The battle between Muk and Spinarak continued. The combined torment of Poison Sting and Toxic Spikes had already pushed Muk to its limit, and it finally collapsed. Beedrill came forward to deliver the finishing blow, piercing Muk clean through. Even Spinarak was startled by such a terrifying attack.
Spinarak had witnessed the battles of Beedrill, Drapion, and Weezing with its own two little eyes. Every one of them fought in ways far more skillful than it could, and it began to imagine itself one day having such capacity.
As the sound of sirens echoed through the air, Officer Jenny arrived at the scene with members of the police department, nearby Rangers, and the Pokémon Trainers employed by the city.
Their arrival had been much faster than Tetsuya had expected…
If only the police had come, they naturally could have arrived much sooner. However, a Pokémon riot required Trainers to deal with it, and gathering all of those people together normally took quite some time. The fact that they had arrived so quickly suggested they had gained experience, after all, this was already the fifth Grimer rampage.
When Officer Jenny and the others arrived, the sight that greeted them was Tetsuya directing Drapion and Golurk to transport the Grimer corpses.
Officer Jenny walked over to Tetsuya and asked with some confusion, "Hello, I'm Officer Jenny from Gringey City. May I ask… what happened here? Has the Grimer rampage already ended?"
"Yes. I've already dealt with all of these Grimer, and now I'm transporting them back to the sludge lake," Tetsuya replied.
"…You did all this by yourself?" Officer Jenny asked in disbelief.
"I know him!"
A Trainer suddenly ran over and said, "You're Tetsuya! The one who battle so brilliantly during the bridge clash in Sunnytown two years ago, aren't you?"
Whispers immediately spread through the crowd. Although that conflict had never been made public because it involved the broader issue of peaceful coexistence with Pokémon, many people still knew about it, including Tetsuya, who had turned the tide.
Tetsuya nodded. Having someone recognize him saved him the trouble of explaining everything himself.
"May I see your ID Card?" Officer Jenny asked.
Tetsuya took out his Pokédex. After checking it and confirming his identity, Officer Jenny nodded.
"Thank you very much for resolving the Grimer riot in Gringey City and preventing even greater losses. Please, allow us to reward you!"
"No need. If you have the time, you'd be better off helping me transport these Grimer back to the lake."
Only after Tetsuya said this did Officer Jenny notice that many Grimer were still lying on the ground.
Following Officer Jenny's arrangements, many physically powerful Pokémon worked together and quickly transported the remaining corpses back into the sludge lake.
Only then did Officer Jenny let out a long sigh of relief.
"It's finally over…"
"It's not that simple."
Tetsuya immediately poured cold water on Officer Jenny's optimism.
"The Grimer have repeatedly left the sludge lake and gone on rampages. If this continues, it will inevitably affect the normal operation of the industrial district. By then, once public resentment boils over, things will become much more difficult to handle."
Officer Jenny fell silent in thought before finally saying, "Sigh… you're right. Public resentment has already reached that point. But every city's industrial district has wastewater 'lakes' like this, and Grimer naturally gather there.
Although… they normally never leave that kind of environment. So why are the Grimer in Gringey City behaving this way!? Is there anything we can do about it?"
"Isn't that simple? As long as you install corrosion-resistant steel railings around the entire perimeter of the sludge lakes, the Grimer won't be able to leave the lake anymore. That will naturally ensure the city's safety."
Tetsuya's terrible idea was nothing more than a way to restrict the Grimer's movements, ensuring that those unable to withstand the toxicity would all die within the sludge lake, allowing the toxicity to increase even further…
"Mm, it seems that's our only option. I'll arrange it as soon as possible to calm the public."
After saying that, Officer Jenny saluted Tetsuya and departed with the rest of her team.
After Officer Jenny had left, Tetsuya went to the lake by himself. The so-called "sludge lakes" of Gringey City was merely a name. In reality, it was an artificial wastewater lake that had been excavated and expanded time and time again.
It now covered a full one hundred thousand square meters. All of the wastewater from the factories throughout Gringey City was discharged there. Of course, the city also owed thanks to the Grimer and Muk for helping process the wastewater and impurities. Otherwise, the wastewater would have overflowed long ago.
Officer Jenny would certainly implement Tetsuya's proposal, because Gringey City could not do without those Grimer. Otherwise, the accumulated wastewater would be impossible to process. The "only" solution was to keep them within the sludge lake, regardless of the cost.
Now that dozens more Grimer corpses had been thrown into the sludge lake, Tetsuya once again sent out Weezing and Drapion to spray Toxic into it.
---◓---
Tetsuya remained in Gringey City for a week. Every day, he went to the sludge lake and made Weezing and Drapion repeat the same action. Meanwhile, construction of the railings around the "sludge lakes" had already entered an accelerated phase, everything proceeding according to his plan.
At last, he could leave Gringey City without any "worries".
During his few days in Gringey City, his Pokémon had remained mostly idle. It was also obvious that large numbers of people had already begun leaving Gringey City. Although the government was making every effort to deal with the situation, the city's decline had become unavoidable.
Over the next few years, the focus of Gringey City would gradually shift as a new urban district was developed. By then, this industrial district would be completely abandoned.
After leaving Gringey City, Tetsuya did not choose to head directly to Sunnytown. Instead, he decided to travel on foot. On one hand, this would allow several of his Pokémon to return to their drilling.
On the other hand, he had already decided to skirt the rules a little by catching some Pokémon to sell. After all, the area between Gringey City and Sunnytown was one of the richest regions in all of Kanto.
Mountains, forests, and lakes could all be found there. It could be said that Pokémon from all across the Kanto Region gathered in this area. Not only was there the Safari Zone/Land, but there were also various protected areas.
Many of the League's designated Pokémon-raising Families and clans were also located within this region.
The Laramie¹[1] Family, known as the people who lived on the backs of Pokémon, specialized in raising fast Pokémon for the League. Meanwhile, the Terra Family in the mountains near Gringey City specialized in raising Ground-type Pokémon such as Diglett, likewise serving the Indigo League. They were true experts in tunnel warfare.
After entering the mountains outside Gringey City, Tetsuya released all of his Pokémon. Having gone a full week without stretching themselves, they immediately began causing a commotion as soon as they came out.
All of the Pokémon knew exactly what they should be doing. Only Spinarak looked completely bewildered, watching its "companions" use their moves and demonstrate their battle tactics while it had no idea what it should be doing.
During the week in Gringey City, Spinarak had already defeated all seven Ariados that Tetsuya had brought from Mr. Shellby. Its capacities had improved through those battles, but it had not yet experienced any systematic training.
•.
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¹. Lara Laramie, Laramie Big P Ranch, canon.
[1] Lara Laramie, canon.