Giant Tentacruel

"If you want to become a Trainer, this is something you have to go through. You can help him today, but what about later? Do you think you'll still be able to protect him? What will he do then? At a time like this, it's better not to stand in the way of a man's growth," Xiao Ran said softly.

"All right. Maybe you're right!" Shen Yue took a deep breath and spoke slowly. Then she stopped looking at Jiang Cheng, turned to rummage through her backpack, and put on her clothes. A bikini wasn't suitable for fighting.

Xiao Ran said nothing more. He called Popplio and the others over and began spraying Potion on them one by one. Floatzel's Quick Attack had injured Popplio badly. Even after being healed by Life Dew, a large patch on Popplio's back remained swollen.

Sneasel was in much the same condition, but had exhausted far more stamina than Popplio. Frequent attacks and repeated use of powerful Dark-type moves had left Sneasel aching all over. Ye Ling had to do more than apply Potion; she also gave Sneasel a simple massage to ease the physical fatigue.

"We can't stay here too long. We need to find somewhere to rest as soon as possible. It's too dangerous here. People from the Hall could come at any moment." After spraying the Potion, Xiao Ran spoke with a frown. Just then, Jiang Cheng finally returned from searching the corpse, his face pale.

"All right, let's leave first. It's too dangerous here." Jiang Cheng had been about to speak, but all the words he had bottled up were cut off. Everyone shouldered their backpacks and prepared to leave.

Because Pokémon existed, traveling was extremely common in this world. Travelers could encounter dense forests, streams, and all sorts of other terrain, so backpacks had become much more versatile as well. Fireproof, waterproof, corrosion-resistant... backpacks with every conceivable feature were available, and such features had practically become standard. That was why Xiao Ran and the others could enter the water with their backpacks without worrying about the contents getting wet.

Only after standing up did the group have the presence of mind to take a proper look at this Secret Realm. Rather than an entire continent, it looked more like an island. Their location was indeed much as it had appeared underwater: an almost landlocked bay, where Water-type Pokémon were unlikely to cross the rocky reefs to enter. A beach surrounded it, with a dense, primeval forest farther inland.

Although they had yet to reach the shore, they could already make out several Pokémon on the beach. Krabby, Wingull, Corphish... all were common sights on beaches. Xiao Ran and the others had no intention of catching them. Given their current circumstances, however, they would have to enter the forest to find somewhere secluded to rest.

"Let's take a look in the forest!" With things as they were, Xiao Ran and the others had little to deliberate over. They headed toward the dense woods.

The shrubs here were exceptionally tall. Even from across the beach, they couldn't see through the forest to what lay beyond, so they could only take things one step at a time. Fortunately, the journey was fairly peaceful. With so many people and Pokémon in Xiao Ran's group, wild Pokémon were unlikely to attack without good reason. Eventually, they found an abandoned hollow tree to serve as a temporary shelter and finally had time to examine what Jiang Cheng had found.

"He didn't have much on him. Just a few Poké Balls, mostly empty. One has a Pokémon inside, though. I don't know why he didn't send it out earlier." As Jiang Cheng spoke, he took out the Poké Balls he had found on the man and set them before the group one by one. Inside one of them, they could faintly make out a Pokémon composed of gray rocks.

"It's an Onix. Sending it out wouldn't have helped in that situation. Its rocky body would have made it sink straight to the seabed and drown. Besides, this Onix might not even be his Pokémon. Don't forget, the Hall also deals in Pokémon hunting," Xiao Ran said after a moment's thought.

"Then what do we do with this Onix? Send it out and release it?" Jiang Cheng asked, looking troubled.

"Whether it was his Pokémon or he forcibly captured it, do you think it'll obediently leave if we let it out now? It'll probably want to get some revenge first, won't it? Keep it with you for now. Once we're back, check its potential. If it's good, see if you can gradually win it over. Onix is a pretty good Pokémon." Xiao Ran shrugged. Onix was different from other Pokémon. Large Pokémon like it were so destructive that cities prohibited Trainers from sending them out at will. If they released it here and it attacked them, they really wouldn't have a good way to deal with it on short notice.

"Win it over after we get back? Great idea! That settles my second Pokémon!" Jiang Cheng immediately broke into a smile and put Onix's Poké Ball into his backpack.

"Other than the Poké Balls, there's just a handgun, a communicator, and a wallet..." He laid out the remaining items one by one, and the group fell silent as they looked at them.

There wasn't much in the wallet: just some personal information and a little cash. They didn't even know whether the information was genuine. The communicator was useless unless a message came in, and they certainly couldn't take the initiative to contact the man's superiors. For now, it could only sit there doing nothing.

In the end, the only thing of any real use was the handgun. Xiao Ran knew little about firearms and couldn't tell what type it was, but it held sixteen rounds, enough for self-defense.

"I remember you know how to use a gun, right? Then you take it. If you need to, don't hesitate. Just shoot." After sorting through the items, Xiao Ran handed the handgun straight back to Jiang Cheng.

"Heh, don't mind if I do." Jiang Cheng chuckled, turning the gun over in his hands as though he couldn't bear to put it down. There probably weren't many guys who didn't love guns.

"Tch. Look at you. What do we do now? Explore? Or go find the Hall?" Shen Yue cast a disdainful glance at her boyfriend, then turned to Xiao Ran.

"Now? We rest first. The Pokémon just fought a big battle. They're all tired." Xiao Ran shrugged, took Pokémon Cookies and Miltank milk from his backpack, and set them before the Pokémon. Then he began massaging Popplio to ease the physical fatigue.

Pokémon had remarkable powers of recovery. In the short time since the Potion had been applied, Popplio's swelling had already gone down noticeably. The greater concerns now were replenishing the energy spent and easing physical fatigue. Food would take care of the former, while the latter required rest or specialized massage techniques to speed up recovery.

"Attention. Preparations are complete. The operation to capture Giant Tentacruel will commence in one hour. All units within the Secret Realm are to monitor their surroundings closely. Report any abnormalities immediately."

The previously silent communicator suddenly broadcast the announcement three times in succession, startling Xiao Ran and the others as they rested. Fortunately, it fell silent again after the third repetition, but the message left the four of them exchanging bewildered looks.

"They're about to make their move?" Shen Yue asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"What's Giant Tentacruel?" Jiang Cheng looked utterly confused.

"In the sea!" Ye Ling quickly analyzed the contents of the message.

Xiao Ran said nothing. He, too, was analyzing the information conveyed in the announcement, and the mention of Giant Tentacruel deeply unsettled him.

Giant Pokémon had always existed in the games and anime from my previous life, but they had never appeared in this real world. Were they finally about to reveal themselves to the world?

In the games and anime of his previous life, there had been three kinds of Giant Pokémon. The first were those that became giant through natural mutation or growth, such as Giant Tentacruel and Giant Dragonite. The second were Totem Pokémon, dominant Pokémon from the Alola Region that bore the power of Z-Crystals. The third came from the Galar Region through Dynamax. That transformation, however, couldn't last. After releasing their power for a period of time, the Pokémon would usually return to normal.

Yet none of these three kinds of Giant Pokémon had appeared in the real world so far, at least according to the information Xiao Ran possessed. Even the Totem Pokémon that should have existed in the Alola Secret Realm and the Dynamax phenomenon that should have been present in the Galar Secret Realm had never appeared.

"No wonder they want to control this Secret Realm. Giant Tentacruel... that's a Pokémon on par with a Legendary Pokémon." Xiao Ran stared into space for a moment, unable to stop himself from murmuring.

"What? On par with a Legendary Pokémon?" Xiao Ran hadn't spoken loudly, but Jiang Cheng and the others had heard enough. Legendary Pokémon in the real world weren't nearly as weak as their game counterparts. Even the weakest possessed at least one supremely powerful ability, and even Elite Four Class Trainers had to face them with caution.

"I'm not sure either. That's just what the legends say." Xiao Ran came back to himself and shook his head.

"That's still terrifying. We're even dealing with Legendary Pokémon now. Just how big is this Tentacruel?" Shen Yue's face was full of disbelief.

"An ordinary Tentacruel is about 1.6 meters tall. As for Giant Tentacruel... a hundred times bigger? Maybe even more? I don't know the exact size either," Xiao Ran said after some thought.

"A hundred times bigger? Wouldn't that make it 160 meters tall? And it could be even bigger? That's terrifying!" Jiang Cheng's face filled with horror.

"Stop them!" Ye Ling stood up, her voice firm. If the Hall captured this Giant Tentacruel, their strength would undoubtedly soar. That was the last thing she wanted to see.