Roy rode on Dragapult's back and slowed Dragapult down when they were not far from the port of Lilycove City.
Phoebe, who was behind Roy, opened her eyes after the whistling wind in her ears disappeared. Looking at the vast sea below, she was lost in thought.
She thought Roy had already taken her to Mt. Pyre, which is why he stopped, but it turns out she's still on the sea.
Why did we stop before we even reached Lilycove City?
"Ghost!"
Before Phoebe could ask Roy, Gengar in the shadows warned her.
"What?"
After hearing Gengar's description, Phoebe nervously tugged at Roy's clothes.
"Roy, it looks like someone's following us."
"I know."
Roy's voice was calm, which was why he wanted Dragapult to slow down.
Just as he rode Dragapult carrying Phoebe out of Sootopolis City's port, the Ancient Gengar in the shadows warned him that two eyes were watching him.
One of the sources of his gaze was Lysandre, whom he had fought that morning, who was now not far behind him.
Lysandre hasn't left yet?
What is he trying to do?
Revenge on myself?
Could it be because they lost to me in the fight and are trying to ambush me?
Roy felt that he and Lysandre had no interaction other than that battle, Lysandre shouldn't be so petty.
However, Roy wasn't worried at all; he could now say that he was the least afraid of being ambushed.
There's also a Marshadow within his shadow. If anyone dares to attack him and triggers Marshadow's passive protection mechanism, they'll be sure to never return.
"Roy, there's a Pokémon in the sea watching you, it's about to use its move!"
Marshadow, emerging from the shadows, issued a warning.
Sea mile?
Having undergone extensive training in Air Slash reaction at Bruno's dojo, a sense of crisis suddenly arose in Roy's heart.
Ignoring the search for the Pokémon that Feint him on the sea below, Roy shouted to Phoebe behind him, "Hold on tight!"
Phoebe was unaware of what had happened. Upon hearing Roy's words, she instinctively obeyed and gripped the handles on the saddle tightly.
Having received the warning in advance, Roy quickly instructed Dragapult to react, suddenly dodging to the left.
Just as Phoebe was about to react, she was about to ask Roy what was wrong with her.
Suddenly, a huge column of water shot out from the sea, almost grazing Dragapult's body as it flew into the air. Phoebe was so close that she could even see the water patterns on the spiral-shaped column.
Because of Dragapult's early turn, Roy and Phoebe successfully evaded the sudden attack.
Of course, it was also thanks to Marshadow that Doronbaluto was able to get hit by that Hydro Pump shot; without his warning, Dragapult might have actually been hit.
Seeing that its attack had missed, a megalodon, with a cobalt blue upper body, a snow-white chest and belly, a striking yellow star-shaped pattern on its snout, and two Sharpedo on the edge of its towering dorsal fin, suddenly emerged from the sea.
System Scan
Pokémon: Sharpedo
Level: 79
Sex: Male
Ability: Rough Skin (When attacked, it uses its rough skin to injure the opponent that comes into contact with it.)
Skills: Slash, Leer, Focus Energy, Dragon Breath, Bite, Roar, Work Up, Headbutt, Pursuit, Rage, Crunch, Aqua Jet, Screech, Swagger, Poison Fang, Agility, Head Smash, Night Slash
Carried Item: Mystic Water
Egg Move: Hydro Pump, Swift, Psychic Fangs
Individual Values: 23
Technical Machine /Skill Tutorial: Surf, Waterfall, Return, Dark Pulse, Ice Beam, Hyper Beam
Looking at the Sharpedo that appeared on the surface of the sea, I realized that my attention had been completely focused on what was behind me, and I hadn't noticed that there was a Sharpedo in the sea that was about to reach the level of High-level Elite Four.
However, judging from the Individual Values on the opponent's panel, unless there are any special encounters, they probably won't be able to reach the level of High-level Elite Four.
Based on the current situation, this should be another line of sight besides Lysandre. What is the relationship between this person and Lysandre?
Want to be attacked from both sides?
Before Roy could figure it out, the Sharpedo in the ocean Spit Up a huge jet of water, aimed directly at Roy on Dragapult.
Meanwhile, Lysandre and Malva, who had been discovered by the Ancient Gengar long ago, were now riding on Gyarados respectively, one riding on Talonflame.
The two appeared simultaneously behind Roy.
Judging from the current situation on the field, Roy is currently in a state of being sandwiched between the front and rear.
Moreover, the Pokémon on the field were all at a higher level than his Pokémon.
That really puts a lot of thought on him.
Before Roy could react, Malva commanded the high-ranking rocket eagle beneath her to Spit Up a scorching flame.
"Chandelure, block the flames behind you! Gengar! Use Protect!"
In a second, Roy made a decision: he released Chandelure to absorb the flames spewed by Talonflame, while simultaneously having the Ancient Gengar create an energy shield to block Sharpedo's Hydro Pump.
On one side Ancient Gengar's energy shield was already complete, ready to receive the impact of the Hydro Pump, while on the other side, Chandelure had yet to sense the arrival of the flames.
Roy also noticed that the Talonflame's Flamethrower didn't seem to be fired in his direction, but rather collided with the Sharpedo's Hydro Pump.
The two energies, water and fire, collided.
Logically, water should overcome fire, but the flames Spit Up from the mouth of the Talonflame actually suppressed the huge water column, forcefully blocking it back.
Ah?????
Roy was a little confused. Had Malva just... helped him?
Is this... this... right?
So it seems that the people on both sides are not of one mind.
So what exactly happened?
The scorching flames engulfed the massive water column and assimilated it into a pillar of fire, which then attacked the Sharpedo that was firing Hydro Pump downwards.
Sensing the suffocating temperature emanating from the massive pillar of fire in the sky, the Sharpedo had no choice but to avoid its onslaught and dive back into the deep sea.
The scorching flames sprayed onto the sea surface, instantly evaporating the upper layer of seawater into water vapor, forming a Mist on the sea surface.
Roy did not make any rash moves at this moment, letting the Mist envelop him and letting Dragapult stay in place.
Now that Phoebe is still by his side, his primary task is to protect Phoebe's safety.
"Beep~~~"
In the distance, a horn sounded. The sound was not clear, but a dull, rough hum that gave people a Pressure, and it carried the sea breeze over the waves on the sea surface.
Accompanied by the deep sound of horns, nearly a hundred small boats and small ships appeared on the sea. On the boats and ships were pirates dressed in sailor uniforms with skull patterns on their heads.
Behind the small boats and ships was a colossal object. The first thing Roy saw was a huge pirate flag, followed by a pirate ship of the same size.
Standing at the bow of the pirate ship was a man wearing a navy blue, tight-fitting pirate uniform with the collar open, a blue turban tied around his head, a face tanned bronze by the sea breeze year-round, and a strong, straight mustache.
This is... Archie?
Team Aqua!?
Upon seeing Archie, Roy instantly recognized the group as Team Aqua, Team Aqua dedicated to expanding the ocean's area and aiming to reclaim the habitats lost by Pokémon due to human desires.
They believe that the ocean is the source of all life and want to expand the ocean area before building the Pokémon's ideal home.
On the pirate ship, Archie threw out two more Poké Ball.
On the pirate ship and on the sea surface, Crawdaunt with a star pattern on its head and a Tentacruel appeared respectively.
Roy scanned the two Pokémon with the System Scan and found that they were both Intermediate King level Pokémon.
The Sharpedo from earlier must also be Archie's Pokémon.
Team Flare and Team Aqua?
So it seems the two sides aren't really on the same side.
It must have been a coincidence.
As soon as the two Pokémon appeared, they launched an attack on the Talonflame in the sky. Tentacruel swung its tentacles from beneath the sea surface, and countless purple Poison Sting shot towards the Talonflame in the sky.
The Crawdaunt raised its pincers, and a series of transparent bubbles of varying sizes and shapes rained down on the Talonflame.
Despite both being Intermediate King level Pokémon, the pressure they exerted on her was completely different from that of Steven and Wallace's Pokémon.
Malva looked disdainful and commanded the Talonflame to fire another Flamethrower.
The scorching flames enveloped the countless purple Poison Sting, burning them completely.
The following Bubble Beam were no exception; they burst automatically due to the high temperature of the flames before they even got close.
Both attacks were easily extinguished by Malva's Talonflame.
This shows the difference between the Pokémon of High-level Elite Four and mid-level Elite Four. Even with type advantage, Talonflame was still able to suppress Archie's three Pokémon.