Chapter 179: The Dolphin Hero Shows Its Might

"Catch these Popplios and sell them at a high price to those noble ladies who love beautiful Pokémon, make a huge fortune, and then retire with a clean slate!"

"Anyway, Boss Hunter J has already been sentenced to life imprisonment and locked away in some prison; who knows if she'll ever get out in this lifetime."

"We should just finish this one job, then hide our names and tails and live out our days quietly."

The five of them pooled their wits, used the tools on their small spaceship, and in no time at all captured the entire group of Popplios who had never seen the world and knew nothing of society's treachery.

Once the great deed was done, all five immediately relaxed.

This island was rich in natural resources, hosting some wild animals like rabbits and pheasants, as well as numerous berries.

Thanks to this, they were able to hold a farewell meal before setting off.

With plenty of fish and meat down their bellies, plus a few bottles of beer they had secretly stashed on the ship, the group drank until their faces were red and necks thick, already beginning to fantasize about their wonderful future lives.

At this moment, the youngest of the five suddenly stopped at the river mouth and murmured, "Is that... a Wailord?"

His words instantly made the other four tense up, their drunkenness clearing considerably.

"Has someone come?"

"Impossible, right? This is an island far from the Paldea continent; how could things be that coincidental?"

"Yeah, that Wailord only stayed for a brief moment before leaving."

"What a pity we only have one small boat left; if Lady J and the spaceship were still here, perhaps we could have caught that Wailord and sold it for a good price."

The group sighed with regret, and with the tragic cries of the struggling Popplios as background music, they continued eating and drinking.

Until, suddenly, an angry cry rang out, and a Popplio wrapped in a stream of water shot up from the depths, charging straight toward them.

As Pokémon hunters, the five knew quite a bit of Pokémon-related knowledge, such as the fact that this Popplio was using the basic move—Aqua Jet.

Its power wasn't strong; it was just a bit faster, holding no real threat.

The five showed no panic at all; the boss smiled broadly, lifted the launcher beside him, aimed directly at the Popplio, and fired.

Bang!

The bullet automatically locked onto the Popplio, splitting open to transform into a large net that instantly bound it; no matter how the Popplio struggled, it could not break free.

The second brother strolled over leisurely, lifted the large net binding the Popplio, and teased, "How did we get a fish slipping through the net delivering itself to our door?"

As he spoke, he even poked the Popplio's body with his finger.

At this moment, the Popplio was filled with rage; upon returning, it had discovered its kin captured by these villains. It had intended to save its kin from fire and water just like the Dolphin Hero, but never expected the opponents to be so cunning, actually resorting to cheating by using ranged weapons.

Although captured, the Popplio was not the least bit panicked, because it knew the Dolphin Hero would definitely come to save it. The Popplio glared at the second brother with an expression saying 'your doom is imminent,' because the righteous Dolphin Hero was about to arrive!

He would use magnificent punches to knock away every villain committing evil on the ocean!

The second brother greatly disliked the way the Popplio was looking at him, his brows knitting tightly: "You—"

Boom!!!

Before the second brother could finish speaking, a tremendous roar came from behind, accompanied by the pained cries of the boss and the others.

The second brother turned to look behind him in a panic, discovering that the boss and the others were soaked through, the bonfire they had lit extinguished; clearly, they had suffered an attack from the water.

"Bastards..."

The boss bared his teeth in pain as he stood up, pulling out the electric shock weapon holstered at his side; the third, fourth, and youngest brothers also drew their weapons with faces full of fury, vowing to teach the Pokémon that had sneak-attacked them with Water Gun a good lesson.

Subsequently, they saw the true form of the attacker: a Swampert emerging from the water.

The boss was stunned; it was actually a Swampert, one of the iconic Pokémon of the Hoenn region?

Why was it in the Paldea sea?

And as if by sheer coincidence, Swampert possessed the Ground type attribute...

Swampert's gaze first fell upon the Popplios caught in the net, then glanced at the silly Popplio that had been captured earlier, its calm eyes tinged with a hint of fury.

It hated these Pokémon hunters more than anything!

Swampert held nothing back; seawater swirled around its body under its guidance, executing the move 'Liquidation,' gathering water to crash into the enemy with terrifying power and momentum!

Of course, there are also Pokémon in the world that condense Liquidation onto a specific part of their bodies to perform physical attacks, such as Golisopod.

However, Swampert's Liquidation was the most authentic attack, crushing the enemy with an absolute difference in power!

Whether it was the electric shock weapons the boss and the others fired in a panic, or any other weapons, none could break through the water swirling around Swampert's body.

After a colossal roar that made the entire island tremble, under the second brother's incredulous gaze, the boss and the other four failed to mount any effective resistance and were directly knocked unconscious by the immense force!

Like a superhero, Swampert cast a cold gaze over.

The second brother's body trembled; summoning strength from who-knows-where, he grabbed the Popplio and ran toward the spaceship, which was only a few steps away.

Boarding, igniting, and launching—all done in one smooth motion—the second brother panted heavily, watching himself gradually leave the ground, his panicked heart finally calming down a little.

Although he didn't know why that Swampert hadn't pursued, all he needed to do now was leave this island; as for those Popplios and the boss with the others, the second brother could no longer care about them.

At the very least, he could still sell this one Popplio he had caught.

"Who said you could leave?"

A calm voice suddenly rang out from behind; the second brother froze, his face changing drastically as he looked back, only to see a young man riding a Dragonite, looking at him with a mocking expression.

"Pop!!" (Thank you for saving my kin, Dolphin Hero!)

The Popplio began circling around Swampert again.

Its kin, who had been rescued, also looked at Swampert with faces full of shock.

The opponent's strength was obvious to all; that terrifying power was precisely the symbol of the Dolphin Hero. Perhaps, just as the Popplio had said, the Pokémon before them was the incredibly mysterious Dolphin Hero!

Realizing that those Popplios had also been thoroughly misled by the silly Popplio, Swampert covered its face in pain; if this continued, it was going to tragically lose its species name.

Luo Mu and Dragonite together used vines found on the island to tie the five people up tightly; by now, they knew they had met their downfall, their faces filled with utter despair.

After handling all this, Luo Mu clapped his hands and murmured, "I should still give the President a call and have her arrange for someone to come retrieve these five; although you, Dragonite, could carry them flying back, that would be too tiring."

"Druu!"

Dragonite nodded in strong agreement.

(End of Chapter)