On the nineteenth day after leaving the Orange Islands, a storm broke.
"Rumble, rumble—"
Dull thunder rolled in from the distant horizon, sounding like the low roar of an ancient beast. Every peal made the air tremble faintly. Then, a terrifying bolt of lightning tore across the sky, instantly ripping a pale white gash through the dark heavens.
At the harbor on Mandarin Island, Brother Storm's freighter was docked steadily at its berth. Wind and rain stirred layer upon layer of ripples across the sea, which slapped against the hull.
Workers in raincoats hurried back and forth between the dock and the freighter. Crates of cargo were unloaded, while new crates were carried aboard. The wooden boxes struck one another with dull thuds that rose and fell amid the wind and rain.
Brother Storm wore a black waterproof trench coat, its hem whipping wildly in the gale. He stood beneath the awning on the deck as rainwater ran off the brim of his hat and soaked his face.
His brows were tightly furrowed as he stared at the gloomy sky in the distance, as though it had been drenched in thick ink.
His mood was just like this awful weather—not pleasant in the slightest.
The operation to kill Yu Hai had turned into a complete and utter failure. He had never expected Yu Hai to have such close ties to the ruler of that Deserted Island.
Thinking back on this mistake and the terrible price he had paid made his heart ache. He had spent more than ten years of painstaking effort raising those two Elite-class Pokémon, yet now they were gone.
Even the capable First Mate and second mate he had recruited had perished on the Deserted Island. The thought made his heart clench. This loss had been far