Seeing the incoming reinforcements, Alex simply smiled before tapping the Poké Balls that had yet to be released. From them came an Elite ranked Gyarados, Milotic, and Wishiwashi in Schooling Form, ready for battle.
"Like I said," Alex said as they watched his Pokémon meet the tide of Gyarados. "I liked my odds."
Wishiwashi, all six of them now at Elite rank, are able to achieve Schooling Form despite the obvious lack of other Wishiwashi to call upon. It requires all six of them to combine their energy to form a singular whole. If other Wishiwashi were added to the mix, the durability of the Wishiwashi would improve. This was a fortunate discovery for Alex, as he had always had trouble waiting for Wishiwashi to achieve Schooling Form mid-battle.
As for Gyarados and Milotic, they were more than ready to face a swarm of Gyarados for a number of reasons. The most prominent was their enhanced-range Surf, which, when combined, could overwhelm and scatter the swarm.
It's important to remember that an untrained swarm is simply a Pokémon nest, both easy to tactically defend against and to scatter with various area-of-effect attacks.
The three new additions fell in with the rest of the defense team before unleashing their enhanced Surf, adding to the chaos of clashing moves. The extra force pushed the swirling maelstrom toward the pirates and the oncoming Gyarados swarm. The swarm scattered in fright at the amalgamation of energy that threatened to wipe them out.
Some tried to retreat from the obvious zone of danger, while others scattered to circle around, but they were quickly taken out by Clawitzer's Dragon Pulse, each shot striking with deadly precision. It was a massacre, especially considering they had no Protect to defend against continuous attacks, unlike the pirates, who at least managed to coordinate a defensive formation.
The Champion ranked Gyarados, seeing its nest fail against its enemies, roared at them to continue the attack. The nest, unable to penetrate the clashing storm of energies, responded by committing suicide against their foes. It was a sad day to belong to the captain's Gyarados nest.
The captain clicked his tongue in annoyance at his nest's lack of effect. They were supposed to be his ultimate trump card, even more destructive than his Champion.
And he was right. The Gyarados and Alex's water team added to the overall energy and chaos being emitted, threatening to destroy the cavern's foundation. Cracks began to spread all around them, ready to give way. All it would take was one final push to bury them all alive.
"Don't think you've won yet," the captain said, clinging to a sliver of hope. "All of this ends once I kill you."
"I'd like to see you try," Alex taunted, as Aegislash emerged from his shadow.
Now they were back to where their fight had begun, a two-on-two. Alex felt better about his odds, knowing Aegislash had already defeated Toxicroak once. All he needed was to buy some time.
"Graaa!" the captain shouted, charging forward with Toxicroak in tow.
Alex adopted a loose stance, hopping in place. He needed mobility more than stability when facing a stronger opponent.
Meanwhile, Aegislash circled, targeting Toxicroak. He thought he should be challenging the captain for a better matchup, but he also knew how much Alex loved to fight. Aegislash was the last line of defense in protecting Alex, not the first.
Toxicroak circled as well but opted to start attacking while strafing. It knew it would lose the second it was hit with that devastating Psycho Cut again. Instead, it opted to use Dark Pulse to deal any sort of damage. It was lucky Aegislash was weak to Dark type attacks.
The captain started with a headlong charge, arms spread wide and low. He was aiming to tackle Alex and bring the fight to the ground with a grapple. He made sure to keep his eyes on the opponent, ready to grab anything in reach.
Alex, meanwhile, circled around, avoiding confrontation entirely. He knew it was game over the second the captain managed to grab him. Maybe he could survive, but he'd rather not put himself in such a dire situation if he could help it.
"Why are you running?" the captain taunted. "I thought we were going to fight man-to-man!"
"It's called a tactical retreat," Alex shouted back. "I'm not stupid enough to get grabbed again."
The pair of combatants chased one another as chaos rained around them. Alex running to avoid being grappled, and Toxicroak to avoid Psycho Cut. The captain kept trying to gain momentum with charges, but Alex always slipped to the side, forcing him to turn and slow down. Meanwhile, Aegislash opted for Shadow Sneak to get close while dealing minimal damage, and Toxicroak countered with Dark Pulse while retreating, dealing significant damage. If this continued, the captain's side was likely to win.
Alex didn't like his odds in this particular battle, so he decided to mix things up. With a few hand signals, he sent a message to Aegislash, who obliged. Alex circled to the captain's left while Aegislash kept using Shadow Sneak on Toxicroak's left, forcing it to evade to the right. Their chase moved in counterclockwise and clockwise patterns, opposing one another.
The battle continued until there was a sudden change. Aegislash succeeded with a Shadow Sneak, dealing minimal damage, before immediately using Psycho Cut, a foolish move that would obviously miss if Toxicroak simply backed away. When it tried to do so, however, it felt a kick from behind. Alex had somehow managed to circle around and reach Toxicroak's blind spot, kicking it toward his Aegislash.
Aegislash continued the attack with a sweeping arc, trusting Alex's aim. The Toxicroak, caught off guard, couldn't dodge in time and panicked, taking the Psycho Cut right in the chest.
The captain, having noticed what his opponents were up to, tried to order, "Protect, you idiot!"
But it was too late. The attack landed, knocking Toxicroak out of the fight. The captain retrieved the fainted Pokémon before finally facing Alex and Aegislash alone.
"Fine," he said. "I'll do it myself!"
With a subtle signal from Alex, Aegislash circled behind the captain, aiming for his blind spot. The captain, determining Aegislash as the greater threat, turned his back to Alex. He wasn't completely blind, he could still feel Alex's aura.
He charged forward as Aegislash struck with Night Slash. Dodging with a quick sidestep, he threw a haymaker straight at Aegislash's shield in a counter. The captain's fists glowed faintly blue as they connected, dealing damage and actually pushing Aegislash back. The impact rang out like a gong, undeniably powerful.
He was a Champion ranked fighter in peak condition, able to match a Pokémon one rank below. With a small boost of water type energy from Gyarados, he could hold his own, at least minimally, against the Steel/Ghost type Pokémon. Lacking talent, the energy didn't add much beyond coating his body, but it was enough.
Alex tried to help, kicking at the captain's neck and joints from behind, but the captain easily blocked each strike with one hand. Even when Alex aimed for the groin, the captain defended effortlessly with a single hand.
Aegislash attacked again with a sweeping arc, but the captain jumped over both it and its attack, landing another punch from above that sent Aegislash crashing to the ground. Alex pursued, keeping his distance, but it seemed his attacks were completely ineffective against the captain.
"This is more like it!" the captain shouted, before charging.
He ignored Alex completely as the battle continued, countering Aegislash's easily telegraphed moves. He wasn't doing much damage, but he was slowly whittling away his opponent's stamina.
Aegislash had already taken a beating from Toxicroak before this fight, leaving him dangerously close to fainting. Still, he pressed on, determined to land a decisive blow. All he needed was one good attack to take the human down.
As usual, Aegislash charged a Night Slash while the captain prepared to dodge. He lifted his left leg and pushed off with his right, aiming to evade the overhead strike.
Suddenly, a kick to the back of his right knee threw off his balance, sending him sprawling. As the dark blade swung down, he realized he had completely lost track of Alex.
He had become complacent, dismissing Alex as no real threat, and had thoroughly underestimated him. Too late, he remembered that Alex could hide his aura, making the attack from behind impossible to detect.
The Night Slash completed its arc, bisecting the captain at the waist. He could still survive and fully recover, but that depended on his captor.
"Fuck!" the captain screamed in pain. "You got me! You got me good."
He looked down at his body and noticed his missing legs. He was just a torso now, losing a dangerous amount of blood. Despite all his strength, he wouldn't last more than a few minutes. He was still just human, after all.
"Any last words?" Alex asked as Aegislash prepared another Night Slash.
"Take care of my family," he said. "Take them somewhere safe, like you promised."
"That deal blew out the window the second you decided to fight. Die knowing you failed your duty as a father and husband," Alex replied cruelly.
Right as the Night Slash swung down toward the captain's neck, he managed to shout one final command. "Gyarados! Des—"
His words were cut short as his neck was severed from his torso. His remaining thoughts raced frantically, his brain running in overdrive, desperate to find a way to survive.
He regretted not taking the deal and regretted not siding with the League in the end. He had believed he could remain hidden in his underwater base and continue pirating as he had for decades. He had assumed his opponent was the one who was overconfident, but it was his own arrogance that had been his downfall.
Amid the sea of regrets swirling in his mind, a sliver of hope brought him a final measure of peace. Perhaps his men would honor their promise.
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