Jacob and Preist-3 reached an agreement, but this development put Andrew—who had been hiding in the ocean watching everything unfold—in an extremely difficult position.
After witnessing Preist-3's formidable strength firsthand, Andrew had fallen into despair. He never expected another powerful expert to appear at this critical moment and block Preist-3 on his behalf.
This instantly filled him with overwhelming relief. He thought that with this mysterious powerhouse intervening, along with those two massive Gigantamax Pokémon, he was finally safe. But to his shock, within moments, this mysterious person actually reached an agreement with Preist-3.
Damn it! Why didn't you fight Preist-3 to the death instead?
Andrew, concealed beneath the water's surface, cursed silently. He already sensed something terrible approaching. He retreated quietly, then suddenly dove deeper into the water, commanding his Tentacruel to carry him away.
At this critical moment, preserving his life took absolute priority.
"Wishiwashi, help me find Andrew!"
Preist-3 remained wary of Jacob as he ordered Wishiwashi to search for Andrew in the ocean.
Upon hearing Preist-3's command, the Wishiwashi in School Form instantly dispersed, transforming into countless individual fish. They swarmed like a plague of locusts, swimming in every direction throughout the ocean, constantly searching for Andrew's trail.
With the help of countless Wishiwashi spread across the water, it took less than a minute for Preist-3 to locate Andrew's fleeing figure.
"Found you!"
A cruel expression formed on Preist-3's face beneath his mask. With his level of strength, it had been quite some time since he'd felt genuinely frustrated. At this moment, he felt fire burning in his chest, desperately needing an outlet.
However, he didn't dare rashly engage Jacob. Therefore, at this moment, the unfortunate Andrew became Preist-3's only available target for venting his rage.
"Attack! Regieleki, kill him directly—show no mercy!"
As Preist-3's enraged voice echoed across the water, Regieleki, floating in the sky, instantly erupted with dazzling electrical arcs. It transformed directly into a bolt of lightning, tearing through the night sky. It rapidly traversed the darkness, crossing a vast distance, and within a single instant, it appeared right beside Andrew.
"Thunder Cage!"
Golden lightning formed a net in the air, descending to envelop Andrew completely.
Watching the golden Thunder Cage flying toward him, Andrew felt extreme terror at this moment. His heart pounded violently, and a look of absolute fear crossed his face. If he were truly caught by the Thunder Cage, he would undoubtedly die.
Andrew had never felt closer to death than right now. He understood that this was a critical moment between life and death, and all his trump cards had to be used immediately. Otherwise, his trump cards would only become relics buried in his coffin.
"Save me! Barbaracle!"
As Andrew's terrified cry for help rang out, a Poké Ball on his waist suddenly sprang open, releasing a flash of red light.
A Champion-level Barbaracle appeared before everyone's eyes.
Barbaracle is a Water and Rock-type Pokémon, excelling in both defense and physical attack. Although its Speed is relatively low, it possesses a top-tier Hidden Ability in Pickpocket. Combined with the move Shell Smash, its overall strength is quite respectable.
However, due to its rather unsettling appearance, few people actually like Pokémon such as Barbaracle.
This particular Barbaracle of Andrew's was a Pokémon his father had specially given him before his departure. Its purpose was to handle sudden emergency situations exactly like this one.
This Barbaracle's strength was also quite impressive, having reached Champion-level. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been designated as Andrew's last resort. After all, under normal circumstances, a Champion-level Pokémon is sufficient to handle most emergencies.
But at this moment, it proved somewhat inadequate, because he was facing Preist-3—one of the strongest individuals in this world.
Just a Champion-level Regieleki alone was enough to make Barbaracle struggle, let alone the additional Champion-level Wishiwashi and Sirfetch'd.
However, even if victory was impossible, surviving for a short period would be sufficient. Or rather, from beginning to end, Andrew's goal had only been survival. He never entertained thoughts of actually defeating Regieleki and Preist-3.
As soon as Barbaracle materialized, it immediately chose to use its body to shield Andrew from the fierce Thunder Cage attack.
However, as a Rock and Water-type Pokémon, Barbaracle takes double damage from Electric-type moves. Combined with Regieleki's Transistor Ability, which boosts the power of Electric-type moves, and the STAB bonus from same-type attack, a single Thunder Cage attack directly caused Barbaracle to sustain massive damage.
Simultaneously, the Thunder Cage's secondary effect activated, blocking Barbaracle's escape routes in all directions.
But for Andrew, none of this ultimately mattered. He had at least survived once again.
Seeing his guaranteed kill move being blocked, Preist-3 frowned deeply. He hadn't expected Andrew to still possess a trump card capable of resistance, and his anger intensified further.
Today had been truly unlucky. Just dealing with a mere Andrew had consumed so much time and energy, and he still hadn't been eliminated. If only he'd taken care of him earlier on the ship, so many complications wouldn't have arisen.
"Regieleki, Thunderbolt!"
"Wishiwashi, revert to School Form! Liquidation!"
To maintain his guard against Jacob, Preist-3 chose to deploy only Wishiwashi and Regieleki in the attack, while his Salamence and Sirfetch'd remained positioned to watch Jacob's two Pokémon warily.
His eyes flickered as he thought to himself: I might not be able to do anything to Jacob, but surely I can handle a mere Andrew.
Both Pokémon launched their attacks at Barbaracle simultaneously.
Andrew's expression also grew extremely grim.
Just one Regieleki alone was sufficient to give Barbaracle immense difficulty. Now, with a Champion-level Wishiwashi added to the assault, Andrew felt as though the word "death" was already written across his forehead.
What made matters worse, Barbaracle was currently trapped within the Thunder Cage's confines.
In this crisis situation, Andrew's reaction proved remarkably swift.
"Barbaracle, use Protect, then Dive!"
Although the Thunder Cage blocked Barbaracle's escape routes in all horizontal directions, it did not block the route leading straight down to the ocean floor.
Following Andrew's command, Barbaracle immediately executed the Dive move, taking him into the deep sea to escape.
On the surface, Barbaracle wouldn't last long facing two Champion-level Pokémon simultaneously. But as long as it dove into the deep ocean, Barbaracle would only need to face a single Wishiwashi in School Form, and the pressure would decrease drastically. This would give it a legitimate chance to stall until reinforcements arrived.
No matter how powerful Regieleki was, it would never willingly fight underwater.
Moreover, Regieleki wouldn't dare use high-power Electric-type moves in the ocean, as doing so would risk accidentally injuring the other survivors.
Watching this scene unfold, Preist-3's face darkened considerably as he observed Barbaracle use Protect and dive beneath the waves.
Although Andrew's personal strength wasn't particularly impressive, he was as slippery and cunning as an eel.
"Wishiwashi, don't hold back anymore! Kill him directly!"
Preist-3's voice turned ice cold. Now he could only place his hopes on Wishiwashi, as he still had to maintain vigilance against Jacob.
He possessed absolute confidence in his Wishiwashi, though. In the ocean, a Champion-level Wishiwashi could continuously gather wild Wishiwashi from throughout the sea to join its school. As time passed, the school would grow larger and larger, and the Wishiwashi in School Form would only become progressively stronger and stronger.