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"Wuu… wuuu!!"
Lapras, holding the Masked Man in its mouth, cried in panic as it kicked its flippers with all its strength, desperately rushing upward toward the surface!
But it was already too late. Lapras could clearly feel the Masked Man's life slipping away — his body temperature dropping, his pulse weakening. These were unmistakable signs of life fading.
"Wuu! Wuu!"
Watching the person who had been with it since childhood dying right before its eyes, Lapras swam even harder, voice trembling with anguish as huge teardrops streamed downward.
"Wuu…"
After about a minute of struggling upward, Lapras was still pushing toward the surface — but its speed had dropped sharply. Lapras was well-known as an excellent swimmer, but deep diving was never its strength. Because of the intense exertion just moments earlier, all the oxygen stored in its body had been completely depleted.
Without oxygen, Lapras' limbs weakened, its mind began to blur from the suffocating pressure, and eventually it couldn't hold on any longer. Its jaws loosened, its body tipped backward, and together with the unmoving Masked Man, Lapras slowly sank toward the pitch-black abyss…
The deeper they fell, the darker the sea became.
But deep within that darkness — in the trench far below — a brilliant blue light suddenly blossomed!
"AAOOOO!!"
A powerful cry shook the ocean.
A towering white waterspout erupted from the sea floor, twisting violently upward! It wrapped around the falling Lapras and Masked Man, then rocketed them toward the surface at incredible speed!
"AAOOOO!!"
Another cry shattered the silence as a massive white figure shot upward through the waterspout, slicing through the rising column of water like a spear of light!
"What—!? This is… not good!!"
Liam, who had still been searching near the coastline, froze at the deafening roar behind him. He spun around just in time to see a colossal waterspout tear into the sky — and within it, a gigantic white silhouette ascended, accompanied by an ethereal cry that echoed endlessly!
"Moltres! Over there! Hurry!"
"Skreee!!"
Seeing the violent disturbance on the sea, Liam's brows tightened. He urged Moltres forward, eyes fixed on the shadow that had already emerged above the waterspout…
It was exactly what he had feared.
"Ruu!!"
At the same time, having clearly finished her battle, Harribel rode atop her Mantine, gliding toward Liam. When the two Pokémon flew side-by-side, Harribel stared at the sky-reaching waterspout in shock.
"What is that? What's going on?"
Even as a Water-type Elite Four member, Harribel had never felt the sheer, overwhelming power contained within the water before her.
Liam let out a bitter smile as they approached the waterspout.
"Heh… if I'm not mistaken, that's probably the legendary Lugia."
Harribel's eyes widened.
"Lugia!?"
"AAOOOO!!"
Her cry had barely fallen when another deafening roar exploded from within the waterspout — and then the entire structure collapsed!
A mountain of water — tens of thousands of tons — exploded outward like a tsunami, crashing toward every direction!
"This is bad!! Moltres! Dodge it!!"
"Skreee!!"
Liam's eyes went wide as the wall of water engulfed the entire horizon. He ordered Moltres to retreat with everything it had — but the wave was far faster than its flight speed.
"There's no time! Latios, Purify Light! Latias, Mist Ball!"
Realizing the imminent danger, Harribel finally stopped hiding her trump cards. Two figures shimmered into existence beside her — Latios and Latias.
"Ooo!!"
"Ooo!!"
With joyful cries, the blue-and-red pair unleashed attacks at the falling tsunami — a beam of white light, and a shimmering orb trailing countless feather-like afterimages. Their attacks drilled straight into the wave.
A white glow spread rapidly across the water, and the raging tsunami — terrifying enough to destroy a city — evaporated like melting snow under sunlight.
"Oo~" x2
With the danger gone, Latios and Latias circled Harribel affectionately, rubbing their heads against her. Harribel, who usually carried a cold, expressionless demeanor, actually smiled.
"You two did wonderfully. Thank you — good, good~"
"Aaooooo!!"
But before the moment could last, a piercing cry echoed overhead. The sound of enormous wings beating soon followed. A gigantic silver-white "bird" descended slowly toward the sea.
"Cough— cough… Huh? Where am I? What is this?"
On the broad back of the silver Pokémon, the previously unconscious Masked Man and Lapras slowly regained awareness under a gentle blue glow.
"Aaoooo? (Human— how do you feel?)"
As Lugia's soft call rang out, a clear voice echoed directly into the Masked Man's mind.
"You are… Lugia! Ha… so I really did win my gamble."
Hearing Lugia's voice, the Masked Man finally understood everything. He sat up sharply, staring at the Legendary Pokémon with a strange gleam in his eyes.
CRACK!
His mask, damaged from countless blows, finally split apart and fell away, revealing an aged but stern face beneath.
"Aa-ooo! (Yes. You won. I awakened to the call of the Great Sea Spirit Sapphire and rescued you both. With its power amplifying mine, I can communicate with humans like this.)"
Floating beside Lugia's head was a deep-blue gem — the very Great Sea Spirit Sapphire the Masked Man had thrown into the trench.
Empowered by it, Lugia had awakened with strength beyond its natural limits, and even gained telepathic speech.
"Heh… then we truly were lucky. Lugia, thank you for saving our lives."
The Masked Man stood, checked Lapras' condition, returned it to its PokeBall, and then turned back toward Lugia to offer thanks.
But the moment he finished speaking—
A small, silver-white PokeBall had already appeared in his hand.