On the Cruise Ship
Two Trainers were battling on the deck.
"Butterfree, use Poison Powder!"
"Raticate, dodge and use Crunch!"
Butterfree's Trainer was a high school boy, while Raticate's was a middle-aged man.
The two were locked in a close fight.
To his surprise, Lin Yu ran into the Water-type Elite Four on the ship.
Shui Rourou was puzzled by his presence at first — but when she saw Manaphy, she understood at once.
This boy wanted to help Manaphy find the Sea Temple.
A noble heart.
"Word of the Sea Temple has already spread?" Lin Yu asked.
"Yeah. I have no idea who leaked it. Now people are scrambling to watch the temple rise, even booking entire cruise ships at any cost!"
Shui Rourou sighed helplessly.
She knew exactly who had spread the rumor. The culprit was probably even on this very ship — which was why she'd come here, to prevent trouble.
The sea here was already close to the Cherry Blossom Region.
In truth, Shui Rouhua was likely already aboard.
Lin Yu could sense it, too.
As soon as he'd stepped onto the ship, one woman had locked her gaze on Manaphy and never looked away.
The sudden, wild joy in her eyes blazed like a lighthouse in the night under his Wave Guiding Aura.
Far too obvious.
Lin Yu immediately grew wary of her.
From what the Water Elite Four had said, only she and the so-called Pirate Queen knew about Manaphy.
Anyone else who saw it would just think it was a rare Pokémon, nothing more.
So this woman had to be the Dragon Demon Queen.
But why did she look so much like the Water Elite Four?
"Mana~" (I wanna play in the ocean!)
Manaphy floated over to Latias and whined.
As time passed, the call of the sea grew stronger and stronger.
"Wait just a little longer, Manaphy."
Lin Yu held it back.
Not yet.
"Mana…" (Okay!)
Suddenly, chaos erupted.
Several people in colored outfits summoned their Pokémon.
Beedrill, Weezing, Arbok…
Weezing belched out toxic gas that filled the air.
"Team Rocket is clearing the deck! Hand over all your Pokémon — we only want wealth, not lives!"
The sudden chaos left Athena, sitting under a sunshade, completely dumbfounded.
She'd come to Qingshui City because she'd heard the champion of the Xiang Provincial High School Tournament was here.
As one of Team Rocket's Elite Four members, why hadn't she heard about any operation like this?
Weird.
"Heh. Let's see which fake crew is framing Team Rocket!"
Thinking this, Athena let herself be tied up by the "Rocket grunts" to play along.
"Team Rocket? Why them?"
Shui Rourou frowned in surprise.
Amid the chaos,
Lin Yu quickly put the Transform Mask on Manaphy, then told Latias via Wave Guiding Aura to Teleport away with it.
Before long, most people were restrained.
The fake Rocket grunts began seizing Pokémon.
A few Trainers tried to resist, but a single glare from a Braviary overhead silenced them.
A woman sat atop Braviary. It was Shui Rouhua.
Lin Yu scanned her with his Inspection Eye.
Level 59.
Only one level away from Elite Four!
Insanely strong.
Without Mega Evolution, he stood no chance.
In the next moment, she flew straight toward Lin Yu.
Shui Rouhua was confused. One blink, and Manaphy had vanished from the boy's side.
She couldn't even sense where it had gone!
"Kid, hand over Manaphy!"
Just as he'd thought — she was after Manaphy!
Lin Yu's heart sank.
But he pretended to have no clue. "Lady, what Manaphy?"
Shui Rouhua chuckled coldly and turned to the Water Elite Four.
"Sister, you have no idea what Manaphy's appearance means. I left that egg with you all those years ago, and now you've handed it to this brat!"
Shui Rourou knew her sister's personality all too well.
She spoke sharply at once.
"Save the nonsense. If you want to fight, take it to the sky! You don't want the League wiping out your pirate crew afterward, do you?"
"Grunts, seize this kid's Pokémon first!"
Shui Rouhua shouted. The fake Rocket members all fixed their gazes on Lin Yu.
She herself rode Braviary high into the sky,
with Shui Rourou chasing after her on her Swellow.
An Elite Four-level battle.
The deck couldn't handle that kind of power.
Even from dozens of kilometers away, the shockwaves of their clash could be felt here.
Lin Yu wasn't one to sit and wait.
His Wave Guiding Aura flared, and all his Pokémon burst out of their Poké Balls.
Gardevoir stood protectively in front of Lin Yu.
Charizard, Greninja, and Lucario lined up ahead.
These were pirates, not a formal Trainer battle.
After nearly losing Lin Yu once before, Gardevoir was hyper-focused on keeping him safe.
"Kid, don't act tough!"
Several fake Rocket grunts closed in.
"Just a bunch of losers?"
Lin Yu scanned them and felt no fear.
Scizor, Arbok, Weezing, Clefable… all around level 30 to 40!
"Arrogant fool! You think that's all we have?"
"Arbok, use Poison Sting!"
"Charizard, Ember!"
White fire clashed with purple poison needles, vaporizing them completely before surging toward Arbok.
"Clefable, Protect!"
A bright barrier flashed in front of Arbok and blocked the attack.
Dammit.
Lin Yu glanced around. The tourists who'd given up resistance were all restrained. A full-on Gym or Lord-tier battle was impossible here.
Worse, more pirates were hooking onto the ship's edge and climbing aboard.
They had reinforcements!
But before they could fully board,
a barrage of Water Guns blasted them into the sea!
"Lin Yu, I'm here to help!"
Telepathy?
A moment later, the water erupted with splashing.
Manaphy appeared, riding on a Wailmer, surrounded by a flock of Mantine soaring through the air!
"Mana~"
Manaphy grinned happily on its ride.
And it wasn't just Mantine. Beneath the ship, countless Water-type Pokémon waited — Wailord, Sharpedo, all kinds of sea Pokémon!
Lying in wait for the falling pirates.
Awesome!
My Manaphy's grown up!
The pirates who'd already climbed aboard stared in disbelief.
How had the tide turned so fast?
Lin Yu sent a command through Wave Guiding Aura.
"Gardevoir, use Psychic to restrain the pirates!
Charizard, Dragon Claw!
Greninja, Agility into Rasengan!"
Latias stayed in her human form, guarding Manaphy nearby!
This wasn't a formal Pokémon battle.
The lesson Gengar had taught him — Lin Yu would never forget.
But the entire scene was watched closely by Athena, hidden nearby.