Woo——
The deep sound of a steam whistle spread throughout Withered Leaf Port.
The gigantic "Saint Anus" officially set sail, slowly heading toward the endless coastline.
A lot of excited people were leaning on the railing of the deck, either waving goodbye to family and friends onshore or dreaming about the journey with friends beside them.
Golden sunlight rose slowly from the east, casting a shimmering glow on the sea.
And it also shone into Natsuhiko's room.
Togepi, on the bed, with its little butt out, suddenly felt a hint of warmth on its hindquarters, sat up and rubbed its sleepy eyes.
Let out a long yawn.
With a flip, it jumped off the bed.
Walked to a piece of rock nearby that seemed hard but had small holes and gently knocked on it.
Knock knock.
"Cha ko ee——"
Wake up, Shuckle, the sun's up, I want some juice.
From the dark holes, four soft tentacles and a somewhat dazed thin head emerged.
Shuckle's sweet dream was disturbed by Togepi.
Upon hearing Togepi's call, Shuckle remained expressionless.
You're the turtle, your whole family are turtles, no wait, you're a turtle egg!
Thinking this in its heart, but still poured some pure, clear, transparent liquid into the cup Togepi handed over.
"Cha ko ee!"
Shuckle, you're amazing!
Togepi suitably praised, clutching the cup and drinking more than half of it down with loud gulps.
The nearby Shuckle, meanwhile, withdrew back into its shell, ready for another nap.
"Burp——"
Togepi let out a belch, looked at the still unfinished Tree Fruit juice in the cup, recalling the expression of Natsuhiko repeatedly urging not to waste, its small eyes darted around as it hopped over to Abra, who was cross-legged on the bedside table.
It could be seen, Abra seemed to be sitting on the bedside table, but in fact, its feet were a little above the table, suspended in mid-air through psychic powers.
"Cha ko ee——"
Little fox——
Abra slowly squinted its eyes open, looking a bit helplessly at Togepi, who liked to give nicknames to Pokémon.
"Kai xi?"
What's up?
Togepi raised the cup in its hand, with about one-third of the Tree Fruit juice remaining inside.
Abra rolled its eyes at it discontentedly.
It hadn't made any noise, but it was meditating, not sleeping, it wasn't oblivious of what passed between Togepi and Shuckle.
"Kai xi."
No need.
Finished speaking, Abra closed its eyes again, mumbling something unknown, while continually flicking the string of Buddha Beads in its hand.
"Cha ko ee...."
Becoming more like a charlatan, always muttering.
Togepi muttered softly.
Then it looked expectantly at Beedrill.
Only to find Beedrill, wrapped in some unknown weight training equipment, its scarlet compound eyes already watching it.
The expression was intriguing.
Togepi's smile froze, giving an awkward laugh and waving its hand.
Just forget it.
But looking down at the glistening Tree Fruit juice in the cup, then touching its own now even more round little tummy.
"Cha ko ee..."
Indeed can't waste it.
Staring at the Pidgeotto pretending to rest with closed eyes by the bedside.
Sweeping over the Ditto that's somehow turned into a pillow.
Puckered its lips.
It simply couldn't drink any more, it's not like it spat in there on purpose.
Then its cunning little eyes darted again, setting on Natsuhiko who was seated with his back to it, working at the computer at the desk.
The corners of its mouth involuntarily lifted, with a hint of mischief.
Hopping over to Natsuhiko's desk.
"Cha ko ee."
With a big smile on his face, he placed the cup beside Natsuhiko's hand and gently called out.
"Has the training for Eevee's Gratitude Technique been scheduled? Sakuragi is pretty quick, indeed a man of action." Natsuhiko replied to Sakuragi's message with a smile.
Ever since Sakuragi decided to collaborate with Natsuhiko, the daily progress of the experiments would be organized and sent to him by Chrysa.
So that he could have a more direct understanding of how the experiments were progressing.
Perhaps Sakuragi felt that such accurate and detailed data reports were also important to Natsuhiko, who was similarly conducting Pokémon research.
At that moment, Togepi happened to hand over the cup.
"Sleeping until the sun's up, huh, Togepi."
He gently pressed its little head.
He didn't say much more to it.
After all, Togepi worked hard in yesterday's training and completed all the tasks set by Natsuhiko.
Togepi shrank its neck.
Its little eyes mischievously watched Natsuhiko, who showed no expression as he lifted the cup to his mouth.
Natsuhiko didn't notice the scene; with one hand, he controlled the computer to open the alliance's website to check the latest news, taking a small sip.
"Hmm?"
Natsuhiko furrowed his brow, smacked his lips, and looked at the cup.
"It's Tree Fruit juice; did you bully Shuckle again?"
Togepi's face flushed red, trying hard to appear serious and sincere, drawing an X on its chest to assure that it didn't bully Shuckle.
Natsuhiko didn't think much of it, finishing the Tree Fruit juice in one gulp.
Tree Fruit is a natural treasure bestowed upon Pokémon by the wilderness of the Pokemon Realm, playing a significant role for them, but it doesn't mean humans can't eat it.
It's just that some Tree Fruits don't taste great.
Moreover, Tree Fruits don't provide much help to humans.
Returning the cup to Togepi.
Togepi pouted, tears brimming at the corners of its eyes.
Can't hold on any longer, need to escape!
It dove into the blankets, visibly trembling.
The other Pokémon in the room started to react, either raising their heads, stretching out their heads, or opening their eyes, all looking at Natsuhiko with bizarre expressions.
But at this moment, Natsuhiko wasn't in the mood to care about their expressions because he was drawn to a piece of news on the alliance's homepage, not too big but not too small either.
"Yesterday, Ink Sea Horse was attacked by pirates, the attackers being the Terror Star Jack's gang, one of the Pirate Five Stars. Many passengers were injured, and five sailors died as a result. The property loss is severe, and Pokémon were looted extensively..."
Originally, as someone living in Goldenrod City, Natsuhiko wouldn't be concerned about such news.
After all, it's instinctive to focus on news relevant to one's location and position.
But now he's at sea, so news like this naturally caught his eye.
Moreover.
Upon following such news, he quickly found many historical reports of pirate attacks causing heavy losses.
"Every pirate attack results in many injuries, but the death rate is very low. Yet all the ship's financial assets are invariably lost, and Pokémon are extensively plundered. These pirates truly know their 'limits'..."
Indeed.
If mass casualties occurred, the alliance would be pressured to clean the seas of pirates decisively.
But merely losing some assets seems to be within the realm of tolerance.
The ocean is vast, and searching for some pirates in such an expansive sea requires massive financial, human, and material resources.
The frequency of pirate attacks on ships isn't low, but the success rate is generally not high.
With thousands of vessels sailing each year, the number of successful attacks doesn't exceed ten, less than a one percent chance, which can be considered relatively safe.
Meanwhile, as Natsuhiko was browsing through this news, he found something "interesting."
Various alliances have issued joint bounties.
1. (Three Kings) Black King, Black Tide, bounty of 200 million alliance coins.
2. (Three Kings) White King, Anna Fitch, bounty of 100 million alliance coins.
3. (Three Kings) King Caesar, Bartholomew, bounty of 100 million alliance coins.
4. (Five Stars) Star of Blood, Henry, bounty of 70 million alliance coins.
5. (Five Stars) Star of Terror, Jack, bounty of 50 million alliance coins.
6. (Five Stars) Charming Star, Binina, bounty of 40 million alliance coins.
7...
Natsuhiko looked at this bounty list, his expression odd.
Although it's all money, and an astronomical sum at that, something is still off.
"Could this be... the Pirate King of the Pokemon Realm?"
Moreover, that so-called Black King, Black Tide, who topped the bounty list really seems like one of the highest-ranking officers of the Ocean Team, Tide.
"Apparently, forming a crew to plunder resources at sea is a very lucrative venture... The alliance hasn't enough strength to intervene..."