Splash——
The waves crashed onto the shore.
Natsuhiko stood on the beach with a speechless expression, gazing at the small island ahead and feeling the richly salty sea breeze blowing from behind.
Meloetta hung her head while flying in front of Natsuhiko, her hands intertwined.
Natsuhiko exhaled slowly and then smiled.
Meloetta paused, feeling the warmth coming from above her head, and slowly lifted her head.
"This is my own issue, it has nothing to do with you. Even if you hadn't appeared, I would have come here. On the contrary, you got dragged into this by me."
"Melo Melo~~" Meloetta waved her hands repeatedly.
Upon hearing that Natsuhiko didn't blame her, she sighed in relief and patted her chest.
"So, where is this place?"
He looked around.
Except for the lush island in front of them, all around was an endless sea, as if the whole world consisted only of this island.
"Melo."
'Thundercloud Island.'
But Meloetta seemed very certain about this place.
"Thundercloud Island? Is this Thundurus' place? Was that just now Thundurus' monument?" Natsuhiko asked a series of questions.
But the answer was the same for all of them.
Meloetta nodded her head.
Natsuhiko pursed his lips.
If this were Landorus' place, it would have been easy to handle.
Among the Kami Trio who guard the Unova Region's nature, Landorus, who represents fertility, is the most agreeable.
While Thundurus and Tornadus are completely two wantonly destructive beings.
The relationship between Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus, in Natsuhiko's view, is akin to Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre of the Hoenn Region, not in terms of their strength, but their way of interacting.
Thundurus and Tornadus cause havoc, and when their destructive pranks get out of hand, Landorus appears to stop them.
Moreover, Landorus possesses the ability to absorb wind and thunder and transform it into energy, nourishing the land and making it fertile.
Among the Kami Trio, only Landorus has a Species Value of 600 points, while the other two have only 580 points.
Natsuhiko couldn't help but press his forehead, "Why isn't it the Domestic Cat's territory?"
"Melo?"
'Domestic Cat?'
Meloetta blinked her emerald green eyes.
She tilted her head, looking at Natsuhiko curiously.
Her intuition told her that Natsuhiko's "Domestic Cat" referred to Landorus.
At the thought of Landorus in its Spirit Beast Form, Meloetta couldn't help but laugh.
"Melo-lolo~~"
It really does look a bit like it.
"No, maybe it's more suitable to call it Insect Cloud."
"Melo?"
"Nothing, just expressing a feeling," Natsuhiko waved his hand.
Meloetta could understand his first sentence, but was clearly puzzled by the second.
"How can we leave?" Natsuhiko asked again.
"Melo~~"
Meloetta raised her hand, pointing to a not-so-tall hill in the center of the island.
At the top of the hill, there stood a monument identical to the one they had encountered when they arrived.
"Just reach there, right?"
Thankfully, the island doesn't appear to be very large, and the distance to the hill isn't too far.
"Melo~~"
Yet Meloetta didn't seem very optimistic.
BOOM!!
A sudden thunderclap, accompanied by a huge blue-white lightning bolt, tore through the gloomy sky.
"Melo!"
Meloetta shivered in a startle and instinctively leapt into Natsuhiko's arms, curling up in a slight shiver.
"Afraid of thunder?"
Natsuhiko wrapped his arms around her, placing both hands near Meloetta's ears with psychic energy attached.
The rumbling thunder sounds seemed much quieter to Meloetta, until they completely disappeared.
She slowly lifted her head, her sparkling eyes staring blankly at Natsuhiko.
She could see Natsuhiko's mouth moving, but could hear no sound.
Yet Meloetta seemed to understand Natsuhiko's meaning.
'Don't fear.'
Eevee and Vulpix, perched on Natsuhiko's shoulders, made funny faces, seemingly trying to comfort her.
"Melo——"
Meloetta smiled with crescent eyes.
The emerald gem on her forehead shimmered, energy wrapped around her ears, then she nodded towards Natsuhiko.
Seeing her action, Natsuhiko finally let go of his hands.
Indeed, Meloetta was no longer as startled by the next thunderclap.
Mainly because Meloetta hadn't adjusted according to the changed environment.
Earlier in the forest, she enjoyed the joy of the forest and the Pokémon within, amplifying her hearing to maximum; the sudden thunderclap frightened her.
Now it was much better.
"Melo~~"
Meloetta nuzzled against Natsuhiko's chest, imitating Eevee to show affection.
"Buyi?" Eevee looked at her in surprise.
When did she start following them?
Natsuhiko was curious too.
Meloetta gave a brief explanation.
She was attending a concert in Twin Dragons City, and after leaving the venue, she was drawn by the sounds of Eevee and Vulpix, following them from a café all the way to the Thundurus monument.
Natsuhiko understood.
Meloetta loves listening to music and beautiful sounds; if there's a pleasing sound, she'll be attracted to it.
He looked up at the thunderous sky.
"It seems... Thundurus is in anger?"
"Melo~~" Meloetta hesitated but eventually nodded.
"Can you contact it? I recall your song should be able to soothe it," Natsuhiko asked again.
"Melo."
But Meloetta shook her head without hesitation.
She then demonstrated to Natsuhiko.
A beautiful, soothing song, combining joy and calm, emanated from Meloetta.
Hearing the music, Natsuhiko and his companions displayed a captivated expression.
BOOM!!
Yet a sudden thunderclap abruptly interrupted Meloetta's song.
With this demonstration, Natsuhiko understood.
It wasn't that Meloetta's song was ineffective on Thundurus; it was due to the continuous thunderclaps that significantly diminished the song's effect.
Plus, without knowing where Thundurus was hiding, Meloetta's song couldn't accurately lock onto its location.
"Alright, I get it," Natsuhiko adjusted his hat, "Basically, we still need to approach that monument, right? Even if Thundurus shows up, we'll at least have a chance to get close to it."
"Melo."
Meloetta flipped over, sitting directly on Natsuhiko's embraced arms.
She crossed her legs, humming an ancient song.
Appearing quite at ease.
Eevee and Vulpix listened quietly to Meloetta's song from his shoulders.
If it wasn't for that annoying thunderclap occasionally blasting away.
Meloetta's song might have been the most beautiful sound they'd ever heard.
"Chirp!"
Hanging on a tree while proceeding was Monferno, also listening to Meloetta's song, but its eyes were surveying the surroundings.
It swiftly crossed a bush and reached Natsuhiko.
Opening its palm.
Inside was a piece of torn cloth.
"Is this... the fabric from a hunter's outfit?" Natsuhiko squinted his eyes.
"So, Hunter S and the others might just have been dragged inside, and as for them being dead, we actually can't be completely sure?"
————
PS: We've nearly reached 370,000 words this month. Tomorrow is the last day, asking for a monthly ticket~~