The mayor and a group of officials watched in stunned silence as Roy charged toward the sea on the back of that giant Pidgeotto.
"Such... such a large Pidgeotto?" The mayor's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "He just went like that? What on earth is this young man's background?"
He suddenly spun around and grabbed Sato by the collar.
"You fool! Such an important figure came to visit, and you didn't report it to me!"
The mayor was shaking with rage.
A Trainer who could possess a Pidgeotto of this size was definitely no ordinary character.
He might be a scion of some great family, or even a descendant of the League's top brass.
In the eyes of such people, a mayor like himself probably amounted to nothing at all.
If he had known sooner that the boy had a special identity, how could he have been so negligent?
Sato was being choked so hard he couldn't breathe, his face turning a deep red.
"Mayor... *cough cough*... when he... he came, he didn't declare his identity..."
Sato's voice carried a hint of a sob.
He was now filled with bitter regret.
When Roy came to the office yesterday, he hadn't even given the boy a proper look.
He had thought he was just some meddling Trainer.
Who would have thought... who would have thought his identity might be terrifyingly high!
"Didn't declare his identity?" The mayor slapped Sato across the face. "Do you have a pig's brain? Can't you see for yourself?"
"That Pidgeotto! Is that something an ordinary Trainer can raise?"
"And his temperament! His manner of speech! Are those things a typical youth would have?"
The more the mayor spoke, the angrier he became.
Sato's face swelled up from the slap, but he didn't dare dodge.
He wore a miserable expression, his entire face scrunched up.
"I... at the time I was only thinking about Old Woman Jin's business... I didn't... didn't notice..."
"Didn't notice?" The mayor gritted his teeth. "Do you realize that if anything happens to this young man in our city, never mind you being the Bureau Chief, even I as the mayor will be finished!"
He let go of Sato and looked out toward the sea.
In his heart, he was already panicking to the extreme.
If something truly happened to Roy... he didn't dare imagine the consequences... Meanwhile.
The fleeing citizens also saw the scene in the sky.
"Look! Someone is flying over!"
"It's a Trainer!"
"My god... that bird is huge!"
The crowd immediately fell into a commotion.
People stopped in their tracks, pointing at the sky and crying out in surprise.
They saw Roy riding the Pidgeotto, flying toward the sea against the morning light.
The Pidgeotto's wings spread wide, casting a massive shadow under the rising sun.
"Is that Trainer crazy?" A middle-aged man's face turned pale. "Didn't he see how big that Tentacruel is?"
"Exactly... isn't this just going to his death?"
Several citizens shook their heads and sighed.
But hope ignited in the eyes of even more people.
"Maybe... maybe he's a Gym Leader from some city!" a young girl said excitedly. "Look at that bird! Where would an ordinary Trainer get such a large bird?"
"Right! He must be here to help!"
"We're saved!"
The crowd began to buzz with discussion.
At that moment, a youth wearing glasses pushed up his frames.
"Wait... that bird... it looks like a Pidgeotto?"
"A Pidgeotto?" An uncle beside him was stunned. "Are you joking? How could a Pidgeotto be this big?"
"Exactly!" a woman chimed in. "That's clearly a Pidgeot! I've seen Pidgeot before, though this one is indeed a bit large..."
"No, no!" The glasses youth shook his head. "Look at its crest! A Pidgeotto's crest has two points, while a Pidgeot's has three! This one clearly has two!"
Everyone looked closely.
Sure enough.
Under the sunlight, the feather crest on the Pidgeotto's head was distinctly split into two.
"It really is a Pidgeotto?"
"My god... a Pidgeotto can grow this big?"
"This would be considered large even among Pidgeot, right?"
"Just what is this Trainer's background..."
Shock.
Everyone was shaken.
To be able to train a Pidgeotto to this size, how many resources must have been invested?
This youth was definitely not simple!
...Misty and Delia stood by the pier, looking nervously at the sky.
Misty clenched her hands tightly in front of her chest.
Her eyes were full of worry.
"Roy... you have to be okay..."
Delia stood beside her, the thin fabric of her long white dress pressed against her body by the wind, outlining her alluring curves.
She bit her lip, forcing herself to remain calm.
"Don't worry... Roy... he'll definitely find a way..."
But her trembling voice betrayed her inner feelings.
The two girls' gazes closely followed that increasingly small figure... Above the sea.
Roy stood on the Pidgeotto's back, the fierce wind whipping the corners of his clothes.
He looked down.
That giant Tentacruel was whipping up a second wave of massive swells.
Each of its tentacles was as thick as a water bucket, and the dense poisonous spikes upon them glinted coldly.
In the surrounding waters, tens of thousands of Tentacool were surging along with it.
The scene was extremely terrifying.
"pre-elite four level..." Roy narrowed his eyes.
His Aura Power could now roughly perceive the strength level of Pokemon.
This Tentacruel was over level 60.
While his strongest currently, Pikachu, had only just passed level 40.
In a head-on clash, he was definitely no match.
"However... I didn't plan on a head-on clash anyway."
The corner of Roy's mouth curled into an arc.
He pulled a Mysterious Conch from his chest.
This was precisely the gift given to him by the Super-Ancient Giant Dragonite!
"Friend, it's time for you to make an appearance."
Roy took a deep breath and brought the conch to his lips.
At the same time, he fully expanded his Aura Power!
Invisible Aura rippled outward with Roy as the center.
A second later.
Roy blew the conch.
A low, long-drawn-out sound rang out.
The sound seemed to penetrate space, carrying a certain ancient rhythm.
About half a minute later.
Roy put away the conch.
"Next... is just to stall for time."
He patted the Pidgeotto's neck.
"Lower your altitude and get close to it."
The Pidgeotto gave a long cry, tucked its wings, and dove down... The giant Tentacruel stared fixedly at Roy.
When Roy descended to a low enough altitude, its thoughts were transmitted through Aura.
"It's you!"
The emotion of anger was almost tangible.
"You deceiver!"
The Tentacruel's tentacles flailed wildly, whipping up pillars of water.
Roy's expression remained unchanged.
He responded through Aura.
"I did not deceive you."
"I said three days, and only a little over a day has passed."
Roy's voice was calm and powerful.
"Furthermore, I have already negotiated terms with the mayor."
"First, the Paradise Resort project will be permanently halted."
"Second, this sea area will be designated as a protected zone to serve as a habitat for your colony."
"Third, all responsible parties will be severely punished."
He spoke word by word.
"Your home will be protected."
However.
The giant Tentacruel wouldn't listen at all.
"Lies! All lies!"
Its thoughts were filled with violent rage.
"It was precisely because we believed your words and just relaxed our guard that many of our companions were captured by you humans!"
"I saw it with my own eyes! Those humans wearing uniforms, sailing ships, used nets to take away over thirty Tentacool!"
"They are still locked in the basement of the park right now!"
Roy's brow furrowed.
No wonder the Tentacruel had suddenly gone berserk.
It turned out that not only was their home destroyed, but their kin had been captured—likely by those three from Team Rocket.
"I will handle this matter," Roy said in a deep voice. "I will have the mayor immediately release all the captured Tentacool."
"But you must stop your attack now."
"Stop?" The Tentacruel's thoughts were full of mockery. "Humans destroyed our living place, so I will destroy the humans' living place!"
With that.
It paid no more attention to Roy.
All of its tentacles plunged into the sea at once.
An even more terrifying giant wave began to form.
This time, the height reached ten meters!
If this giant wave struck the shore, half of Lampurchi City would be submerged!
Roy's face darkened.
It seemed that talking was useless.
This Tentacruel was already so enraged that it had lost its reason.