Pokémon: Above the Top

The room fell into silence. Sato and Joseph both looked serious.

They quietly watched Mark scrolled through the information about Manaphy. The tablet's white glow reflected off his face; not bright, but as if casting a hardened mask over him.

After another ten minutes of silence, Mark shut off the tablet and grinned at Sato and Joseph. "So we're about to embark on a thrilling ocean adventure, huh?"

Neither Sato nor Joseph responded, but the atmosphere only grew heavier.

Arbok lay curled around Mark's feet, its small head resting on his thigh without a sound, just quietly lying there.

"We could choose not to go. After all, everything we've read is just a legend," Sato said, but even he couldn't convince himself.

Manaphy, the Prince of the Sea, was said to be the only one able to find the treasure known as the Sea Crown. From the moment it hatched, it would be called by the ocean, which was said to be its true home.

According to legend, there had been many Trainers in history who had brief "chance encounters" with Manaphy, but without exception, they all eventually chose to release it back to the sea.

Truthfully, Mythical Pokémon weren't necessarily the most powerful in terms of strength, but each held a unique significance.

Celebi was the guardian of forests. It was said every forest had its own Celebi, and they even had the power to travel through time.

As for Jirachi and Victini, they too were guardians of their respective domains, protecting local prosperity.

Manaphy's domain was the Sea Temple, Samiya, which guarded the treasure known as the Sea Crown.

"Let's just focus on taking care of it until it hatches. Everything else can wait," Mark said as he held the Manaphy Pokémon Egg.

…The night passed without incident…

The next morning, the three of them set off toward Pastoria City.

There was a port in Pastoria City, so they decided to wait there for Manaphy to hatch, and depending on how things went, possibly rent a sailboat to begin their ocean journey.

…But barely half an hour after leaving the hotel, a Floatzel came crashing toward them head-on.

Alert, Sato didn't hesitate to send out his Pokémon. "Zoroark, Night Daze."

"Wait! Don't attack! It's not an enemy!"

Seeing the reckless Floatzel about to be blasted by Night Daze, Mark recognized it as the same Floatzel that had given him the Manaphy Egg and quickly yelled to stop it.

Hearing this, Zoroark forcibly redirected the expanding Night Daze away from Floatzel, which ended up demolishing a large patch of trees on the side.

"Flooooat!"

Floatzel skidded backward two steps, baring its teeth at Zoroark one moment, then turning to look at Mark with a mix of shock and suspicion.

"Stop fighting! No one here's an enemy!" Mark rushed between Zoroark and Floatzel, trying to calm both sides… though he was really only calming Floatzel.

"Float?"

Floatzel watched Mark approach and saw that he was putting himself between it and the terrifying Zoroark. Only then did it start to relax a little, letting out a soft cry in Mark's direction.

"You're asking about Manaphy? It's right here, perfectly fine," Mark guessed what Floatzel was trying to ask and directly pulled out the Manaphy Pokémon Egg.

"Float~"

Floatzel leaned in to sniff it, then stared at the pulse of light coming from the Egg for a while. Only then did it lay down calmly and gently rubbed against Mark, seemingly expressing its gratitude.

"Seeing this… if you had taken it instead, maybe I'd actually feel happier right now," Mark murmured as he petted Floatzel's wet head.

"Float!"

Soon, Floatzel stood back up, nodded at Mark, then ran forward a few steps and turned back to look at him.

"You mean… you want us to follow you?"

"Float!" Floatzel nodded happily, then continued running ahead.

Mark and Sato exchanged glances and quickly picked up the pace to follow. When it came to Pokémon, they actually found them easier to trust.

"It's heading toward the beach… could it be…" Sato muttered as he ran, glancing around.

They passed through a forest and soon reached the coastline. Only to stop in their tracks when they saw a sailboat docked at the shore.

"Float!"

Floatzel called out toward the boat. Soon, a young couple rushed out.

The moment Sato and the others laid eyes on them, the couple clearly looked just as surprised.

Floatzel stood between both sides, looking left and right with a trace of confusion in its eyes. This wasn't quite what it had expected.

"Excuse me, may I ask what brings you here?" the man from the sailboat asked first, subtly shielding his companion behind him.

"Floatzel brought us here. We're not really sure why," Mark answered honestly. The two people looked a bit weird, but didn't seem like bad guys.

"Kyle, let me handle this."

At that moment, the woman behind the man stepped forward.

"You must be the Trainers chosen by Manaphy this time. May I ask which one of you was blessed by Manaphy?"

"Who are you?" Mark instinctively clenched his fists and stepped back two paces, standing shoulder to shoulder with Sato and Joseph.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Meredith, of the People of the Water, guardians of the Sea Temple for generations."

The three fell silent. Just as the issue with Cyrus hadn't been resolved, now another faction had appeared.

Whether these people were allies or not, it undeniably increased the risks for them.

Seeing their silence, Meredith didn't seem concerned. She slowly stepped closer and extended her hand to reveal a blue/white bracelet.

"From the People of the Water who have protected the Sea Temple for generations, I offer this prayer… May the Prince of the Sea, Manaphy, awaken once more and lead us to…"

Meredith began to chant something under her breath. The blue/white bracelet started to shine with an increasingly bright white light.

At the same time, Mark's backpack began to emit a faint glow.

With Sato's reminder, Mark pulled out the Manaphy Egg and saw its pulses growing faster and more intense.

Bzz~

The incubator opened automatically. Manaphy's Egg slowly floated into the air, and a blinding blue light made it hard to see anything else.

When the light faded, a sweet, obedient Manaphy lay peacefully asleep in Mark's arms.