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With Kirlia's help, Espurr extended her psychic power beneath the water, working together with Kingler to sense the shifting currents.
The underwater Pokémon's alerts weren't much help; Sharpedo was simply too fast. By the time they sensed it and tried to warn the others, it was already too late.
Espurr gradually began to grasp the rhythm of the flowing water and continued spreading her psychic perception.
Suddenly, she encountered resistance, as if a massive boulder was blocking her psychic path. Startled, Espurr quickly sent a warning to Kingler, who instinctively raised his claw to shield himself.
A 'Dark Pulse' hit Kingler from directly below. Gritting through the pain, Kingler fired a 'Hyper Beam' downward in retaliation toward the attack's source.
The explosion caused chaotic turbulence that completely disrupted the water flow, rendering Espurr and Kirlia's psychic sensing useless.
This couldn't go on. With Espurr and Eevee riding on them, Kingler and Poliwhirl couldn't fight at full strength. Even with Espurr aiding Kingler's perception, it was only enough for defense.
Taking advantage of the brief lull as Sharpedo swam unseen below, Kirlia directed Mantine to swoop down and retrieve Espurr and Eevee. Kingler began to submerge, and Marill left only her tail above water. Because of earlier attacks, the underwater visibility was now murky and gray.
Suddenly, Kingler froze.
'What the heck is this thing?'
The strange ripples in the surrounding currents formed a mental image of Sharpedo's movement path in Kingler's mind.
Sharpedo's swimming speed had surpassed the limits of Kingler's comprehension. That was why he could only barely react at the last second each time the enemy attacked.
Like a lightning bolt, Sharpedo zigzagged in a Z-pattern through the water, then burst from the surface and immediately dove again, preparing a Crunch while Kingler was still looking up.
The Pokémon aboard Mantine retaliated just in time: Jumpluff's 'Bullet Seed', Eevee's 'Swift', Kirlia's 'Psychic', and Espurr's 'Psyshock' all struck Sharpedo's flank mid-air, knocking it off trajectory before it could reenter the water cleanly.
As for Pachirisu, Kirlia had stopped her, her 'Thunderbolt' would've stunned all the Water-type Pokémon in the area.
Underwater, Kingler quickly used 'Harden', blocking the 'Slash' move Sharpedo executed with its tail upon splashing down.
Before Kingler could counterattack, Sharpedo swiftly launched another 'Dark Pulse' at the water in front of it, creating a screen of bubbles. Taking advantage of the obscured view, it disappeared once again from sight.
Before vanishing, it let out a furious roar that shook everyone to their core.
This wasn't working. Sharpedo could exploit its speed to continuously ambush the underwater Pokémon, while the others could only defend reactively.
The only good news Kingler reported was that during the last exchange, when Sharpedo used Slash, he had seen a few visible wounds on Sharpedo's body, meaning their previous attacks had done some damage.
Marill thought for a moment and then instructed Poliwhirl to take the other Water-type Pokémon and evacuate the area.
Poliwhirl looked confused and was about to ask why, but Marill's response was blunt:
"You're in the way."
Unable to help and now considered a burden, Poliwhirl quietly led the other Water-types away from the battle zone.
That left only Marill, Quagsire, Corsola, and Kingler on the surface.
The three Pokémon gathered around Marill as she laid out her plan.
When she finished, they just stared at her in stunned silence, wide-eyed, mouths agape.
"What are you all so worried about? If he tries to bite me, I'll just break his teeth!" Marill rubbed her little hands together with a fierce glint in her eyes, which gave the three surrounding Pokémon a surprising boost of confidence.
Kirlia sensed what Marill was planning. She had originally intended to stop her, but Marill, apparently anticipating this, waved her off in advance. Kirlia sighed and instead focused her attention on watching the surface of the water, helping Marill keep an eye on things.
Sharpedo was lying in wait. The surface remained calm, but beneath it, turbulent currents churned. Kingler and Quagsire could both sense Sharpedo restlessly swimming back and forth.
Sharpedo had very little patience. He seemed to have locked on to Kingler as his target again. With an aggressive 'Crunch', his huge, terrifying jaws lunged toward Kingler, forcing the crab to instinctively retreat before reacting with 'Hammer Arm'.
But the 'Hammer Arm' move only struck a fading afterimage. The foam generated by the impact obscured the view, and Kingler quickly lost track of Sharpedo's position. Before anyone could react, Sharpedo had already slipped past Quagsire and Corsola, lunging straight at Marill.
Sharp, powerful jaws descended, and in front of them, Marill looked tiny.
But Marill didn't dodge. Instead, she smirked and bent her springy tail. With a powerful push, she launched herself into the air, timed perfectly to dive straight into Sharpedo's mouth just before his jaws snapped shut. Once inside, she braced her tiny arms against his upper jaw and forced it open.
The visual shock of that moment left every Pokémon watching in stunned silence. Sharpedo, whose bite was known to be terrifyingly strong, couldn't close his mouth. He thrashed at the surface, trying to shake Marill out or swallow her whole, but it didn't work.
Marill cheated, she fired an 'Ice Beam' straight at Sharpedo's upper jaw. The sudden cold left his muscles numbed and unable to exert their full strength. Then Marill tucked her tail beneath her body and began to push upward, her form resembling a hydraulic jack.
Everything happened in just two or three seconds.
The first to react was Corsola, who burst from the surface and used the momentum of her descent to land a crushing 'Body Slam' move on Sharpedo's back.
Kingler followed closely, slamming a 'Hammer Arm' into Sharpedo's vulnerable side. At the same time, Quagsire's 'Hyper Beam' blasted the shark as well.
Sharpedo, now seriously injured, went berserk. With bloodshot eyes, he curled his body and gave a violent flick of his tail, swatting all three Pokémon away.
Realizing the dire situation he was in, Sharpedo tried to dive with Marill still clamped in its mouth.
"Pachirisu! Now!"
On the now-empty lake surface, the only visible target left was Sharpedo.
Pachirisu had hesitated, worried she might hit Marill too, but her body moved faster than her thoughts.
A bright arc of lightning crackled through the air. The Water-type Pokémon instinctively sensed danger and swam outward in all directions.
The Thunderbolt was even faster than Sharpedo, who was trying to dive again. It was almost unbelievable that such a small Pokémon could unleash such overwhelming electricity.
The bolt struck Sharpedo from tail to snout mid-dive. The powerful, super-effective move instantly paralyzed him. Already battered and bruised, he struggled for a moment… and then fainted.
Sharpedo slowly floated up, completely knocked out and unable to battle anymore.
Inside his mouth, a dazed Marill also slid out, her eyes spinning with cartoonish swirls. Everything around her looked like a sky full of stars.
(End of Chapter)