Chapter 20: The Mysterious Golduck Leader

Chapter 20: The Mysterious Golduck Leader

The gentle singing seemed to possess an irresistible magical power. Gyarados, originally bursting with anger, actually calmed down slowly after hearing the song. The bloodshot veins in its deep red eyes gradually receded, and a hazy drowsiness welled up in the three Pokémon on the scene, carrying them into dreamland.

Just before falling asleep, Rio vaguely heard a gentle voice: "Ah, dear, I accidentally made them all fall asleep. Oh well, let them rest a bit..."

Swish swish—, swish swish—

In his sleep, Rio only felt as if he were drifting on the water's surface, rising and falling with the surging waves.

Water, on the water's surface?

"Ah..."

Rio woke up with a start, flipping over to sit up.

He found himself sitting on the shell of a Lapras, which resembled a plesiosaur. Lapras was swimming in the water while conversing happily with Machop, who was beside Rio.

The Gyarados they had fought was nowhere to be seen.

"Our leader is waiting up ahead. Please sit tight."

Noticing Rio had awakened, Lapras stopped its conversation with Machop and sped up, swimming towards the giant rock in the center of the lake.

Even with Lapras's extremely fast speed, it still took Rio and the others some time to approach the center of Crescent Lake. The giant rock standing in the lake only rose about a meter above the water's surface. The entire rock had been eroded by the water flow into a crystalline blue-black color. Its upper cross-section was incredibly spacious; even with a circle of Pokémon standing on it, there was still plenty of room left.

In the very middle of the Pokémon, a duck-shaped Pokémon sat steadily on a protrusion of the rock with its eyes closed. Its aura was as vast as the calm Crescent Lake. The red gem on its forehead refracted a dazzling light under the sun.

This was the leader of the Water-type Pokémon of Crescent Lake—Golduck.

While carefully climbing from Lapras's shell onto the smooth rock, Rio quietly opened his [Pokédex] to observe.

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[Pokédex]

Encounter Progress: 26/50

Battle Progress: 9/10

[Real-time Analysis]

Pokémon: Leader - Golduck (Male)

Level: lv33

Type: Water

Ability: Swift Swim (Speed is boosted in rainy weather)

Dominion: Crescent Lake (When Pokémon of Crescent Lake gather around Golduck, the power of Water-type moves can be greatly increased)

Moves: Future Sight (lv4), Psychic (lv4), Calm Mind (lv4), Surf (lv2), Water Pulse (lv2), Disable (lv1), Ice Beam (lv1)

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Three lv4 moves?! That was one more high-level move than the Squirtle Boss and Snorlax Leader he had scouted before, and all of them were Psychic-type related moves. Conversely, Golduck's own Water-type moves were a notch lower in terms of move level.

Such an unorthodox move set? Rio secretly clicked his tongue.

In his memory, although Golduck was a pure Water-type Pokémon, it could also learn a large number of Psychic-type moves. Moreover, Golduck's base Special Attack stat was indeed superior to its other stats, so its proficient mastery of these Psychic skills was to be expected.

Perhaps sensing something, the Golduck Leader frowned slightly and opened its eyes, glancing in Rio's direction.

He couldn't have sensed me peeking at his data, could he? Rio felt the Golduck Leader's scrutinizing gaze and immediately pretended nothing was amiss, hiding the light screen before his eyes.

The Golduck Leader silently sensed for a moment but found no abnormality. Perhaps thinking it was his own misperception, he paid no more mind to that slight, strange feeling.

"Leader, the guests from Sunrise Valley have been brought here."

After Rio and Machop had both climbed onto the rock from its shell, Lapras gave a slight nod and swam to the side, waiting quietly.

Machop's expression turned serious. Just as he was about to speak, the Golduck Leader's slightly deep voice sounded.

"I already know the purpose of your visit. Do you have any clues at present?"

"No, we don't. To be honest, we are also very puzzled. Given the relationship between our valley and Snorlax, there shouldn't be any conflict that would arise. Moreover, Snorlax's condition that day was extremely strange; it was as if it had turned into a completely irrational wild beast. Also, our Squirtle Boss mentioned that the Pidgeot flock also showed similar conditions. It seems this abnormal situation is spreading in the forest."

Machop said.

"At that time, we found that the Pidgeotto flock's condition was exactly the same as the Snorlax Leader's that day. Their eyes glowed red, and their bodies were filled with crimson energy. This energy was very powerful, even capable of significantly boosting a Pokémon's strength. Moreover, all these Pokémon in an abnormal state had one thing in common: they all became extremely irritable and prone to anger, attacking any Pokémon within their attack range indiscriminately."

Rio also followed up, describing his observations in detail.

Machop continued his words.

"Yes, so after repelling Snorlax, our leader ordered us to set out and investigate this abnormal incident. Our purpose in coming to Crescent Lake is to request that you perform [Future Sight], hoping to obtain relevant clues."

Rio was somewhat surprised, never having expected that the purpose of coming to Crescent Lake was for Golduck's [Future Sight] move.

In the games, [Future Sight] was just an ordinary Psychic-type attack move, its effect being that after a few game turns from using the move, the opponent would be attacked by psychic power. Now, in the real Pokémon world, this simple attack move seemed to have a different effect. And with the Golduck Leader's high-level move proficiency, could it perhaps function as a form of prophecy? Rio guessed uncertainly.

"[Future Sight] cannot be used casually. You, have you prepared everything?"

The Golduck Leader said faintly.

"Yes, I will use my memories as the 'past,' and this fur shed from the Snorlax Leader as the 'present,' to request that you foresee the 'future'."

Machop took out a bundle of grayish-black fur wrapped in leaves from his backpack, as well as a pink, crystal-clear gem.

"This Psychic Gem is the remuneration for your assistance."

Seeing the Psychic Gem, a hint of surprise appeared on the Golduck Leader's face.

"This is quite a rare item. It seems you have indeed come prepared this time." The Golduck Leader looked up at the still bright, sunny sky. "However, the time is not quite right now. You should rest first. We will proceed at night. I'll leave them to you, Lapras."

Lapras swam forward. "Come, I will take you to a place to rest first."

Watching Rio and Machop board Lapras and swim towards the waterfall, the Golduck Leader closed its eyes again, sitting cross-legged. The red gem on its forehead flickered erratically, and energy faintly pulsed around its body. The entire Pokémon, as if lifted by an unseen force, slowly levitated in the air.

The psychic waves around the Golduck Leader undulated continuously.

Seeing their leader enter a state of [Calm Mind], the other surrounding Pokémon dared not disturb him and one after another swam into the water, dispersing on their own.