Persistent Tentacruel

Seeing through Eelektross's bluff, Yuga felt even more at ease and casually used his Insight skill to assess the Eelektross in front of him.

...

[ Eelektross ]

Type: Electric

Ability: Levitate

Gender: Male

Potential: Green

Level: 58

Moves: Tackle, Thunder Wave, Thunder Shock, Crunch, Charge Beam, Acid, Thunderbolt, Acid Spray, Coil, Ion Deluge, Thrash, Crush Claw, Signal Beam, Aqua Tail.

...

After reading the data, Yuga nodded to himself. "Not bad potential, not bad level. This trip wasn't in vain."

Noticing Eelektross's pained expression, Yuga released Dragonite and said, "Dragonite, help it with its excess electricity."

"Kwaa!" Dragonite responded. Its antennae sparked with a crackling sound, and soon, the uncontrolled electricity from Eelektross flowed toward Dragonite.

Seeing this, the Tynamo tried to rush Dragonite, but Mismagius quickly used Mystical Fire to erect a wall of flames, blocking the Tynamo from advancing.

Dragonite worked efficiently, and within a few minutes, it had absorbed almost all of Eelektross's excess electricity. With the extra energy replenished, Dragonite flapped its small wings in satisfaction.

However, despite the excess electricity being drawn away, Eelektross did not seem relieved. The overabundant electric charge had been numbing its pain.

Now, without the glow of electricity, Yuga could finally see the wounds on Eelektross clearly. Its body was covered with marks, looking similar to the imprints left by the vines of Yuga's Venusaur, as if it had been strangled. Additionally, a horrifying gash almost disemboweled it across the abdomen.

Although the wound had stopped bleeding, it showed signs of inflammation, rot, and infection—an alarming sight.

Given these severe injuries, Yuga was amazed that Eelektross had survived this long. Its tenacity was truly remarkable.

While the excess electricity had worsened Eelektross's injuries, it had also dulled its sense of pain, allowing it to hold on until now. But now, with the electricity gone, Eelektross let out a pained groan.

Seeing their leader in agony, some Tynamo glared angrily at Yuga and his Pokémon, some panicked and darted around, while others attempted to transfer their own electric energy to Eelektross.

"Would you like me to help?" Yuga asked at this point.

His voice caused the scurrying Tynamo to freeze in their tracks. Then, they all looked expectantly at Yuga. By this time, Eelektross had already passed out from the pain.

Eelektross's injuries had gone untreated for several days. Although the Tynamo weren't sure whether Yuga was a friend or foe, they had no choice but to rely on him now, as a last resort.

With Dragonite's help, Yuga dragged Eelektross from the water's edge onto the shore. The Tynamo surrounded Yuga in tight circles, watching him closely, afraid he would do something harmful to their leader.

After carefully examining all of Eelektross's wounds, Yuga realized that he could only provide emergency treatment. More detailed medical care would have to be left to Nurse Joy.

Although he could use a Max Revive to instantly heal Eelektross, Yuga decided against it, as it wasn't necessary. Eelektross's injuries were severe, but not to the point of requiring such a precious item. Growing Revival Herbs was not an easy task, and Yuga wasn't about to casually waste something so valuable. Being frugal was a good habit!

Without making a fuss, Yuga discreetly retrieved a sharp knife from his system backpack and began cleaning out the rotten flesh from Eelektross's wounds.

Since Yuga had no means to sterilize the knife, he had Mismagius use Mystical Fire to heat and disinfect it. Given the current state of infection in Eelektross's wounds, disinfection wouldn't have mattered much anyway.

After cleaning out the rotten flesh, Yuga applied a healing salve to Eelektross's wounds and then had Chimecho use several Heal Pulse moves on it.

Once everything was done, Eelektross's expression of pain eased considerably, though it didn't wake up immediately. Yuga then began asking the Tynamo about the reason they had ended up here.

Grateful for Yuga's help in treating their leader, the Tynamo all spoke at once, explaining the situation to him.

It turned out that neither Eelektross nor the Tynamo lived in this area—they had swum here from a distant part of the ocean. More accurately, they had fled here.

The Mother River of Verdanturf Town, the Green Jade River, eventually flows into the sea, its end being in Oldale Town, where it meets the ocean. Eelektross had led the Tynamo upstream along the Grenlen Jade River, ultimately arriving near Verdanturf Town.

The reason Eelektross and the Tynamo left their ocean home, enduring the hardships of the journey inland, was because they were being pursued by a pair of Tentacruel—hence, their escape to Verdanturf Town.

In truth, it wasn't entirely the Tentacruel's fault for chasing Eelektross. Eelektross had acted rather unscrupulously.

Eelektrik, Eelektross's pre-evolution, needs a Thunder Stone to evolve. However, Thunder Stones are quite rare in the ocean. Eelektrik had searched for a long time without finding one.

One day, it accidentally discovered a Thunder Stone in the territory of a pair of Tentacruel. The temptation to steal it arose, thinking that the Tentacruel wouldn't need it anyway, so it would just go to waste.

When the Tentacruel were not paying attention, Eelektrik successfully snuck into their territory and took the Thunder Stone. However, the moment it touched the stone, the evolution process began uncontrollably.

What Eelektrik didn't know was that the Thunder Stone it had stumbled upon was an exceptional one, containing an abundance of pure Electric-type energy. As a result, its evolution caused a massive surge of electricity, which spread throughout the surrounding waters, leaving destruction in its wake. Unfortunately, the Tentacruel's child, a small Tentacool, was nearby and was accidentally injured in the process.

After the evolution ended, Eelektrik had successfully become Eelektross, and its potential, by a stroke of luck, had improved from yellow to green. However, it had also thoroughly enraged the Tentacruel couple.

Thus began the Tentacruel's relentless pursuit of Eelektross.

The Tentacruel were the rulers of that part of the sea, and even after evolving, Eelektross stood no chance against them. So, it led the Tynamo on a desperate escape.

The Tentacruel were not only formidable but also vengeful. No matter where Eelektross hid, they always managed to find it. Eventually, Eelektross was driven out of the ocean entirely.

With no other choice, Eelektross decided to lead its followers inland. However, the Tentacruel still refused to let them go and chased them all the way to the mainland.

The wounds on Eelektross were caused by the Tentacruel during their pursuit.

After hearing the Tynamo's explanation, Yuga finally understood that the marks on Eelektross's body were not caused by vines but by the Tentacruel's tentacles.

"Your leader's injuries will need Nurse Joy's help to be fully healed. Let me take you out of here," Yuga said to the Tynamo.

The Tynamo immediately objected when they heard they would be leaving. They explained that the Tentacruel were waiting outside and would surely capture them the moment they left.

The reason they had hidden in the drainage pipes of the Sunflora Power Plant, aside from stealing electricity, was that the Tentacruel feared venturing into human territory and dared not chase them inside.

As it turned out, the two Tentacruel were currently blocking the exit of the drainage pipe, preventing the Tynamo from leaving, while also being too cautious to come in themselves.

Learning this, Yuga's curiosity was piqued. A pair of Tentacruel capable of wounding Eelektross so badly—now that interested him.

The Electric-type Eelektross should have had an absolute advantage over the Water-type Tentacruel, yet even under such favorable conditions, Eelektross was relentlessly pursued with no escape, highlighting just how extraordinary these Tentacruel were.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. The Tentacruel won't be able to harm you," Yuga promised the Tynamo with full confidence.

Even though Eelektross was technically in the wrong here, Yuga still wanted to capture it to complete his mission. So, the Tentacruel would just have to bear the injustice for now.

Despite Yuga's confident words, the Tynamo were reluctant to believe him, as the Tentacruel had left a deep and terrifying impression on them. Having been chased all the way from the ocean to the inland, the fear of the Tentacruel had been ingrained in their very bones.

"Are you just going to stand here and watch your leader die? You have two choices: face the Tentacruel, or stay here and watch your leader perish," Yuga said.

Initially, Yuga had planned to leave the power plant through the main entrance, but now, intrigued by the Tentacruel, he decided to convince the Tynamo to follow him through the drainage pipe instead.

At this point, the not-so-bright Tynamo had yet to realize that they could have simply exited through the power plant's main entrance, where there were no Tentacruel.

Still oblivious to Yuga's little trick, the Tynamo glanced at their still-unconscious leader and, having no other choice, agreed to follow Yuga out to face the Tentacruel.

Thus, with Dragonite carrying the unconscious Eelektross, Yuga led the way with Gengar, Mismagius, Mimikyu, and the group of Tynamo towards the exit of the drainage pipe.

The outlet of the drainage pipe was located along a section of the Jade River, and as soon as they emerged, they were greeted by the shimmering surface of the water.

Boom!!!

A loud explosion shook the surface of the water as two Tentacruel, even larger and more imposing than Yuga had expected, emerged. Their thick, long tentacles slapped the river's surface, sending water splashing everywhere, creating a scene that looked like chaos incarnate.

Terrified by this sight, the Tynamo began to panic.

"Dragonite, take Eelektross to the Pokémon Center first. The Tynamo should go with you as well. Leave this to me, Gengar, and the others," Yuga instructed.

Trusting in their trainer's abilities, Dragonite obediently nodded, while the Tynamo were deeply moved by Yuga's "selfless" decision.

This human is so kind! He's a good person!

With that, Dragonite soared into the sky with Eelektross in its arms, while the Tynamo quickly followed behind.

Seeing Eelektross gradually flying out of reach, the two Tentacruel angrily thrashed their tentacles, but there was nothing they could do. Left with no other outlet for their rage, they turned their fury towards Yuga.

At that moment, Yuga noticed something—on top of one of the Tentacruel's heads was a frail, tiny Tentacool, clinging tightly to its parent.