Want to read ahead. You know where
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Lapras Island
"Luka~!"
"Hiss~!"
Lucario and Darkrai exchanged baffled looks as they watched the small scene unfold.
Little Lugia was completely absorbed in eating, shoving energy cube after energy cube into his beak with pure delight on his face, humming contentedly between bites.
"Luka~!" he chirped again, his stubby wings flapping with joy.
Lucario glanced sideways at Darkrai, eyes narrowed in confusion.
His expression practically spoke for him:
'It's just an energy cube. What's the big deal?'
Darkrai gave a nonchalant shrug.
"Hiss~."
He had no idea either.
It wasn't really surprising that they couldn't understand Lugia's enthusiasm.
Especially not Lucario, whom Sam raised since he was a Riolu.
From a young age, he'd been fed the best, thick, juicy steaks, top-grade Moomoo Milk imported from Kanto, and carefully prepared meals tailored to maximize his power and growth.
Darkrai was no different.
Ever since joining Sam's team, he'd been living in luxury, high-calorie, nutrient-rich dishes fit for a legendary Pokémon.
So to them, energy cubes were just… filler—emergency food.
But for little Lugia, it was a revelation.
Raised in the wild on the remote Whirlpool Islands, his meals had always been limited to watery sea plants or bitter fruits plucked from wind-battered trees.
Nothing sweet. Nothing savory.
Nothing made by humans with Pokémon nutrition in mind.
Sam was the first human he had ever met.
And these were the first real treats he'd ever tasted.
"Easy there," Sam said, chuckling as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a few more cubes along with some plump berries.
"No one's stealing your food. There's plenty more where that came from."
"Lili~!" Lugia chirped again, cheeks puffed out as he tried to chew and smile at the same time.
Food had completely taken over his brain.
He didn't even notice Darkrai anymore.
The fear he once had toward the shadowy Pokémon had completely vanished.
All that existed in his world now was the warmth of Sam's hand and the taste of those heavenly treats.
Northern Whirlpool Island, "Sea God Island"
Far to the north, a secluded piece of land jutted out from the sea.
Locals called it Sea God Island.
It was sacred ground, rumored to be the home of Lugia, the Guardian of the Seas.
The elders of the nearby villages had long forbidden anyone from approaching.
Disturbing the sea god, they said, could bring disaster upon them all.
A sudden gust of sea wind swept over the island as a shadow fell from the sky.
Wings nearly thirty meters wide cut through the air before landing softly on the rugged coast.
It was her.
Little Lugia's mother.
She dropped the bundle of food she had gathered onto the ground, bundles of damp water plants, and a few gnarled, dull-skinned berries that wouldn't have sold for a single coin at any market.
But these were the kind of meals her child was used to.
And it had taken her hours to collect them.
The berries, especially, were hard to come by.
She had flown across several uninhabited islands, scouring each one for anything remotely edible.
With no humans nearby, no cultivation, and salt spray from the sea damaging most crops, she could only find the scraggly remains of wild plants.
Still, she brought back what she could.
She looked around.
No sign of little Lugia.
That didn't alarm her at first.
Her child was playful by nature, always wandering off to explore the coastline or dive into the waves.
He always came back when he was hungry.
She curled up on the island's rocky perch, letting herself doze in the evening breeze.
Time passed.
The sun sank into the sea. The sky dimmed from gold to gray, and then to black.
Still no sign of him.
A flicker of unease crept into her heart.
She rose slowly, eyes scanning the sea.
The waters lapped quietly against the shore.
No ripples of playful wings, no chirping calls in the wind.
She stretched out her aura, but there was nothing.
By the time full darkness settled over the ocean, her unease had turned to panic.
She let out a cry, a deep, echoing call that reverberated across the waves.
But there was no answer.
For a being as powerful as her, fear wasn't something that came easily.
But now…
Now, she felt it.
That cold weight pressing against her chest.
An ominous feeling that something wasn't right.
Lugia were among the most powerful species in the world, guardians of the deep, feared and respected even by legendary Pokémon.
Properly raised, nurtured, and trained, her child would grow into a force strong enough to command the seas themselves.
But right now, little Lugia was still just that, a child.
Vulnerable. Curious.
Unaware of the dangers lurking beyond the safety of his island home.
And she had no idea where he had gone.
The young one's strength was still weak.
If someone with bad motives found him...
It would be all too easy to capture him.
The thought struck her hard, her most cherished child, taken away by humans.
Mother Lugia's heart clenched with dread, and then fury.
The emotions surged, wild and uncontrollable, crashing over her like a tidal wave.
Dark, ominous thoughts spiraled in her mind.
With a powerful beat of her massive wings, she launched into the sky from Sea God Island.
Far above the ocean, her wings cut through the storm-heavy air.
A brilliant red glow began to pulse from her body, her aura surging to life.
She unlocked the dormant Psychic power within her.
She reached out.
"Feel..."
A faint, familiar presence flickered at the edge of her perception.
She found him, little Lugia.
The tightness in her chest eased for a moment.
But then, her breath caught.
There was a human.
A human… right beside her child.
That calm vanished.
Her body tensed.
Her eyes flared.
They had taken him.
Just like I feared.
The moment her thoughts turned vengeful, the world responded.
Storm clouds churned and spiraled in the sky above her.
The sea roared, crashing against the shores below with violent waves.
The winds howled, twisting and screaming.
Bolts of lightning tore across the heavens, splitting the night open.
Rain poured from above, sharp and blinding.
At the center of it all, Mother Lugia floated, her fury growing with every beat of her heart.
A mother who sensed her child had been stolen.
A mother whose wrath now awakened the sea itself.
A mother who would destroy everything in her path to get her child back.
"Humans…"
"You dared to take my child…"
"You will not be forgiven."
"You… will not live!"
With a thunderous cry, Mother Lugia threw her wings wide and soared forward like a missile of divine judgment.
She shot across the sky, slicing through the storm she had summoned.
Her destination: Lapras Island.
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Lapras Island
Sam sat comfortably inside the island cottage, enjoying a late dinner.
The kitchen had the warm aroma of grilled meat and spices.
A peaceful scene.
At least, until you looked at the table.
Little Lugia sat beside it, no, hovered around it, like a bottomless pit with wings.
He had already devoured every last energy cube in Sam's backpack.
And somehow, it still wasn't enough.
His big, round eyes blinked up at Sam, wide with silent pleading.
That innocent, pitiful expression…
No one could resist that.
Sam sighed, chuckling helplessly.
"You're worse than Snorlax, you know that?"
He got up and made his way to the kitchen, pulling out more supplies.
A fresh cut of steak.
A few ripe berries. Some warm broth for digestion.
"Guess I'll have to start cooking in bulk if you're sticking around," he muttered, slicing the steak with practiced ease.
Outside, the wind began to howl.
Lightning cracked through the sky, thunder rolling behind it.
Sam frowned and glanced out the window.
"Island weather's wild as always…"
But then, during a sudden, blinding flash of lightning, he caught sight of something.
A silhouette against the storm clouds.
Large.
Majestic.
Silver-white wings stretched wide.
The air around it shimmered with raw energy.
A Lugia.
Another one.
But this one was bigger, massive.
And it was flying straight toward the island.
Sam froze, the knife still in his hand.
His eyes widened.
"…That's not good."