Another Water Cannon shot from Suicune's mouth, but this time, the tattooed woman was prepared. She opened the Poké Ball in her hand—a frog-like Pokémon with a purple body appeared on the speedboat. It had a dangerous-looking orange vocal sac around its neck, as well as an utterly punchable, taunting face.
"Toxicroak, Sludge Bomb!"
At the tattooed woman's command, Toxicroak's vocal sac pulsed several times before it opened its mouth. Countless purple toxic substances arced through the air and collided head-on with the Water Cannon.
It had actually blocked the Water Cannon!
"Damn it... Where was that man? Had he been dealt with already?"
Even after blocking Qiao Ran's attack, the tattooed woman's expression did not improve. She looked toward the water, only to find that her companion had yet to surface. That was anything but good news.
"It's not over yet!"
Meanwhile, Qiao Ran wore the smile of someone whose plan had worked perfectly.
"Did you think my Water Cannon was only for attacking?"
"Vulpix! Full-power Powder Snow!"
"Awooo!"
Vulpix, who had been hiding behind Qiao Ran all this time, suddenly poked her head out. Puffing up her cheeks, she unleashed the skill she had been charging for a long time. Powder Snow as fierce as a blizzard sprayed from her mouth. Having broken through the level 30 barrier in the previous battle, she was far stronger than before.
Though she had not evolved yet, she was no longer the weakling she once was.
"Croooak!"
Toxicroak could block a straight-line Water Cannon, but against wide-area Powder Snow, it had no way to defend itself. Moreover, with so little room on the speedboat, Toxicroak was practically a living target. And under the gusts of Powder Snow, a strange sensation began spreading through the tattooed woman's lower body—
"Not good!"
Her expression changed dramatically as she looked down at her own feet and Toxicroak's. Thick ice had formed beneath them, pinning both her shoes and feet firmly in place!
"Water... Was it the water from that Water Cannon?!"
Had this boy planned everything from the beginning?!
"Surprised? Did you think my Water Cannon was just meant to harass you? Hand Eve over quietly!"
Qiao Ran patted the neck of the Altaria floating beside him. Altaria deserved the credit for gathering that information and formulating the battle plan. Able to hide among the clouds, she was the perfect invisible reconnaissance aircraft, capable of scouting the enemy's intelligence without being noticed.
Still, Qiao Ran put Altaria back into her Poké Ball. Having just been summoned at level five, she was not able to participate in this battle yet. It would be troublesome if she got knocked into the water.
Qiao Ran had the feeling that Altaria's wings were extremely absorbent. If she fell into the water, who knew how long she would need to be hung up to dry?
"Suicune, charge!"
Taking advantage of the enemy being frozen in place, Qiao Ran had Suicune approach the speedboat. He wanted to use this chance to rescue Eve. He knew exactly what his objective was this time—so long as he brought Eve back, he would win!
"Don't... even think about it!"
The tattooed woman's expression was terrifyingly ugly. She could clearly see the figure on that strange water wolf's back. It was an underage boy. An underage boy had actually outmaneuvered her!
"Toxicroak, Poison Jab! Attack the ice!"
Purple light lit up Toxicroak's hands as it smashed down on the ice. Before long, it had shattered the relatively thin layer of ice into pieces. But during that time, Qiao Ran and Suicune had already reached the speedboat.
"Toxicroak! Stop them!"
The tattooed woman gritted her teeth. Following her command, Toxicroak sprang into action, trying to drive Qiao Ran and Suicune away before they could board the speedboat.
However—from start to finish, Qiao Ran might never have intended to board the boat at all.
"Suicune!"
"Awooo—!"
At Qiao Ran's command, two long white ribbon-like appendages suddenly extended from Suicune's body before the tattooed woman's shocked eyes. They tore through the air and shot toward Eve, binding her tightly.
They were far faster than Toxicroak.
"What?!"
What kind of Pokémon was this?? It could run on water, and now it could sprout tentacles from its back?!
The tattooed woman was utterly stunned. She truly had not expected to fall into her opponent's rhythm again and again. Using information she knew nothing about, he had countered her so thoroughly that she could not fight back at all!
"Nice! Pull her over like that, Suicune!"
Because she was positioned farther back, Eve had only a light dusting of ice on her body. It was not enough to pin her in place.
"Awoo!"
Suicune put all her strength into it and successfully flung Eve high into the air. Her two "tentacles" did not possess the power to move mountains or fill seas, but throwing a girl like Eve was still well within her ability.
"Damn...!"
Every change on the battlefield happened in seconds. In just those few seconds, the tattooed woman's side had been completely forced onto the defensive. Watching Eve get thrown onto the water wolf's back, she bit her lower lip so hard that it bled.
Why... Why had this happened?!
Who exactly was this boy?!
"Go!" Qiao Ran glanced at the tattooed woman on the speedboat and gave his final command. Now that he had Eve, there was no need to keep tangling with them.
He could tell that the enemy's Toxicroak was at a high level. Qiao Ran had glanced at the Rotom Dex earlier and seen that Toxicroak was level 37. That strength definitely qualified its trainer as an elite Trainer.
If the enemy had other Pokémon, they might end up in a hard battle. The longer they stayed, the more variables there would be.
For now, it would be safer to return to the ship and regroup with Dianxi.
Qiao Ran's mind raced, but then—a resounding roar shattered his thoughts.
"Gyarararar!!!"
A massive black shadow burst from the water. A blue, dragon-like Flying-type Pokémon revealed itself. It had an enormous mouth and a ferocious gaze; its terrifying appearance alone made it seem incredibly powerful.
Violent waves spread outward with its agitation, rocking the surface of the water. But with a light step from Suicune, the water immediately returned to calm.
"Gyarados..." Qiao Ran's expression gradually turned grave.
"Didn't expect that, did you? I'm back!"
The man in black who had been knocked into the water earlier stood atop Gyarados's head, a cruel smile on his face.
He was soaked from head to toe, with even water dripping from his hair.
"You dared do this to me... I'll make you pay it back double, brat!"
Vulpix's Choice
"Gyarados..."
Looking at the enormous creature that had suddenly appeared before him, Qiao Ran could not help taking a deep breath.
He secretly took out the Rotom Dex, which clearly displayed the number "34."
Compared to the Toxicroak from before, this Gyarados was slightly lower in level. Even so, it was still an extremely troublesome opponent. After all, among all of Qiao Ran's Pokémon, the highest-level one was only Vulpix at level 30!
"Suicune, go!"
Qiao Ran did not want to get too entangled with them. As long as he brought Eve back to the ship, everything would be fine afterward. No matter how bold they were, they could not possibly start a major fight aboard the ship. Doing so would invite an investigation from the League.
Before the League, an elite Trainer in their thirties could not make much of a splash.
"Don't run!" Seeing that Qiao Ran intended to flee, the man in black shouted and prepared to stop him.
"Gyarados! Take them out! Use Hyper Beam!!"
"Roooaaarrr!!"
Gyarados let out a deafening roar.
It opened its huge jaws, and a thick beam of destruction shot from its mouth. The searing energy was like a soaring dragon as it lunged straight toward Qiao Ran.
Qiao Ran's heart skipped a beat. There was no way he could take that terrifying attack head-on. It might have been manageable if Dianxi were here, but even if she were, there would be nothing she could do in this situation—she simply could not float on the water.
As for the other Pokémon, it was even less possible for them to withstand such an attack. Even Suicune would likely be seriously injured if she took a move like that head-on.
After all, the difference in their levels was simply too obvious.
"Let's see where you can hide now!"
Gyarados's Hyper Beam was thick and massive as it tore through the air. There was barely any room left for Qiao Ran and Suicune to evade!
Qiao Ran gritted his teeth, leaned close to Suicune's ear, and made an unprecedented decision—
"Suicune, tie us tight! Dive underwater!"
"...!"
Eve, who had been thrown behind Qiao Ran, widened her eyes. She had never expected Qiao Ran to be this reckless.
Dive underwater... Would anyone really do that at a time like this?
Humans could not breathe underwater!
"Awoo!"
Yet Suicune did not hesitate in the slightest. She immediately extended the white ribbons from her back, tightly binding Qiao Ran and Eve to her back before—diving headfirst into the water.
Boom!!!
Hyper Beam collided with the surface, instantly vaporizing a huge stretch of river water into steam. It even blasted out a small whirlpool. The tremendous destructive power made everyone who witnessed it shudder.
However—after Hyper Beam's rampage ended, all that appeared before the man in black was the river gradually returning to calm. As for Qiao Ran, Eve, and the others, they seemed to have vanished into thin air.
"...Damn it! They got away! Where are they? Where are they??"
The man in black stomped his feet in fury, but he could not understand how they had escaped at all.
What had happened?!
Had they used some kind of special skill?
"They're underwater... Underwater, you idiot! Chase them already!"
While the man in black was still raging helplessly, the tattooed woman on the speedboat shouted at him. She had had enough of her partner's intelligence. He was simply an idiot.
If only she had Pokémon suited for this, how could things have turned out like this?
"I know! You think I need you to tell me?!"
The man in black's face alternated between green and white. He took a deep breath, and under his command, Gyarados began diving into the water to search for Qiao Ran and the others.
Watching the group disappear, the tattooed woman sat helplessly on the stalled speedboat.
She had begun reflecting on the weaknesses of her team. Perhaps she should add some Flying-type or Water-type Pokémon?
That wolf looked pretty good... So where could she catch one?
The tattooed woman quietly pondered as she sank into thought.
Elsewhere, Qiao Ran encountered plenty of trouble underwater as well. Since they intended to leave directly, they had to stay submerged for quite a distance before surfacing. At the very least, they had to leave this area.
"We can't stay here for too long..."
Although Qiao Ran did not understand why the man in black and the tattooed woman had only sent out one Pokémon each so far, perhaps the terrain prevented them from using other Pokémon, or perhaps there was some other reason. But Qiao Ran could not gamble on the possibility that they really had only one Pokémon each. He could only think of every possible way to leave as quickly as he could.
"..."
Holding his breath underwater was a considerable trial for Qiao Ran. And due to his nervousness, his oxygen consumption increased accordingly. He simply could not hold out underwater for very long.
It was difficult to determine direction beneath the water. In order to get away from the two kidnappers, Qiao Ran had Suicune swim as far away as possible. But doing so required them to hold their breath for quite a long time.
However—what Qiao Ran never expected was that the first one to run into trouble would not be him or Vulpix, but Eve behind him.
"Mmph... Mmmph!"
The blonde girl made pained sounds, her body twisting restlessly.
Qiao Ran had made that decision too suddenly, and with her mouth sealed shut, she had not been able to take in much air. After so much time had passed, Eve was clearly unable to endure any longer.
Damn...
Qiao Ran reached out and found a way to tear the tape from her mouth, but it still did little good. The lack of oxygen had already left her in a terrible state.
Suicune, surface for a moment first.
Qiao Ran gave Suicune a look, telling her to surface first so they could catch their breath. However, an accident still occurred during their ascent.
—A string of bubbles escaped from Eve's mouth. She made a pained sound, her body trembling violently before she quickly went limp.
Before you continue