"Manaphy!!!"
Adrian was ecstatic, watching the cute blue pokémon—Manaphy—peeking shyly from behind the reef, nervously sizing him up.
Manaphy was finally willing to show itself and meet him!
This was the Prince of the Sea, the Mythical pokémon Manaphy!
Suppressing his excitement, Adrian tried his best to appear nonchalant and introduced himself in a gentle and friendly tone: "Hello, Manaphy. My name is Adrian."
"Mana Mana"
After carefully examining Adrian, Manaphy finally plucked up the courage to swim out from behind the reef, though it remained submerged in the water, hesitant to come ashore.
However, Manaphy still waved its arms and gave Pichu and Gyarados a sweet smile, seemingly apologizing for the prank it had just played.
"Awoo~"
"Pichu~"
Gyarados and Pichu stared wide-eyed, examining this magical pokémon they had never seen before.
Although Gyarados was still a little angry, feeling the sacred aura emanating from Manaphy, it had no thoughts of attacking or seeking revenge; instead, it felt compelled to protect it well.
"Pichu Pichu"
Seeing how shy Manaphy was, Pichu, the Social Expert, eagerly stepped forward, wiggling its tail and acting silly, saying playful things of unknown content, which nonetheless made Manaphy smile brightly and burst into laughter.
In an instant, the awkward atmosphere was immediately relieved.
Immediately afterward, Pichu jumped onto Adrian's shoulder and cried out while pointing at Manaphy: "Pichu~"
The meaning was: Hurry up and use an energy cube to greet our friend!
"Coming right up!"
Adrian also realized what was needed. He first secretly gave Pichu a thumbs-up, then quickly activated an energy cube and infused it into Manaphy nearby.
"Mana?"
"Mana!!!"
Although Manaphy is a Mythical pokémon, in reality, it is not much different from an ordinary pokémon.
Nourished by the energy cube, it quickly felt euphoric, its body swaying precariously in the sea.
Before long, the energy cube was exhausted, and Manaphy's eyes regained clarity, but the curiosity in its gaze toward Adrian grew even stronger.
Seeing this, Adrian was about to step forward to communicate with Manaphy, but unexpectedly, Pichu jumped back onto his head and smacked Adrian's forehead twice in dissatisfaction.
"Pichu Pichu"
Pichu put its paws on its hips and cried out grumpily.
Are you kidding me?
Just one energy cube?
Who is one energy cube supposed to be enough for?
If the wild pokémon see that, they'll think we can't afford energy cubes!
Give us three more!
Three for every pokémon!
You idiot!
"Ah, you're absolutely right!!!"
Although criticized by Pichu, Adrian maintained an extremely proper attitude and quickly activated several more energy cubes, infusing them into Gyarados, Pichu, and Manaphy respectively.
The three pokémon immediately closed their eyes in enjoyment, while Adrian seemed to have become a waiter, only able to watch them enjoy themselves, constantly waiting to provide them with the necessary service.
"Huh? Why does this feel a little strange?"
Adrian rubbed the back of his head, feeling like the world had been turned upside down.
Fortunately, the expenditure on the energy cubes paid off. Manaphy seemed completely won over by the energy cubes, and its relationship with Pichu quickly warmed up, as if they had become true brothers from different parents.
"Pi~"
Pichu jumped into the sea, grabbed Manaphy's body, and waved goodbye to Adrian.
Plop!
The two pokémon immediately dove underwater and disappeared, clearly off to swim and play in the deep sea.
"Gyarados, let's follow them!"
Seeing this, Adrian quickly signaled Gyarados to follow.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Following Gyarados underwater, Adrian suddenly saw a different kind of scene.
The seabed was covered everywhere with reefs and sand, though hidden beneath the seawater, ordinary people couldn't see them at all.
In the dense reef areas, Adrian saw Shellder attached to the rocks, opening their shells to reveal red, pinkish tongues.
Besides Shellder, there were quite a few Krabby here, moving in groups across the seabed, acting aggressively.
Further out in the sea, there were also large numbers of fish pokémon, including Remoraid, Goldeen, Qwilfish, and Mantyke.
This scene was far more magnificent than any aquarium.
"If only I could capture Manaphy, I would never have to worry about failing to catch fish again."
A thought surfaced in Adrian's mind, but he quickly shook his head.
In the Pokémon world, meeting, knowing, and playing with various pokémon is already a blessing; companionship is not always necessary.
Moreover, as a Migratory pokémon, Manaphy has the habit of migrating all the way back to the Sea Temple; it cannot stay in one place for too long, much less follow him ashore.
After shedding his distracting thoughts, Adrian immersed himself entirely in the fun, swimming freely across the seabed.
Since Manaphy was leading the way, Adrian didn't have to worry about being attacked by wild pokémon.
"Gurgle Gurgle"
After playing in the water for a while, Adrian suddenly had an idea and commanded Gyarados to pick up both Pichu and Manaphy, flying directly into the air from the seabed.
"Mana Mana"
As the Prince of the Sea, Manaphy was clearly an old hand in the ocean.
It had tried gliding through the sky before; Mantine could do that.
But flying hundreds of meters high like Gyarados, soaring through the sea of clouds, was truly a novel experience for it.
This is the feeling of flight!!!
At this moment, Adrian was riding on Gyarados, while Manaphy and Pichu stood on his shoulders, one on the left and one on the right.
"Manaphy, is it fun?"
Looking at Manaphy's face full of wonder, Adrian couldn't help but reach out a finger and gently poke its cheek.
"Mana~"
Manaphy did not refuse; everything happened naturally.
By evening, the three pokémon—one large and two small—were all tired out from playing.
---
Gyarados rested coiled up on the beach, while Manaphy and Pichu leaned against Gyarados, leisurely admiring the beautiful sunset on the horizon. Everything was perfect.
"The Ice Cream is here!"
Not far away, Adrian ran over carrying several Ice Creams.
Taking out a vanilla Ice Cream, Adrian smiled at Manaphy and said, "Ice Cream, Manaphy. I bet you haven't eaten this before, right?"
"Mana~"
Looking at the exquisite and brightly colored Ice Cream, Manaphy subconsciously shook its head.
After opening the Ice Cream, Adrian scooped up a small piece with a spoon and, smiling, placed it in front of Manaphy: "It's vanilla flavored, try it!"
"Mana~"
Manaphy had never seen Ice Cream before. It first glanced at Adrian, and seeing Adrian signal it to hurry up and take a bite, it carefully approached and lightly touched it with its mouth.
"Mana!!"
Manaphy's body trembled, and its eyes widened into perfect circles.
Obviously, the little guy was surprised by the unique texture.
Cold and icy, sweet and refreshing.
Delicious!
"Mana Mana"
Manaphy became increasingly addicted as it licked, making constant smacking sounds with its mouth, and its cheeks were covered in crushed ice.
It looked both adorable and comical!
Looking at Manaphy, who seemed ready to swallow the entire Ice Cream, Adrian revealed an Auntie-like smile: "Eat slowly, no one is going to steal it from you."
Afterward, Adrian distributed the remaining Ice Creams.
Gyarados's was the simplest; it just needed to dump the whole container into its mouth.
Given its size, anything it ate other than a poffin was merely a sample of flavor.
As for Pichu, it could have eaten by itself, but seeing Adrian feed Manaphy, it immediately indicated that Adrian needed to feed it too.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Not long after finishing the Ice Cream, several pokémon capable of gliding and hovering suddenly leaped out of the sea, crying out to Manaphy.
Besides Mantine, there were also several pokémon with blue backs, light blue bellies, and patterns resembling smiles on their backs.
They were Mantine's pre-evolved form—Mantyke!
"Mmm~"
The Mantine in mid-air cried out to Manaphy on the shore, implicitly urging it to move.
"Mana~"
Seeing this, Manaphy immediately showed a look of sadness.
"Manaphy----"
Watching this scene, Adrian felt a deep sense of loss.
He knew it was time for Manaphy to leave!