The Gyarados was obviously eyeing the five humans on the lifeboat. And since Gyarados had a very strong territorial awareness, they would attack any Pokemon that dared to trespass their territory without hesitation.
'Do we flee? Or do we fight?' Hisoka thought in his mind.
A simple lifeboat would definitely not be able to outrun a Gyarados. It would be better for them to face the Gyarados now rather than escape and be attacked by it from behind later.
"Ash, let's defeat it together!" Hisoka whispered to Ash next to him.
"No problem!"
There was nothing wrong with them using superior numbers to defeat the wild Gyarados unless you really wanted to capture it.
Misty was still frightened due to her experience during her childhood. While Brock only had Rock-type Pokemon in his lineup. Their heavyweight made them unable to fight at this time. And Maggie had no Pokemon. Her combat power was basically zero.
Roar!
The violent nature of Gyarados was finally revealed at this moment. It furiously roared as it raised its tails high, surrounded by swirling water, and slammed it on Ash and the others.
Aqua Tail!
The Gyarados attacked by swinging its tail as if it were a vicious wave in a raging storm. The power of this move will also greatly increase when used in water.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Kirlia, Psybeam!"
Hisoka and Ash immediately ordered their Pokemon to fight the raging Gyarados.
Boom!
The powerful bolt of yellow lightning went to hit the tail that was heading toward them, causing a small explosion as white smoke filled the air. Gyarados felt the pain coming from its tail as it stopped its attack. The Electric-type move was very effective to the Water/Flying-type Gyarados.
After that, Kirlia's multicolored beam slammed onto its head just as it was pulling back its tail.
A few seconds later, it bit its own body with its pointed teeth as it struggled with itself, tearing off its own scales.
Roar!
The Gyarados's eyes were red as it wildly moved in the sea. The rough waves caused by its scuffle made the people on the lifeboat unable to keep their balance. They could only hold on to the edge of the lifeboat to prevent themselves from falling into the sea.
"What happened to the Gyarados? how could it attack itself?" Ash asked in confusion.
Hisoka stared at the Gyarados and loudly said, "Kirlia's Psybeam has a small chance to confuse the opponent after being hit by the attack. Although we are fine for now, we should knock it out quickly. I'm afraid that this guy will go crazy once it comes back to its senses."
Ash nodded in understanding. He knew that the ocean had never been the home of human beings. Once this Gyarados started to attack with wild abandon, it would be much harder for them to stop it.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt again!"
Under Ash's command, Pikachu released another Thunderbolt at the confused Gyarados. Even though the Gyarados had powerful strength, being hit by Thunderbolt twice had made it severely injured. It could no longer stand after being subjected to the powerful lightning attack and fell into the water. Black smoke came from its mouth as it floated on the sea unconscious.
"It's finally over!" Maggie sighed in relief after seeing the fainted Gyarados.
Then, she hurriedly went to help the silent Misty next to her and comfortingly said, "It's alright, Misty. The Gyarados has already been defeated by Hisoka and Ash."
Misty's eyes slowly regained focus. She then saw the unconscious Gyarados on the and finally cried in happiness. It seemed that her childhood experience had cast a long shadow on her.
"It's okay Misty. It's already over," Maggie patted Misty's back while consoling her.
"Get down!"
Before everyone could celebrate their win, Hisoka quickly pushed everyone's head down.
When everyone ducked their heads, a yellow-orange beam of energy crossed over their heads and hit the water on the side. After that, a massive explosion occurred when it landed on the sea. The shockwave caused by the blast also caused the lifeboat to flip over.
"It's Hyper Beam!"
Hisoka recognized this type of move. He will never forget the iconic orange light beam and the massive damage it could cause. If it wasn't for Kirlia's warning, this move would be enough to seriously injure all the people on the lifeboat, including him. Heck, some of them might even be dead.
Everyone fell into the water with shocked expressions on their faces. No one can stay calm after being nearly shot to death by the terrifying Hyper Beam.
...
A few whirlpools began to appear on the sea. After that, another Gyarados emerged from under the water. Before everyone could say anything, a second Gyarados appeared, followed by the third, until there were six Gyarados in the area, including the fainted Gyarados.
The five newly emerged Gyarados surrounded them in a circle. Their vicious eyes were full of anger.
Beads of sweat rolled down from Hisoka's temples. Did they just stumble into Gyarados's nest?
The leading Gyarados lowered its head and nuzzled its mouth against the fallen Gyarados. After trying a couple of times and failing to get any kind of response from its companion, it immediately raised its head to the sky, roaring furiously.
"U-Uh, they looked pissed," Ash stammered.
Hisoka wryly smiled. It looked like they were going to have a hard time battling these Gyarados.
Although these Gyarados were angry, they did not immediately attack the humans who had injured their companions. Instead, they slowly circled Hisoka and the others, not letting their eyes off them like a hunter stalking his prey.
...
Kanto-Porta Vista sea lane was the regularly used navigable route for large water vessels, connecting the Kanto region to Porta Vista.
And during this morning, a disaster occurred in this area that shocked the entire Kanto region.
Today, the world-famous luxury cruise liner S.S. Anne sank during its journey to Porta Vista at around three o'clock in the morning. 163 passengers on board the ship had been confirmed dead, while 32 others were missing.
If these missing people couldn't be found after three days, the chances for them to survive would be close to slim in this vast ocean where there was no land close by.
Many speedboats were combing through the area, searching for survivors. In addition to the search and rescue team, there were also many reporters from other regions, including the relatives of the victims.
Many of them cried with joy after hearing the news of their loved one's survival. There were also a few among them who were distraught after not hearing any news from the police about their still missing relatives.
...
A few hours later, the speedboats lined up in a row. Each man and woman stood straight, facing the setting sun with their heads down. They were mourning the people who died in the S.S. Anne tragedy.
At the front of the line, the heroic Officer Jenny stood on the bow of the boat while holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands.
She closed her eyes and said, "It is here where the 163 people have left this beautiful world forever. Many of them were still young, full of life and dreams for their future. They were many children orphaned because of this tragedy. Sadly, many parents were also heartbroken due to the untimely death of their children."
Tears started to stream down her face as she stared at the sea with a solemn expression.
"We hereby swear that we will not rest until we bring the culprits responsible for the sinking of S.S. Anne to justice. We will never let them get away with this," Officer Jenny vowed with fire in her eyes.
When Officer Jenny finished her speech, everyone in the other boats bowed toward the sea. She then threw the flowers in her hands at the ocean before bowing in respect.
The attack of Team Rocket this time was simply a slap in the face for the League. The League was furious and had issued an order to arrest Tyson, the person in charge of Team Rocket's raid, within a short period of time.
Many wealthy people were also kidnapped by Team Rocket during this attack. The combined influence of the families behind them should not be underestimated. Many high-level executives of the League were overwhelmed by the phone calls from the affected families.
"Boss, do you think the kid managed to get out alive? Or is he already dead?" Ryoichi was quite worried about Hisoka's safety.
Matthias looked at the suspension letter in his hand and sighed, "You should know him better than me. So why are you asking me this useless question?"
Ryoichi then sat on the bat, put a hand on his chin, and said, "I heard from survivors that they have seen him running toward the bottom deck. That's weird. Why did he run to the lower deck?"
"Who knows?" Matthias shrugged his shoulder to Ryoichi's question.
Right now, he was leaning his back on a chair, staring at the blue sky listlessly. The sinking of S.S. Anne had a much more significant impact on him than many people.
As the Eastern Chief Officer of the Kanto League, he, who happened to be on the ship during that time, naturally had to shoulder most of the responsibility. There were already a few high-level executives in the League who believed that it was his unauthorized actions that caused Team Rocket to blow up S.S. Anne, causing it to sink.
Someone had to be the scapegoat for causing this disaster. Who else if it wasn't him? If it wasn't for his aunt's decade of service to the League, he might not get away with only a suspension letter on his head.
"It'll be fine, Boss," Ryoichi saw the suspension letter in Matthias's hand and attempted to cheer him up.
"No one expected that Team Rocket would be so daring to bomb S.S. Anne directly. The League would surely catch those bastards sooner or later. By then, everyone would forget about your mistake."
Matthias felt a twitch of annoyance and said, "Ryoichi, shut the fuck up!"
"Yes, Boss!"
Ryoichi straightened his back, not daring to say anything to his furious chief.
...
During this time, in an unknown part of the sea, Hisoka and the others were encountering the biggest crisis in their life.
The five Gyarados swimming around them were getting faster as a whirlpool slowly began to form on the sea.
"This is one of Gyarados's moves, Whirpool!"
Hisoka knew a lot of secret information. He once saw a short video that he copied from a Pokemon laboratory about the Gyarados tribe using this move together to calm the rough waves.
Generally speaking, Gyarados found in inland waters usually lived a solitary life. Because the food sources in these areas were not enough to support Gyarados's food requirement.
Meanwhile, there are countless food sources in the vast ocean, so most of the Gyarados found in the ocean usually live in small groups.
A few seconds later, the violent swirling whirlpool finally formed a cyclone, trapping them inside.
Hisoka stared at the huge twister with a serious look and shouted, "Guys! Quickly, grab my hands!"
"Come on! Pikachu!"
Ash grabbed his small companion and swam toward Hisoka.
When Maggie and the others heard his shout, they also swam toward Hisoka as fast as possible. After that, they joined their hands together in a circle. Meanwhile, Kirlia was standing on Hisoka's shoulder, hanging on his body tightly.
When the cyclone was shrinking toward them, Hisoka quickly shouted, "Kirlia! Teleport now!"
Kirlia's eyes were glowing in blue light. Although her spiritual power had increased greatly since her evolution, it was still hard for her to teleport all of them away. If it was Just Hisoka alone, she could do it without much effort.
Ha!
The blue light gradually covered the five of them, and with her soft cry, they disappeared from the center of the vortex in an instant.
A moment after, they reappeared about fifty meters away from the huge cyclone.
"Damn it! We are still very close to them!"
Hisoka cursed. Though, he didn't blame Kirlia for not teleporting them further away because he knew that she had already tried her best.
Still, even if she only teleported him alone, they could only teleport about two hundred meters away from the cyclone. At this distance, it was still easy for the cyclone to catch up with its speed.
'That's as far as I can go, Hisoka. I'm sorry for not doing my best to teleport you guys further away,' Kirlia's weak voice appeared in Hisoka's mind. Teleporting five people at the same took all of her strength away.
"It's okay. You've done your best, Kirlia," Hisoka replied softly.
He then recalled the exhausted Kirlia back to her Pokeball.
...