Whimsicott stepped onto the warm, silver-white beach, where the sea glittered beneath the sunlight.
The pleasant ocean breeze washed over her face, instantly refreshing her after that frustrating trek through the forest. Her mood brightened considerably.
Whimsicott almost wanted to cry tears of relief. All that effort hadn't been for nothing after all. As long as she kept moving forward, she was bound to find the right path!
So 'this' was why the forest had been so quiet, most of Luther and Mai's Pokémon were hanging out by the sea.
Milcery was building a sandcastle with Chansey's help. Surprisingly, Milcery was actually great at it. Her half of the castle had crisp edges and a solid shape, while Chansey's side looked ready to collapse at any second.
Milcery eventually couldn't stand looking at it anymore and hopped over to help.
When it came to housework, Chansey was second to none. Sandcastles, however, clearly weren't her strong suit. Embarrassed, she could only follow Milcery's instructions and lend a hand wherever she was told.
Not far away, Nidorina was buried up to her neck in the sand, with someone having placed an enormous leaf over her head as a makeshift parasol.
Looking at Nidorina right now, saying she had "one foot in the grave" would've felt a little too literal, and more than a bit unsettling.
It had started when Nidorina was digging around in the sand and caught Milcery's attention. Milcery casually suggested digging a hole and burying her to see what it felt like.
Nidorina thought that sounded fun and immediately flopped down. Houndoom, Arcanine, and Milcery then piled sand over her until she completely disappeared underneath, looking like some sort of giant grub.
With the direct sunlight blocked and warm sand wrapped around her, Nidorina found it surprisingly comfortable.
A soaking-wet Arcanine lay beneath the shade of a tree at the edge of the beach. Weather this hot was miserable for a Pokémon with such thick fur.
Luckily, whenever Mai's Chinchou and Corsola came ashore to rest, they sprayed him down with water to cool him off. Otherwise, he would've headed back to camp long ago.
Chansey had already suggested giving him a trim once Luther returned that evening; otherwise, Arcanine would barely be able to play with the others in this heat.
Chansey understood perfectly why Arcanine stubbornly refused to go back. He had just moved from Professor Rowan's laboratory into an unfamiliar environment and met a whole group of new companions.
He wanted to spend as much time around them as possible, make himself known, and blend into the group faster.
The three Misdreavus who had arrived on the island that morning felt the same way. They hadn't even been willing to wait until evening, immediately begging Dusknoir to take them around so they could familiarize themselves with their new home and companions as quickly as possible.
Because of the damage to Arcanine's body, he could no longer handle intense battles. His life would likely be much more relaxed from now on, but Arcanine didn't mind at all.
Luther had promised long ago that once he had a proper home, Arcanine would be among the first Pokémon brought over. Whether Arcanine could still battle well had never mattered to him.
"I already have plenty of Pokémon who can fight," Luther had told him. "I'm not short on battlers. I just want a big, fluffy dog around the house, and I like having you pounce on me when I come home."
And Luther had kept his word. Arcanine really had been in the first group brought to the island, which touched him deeply. If Luther hadn't happened to be away when he arrived, Arcanine would've loved to test out that whole "pouncing on him" routine right then and there.
They were both canine Pokémon, but compared to Arcanine, Houndoom handled the heat much better. Weather like this was practically ideal for him. He lay near the water's edge with his paws resting in the damp sand where the waves lapped over them, peacefully enjoying an afternoon nap.
During his recent activities, though, Houndoom had gradually noticed something strange. A secret, really, a gift that neither he nor Luther had realized was there before.
On the night Ho-Oh used its flames to revive Mira, stray sparks had entered the bodies of every Pokémon present. At the time, Houndoom had only felt a pleasant warmth spread through him, as if he'd suddenly gotten a boost of energy.
Later, he'd asked Gardevoir, Espurr, and the others if they'd noticed anything unusual, but none of them could give him a clear answer. So Houndoom assumed he'd just imagined it.
Over the past month or so, however, Houndoom realized he didn't get sleepy as easily anymore.
That constant urge to doze off at any given moment had disappeared. In its place, his body felt noticeably lighter and more agile, allowing him to pull off movements he used to struggle with.
One day, he secretly dragged Darkrai over as a training dummy and discovered something even stranger. After using his moves, he no longer felt that familiar weakness that used to leave him on the verge of passing out.
His old limit of only being able to use three moves before running out of stamina was completely gone.
Inferno. Fire Blast. Flamethrower. Flame Charge. Fire Fang.
Houndoom had taken turns throwing all of them at Darkrai.
At first, Darkrai assumed Houndoom just wanted to stay sharp and keep his body from getting rusty, so he agreed to spar. He hadn't expected the bastard to just keep going... and going.
Finally fed up, Darkrai blasted Houndoom away with a Dark Pulse. Feeling like he'd been punished for doing someone a favor, Darkrai let out an irritated snort, sank into the shadows, and vanished. He hadn't noticed anything unusual about Houndoom's condition at all.
Houndoom had heard that Luther would be bringing that talking Meowth to the island tonight, so he decided he would tell Luther about these changes and let him take a closer look.
If his suspicions were correct, then the gift Ho-Oh had given them was far greater than Luther had ever imagined, almost as generous as the blessings Ho-Oh had once bestowed upon the people of Ecruteak City.
Meanwhile, Whimsicott looked at the Pokémon gathered on the beach and happily started heading over. She decided to start with Houndoom, the imposing-looking one who had dragged Silver away that day.
Before she could reach him, however, Silver suddenly burst out of the ocean.
With her absurd natural strength, she launched herself clear out of the water. Corsola and Chinchou were held safely on her back with Psychic power, while Poliwhirl clung to her belly.
The three Pokémon leaned against Silver, and only after leaving the water did Silver look even slightly out of her element. As long as she was underwater, she was practically a natural-born ruler of the sea.
During that last dive, Silver had used sheer strength to drag Corsola and the others into deeper waters, even hauling up a Clamperl that had apparently been taking a nap.
Chikorita's eyes widened. She immediately dropped her Vine Whip and came running over, forcing her little follower Petilil to scramble after her.
They'd been fishing for days and hadn't managed to hook something like a Clamperl even once. Now 'this' was rare!
The dazzling sunlight woke Clamperl up. The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by more curious faces than she could count.
'Click.'
Clamperl instantly snapped her shell shut. Everyone watched as the shell sat there trembling on the sand.
Nidorina wriggled free from the sand, placed a paw on the shell, and lowered herself close to the ground, trying to peek through the crack.
Chansey pushed through the crowd, gently picked Clamperl up, and spoke softly to comfort her. Sensing no hostility in Chansey's voice, Clamperl cautiously cracked her shell open. The way she trembled made it obvious she would slam it shut again the moment anything felt off.
Silver had only dragged Clamperl up because she thought it would be fun. Seeing how nervous the little Pokémon was now, she awkwardly rubbed her head against Clamperl in apology.
The friendliness coming from everyone around her gradually put Clamperl at ease. She stopped being afraid and finally opened her shell all the way.
As all the Pokémon crowded around Clamperl, curiously asking her questions, Whimsicott stood off to the side, a realization dawning on her.
Was she... kind of invisible today?
(End of Chapter)
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