Though he still found it hard to believe, seeing the silver-white Pokémon egg in Gardevoir's hands, Sato accepted the reality that Lugia could reproduce.
However, Sato still wasn't sure whether Gardevoir really intended to take the Lugia egg.
It didn't take long for him to find out…
Gardevoir gently placed the egg back in its original spot, then turned to look at the unconscious Lugia.
"Toto, Lugia will wake up in a moment. But it won't attack us anymore. When that happens, make sure to ask for a reward!"
The telepathy echoed clearly, and before Sato could respond, Gardevoir was already enveloped in a warm pink glow.
The pink light quickly separated from Gardevoir and transformed into a radiant, non-blinding orb.
That orb flowed gently into Lugia's body, rapidly healing its internal injuries.
The ultimate healing move, Healing Wish!
At the cost of collapsing herself, it perfectly restores a teammate's status conditions and vitality.
As the pink orb fully merged into Lugia, Gardevoir's strength drained completely, and she collapsed sideways.
Sato had been prepared.
He rushed forward just in time to catch her in his arms[1]!
Gardevoir went down, but Lugia slowly regained consciousness.
"Giaaa..."
Upon waking, Lugia instinctively pulled the Pokémon egg behind itself, then looked at the collapsed Gardevoir in Sato's arms with a complicated gaze.
Though Lugia itself could not learn Healing Wish, it had witnessed other Pokémon use it more than once during its long life.
More importantly, this particular Lugia didn't possess the "Legendary Domain" of the "Guardian of the Seas", yet it wasn't the type that just any move could affect either.
And high-level healing moves -especially from an Elite Four level Pokémon- were exactly what it needed right now.
After all, having just laid an egg, Lugia was at its weakest. That Aeroblast it launched earlier had burned through the last of its strength.
It had thought that final attack would be enough to drive Sato and his team away. But Sato's clever tactic of rotation and attrition completely exhausted Lugia's last stand.
'Fortunately, though the aura of this human still felt unpleasant… he was a good person… Probably?'
With that in mind, and now slowly regaining its energy, Lugia shifted the egg to a more hidden position and finally reached out to Sato with telepathy.
"…Mighty human, thank you for helping me despite my rage. The Lugia clan will never forget your kindness."
Lugia's voice rang out in Sato's mind, and for a moment, he felt like he'd gained something; something invisible but real.
"Gen~"
Gengar seemed to understand. Through synchronized resonance, it immediately relayed to Sato what he had just received.
"A blessing from a Legendary Pokémon…?"
Sato muttered softly, and Lugia elaborated further without needing to be prompted.
"Our Lugia clan holds the [Legendary Domain] of Guardian of the Seas. Any being blessed by us will gain the favor of the ocean…
From now on, no Pokémon that lives in the sea will actively become your 'enemy'. And when capturing Water Pokémon, their starting bond with you will have a chance to be higher than normal."
When Lugia finished, Sato was momentarily pleased. But he quickly realized this blessing might not be of much use to him; he wasn't particularly skilled at training Water-types.
Sato hadn't even been out to sea more than a few times, so the idea of not being actively targeted didn't really seem useful…
However, compared to becoming enemies with the Lugia species clan, this blessing was still far preferable.
Just as Sato was adjusting his mindset and gave up hoping for any other reward, Lugia seemed to read his thoughts, hesitated for a moment, and then continued.
"Your aura clashes with my attributes, but Flying and Water-types are my areas of expertise…
You may leave one or two Flying or Water type Pokémon here, and I will personally train them for half a year."
"…Hmm?"
Sato's eyes lit up instantly. Having a legendary Pokémon like Lugia train his partners… this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Without hesitation, he immediately tossed out two Poké Balls.
Pop! Pop!
With a flash of red light, Honchkrow and Greninja appeared. Including Sharpedo, who was already out, he had three Pokémon that met Lugia's criteria.
'If one or two were okay… then what's the harm in leaving three, right?'
That was what Sato was thinking, and his eager, burning gaze couldn't help but drift toward Lugia.
It's fine… right?
Lugia fell silent, seemingly surprised by Sato's shamelessness.
Still, whether it was one Mareep or three Mareep, herding was the same. Plus, this could give its soon-to-be-born child three new playmates.
With that in mind, Lugia took another look at the three Pokémon.
Honchkrow was mighty and dashing, Sharpedo exuded raw power, and Greninja was cool and aloof.
'Hmm, not bad. Let's just keep them all!'
Soon, Lugia nodded gracefully at Sato, indicating its agreement to this arrangement… ahem, to keep all three.
It was only then that Sato had the chance to explain everything that had just happened to the three Pokémon.
But just as he excitedly finished explaining, Sharpedo immediately shook its head, indicating it didn't want to stay behind.
"Shar… Shar~Pe!"
Through the resonance link, Sato instantly understood what Sharpedo meant.
{I want to stay with you. Let's finish the Elite Four Tournament ranking battles first.}
Seeing this, Honchkrow also shook its head, it too wanted to stay and fight alongside Sato.
"Gren…" 'Hn…'
Only Greninja let out a soft cry to Sato, then walked resolutely toward Lugia.
It wasn't that Greninja didn't want to battle with Sato, but it hadn't even broken through to the Elite level yet, meaning it wasn't even qualified to compete.
Only by becoming stronger could it truly have the right to say…
'I'll fight with you till the end!'
Lugia watched everything in silence, offering no commentary; though deep down, its regard for Sato grew a little more.
Seeing that Sharpedo and Honchkrow had made firm decisions and wouldn't be swayed, Sato said no more.
Even though the Pokémon in front of him was the legendary Lugia, it didn't possess the Guardian of the Seas' Domain and wasn't the only or the strongest of its kind.
In that case, this opportunity wasn't as rare or priceless as it seemed.
---◓---
"Then I'll leave Greninja in your care, Lugia," Sato said earnestly.
Lugia slightly lowered its body and nodded back with equal sincerity.
"Don't worry. I'll train it well."
Having received Lugia's blessing and entrusted Greninja to it, everything here was more or less concluded.
Sato was just about to bid farewell when he suddenly thought of something else. He casually asked.
"Recently, the Whirl Islands have been hit frequently by whirlpool tides, basically waterspouts. Do you happen to know the cause behind them?"
[1] CHI… sIgh…