"Brother, are you seriously renting diving gear again?"
The landlady gaped as Ethan adjusted the straps of the equipment she'd reluctantly handed him. "Do you really not value your life at all?"
She had thought her warnings a few days ago had sunk in. Clearly, she had overestimated him.
"I've already transferred some of my Water-types here from the Pokémon Center," Ethan explained calmly. "That should be enough to manage."
"You're underestimating the sea," she scolded, arms folded tight. "If something happens, your family will come after me for letting you rent this. I can't allow it."
Her nephew, the bronzed young man from before, cut in eagerly. "Auntie, let me take him. Ten minutes in the water for free, I promise. No problem at all."
"Ashan, are you sure?" she asked, worried.
"Of course. I'm a professional." He thumped his chest proudly. To prove it, he tossed a Poké Ball into the air. A sleek Tentacruel materialized, rippling with confidence. "See? I can handle anything out there."
The landlady's frown softened. "Ashan, you're amazing."
Ethan gave them both a long, flat stare. Two carbon-based creatures flirting while I'm right here. I swear, one day I'll toss one of them into the Distortion World and leave the other to explain.
He sighed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll sign a waiver. If I drown, it's on me."
Ten minutes later, waiver signed, Ethan walked to the beach in full gear. Waves pounded the shore under a dark, swollen sky. He glanced once at the treasure map in his hand, then released a Poké Ball.
The Red Gyarados emerged, coils massive against the crashing surf.
For the first time, it lowered its head without roaring, allowing Ethan to climb on.
"Well, that's progress," he murmured, patting its scales. He held the treasure map aloft. The faint lines glowed and shifted, pointing the way.
"Alright. Let's move. When we're back, Annihilape will give you another beating if you step out of line."
"ROOOAR!" Gyarados dove, splitting the sea as it carried Ethan beneath the waves.
The ocean grew darker as they descended. Ordinary Water-types scattered at the sight of the crimson leviathan. Seel, Shellder, Magikarp, Carvanha, Tentacool, and Horsea vanished in panicked bursts of bubbles.
Deeper still, the company changed—Lanturn flashing lights in warning, massive Mantine gliding like shadows, a Kingdra darting past with regal disdain, even a lone Dragonite patrolling far above.
Ethan checked the map. The parchment glowed, brighter now, as if resonating with something nearby.
"This way, Gyarados. Keep following."
The dragon surged onward, scattering foes with sweeps of its tail. Even the Kingdra backed off after a blast of Dragon Rage seared past its snout.
Finally, the path ended. Before them loomed the silhouette of a sunken ship, its hull split but its frame intact.
The map drifted from Ethan's hand, glowing as it hovered before the wreck.
"That's the place."
As they approached, a sudden blur streaked from the shadows—a Kingdra, its maw glowing with draconic energy.
"Dragon Breath—dodge!" Ethan barked.
Gyarados twisted, narrowly avoiding the blast, then countered with a roar. A surge of draconic fury burst from its throat, hammering Kingdra and sending it fleeing into the blackness.
"Good work." Ethan recalled the leviathan, its body too large to enter the narrow breach. Alone, he swam inside.
The interior was a grave. Corpses of sailors floated in twisted silence, some clutching rusted weapons, others slumped beside the skeletal remains of Pokémon. Ethan grimaced but pressed on, following the glowing map deeper into the wreck.
At last, he entered a chamber at the ship's heart.
There it was.
A single Silver Feather, glowing faintly, suspended in the water like a shard of moonlight.
Ethan's chest tightened. "Finally."
He swam closer, hand trembling as he plucked it free. The feather shimmered, warm even through his gloves.
"With this, Whirlpool Islands… Lugia." His voice was hushed, reverent. "Not yet, though. Wasting it now would be foolish. Patience."
He tucked it safely away.
Then something else caught his eye. A glint of metal half-buried under debris. He pulled it free—a weathered, spherical object.
An ancient Poké Ball.
Ethan turned it over in his hand. Its texture was rough, etched with unfamiliar markings. Old memories stirred—Mr. Fuji's lectures in Lavender Town, where he'd spoken of archaic capture devices long predating modern technology.
"There shouldn't be a Pokémon inside," Ethan muttered. "Even if there was, nothing could survive sealed for this long…"
His thumb brushed the switch. For a moment, he considered testing it.
Then caution won. "No. If it's dangerous and I release it here, in the deep sea… I'd die before I reached the surface."
He tucked it into his pack beside the feather. "Later. Somewhere safe."
Back on the surface, Gyarados carried him swiftly toward Cinnabar. Waves parted at its passage, scattering schools of Magikarp like chaff.
Half an hour later, they broke through the surface. The storm had worsened, waterspouts twisting against the horizon.
Ethan exhaled as the island came into view. "Almost home."
A shout carried across the waves.
"Help! Somebody help me!"
Ethan turned his head sharply. Not far away, a diver in full gear thrashed as a massive Wailmer pursued him, bellowing.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. Level thirty-five, at least.
"Gyarados—Hyper Beam!"
The crimson leviathan's maw lit with destructive energy. A second later, a blazing beam ripped through the sea. Wailmer bellowed in pain, retreating into the depths.
Ethan guided Gyarados closer, pulling the diver onto its back.
As the man removed his mask, both froze.
"You?!"
It was the bronzed "professional diver" from before. His face flushed crimson.
Ethan raised a brow, voice dripping with irony. "Professional?"
The young man turned away in shame, saying nothing.
Ethan only smirked, patting Gyarados's scales as the leviathan surged toward the safety of the shore.