CHAPTER 221: PRIMARINA

Clang!

The metallic ring of a blade striking metal echoed through the air.

The lethally sharp black smoke, glinting coldly under the moonlight, now pressed against Beyond’s chest—

Yet it remained frozen in place, unable to advance even a fraction further, blocked by an impenetrable wall of earth made from aura.

’Ken!’

Beyond casually swatted the smoke away, the fierce scar on his face relaxing slightly as a confident smirk curled his lips.

After two rounds of combat, he had fully grasped the strength of these shadow puppets.

To make an accurate assessment, he not only launched active attacks but also took passive hits, aiming to evaluate the opponent’s abilities more comprehensively.

From what he could see, these smoke-formed puppets had their merits, but they were limited.

The smoke puppet mimicking him had roughly half his strength, though it was uncertain if this applied to everyone.

Besides their strength, the smoke puppets could reassemble due to their composition, so sneak attacks had to be guarded against.

Overall, this ability was mainly useful for attrition warfare—in a direct confrontation, they were no match for the original.

There was no need to worry about the smoke endlessly reassembling either.

Just from dismantling one arm and a leg, Beyond could clearly sense the puppet’s aura weakening slightly.

If that was the case...

Beyond’s lips curled into a rough, excited grin as the aura on his body flared up like a burst of fireworks!

Countless streams of Aura surged out, creating an intense pressure in the still air.

The violent gusts whipped his robes, making them snap loudly.

Half the strength, and capable of multiple reassembling themself.

In Beyond’s eyes, this was nothing more than a punching bag he could vent on however he pleased!

As the vanguard charging ahead of the group, he had to take down the enemy quickly to boost his team’s morale!

The dazzling golden Aura acted as a light source, fully illuminating the surrounding sea as his energy skyrocketed wildly!

Beyond casually swung a palm strike—though the motion was swift, to everyone watching, it seemed agonizingly slow.

"BOOM!!"

In an instant, a fist imbued with explosive force slammed into the smoke puppet.

Razor-sharp gusts of wind accompanied the punch as it pierced straight through the puppet, triggering a detonation.

In the blink of an eye, the smoke puppet shattered, dispersing vast plumes of black smoke at incredible speed!

At the same time, the other smoke puppets had already reached the ship!

The battle was about to shift from Beyond’s solo performance to a group spectacle!

Ging tossed the apple core he’d been eating into the sea, his gaze turning razor-sharp as Aura evenly coated his entire body.

From Beyond’s fight, he’d roughly gauged the smoke puppets’ strength, so there was no need to waste excessive aura.

Beyond had gone all out to end the fight quickly and elevate the team’s momentum.

With a single step, afterimages flickered across the deck as Ging’s figure appeared like a ghost before his own puppet.

His speed was extraordinary—a result of his physical prowess amplified by Aura.

Simultaneously, the Aura covering his body flowed rapidly, ensuring every part was fortified with ample defense.

Before his form fully materialized, the sound of tearing air arrived first!

Ging’s fists clenched tight, shrouded in dense black Aura that, at a glance, resembled black smoke.

An unsettlingly sinister aura radiated from them—not quite Death aura, but carrying a sensation just as oppressive.

Darkness Imprisonment: An attack using eerie Aura that immobilizes whatever it strikes, similar to the paralyzing effect of lightning.

Both fists, left and right, drifted like will-o’-the-wisps in a graveyard, the night breeze causing ripples akin to ocean waves across their surface.

The black smoke puppet rapidly dispersed, not because it was struck by Ging, but as a proactive strategy to evade the attack.

Upon seeing this, Ging’s expression shifted slightly.

The scene felt all too familiar.

He remember when he was facing Brions in the past—the enemy had a similar ability, capable of splitting its body to dodge attacks.

What a pity.

Having already witnessed your ability, how could I overlook this detail?

Suddenly, another figure appeared behind the black smoke puppet, its fists also wreathed in dense dark aura!

Nen ability— Doppelganger!

Ging had learned many Nen abilities through his talent and among them, Doppelganger was one of the most frequently used.

Because it was truly versatile—applicable in many situations and often yielded unexpected results.

Faced with Ging’s pincer attack from both sides, the black smoke puppet had no time to react.

The dispersing smoke was about to be struck!

"BOOM!!"

The black smoke puppet instantly stiffened.

The areas that were hit stopped moving, solidifying into a state resembling solid matter.

Paired with its pitch-black color, it looked like chunks of ink.

It was clear that after this attack, the black smoke puppet’s movements became noticeably uncoordinated.

This was the effect of Darkness Imprisonment!

After striking, Ging stood to the side, quietly watching the black smoke puppet reassemble.

Unlike Beyond, he wasn’t the type to charge ahead first, nor did he need to finish battles quickly.

So when faced with such a good target, his first thought was to use it for practice.

After so many days at sea, despite encountering numerous creature attacks, none had given him a proper chance to train.

As for the other crew members, they were even less of a challenge.

This voyage was no trivial matter, especially after entering uncharted waters, where they could face unimaginable dangers at any moment.

Every ounce of stamina was precious, not to be wasted lightly.

Naturally, there was no room for sparring either.

Now that he’d finally found a "punching bag" with decent strength and the ability to recover repeatedly, he was eager to make the most of it.

Compared to the sea creatures or thunderbirds they’d encountered before, the sirens they faced tonight were the first to truly pique his interest.

This was Ging’s boldness born of skill—other crew members wouldn’t dare do the same, all preferring to end fights quickly.

For a while, the sounds of battle echoed incessantly across the ship.

After a brief engagement, everyone began to relax.

The black smoke puppets’ strength was roughly half that of the beings they mimicked, with the added ability to reassemble.

Their greatest fear—the puppets mimicking Nen abilities—hadn’t materialized, significantly reducing the danger.

Just as everyone was sighing in relief, the sirens lurking in the sea made their next move.

"AHHHH!!"

That piercing scream again—a sound that pierced the soul, causing many to falter in their movements and make mistakes!

This was the sirens’ primary method of attack.

The black smoke puppets engaged in close combat, wearing down their opponents, while the sirens themselves launched sonic assaults!

But these sirens wouldn’t be screaming for long.

"Lapras!"

Lapras suddenly surfaced, its gentle eyes fixed intently on the sirens, its body enveloped in a brilliant blue glow.

A breeze swept past—a bitingly cold wind so frigid it seemed to freeze the very air.

Ice-type moves : Icy Wind!

Simultaneously, with Lapras at the center, vast amounts of aura surged into the seawater, instantly freezing large portions of it!

The ice-blue Aura continued unabated, rapidly covering the sirens with the effect of Icy Wind!

Ice-type moves: Sheer cold!

Under the crushing force of Sheer cold, all the sirens were encased in crystal-clear ice, falling completely silent.

Transformed into lifelike ice sculptures.

The black smoke puppets still battling the crew also began to change, losing their momentum and gradually dissipating into the air.

A steady stream of experience flowed into Lapras.

After so many days at sea, Lapras had now reached A+ rank!

Not far from S- rank.

On the open sea, Lapras held a unique advantage, which was why it handled most of the combat.

The entire Mobius Lake was his Pokemon’s experience pool!

"Ding!"

"Pokemon incubation complete!"

Right at this moment, a new Pokemon was successfully incubated.

When Akira immersed his consciousness into his mind, what greeted his eyes was an elegant and noble figure.

The new Pokemon had long, wavy sea-green hair tied into three small sections with white pearl hairbands, adorned with pink starfish hair accessories on both temples.

It possessed deep blue eyes, long and thick white eyelashes and a slender, elongated white body.

It wore a light blue wavy cape, with wave-like skirt decorations around its hips and a ring of spines beneath.

It also had a strong, flexible dark blue tail with a forked tip and white portions, surrounded by wavy decorations.

This was none other than Primarina, one of the Starter from the Alola region!

Akira’s eyes briefly flashed with surprise at the new Pokemon being Primarina, but it quickly faded.

After all, he had speculated beforehand.

There weren’t many Pokemons that fit the current scenario, making Primarina a perfectly reasonable outcome.

Primarina, as the name suggests, was modeled after the mythical mermaid.

They closely resemble mermaids in appearance, using their songs to lure ships at sea, bringing endless disasters.

This was also why he had previously said these creatures weren’t mermaids but sirens.

Normal mermaids don’t use songs to lure passing ships; only sirens hunt their prey this way.

Mascher had fallen victim to these sirens’ illusions, which was why he had attacked empty space earlier.

Since they were in the sirens’ territory, the incubation of Primarina wasn’t particularly surprising.

Following the usual procedure, after establishing the Restriction and Vow, Primarina’s detailed information was freshly revealed.

Name: Primarina

Ability: Liquid Voice

Type: Water, Fairy

Strength: A

Moves: Sparkling Aria, Hyper Voice, Hydro Pump, Water Pledge, Life Dew...

The first thing Akira noticed was the abnormality in its ability.

This Primarina actually had a hidden ability?

The normal ability should be Torrent, which is common among Water-type Starter.

But now Primarina’s ability was Liquid Voice, its hidden ability.

Akira recalled that among all his Pokemon, only Ditto had a hidden Ability.

This was his second Pokemon with such a trait.

Perhaps it was related to the mysterious sirens in these unknown waters?

Maybe unlike the six continents, coming to these unknown waters—or even the Dark Continent beyond—increased the chances of encountering Hidden Abilities?

Come to think of it, while he owned many Pokemons, he hadn’t had a single Starter pokemon until now.

Primarina was his very first.

Coincidentally, Primarina was one of the final evolutionary forms of the Alola region’s Starter.

It could also learn the pledge move Water Pledge, exclusive to Starter.

Pledge moves came in three types: Water Pledge, Fire Pledge, and Grass Pledge.

Without exception, these were skills only Starter Pokemon could learn.

The interesting part was that the three could be combined for different effects.

For example, using Fire Pledge and Water Pledge together would create a beautiful rainbow on the battlefield.

Rainbow Terrain: Doubles the additional effects of allied moves, but cannot stack with Serene Grace Ability effects.

Using Water Pledge and Grass Pledge together would turn the battlefield into Marsh Terrain.

Marsh Terrain: Reduces the opponent’s speed by 75%.

Unfortunately, Akira currently only had Primarina from the Starter Pokemons.

If he had another Starter Pokemons with a different attribute, he could have experimented with the effects of pledge skills.

Aside from the unique pledge skills of the Starter Family, Primarina itself possessed outstanding innate talents.

Primarina would dance while releasing water balloons around itself, manipulating them through the sound waves of its song.

This was also the origin of its move, Sparkling Aria.

There were many Pokemons, but only two species could use Sparkling Aria.

Coincidentally, Akira happened to have both of them.

The first was the newly obtained Primarina.

The second was the Lapras incubated at Port Carter!

Perhaps because both Pokemons had unique talents in sound, they were both representatives of beautiful singing among Water-type Pokemons.

That was why they could both use this move.

Lapras’s singing leaned toward gentleness, while Primarina’s was more inclined to elegance.

With its captivating demeanor, Primarina was crowned with the title of ’Songstress’.

It would dance while releasing water balloons around itself, manipulating them through the sound waves of its song.

Moreover, Primarina’s songs were not monotonous—they varied greatly, so the movements of the controlled balloons also differed.

The new Incubation Bar progressed very quickly, completing the incubation in no time.

However, the old Incubation Bar had yet to reach its end.

Who knew what heavyweight existence would eventually emerge?

Akira reined in his thoughts and turned his attention to the current battlefield.

The crew members were cleaning up the aftermath, as the ship had suffered some minor damage from the residual effects of the battle.

Meanwhile, a few others were retrieving the corpses of several sirens, which held greater value than the previous creatures.

"What bizarre creatures..."

"Sirens, huh." Beyond stood beside Akira, sighing with emotion.

Although the battle had been resolved quickly, Akira could clearly sense Beyond’s seriousness.

It wasn’t just Beyond—the other crew members also showed subtle changes in their expressions.

They all knew that today’s sirens were just the beginning.

The challenges ahead would only grow more difficult!

The siren incident served as a wake-up call, deepening the already serious crew’s awareness of the dangers of this journey.

Tonight, it was only because Akira had noticed something amiss in advance and issued a warning.

If Akira hadn’t been present, and the night watch had also been affected by the black fog, failing to detect the problem—

They could easily imagine the consequences.

Total annihilation was unlikely, but casualties would have been highly probable!

Instead of the current overwhelming victory...

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