"Deep down on the seabed, something was calling." Red placed the bent fishhook in Lin Hao's palm just as the wind chimes over at the Bell Tower fell silent for a moment.
Lin Hao looked down at the broken line on the end of the hook and swallowed the wisecrack he had been about to make. He slipped it into his jacket's inner pocket. "Gym first."
Red glanced at him. "Now?"
"I booked the match. Might as well."
Gym Leader Morty had barely begun his opening remarks when Charizard pinned the Gengar emerging from the shadows with one claw and landed three consecutive Shadow Claws. The referee had only just raised the flag, and Morty hadn't even had time to throw his second ball.
"Next?" Lin Hao stood in the challenger's box, his cap pulled low. The Pikachu on his shoulder was nibbling a rice ball bought at the station.
Morty looked at the cracked stone slabs and the flame on Charizard's tail. His fingers brushed a Poké Ball before he put it away. "Here. The Phantom Badge."
Lin Hao took the purple badge and casually pocketed it. "Thanks."
Red waited for him at the entrance. With a dried fish in its mouth, Pikachu raised a paw and pointed toward the northern sea when he came out.
Lin Hao swung his backpack onto his shoulder. "Let's go." Red nodded and turned to lead the way.
The next morning, the sky over the sea was gloomy. The lights along the pier went out one by one. Lin Hao stood at the end of the jetty, munching on a warm rice ball, while Pikachu poked its head through the gap in his jacket zipper. "Where's the boat?"
Red pointed toward the edge of the pier, where a gray fishing boat sat in