The Seventh Island.
On the battle floor of the Trainer Tower's first level.
Shellder had curled its body tight, enduring the relentless assault of the poison.
"Transcendent-level Toxic really is something else," Caster thought, watching the scene unfold with quiet admiration.
No matter the move, once it reached Transcendent level, both its power and its effects underwent a qualitative leap.
Shellder had no Poison typing and had never trained in any Poison-type secret art, yet with its skill proficiency at Transcendent, it was practically as if the Corrosion ability had been slapped on as a buff. Even Poison-type Pokémon couldn't hold up under it.
"Shuuu!"
Shellder stuck out its tongue with a smug little laugh, then summoned another enormous water orb and sent it crashing into the ground.
Boom!
The water surged outward in towering waves, the force of it far exceeding even Surf, and it carried with it a peculiar oscillating shockwave.
Arbok was already deep in the grip of the poison and had no capacity to dodge or resist. After taking a Transcendent-level Water Pulse head-on, stars immediately burst across its vision, leaving it completely disoriented.
First poisoned, and now a second layer of Confusion had been stacked on top.
"Shuuu!"
Shellder stuck out its tongue, looking thoroughly pleased with itself.
It didn't even need Caster to issue a command. On its own initiative, it conjured five enormous ice spikes and launched them in a relentless barrage.
Shortly after, Arbok toppled to the ground and passed out.
"Arbok is unable to battle. The winner is challenger Caster."
The referee blew the whistle to end the match, delivered the ruling, and then asked, "Does the challenger wish to continue?"
Caster didn't hesitate. "Yes."
In the Trainer Tower, the difficulty increased with each floor.
The first floor was essentially entry-level, its guardians no stronger than the kinds of ordinary trainers or Youngsters who had a shot at earning a Badge. Against Shellder's current strength, winning was naturally effortless.
With the referee's guidance, Caster found the staircase leading to the second floor. It was wooden, and it looked as though it carried the weight of considerable history.
Meanwhile, down in the first-floor lobby, more and more trainers had heard word of Caster's feats and were rushing over with friends in tow to watch.
"Where's this kid from? Looks young, but turns out he's the real deal."
"No idea. Probably a trainer from another region. Looks like this year's Indigo Conference is going to be more exciting than usual."
"Hold on, he looks kind of familiar. I think he might be a streamer I follow? The camera's too far away to make out his face, though."
While the crowd buzzed with speculation, Caster had already reached the second floor.
There were only two battle arenas on the second floor, and neither was currently in use.
"Challenger, welcome to the second level. I'm your opponent, Tamer Jira."
The second floor's guardian, Jira, directed Caster to begin the match. His Pokémon were a Fighting-type Primeape and a Ground-type Sandslash, a noticeable step up in strength from Xuexiang on the first floor.
But against Shellder with its Transcendent-level Toxic and Skill Link combination, Tamer Jira and his Pokémon clearly weren't enough.
Against Primeape, Shellder opened with an Ice Shard to draw first blood.
When Primeape tried to close the distance for a physical attack, Shellder simply unleashed Water Pulse in a wide-area burst. Primeape fell, and the win came effortlessly.
In the second battle, the opposing Sandslash opened by burrowing underground with Dig, trying to set up a surprise attack.
Shellder had no intention of waiting. It aimed a Transcendent-level Water Gun straight into the tunnel, and the high-pressure blast forced Sandslash right back out, whereupon it followed its companion into defeat.
"That was so fast! Not even a hint of pressure!"
"That Shellder is unbelievable. Its move proficiency is so high. They're all basic moves, but they keep producing stunning results."
"Exactly. My Cloyster's move proficiency doesn't come close. It only keeps up because it evolved, with a higher raw energy output, and even then it's barely on par."
"Wonder what role that Shellder plays on his team. Ace? Main attacker? Or just second-string?"
While Caster made his way toward the third floor, the trainers gathered in the lobby below were full of admiration.
There was no question that Caster had earned their respect.
The only thing that gave them pause was that Shellder had yet to evolve, which made most of them suspect it probably wasn't his trump card.
The third floor of the Trainer Tower had only a single arena, and the guardian's strength had climbed again.
By Caster's estimate, this trainer had the caliber to have collected all eight Gym Badges and enter a regional tournament, putting him just a notch below Trixie from the Blackthorn City Battle Club.
Still, Shellder was simply too broken. Its move pool ran so deep that it had an answer for almost any opponent.
With Mastered Toxic, Supersonic, Water Gun, and Water Pulse at its disposal, the third floor posed no real obstacle either. The guardian's Kangaskhan and Victreebel fell one after another.
What shocked the watching trainers most was when Shellder used Life Dew mid-battle to restore its own health and extend its staying power, leaving the guardian grinding their teeth in frustration.
"That Shellder can heal itself?"
"Sweeping through three floors with a single Pokémon? That's insane!"
"It's a monster!"
The fourth floor's guardian was stronger still. In Caster's assessment, they were at the level of a regional tournament group stage contender. Their main Pokémon were all fully evolved, and genuinely formidable.
Shellder's move pool was vast, but without evolving, the raw energy it could channel was sharply limited, and the battle showed it. Shellder fought hard.
Fortunately, with Caster's sharp commanding and a timely Shell Smash boost at the critical moment, they managed to claim victory in the end.
"Shellder, do you want to keep going?" Caster looked at it with a teasing grin. "Just clear one more floor and you'll hit the 'ten victories' achievement."
"Shuuu!"
Shellder stuck out its tongue and shook its head.
Even with Life Dew's steady restoration, Shellder could feel it was running on empty. Life Dew could mend physical wounds, but it couldn't replenish expended energy. It needed a proper rest.
On top of that, the guardians only got stronger with each floor, and Shellder knew the next opponent would be tougher still.
The fourth floor had already pushed it to its absolute limit — it had barely held on. Sending it into the fifth floor would be nothing short of a death sentence.
"Alright, we'll stop here for today."
Caster smiled and respected Shellder's call.
If Shellder had been willing to press on, Caster could have offered some assistance, such as having Dratini open with Rain Dance to amplify Water-type moves.
As for sending out other Pokémon and pushing for a full clear, that wasn't something he was thinking about right now.
Though before he finished fishing and left the Seventh Island, he figured he'd give it a shot.
Through today's battles, Caster had also gained a clearer picture of Shellder's capabilities.
Thanks to its seemingly bottomless move pool and several skills at exceptionally high proficiency, Shellder was a fierce offensive force, most at home in straight head-to-head fights.
At the same time, its ability to absorb punishment was genuinely poor.
It had yet to learn Protect, Substitute, or Double Team, and if an opponent ever got the chance to land a high-powered special attack, Shellder would be done.
"Looks like I really do need to fish more. Gotta get Protect, Substitute, and Double Team sorted out for the newer members of the team as soon as possible."
The thought of filling those gaps gave Caster a renewed drive to fish.
Double Team, Substitute, and Protect were undeniably some of the finest evasion and defensive techniques around, capable of dramatically increasing a Pokémon's margin for error.
Beyond move selection, Shellder's other weak point was its raw energy output, and that took time to build up. Though there was actually a shortcut on that front: stacking resources.
Caster found himself thinking about the Iron and Never-Melt Ice sitting in his fishing space. Both would suit Shellder perfectly.
The Trainer Tower, however, had cameras everywhere, and Caster wasn't about to be foolish enough to pull out rare items in plain sight.
"Head back first, deal with it later."
He withdrew Shellder into its Poké Ball and started making his way down.
When Caster reached the first-floor lobby, a crowd of trainers immediately swarmed around him, and among them, one person looked completely stunned.
"No way! Caster, is that actually you?"
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones