One Gyarados and one Mantine leader, leading four Mantine.
Tetsuya let out a cold laugh." Tehe~ With just this... and you want to dance¹[1]!?"
Catherine looked at the gloss of these Pokémon's skin and their mental condition, allowing her to roughly judge that the combat power of these Pokémon was quite ordinary. After all, these pirates traveled across the sea searching for targets to rob, leaving them with very little time to train their Pokémon.
Therefore, these people's Pokémon were merely tools for committing crimes and making profit. They had not invested much effort into raising their Pokémon, which also determined that they could only bully isolated individuals or people who had suffered shipwrecks.
"Beedrill."
The only three Pokémon Tetsuya could use while flying were these. Golurk needed to carry him, so only Beedrill and Koffing could battle.
Catherine showed no fear at all and immediately threw out Honchkrow, Gliscor, and Chatot Poké Balls.
Mantine could fly, but they were not skilled at flying. However, they could use the ocean to evade attacks, so neither side could gain any advantage.
As for the Gyarados in the water…
"Kuso… We don't have any Water-type Pokémon!" Catherine said resentfully.
"Who says we don't? Let's see whose Gyarados is stronger. Ditto, Transform!"
After speaking, Tetsuya tapped his wrist guard, and immediately afterward Ditto transformed into a Gyarados.
Opening its mouth, GyaDittos fired a Hydro Pump that caught the opposing Gyarados completely off guard!
Afterward, GyaDittos swam toward a location far away from the Mantine.
The intention to lure the Tyranitar away from the mountain was obvious, but Gyarados possessed a violent temperament and paid no attention to such things, immediately chasing after it without hesitation.
The pirate group had five Mantine, while Tetsuya's side also had five Pokémon. In terms of numbers, it was rare for them to encounter such an evenly matched fight.
While flying, the Mantine continuously used Bubble Beam. Bubble after bubble accumulated together, ultimately forming an entire bubble bed that enveloped Tetsuya's side.
Such tactics were indeed highly effective against Pokémon specializing in Contact moves. Once trapped inside, the simultaneous explosion of so many bubbles would caused them tremendous damage.
"Beedrill, prepare Pin Missile."
"Gliscor, prepare Poison Sting. Skarmory, Honchkrow, Chatot, use Gust!"
Tetsuya and Catherine looked at each other and smiled. Such childish-level moves truly were not enough in the eyes of these two Uchi… cough, kids.
Dense attacks like Pin Missile and Poison Sting were precisely their natural counter.
And Catherine was even adding fuel to the flames!
Honchkrow, Chatot, and Skarmory desperately flapped their wings as fierce winds swept forward, blowing those bubbles toward the Mantine instead.
"Th-this…"
The pirate captain was somewhat unable to believe it. The move he had been absolutely confident in had actually ended up benefiting someone else!
Very quickly, those bubbles engulfed all five Mantine.
What followed immediately afterward were Pin Missile and Poison Sting…
The sea surface echoed with crackling sounds of bubbles exploding. After all the bubbles burst, Beedrill's Pin Missile and Gliscor's Poison Sting still did not stop.
The Mantine crashing toward the sea surface continued suffering damage without interruption until they sank.
Meanwhile, Ditto and Gyarados on the other side continued battling. Gyarados's physique and Speed were completely on a different level compared to Ditto's. Its entire body was once again swept into the sea by GyaDittos .
Seeing this, the captain could no longer remain calm. In just such a short period of time, they had already suffered a complete defeat. Just who exactly were these two kids…?
"It seems I have no choice but to use this treasure~"
The pirate captain did not know this was the Sea Spirit Sapphire. At first, he had not cared much about it. After all, what good thing could a lone woman drifting across the sea possibly carry with her?
However, whenever Water-type Pokémon approached it, their power would always receive a temporary boost, and the degree of it was enormous. It could also calm the minds of Water-type Pokémon and restore their vitality. It was practically a supreme item for Water-type Pokémon, which was why the captain eventually began valuing it.
"Wawawawawa!Continue fighting, my treasures~!"
The pirate captain laughed wildly and then waved the Sea Spirit Sapphire in his hand. A peaceful ocean-blue glow shone upon the Mantine. The Mantine looked as though they were bathing in a spring breeze, appearing extremely comfortable, and afterward recovered their vitality.
"Hyyydro Puuump!" The pirate captain shouted.
""""Water Pulse!"""" The four pirates also looked greatly excited.
The leading Mantine fired a thick Hydro Pump. The enormous water column not only had tremendous force, but also astonishing speed.
Gliscor specialized in gliding, so naturally it was less agile in the air compared to the other Pokémon. It was struck directly by Hydro Pump, and the powerful impact instantly caused Gliscor to faint.
"…Is this still the same Mantine from before?" Catherine unwillingly recalled Gliscor.
"The main issue is the scepter in his hand. We absolutely must take it."
Even Tetsuya had not expected the Sea Spirit Sapphire to possess such terrifying power. With just a wave of it, it could grant Water-types such power…
The remaining four Mantine all launched Water Pulse attacks.
Having already suffered once, Tetsuya and Catherine naturally did not dare take them head-on and temporarily avoided the four water spheres. The water spheres crashed into the sea surface, blasting enormous whirlpools into the ocean.
Fortunately, Gyarados was positioned relatively far away and had not received the Sea Spirit Sapphire's boost. Otherwise, a violent monster like that would definitely have stirred up a raging storm across the sea.
"Ditto, finish it quickly!" Tetsuya shouted.
The captain was also shouting himself hoarse. "Gyarados, come back!" His intention was obvious, he wanted Gyarados to receive the Sea Spirit Sapphire's power as well.
"Ditto, drag it away!"
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Ditto's tail wrapped around Gyarados and violently flung it even farther away. Immediately afterward, a Hyper Beam struck Gyarados directly in the abdomen.
The accumulated damage upon Gyarados finally caused it to collapse. Ditto still did not let it go. With a whip of its tail, Gyarados traced a perfect parabola through the sky and had already flown so far away that it could no longer be seen. 'JJM…[2]?'
The pirate captain could only grit his teeth in fury. Gyarados was his strongest Pokémon, and now its fate was likely grim.
At this point, the five Mantine had also learned to behave cautiously. They only dared remain at the sea surface while stalemating against Beedrill and the others. One side used the surface to evade attacks, while the other could maneuver freely through the air and did not fear Mantine's attacks at all.
The same method previously used against Tentacruel also would not work. Mantine possessed very high Special Defense, and their fish skin was extremely thick. Without wounds, they simply would not become poisoned.
"Humph… there's no need to continue fighting, right?" Catherine already seemed somewhat disgusted by this stalemate.
"Mm, wait a little longer."
In truth, Tetsuya merely wanted to test exactly how long the power granted to Mantine by the Sea Spirit Sapphire could last. If he wanted to deal with these Mantine, he still needed to wait until their "stats" returned to normal, and then launch a surprise attack against the pirate crew.
After approximately half an hour, the Mantine were obviously beginning to lose momentum. Their Hydro Pump attacks only reached half their original distance before stopping.
The pirate captain also realized something was wrong and was just about to wave the Sea Spirit Sapphire… when Tetsuya directly released Houndoom and Mamoswine onto the deck!
With a swoosh, Houndoom darted forward and directly bit the arm holding the scepter.
Houndoom's mouth contained toxins, and very quickly the pirate captain's limbs began losing strength as he collapsed limply onto the planks.
The remaining four pirates were all rammed into the sea by Mamoswine.
"Ditto, go!"
GyaDittos swimming speed in the water is no weaker than a real Gyarados. It directly charged into the middle of the Mantine group, and with one sweep of its tail, two Mantine were sent flying away.
At this moment, Tetsuya and Catherine also boarded the pirate ship, leaving only the pirate captain lingering on the verge of death.
Tetsuya snatched the Sea Spirit Sapphire directly from his hand, while the captain looked at Tetsuya with pleading eyes.
"So, how should we deal with him?" Catherine asked.
"Throw him directly into the sea and create the illusion of a shipwreck."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, Mamoswine sent him flying. With a splash, he fell into the sea. The remaining Mantine also lost their ability to battle under the combined assault of Tetsuya and Catherine. To prevent them from rescuing their Trainer, Tetsuya directly had Koffing scatter Toxic onto their bodies, allowing the toxins to seep into their blood through their wounds.
Not a single one was spared, including the Gyarados that had been flung away earlier. Tetsuya still rode Golurk over and had Koffing finish it off.
After returning to the ship once again, Tetsuya directly removed the Sea Spirit Sapphire from the scepter, while the scepter itself was thrown into the sea. That thing was useless and would only attract attention.
Throwing it directly into the ocean meant that even if the Sea Priestesses possessed extraordinary abilities and managed to trace things here, they would only find the scepter and not the Sea Spirit Sapphire.
Setting aside the fact that they would collapse mentally, at the very least this lead would be severed. After all, the Sea Spirit Sapphire was a Legendary relic of Water-type Pokémon. If it fell into the sea and caused Water-types to frantically fight over it, that would be perfectly normal.
By the time they searched without result, at most they would only conclude that it had vanished into the ocean…
Entering the ship's cabin, there truly were only limited valuable items inside. Tetsuya was already no longer interested in such things and would not take them either, because he needed to create the illusion that the ship had been sunk in a shipwreck.
"That's enough."
Tetsuya and Catherine once again returned to the sky atop Golurk and Skarmory. At this point, the ship was already completely unmanned.
"Use Fire Punch against the bottom of the ship."
Tetsuya said to Golurk. Immediately afterward, Golurk swung out a single punch and violently blasted forward, smashing one fist into the ship's underwater hull.
Very quickly, seawater poured into the cabin and the ship began sinking until it was completely swallowed by the sea.
Tetsuya carefully sealed away the Sea Spirit Sapphire and stored it in the innermost layer of the Spatial Backpack. The only things hidden there were the Ghostly Crystal and those raising guides.
They were preparing to set off again. Tetsuya took out the compass to confirm the direction.
Continuing north should lead them to the Whirl Islands. However, if they did that, they would need to maintain continuous flight, because the Sea Priestesses had definitely already dispatched large numbers of ships to search the seas for the Sea Spirit Sapphire.
Continuing east should lead toward the Orange Islands. Heading south or west was absolutely impossible.
However, it would still require at least two days and two nights before they could reach land. The concern was whether Skarmory and Golurk would run out of stamina. Tetsuya and Catherine would also have to go two days and two nights without sleep, making it difficult for them to endure.
Tetsuya was currently hesitating…
"Tetsuya? Is there something troubling you? Can you talk about it?" Catherine asked.
Tetsuya explained the situation clearly, feeling quite helpless.
Catherine merely replied with a simple sentence. "If this is what you're worried about… then fly!
After spending so many years on Shadow Island, we've overcome everything. What's the big deal about this minor setback? Besides, just like you said, the Sea Priestesses don't know which direction the priestess who stole the Sea Spirit Sapphire fled toward.
Therefore, they will definitely organize a full search across the seas. If that's the case, then no matter which sea we travel across, nowhere will truly be safe."
After Catherine finished speaking, Tetsuya could not help knocking twice against his own head. Her words had awakened the dreamer. He had actually struggled over this issue for so long. Truly foolish…
"Golurk, Skarmory, you'll probably have to work hard. Next, we may need to maintain continuous flight. If you're hungry or thirsty, then stop. Eating and drinking can only be done in the air now."
Tetsuya instructed them. Golurk and Skarmory both raised their spirits, preparing to welcome a great battle!
---◓---
During the first day's flight, Golurk and Skarmory flew at full power and truly covered a great distance. At night, Tetsuya still had Golurk and Skarmory fly more slowly while conserving energy, continuously replenishing them with food and fresh water.
At dawn on the second day, vast dark clouds shrouded the entire sea surface.
"A storm is coming… We must speed up!" Tetsuya shouted.
"Skarmory, Golurk, we're counting on you!" Catherine responded.
They accelerated once again, flying even faster than during the previous daytime. Very quickly, torrential rain began pouring, followed immediately by monstrous waves surging violently.
At this moment, Tetsuya actually felt more delight within his heart. A tsunami of this scale would be enough to cause many ships to meet disaster. Therefore, the disappearance of the older sister of the Sea Priestess and the sinking of the ship he attacked would all become perfectly natural.
Rainwater battered against Golurk and Skarmory's bodies, further stimulating their potential and making their flying speed even faster!
As people who intended to cross through the storm itself, Tetsuya and Catherine naturally could not drag their Pokémon down. Even though they were fully equipped, the rainwater had already thoroughly soaked their clothes. Damp cold invaded their entire bodies, yet the two merely gritted their teeth without even shivering once.
They could already sense the mainland coming nearer.
Dark clouds covered the sky, making it impossible to distinguish day from night. Golurk and Skarmory seemed as though they had been injected with stimulants, not even stopping to eat or drink.
Golurk and Skarmory had long since sensed the emotions of Tetsuya and Catherine. All they wanted was to return to the mainland as quickly as possible, to return to that place that endlessly occupied their hearts and dreams!
Who knew how much time had passed…
A beam of light suddenly shot through the sky!
"…T-That is?"
Tetsuya's mind was somewhat hazy now, but this kind of light still looked very familiar.
"Tetsuya, look! It's a Lighthouse! A place with a Lighthouse definitely has a harbor… We're finally reaching land!"
Catherine's excited voice gradually became choked with emotion. They had finally returned. This day truly had taken far too long to arrive…
As they approached the beam of light, they also discovered a small flickering lighthouse.
"It's Olivine City! This Lighthouse is also Olivine City's symbolic landmark. Mm, do you see that flickering light? That's the light from Ampharos's tail!"
Tetsuya unconsciously spoke many words. At this moment, his emotions were already impossible to calm.
Countless emotions ultimately transformed into a single furious roar…
"I… Tetsuya… have returneeed!"
•.
•.
¹. CHIIIIIL TETSUDARAAA!
[1] CHIIIIIL TETSUDARAAA!
[2] Jessie, James, Meowth