This little Magikarp that Kirlia brought stood out clearly from its wooden-faced peers.
Its awareness and sharpness were a sign of real potential.
These unusual individuals were often able to evolve more easily than their peers, and could be classified as key development targets—Pokémon with the potential to evolve further.
After determining their direction, Gyarados and Tentacruel led the group, quickly swimming toward the southeastern area. Throughout the journey, Tentacruel continuously fired ultrasonic waves from the red gem on its forehead.
Splash—splash—splash—
The seawater violently parted around them as the ultrasonic waves spread ceaselessly through the ocean.
Just then, Tentacruel suddenly felt a pulse of ultrasonic waves being transmitted from afar. It froze for a moment.
But in the very next instant, Tentacruel's expression changed drastically—within that incoming signal, it sensed a distress call from its own companions!
"What is it, Tentacruel? What happened?" Seeing Tentacruel's anxious expression, Aven's face grew a few degrees more serious.
Right now, Tentacruel clearly didn't have the time to explain. The moment it sensed the plea for help, its body shot forward urgently, speeding off with visible distress.
"It seems something really did happen."
Aven lightly patted Gyarados under him, telling it to inform the Magikarp behind them to stop moving.
Those Magikarp were far too weak. Even though their numbers were astonishing, they were essentially useless in an actual crisis against a powerful enemy.
After telling the Magikarp to stay put, Gyarados quickly caught up to Tentacruel. At the same time, Aven took out a Poké Ball.
As the Poké Ball opened, the figure of Mothim appeared in the air, quickly flying behind Aven. A moment later, its body shimmered faintly and vanished from sight completely.
Mothim was one of Aven's few Pokémon with a flying type at the moment, and its strength had already reached the level of an advanced-level Pokémon. If they encountered something dangerous later, Mothim would at least be able to carry him and fly out of danger.
"Lilli…"
Lilligant and the other Pokémon around them wore equally grave expressions.
Although they were King-level Pokémon, this was the open ocean; if they accidentally fell into the water, even they would be in danger.
"Kir~ lia~"
Beside Lilligant, Kirlia let out a mischievous giggle.
With an elegant twirl, its body floated into the air, hovering above Lilligant with an expression that was half playful, half teasing.
Lilligant's face instantly darkened. Out here on the ocean, it truly wasn't as convenient as Kirlia. For the first time, it felt a bit envious of the smaller Pokémon's ability to fly.
It then fell into a moment of deep thought—wasn't there some method it could use to fly as well?
"Kir~ lia~"
Ignoring the troubled Lilligant below, Kirlia teleported in an instant and appeared right beside Aven.
Even though it could float using psychic power, the vast emptiness of the ocean still made it uneasy. Everything felt too open, too exposed, making it difficult to feel safe.
"Lilli~"
Lilligant stomped lightly on Gyarados-scale at its feet, then began channeling life energy outward to sense the surroundings.
Ever since its breakthrough last time, it had gained the ability to directly grasp the life energy present in nature, and its sensing capabilities had increased severalfold.
After traveling for some time, they had long reached much deeper waters. Yet to Lilligant's confusion, there were almost no signs of life throughout the entire sea around them.
It was as though this entire area was a forbidden zone for aquatic Pokémon—an expanse they instinctively avoided. The ocean felt unnervingly silent, almost like a sea of death.
"Roooaaar!"
At that moment, the advancing Gyarados abruptly halted.
Its gaze fixed on the distant waters. Far ahead, they noticed a strange line dividing the ocean.
On one side, the sea was the normal deep blue.
But on the other side—shockingly—the water had turned an eerie shade of purple, radiating a terrifyingly toxic aura!
"A sea of deadly poison… what happened over there?" Aven's expression grew heavy.
The first Pokémon that came to his mind were Tentacruel and their cousins, the Skrelp line—after all, they were all poison types.
But under normal circumstances, their deadly toxins were retained within their bodies. They wouldn't actively release such poison into the ocean. Doing so would consume a tremendous amount of energy!
And even if Tentacruel and many Skrelp really had discharged poison into the sea, it still shouldn't be enough to create a poisonous sea of this scale.
Splash—
Tentacruel in the distance stopped at the edge of the poisonous sea and turned back to look at Aven.
On its head sat Poipole and Skrelp. The moment the two little ones saw the toxic sea before them, their faces lit up with excitement.
Poipole even sprawled across Tentacruel's head, dipping its tail into the purple water. Immediately, it felt waves of poison-type energy rushing into its body.
The little creature hadn't realized at all that it was in an extremely dangerous place. On the contrary, it felt that this area seemed quite nice!
"Tentacruel, your companions are just ahead?" Aven called toward it.
Tentacruel nodded immediately. It didn't know what had happened to its comrades, but that distress signal couldn't have been mistaken.
"All right, let's go take a look." Aven nodded.
The next moment, his body rose from Gyarados' back.
Behind him, Mothim reappeared, hovering in the air. At this moment, because it was above the ocean, its ability had shifted into a water-type compatibility, allowing it to blend seamlessly with its environment.
"Moth~"
Mothim flapped its wings rapidly and flew onto Tentacruel's back.
Since Gyarados wasn't suitable for entering the poisonous sea, Aven returned it to its Poké Ball.
He first scooped the mischievous Poipole into his arms, holding it tightly, then signaled Tentacruel to continue advancing deeper into the toxic waters.
"Poi~ pole~!"
Poipole wiggled twice in Aven's embrace, then found a comfortable position to lie in. Its curious eyes sparkled as it examined the poisonous sea around them.
This little troublemaker always made Aven worry. If it truly was the future guardian deity of the League—he had to take good care of it.
Unfortunately, a normal Poké Ball had no effect on an Ultra Beast like Poipole. Only a specialized Beast Ball could contain it. Otherwise, Aven would've stored it away long ago.
"Moth!"
Once they entered the poisonous sea, Mothim let out a soft grumble.
A moment later, a wave of poisonous energy rippled through its body, and its form gradually shifted into a pale purple hue.
After this period of training with normal energy, Mothim's Camouflage move had become more and more refined.
Now, it didn't even need a specific environment—whenever there was a concentration of energy nearby, it could simply absorb and convert its type accordingly.
Just like now, surrounded by poison-type energy leaking from the sea, this timid Mothim had adapted into a poison type. That way, it no longer needed to fear the toxins.
"A shame… By all logic, since this poisonous sea contains both poison-type and water-type energy, you should really be converting into a dual poison–water type." Aven remarked with a laugh.
"Moth…"
Mothim immediately showed a thoughtful expression.
True enough—though it had become a poison type, falling into the sea was still extremely dangerous.
It should work toward dual-type transformation in the future. That would allow it to camouflage more perfectly—and protect itself far better.
After giving Mothim this suggestion, Aven looked forward again. As Tentacruel navigated deeper into the poisonous sea, he could clearly sense that the concentration of poison energy all around them was continuing to rise.
"Kir!"
Kirlia tugged at Aven's pant leg nervously.
If danger appeared, it would teleport Aven away instantly.
Teleporting within the ocean wasn't the safest option, but going upward, into the sky, was always possible. Kirlia, Froslass, and Mothim could all fly. And if all else failed, Poipole could provide support as well.
The only one who couldn't fly… was Lilligant.
"Lilli!!"
Just then, Lilligant suddenly shouted.
Through its sensing of life energy, it felt a wave of powerful life-force rushing toward them.
The approaching presence was extremely fast, moving underwater with such speed that the surrounding ocean began erupting into turbulence.
Suddenly, a towering wave surged upward, transforming into a massive wall of water crashing toward Tentacruel—vast, overwhelming, as if it could blot out the skies.
"Froslass, Blizzard!" Aven's eyes hardened.
"Lasss!!"
Froslass reacted instantly. Its figure drifted forward, icy-blue energy spiraling around its body.
With a graceful motion of its hand—
A terrifying surge of freezing power condensed and erupted forth—
Transforming into a massive Blizzard that roared across the sea!
(End of Chapter)