Chapter 194:The Captain's Story, a Harmless Night Raid

On the cruise ship.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy and the others stood at the top of the Gyarados slide.

The operator released the stand beneath their feet.

With a scream, Manaphy and Marshtomp zoomed down the slide into the pool below.

Swish~

Water splashed everywhere.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy cheered excitedly and waved toward Natsume, who was by the window of the lounge.

Natsume waved back.

“I never imagined we'd have the chance to see such a legend as Manaphy.”

The Captain, holding a cup of coffee, looked thoughtfully at Manaphy playing wildly in the pool with everyone.

The stage in the pool area had a DJ spinning tunes, with colorful lights flashing around.

“Natsume, the gym leader, you’re escorting Manaphy to find the legendary Temple of the Sea, right?”

Natsume turned his attention back to the Captain in front of him.

“That’s right.”

People who live by the sea are familiar with the legends of Manaphy.

“A long time ago, back when I was just a sailor.”

The Captain began to recount a story from his past.

“My father was an adventurer, and his dream was to find the legendary Temple of the Sea.”

The Captain was already in his sixties.

When he was in his twenties, he went to sea once with his father.

At that time, they only had a small boat and about a dozen companions.

“We had reached somewhere around this area,”

The Captain reminisced, “when suddenly all our equipment failed for some unknown reason.”

“Then the storm hit.”

“Our boat couldn’t withstand a storm like that and quickly capsized.”

Over forty years ago, amid a hurricane rain at sea.

“Akishi, hold onto Blastoise’s cannons!”

Young Captain, in fact, couldn’t hear what his father was shouting clearly. He just instinctively wanted to grab onto his father’s Blastoise.

But then, a massive wave suddenly hit.

Rumble~

Thunder roared.

The waves crashed, and even a Pokémon like Blastoise couldn’t withstand such surges.

They were swept underwater.

The swirling currents made it impossible for them to control their bodies.

At that moment, everyone was about to lose hope.

But then—

“Dragonite~”

A silhouette of orange-yellow sped through the sky.

It was a Dragonite.

After diving into the sea, Dragonite rescued them one by one.

Once the Captain was pulled up by Dragonite, he saw an ice floe on the water's surface.

Everyone from their boat was there.

Dragonite pushed the ice floe, safely escorting them to an island.

The captain looked at Natsume and said, “My father said that Dragonite is known as the guardian of the sea.”

“They often rescue shipwrecked survivors in the sea.”

“I think that’s why there are legends of Dragon Islands all around the world.”

Natsume looked at his Dragonite.

It was curiously circling around a Dragonite statue.

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite noticed Natsume’s gaze and turned to look at him, goofily mimicking the statue's pose.

The captain watched this scene and said with emotion, “Because of this, finding the legendary Dragon Island became my dream.”

“Regrettably, although I have occasionally seen Dragonite flying across this sea, I haven’t found that island.”

“So, I think that the so-called Dragon Island might just be a figment of people’s imagination.”

“I believe that there are Dragonites in the sea, but they are just freely living in this ocean.”

This was the captain's story.

“Captain, we need to go now.”

The chief officer came over and quietly reminded him.

“Got it.”

Natsume stood up and said, “Thanks for the hospitality; we’ll take our leave now.”

The captain smiled and replied, “Safe travels to you all.”

Natsume went to the amusement area on the ship.

At that moment, Manaphy and the others were in the pool, holding glow sticks they found somewhere, waving them in sync with the DJ’s rhythm on stage.

“Having a good time, are we?”

Natsume walked over to Manaphy and smiled.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy handed one of the glow sticks to Natsume.

Natsume took it and asked, “Do you want to play a bit longer?”

Manaphy looked around.

“Manaphy~”

Manaphy suddenly understood that they were preparing to leave.

Manaphy patted Wartortle and Marshtomp.

“Wartortle.”

Wartortle looked like it hadn’t had enough fun yet.

Natsume said, “If you like playing, I’ll take you to the water park in Minato-machi when we get back.”

“That place is much bigger than here.”

“Wartortle?”

Natsume patted Wartortle’s head. “Of course, we’ll definitely go together.”

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite pointed to the statue.

Dragonite asked Natsume if it could take it with them.

“Of course not.”

“However, I can help you make a statue that looks just like you.”

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite gestured to show a pose.

Natsume laughed. “No problem, let’s go with that pose.”

“Then let’s go.”

After saying that, Natsume used Teleport to take everyone back to Lapras No. 1.

Once back on the ship, Wartortle, who had just been very excited, suddenly felt tired.

“Wartortle~”

Wartortle lazily flopped down beside the pool on the ship.

Manaphy returned to the water to continue guiding their journey.

“Natsume, it seems like Manaphy has suddenly changed course~”

Watanabe came over to show Natsume the current navigation route.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“We just need to follow Manaphy.”

Natsume thought to himself as he looked at Manaphy in the water, “So this is the route to Dragon Island, huh?”

Although the captain of the cruise ship believed that Dragon Island didn’t exist in the legends, Manaphy had already given Natsume a definite answer.

Dragon Island was somewhere in these waters!

As night fell over the sea,

“It looks like it’s going to rain today.”

Watanabe stood by the window in the cabin, gazing at the rolling waves outside.

Splash, splash.

Just as Watanabe was speaking, heavy rain suddenly began to pour down.

The sea lit up with faint light.

A school of Chinchou surfaced from the water.

Their gathered light illuminated the dark ocean.

Under the rain curtain, the waves rolled.

Lapras No. 1 rocked back and forth on the waves, like a pirate ship at an amusement park.

“May Lugia bless us.”

Watanabe returned to the sofa and sat down. “I hope this storm calms down a bit.”

Natsume smiled slightly at Watanabe. “Maybe this hurricane rain is related to Lugia.”

Watanabe thought for a moment and raised his glass. “That makes sense.”

After finishing the drink, Watanabe stood up and said, “I’ll head back to my room for some rest.”

Natsume raised his glass. “Cheers.”

“Indeedee.”

Indeedee noticed that Natsume didn’t seem to have any plans to rest and asked if it should prepare some snacks.

“Sure, that would be great. Thanks, Indeedee.”

Indeedee smiled at Natsume, then headed toward the kitchen.

Onami emerged from her room, wrapped in a robe.

As she came out, she saw Natsume sitting on the soft sofa, holding Gardevoir.

On the table in front of the sofa were grilled meats and drinks.

Beneath the table, Frogadier and the others were already fast asleep.

In the dimly lit cabin, the large TV flickered with light.

Natsume and the others were watching a disaster movie set at sea.

This disaster movie fit perfectly with the current weather outside.

“Living life to the fullest, Natsume, the gym leader.”

Onami teased, walking over to Natsume with a smile.

“Want to share some food?”

Natsume invited her.

“No, I feel like I might be a distraction here.”

Just as Onami said this, the ship swayed again.

“Ah!”

Onami stumbled toward Natsume with a soft yelp.

Her reflexes were quick.

She reached out with both hands and managed to brace herself against Natsume's thigh.

Natsume steadied Onami as he looked ahead, the view completely white.

They even swayed a bit with the rocking of the ship.

Natsume instinctively glanced down at her.

Onami certainly noticed Natsume’s gaze.

A blush crept up to her neck.

Trying to maintain her composure, Onami adjusted her collar and feigned indifference as she said, “I, I’ll head back to my room now.”

As soon as Onami said this, the ship suddenly rocked again.

“Ah!”

It was just like the previous scene.

Onami lowered her head, looking at Natsume's body, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.

While the ship rocked, interestingly, the surface of the sea outside seemed somewhat calm.

Yet the heavy rain continued to fall.

It was as if Onami just realized something as she shot a glare at Natsume. “You did that on purpose.”

Onami knew that Natsume’s Psychic abilities were quite strong.

Natsume replied, slightly embarrassed, “How about you eat something?”

Onami hesitated for a moment, then decided to sit down alongside Natsume’s leg.

Natsume cast a helpless glance at Gardevoir.

Gardevoir smiled and used Telepathy to talk to Natsume, “But this is what Natsume is thinking.”

“Or do you want me to take Miss Onami back to her room?”

Natsume glanced at Onami sitting beside him and replied honestly, “No, this is fine.”

Onami truly embodied the beauty of the East.

She had a tall figure with graceful curves.

Her sunflower-seed-shaped face featured willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, which sparkled with warmth and tenderness.

Her waist was like a water snake, soft and smooth.

Her skin was like porcelain, and her delicate wrists were snowy white.

No matter how you looked at Onami, she was absolutely captivating.

At that moment, Onami felt a bit flustered as well.

She thought, “Did Natsume, the gym leader, just react to my body?”

“He wouldn’t think that I did it on purpose, would he?”

If the first incident was a coincidence, then the second sway of the ship was definitely intentional.

Of course, Onami wouldn’t suspect Gardevoir.

Additionally, Onami actually had feelings for Natsume.

A near-legendary Trainer, with Champion-level strength and many legendary experiences.

No one would refuse someone like that.

While Onami was lost in her thoughts, Gardevoir's previously cheerful expression suddenly became somewhat unusual.

“Natsume, someone is coming.”

Gardevoir alerted Natsume to her discovery.

Natsume paused, slightly surprised by Gardevoir's words.

“Onami.”

“What’s up?”

Onami maintained her composure.

Although she was contemplating what Natsume intended, her expression appeared as if she was deeply engrossed in a serious movie.

The film was currently at a crisis point.

A group of poachers was planning to raid the cruise ship in the film.

“I’m going out with Gardevoir to check on the newcomers; you stay here.”

Onami froze for a moment.

The scene changed too quickly for her to react.

Natsume and Gardevoir had already vanished from sight.

Amid the choppy waves, several Sharpedo emerged.

Men in black diving suits were riding on their backs.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

One of them looked a bit nervous. “That’s a Trainer with a Dragonite.”

“What are you so scared of?”

The chief officer, who Natsume had faced earlier, looked greedily at Lapras No. 1.

“That’s a Manaphy! If we can capture Manaphy, not only will we get rich, but we might even find the Temple of the Sea from the legends and gain control over the seas!”

“Even if we fail, he surely wouldn’t kill us, right?”

“At worst, we’d just spend a few years in Pokémon prison.”

The chief officer continued to encourage the others: “So, what’s the matter?”

“You’re not really scared, are you?”

“Who’s afraid?”

One sailor pulled out a Poké Ball and said, “Let’s just follow the plan we discussed.”

After saying this, he released his Pokémon: “Come forth, Misdreavus.”

“Misdreavus, take this bag of Sleep Powder and spread it in the cabin, but be careful not to be discovered!”

Misdreavus nodded slightly.

Natsume looked at the group scheming in front of him with mild disbelief.

Gardevoir could perceive human emotions.

When they approached, exuding negative intentions, it had already sensed them.

So Gardevoir teleported Natsume right next to them to overhear their plans.

As for why they couldn’t see Natsume, it was quite simple—it was a basic illusion technique.

Natsume glanced at their Pokémon.

There were several Sharpedo that were even below level 40.

And a level 45 Misdreavus.

These were the Pokémon they had temporarily released.

Natsume couldn’t help but say, “I have to ask, isn’t your plan a bit too simple?”

The chief officer instinctively replied, “The simpler it is, the less likely to go wrong.”

As he spoke, he suddenly froze while facing Natsume.

Cold sweat ran down his back.

From the chief officer’s perspective,

Natsume had just appeared before him out of nowhere, staring directly at him.

What frightened him even more was that behind Natsume, a massive "sea creature" was rising.

Its cold, piercing gaze was fixed on them.

“...Natsume, the gym leader.”

“That’s right! We really just wanted to take a look Manaphy!”

Natsume ignored their words and, looking slightly bewildered, asked them, “You must have some other plans, right?”

“Let’s hear it.”

The chief officer responded nervously, “We really only wanted to knock you out and then take Manaphy.”

Natsume turned to Gardevoir.

Gardevoir nodded slightly.

What they said was true.

That was indeed their plan.

After a moment of silence, Natsume asked, “What gave you the courage?”

“Because of Manaphy.”

The chief officer suddenly said, “You let Manaphy play freely on our ship; to me, it seemed like a walking treasure trove beckoning to us.”

“Natsume, the gym leader, should understand our perspective, right?”

People who live at sea are certainly aware of the legends surrounding Manaphy.

They were gazing at legends right in front of them.

Perhaps at first, they could endure.

But as they kept watching the cheerful Manaphy, with its seemingly harmless demeanor, greed suddenly broke through their reason.

Natsume looked at them and said, “So you’re blaming me for not keeping Manaphy hidden and letting it entice you?”

The chief officer lowered his head nervously. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Natsume could say this because of his confidence in his own strength.

However, Natsume wasn’t interested in saying anything further.

He looked disinterestedly at the Wishiwashi Ruler beside him and said, “It’s up to you now.”

After saying that, Natsume turned and walked back toward the ship.

“No, help! Help!”

The chief officer and the others looked at the waves stirred up by Wishiwashi Ruler, their faces displaying fear.

They screamed in desperation.

However, their cries were drowned out by the wind and waves.

No, there were still Pokémon that could hear them.

“Dragonite!”

From the dark clouds, a yellow figure raced toward them.