On the Brave Olivine's wing deck, Jin stood face to face with three trainers.
"Hey."
"You! That brat from before!"
"Nice to see you again... But I have to say, it's impressive you managed to follow us here with that battered Skarmory."
One of the Explorers, a man with a mohawk named Zirc, had ridden in on a Skarmory that had been almost incapacitated in a battle with Sceptile. Just carrying its trainer through the storm must have been a tremendous effort.
"And to fly through this storm... Honestly, I'm surprised. You should praise it properly later."
"Mind your own business! This time, I'm gonna—"
"Zirc, stand down."
"But—"
"Zirc."
"...Yes."
Zirc, who had been provoked by Jin and was about to step forward, was stopped by Amethio, who then stepped up to face Jin himself.
"You again..."
"Sorry, it's me again."
"I'm not interested in you. Where's the girl?"
Amethio's dismissive tone was expected since he had no particular interest in Jin. However, Jin found it odd that Amethio was so fixated on Liko.
"Liko? I thought you guys were after the pendant."
"Initially, the pendant was our only goal. But it seems there's a secret to it, one that involves her. We've changed our plan; she'll be coming with us."
"Are you serious? There's no way we'd hand her over just because you said so."
"Your consent is irrelevant. We will achieve our goal."
"You've got to be kidding. There's no way I'll let you take the pendant or her."
If anything, Jin now had even more reason to fight. If Liko was taken, who knew what they would do to her? He couldn't afford to lose this battle.
"I see... Then let's settle this with a battle. I won't hold back."
"That's what I was hoping for!"
Both Jin and Amethio simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.
"Go! Ceruledge!"
"Your turn! Sceptile!"
Jin sent out his Sceptile, and Amethio released his Ceruledge, just like when they first encountered each other at the academy.
"Sceptile again, huh... You know it's a disadvantageous matchup. You can switch if you want."
"Thanks for the concern, but there's no need."
"Don't regret it. Ceruledge, use Bitter Blade!"
"Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!"
In the center of the deck, Ceruledge's dual swords clashed with Sceptile's sharp, pointed leaves, resulting in a tense standoff.
"You think a Grass-type move can stand up to Ceruledge?"
"Type advantage isn't everything. It all depends on how you use it. Sceptile, Bullet Seed!"
Sceptile opened its mouth and unleashed a barrage of Bullet Seed at Ceruledge.
"Ceruledge, get some distance!"
The close-range Bullet Seed hit Ceruledge, but it managed to back away, avoiding continuous hits and minimizing the damage.
"Energy Ball!"
"Bitter Blade!"
Sceptile hurled an Energy Ball at the retreating Ceruledge, but it was swiftly sliced in half by Ceruledge's Bitter Blade.
"Not bad at all."
"I don't have time to waste on you. I'm ending this quickly."
"That's cold."
Recently, Jin had been focused on training with Liko, and it had been a while since he had a serious battle with another trainer. Despite his anger at Amethio's threat to take Liko, the intensity of the battle, combined with Amethio and Ceruledge's strength, made it exciting.
(Amethio... might be stronger than the other trainers who competed in the Ever Grande Conference.)
"Sorry, but you're staying whether you like it or not. Sceptile, use Agility!"
Sceptile closed the gap with Ceruledge using Agility.
"Ceruledge, Psycho Cut!"
Ceruledge attempted to strike the approaching Sceptile with Psycho Cut, but Sceptile narrowly evaded and closed in on Ceruledge.
"Now! Throat Chop!"
"Scep!"
Sceptile landed a powerful Throat Chop on Ceruledge, sending it flying through the air.
"What!? Ceruledge!"
"Sceptile, Energy Ball!"
With Ceruledge airborne and unable to escape, Sceptile hurled another Energy Ball, aiming to finish the fight.
"Not yet! Ceruledge, Bitter Blade!"
Just before the Energy Ball hit, Ceruledge regained its composure and deflected the Energy Ball with its Bitter Blade. The Energy Ball continued past and headed towards the observation deck behind Jin.
"What!?"
Instinctively, Jin turned around, but the Energy Ball had narrowly missed the observation deck. He let out a sigh of relief and shifted his gaze back to the battlefield. Ceruledge had already regained its stance, swords at the ready.
"...You missed your chance. If you had continued the attack instead of worrying about where the Energy Ball was going, Ceruledge would have taken significant damage, and you might have won."
It was a valid point. But from Jin's perspective, his goal was not just to defeat Amethio and his team but also to protect Liko and the Pokémons. Naturally, his eyes were drawn to the observation deck where they were.
"Don't worry. I'll create another opportunity."
In reality, Ceruledge had taken quite a bit of damage, while Sceptile was nearly unscathed. Despite the unfavorable type matchup, it was clear who had the upper hand at this point.
"I'll admit... you and your Pokémon are strong. But I won't give you another chance. Ceruledge, Night Slash!"
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Stop it already!"
"...Liko?"
Liko's cry interrupted the battle just as Sceptile and Ceruledge were about to clash again. Everyone on the deck turned their attention to her. Holding Sprigatito in her arms, Liko stepped out from the observation deck and walked towards the wing deck.
"Liko, what are you doing!?" Mollie tried to stop her, but Liko continued.
"I don't want Jin, Sceptile, or anyone else to get hurt because of me... not anymore."
"....."
"Did you hear that? She doesn't want any more interference."
"Even Sprigatito..."
"Nyaa..!"
Suddenly, Sprigatito began to struggle, leaping out of Liko's arms.
"Sprig! Sprigatito!"
(What? What's going on, Sprigatito? Why are you so...)
"Liko, Sprigatito senses it. It knows how you really feel."
"Jin..."
"You don't need to worry about involving everyone. Be honest with yourself."
In truth, the only person Liko had inadvertently involved in this ordeal was Jin. The ship's crew, including Friede, had willingly gotten involved, so Liko had no reason to feel responsible. Furthermore, if Jin hadn't come to help when Liko was in trouble, he would have been tormented by his inability to be there when needed.
(So, Sprigatito realized I was lying to myself about my feelings.)
"Liko, if you're going to step forward, now's the time."
"Yeah!"
Liko was ready to take a new step forward, her expression now much more determined.
"Let's go, Sprigatito!"
"Nyaa!"
Liko, accompanied by Sprigatito, moved to stand before Amethio.
"Leafage!"
"Meowwwww!"
Sprigatito unleashed a powerful Leafage attack, a volume so immense that it engulfed the entire wing deck. It was a level of power never shown during training with Jin.
"What?!"
"Ceru!"
Ceruledge instinctively crossed its swords and stepped in front of Amethio to protect him.
(Whoa... this is intense!)
However, the unprecedented power of the attack backfired.
(This is... bad!)
The wing deck was protected by a barrier. But the barrier, already weakened by Amethio's attacks, couldn't withstand Sprigatito's most powerful Leafage and shattered completely.
"Ah!"
"Liko!"
With the barrier broken, strong winds rushed onto the wing deck, causing everyone to lose their balance and fall. Sensing the barrier's collapse, Jin quickly grabbed Liko, managing to stay upright. However...
"Meow!"
"Dammit..."
"Sprigatito!"
Jin tried to stop Sprigatito with his foot, but it was too late. Overpowered by the wind, Sprigatito was blown off the wing deck.
(If it falls from this height...)
The worst-case scenario flashed through his mind, but it was averted by an unexpected savior.
"...I'll be taking this Sprigatito."
The one who saved Sprigatito was Amethio, riding on Corviknight. To be precise, he didn't save it; he took it hostage.
"Master Amethio!"
"If we stay here, we'll be caught in the storm."
"...You, Jin, wasn't it? We'll settle this later... retreat!"
Leaving those words behind, Amethio retreated with Sprigatito.
"Meoww..! Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaa~~~!"
Liko could do nothing but shout into the storm. But Jin...
"Sceptile, take care of Liko!"
"Sceptile? ...Scept!"
Sceptile hesitated for a moment but quickly understood Jin's intentions. It realized it was the only one who could protect Liko now.
"Huh? Jin...?"
After entrusting Liko to Sceptile, Jin ran across the wing deck and made a large leap into the sky. He released Salamence from its Poké Ball and landed on its back.
"We're going after them! Liko, wait here."
"Jin!"
"Don't worry. I'll definitely bring Sprigatito back. Go, Salamence!"
"Rooooar!"
Jin said this as he began pursuing the Explorers to rescue Sprigatito.
(Now it's my turn to give chase... I'll definitely get Sprigatito back!)
---
So, the battle turned in Jin's favor, but Liko's intervention made it proceed as in the original story.
//End