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Ariel didn't look at the shouting youths; he merely touched the slightly cold Poké Ball at his waist.
His fingertip brushed against the center seam of the sphere, and the sound of the latch clicking open was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
Accompanied by a flash of red light, the already cramped living room was instantly occupied by a massive shadow.
Krookodile's burly frame now stood steadily in front of Ariel, its dark red scales glinting with a metallic cold light under the lamps.
Most striking was the natural pattern around its eyes, resembling black goggles; combined with those slit pupils, a bloody scent of the primitive wilderness wafted forward.
Every bulge of its muscles represented absolute violence.
Krookodile was in no hurry to attack.
It simply lowered its head slowly and squeezed out an extremely suppressed growl from the depths of its throat.
The sound wasn't like a roar, but more like muffled thunder exploding deep within a swamp.
The air became thick at that moment.
The sparks of electricity Electabuzz had been gathering were like a snuffed-out candle flame, instantly extinguished.
This Pokémon, pampered in the city, felt the double crushing weight of level and species.
It was the scrutiny of a top predator toward its prey.
Electabuzz's knees began to knock uncontrollably, the frequency increasing until it let out a short wail; its entire body seemed to have its bones removed, collapsing like mud onto the grease-stained floor.
It didn't even dare to look up at Krookodile, simply burying its head firmly between its arms.
Krookodile grinned with its large mouth full of serrated fangs, revealing an extremely mocking expression.
It contemptuously swept its long tail across the ground, kicking up a gust of wind that knocked the teetering Camera directly to the floor.
"Get out."
When Ariel spat out that word, his tone was as flat as if he were shooing away a few flies.
The youths who had been so arrogant just a moment ago now had faces paler than wall dust.
The leader even forgot to breathe, his chest heaving violently.
They didn't even bother to recall the limp Electabuzz, much less pick up the expensive photography equipment; they jostled through the doorway, one of them tripping over the threshold and scrambling away into the darkness of the alley.
The air pressure in the room returned to normal.
"Good!"
Not knowing who shouted first, the small seaside wooden house was nearly overturned by the cheers of the fishermen.
"Well done, lad!"
"That's exactly how you should deal with these uneducated brats!"
The proprietress, her face flushed, wiped her sweat while carrying out a massive wooden tray from the kitchen piled high with sizzling roasted meat; the scent of spices felt somewhat abrupt to stomachs already full from the Gluttony Contest.
"Take it, this is on the house!"
The proprietress shoved the tray into Ariel's hands without allowing any argument.
Ariel looked at the mountain of meat, enough to feed an ordinary person for three days, and his stomach let out a faint protest.
The previous competition had already pushed him to his physiological limit; now, even the slight smell of cooking fumes felt like torture.
Ariel expressed that he truly couldn't eat any more, but the proprietress was so insistent that he could only have Krookodile finish it for him.
Sure enough, a human's appetite could never compare to a Pokémon's; Krookodile devoured the mountain of meat in just a few bites.
This shocking scene drew another round of cheers from the surrounding crowd.
In the gaps of the noisy crowd, Drake sat in the corner.
He held the now-empty wine glass, his gaze fixed on Ariel.
From the moment Krookodile appeared, the old man's gaze had changed.
It was no longer the look of someone watching an interesting junior, but rather the scrutiny of an unpolished jade that had already begun to show its brilliance.
"This kid is quite interesting."
Drake muttered to himself and then drained the last drop of wine from his glass.
The sea breeze at the Pier carried a salty, fishy scent, and the waves lapped against the wooden boardwalk with a dull thud.
The streetlights were dim and yellow, casting long shadows of the two men.
Drake walked ahead, his cloak fluttering loudly in the wind.
He stopped, turned around, and pulled a cigarette from his pocket, but didn't light it, just keeping it in his mouth.
"Thanks for earlier."
Drake's voice sounded somewhat raspy amidst the sound of the waves.
"Those brats might not have much skill, but looking at their gear and the training marks on that Electabuzz, their family background is likely not simple. You don't need to worry about the trouble that follows; this old man will handle it."
Ariel stood three paces away from him, hands in his pockets.
Hearing this, he deliberately frowned, a look of youthful conceit and disdain appearing on his face.
"Uncle, did you drink too much just now?"
Ariel squinted at Drake's faded old clothes.
"They're Trainers, and they look like some kind of Social Media Moguls. You're just an old man drinking alone in a tavern; how are you going to settle this? With that broken wine glass in your hand?"
Drake froze for a moment, then, as if he had heard a massive joke, a low laugh rumbled in his throat.
"A broken wine glass?"
Drake stopped laughing, his slightly hunched back straightening instantly.
An extremely terrifying aura rose from him; it wasn't the pressure of a Pokémon, but the commanding presence forged through countless top-tier battles.
The sea breeze seemed to bypass him at that moment.
"I am Drake."
He spoke calmly, each word like a heavy hammer striking the surface of the sea.
"Leader of the Hoenn League's Elite Four. In these waters, there is nothing I cannot settle, and no trouble I cannot handle."
Ariel's reaction was perfect.
He first froze in place, his gaze shifting rapidly from disdain to confusion, and then to a near-horrified shock.
His mouth hung open, a gurgling sound coming from his throat, but he couldn't utter a single word.
He was still clutching a half-finished bottle of water in his right hand; as his fingers trembled violently, the bottle nearly slipped into the sea.
He instinctively took a half-step back, perfectly portraying the helplessness of an ordinary person suddenly discovering the vagrant next to them is the Prime Minister.
"The... the Elite Four?"
Ariel's voice trembled severely, cracking noticeably.
Drake was very satisfied with this effect.
Laughing heartily, he stepped forward and slammed his large, calloused hand onto Ariel's shoulder.
Bang.
This slap was so powerful it nearly drove Ariel straight into the sand.
"Don't give me that look like you've never seen the world!"
Drake withdrew his hand heartily.
"Where's that ruthlessness you showed those brats? That actually had a bit of my old style! Young man, you've got strength and spirit; I like the look of you."
Ariel kept his head down, his shoulders still trembling slightly, looking as if he hadn't yet recovered from the shock.
In reality, he was silently calculating in his mind.
Drake's appreciation had been secured; the trust of such a top-tier NPC was more solid than any reward.