Chapter 652: Nimoh

Hoenn Region, Green Ridge City Port.

After ending her call with Luo Mu, Nimoh turned and smiled at Shins and Jingxiang behind her: “Let’s go—we have less than a month until the Slateport Conference starts. We need to pick up the pace.”

“Alright.”

Shins and Jingxiang nodded lightly, their faces taking on a serious expression.

In the official Hoenn Region recommendation for Gym challenges, the Liuli Gym is the eighth and final one.

Whether it’s Adam, who has stepped down but occasionally acts as interim Gym Leader, or Mihili, the reigning Hoenn Region Champion who also runs the Liuli Gym.

Both are powerful and renowned Trainers, and Mihili, in particular, is the Hoenn Region League Champion.

It’s said that recently, Liuli City is hosting the “Mihili Cup,” an event he personally organized—so the chance of encountering him during a Gym challenge might rise sharply.

Opportunities to battle a Champion are rare, so we must prepare thoroughly. Wait.

A look of hesitation suddenly crossed Shins’s expressionless face.

Isn’t the Champion right here traveling with us?

He’s dragging us into battles every single day, slowing down our journey—we’ll get caught up by that idiot Ash if we keep this up.

Shins and Jingxiang exchanged a glance, realizing they were thinking the same thing—and suddenly, they weren’t nervous anymore.

Still, the short-term training we planned ahead of time must continue.

To face a Gym specializing in Water-types, we must find a place among Hoenn’s countless islands and train specifically in Water-type combat.

That’s why we came specifically to this port—to rent a boat and head out to sea.

Renting a boat is expensive, but who among us has a little rich girl? Even though Shins and Jingxiang initially felt guilty taking advantage of Nimoh’s wealth, after her relentless, everywhere-and-anytime battle challenges.

They finally understood.

—Consider it compensation for the mental and physical torment we’ve endured.

They confirmed all supplies were packed and nothing was left behind.

The three walked together to a corner of the port, where their rented boat was moored.

Though they’d already ridden boats until they were sick in Hoenn, they had little actual sea experience—they’d have to rely entirely on the hired sailor.

After the three boarded, the sound of the propeller churning the water rose, and the boat slowly set sail.

After sailing for about half a day, Nimoh and the others, following the sailor’s advice, selected an island.

Though distant from the port, the surrounding waters teemed with aquatic Pokémon, and the island itself had a healthy natural ecosystem.

More importantly, it lay within Green Ridge City’s signal range—so the three could train here without worrying about being stranded.

“Alright then, I’ll come back to pick you up in three days.”

The hearty old sailor waved goodbye and steered the boat away.

The three began their Moqifengong .

Shins, hands in pockets, walked toward the island’s interior: “I’ll find a spot to set up camp.”

“Then I’ll prepare lunch,” Jingxiang smiled sweetly, readying to cook on the wide beach.

“I’ll go battle—no, help eliminate any potentially aggressive wild Pokémon!”

Nimoh’s eyes lit up, and she dashed toward the island’s forest like a joyful foal.

But after only a few steps, her pace slowed, and she began gasping for breath.

This was the daily rhythm of their journey.

Shins, the most composed and calm, had absorbed vast amounts of wilderness knowledge—he was a true survival expert.

Jingxiang, a former Joy, had unmatched logistical skills.

Nimoh had high combat power, money, and an endless appetite.

Last year, Nimoh’s trio with Pape and Pipa was much the same.

The trio, now highly synchronized, quickly prepared for the night’s stay on the island and finished lunch.

Now came training time.

“Turtwig, Gastrodon, Ursaring, Snorunt, Kecleon, and Ninjask—out!”

With a technique Nimoh envied deeply, Shins tossed six Poké Balls into the air simultaneously.

Six red beams shot down onto the sand, and six Pokémon appeared at once.

Aside from his two veteran Pokémon from the Paldea region and his starter, Turtwig.

During his travels in Hoenn, he had successfully filled out his team.

Snorunt was caught at the end of last year, but its evolution requires high experience—Shins planned to save up to buy a Dawn Stone, so it hadn’t evolved yet.

Kecleon and Ninjask were caught during this return trip to Hoenn.

Kecleon evolved from Kecleont, which hatched from an egg given to Shins by an old man in Cinder Town.

Ninjask was caught directly in its evolved form, so no Shedinja ever appeared.

Shins had once heard Luo Mu speak of the mysterious Shedinja and considered catching one if the chance arose.

But Shins immediately favored Ninjask’s superior speed over Tonglei and its exceptional endurance as a Bug-type.

Plus, his team lacked a fast attacker—after some effort, he successfully caught Ninjask.

Seeing Shins release his Pokémon, Jingxiang tossed five Poké Balls in return: “Gible, Poliwhirl, Venusaur, Armaldo, and Swampert—time to train!”

The Poké Balls popped open, and five Pokémon—facing away from Jingxiang, looking utterly reliable—appeared on the sand.

Jingxiang had caught few Pokémon; even now, nearing the final Gym, she still had one slot open.

This was because she sought Pokémon that matched her rhythm and truly clicked with her.

Armaldo was caught last year at the end of the year, in a Hoenn valley, on Luo Mu’s advice.

Swampert, like Shins’s, hatched from an egg forcibly given to her by an old woman during her Cinder Town Gym challenge.

But Uxie, once properly nurtured, evolved quickly—leaving Jingxiang regretful she couldn’t keep the adorable Uxie.

—Nimoh, too, had received an egg, just like them.

That egg hatched into a Turtwig.

It looked ugly-cute; though not yet known in Hoenn, it had already been confirmed in Paldea to have an evolved form.

After collecting the scattered Poké Balls, neither Shins nor Jingxiang began battling on the beach—they instead began searching the shoreline for signs of Water-type Pokémon.

They had brought inflatable rafts that could float near shore, allowing them to venture deeper into the water to battle wild Water-types if needed.

It’s said the Liuli Gym’s battlefield consists of floating platforms of varying sizes.

To adapt to that style of battle, this training is necessary.

They paid no attention to where Nimoh had run off to on the island.

After all, with Nimoh’s strength, few wild Pokémon could challenge her.

She was surely joyfully seeking out wild Pokémon to battle—no need to worry.

Training time always flies—before they knew it, the yellow sun touched the horizon, and the sky filled with twilight haze.

Shins and Jingxiang paused to prepare dinner; wisps of smoke rose gently from the island.

As Jingxiang stirred the curry, she kept glancing back at the forest: “Why hasn’t Nimoh come back yet?”

Shins, quietly setting out bowls and chopsticks, paused slightly and said flatly: “She’s always like this. If she doesn’t show up, I’ll just send Ninjask to call her.”

“Alright.”

Jingxiang sighed and turned her focus back to her cooking.

After all, she was the oldest of the trio, having worked at a Pokémon Center—unlike Shins, who preferred eating dry rations to save time, or Nimoh, who had never cooked a meal in her life—this task fell to her.

Shins had just finished arranging the utensils and was about to call Ninjask to fetch Nimoh for dinner.

But his peripheral vision caught something: the previously calm sea had suddenly begun to churn.

“...What’s that?”

Shins frowned slightly, his full attention fixed on the sea.

—And then he saw it.

In the boundless ocean, a massive dark-blue submarine, spraying spray as it rose, fully surfaced from beneath the waves.

On its hull, a large white symbol was crudely painted—Shins recognized what it represented.

—Team Aqua.

That massive submarine was Team Aqua’s!

The instant he realized this, Shins’s first reaction was to turn and shout at the resting Ninjask: “Use ‘Windy,’ blow away the smoke and flames!”

Ninjask didn’t understand, but immediately obeyed its Trainer’s command.

Under Jingxiang’s stunned gaze, Ninjask rapidly vibrated its transparent wings, sending a gale that scattered both the fire and rising smoke from the campfire.

Even then, Shins wasn’t satisfied—he ordered Snorunt to unleash “Freeze Wind,” freezing the extinguished embers completely.

“...Go!”

After completing all this, Shins grabbed Jingxiang’s clothes and moved toward the forest.

The Pokémon followed immediately; the pots, pans, chairs, and tables left behind were simply abandoned.

Once inside the forest, Shins exhaled and pointed toward the sea, explaining to Jingxiang why he’d acted so urgently.

“...Team Aqua!?”

Jingxiang covered her mouth, letting out a startled sound.

Hiding behind the trees, she cautiously peered in that direction.

Indeed, the submarine bearing Team Aqua’s emblem still floated silently on the sea, ready to submerge and vanish at any moment.

They’d traveled through Hoenn for quite some time now.

Naturally, they’d heard the infamous names: “Team Aqua” and “Team Magma.”

Here? A submarine belonging to Team Aqua has appeared?

Shizuka finally understood why Shinji had immediately extinguished the firepit that might draw attention from that side, and why he had pulled her away without hesitation.

Indeed, on this isolated island far from land, exposing their presence to what might be the base of an evil organization was certainly not a wise decision—and likely to bring disaster.

This had nothing to do with strength.

Shinji immediately sent Iron Mask Ninja to find Nemo, while he and Shizuka kept their eyes fixed on the submarine’s movements far out at sea.

If the enemy noticed anything they had left on the beach, or showed any sign of approaching the island, they would retreat immediately into the deeper woods.

Yet, given the submarine’s complete lack of movement, the enemy probably hadn’t noticed anything here.

Meanwhile, inside the submarine.

Dressed in disguise and long since embedded within Team Aqua, Shigana gazed at the screen where she had deliberately erased the footage, a faint smile curling at her lips.

“Seriously, you two are incredibly unlucky—how did you even run into a submarine surfacing?”

“Luckily I spotted it; otherwise, with Team Aqua’s current tense atmosphere, they’d probably have surrounded the island to search.”

As she muttered to herself, her gaze fell on the two Team Aqua soldiers she had knocked unconscious beside her.

She knew how to use a mobile phone, and was more open to new things than other Meteor People.

But that didn’t make her a computer expert.

So her solution to this problem was simple and brutal: knock out the operator in charge of this surveillance zone, then wait until the submarine submerged again.

After all, the time until Team Aqua’s trade with Team Magma was drawing near; Shigana didn’t care if she got exposed.

“Team Aqua has already sent a spy to infiltrate Team Magma’s submarine and release the captured Kyogre—saved me some trouble. Now I just need to release Groudon.”

On the edge of Hoenn, near the Kanto Sea.

After relaxing thoroughly for three days in Kainan Town, Luo Mu arrived here aboard Charizard.

Since Kainan Town lay deep inland in Hoenn, the only place to meet Lugia and the giant Dragonite without causing panic was here.

By the way, this sea area lies in the exact opposite direction from the waters near Liulishi , Green Lingshi , and Caiyoushi on the other end of Hoenn.

The aftershocks of the coming battle between Groudon and Kyogre would not affect this place at all—and could not possibly affect it.

After all, that would mean the entire Hoenn region had fallen.

——But was that even possible?

Not to mention the shiny Rayquaza that might not be far away—even the Hoenn Rayquaza is currently active; if those two giants overdid it, it would naturally appear to stop them.

As Luo Mu thought this, he touched the silver feather on his chest without any psychological burden, calling for Lugia’s arrival above the sea.

Perhaps because they were so close.

He did not wait long—beneath the calm sea, a massive creature began to rise.

(End of Chapter)