Pokemon: Skybound

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As the hatch of the submarine opened, an elderly man emerged under the watchful gazes of Kai and the others.

He had a thick, bushy moustache and wore round, small glasses. His skin was tanned, and despite appearing to be in his late sixties or seventies, he was full of energy. His sharp, intelligent eyes gleamed with excitement.

The moment he climbed out of the submarine, he began pulling out all sorts of strange gadgets as if performing a magic trick.

He measured the wind direction, checked signals with a small satellite dish, and busied himself without a moment's pause.

It wasn't until he casually glanced around that he noticed Kai and the others nearby.

"Ah! You young ones over there, be careful!"

The sudden warning left them all momentarily stunned.

Ash blinked in confusion. "Huh? Careful of what?"

But the old man paid them no further attention. Instead, he stood up and spoke to himself.

"Wind conditions, good. The water temperature is stable. Ocean currents are unchanged. Sunlight spectrum is optimal. It's coming soon!"

His cryptic words only added to the group's confusion, leaving them exchanging puzzled looks.

"Coming soon? What's coming? And who is this guy?" Misty whispered.

Tracey furrowed his brows. "No idea. But judging by his equipment, he seems to be conducting some kind of scientific research."

Before they could speculate further, the ocean around them suddenly began to churn violently. The once-calm surface erupted with frothing waves and countless bubbles.

Then, without warning—

A massive school of Magikarp burst out of the water!

"Ma—Magikarp?!"

"What the—?! Where did all these Magikarp come from?!"

Ash and the others were stunned. Tens of thousands of Magikarp had surged from the depths, filling the sea with a chaotic mass of splashing red bodies.

But what shocked them even more was that despite their overwhelming numbers, the Magikarp completely ignored them. Instead, they all swam in a single direction, seemingly drawn by an unseen force.

It felt as if something or someone was guiding them!

At that moment, Kai realized what the old man had meant by his warning.

This wasn't just a school of Magikarp this was an unstoppable tidal wave of them!

Even though Magikarp were harmless, falling into the ocean amidst this writhing mass would be disastrous. The sheer number of flailing bodies could easily crush someone beneath their weight.

Beneath them, Lapras trembled, clearly frightened by the spectacle before it. Its body quivered, and it remained frozen, drifting with the current.

Sensing its distress, Ash quickly patted Lapras, trying to calm it down.

Meanwhile, Kai, after steadying himself, glanced back at the old scientist. Unlike them, the man seemed completely unfazed by the Magikarp. In fact, he appeared excited, watching the phenomenon unfold with shining eyes.

Tracey, on the other hand, had been carefully observing the Magikarp. After a moment, he suddenly pointed something out.

"That's strange… what are those rings on their tails?"

Kai shifted his attention to the Magikarp.

Sure enough, many of the Magikarp had circular bands attached to their tails. The rings came in three distinct colours: red, yellow, and blue, but aside from their colour, they all looked identical.

Who had put those on them? And why?

At that moment, the old man lifted his binoculars, carefully examining the Magikarp. After a few moments, he let out an excited laugh, completely ignoring the presence of Kai's group.

"Target confirmed! Speed and direction are exactly as predicted! Excellent! Initiating rapid dive tracking sequence engaged!"

Without another word, he shut the submarine hatch, and the vessel descended once again, following the Magikarp's path.

The group could only watch as the submarine disappeared into the depths.

Misty huffed. "What was that all about?! He just showed up, muttered a bunch of weird stuff, and then took off again! I don't get it!"

Tracey, however, looked thoughtful. He suddenly seemed to realize something and hesitated before speaking.

"Wait a second… that direction…"

Frowning, he quickly pulled out a map from his bag and checked their coordinates. After a brief moment, his eyes lit up.

"No doubt about it!" He pointed to a small island on the map. "Look these Magikarp are all swimming toward this location. If they stay on course, they'll pass right through Rind Island!"

"Rind Island?"

For most of the group, the name was unfamiliar. None of them, aside from Tracey, had heard of it before.

Noticing their confusion, Tracey explained, "It's a small, uninhabited island. It's not very well-known, and hardly anyone goes there. The only reason I know about it is because my grandparents mentioned it a few times when I was little."

"I see…"

A massive migration of Magikarp… a mysterious scientist tracking them… and now a deserted island in their path…

Ash's eyes sparkled with excitement. "There's gotta be something going on! We should go check it out!"

Misty and Tracey nodded in agreement.

Kai considered it briefly but ultimately decided not to rush straight to Pummelo Island.

He glanced at Sabrina, who was following from the air on Charizard. "I'll go with them for now. Keep an eye on things from above."

Sabrina simply nodded.

With that settled, Kai joined Ash and his friends as Lapras changed course toward Rind Island.

The journey wasn't easy.

The ocean swirled violently, filled with the endless movement of thousands of Magikarp. Lapras had to carefully navigate through the school, making sure to avoid crashing into them while also staying balanced in the rough waters.

On Lapras' back, Ash and his friends excitedly discussed theories about the Magikarp migration. However, most of their ideas were wildly unrealistic.

Kai, sitting quietly, simply listened.

Honestly… this always happens when I run into Ash.

It was practically inevitable whenever Ash was involved, something unusual would occur.

And sure enough, here he was, getting wrapped up in yet another unexpected event.

Not that he minded.

To Kai, travel was all about adventure and the unknown. Every journey was filled with surprises, and these encounters were what shaped a trainer's growth.

The roar of ocean waves filled the air, pulling Kai from his thoughts.

Looking down, he saw Lapras working hard to keep up with the Magikarp.

Despite its best efforts, the added weight of multiple passengers slowed it down. One by one, the Magikarp gradually overtook them, leaving Lapras falling further and further behind.

But after about ten minutes of sailing, a shape finally appeared on the horizon.

Rind Island was now within sight.

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