Upon hearing Metako's mocking words, the expressions of the two first mates instantly darkened. Their mouths twitched slightly, as if wanting to refute her, but in the end, they remained silent, their faces filled with discomfort.
However, it was true as Metako said, before the Seadras evolved into Kingdras, they were solely of the Water type, and their base stats didn't even reach 500.
Despite the two first mates' Pokémon being stronger, they were still being pushed back step by step. They were outmatched.
Even in such a situation, they still stubbornly defended themselves: "Those two Seadras work together seamlessly and move like engines in the water; their speed is astonishing."
"Our own Pokémon may be amphibious, but they still can't compare to that."
The verbal sparring between the three continued while the battle below remained fierce. Pokémon fell in the chaos, blood and flesh scattering, dyeing the surrounding sea a deep crimson.
"Flying Pokémon unit, advance!"
The pirates on the opposing ship knew the battle couldn't drag on indefinitely. Even if they were to win, it would be a costly victory. They decided to break the deadlock in the air.
Swellow, Wingull, Pidgey, Spearow, and others clashed mid-air, their attacks flying about in a chaotic blur. It became impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
"Raaahhhhh!"
Pokémon occasionally plummeted from the skies.
As time passed, the stalemate grew. This sea battle was causing severe losses on both sides.
Sieg, heart aching, recalled his badly injured Carvanha and cast a sideways glance at some of his fellow pirates, resentment flashing in his eyes.
"During that last skirmish, they deliberately avoided supporting me, causing Carvanha to suffer severe injuries. Pirates truly are selfish, always swaying with the tide, thinking only of their own interests at critical moments," Sieg thought bitterly.
He had even shielded some of their Pokémon earlier out of goodwill, knowing this was a team battle.
Now he saw them for who they really were. Sieg immediately decided not to have his Corphish fight at full power anymore.
It would suffice for Corphish to conserve energy and simply appear active without overexerting itself.
...
Back on the enemy pirate ship, several pirates drenched in sweat rushed into the command room.
"Captain, we can't go on like this. The enemy's Swampert is too powerful. We've taken massive losses!"
The one-eyed pirate's gaze turned grim. "Looks like we'll have to use that move."
As the battle intensified, the Swampert gradually overpowered the two opposing Seadras. Just as Sieg and his allies were gaining momentum, the enemy's two Seadras suddenly converged.
The two dragons circled in the water, gathering an overwhelming aura.
"ROAR!"
A torrent of deep purple energy gathered. The two Seadras opened their jaws and unleashed a Dragon-type energy blast.
Under Sieg's shocked gaze, the twin energies merged into a giant dragon head.
All nearby Pokémon trembled under the oppressive force of the Dragon-type energy, unable to move.
This was the raw dominance of dragons.
Both sides focused their attention on the blast.
"Dragon... Dragon Pulse!" someone gasped, recognizing the attack.
The massive Dragon Pulse shot toward Blastoise and Octillery. Although both had braced for impact beforehand, the attack still overwhelmed them, knocking them out of the fight.
"Boom!"
"Gurgle... THUD!"
A deafening explosion shook the entire Megalodon.
"Run! Run now!"
No one knew who shouted, but chaos erupted. Some crew members leapt off the deck into the sea, desperate for survival.
The morale boost from Swampert's dominance vanished in an instant. Fear engulfed the entire Megalodon.
"Better to live to fight another day!"
Sieg was jostled by the frantic crowd. Quickly, he recalled Corphish and slipped through a door, taking shelter inside the ship.
"Who's there!"
He had just entered when he saw an enemy pirate inside the room, frantically looting valuables.
"Corphish, Bubble Beam!"
"Tentacool, Water Pulse!"
The pirate panicked and hastily released a Pokémon to fight.
Corphish's pincers opened, shooting countless bubbles that collided with a massive water sphere formed by the enemy.
Water splashed wildly in the room. Sieg lifted his cloak, sweeping aside the obscuring foam.
"Spearow, Peck!"
He released a still-capable Spearow; wild skirmishes like these were the specialty of streetwise fighters like them.
He didn't need to defeat the enemy's Pokémon. He just had to kill the pirate.
The enemy pirate broke out in cold sweat.
He had two Pokémon, but one had been knocked out during the boarding. Now, only Tentacool remained, and it was clearly losing ground.
In the cramped space, Spearow flapped its wings and darted forward.
The pirate instantly sensed danger. With years of experience, he instinctively rolled to the side, barely dodging.
Spearow missed its mark but spun mid-air and thrust its sharp beak into the pirate's blind spot.
In a flash, it pierced his throat with surgical precision.
"Ugh... you—"
The pirate collapsed stiffly, clutching his bloodied throat, as if wanting to speak.
Tentacool a water-based Pokémon, was already weakened on land. Now, without a trainer's command, it floundered helplessly.
It was soon defeated.
Sieg kicked the now lifeless corpse, then pulled a dagger from his belt and began rifling through the loot.
"No wonder so many people, despite the danger, choose to become pirates. Plundering and killing really is the fastest way to amass wealth."
Looking at the spoils, Sieg sighed.
Aside from a large amount of League currency, he found what seemed to be a logbook and two Poké Balls, one of which held a Corphish.
"Click."
He recalled the unconscious Tentacool, locking it in the Poké Ball to prevent it from escaping.
Sieg heard the sound of hurried footsteps and battle outside. He carefully approached the door, twisted the lock, and secured it from within.
Finally, he allowed himself to breathe.
Feeling the intense pounding of his heart, Sieg slumped to the floor and patted his panting Corphish.
"Corphish, I'm sorry for dragging you into danger every day like this."
"Cor Cor!" Corphish nuzzled Sieg's leg with its hard head.
Lobsters like me would never abandon their trainer.
After all, we promised long ago, we'll reach the top together, right?
...
"Hahaha! Brothers, charge! Fortune is within reach! Victory is at hand! Kill them all! Their Pokémon and treasures will be yours!"
The enemy's one-eyed pirate captain stood atop a high platform, roaring wildly, waving his arms overhead.
Riled up by his speech, his pirates became even more frenzied, directing their Pokémon with renewed fury.
The pirates aboard the Megalodon were steadily pushed back. Especially after seeing the defeat of the two First Mates' Pokémon, their morale completely collapsed.
"Run, run for your lives! Even the First Mates' Pokémon have fallen, we must save ourselves!"The desperate roar of an old veteran pirate echoed over the chaos of the battlefield.
The words shattered what little courage remained in the hearts of the defending pirates. Some had already jumped ship earlier, cowards who thought the ocean safer than steel. But the sea had proven no refuge. In the water, they were like helpless targets.
Enemy Pokémon, commanded with ruthless precision, struck them down one after another. There was no escape. Their screams died with them, and the rest quickly abandoned any thoughts of fleeing into the sea.
"Fear not, my comrades! I am here! Rally to me, NOW, rally to me!"
Metako's voice rang out like a beacon. Her presence alone steadied the line. It cut through the storm of fear and gave direction to the chaos.
The crew of the Megalodon began retreating in sync, pulling back toward her. One moved, then another, then all of them, caught in the current of group instinct.
Meanwhile, aboard the enemy ship...
"Boss, that woman, she's gathering them all together. Should we hit her now?"
The pirate leaned in, tense. The one-eyed captain gave a crooked grin.
"No need to rush. Let them group up. Then we'll wipe them all out in one clean sweep," he said with wicked confidence.
With their top fighters missing, the sailors of the Megalodon were slowly pushed into a corner, forced to fight not with strength, but familiarity with the terrain.
"Resist no longer! Surrender, and you'll be treated well! We won't take your Pokémon!"
"Yeah, for a few thousand Pokédollars a month, why die here?"
The enemy's voice blared through a loudspeaker, using words like daggers. Some pirates hesitated. A few even looked tempted. But most clenched their fists in fury, though no one could know what they truly felt inside.
"You leave us no choice, then! Show no mercy!"Their shouting turned into action. The enemy unleashed their full assault.
Attacks rained down like a meteor storm, crashing against the defenders' last line. Flames, beams, surges of water, all slammed toward the gathered crew.
"Wide-Area Defense, now!"
Metako raised her hand. Her voice cut like a command from the heavens.
Swampert roared, pounding its chest, then released a deep, guttural cry. A pulse of invisible energy rippled outward.
A massive transparent shield bloomed into existence, encasing their side and all of their Pokémon.
Water guns splashed, beams fizzled, stars shot through the sky. But none of them broke through.
The barrier held.
Within that sanctuary, the defenders and their Pokémon finally found a moment to breathe. Healing sprays hissed. Restorative vials glowed. Everyone rushed to revive their Pokémon, knowing this brief calm would not last.
The real storm had yet to arrive.
"I wonder if Sieg is still alive," Metako thought, her heart heavy."Could he have been lost in the chaos? Such a rare talent... I had hoped to pass on everything I knew."
Outside, the enemy's attacks grew fiercer. The shield shimmered, buckled, weakened. It wouldn't last much longer.
"So it's come to this," she whispered. "Time to play my final card."
…
Sieg sat inside a dim cabin, regaining his strength. The enemy's propaganda echoed faintly through the hull, but he remained unmoved.
He knew these pirates. He knew the lies in their voices. Nothing they said was worth believing.
"If we can hold out, good. If not, I'll escape through the drainage hatch under the hull," he told himself.
He was no loyal fool. The only reason he had stayed aboard was to learn from Metako. She had taught him the art of being a Pokémon breeder.
It was a business arrangement. Now that survival was at stake, it was time to move on.
"Spearow, Carvanha, listen. If things go south, I'm jumping into the sea. You two follow me immediately."
"Spearow, you guide us from the air. Find the nearest land. Carvanha, take the lead in the water. Guide me and Corphish."
Sieg moved quickly, issuing his final orders.
If it came to it, if abandoning his Pokémon meant living, he would do it.
"I hope it doesn't come to that," he thought grimly. His three Pokémon looked back at him, serious and resolute.
Sieg took a breath, stood up, and opened the door.
The deck was silent.
No humans in sight. Only broken planks, shattered Pokémon remains, and drying blood.
"They've already swept through here. The fight's moved to the rear."
He moved among the bodies, searching for valuables. And he found them. Coins, vials, items.
But just as he flipped a corpse to reach its pouch, the sky exploded with a roar.
A dragon's roar.
Sieg froze.
Up above, soaring in the sunlight, was a colossal Gyarados. Its scales gleamed blue like polished steel.
Its maw opened, gathering light, and then fired a beam of blinding white light.
Hyper Beam.
The enemy pirate ship exploded into splinters.
Sieg's heart slammed in his chest. He couldn't breathe. The sight was too magnificent, too terrifying.
"Is that Gyarados... on our side?" he whispered to himself.
There was no time to ponder.
The arrival of Gyarados was a divine intervention. It shattered the balance.
Sieg snapped into action. No more treasure hunting. He tied what loot he had to his belt and slipped along the edge of the deck.
Gyarados wasn't done.
Attack after attack poured from its massive form. Its tail whipped once, sending out a monstrous twister that could crush another ship in seconds.
The air was filled with screams, with the cracking of wood, with the scent of sea and death.
The crew of the Megalodon realized it all at once.
This Gyarados was theirs.
The two First Mates, already preparing to flee, froze in horror. It was as if they had seen a ghost.
"No, no way... wasn't the Captain dead? Our intel was solid, we were sure. Why is his Pokémon here?"Nagata Shin's voice trembled.
They had dared to defy Metako because they believed the Captain was gone. They had heard he was killed by a powerful dark organization.
But now, Gyarados was back.
Fear gripped them again.
"Calm down," the other First Mate said, forcing composure."This must be something he left for that woman. A contingency."
Their fear eased, but their faces were pale.
Even the two of them combined had barely managed to suppress Metako before.
Now she had this Pokémon. Now she had the crew's loyalty.
And now, their dream of seizing control was crumbling.
In the shadow of that beast, rebellion would not rise again.