Pokémon The Divine Truth: The Fight for What Matters

Chapter 12

It had already been two days out at sea. A blanket of stars draped across the night sky reflected off the ocean surface. Kori stood against the ship's edge, taking in the breeze while gazing into the water. Occasionally, a large navy blue ray-like Pokémon would jump out of the water and glide in the air for a while before gracefully diving into the water. Two smaller, sky-blue ray-like Pokémon followed. Kori heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Hiro.

"Oh, there you are, Kori. I was wondering where you went."

Hiro stood against the edge of the ship with Kori, trying to see what he was looking at.

"I was just looking out at the water when I noticed the Mantine and Mantyke. They look so happy; I just got lost in thought, plus the stars look really pretty."

"That sounds like something you'd do, but I was surprised you weren't enjoying the cruise one last time since we should arrive in Mashimo tomorrow."

"I probably should be, but..." Kori paused, his gaze set on the Mantine and Mantyke.

"Something's on your mind, isn't it?"

"A couple of things, yeah. I miss Mom, especially after getting the electric badge. Now that we've slowed down, I think it's finally hitting me. I wanna tell her all the stuff that happened until now."

"I was wondering when you'd say that. Why don't you give her a call once we get on land? The service sucks ass out here." Hiro asked.

"It wouldn't be the same, and to be honest, I think it'd make me miss her more. It hasn't even been a month yet, but the next time I see her, I want her to be completely blown away by the progress we made, y'know?"

"It makes sense; I miss her as well. Anything else?"

"Well, I'm kinda conflicted. On one hand, I'm excited to see what comes next, who we'll meet next, and what Pokémon I can catch! It excites me that I get to do all this with you all. You, Haru, and Leo, even though we just met him recently. What Lyra said about what happened to their friend... What if something..."

"Kori, I can't promise it won't happen, but... damn, you're the one who's good at cheering people up. Just don't let it ruin this adventure for you. You wanted this more than anything, and I'm here with you because I want to share that with you. If something does happen, we'll deal with it together."

Kori's face grew a smile, and he hugged Hiro, then said, "Together, just like we started it."

"Just this once, I'll hug you back," Hiro said, reciprocating the hug.

After they let go, the two of them walked over to Leo, who was teaching Haru how to play a card game at a table.

"Do you get it now?" Leo asked

"Um... no," Haru said quietly.

"There you guys are! Hiro, help me teach Haru how to play this; it's getting frustrating!"

"Fine, reshuffle the deck, and I'll help. Maybe he'll learn from watching us play."

"Oh, I wanna play too!" Kori said excitedly.

The following day, the ship arrived at Mashimo, a coastal city on the island of Atifeo, early that morning. The sky was completely clear, with harsh sunlight beaming down on their skin. Walking off the ship onto the docks, they could see the city just further ahead. Kori looked around in excitement, taken aback by how different things were. The city was a mix of old, traditional brick houses with steel, glass, and concrete structures. The architecture of all the buildings varied differently from the ones seen in Nexus or Melody City, and the more traditional buildings looked as if they were sculpted out of the ground itself, almost completely matching the sandy color and texture. The people dressed in much more colorful and vibrant clothing and in styles that were more suited to the blazing heat.