Chapter 21 – A ‘Beast’ Appeared
At 7:00 am early in the morning, Floyd opens his room with his backpack, followed by Axew and Dratini who wake up early and are eager to start training. They head to the reception room, where they see countless Pokemon sleeping and decide not to disturb them.
Then, they proceed to the promenade deck to enjoy the ocean views. Floyd addresses Axew and Dratini, saying, "Axew, since you just learned Dragon Dance, you must familiarize yourself with this move for a bit. Dratini, the only things you must train are Extreme Speed and Wrap; don't practice your other moves such as Dragon Breath or Twister since we're still on the ship."
"Axew!" Axew nodded.
"Ehew!" Dratini appeared slightly disappointed but still nodded in agreement.
They both quickly find spots to practice.
As for Horsea, Floyd thinks, "Let's indulge her for a moment and savor this because once they land at Takihama Island, this spoiled girl will experience why I am her Trainer."
Outside, Floyd can make out the silhouette of a place in the distance. He notices a female Pidgeotto circling the ship and nodding at him, recognizing him as the one who healed her son. He also observes several hardworking Wartortle changing the ships according to their schedule.
"Wartortle!"
The tired Wartortle smiled, nodded at him, then rested nearby. Others who had just finished their work joined him, all nodding at Floyd. Floyd reciprocated with a smile and nod. Surprisingly, these were the only Pokemon, besides his own, Kanraku's, Suzuki's, and Bianca's, who were not afraid of him.
As one of the Kanto starters, seeing the hardworking Wartortle evoked nostalgia in Floyd, increasing his favorability towards them. He took out a berry blender from his backpack and gathered many Kuo Berries and Nutpeas; this combination was most suitable for any Pokemon. These were common fruits found in the wild, so he had a substantial stock in his backpack. He began to blend them, pressing buttons to balance the five flavors forming the Pokeblocks. After a few minutes, numerous Pokeblocks appeared, and he repeated the process.
The Wartortle nearby watched him curiously, thinking the food seemed delicious. Many Pidgey and some awoken Pokemon also looked on with envy. After finishing, Floyd noticed many Pokemon watching him, unafraid, and offered the Pokeblocks to the nearby Wartortle.
One male Wartortle excitedly pointed at the Pokeblocks and then at himself and the others. Floyd didn't fully understand but assumed they were thanking him and responded, "Yes, it's all for you, thanks for the hard work."
"Wartortle, Wartortle!" The Wartortle patted his head shyly, then called his friends over.
"Wartortle!"
"Wartortle!"
"Wartortle!"
"Wartortle!"
Floyd found their behavior amusing and thought they seemed unafraid of humans, indicating a good environment. He recalled Kanraku having a Blastoise and speculated these Wartortle might be from the same family and have their own clan.
Then Floyd then noticed other Pokemon looking enviously at them, saliva forming in their mouths but forcibly swallowed. Floyd smiled and said, "You all come here; you can also have your share."
"Tweet?"
"Machop?"
"Rattata?"
Many Pokemon felt hesitant because, unlike the Wartortle who obviously hadn't suffered trauma, it was a different situation for them. They were really afraid to approach humans, but then they remembered what happened yesterday and realized this human seemed good.
One Rattata gathered courage, walked slowly and carefully in front of Floyd, took one Pokeblock, glanced again at Floyd, then ran back and looked at him again. Seeing that Floyd didn't do anything, he took a bite.
Delicious!
Seeing that Rattata took action and nothing adverse happened, the others slowly gained courage, stepped forward while still looking cautiously at Floyd, and took a Pokeblock. Their reactions were similar to Rattata's—it felt like they were in heaven.
Delicious!
Gradually, they gained more courage and came back again to take another one.
Delicious!
Floyd smiled, finding the situation amusing. He understood their predicament and being cautious, so he simply watched their actions without intervening.
Pokemon was really cute.
Tweeet… Tweet… Tweet… (God Floyd is really a good guy, and he is so cool! I also want to eat one.)
Floyd heard someone calling his name and turned to see Swablu, who was hiding half her body near the wall and peeking at him.
He recognized her as Bianca's Swablu. But what was this 'God Floyd'? That was embarrassing.
Floyd felt awkward hearing this little one call him that. He could understand her because Swablu belonged to the Dragon Egg Group, which is associated with dragons.
"Ahem… little one, do you want to eat? Come here," Floyd beckoned her.
"Tweet… Tweet… Tweet" (Eh, God Floyd is looking at me, and he's calling me over? What should I do? I'm embarrassed.)
Floyd wanted to snap at her. "Ahem, little one, come here. And by the way, don't call me God Floyd; you can call me brother," Floyd called to her.
"Tweet… Tweet… Tweet" (I want to go… wait, he can understand me?)
Swablu was dumbfounded, shock written on her face.
"Of course, I can understand you," Floyd smiled and said.
"Tweet…" (This… It's shameful.) Swablu blushed and flew away in shame.
"This…" Floyd was dumbfounded this time. 'Why is she running? Is she ashamed, or am I scary?' he wondered. He felt awkward but didn't let it bother him. He had seen Swablu's stats before:
Pokemon: Swablu
Level: 13
Type: Normal + Flying
Ability: Cloud Nine
Moves: Disarming Voice, Growl, Tailwind, Peck, Roost, Fury Attack
(Genetic Skills: Roost, Tailwind)
Swablu's talents were comparable to Dratini's, as she had also acquired two genetic skills from her parents. However, unlike his Pokemon, she didn't seem to train much, and her level seems had just grown naturally. Floyd noticed that the majority of people didn't train their Pokemon; apart from Kanraku and himself, he hadn't seen others do so.
He didn't dwell on it and started preparing more Pokeblocks as more Pokemon continued to appear near him. Suddenly, the water below began to vibrate, and the ship shook as if in an earthquake. A whirlpool formed, and a giant creature emerged.
ROAR!
It resembled a giant blue serpent, with blue whiskers and scales, resembling a dragon.
ROAR
Pokemon: Gyarados
Level: 34
Type: Water + Flying
Ability: Moxie
Moves:
Intermediate Level: Bite, Tackle, Dragon Dance, Scary Face, Splash,
Beginner Level: Aqua Tail, Rain Dance, Whirlpool, Waterfall
Surprisingly, it has a Dragon Dance!
Seeing it was about to attack the ship, Floyd shouted, "Axew! Claw!"
"Axew!" Axew had already appeared by his side when he sensed the vibration earlier.
He jumped out fearlessly and used Dragon Claw. He had been practicing Dragon Dance and, with his current strength, could only control one stage of it.
Feeling confident in defeating Gyarados, Axew collided with it but was sent flying and crashed into the ship.
"Axew!" Floyd shouted, realizing he had overestimated Axew's power. Axew was still in a pre-evolutionary stage, while Gyarados was fully evolved, and it seems it also activated his Dragon Dance.
Countless Wartortle attacked, but it didn't affect Gyarados much.
Rising high, Gyarados felt even more confident and glided towards the ship, but suddenly a huge stream of water hit him - Hydro Pump.
"Blastoise~"
Blastoise appeared, facing Gyarados.