They no longer had the time to care about the Pokémon trapped by Chatot's Round and Echoed Voice.
The six, cautious by nature, sensed faint unease. They recalled the more than ten Pokémon lying on the ground and turned to flee.
However, more than twenty Beedrill appeared behind them…
The buzzing of wings echoed endlessly through the air!
"[Twin… Fury]!"
At this moment, Tetsuya happened to arrive and shouted.
Immediately afterward, the six people's bodies became riddled with holes, covered in blood as they fell to the ground.
The Pokémon trapped by Chatot also fell one after another.
It was over!
Watching the six people and Pokémon disappear within Houndoom's blazing flames, the pressure on Tetsuya became even heavier.
Next, he would have to deal with the Shadow Team. Raven's current level was still above his own, and the Shadows were no ordinary Bug Catchers. Just where should he begin...
Now that winter had passed, there were only half a year remaining before the island's destruction. Even now, some signs had already appeared. The trees, which should have been sprouting during early spring, still showed no signs of recovery.
Tetsuya needed to go once more to the seaside where he had previously "rescued" Swampert. Perhaps there would be some new discovery there. Relying on only himself and Catherine to oppose the Shadow Team was simply like throwing eggs against a Geodude.
Having made up his mind, Tetsuya had Catherine stay here and observe the Shadow Team's movements.
He himself could use RaDittash to return to the seaside.
---◓---
Tetsuya did not stop for even a moment along the way and arrived at the seaside within three days.
The closer he got to the seaside, the more severe the withering of the trees became. By the time he reached the seaside, the original gap had expanded by more than ten times!
Seawater constantly surged onto the island from time to time. The salt content of seawater was extremely high, so naturally the trees could not endure it, which naturally caused the withering phenomenon.
However, this alone was still insufficient to affect the entire island…
'Only Mamoswine could try it.'
Tetsuya sent out Mamoswine. Mamoswine stretched its body a little. After all, it had not battled for several days and was already itching for a fight.
"Use Curse."
After Tetsuya spoke, Mamoswine began mobilizing all the energy in its body. After completing four uses of Curse, its entire body expanded by two full sizes!
"Use Fissure against that gap."
Mamoswine violently smashed both feet into the ground, causing the area around the gap to split open. Moreover, it rapidly spiraled out of control as the fissure along the ground extended outward for roughly one thousand meters!
'Wha…?'
Even after using Curse four times, the power should not possibly have been this great. Two hundred meters would already have been astonishing enough!
One thousand meters was completely beyond Mamoswine's power, unless this place had already become hollow originally…
Tetsuya arrived at the area split open by Fissure and looked down. The layer of earth across the entire area had already become extremely thin. Some tree roots were even already soaking within seawater.
Mamoswine used Fissure once again, and the ground split open for another thousand meters. The situation was exactly the same as before.
Now, Tetsuya could almost completely confirm it. The seawater had already invaded the island's Dragon Force¹[1]. Once the Dragon Force was "destroyed", the land would lose its life force, and naturally the trees would wither.
Once the trees withered, the Pokémon on the island would lose their food source. At that point, the Shadow Team base, the only place with food, would become the direction of their attack.
Perhaps he could accelerate this process…
Following the direction of the fissure, as long as Tetsuya continuously had Mamoswine use Fissure, it would definitely accelerate the backflow of seawater, while the destruction of the Dragon Force would also speed up. Then, the Pokémon riot would inevitably arrive ahead of time.
---◓---
Following the direction of the fissure, Tetsuya trained his Pokémon while having Mamoswine continuously spam Fissure. After all, such a high-intensity move could not be used endlessly. Once tired, they could only rest.
After continuing for an entire month, more than half of the island's Dragon Force had already been invaded by seawater. At most, within another month, the entire Dragon Force would be completely "destroyed".
Tetsuya could also stop now. What was needed now was creating chaos.
Spring returned to the land, and the temperature also began rising, yet the trees still showed absolutely no signs of recovery. The flowers and grass had all withered away as well, without the slightest sign of spring.
Spring itself was a season of scarcity. There were no Berries at all, and the only remaining food consisted of leftovers from autumn. Many Pokémon had already begun panicking. The wilds Pokémon closer to the seaside had already started violently fighting each other over food.
Tetsuya returned to Catherine's location.
"Did you discover anything?" Catherine asked.
"Mm, this island is almost finished," Tetsuya said.
"…What do you mean?"
"The seawater is invading the Dragon Force. Soon, all the plants on this island will wither away completely. The Pokémon will inevitably riot because of food, and sooner or later, all of them will die."
"It's actually that serious…? Then shouldn't we leave the island ahead of time?" Catherine asked.
"No." Tetsuya waved his hand and immediately said, "If the Pokémon on the island riot, Raven will definitely send Shadows to search for survivors. Although people will die from the Pokémon riot, complete annihilation is simply impossible.
Moreover, he definitely won't believe that the two of us died. Therefore, this information will certainly be passed to the Shadow Team Headquarters.
Right now, they know the information of all fifty people like the back of their hands. As long as the Shadow Team wants to find us, there will be nowhere for us to hide. By that point, even if we return to the mainland, we could only live in darkness every day.
Even if we wanted to accomplish anything, we would constantly have to guard against the Shadow Team. Acting so cautiously and fearfully… how could we possibly achieve anything!?"
Catherine nodded and said, "Then we should…" Immediately afterward, she made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Exactly! The Shadow Team also had many Flying-type Pokémon. At that time, people will definitely escape. Anyone escaping is a threat to us, so aside from us, nobody can leave this island!
By the time the Shadow Team Headquarters arrives again, this island will already have sunk into the sea. Their conclusion will definitely be that a sudden disaster caused all life on the island to be buried beneath the ocean.
As long as Raven does not survive, they will never believe that anyone else survived either. Therefore, after leaving, as long as we don't attract too much attention, the Shadow Team won't discover us. After many years, our names will naturally disappear from the Shadow Team's records."
'Besides, staying "quiet" will only last so long… I have to move quickly so that the Shadow Team disappears completely!' Tetsuya thought.
Catherine greatly admired Tetsuya's caution and his planning of the overall situation. He had actually even thought about matters several years into the future. She could not help but feel a sense of mutual appreciation…
However, she was also merely using him to help herself escape. The hatred and the resurgence of her Family left her no room for other thoughts![2]²
Tetsuya also clearly understood Catherine's thoughts. She bore far too many burdens upon herself… however, there was no conflict of interest between them, and she was also a capable assistant. After successfully leaving this island, they would definitely part ways. Sinnoh was the place she longed for day and night.
Moreover, the Shadow Team Headquarters was in Johto, so returning to Sinnoh would actually be safer for her.
Now, Tetsuya had begun planning the next course of action. Time was already running short. First, he had to deal with the Flying-types in the Shadow Team's hands.
•.
•.
¹. Canon: the Dragon Force can create an environment where humans and Pokémon alike can live.
². CHILLL SASUKE… SATSUKI-CHAN!
[1] Canon: the Dragon Force can create an environment where humans and Pokémon alike can live.
[2] CHILLL SASUKE… SATSUKI-CHAN!