Following Ember's map, Cole and his companions sailed across the sea in their small boat for two days and two nights.
Gyarados's swift and steady swimming made the journey comfortable. Time passed quickly as Brionne and the others sang tunes while Cole meditated and practiced his Psychic Powers.
That day, just as Cole finished meditating, the sky began to darken.
"Looks like it's going to rain!"
Being Water-type Pokémon, Brionne and Gyarados were naturally sensitive to changes in sea weather, and they quickly nodded in agreement.
Cole studied the map for a moment before turning to Gyarados, "There should be a small island nearby. Let's stop there to regroup before continuing."
"Roar~"
Gyarados increased its speed, but before they could reach the island, a light drizzle began to fall.
Fortunately, it wasn't a storm. Cole retrieved a waterproof tent from his spatial backpack and set it up over the boat, keeping everyone dry.
The tent, specially prepared by Alfred, hadn't been used for camping yet but served perfectly as a cover. Cole had brought an umbrella too, though it was too small to protect the entire boat.
Just as they thought they were nearing the island marked on the map, Gyarados let out a startled cry.
Cole quickly opened the tent to investigate, only to find their boat surrounded by a school of Qwilfish.
The spiky Pokémon were ramming into the boat, making it rock dangerously. Cole was bewildered — what had provoked them?
Scanning around the boat, he spotted the cause: a small Qwilfish was tangled in some seaweed trailing behind them.
Ah, so that was it!
Cole felt exasperated — it had been unintentional. Couldn't they simply break the seaweed to free their friend? Why attack an innocent traveler?
Just as he stepped forward to tear away the seaweed, he heard a sharp crack. The floor gave way beneath his feet, and he plunged straight into the water.
The Qwilfish's attacks broke apart the boat, sending Cole, Brionne, Daisy, Kricketune, and Chatot tumbling into the water.
Though Chatot and Kricketune tried to fly, the tent covering dragged them into the sea. Fortunately, Brionne — being a skilled swimmer — quickly pulled them to safety.
Daisy had already teleported onto Gyarados's back and effortlessly lifted Cole out of the water.
Angered by the boat's destruction, Daisy unleashed her Psychic Powers on the Qwilfish, causing them to float belly-up (though merely unconscious).
Without shelter, Cole and his companions were drenched. In the cold December weather, Cole's lips had turned purple from the chill.
Suddenly, a massive black vortex materialized nearby, and from it emerged a simple ghost ship.
It could only be Mismagius and company's vessel.
When Ghost-type Pokémon gather in large numbers, they create a special energy field that distorts space, providing them with shelter and concealment.
This phenomenon explains the mysterious appearances and disappearances of ghost ships at sea, which often inspire supernatural legends.
While Cole had assumed Mismagius and the others had departed, they had been following his group all along.
Ghost-type Pokémon soon emerged from the ship, flying over to carry Cole's group aboard.
Safe from the rain at last, Cole retrieved dry towels to wipe himself and his Pokémon down. After changing into dry clothes, his vitality returned — and that's when Mismagius appeared.
"You've been following me this whole time?" Cole asked, bewildered.
"Misma~"
Mismagius nodded.
"But why?" Cole wondered.
"Misma~ Misma~ Misma~" — Aren't you searching for Milotic? I want to join you. Any Milotic you'd go to such lengths to find must be extraordinary.
Milotic has the power to calm creatures' emotions, and Mismagius hoped it might help little Misdreavus heal. This was why it had been quietly following Cole, only revealing itself when his group needed help.
Cole nodded thoughtfully. The Milotic he sought was one Ember had asked him to find. Anything that caught such a powerful woman's attention couldn't be ordinary. Perhaps it truly could help little Misdreavus.
"How is little Misdreavus doing now?" he asked.
"Misma~ Misma~"
Mismagius shook its head sadly, then looked at him hesitantly.
"Misma...Misma~" — Could you... could you let your Chikorita...
Before Mismagius could finish, Cole cut in, "No. What's the use of treating symptoms without curing the cause?"
"If it's not your child, you don't care about their suffering? Losing leaves constantly takes a toll on Chikorita too. That was necessary before, but not anymore."
Though disappointed by his refusal, Mismagius didn't press the issue. Cole was right — treating symptoms without addressing the root cause would only create false hope.
"Since you want to join our search for Milotic, could we travel on your ship?" Cole asked.
"Misma~"
Mismagius nodded — they wouldn't have rescued them earlier if they weren't willing to help.
Mismagius and the others arranged a room for Cole's group on the ghost ship. Though bare inside, it was more comfortable than their small boat — at least they were sheltered from the elements.
Cole checked on little Misdreavus, which remained frenzied and tried to attack anyone in sight. It was still confined in the containment device from the Weather Institute.
Such a pitiful sight — he hoped Milotic could truly help it.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
The light rain continued through the night, finally stopping at dawn.
When morning sunlight broke through the clouds, Cole savored its warmth.
Ghost-type Pokémon dislike bright sunlight, so they retreated to the ship's cabin, leaving Cole alone on deck to breathe in the fresh post-rain air.
Suddenly, he heard a "tap tap tap" sound. A yellow pony appeared, running joyfully across the water and creating ripples across the calm sea surface.
Behind it followed a group of Lumineon and Finneon. As they leaped from the water, their bodies gleamed with prismatic light in the sun — truly deserving their nickname as butterflies of the sea.
Cole felt as though he were watching a free contest spectacular.
The pony moved so swiftly that it soon vanished from view, along with the beautiful fish.
It took him a moment to process what he'd seen — could that have been Keldeo?
He hadn't expected that stepping out for morning air would grant him a glimpse of a Mythical Pokémon.
Unfortunately, it moved too fast and disappeared before he could get a proper look — what a shame.
Keldeo's appearance was just a brief interlude in his journey. Afterward, he continued toward his destination aboard the ghost ship, which proved much faster than their small boat had been.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Two days later, Cole studied the map in his hand and said to Mismagius, "We should be getting close, but I wonder if we'll be able to find Milotic."
Milotic is a living Pokémon after all — who knows if it'll even be home? Just thinking about making this journey for nothing makes me want to spit blood.
"Misma~ Misma~" — Then let's speed up!
Mismagius was even more eager than him. At its command, the ghost ship suddenly accelerated, and Cole felt the sea breeze rush past his cheeks.
Though in truth, the sea air was perfectly still at that moment.
About an hour later, the ghost ship entered new waters, and immediately rain began falling from the sky.
Rain again? Cole looked up, stunned to see the sun still shining brightly overhead.
"ROAR!!!"
A dragon's cry pierced the air as dark clouds gathered nearby, golden lightning flashing within them.
The roar seemed to come from directly beneath those clouds.
As the ghost ship drew closer and the rain intensified, they finally spotted the source of that dragon's cry.
A Dragonite.
The creature darted across the sea's surface while lightning repeatedly struck at its head.
At first, they couldn't identify what was controlling the lightning attacks. But when Dragonite used Whirlwind to partially clear the clouds, they spotted a black and yellow bird Pokémon weaving through the sky.
It was a Kilowattrel.
Though Kilowattrel are common sea Pokémon, this one was extraordinary — powerful enough to challenge a Dragonite and clearly driving it to frustration.
Its incredible speed and ability to use the thunderstorm as cover allowed it to run circles around the larger Pokémon.
The battle between these powerful creatures created quite a spectacle. But since they were blocking the ship's path, Mismagius had no choice but to stop and wait for them to finish.
Dragonite, pushed to its limit by Kilowattrel's guerrilla tactics, looked skyward as a golden energy ball formed in its mouth.
In the next instant, the energy ball shot into the clouds like a cannonball, exploding with a thunderous boom. Countless meteors rained down, immediately dispersing the dark clouds and flooding the sky with light.
The meteors continued to burst like fireworks overhead. Caught off guard by Dragonite's sudden powerful attack, Kilowattrel frantically weaved between the falling meteors.
Thanks to its exceptional speed and agility, Kilowattrel managed to dodge each meteor by a hair's breadth.
The ghost ship wasn't spared from Dragonite's Draco Meteor — fragments of meteors nearly struck the vessel several times, though Mismagius blocked them just in time.
Cole stood beside Mismagius, watching in terror as the flaming rocks fell around them. Suddenly, he heard a thud on the deck nearby and spotted a blue object.
"What's that?" Cole asked curiously.
"Misma~ Misma~" — Don't know, looks like a Pokémon.
Mismagius shook its head and replied.
Cole approached and picked up the mysterious object, discovering it was indeed a Pokémon.
It was a Swablu, curled into a ball. Its white, downy feathers were soaked through, making it resemble a drowned chicken — completely unlike its usual appearance.
The unconscious Swablu bore obvious injuries, likely from being caught in Dragonite's Draco Meteor. Its small body trembled from the cold and rain.
Cole quickly found Daisy and had it use Heal Pulse. He then squeezed some berry juice for Swablu to drink, dried its feathers with a towel, and tucked it against his chest for warmth.
By the time he finished tending to Swablu, Dragonite and Kilowattrel were still locked in battle.
Despite Dragonite's Draco Meteor piercing the clouds, Kilowattrel's incredible speed had kept it completely unscathed.
Emboldened, Kilowattrel began taunting Dragonite, darting in close with Quick Attack to harass it. Between its natural speed and Quick Attack's boost, Dragonite couldn't land a single hit — not with Dragon Claw, Ice Punch, or even Dragon Tail.
Kilowattrel's taunting persisted.
"Come on, hit me! Try using Draco Meteor again!"
But Kilowattrel was flying so close that using Draco Meteor would have been suicidal — how could Dragonite attack without destroying itself too?
"ROAR!!!!"
Finally pushed past its limit by the taunting, Dragonite let out a sky-shaking roar. In a desperate move, it slapped both hands against the sea surface, using Whirlwind to raise massive waves before unleashing a bone-chilling breath.
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh~~~
Fierce winds swept across the sea, carrying torrents of ice and snow.
Dragonite had unleashed Blizzard with itself at the epicenter, engulfing both itself and Kilowattrel in the freezing storm.
In the cold winter season, Dragonite — being both Dragon and Flying-type — was particularly vulnerable to such weather. Yet it had summoned this devastating storm anyway.
If Dragonite wasn't suffering from its own attack, who was?
✲✲✲
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