The vast, boundless sea.
Underneath the azure sky, a few Wingulls screech noisily as they soar against the wind.
"..."
Baimu sits on the rear deck of the small luxury yacht, squinting as he looks into the distance, where Glazed City has long since vanished beyond the horizon.
Though it has only been a few short months.
Yet the Glazed Gym had become his second home after Pyrite Town.
It's interesting, really.
As a descendant of the Meteor People, he had performed the ancestral ceremony, yet found himself closer to the likes of Teacher Adam among the Glazed People.
Unfortunately.
He is destined to be unable to fulfill the unspoken wish of Adam, Mikoli, and old steward Sebastian — to become the next Gym Leader of the Glazed Gym.
Aside from that, it seems the only way he can repay these people is to continue striving towards greater heights.
It truly leaves one feeling helpless.
Recalling Adam's gentle gaze as he patted his shoulder before parting, Baimu took a deep breath, finding the sea wind in his face somewhat moistening his nasal cavity.
Clearly just a temporary opportunistic student.
Yet, despite only having a month, Adam did everything possible to impart all the knowledge and accumulated experience to help him grow quickly.
"Imparting knowledge and resolving doubts."
In his eyes, Adam had done a perfect job.
"One's life always has noble helpers, yet how helpless it is to be unable to assist them back..."
He muttered softly, unintentionally feeling a bit melancholy.
Suddenly.
The phone in his pocket emitted continuous beeping alerts.
Baimu took it out for a glance, and the corner of his mouth twitched as if having a spasm, "Are you giving me a face-changing act from Sichuan opera? I just checked the weather before setting sail."
He quickly stood and went into the lower deck of the ship.
Liuqia and Xiaoguang were busy making modifications to their performance outfits.
Their tailoring skills were both quite fine, and being competitors in the same field, the mutual exchange and progress felt as delightful as training Baimu into a top Coordinator Trainer.
She once tried to invite Xiaoguang to form a new Pokémon idol group with her.
Unfortunately, Xiaoguang wasn't really interested.
More than being an idol, she wanted to become a true Coordinator Trainer.
Liuqia was exceedingly regretful.
Baimu asked curiously, "Where's Xiaogang?"
Xiaoguang looked up and replied, "In the captain's cabin, has something happened?"
"The weather is changing a bit."
He followed the adjacent stairs up to the top-level captain's cabin.
Just in time, Xiaogang was seriously watching the weather display on the electronic sea chart with the captain, giant rolling clouds occupying half the screen, looking quite daunting at first glance.
"Baimu! You're just in time, there's a massive storm blocking our path ahead. The captain and I are discussing taking an alternate route, or returning if we can't."
Baimu quickly responded, "Change course, quickly! I feel this storm seems unusual."
Despite multiple weather checks before departure, a storm suddenly arises as the ship sets out?
If it hadn't been smooth sailing from Larus City earlier, he would really suspect some issue with the trio of himself, Xiaogang, and Xiaoguang.
Hearing his words, the captain immediately turned the rudder and cranked up the horsepower to reroute.
Xiaogang's face was full of confusion. He also checked the weather before boarding, "Why would there suddenly be a storm?"
"Let me boldly guess, could it be the work of the Super Ancient Pokémon Kyogre?"
Baimu's words startled the captain.
The latter stammered, "N-no way, I've been traversing Route 126 for decades and never heard of any Kyogre."
For those who sail the seas, the legendary Kyogre is regarded as a natural disaster, as storms arise wherever it surfaces.
The small luxury yacht they are on now is no match for transoceanic giant ships, and may not withstand the storm shown in the weather chart.
"It's just a guess, just a guess."
He quickly gestured to reassure the captain.
But a mysterious, large storm suddenly appearing on the sea inevitably seems linked to Pokémon, and in the Hoenn Region, those capable of creating such massive rain clouds...
Most likely is Kyogre.
Baimu only hopes to successfully reroute without experiencing a sinking episode like the Sainte Anne, being stranded on a deserted island is never a fun scenario.
Might as well contact Hoopa ahead of time.
He had Porygon II send a message to Mei Yali in Carlos.
Hearing about Kyogre didn't elicit as big a reaction from Xiaogang as it did for the captain. After traveling with Ash Ketchum for so long, they've seen all kinds of storms. Not to mention the mere Super Ancient Pokémon Kyogre, they've even encountered Arceus.
Meanwhile.
The dark, massive clouds on the horizon gradually came into view for the trio.
Blue lightning danced like a ferocious dragon, with deep thunder rolling like short, dense drumbeats, filling the quiet cabin with an air of unease.
In front of the tumultuous ocean, humans and Pokémon often appear extremely powerless.
From below, Liuqia and Xiaoguang quickly ran up, with one going to the deck to observe with a telescope, and the other standing there looking at the wind and rain clouds.
Xiaoguang hugged Piplup, curiously asking, "Are we rerouting or returning?"
"Rerouting."
Xiaogang turned off the meteorological display on the electronic chart, pointing at the ship's course, "We're preparing to reroute east along Route 130; if that doesn't work, we'll reconsider returning."
On the deck, Liuqia leaned over and shouted from below, "Everyone! I think I saw something in the storm! It might be a Pokémon!"