August 9, Monday.

The snow-white ship Waterflow sailed through Hoenn’s waters, leaving ripples and whitecaps in its wake as Wingull beat its wings and flew by.

On the deck, Marshal wore a camouflage vest, sat in a fishing chair, sunglasses on, holding a sea-fishing rod.

Beside him, a black-haired youth in a floral shirt and knee-length shorts, also wearing sunglasses and sipping an ice-cold cola, held a fishing rod as well.

The bobber bobbed up and down. Marshal leaned over with envy, muttering, “Yours got hooked again?”

“No need to even look—definitely a Magikarp.” Lu Ye yawned.

Sunlight beat down from above, the sky clear and windless, and the Wingull’s calls drifted in with the thrum of the ship’s engine.

Three little ellipsis-like black dots seemed to appear over Lu Ye and Marshal’s heads.

“Another peaceful day.” Lu Ye said cheerfully.

“You won’t be so happy if a storm hits.” Marshal snorted.

“Shut up! Don’t jinx it!”

After several hours of sailing, Lu Ye released the hooked Magikarp, put away his rod, and went back to his cabin to rest.

Opening the cabin door, a cool breeze blew in. Togepi and Victini were playing Pokémon cards, cards scattered all over the white bed.

Meloetta sat on the open windowsill;

the sea breeze ruffled her soft teal hair as she hummed a tune of the sea.

Lu Ye mused that maybe when they played Dou Di Zhu later, Meloetta could sing a BGM accompaniment…

Sirfetch’d lay under the air conditioner in a daze: “Gah…_(:3 ⌒ﾞ)_”

So happy to be on a trip with no training and no danger.

Really loves going on missions!

Lu Ye shrugged;

his peripheral vision fell on the unassuming Pupitar in the corner, and he let out an amused laugh:

“Don’t worry, the days of eating hard rations aren’t far off… probably!”

Pupitar slowly looked back, eyes peering from its shell hole, locking with Lu Ye: “Saji…”

I don’t believe you—my owner is totally mean!

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

I, known as “Lu Ye of the Earth,” would never miss a Pupitar’s potential.

Why steal Boss Giovanni’s nickname?

I can’t fly, but I stand on the ground—can’t I be called that?

The bed was occupied by Togepi, so Lu Ye stepped out of the cabin and went to the bow to face the wind and look out.

The lush Hoenn islands lay just beyond the coastline, their silhouettes already visible.

Sylveon half-perched beside Lu Ye, ribbons wrapping around his arm;

her clear blue eyes glinted with natural delight.

“This is a brand-new region.” Lu Ye smiled. “We’ll see a lot of new Pokémon.”

“Beep beep… and brand-new renovation companies too, Rotom!” the Rotom Pokédex cheered.

“…Little Rotom, go into crash mode.” Lu Ye said without mercy.

“Beep beep… cannot understand, Roto~ o(TヘTo)”

At the bow, cutting through waves, sunlight struck the ship’s hull. Little Latias’ feathers refracted the sun, showing semi-transparency as she traveled with the ship, chirping cheerfully: “Rati!”

Lu Ye noticed Latias had a lively personality… and excellent flight speed!

“If an emergency happens—”

Lu Ye’s expression turned strange as he thought, This might be my transport around Hoenn…

In the afternoon, the Waterflow docked at Slateport City’s harbor. In the game, you had to take Old Hachi’s small boat to reach this port.

“This isn’t far from Green Shade Town,” Marshal said. “Take the bike path to Miare City, then turn, go past the Day Care, and you’re there!”

I’ve already mapped the in-game route in my head!

Lu Ye’s expression grew complicated.

He blamed Pokémon Emerald for leaving such a deep impression. Back then Teacher Lu rode his bike every day between Green Shade Town and Miare City to rack up egg-hatching steps!

“All right, thanks for the ride.” Lu Ye waved. “See you!”

“No need to say see you.” Marshal laughed. “I’m going to meet Old Hachi and Captain Genji for beers. If you want to return to Kanto, just take either of their ships and give them my name!”

“Hoenn’s Dragon-type Ace, Genji?” Lu Ye said in surprise.

“That’s right. He and Old Hachi are veteran captains—there’s no part of Hoenn’s seas they won’t sail!” Marshal said proudly.

The Hoenn Elite Four always seemed to have low visibility.

Lu Ye didn’t pay it much mind and walked across Slateport’s scenic beach, passing a row of specialty stalls: ground berry powder, swaying red seaweed, and sun coral, pale gray and looking as if it were weeping.

“This is Galar’s ghost-type sun coral,” a vendor explained, introducing his partner with a sigh. “They say these corals once lived in Galar’s ancient seas. After they died, they were reborn as ghosts, endlessly haunting the same spot… so pitiful.”

Lu Ye nodded in agreement with the vendor’s words.

In his arms, Haunter reached in, pulled out a lollipop, and handed it to the drooping sun coral with a toothy grin.

“Gengarrr! (≧∇≦)ﾉ”

The pale gray sun coral looked up blankly, then the drooping mouth curved into a shy arc.

The vendor returned a small yellow glass whistle for giving the lollipop—something that could clear confusion status.

“Just a little token. You make them from picked volcanic ash, not worth much. Take it.” the vendor smiled.

Lu Ye felt the local customs of Hoenn and accepted it with a smile.

Although Hoenn had experienced volcanic eruptions, floods, and extreme weather… those disasters also brought abundant resources and rich energy.

Geothermal, wind, and hydropower… these energies could even support giant projects like Sea Violet.

Compared to Hoenn’s rich energy resources, Galar’s were indeed scarce—that was part of why Chairman Rose sought to capture Eternatus.

But without Olivia as an assistant, Rose might lack the capacity to handle it and wouldn’t have the time to think about an energy crisis a thousand years later—he probably wouldn’t have gone after Eternatus.

Lu Ye thought to himself: Maybe I accidentally saved a villain without knowing it.

Manchong’s home was in Green Shade Town and required passing Old Man Ironspin’s Miare Gym to get there.

Lu Ye rode the Rotom bicycle and sped down the bike path, blowing past Hoenn’s “biker gangs.”

“Boss…” a delinquent whispered, “did a big black rat just go by?”

“Idiot!” the boss slapped his subordinate’s head, “That was the legendary Rotom bicycle of the cycling world!”

The underlings: “Woooo~ ˚*̥(∗*⁰͈꒨⁰͈)*̥”

One hoodlum asked, “So where can you buy one?”

The boss scolded, “Shut your damn mouth!”

Arriving in Miare City, Lu Ye rested in the Pokémon Center’s guest room, and received a video call from Bamboo Lan.

“Have you reached Hoenn?” the blonde beauty in a black coat asked, chin resting on her hand.

“Yes, I’m in Miare City.” Lu Ye said. “Might even find Old Man Ironspin for a couple of games later.”

“He’ll cheat for sure.” Cynthia pursed her lips.

“Then I’ll do a real Pokémon battle with Old Man Ironspin!” Lu Ye said without hesitation.

Cynthia smiled faintly. The gray eyes beneath her hair turned serious as she spoke calmly:

“I’m afraid I’ll be delayed getting to Hoenn.”

“What happened?”

“Some unexpected situations.” Cynthia frowned. “Abnormal energy fluctuations have appeared across Sinnoh, Unova, and Hoenn.”

“Grandma and Professor Rowan both think it’s related to legendary Pokémon, so… I might need to go to the Spear Pillar to check the situation.”

Sinnoh’s Spear Pillar connects to the Sacred Capital Ruins of Celestic Town and concerns the stability of the entire Sinnoh region—Cynthia couldn’t be careless.

Lu Ye understood and said, “It’s fine. The meteor shower is in nineteen days.”

“What if I can’t make it?” Cynthia asked.

“Then prepare a meteor shower for Bamboo Lan.”

Lu Ye grinned. “Latias happens to control Dragon Pulse.”

“Rati!” Latias puffed her cheeks in protest beside him, indignant in a small-bun sort of way.

Dragon Pulse isn’t used like that!

Cynthia smiled elegantly, a glint in her eyes, and softly called:

“Lu Ye.”

“What?”

“I like you.”

Lu Ye was struck by a straight shot and only reacted after a moment:

“What did you just say?”

“Like you as much as you like Garchomp.” Cynthia smiled faintly.

"Kaow! (〝▼皿▼)"

“Uh… okay, got it.” Lu Ye scratched his cheek and answered in a strained voice.

“And your answer?” Cynthia’s melodious voice carried a playful tone.

“I’ll immediately research the newest ice cream flavors and take Bamboo Lan to Littleroot City for the meteor shower.”

Lu Ye’s gaze hardened. “Whether it’s Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, or even Mega Rayquaza—”

“This Hoenn, I’ve got it covered!”

Sinnoh, White Poplar Town.

Darkrai leaned under the shade in the Pokémon Garden, lazily chewing an energy cube while listening to the intertwined melodies of the Twin Space-Time Towers.

Translation: what a way to relax!

He should have been working at the café in Miare City… but Lu Ye had gone on a business trip to Hoenn in recent days.

According to Lu Ye, this trip wasn’t very dangerous, so no extra bodyguards were needed.

Darkrai enjoyed the rare leisure, savoring the comfort of not having to fight legendary Pokémon.

At that moment, Darkrai felt the call of the Power of Transcendence—a familiar chill ran down his spine.

Darkrai: o(ﾟДﾟ)っ!

Oh no, Lu Ye is definitely dragging me into another fight!

Last time it was a fusion of legendary Pokémon;

the time before that was Arceus.

What’s it going to be this time?

Darkrai couldn’t even imagine.

Bad… he’s definitely tangled with a legendary Pokémon again!

The Power of Transcendence sent a telepathic message;

the white light of emotional bonding felt almost tangible.

Darkrai guiltily discovered that his bond with Lu Ye had deepened even further…

“This is the lure of food, not bonding!” Darkrai nodded in conviction.

[Teacher Lu: Hoenn region, Miare City, return immediately.]

Darkrai curled his lip and reluctantly slipped into the shadows.

But at the thought that Lu Ye might actually be in danger, Darkrai’s expression grew serious. He passed through the Reversed World and hurried to Hoenn as reflected in the mirror…