After resting for a little over an hour, Xinhai got to his feet again, settled Eevee onto his shoulder, and released Charizard once more.
"Let's go. We'll keep moving and try to reach Mossdeep City early this afternoon."
Charizard nodded. Once Xinhai and Eevee were seated securely, he spread his wings and took to the air again.
This time, he did not fly very high, instead skimming low over the sea, only seven or eight meters above the constantly rolling water below.
Flying over the ocean felt completely different from flying over land.
Looking down, Xinhai could see the sunlight glittering across the water. The nearby sea was clear enough that he could vaguely make out the outlines of schools of fish swimming beneath it.
The sea breeze swept across his face, carrying salty, damp moisture. It was no longer the dry airflow of the land, but a cool, humid touch that made him relax without realizing it.
More importantly, out on this open stretch of sea, they did not have to worry about being attacked by wild Flying-type Pokémon. The entire sky was an unobstructed passage.
Charizard also seemed more relaxed than he had been over land. Every beat of his wings carried an unhurried, easy rhythm, and he no longer had to remain constantly alert for disturbances in the surrounding air currents.
After flying for a little over half an hour, a cluster of dark bulges appeared on the sea ahead—more than a dozen Wailmer and Wailord were gathered together, hunting a school of fish.
The massive whale Pokémon formed a rough semicircle, driving a school of silvery sea fish toward shallower waters.
The huge blue bodies of the Wailord rose and sank in the sea, their blowholes occasionally sending out thin jets of water that turned into