The two first mates’ faces darkened instantly at Madam Meta’s mockery.
Their mouths twitched as though they wanted to argue, but in the end neither man found a convincing response.
She was not wrong.
Before Seadra evolved into Kingdra with the aid of a Dragon Scale, it remained a pure Water-type Pokémon, and its base-stat total did not even reach 500.
If two Seadra could force their ace Pokémon steadily backward, then the first mates were clearly a step below the opposing pirates in raw battling ability.
Even so, the two men stubbornly defended themselves.
“Those Seadra coordinate perfectly, and underwater they’re like engines. Their speed is ridiculous.”
“Our Pokémon can fight on both land and water, but naturally they can’t match specialists like that in the sea.”
The verbal sparring between the three leaders continued while the battle below grew increasingly savage.
Pokémon died one after another.
Blood and torn flesh scattered across the water until the sea around the ships had begun turning red.
“Flying Pokémon unit—GO!”
The enemy pirates understood that if the stalemate continued, even victory would cost them too much.
So they tried to break the deadlock from the air.
Taillow, Wingull, Pidgey, Spearow, and other Flying-type Pokémon collided above the ships.
Moves streaked through the sky from every direction until it became almost impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
Shrill cries echoed overhead.
Every so often, another Pokémon fell from the sky.
As the battle dragged on, neither side could gain a decisive advantage, and casualties continued to mount.
Kuroba painfully recalled his badly injured Carvanha and glanced at several nearby pirates with resentment burning in his eyes.
*They deliberately refused to cover me.*
Because of that, Carvanha had taken severe injuries.
*These bastards really are selfish.
They’ll follow whichever way the wind blows, and the moment things become dangerous, they think only about themselves.*
Earlier, Kuroba had actually ordered his Pokémon to intercept attacks aimed at allies because he understood that this was a team battle.
Now he finally understood the kind of people he was fighting beside.
He immediately changed his orders.
Corphish no longer needed to fight with everything it had.
From now on, it only needed to look busy, throw out a few moves, and preserve its strength.
* * *
On the enemy ship, several sweating pirates rushed into the command room.
“Captain! We can’t keep going like this! That Swampert is too strong. Our losses are getting worse by the minute!”
The one-eyed pirate sitting in the commander’s chair narrowed his remaining eye.
“Then it looks like we’ll have to use that.”
Back on the battlefield, Swampert was gradually suppressing the two enemy Crawdaunt.
Just as morale aboard the Great Shark began to rise, the two opposing Seadra suddenly moved together.
They circled through the seawater in perfect synchronization.
A terrifying pressure began gathering around them.
“ROOOAR!”
Deep violet energy surged into their long snouts.
Both Seadra unleashed Dragon-type power at the same moment.
Kuroba stared in shock as the two streams merged, gradually taking the shape of an enormous dragon’s head.
Pokémon on both sides trembled beneath the pressure and instinctively hesitated to move.
It was the overwhelming presence unique to Dragon-type power.
Every eye on the battlefield turned toward the attack.
“D-Dragon Pulse!” someone shouted, voice trembling.
The enormous Dragon Pulse blasted toward Blastoise and Octillery.
Both Pokémon had already taken defensive positions before the attack was fully released.
It did not matter.
The combined strike overwhelmed them and knocked both unconscious.
BOOM!
A second violent impact shook the entire Great Shark.
“Run! RUN!”
No one knew who shouted first.
The battlefield instantly descended into chaos.
Some crew members jumped directly into the sea, desperate for even the slightest chance of survival.
The soaring morale created by Swampert’s earlier dominance vanished in an instant.
Fear swept across the Great Shark.
*Better to live and fight another day!*
Kuroba was nearly crushed in the panicked crowd.
He quickly recalled Corphish, forced his way toward a door, and slipped inside the ship.
“Who’s there?!”
Kuroba froze.
An enemy pirate was already inside the room, frantically looting anything valuable.
“Corphish, Bubble Beam!”
“Tentacool, Water Pulse!”
The enemy was equally startled and immediately released his Pokémon.
Corphish spread its pincers and fired countless bubbles.
Tentacool formed a large sphere of water and launched it forward.
The attacks collided inside the cramped room.
Water exploded everywhere.
Kuroba swept his cloak through the spray, clearing the bubbles obstructing his vision.
“Spearow! Get in there—use Peck!”
He released Spearow, which still had enough stamina to fight.
This was not a formal Pokémon battle.
This was the kind of dirty, chaotic fight ordinary people and pirates understood best.
Kuroba did not need to defeat the enemy’s Pokémon.
He only needed to kill its Trainer.
The enemy pirate broke into a cold sweat when he realized Kuroba’s intention.
He owned two Pokémon, but one had already been knocked out during the boarding battle.
Tentacool was the only partner he could still use.
Spearow beat its wings furiously through the cramped room and shot toward him.
“Damn it!”
The pirate reacted at the last possible moment.
Spray and bubbles blurred his vision, but years of experience took over.
He threw himself into a desperate roll and narrowly avoided Spearow’s first attack.
Spearow missed, twisted in the air, and used its momentum to circle back.
Energy gathered around its sharp beak.
It shot from the pirate’s blind spot.
The beak tore straight across his throat.
Clean.
Fast.
Fatal.
“Y-You…”
The pirate collapsed, both hands clamped over the bloody wound in his neck.
He tried to speak, but only a broken rasp escaped.
Tentacool was naturally better suited to fighting in water.
On dry land, its combat effectiveness was already reduced considerably.
Without its Trainer’s commands, it became even more confused.
Corphish and Spearow quickly overwhelmed it.
Kuroba kicked the corpse once to make sure the man was dead.
Then he drew the dagger at his waist, cut open the pirate’s clothing, and searched him.
“No wonder so many people become pirates even knowing how dangerous it is. Killing and looting really is one of the fastest ways to accumulate wealth.”
The spoils were substantial.
There was a large amount of Pokédollars, a notebook that resembled a diary, and two Poké Balls.
One of the Poké Balls contained another Corphish.
Kuroba recalled the unconscious Tentacool into its ball and locked both captured Poké Balls to prevent either Pokémon from emerging unexpectedly.
Heavy footsteps and battle cries thundered through the corridor outside.
He crept to the door and locked it from the inside.
Only then did some of the tension leave his body.
His heart hammered painfully in his chest.
Kuroba sank to the floor and stroked his exhausted Corphish.
“Sorry, Corphish. Ever since you started following me, you’ve had to live in danger every day too.”
“Cor!”
Corphish rubbed its hard head affectionately against his trouser leg.
It had no intention of abandoning its Trainer.
Hadn’t they already promised each other that they would climb all the way to the top together?
* * *
“Hahahaha! Get them, boys! Fortune is right in front of us! Victory is ours! Kill every last one of them—their Pokémon and money will belong to you!”
The one-eyed enemy captain stood on a raised platform, roaring wildly with both arms thrown into the air.
His speech sent another surge of excitement through his pirates.
Their attacks became even more ferocious.
The Great Shark’s crew retreated again and again.
After seeing Blastoise and Octillery defeated, many completely lost the will to fight.
“Run! Even the first mates’ Pokémon lost! Save yourselves!” an experienced old pirate shouted.
The psychological defenses of the remaining sailors began to collapse.
Some cowards had already jumped overboard earlier.
Unfortunately for them, a person swimming in open water was little more than a living target.
Enemy Pokémon hunted them down before they could escape, and those deaths discouraged most of the others from attempting the same thing.
Then Madam Meta’s voice thundered across the battlefield.
“Don’t panic! I’m still here! Fall back toward me! Everyone, regroup around me!”
At that moment, she displayed the presence of a true commander.
The Great Shark’s crew began retreating toward her position and gathering into a single formation.
People naturally followed crowds.
If only one person moved, others might question him.
But once dozens moved together, the rest instinctively followed.
On the enemy ship, one pirate noticed what was happening.
“Boss, that woman is gathering all of them together! Shouldn’t we stop her before they regroup?”
The one-eyed captain grinned confidently.
“No rush. Let them gather. It’ll make it easier to wipe them all out at once.”
With the Great Shark’s two first mates effectively deprived of their ace Pokémon, the crew lacked enough high-level combat power.
They were steadily driven into a corner and could only use their familiarity with the ship’s layout to hold on.
A voice boomed from the enemy loudspeaker.
“Stop resisting! Surrender and we’ll treat prisoners well! We won’t even confiscate your Pokémon!”
Another pirate shouted, “You only make a few thousand Pokédollars a month! Why throw your lives away for this ship?”
The psychological attack worked on some people.
Several inexperienced sailors visibly hesitated.
Most of the others responded with furious expressions, though only they knew what they truly thought inside.
After shouting until his throat was dry and still failing to cause a full collapse, the enemy captain finally lost patience.
“If you refuse to surrender, don’t blame us for showing no mercy! Attack!”
Countless moves erupted toward the Great Shark’s defensive line.
“Wide Guard!”
Madam Meta thrust out one hand and shouted the command.
Swampert pounded its chest and released a hoarse roar.
An invisible pulse spread outward.
A huge transparent barrier appeared around the clustered pirates and their Pokémon.
Water Gun.
Bubble Beam.
Swift.
Attack after attack crashed against the barrier, but the projectiles failed to break through.
At that moment, the defensive power of Wide Guard was displayed in full.
Inside the protected area, the exhausted pirates finally gained a precious moment to breathe.
They immediately pulled out Potions, sprays, and other recovery items to treat their Pokémon.
Madam Meta scanned the crowd and frowned.
*Kuroba still hasn’t appeared.
Is that boy even alive?
Don’t tell me he died somewhere in the chaos…
What a waste.
I was planning to pass all my knowledge as a Breeder on to him.*
As the enemy bombardment intensified, cracks of strain seemed to ripple across Swampert’s Wide Guard.
It would not hold forever.
Madam Meta’s expression hardened.
*Do I really have to use that trump card?*
She made her decision.
* * *
Elsewhere inside the ship, Kuroba rested and recovered his strength.
He heard the enemy pirates broadcasting their surrender offer but did not believe a single word.
His experiences aboard the Great Shark had already taught him exactly what pirates were like.
Promises from people like these were worthless.
*If the defense really collapses, I’ll have to jump into the sea and escape.
At least there’s an opening into the water from the lowest hold.*
Kuroba had never considered himself blindly loyal.
The main reason he remained on the Great Shark was because Madam Meta was teaching him how to become a Breeder.
He stayed because there was something to gain.
If his life was about to be lost, naturally he would prepare an escape route.
“Spearow, Carvanha—if things go wrong and I jump into the sea, follow me immediately.”
Both Pokémon watched him seriously.
“Spearow, once we’re outside, get into the air and find the nearest land. Carvanha, swim ahead and guide me and Corphish through the water.”
Kuroba quickly assigned emergency roles to all three Pokémon.
If the situation became truly desperate, he was even willing to sacrifice a Pokémon’s life in exchange for his own survival.
If he died, everything ended.
He had been given another life, and he did not want to lose it.
He wanted to live.
Nothing mattered more than his own survival.
“I just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Looking at the grave expressions of his three Pokémon, Kuroba’s mood became heavier.
Once he had recovered enough stamina, he slowly unlocked the door and peeked outside.
The deck nearby was deserted.
Only blood and scattered remains of fallen Pokémon were left behind.
“Looks like they already swept through this area. They’re probably fighting farther toward the stern now.”
Kuroba began searching the pockets of corpses along the way.
To his surprise, he found quite a few valuables.
He had just rolled over another body when a tremendous roar shook the air.
Kuroba’s entire body stiffened.
He looked up.
A gigantic Gyarados towered above the battlefield, its blue scales glittering brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Its enormous jaws opened.
White energy gathered deep inside its mouth.
Hyper Beam!
The beam tore across the sea.
The enemy pirate ship was blasted apart and began sinking almost instantly.
Kuroba’s heart pounded.
The sight was so overwhelming that for a moment he forgot to breathe.
*Is that Gyarados on our side?*
There was no time to wonder.
Gyarados’s appearance had completely shattered the balance between the two crews.
Kuroba snapped out of his shock, tied his collected loot securely around his waist, and moved quickly along the edge of the deck toward the cabins.
Gyarados did not stop attacking.
One devastating move after another poured from the enormous Pokémon.
Its tail swept through the air, whipping up a massive tornado that tore even more of the enemy ship apart.
Screams mixed with the sound of splintering timber until the entire sea seemed filled with chaos.
Only then did the Great Shark’s crew realize the terrifying Gyarados belonged to their side.
The two first mates, who had already been preparing to flee, looked as though they had seen a ghost.
“Impossible!” Nobu Nagata cried.
“The captain is dead! Our information couldn’t have been wrong! So why is his Pokémon here?!”
The reason the two men had dared to openly disrespect Madam Meta—and secretly recruit supporters in an attempt to seize control of the Great Shark—was simple.
They had learned that the captain was dead.
According to the information they received, he had been killed by a powerful criminal organization.
But now his Gyarados had appeared again.
The old fear they had once held toward the captain returned in an instant.
“What are you panicking for?” the other first mate snapped after forcing himself to calm down.
“Our information is definitely correct. He probably left that Gyarados behind as insurance for his woman.”
Nagata slowly steadied himself.
But neither man’s expression improved.
Together, the two of them could only barely suppress Madam Meta politically and militarily.
Now she had revealed an overwhelmingly powerful Gyarados at the most critical moment, rallied the frightened crew around herself, and gained enormous prestige in the process.
Trying to seize power from her again in the future would be far more difficult than before.
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