.
But the beach held no salvation.
This was only the beginning of their nightmare.
Speedboats were lowered from the sides of the poachers' battleship, churning the water white with their approach.
Onboard each vessel were hunters clad in black, faces covered, hands gripping long-barreled guns—paralysis rifles designed to take down even the strongest Pokémon.
Before they even reached the beach, the poachers lobbed black grenades into the sea.
Plunk.
Plunk.
As the grenades detonated, the water around the Lapras instantly turned an unnatural, oily black.
Poisoned.
The sea had become deadly.
Desperate to escape the toxins, the Lapras had no choice but to clamber ashore—where the terrain was unfamiliar, jagged, and cruel.
Their flipper-like limbs weren't built for land. Each movement was sluggish, labored.
That's when the real hunt began.
The poachers aimed their rifles.
Zap!
Zap!
"Woooooo!!"
The cries of the Lapras pierced the air, heart-wrenching and raw.
Their mournful wails echoed across the cliffs like ghosts pleading for mercy.
They knew what was coming.
This wasn't the first time.
Those captured knew what captivity meant—years of isolation, mistreatment, forced transport, or worse.
The Gold Poaching Group had no mercy.
If a Lapras surrendered, it might be spared pain.
But those who resisted?
They were slammed by weighted net guns, dragged down violently, then jabbed with electrified steel forks.
Sparks danced across their skin as volts surged through their bodies, forcing them into submission.
Once limp and helpless, Net Balls were thrown without hesitation—red flashes consuming them against their will.
A few fought harder.
Too hard.
They were electrocuted until they stopped moving.
One by one, the Lapras fell.
From over sixty, only about twenty remained.
And even they... were nearing their limit.
Meanwhile.
Far out at sea, Sam surged forward atop a wounded young Lapras.
"Woooo!"
"Woooo!"
The cries of its kind reached them even from afar.
The little Lapras heard everything—its flipper strokes growing faster, more frantic.
It didn't care about the pain radiating from its reopened wounds.
Didn't care about exhaustion or the risk.
Its family was in danger.
Its parents might be among the hunted.
Sam sat silently, his expression grim.
He said nothing—but his presence spoke volumes.
One hand rested gently on the Lapras's cool, damp back.
Green light shimmered faintly from his palm, transferring subtle waves of healing energy into the Pokémon's body.
Viridian Force flowed through him.
With each pulse, he eased the pain, mended the worst of the wounds, and restored some strength to the Lapras beneath him.
They didn't need words. He could feel its fear. Its urgency. Its grief.
And it resonated with him.
Deeply.
His chest ached from the weight of those cries.
With Viridian's blessing, the young Lapras accelerated.
Despite the pain, despite the strain—it didn't stop.
Then, through the salt spray and haze, the jagged outline of the island came into view.
A desolate rock. A prison of reefs.
And over it—
"Woooo!!!"
The wails of the captured.
Long and haunting, soaked in terror and despair.
As they reached Sam's ears, the horizon itself seemed to dim.
The very sky turned grey with sorrow.
The Lapras beneath him trembled.
Crystal tears rolled from its eyes, vanishing into the seafoam.
And then—
It screamed.
Not in pain.
But in fury.
The water surged violently as the young Lapras beneath Sam pushed itself harder.
Its speed spiked—driven not by instinct, but by desperation.
It cut through the poisoned sea like a torpedo, heading straight toward the cries of its kin.
Suddenly, a mechanical chime echoed in Sam's mind.
[System Notice: Random Task Generated]
[Mission Objective: Eliminate Pokémon Hunter J. Save the Lapras group.]
[Reward: Steel Z-Pure Crystal]
[Penalty: Lucario Potential drop to Peak champion tier]
[Steel Z-Pure Crystal: A special item that allows a Steel-type Pokémon to perform a Steel-type Z-Move.]
[Confirm mission acceptance?]
Sam's eyes narrowed.
"Accepted," he responded silently.
But truthfully, even without the task, he would've intervened.
This wasn't about rewards.This wasn't about missions.
It was the rage in his chest. The weight in his lungs.
The fury of watching those gentle Pokémon cry for help.
That was enough.
The Lapras he rode surged forward again, ignoring pain, driven by its rider's will and its own blazing heart.
Their presence didn't go unnoticed.
On the deck of the poaching battleship, Hunter J narrowed her cold, steel-grey eyes as she spotted the intruder riding atop a lone Lapras.
Unexpected.
Unscheduled.
Unwelcome.
She clicked her tongue and pressed a button on her wrist comm.
"Engage the intruder," she said flatly.
"Take him down."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Understood!"
A squad of poachers, who had just finished restraining a struggling Lapras, immediately turned their weapons toward the sea.
Their paralyzing rifles rose in unison, aimed at the approaching figure.
They waited.
Just a few more meters, and Sam would be in range.
Their fingers tensed on the triggers.
But Sam moved first.
A flick of his wrist, and a black-and-purple Dream Ball flew high into the air.
With a hiss of pressure and a flash of swirling shadows—
Darkrai emerged.
"Darkrai," Sam said sharply, voice like ice.
"Haze."
"Hsssrrr…"
The Pitch-Black Pokémon floated above the water, its body flickering with threads of dark mist.
Its clawed hand spread wide—and a wave of shadow burst outward.
In seconds, everything was swallowed by a choking black fog.
A deep, disorienting haze settled over the entire shoreline.
The poachers' rifles clicked.
"Where'd he go?!"
"Keep firing—don't let him get close!"
Boom! Boom!
Panicked blasts echoed, but the shots were wild—splashing into the fog, hitting nothing.
Inside the cover of darkness, Sam leaned low over Lapras.
"Go. Fast as you can."
The Lapras didn't need to be told twice.
With renewed strength, it powered forward—surfing through the poisoned water and shadowy mist, cutting a silent path toward the island.
Moments later—
Its belly scraped the rocks.
They had landed.
Sam vaulted off the Lapras the moment his boots touched the sand.
He straightened, eyes sharp, one hand already on his belt.
The beach around him was chaos.
Cries of the wounded. Shouts from the poachers.
The flickering lights of confused rifle fire slicing through the fog.
And Sam stood in the middle of it all.
Unmoving.
A shadow within the haze.
But this shadow—
Was ready to strike back.