Pokémon: Above the Top

Three years ago, Sato had already made a bold hypothesis regarding Ariados's training.

Because of that mutated Poison-type Energy Crystal, it had gained the ability to absorb various toxins.

And while a single toxin was often easy to neutralize, once mixed together, would they cancel each other out through mutual toxicity, or would they stack and become even more toxic? That was something only experimentation could reveal.

For the past three years, Sato had forcibly held Ariados back from breaking through, and the main reason for that was to help it build up and truly learn how to fuse toxins.

After all, Ariados was born with Elite Four Poison-type potential. That was fundamentally different from a Pokémon enhanced by the [Potential Enhancement Serum].

Yes, even a year ago, the terrifying Joy family had already developed Elite Four level [Potential Enhancement Serum].

However, compared to the Ace level serum, the cost of producing Elite Four level serum was extraordinarily high. Not only did each dosis have to be custom-made, but it also took more than a month to receive.

The key point was, once a Pokémon consumed the Elite Four serum, it would be permanently stuck at Low tier, with no way to progress further.

For those who believed themselves to be "genius" Trainers… they scoffed at this.

But the real reason was…

They couldn't afford it!

Even Sato would have to drain half his publicly visible fortune just to buy one serum. That kind of price made it clear: this wasn't something civilian Trainers could play with.

So: low-tier Trainers relied on grinding, high-tier Trainers relied on money, but Sato was different.

He had a cheat!

Which was how he could encounter and catch an Ariados -Spinarak Egg- in the wild; something others could never dream of obtaining in a lifetime.

And a good Pokémon with strong potential was never just about level.

Like Ariados, which could "catalyze" any of its organs into Poison Glands, categorically store toxins, and then flexibly use them in battle.

[Toxic Hell] was the terrifying ultimate "move combo" that emerged from Ariados's multi-toxin application.

Stay in [Toxic Hell] too long, and even steel would be corroded.

To Ariados, Steel-type immunity was nothing more than tougher skin and thicker armor.

----

The sailboat deck was destroyed, and all the poachers were suppressed by Sato in one sweep.

Anyone who tried to escape would be fiercely bombarded by Zoroark and the others.

Now that Ralts had awakened, Sato also sent Gengar out to fight independently.

So at the Ace level, it was still 3 vs 3.

On Sato's side, Zoroark, Weavile, and Gengar. Each one was a powerful attacker.

Meanwhile, Ariados's [Toxic Hell] was rapidly taking shape. The sailboat resembled a giant bowl, and Ariados stood right at the center, spraying all kinds of toxins without restraint.

Two slow-reacting unfortunates were hit by the poison. Within two seconds, they collapsed to the floor, twitched a few times, and stopped moving.

Seeing this, the poachers launched the most desperate counterattack yet. They had always been lawless, and now that their lives were truly at stake, they used every possible means to retaliate, ambush, and flee…

Smack~Smack~

"YOU IDIOT! Drilling holes in the damn ship! You trying to kill us all? Take that guy out, that's our only chance to survive!"

Sato didn't know how loud a slap could be, but in such a chaotic situation, the poacher leader turned one of his underlings into a pig-faced mess with two slaps, and simultaneously restructured their squad.

"This is bad…"

Sato pressed his lips together. Watching the reorganized enemy team take shape, he thought to himself, 'Just a little more'.

The key issue was that all four of his Ace Pokémon were already out. Even though the remaining enemies were only Elite level, if they all charged at once, it wouldn't be easy for him either.

"Murkrow, Air Slash. Cacturne, Pin Missile. Sharpedo, Aqua Jet."

The Ace Pokémon each went off to fight on their own. Sato also sent out two more Pokémon to join Sharpedo and surround the area, forming a battle formation centered around Ariados.

"DOOOS!"

Ariados shouted in excitement, and Sato was delighted. He quickly ordered everyone to regroup.

At this point, the underside of the sailboat had been almost entirely contaminated with Ariados's toxins.

But with all of Sato's Pokémon retreating, the remaining eight poachers charged forward with no regard for their lives.

Clearly, even in this short time, two more poachers had been poisoned and died.

Ariados's poison was excessively lethal!

And this… was only the beginning.

"Ariados." Seeing that Zoroark, who had been finishing up, was now within two meters, Sato immediately shouted.

Even though the sound resembled a hamster's squeak, to the poachers, it sounded like the requiem of hell.

Suddenly, the poison in the ship's hold began flowing on its own, merging together, bubbling with colorful bursts of foam.

As the bubbles popped, the poison turned into gas and began spreading rapidly.

Vomiting, muscle weakness, skin corrosion, searing pain… whether it was poachers or their poisoned Pokémon, all experienced different reactions.

Their moves had clearly been charged and ready, yet none could reach Sato's side.

At that moment, Sato and the others simply stood quietly behind Ariados, watching its "spectacular" performance.

If one looked around in a full 360 degrees, they would notice that the space surrounding Sato and the others was completely sealed.

Gengar had used a Barrier to block out the poison gas. Without that, Sato wouldn't have been able to watch so freely from the side.

Unfortunately, not every Pokémon could learn a move like Barrier.

Carnivine, with its Levitate ability, had managed to endure thanks to its Grass-type vitality, despite being poisoned.

Just as it was about to float out of range, an invisible force suddenly enveloped it and flung it back without warning.

Zoroark silently retracted its Extrasensory, as if it had done something utterly trivial.

Another two minutes passed. Nearly everyone within the ship had been consumed by Ariados's [Toxic Hell].

Even those who tried to sneak out were promptly slammed back in by Zoroark using Extrasensory.

Were Pokémon innocent?

Heh…

Enemy Pokémon weren't Pokémon. They were just the enemy.

Sato had never naïvely believed that a poacher's Pokémon could still possess kindness. For those Pokémon whose hearts had long gone numb, perhaps death was their only salvation.

"Dos~"

Ariados stopped controlling the poison and waved its legs excitedly at Sato, begging for praise and pets.

"Are you sure they're all down? What about that Ace Toxicroak?"

Sato didn't let Ariados celebrate too soon. Instead, he cautiously reminded it.

But Ariados squeaked confidently, turned around, and spat out a Sticky Web. Dragging back a faintly recognizable, purple-skinned figure.

…Apparently, even the Poison-type Toxicroak, had been poisoned to death!

"…"