After splitting from Weldon and Trin, Summer, Yuki, and Aster tried to infiltrate Team Aqua's base near Lilycove City. However, it was a trap set up by Hamsetrin, and the three escaped by defeating his Pokémon. Knowing they lost their element of surprise, they decided to travel along the sea routes to find Rayquaza. Their first stop is Mossdeep City for Summer's Gym battle, but they end up taking a detour to a place near the city. What adventure awaits Summer there?

Chapter 48- From Sea to Icy Shoal

After our failed attempt to disable the Team Aqua Hideout, we boarded the next ferry from Lilycove City to Mossdeep City, which included a stop at Shoal Cove.

Lighting and I enjoyed the light breeze and salty air. "I miss this feeling. It's been so long since I've been on a boat."

Yuki laughed as her Minun followed his fellow Electric type's lead. "It sure is nice today, isn't it, Summer? How're you doing, Aster?"

"I'm-urgh-fine…" she muttered, looking a little green.

"Are you sure?" I asked, concerned. "I have some seasickness medication."

"N-No need! I…I can handle it…" Then she moaned.

I pulled several capsules from my bag. "Aster, take some. You'll feel much better."

She relented, taking the pills with some water. After a few minutes, her symptoms subsided. "Ah… So this is the modern way of eliminating seasickness. Thank you, Summer."

"You're welcome, Aster. Have you traveled by boat before?"

Aster shook her head. "I have always flown on Athebyne or Tiayi, so I have no need to travel by boat, or by sea for that matter. Until today that is." With her mind now focused on her new surroundings, she smiled. "It…really is wonderful."

Aster doesn't seem to know much about the modern world. I guess it makes sense since the Draconids never stray too far from Meteor Falls.

Then, the boat slowed down. {Attention, passengers. We will be docking at Shoal Cave, home of the Shell Bell and Spheal Rehabilitation Center, in a few minutes. We will stay at Shoal Cave for two hours before departing to our final destination at Mossdeep City.}

"Do either of you want to check out Shoal Cave?" I asked.

Yuki nodded. "Of course! I heard there's an ice cave that's only reachable at low tide."

Shuddering, I replied, "Well, let's hope we don't stay there for too long. What about you, Aster?"

"Oh! I would…actually like to explore this boat some more before entering the cave, so you two can go ahead."

"Sure. That sounds good to me."

Once the boat finished mooring to the dock, Yuki, our Pokémon, and I departed with others to the beach surrounding Shoal Cave. There was a line of vendors along the cave entrance, and a sign on top of it read "Shoal Cave and Spheal Rehabilitation Center".

We entered the cool, damp space and saw it was low tide, allowing access to the lower floors. To our delight, we saw a group of wild Spheal, round blue and white seal-like Pokémon, being gently herded up the carved stairs by some people in light blue shirts and tan jeans. We followed a safe distance behind and arrived at the rehabilitation center, a medium-sized space with sturdy pens, a Pokémon doctor's room, and several informational boards.

Yuki read the writing. "This center specializes in rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing wild Spheal, Sealeo, and Walrein."

"That's pretty cool," I replied, looking at the board as well. "It says the main reasons for those Pokémon coming to the center range from storms and natural injuries to harassment from people."

Lightning's ears drooped. "Harassment from people? Why would anyone want to hurt those cute, round Pokémon?"

The Sinnoh native read further down. "It says that people have been known to chase after them to see them roll around or even kick them around like balls."

"That's…so mean!" Ichigo shouted.

I nodded. "That's why there are laws in this region protecting certain Pokémon, like the Spheal evolution line, who are only found in this cave. That also included the construction and operation of this center."

Suddenly, we felt a whoosh of air behind us and heard someone shouting "WHEEEE!"

"Larimar, come back here!" a woman wearing blue and tan shouted, chasing a rogue Spheal.

But it was too late; the Water type tumbled into the hole leading deeper into the cave.

"That Spheal…" she muttered as she fixed her disheveled black hair. When she realized we were watching, she cleared her throat and made an awkward smile. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm Natasha, the on-site crew leader today at the rehabilitation center."

Yuki grinned. "That's all right. My name is Yuki, and this is my partner, Ichigo."

"I'm Summer, and this is Lightning," I added. "Did something happen to that Spheal?"

Natasha sighed. "That Pokémon was admitted for sunburns earlier this morning, but when I applied some aloe onto him, he wriggled free and rolled away."

I stroked my chin. "Maybe he's heading downstairs to find something colder that'll help his fur heal faster."

"That could be it… But the tide will start to come in soon. Larimar's not strong enough to swim by himself due to his burns. I would go downstairs to find him, but we're pretty swamped right now."

"Then we'll go," I offered. "We were planning to head there anyway."

Natasha was relieved. "Oh, thank you! I'll be here when you return."

Nodding, we headed downstairs via a system of ladders and intertwining tunnels. The deeper we got, the colder it became. I shivered as we descended into the lowest part of Shoal Cave. Yuki, on the other hand, felt at home.

"Ah… Doesn't this remind you of Ice Path back in Johto?" she asked while doing an open-armed spin.

"Unfortunately, yes…" I scanned the icy surroundings. "I don't see Larimar, but there is ice on the floor. I don't know about you, but we shouldn't step on them."

Yuki nodded. "You're right. If we had the time, we could figure out these sliding puzzles. Luckily, it looks like there is enough space for Errol and Ume to fly around."

"Good idea, Yuki."

We exchanged our Electric types for our Flying types. After we flew to a decent height, we scanned our new vantage point. I noticed a blue dot that was slightly darker than its surroundings, and we got closer.

Larimar was rubbing his back against a large stone covered in ice. "Ahh…" he sighed. "That hits the spot…" When he saw us, he hid behind the stone. "Wh-Who are you people?!"

"Easy, Larimar," I reassured. "Natasha from the rehabilitation center sent us to find you."

"I don't want to go back! She was putting that sticky stuff on me!"

"But she's trying to heal you so you can go back home."

The Spheal was confused. "How was that helping me? This ice stone is so much better."

Seeing that his sunburn was still present, I took out some Rawst Berries from my bag. "The rubbing will only provide temporary relief. The aloe Natasha gave you and these Berries should help you recover faster. They're really good at curing burns."

He sniffed the greenish-blue fruit, then took several bites. The redness started to decrease, making Larimar more at ease.

I then noticed something small near the Ice type's feet. "What's this?"

He saw what I was looking at and replied, "I'm not sure. It must've gotten loose when I rubbed against the stone."

I picked it up and saw it was a surprisingly heavy orb made of solid ice. Huh. It reminds me of Weldon's cufflinks. Could it be-?

"S-Summer…" Yuki stuttered. "Did you hear that rumbling sound?"

I quickly put the orb into my capris pocket. When I also heard it, my heart stopped. "The tide's coming in. We have to get back to the main floor."

Larimar tried to scooch forward but winced. "M-My back still hurts…"

I gritted my teeth. "Errol, can you carry Larimar back to the surface?"

The Noctowl watched the seawater gush through the opening by the ladder. "I could try, Ms. Summer, but that current may strain both my physical and mental powers."

"Then we'll likely have to swim back up."

Yuki nodded. "Momo, Koko, and Aurora can help us, but we'll need to go through the opening one at a time."

"Okay, let's do it."

We switched out the Flying types with our Water types and, as the water level rose, prepared our breathing devices. Koko positioned herself near Larimar, but a rogue wave knocked them over. The Vaporeon was able to recover, but the Spheal started to float away.

"Larimar!" I shouted, concerned for the struggling Pokémon.

Aurora and I swam over to him, just as the water level reached the height of the icy stone. I grabbed onto his body; when we reached the ceiling, we dove into the water. The Dewgong, Wartortle, and Vaporeon guided us towards the ladder, and we used it to climb up to the floor above. We continued swimming up the next several floors, taking our time to make sure Larimar was able to squeeze through the openings, until we emerged back onto the main floor.

As we swam towards the dry part of the cave, Natasha was waiting for us. Larimar reluctantly let her hold him, but relaxed when she gave him some Aspear Berries.

"You're a troublesome one, aren't you, Larimar?"

The Spheal sighed, allowing the other volunteers to bring him back to his pen.

Natasha turned to us and bowed. "Thank you so much for your help."

"You're welcome," I replied. "I hope Larimar fully recovers so he gets released sooner. It seems he wants to leave as soon as possible."

The crew leader chuckled. "I'll make a note of that. Take care."

Yuki and I headed back to the boat. Once we left for Mossdeep City, we watched the sunset with Aster.

"Hey, Summer," Yuki said. "Do you still have that orb you found?"

Aster stroked her chin. "An orb? Where did you find it?"

"In the deepest part of Shoal Cave."

I checked the pocket where I put it, and to my surprise, it was gone. "That's strange. I swore I put it in there."

This piqued the Draconid's interest. "Can you describe it to me, Summer?"

I visualized the item. "It was light blue, made of ice, and it was heavier than it looked. It must've escaped my pocket as we swam up Shoal Cave."

"Interesting. It sounds like it is related to one of the Legendary Guardian relics, but I would need to see it to confirm it. Either way, if it is the item I am thinking of, then it is affected by fate. I have a hunch it will appear again to the right person at the right time."

"I had the same thoughts. Thanks for your input, Aster."

We continued sailing until we reached the island housing Mossdeep City, the location of my next Gym battle. After a long day, we turned in early.

Summer's Pokémon:

Blaze (Blaziken, male): Brave Nature, Blaze Ability, moves: Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Blaze Kick, Sky Uppercut

Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, Keen Eye Ability, moves: Psychic, Hypnosis, Air Slash, Heat Wave

Aurora (Dewgong, female): Calm Nature, Thick Fat Ability, moves: Water Pulse, Ice Beam, Aqua Tail, Signal Beam

Lightning (Raichu, female): Adamant Nature, Static Ability, moves: Thunderbolt, Iron Tail, Thunder Punch, Grass Knot

Rocky (Steelix, male): Lonely Nature, Rock Head Ability, moves: Stone Edge, Crunch, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail

Olive (Grovyle, female): Timid Nature, Overgrow Ability, moves: Fury Cutter, Double Team, Mega Drain, Quick Attack

Yuki's Pokémon:

Momo (Wartortle, male): Quiet Nature, Torrent Ability, moves: Water Pulse, Rapid Spin, Blizzard, Aqua Tail

Ume (Swellow, female): Adamant Nature, Guts Ability, moves: Steel Wing, Wing Attack, Double Team, Swift

Ichigo (Minun, male): Sassy Nature, Minus Ability, moves: Discharge, Encore, Helping Hand, Rollout

Kiui (Jumpluff, female): Jolly Nature, Chlorophyll Ability, moves: Sunny Day, Silver Wind, Solarbeam, Giga Drain

Mikan (Quilava, male): Bold Nature, Blaze Ability, moves: Facade, Flame Wheel, Brick Break, Smokescreen

Koko (Vaporeon, female): Rash Nature, Water Absorb Ability, moves: Rain Dance, Haze, Iron Tail, Water Pulse

Questions for the Chapter:

What did you think of Summer and Yuki's adventure in Shoal Cave?

Will Larimar be able to return to the wild?

What awaits the group in Mossdeep City?