"Roar!"
"Starmie, retreat now!"
Upon hearing the roar, Riley immediately warned Starmie.
Trusting its Trainer, Starmie retreated right away, and in the next second, a Gyarados burst out of the sea, launching a Hyper Beam directly at it.
Starmie immediately counterattacked by condensing a Hydro Pump, but the power of the Hydro Pump was fundamentally unable to contend with the Hyper Beam.
An orange-yellow energy beam rushed forth, and the Hydro Pump instantly shattered. Starmie then unleashed Psychic, managing to finally narrowly block the attack, while the Gyarados that used Hyper Beam was temporarily immobilized due to the move's side effect.
Hyper Beam has a high power of 150, and its user is unable to move for a short period of time afterward. If the move's proficiency could be raised to Expert Mastery, the power of Hyper Beam would become even more astonishing, and the side effect could also be overcome.
Before Starmie could even breathe a sigh of relief, another Ace Rank Gyarados charged out, blasting a Hydro Pump that instantly struck Starmie.
Meanwhile, Riley's Dewgong was surrounded by three Ace Rank Gyarados. Lando's situation was no better, as two Ace Rank Gyarados had already targeted him.
Even the aerial harassment squad had attracted an Ace Rank Gyarados that launched an attack, forcing Gu Yuan and the others into an extremely desperate situation.
The last remaining Ace Rank Gyarados was leading the Gyarados swarm in a fierce attack.
Charging at the very front, it blasted a Hydro Pump that instantly breached the defense line that had been so painstakingly established.
"Roar!"
One after another, angry roars rang out, further widening the gap in the defense line. Under the constant impact of the seawater, the ice surface began to shatter, signaling that the battle was about to turn into a chaotic melee. However, given the strength of these Trainers, once a melee began, they would be easily defeated by the Gyarados.
Standing on the ice surface, Riley's other Pokémon circled around him. The disparity in strength meant that Riley's remaining Pokémon were unable to tie up the three Gyarados, which prevented Dewgong from getting a chance to unleash Sheer Cold.
Starmie, caught in a pincer attack by two Gyarados, was also in imminent danger. No matter how hard Riley tried, he could not break the deadlock.
Lando's situation was even worse; tying up the two Ace Rank Gyarados was already his limit. Now, he was being besieged by several additional Senior Rank Gyarados, who looked intent on eliminating him first.
"Maintain your current flight altitude! Hold this Ace Rank Gyarados! Under no circumstances can you let it go support the other Gyarados!"
Scanning the battlefield, Gu Yuan instructed the rest of the Trainers.
"Yes, sir!"
Before the battle even started, everyone knew about Gu Yuan's strength and understood that Gu Yuan, possessing a Psychic-type Pokémon, was likely the only hope for breaking the deadlock.
Without hesitation, Gu Yuan recalled Charizard to its Poké Ball, then had Alakazam use Teleport to take him away.
"Dewgong, use Blizzard!"
The moment Riley's command rang out, the three Ace Rank Gyarados simultaneously unleashed Hydro Pump, instantly shattering Dewgong's Blizzard. Immediately afterward, several Senior Rank Gyarados rushed in, intending to use their numbers to overwhelm Riley and eliminate him quickly, just as they were doing to Lando.
Before they could act, Annihilape burst out of an alternate dimension, defeating a Senior Rank Gyarados with a single punch. Not only that, but another Annihilape suddenly appeared, defeating another Gyarados.
This second Annihilape was Ditto, which had transformed.
Alakazam also suddenly appeared behind these Gyarados, unleashing Psychic while using Telekinesis to control the seawater, boosting the power of Psychic even further.
Before rushing over, Sylveon had used Calm Mind and Baton Pass to transfer maximum Special Attack power to Alakazam. Thus, when Alakazam attacked, these few Gyarados simply could not resist.
"Roar!"
The sound of painful cries rang out, causing the nearby Ace Rank Gyarados to be momentarily distracted. The next second, the two Annihilape burst out of the alternate dimension simultaneously, both using Rage Fist to attack the nearest Ace Rank Gyarados.
With a Rage Fist boosted to 350 power, even an Ace Rank Gyarados could not endure the hit. Intense pain rapidly spread throughout its body.
Gu Yuan did not let Annihilape and Ditto pursue; instead, he commanded them to attack the other Gyarados.
Although Annihilape and Ditto seemed to have inflicted great damage on the Gyarados, they were still far from defeating it. Once this Gyarados recovered from the pain, Annihilape and Ditto would be unable to withstand its counterattack. Therefore, it was better to try and harass the other Ace Rank Gyarados, giving Riley a chance.
"Goldeen, Crawdaunt, use Blizzard together to cooperate with Gu Yuan and deal with these three Ace Rank Gyarados."
"Dewgong, use Sheer Cold!"
The moment Riley gave the command, the Gyarados that had been tasked with dealing with the aerial unit immediately rushed in to support, as did the Ace Rank Gyarados leading the main charge at the front.
"Stop it, Pidgeot, use Hurricane!"
A look of determination flashed in Pidgeot's Trainer's eyes, and he commanded Pidgeot to charge.
Hurricane condensed, sweeping up the seawater and rushing toward the Gyarados. The Gyarados looked back and released a Hydro Pump, neutralizing Pidgeot's attack.
"Go, Pidgeot, use Brave Bird!"
After issuing this final command, the Trainer leaped from Pidgeot's back. Transforming his sorrow into power, the energy of the Flying-type move surrounded Pidgeot. It then transformed into a majestic, heroic bird, flapping its wings and charging toward the Gyarados.
Although the Trainer quickly released his other Flying-type Pokémon, the other Gyarados found an opening, and he was swallowed by their attacks in the blink of an eye. Faced with Pidgeot's desperate, all-out attack, even the Gyarados had no choice but to turn and fight back.
A Hydro Pump was unleashed, but the power difference meant that Pidgeot's attack inflicted no damage on the Gyarados.
Like a rallying bugle, a look of grim determination flashed in the eyes of the remaining Trainers.
There was only one way to break the deadlock now: Riley's Dewgong had to successfully use Sheer Cold to defeat those Gyarados. Then, they could unite with the others to defeat the Ace Rank Gyarados one by one. This was their only chance.
Stroking their Pokémon, every person's eyes held the fear of death, the yearning for their families, and a complex sense of emotion, but there was absolutely no hint of retreat.
Lining up, the group began to unleash their suicidal attacks one by one, solely to delay the advance of this Gyarados. On the battlefield closer to the land, those Trainers did the same, using their lives to stall the Ace Rank Gyarados.
The thought in their hearts was simple: ever since they decided to become police officers, forest rangers, and take on other such professions, they had sworn to protect the people with their lives.
Now, it was time for them to fulfill that promise!