That meant Riley only had one place to go. The Ferry Terminal in Vancine City. Oh, but what about Sandra? He still had that Painted Pineco for Sandra? He would have to stop by Suncoast City first, but that was fine.
He took his regular team, Corvekt, Barksky, and Bluntooth, out from the Virtual Paradise from the PC in the Maple Labs lobby room, and put the two Darwing inside. Then, he stopped at his dad's house to say goodbye again. He was going into the next subregion of Chinocko now, it could be much longer before he got to see his dad.
"Hey, son! Where are you headed to now?" his father asked, happy to see him. Riley said he was headed to Suncoast City to deliver an item to Sandra, then was going to Peurt Town. "Peurt Town, huh? How are you planning to get there?" his dad asked. By Ferry, of course.
"I'm afraid, son," Riley's dad began, sighing. "The Ferry Terminal isn't running because there's been a huge oil spill in the path it sails. It can't take you to Peurt Town."
Riley gasped. An oil spill!? This had to have been Team Delta's fault! Only they would go this far! He clenched his fist and bolted back out the door! "P-please be careful" Riley's dad hollered after him, running to the door to make sure he was heard.
Riley arrived on the beach of Suncoast City and ran, tripping over himself in the sand, up to Sandra's Pokemon Gym. He didn't even change out of his water outfit he was in such a hurry.
"Hello, Riley." Sandra was standing behind the counter of the Sand Centre, packing up some things of hers into a backpack that she pulled up around her shoulders and tightened appropriately. Riley saw her take a small amount of money, an Ultra Ball, and a key. What was that key for?
Riley waved back, not wanting to be rude, of course. He took the Painted Pineco out of his bag and put it on the desk in front of Sandra. "A... Painted Pineco?" she questioned, moving her abnormally large ponytail off her shoulder. "From the girl in the Sherrow City Ice Rink's Box Office, you say? I'll have to thank her... In the meantime, I actually have something that I'd like you to bring to someone."
Sandra had been a huge help to Riley, so he decided he would do this for her.
"I have a White Rose that my friend Ross the Musician in Peurt Town wanted me to pick for him. Would you take it, please?" Sandra asked, handing Riley a glass capsule that contained a snow-white rose. Riley agreed that he would deliver it.
"I'm going to Emerald Atoll, just north of here. I'm going to see if there's anything I can do about the oil spill that just happened." Sandra looked up at Riley, who looked intrigued. "Y-you mean to say you want to come?" It wasn't like her to be so serious. But Riley guessed that it was a very serious situation, after all.
"Alright. Meet me on the beach. My family owns a private speedboat that will take us to Emerald Atoll." With that, she left. To the beach, Riley supposed. So he followed her.
So that inactive white boat with the blue painted designs on it belonged to Sandra's family. Riley personally didn't care up until now, but now that he knew he felt it was worth questioning before when he hadn't.
He got in the seat next to Sandra, who looked so much more mature now that she was being serious. "You better buckle in tight. This thing goes as fast as the Ferries." And it did. Riley had to take his hat off and put it in his bag so it wouldn't fly off. It was a very impressive ride.
They stopped at the entrance to a crescent-shaped atoll that was primarily made of rocks. "There's only one island in this atoll, so I'm going to stop here as opposed to on the island. Talk to me if you want to go back to Suncoast City, or if you want me to heal your Pokemon for you. I'm going to use my on-board equipment to see if I can make a solution to dilute the poisonous oil.
"And be careful. Lapras might get hurt if she stays in the oil too long. Be quick if you're going to use Lapras' Waves." With that, she got up and went to the back of her speedboat to set up a high-tech machine which she poured some pink liquid into. The process was very confusing to Riley, so he didn't decide to stay on the boat. He hopped on Lapras' back and glided along the water, being careful not to keep Lapras swimming in the poisonous oil for too long. He saw the island that Sandra was talking about. It was a very, very small island, only a little bit larger than the boat, but what was underneath the island was much more important.
There was an entrance to a cave on the small rock island. What was in that cave? Riley's curiosity got the better of him, so he went in the direction of the island and cave.
He hopped off of Lapras and returned it to its blue PokeBall in the Pokemon Caller. Three of the six PokeCaller slots were now filled up. What other Pokemon could possibly help Riley on his adventure? He was excited to find out, regardless!
He looked down into the cave. There were no electrical lights or torches, but there were sapphire gems on the walls that appeared to be emitting enough light to illuminate the cave with a pleasing blue air.
He walked in, the cave entrance having a steady and slightly steep decline which lead into an underwater tunnel. He followed the rather-tight tunnel until he came upon some Team Delta Grunts that were ordering Grimer to do something! What mischief were they up to!? He ran up!
"Are you here to help us?" the female, who had platinum blonde hair that was in a fishtail braid that reached the middle of her back and had a beret on asked, her eyes looking hopeful.
Of course Riley wasn't helping Team Delta! He would never even dream of it!
"Ugh. Fine! Then take me on!" the Team Delta Grunt shouted, clenching her fists and taking on a battle position!
"Merim!" her Grimer chattered.
What could Riley use against a Grimer!? He hadn't kept any of his Darwing with him!
"Bar..." Barksky growled. But then, it had an idea! It nudged Riley's hand. Huh? Riley gasped, then cupped his hand around Barksky's chin as it tried to explain that it had thought of a new move it could use.
It put its paws on the ground and lowered its torso to reduce its vulnerability. It started digging like the dedicated canine it was and managed to dig a hole through the floor of the cave-tunnel.
Grimer used Toxic, but it couldn't hit Barksky while it was under the ground!
When Barksky popped back up from the ground, it made sure to cover the Grimer in the rocks! The salt in the rocks diluted to the poison of Grimer's body, causing it great damage! But it still had a decent amount of health left to fight with. It used Tackle on Barksky!
Barksky took a little bit of damage, while avoiding being poisoned. It used Dig again, digging deep into the rocky floor. Grimer used Protect, but its defenses fell again by the time Barksky landed its attack, and so the Grimer fainted!
"Thank you," the female Delta Grunt giggled, covering her mouth a little with her gloved fingers as to not seem pushy. "You battling my Grimer has helped it digest the oil through the tunnel's rock filters. So, you just helped me. Thanks!"
Riley was baffled. What was she talking about? 'Digesting the oil through the tunnel's rock filters?' That sounded like something good-hearted. Was Team Delta actually trying to help? No, it wasn't possible. He proceeded on, where he met up with another Grunt.
"Hey! You might have taken down my team of Toxock, but I'm back, and I have a Grimer team this time! Can you win against us now!?"
This was the Grunt who had pink hair from before. What was her name again? Herret? Henna? Hannah? Something with an H. He couldn't be bothered to remember the name of a bad-doer. Only to fight them!
"Gri!" burped the first Grimer, purple bubbles floating out of its mouth.
"Mer!" the second Grimer strained, its body straining as it slurped up a puddle of black on the ground from below it.
"Grimer!" the third Grimer sighed, pleased, and rubbing its tummy region.
Barksky got the first attack and used Dig! It hid under the ground and avoided the attack of all three Grimer, one purple, one purple-blue, and one purple-red. He popped up and hit the pure purple one, causing it to faint!
The bluer one used Poison Beam, but Barksky dodged the attack! The other one used Minimize, and shrunk its body slightly, minimizing its vulnerable area.
Barksky used Dig once more, digging deep under the blue-lit tunnel-cave. It popped up and hit the bluer-pigmented of the two Grimer, causing serious damage! But the Grimer held on, and used Poison Jab, jabbing its drippy hand into Barksky's rib! Barksky only took a little damage, though. The red-pigmented one used Protect, but it failed!
Barksky used Ice Beam on the blue-purple Grimer, and it had been weakened so much that it fainted, even though the attack was ineffective! The red Grimer used Poison Beam, and it launched a purple and foul-smelling beam at Barksky! Barksky was hit, but took little damage!
It used Dig a final time, and dodged Grimer's Tackle attack! Then, it popped up and smothered the Grimer in rocks and salts that eroded its body. It fainted in only one hit, and was returned to its PokeBall.
"Again, you beat me!" the Grunt, Hāṛa, sighed, putting her face in her palm. "Well, at least you're being helpful. Grimer and Muk have a much easier time filtering oil while battling."
Riley was greatly confused. Were Team Delta actually using their Grimer to help the case of the oil spill, or were they somehow trying to trick him into believing that while they were actually the ones who were feeding it and who had caused it!? It was obviously a trick! Whoever was behind all this was going to be stopped!
There was the masked man from before! Team Delta's Leader! Riley ran up to him, knowing he had to do something! What was Team Delta doing playing with toxic oil in an area with countless Pokemon living!?
"Ah," the man sighed, turning when he heard Riley's unique pace. "It's you, I see. Are you here to help?"
Riley snarled. He would never help Team Delta!
"No? A shame. Without us, the Pokemon in Emerald Atoll would be primarily killed off. But it was my own foresight that had them evacuated. I predicted the spilling of this large amount of oil so I had my Grunts and other Team Delta members take all of the Pokemon out of this area. They're all in a regulated aquarium in our base of operations to the north. If you're not going to help, then go away."
Who was it underneath that mask? They, for whatever reason, sounded familiar. Well, who it was mattered not. What did matter was that they be stopped!
"Bark bark!" Barksky barked at the top of its lungs!
"Fine, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get!" the masked man shouted, angered. "Muk!"
A huge Pokemon that was even taller than Riley that had a great resemblance to the other Grimer turned around, sucking oil up from the slippery rock ground.
"Use Poison Beam!" Team Delta Leader ordered.
It did. Its Poison Beam was so strong that it sent Barksky flying backwards! But it used its claws to grab hold of the ground before it could skid too far. It came running back and stood protectively in front of Riley!
"Bark!" it boofed! It used Dig, crawling under the ground! Muk used Earthquake, and Barksky's cry of pain could be heard all the way on the surface! It popped up and smothered the Muk in corrosive rocks. The Muk took a decent chunk of damage, but not enough to bring it into critical condition, or even more than a quarter of its health!
"You see," Team Delta Leader began. "Muk and Grimer can digest oil in a similar way to how a sponge picks up water. We're using their unique ability to do this in order to filter out the oil from the atoll, not only stopping it from spreading, but also reducing it. At this rate, though, it may take a lot of effort and time. But I think it is worth it in order to be able to return the evacuated Water-type Pokemon to the area in an environment where they will be safe and healthy."
Ugh! Just shut up! This was time to battle, not time for conversation! Riley ordered Barksky to use Ice Beam, then to dodge the next attack!
Muk used Poison Beam at the same time Barksky used Ice Beam! Barksky fought against the power of Muk's Poison Beam, but its attack was weak against Poison-type, so ultimately Barksky was the one who had received damage! It flew back again, but not quite as far this time.
It dug under the ground right as Muk tried to use Toxic, and dodged the attack! It crawled through the underground, but then it noticed that it had run right into an illuminating sapphire. It tried to dig around it, but it couldn't find a way around the large raw jewel! It climbed back to the surface, not willing to risk having Earthquake used on it!
Muk used Earthquake as expected, but Barksky had been in the air after jumping out of the ground and wasn't damaged! Barksky moved to a different spot and dug under the ground. The rocky ground here was gross and had sticky black tar dripping through it as Barksky dug. The canine popped out and coated Muk's body in the rocky ground! Muk took damage, but it was still only about at half what it started with!
It slammed its gel hand down on top of Barksky and started injecting toxins into it. It struggled under the Muk's strong hand, but couldn't escape! It was poisoned!
Barksky yelped in pain, but eventually managed to escape Muk's ruthless attack! It dug deep into the ground and drilled its way right into Muk's underside! Barksky could been seen as a silhouette through Muk's indigo body until Barksky drilled its way through the top of Muk's head! Muk was seriously damaged, but it still survived! Even if it was in critical condition!
"Muk! Stand down!" yelled the disturbingly familiar voice underneath the mask! He sent Muk to the sidelines to continue digesting the poisonous oil, then the masked man sent out a Grimer!
Barksky used Dig again and found itself in front of a wall of water. "Ark!" it yelped! But the water was being blocked by something. It was one of the luminous sapphires! The sapphire was keeping the water's edge from coming into the tunnel-cave! Quickly, Barksky dug upward and buried Grimer underneath the rocks it had pushed up while digging!
Grimer fainted, but not before it could see Barksky fall to its knees as the poison bubbled up as it escaped through the poor canine's pores.
"Grimer, return!" Team Delta's Leader yelled, sending the unable-to-battle Pokemon off to complete its other job. He pressed the button on the side of his helmet that had the Team Delta insignia on it, and it brought up a graph on the visor of the helmet. He then took out a PokeBall. "Lucky for you, the oil levels have been decreasing. Your Barksky may be spared!
"Now, Grimer, come here and get some digestive assistance!" A Grimer who was sucking oil up in another corner came into battle! It immediately used Protect, and the Dig attack that Barksky used did no damage to it!
Barksky used Brick Break! It slammed its paw down on Grimer as it using a karate chop! Grime had low defence, so it did about half of its usual health worth of damage! Grimer used Poison Beam, hitting Barksky on the forehead! And to add salt to the wound, Barksky received damage from poison! It would faint soon!
It used Brick Break once more, causing the weak Grimer to faint! Then, Barksky's inflicted poison caused it to go unconscious so its body could recover. Riley sent out Corvekt! At least Muk's Poison-type attacks wouldn't be super effective against Corvekt, even if its Flying-type attacks weren't super effective on Muk!
Corvekt used Fly! It flew as high as it could up to the ceiling of the tunnel-cave! It easily dodged Muk's Poison Beam with the momentum its wings gave it! Then, it came down and ran its wooden broadsword into Muk's eye! Muk reeled back, but its venomous excretions poisoned Corvekt! Corvekt caved in on itself as purple and indigo electric-like shocks encapsulated its slick black body.
It used Aerial Ace, attacking Muk with incredible speed and precision, and landing a critical hit on top of that! Muk fainted!