Want to read ahead. You know where
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"Quick!"
The shout cut through the crashing waves.
Even while facing the relentless onslaught of towering tsunamis and monstrous Tentacruels, Officer Jenny and Misty refused to take a single step back.
They stood strong at the very front, their expressions hard with determination.
For Officer Jenny, protecting the city wasn't just her job, it was her duty, a responsibility she had sworn to uphold.
Misty, as the Cerulean Gym Leader, felt the same.
The city wasn't just where she worked, it was her home.
She couldn't abandon it, not even when a wall of water threatened to swallow it whole.
Pokémon attacks filled the air, streaks of light colliding with the surging waves.
Ice Beam. Solar Beam. Hyper Beam. Heat Wave. Energy Ball.
Together, they struck the tsunami head-on, shattering the wall of water into bursts of spray. For a moment, hope flickered.
But soon the sea roared again, and another towering wave rose just as high, rolling toward the city with merciless force.
Help had already been requested from the Pokémon League.
Somewhere out there, Lance and the rest of the Elite Four had likely been dispatched.
But they were far away in Indigo Plateau.
By the time they arrived, Cerulean City could already be reduced to ruins.
Jenny's grip on her baton tightened, her knuckles pale.
Misty bit her lip, refusing to let the fear show. Still, despair was starting to sink in.
And then,
A voice rang out above them, clear and commanding.
"Garchomp, Mega Evolve!"
The sky itself seemed to answer with a roar.
Power erupted like a storm as a Garchomp soared overhead, its form blazing with energy.
The aura of a Champion washed over the battlefield, shaking friend and foe alike.
Jenny and Misty lifted their heads in awe.
It was her.
The Sinnoh Champion.
Cynthia.
They didn't know why she was here, in this desperate corner of Kanto.
But right now, her presence was like a beacon of hope piercing through the storm.
"Everyone, hold strong!" Officer Jenny shouted, rallying the others.
"Protect Cerulean City!" Misty echoed, her voice carrying across the battlefield.
The surrounding trainers straightened, their eyes burning with renewed courage as they commanded their Pokémon forward.
Cynthia, mounted on her Mega Garchomp, didn't waste a second.
She had come to Kanto searching for someone, Sam, but the moment she landed, chaos had struck.
The Tentacruel horde couldn't be ignored.
As Champion, she had a responsibility to protect people, no matter the region.
Her eyes sharpened.
There was no time to wonder why the Tentacruel were abnormally huge.
The city came first.
"Togekiss, Milotic, go!" Cynthia hurled two Poké Balls forward.
In twin flashes of red, her graceful partners appeared.
Togekiss spread its wings with a melodic cry, while Milotic rose from the water like a serpent of light.
"Help hold back the waves!" Cynthia ordered.
Togekiss and Milotic unleashed their power, joining forces with Misty's Starmie, Jenny's squad, and every other trainer's Pokémon on the shore.
Together, beams of light and bursts of energy collided with the tsunami again and again, holding the line.
The addition of Cynthia's Pokémon tipped the scales.
Misty felt some of the crushing weight lift from her shoulders.
For the first time since the battle began, she dared to breathe.
But Cynthia knew this wasn't enough.
She had already noticed the source of the chaos, the five gigantic Tentacruel towering above the rest of their colony.
So that's it.
In every colony of Tentacool and Tentacruel, the strongest dictated the will of the swarm.
If she could defeat those leaders, the rest would scatter.
Her sharp gaze studied them.
They were enormous, easily dwarfing buildings.
But their aura, though fearsome, didn't surpass the peak of Elite level.
Against her Mega Evolved Garchomp, they would be crushed.
"Garchomp, forward!" she commanded.
Her dragon roared, the sound shaking the air.
With a single beat of its wings, Mega Garchomp shot forward like a jet fighter, the air splitting in its wake.
In seconds, it was upon the first Tentacruel.
"Garchomp, Dual Chop!"
Cynthia's voice was calm but sharp, cutting through the roar of the storm.
"Roooaaar!"
Her Mega Garchomp surged forward, scythes glowing with energy.
The dragon cleaved through the air like a living weapon, its claws flashing down on the nearest Tentacruel.
The massive jellyfish reacted instantly, tentacles bursting from beneath the waves to ensnare the incoming attacker.
But this was a Champion's partner.
Mega Garchomp's blades sliced clean through the writhing limbs, severing them before they could tighten their grip.
Without losing momentum, it swung again, two luminous arcs crashing into Tentacruel's head.
BOOM!
The impact detonated across the battlefield.
The monstrous Tentacruel reeled once, then collapsed into the sea, lifeless.
The trainers on the shore erupted with cheers, but Cynthia's golden eyes narrowed.
The fight was far from over.
The remaining Tentacruel shrieked in unison, the red gems on their foreheads igniting with a sinister glow.
"Not good…" Cynthia muttered.
Four waves of Supersonic blasted outward, a piercing storm of sound.
The air quaked with the dissonance, and for a split second, Mega Garchomp faltered mid-flight.
"Careless!" Cynthia scolded herself, biting down her frustration.
"Garchomp, pull back!"
But even as she gave the order, the swarm below reacted.
Thousands of Tentacool tilted upward as one, their watery bodies flashing, before launching a barrage of Water Guns into the sky.
The deluge hit like artillery fire.
Jet after jet hammered into Mega Garchomp's body, knocking it off balance.
The dragon snarled, wings straining to keep its position, but even a Champion's Pokémon staggered under such sheer numbers.
If Garchomp crashed into the sea, it could recover quickly.
But Cynthia, still mounted on its back, would be thrown straight into the water.
That was the true danger.
She wasn't shielded by Sam's strange, mysterious powers now.
This was just her, flesh, bone, and willpower.
"Hold steady, Garchomp!" she called, bracing herself against the dragon's scales as the two fought to regain control.
The Tentacool swarm shrieked, pressing their assault, the water's surface churning like a living weapon.
For the first time in the battle, Cynthia felt the edge of risk brush against her.
And then,
A voice thundered from above.
"Go!"
The command cracked across the battlefield, followed instantly by a surge of power that
shook the sky.
"Luka!!!"
"Hissss!"
"Liii, riii!"
"Waaaah!!"
Four distinct cries followed, each carrying an overwhelming aura.
From the clouds, four figures descended, cutting through the chaos like blades of light.
Their presence alone pressed against the battlefield, forcing even the Tentacruel to hesitate.
Cynthia's eyes flickered upward, her heart tightening.
Relief washed through her, but it was mixed with curiosity, and something else, a tension she couldn't quite name.
Because she knew exactly who those Pokémon belonged to.