Flareon Light leaned over the swaying, moonlit ocean water from behind the shiny white railing. Behind him on deck, other pokemon had brought out a table to relax around. Slowking Chad was showing Drizzile Kenta and Arcanine Zhen how to play with cards. He listened in, too, but it seemed a little complicated. He mixed up all the rules in his head and just gave up.

Sky Forme Shaymin Ariel was next to him, watching the dark ocean and blocking out the wind hitting them from the side. Light thought she'd get bored of it, considering Kaigan was an island country. She was probably used to this view, but she stayed next to him anyway.

Eventually, she went behind him and brought her strong arms in front of his face, hugging him and his soft gray mane from behind. Light nuzzled up against her chin.

"You're okay," Ariel said. "Chingyang's not really that smart. I don't want you to be worried."

"How do you know she's not smart?" Light asked.

"I know a little politics. Her parents were a lot more dangerous than she is when they were still alive."

"Why's that?"

"Militaristic. Power hungry. Obsessed with control. Loud and obnoxious. Like everything you're not."

"Well," he whispered, "I have my moments."

Ariel's grip tightened around his shoulders. A puff of steam leaked past his mouth when he felt some of her weight come down on his back. She lowered her face next to his and kissed him on the cheek like a breeze passing by. The heat stretched into every muscle in his body as her huge ears went around each side of his head.

"You're a pretty honest person," Ariel said, "you know that? Should lend me your notes."

Light giggled with his chin turned down.

"There are things I want to tell you about myself, but I'm not sure how you'll take it..."

Light looked up at Ariel's face. Her confidence faded off of her face, casting a cold shadow that stopped his smile. She felt distant.

"You can tell me right now if you want to."

"But I like the way you look at me now. I just can't stop thinking about things from a while ago."

"Just because things are complicated or were complicated... I mean, you're a hero now. As long as you're true to what's right, you always will be."

"And what if I've been in a situation where there was no right answer... and it was all on me?"

"Then it was the situation's fault," Light said. "Not yours. I mean, using what you have and doing what you think is right-"

"Isn't always right. The most evil people in the world think that they're right. And me... I just don't know."

"What don't you know?"

Ariel fell silent and gazed up towards the dark ocean.

"Airy," Light said, "I can't help if you don't say."

"I already told you. I like the way you look at me now."

Light still felt just as safe in her arms as he did before she said anything. He knew he should push further, or maybe he thought he should, but he didn't want to. Ariel seemed tired of talking about whatever it was. She was more direct than he was, anyways. She's bound to say eventually.

Ariel grabbed Light's right arm and brought up his paw. She held it in both of her paws, putting pressure on the center and rubbing outward towards his claws. It tingled down to his shoulder.

"Hey," Light said, "you're doing something... aren't you?"

"Yup. It's a Lao Shen technique. Acupressure. Not, like, the move."

"How do you know how to do acupressure?"

"It's an old Lao Shen custom to treat sickness and things. And, well... I've been using it on you to keep you from getting energy cramps and stuff. I mean, you're still newly evolved. I don't want you in pain or anything."

"Without me noticing...?"

"Remember I patted you on the back earlier?"

"Uhm, yah..." Light mumbled.

"Or shook your paw earlier?"

"Yah..."

"I've been using it like every day with you. How do I explain..."

Ariel's eyes drifted off towards the ocean.

"Posture means a lot in Lao Shen," she said. "It's even a job help rich people by being kind of their posture therapist. Guess I just sorta did it without thinking since I'm helping you with battling and all that."

"Why'd you choose to learn how to do it? Was it an old job or something...?"

"No. The honest truth is, I did it so I could have more perks to date and stuff. Like, a resume, back when I was a little different..."

"Why?" Light asked. "I mean, why would you feel the need to do that...?"

"To be honest, at least in Lao Shen, I'm not a looker."

Not what Light expected, or thought. The sheen, quirks, and the muscles made her like a goddess. Her smirk felt like daylight.

"I mean, the beautiful pokemon in Lao Shen aren't... Beefy fighting kinds of pokemon," Ariel explained. "They're soft and elegant with long fur and just... You know, more like you. Not me."

"Airy, you-"

"I'm not worried about it anymore," she said quickly. "Like, I used to obsess over it. I was scared of being alone and everything just staying the same. But now... I mean, like, the world's a big place. I'm not worried about it just because one place says I'm a brute or some kind of-"

"Airy, you're a lot more than someone could put into words, so don't bother remembering anything they said."

Ariel paused. Her usual jeweled smirk grew on her face as she turned down to him.

"You're a real peacock, you know that?" she asked.

"What."

Ariel spun Light around by his paw. Her ears covered the sides of his head as she leaned down. An ember danced across Light's face from ear to ear.

The double doors leading inside burst open. Light and Ariel's eyes jumped to Manaphy Jewel as her eyes darted from person to person. Her chest rose and fell as she gasped for breath.

"Guys!" Jewel yelled. "We just got bamboozled by pirates and they're getting away!"

"What," Light blurted.

Slowking Chad, Drizzile Kenta, and Arcanine Zhen all gazed absentmindedly, sitting up as it settled in. Sky Forme Shaymin Ariel's grip on Flareon Light's paw tightened, interlacing their fingers. He could feel the tension rolling up all the way to her shaking eyes.

"Where, Jewel!?" Chad questioned.

"So, like, I saw them! Like, at the back of the ship! They jumped off and I'm- like- running and telling everyone!"

Light had to take it all in word by word, since Jewel spoke so fast between gasping for air.

"Airy," Light said, "fly up and look for a ship. We're too far out for anyone to swim to land with stolen stuff."

"Right," Ariel said.

Still covered from eyesight from Ariel's ears, Light went on the tips of his toes and pecked Ariel's cheek.

"And stay safe."

She smiled and nodded with her shining white teeth, then loosened her fierce grip on his shoulders. Her smile rose with every step back she took.

Ariel took flight. Light covered his eyes from the wind threatening to dry them out. When he looked up, her shadow disappeared behind the upper deck.

"Chad," Light said, turning. "Get to the controls and call whoever needs to be called. Contact whoever manages these waters. Jewel, go wake everyone and try to get checks on what's missing. Tell them to get ready for battle, too. After that, circle the ship to watch out for more pirates or sneak attacks. Kenta, you join her on watch. Zhen, go to the watchtower and keep track of Airy."

"What about you?" Zhen asked.

"I need to think and do some research. Pirates aren't common anymore, so we need to be extra careful. Watch Airy for me okay?"

"Of course."

Light didn't expect pirates at all. From what he knew, they were as dead as explorers. His main hope for a break-through was Chad calling Lao Shen authorities, but he couldn't rely on it. Most of his concern was with more personal belongings considering how much money they had from donations.

Specifically, Ariel's treasure chest.

It had her whole childhood inside, as far as he knew. If they were pirates, any one of them would take a treasure chest. There's no doubt Ariel was thinking the same thing with how fast she took off.

Then, there was Light's own jewelry. He adored it more than he tried to show. He hoped they would take it instead of Ariel's treasure chest, but he wasn't happy either way.

Light surfed through his phone, but he couldn't find any recent information about any kind of pirates. They usually made headlines nowadays since they were so rare, so this group had to be more recent if Chad didn't find anything from the authorities. But even that was just a guess.

As he scrolled through, Chad called. Light clicked green button as it popped up on his screen and held the phone near his ear.

"Hey," Chad's voice said. "Lao Shen knows them. They're called 'The Wild Bunch'."

"Alright. So, what do you know?"

"They stole a military ship from them a few weeks ago, right from a military compound. They kept it confidential from the public, but they decided to tell us."

"A military ship...?" Light mumbled. "How many of them are there?"

"More than us, that's for sure. I can see why Lao Shen didn't reveal this information to the public yet. This is bad."

"No kidding."

Light didn't recognize the third voice at first, but he had a guess.

"Zhen?" Light asked.

"Yes. I see Ariel signaling. We're already heading in their direction now."

"Tell Chad when to cut the power. We can't approach them in a whole cruise ship..."

"Well, this ship used to have a bit more strength in numbers," Chad sighed. "Not very ideal for this. The Wayfarers used to be an army of bounty hunters, not a cup full."

"It's fine. We'll just get closer ourselves. Zhen, could you watch the ship after we cut the power? Stay on the watchtower."

"Right."

"Good. And Chad, call everyone to the deck and get here after the power's cut."

"On it."

Light closed out of the call. He left his phone on the table on top of a pile of cards and started to mull over the species of different Guild members.

A Galarian Ponyta, Manaphy, Zangoose, Roserade, Sky Forme Shaymin, Dewgong, Talonflame, Roserade, Mienfoo, Emolga, and Drizzile. He needed to get them to the ship without them noticing and running for it, or at least as many of them as possible, as fast as he could.

The Mienfoo could ride on top of the Talonflame. Emolga would fly by herself. The Zangoose could go with the Dewgong, seeing as they already seem like friends. Chad must've had an idea with Roserade Storm, considering they were very old friends. Manaphy and Drizzile could swim with the Galarian Ponyta and drag her along somehow. Given the Manaphy was Jewel, they would probably go faster than anyone else there.

Ariel picked Light up on the regular. He wasn't really sure why, but he didn't complain. She could definitely carry him there. If everything else worked, that was everyone with the Guild so far except Zhen, and he wanted every portion of help possible if what Chad said was real.

The ship fell silent. Light didn't fully register the sounds it made traveling through the water until they were gone. The silence filled with noise again when the double doors slammed open and the others streamed out. Even though most of them had already went to sleep, their eyes were bursting out with adrenaline now.

The mob of eyes unnerved Light a little less this time, especially since he memorized all their names. The little greetings around the Guild built his confidence one at a time. His body didn't react the way it had before.

"How much is missing?" Light asked.

"Everything but the kitchen sink," Mienfoo Robin said. "Things don't really matter, but... Darn it, guys. No one heard?"

"There's a ton of empty space," Ponyta Nadia said. "There was probably no one around to listen."

"We're going to approach without the ship," Light said. "I have a few travel plans for everyone to get there."

"We talked about it," Chad said. "Everyone's ready. Ariel's coming back for you, too."

"Oh... Well. Good."

"What we need to discuss is the ship itself," Chad continued. "It's made of energy resistant metal. Far from invincible, but it's made for large scale battles. We need a plan in case they detect us before we can board them."

"Well," Light said, "there's a problem even if we do make it on. We're outnumbered. I think I want to try a more talking approach."

Everyone's eyes were glancing in different directions, dodging Light's eyes passing over them. It made him feel a little stupid.

"Pirates like to make deals," Light argued.

"You're not wrong," Chad said, "but we don't have anything on board to make a deal with anymore. As crude as it is, I think we just need to come to blows and take back what's ours."

"But we can at least try."

"We can. You can try whatever you want there yourself, Light, but we need a battle strategy one way or the other."

Flareon Light felt shut down. He stopped talking. When he did, everyone somehow noticed.

"The plan's still up to you," Chad said.

"But I'm not really a battle strategist or anything," Light said.

"You're the leader. You have common sense. Use it."

"O-kay..."

Light didn't know much about ships at all, much less military ships made for battles.

The battles were probably out at sea. Well, obviously. But more than that, they were probably from a distance. They were made of energy resistant metal, but that didn't help at all if the attack was going on inside the ship. He doubted any of the ship's weapons would, either.

"We'll board the ship by sneaking up before attacking," Light said. "We don't want to be at a distance when they notice us. We'll disable the weapons somehow before we leave. Shouldn't be too discrete to find."

"What kinds of weapons should we focus on?" Chad asked.

"Well, they have amplifiers, right?" Light asked. "I don't know how they work, though."

"They have them. They're shaped like cannons. Each of them has energy generated on them ship that passes energy through large rings. Attacks passing through those rings are stronger."

"Those should be the first priority. I guess just target the generators... Is there anything else that's long range that could disrupt us getting away?"

"Laser cannons."

"What."

"Laser cannons," Chad repeated. "They fire pure energy. Could saw this ship in half."

Light's blood ran cold.

"Wait, what do you mean they have laser cannons that could saw this ship in half?" Light asked.

Chad sighed. "They have laser cannons. They fire big lasers that could saw this ship in half. Can you hear me?"

"I hear you," Light gulped, "but what!?"

"They take time to charge. In addition, the use of all that energy renders the ship unable to move for up to two hours. The ship runs on the same energy its generators create for both attack and movement."

"If any one of us gets hit by that thing, they're dead," Light said. "We can't risk baiting it into firing because it gives us time. We can't let it fire at all."

"I agree. But, without it being immobile for some time, it will catch up to us with a ready laser cannon. This ship isn't as fast."

"Then we'll just destroy them, too, somehow. We're not risking dealing with something that could saw the ship in half. Would destroying the generators deal with that, too?"

"Yes," Chad nodded.

Wind danced past Light's face. The scent of flowers made him turn his head up. He could make out Sky Forme Shaymin Ariel from the starry night sky.

"Did they get Airy's treasure chest?" Light asked.

"I think you ought to make the choice without knowing," Chad said.

That was fair. An ember burned up his throat from his chest. They had other things to deal with, but the fact this happened sent his blood boiling.

"Okay," Light said. "Let's wreck that ship, take our stuff, and be on our way."

Light thought they would flinch or argue against his choice, but almost vicious smiles started to pop up on their faces.

As Sky Forme Shaymin Ariel landed next to him, she matched their bloodthirsty smiles with her own.

"Cool," Ariel said, "so, how are we screwing them up?"

"The old fashioned way," Chad said. "First, Light will make a case. If they refuse to give us our goods back, we're showing them that we've hunted bigger. Wreck everything on board so that they don't chase us with laser cannons, especially their energy generators. Everyone get close to me."

Chad went to the center of the forming circle. Light felt like he was the only one that didn't know what he was going to do, but it didn't worry him. Chad seemed to read his face though, or mostly his tense jaw.

"Establishing a psychic link before battle," Chad explained. "Communicating like this will help. Faster than phones and things."

The feeling was familiar: listening to an extra set of vocal cords with an extra set of ears.

"We should head out now," Chad continued. "The sooner the better. You land with Ariel on the ship first and try to speak. If it doesn't work, we'll fight."

"Right."

A splash sounded off the side of the boat. Light turned towards it, then turned back. More splashes sounded behind his head.

Everyone was gone or out of sight before he could finish processing it. He stared back at Ariel with his mouth open.

"Ready, honey bun?" Ariel asked.

Light felt blood rush to his head when Ariel wrapped her arms around under his shoulders.

"Hold on tight," she said.

"You're going slow, right!?" Light begged.

"You know I don't go slow, but I'll ease into it. A little bit. You know how it goes."

Ariel swung Light over his back like a doll. He gripped around her shoulders and pushed his face against her back as a swirling breeze pushed and pulled the edge of his fur.

Light screamed as Ariel took off. It faded into embarrassed whimpers when he realized she started slow. She stayed low to the water; a stark difference compared to what he saw her do earlier. She stayed just out of splashing distance from the dark waves below.

"Hey!" Ariel called, "you're like my cape!"

Flareon Light pushed his face down against her back.

Light lost his sense of time to the cold, stabbing winds. He dealt with them fine, but he wrapped his gray tail around Sky Forme Shaymin Ariel to keep her protected. She flashed him a smile when he did. They rose higher in the air at a steady pace, pushing the sound of the waves into the background.

"Woke up in the middle of the night," Nadia's voice huffed. "Now I have to do a midnight dive in this freaking cold ocean. Lost all of my love potions."

"Why did you take those love potions?" Light asked.

"Ariel told me to get them for you."

"For me? Why?"

"Just training things," Ariel said. "Sorry you guys are cold down there. Light's like my little heater. We're coming up on them, though. I see it."

Light lifted his face from the safety of her back. Even though they were much higher now, but he couldn't see anything. The ocean looked like a pulsing abyss when all it had to reflect were dark clouds.

"Where?" he asked.

"Just down there," Ariel said. "The ship's black. Kinda hard to see at night."

A blast of light shot up out of the ocean. Light turned away with his eyes burning, burying his face back in Ariel's fur. He tried to let his eyes adjust, but his eyelids couldn't protect them the whole way.

"What is that!?" Light groaned.

Before Light could get an answer, loud roaring swept over his hearing as his eyes adjusted. Beams of light illuminated the clouds. One of them hit them straight on from the ocean below. A loud, screeching sound like scratching wood rang out. His ears stung from a deep, young voice coming from a loudspeaker.

"Attention all dipshits! We have a discount on cans of microwavable whoopass you can share with the whole family! Extra fee if you want it to go! Oh! And don't forget your samples, dumbasses!"

A hearty, scratching laugh boomed along with light on the ship's deck. Orange, white, and yellow lasers started to bloom.

"I'm dropping Light down," Ariel said. "I'll distract their range. Board and move."

"Airy, no."

Ariel spun in the air. Light's tight grip around her neck disappeared.

"Aaaaaairyyyyyyyy!"

Lasers went over Light's head as he fell towards the abyss made of water below. He spun and flung his limbs around as if it'd help him slow down.

As he screamed, something snagged around his wrist. A jolt went down his body from the top of his head as he stopped falling.

The sharp grip of a talon went around his wrist. With the hint from red wings pushing gusts past his face, he could tell it was the Talonflame Roxanne. The grip felt like pins and needles, but he only had to endure it a little longer.

Half a dozen beams of energy went over their heads. As their momentum fizzled out, they arced and fell into the ocean behind them. The geysers of water were all far away, but Light could still feel cool droplets of water on his back.

The source of it all was an ebony black ship, now shining like the sun. They were close enough for Light to be able to see the deck.

There were dozens of pokemon on board. Cannons lined the rim of the ship with even more pokemon on top of each of them. The reflective, black surface was covered in a rainbow of different moving species. The beams of light came from huge light fixtures attached to the side of the deck in between cannons and pokemon firing attacks through them.

"Airy!?" Light called.

"Stamina's going to get thin fast!" Ariel replied.

"Cannons first, guys!"

Roxanne brought him over the deck and lowered him down. A Drifloon, Sandshrew, and a dozen other pokemon noticed their shadow over their eyes and backed away. As they landed, Light made sure to frown and glare at them individually.

"No way..." Drifloon mumbled. "S-Sheng! It's the White Star!"

The cannons stopped. The whirring lasers shooting into the sky paused as the pokemon firing them turned towards the growing frenzy of screaming.

Flareon Light flinched when another pokemon landed on his other side.

It was Mienfoo Robin. She flashed him a smile, then continued her deep stare with her right arm raised behind her straight left pointing towards them. Her eyes seemed bland.

The pokemon started to shout for Sheng. They all turned their heads up, screaming towards a crow's nest outlined by a pure black sail and a web of ropes. Light couldn't see over the nest's rim.

"What is it?" the loudspeaker voice asked, "hey, what's the- Ooooooh shiiiiiit!"

"They stopped firing," Ariel said. "What's going on down there?"

"I think Light surprised them," Robin said. "Stay close, but don't board yet."

"Okay, which one of you idiots robbed the White Star? Steve, was it you?"

Light followed the mobs of heads as they all turned. A Chimchar sitting on top of a cannon rim just shrugged with his mouth open.

"Who was it?" the voice asked. "I promise I won't be mad. I just want to know."

"Me, sir!"

The mob of pokemon slunk away from an Oshawott a few paces ahead. He had his arm raised in the air, facing up towards the crow's nest.

"Okay," the voice said. "Alright. Now, I'mma beat the ever living shit out of you, but it can wait."

"I thought you said you wouldn't be mad..." Oshawott said.

"Pft... So, did no one check beforehand that you were robbing the White Star? No one at all?"

"No, sir!" Oshawott called back.

"Aight. Fine. So who you planning on robbing next? A saint? Kaigan's president? My chocolate pudding when I'm not looking? Like Steve!?"

The Chimchar sitting on a cannon shrugged with his mouth open.

"You noticed it, right?" Robin asked. "They're all kids."

"Yah," Light said. "Weird... Here, let me try something."

Light took two steps forward and titled his chin up.

"We want to make a deal!" Light called. "If you give us our stuff back, we won't tell anyone about you!"

The kids on the bottom fell silent. The voice on the crow's nest stayed quiet too, but then reached out again.

"You bad at lying," the voice huffed. "Damn. Never try that shit again. That was awful. Shu, give me mah wings."

Light wasn't sure what he meant by "wings", but it didn't sound good. A short moment passed until he saw a blue shadow come over the edge of the crow's nest.

It jumped. Light cringed as a Prinplup dove head-first to the deck. His body twisted and turned like a drop of water as he landed upright on his feet. Vibrations on the steel deck sound like a deep drumbeat.

The edges of Prinplup's arms were coated in a reflective metal. Light recognized it. It was the same as Chad's sword. It must've been his "wings".

"You'd make an awful hostage, despite how much we'd get," Prinplup said, standing up straight. "But, as you can see, we kind of like high stakes gambling. I'll make sure these shit-for-brains treat you well as our hostage, though. I'll even show extra respect by taking you in ourselves."

"Everyone on deck is right in front of you guys," Ariel said. "Someone can sneak in behind them. I doubt there's anyone below deck. Keep them distracted."

"What about the cannons?" Nadia asked.

"The generators should be somewhere down there. Just break them."

Talonflame Roxanne brought her wing out in front of Light. Mienfoo Robin took steps forward to meet the Prinplup.

"Are you really pirates?" Light asked.

"Course we are," Prinplup said. "Complete with talking parrot."

"But why become pirates now? You're all... young."

"There's only two things in this world to me. Us, and everyone else."

Robin feinted a left jab and rotated her whole body on the tip of her foot. Her leg came down on Prinplup's raised arms. He pushed her body to rotate back and jabbed at her with both arms.

Prinplup's arms moved too fast for Light to keep track of. After jabs to the chest, he slapped Robin across the face. The metal clang of the impact made Light shrink back behind Roxanne's wing.

Prinplup turned his head and fired Hydro Pump from his beak. Talonflame Roxanne hopped in front of it with her wings crossed. She was blasted into the air with her wings flailing, slamming into the rim off the ship and crumbling on the floor.

Robin and Roxanne were left writhing on the floor. Light tensed his limbs.

"It ain't personal, man," Prinplup said.

Prinplup darted up to his face and jabbed with the metal points on his arms. They were too fast to block or dodge. Each one of them sent a shockwave through his chest and made his legs crumble down lower.

The jabs paused. Light tried to take the chance to strike back, but he got kicked across the face.

"How's it going down there?" Ariel asked.

Light's whole body stung. His paws tightened as he pushed himself back up to his feet, passing the Prinplup the hateful frown he probably had on his face.

"Going fine," Light said. "Are they getting their stuff back?"

"Yes," Chad said. "How much longer can you buy us?"

"Take your time."

"You surrender?" Prinplup asked.

Light pushed himself to his feet and faced Prinplup again. Prinplup stared back with an arm over his shoulder on his back.

"Well. Okay."

Prinplup's arms became a blur of silvery metal in front of Light's eyes. Annoyed, Light extended his arm to strike through it all.

He was hit straight in the chest. When he keeled over, Prinplup uppercut him in the face. He fell on his back, curling up to try to dull the eruption of burning pain.

"I don't mean to burst my own bubble," Prinplup said, "but I am pretty good."

Light turned his face up. Prinplup shot out a Bubblebeam from his beak. The super-effective energy stung all the way through his body. He got pinned to the cold floor, screaming and twisting trying to move out of the way. He brought his gray tail over him to try and take it, but the pain billowed through.

When the attack stopped, Light still screamed and writhed on the floor.

"Light do you need my help...?" Ariel asked.

Light struggled to suppress his real voice. "No."

Flareon Light struggled to his feet again, finishing the process of turning around he tried to do before the Bubblebeam. Prinplup looked him up and down with a blank look in his eyes.

"Hey man," Prinplup said. "Surrender. It's all good. There ain't any honor in pain."

"No."

Prinplup sighed. His arms rotated up. The metal came down on Light's back.

He couldn't suppress the scream from rolling over his whole mind, even if it couldn't get past his lips. His legs went numb, but he could still feel pain seeping through.

"Sheng! Hold it right there!"

Light couldn't bring his face back up. He heard a pair of feet hit the deck the same way as when the Prinplup landed.

"What do you think you're doing!?"

"What!?" Prinplup asked. "He wouldn't surrender. Lay off."

"You can't go around inflicting pain on a weakened enemy because they wouldn't 'surrender'. Do you know who you're acting like right now?"

Prinplup groaned.

"Don't call me weak."

Light pushed himself up to his feet again. His limbs shook enough to make him lose his balance and have to bend down to get it back.

Something felt wrong with his back. He couldn't straighten it. The part Sheng hit felt like it turned to stone.

A Snivy holding a yellow notepad and a pencil stood next to the Prinplup. She drew and wrote on it without looking at the paper, instead staring right back at him. Prinplup looked at him with one of his eyes bigger than the other.

"Pft," Prinplup said. "Weak ain't accurate at all. Forreal, just looks like you ain't got jack-shit for skill."

"Shut up," Light hissed.

"Sheng," Snivy said, "we shouldn't delve into taking hostages. This is a line you're crossing."

"Fine," Prinplup said, "but what else should we do with him?"

"Light?" Ariel asked. "Are you okay down there?"

"We're finished in just a minute."

"We shouldn't have been anywhere near the Wayfarers," Snivy said, "And attacking the White Star himself? What were you thinking? Do you know how much of a bounty this will mean?"

"There isn't anything we can do about it," Prinplup said. "What's done is done."

"Sheng, we-"

Snivy's head jolted up.

A war cry mixed in with the screech of attacks. Razors of wind slammed into the deck and sent the pokemon ahead into a frenzy. Leftover gusts tickled the fur of Light's face, but the Air Slashes were precise.

Sky-Forme Shaymin Ariel landed during a pause in the strikes. Her arm was already over him before her feet touched the ground. She bent her face down by his chin.

"We're going," Ariel said. "Hang on."

Ariel pushed herself under Light and lifted him on her back. With the higher view, Light saw Mienfoo Robin grasping around Talonflame Roxanne's back. The mob of pokemon started to compose itself as Ariel hopped in the air and turned around.

"They sabotaged the ship's power," Ariel said. "We're done."

Light clung on around her neck again, tighter than last time. His limbs still vibrated from the pain. He couldn't raise his chest to keep her from feeling his heavy breathing as the winds picked back up.

"Hey, ay ay!" Sheng's voice screamed. "This ain't over!"

Light got a little bit of relief hearing that. It was over for now.

"Light?" Ariel asked. "You good?"

"My... back hurts," Light groaned.

"Light? Hey!?"

The way back to the ship was a vague memory. He could feel the shadows of the cold on his fur and Ariel's loud voice in his ears, even though they were long gone.

Flareon Light lied on a bed on his side. It smelled tart and sweet, and even stronger than a flower bed; Ariel's scent.

He was covered with a pink blanket. Patches of his fur were wrapped tight in white bandages that hugged his chest. Past the round window next to the bed night sky seemed to be even darker with more clouds.

As Light picked his head off of a soft white pillow, the warm air acted as a second blanket. He saw her treasure chest was in her room. The green veins and gem gleamed from a light coat of water and a puddle accumulating on the floor. They had taken it after all.

A loud voice called outside the room behind the door. A moment later, it opened. The Sky Forme Shaymin Ariel sighed when she saw him and jogged to his side, closing the door behind her.

"Why did you tell us you were okay when you weren't!?" she demanded. "What the hell, Light!?"

"I had it under control..." Light mumbled.

"Based on what Robin told me, none of us would've have had it 'under control'. I was worried sick."

"I helped! Okay!? If I didn't do anything, I would've just been useless."

"You could've helped by calling me down and using Helping Hand. I mean, the last time you used that move was incredible. I could've handled it then."

An ember coming alive in Light's chest dulled the pain in his back.

"Relying on you for everything still makes me useless," Light said. "I was literally just a dog...! I couldn't do anything!"

"Fighting's not meant for everyone," Ariel said.

Light forced himself to his feet. A pang of coughing fire came out of his mouth, fading towards the ceiling as he groaned. The blanket still stayed on top of his back.

"Then that makes me good for anything here!" Light yelled. "You keep distracting me from trying to get stronger!"

"I'm just trying to protect you," she scoffed. "Fighting's not fun, or some kind of game. The only thing it's good for is hurting people, and that's n-not you."

Ariel's voice cracked. An icicle went through Light's chest. Beads of tears were at the bottom corners of her eyes.

"So don't c-complaining that you're not talented at hurting people. It's like you wish you were just some kind of stupid monster..."

"Airy, you're not a monster."

"Do you know how awful it is to look at someone you love and just... in the back of your mind, size up how strong they are? Fighting's horrible, okay!?"

"You're not some brute, Airy..." Light said. "Being a fighter doesn't make you a monster. I just want to be more like you to protect the things I care about like you do for me. But I can't learn to do that if you never teach me anything."

"I don't want you to be like me... You're actually gentle... You're not just faking it like I am."

"Airy," Light whispered, "I feel safe around you, and so does everyone else. You're a hero, so, of course I want to be more like you."

Ariel stared, then broke away. Feeling the pain roaring back to life in his back, Light lied back down flat on his stomach.

"Well, I'll just show you the basics," Ariel said. "But we'll talk about it later. Right now, I just need to help with your back."

How long have we been back?" Light asked quietly.

"Just twenty minutes or so. Long enough for a few people to pass out."

Ariel floated on top of the bed. Light curled his head down into his arms and his feet by his stomach.

"I kind of need to shock your energy back into a good pattern," she explained. "Just... deep breaths."

Light took in a deep breath and released it. He repeated a few times while she pulled back the pink blanket and placed her paws on his back with one over the other. They fell right on the center of the tight feeling.

"In," Ariel said. "And... out."

Ariel pushed down. Light grunted into the mattress and sighed. His body loosened up with the passing seconds like his blood had started to flow again. The pain dulled.

"Okay," Ariel said. "You're staying in here tonight."

"What...?" Light mumbled.

"In case you're in pain so I can help. Acupressure's the go-to treatment for the kind of hit you took, and I'm the only one on the ship that knows it."

Ariel rolled the pink blanket back over Light and stepped in front of him. She lied down with her arms crossed, looking down at his pink cocoon.

"Besides," Ariel sighed, "I can't sleep. Not after all that."

"You should," Light said. "It's not long till we reach the capital."

"I'll be okay."

"How are Robin and Roxanne?"

"They're okay. Already sleeping."

Light's back stung him. He grit his teeth and raised his head with his eyes closed. Ariel reached over him and rubbed in a circle on the tense point on his back again. The relief spread through his whole body like the pain did. She retreated her paw after a few seconds.

"Sorry I yelled," she whispered.

"It's okay."

"Why didn't you want me to help? Together, no one would've gotten hurt."

"Even so, it just would've been you doing most of the work. Like it usually is."

"Do you hate asking for help?" she asked.

"What's there to like?"

"Well... You get to see me kick some butt."

Light tried to fight the smile at first. He couldn't just lay back and let her do everything forever. The smile grew under his conflicted, shaking stare.

"You're younger than me," Ariel said. "Two years is a big difference. And you just evolved. It takes, like, six months for a pokemon to properly adjust, and who knows what extra things you have to adjust to."

"That just sounds like excuses," Light mumbled.

"We'll train tomorrow. Get some sleep."

"No, you."

Light flashed a triumphant smile. A hint of mischief went behind Ariel's eyes.

"No, you," Ariel repeated.

"No, you."

"Don't make me do it."

"Do what?"

Green energy glowed in Ariel's paw. She flourished it, scattering a marbles of fading light in the air. A leaf appeared in her grasp that she brought up to her mouth.

"I shall name this tune... 'ultimate no you'," Ariel said.

Ariel blew into the leaf. The melody wormed its way into Light's mind, and he didn't put up a fight to stop it.

"Using moves is cheating..." Light mumbled. He closed his eyes.