Blastoise felt itself spinning in endless circles within the vortex, growing so dizzy that it wanted to be sick.
Tapu Fini saw that its Whirlpool had successfully trapped Blastoise, who clearly had no ability to continue fighting or resisting, so the Guardian Deity emerged from the darker depths and approached.
The moment Blastoise saw Tapu Fini clearly, recognition dawned immediately.
Blastoise breathed a massive sigh of relief, bubbles streaming from its mouth.
Ah... so it's you...
Tapu Fini gave Blastoise an annoyed, exasperated look.
"Fini!"
What were you running for?!
Blastoise's eyes widened in disbelief. Would I have run if you weren't chasing me?
Tapu Fini was momentarily at a loss for words, completely stumped by Blastoise's chicken-and-egg logic.
"Fini!" Tapu Fini snorted impatiently.
The Guardian Deity controlled the speed of the Whirlpool, slowing it down slightly, but still didn't release Blastoise completely.
Blastoise felt confused and kept struggling against the water currents. However, after discovering it couldn't break free entirely, it gave up on that particular idea.
Nevertheless, Blastoise—who had always been quite talkative and persuasive—obviously hadn't abandoned the concept of negotiating its freedom.
Hey, hey, we can talk this through calmly, right?
Where are we going?
Are you looking for my Trainer?
Actually, if you just let me go, I can swim there myself...
"FINI!"
Before Blastoise could finish its rambling explanation, Tapu Fini had already given a very obvious signal of intimidation and warning.
The dorsal fin on the shell behind Tapu Fini's back stood completely upright, and the spikes on its head seemed to gleam with cold, threatening light.
Blastoise wisely shut its mouth immediately.
Tapu Fini still couldn't quite swallow its irritation and annoyance. It even made the Whirlpool move a bit faster in response.
If that human hadn't asked me to come find you, I wouldn't have bothered caring about this at all.
Blastoise felt increasingly dizzy from the spinning. After what seemed like an eternity, it finally felt itself being pulled up onto shore.
Opening its eyes again, the familiar geyser camp was already in front of it.
Seeing the commotion by the seaside, Roy ran over anxiously, still breathing heavily from exertion. His expression appeared tense with worry and relief.
Roy noticed Tapu Fini still floating near the shoreline. He hesitated for a moment, seeming uncertain how to express his gratitude, then extended the items in his hand toward the Guardian Deity.
"Thank you, Tapu Fini."
"This is a small token of my appreciation."
Tapu Fini shook its head, indicating it didn't particularly care about compensation, and then... promptly accepted the bag of specially prepared Pokémon food anyway.
In truth, when Roy had found Tapu Fini early that morning and requested help locating Blastoise, the Guardian Deity had been somewhat angry and initially unwilling to assist.
However, in the very next second, when it caught the tempting aroma wafting from what Roy had brought along, Tapu Fini had nodded its head with feigned reservation and restraint.
That decision had led to the little misunderstanding and chase sequence in the sea.
Blastoise roughly understood the cause and effect of the entire situation now. It scratched its head in embarrassment.
Sorry. I didn't recognize you at first in the murky water.
Tapu Fini, having obtained exactly what it wanted, was in an excellent mood. The Guardian Deity had already pushed all its minor worries and grievances to the very back of its mind.
"Fini~"
It's nothing~
After bidding Roy a cheerful farewell, Tapu Fini dove back toward its own deep-sea dwelling with its prize clutched securely.
Blastoise watched carefully as Roy gave instructions to Salamence for the next task.
"Thanks for your hard work. Go tell the others they don't need to keep searching."
Roy fed Salamence an energy cube as reward and affectionately touched the Dragon-type's massive head.
Although Salamence had been searching extensively for Blastoise, it had been focusing on the waters near Poni Island. The Dragon-type had also been serving as a communications messenger, ready to relay information quickly between team members at any moment.
After Salamence consumed the energy cube, it felt completely refreshed and energized throughout its entire body.
"Mence~" it rumbled contentedly.
Leave it to me.
Salamence roared softly. After giving Blastoise one long, meaningful look that clearly communicated we'll talk about this later, it spread its huge wings and launched into the sky. Its massive wingspan seemed to momentarily block out the sun as it ascended.
Now only Blastoise and Roy remained near the geyser camp.
The air grew quiet, creating a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere.
Blastoise was the first to break the silence with an explanation.
Actually, I don't really know what happened. When I woke up this morning, I was surrounded by thick fog and couldn't find my way back to camp.
Then I ran into Tapu Fini, and I ran such a long distance without recognizing who it was...
Blastoise's voice grew quieter and quieter as it spoke. The Water-type genuinely knew it had done something wrong.
Roy took a deep breath, trying to calm his own anxiety.
Actually, it was partially his fault for not properly explaining to Blastoise about the potential dangers lurking in these ocean waters.
Moreover, today had been particularly unfortunate—there had been unusually heavy fog blanketing the sea. This fog had even begun affecting the land areas, which had made Roy somewhat panicked and anxious when he'd discovered Blastoise missing.
Blastoise had a naturally playful personality, and it wasn't particularly experienced yet...
Thinking about all these factors, Roy sighed again heavily.
"Well..."
"It's alright. Just remember—from now on, only go out to explore after you've become familiar with the environment. Don't let yourself wander into unknown territory alone."
Hearing that Roy's tone didn't carry any blame or anger, Blastoise suddenly raised its head with visible relief.
It raised its right flipper to the side of its head in a crisp salute.
Understood, sir!
Roy was genuinely amused by Blastoise's playful, earnest demeanor. The helplessness and worry in his heart dissipated somewhat.
However, he had learned something valuable about Tapu Fini's preferences through this incident. He'd also managed to break through their previously icy, distant relationship. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise after all.
Thinking along these lines, Roy quietly decided to add just a little bit more practice homework to Blastoise's training regimen for today.
Meanwhile, Blastoise continued happily using its various techniques to exercise and improve its accuracy, completely unaware that there was a "demon trainer" laughing gleefully behind it while planning additional drills.
After Lucario and the others returned slowly from their search efforts, Blastoise was subjected to strong condemnation from its teammates and siblings.
"Tales~"
Looking for you wasted so much of my beauty sleep time. You owe me compensation for this.
Ninetales adopted the posture of an offended young lady, but those who knew the Ice-type well understood that this attitude stemmed from genuine worry and concern for Blastoise's safety.
Although Blastoise's current strength meant that most wild Pokémon in Alola's spiritual domain couldn't defeat it in a fair fight, there were still significant dangers to consider.
Blastoise couldn't necessarily withstand encounters with brutal, aggressive Pokémon like Sharpedo. What's more, many wild Pokémon in these waters were currently experiencing heightened aggression and territorial behavior.
If Blastoise had encountered a large group of ferocious wild Pokémon all at once, the team feared there might not have been anything left to recover.
Blastoise had no real defense against Ninetales's scolding. It could only beg pitifully for forgiveness.
Salamence also firmly patted Blastoise's shell with one of its large, blood-red wings, clearly expressing disapproval of the Water-type's reckless behavior.
Next time if you want to go somewhere, you can call me along. If we can't win a fight, we'll just flee together.
Blastoise's eyes widened in surprise, genuinely shocked that this "good brother" who had progressed to such impressive speed would actually suggest such a seemingly cowardly strategy so openly.