The massive mushroom cloud lingered above the sea for a long time, and debris from the explosion rained down onto the deck, leaving it in total disarray.
Fortunately, the Pokémon had used Protect in time to shield everyone from the attack. Otherwise, with an explosion at such close range, a single lapse in attention could've led to injuries.
Sato could no longer sense any sign of life within the explosion.
Clearly, even if there had still been people aboard the helicopter, they had been completely wiped out by the blast.
Sharpedo released its Mega Evolution state and silently returned to Sato's side, also looking up at the mushroom cloud in the sky…
Mega Stones were, after all, external tools. Sato had been deliberately reducing the frequency of using Mega Evolution.
So Sharpedo hadn't Mega Evolved in quite some time. Suddenly wielding such overwhelming power and blasting the enemy out of existence was something it hadn't expected at all.
Even now, Sharpedo was still a bit dazed.
Meredith and Kyle clung tightly to each other. It was their first time experiencing something like this as well, and they just kept thinking how dangerous, how terrifying the world was.
Kyle was holding up okay, but he stood there staring at the ship, his face full of pain.
Because the explosion had happened so close, the ship's overall structure was still intact, and the scattered debris wasn't the main issue. The problem was that the hull was now covered in small scratches and tiny wounds.
To a ship-loving captain… it was no different from being sliced open piece by piece. The pain was suffocating.
"Boss, what do we do now?" Mark asked seriously, wearing nothing but swim trunks and holding Manaphy in his arms.
"Forward. Keep moving forward," Sato said without hesitation.
The place they were most likely to have been exposed was Pastoria City. Going back now would be the same as telling the enemy, 'you're welcome to try again.'
And after this failed ambush, once the other side realized they'd lost contact, they'd likely send a second or even third wave.
If they weren't being tracked right now, then their safety level had actually increased considerably.
---
Once everyone calmed down, they all agreed with Sato's decision. They weren't fools, they knew this was the best course of action.
At the same time, though, the fact that the enemy had reacted so quickly and organized a surprise attack meant they had their sights on Manaphy for a while.
And if they'd considered that the first strike might not succeed, then they definitely had backup plans in place.
So, the first thing Sato and the others had to do now was thoroughly inspect the entire ship to see if the enemy had planted any tracking devices.
Half an hour later, Gengar, Gallade, and Floatzel each found a different tracker: one in the cabin's interlayer, one on the ceiling, and one at the bottom rear of the hull. Each had a different model and frequency.
"They really went all out, planted this many trackers in one go," Sato said, then immediately ordered Gengar to destroy them all. Completely, down to ashes.
"We're sorry… we really don't know how so many trackers ended up on the ship," Meredith said, her face pale.
Since the ship and supplies had all been prepared by them, this slip-up was on them; they couldn't avoid the blame.
Especially after witnessing just a glimpse of Sato's power…
"Keep checking. This time, don't just look for trackers, go over all the supplies as well," Sato said nothing else, simply relying on past-life experience to stay as cautious as possible.
"Leave the rest to us. We swear nothing else will go wrong!" Meredith said with conviction.
"Let's all do it together. We're all on the same ship now. Kyle, take me to the control room," Sato said, shaking his head and turning to Kyle.
"Alright, come with me." Kyle didn't ask what for. He gently patted Meredith on the shoulder, then turned and walked toward the control room.
Once the two entered, Kyle turned to look at Sato, seemingly waiting for instructions.
"We're going to shut down all the ship's communication devices. We need to truly vanish on the sea."
"That's not a good idea. Without incoming information, we won't know what lies ahead during the journey. That's too dangerous," Kyle instinctively objected.
"And you call yourself one of the People of the Water? Right now, Manaphy is leading the way for us. If it really is the 'Prince of the Sea', then avoiding dangers at sea should be instinctual for it."
Kyle fell silent. He couldn't refute Sato's words. Thinking back on the enemy they had just encountered, he could only turn quietly to the dashboard and begin operating.
Soon, Kyle had shut down most of the systems. When he finished, his face actually showed a bit of relief.
…At the very least, if they encountered another ambush, it wouldn't be due to something on their end.
---
While Sato and Kyle were shutting down communication in the control room, Joseph, Mark, and Meredith were also busy inspecting the supplies.
By the time Sato returned to the cabin, two more trackers had been placed on the table.
Sato sank into deep thought. He had originally believed the ambush and trackers were all orchestrated by Cyrus.
But what made him suspicious was the sheer madness of planting five separate trackers across the ship in one go, this felt more like the work of small underground assassination and tracking organizations.
Right now, the Galactic Holdings behind Cyrus still had a publicly positive image. Even if things changed in the future, an organization of that scale would operate with far more restraint and wouldn't act with such disturbing caution.
Of course, he couldn't draw conclusions just from speculation. Thankfully, the ship had already undergone two rounds of meticulous inspection, and all communications had been shut down.
Now, if the enemy still wanted to locate and ambush them easily… that was impossible.
Time slowly passed as the ship continued its journey. After that attack, Manaphy had "matured" a lot… and quieted down even more.
Aside from using its powers to sense the path forward at sea, Manaphy barely left the ship. It obediently stayed by Mark's side all day, rarely even acting spoiled anymore.
While this brought Mark some relief, it also filled him with guilt. He felt he hadn't protected Manaphy well, letting it shoulder so much at such a young age.
But as a Mythical Pokémon, Manaphy was born extraordinary. The powers granted to it by the "Original One" also came with responsibilities to bear.
Good or bad… there was no simple way to judge.
The ship continued sailing without any external contact for more than a full week. During that time, they didn't encounter a single bout of bad weather.
Aside from slightly larger waves, nothing else was unusual.
The title of Prince of the Sea was finally beginning to show its weight!
And throughout the week, there were no further attacks or incidents.
The only thing that changed each day was the group of marine Pokémon following the ship, replaced again and again, ranging from massive Wailord to tiny Tympole, all kinds of species appearing.