Watching the members of Team Evil sweating profusely during their special training, Ariel said nothing, simply turning silently and walking toward the beach.
With his subordinates already working so desperately hard, how could he, as their superior—the man they needed to look up to and follow—afford even a moment of slackness?
He knew very well that in the massive war machine of Team Rockets, weakness itself was the original sin.
Whether it was him or the Team Evil he had personally built, if they wanted to climb higher and gain more resources and influence, the only path was to demonstrate overwhelming power.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy scent, brushed against his cheeks, stirring the black hair on his forehead.
Ariel's eyes were calm, but his heart was already surging with waves.
He took out five Poké Balls and, without the slightest hesitation, threw them one after another.
Five beams of red light bloomed in the night, and immediately, five Pokémon with distinct auras appeared on the beach.
As soon as Krookodile appeared, its thick limbs sank deep into the sand. On its dark red body, the black stripes looked exceptionally ferocious. It opened its massive mouth filled with sharp teeth and let out a low roar, declaring its presence.
Malamar floated silently in mid-air, its tentacles swaying leisurely. Its eyes, flashing with an eerie light, seemed able to see through people's hearts, sending a chill down one's spine.
Weavile's figure was the swiftest; it landed without a sound, its scarlet claws swiping across the sand and leaving a shallow mark. Its eyes were cunning and sharp, constantly observing its surroundings.
Greninja stood with its arms crossed, its figure slender, with its long, scarf-like tongue fluttering behind its head. It just stood there quietly, like a top-tier assassin merged into the dark night, its aura restrained to the extreme.
Finally, there was Deino. This little guy was still a bit oblivious; black fur covered its eyes, making it unable to see the path ahead, so it could only stumble toward Ariel, affectionately rubbing its head against his pant leg.
As for this affectionate behavior from Deino, Ariel knew very well that it was completely beaten into it.
Ariel bent down to stroke Deino's head, calculating in his heart.
The team's configuration was beginning to take shape: Dark, Water, Psychic, Ground-type, Dragon, and Ice. The type combination was reasonable, but there was still a lot of room for improvement in levels and coordination.
He raised his head, his gaze passing over the Pokémon and toward the blue ocean, which was constantly surging and pounding against the shore.
Waves were one of the purest and most primitive forces in nature.
"Greninja, Malamar!"
Ariel's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every Pokémon.
Both Pokémon moved instantly.
Greninja's figure flashed, turning into an afterimage as it rushed toward the sea surface. It did not step directly on the waves but used Agility, moving at high speed through the gaps between the waves, its movement style elegant and ghostly.
When a row of giant waves several meters high roared and pounded toward it, its hands instantly condensed several azure shurikens made of high-pressure water!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The Water Shuriken tore through the air. There was no earth-shattering sound, but it precisely cut into the most turbulent core of the giant wave. The originally complete wave crest was forcibly torn apart by these few shurikens, turning into a sky full of water spray and losing its original impact.
At the same time, Malamar also moved.
It slowly rose into the air, its eyes lighting up with a deep, ghostly blue glow. An invisible Confusion field instantly spread out, enveloping another wave.
The next giant wave that followed closely behind, when it was still a dozen meters away from the beach, seemed to hit an invisible wall and suddenly stalled in mid-air.
The wave crest churned, splashing water everywhere, but it could no longer move forward.
Immediately after, under Malamar's powerful mental control, the frozen giant wave began to twist and deform, and finally, it was forcibly torn into countless streams of water, rolling back into the ocean!
However, the power of the sea was endless.
There were always aftershocks that had been cut by Greninja or had bypassed Malamar's Confusion field rushing toward the shore.
"Krookodile!"
Ariel's command was concise and clear.
"Roar!"
Krookodile had long been impatient; its thick hind legs kicked hard, and its entire body performed a Splash high into the air. In mid-air, its muscles bulged all over its body, and a strong Ground-type energy erupted.
"Krook!"
As it swiped its claw down, countless hard rocks rose from the sand on the beach, forming a well-arranged wall of rock, precisely meeting the remaining waves rushing over.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The collision between water and rock produced a deafening, muffled sound. The hard rocks smashed the waves to pieces, and the stirred-up water mist filled the air, like the smoke of war on a battlefield.
This shocking scene caused the members of Team Evil, who were conducting high-intensity physical training not far away, to stop their movements in unison.
"I... I'm not seeing things, right? Is that... the Boss's Pokémon?"
"Using Pokémon skills to fight against the ocean... what level of training method is this?"
"Greninja's speed and technique, Malamar's Confusion control, and Krookodile's terrifying destructive power... too strong. Is this the strength of an Executive?"
Even Yuki, who had just been complaining bitterly about being punished, now had her eyes widened, her small mouth slightly open, completely forgetting the fatigue of her body.
She had previously thought that one could defeat opponents by relying on brains, but now, seeing this display of pure power, she finally understood that in the face of absolute strength, any scheme appeared so pale and powerless.
Ariel, this man, not only had a good brain but his strength was unfathomable.
Ariel took in the whispers and worshipful gazes of the team members, but he did not care.
This was the effect he wanted.
He wanted these people to understand that by following him, they could not only gain status and wealth but also reach the pinnacle of power they had never dared to imagine before.
He looked at the Pokémon during training and nodded with satisfaction.
Subsequently, he took out two HMs shimmering with data streams from his embrace.
These were precious resources exchanged with Team Rockets points after the last mission.
"Krookodile, this is for you."
Ariel threw one of the discs, which had a rock pattern engraved on it, over.
"Stone Edge, master it well, and let your destructive power reach a higher level."
Krookodile caught the disc, and the disc instantly turned into a data stream, surging into its body.
A new power and combat technique formed in its mind. It excitedly roared to the sky, stimulated its energy again, and instantly, several thicker and sharper rock pillars appeared on the beach.
"Deino, come here."
Ariel beckoned to the little guy who was still spinning in place.
Deino stumbled over, and Ariel pressed the other disc, engraved with a Fire Fang pattern, onto its forehead.
"Fire Fang, this can make up for your lack of coverage and give you an extra trump card when facing opponents that counter you."
Warm energy enveloped Deino; it whimpered comfortably, then opened its mouth, and a small cluster of orange-red flames flickered between its teeth. Although faint, it represented a brand-new possibility.
Ariel's gaze swept over every Pokémon.
"Very good, continue!"
With the order given, training started again.
Greninja constantly honed the accuracy and cutting power of its Water Shuriken, Malamar attempted to control two or even three waves simultaneously, Krookodile frantically stimulated Stone Edge, and Weavile wove between the rock pillars and waves, practicing extreme evasion and Sucker Punch.
Even the smallest Deino, under Ariel's guidance, practiced the newly learned Fire Fang against wooden stakes floating on the sea surface.
The night deepened and then slowly faded away.
This crazy training lasted until the next morning. When the first ray of golden sunlight pierced the clouds and shone onto this deserted island, the exhausted Pokémon finally stopped.
One night of extreme exertion resulted in visible growth.
Krookodile's aura became more steady and heavy, its level increased by one, reaching level 45.
Malamar and Greninja's energy fluctuations became much purer, both increasing by two levels, reaching level 44 and level 40, respectively.
Weavile increased by two levels, reaching level 42. Furthermore, during one instance of extreme evasion, it autonomously condensed an unstable ring of dark energy between its claws, which was clearly the prototype of having autonomously comprehended "Dark Pulse"!
The one with the biggest gain, however, was the lowest-level Deino, which reached level 22 and became much more proficient in using Fire Fang.
Ariel looked at the Pokémon facing the morning sun, showing fatigue but high fighting spirit, his heart burning with passion.
This was the power that belonged to him.