Chapter 223: Chapter 222: LaRousse City
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The golden sun slowly rose from the eastern horizon, painting the distant eastern sky into a sea of golden clouds.
As the Sea Lion approached LaRousse City, Sato, who stood on the deck, began to make out a portion of the city's silhouette, partially shrouded by ocean mist.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Sato would never have believed how elevated LaRousse could be.
The island on which LaRousse was built seemed like a massive pillar towering over the ocean, standing alone in solitary majesty.
Indeed, LaRousse City was established atop a high-altitude column-shaped island. From his vantage point on the Sea Lion, Sato could only see the island's steep, jagged cliffs.
However, the rumors travelers shared about LaRousse City being a hub of advanced technology seemed well-founded.
Numerous modern-looking glass elevators were installed along the island's steep cliffs, hinting at the city's sophistication.
Beneath these glass elevators lay an enormous port constructed over the sea. From the Sea Lion's perspective, Sato could only glimpse a portion of it.
The port wrapped around the entire island, its immense scale leaving Sato in awe.
Having witnessed the bustling ports of Vermilion City and Lilycove City, Sato once again found his horizons broadened. The prosperity of LaRousse's port dwarfed the other two by comparison.
It was no exaggeration to say that LaRousse's daily cargo throughput likely surpassed the combined capacity of Vermilion and Lilycove.
This massive port, encircling the island, was undoubtedly a colossal economic powerhouse.
Gradually, the Sea Lion, along with hundreds of other ships of varying sizes, navigated into empty berths under the orderly direction of traffic officers mounted on large Flying-type Pokémon.
"No wonder LaRousse City is so advanced—it's incredibly wealthy and powerful," Sato thought, inhaling deeply and reflecting with amazement.
When the Sea Lion finally docked, Sato disembarked along the gangway with the other passengers. The moment his feet touched the dock, he noticed something unusual.
The concrete beneath his feet felt oddly soft, almost spongy. Some people, unaccustomed to the sensation, even stumbled and fell.
"Don't worry; you'll get used to it soon. This isn't ordinary concrete. It's called 'float-stone,' a new building material developed by LaRousse City's tech research institute. It's not only strong and flexible but also buoyant and resistant to seawater corrosion, making it ideal for marine construction," explained a smiling sailor stationed at the gangway to assist passengers.
"Float-stone, huh? What incredible material. With this, building cities on the ocean might become a reality in the future. But the cost must be astronomical, and it's likely monopolized by LaRousse City. Otherwise, the city would've expanded far beyond its current size," Sato thought, crouching down to poke at the float-stone beneath him.
To his amazement, it deformed under pressure but quickly regained its original shape, leaving him astonished.
As Sato suspected, the cost of float-stone was exorbitant. A single square meter cost millions of PokeDollars. Even with LaRousse City's immense wealth, they had only replaced a small portion of the port with float-stone.
Unlike other regions where Officer Jenny led the law enforcement, LaRousse City's security forces were not humans but box-shaped robots patrolling the area.
Each robot was accompanied by a few Magnemite or Magneton.
These cube-shaped robots were highly vigilant, distributed across the port in a systematic pattern, conducting thorough patrols.
If they detected anyone breaking the port's rules, they would immediately intervene to stop and warn them.
For first-time offenders, the robots were lenient, issuing warnings and recording the violations.
However, repeat offenders faced not only warnings but also fines, which increased exponentially with each infraction.
If a violator couldn't pay the fine, the robot's friendly display screen would switch to an enraged expression. They would give the offender a time limit to leave LaRousse City.
If the individual resisted or failed to leave within the allotted time, the robots would resort to forceful expulsion.
Underestimating these cube robots would be a grave mistake. Quite the opposite—they were equipped with data from powerful trainers who had battled at the Battle Tower.
While their strategies might be rigid, each robot had the tactical skills of at least an average to elite-level trainer.
Each robot carried external power sources like Magnemite, but internally, they housed up to 18 Pokémon of varying types and levels above 20.
The robots could devise optimal battle strategies based on their opponent's Pokémon.
What was most terrifying was their ability to work in unison. If all the Pokémon in a single robot were defeated, multiple robots could combine to form a powerful battle unit, reminiscent of a Transformer.
In their combined form, these robots effectively became pseudo Electric-type Pokémon capable of using common Electric-type moves like Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt, and Zap Cannon.
In summary, LaRousse City's defensive capabilities were incredibly formidable. The sheer number of these robots spread across the city was equivalent to a powerful League trainer army.
Sato vividly remembered from the movies that these cube robots had even managed to subdue Rayquaza. Although it was only temporary, it showcased their immense strength when working together.
As a result, after many bloody lessons, few dared to violate LaRousse City's rules.
To live peacefully in LaRousse, one had to strictly abide by its regulations.
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