This is the fourth of four chapters today.


Manaphy stared at May for a moment, then at the Phantom, and slowly took a step away from the crystals.

"That's right," the Phantom said, voice easily audible over the faint sounds of the battle far below. "No funny tricks."

Then he triggered the blaster in his other arm, shocking Manaphy with a dose of paralytic electricity, and stomped forwards.

As he was about to take one of the crystals, May spoke up. "Why?"

"Why what?" the Phantom replied, pausing. "The crystals?"

He chuckled. "Lass, isn't it obvious? Money – these are the control systems for a technology beyond anything the world knows today, and I know buyers who'll pay a literal fortune for that kind of leverage."

"But you can't use them," May protested, pushing herself to hands and knees. "They need Samiya to work."

"But they'll still sell," the Phantom reiterated. "And with the asking price including not only the Temple of the Sea's control system, but-" he shocked Manaphy again with a stun blast, making the Water-type cry out, "-a Pokémon who understands the control system, who can be interrogated for the right answers."

He reached into his suit, producing a collapsible wire-mesh cage about a foot across, and scooped Manaphy into it. The moment he closed the door a dense web of electrical currents covered the outside of the cage, which shocked Manaphy the moment he tried to put a fin through the bars.

"Stay put, now," he advised, attaching the cage to a clip at his waist, and turned his gaze back to May. "And that goes for you too. Any funny business, I turn up the power and shock him again."

Seeing her expression, his lip curled for a moment. "There are only two kinds of people in the world, lass. The ones who have, and the ones who used to have what the first kind took."

He listened to the sound below for a moment, then frowned. "Useless crew," he muttered. "Well, they did enough."

Captain Phantom took one of the Sea Crown's crystals in each gauntlet of his mechsuit, and pulled.

As soon as he did, there was a shudder through the fabric of the Temple of the Sea. The crash of the fountains stopped very suddenly, and the Phantom frowned before starting to remove the rest of the crystals as fast as possible.

One of them ended up next to Manaphy, and the Legendary contemplated it for a moment.

Then he reached out through the electrical field, heedless of the painful energy that suddenly coursed through him. His fin distorted as he used Acid Armor, turning it into water, and he managed to touch the crystal for a moment before the pain got too much and he cried out in agony.


"Manaphy!" May shouted, fists clenching involuntarily. Seeing him hurt brought back all her fears – all her worries about him, the terror she had of letting him down, and the dull ache of knowing he'd have to leave replaced by the new, wonderful hope he could stay.

It rolled inside her, making her feel she needed to do something. And as it did, she stood – ignoring the pain from the stun bolt, which seemed unimportant. Feeling suddenly full of energy, full of determination.

Distantly, she noticed all the crystals were glowing with a steady gold-yellow corona – and so were her arms, and her legs, and all the rest of her body.

But that wasn't nearly as important as the key point here.

Her son was in danger. So she would have to rescue him.


Samiya trembled, the enormous floating palace shivering before tilting a few degrees to one side, and the water fountains all cut off at once.

"What just-" Jackie began, looking around, then nearly lost his footing as another tremble ran through the structure.

A wave slapped against the far wall as the water caught up with the movements of the building around it, sending spray several feet into the air.

"Does this mean we've changed course?"

"It shouldn't," Ship replied. "Ships don't do this kind of thing when you change course!"

He turned his head, listening, then blanched. "Look out – it's flooding!"

A wall of water came roaring down the formerly trapped corridor, hitting the surrendered Phantom Pirates and knocking them bodily into the water along with Forretress and Zorua.

Lizabeth gasped as the water level reached the waterside platform they were on, then sent out her Buizel. "Granpa? What's happening?"

"The water must be coming up through the way we came in!" Ship guessed.

Misty's Milotic swam over as the water reached three feet deep, and offered herself as a handhold. They quickly took the offer, except for Lizabeth who stuck with her Buizel, and Jackie who just began treading water for the moment.

In front of them, Latias plunged into the water with a bubble shield around her. She was gone for several seconds, before emerging with two of the Phantom Pirates across her back.

Latios appeared a moment later with two more, and Brock began counting.

"We're missing at least two!" he called. "And some of their Pokémon – and Forretress and Zorua!"

As soon as he said that, Lucario crouched. He jumped off the water with a shoom of blue Aura, did a flip in mid-air, then pointed himself straight down and lit off his Aura jets for more speed.

"What a day," Jackie groaned.

"Wotta-day," Casey agreed, parroting him.


"I told you, lass-" Phantom began, then saw May standing – fists clenched, lit by a glowing golden light – and faltered.

"What the-"

"Let Manaphy go," May said, one foot sliding across the floor as she took her stance.

Phantom snorted, and twisted to fire another stun bolt at her.

Before he got it lined up, however, May stepped forwards. She raised her left arm so the upper arm was horizontal and the lower arm up in a vertical bar, and swept it across to knock the mechanical arm aside so it couldn't target her.

Stepping forwards with her other foot, she lashed out with a punch aimed at the upper thigh of his mech suit's right leg. The golden glow followed her fist, and when she connected it was far harder than her own strength could generate.

Phantom wobbled, thrown off by the unexpected impact, and kicked with the leg she hadn't hit yet. That made May react, turning her punch into a low block which arrested the momentum from the kick, then grabbed Phantom's right arm and twisted in a classic compliance-hold move.

Part of the mechanical arm gave way under the pressure, and a cascade of sparks erupted as the stun blaster failed. Then the metal and composite tore completely, and the Phantom pulled back the section of his mechanical arm above the elbow.

"Just stop that!" he demanded, stepping back and lining up his other arm. "I tried and I tried to let you live, lass-"

He triggered the arm, and all the strength of his powered armour went behind a single mighty punch aimed for May's face.

She raised both arms in a block, but the impact was too much for her to stop – it sent her skidding halfway across the platform, only stopping when she hit the retaining wall at the far end.

Then she shook her head, and went back to her ready stance.

The Phantom looked at his status readout, and did a double-take when he saw that the punch he'd launched had actually done more damage to his kinetic strike module than to his target.

"Stop fighting and let Manaphy go," May said. "You're not going to get away with this, but we need to stop Samiya sinking."

"Lass, I planned on sinking it," the Phantom snorted. "Tidies up too many loose ends to pass up."

He chambered another kinetic strike, deciding the armour could probably take it, and May ran forwards.

This time, when he launched the strike, she ducked – avoiding the impact entirely – then straightened up again inside his guard, where he couldn't hit her with the arm. Frustrated, he kicked at her, and she stepped back.

Then she grabbed his foot and lifted, managing to pull him off-balance and making him crash to the floor.

"Damn brat!" the Phantom snarled, trying to hit her with his remaining enhanced arm, and she blocked – another textbook upper-arm block, which she held for a moment before using the leverage to snap it off halfway between the fist and the elbow.

Then she reached for his waist, and tore Manaphy's cage in half in a shower of sparks.

"Are you okay, Manaphy?" she asked.

"I'm all sore, Mama..." Manaphy complained, sounding woozy.

Phantom drew in his leg and tried to stand up again, and May kicked the leg he was using hard enough to break the motors in that as well. Then he tried to eject, and she caught his arm before twisting it up behind him in an arm-bar.

"Can you fix the Crown of the Sea?" she asked. "I think we're sinking..."


It took a surprisingly long time to sort everything out.

There were too many captured pirates to move them easily by teleportation, at least with the Pokémon they had available, and so they had to keep them under guard until Latias and Latios could fly them back to a police station on the mainland – two at a time.

Manaphy had to keep his attention on the systems of the Temple of the Sea, even after Lucario had taken over for May in stopping Phantom from getting away. The unplanned shutdown of the Sea Crown had disabled the forcefields for at least two minutes and the Temple was full of water in odd places, and he had to flush out the right rooms while filling others with air underwater to make sure the whole construct stayed stable.

"Okay, um… I think that one's supposed to be full of water…" the Legendary mused, and pressed one of the crystals. It pulsed, and Samiya shivered for a moment before moving just a little closer to upright.

"And… how did that get there?" he added, tilting his head in confusion. Shrugging, he opened one of the doors to let that one dry out.

The water poured down the side of the Temple, covering a window for a moment and throwing an odd shadow over the main room.

"Phew..." he sighed. "Okay, I think that's done…"

He thought for a moment. "Mama? Do you have a map?"

I did this joke already, Ethan said, then turned his projector into a giant holographic map of their position and the Kanto coastline.

"So the darker blue bits are the deeper bits..." Manaphy said. "Okay, um… wait, would it be a good idea for me to turn off the invisibility?"

"I think so," May said. "Otherwise we might crash into a lot of Pokémon."

Manaphy thought about that for a moment, then realized. "Oh! Because we're not moving with the current any more!"

He manipulated the controls, and the bubble that had hidden Samiya from the world for centuries collapsed.

Then a purposeful thrum ran through the structure, as Manaphy set them on course.

At current speed, the next required course change is in three hours, Ethan said. We will reach our destination tomorrow afternoon.

"Great!" Manaphy said, smiling.

"So we've got the Temple of the Sea sorted out," May said, as Manaphy adjusted a few more controls. "The pirates are gone, we don't need to sort out food because it's all in Ash's bag, and… yeah, I think we can relax now."

Manaphy nodded.

Then May swept him up in a hug, and sank to the floor with a smile on her face.

"I'm so glad you're okay..." she whispered.

"I'm glad you're okay, too," Manaphy agreed, hugging back. "It was scary seeing you get punched like that."


Up on the top deck of Samiya's spire, swaying gently back and forth hundreds of feet above the waves, Ash looked out over the ocean as the sun slanted across the sky.

"Is it usually like that?" Ho-Oh asked.

"Well, it kinda varies," Ash replied, as the Flying-type Legendary hovered – at rest relative to the spire, as they both headed into the wind. "Sometimes it gets really huge, like the time with the meteorite, or the time we, uh… broke time?"

He shook his head. "Anyway, other times it's a lot more simple, like that one in Hoenn with the robots. We're not always saving the world, but it's still important."

Ash paused, then looked up at Ho-Oh. "I know you wanted to help out with one of the big things like that, so… did that count?"

"I think it did," Ho-Oh agreed. "It was enjoyable, if – as you say – important, and indeed it felt more meaningful than a battle in a gym or at a Contest. It was what the Legendary Pokémon were meant to fight for, if needed, and what we did far more before the advent of today's well-managed world."

He slipped sideways a little, contemplating. "Of course, there's also that I can now tell myself I have destroyed a large criminal organization more-or-less by myself."

"Yeah, that was pretty cool," Ash agreed. "I didn't realize you were basically unkillable."

"It's a little hard to characterize exactly what it is," Ho-Oh said. "Say, better, that injuries and pain are burned away and reformed from fire, because I am as much flame as flesh."

Ash absorbed that.

"That's a lot more literal than most Fire-types are," he said.

"Truly."

For a long minute, they just stayed there – Ho-Oh banking, still in the wind, so the sunlight shone through his feathers and produced a glorious rainbow display of iridescent light.

"I think I must label myself content," Ho-Oh decided. "Fare thee well for now, Ash Ketchum; I am sure we will meet again soon, my trainer."

Ash waved, and Ho-Oh finally beat his wings to ascend. He rose into the sky, towards the sun, until he was a shape outlined by golden glory at the fringes.

Then he spun up his afterburner, and sped off towards Kanto itself at several hundred miles an hour.

Ash watched him go until he disappeared in the haze, then boosted himself over the railing and walked down towards sea level.


"I imagined finding Samiya, oh, hundreds – thousands – of times," Ship said. "I thought about what would be there – the beautiful crystalline rooms, the Sea Crown, everything."

He shook his head. "I never imagined this would be possible, though."

His granddaughter emerged from the water, laughing. "Wow, that's amazing!"

She nodded down. "Come on, Granpa Ship! It's amazing!"

Lizabeth's Buizel came to the surface next to her, and yipped something. "Bui-ui!"

"I'll go see what she's found," the girl added, and dove back into the water.

Ship watched them go through the lens of the water, and shook his head again.

She'd been down there for twenty minutes in one go, a part of the powers of the Temple reallocated to let them all breathe underwater for as long as they were near Samiya.

Then Ash's Pidgeot dove straight into the water, sending up a plume of spray. She twisted around, apparently not caring about her soaked feathers, then flew away as if she were in mid-air.

"Never imagined it," Ship reiterated.


Wa-hooo!

Jirachi zoomed down one of the water chutes, laughing as he did, then it took a sharp turn and flung him forty feet into the air.

For a second or two, he hung in mid-air – then splashed down with a crash and a shower of spray.

"Nice jump!" Max commented, as Jirachi emerged from the water again. "Can't you fly anyway, though?"

Water is different, Jirachi said, shaking his head to get the water off and setting his tags jingling. Do we have any candy?

"There's a couple of ice creams over there," his trainer nodded. "I'm going to see if I can surf properly in that wave pool Manaphy set up in the garden!"

Jirachi waved, then floated one of the ice cream cones over to him and began eating. It was still quite cold, partly thanks to a pile of ice from Glalie, and the Psychic-type lay back against a nearby wall with a happy sigh.

One of the water streams bent around towards him, then stopped a foot or two from running into him. It rippled, then focused together into Manaphy.

"Hi!" Manaphy waved. "Everything okay?"

It's great! Jirachi replied, taking another lick of his ice cream. Your new house is awesome!

Manaphy grinned, rubbing the back of his neck with a fin, then let the rest of the water collapse and sat down next to Jirachi. "Yeah, it is kind of cool… it took me ages to work out how to use it last time, though."

He sighed. "And… well, last time I didn't have a lot else to do."

Jirachi put his ice cream down, making it hover right-way-up, and took Manaphy's fin. It's okay.

"Yeah," Manaphy agreed, smiling now. "Second chances are great, huh?"

Yep! Jirachi agreed. It's been great being able to enjoy the world!

The Water-type blinked. "Oh, yeah, I forgot… sorry, Jirachi. I didn't think about what your last-time-around was like."

And don't worry about it, Jirachi advised him. It doesn't matter any more. We're with our friends now, and we'll be okay.

"Thanks," Manaphy said, smiling. "I think I will have to stay in Samiya sometimes, but I can keep visiting her whenever I really want – and there'll be a lot of friends, too."

I guess we're two Legendaries who really got helped out by Maples, huh? Jirachi giggled. Hey, does this mean you're Manaphy Maple?

Manaphy blinked, not having thought of that before.

"I… don't know," he said. "Are there rules about how that works?"

That sounds like a question for after ice cream, Jirachi said, taking his one up and levitating another over. Is vanilla okay?

"Is sea-salt okay?" Manaphy asked.

Sure! Jirachi agreed. "I wish this was sea-salt ice cream instead!"

The cone flashed, and he passed it to Manaphy.

I love being able to make wishes for myself, he added, as Manaphy started the ice cream. Oh – did I tell you one of the pirates wished that he could escape?

"No," Manaphy replied, concerned. "What happened?"

I said no! Jirachi announced, sounding very proud of himself. It's actually kind of fun to do that!

Manaphy giggled.


Professor.

Professor Oak looked up from his desk, putting his loupe down and sliding the Mega Stone he'd been examining to the side. "Is something wrong?"

Not wrong, exactly, Damos said. It is simply… well, I would rather show you.

"All right, fine," Oak said, shrugging his customary lab coat on. "Is it dangerous?"

I do not believe so. Just… unusual.

Shaking his head, Oak walked through the lab. There was a pile of Growlithe and Houndour snoozing on the couch in front of the television, and he smiled for a moment at the sight before opening the front door.

Then he stared.

"Damos?" he asked. "Is that what you wanted to show me?"

Correct.

"What is it?" Oak said, then began to hurry down the path. He passed by Delia's house, and Shaymin looked up in surprise, then began trotting over to her Gracidea bed. "It looks like a giant crystal palace or something..."

His phone buzzed, and he brought it up to his ear.

Do not worry, Professor, his Porygon said. It is not dangerous, simply unexpected.


When he finally reached the beach, the huge shape was still approaching – slower, now, but still visibly moving towards Pallet Town.

Tracey was sitting in a deck chair on the beach, his sketchbook open and a picture of the structure already half done. He was working in monochrome pencil for now, though there were a couple of colour tests around the edge of the paper.

"Hello, Professor," he said, waving. "It's impressive, isn't it?"

"It's certainly something," Oak agreed. "What is it?"

"Samiya," Latias said from right next to him, making him jump.

"Don't do that!" he complained. "What's… wait a minute. Isn't Samiya the Temple of the Sea?"

Latias nodded, phasing back into visibility.

"Why is it here?"

"This was the best place we could find to park it," Latias told him.

Oak shook his head.

"You'd better have another deckchair," he told his assistant.

"I brought two," Tracey confirmed, indicating the folded chairs next to his own.


"And… there!" Manaphy said, taking his hands off the controls. "We've stopped!"

"We're pretty close to the shore," Misty observed. "I didn't realize it got that deep so close to Pallet Town."

"I didn't know either," Ash contributed, then frowned at the landmarks. "Hold on… I think this is right where Gary and I ran aground once."

"In what?" Max asked. "An ocean liner?"

"No, it was a little boat we were playing with..."

"Okay, either Ash got so lost he managed to miss the sea or something else is going on," Pikachu said.

Well noticed.

Mewtwo floated down from overhead, purple lightning crackling around his paws. He touched down on the stone of Samiya's control platform with a delicate touch, and his tail flexed slightly.

I removed a large quantity of mud and rock which would otherwise have meant you would have to moor Samiya further out to sea, he said. It may not be much by the usual standard, but it seemed helpful.

Reaching into a small satchel at his side, he produced a sheet of paper. This is the invoice. Please pay promptly.

"Wait, you need to be paid?" May asked, confused. "Is that normal?"

I have a corporation now, Mewtwo replied. I'm trying to keep with the official ways of doing things.

May glanced over the invoice, then took Ethan out. "What's a peppercorn payment?"

A minimal payment, required solely so that a payment has been levied. In this case, it's roughly the cost of an ice cream.

Brock raised his hand.

Yes? Mewtwo asked.

"Do you take payment in kind? We still have a few ice creams from lunch..."


Jackie looked back at the glittering Temple of the Sea, smiling.

Then he pinged his communicator. "Judy?"

"Jackie," the mission coordinator replied, responding immediately. "Any further complications? Kanto Police has reported the Phantom and his crew are in custody."

"Just letting you know, I'll be heading direct to Shikoku as soon as I have a Pokémon willing to give me a ride," Jackie answered. "No further complications, but apparently the Temple of the Sea is now going to be parked just off Pallet Town for the foreseeable future."

Judy was silent for a long moment, as Jackie climbed a little higher into the hills.

"What?"

"I have had such a weird day," Jackie said with feeling. "I'll debrief at the Ranger station in Shikoku – no point heading up north to Pewter when Shikoku's where I needed to go anyway."

"This is going to be a good one, I can tell," Judy replied, then closed the connection.

Smiling, Jackie reached the top of the hill. One last look back at Samiya, and his new friends, then he activated his Styler and started looking around for a Pokémon to ask for help.

Almost immediately, he did a double-take.

"I… guess that'll work," the Ranger admitted, and sent his Capture Disc spinning out.

It looped once around the Zapdos flying along the valley, then again, and the Legendary Pokémon banked towards him. Jackie stopped using the Styler, and took a step backwards as Zapdos came down to land in front of him.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he said, giving Zapdos a respectful nod. "But would I be able to have a lift? I need to get to Shikoku."

Zapdos visibly considered this, then nodded, and crouched down for Jackie to get on.

As he was about to take off, however, a Chatot came flying up.

"Tot-too-cha!" the avian Pokémon said, hovering in front of Jackie.

"Huh?" Jackie asked. "Wait… are you asking if you can come with me?"

Chatot nodded.

Jackie thought about it, then nodded. "Sure, we'll give it a go. Nice to meet you, Casey."

"Nice!" Casey agreed, copying the word, and settled to land on Jackie's arm.

There was a pause, and Jackie gradually realized that Zapdos was staring at the Chatot.

"Dooo?" it asked.

Casey shook his head. "Tot."

Zapdos shrugged, spread his wings, and took off with a fizz of static.

"Hey, Judy?" Jackie asked, as they rose into the sky. "I guess I have a partner Pokémon now. Yeah, I know, kind of a surprise for me too – but I think it fits..."


"I'm going to miss you," May said, giving Manaphy a hug.

"I know," Manaphy agreed. "I'll miss you too… I can't wait until we've got everything sorted out with Samiya and I can travel with you again!"

May nodded, still embracing him. "I know… I can't wait, either, and I'd love to see you doing Contests again."

She ruffled his antennae, then took a step back.

"Are you sure it's going to be fine?" she asked.

"Sure!" Manaphy confirmed. "Lizabeth, Ship, Meredith and Kyle all want to help, and so do their Pokémon! I'm sure they'll be great assistants."

May nodded. "I'm sure you'll teach them well… and don't forget, visit every week even before then!"

Manaphy nodded.

Then he put one flipper to his chin. "We… don't have to say goodbye now, do we?"

"I… think we actually don't," May said. "Ash said something about us staying here until at least tomorrow, because he wanted to visit home anyway, and I'm not going to ignore an excuse like that!"

"That is very welcome news. I have heard a lot about the celebration parties at this place and I am very interested in taking part in one," Joltik informed them. "I would like to try some of everything."

"I'll share my food with you!" Manaphy declared. "I'd like to try lots of things too!"

There was a soft thump, drawing everyone to look as a Shaymin landed on the edge of the platform.

"Cool place," she announced, tossing her head and letting her scarf flick to one side. "So this is permanent?"

"Pretty much," May agreed.

"I think I'm going to enjoy coming over to visit."


I think we're here, Silver sent, glancing at his father. We're here, right?

Lugia spread his wings, indicating the surface above with a toss of his head.

Right, Silver realized, and began to swim upwards as well. The light quality changed as they rose, going from a deep blue to a more natural mixture, before becoming turquoise as the sunlight touched them both.

Then, seconds apart, the two Legendaries broke the surface.

Silver looked around, turning his head, and took in the panorama.

"I… don't think this is where Samiya is," he said. "There's too many ships, and that's a city over there. And over there as well…"

He tilted his head. "Where are we?"

"Well," Lugia began. "I'm afraid you made a few mistakes. Firstly, that left turn by the seamount should have been a right turn… and there were a few more after that. But the thing which most worries me is that you missed that we'd gone up a river."

Silver blushed. "…oh, right. This is fresh water..."

He shook his head. "Sorry, Dad, I guess I've really screwed up."

"It happens," Lugia assured him. "Learning to navigate underwater is one of the hardest tasks for a Lugia to learn, simply because it's so hard to get your bearings. You'll learn."

He spread his wings. "Well, we're here now… let's give them a show."

Silver copied him, and then the two Psychic-types burst out of the Corona River in a shower of sun-dazzled droplets.

"Where are we, anyway?" Silver asked, as they levelled out about twice the height of the tallest skyscrapers.

"Crown City," Lugia provided. "Suicune told me about it a few months ago. Apparently they have an impressive Baccer team."

"What's Baccer?"


Grings Kodai stared at his wine glass, then at the two Legendaries flying southwards.

"I didn't realize it was that strong..."


AN:


And that was the Temple of the Sea movie.

May's moves were all directly based on karate kata, which is one reason they're a bit stiff – she's still learning how to turn kata into a full fighting style. But if you're boosted enough that can be plenty.

Also, yes, this is now a thing. Samiya is staying there until further notice.

The Zapdos? Well, think about a Zapdos who might be puzzled by that name.

And Silver's still got a few teething problems with navigation. In fact, he ended up in the wrong movie.