In a seaside cave on a small island west of Iron Island, far out in Sinnoh's offshore waters, Jumpluff was using the experience she'd gained in the laboratory to pick Berries that suited Luther's tastes. Meanwhile, Azumarill was responsible for mashing them up and feeding them to him.
Ho-Oh had carried Luther and Mira far away from areas inhabited by humans.
The island was extremely remote. It was common to go ten days or even half a month without seeing a Trainer or Pokémon training in the open sea.
During the first day, Luther remained unconscious.
One nightmare followed another without end.
It had been so long since he'd experienced a fever and cold that he'd almost forgotten how miserable they could be. More than once, Luther genuinely felt like he was dying.
Whether it was because Ho-Oh had helped him or because his body was tougher than average, the vicious fever finally began to ease on the second day after arriving on the island.
When Luther woke up, Azumarill nearly killed him.
Overjoyed to see him awake, Azumarill launched herself directly onto him.
If Gardevoir hadn't immediately thrown Azumarill away, Luther was pretty sure he would have actually died.
Jumpluff and Chansey promptly gave Azumarill a thorough beating.
Ho-Oh was already gone.
According to Gardevoir and the others, Ho-Oh had watched over Luther for an entire day. Only after confirming that his condition was improving had she finally left.
Chansey tried to explain something through gestures, but Luther couldn't understand.
She repeatedly mimicked the shape of a bird with her hands, then pointed at the glowing Rainbow Wing hanging on Luther's chest.
It wasn't until Gardevoir joined in that Luther finally understood what Chansey was trying to say.
Ho-Oh had met another Pokémon on this island.
Sitting up weakly and drinking fresh water that Darkrai had brought back, Luther was surprised.
Gardevoir even shared fragments of a blurry memory with him.
On a shoreline not far from here, Ho-Oh had been standing face-to-face with a silver-white Pokémon, communicating through telepathy.
Lugia.
The Lugia that might have been influencing the weather along Sinnoh's coastline was actually beneath the waters around this island.
That explained why Ho-Oh had brought him here.
She didn't want to interact with other humans, had sensed Lugia's presence nearby, and simply brought Luther along while passing through.
His recovery had probably been so quick because Ho-Oh had quietly been helping him the whole time.
After learning that Lugia was nearby, Luther stopped worrying and focused on recovering.
Since Ho-Oh and Lugia had spent so much time talking, they had probably discussed him as well. No matter what, Lugia wasn't likely to suddenly whip up another massive storm just for fun and make his condition worse.
Still, Luther was curious about what Ho-Oh and Lugia had talked about.
Legendary Pokémon like those two probably didn't meet very often. According to the records he knew, both had appeared in Ecruteak City at some point in history.
For now, though, Luther was living the life of a complete invalid.
In his weakened state, he was being cared for entirely by his Pokémon.
When he was thirsty, Darkrai brought him water.
When he was hungry, Azumarill spooned mashed Berry pulp into his mouth.
When he was bored, he could call Jumpluff over and use her as a fluffy pillow. She didn't object, either. Normally, Luther would have been greeted with a Jump Kick for trying something like that.
Being a patient really did have its perks.
Mira lay not far from Luther.
She still hadn't woken up.
Her breathing was steady. Her heartbeat was normal. Sometimes her face would twitch slightly. Her body temperature was fine as well.
And yet, she refused to wake.
Ho-Oh had said that whether Mira could return depended on herself. There was nothing Luther could do except have Jumpluff and the others mash Berries into juice and force-feed her a little at a time.
They had gone through so much trouble to pull Mira back from death's door.
If she ended up starving to death now, that would be beyond ridiculous.
By the third day, Luther had recovered considerably.
The dizziness was completely gone. Aside from lingering weakness and an occasional cough, he was finally able to move around again.
Just as Luther was preparing to leave the cave and take a look around the island, dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead.
Storms appearing out at sea weren't unusual.
But when he looked around, he realized the clouds were only covering the area around this particular island.
That was a little absurd.
The sea not far away suddenly split apart.
A silver-white pair of wings burst from the water, throwing up a long trail of spray. The droplets rolling off Lugia's back sparkled under the last rays of sunlight that hadn't yet been hidden by the clouds.
Luther felt a chill run down his spine.
Ever since appearing, Lugia had been staring directly at him.
And she did not look friendly.
Suddenly, Luther wasn't so sure whether Ho-Oh had actually told Lugia that he was staying here to recover.
He quickly grabbed the Rainbow Wing hanging from his chest.
A ring of rainbow light spread out from it.
Hopefully Lugia wouldn't misunderstand and accidentally attack an ally.
The moment Lugia saw the rainbow glow, she suddenly let out a loud cry toward the cave.
A powerful gust of wind blasted straight into it.
Luther was blown backward so hard that if Azumarill hadn't caught him, he would have taken a nasty fall.
Luther had no idea how he had offended Lugia.
Was this some kind of legendary Pokémon morning grumpiness?
A short while later, thunder rumbled overhead.
Rain poured down in sheets over the island.
Yet the sea not far away remained completely calm.
Luther was utterly baffled.
What was this supposed to be?
House arrest?
What exactly had happened between Ho-Oh and Lugia for Lugia to treat him like this?
Lying in the cave, Luther watched his Pokémon chase after Berries that had been blown everywhere by the wind and fell into deep confusion.
Meanwhile, Lugia skimmed low over the ocean, her gaze fixed coldly ahead.
In her sight was a Dragonite carrying a human on its back, rapidly approaching the island.
This wasn't the first time Lugia had sensed this Dragonite and its Trainer.
Over the past few days, they had repeatedly appeared in the nearby seas.
This time, however, they were flying straight toward the island.
Before leaving, Ho-Oh had asked her to look after the sickly human in the cave and make sure he recovered properly.
Lugia had agreed.
Lance was stunned.
He recognized the Pokémon before him from ancient records.
'"It possesses the incredible power to calm storm-tossed seas. It is said to appear whenever great tempests arise."'
Lugia.
The Pokémon that ancient people had called the Sea God.
Over the past few days, Lance had been searching across Sinnoh's coastal and offshore waters, hoping to find some trace of Mira.
He had found nothing.
This time, he had decided to push even farther into the open sea and expand the search area.
Instead, he had run straight into Lugia.
The distant island was shrouded in heavy rain.
Lugia hovered motionless before it.
Even a fool could tell that there was something on that island she cared about.
Lance immediately dismissed the possibility that Mira was hiding there.
Lugia's territorial instincts seemed extremely strong. If he intruded recklessly, he might provoke her into a rage.
After having Dragonite convey that they meant no offense, Lance changed course and continued his search elsewhere.
Watching Lance disappear into the distance, Lugia glanced back toward the cave where Luther was staying.
Then she dove beneath the waves and returned to the deep sea to rest.
As she descended, Lugia noticed Silver leading a group of Mantyke toward the surface.
After sensing that no dangerous Water-type Pokémon were nearby, she relaxed.
(End of Chapter)
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