Pokémon: Above the Top

"Sunshine, beach, seafood feast~ Here I come!" Mark shouted excitedly as he looked out at the endless ocean before him.

Lucario silently stepped forward from behind and grabbed the back of Mark's neck, dragging him back without a word.

Sato smirked and ignored the two of them, turning his attention to the row of beachfront resorts.

"Pick whichever one you want to sleep in."

Joseph rubbed his nose, looked around, and pointed to the most luxurious resort.

"…Tch, not holding back, huh? Alright, this one then." Sato shook his head and agreed.

They checked in, changed clothes, put on sunglasses, and within thirty minutes, the three of them were already lounging on beach chairs.

"This trip to Sinnoh… why does it feel a little too comfortable?" Mark, unaware of his blessings, launched into his usual death-wish routine.

"Oh yeah? Then we're not reimbursing the hotel. From now on, you cover all your expenses yourself." Sato said lazily through his sunglasses.

"Boss, I was wrong!"

Mark instantly caved. With a loud flop, he collapsed onto the sand, his knees conveniently facing Sato.

"Wrong about what?"

"Huh?"

Mark froze. There were never follow-up questions before, how was he supposed to answer this?

"You don't know?"

"Uh, well… um…"

"All expenses-"

"I shouldn't tempt fate, shouldn't spout nonsense, shouldn't… shouldn't…"

BOOOM!

While Mark was still racking his brain for more reasons, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the ocean.

Sato and Joseph immediately stood up and took off their sunglasses. Mark also brushed the sand off his knees; no time for apologies now.

"Praaas!"

"Praaaas"

Several cries came from the sea; turns out a group of Lapras had surfaced.

They were huddled together, their cries sorrowful and mournful, as if calling out to something.

"I sense many Pokémon have died… mmm… including a Lapras." Joseph spoke softly, eyes narrowing as he walked straight toward the ocean.

"Lapras! Lapras! Where are you going?" Mark suddenly shouted.

Sato looked toward the voice and saw Mark's Lapras paddling furiously into the sea, leaving a trail of ice behind it.

"…What a jinx. So much for enjoying anything." Sato sighed, then released Sharpedo and charged into the sea as well.

As all the beachgoers fled inland, only three figures stood their ground and moved toward the sea.

Not far away, a three-masted sailboat rapidly approached the shore. Sato, sharp-eyed, scanned the hull but didn't see any insignia.

"A poacher ship? Bold enough to cruise this close to shore… has Sinnoh's security really grown this weak?" Sato frowned, but his mind was already spinning with deeper thoughts.

At that moment, the most anxious Lapras and Mark had already entered the sea, swimming toward the pod.

Joseph stood at the shoreline, silently using Viridian Power to communicate with the Lapras group, hoping to earn their trust and offer help.

Sato mounted Sharpedo and shot off toward the poacher ship.

"BOSS!"

On the sea, Mark stood on Lapras's back, eyes blazing with anger. "Take me with you!"

Sato shook his head. "Help Joseph rescue the injured Pokémon first. I'll take the lead."

"Boss…" Mark shouted anxiously, but Sato didn't give him the chance. He patted Sharpedo and shot straight toward the poachers ship.

Just as he got close, a flurry of attacks came rushing toward him.

But this level of attack posed no pressure to Sharpedo. With a backflip, it easily dodged and kept approaching.

"Every time I run into something like this, I just can't help wanting to strike." Ralts, who spent most of its time asleep, had also awakened. From its telepathy, Sato could sense its deeply complicated feelings toward humans.

"No need. I'll handle it." Sato declined Ralts's offer. As its sleeping time increased, Sato had grown more and more concerned about its health.

"…If you can't handle it, I'll step in." Ralts didn't insist, but still made its stance clear.

Poachers… must die!

BOOM!

Sato and Sharpedo crashed down onto the deck of the poachers ship, violently and without mercy.

At the same time, Sato tossed three Poké Balls.

"Zoroark, Night Daze. Ariados, Web Combo. Weavile, Night Slash."

Sato held nothing back, he opened with three of his Ace level Pokémon.

The poacher ship's crew were briefly stunned by this sudden, overwhelming assault. They didn't counterattack right away, giving Sato the opportunity to ambush them.

Zoroark thrust both paws into the deck, flooding it with Dark-type energy. As Night Daze expanded outward, the deck cracked and shattered, getting completely torn apart.

The crew tried to flee the range of the Night Daze, but how could they possibly outrun Zoroark's speed? One by one, they were forced to fall through the splintered deck.

Weavile and Ariados had already nimbly latched onto the masts.

Ariados focused on restraining the poachers and their Pokémon, while Weavile darted through the ship like an assassin, each slash taking down a target.

For an assassin-type Ace level Pokémon, as long as the opponent was a stage below, it could essentially one-hit KO.

Weavile: absolutely terrifying!

Soon, Gengar had infiltrated and scoped out the number of people on the ship.

"…Only twelve? That's fewer than I expected," Sato murmured as he rode Sharpedo, evading attacks from all directions.

Clearly, the poachers also understood the rule of "strike the leader first." Taking Sato out was now their top priority.

Before long, Zoroark and the others' offensive was blocked, the enemy had also released Ace level Pokémon.

"Toxicroak, Tangrowth, and Carnivine? All Ace level?" Sato frowned. How could a small poacher ship have such powerful strength?

Since when did Ace-level Pokémon become so common?

"You're ruthless, kid! I swear I'll capture you and make you watch as I kill your Pokémon one by one!" The speaker was a slightly chubby, middle-aged man who looked every bit the leader of the poachers.

Sato stared at him expressionlessly, rage burning in his heart.

"Zoroark, Weavile, fall back. Ariados… [Toxic Hell]¹."

"Ari!"

In just a short time, Ariados had already established its territory among the masts with massive amounts of silk.

Upon hearing Sato's command, Ariados chirped sharply and began spraying out all kinds of poison from its leg tips, tail stinger, mouth pincers, and forehead horn.

[Toxic Hell], had begun.

.

.

.

¹.What do you think? I'm thinking of using [ ] whenever it's a combination of moves.