Waves slapped against the soles of Greninja's feet, each rise and fall accompanied by immense reactive force.
It took a deep breath, its lungs burning—a physiological response to prolonged, high-intensity combat.
After all, from the very beginning, Greninja had been carrying Ariel as they fled, fighting non-stop until now; at this moment, Greninja's stamina was already running thin.
The Sharpedo opposite it gave it no room to breathe; that streamlined figure carved white waves through the water, each collision carrying the power to tear through the sea.
Greninja did not take the hit head-on.
It understood that with its current stamina, a direct collision would be tantamount to suicide.
It stomped hard on the water, forcing its body to twist in mid-air, activating Double Team; three afterimages instantly spread across the surface of the sea.
Sharpedo's sharp teeth crunched through one of the afterimages, but it bit into nothing.
Under the cover of Smokescreen, Greninja circled to Sharpedo's rear flank and unleashed Aerial Ace.
The sharp shuriken grazed Sharpedo's tough hide, sparking, but failed to inflict any substantial damage.
Shelly rode on the back of Tentacruel, watching the scene with cold eyes.
She was in no rush; this sea area was her territory.
She commanded the Tentacruel beneath her, and several tentacles danced wildly beneath the surface.
A ghostly green light gathered at the tips of Tentacruel's tentacles, and several poison needles whistled toward Greninja, which was still dodging in mid-air.
In the air, Malamar let out a low cry, its tentacles waving frantically as it unleashed its Psychic power to maintain Ariel's levitation.
To block Tentacruel's long-range attack, Malamar had to divert some of its energy; two Psycho Cuts carved intersecting paths through the air, precisely shattering those poison needles mid-flight.
Immediately after, it whipped out a Dark Pulse, forcibly driving back the Tentacruel that had attempted to sneak an attack.
Ariel hovered in mid-air, his feet no more than ten meters from the sea surface.
He could feel the trembling of Malamar's tentacles, a sign of excessive energy consumption.
Malamar not only had to support his levitation but also maintain high-intensity defense; this was clearly beyond its capacity.
After all, the opponent was a Gym Leader Level Tentacruel, while Malamar was only Superior class.
Even though its Special Attack capability far exceeded other Pokémon of the same level, to block the opponent's attacks, it had to use its full strength for almost every strike!
Shelly watched this scene, her eyes revealing the patience of a predator.
She could tell that this Malamar's level was not enough to sustain such a prolonged expenditure.
If she dragged it out for a little longer, Malamar's energy would bottom out, and then Ariel would fall into the water like a grasshopper in a jar.
Ariel was, of course, aware of his current predicament.
His life now depended entirely on Malamar's energy reserves.
Although he also possessed Psychic powers, he had not yet reached the stage where he could use Confusion to levitate himself.
Once Malamar was also exhausted, if he fell into the vast ocean, he would simply be a sitting duck.
By then, caught in the pincer attack of two Gym Leader Level Pokémon, he wouldn't even have a chance to resist.
But he could not recall Malamar, nor could he let it stop defending.
Greninja was already locked in a bitter battle below; if he withdrew his defense to fully support Greninja, the moment Malamar relaxed, he would plummet into the sea.
It was a vicious cycle: either exhaust their energy in the air or fall into the water and become prey.
Shelly clearly had calculated this as well.
She commanded Sharpedo to launch another fierce attack; this time, Sharpedo did not try to bite Greninja, but instead used its body to ram and forcibly destroy the floating ice that Weavile had originally created on the sea surface, attempting to deprive Greninja of any new footing.
Greninja leaped between the shattered ice blocks, each landing appearing extremely strained, and the sluggishness in its movements becoming increasingly apparent.
Ariel's gaze swept past Shelly and toward the deeper sea further away.
That was where Gyarados had dived.
Beneath the surface, the murky seawater churned constantly.
Under the water, Gyarados was enduring the toxic erosion of dozens of jellyfish; the battle there was equally brutal.
He had to make a decision.
If he continued to maintain the status quo, Malamar wouldn't last much longer.
Once Malamar lost its combat capability and he fell into the sea, the outcome of this battle would be sealed.
Although Greninja was agile, facing the pincer attack of Sharpedo and Tentacruel, defeat was only a matter of time.
He glanced at the battle situation once more.
Greninja was grazed by Sharpedo's tail swipe once again, its body sliding over ten meters across the sea surface before it barely managed to steady itself.
It gasped for air, its blue skin already covered in seawater and bloodstains.
Shelly moved nimbly on the water's surface, while Sharpedo swam around Greninja as if watching a cornered beast struggle.
She gave Greninja no chance to catch its breath; Tentacruel's tentacles rose again, this time for an even denser poison needle attack.
Malamar's Psycho Cut was unleashed again, barely blocking most of the attacks, but the cry it emitted was already laden with obvious fatigue.
The movement of its tentacles was already becoming laborious, and maintaining Ariel's levitation appeared somewhat shaky.
Ariel's fingers gripped tightly onto the edge of a Poké Ball.
He could feel Malamar's energy output weakening.
Ariel's gaze remained fixed on the waters where Gyarados had dived.
There, red blood was constantly spreading.
Although he didn't know exactly what Gyarados had encountered below, judging by the ripples on the surface, there was no sign that the number of jellyfish was decreasing.
This wasn't right.
If it were merely a few dozen Tentacool and Tentacruel, with Gyarados's combat power, it would be impossible to be locked in such a prolonged, bitter fight.
Unless, among this group of jellyfish, there existed some individual capable of commanding them, or perhaps some entity capable of providing a constant stream of energy.
The moment this thought flashed through his mind, Ariel's gaze returned to Shelly.
The way she controlled these jellyfish was too practiced, too stable.
And both she and the Tentacruel beneath her had their attention entirely focused on the battle in front of them...
Could it be that the Tentacruel in this sea area didn't gather here naturally?
Was there someone else commanding the jellyfish?
A hypothesis emerged in his mind.
Ariel had no time to delve into the reasoning; he was currently facing a very real crisis of survival.
He had no choice but to trust his intuition!
As Greninja was rammed away by Sharpedo once again, it completely lost its footing and could only struggle continuously on the surface of the sea.
A look of certain victory appeared on Shelly's face; she commanded Sharpedo to open its massive jaws, preparing to deliver the final blow to Greninja.
In the air, Malamar's energy fluctuations had dropped to freezing point.
Ariel could feel his feet sinking slightly; it was a sign that Malamar could no longer maintain the height of his levitation.
With Greninja about to be defeated, and Malamar's energy gradually depleting from maintaining his levitation and blocking Tentacruel's attacks.
He took a deep breath, placing all his bets on his final tactic.
***************************
Enjoying the story? Don't forget to drop a review, leave a comment, and smash that like button! Every Power Stone helps push the story further—thanks for reading and supporting! 🚀