Hachi's Wingull

Petalburg City was ideally located, with the river mouth not far to the west and Petalburg Woods bordering it to the north. Transportation was convenient, and its resources and produce were abundant.

Norman, the Leader of Petalburg Gym, was extremely strong and famous throughout Hoenn. Challengers who came seeking his reputation arrived in an endless stream. Professor Birch and Norman were good friends, and all three of them had originally wanted to pay him a visit, but there were simply too many challengers.

Petalburg City's harbor was small, and the ships here basically only went to Dewford Town. The three had arrived at a terrible time. The harbor was under maintenance, and all the ships were docked inside with no intention of setting sail.

"Senior Brother, what do we do?"

"How about we ride our Pokémon there? Eldest Senior Brother, where's your Lapras?"

"No. Dewford Town is too far away. That'd be far too exhausting, so forget it." Zeno did not think that was a good idea.

"Let's look around nearby. There should be private boats heading to Dewford Town," Gu Yan suggested.

The three wandered around the area and found an old man fishing by the sea. They hurried over to ask him.

"Sir, the harbor is closed right now. Is there any way to get to Dewford Town?" Zeno crouched beside him, looking especially well-behaved.

"What does a kid like you need to go to Dewford Town for?"

"It's not just me. My senior brother and junior sister are here too. Our teacher gave us an assignment." Zeno pointed at the two behind him.

The old man looked at Gu Yan and Sapphire. Seeing that there was an adult among them, he relaxed slightly.

"Go to the bay over there. An old man named Hachi lives there. He often takes people to Dewford Town."

"Thank you, sir."

There was a simple little house at the bay the old man had pointed out. It was probably old Hachi's home. Zeno thought the old man was quite a character, living alone in such a remote place.

"Is anyone here?"

"Who is it? Just come in."

"You must be Grandpa Hachi. We want to go to Dewford Town, and an old man fishing by the sea told us to come ask for your help."

"That fisherman only knows how to dump trouble on me. I'm not going out to sea today. My Peeko is missing, and I'm not in the mood to sail." Hachi sounded impatient.

"Peeko? Do you mean a Clefairy from Kanto, or a Pikachu?" Zeno had not expected him to keep a Pokémon from another region.

"Neither. Peeko is the name I gave my Wingull."

"So it's a Wingull. Does it have any distinguishing features? We can help you look for it."

"That'd be great. It has a cowlick on its head, so it's very noticeable. You'll recognize it as soon as you see it."

"Alright, we'll remember that."

With no other choice, the three could only help old Hachi look for his Wingull. There were quite a lot of Wingull flying back and forth along the shore, and the sight gave them a headache.

"Tropius, go take a look from the sky."

"Carvanha, you check the sea too."

"Um, should I go look in the forest?" Sapphire asked uncertainly.

"Just stay put." Gu Yan looked at her and laughed at what she had said.

The three could only stand there and wait for the two Pokémon to return. They waited for quite a while, but there was still no news.

"What if we can't find the Wingull?" Sapphire looked at the two calm men and asked. She had been to Petalburg City many times and did not want to stay here at all. Dewford Town was much more exciting to her.

"What else can we do? Wait until the harbor reopens!"

"Damn it, this is making me so mad! It's all that Wingull's fault for flying around everywhere."

Just as Zeno and Sapphire were talking, Tropius flew back.

"Well? Did you find it?" Gu Yan looked at it.

"Wahii~" Tropius shook its head.

"It's alright. You worked hard." Gu Yan stroked its head reassuringly.

With no other options, the three could only hope Carvanha had found something. Otherwise, they would have to return to Petalburg City. The wait was boring and long, so Gu Yan picked the fruit growing beneath Tropius's chin and shared it with the other two.

"This is so good! I've never had fruit this amazing before. Senior Brother, why didn't you give me something this good earlier?" Sapphire wolfed it down while still finding time to complain.

"It wasn't ripe before."

"It really is delicious. Thank you, Senior Brother, and of course, thank you too, Tropius!"

Zeno had heard that the fruit growing on Tropius was delicious, but extremely rare. Thanks to his senior brother, he was able to indulge for once today. Carvanha still had not returned, so Zeno saved half of his portion for it.

"Wahii!!" Seeing how happily the three of them were eating, Tropius smiled as well.

After they finished the fruit, they waited quietly for a while longer. At last, Carvanha slowly swam back.

"Did you see Peeko?"

"Liya! Yaya~" Carvanha spoke while acting things out, its expressions incredibly vivid.

"What did it say?"

Not only could Gu Yan and Sapphire not understand its words, they were equally bewildered by its gestures.

"Carvanha said it saw Peeko on a sea reef to the west. It was standing there without moving, and it doesn't know what's wrong."

"It's good that we found it. Lapras, please take us over there. Carvanha, lead the way." Gu Yan recalled Tropius and sent out Lapras.

"Liya, liya!"

"Bwoo~"

At the sight of Lapras, Sapphire's eyes gleamed as she stared straight at it. She had wanted to ride it for ages, but her stingy eldest senior brother had never granted her tiny wish. Today, it had finally fallen into her lap.

Lapras noticed her burning gaze as well, but its resolve remained firm. There was no way this woman was getting it. Its heart belonged entirely to its master, though it could spare a tiny bit for that young man beside him.

The three rode Lapras toward the sea reef where the Wingull was. From far away, Zeno spotted Peeko. It looked rather vacant, and one glance was enough to tell it was not very smart.

"Peeko!"

Zeno shouted, and upon hearing someone call its name, the Wingull flew toward the sound.

"Mii~ Mii~" Peeko had thought its master had come looking for it, only to find three strangers instead.

"Why are you staying here instead of going home? Did you argue with your master?"

"Mii! Mii~ Mii..."

The Wingull chattered on and on. After hearing what it said, Zeno was truly speechless.

"What is it? Is there a problem?" Gu Yan noticed Zeno's strange expression and grew curious.

"It said that while playing near home today, it suddenly saw a particularly beautiful female Wingull. It chased after her, then couldn't find its way home..."

"Hahaha!"

Sapphire immediately burst into merciless laughter. Seeing her mock it, the Wingull angrily pecked her with its beak.

"Ow, ow, ow! Sorry, I was wrong. I won't laugh anymore."

"Alright, Peeko. We're here to take you home. Your master is very worried about you."

"Mii!" The Wingull thought Zeno was truly a wonderful person.