Dinner time.
Perhaps having picked up on some of Chen Mo's personal habits...
The restaurant staff no longer hovered around him as attentively as they had during lunch.
Even so...
Judging from the completely different dinner menu...
It was obvious they had still gone to extraordinary lengths to prepare everything.
After ordering a simple meal...
Chen Mo led his Pokémon over to the dining table.
"Here, Pikachu. This one's yours."
He placed Pikachu's plate onto the small table the restaurant had specially prepared for it.
Speaking of which...
Ever since the Pikachu Cup had introduced countless new Trainers to the public...
A certain topic had inevitably become the subject of heated online debate.
Chen Mo himself had even been dragged into it.
Namely...
How should Pokémon eat with their Trainers?
In countless videos showing Trainers and their Pokémon going about their daily lives...
Sharp-eyed viewers had noticed something.
Some Pokémon sat at the dining table and ate alongside their Trainers.
Others had their food placed into bowls on the floor.
The latter style of dining drew criticism from some internet users, who claimed those Trainers clearly didn't see Pokémon as companions at all.
According to them...
All that official talk about "humans and Pokémon living together as partners" was nothing more than empty propaganda.
It reminded Chen Mo of all the discussions from his previous life comparing how Ash's group and Team Rocket treated their Pokémon.
In short...
The people making those accusations were either incredibly bored...
Had something seriously wrong with them...
Or simply had ulterior motives.
After all...
How a Pokémon ate depended largely on the Pokémon's own habits.
Among Chen Mo's Pokémon...
Pikachu was fairly well-behaved in public.
But at home...
When they weren't livestreaming...
It often jumped onto the table and ate together with Chen Mo.
Besides Pikachu...
The Pokémon that preferred eating at the table included Gengar...
Marshadow...
And the newest member, Jirachi.
As for Pidgeotto and Absol...
One was simply too large and had wings.
The other naturally walked on four legs.
Both preferred eating while standing on the floor.
Influenced by Absol...
Even Gible had gradually picked up the same habit.
As for Magikarp...
It didn't really have a choice.
After briefly responding to a few comments in the livestream...
Chen Mo quietly began enjoying his dinner.
Then...
He suddenly noticed something.
The large purple-and-black Pokémon sitting to his left...
Was unusually quiet.
Instead of causing its usual commotion...
Gengar sat there with its head lowered, absent-mindedly poking at the food on its plate with chopsticks.
Seeing its lifeless movements...
And its drooping pointed ears...
Chen Mo immediately understood.
Gengar was still bothered by what had happened that evening.
Although Chen Mo hadn't witnessed the incident personally...
The other Pokémon had already explained roughly what had happened.
As the group's resident social butterfly...
Gengar loved fooling around with people.
Not only Chen Mo...
Back during their travels through Evergreen Forest and Mount Cangqing...
A-Hui and Brother Yi had been endlessly pranked by the then-Haunter.
It was simply Gengar's way of showing affection.
Since Hao Tianyu had taken over the camera work...
Gengar had become genuinely grateful to him.
Naturally...
It wanted to "get friendly."
Unfortunately...
This time...
It had picked the wrong person.
Everything had been fine at first.
But the moment Gengar reached toward the camera...
Hao Tianyu had immediately shouted,
"Don't touch the camera!"
Gengar assumed Hao Tianyu disliked it.
The truth, however...
Was that Hao Tianyu simply hated anyone interfering with his work.
Especially when it involved filming.
The cruise manager had even specifically warned Chen Mo about that trait beforehand.
Since Hao Tianyu had been present...
Chen Mo hadn't felt comfortable warning Gengar on the spot.
Though...
Knowing Gengar...
Even if he'd warned it...
It might only have become more enthusiastic.
"I already told you."
"It wasn't your fault."
"It was mine for not warning you earlier..."
Looking at Gengar, who seemed determined to sulk...
Chen Mo put down his chopsticks and sighed.
"If a Trainer fails to properly guide their Pokémon..."
"Then that's ultimately the Trainer's responsibility."
"So..."
"If you're not going to eat..."
"Then neither will I."
"I'll wait until you're willing to eat."
Seeing its Trainer suddenly start acting childish...
Gengar froze.
After a long moment...
Remembering that Chen Mo was only an ordinary human who couldn't survive days without food like a Ghost-type Pokémon could...
Gengar quietly picked up its plate and began stuffing food into its mouth.
It made up its mind.
It would never bother that human called Hao Tianyu again.
After night fell...
The Wingull continued sailing across the ocean, following the direction Chen Mo had indicated.
Inside the main lounge...
The cruise manager looked at the young man standing before him with his head lowered.
His expression was one of utter disappointment.
"When I brought you to Teacher Mo..."
"What did I tell you?"
"I told you..."
"Again and again..."
"Control your emotions."
"Absolutely don't make even the slightest mistake."
"There are hundreds of millions of people watching this livestream across the country!"
"And what happened?"
"I... I'm sorry..."
Hao Tianyu lowered his head even further.
The manager rubbed his aching forehead.
"The company's executives definitely know about this by now."
"So tell me."
"What are we supposed to do?"
"When this voyage ends..."
"Even if I risk everything..."
"I won't be able to protect your job."
"I... I'm sorry..."
"What good does saying sorry do? If you—"
The manager had just raised his voice...
When something nearby suddenly caught his attention.
The Wishiwashi resting inside the large transparent aquarium...
Suddenly leaped out onto the floor.
Seeing this...
The manager hurried over.
"Oh, come on, little ancestor..."
"Please stop causing trouble."
"This is already the biggest tank we've got."
Muttering to himself...
He carefully picked Wishiwashi up and placed it back into the aquarium.
After letting out another heavy sigh...
He returned to Hao Tianyu.
Opening his mouth...
He looked at the fearful expression covering the young man's face.
Eventually...
He simply sighed again.
Then...
He gently patted Hao Tianyu's shoulder.
"Maybe this is partly my fault too."
"You're my only nephew."
"I've always wanted you to have a better future."
"But..."
"I never stopped to think whether this kind of work actually suited you."
"If..."
"You truly don't want to keep doing this..."
"Come talk to me anytime."
"I'll speak with Teacher Mo myself."
"And don't put so much pressure on yourself."
"At the very least..."
"Everyone aboard the ship has thought highly of you these past two years."
"Your uncle isn't capable of much..."
"But protecting your job..."
"I should still be able to manage."
"That's enough for today."
"Go get some rest."
Knowing his nephew's personality...
The middle-aged man wasn't bothered by Hao Tianyu's silence.
He turned to leave.
After taking a couple of steps...
He suddenly remembered something.
Glancing toward the Wishiwashi in the aquarium...
Then back at Hao Tianyu...
He spoke softly.
"When Teacher Mo explained Wishiwashi today..."
"There were a few things he said..."
"That don't just apply to Pokémon."
"They're true for us humans too."
"You..."
"Should try trusting your companions a little more."
"Try trusting us."
Leaving those words behind...
The manager saw Hao Tianyu still standing motionless with his head lowered.
Quietly sighing...
He slowly walked away.
His thoughts drifted back several years.
Back then...
Hao Tianyu had still been shy and introverted.
But...
He hadn't become as twisted as he was now.
The manager still remembered how excited Hao Tianyu had been after one of his short films received praise from his university professors.
He remembered the phone call.
He remembered Hao Tianyu proudly declaring...
That one day...
He would become a great film director.
Although he'd never seriously believed that dream would come true...
He had genuinely supported his nephew.
Unfortunately...
Things hadn't lasted.
Despite Hao Tianyu's undeniable talent...
His personality made communication difficult.
No one on the film crew trusted him.
Everyone constantly criticized the way he worked.
Eventually...
One day...
He exploded.
The outcome was exactly what anyone would expect.
A cameraman with no connections...
Was fired almost immediately.
No one spoke up for him.
Because...
Within that entire production crew...
He hadn't had a single friend.
Standing by the window...
Hao Tianyu stared blankly at the moon hanging over the sea.
His eyes were completely lifeless.
Plop.
He stiffly turned around.
The Wishiwashi his uncle had just returned to the aquarium...
Had jumped out again.
It continued flopping desperately across the floor.
Toward the entrance.
As though reaching that door meant reaching hope itself.
Hao Tianyu silently watched.
Only when Wishiwashi reached the doorway...
And slammed painfully into the door frame...
Did he finally snap out of his daze.
"You..."
"You can't leave!"
He hurried over in a panic.
This afternoon...
He had already made one serious mistake.
If he now allowed Wishiwashi to escape without stopping it...
He knew exactly what awaited him.
Although he couldn't honestly say he loved working as a sailor...
For the sake of the uncle who had always looked after him...
He couldn't simply let Wishiwashi leave.
"You..."
"You absolutely can't go."
"Otherwise..."
"We..."
Just as he reached down to pick it up...
He suddenly noticed...
Wishiwashi's eyes.
They looked...
As though they were pleading with him.
"Waa... waa..."
For a brief moment...
Hao Tianyu felt as though he understood what the little fish was trying to say.
"...You want me to let you go?"
He looked conflicted.
"I'm sorry."
"I really can't."
"I don't have the authority to decide whether you're released."
"Only Teacher Mo can make that decision."
"Can you wait a little longer?"
"Tomorrow..."
"When it's daytime..."
"You can tell Teacher Mo yourself."
"He's a good person."
"I've read the reports online."
"He genuinely cares about Pokémon."
"If you ask him yourself..."
"I'm sure he'll agree."
"Just wait a little—"
Before he could finish...
Wishiwashi began struggling even harder.
At that very moment...
Hao Tianyu suddenly noticed the ship gently rocking beneath his feet.
Looking through the open doorway toward the sky...
He realized...
The moon had disappeared.
A vast blanket of dark clouds had covered the heavens.
Beneath the pitch-black night...
The once-calm ocean had become dark and turbulent.
Sensing something wasn't right...
Hao Tianyu instinctively walked onto the deck.
Still clutching the struggling Wishiwashi.
A bolt of lightning suddenly split the sky.
The next instant...
Rain came pouring down.
Hao Tianyu looked up at the thick storm clouds...
White lightning flashing endlessly within them.
Confusion filled his face.
He wasn't an outstanding sailor.
But...
He'd worked aboard ships long before Pokémon appeared in this world.
Through years of experience...
He had learned quite a bit.
There was an old saying:
The sea's weather changes in an instant.
Even so...
With modern forecasting technology...
Combined with experienced sailors' own judgment...
They could usually predict conditions fairly accurately.
After confirming tomorrow's route with Chen Mo...
The crew had carefully checked the weather along the voyage.
By all rights...
This storm shouldn't have appeared so suddenly.
Just as Hao Tianyu was wondering what was happening...
Wishiwashi suddenly slipped free from his grasp.
Using the torrential rain to its advantage...
It leaped much faster than before.
By the time Hao Tianyu reacted...
Wishiwashi had already reached the edge of the ship.
"No!!"
He threw himself forward.
Just as Wishiwashi crouched to make one final leap back into the sea...
Hao Tianyu dove first...
Pinning it down.
"Don't leave."
"Not in weather like this."
"Please..."
"Just listen to me."
"When the weather clears tomorrow..."
"Teacher Mo can send you home."
Muttering to himself beneath the pouring rain...
He picked Wishiwashi up and turned toward the ship.
Then...
Out of the corner of his eye...
He noticed something.
Several small blue-and-white fish...
Were repeatedly leaping from the ocean.
Hao Tianyu froze.
"Those are..."
He recognized them immediately.
Every one of those little fish...
Was another Wishiwashi.
In that instant...
He understood.
"Teacher Mo said..."
"Wishiwashi can send signals through their eyes."
"And their companions will come to help..."
He looked at the Wishiwashi in his hands.
"So..."
"Your friends came to take you home."
Watching the Wishiwashi jumping through the waves...
After a long silence...
Hao Tianyu's face gradually hardened with resolve.
He extended his arms over the side of the ship.
Then gently opened his hands.
With a splash...
Wishiwashi fell back into the sea.
Watching the little fish poke its head above the water...
Hao Tianyu smiled.
"It's a good thing..."
"The human you met this time..."
"Was Teacher Mo."
"Next time..."
"Don't eat random things."
"If you run into enemies..."
"Run faster."
"Don't end up covered in wounds again."
"Go."
"Leave with your friends."
"Don't stay here any longer."
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