Meanwhile, beneath the lake's surface...
Qi Shu had just entered the water, raising a Poké Ball from her sleeve.
Puff~ With a muffled sound, a flash of white light appeared, revealing a Pokémon with a blue head, yellowish-green legs, black leg tips, spherical blue leg joints, and a black body with brown stripes. It had large eyes with light blue stripes. Its head was surrounded by a bubble with three blue protrusions. This was Araquanid, a Water-type and Bug-type Pokémon.
After Qi Shu gave a look, Araquanid nodded and activated a large, sturdy bubble, encapsulating both Qi Shu and itself, then began to explore the water for Zhang Heng's whereabouts: “Huh, where’s Zhang Heng?”
Araquanid pointed with its foreleg to a dark spot about 30 meters away. Qi Shu followed Araquanid's gaze, then rubbed her eyes, looked closely, and exclaimed, “Holy crap?!”
Zhang Heng was seen holding the incubation cover with one hand and paddling through the lake with the other, diving straight down to the bottom. Due to Hydro, his control over Water-type energy led to an unusual affinity for it. While he couldn't breathe freely underwater, he could reduce the water pressure on himself, preventing him from being pushed away. Qi Shu, watching from behind, was stunned and said, “Can he dive so fast with just one hand? Is that even scientific?”
“Dewpider, go! Catch him!” Hearing this, Araquanid slightly raised its forelegs, controlling the bubble, and chased after Zhang Heng.
Zhang Heng suddenly felt a pulling force and quickly stopped his advance. He carefully slid his hand through the lake water, trying to maintain his balance to get a clearer view of the scene before him.
Ahead, a mysterious area composed of numerous reefs appeared. These reefs varied in shape, rising and falling, like an underwater labyrinth. Among the many reefs, one particular spot stood out—a dark hole about two meters high, like the gaping maw of a giant beast, emitting a chilling aura.
Outside the hole, a powerful force was acting on the surrounding lake water, forming a large white vortex. This vortex, like an invisible giant hand, frantically sucked the lake water into the Black Void-like cavern. The turbulent currents roared, seemingly wanting to devour everything that approached it.
Closing his eyes slightly, Zhang Heng concentrated on sensing the energy fluctuations around him. Soon, he noticed something: an extremely pure Water-type energy was continuously emanating from deep within the hole.
He pondered, “It seems I can't dive into this hole relying solely on Hydro. I'll have to use Walking Wake.” Just as he was about to use Walking Wake to dive into the hole, a faint voice came from behind: “Xiao Heng, come here quickly!”
Zhang Heng was puzzled, wondering how someone could speak underwater. He paddled back and saw Qi Shu and Araquanid in a bubble. So that was it. A moment later, after the bubble reached Zhang Heng, Araquanid slightly raised its two foreclaws, making the bubble larger to encompass Zhang Heng.
Qi Shu spoke reproachfully, “Why did you go straight into the water after speaking? If I hadn't caught up, you would have suffocated at the bottom of the lake. It's too dangerous!”
Zhang Heng couldn't offer much explanation, as Hydro was too peculiar. He could only say awkwardly, “I didn't think that far ahead. I'll be more careful next time.”
Just as Qi Shu was about to speak, Zhang Heng quickly interrupted, “How strong is your Araquanid now, to be able to use such a large bubble?”
Hearing this, Qi Shu looked up, placed a hand on Araquanid's head, and said proudly, “You all say that a girl like me only knows how to catch spider-type Pokémon like Galvantula and Araquanid. How would you know how powerful they are! Hmph! My Dewpider is now a Quasi-Champion-level combatant, just a little bit weaker than Vikavolt.”
Zhang Heng nodded, “You've trained it very well, fully utilizing Araquanid's Water Bubble ability.”
Water Bubble is a unique ability of the Araquanid family, allowing them to form a bubble to store objects. In battle, it doubles the power of Water-type moves, reduces Fire-type move damage by fifty percent, and prevents burns. It essentially turns the Bug-type's weakness to Fire into a resistance, making it one of the few Bug-type Pokémon that can switch in to resist Fire-type moves. (Speaking of which, can anyone calculate Scizor's psychological trauma from directly switching in against Fire Blast?)
Qi Shu was very happy and then asked, “How do we proceed? Do we go through that hole?”
Zhang Heng nodded, “That's right. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to reach Lake Heart Island directly.”
Qi Shu wanted to ask for more details, but Zhang Heng preempted her, “Do you trust me, Qi Shu?”
Qi Shu nodded without hesitation, “Of course I do.” After all, Qi Shu had grown up with the financial support of the Zhang family, which allowed her to achieve her status as a 16-year-old Elite Gym Leader. She had no parents, no given name, and her surname was given to her by her master after he adopted her.
Zhang Heng said, “Alright then, let's go directly into that hole. No matter what you feel next, don't be alarmed and don't ask. I will protect you.”
“Dewpider, dive into that hole.” Hearing this, Araquanid controlled the bubble to move forward, not even needing to control the direction. Once within the suction range, it was naturally pulled in.
Inside the hole, it was completely dark. They could only sense that the Water-type energy ahead was becoming purer and purer, making the Water-type Pokémon accompanying them very happy. The abundant Water-type energy made it even easier for Araquanid to use its Water Bubble ability. Even the Pokémon egg in Zhang Heng's arms trembled slightly, clearly enjoying the environment, showing faint signs of hatching.
The path ahead became increasingly winding. Using Joltik's faint electric light to sense if there was danger ahead, Qi Shu suddenly exclaimed, “Ah?! Be careful!”
A 40-degree angle appeared ahead. Araquanid used its Water-type energy to control the bubble's speed, but the undercurrent was getting faster and faster. At this speed, the bubble would only collide with the rock wall and burst.
Zhang Heng raised Walking Wake's Poké Ball, and the Divine Beast's aura was released, forming a small Divine Beast Field within the bubble. Protected by the field, the bubble smoothly passed through the angle and continued to drift forward.
A Wilderness Area is a special region where a certain type of energy is more concentrated than other types, leading to its accumulation. A Divine Beast Field, on the other hand, is a unique phenomenon signifying the appearance of a Divine Beast. The power of a Divine Beast can affect reality, creating a special space isolated from the world. The stronger the Divine Beast, the larger and more stable its field.
Qi Shu felt the Divine Beast's aura and looked at Zhang Heng with disbelief, saying, “This is...?!”
Zhang Heng: “There's a faint light ahead. We should be there.”