c40: Situation In Shantou City
"Xiaoxiao, where is your current location? Are you still near Shantou City?"
After an intense morning training session with her team in the outskirts of Fushi City, I enjoyed the delicious breakfast prepared by Shanai, my Gardevoir, who had recently mastered Psychic-assisted cooking an idea we picked up from a magazine featuring Sinnoh Pokémon behavior studies.
Chen Xiaoxiao, now resting inside her personal Pokémon space a secured, high-tech capsule environment exclusive to certified prosecutors suddenly received an unexpected call.
"Uncle Leng? I'm in Fushi now, not far from Shantou. Is something wrong?"
Chen Xiaoxiao was startled by the sudden communication from Leng Xin, one of the core liaisons of the Huaxia Prosecutor's Office. His calls always signaled something of great importance.
"Have you seen any recent news reports from Shantou City?" Leng Xin asked, his tone calm but serious.
"After I left Shantou last time, I've been training in the wild zone near Mt. Yanshan in Fushi. I just returned to the city yesterday to rest for a few days, so I haven't checked the news lately," she answered truthfully, while already mentally listing the possibilities.
She remembered the recent conflict involving wild Machamp and Conkeldurr near the Fushi training camp and wondered if a similar outbreak was occurring in Shantou.
"It's like this," Leng Xin began, "over the past two weeks, there have been repeated incidents involving Water-type Pokémon attacking people in the coastal zones of Shantou."
"At first, they were minor cases involving Pokémon like Carvanha and Tentacool. The local trainers thought it was just wild aggression triggered by pollution or food shortage. But recently, the attacking Pokémon have included evolved forms like Sharpedo and even a wild Crawdaunt."
"The problem has escalated, and Shantou's local officers are at a loss. They haven't been able to determine whether it's the result of illegal hunting, habitat destruction, or something more coordinated. The city lacks the resources and expertise to handle this."
"You and your Gardevoir are both capable of telepathic communication with Pokémon. And more importantly, you're a licensed prosecutor. You've benefited from that title now it's time to fulfill your responsibility to Huaxia."
He paused for a beat, then added, "Your task is to investigate the cause. Whether it's revenge due to poaching or something else entirely, we need answers."
"I understand. I'll get to the bottom of it," Chen Xiaoxiao responded firmly, her mind already turning to possible culprits Team Plasma remnants, rogue researchers, or even displaced wild Pokémon.
"And one more thing," Leng Xin said. "You met Guosheng last time, right? He's currently stationed at the Shantou coast. I'll send you his coordinates meet with him first and get an overview."
"Keep in mind, Shantou is a small city. Apart from Zhang Guosheng, who holds Elite-level trainer status and specializes in Steel-types like Aggron and Empoleon, their defensive strength is limited."
"If trouble arises, do your best to assist them. You have the authority and strength for field action."
"I'll authorize your flying permit for Shantou's airspace now. You can depart immediately."
"Got it," she said.
After the call ended, Chen Xiaoxiao exited her Pokémon space and accessed her Pokédex. She entered the location coordinates sent by Leng Xin.
With her newly granted city flight authorization, the navigational AI no longer rerouted her away from protected zones. Instead, it charted a direct route to Shantou through restricted air corridors.
This time, she used the prosecutor's internal navigation system rather than the public Penguin Maps. The secure map was far more precise, offering data on off-grid facilities, wild Pokémon concentrations, and even unregistered trainer hotspots.
After confirming the flight path, Chen Xiaoxiao summoned her flying partner.
"Togekiss, come out! We've got a mission!"
The graceful Pokémon emerged in a shimmer of white light, wings extended.
Chen Xiaoxiao vaulted onto Togekiss's back with practiced ease and gave the command.
"Let's fly—destination: Shantou City!"
Meanwhile, at a makeshift operations office on the Shantou coast...
"Damn it, it's been more than a month, and there have been Water-type Pokémon attacks almost every day. Who on earth provoked them? And who killed the Water-type Pokémon whose body was found washed ashore by the tide? Would that count as a major violation under Pokémon protection laws?"
Inside the temporary command office at the Shantou City Flying-type Gym, Gym Leader Zhang Guosheng sat at his cluttered desk, flipping through the compiled case files of the recent attacks. His eyes, weary from both lack of sleep and the psychological burden of the situation, scanned the reports again and again but no breakthrough surfaced.
Boom boom boom.
"Come in."
The door creaked open, and his son, Zhang Guoxiong, stepped in holding a folder with an Alliance seal.
"Dad, the inspection results from the Pokémon cadavers recovered over the past two days are back."
He placed the report in front of Zhang Guosheng, who quickly skimmed through the findings. His expression darkened.
"Poisoned?" he muttered. "But they couldn't identify the toxin? Is it some natural venom from a Poison-type Pokémon, or are we looking at a synthetic agent?"
Zhang Guosheng's brows furrowed deeply as he tried to reconcile the inconclusive results with the ongoing attacks.
"The testing division said it's under further analysis," Guoxiong replied. "It's not a known natural Pokémon toxin. According to preliminary scans, it seems to be an artificially engineered compound. The composition doesn't match any substances logged in the League's toxicology archives."
"A man-made poison?" Zhang Guosheng leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "That makes things worse. If this has nothing to do with wild aggression, then someone is behind this. The Water-types are dying in clusters, probably painfully. Could this explain the recent violent outbursts? Retaliation?"
He flipped through the previous toxicology reports the Tentacruel with ruptured neurocenters, the Basculin with severe tissue decay, the cloaked Dragalge they found gasping in the shallows last week.
"Someone poisoned them… but why? What's the motive behind targeting aquatic Pokémon along the coast?"
Boom!
"Leader Zhang! Emergency!"
The door burst open, and a flustered assistant trainer stumbled in, panting heavily, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Speak clearly!" Zhang Guosheng snapped, annoyed at the interruption just as his mind was drawing connections. "Calm down and report properly."
"Gya—Gyarados! A whole swarm of them on the coast!"
"What?!" both Zhang Guosheng and Zhang Guoxiong exclaimed in unison.
Without another word, Zhang Guosheng bolted out of the room, Guoxiong trailing behind him.
As they stepped outside and looked toward the horizon, a horrifying sight greeted them. Over a dozen Gyarados could be seen thrashing in the sea just a few kilometers out. The waters churned with fury, as their long, serpentine bodies surged above the surface.
One of the Gyarados reared up, opened its mouth wide, and began charging an orb of blinding light a Hyper Beam, unmistakable from the way energy crackled around its maw. In a matter of seconds, the destructive blast launched toward the harbor, aimed at docked supply vessels.
"What are they trying to destroy?!"
Zhang Guoxiong's voice was tight with disbelief. "These Gyarados aren't just angry they're organized."
Zhang Guosheng wasted no time. "Altaria, let's move intercept that beam, now!"
With practiced precision, the Gym Leader released his Poké Ball. Altaria emerged in a burst of radiant light, singing softly before launching into the sky with a flap of its cloud-like wings.
"Dragon Pulse! Center the beam!"
Altaria opened its beak, gathering draconic energy that shimmered in shades of azure and indigo. A piercing pulse of power surged forward, colliding with the oncoming Hyper Beam.
BOOM!
The two attacks collided mid-air in a deafening explosion, waves rippling through the sea and the sky lit by the energy clash.
From the boardwalk and the nearby beach, dozens of citizens turned toward the explosion in shock.
"What was that?!"
"Look look at the sea! Gyarados so many of them!"
"That's Altaria! Leader Zhang's Altaria!"
"Is he fighting all those Gyarados alone?!"
"Why are Gyarados attacking people now too?"
As panic rose among the onlookers, voices merged into a sea of fearful chatter. The coastline, once calm, now trembled under the presence of enraged Water-type giants.
And above it all, Zhang Guosheng stood unmoving his expression hard as steel.
The investigation was no longer just about poisoned Pokémon.
This was war.
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