Take Me With You

March 20th, Friday, Clear Skies.

Whoosh—

Gengar yanked open the curtains, letting sunlight flood into the room. The sudden brightness made Johan squint groggily.

"Ka-kaah~~"

A wet, slimy tongue licked across Johan's face, making his body tense up instantly.

A hand reached out from beneath the blankets with practiced ease, as if it had done this a thousand times before, and grabbed an Aspear Berry from the nightstand.

Crunch—

Johan chewed as he groggily sat up from bed.

Last night, he had stayed up past 1 AM on a call with Cynthia, discussing the origins of the statue. It was no surprise that he didn't sleep well.

Their discussion revolved around one main question—who exactly was the Sea God?

Nowadays, if you mentioned the term Sea God, over 90% of people would immediately think of the legendary giant bird Pokémon, Lugia.

Even Cynthia believed so.

But Johan had his doubts.

"It's called a 'giant bird Pokémon'—it's a bird. How could a bird be the Sea God?"

Wouldn't a Sea God have to be Water-type?

Not every legendary Pokémon had ironic weaknesses like Solgaleo fearing Fire or Lunala fearing Ghost-types.

Lugia could be considered a guardian of the ocean. But the creator of the ocean was none other than the Big-Headed Fish—Kyogre.

If there was any true "Sea God," it had to be Kyogre.

At the very least, it was a fish. Not a bird.

In terms of "domain," Lugia merely controlled ocean currents and hurricanes, influencing marine weather and coastal climates.

Kyogre, however, was the embodiment of the ocean itself—its very existence aimed to expand the seas and swallow the land.

Of course, whether in movies or anime, Lugia had a much grander presence compared to Kyogre.

At the very least, it hadn't been fished out like Kyogre.

Kyogre only looked powerful when it was messing with its "brother."

A particularly telling example—

Lugia soloed Hoopa Unbound.

Kyogre got mind-controlled and beaten up by Hoopa.

The difference in prestige was obvious.

But regardless—

Kyogre was still more fitting as a Sea God than Lugia.

After a few days of research, Cynthia finally confirmed that the statue was likely related to a legendary Sea God.

However, she couldn't pinpoint which one—hence her discussion with Johan.

"If it really is Kyogre… without the Indigo Orb, there's no way a statue alone could wake it up."

Johan was relieved at that.

If it were that easy, Team Aqua would've awakened Kyogre ages ago.

Besides, with the Hoenn League cracking down on Team Magma and Team Aqua, most of their secrets had been uncovered. Right now, both teams were likely scrambling to deal with the aftermath.

Shff, shff, shff—

Standing before the mirror, Johan brushed his teeth while a line of Pokémon waited their turn outside the bathroom.

"Might need to expand the bathroom soon…" he thought to himself.

Then, he gave instructions.

"Gengar, take Dragonite and Urshifu to the garden. There's more space there. Once you're done, take Dragonite for a few laps."

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar had gotten used to this routine by now.

Larger Pokémon like Dragonite and Urshifu were better off brushing their teeth in the garden—it was too cramped for them in the bathroom.

With a wave of its hand, Gengar led the energetic Dragonite and the still-drowsy Urshifu out onto the balcony and into the garden below.

"Ka-kaah~~"

It greeted Garganacl, which was standing still like a stone statue.

Lately, Jigglypuff had been restless, wandering off on its own. Who knew when it would return?

After brushing his teeth and getting dressed, Johan picked up a chunk of mineral ore before heading outside.

The reason?

A certain Larvitar was following him—eyes closed, a snot bubble inflating and deflating as it dozed.

Reaching the yard, Johan turned and scooped up Larvitar.

Ninetales held the mineral just out of reach, teasing the sleepy Pokémon.

"Yoji… yoji… yoji…"

Still half-asleep, Larvitar kept chomping at empty air, unable to reach the ore.

Seizing the opportunity, Johan slipped a small wooden stick into its mouth and brushed its teeth.

This wasn't the first time, so they were quite coordinated by now.

"Ayii~~"

Gallade arrived, bringing coffee for Johan just as he finished brushing Larvitar's teeth.

Larvitar yawned and stretched, its half-open eyes flickering with mischief.

Rubbing its eyes, it pretended to have just woken up.

Johan shook his head with a chuckle.

This little one thought it was being clever, but did it really think he wouldn't notice?

Back in the day, he had completely outplayed a trickster Gastly—this was nothing.

After breakfast, everyone gathered in the yard for light training exercises.

"Marsha."

Marshadow emerged from the shadows, twirling a small wooden stick identical to Larvitar's.

Johan paused.

Marshadow had sensed a new Rainbow Wing bearer and was heading out to "deal with it."

Johan's expression turned odd.

"When you say 'deal with'… do you mean in a normal way?"

Before he could finish, Marshadow had already faded into the shadows.

Jigglypuff had wandered off, and now Marshadow had taken up the role of "Guide of Shadows."

Beep beep—

Johan's phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, he raised an eyebrow.

"Looker?"

Once he answered, Looker's tone was serious, his voice carrying a hint of urgency.

"Johan, we've detected traces of Hunter J."

Johan blinked.

He had almost forgotten about the mission to eliminate the Pokémon Hunters.

"Where?"

The Pokémon in the yard perked up, ears twitching.

They hated Pokémon Hunters.

"We don't have an exact location, but the signal originated near Twinleaf Town."

"Twinleaf Town?"

That was Professor Rowan's hometown.

The 'Land of New Beginnings' in Sinnoh.

Would Hunter J really dare to stir up trouble in Twinleaf Town?

Professor Rowan wasn't like Professor Oak or Professor Kukui—he wasn't a battle-hardened scientist.

Rowan might not be strong himself…

But because of that, the Sinnoh League took extra precautions to protect him.

Johan refused to believe there were no security measures in place.

"She likely escaped to the ocean. Our forces are tracking her now."

The ocean, huh…

For a desperate Pokémon Hunter, there were only two escape options—

1. Flee to another region.

2. Disappear into the endless sea.

If Hunter J had truly gone out to sea, she was either intimately familiar with the waters or was about to have a bad time.

If she managed to stay hidden, it would be ten times harder to track her down later.

"Looker, in that case…"

Johan was about to suggest Looker take personal action—only to hear a tired sigh over the phone.

"I know. I'm already in Twinleaf Town."

Johan chuckled inwardly.

Looker was too reliable.

If he were Cynthia, he'd absolutely make Looker his right-hand man.

"I trust you to handle it."

Then he added—

"If things get rough, call Flint or Riley to back you up."

"Flint?"

Hearing the name, Looker perked up, sneering.

"That idiot? He'd drown."

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

Flint's voice suddenly came through the phone.

"Whoever speaks up first."

"YOU WANNA FIGHT?!"

"I don't fight idiots. That'd be unfair."

"I—"

Johan sighed and hung up.

These two…

"Take me with you."

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Powerstones?

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