Before the fishing boat reached shore, the sea changed. The wind died, the waves flattened, and the entire surface became smooth as a mirror.
Red released the wheel and looked up. The clouds were retreating to either side, revealing an unnaturally blue patch of sky.
"Red."
"I see it."
The young Lugia in Lin Hao's arms opened its eyes and let out a clear cry. It wasn't a cry of pain, but a call.
An answer came from beneath the sea. The entire seabed lit up as silvery-white light rose from hundreds of meters below, piercing layer after layer of water and illuminating the fishing boat's hull.
Red stepped back. His Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and clung to the gunwale.
"It's here." Lin Hao stood and carried the young Lugia to the bow.
A silvery-white figure rose from the depths. Two wingtips broke the surface first, throwing up waves two stories high. Then came a silver-white head, its blue eyes larger than cars, the entire sky reflected in its pupils. Finally, its whole body emerged, hovering thirty meters above the sea.
The adult Lugia had a wingspan of over fifty meters. Seawater slid off its wings, trailing countless silver waterfalls beneath it.
Red craned his neck, his lips moving slightly. This was his first time seeing the legendary Deep-Sea God alive before him.
This time, the voice of the Lugia in System Space didn't sound within that space. Instead, it came directly from the Legendary Pokémon before them, a deep cry that sent a ring of ripples across the sea.
The young Lugia stirred in Lin Hao's arms, spreading its weakened wings to answer the call.
"It's here to pick up its child," Lin Hao said.
Red snapped out of his daze. "That one's not yours?"
"The one in