Chapter 56: Fierce Fight in the Rain

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Unpredictable things happen. Just as Sato had filled two-thirds of the pot with boiling water, the sky suddenly darkened. In the nearby sky, a dark cloud was rapidly expanding.

At the same time, the nearby river showed signs of unusual activity, becoming much more turbulent. The waves crashing along the shore were nearly reaching the edge of the forest.

Gloom, sensitive to weather changes, immediately rushed to Sato's side and pointed to the quickly gathering dark clouds in the sky, trying to tell him that rain was imminent.

"I see. We need to find a place to shelter from the rain. Come back, Nidoran," Sato said, nodding to Gloom, who had come to warn him. He then used a PokeBall to recall the shivering Nidoran, who had been trembling in his arms.

The sudden weather shift made Sato believe that a battle between powerful Water-type Pokémon was taking place nearby. Only exceptionally strong Water-type Pokémon could create such a large-scale downpour so quickly.

Because Gloom knew the move Secret Power, which could create secret bases in trees, grass, and caves, Sato took advantage of this and quickly approached a nearby tree. The tree was so large it would take five or six people to encircle it. (Its diameter was about five or six meters.) (Thanks to the mysterious protective force within Viridian Forest, it remained untouched by human destruction, and most of the forest remained in its original, untouched state.)

"Please, Gloom, use Secret Power on this tree," Sato requested, once he climbed onto a thick branch of the large tree.

Following Sato's command, Gloom immediately placed her small blue hands on the tree trunk. A white light began to radiate from her body.

The next second, a soft rustling sound echoed from within the tree. This sound continued for about ten seconds before fading, and the white light on Gloom's hands also dimmed.

Once the glow had completely faded, Gloom easily peeled away an oval-shaped piece of bark from the trunk. After removing the bark, a large amount of foam-like wood shavings poured out from the inside.

After about ten seconds of clearing, a hollow space of about five or six square meters appeared in front of Sato. Gloom had created the tree hollow with great care, leaving the outer bark intact and only clearing out the interior of the trunk. As a result, there was no need to worry about the tree losing structural support and toppling over.

"Amazing power. Well done, Gloom. You deserve a good rest. Return to your PokeBall," Sato praised Gloom and then recalled her into the PokeBall. He and Zubat then entered the tree hollow and replaced the oval-shaped bark piece back into place seamlessly.

To keep the air flowing, Sato used a hunting knife to create several small ventilation holes in the still-thick trunk, which he eventually shaped into a small window.

With a door (the oval bark), a window, and space, a little treehouse was born.

Since the tree was near the river, and Sato's treehouse was high enough, he could see the river and its banks through the small window.

By this time, a strong wind had started to blow outside, and the rustling of the leaves was very loud. A minute later, the rain, which had been falling in the distance, finally reached them. A torrential downpour immediately began to fall from the dark clouds above.

As the rain fell heavily from the sky, the river's water level rose quickly, and the flow became even more rapid. Soon, the riverbanks, covered with pebbles, were submerged by the rising water, and the floodwaters began to creep toward the edge of the forest.

Due to the sudden rainfall, many fish and Water-type Pokémon living in the river began to surface because of a lack of oxygen. From inside the treehouse, Sato could clearly see the river's situation using the infrared camera on his laptop, which displayed the image on the screen.

Magikarp, Goldeen, Poliwag, Poliwhirl, Seaking, Kingler, Wooper, Quagsire, and many other common Water-type Pokémon of the Kanto region appeared in front of Sato, opening his eyes to the variety. However, one Pokémon that suddenly appeared in the image caught Sato's attention.

"What an unexpected discovery! There's a wild Squirtle living in this river... Wait, is that... a Mudkip?! There are wild Mudkip here too?!" Sato's heart filled with joy when he saw the Squirtle in the still image on his laptop screen, but he was utterly shocked when he saw the Mudkip.

Squirtle is one of the Kanto region's starter Pokémon, so Sato wasn't surprised to see it in the river within Viridian Forest. But Mudkip, a starter Pokémon from the Hoenn region, separated by an ocean from Kanto, was a surprising discovery.

Unfortunately, the Mudkip seemed to be incredibly rare in this river. Sato had only seen it appear once on his laptop screen, while the Squirtle had appeared no less than a dozen times, indicating that there were quite a few Squirtle living in the river.

The torrential downpour had been going on for more than an hour, but the dark clouds above showed no sign of dispersing. The sky was still ominously black, and intermittent thunder began rumbling.

Watching the harsh conditions outside through his laptop, Sato's expression turned serious. He knew that without Gloom's Secret Power to help him create this temporary shelter from the rain, he might have been soaked to the bone and in great danger.

In the rain, Zubat's combat power was severely weakened. If Sato encountered any malicious grass- or Water-type Pokémon during this weather, the consequences could be dire.

"Boom!" A loud clap of thunder echoed, momentarily illuminating the entire landscape. At that moment, Sato's pupils shrank as he stared at the laptop screen.

A raging Gyarados and a Poliwrath, its entire body covered in a flowing current, had appeared on Sato's screen.

The two powerful Pokémon had fought their way downstream to this area. From the looks of it, the massive Gyarados was being overpowered by the smaller Poliwrath.

In the rain, the speed of the Poliwrath was unbelievable. It could walk and accelerate on the surface of the turbulent river as if it were flat ground. Every punch from its iron fists, as large as sandbags, sent the Gyarados flying a short distance, causing it to roar in pain and fury.

The enraged Gyarados had almost completely lost its mind. Its crazed red eyes glowed like blood as it continuously fired Hyper Beams and Hydro Pumps from its mouth. However, due to Poliwrath's agility, these attacks missed entirely and instead wreaked havoc on the surrounding environment.

For a while, the wild Pokémon in the area, whether they had been sheltering from the rain or just moving around, either trembled in place or fled in panic in the opposite direction, not daring to interrupt the fierce battle. Only a few powerful Pokémon dared to watch from the riverbank, including a massive Ursaring standing about four to five meters tall, its body covered with scars, not far from Sato.

"This is incredible... Such a high-level battle," Sato muttered, his face showing a hint of yearning as he watched the intense fight on the screen.

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