Lorelei quickly realized that the appearance of the enormous Tentacruel was no mere coincidence. If it were a wild creature attacking, she could stop it outright, but human involvement made things far more complicated. As a trainer, she needed to proceed cautiously.
"We need to stop it first and then negotiate," Lorelei decided swiftly. Her hope was that the Tentacruel could be calmed, resolving the conflict through dialogue to prevent further escalation. If necessary, she was willing to broker peace, even if it meant humans facing consequences for their mistakes. Lorelei understood that if the giant Tentacruel was bent on revenge, as a member of the regional Elite Four, she had to stand her ground.
"Nessa, could you lend a hand?" Lorelei signaled to Nessa, "Riding a Pokémon is too slow; I need you to transport me with your abilities."
"Gladly." Nessa approached, gently adjusting Lorelei's shoulder.
In the blink of an eye, they disappeared from the scene.
Seeing this, Cynthia also turned to Caitlin. "We could use your help too."
Teleporting was indeed faster than flying.
"Of course." Caitlin nodded, and she and Cynthia vanished together.
The area fell silent.
Lusamine turned to Carl with curiosity. "Do you think they can defeat that Tentacruel?"
"I'm not too optimistic," Carl replied, shaking his head.
Cynthia and Lorelei were undoubtedly strong, but the threat posed by this Tentacruel was not to be underestimated. Through his aura, Carl quickly gathered information about the Tentacruel. This mutated creature was not only massive but had power nearing that of a legendary Pokémon. Originally, it was just an Elite Four-level Pokémon, but a twist of fate had propelled it beyond its limits.
With its current size and strength, a single Hyper Beam could obliterate an entire block. However, Carl speculated it wouldn't resort to such destruction, as even human armies couldn't be easily dismissed. Unless it were truly a supreme deity, it would struggle against humanity's strategic weapons.
"Are you sure you don't want to intervene?" Nanami asked.
"No need," Carl replied coolly.
Carl had advised Lorelei to be prepared, and she wouldn't come alone.
"Hoopa, can you show me the scene?" Carl gestured to Hoopa.
"Want me to broadcast it?" Hoopa twirled, removing a ring from its horn and tossing it into the air. The ring expanded tenfold, creating a white screen that displayed the Tentacruel's oceanic domain.
The sight made everyone gasp. Besides the gargantuan creature, countless Tentacool and Tentacruel were gathered, with their red gems prominently visible against the blue sea.
"Has every jellyfish in the ocean come?"
"The numbers are definitely in the tens of thousands!"
"And that's just the partial view; surely more have invaded the city."
"Can Cynthia and Lorelei handle this?"
The girls discussed anxiously.
Hoopa adjusted the view, revealing more details. On the city's shoreline, a group of trainers commanded grass and electric Pokémon to form a defensive line. Although some jellyfish broke through occasionally, they were quickly repelled.
The giant Tentacruel initially only directed its kin, but when the attack stalled, it finally acted itself. It swung its tentacles, raising a massive wave, which left the trainers pale with fear.
However, Carl's attention was caught by three other individuals.
"May, Touko, and N?"
"What are they doing here?"
Suddenly intrigued, Carl, who hadn't been very interested in the matter, now couldn't wait to see the scene for himself.
After all, it was Touko and May! In this merged world, anything was possible. Touko might be a fighter, and May, as a trainer from the region, rivaled the best.
But Carl was more intrigued by May. Known by various names in his past life, she was famous and stood alongside the best of them. She donned a light blue tracksuit, with a black sleeveless top underneath, paired with a skirt and leggings, radiating youthful energy.
Her hairstyle was distinctive, with her brown hair tied into twin buns resembling sweet rolls. With her well-trained Pokémon, she was a formidable opponent, even for someone like Lusamine.
Most of all, Carl was curious about the true size of her Pokémon. Rumor had it they appeared robust because of hidden props. Without those, they might deflate quickly.
Now was his chance to verify it.
"I'm going to check it out. You all stay put," Carl said, abruptly departing.
Nanami's eyes widened. "Carl can teleport? That's not something just any psychic can do."
Serena nodded, "He was at intermediate level before; he must have recently advanced."
Lusamine chimed in, "An intermediate psychic can't teleport like that. He must have just reached the advanced level."
Lillie playfully winked, "Isn't that expected, with that thing around?" She didn't mention the item specifically, but everyone understood.
Remembering Cynthia and Caitlin's display yesterday after acquiring new abilities, Carl's change didn't seem surprising.
Lusamife stuck out her tongue, "No wonder he looked so tired today. Turns out he had a breakthrough." Despite her actual age, she appeared younger than Cynthia.
Lusamine sighed, "What else could it be?"
"Oh, you're so naive," Lusamife teased with a knowing smile.
"What do you mean?"
"Those who understand will get it~"
"Just because you're older by a few seconds doesn't make you wiser!"
"Go ask Cynthia if you don't believe me. I'm still your older sister!"
"Even if you're the older sister, it's only by a bit, right?"
"Then tell me what I'm thinking."
"I..."
Lusamine was at a loss. She couldn't read minds; how could she know?
"See, you don't get it," Lusamife beamed triumphantly.
"Just get to the point. If it's something I can't imagine, I'll admit defeat."
"Alright, I'll spill the beans," Lusamife leaned in, whispering her theory.
After hearing her sister's hypothesis, Lusamine was amused yet exasperated. "Dear sister, let's not even discuss Carl doing something as wild as you suggest. With so many people in the villa last night, who could he have possibly done that with?"
The idea was absurd, even for wild imaginations. There were plenty of women in the villa, but Lillie was underage, so definitely not. Cynthia and Caitlin had only known Carl for two weeks; their relationship couldn't have progressed that fast. The only likely candidate, Serena, had been energetic during volleyball, not showing any signs of such activity. As for Nessa, she was in another region last night, so she had no opportunity either.