After leaving the small island where Sky Pillar stood, Xia You and Misty rode Dragonite through the night to a nearby island lush with greenery. They pitched a tent there and rested for the night, only setting off again early the next morning after recovering their strength and eating breakfast.
As for their next destination...
After thinking it over for a moment, Xia You settled on the Mossdeep Gym in Mossdeep City.
Since neither Shelly nor Courtney had sent any news yet, that meant Maxie and Archie had not begun to act. He was already prepared, and he could not simply sit around waiting for them all this time. After weighing it up, he decided he should use this time to challenge a Gym and try to earn another Badge first.
As for which Gym to choose, Mossdeep City, which was also out at sea, was clearly closer than Fortree City, his previous choice.
He could only say that plans really could not keep pace with change.
It looked like he would be following in Ash's footsteps instead.
But judging by the timing, Ash should have finished challenging the Mossdeep Gym and left by now...
Dragonite rode the wind, skimming swiftly over the boundless sea.
Since it was close enough to the surface, its playful side took over, and it deliberately showed off with a sudden sideways roll. Caught completely off guard, Xia You and Misty nearly got thrown straight off!
"You little..."
He gave its head a hard knock, though a blow like that barely tickled a Pokémon. Dragonite grinned, but immediately behaved itself.
Groups of Mantine leaped out of the water and flew alongside Dragonite for quite a while before finally returning to the sea.
The sea breeze brushed their faces, indescribably pleasant.
Compared to when he had