"Sharpedo, use Dark Pulse!"
Lurking beneath the water, Sharpedo swiftly obeyed its Trainer's command. A surge of dark energy shot forth, obliterating a wooden boat and eliminating a competitor from the match.
"Walrein, take this chance—use Water Pulse!"
Before Sharpedo's Trainer could celebrate, their own boat was shattered by Walrein's Water Pulse.
"Swampert, use Surf and flood their boats!"
A massive wave rose, engulfing two competitors in its path. Reacting swiftly, they teamed up to counter the oncoming Surf.
"Seaking, use Horn Drill!"
"Crobat, Air Slash!"
Just as the two thought they had caught a break, another set of competitors seized the opportunity, shattering their boats beneath them.
Even the Trainer who commanded Swampert was not spared. With his partner too far away to assist, a Gyarados locked onto him and swung its powerful tail, sending his boat flying into pieces.
Thrown into the air along with the wreckage, he was saved from injury only by Swampert's timely intervention.
Scenes like this were common—many contestants fought alone, often overlooking threats from other competitors.
The sole exception was Ron, a Trainer from Kanto, who had the advantage of Gardevoir's psychic abilities to detect incoming ambushes. With its help, he devised counterattacks with ease.
From the start of the match until now, Ron had eliminated ten competitors.
"Gardevoir, Tsunami!"
Ron seemed to be quickly mastering the strategies of the match. The moment he gave the command, the ocean began to churn violently. Within seconds, a towering wave surged forward in an aggressive assault.
"Teleport—behind that competitor!"
As the tsunami blocked two opponents attacking from the front, Gardevoir immediately executed Teleport, taking Ron out of harm's way.
They reappeared a short distance from another contestant.
"Gardevoir, use Whirlpool, then follow up with Psyshock—rapid fire!"
With a wave of its hands, Gardevoir manipulated the ocean's currents, generating a whirling vortex that swallowed the Trainer's boat along with their Pokémon.
Multiple Psyshock waves shot out like homing missiles, attacking from all directions.
"Tentacruel, Blizzard! Coat your tentacles with Water Pulse to block Gardevoir's attack!"
The opposing Trainer remained composed, issuing precise instructions to his Tentacruel. At the same time, two other competitors swiftly took action, destroying the tsunami Gardevoir had created and shifting their focus to Ron.
"It's time—do it!"
Ignoring the approaching opponents, Ron kept his eyes locked on Tentacruel and its Trainer. The moment they showed a slight opening, he gave Gardevoir the signal.
Anticipating this, Gardevoir had already been channeling psychic energy beneath the enemy's boat.
Now, at Ron's command, the built-up force erupted.
At the instant the Trainer relaxed—believing he had backup—he was launched into the air along with his boat, which shattered into debris.
The broken planks drifting on the water symbolized his defeat, making him the eleventh competitor eliminated by Ron.
Activating Teleport once more, Gardevoir whisked Ron away to a less crowded section of the battlefield, avoiding a two-on-one confrontation.
"Gardevoir, stay on guard."
While using his Fighting Aura to restore Gardevoir's stamina, Ron remained vigilant.
The once-vibrant ocean was now littered with wreckage. More and more competitors had been eliminated, leaving fewer than a third of the original participants.
For the first time since the match began, Ron found himself in a brief moment of calm—no immediate threats in sight.
However, the peace was short-lived.
Two dark figures emerged from the depths, charging at Ron from opposite sides.
"Gardevoir, exert Psychic Pressure—then Teleport!"
Their practiced synergy required no extra explanation.
Gardevoir unleashed its Psychic Pressure, causing the surrounding waters to tremble violently. The two aquatic figures lurking beneath the waves faltered momentarily.
"Gyarados!"
"Sharpedo!"
"Defensive maneuvers, now!" x2
The voices of the two competitors rang out at the same time, but no matter how fast they swam, they could never outrun Teleport.
After swiftly avoiding the two shadows using Teleport, Gardevoir unleashed a powerful Psychic attack, effortlessly shattering the small boats of the two competitors.
The moment Ron was discovered, the remaining trainers in the area seemed to find a common target. While remaining wary of each other, they subtly closed in, forming an encirclement around him.
"Gardevoir, use Psychic to create a whirlpool for defense!"
Under the force of its psychic powers, the ocean's surface began to swirl rapidly, carrying broken wooden debris along with it, effectively blocking the other competitors' attempts to corner Ron.
From the start of the competition until now, Ron had barely rowed his boat. Instead, he continuously used his Fighting Aura to restore Gardevoir's stamina. Without this support, even with Gardevoir's exceptional psychic abilities, the sheer energy expenditure would have been unsustainable.
For the remainder of the match, Ron fully capitalized on Gardevoir's agility with Teleport—evading whenever possible, escaping when necessary, and only engaging as a last resort.
None of the other competitors dared to recklessly send their Pokémon into an all-out chase, neglecting their own defenses.
And in the end, Ron actually managed to outlast them all.
By this stage, only four trainers remained in the red zone, including Ron. The other three had their Pokémon—Swampert, Gyarados, and Pelipper—by their side.
Unlike Gardevoir, all three Pokémon were at level 59. However, their stamina had been significantly drained, meaning they could only exert about half of their usual strength.
"We need to force him out first!"
Exchanging glances, the three trainers reached a mutual understanding and immediately commanded their Pokémon to corner Ron.
"Get ready, Gardevoir. Create a whirlpool to trap them—I refuse to believe they won't retaliate!"
After issuing his command, Ron simply watched as the three closed in.
The next moment, a massive whirlpool surged forth, engulfing all three trainers, despite the distance they had tried to maintain.
"No way!?"
"How does his Gardevoir still have this much power!?"
While two of the trainers were stunned by the sheer force of the vortex, the third reacted swiftly, instructing his Pelipper to carry him and his wooden boat away to avoid getting sucked in.
Seeing this, the other two quickly followed suit, commanding their Gyarados and Swampert to retreat.
Unbeknownst to them, Gardevoir had already discreetly split its Psychic energy into three separate forces, lying in wait around them, ready to strike the moment they let their guard down.
Gradually, the whirlpool subsided, and the three trainers instinctively lowered their vigilance.
On the shoreline, the competitors who had previously fallen victim to Ron's strategy quickly realized what was about to happen—but it was too late to warn the remaining three.
A sudden psychic shockwave erupted, ruthlessly shattering their boats into drifting splinters upon the sea.
The abrupt turn of events left the three momentarily stunned, but before they could react, the announcer's voice echoed across the arena.
"Let's congratulate Ron for winning the Third Ocean Battle Tournament!"
Amidst the deafening cheers, Gardevoir used Teleport once again, bringing Ron safely back to the shore.
As he gazed at the floating wooden debris scattered across the water, Ron couldn't help but see it as bait he had cast into the sea—now, all that remained was to wait for the Pokémon Hunters and Team Aqua to take the bait.
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