When I exited the Forest Haven, I noticed it was very early in the morning, just before sunrise. I was standing in a pool of water, which came from the source of the river inside the forest. I was about to walk back to where my boat was, when a quadrupedal, white and grey Pokémon, with red eyes that stood out strikingly from its dull colours, leaped, as if out of the shadows, in front of me, then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, without making a sound. I wonder what it was? An omen, perhaps?
Further down the slope, a blue, serpentine Pokémon poked its head out of the river. "Hello, traveller," she – I could tell from the voice that this Pokémon was female – said. I must've looked confused, because then she said: "Oh, right. I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm a Dratini, and there aren't many of us in the world, so you can just call me by my species name. Anyway, would you mind helping me with something? It's not anything difficult, hopefully. That boat is yours, right?"
"Yes, okay then. What is it?" I asked. I had helped several Pokémon already, so a small errand wasn't really a problem.
"Well, my father has gone missing. A few days ago, he said that he needed to investigate something, and would be back soon, then flew away. Could you find him? He's a tall, orange Pokémon with wings called a Dragonite, so it won't be too hard to recognise him. I'd look for him myself, but the sea is too deep for a little dragon like me. Thanks…"
Dratini dived back into the river, and then I ran down the slope to meet up with the King of Red Lions.
"Now that you have obtained two of the goddess' pearls," Red said, "we must now head northwest to Greatfish Isle. If even the Forest Haven has been attacked by Ganon, I fear for this world's safety. You must hurry!" I climbed onto him, and we sailed towards Greatfish Isle, the sun rising as we left the island.
Along the way, the water was mostly calm, but I was attack by a group of Sharpedo at one point. Thankfully, my boomerang was an effective weapon against them; I didn't really want to use my flashing attack while Red was around. We sailed past an unusual, triangular island with an ancient statue on it at one point. As night drew closer, the sky turned dark, and heavy rain poured from the sky, and lightning flashed in the distance.
When we arrived at Greatfish Isle, all was not well. The island was completely destroyed. There were several pieces of land that looked like shattered glass and were sticking out of the ocean at odd angles, covered in collapsed trees.
"We are too late…" Red said, worriedly. "The Spirit of the Seas, Jabun, once lived here, but there is no sign of him now. I fear what has happened to him…"
I noticed a familiar Fletchinder, Quill, flying towards me from the distance.
"Link! I've been looking for you!" he exclaimed. "If you came here looking for the Spirit of the Seas, Jabun… well, I'm sorry to say that he has since departed. Just look at this place… it was once one of the most beautiful islands in the sea, and now look at it!" Quill turned to the side and narrowed his eyes angrily. "Who could have done such a thing?!" He turned back to face me. "But fear not, because Jabun has survived. The Spirit of the Seas has fled to your home… Outset Island."
Despite the circumstances, I was glad that I'd finally be able to return home. My grandmother must've been worried sick about me while I was out risking my life!
"But Link… entering Jabun's hiding place is no easy task. He has hidden himself in a cave behind a great stone slab, which not even the pirates could get through. Speaking of which, I have heard that the pirates were last seen on Windfall Island, but what they were doing I do not know. If you wish to find Jabun, I would recommend meeting these pirates."
Well then. I didn't want to meet that Tetra again… but I suppose this was the only option. I couldn't just let the world crumble in front of me! And with that, Quill flew away.
I was about to climb back onto my boat, when I saw an orange, winged figure standing on a high part of the ruined island.
"HEY!" I shouted. "You up there! Are you a Dragonite?!" The orange Pokémon flew down.
"Why, indeed, I am a Dragonite, child," he said, in a condescending tone. "Why must you disrupt me like this? It is my duty to protect the seas. For a Psychic-type, you are surprisingly terrible at sensing what others are thinking."
"Hey, no need to talk like that!" I mumbled. "Anyway, your daughter was looking for you. I met her in the Forest Haven, and she said you were investigating something."
"I indeed WAS investigating something! You see, I had a premonition that there was something wrong with the seas yesterday; an evil presence unlike anything ever seen before. By the time I had arrived here, this island had already been destroyed by a figure of an unknown species. I am trying to find that figure"
Unknown species… was he talking about Ganondorf? I remembered the strange, horrible feeling I had when I first saw him at the Forsaken Fortress.
"You said you protect the seas. What exactly do you do?" I asked.
"Well, child, whenever many Pokémon in the seas are in trouble, or there is unusually harsh weather, it is a Dragonite's duty to step in and help. But, as much as I hate to admit this, there's one thing I don't understand: We Dragonite travel the skies far and wide, seeing many seas in our journeys, but the records all start at the same date several hundred years ago. That may sound like a big number, but the world's much, much older than that. How could that be?"
"Sounds interesting enough," I said. "I'm sorry, but I need to go soon. I have other important things to do… But say hi to that Dratini for me, okay?"
I kept a mental note of what the Dragonite had told me. Though I did say "sounds interesting enough" in a "oh, that's great, I need to go now" sort of way, I genuinely found the Dragon-type's question interesting.
As we sailed, the rain just kept on coming. Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the distance. By the time we reached Windfall Island, it was still night, and everyone was understandably inside. The pirate's ship (great) was docked next to a secluded cliff, where a gravestone stood. There was a shabby-looking building on another outcropping, and I could hear anguished mumbling coming from inside. The door was locked, so how would I get in? I remembered back when I was in the Forsaken Fortress, where I had to inch sideways across narrow platforms; I'd have to do that here. I found a small opening and crawled onto a shelf inside the building.
Two of Tetra's pirates had tied up someone, who I assumed owned the building. They said they needed bombs to get a treasure – the third pearl? Quill did tell me that the pirates were looking for Jabun. While they were having their conversation, I noticed a familiar Kirlia in the corner – Tetra. Looking at her gave me an odd, almost uncomfortable feeling… and it wasn't annoyance. Her triangle necklace really seemed to stand out to me, for some reason. She told her pirates to get back to the ship, and that they'd be going to Outset Island.
Hey! That's where I'm going! I thought. After a few seconds, Tetra turned around and glared at me. I had almost forgotten that she was telepathic. She then turned back to look at her crew.
"We haven't been on shore for a very long time, miss!" exclaimed one of the pirates, who I recognized from the Forest of Flabébé. "Surely you'll let us stay the night here? The treasure won't be going anywhere!"
"Fools!" snapped back Tetra. "Did you SEE how that island was destroyed? We need to hurry up, or Outset Island could be destroyed like that too! Idiots…" she mumbled the last word. I cringed at the thought of my home being destroyed.
"Miss?" asked another pirate. "You seem more worried about that island than the treasure. It's rather unusual."
"Don't be ridiculous! I want the treasure and all, but that kid... It's just that he seemed so determined to save his sister… So, then, fine! You can have it your way. Stay on this island for the night, and we'll go there in the morning."
I was shocked. Tetra didn't hate me? Had something changed since I went to the Forsaken Fortress? Whatever the case, she'd definitely heard of all the things I'd done. She knew I could defend myself.
Tetra left, and then I overheard the pirates talking about the password to the ship. Once they had left, unlocking the door, I jumped down from my high place and followed them out.
"What loves to be completely useless?"
"A Luvdisc!"
Sneakily, I had boarded the pirate ship. The heavy rain made the wooden surface slippery, and I almost faceplanted a few times. After reciting the password, I entered the pirate ship and climbed down a few stairs, and entered a room where one of the pirates, named Niko, was standing. He made me play a game where I had to swing to the other side of the room using the ropes on lanterns for a prize. I agreed to do it purely because the prize would hopefully be something useful. Several times when I was playing the game, I thought that swinging on ropes would be easy, and many times the ropes seemed way too small for a moment. This line of thinking caused me to fall to the ground a few times, but I eventually made it. My reward was… bombs? As in, the bombs the pirates had stolen from that shop? While I didn't like the idea of second-hand theft, I suppose I shouldn't be ungrateful.
As I walked back up the stairs and up to the ship's deck, I noticed a map in a room I assumed was Tetra's. The map depicted the Great Sea, and it had a triangle drawn over three islands, and then a smaller, upside-down triangle drawn over three other islands. Interesting.
I left the pirate ship to board the King of Red Lions, and then I sailed back home, back to Outset Island, back to where I belonged.