Ariel knew very well that in this situation, every second of hesitation was equivalent to suicide.
Ariel took stock of his Pokémon; currently available for use at sea were Malamar, Gyarados, and Greninja. Weavile could barely manage a few moves, but its combat power was severely limited.
There was also a Poliwrath, but Ariel wasn't sure if it would follow his orders, especially since he had just used it as bait.
Ariel threw a Poké Ball, and Gyarados's massive body pushed aside the seawater, kicking up bursts of spray.
Shelly's originally gloomy gaze underwent a subtle change the moment it touched Gyarados.
Ariel was all too familiar with that look.
It was the greed of seeing a rare treasure, an undisguised desire for possession.
Shelly had spent years roaming the seas and had seen eighty if not a hundred Gyarados, but the one before her was clearly different.
Its build, the luster of its scales, and that sense of near-absolute dominance in the water made Shelly's heart race.
Looking at Shelly's expression, which suggested she wanted to dismantle Gyarados and pack it away, Ariel felt a wave of disgust.
People from Team Aqua seemed to have some sort of physiological obsession with his Gyarados.
Was his Gyarados some kind of Team Aqua Succubus Saint Body or something?
He didn't have time to dwell on that silly thought; danger had already arrived.
Shelly commanded Sharpedo to launch an attack.
That Sharpedo was like an arrow released from a bow, cutting through the water's surface and charging straight at Ariel.
At the same time, an anomaly occurred on the seabed beneath Ariel's feet.
It was a dense, scalp-numbing rubbing sound.
Dozens of Tentacruel and Tentacool were gathering on the seabed; they were the natives of this sea area and its deadliest killers.
A pincer attack from two sides.
Ariel's brain worked at high speed.
Behind him was a peak Gym Leader Level Sharpedo, and underwater was a massive, highly Toxic group.
In front of him were Shelly and the Tentacruel beneath her; although Ariel didn't have time to check this Tentacruel's specific level, he could roughly sense it.
This Tentacruel's aura was on par with that Sharpedo—both were at the peak of Gym Leader Level!
He had to split his forces!
In a flash of inspiration, Ariel didn't hesitate and directly issued an order to Gyarados:
Sink to the bottom and clear the area!
A hint of ferocity flashed in Gyarados's crimson eyes. Without any hesitation, its massive tail slammed against the water's surface, and its entire body, like a depth charge, plunged directly into the bottomless ocean, charging toward the group of Tentacruel.
Simultaneously, Ariel grabbed Malamar's tentacle and sent it a clear signal:
Confusion, take flight!
A blue Psychic halo appeared around Malamar's body, and an invisible gravitational field instantly enveloped Ariel, forcibly yanking him from the sea surface to suspend him in mid-air.
The moment he left the sea surface, Ariel let out a long sigh of relief.
The biggest taboo in naval battles is falling into the water, especially when facing groups of Water-type Pokémon.
Staying in the air at least avoided entanglement with the Tentacruel swarm and widened the distance from Shelly.
Shelly watched Ariel take flight but wasn't in a hurry to give chase.
She folded her arms and stood atop the Tentacruel, letting the sea breeze ruffle her hair.
She knew very well that on this vast ocean, a human trying to escape had no choice but to seek their own death.
Ariel was now like a fish in a net; sooner or later, he would run out of strength.
She turned her gaze underwater.
Gyarados had already collided with the group of Tentacruel.
The battle situation underwater was far more tragic than on the surface.
Although individual Tentacruel were lower in level than Gyarados, they had the advantage of massive numbers and extremely potent toxicity.
Dozens of Tentacruel formed a massive circular formation, their tentacles waving in the water like countless lashing whips, constantly striking Gyarados's scales.
These Tentacruel were very cunning; they didn't resist head-on but used the cover of the currents to continuously release toxins.
Although Gyarados possessed astonishing power, in such a dense encirclement, it had brute force but found it difficult to use.
A cold smile played at the corners of Shelly's mouth.
She waited patiently.
She knew that once the toxins of those Tentacruel stacked up, even a Gyarados wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
As soon as Gyarados collapsed from poisoning, this top-tier Pokémon would be hers for the taking.
Ariel hung in mid-air, taking in the entire situation below.
Malamar's Confusion was maintaining his height, which was very taxing on its stamina.
He looked toward Greninja and Weavile on the sea surface.
Greninja went without saying; even if Ariel didn't manage it, Shelly wouldn't be able to take it down anytime soon.
Although Weavile wasn't suited for naval combat, it could still play a role at the moment.
Ariel's gaze locked onto Shelly once again.
That woman was too confident.
She thought she was just watching a show, unaware that Ariel was precisely exploiting this mindset of hers.
He didn't intend to let Gyarados exhaust its stamina among those Tentacruel; that was only the first step.
What he needed was for Shelly's attention to be diverted.
The underwater battle grew increasingly fierce.
Gyarados thrashed in the water, every swing of its tail creating a massive whirlpool that knocked several Tentacool several meters away.
But more Tentacruel swarmed up, their tentacles tightly winding around Gyarados's body as purple venom seeped through the gaps in its scales.
Gyarados let out a low roar, the sound penetrating the water's surface and echoing across the sea.
Ariel could feel Gyarados's anger and its draining stamina.
But he didn't order it to retreat; instead, he told it to keep pushing deeper!
Seeing Gyarados's miserable state, Shelly couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha."
"A brat is just a brat after all, only capable of using small tricks."
"Once faced with real danger, he lacks any judgment."
"To actually be foolish enough to think a single Gyarados could break through a formation of dozens of jellyfish."
Shelly flicked her damp hair and looked at Greninja and Weavile on the sea surface.
She didn't even need to worry about Gyarados; it would be defeated by the Tentacruel on its own. Now she just needed to eliminate these two Pokémon, and then the brat in the air would be a turtle in a jar!
"I'll finish you two off first!"
Shelly's voice was laced with ice, carrying a playful tone like a cat catching a mouse.
The pair of crimson 'eyes' on the Tentacruel she straddled were dead-locked on Ariel hanging in mid-air, like a mobile turret ready to launch a fatal blow at any time.
And her command, like an unsheathed blade, pointed directly at Greninja and Weavile on the sea surface.
"Roar!"
Receiving the order, Sharpedo's dorsal fin was like a black blade cutting through the waves, trailing a long white line of water as it pounced with startling speed.
This sea area became violent because of its agitation, and the salty sea breeze blew against their faces, carrying a nauseating smell of blood.
"Greninja, cover with Water Shuriken! Weavile, use Ice Shard to create footholds on the sea surface and pull away!"
In the air, Ariel's heart tightened; every change in the battle situation tugged at his nerves.
His voice was clearly conveyed to the two Pokémon through Psychic power.
Greninja's reaction was as fast as a phantom.
It lowered its body, almost hugging the sea surface, and as its palms clapped together and separated, several star-shaped shuriken condensed from high-pressure water whistled out, accurately shooting toward Sharpedo's face.
This wasn't meant to cause much damage, but to interfere with its vision and create chaos.
"Puff, puff, puff!"
The Water Shuriken exploded against Sharpedo's rough skin, splashing up plumes of water and successfully causing its charge to stall.
Taking advantage of this brief opening, Weavile shrieked, its claws glowing with a cold light as it slammed them onto the sea surface in front of it!
"Crack! Snap!"
Ice-type energy instantly froze a small patch of seawater, forming an irregular piece of floating ice.
Weavile used the momentum to leap, landing lightly on the ice surface, and then swung its claws again to condense the next foothold ahead.
It was like a dancer performing a tap dance on the edge of death; every leap was accompanied by the sound of the ice breaking beneath its feet and the slapping of waves kicked up by Sharpedo.
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