Chapter 199:The Blessing of Tsukimi! An Active Strike from the Sky!

The winds on the sea were quite boisterous.

Today was September 17th, Tuesday, Tsukimi.

Natsume sat at the bow of the ship, fiddling with his phone.

The screen displayed a search interface.

It showed some small items that didn’t belong to the ship.

“Seems like they’re keeping close tabs.”

Natsume calmly observed the positions on the screen.

Ding dong~

A new message arrived on Natsume's phone.

He exited the page and opened the chat window.

Misaki: “It's Tsukimi! Haven't you found the Temple of the Sea yet?”

“I sent some Dango to the Farm, and Lopunny signed for it.”

Attached image: Misaki and a blue Miltank leaning over the railing, looking at a pasture filled with Mareep and Miltank.

The scene was warm and healing.

Natsume took a photo of the moment.

The picture showed a pod of Wailord surrounding Lapras No. 1, sailing across the sea alongside Manaphy.

Misaki replied quickly: “Wow, this photo looks like a scene from a movie!”

“It’s so spectacular.”

“When you get back, you have to tell me stories about the sea!”

Natsume responded: No problem, I’ve encountered a lot this time.

Natsume then opened Kiko’s chat window.

Kiko: “Happy Tsukimi~”

Attached image: Kiko standing in the kitchen making a peace sign, holding a Jigglypuff with Dango, and a Victreebel swinging its leaves.

In the corner of the photo, middle-aged parents could be seen watching Victreebel cautiously.

They were Kiko's parents.

The expressions on Kiko's parents were reminiscent of Kiko's first encounter with Victreebel.

They looked as if they were somewhat afraid of Victreebel.

Kiko: “When I go back, I’ll bring some Dango to visit everyone on the Farm.”

Natsume replied, “Sounds good.”

“By the way, are your parents okay?”

“They looked like they were quite scared.”

Kiko sent a laughing Jigglypuff emoji.

“It’s fine; I believe they’ll grow to like Victreebel soon.”

Aiko also messaged Natsume.

Aiko sent a video of herself performing with Ivysaur.

“Nagareyama City, first place in the Pokémon performance contest, nailed it!”

In the video, there was also a blue Pachirisu.

Aiko: “By the way, this little one is my new capture. I’ll bring it to the Farm to play in a few days~”

Aiko had always been very cheerful.

She gave Natsume the impression of being an extremely lively girl.

Sakura and Rina also sent messages.

Rina sent Natsume a cake for the Farm.

Sakura sent a model sculpture of Dango and Hearty Grains, a very thoughtful gift.

Natsume thought, “Looks like I’ll be heading back to the Farm today.”

The way back was quite simple; Natsume just needed to go to Dragon Island with Dragonite and then activate the teleport.

“It seems we’ll be spending this Tsukimi together.”

Onami's voice sounded behind Natsume.

Natsume jumped from the bow of the ship onto the deck.

Dragonite was napping on the deck.

Dratini and Lapras were playing in the pool.

Wartortle and Frogadier were training.

Their method of training was quite simple.

Wartortle used Bubble aimed at Frogadier.

Frogadier skillfully dodged through the dense bubbles, trying to avoid getting hit.

Natsume looked at Onami and said, “Isn’t this good?”

Onami leaned against the railing. “This Tsukimi at sea is certainly nice.”

“However, don't you think the Gym Leader Natsume will miss the Pokémon at the Farm?”

“Especially Lopunny and the others.”

“On days like this, they would definitely feel lonely without you, right?”

Natsume smiled and said, “They probably will.”

“So, I plan to go back this time.”

“Today?”

Onami was slightly taken aback and looked at Natsume with curiosity. “Can you find the Temple of the Sea today?”

Natsume stood beside Onami, gazing into the water.

Manaphy was moving ahead.

Its speed was increasing rapidly.

Additionally, it was worth noting that Manaphy’s level had now risen to 70.

Truly worthy of being the prince of the ocean, the darling of the sea.

“Natsume.”

At that moment, Watanabe approached Natsume with a bit of a headache.

“What’s wrong?”

“Manaphy’s speed is increasing, and Lapras No. 1 is having a bit of trouble keeping up.”

Natsume thought for a moment and then flew ahead to call a stop to Manaphy.

“Manaphy.”

“Manaphy?”

“Can you feel the location of the Temple of the Sea already?”

“Manaphy.”

Manaphy nodded excitedly.

The temple was very close!

“Okay, wait a moment.”

Natsume returned to the ship and directly addressed Watanabe and Onami. “The temple is almost here.”

“You all should understand that the moment we find the temple, someone is likely to come after us, so it will be quite dangerous.”

Watanabe hesitated for a moment.

Both Watanabe and Onami were intelligent individuals.

They understood that if they continued to follow along, they would be a burden.

Watanabe sighed, feeling a bit regretful as he said, “Then I’ll leave the next leg of the journey to you, Natsume.”

Natsume looked at Watanabe and said, “Actually, I have an idea.”

“Let the ship continue on its current course and move automatically; you all should hide in the submarine underwater and not worry about anything else.”

“I'll have Dhelmise and Kingdra follow you.”

“If all goes well, you should be able to see the temple on the sea as well.”

Watanabe hesitated, “But isn’t Kingdra a crucial battle strength?”

Natsume replied calmly, “If there’s no divine involvement, then yes, it’s indeed a very important battle strength.”

“But if a deity shows up, that changes everything.”

“Also, I’ll need you to take care of Frogadier and the others.”

Natsume planned to just bring Dragonite, Gardevoir, and Arcevee to accompany Manaphy on the final stretch of the journey.

“I understand.”

Seeing that Natsume was serious and not wanting to miss this opportunity, Watanabe agreed gratefully.

Watanabe began to get ready.

Natsume went underwater and said to the Dhelmise he had captured not long ago, “I’m relying on you and Kingdra.”

Dhelmise, having been knocked out of Dynamax condition by Dragonite with a punch, was obedient now.

Although it was due to fear of Dragonite’s power.

Natsume looked at Dhelmise and reassured, “Don’t worry, if you don’t want to come with me, I’ll give you your freedom back after this journey is over.”

“Dhelmise?”

“Of course, that’s true.”

Having lived in the wilderness for so long, Dhelmise preferred freedom.

After all, it hadn’t relied on humans to reach its current state.

Natsume wouldn’t force it.

With Natsume’s promise, Dhelmise looked much more spirited.

Natsume smiled at Dhelmise and said, “Let’s get along well from here on out.”

“Dhelmise~”

Watanabe soon finished preparing to dive.

Inside the submarine,

Watanabe controlled the submarine, activated the energy shielding device, and began to descend.

“Everything is ready; I’ll leave it to you from here.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Natsume looked toward the remaining Frogadier and said, “You all need to behave too.”

“Frogadier.”

Frogadier nodded.

It reaffirmed its determination to become stronger.

Natsume thought to himself, “Alright, now it’s time to deal with those people.”

Natsume’s expression remained unchanged as he naturally said, “Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Wait a moment.”

Just as Natsume was about to leave, Onami suddenly grabbed his arm.

“What’s the matter?”

Onami stepped forward and gave Natsume a kiss.

Natsume was slightly taken aback, looking at Onami in confusion.

Onami's expression was calm as she said, “There’s a legend in the Water Tribe.”

“A pure Water Tribe maiden who gives her kiss to a young man going to sea will receive the blessing of the ocean.”

Upon hearing this, Natsume smiled and waved his hand, then disappeared into the submarine.

Watanabe looked at Onami after Natsume left and asked, “How come I’ve never heard of such a legend?”

Onami’s face turned slightly red as she whispered, “It exists.”

Natsume returned to Manaphy’s side. “Let’s go, Manaphy.”

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy began to accelerate.

Natsume and Manaphy’s bodies vanished above the ocean.

Glub, glub~

The water rippled.

Manaphy swam toward the deep sea.

Meanwhile, above in the sky,

A battleship, comparable to a fortress, was flying at an altitude of ten thousand meters.

It was slowly approaching Lapras No. 1.

Inside the battleship: “How’s Lapras No. 1 doing?”

“Everything is operating normally,” a staff member replied as he adjusted the control panel.

On the screen, the image of the deck appeared.

Natsume and Dragonite were still leisurely enjoying themselves on Lapras No. 1.

From the angle of the video, it appeared to be captured from underwater.

Someone laughed, “These guys really know how to enjoy life.”

“According to the records, the Temple should appear in the next few days, so they won’t be able to relax for much longer.”

They entertained themselves with small talk, discussing Natsume aboard the ship.

Someone mocked, “Although he has strength comparable to a Champion, he doesn’t seem that impressive after all.”

Another person shrugged and said, “Most Trainers are like that.”

“They think their Pokémon are strong and underestimate the power of technology.”

“I bet they haven’t realized we’ve been monitoring them all along.”

A man picked up a cup of coffee from the table and leaned back in his chair. “Speaking of monitoring, we have to mention the underwater Scanner developed by Future Technology.”

“It’s incredibly useful; it can completely cloak itself in the sea. That must have been inspired by Vaporeon’s ability, right?”

The technician nodded beside him. “That’s probably true.”

“But it’s a pity that Future Technology has disappeared like this.”

“If only Future Technology had another ten years to develop, I can’t imagine what they could have created.”

“But tell me, how did Future Technology actually disappear?”

“That’s unclear.”

At that moment, outside the fortress battleship.

In the midst of white clouds,

Natsume looked at the display on his phone, then looked down at his feet and muttered, “This is really hard to find.”

In reality, Natsume had already been searching for several days.

However, previously, they had seemed to be following from a distance and only got closer today.

“Natsume, should we teleport inside?”

Gardevoir floated beside Natsume and asked.

Natsume shook his head slightly. “That battleship definitely has a Psychic detection device installed.”

“If we teleport in, we’ll surely be discovered.”

“That wouldn’t achieve anything.”

Gardevoir understood.

The light of Mega Evolution enveloped Natsume and Gardevoir’s bodies.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite swung its arm.

Dragon Claw!

Boom!

A loud explosion resonated in the sky.

“Dragonite!”

Dragonite grabbed a piece of metal and hurled it toward the sea.

The silhouette of the fortress battleship suddenly appeared high above.

The battleship shook violently.

Natsume, along with Dragonite and Gardevoir, entered through the gap created by Dragonite.

Beep, beep, beep~

Alarm bells rang out.

The people inside the airborne fortress were momentarily bewildered.

However, they quickly noticed Natsume’s intrusion through the airship's surveillance.

“How is this possible!”

The group, previously chatting in front of the control console, erupted into shocked exclamations.

They looked at the screen.

On the surface of the sea, “Natsume” was still calmly playing with Dratini.

“Damn it.”

A technician pressed a button, and a small robot emerged from the water’s surface.

It launched an electric attack toward Lapras No. 1.

“Zoroark~”

Suddenly, a Zoroark appeared on the deck of Lapras No. 1.

Seeing that Zoroark, they realized.

“This is Zoroark’s illusion?”

“Correct.”

A playful voice echoed, “I’ll reward you with a Psyshock.”

The light of Mega Gardevoir shimmered with Psychic energy.

Whoosh~

An Inner Focus burst forth instantly.

The people in the room collapsed onto the ground.

Natsume looked at the fallen individuals and said casually, “Really, I’m not an idiot.”

“How could I keep falling for this kind of trick?”

Ever since Natsume discovered that his Farm was being monitored by a scanning device, he had immediately arranged for a scanner detection device at his Farm.

The effect was quite remarkable.

At least now, Natsume no longer had to worry about being watched without his knowledge.

Inside the control room of the fortress battleship,

As the group collapsed, another group of people rushed in through the control door.

Walking in last was an old man with a grim expression and a slight hunch.

He was accompanied by a level 74 Reuniclus.

“You must be Brando, the leader of the Trident Organization.”

Brando coldly stared at Natsume and said, “The Gym Leader Natsume from the Japan league, nice to meet you.”

Natsume sat down in a chair and looked at him casually. “I’m quite curious; can you tell me why you’re so intent on getting Manaphy?”

“Is it also for the crown of the sea?”

Brando didn’t directly answer Natsume's question but instead asked, “How did you find us?”

Natsume looked at him and said, “Thanks to someone named Ikeda.”

“You sent him to test me, right?”

Natsume said effortlessly, “My Gardevoir happens to be very perceptive regarding Inner Focus, so it found out some information from him using Psychic.”

“To be honest, I initially tasked Ohtaka and the others with locating you.”

“But after getting your whereabouts from someone named Ikeda, I figured a person like you would come to the scene personally.”

“After all, you were once a Trainer of the Elite Four.”

“Elite Four Trainers are always quite arrogant.”

“Along the way, I also contacted Ohtaka, but I heard he had gone to Great Britain.”

Natsume chuckled and said, “I suspect that was a false lead you planted, wasn’t it?”

After Natsume finished speaking, Brando replied, “So you've been pretending not to know anything while secretly tracking our location?”

Natsume nodded. “That’s right, but you haven’t been hard to find at all.”

Brando calmly said, “Of course it was difficult to find.”

“If it weren’t for Manaphy getting close to the Temple, I wouldn’t have approached here.”

Brando continued to look at Natsume. “You were curious about why I’m looking for Manaphy, right?”

“The reason is quite simple.”

“Indeed, I am an Elite Four Trainer, and I even have the strength to challenge a Champion.”

“But what does that mean?”

Brando's expression held a hint of yearning as he said, “The flesh and blood of humans ultimately has its limits.”

At hearing this, Natsume's expression became somewhat strange.

Boom~

Suddenly, a pitch-black shadow ball flew through the hatch!