However, Electivire was clearly faster.
It had already figured out Salamence's strategy!
Salamence's eyes widened in disbelief as its body became somewhat paralyzed by the cyan-blue lightning coursing through it.
But the paralysis dissipated after only a brief moment.
Salamence understood immediately—Electivire had held back its full power.
"Roar..."
You are strong.
Electivire scratched its head sheepishly and politely suggested that with enough hard work and dedicated practice, Salamence would also grow much stronger.
This brief sparring match had successfully ignited Salamence's competitive fighting spirit.
In the days that followed in Alola, Salamence frequently challenged Electivire, and the two exchanged techniques again and again in the sky above.
Salamence quickly integrated into this large family of teammates.
The Dragon-type had successfully made the transformation from a solitary loner to a social team player.
Roy felt very satisfied with the current dynamics within his team. Positive, healthy competition would not only enhance each Pokémon's individual strength but also deepen the understanding and coordination between them.
However, for Electivire specifically, the athletic competition from Salamence's usual sparring sessions clearly wasn't sufficient.
For any Pokémon, accumulating real combat experience was absolutely necessary.
Otherwise, no matter how powerful one's abilities might be, if those abilities couldn't be used skillfully and effectively in actual battle, it would all amount to nothing—like drawing water with a bamboo basket, completely wasted effort.
Since Electivire's evolution, the only real battle had been against Senior Sister Ivy's team.
For the time being, Roy couldn't properly assess Electivire's weaknesses or shortcomings.
That Blaziken had been completely outmatched—a dimensional reduction strike against Electivire, who had already mastered the 'Armor of Thunder and Lightning' technique.
If they were back in the outside world, during this training period, Roy would have taken Electivire to the battle facilities at the Pokémon Center whenever it wasn't working on lightning training.
But currently, here in the Alola spiritual domain, such facilities naturally weren't available.
However, this was precisely one of the reasons Roy had chosen to spend the remaining four months in Alola's spiritual realm.
Because within Alola's spiritual domain, there were actual 'gods' present.
Although the patron deities' status had dropped one level due to the arrival of Solgaleo and Lunala as the domain's primary guardians...
These Island Guardians were still genuine patron saints, weren't they?
And they were still second-tier legendary Pokémon.
Roy was already planning in his mind when he would take Electivire to one of the Island Guardians for a proper sparring session.
After all, one should keep good opportunities within the family, so to speak.
Roy rubbed his hands together with a gleeful smile, as if he could already see the bright training future ahead.
But first, he needed to communicate properly with the Island Guardian to make sure the experience wouldn't leave Electivire discouraged or disheartened.
Even though Electivire possessed the 'Armor of Thunder and Lightning' as insurance, Roy couldn't help worrying about various potential outcomes.
Roy was still contemplating the training plans for each of his Pokémon on Poni Wilds when he suddenly remembered that Blastoise hadn't returned yet.
Roy stood up and tucked the small notebook from his lap into his pocket.
Looking out at the sea, everything remained calm and peaceful, with no sign of the Water-type anywhere.
Roy scratched his head. "That guy... where did he wander off to play? He still hasn't come back yet."
Meanwhile, beneath the ocean surface, Blastoise was traveling along the seafloor away from Poni Island's coast.
When it grew tired of observing the underwater scenery, it would surface briefly for a breath of fresh air.
Blastoise kept replaying that mortifying scene from earlier, along with the amused laughter from good friends like Lucario and Ninetales.
Remembering it all, Blastoise dove headfirst back into the water, not wanting to return to shore anytime soon.
Blastoise let itself drift freely, allowing Alola's ocean currents to carry it wherever they wished.
This was actually the first time Blastoise had experienced the real open sea since arriving in the Alola Spiritual Realm.
Perhaps because Blastoise was a Water-type Pokémon, it felt a natural affinity and closeness to the ocean.
If it weren't sometimes needed as transportation for the team, Blastoise would have been perfectly content just soaking in the water indefinitely.
What had started as an idle fantasy was unexpectedly coming true quite quickly.
This was only their first day of training in the Alola spiritual domain!
Thinking back to that embarrassing scene from earlier, Blastoise felt like crying all over again.
It paddled through the water while metaphorical tears streamed down.
Waaahhh...
When I get back later, I absolutely must give that troublemaker Salamence a good thrashing.
Blastoise was completely absorbed in its grief and indignation, kicking through the seawater with its feet as it continued swimming toward the deeper ocean.
A dark shadow suddenly streaked past Blastoise's side at high speed.
Blastoise noticed that the seawater, which had felt pleasantly warm moments ago, had suddenly turned noticeably colder.
Hm?
What was that?
Blastoise looked around cautiously, even dipping its head beneath the surface to check if anything unusual was lurking nearby.
On the ocean floor, young Finneon were swimming playfully among the red coral formations, and the occasional Tentacool floated past...
However, perhaps because these Pokémon were still in their juvenile stage, the 'violence' associated with spiritual domain Pokémon wasn't very obvious in them.
Of course, this was also related to the vast expanse of ocean within Alola's spiritual domain.
During the gradual integration process with Earth, the Pokémon had mutated and become extremely aggressive, with only killing and cruelty dominating their hearts.
But they weren't mindless, zombie-like creatures either.
As evidenced during the island tour, some Pokémon had even learned to avoid trainers whose strength they recognized and respected.
These Pokémon still maintained a certain degree of awareness—at least they understood which Pokémon could be challenged and which ones would mean certain death if approached recklessly.
In situations where Pokémon needed to compete for territory and food resources, such "violent" tendencies became far more pronounced.
Fortunately, the four Island Guardian deities of Alola's spiritual domain remained in a rational, aware state.
They managed the Pokémon population in an orderly fashion; otherwise, it was difficult to imagine what kind of chaos the Alola spiritual realm might have descended into.
Thinking about it this way, ocean-dwelling Pokémon who had abundant food and growth resources readily available in the sea, compared to land-based Pokémon who faced limited resources and constant competition...
The ocean seemed relatively peaceful by comparison.
However...
This only applied to certain Pokémon.
In the ocean, there were still many Pokémon with inherently fierce, aggressive natures.
For example, the Pokémon currently swimming toward Blastoise with hostile intent.
This Pokémon was dark blue all over, with a massive cross-shaped yellow scar prominently displayed on its forehead. The fin on its back stood upright like a pirate's flag—an iconic and intimidating feature.
It was a Sharpedo!
Sharpedo's eyes glowed blood-red, making it impossible to tell whether this was their natural coloration or if they had become even more savage due to the spiritual domain's influence.
From the moment Blastoise had unknowingly entered this particular stretch of ocean, Sharpedo—the local sea bully—had been quietly stalking this unfamiliar Pokémon.
Time to teach this intruder a lesson!
With that thought, water flowed smoothly over Sharpedo's sleek skin.
Like an arrow released from a bow, Sharpedo launched itself forward, accelerating rapidly to incredible speed.
It was said that when Sharpedo chased its prey, it could reach a terrifying velocity of 120 kilometers per hour.