As Shiro's thoughts drifted on their own, a pair of small grayish-white hands suddenly reached down from above and covered half of his vision.
Covered, but not completely.
It was the Pokémon version of "Guess who?"
He did not even need to think. It was Mesprit. There was no one else it could be.
Gently pulling its hands away, he looked up and said, "Mesprit, your hands are too small. I can still see."
The Pokémon flashed in front of him instantly, wearing the same serious expression and crossing its arms in the same familiar pose.
'You were just thinking about something bad.'
"…Uh?"
Shiro sucked in a cold breath as his scalp tingled, then scratched his head awkwardly.
So this was the Pokémon version of "No funny thoughts allowed."
Not allowed…
After holding Mesprit's gaze for several seconds, he finally surrendered.
His mind went completely blank, like an enlightened old monk who had abandoned worldly desires. He could not even gather a single improper thought.
'This is bad. I've been forced into post-nut clarity mode.'
Lightly tapping his head, Shiro reached up and gently stroked the red, hair-like appendage on top of Mesprit, then sighed. "Alright. We still have serious matters to deal with."
He walked toward the Sea Shard Rock lying quietly on the training room floor, where Growlithe sat nearby with its tongue out.
After skillfully rubbing the dog's head a few times, he crouched down and examined the dark blue stone carefully. This was the so-called body fragment of Kyogre.
The fragment was shaped like an oval shell and entirely deep blue. Dense cracks covered its surface, and within those cracks were bits of gray-white ordinary rock debris.
No wonder Red Devil and the others had called it Sea Shard Rock.
Still, this shell likely did not come from Kyogre's normal form.
With that thought, he looked up at Unown A floating in midair. "A, the origin of this fragment…"
'It should be a fragment from Kyogre's body during the primal age,' Unown A replied. Its single eye glowed as it floated down and rested against the fragment. 'It broke off from the outer shell of its fin during the battle with Groudon.'
So it was a piece of fin armor from Primal Kyogre.
Shiro gently ran his hand across its surface. With his psychic power, he could sense the vast, wave-like energy contained within. Even after countless years of erosion, that energy remained astonishing.
'These fragments are not just ordinary pieces of outer shell,' Unown A continued, pressing its eye closer to the surface. 'They shattered when Kyogre wielded the authority of the ocean and collided with Groudon. A small portion of the ocean's most fundamental energy still remains inside.'
"No wonder it can help Water-type Pokémon undergo secondary development and greatly increase their size…"
As Shiro spoke, he glanced at Growlithe, who sat there with its tongue out, watching him with innocent confusion.
Can the dog eat it?
If this silly dog could eat it too, that would be perfect. It could grow several times larger and rival Corviknight in size. Then he could ride it across the land.
'Growlithe definitely can't eat it,' Unown A said, shaking slightly. 'It has to be a Water-type.'
So only the newly captured Feebas could use it.
Rubbing his chin, Shiro imagined Feebas evolving into Milotic.
An enlarged Milotic would look even more like a sea dragon than Gyarados.
Right. This was the perfect chance to introduce everyone to their new companion and let them get familiar with Feebas.
With that decision made, Shiro stood up. After asking Mesprit to help put the Sea Shard Rock back into his bag, he recalled his Pokémon one by one and walked out of the training room.
* * *
The hall.
"You mean the pool? Training a Water-type Pokémon, right? We have a dedicated Water-type training room. I'll take you there."
Acting Captain Tyler spoke loudly and moved quickly, already heading down the stairs from the hall.
Under the gaze of crew members and passengers, they reached the second basement level of the ship and stopped at the corner of a corridor.
"Dr. Shiro, this is the place. The pool water can be replaced at any time. Just call me if you need anything." Tyler grinned, showing his bright white upper teeth, then hurried off without delay.
Shiro pushed open the door to the private Water-type training room.
The space inside was enormous, easily two or three times larger than the regular training rooms upstairs. Most of that space was taken up by the massive pool in the center, which was large enough for a Pokémon like Gyarados to move freely without feeling cramped.
What surprised him even more was that, aside from the pool, everything else looked brand new. The alloy targets and other equipment seemed unused, as though they had just been cleaned.
"Not bad…" he murmured.
Holding two Poké Balls, he tossed them forward.
* * *
A moment later, both inside and outside the pool, everyone stared at each other.
Feebas remained in the water near the edge, lifting most of its head above the surface.
Its muddy yellow forehead was covered in dark brown spots. Its dull fish eyes were ringed with black circles, its fins small and plain, and its thick, sausage-like lips were enough to shock any Pokémon at first glance.
Growlithe sat by the pool's edge, eyes wide and round, completely stunned.
"Growl… growl…"
It turned to look at Haunter beside it.
Haunter's mouth stretched long as its claws pressed tightly against its lips, disbelief written all over its face.
Above them, Drakloak narrowed its eyes and quietly turned its head away.
This fish was too abstract. It was not a species it could accept. Compared to this, even Haunter was ten thousand times cuter.
Without hesitation, Drakloak slipped into the shadows to avoid looking at it.
"Weeear?"
Bewear scratched its ear, looking slightly confused but otherwise calm. It was just a somewhat strange fish.
Nearby, Vibrava quietly stepped back several paces and hid behind Bewear.
"Cooor!"
Even Corviknight could not bear to look and tilted its head aside.
For some Pokémon, looking too closely was a kind of cruelty.
"Fe… Feebas…"
Feebas seemed to sense something. It had arrived in a completely new place, and the companions in this environment appeared to be the Pokémon before it.
Looking at Haunter and Growlithe, the two closest to the water's edge, it greeted them in a clumsy and timid voice.
"Feebas…"
"Groowl!"
Growlithe responded immediately with enthusiasm. Being a Pokémon raised in warmth and encouragement, this was simply its nature. Whether the other side was Feebas or even Muk made no difference.
What surprised Growlithe was not Feebas's appearance, but its size.
It was too big.
Most of Feebas's head alone was comparable to two Growlithe.
It had seen Feebas before, but never one this enormous. This was like a giant shark among fish, a whale among sharks.
"Growl! Growl!" it praised repeatedly.
"Haun! Haun!" Haunter quickly echoed.
Whatever else, big was cool, and cool was beautiful.
Feebas flapped its fins excitedly.
It had never heard such sincere praise before. There were no polite hints, no roundabout words, and none of that hollow kindness that came from the heart yet still felt fake.
**
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