Up to now, the Johto League still hadn't figured out the cause of the Whirlpool Tides or how to deal with them.
So the only time they could detect them was when a Whirlpool Tide was nearly formed, at which point the island's weather bureau would alert Elite Four Trainers Victor and Dominic.
As Sato listened to the anxious voice over the phone and looked at the nearly complete Whirlpool Tide in front of him, he shook his head helplessly.
Behind him was one of the most developed cities in the Whirl Islands.
Never mind the economic collapse that would follow its destruction; just evacuating the throngs of people on the streets wouldn't be possible in a short time.
Besides, Sato firmly believed he was stronger than Dominic and Victor. If he ran now, it would be an insult to the battle he'd won earlier that day.
Fortunately, by analyzing the teams Dominic and Victor used, Sato had a rough idea of how to fight it.
Though he had no formal training, he had no choice but to jump in headfirst. He had to hold the front line.
"Honchkrow, Weavile, Sharpedo…"
With three flashes of red light, Sato released all three Pokémon in one breath, while Gengar quietly emerged behind him and formed a smooth, complete Spatial Barrier around them.
"Honchkrow, Icy Wind. Weavile, Sharpedo, Blizzard!"
"Krooow!" "Wea-Wea!" "Shaaaar!"
All three Pokémon roared in unison, giving it everything they had as they launched their attacks at the now fully formed Whirlpool Tide.
Blizzard ×2
Icy Wind ×1
All three moves shared a common origin and came from the same direction, so merging them was no problem at all.
The next moment, a massive combined Blizzard collided head-on with the Whirlpool Tide.
The result… was negligible.
The power of nature was overwhelming. Even with all three Elite Four level Pokémon going all-out, their combined move only stirred up a few splashes.
But… the method was wrong!
Dominic specialized in Flying-types, while Victor trained Ice-types.
One was responsible for guiding the Whirlpool Tide's path. The other used Ice-type moves to slow it down. Both roles were essential.
This Honchkrow was one of the rare melee assault-type Flying Pokémon, giving it a strong advantage in aerial combat of its own type. But it couldn't learn ranged Flying-type moves like Hurricane, and Icy Wind was simply too weak.
So only Weavile and Sharpedo's Blizzards weren't enough to hold it back.
"Hydreigon, Gardevoir."
Pop! Pop!
Two more Poké Balls were thrown. Gengar expanded the Spatial Barrier again, lifting all the Pokémon into the air.
"Hyper Beam, Psychic, Blizzard!"
Lefty led with a Hyper Beam, its power blasting a huge hole right through the Whirlpool Tide.
But the whirlpool quickly reformed and continued surging toward the mainland.
Next, Gardevoir's Psychic turned into an invisible wall of mental force and struck the Whirlpool Tide head-on.
Vmmmmm~
Gardevoir was forced back a step, its black dress fluttering as it was clearly shaken by the backlash.
However, Psychic worked far better than Hyper Beam. The Whirlpool visibly stalled, and a huge volume of seawater was scattered.
At the same time, Weavile and Sharpedo's Blizzards came roaring in. The scattered seawater was instantly frozen solid, forming a sturdy ice wall.
This time, the Whirlpool Tide's advance slowed dramatically; and for a moment, it even looked like it might collapse!
"GOOOON!"
Righty suddenly let out a fierce cry. As if the recoil hadn't happened, it fired off another Hyper Beam.
This time, learning from Lefty's earlier strike, it tilted its head downward and fired in a clean arc, slicing the Whirlpool Tide from top to bottom in one blow!
Splaaash…
CRAAASH!
The deafening crash rang through the skies. The Whirlpool Tide could no longer hold itself together, it completely collapsed.
Seeing this, Sato finally let out a deep breath. When the method was right, the Whirlpool Tide wasn't so hard to deal with after all.
'Or maybe… Dominic and the others had exaggerated just a little?'
Sato scanned the sea. Once he confirmed there were no other Whirlpool Tides forming, he gave Gengar the signal to return to the port.
But the moment he turned around, he saw Dominic flying overhead on a Skarmory. His face was filled with shock and disbelief.
The Whirlpool Tide that had taken both him and Victor to barely redirect… had been shattered by Sato?
It felt like a damn dream!
"Mmh… will any more Whirlpool Tides appear tonight?"
Sato approached Dominic, pretending not to notice the look on his face, and asked "calmly".
'Glup…'
Dominic swallowed, his eyes now filled with a respect that hadn't been there before.
"P-Probably not. Whirlpool Tides take time to build momentum…" He paused, then added seriously, "Leader Sato, on behalf of everyone in the Whirl Islands, thank you for your help."
Sato waved it off. He didn't really have anything suitable to say in return.
When they returned to the port, they found Victor had already arrived as well, along with Lapras and Walrein.
The usually quiet Victor also gave Sato a heartfelt thank-you.
Sato could tell. Victor was far more sincere than Dominic had been.
Dominic, ever the smooth talker, noticed Sato's confusion right away. He laughed and threw an arm around Victor's shoulders.
"Forgot to tell you~ Victor's a native of the Whirl Islands. So his gratitude runs deeper than mine."
Sato understood now. Victor might speak less than he did, but he clearly had a deep emotional core.
Since it was getting late, the three didn't chat much longer and went their separate ways, agreeing to meet again at the match tomorrow.
But after they split up, Sato didn't head back to the hotel. Instead, he doubled back to the seaside. With a flash of red light, Gardevoir appeared once again beside him.
"…Is it still there?"
"Yes. I'll take you."
With that, Gardevoir took Sato's hand, and with a single Teleport, they vanished.
---◓---
When vision returned, Sato found himself inside a sea-blue cave.
Gardevoir led him forward, unhesitating, not worried about any danger inside.
But after just a few steps, a low rumble suddenly echoed from deep within the cave.
Gardevoir immediately pulled Sato to the side, bracing her hands against the wall; and happened to box him in completely[1]...…
As the energy shield formed just in time, a powerful gust of wind blasted out from the cave, fierce enough to tear the rocks nearby.
Fortunately, Gardevoir's barrier had gone up just in time. They narrowly avoided a deadly blow. Still, Sato looked at Gardevoir's close face and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Sure… this position minimized exposure to the wind and kept him safest.
But there was one name for this posture…
Pinned to the wall.
Sato couldn't help but find it… weirdly awkward. 'Cough[2]…'
[1] Chill…
[2] CHIIIIIIIIL