Chapter 323 – Title: “Hello, Hisui”

Chapter 323 – Title: "Hello, Hisui"

In a clearing by the river, an Alpha Floatzel stood poised, its inflatable sac around its neck puffed out, streams of water swirling around its body as it stared down its opponent.

Across from it, Psyduck looked as blank as ever—like it had just wandered in by accident.

That expression made Floatzel feel insulted.

"Buli!" it barked aggressively, trying to scare Psyduck off its turf.

"Quack?" Psyduck scratched its head, totally confused as to why the Floatzel was mad.

Seeing Psyduck still acting clueless, Floatzel couldn't take it anymore.

With a sharp hiss, water spiraled around its forelimbs—

Swoosh!

In a flash, it dashed forward, striking Psyduck cleanly and dashing past, landing stylishly on the other side.

But before it could finish flexing—

Floatzel staggered, clutching its now-swollen arm with a face full of pain.

"Buli… (Ow…)"

Meanwhile, Psyduck stood up with a dazed look, rubbing its beak with one hand and scratching its head with the other.

What just happened?

Wasn't I the one who got hit? Why is the other guy on the ground?

Akari stared at Psyduck's beak for a long while, recalling the earlier scene with the Alpha Shinx. She pulled out her notebook and scribbled a new research entry:

[Substance Harder Than Steel: The Iron Beak of Psyduck]

...

That day, a new legend began to spread across the Obsidian Fieldlands.

The Iron-Beaked Psyduck.

A creature who took down two Alpha Pokémon with nothing but its face. The undisputed king of Psyducks.

Currently, that so-called king was sitting on a picnic mat, stuffing its face with Poké Puffs.

"Slow down! There's no Salamence here trying to snatch your food!"

"Quack!"

Zinnia was trailing behind Asahi, giving him a back massage with a fawning look, hoping to get her job back as Rayquaza's caretaker.

She didn't want a break—she lived to serve!

Asahi, however, ignored her entirely.

You think flattery is enough to escape consequences? Think again.

Meanwhile, Akari was nervously trying to talk him down. "Mr. Asahi, Lake Verity is really dangerous. There's an Alpha Gyarados there, and if anything happens… the rescue team might not make it in time…"

Oh, how humble she was.

Asahi knew—Akari had potential. Deep potential. She just didn't realize she was a Super Hisuian in the making.

Before he could even speak, Zinnia jumped in like a lapdog. "Master Asahi doesn't need a rescue team! An Alpha Gyarados? That's child's play, right, Master Asahi?"

Asahi: "..."

Can you shut up for two minutes? You're ruining my humble image.

Still, all jokes aside, even if he wasn't a Super Hisuian, an Alpha Gyarados wasn't a threat to him.

Smiling slightly, Asahi turned to Akari.

Seeing his determination, she sighed and gave in.

Lake Verity's huge anyway. What are the odds we'll actually run into the Alpha Gyarados… right?

...

Lake Verity lay to the northwest of the Obsidian Fieldlands. From what Asahi could tell, it hadn't changed much from the Sinnoh days.

Under Asahi's orders, Zinnia braced herself, then shouted across the lake in embarrassment, "Mesprit! Are you home? Hey Mesprit!"

"Mesprit?"

Before Akari could even ask who Mesprit was, the lake suddenly surged.

A massive Gyarados burst from the surface.

Zinnia's voice died in her throat. For a moment, she'd really thought she summoned Mesprit…

"It's Gyarados!"

As the beast locked eyes on them and began charging an attack, Akari panicked. "Mr. Asahi, we need to run! That Hyper Beam is no joke!"

"No need to worry…"

Asahi casually tossed a Poké Ball.

Out came… Slowbro?

Akari blinked. "Huh?"

She didn't recognize the species, but it didn't look that strong. Could this Pokémon really block a Hyper Beam?

Slowbro: O_O?

It stared at the Gyarados powering up its beam, utterly confused.

Thankfully, Asahi's training kicked in.

The next moment, the Hyper Beam exploded from Gyarados' mouth—

BOOM!

Akari had already shut her eyes, bracing for the worst.

But the pain never came.

When she peeked, she saw Slowbro—no, Slowpoke—standing calmly. At some point, it had detached the Shellder from its tail and held it like a shield, using it to block the attack.

Waving the smoking shell around, Slowpoke—now reverted—narrowed its eyes and fired off an Ice Beam.

The white, chilling blast hit Gyarados dead-on.

Crack!

The Gyarados, still locked in post-Hyper Beam cooldown, was instantly encased in thick ice, frozen solid, and sank beneath the lake.

With the threat gone, Slowpoke closed its eyes, savoring the moment.

It had been so long since it got to nap belly-down, ever since it evolved into a Slowbro.

But just as it was about to lie down…

Chomp!

Its tail throbbed in pain as the discarded Shellder somehow found its way back—and bit down hard.

A glow lit the air.

Slowpoke —> Slowbro.

Slowbro: O_O

The Slowbro, having lost the will to live, fainted.

Asahi noticed Akari's curious gaze and decided to explain. "That was a Slowbro. Its previous form is Slowpoke. It evolves when a Shellder bites its tail… Oh, right. Hisui doesn't have Shellder, so you probably don't know what that is either. Anyway, Slowpoke and Shellder have a symbiotic relationship."

Akari was eager to learn. The moment Asahi finished speaking, she whipped out a notebook and started jotting things down.

> "A Study on the Evolution and Devolution of Slowbro – On the Symbiosis Between Slowpoke and Shellder."

Just then, Psyduck nearby saw Slowbro's miserable state and waddled over to try and comfort it.

But after just a few steps, it tripped on a pebble and faceplanted onto the ground with a loud smack.

"..."

Asahi had just turned around and caught the whole scene, falling into a heavy silence.

He was seriously starting to doubt whether training these two goofballs was going to help him in the World Championship.

Looks like it was time to bring out one of his real powerhouses.

Asahi threw out his third Poké Ball.

"Rooooar!"

Salamence burst out and immediately began rubbing its big head affectionately against Asahi.

Akari blinked, scribbling in her notes:

> "Another unfamiliar Pokémon…"

"Is this one yours too, Mr. Asahi? You two seem really close," Akari said, clearly impressed.

"Well… yeah, we are pretty close, but this head-bumping thing? That's not because of affection."

Seeing Akari's puzzled look, Asahi reached out and took a large pouch of Pokéblocks from Gengar.

"Ration them… We're not in Kanto anymore."

Salamence nodded rapidly.

And then, to Akari's utter disbelief, it devoured the entire bag—enough to feed an average Pokémon for a whole month—in mere seconds.

"Go call out that Alpha Gyarados."

Asahi gave Salamence a pat, and the dragon nodded. With a flap of its wings, it soared above Lake Verity.

"ROOOAR!"

Salamence let out a thunderous roar, unleashing its fierce aura without the slightest restraint.

Ripples of power surged across the lake.

Moments later, the lake erupted with turbulence. A Hydro Pump shot out from beneath the surface, aiming straight for Salamence.

With a dismissive snort in its eyes, Salamence dodged effortlessly, then fired a Dragon Pulse into the water below.

The purple blast cut through the air, striking the lake with a thunderous explosion that sent shockwaves through the depths.

Whatever was hiding down there had clearly been provoked.

With an enraged roar, a massive Gyarados—twice the size of an average one—burst out of the water and lunged toward Salamence.

Dark energy coalesced around its fangs, forming a terrifying phantom maw.

Crunch.

With the power of this Alpha Gyarados, it could easily tear steel in two.

But just when it looked like a vicious battle was about to break out, Salamence suddenly flashed a cunning grin—and turned tail.

Crack!

The Gyarados bit into thin air, nearly shattering its own teeth.

"?"

While Gyarados froze in shock, Salamence grinned wide, green dragon energy surging around its body.

It dove.

Dragon Dive!

BOOM!

The devastating strike smashed into Gyarados midair, sending it crashing back into the lake with a tremendous splash.

BAM!

Waves erupted as the Alpha Gyarados slammed into the water.

A Poké Ball flew from Asahi's hand.

The Alpha Gyarados was sucked inside and captured.

Just as Asahi turned to tell Salamence to continue searching for Mesprit, a familiar voice rang out in his head.

> [You have captured three Alpha Pokémon in the Hisui Region through conventional means. Title unlocked: "Hello, Hisui!"]

> [Choose your reward:]

[1. Teleport – Instant Recharge]

[2. Friend Pass x1]

[3. Azure Flute]

Asahi glanced at his teleport system, which had now reached 30% charge from the Alpha captures.

Without hesitation, he said, "I choose option 2."

Flash!

Asahi's phone glowed with a golden hue.

A new green icon appeared on his app screen, next to the teleport function.