Watching the sea tornado draw closer and closer, Kael's expression instead grew calmer.
He had done everything he could. Now, all that remained was to leave it to fate.
The ocean vortex swept the five of them into the air.
At the instant he was lifted off the surface, Kael instinctively curled his body tight, arms wrapped around his head. It was conditioned reflex—experience earned the hard way. In situations like this, that posture offered the best protection against impact.
The Gyarados' group Dragon Rage came fast—and vanished just as quickly. After raging for over ten seconds, it dispersed into sheets of rain falling from the sky. Kael and the others disappeared without a trace.
Seeing the culprit who had harmed their companion "destroyed" by Dragon Rage, the Gyarados finally quelled their fury. They gathered around their unconscious kin and slowly swam back into the depths of the sea.
...
Palm trees swayed.
Sunlight scattered across the beach, reflecting in crystalline brilliance.
It was a small, uninhabited island—one of countless such islands scattered across the oceans of this world.
A Krabby scuttled sideways across the sand like it owned the place. Suddenly, a massive shadow blocked its path.
Could it tolerate that?
Accustomed to ruling this stretch of beach, the Krabby didn't consider going around. Narrowing its eyes, it raised its claws and snapped at the shadow—
A sharp pain shot through Kael's waist.
Something was pinching him.
Still half-conscious, he swept his hand across instinctively, striking whatever was clamped onto him. His palm hit something hard. Rolling over, he pinned the object beneath him.
Shaking his still-dizzy head, Kael gradually regained clarity.
The sunlight was blinding.
After surveying his surroundings, he realized he had likely washed ashore on some deserted island. There was no sign of Ash, Miki, or the others. It seemed they had been separated.
"I hope they're alright…" he murmured.
Though he could be calculating and self-serving at times, he wasn't heartless. They had gone through life-and-death together—half-friends, at least. Now, with their fates unknown, all he could do was offer silent well-wishes.
Something wriggled under his palm.
Looking down, he saw that the "hard object" he had pinned was a Krabby. It wasn't particularly large—about twenty centimeters tall—but still slightly bigger than a full-grown Alaskan king crab from his previous life.
"So you're the little thing that pinched me."
Laughing, Kael hauled it out of the sand, ignoring its furious claw-waving threats. He tossed it lightly into the air—
Then delivered a clean kick.
The Krabby traced a graceful arc through the sky before splashing into the sea.
"Nice. Beautiful curveball," Kael said with a grin, shading his eyes to track its landing point.
The kick vented some of his frustration.
The sudden sinking of the S.S. Anne had left him without a single cent. Whether Cole would still honor those three promised conditions was another matter entirely. That bastard probably assumed he'd sunk to the ocean floor and become fish food by now.
Checking the three Poké Balls secured to his tactical belt, he confirmed they were intact. They were Ultra Balls—yellow and white—far sturdier than standard red-and-white models. Even a fall from a ten-story building wouldn't leave so much as a crack.
Kael never cut corners when it came to equipment quality. He always spent top dollar on the best gear available. It was one reason he could never seem to save money—but when operating alone, even a single tool might save your life at a critical moment.
His military-grade foldable backpack was waterproof. Opening it, he took out the Pokémon Egg he'd won as the championship prize.
Protected by both the incubator and the reinforced pack, it was perfectly safe.
After checking his supplies and confirming nothing had been damaged, he finally let out a breath of relief.
The navigation device showed no signal—further proof that this island had likely never been discovered by humans. The vast ocean was filled with places like this.
Fortunately, Kael had extensive wilderness survival experience. Being stranded alone didn't particularly worry him. The backpack still contained ample fresh water and food—enough to sustain him and his three Pokémon for at least a month.
Judging by the direction indicated on his watch, he estimated he was somewhere in the southern seas. Whether there were inhabited islands nearby was another question. If so, his chances of rescue would increase significantly.
Of course, he would never place his hopes entirely on others.
That wasn't his nature.
No matter the situation, no matter the environment—remember this: the only person who can truly save you is yourself.
"Wait… what's that?"
Kael's gaze was suddenly drawn to a massive crater in the sand not far ahead.
He jogged over.
Up close, it was clearly not a natural pit.
It looked far more like a footprint.
Kneeling down, Kael measured it roughly with his hand.
Length: about 64 centimeters.
Width: roughly 38 centimeters.
By his estimate, the owner of that footprint would stand no less than four meters tall.
"What kind of land beast grows to four meters…?" he muttered thoughtfully.
Take Tyranitar—the so-called Desert Tyrant—as an example. The species' average height was about two and a half meters. Exceptional specimens might reach three meters, perhaps even three-point-two.
Just as among humans there are adult men barely one-point-four meters tall and rare giants exceeding two-point-two meters, Pokémon too vary in size. The stronger individuals within a species tend to grow larger.
But even Tyranitar couldn't reach four meters.
Kael searched through his mental database and found no known Pokémon that matched the scale of this footprint.
"Could it be… a species humanity has never discovered?"
The possibility flashed through his mind.
This world was vast beyond measure. The regions developed by humanity were merely the tip of the iceberg. Every year, researchers published records of newly discovered Pokémon.
So his speculation was hardly without basis.
***************************
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