Though still far away, Caster's hands and feet turned ice cold, and even his heart seemed to skip half a beat.
Compared to the enemies rapidly closing in, Gyarados's flight speed was far too slow.
Even if Caster wanted to flee, he probably couldn't escape.
As for diving underwater to run, Caster also felt that wasn't feasible.
The other side definitely had Water-type Pokémon too. If it really came to underwater combat, Caster would inevitably be caught in the aftershocks of battle.
"Since I can't escape, then I'll fight!"
Taking a deep breath, Caster's eyes gradually became resolute.
He knew that the upcoming battle wasn't a competition, but a life-or-death struggle.
He had to go all out!!!
"Gyarados, let's drop down to the sea surface, then use Rain Dance!"
Caster patted Gyarados, which immediately canceled the Whirlwind air current and plummeted rapidly.
And during the descent, the Water-type energy within Gyarados surged wildly.
Fortunately, this was the ocean, where Water-type energy was far more abundant than on land, so Gyarados's Rain Dance move flowed much more smoothly than usual.
By the time Gyarados reached the sea surface, dark clouds had gathered in the sky and heavy rain was already falling.
"This Gyarados..."
The captain, riding on Skarmory's back, flew closer and watched Gyarados dancing through the air above the sea surface like a writhing dragon.
His eyes widened in disbelief: "It can actually fly?"
It was normal for Gyarados to know Rain Dance, but flight?
How was that even possible?
However, remembering that Caster had tried to call the police and wanted to ruin his operation, the captain ground his teeth in hatred.
So he decided to test the waters first.
After all, the opponent only had one Gyarados, while his side had three Pokémon in combat. If needed, Poliwrath could also join the water battle.
Three against one, the advantage was his!!!
As for the yellow little mouse on Caster's shoulder, the captain automatically ignored it.
What could Pichu do?
Pichu couldn't do anything!
"Honchkrow, Air Slash!"
The naturally cautious captain rode Skarmory and stayed on the outer perimeter, then sent his two Pokémon forward as the vanguard to probe.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Honchkrow suddenly flapped its wings, and countless wind blades immediately formed, like long knives enveloping Gyarados.
If this move landed solidly, Gyarados might be fine, but Caster would likely be dead or crippled.
This was a wild battle.
It would determine superiority and inferiority, as well as life and death!
"Gyarados, Dragon Breath!"
Caster hurriedly ordered Gyarados to counter.
Searing breath shot from Gyarados's mouth, meeting the sharp wind blades head-on.
BOOM!
The two energies collided and exploded in midair, smoke spreading everywhere and obscuring everyone's vision.
But just then, a thick electric current burst from Magneton's body, piercing through the smoke toward where Gyarados was.
So Honchkrow's Air Slash was just a feint. The captain's real killing move was Magneton's Thunderbolt.
As a Pokémon with a quadruple weakness to Electric attacks, once Gyarados was hit by Thunderbolt, the consequences were obvious.
"Hmm?"
But soon, the captain noticed something was wrong.
The expected screams of agony never came. Instead, what replaced them were Pichu's excited cries.
Just then, a sea breeze blew over, dispersing all the smoke.
Only now did the captain see clearly that Pichu, who had previously had no presence at all, was somehow now standing on top of Gyarados's head, electric arcs constantly flashing across its body.
But visibly, the arcs were gradually being absorbed into its electric pouches.
"Pii~"
After a burst of excited cries, Pichu's aura began climbing steadily, and the look it gave Magneton was full of mockery.
Thanks for the lightning, buddy!
"Pichu, use Thunder as a return gift!"
Caster on Gyarados's back snorted coldly and pointed his finger toward the distant Skarmory.
Capture the leader first to capture the bandits. Caster naturally understood this principle.
After all, as long as he took out the trainer, the remaining Pokémon wouldn't be a threat.
"Pii~"
Internal energy connected with the thunderclouds, and massive thunder immediately descended, rushing straight at Skarmory.
"Skaa~"
Skarmory and the captain on the outer perimeter were greatly alarmed.
The captain had always felt he was far from the vortex of battle, but the lightning in rainy weather descended from the dark clouds, directly crossing over a hundred meters of distance and bypassing the defensive barrier formed by Honchkrow and Magneton.
Skarmory wanted to flee, but it couldn't.
Because Thunder in rainy weather would conduct through the rainwater, making evasive maneuvers useless.
And caught off guard, even if it wanted to use Protect to defend, there wasn't enough time.
Seeing things going badly, the captain jumped directly off Skarmory's back, shouting desperately: "Honchkrow, save me!"
BOOM!
Thunder fell, and Skarmory was instantly enveloped in lightning, crying out in agony.
When the thunder dispersed, it was already charred black all over, eyes spinning in circles as it plunged headfirst into the water.
"Caw~"
Seeing its trainer falling, Honchkrow flapped its wings and flew out quickly, finally catching the captain in a desperate scramble.
But just then, Pichu's second Thunder arrived as well.
Under normal circumstances, little Pichu's electric pouches had limited charge and couldn't possibly use Thunder, such a powerful move, consecutively.
But thanks to just absorbing Magneton's Thunderbolt, Pichu now had ample electric energy reserves and could barely manage consecutive Thunders.
The captain shouted frantically: "Honchkrow, use Protect!!!"
If Protect didn't hold, he was done for!
Hum!
Fortunately, Honchkrow was quite reliable and managed to raise a translucent barrier of light in time, blocking all the thunder outside.
"Phew~ that was close!"
With his life temporarily preserved, both the captain and Honchkrow breathed a sigh of relief.
However, when the barrier dissipated, a thin electric wave still came before them.
Zzt zzt!
The thin electric wave struck Honchkrow, which immediately showed a pained expression.
Even its wings became difficult to flap, and its body plummeted wildly.
Honchkrow had been paralyzed!
"How is this possible?"
The captain's eyes bulged in disbelief: "This Gyarados actually knows Thunder Wave?"
Pichu was using Thunder, so it naturally couldn't use Thunder Wave at the same time.
That made the user of Thunder Wave perfectly clear!
It couldn't possibly be Magneton betraying its master, right?
However, as the price for this, Gyarados also took a Flash Cannon from Magneton.
Even though Steel-type moves weren't very effective against Gyarados, it still cried out in pain.
With Honchkrow paralyzed and unable to be ridden anymore, just as they were about to fall into the water, the captain immediately abandoned it as well and threw out another Poké Ball: "Poliwrath!"
"Yolo~"
Red light flashed, and Poliwrath appeared in the water, catching the captain in one grasp.
"Damn it! Kid, I'll remember you!"
Glaring viciously at Caster, the captain pulled out an underwater respirator and put it in his mouth, then had Poliwrath carry him as they dove underwater and fled.
"What decisive flight, without a moment's hesitation!"
Watching the captain disappear, Caster sighed sincerely: "How ruthless!"
Not only ruthless to wild Pokémon, but also to his own trained Pokémon.
Because obviously, both Honchkrow and Magneton had become abandoned pawns.
"Mag~"
With its trainer fleeing, Magneton no longer had the courage to continue fighting and immediately fled in panic.
And you know what, Magneton's flight speed was actually quite fast. Even if Gyarados wanted to chase, it couldn't catch up.
Honchkrow also wanted to flee, but helplessly its body was paralyzed and it simply couldn't fly fast, barely managing not to fall into the sea.
BOOM!
As another electric strike fell, Honchkrow also lost its ability to battle.