The sea breeze no longer carried its fresh, salty scent, but a faint yet nauseatingly sweet mixture of chemicals.
The closer Ash and his friends got to the construction site of Old Lady Kin's so-called "Paradise Grand Hotel," the stronger the smell became.
At the same time, a sense of foreboding grew heavier.
Something bad had indeed happened.
The perimeter of the construction site was enclosed by a crude fence, but the entrance was unguarded, eerily quiet.
Pidgeotto circled restlessly in the air, letting out warning cries.
That being said, no one other than Ash and his friends could understand them.
Pidgeotto are very common Pokémon in Kanto, so the sound of a bird crying in the sky was perfectly normal.
"Let's go check it out."
Ash lowered his voice and was the first to slip through a gap in the broken fence.
The scene inside the construction site made the trio hold their breath in an instant, a chill crawling up their spines.
It should have been a busy construction site.
But at this moment, it resembled a silent slaughterhouse.
The ground wasn't just muddy; it was covered in a viscous, slimy, gelatinous liquid with a strange, pale purple hue, reflecting an unsettling light under the afternoon sun.
The cloyingly sweet chemical smell in the air reached its peak here, almost suffocating.
"What... what is this?"
Misty's voice trembled.
The Horsea in her arms began to struggle violently, trying to shrink back into her embrace in fear.
Brock knelt, touched a bit of the slime on the ground with his finger, carefully rubbed it, then brought it close to his nose. His expression instantly turned incredibly grim.
"It's jellyfish fluid... mixed with a high concentration of chemicals. This smell... it's a potent poison specifically designed to destroy the osmotic pressure of a Water-type Pokémon's cells!"
His gaze swept across the scene:
"They used bait to lure them into this shallow beach... and then used poison to make the bodily functions of these jellyfish, who live in seawater, collapse, causing them to lose massive amounts of water."
How should one put it?
It was a very villainous method.
And such methods are forbidden in the Pokémon world.
The high-level officials of the League are well aware of the existence of 'Gods'.
Aside from a few madmen, most people have no intention of provoking the gods.
There was no need to say more; the scene before them explained everything.
Several large metal cages were carelessly stacked to one side. Inside, one could vaguely see some jellyfish, still twitching weakly, their bodies severely shrunken and deformed.
Their vibrant, jewel-like crests had lost their luster, becoming dull and withered.
Fortunately, whether it was Tentacool or Tentacruel, their life force was very resilient.
Pokémon aren't normal jellyfish.
Research by Pokémon Professors has found—
Tentacool usually float in shallow seas, and during low tide, their dried-up bodies can occasionally be seen on the beach.
There are many cases where they can still survive after being dried out on beaches and other places.
Because the vast majority of their bodies are made of water, they become shriveled after leaving the sea, but they can be revived as soon as they touch water.
Their life force is so tenacious that one might think they're water bears.
That's more or less the situation.
"Bastard!"
Misty's eyes instantly turned red.
As someone who loved Water-type Pokémon, she simply couldn't tolerate such a thing happening.
Misty looked at the Horsea trembling with fear in her arms, and an unprecedented rage surged to her head.
"How dare they?! This is a massacre!"
Just then.
A shrill, smug laugh came from a temporary building deeper inside the construction site.
The door of the building was pushed open, and Old Lady Kin walked out, leaning on a cane and surrounded by a group of men in black suits who looked less like bodyguards and more like thugs.
Her face was beaming with a self-satisfied smile as she looked at the 'bountiful harvest' before her, as if admiring some masterpiece.
"Hehehe... see that?"
"This is what happens when you get in the way!"
Old Lady Kin pointed her cane at the mess on the ground, her voice full of cold satisfaction.
"With a few little tricks, this troublesome trash delivered itself right to my door."
"Once it's all cleaned up, my Paradise Grand Hotel can resume construction immediately!"
She had clearly noticed the trespassing Ash and his friends. Her gaze swept over the Horsea in Misty's arms, and a sneer appeared on her face:
"Oh? You brought a little pet?"
"What, here to meddle in other people's business?"
Ugh... one could only say that although Old Lady Kin was rich, she wasn't high-class.
The proof was that she didn't recognize Misty and Brock.
"...You really piss me off."
Ash's fists clenched tightly.
He looked at the fluid remains left by the jellyfish on the ground, at the dying Pokémon in the cages, Lt. Surge's warning, Horsea's fear, Old Lady Kin's ugly expression... all the images exploded in his mind.
Ash lifted his head, his eyes as cold as a frozen lake. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a
heart-stopping chill that clearly pierced through the foul air:
"...There really are some things in this world that are beyond redemption."
"I think you're the one who shouldn't exist in this world..."
"The biggest piece of trash!"
Honestly, from Ash's perspective, a few casualties among humans and Pokémon were a normal occurrence.
Let alone conflicts and wars between humans and Pokémon leading to death.
Even between humans and humans, and Pokémon and Pokémon, it was very normal for battles and casualties to occur.
After all, one can't say that situations like choking to death on food or water don't happen.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all very normal things.
But that absolutely does not include large-scale massacres.
"You stupid brat... do you know how much money I lost because these jellyfish delayed my construction schedule?" Old Lady Kin said with great annoyance.
Once her plan started, it would bring a huge economic boost to Vermilion City.
From the moment construction began, this hotel has been contributing to Vermilion City's economic development.
But the city was unwilling to provide her with more help.
Even the Gym Leader wouldn't help.
In that case, Old Lady Kin felt she had no choice but to take matters into her own hands.
As just an ordinary rich person, she obviously didn't understand what Lt. Surge and the others were so concerned about.
"Pokémon or humans, it doesn't matter."
"Anything that stops me from making money deserves to die."
Old Lady Kin didn't care about the League's regulations, even the one that forbids destroying the living environments of large groups of Pokémon.
Her thinking was simple: plenty of people break the rules, so why should I be the one who gets caught?
"Why are you wasting so many words on her?" Misty was clearly furious. "She doesn't deserve to hear them!"
"Go, Starmie!"
"Free those Tentacool and Tentacruel!"
Misty sent out her Pokémon.
The released Starmie was like a throwing star, flying at high speed to break open the iron cages trapping the jellyfish.
"You're pushing your luck, you brats!" Old Lady Kin's face turned sinister.
Should she get rid of these three brats?
It wasn't impossible—
The atmosphere between the two sides became tense, as if a fight was about to break out.
It looked like they were about to clash.
Just then.
"Pika?" Pikachu sensed something unusual.
The unusual presence was coming from the sea.
And the sound of the waves was getting louder and louder.
Splash—
Splash—
Splash—
SPLASH!!!
A suddenly massive wave washed over the construction site, drenching the jellyfish.
The previously half-dead jellyfish immediately began to regain their vitality.
____
New Story: FGO: Building a Lostbelt from Scratch, the Winner is Canon
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