Riley witnessed the actions of every Trainer, but he was powerless to intervene, forced to watch as they went to their deaths. He knew very well that the only thing he could do was follow their intentions: defeat these Ace Rank Gyarados and lead the survivors to victory in this war!
"Dewgong, use Sheer Cold!"
Riley's angry roar rang out, though his tone concealed an unconcealable sadness.
"Dewgong, retreat!"
Just as the ice crystals burst forth, Gu Yuan's voice suddenly cut in. Alakazam ceased dealing with the Senior Rank Gyarados and, instead, used Teleport with the fastest possible speed to approach Dewgong.
Unfortunately, Gu Yuan still underestimated the speed of the Giant Gyarados.
"Roar!"
A Dragon's Roar sounded, and a massive tail shot out of the seawater. Surrounded by water, the Gyarados unleashed Aqua Tail, which shattered the Sheer Cold that Dewgong had launched.
Immediately afterward, a gigantic head emerged from the sea.
The average height of a regular Gyarados is 6.5 meters, which is already enough to make them a behemoth-like existence. However, the height of this Giant Gyarados was magnified several times, making it seem like a skyscraper.
"Roar!"
With a Dragon's Roar, the Gyarados immediately launched Hyper Beam. An orange-yellow beam of light rushed out, and a sense of death began to spread. The next second, Alakazam appeared beside Riley and used Teleport to make itself and Riley vanish from the spot.
This was all Alakazam was able to achieve.
As the orange-yellow beam descended, the surrounding seawater instantly evaporated, disappearing without a trace. Among Riley's Pokémon, apart from the Ace Rank Dewgong, the others were annihilated, gone without a trace.
Dewgong was full of injuries on the sea surface, its blood starting to spread; it was in no shape to continue fighting. Before the blood could even diffuse, the Gyarados crushed Dewgong with a single tail slap, leaving no remains.
"Roar!"
The command from the Giant Gyarados rang out, and all the other Gyarados immediately intensified their attacks. Shocked by the Giant Gyarados's astonishing power, the League's defense line instantly collapsed. In the face of this absolute gap in strength, even though the Trainers were prepared to sacrifice themselves, they still could not see any hope of winning. This was the most despairing part.
Turning its head, the Giant Gyarados looked toward Gu Yuan, Alakazam, and Riley beside him.
At this moment, Gu Yuan felt what seemed like a true Dragon's Roar and felt cold all the way to his soul, like falling into an ice cavern.
Despite this, Gu Yuan still had the presence of mind to think: Under what kind of pressure was Misty back then when she dared to use persuasion on that Giant Tentacruel? Or was that Giant Tentacruel weaker than this Giant Gyarados?
Though he was thinking, Gu Yuan did not foolishly stay in place. He immediately had Alakazam use Teleport again, taking himself and Riley away from here. During the retreat, Gu Yuan did not forget to take Riley's Starmie with him.
Falling onto the ground, Riley's eyes were bloodshot. That Dewgong was his first Pokémon, the partner who had been with him from day one. Yet now, it was gone, vanishing into the same ocean Riley was full of curiosity and desire to explore.
The most painful thing for Riley was that he had no time to feel sad or grieve. He had to lead the remaining people and find a way to stall this Giant Gyarados. Otherwise, if it reached the area closer to the inland, it would only cause greater destruction.
"Let's go, Lando! We are definitely not leaving here alive today."
"Gu Yuan, let your Alakazam take you away! Do your best to convey the message to the others and have them try to escape with their lives!"
At this moment, Riley had resolved to die, solely to stall the advance of this Gyarados.
"I understand."
This time, Gu Yuan did not refuse. Just based on the Giant Gyarados's previous attack, Gu Yuan could determine that it possessed at least Leader Rank strength. Coupled with the nine Ace Rank Gyarados, it was clear that such a massive gap in strength meant that he, with his quasi-Ace strength, could not affect the tide of battle at all.
"If I'm going to die, I have to at least take down a piece of flesh!"
"Go, old partner! Use Double Hydro Pump!"
Patting Blastoise's shell, Lando showed no fear, his eyes full of calm acceptance. At this moment, Gu Yuan seemed to understand why the League had been standing strong to this day.
"Alakazam, use Teleport to take me away. Wait, stop!"
Gu Yuan's voice rang out, and Alakazam, which had started mobilizing its psychic power, immediately stopped its action. Within the system's detection range, a large number of Pokémon were approaching.
"Everyone, hold on a little longer! My Alakazam has detected people and Pokémon approaching! They must be our reinforcements!"
The next moment, Gu Yuan's angry shout rang out, trying his best to convey the message to everyone else. However, there was one thing Gu Yuan did not say: the strongest among the reinforcing personnel only had Ace Rank strength. At any other time, an Ace Rank Trainer would be a rare powerhouse, but facing a Giant Gyarados with at least Leader Rank strength, it was clearly far from enough.
Nevertheless, the news of reinforcements would undoubtedly give everyone a shot of adrenaline, re-energizing them with hope.
"Everyone, listen to the command! Charge!"
Sensing the change in everyone's morale, Riley immediately gave the command to attack. Riley's last remaining Starmie charged out at the forefront.
"Charge!"
Countless shouts of agreement rang out. The League Trainers released all their Pokémon, unleashing various moves simultaneously to form a terrifying torrent of attacks.
"Roar!"
Facing the League's counterattack, a trace of disdain flashed in the Giant Gyarados's eyes. With a Dragon's Roar, all the Gyarados immediately started to act. A monstrous wave condensed again. Although it was not borrowing the power of the vast ocean as before, it was still terrifying.
As the attacks from both sides collided, the torrent of moves quickly collapsed, and the wave was also breached, dissolving into a massive amount of seawater. Like a signal, the Gyarados and the League Trainers' Pokémon clashed in a melee.
Starmie and Blastoise, under the command of their respective Trainers, did their utmost to withstand the Giant Gyarados's attack. However, the remaining nine Ace Rank Gyarados could only be stalled by sacrificing life after life. As more and more Gyarados appeared, the League instantly fell into a disadvantage.
"Use Hurricane!"
A shout of rage rang out. Looking up, everyone saw a large number of Flying-type Pokémon gathering. Then, massive Hurricane condensed, descending as a massive tornado, which checked the momentum of the Gyarados's attack.
At the same time, more and more Pokémon burst forth, joining the defense line and countering the Gyarados's power. Watching one Pokémon after another pass him by, Gu Yuan collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, letting Charizard and its partners recover their strength. From the start of the battle until now, both Gu Yuan and his Pokémon had been operating beyond capacity and had already reached their limit.
This moment of rest was simply so they could continue the fight!