Shellder's Ice Beam collided head-on with Skorupi's Iron Tail.
Usually, when two moves clashed, there would be a process in which their energy gradually wore each other down. If one side ran out of energy first, its move would be overwhelmed by the opponent's.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Lorelei's lips.
Shellder's Ice Beam did not compete directly against the energy of Iron Tail. The instant it made contact with Skorupi, the Ice energy from Ice Beam had already begun spreading throughout Skorupi's entire body. Although the Steel energy of Iron Tail still remained and its tail still gleamed with a metallic luster, Skorupi had already become a block of ice and fell from the air.
After using Ice Beam, Shellder's stamina was also completely drained by Skorupi's toxins, and it fainted.
"Wonderful… that was incredible!"
"Incredible? You'd only get to see a battle like this in an official League tournament!"
"Yeah, what a feast for the eyes!"
Completely absorbed in the battle, Tetsuya and Lorelei only now realized that a large crowd had gathered around their battlefield. Everyone burst into thunderous applause.
"Hehh… It's another draw today." Lorelei helplessly picked up Shellder and used an Antidote on it.
Tetsuya nodded. Then he threw Houndoom's Poké Ball and said, "Houndoom, use Amber to slowly melt the ice."
Houndoom slowly warmed the block of ice until Skorupi was finally freed. The moment it came out, its whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Tetsuya took Skorupi into the bathing room and placed it in a hot bath. Soaking in the hot water would prevent any lasting aftereffects. Gradually, Skorupi regained its vitality.
As for Lorelei, she had to use a full five bottles of Antidote to cure Shellder's poisoning, making her even more wary of Skorupi's toxicity. If it were allowed to fully grow, it would be absolutely terrifying.
After spending two nights aboard the ship, they had entered Kanto's waters. Kanto was finally within reach!
Around noon, they finally arrived at the port of Gringey City.
The moment they disembarked, Tetsuya was greeted by a mouthful of black smoke. Dark clouds covered the sky, all of them industrial emissions. Gringey City truly lived up to its name. It was indeed the kind of city where it was difficult to stay for long.
Moreover, Gringey City was densely populated with all kinds of people mixed together, making him feel completely out of place. However, there was somewhere he needed to go first.
"The pollution here is far too severe. Let's have our battle in the next city, Celadon, instead," Lorelei suggested. An industrial center like this would also be hard-pressed to have a decent battlefield. Celadon City, on the other hand, was home to Kanto's famous Celadon Gym, whose battle facilities were undoubtedly first-rate.
Furthermore, since Lorelei was going to compete in the Indigo League, she first had to register at a Pokémon Center, and the Celadon Gym would surely be the first Gym where she earned a Gym Badge.
"We've been on a ship for two days, and I'm exhausted. I want to leave tomorrow morning. How about we meet in front of Celadon Gym the day after tomorrow?" Tetsuya said.
"That works! Then get some good rest. I'm going to catch a ride." After saying that, Lorelei said goodbye to Tetsuya.
After Lorelei left, Tetsuya headed toward Gringey City's version of Lake Lucid.
This "lake" in Gringey City had originally been a clear river. However, after massive amounts of industrial wastewater and industrial waste had been dumped into it without restraint, it had turned into a black river that gave off a nauseating stench. It was filled with Muk and Grimer.
If not for those Grimer and Muk, Gringey City probably would have become unable to function long ago.
The closer he got to the place, the stronger the foul odor became.
"Come out, Weezing."
Tetsuya sent out the four-headed Weezing. These poisonous gases were exactly what it liked best.
Once Weezing came out, it began frantically absorbing the gases. With four heads, its efficiency was exceptional. Before long, the foul stench had noticeably thinned out. Tetsuya followed behind Weezing as it drew ever closer to the "lake".
The factory owners were rather clever. Knowing the unbearable stench would affect production, they had built their factories far away from the waters, simply extending and widening their drainage pipes. As long as they could neither see the pollutants nor smell the stench, they could pretend everything was fine.
Meanwhile, the Gringey City government, seeing its annual tax revenue rise year after year, turned a blind eye to these factories. That was precisely what eventually led to a situation that spiraled completely out of control years later.
By the time he reached the shore, Tetsuya had already put on a gas mask. All kinds of gases rose from the lake's surface, yellow, black, and brown alike. The water was so black it seemed to shine, with all kinds of industrial waste floating on its surface.
From time to time, a few Muk and Grimer poked their heads above the water.
"Weezing, absorb all of these gases."
Upon receiving Tetsuya's command, the Four-headed Weezing increased the speed at which it absorbed the poisonous gases. The gases visibly streamed into its body at a rate the naked eye could follow.
It took the entire afternoon for Weezing to absorb it all. Tetsuya then recalled it into its Poké Ball. It would also need some time to digest all those gases.
That evening, Tetsuya found an inn in Gringey City and specifically contacted Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center in Lake Lucid. Naturally, he asked about the Grimer that Nurse Joy had relocated from that small industrial district.
To his disappointment, every one of those Grimer had died.
Nurse Joy was heartbroken as well. Through her research, she had discovered that they had been poisoned to death by an even more potent poison. Naturally, she suspected the factory owners.
Since they had all died, it meant none of those Grimer had been able to withstand Koffing's poison. That experiment had ended in failure.
This time, however, this "Lake Lucid" was different. A large number of Muk and Grimer lived here. Even with the Four-headed Weezing, poisoning such a vast lake would greatly dilute the poison. Tetsuya believed that many Muk would still survive. This could only serve as his first round of selection.
Early the next morning, Tetsuya returned to the lake. After a night's digestion, Weezing had completely processed the poisonous gases, and the toxins within its body had grown even stronger.
Following Tetsuya's command, Weezing flew over the waters, continuously releasing Toxic.
The Four-headed Weezing worked steadily, taking only a one-hour break at noon. It spent the entire day releasing poison into the waters. By evening, it truly could not continue any longer, and Tetsuya did not force it.
The poison's toxins released by Weezing had already merged into the lake, and there was nothing more he could do for now. After all, Gringey City was still thriving, so he could not make any major moves.
Once Gringey City had completely fallen into ruin, he would return. Only then would he have the time to continue flooding the lake with Toxic every day for selection and raising. Even so, this would still eliminate a large portion of the Grimer.
By then, the bodies of the poisoned Grimer would sink to the bottom of lake, where they would rot and decompose, further increasing the lake's toxicity and causing even more Muk to die.
With this vicious cycle, the waters would only become more and more poisonous until the day Tetsuya finally harvested the results. For now, however, this was only his vision. He could not say how many years it would take to succeed.
One thing was certain…
The Muk that survived until the very end would undoubtedly be the true king of this waters!