Light had nodded off while the cruise ship was moving. A gentle voice woke him from his stupor.
The Flareon lifted his head and looked at the Manaphy in the doorway.
"We're hitting land in a little bit. You alright?" Jewel asked.
"Mmm, yah," Light said.
"We set up some seafood up in that area for you,"Jewel said. She seemed to get progressively more nervous as she continued. "We're just an hour or two away."
"Okay."
When the Manaphy left, the Flareon rubbed his back against the mattress one ore time before standing up.
Light pushed the door open and back until it clicked into place. He noticed arrows pointing to the ramps, letting him get through the maze. Walking up the ramp itself was a little more tiring since he was still sleepy, but he shook it off of his face.
When Light reached the large area, he immediately noticed it wasn't nearly as dusty as before. The was a low, circular wooden table that had all kinds of steaming food he didn't especially recognize on it.
The Flareon went to the table and quickly ate some things he did recognize. Sushi and some fish with a sauce he couldn't name was absolutely delicious, and perfectly crunchy. After eating a lot, he felt a bit guilty and stopped.
Light went onto the ship's deck where the Manaphy was looking out. She turned around when Light released a small puff of air from his stomach.
"Done already?" Jewel asked. "All of that food is for you, y'know."
"All of it?" Light asked. "Are you sure?"
"I caught all of it in like, three minutes. That's why there's so much extra shrimp. I kinda get a little biased when I'm fishing..." Manaphy said giving an awkward smile. "Ah, we'll be there in a bit. So you can do whatever you want. Eat however much you want. Literally. I can fish for more if you want me too."
"I think I have plenty," Light said. "So, how are you doing this three minute fishing?"
"I go into the water and grab things and bring them up here. I accidentally grabbed a Tentacool this one time, though... He was nice. He was from a nearby island chain. He-"
Jewel cut herself off when Light blinked rapidly and looked down a bit.
"Are you alright?" Jewel asked.
"Dammit," Light cursed.
Jewel flinched a little.
"Sorry," Light said, "it's just... Look up there. In that cloud."
Jewel leaned on the railing, looking up at the only puffy cloud in the sky.
"I only see the cloud," Jewel said.
"It's hiding in it," Light said. "I think it'll hide itself until sunset then and attack at night. When no one's ready."
Jewel look at Light while he stared upwards, tension visible in him holding his mouth.
"You can talk to me, y'know. I mean, I know we just met, but we're in this together. Yeah?" Jewel asked.
Light looked down at her. "Have we?"
"Well..." Jewel looked down at her hands and fumbled with them. "My dad said to not talk to you cause we don't know you that much. But, I mean, ff you can't talk to me, who do you have? Other than whatever that pokemon we're chasing is."
"Well, I do understand what it's thinking. It's just not good.
"I have a feeling that's not just its battle strategy you're talking about."
"I shouldn't talk about it," Light said. He faced up, not taking his yes away from heh cloud.
"I promise I won't tell. Or judge," Jewel said.
"It hates bystanders that let bad things happen to good people. I guess at this rate, it thinks of the whole world as a kind of bystander, but I literally was one. I let things happen that I could've stopped."
"I get it. The only thing you needed was a little help and confidence, but you couldn't get it. But that's not your fault. And neither is that pokemon. And help has arrived."
"You can't help me with this. You're too young.
"I'm eleven," Jewel argued. "That's double digits. And what are you? Thirteen?"
"Fifteen," Light answered, "which is way better than eleven for this."
"I'm a mythical class pokemon. Naturally rare. Naturally strong," Jewel bragged. "You know I could be good support, and I'd be able to get away from that pokemon faster than you could."
A third voice from behind made the Flareon jump. "She's right."
Light wasn't sure if he was more surprised by the Slowking or his agreement as he joined their walking outside to the deck.
"No one's too young to do amazing things," Slowking said. "It's very crazy of me to let Jewel help you like this, but these are crazy times. Whether you fully succeed tonight or not, we need to stop its attack and show the world that Reshiram exists, and for whatever reason is dangerous."
"That Lopunny you were traveling with wounded it, but not enough," Light said. "We need to something actually threatening.
"Why?" Jewel asked.
"It's going to land wherever I am," he explained. "That's its plan for me."
"I did some research," Slowkind said. "Hitting its tail would stop it from trying to burn down just about anything. It would simply have to retreat. So, we can bait it to a position where Jewel could do that and run back away."
"The beach?" Jewel asked. "If Light has it facing inland, I could be extra fast in the water and used a harpoon that we have for fishin."
"Only if Light agrees," Slowking said. "Luke called told me what happened when it attacked. Remember. Glass is made out of sand. It would definitely take the bait, but with a good reason. And you'd need to make sure it's focused on you."
"The only other places we could make it to in time to bait it are the woods and the city..." Jewel said.
"Yah. Those are riskier places for no gain," Light agreed. "I'll handle it."
"Then you'd best get ready," Slowking said. "I already called for help, but no one was insane enough to believe what for. You're the only one this first time, Light."
"It's weakened and tired. I'm not."
"Hey, wait," Jewel said. "I have an idea."
"What is it?" Slowking asked.
"You still have those cameras from a while ago, and the computer," Jewel said.
Slowking didn't pick up on what Jewel was implying. Neither did light, although he was thinking at a pretty slow pace.
"Why don't we just live-stream it?"