In the blink of an eye, several days had passed, and Yuga and the others had already completely left Dragon Island far behind.
The Wailord swam extremely steadily, so over these past few days, Yuga and his companions had been living very comfortably. It felt almost no different from riding on a ship—perhaps even more stable than an ordinary ship.
Moreover, Popo was an Elite level Pokémon, so most wild Pokémon didn't dare to provoke it; the moment they saw it from afar, they would steer clear. As for wild Pokémon of even higher levels, Yuga and his group hadn't encountered any at all, so their journey had truly been very peaceful.
Along the way, both Steven and Robert carefully tended to the Pokémon eggs gifted to them by the ancestor, looking forward to the birth of the babies. But clearly, it would still be some time before the eggs hatched.
Yuga, on the other hand, not only had to care for a Pokémon egg but also had to look after his pregnant Charizard.
It was worth mentioning that in just these few short days, Charizard's level had risen by several levels, and it was on the verge of breaking through to the Master tier.
This could really be considered a case of "the mother's status rising thanks to the child."
Normally, when high-level Pokémon are pregnant, their bodies tend to become somewhat weakened, but Charizard was the complete opposite—its levels were shooting up rapidly, and in daily life, it was bursting with energy, acting nothing like an expectant mother.
The reason lay in the Dragon Pearl that had been absorbed by the fetus in its belly.
The fetus only needed the most fundamental source energy from the Dragon Pearl; all the other excess energy was far too great for it to withstand. So after filtering out the source energy, the excess was instead transmitted into the mother's body.
A Dragon Pearl from a level-100 Pokémon—and not just any, but one from an ancient veteran level-100 Pokémon that had lived for an unknown number of years—even if that energy was considered "excess," for Charizard it was already an incredible tonic.
Although Charizard wasn't a Dragon-type Pokémon, it did have Dragon-type blood in its lineage. Under the stimulation of the Dragon Pearl's energy, its Dragon-type bloodline was now fully awakened. Yuga now found that when Charizard used Dragon-type moves, they were far smoother than before.
On this particular day, the weather was sunny with a gentle breeze. Seeing that they were about to leave the wilderness area, Yuga was in a good mood, so he took some ingredients out of his spatial backpack and made some snacks for everyone.
Although his cooking skills weren't as refined as Doudou's, after being around it at home so much, he had picked up a fair amount by osmosis, and making some simple snacks wasn't difficult for him.
Over the past few days, traveling with Yuga and the others, Shaya had tasted quite a number of human delicacies. However, since they were traveling away from home, their supplies were limited, and there was still a lot more for Shaya to experience and learn about.
So when she ate the snacks Yuga made, she was astonished and instantly captivated.
Steven said as he ate, "You still haven't tasted the cooking of the Audino at his place—that's the real deal!" As he spoke, his face was full of envy, thinking about his own Audino.
—Sigh… in the end, it had all been for nothing!
Back then, he had invited quite a few famous chefs to teach his Audino how to cook, but unfortunately, that fellow just couldn't get the hang of it, nearly burning down the kitchen every time.
Steven smacked his lips, feeling that Yuga's cooking skills were just barely passable. As someone born into a wealthy family who was used to eating the finest foods, in his eyes Yuga's meager culinary skill wasn't much to look at.
Robert, hearing Steven's words, nodded in agreement and said, "That's right, Yuga's Audino is indeed admirable when it comes to cooking!"
Shaya's eyes lit up when she heard this.
"Really that good? Even better than this?" she asked, holding up the snack in her hand.
"Oh, there's no comparison!" Steven said, waving his hand.
Hearing that, Shaya became even more interested. She turned to look at Yuga and said, "Why don't I just go with you to Verdanturf City?"
After spending many days together, Shaya had already figured out most of Yuga's and the other two's situations. She had also heard from them quite a bit about human customs and interesting stories.
Without hesitation, Yuga agreed. "Sure, but since you've never been to the human world, once you get there, you'll have to follow the rules."
Shaya nodded casually. "I understand. Dragon Island has rules too, you know—I get it."
Yuga wasn't sure if she truly understood, but he didn't press the matter.
Just then, Popo's body suddenly shook violently. Yuga and the others lost their balance and all fell to the ground, and the snacks on the table went flying.
"Popo, what's wrong?"
Shaya climbed back up and asked, looking at the snacks that had been scattered with a heartbroken expression—she had barely eaten a few pieces…
"Woooo…"
Popo let out a long cry, and immediately after, Yuga and the others saw a massive shadow appear at the bottom of the sea, rapidly closing in on Popo.
The shadow looked like a fish, but its size was nearly the same as Popo's. Aside from a Wailord, there were almost no Pokémon in the sea that could reach such a size.
But judging by its silhouette, that shadow didn't look like another Wailord.
In the blink of an eye, the shadow reached Popo's side and rammed into him hard. Popo's body was far too large to dodge in time, so he took the full impact head-on.
"Woooo~"
Popo cried out in pain and simultaneously used the move War Cry to intimidate the opponent. But the opponent showed no fear—instead, it rammed into Popo again.
Popo was not the type to sit still and take hits. Seeing that his War Cry hadn't scared off the enemy, he immediately used the move Heavy Slam to ram back with all his might, sending Yuga and the others tumbling forward and sprawling flat onto his back.
Splash~
Boom~
A huge sound of water erupted. Yuga and the four others looked up, only to see an enormous blue fish being knocked out of the water by Popo. In the next instant, it suddenly broke apart into countless tiny fish that scattered in all directions, with several of them even falling right in front of Yuga and the others.
Seeing the few little fish flopping around on Popo's back, Yuga and the others immediately understood.
"It's a Wishiwashi!"
After being scattered, the countless Wishiwashi fell back into the sea and swiftly gathered together again, transforming back into a giant fish in the blink of an eye.
Splash—the newly reformed Wishiwashi poked its massive head out of the water, its gaze fierce and terrifying, as if it would lunge forward to bite at any moment.
Yuga activated his Insight skill.
...
[ Wishiwashi (School Form) ]
Type: Water
Ability: Schooling
Gender: Collective lifeform, cannot be determined
Potential: Collective lifeform, cannot be determined
Level: 79
Moves: Water Gun, Growl, Brine, Helping Hand, Aqua Ring, Tackle, Dive, Beat Up, Aqua Tail, Double-Edge, Hydro Pump, Water Pulse, Soak, Whirlpool.
...
Yuga had once encountered a school of Wishiwashi when helping Manaphy search for the Temple of the Sea. That group of Wishiwashi was far stronger than this one—their combined form had been a genuine level-100 Pokémon.
This one was far weaker, not even close to Champion-level.
However, although this Wishiwashi wasn't much in Yuga's eyes, it was still a bit tricky for Wailord Popo to deal with—its level was even just a tiny bit higher than Popo's.
After only a brief standoff, the opponent attacked Popo again. Its body twisted, and its massive tail, carrying a surging stream of water, lashed fiercely at Popo.
Popo refused to be outdone. His massive body twisted and turned, and under his control, the seawater gathered with his movements into a colossal wave, surging forth like a wall of water toward the Wishiwashi school's Aqua Tail.
This was the move Water Spout, and in Popo's case, when he wasn't seriously injured, its power was tremendous.
Sure enough, even though the Wishiwashi school's level was higher than Popo's, their Aqua Tail still dissipated into nothing under the sheer force of Popo's mighty Water Spout attack.
Yuga discovered that this school of Wishiwashi was truly formidable—they could actually use the move Helping Hand on their companions internally while in their School Form.
This special form of Helping Hand seemed to have an unusual effect.
Sure enough, as streaks of light flashed across the Wishiwashi school's body, the massive fish formed by the school opened its enormous mouth and suddenly lunged toward Wailord.
This time, the move it used was Beat Up.
One after another, small Wishiwashi were shot out from the big fish's mouth, colliding with Popo's body and biting him repeatedly. After the attack ended, they fell back into the water, swam back to the big fish's side, and merged into its body once more.
Before long, Popo's body was already covered in wounds.
The special effect of Beat Up is that the more companions there are, the more hits it delivers. Coupled with the power boost from Helping Hand, one could imagine just how miserable Popo must be with so many Wishiwashi attacking.
"Kyah~ Kyah~ Kyah~"
Seeing the pitiful state of the Wailord, the opposing Wishiwashi school actually became proud—not only did mocking expressions appear on their face, but they even let out strange, jeering laughs.
The way they acted was almost as if they had become a true Pokémon—extremely lively—so much so that even Yuga was surprised.
The Wishiwashi school could only gather together because of their species' characteristic, forming a special fused entity. However, the members of the combination were still independent individuals with their own minds. No matter how united they were, it was impossible for them to be of one mind completely.
But this Wishiwashi school before them was almost too lively, as if it had truly become a complete individual, genuinely achieving a unified consciousness.
Seeing the Wishiwashi being so arrogant, Shaya was furious.
Yuga asked, "How about we give some help?"
Shaya waved her hand grandly. "I'll do it myself!"
As she spoke, she released her Hydreigon, climbed onto its back, and, swaying slightly, rode it into the air. Then, up in the sky, she began to sing a ballad.
Popo and Shaya had been good friends for many years, and their coordination was extremely in sync. As soon as Popo heard Shaya's singing, his morale indeed surged.
"Woooo~ Woooo~"
The Wailord let out a long cry, and as his voice vibrated through the sea surface, wave after wave of massive surges rose and crashed, battering the Wishiwashi school until they swayed left and right.
A column of water turned into a massive, razor-sharp blade, slicing fiercely toward the Wishiwashi school. They dodged nimbly, but immediately afterward, another slash followed.
This was the move Liquidation!
The Wishiwashi school didn't have time to react and took the hit head-on—the giant fish was instantly cleaved into four or five pieces, and the Wishiwashi screamed as they fell into the sea.
Just then, Yuga, with his sharp eyes, suddenly noticed that among the rapidly falling Wishiwashi, there seemed to be one figure that didn't match the rest.
...
[ Bruxish (Shiny) ]
Type: Water / Psychic
Ability: Wonder Skin
Gender: Female
Potential: Blue
Level: 71
Moves: Water Gun, Astonish, Confusion, Bite, Aqua Jet, Disable, Psywave, Crunch, Aqua Tail, Psychic Fangs, Calm Mind, Uproar, Water Pulse, Pain Split, Magic Coat, Secret Power, Psychic.
...
In just an instant, the Bruxish fell into the sea and vanished without a trace. If Yuga hadn't had the Insight skill, he would have doubted his own eyes.
Bruxish was a Pokémon with very bright colors—its scales were red, purple, blue, yellow… extremely striking. But the one from just now was very unusual—it actually had a body covered in dull-colored scales that were close in color to those of the Wishiwashi.
No wonder it was so hard to detect when it was mixed in with the Wishiwashi school.
Thinking about this Bruxish that had been hiding alone within the Wishiwashi school, Yuga became pensive.
After this discovery, Yuga paid a bit more attention to that Bruxish, quietly releasing his Decidueye.
Before long, the scattered Wishiwashi once again gathered together. This time, it had none of its earlier smugness—its face was twisted into a ferocious snarl, as if it wanted nothing more than to tear Popo into pieces.
The two sides quickly clashed again. Although the Wishiwashi school's level was a little higher than Popo's and it had special support techniques, Popo also had Shaya's assistance.
Thus, the two sides fought back and forth, neither gaining the upper hand.
The Wishiwashi school seemed to have been provoked. It prided itself on being the unrivaled ruler of these waters for a long time, unchallenged by anyone. Seeing that Popo was unable to deal with it, it only fought harder and showed no intention of running away.
At this time, Yuga and the others had already left Popo's back due to the intensity of the battle.
Soon, Popo scattered the Wishiwashi school again, and Yuga once more caught sight of that Bruxish.
From its hiding place, the Decidueye suddenly turned into a sharp arrow, and before the Bruxish could fall into the sea, it seized it in one swift motion, carrying it up into the air.
"Bruxish~"
The captured Bruxish let out a piercing, shrill scream. The Decidueye's sharp talons dug tightly into its scales, causing it pain beyond endurance.
⊙(◇)? Wha… what just happened?
It wasn't until it was grabbed into the air that the Bruxish realized what had happened.
Plop~ plop~ plop…
The Wishiwashi fell one after another into the sea, but this time they didn't regroup. Instead, they became extremely panicked, darting to the surface and whipping their tails to swim away quickly, completely losing their earlier discipline and looking very much like headless flies.
At this moment, the Bruxish also finally realized what was going on. It twisted its body frantically, trying to break free from the Decidueye's talons.
But the Decidueye's claws were extremely sharp—the more it struggled, the deeper the talons hooked into its scales.
"Bruxish~"
The Bruxish's scream became even sharper. Moreover, this Bruxish seemed to possess exceptionally strong psychic power; even its cry unconsciously carried Psywave energy. Upon hearing it, Yuga and the others felt their brains buzz and ring.
Unable to hold back, Decidueye swept its wings and shot an arrow that struck hard into the Bruxish's rear.
"Bruxish~"
The Bruxish's scream came to an abrupt halt.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuga looked at the Wishiwashi still swimming in disarray in the sea and finally confirmed his suspicion—this Bruxish was the brain behind the school of Wishiwashi.
It was precisely because of the Bruxish's powerful psychic energy that the Wishiwashi's actions were so highly synchronized.
However, at this moment, the Wishiwashi were already free from the Bruxish's control, though they didn't look like they had been puppets under its manipulation in the first place.
Could it be that the leader of this school of Wishiwashi really was a Bruxish?