Even the vast expanse of seawater could not stop the will of the giant beast from appearing.
The first thing to break the surface was a massive conical horn. It looked cute and pointy on a normal Dragonite's head, but on this colossal beast it carried the terrifying threat of being able to pierce through almost anything.
Next came a pair of antennae as thick as power cables, followed by the head, wings, and half the body. The enormous frame and the indelible melancholy etched on its face—there was no mistaking it. This was the Giant Dragonite they hadn't seen in a long time.
The waves stirred up by its ascent nearly turned the surrounding area into a light rain.
Yet the sea did not calm even after the Giant Dragonite had fully surfaced. The water churned again. A resonant cry like a whale's song echoed from the depths, and a massive waterspout burst through the surface.
Pure white wings unfurled. The waterspout instantly scattered into countless droplets that sparkled in the sunlight, framing Lugia's pristine, sacred form that seemed forever untouched by corruption.
"It's been a while."
Lucas sighed at Lugia's usual grand entrance but still greeted both it and the Giant Dragonite.
"Groooar~!"
The Giant Dragonite raised its right arm in response. Unfortunately, even a casual wave from its massive body created a gale strong enough to nearly blow Lucas off the Moltres he was riding.
Thankfully, the steadfast Moltres held firm against the wind, preventing disaster.
Realizing its mistake, the Giant Dragonite lowered its head in guilt. Only after Lucas comforted it did the giant cheer up again.
On the other side, Lugia—smaller than the Giant Dragonite yet impossible to ignore—fixed its gaze on Lucas. Surprise flashed in its eyes when it saw him riding Moltres instead of Dragonite. It had assumed Lucas would arrive on Dragonite again, giving it a chance to check the dragon's training progress.
Even if Dragonite hadn't mastered its exclusive moves yet, its control over air currents should have improved dramatically. After all, Lugia had crammed countless insights into the dragon's mind through their battles.
Noticing Lugia's puzzled look, Lucas smiled as if he had read its thoughts. "I left Dragonite at home to rest."
It wouldn't be practical to bring Dragonite everywhere; the Pokémon needed rest too, and sometimes the other ranch Pokémon wanted outings.
Lugia and the Giant Dragonite, both extremely long-lived, showed little disappointment. If they missed each other this time, there would always be a next time. Time was something they had in abundance.
After a brief (though Pokémon didn't really do "small talk") greeting—those who could use telepathy exchanged thoughts, while others roared or rubbed heads—they skipped the formalities and got straight to business.
"As promised, I'm here to take the Giant Dragonite to find its companions." Lucas had Moltres descend a little before speaking.
"Grooh?" The Giant Dragonite's eyes lit up instantly. It had been worried Lucas might have forgotten their agreement and was debating whether to remind him. To have him bring it up directly was a pleasant surprise!
The Giant Dragonite was eager to set off, but Lugia gently restrained it with psychic power. "Wait a moment. There's something I wish to discuss with him as well."
Recalling what it had learned while following Lugia recently, the Giant Dragonite blinked and obediently stayed put. That matter was important too.
Once the giant was settled, Lugia flapped its wings and flew before Lucas and Moltres, speaking directly: "I forgot to tell you last time why I've been active in these nearby seas. Would you like to hear now?"
"Of course."
Lucas nodded, curiosity clear in his eyes. In his impression, Lugia was the type that preferred staying in one spot. He had wanted to ask about its movements before but had forgotten.
Lugia organized its thoughts and spoke slowly: "Have you heard of the legend of the Sea Creator—the being that created all the oceans on this planet?"
"Sea Creator?"
Lucas's eyebrow twitched. He hadn't expected that title from Lugia.
The Sea Creator was exactly as Lugia described: the legendary Pokémon said to have created the seas or to be their very embodiment. In the Hoenn region, it was a famous ancient Pokémon of myth. Wherever it went, torrential rains fell and oceans swallowed the land.
Seeing Lucas's understanding look, Lugia paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Recently, the stable sleeping aura of that entity has begun fluctuating—faint at first, and now so weak that even I can barely sense it. That's why I've been patrolling these waters."
Lugia originally had no reason to concern itself with Kyogre. But the ocean currents it managed had recently shown anomalies. If the embodiment of the sea itself was also unstable, things could spiral out of control.
That was why Lugia had chosen to linger nearby despite the risk of conflict.
"Just as I have kin, there are multiple Kyogre in the world. But I am certain it is the oldest one that is in trouble."
"You humans have far more ways to gather information than I do. Do you have any leads on this?"
Lugia stared at Lucas with a serious expression.
Given Lucas's strength, he likely held a high position among humans. With their numbers spread across the planet, he might know things Lugia could not.
Lucas was momentarily speechless.
How should he explain this?
Kyogre was captured by humans—well, by the bad humans, to be precise. Oh, and they wanted to control it to flood the entire planet!
He felt that saying so outright would tank Lugia's opinion of most humans again.
Yet he couldn't pretend ignorance. The clash between Kyogre and Groudon was bound to happen soon.
Was there any point in hiding it? Lucas decided there wasn't. He organized his words and laid out everything about Team Aqua and Team Magma.
"…Heh."
After a long silence, Lugia let out a cold, mocking laugh.
Sure enough, no matter how many years passed, greedy humans who sought to control legendary power would always appear.
The information Lucas shared fit Lugia's definition of certain humans so perfectly that it felt no surprise at all.
Cover the planet with ocean? Expand the land across the entire world?
Utterly ridiculous!
Even setting aside the ancient wills of Kyogre and Groudon that could not be controlled by ordinary humans and their tools, any attempt to actually expand sea or land would be stopped within Hoenn.
While some of their kin might be weaker, the core wills of those two could never be dominated—even if the goals aligned.
Those ambitious fools had been on the wrong path from the start.
After learning a few more details from Lucas (without questioning how he knew so much), Lugia proactively suggested they depart.
"Let's go. Dragonite has been with me for some time. Before I return to slumber, I want to witness the moment its wish is fulfilled."
Lugia flapped its wings, completely abandoning any deeper investigation into Hoenn.
If those two big fellows started fighting again, it was none of Lugia's business. Once the impact grew large enough, someone responsible for such matters would handle them.
With Lugia's approval, Lucas cheerfully took the lead.
As long as neither he nor Lugia got involved, the original plot had very little chance of changing drastically. Everything should be fine.
After helping the Giant Dragonite find its companions, the Hoenn situation should have calmed down. He could soak in the hot springs for a few days before returning to Paldea in time for the start of Naranja Academy.
Aiming for the Kanto seas, one human and three Pokémon set off.
Along the way, Lucas voiced a question he had been holding onto and asked for Lugia's opinion.
While maintaining steady flight, Lugia raised an eyebrow-like expression upon hearing the interesting tale and looked at Moltres with great interest.
"Oh? You say there is Sacred Fire inside its body?"
…
Even with the swift guidance of the speedy Ninjask, it still took Nemona nearly ten minutes to walk from the interior of the not-so-large island's forest to the edge.
"It's fine. It's not your fault."
Though his face remained cold, Paul did not scold Ninjask. Instead, he comforted it.
Compared to his counterpart in original anime, Paul—under Lucas's intentional guidance—now paid far more attention to Pokémon emotions and no longer casually caught and released them or picked only the best.
He knew that even if Ninjask had found Nemona as fast as possible, with Nemona's mediocre stamina, returning within ten-plus minutes was already fortunate. Ninjask was not a rideable or flying mount, and with a "dead weight" in tow, there was no need for self-blame.
Hearing the comfort, the dejected Ninjask instantly perked up.
Shizuka also gave Nemona a concise explanation of the analysis she and Paul had made while waiting.
"Huh? So a Team Aqua submarine just appeared over there?!"
"Does that mean we're charging in next to hand them over to Officer Jenny for arrest?"
Nemona's focus and train of thought were clearly abnormal. Her explosive suggestion was something Shizuka and Paul had long grown used to.
Shizuka quickly corrected the dangerous idea. "That could be one of Team Aqua's mobile bases! We don't know how many members are inside. With such a huge numerical disadvantage, we absolutely cannot act rashly!"
No one below Champion level would dare charge solo into an evil organization's base.
…Wait, was Nemona actually capable of that?!
Shizuka's eyes widened, but Paul smoothly patched the logical gap.
"Besides, the submarine has already submerged again. Even if you wanted to chase it, there's no way."
Paul expressionlessly laid the harsh reality before the eager Nemona.
The truth was, among the three of them, there wasn't a single Water-type Pokémon capable of free movement in the sea.
Shizuka's Quagsire was a freshwater-adapted Pokémon. While it could temporarily handle seawater thanks to its constitution, it couldn't carry three people.
It wasn't a Lapras.
Air travel was equally impossible; none of their Pokémon were suitable.
Shizuka's Skarmory's back was too slippery, and it could carry at most two passengers—one of whom had to be a small child.
As for Nemona's Decidueye… forget the battle-idiot Nemona herself; neither Shizuka nor Paul had the arm strength to cling to its legs for long.
That was why they had arrived on the island by rented boat instead of under their own power.
Under these circumstances, chasing a Team Aqua submarine was out of the question.
"We wanted to call Officer Jenny immediately, but after the submarine left we discovered there's no signal here at all. It's probably being jammed by Team Aqua's submarine as a precaution."
Shizuka's expression was somewhat helpless.
Both her and Paul's phones were out of range. It was obvious Team Aqua had blocked signals around the area to avoid interference.
The three of them were essentially trapped on the island.
They could either wait three days for the boat to pick them up or find their own way out.
Nemona clearly chose the latter.
Instead of being stumped by the problem, she proposed a brand-new idea.
"Then we can just ask wild Pokémon for help!"
Since the submarine was gone, she ran back to the campsite, grabbed her backpack, and pulled out a small square box.
"Teacher Lucas said in class that when you run into trouble in the wild because of the environment and have no other options, you can try using food or other items to seek help from wild Pokémon!"
"If we ask wild Water-types for help, we'll have a way off the island, right?"
Nemona's words left Paul and Shizuka speechless for a moment.
Nemona was indeed a hot-blooded battle maniac.
But because of her earnest personality, she listened carefully and remembered every lesson from the person she admired.
The practical experiences Lucas shared with them had proven useful in many unexpected situations before.
After a moment, the usually cautious Paul nodded first. "Seeking help from wild Pokémon is possible. But the sea at night is too dangerous. We'll move at dawn tomorrow."
"If we still can't find any trace of Team Aqua, we'll return to Mossdeep City and report it immediately."
…