Chapter 34: The People of the Sea God
The scene changed to the interior of Bill’s Lighthouse.
Various instruments blinked inside the lighthouse’s circular room, while books and research notes were piled high against the walls.
Bill was crouched in front of a monitoring device, frowning as he adjusted the waveforms displayed on its screen.
Raina sat in a swivel chair. Her feet could not reach the floor, so her lower legs swung gently back and forth.
Eevee lay across her lap, its tail swaying in time with her legs.
Lapras rested quietly on a cushion in the corner of the room. Fresh bandages were wrapped around its neck, and its eyes were half closed. It appeared much more energetic than it had on the shore.
"All done."
Bill stood, removed his glasses, and wiped the lenses.
"Lapras’s test results are ready. Its body is currently metabolizing the toxins, and they should be completely eliminated in approximately three days. I have to say, the emergency treatment you provided earlier made an enormous difference."
Raina grinned.
"Thank you! Dad taught me how to do it!"
Bill put his glasses back on and smiled.
"What else did your father teach you?"
"Lots of things."
Raina began counting on her fingers.
"Pokémon first aid, wilderness survival, identifying poisonous substances, determining directions..."
"Eevee~"
You can remove that last one about determining directions.
Eevee raised a paw to deliver the finishing blow.
"...Eevee, you’re not getting any snacks today."
Eevee unconcernedly brushed its tail against the back of her hand.
Bill cleared his throat.
"Returning to the matter at hand, I discovered something unusual while entering Lapras’s data."
Raina stopped spinning the chair.
"What is it?"
Bill turned his laptop toward her. A diagram displaying Lapras’s biological energy appeared on the screen.
"Do you see these faint bands of light?"
Bill traced them with one finger.
"This isn’t an energy frequency found in ordinary Lapras. I compared it with the lighthouse database and several research papers concerning Aura..."
Raina tilted her head.
"Aura?"
"To put it simply, Aura is a wavelength of life energy. Every Pokémon possesses its own unique Aura, but individuals with special connections to Legendary Pokémon sometimes display far more complex patterns."
Bill adjusted his glasses.
"This Lapras’s Aura is remarkably similar to the characteristics attributed to the ’People of the Sea God’ in historical records."
"According to legend, certain Lapras herds spend their lives following Lugia as it travels throughout the world’s oceans. These Lapras are known as the People of the Sea God."
"They possess extraordinarily long lifespans, as well as intelligence and power far surpassing those of ordinary Lapras. They rarely appear in coastal waters."
Raina looked down at Lapras, which was dozing in the corner.
"Then why did it come so close to shore?"
"The ocean currents may have changed, and the pollution in the shallower waters appears to be spreading. It was probably searching for an unpolluted area where it could recover, only to run out of strength and become stranded."
"That explains it..."
Raina blinked.
"Does that mean it’s really old?"
"Judging from its Aura, it may be older than your grandfather—no, older than even your great-great-grandfather."
Bill closed the laptop.
"But that isn’t the main point."
He stared at Raina incredulously.
"What kind of luck do you have? You already possess an exceptionally rare Golden Gyarados, and now you’ve encountered a Lapras belonging to the People of the Sea God?!"
"Hehe."
Raina scratched her head.
"Maybe Water-type Pokémon and I are simply meant to find each other?"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Bill]: ??? What is my parallel-world counterpart doing?! That is a Golden Gyarados! Couldn’t you ask a few more questions?! Ask about the medicine formula!
[Professor Oak]: Calm down, Bill.
[Bill]: I am calm! Aren’t you curious too, Professor Oak?!
[Professor Oak]: Raina clearly doesn’t know the formula. That child’s greatest weakness is that she knows absolutely nothing whenever someone asks about her father’s secrets.
[Gary]: That certainly is a weakness. An enemy could use information about Asher as bait someday, and Raina would walk straight into the trap.
[Ash]: An enemy?
[Gary]: Team Rocket, for example.
[Jessie]: Hey! We may try to capture Pikachu, but even we wouldn’t stoop to kidnapping a little girl!
[James]: Exactly! Team Rocket has principles!
[Meowth]: That’s right! Team Rocket has plenty of principles, meowth!
[Wobbuffet]: Wobbuffet!
[Ash]: Who would be worried about you three idiots?
[May]: The three of you probably couldn’t even trick Eevee into following you.
[Max]: Agreed.
[Dawn]: +1.
[Jessie]: You rotten little brats! How dare you look down on us!
[James]: We’ll definitely capture Pikachu next time!
[Meowth]: Just you wait, meowth!
The video continued.
Raina jumped down from the swivel chair, walked over to Lapras, and crouched beside it.
Lapras opened its eyes and released a quiet cry before gently touching its chin to her knee.
"Does it still hurt?"
Raina reached out and touched the bandages around its neck.
Lapras shook its head, but continued staring at her as though it were contemplating something.
Bill pulled a thick old book from the shelf and opened it. Several yellowed nautical charts were tucked between the pages, covered in dense shipping routes and ancient writing.
"By the way, Raina, you said you had met this Lapras before?"
"Mm-hmm! I found it on a nearby beach and covered it with a blanket. It left the next morning, but it gave me a Water Stone before it went away."
Bill nodded.
"Then everything fits."
"In the legends concerning the People of the Sea God, a small number of individuals within their herds can sense humans whose Aura possesses a special compatibility with their own."
"They will voluntarily appear before such a person. Once they have acknowledged that individual, they may choose to become their partner."
Raina lowered her gaze toward Lapras.
Lapras looked back at her. Its eyes were calm and profound as a long, low song emerged from deep within its throat.
"Uuuuuuh~~~~"
The sound echoed throughout the lighthouse’s circular room.
The indicator lights on every instrument flashed simultaneously.
Bill abruptly turned toward the monitoring screen.
The Aura waveform displayed upon it was fluctuating violently.
"Lapras’s Aura is resonating with yours?!"
Raina stood and gently placed her hand on top of Lapras’s head.
Bill hurriedly removed his glasses, wiped them forcefully against the edge of his coat, and put them back on.
The Aura waveform was still leaping across the screen. Its frequency rose higher and higher, nearly exceeding the monitoring equipment’s maximum range.
Raina removed an empty Poké Ball from her waist and placed it in her palm.
"Lapras."
She opened her hand.
"Would you... like to come with me?"
"Not because you need to repay me, and not because you belong to the People of the Sea God."
She paused.
"I’m asking because I want to travel with you. I want us to see more clean and beautiful oceans together."
"And I want to search for Lugia. If you know Lugia, could you take me with you?"
Lapras remained silent for a moment.
Then it tilted its head. An ancient yet gentle light seemed to glow within its eyes.
"Uuuuuuh~~~~"
It lowered its head and gently touched the Poké Ball with the tip of its nose.
A flash of red light appeared.
The Poké Ball shook three times—
Click.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"She caught it! She caught that Lapras! Was Bill telling the truth about it belonging to the People of the Sea God?!"
"Aura resonance?! Every instrument started flashing?! What kind of protagonist treatment is this?! I’m crying!"
"But considering this is Raina, it somehow isn’t surprising. This child started her journey with a Golden Gyarados, after all."
"Be precise, person above. She started with Squirtle. Gyarados was her second Pokémon, and Lapras is her third... Wait, no. Including Eevee, Lapras is her fourth."
"Eevee: I’m the navigator, hat, and professional snack eliminator, thank you very much."
The [VIP Chat Group] was equally lively.
[Professor Oak]: Aura resonance... This phenomenon has only been recorded a handful of times in our world. The last documented case involved Sir Aaron.
[Bill]: Parallel-world me, could you send me a copy of that Aura waveform?! I’ll write your research reports for an entire month free of charge!
[Bill]: And ask about the medicine formula! Ask Asher!
[Brock]: ...Has Bill’s mental state begun to deteriorate?
[Gary]: Yes. He’s already bargaining himself into additional work.
[Cynthia]: A phenomenon resembling the amplification of Sir Aaron’s Aura... This may mean Raina possesses some degree of Aura affinity. However, it is not the Aura of a Hero. It is something else... something connected to the ocean.
[Diantha]: Cynthia, do you think there might be a connection between Raina and Sir Aaron?
[Cynthia]: There is no evidence of a direct connection. However, the conditions required for Aura resonance are extraordinarily strict. The Pokémon and human must possess highly compatible energy frequencies, and both sides must willingly desire to establish a bond.
[Juan]: To witness Aura resonance with my own eyes during my lifetime... I can die without regrets.
[Diantha]: I captured a screenshot of that moment. Lapras’s silhouette against the lighthouse’s glow was breathtaking.
[Valerie]: Raina’s expression was beautiful too~ That little girl finally has a legendary-level partner of her own.
[Misty]: ...
[Daisy]: Misty? Why aren’t you saying anything?
[Misty]: I was thinking... that child really has grown.
[Violet]: You’re speaking as though you’ve already been her mother for several years.
[Misty]: Don’t the three of you have anything else to do today?!
[Daisy]: We’re watching our niece catch a new Pokémon. This is the most important thing we could possibly be doing.
[Violet]: Agreed.
[Lily]: +1.
[Misty]: You three... Hmph!
The scene changed.
Early the following morning, the rainstorm had already ended.
Sunlight streamed diagonally through the lighthouse windows and fell across Raina’s face.
Raina opened her eyes and discovered that someone had covered her with a blanket from an unknown source.
Lapras was resting beside her, already awake.
The bandages around its neck had been replaced. Sunlight from the window shone across its grayish-blue shell, creating a faint luster.
Bill stood in the doorway holding a cup of coffee. He raised it toward her.
"Awake? Lapras woke up early this morning. Its recovery is progressing well, and nearly all the toxins have been eliminated. After another day or two of rest, it should be completely healthy."
Raina nodded.
"Thank you, Bill."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Bill]: There must be so much research data inside my parallel-world lighthouse... Damn it, I want to know what the other me has written! Even photographs would be enough!
[Dawn]: Calm down, Bill! Hahahaha!
[Piplup]: Piplup, Piplup, Piplup!
[Viola]: I went to save screenshots from that scene~
[Valerie]: Raina’s new partner is Lapras~ The Water Stone was a token it gave her, making this far more romantic than an ordinary capture~
[Wulfric]: Lapras is a fine Pokémon. Lapras are calm and dependable, unlike my Bergmite. It has hidden inside the freezer again.
[Steven]: Speaking of Aura, I reviewed several historical documents concerning ancient Aura wielders yesterday.
[Wallace]: You have historical documents at home, Steven? Isn’t your entire collection room filled with nothing but stones?
[Steven]: Many Aura-related writings were carved into stone tablets. They may not be gemstones, but they are still a form of stone.
[Wallace]: ...Exactly as expected.
[Phoebe]: Mr. Steven, you might remain single for your entire life if you continue like this.
[Steven]: That’s fine. I have my stones.
[Wallace]: You’re beyond saving.