At a sheer cliff along the Black Coast—where below lay a stretch of calm, gently rolling seawater, Aven stood gazing downward.
Beside him stood Bibarel, its expression complicated as it looked at the waters beneath the cliff.
Back then, after the Marina City Knights were defeated in Fruitvale Village, they had no choice but to jump straight from this very cliff into the sea to retreat.
But now, all of that was over. Marina City had officially become a part of the Pokémon Domain. This change filled Bibarel with deep joy.
"A big waterfall training course should be built right here, Bibarel," Aven said as he surveyed the surrounding terrain from the top of the cliff.
This cliff was exceptionally tall. While most stretches of the Black Coast sloped gently down into sandy beaches, only this particular spot connected directly to the ocean.
And the waters here were calm, providing a high degree of safety during training. Even if a Pokémon were to be swept off a waterfall, it wouldn't suffer too much damage.
"Bii~ Bii…"
Bibarel's leader nodded, then looked toward the forest behind them.
Their next task was to dig out a new waterway—channeling water from Fair River down to this spot so that a proper waterfall could form.
Without hesitation, the Bibarel leader greeted Aven once and quickly ran off toward Bibarel Lake, intending to gather its companions and begin excavating the river path.
"With this, the waterfall training site is settled," Aven murmured with a satisfied nod.
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out three Poké Balls, releasing Tentacruel, Skrelp, and Gyarados into the water.
"ROOOAAR!!"
Once again returning to the open sea, Gyarados couldn't help but roar up at the sky.
Tentacruel, however, remained far calmer—its large body drifting quietly on the surface as its tentacles gently stirred the water.
Skrelp, the moment it emerged, tilted its head upward repeatedly, searching for the familiar silhouette of its good friend. During this period, it and Poipole had grown incredibly close.
The two Pokémon shared similar typings and equally cheerful, innocent personalities, so they became friends almost instantly and were practically inseparable lately.
"Poi~ pole~?!"
At that moment, Poipole was in the middle of emotion energy training with Kirlia.
But the instant it saw Skrelp come out, the little fellow, who had only managed to calm down with difficulty—became overjoyed, its emotions surging wildly in excitement.
"Kir~"
Kirlia sighed helplessly and waved its hand, signaling Poipole to go play.
Watching the tiny creature happily zoom away, radiating strong emotional waves, Kirlia revealed a slightly strange expression.
It could clearly sense that Poipole's emotional power was strongest when it was playing around. For Poipole, that seemed to be the best way to train emotional energy.
Thinking this through, Kirlia fell silent.
Perhaps… it should try that too. There might be unexpected benefits.
As it pondered, its eyes drifted toward Aven in the distance.
To be honest, it also really wanted to play with him…
But what exactly should they play?
"Alright—Tentacruel, Gyarados, let's head out to sea," Aven called out.
Both Pokémon perked up happily.
"ROOOAAR~!!"
Gyarados let out another excited roar and straightened its massive body obediently.
Seeing this, Aven used Psychic, lifting himself gently into the air and settling onto Gyarados' head.
Then from the cliff, Lilligant suddenly leapt down, her leafy skirt swaying as she fell.
Aven quickly reached out to catch her, causing the little lady to burst into giggles—clearly very happy.
"Kirrr~"
Hovering in the air, Kirlia hesitated for a moment.
Aven, I'm coming too.
Its telepathic voice echoed softly as it descended.
But before Aven could catch her, vines suddenly shot out from Lilligant's body, whipping toward the falling Kirlia and wrapping around her.
Lilligant caught Kirlia midair, placed her onto Gyarados' head, and crossed her arms smugly.
No need to thank me. I was just helping.
"Kir~ liaa…!"
Kirlia puffed her cheeks, glaring unhappily at Lilligant.
She had wanted Aven to catch her!
She wanted to play her beloved "hug game" with him!
Who asked Lilligant to interfere using Vine Whip!?
Even if she needed to save herself, she could have done it—she didn't need Lilligant's help!
Kirlia floated up again in protest, landing gracefully on Aven's shoulder.
I can fly perfectly well, thank you!
"Lilli!"
Lilligant huffed and rolled her eyes.
"So what if you can fly? No need to show off!"
"Lass…~"
Froslass drifted forward silently.
Seeing Lilligant and Kirlia bickering again, she could only sigh helplessly. She had long grown used to the rivalry between the two over Aven's attention.
But in the next instant—
Lilligant and Kirlia both shot sharp glares at her, as if saying:
"Don't act like you've never been jealous before!"
"Ahem. Gyarados, let's depart." Aven patted the serpent's head.
"ROOOAAR~!"
Gyarados surged forward excitedly, swimming swiftly across the water.
Splash—splash—!
Tentacruel followed closely behind.
On its wide, flat head sat Poipole and Skrelp; all three being Poison-type made them an inseparable little group.
Their goal today remained the same: to locate the Tentacool tribe and the Magikarp populations—especially the Tentacool. They had been searching for a long time now.
Gyarados, keeping its body upright, glided powerfully through the sea.
Before long, they found a large group of Magikarp, understandably common in these waters.
Unfortunately, among them, not a single wild Gyarados could be found. After all, it was extremely difficult for one to emerge naturally in the wild.
Still, considering the countless Magikarp in the ocean, it wasn't impossible for a few wild Gyarados to exist—they were simply far less likely to appear along a resource-poor coastline like this.
Splash—!
The Magikarp bounced behind Gyarados in a chaotic but lively trail.
They were simply too weak, which was why Magikarp lived in large groups—the only way they could survive.
And once a Gyarados appeared within a group, it naturally became the unquestioned leader, with all Magikarp instinctively gathering around it.
Just like now: Gyarados had simply swum a single loop around the area, and it had already ended up with several Magikarp schools trailing behind it in a massive procession that sent waves splashing everywhere.
Splash—!
Tentacruel couldn't help but show envy.
It had searched for Tentacool for so long without results.
Meanwhile, Gyarados had taken one lap and already gained a whole army of followers.
This was exactly the kind of "Pokémon bullying Pokémon to death" that poisoned Tentacruel's soul.
"Kir~ lia~"
Kirlia floated over and patted Tentacruel's head comfortingly.
Then it quickly drifted toward the Magikarp group and began communicating.
Magikarp, aside from being weak, were also notoriously dull. Normally, communicating with them was extremely difficult…
But this was no challenge for Kirlia.
Using telepathy, it projected the image of a Tentacool into their minds, asking if they had seen such Pokémon before.
Splash—Splash!
At that moment, one Magikarp splashed closer.
"Kir!"
Kirlia brightened immediately and engaged with it telepathically.
After a brief exchange, Kirlia's eyes sparkled. With a flash of Psychic energy, it teleported itself and the Magikarp directly to Aven.
Once standing on Gyarados's head, the Magikarp immediately froze.
It could feel the suffocating pressure of Gyarados's superior bloodline and didn't dare move a muscle.
"So, you know where the Tentacool are?" Aven asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
The clever Magikarp nodded repeatedly and pointed its fin southeast, indicating the direction it had seen them.
"Very good. You're quite perceptive," Aven said with a brief smile. "If we find the Tentacool tribe, I'll train you myself."
(End of Chapter)