Chapter Ninety-Seven: Prime Minister, Keep Quiet

Nicholas? Zhao Fang blinked in surprise. Of course he knew that legendary creature; it was counted among the great powers, after all. He only remembered that Nicholas seemed to have three forms, and that it had apparently been imprisoned somewhere, though he could not recall where exactly. He only vaguely remembered that it had something to do with the Alola region. Yet why would a place that looked like an ancient tower have any connection to Nicholas? That puzzled him.

Though bewildered, Celebi could say no more. Its body had completely dissolved, and the stone that had absorbed it was once again set into the crown of the tower. Darkness swallowed the interior anew. Zhao Fang’s mood sank. A legendary creature had died before his eyes.

And what was the Ultradimensional Stone Celebi had mentioned?

After regaining his composure, Zhao Fang recorded all of this in Chinese in a notebook. It was his private journal, containing information only he was meant to know, and everything in it was written in Chinese. Unless there were other world travelers here, he had no need to worry about his secrets being exposed.

Zhao Fang was awakened by the rocking of the ship. After setting down his notebook, he felt a wave of discomfort rise from his head. He could not help but sigh. He really needed to train his body properly; seasickness like this was no small matter. After all, many places in the Hoenn region required travel by ship.

With nothing better to do, Zhao Fang decided to go eat something, then head to the training room to work out his Pokemon.

The ocean had always been paradise for Water-type Pokemon. Gyarados would surely love the environment here.

Thinking of that, Zhao Fang stepped outside. It would take a full three days by ship to go from Dewford Town to Slateport City. The vastness of the sea left him feeling somewhat bored; after all, when he stood on deck and looked out, there was only ocean as far as the eye could see, with the occasional reef breaking the surface here and there.

“Everyone, please take a look! In these waters we’re passing through right now, there is a very special sight: a whole pod of Wailmer! It’s a truly rare scene!”

Just as Zhao Fang came out, he saw a girl in the uniform of an Alliance staff member, pointing excitedly toward the waters ahead.

Zhao Fang took an interest. He turned away from the direction of the dining hall, stepped out onto the deck, and followed the direction of the staff member’s finger. Sure enough, to the ship’s front right, columns of water were bursting up from the sea, and one Wailmer after another would emerge before diving back under.

“This is a medium-sized pod of Wailmer. To avoid any misunderstanding with the accompanying Wailord assigned to protect them, the ship will temporarily shut down its engines. Please do not send your Pokemon down to disturb the Wailmer.”

The crew member on the ship waved a flag in her hand. As she spoke, the vessel slowed to a stop. The rocking sensation vanished at once, and Zhao Fang let out a long breath.

In theory, since the staff had gone to such lengths to warn everyone, nothing else should have happened. But just as on his previous life’s airplanes, where the emergency exit doors were absolutely not to be touched and the flight attendants would repeat it countless times, yet there were always people who could not keep their hands to themselves—when the Wailmer pod was passing by the ship, a Thunderbolt struck one of the Wailmer cleanly. Caught off guard, the creature let out a mournful cry.

Zhao Fang turned his head and saw a yellow-haired man excitedly directing his Raichu.

“Raichu! Use Thunderbolt, quickly! I’m going to catch this Wailmer!”

The man shouted in excitement, but before Raichu could even release the attack, a column of water shot over from the sea and slammed the Raichu straight into the ship’s wall.

“Sir! What do you think you’re doing?” The nearby staff member was utterly stunned. She had specifically warned everyone, and yet someone had still tried to ambush the Wailmer in secret.

“Catching Pokemon, what else? Mind your own business! Come on out, Xatu, help me catch that Wailmer!” The man shot the staff member an impatient glare, then hurled out another Pokeball.

But in the next instant, a massive head rose from the water.

It was Wailord.

As a giant, Wailord’s length and bulk were on an entirely different level from Wailmer’s. Yet the man, now caught in its gaze, still tried to force himself to stand his ground.

“It’s only a Wailord, what’s there to be afraid of? We’ve got so many trainers here, and we can’t handle one Wailord? I can deal with it myself,” he said stubbornly. Then he tossed out two more Pokemon from his waist: Beautifly and Breloom.

At the man’s words, another Wailord surfaced beside the ship. It angrily fired off a water spout, and Zhao Fang swallowed hard.

Even if there were only two Wailord, the pod of Wailmer below was not just decoration either.

“Don’t be scared. It’s only two. There are so many of us... we can definitely handle it! If you’ve got the guts, come out with another one!” The man was still trying to save face, and as though answering him, yet another Wailord emerged from the sea.

“I... it’s not like...” The man began to panic, though he still seemed determined to say something else.

“Shut up, sir, and stop saying ‘we’ this and ‘we’ that. I don’t know you, so don’t go speaking for me.” Zhao Fang rolled his eyes and cut him off. He was worried that if this went on, the water beside the ship would be filled entirely with Wailord.

But even after the man fell silent, two more Wailord surfaced near the ship. By then, there were a full five Wailord around the vessel. Add in the furious pod of Wailmer, and Zhao Fang could feel his own nerves twitching.

There were not only trainers aboard the ship, but many ordinary passengers as well. In the world of Pokemon, not everyone traveled with Pokemon at their side to challenge Gyms. Many people simply loved Pokemon, while others could not afford to raise them, and so chose not to catch any at all.

Zhao Fang glanced over the crowd on deck. Most people looked grim; some glared furiously at the troublemaking man. He also noticed that the staff nearby, though looking displeased, did not seem especially worried.

So the Alliance did have some protection in place for the ship. The only question was what gave them such confidence.

“Sir, since you have ignored our staff’s warnings, we will now present you with three options.”

The staff member wore a friendly smile as she approached the man who had been trying to sneak away, cutting off his retreat.