The sea breeze was salty and sharp, carrying moisture as it slapped against his face.
This stretch of sea was not calm.
The Sharpedo didn't continue its attack; instead, it waited, waiting for its Trainer to issue the final command.
Ahead, the low drone of a Speedboat motor blocked Ariel's path of escape.
Shelly stood atop it, her long, wet hair draped loosely, a few strands sticking to her cheeks, exuding an unmasked wildness.
She tossed the Poké Ball in her hand carelessly, but her eyes were pinned on Ariel like a venomous snake.
Enemies meet on a narrow path.
Shelly's tossing motion stopped, her palm clenching tightly as the Poké Ball let out a soft click.
She looked at Ariel, her voice piercing through the sea breeze with a teasing tone:
"Last time, I lost so many subordinates to you brats, and it pained me for a long time. However, Team Aqua's resources are ultimately plentiful. Replenishing this combat power is just a matter of moving a finger."
She tilted her head, her gaze sweeping over the Greninja beneath Ariel before looking at the Sharpedo circling behind him.
"Now, you have two choices. Die in the mouth of the Sharpedo, or let the Tentacruel in my hand dispose of you. But big sister suggests you choose the Sharpedo; I raised it since it was young, its killing technique is skilled, the pain will be short, and it'll let you go with some dignity."
Ariel stood on Greninja's back, the waves beneath his feet rising and falling with the Pokémon's breathing.
Facing Shelly's blatant killing intent, he didn't show any superfluous emotion.
Fear, anger, anxiety—these negative feedbacks were meaningless at this moment.
His brain worked rapidly, calculating distance, water flow speed, and the opponent's Pokémon's reaction time.
His Psychic field extended around his body.
Greninja sensed its master's intention.
That long red tongue swayed slightly in mid-air; it seemed to be from the sea breeze, but it actually precisely obscured the Poké Ball clips on Ariel's waist.
Ariel spoke, his voice low, carrying a hint of perfectly timed weakness:
"Don't attack. I'm just passing through; there's no need for lives to be lost. I can give you the information on those two people. Their identities are indeed unusual; you should be interested."
As he spoke, his body leaned forward slightly, showing a posture of desperate compromise.
Yet his fingers had already firmly gripped the edge of a Poké Ball.
Hearing this, a flash of playfulness crossed Shelly's eyes.
She didn't let down her guard, but she did experience a momentary hesitation due to the temptation of the information.
"Oh? Those two people?"
Shelly chuckled and took a step forward, seemingly wanting to hear more clearly.
"Tell me about it. If the value is enough, perhaps I can consider leaving you an intact corpse."
In that very instant.
The calmness in Ariel's eyes completely transformed into tangible killing intent.
There was no wind-up, no extra nonsense.
Now!
"Die."
As the words fell, the Poké Ball had already been thrown out.
Malamar levitated in mid-air, its tentacles dancing as powerful Confusion ripples slammed toward Shelly like a heavy hammer.
This sudden attack completely broke the previous rhythm.
Shelly's pupils constricted, but as an Executive, her reaction speed was extremely fast, and she threw out her Poké Ball almost in the same second.
Tentacruel burst out from the water, blue currents converging in front of it to form a Water Pulse that collided head-on with Malamar's Confusion.
The two energies collided in mid-air, kicking up a large cloud of mist.
"Devious brat!"
Shelly gritted her teeth, her voice shrill.
"Do you League guys always target the opposing Trainer first when you meet?!"
Ariel looked at her coldly, his tone flat:
"The more devious parts are still to come."
Shelly froze, a sense of unease rising in her heart.
Beneath the sea's surface, a dark shadow was moving at extreme speed.
It was Weavile.
It completely concealed its presence, using the cover of the waves to bypass Tentacruel's frontal defense and rush directly toward the bottom of the Speedboat.
Its sharp claws shimmered with a cold light in the seawater.
It turned out that while Malamar was drawing attention in mid-air, Ariel had released Weavile into the seabed!
Weavile swung its arms violently, the sound of tearing metal clearly audible over the sea.
The Speedboat's hull was forcibly torn open with a huge gap, and seawater flooded in frantically.
Losing its buoyancy, the Speedboat rocked violently and began to sink.
Shelly's expression changed.
Her balance faltered, and she had to abandon the Speedboat, leaping into the sea.
Tentacruel swam quickly and caught her on the surface.
She stood disheveled on Tentacruel's bell; her footing was slippery, and she no longer had that condescending composure from before.
Ariel watched this scene and didn't stop his movements just because he had succeeded.
The Greninja beneath his feet was already prepared, a Water Shuriken forming in its hand.
Shelly stood on Tentacruel, her eyes so dark they seemed ready to drip water.
She looked at the wreckage of the Speedboat sinking to the seabed, then at Ariel; the anger of being toyed with made her breathing heavy.
Now, having completely lost her previous contempt, she became serious.
"Very well."
She squeezed these two words through her teeth.
"It seems that not getting rid of you last time was my biggest mistake."
Ariel did not respond to her Taunt.
At sea, the party that loses their footing is the prey.
He glanced at Weavile, who had returned to Greninja's side, fragments of the Speedboat still hanging from its sharp claws.
At this point, the battle had shifted from being suppressed to a stalemate.
As long as both Trainers were in the sea, everyone was in danger!
"You think it ends like this?"
Shelly sneered, commanding Tentacruel to swim rapidly across the water, attempting to pull away and reorganize her formation.
"This stretch of sea is my home turf."
Tentacruel waved its long tentacles; beneath the surface, countless others of its kind began to gather, and the seawater became murky.
"This is...?"
Although Ariel didn't understand how she did it, now was not the time to look into it.
How to get rid of this group of pesky Tentacruel was the top priority!
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