The uselessness of the ugly fish made Riku sleep poorly that night. He came up with nearly ten training plans, but none seemed suitable for the ugly fish.
At least the three dumb birds could fly, had claws, and beaks. Even the Red Shrimp's claws looked fairly sharp. With some training, they could probably hold their own in a battle.
But the ugly fish had no attack-worthy body parts, and the only move it knew was Splash.
Splashing some water—who could that possibly hurt?
Perhaps when thrown into a pot, the splashing oil might scald a careless cook.
---
The Next Day
May arrived early in the morning.
As usual, the three legendary birds and Groudon immediately hid as soon as someone stepped onto the island to avoid being discovered.
"May, I caught a Pokémon yesterday using the Poké Ball you gave me!"
The moment Riku saw her, he eagerly shared the news. He was fully aware that his knowledge of Pokémon was terribly lacking and he desperately needed May's help to analyze it.
At the very least, he had to figure out what kind of Pokémon "Ugly Fishy" really was.
May frowned slightly. "Is it a Magikarp?"
Riku shook his head. "It's not a carp. It doesn't even have scales. You could say it looks more like a grouper."
As he spoke, Riku tossed the Poké Ball to the ground.
"Come on out, Ugly Fish!"
Thump—
The ugly fish looked a bit dazed. When it appeared, it simply lay on the ground without any reaction.
Sigh...
Riku rubbed his forehead, a bit embarrassed.
May had already taken out her Pokédex.
Ding—
"Feebas, a Water-type Pokémon."
"Feebas possesses astonishing vitality and is a tenacious Pokémon that doesn't mind living even in dirty water, thus becoming a research subject."
"Feebas is slow-moving and easily caught."
"Feebas can live in both oceans and rivers and often gathers in waters with abundant aquatic plants."
Note: "Feebas eats anything."
"It's really called Feebas?" Riku was a bit speechless. The name sounded way too childish.
"Riku, your luck is actually pretty good," May said seriously.
"Do you know? Once Feebas evolves into Milotic, it becomes the most beautiful Pokémon in the world..."
"May, are you kidding me?" Riku frowned.
"Joking is one thing, but it's not okay to make fun of a Pokémon's weak points."
"Feebas might already be pretty self-conscious about its appearance. Try putting yourself in its shoes."
"I... I..." May was almost stomping her feet in frustration at being retorted.
"What I said is absolutely true! If you don't believe me, I can call the Professor—"
"Let's not trouble the Professor," Riku waved his hand. "Did you come to the island for something today?"
"Do I have to have a reason to look for you?" May pouted slightly.
"I came to the Orange Archipelago from Hoenn. I don't know many people here to begin with. I didn't expect even you to dislike me now..."
"No, no! You misunderstood me!" Riku quickly shook his head, even a bit anxiously.
"Haha, just teasing you." May grinned at his reaction.
"I actually came to talk to you about Gardevoir."
"Last night, I consulted some of the elders on the island. They helped me analyze Gardevoir's behavior."
Riku became a little nervous. "Did they say it was because of me?"
"Gardevoir's behavior at the time was clearly anxious and nervous. It's best we don't let this spread too widely."
"Do you think I'm stupid?" May smiled. "Don't worry, I said it was a friend of mine."
"The elders gave me three possible reasons why a Pokémon would give its egg to a human."
"One: The human saved the Pokémon."
"Two: The Pokémon saw a powerful human and hoped its offspring would have a good future."
"Three: There is something special about the human that attracted the Pokémon."
"I think it's the third one. After all, Riku, you're even willing to adopt disabled Pokémon."
"Gardevoir, who can foresee the future, probably sensed your kindness."
Riku was skeptical. "Is that really the case?"
"Probably," May said seriously.
"Oh, right, there's something I need to tell you."
"This morning, a large airship suddenly arrived on Mandarin Island."
"Many Pokémon Trainers disembarked. The island is now somewhat occupied. Be careful."
Riku was startled. "Who are they?"
May thought for a moment. "They were all wearing uniforms and had powerful Pokémon—especially their fierce-looking leader. He directly challenged Drake... and he actually defeated him!"
Riku frowned. "Is it Team Rocket? The ones you mentioned before?"
"No," May shook her head. "I'm quite familiar with Team Rocket. Their uniforms aren't like that."
"I just called home and asked my dad. It seems they're called Team Magma, from the Hoenn region."
"To be honest, I'm from Hoenn and I've never heard of this group before."
"Apparently, Team Magma is pursuing a Legendary Pokémon."
Magma? Legendary Pokémon?
For some reason, the image of the Little Red Shrimp flashed through Riku's mind.
"Riku, you really need to be careful these next few days," May warned.
"These Trainers might land on other islands too. When that happens, don't clash with them."
"I've got some things to take care of, so I'll head back first."
Watching May hop onto Blastoise, Riku waved goodbye and returned to the small wooden house.
He noticed the three dumb birds and the Red Shrimp had come back at some point and were still holding onto the leftover grilled skewers from breakfast.
Riku reminded them:
"Don't wander around these next few days."
"There's a group called Team Magma here in the Orange Archipelago. I don't know what they want."
"Just don't provoke them. Any one of their Pokémon could easily take your lives."
While Riku was warning his Pokémon, the three legendary birds suddenly turned to look at Groudon in unison.
It made Groudon extremely annoyed.
It never expected that Team Magma—the ones it always considered mere toys—would actually chase it all the way to the Orange Archipelago.
Now, knowing that its grand plan of flight might be ruined by Team Magma, Groudon felt a deep and rising killing intent.
---Support with power stones