A water-type trainer who specializes in dragon-type water.

For Zhang Heng, this was his first real deep-sea dive.

He was almost lying flat on the broad, slightly rough back of the tarpon, his hands gripping the relatively stable area behind its dorsal fin, trying to keep his body as close to the surface as possible to reduce water resistance.

As the spotted wrasse and cherry wrasse continued to dive, the surrounding light was gradually absorbed by the deep seawater.

From bright azure to hazy indigo, it finally sinks into a seemingly eternal dark blue hue. However, this is not a lifeless world.

The specially designed diving goggles helped Zhang Heng clearly see a vibrant and unprecedented deep-sea spectacle.

They felt as if they had stumbled into a dreamlike underwater kingdom.

The sun corals, with their diverse shapes and colors, resemble an underwater forest, shimmering with fluorescence even in the dim light.

The agate jellyfish, emitting a faint blue glow, drifted by like transparent parachutes, opening and closing gently in the water.

There are a lot of water-type Pokémon living here.

Schools of lanternfish resemble a moving starry sky, the light emanating from their heads guiding the way in the darkness;

The giant tuna lay quietly on the sand, occasionally opening its shell to reveal its round tongue inside;

The clumsy yet adorable nanny, Mambo, swayed her enormous body as she slowly filtered the plankton in the water...

The water-controlling power that Zhang Heng possessed at this moment seemed to have become an invisible, approachable aura.

As he passed by, many of the normally wary Water-type Pokémon did not panic and flee, but instead curiously approached.

A large group of heart-shaped fish, resembling pink ribbons, swam merrily over, circling around Zhang Heng and the spotted fish.

Some even boldly used their small bodies to gently touch Zhang Heng's arms and cheeks, conveying a message of friendliness and curiosity.

A small flying fish flapped its pectoral fins, "flying" through the water like a bird, playfully skimming over Zhang Heng's head.

Even a sharp-toothed fish that was originally hiding in the crevices of the coral with fierce eyes, after sensing the peaceful and approachable aquatic aura emanating from Zhang Heng, restrained its hostility and just watched curiously from afar.

Zhang Heng was filled with novelty and joy. He let go of one hand and tried to gently stroke the heart-shaped fish that swam to his side. The Pokémon did not dodge but instead rubbed against his fingers affectionately.

The scene of him living in harmony with the creatures of the deep sea is filled with an indescribable tranquility and beauty.

This scene was also witnessed by Cheng Lan, who was perched on the back of the cherry blossom fish beside her.

A hint of barely concealed emotion flashed in her cool eyes.

As a seasoned Water-type Pokémon Trainer, she knows the habits of these marine inhabitants all too well.

They are mostly calm, cautious, and even somewhat timid, and usually keep their distance from or quickly flee from unfamiliar humans.

It is extremely rare to see so many wild Water-type Pokémon actively approaching and expressing goodwill, as is the case now.

“Unless… this human possesses some quality that makes them feel incredibly safe and close…” Cheng Lan thought to himself.

"This kind of genuine, kind aura cannot be faked. No wonder his Milotic is willing to follow him..."

Watching Zhang Heng's natural smile as he interacted with the Pokémon, her impression of this "blind date" subtly changed a bit.

Cheng Lan didn't make a sound to disturb the harmony. Because according to standard diving procedures, the water pressure increases continuously with depth.

Although the energy membrane formed by the "diving" skills of the spotted bream and cherry bream has offset most of the stress.

However, in order to allow the body enough time to adapt and avoid risks such as decompression sickness, it is necessary to pause for a moment after each dive to adjust breathing and allow the body to gradually adapt to the new pressure environment.

The depth at which they are currently is exactly the planned acclimatization stop.

Cheng Lan's original intention was just to rest here for a while, but she didn't expect Zhang Heng to be so "popular" and to stage such a heartwarming scene with the Pokémon around him.

After a while, Cheng Lan estimated that it was about time, so she signaled to Zhang Heng to continue diving.

Zhang Heng understood, gave an "OK" sign, and gently nudged the heart-shaped fish that were still playing beside him, indicating that he had to leave.

The fish seemed to understand, and slowly dispersed, making way for the path.

The two spurred their mounts once more and ventured deeper into the area.

Gradually, they could clearly feel that the temperature of the surrounding seawater began to rise significantly, as if they were approaching a huge underwater heater.

This confirms the accuracy of the previous intelligence.

After diving further, through the increasingly murky water, their target finally came into view—

That was a majestic, extinct underwater volcano!

It stands silently on the seabed of the deep sea, like a sleeping ancient giant.

The volcano's main body is a dark brownish-black color, covered with traces of time and various marine sediments.

It is extremely large in scale, with a broad base and the mountain gradually narrows upwards. Although the top of the mountain cannot be seen, its magnificent momentum is already awe-inspiring.

Most strikingly, a dark red glow faintly shines through some cracks and depressions on the volcano's sidewalls, like lava blood flowing beneath the skin of a giant beast.

It reflects the surrounding small patch of seawater, making it glow faintly, reminding people that it may still contain a power that has not been completely extinguished.

This scene, in the eternal darkness of the deep sea, appears exceptionally mysterious and magnificent.

Zhang Heng and Cheng Lan exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity and excitement in each other's eyes.

They nodded to each other and, piloting the Spotted Fish and Cherry Fish, carefully approached the extinct volcano that radiated heat and red light.

"Puff puff... Splash..."

However, just as they were getting closer to the outer area of ​​the volcano, they heard an unusual disturbance in the water flow and faint sounds of skills colliding.

As far as the eye could see, a fierce battle between tribes was raging on a relatively open stretch of seabed sand!

One side is a ferocious group composed of sharp-toothed fish and megalodon.

The sharp-toothed fish are small in size but extremely fast. They bar their sharp teeth and move in groups like hungry wolves in the water.

Several massive megalodon sharks with razor-sharp dorsal fins and ferocious faces are their main force, opening their blood-red mouths and exuding a strong sense of intimidation.

On the other side is a group mainly composed of goldfish and king goldfish.

The horned goldfish have hard horns and move nimbly; while the evolved goldfish king is robust, with a tail like a gorgeous skirt, and a thick, sharp horn on its head is its powerful weapon.

At this moment, the two groups are locked in a fierce battle!

The school of sharp-toothed fish used their speed advantage to launch a surprise attack, and their dense water jets shot towards the goldfish king like bullets.

Meanwhile, the goldfish kings wielded their enormous horns, unleashing horn ramming or super horn strikes to fiercely send any approaching sharp-toothed fish flying.

The megalodon, with its powerful physique, charged wildly, attempting to break up the goldfish's formation.

The energy beams from the clash of skills exploded continuously underwater, stirring up large amounts of mud and bubbles, creating an extremely chaotic battle, clearly all for the sake of vying for this valuable territory near the volcano.

The aftershocks of the battle began to spread towards Zhang Heng and Cheng Lan, with several bloodthirsty sharp-toothed fish even charging towards them.

Cheng Lan had clearly encountered this situation before, and she remained calm and quickly made a hand gesture.

The Gyarados guarding its side immediately understood. A hint of impatience appeared on its fierce face, and water-type energy surged around it as it charged forward.

It created a powerful water trail, a variation of the water trail technique, which acted like an invisible wall, directly scattering and swatting away the several sharp-toothed fish that rushed towards it!

Zhang Heng's Milotic also swam gracefully forward, its slender body stirring the water to form a gentle barrier, blocking several Goldfish that had been caught in the battle and were rushing towards it in panic.

However, in the core area of ​​the group, the battle between the Megalodon and the King Goldfish is becoming increasingly fierce, and the affected area is getting bigger and bigger!

A goldfish king was hit on the side by water guns fired simultaneously by several sharp-toothed fish. Its huge body immediately lost its balance and was thrown into the air by the huge impact. It was flying straight towards Cheng Lan and the cherry blossom fish!

"!"

Cheng Lan's pupils contracted.

The cherry blossom fish beneath her and the spotted fish beside her reacted extremely quickly, opening their mouths simultaneously and shooting out two condensed water jets in an attempt to block her.

"Oh!"

The water gun hit the goldfish king, slowing its momentum, but it failed to completely stop it.

The King Goldfish eventually crashed heavily into a huge underwater reef next to it!

"Boom!"

The reef could not withstand the weight and shattered instantly, with fragments of varying sizes shooting out in all directions like cannonballs!

One of the sharp-edged pebbles, like a dart of death, traced a strange trajectory through the chaotic water.

With a soft "hiss," it precisely sliced ​​through the oxygen cylinder tubing on Cheng Lan's back, cutting a large gash in it!

"Glug glug—!" A large number of bubbles surged out from the bursting point!

Cheng Lan's expression changed drastically. Startled, she instinctively reached for the spare oxygen cylinder at her waist.

But misfortunes never come singly!

On the other side, her Gyarados swung its tail violently to scare away more approaching Sharpedoes, unleashing even greater power; while Milotic was also blocking a Sharpedo that was trying to ambush it.

The massive shockwaves generated by the intense movements of the two powerful Pokémon in the water completely disrupted the previously relatively calm water flow in this area!

Undercurrents are swirling!

Several powerful undercurrents, moving in different directions, suddenly appeared and strangely intertwined and swirled, forming a sudden and powerful vortex below Zhang Heng and Cheng Lan!

"!!!"

The two of them, along with their Pokémon mounts, had no time to react and were instantly captured by the powerful downward suction!

The spotted bream and cherry blossom fish struggled desperately, trying to break free, but their efforts were in vain in the face of nature's might.

They were like people falling into a washing machine, spinning around and completely losing their sense of direction. They were swept away by the turbulent and chaotic currents and sank at an alarming speed into the deeper and darker seabed!

"not good!"

Alarm bells rang in Zhang Heng's mind; the intense feeling of suffocation and the dizziness from spinning almost made him faint.

At this critical moment, he suppressed his discomfort, quickly reached for his waist, grabbed a Poké Ball, and pressed the button!

"Oh!"

A flash of white light appeared amidst the chaotic waters! A deep blue, majestic, and powerful dragon-shaped figure emerged—it was the King Thorn Dragon!

King Thorn Dragon possesses master-level strength and absolute control over water currents.

As soon as it appeared, its powerful tail fin swung violently, and its body emitted steady water ripples, managing to stabilize a small area in the raging vortex!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Heng grabbed Cheng Lan's arm, who was right next to him and whose consciousness was blurred by spinning and lack of oxygen. With the stability provided by the Thorn Dragon King, he managed to hold himself and her in place.

However, as soon as he caught his breath and looked closely at Cheng Lan, whom he had been holding onto, his heart sank—

Cheng Lan's eyes were tightly closed, her face as pale as paper, her lips slightly parted as she bit the filter, and she had lost consciousness! The oxygen tank behind her was still leaking air, the bubbles growing weaker and weaker...

They were trapped in the unknown deep sea. Cheng Lan was unconscious and running out of oxygen. The situation was extremely critical!