Pokemon: I am a God-level Player

As the Zap Cannon hurtled toward Charizard and Riolu, a small figure darted in front of the electric attack.

"Pikachu!! Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted, dragging his injured body—still reeling from the effects of Thunder—and roared with all his strength!

"Pikachu~~~~~~!!!"

The little Electric Mouse Pokémon, though not immensely powerful, relied on its Electric-type advantage as it fearlessly launched a Thunderbolt to intercept the incoming Zap Cannon.

However, this brave effort couldn't overcome the vast power difference. Although Zap Cannon was delayed for a few seconds, it eventually broke through Pikachu's Thunderbolt and struck the small Pokémon directly.

"Pikachu!!!!"

At that moment, Pikachu seemed possessed by a fierce determination, using its tiny body to forcibly absorb the weakened Zap Cannon. After weathering the attack, it succumbed to paralysis and plummeted straight to the ground.

"You kid! You've blocked my attack twice now! Since you're so eager to die in front of your comrades, I'll happily oblige!" Lt. Surge shouted, his anger mounting.

He had originally intended to focus on Eddie, who posed the greater threat, but unexpectedly, Ash had disrupted his attacks multiple times and even used his own Pokémon as a shield.

Under these circumstances, Lt. Surge couldn't be blamed for deciding to eliminate Ash first! This was no longer just a friendly battle.

In a life-or-death struggle, who says you can't target the Trainer? Magneton ignored the incoming Fire Blast and Focus Blast and charged straight toward Ash. "Even if I'm defeated, I'll take you down first!"

Lt. Surge now understood that although Ash might be the weakest participant in this battle, he was truly troublesome in how desperately he assisted and protected Eddie. "Haha, do you think the smallest opponent is easy to deal with?!"

Ash laughed in response. Though he might be the weakest one present, that was only relative. How many people on this cruise ship were stronger than him besides Lt. Surge and Eddie?

"Ivysaur, let's show those who underestimate us our true strength! Vine Whip!"

Ivysaur was arguably the Pokémon with the greatest remaining stamina in the battle, having contributed from a distance while conserving energy. Lt. Surge had been ignoring it, allowing it to maintain its combat effectiveness.

Ivysaur roared as two powerful vines shot forward and ensnared Magneton. The attack wasn't meant to injure but to immobilize!

"Eddie! Now's our chance!"

"Riolu, Blaze Kick! Charizard, Flare Blitz!"

Even the normally composed Riolu let out a battle cry as it leaped, flipped, and delivered a powerful Blaze Kick to the restrained Magneton.

At this moment, calling it a "rider kick" might be more appropriate, given how similar the maneuver appeared.

After connecting with its kick, Riolu immediately spun away and retreated.

Charizard's Flare Blitz followed instantly, its body engulfed in flames as it crashed into Magneton.

The Steel/Electric-type Pokémon convulsed and twisted in the air, trembling violently before finally crashing to the deck.

"Four Pokémon worked together to defeat Magneton, experience shared!"

"Ding! Charizard gained experience! Level +1! Reached lv40!"

"Ding! Riolu gained experience! Level +1! Reached lv40!"

Magneton was level 45, while Charizard and Riolu had already reached level 39 before this battle. The gap wasn't enormous, and with the experience being shared among four Pokémon—plus the increased experience required for leveling up—they each gained only one level.

"Come out! Manectric!"

Before Eddie and Ash could catch their breath after defeating another formidable opponent, Lt. Surge seized the opportunity to release his final Pokémon!

"My original plan was to distract you and eliminate the hooded guy. Although the outcome hasn't been ideal, my goal is now halfway accomplished."

Lt. Surge's expression had calmed. This last Pokémon gave him renewed confidence. After all, this Manectric was his primary Pokémon, not a secondary fighter but his first-tier powerhouse!

In other words, it was a Gym Leader-level Pokémon!

Name: Manectric

Level: Level 50 (Gym Leader Level)

A slightly larger-than-average Manectric stood before Lt. Surge. It wasn't roaring or posturing—just standing calmly in place.

Manectric, classified as the Discharge Pokémon, possesses a mane that emits powerful electricity and can gather electrical energy from the air to create thunderclouds!

Thus, it didn't need to do anything special—merely standing there transformed the surrounding area into an electrical field!

Thunderclouds formed instantly upon its appearance. This was inevitable, as Lt. Surge's Pokémon specialized in Electric-type attacks, and the air had become highly charged with electrical energy.

"Electabuzz, fall back to me!"

Lt. Surge didn't attack immediately, instead calling Electabuzz back to his side.

He could no longer afford to be reckless, nor could he separate his Pokémon during battle. Otherwise, it would become another one-against-many situation, and even with Manectric's strength, they might still be overwhelmed.

After all, the coordination between Eddie and Ash had proven dangerous, as demonstrated by the defeats of Raichu and Magneton.

Electabuzz, though restrained by Sceptile and Greninja but still managing to hold its own, roared and used Discharge to repel the two Pokémon before leaping back toward Lt. Surge.

"I won't let you retreat! Stay where you are!"

Eddie refused to allow Electabuzz to return to Lt. Surge's side. He had strategies to handle the Gym Leader-level Manectric, but if Electabuzz joined the fray, it would create significant complications.

Sceptile and Greninja weren't powerless to stop it and immediately launched attacks to block its retreat.

"Manectric, Thunder!"

With Manectric surrounded by thunderclouds, there was no need to charge up its attack. Lt. Surge had barely finished speaking when Manectric's devastating attack struck with frightening speed.

A massive lightning bolt crashed down toward Sceptile and Greninja, forcing them to scatter to avoid being hit.

Electabuzz, no longer impeded, quickly rushed back to Lt. Surge's side.

As the two powerful enemy Pokémon prepared to face them together, Eddie's expression turned serious. Though he still had strategies to win, he couldn't help but look slightly troubled.

"Don't worry about it, Eddie," Ash called out. "The strongest Manectric is yours to handle, I'll deal with the weakened one! Don't say I'm taking advantage—after all, you're stronger than me, so naturally you should face the tougher opponent, right?"

Ash smiled confidently, with a look that said "I'm being clever," and commanded Ivysaur to use Take Down, knocking Electabuzz into the hole in the deck that had been blasted open earlier by Thunder.

Then he jumped down with Pikachu and Ivysaur, clearly intending to prevent Electabuzz from rejoining the battle above.