Sea Crown

The battle between Whishiwashi and Unown stirred up massive waves in the ocean. Wailord was swept along by one of the waves, drifting who knows where, until it suddenly crashed into something with a loud "boom."

When Archie woke up inside Wailord's belly, he noticed through the camera installed on Wailord's head that a giant palace was floating in the ocean right before him.

This palace was protected by a transparent energy shield, keeping all the seawater at bay. Inside the palace were red flowers, green grass, high walls, and courtyards, making it look like a paradise from a distance.

Seeing this sight, Archie's lips trembled as he muttered, "I found it, I finally found it!"

"Wailord, let's go in!" Archie took out a palm-sized device and held it to his mouth, his voice traveling through the device into Wailord's mind.

"Wailord..."

Wailord let out a long cry and gently swayed its massive tail as it charged headfirst toward the palace. However, it was blocked by the energy shield outside the palace.

Bang!

Wailord, not willing to give up, rammed into the shield again, but it remained unmoved, making the massive Wailord seem like a small, helpless child in front of it.

Again and again, Wailord collided with the energy shield, but the barrier stood firm, showing no signs of yielding.

Frustrated at being so close to the Temple of the Sea yet unable to enter, Archie anxiously paced back and forth inside Wailord's belly. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He reached into his belongings and pulled out a box. Opening it, inside lay a blue orb, about the size of a fist.

Except for its color, this orb was strikingly similar to the green one Mr. Genzo once held.

Archie took the orb out of the box, released an Octillery, and handed it the orb while giving it a set of instructions. Octillery, with the orb in its grasp, crawled out through Wailord's blowhole.

Standing on Wailord's head, Octillery raised the indigo-colored orb high, and a blue halo of light radiated from it. The transparent energy shield protecting the Temple of the Sea suddenly absorbed Wailord and Octillery inside, as if it swallowed them whole.

Now inside the Temple of the Sea, Archie excitedly stomped his feet within Wailord's belly.

"As I thought, the Temple of the Sea is related to Kyogre, it's all connected..."

Within the Temple of the Sea, there were also water channels. Countless streams crisscrossed and slowly branched from the top of the temple, eventually flowing into the waters at the bottom, which connected to the outside ocean. Wailord, having been sucked in, now floated in this large body of water.

The space was vast. Even with Wailord's immense size, it didn't feel cramped, leaving it plenty of room to move its head and tail freely.

Wailord swam to the shore and opened its mouth, and Archie slowly stepped out. Looking around, he realized he was standing in a plaza beneath the temple.

Archie looked up at the palace at the very top of the Temple of the Sea, thinking that the Sea Crown must be there. If he could obtain the Sea Crown, it would mean he had a chance of finding Kyogre.

All the buildings within the Temple of the Sea were neatly arranged along both sides of a central staircase above the plaza. A gentle stream flowed down the center of the stairs, while various strange and exotic plants grew on both sides.

Archie's destination was at the top of these stairs.

While Archie had found the Temple of the Sea, Yuga and the others had not yet escaped the pursuit of Whishiwashi. Although Unown had fought them several times, it was clear they were no match.

Unown were inherently weak, lacking Whishiwashi' ability to gather strength. Since they had merged with Chimecho, their power depended entirely on Chimecho's strength.

Though Chimecho's psychic power had been enhanced by Unown, it was still only a Champion-level Pokémon, far weaker compared to the level 100 Whishiwashi! As the ghost ship found itself cornered by Whishiwashi, Manaphy suddenly directed the ghost ship to follow its lead. With no other option, Yuga decided to trust Manaphy and take a desperate gamble.

Under the relentless pursuit of Whishiwashi, the ghost ship surged forward along the path indicated by Manaphy. Soon, Yuga and the others spotted a magnificent temple floating in the ocean ahead.

"It's the Temple of the Sea! We've finally found the Temple of the Sea!"

The Shep family embraced each other, shouting in excitement.

It turned out that when the ghost ship was caught in the whirlpool earlier, Manaphy's exclamation of "I've found it" had been true—it had genuinely sensed the presence of the Temple of the Sea.

Just as the ghost ship was about to crash into the temple, a blue light shot out from Manaphy, and the entire ship was absorbed into a transparent energy shield surrounding the temple. Meanwhile, the pursuing Whishiwashi slammed into the barrier, nearly breaking apart their swarm.

"Roooaaaarrr!!!"

Whishiwashi raged in frustration outside the energy shield for a long while. Much like Wailord before them, they tried ramming into the shield several times, but when they found no way to enter, they were forced to retreat.

Whishiwashi were the rulers of this area, and the Temple of the Sea had mysteriously appeared here one day. They had attempted to claim it as their own but were unable to enter, eventually giving up.

"Serves you right! Who's the boss now?" Max jumped up and down on the ghost ship's deck, gloating as he watched Whishiwashi leave in defeat.

The Shep family approached Yuga and May, then looked at the Manaphy in May's arms, saying, "Now that we've found the Temple of the Sea, let's hurry and take Manaphy to find the Sea Crown." Only after Manaphy accepted its inheritance before the Sea Crown would the Shep family's mission be complete.

"Manaphy, Manaphy, Manaphy!"

Upon hearing the mention of the "Sea Crown," Manaphy became excited. It leaped out of May's arms and dived into the water, playfully swimming along the waterways and up the temple's staircase.

The environment of the Temple of the Sea was breathtakingly beautiful. However, apart from Yuga and his companions, there was no other sign of life, which made the place eerily quiet. Manaphy's bell-like laughter echoed through the empty temple, adding a touch of vitality to the serene surroundings.

Being young, lively, and playful by nature, Manaphy darted around in the water, occasionally leaping onto the shore to trample the flowers and plants. Seeing how much fun Manaphy was having, Yuga released his Lapras to join in the fun.

Yuga's actions inspired the others to follow suit, releasing their Water-type Pokémon to play with Manaphy. The Shep family, in particular, had the most Water-type Pokémon due to their years of performing water shows, so their Pokémon put on a variety of entertaining displays, filling the temple with excitement and laughter.

Just as Manaphy was about to swim up to the palace at the top of the Temple of the Sea, the entire structure suddenly began to shake violently, and the water in the channels started to stop flowing.

"What's happening? What's going on?" Jack asked, struggling to keep his balance.

"This shouldn't be happening. What's going on?" The oldest of the Shep family, with a confused expression, echoed the concern.

"Manaphy, Manaphy, Manaphy!"

At that moment, Manaphy suddenly became extremely anxious. Seeing this, Shep's son, Kyle, confidently declared, "It must be the Sea Crown! Something's wrong with the Sea Crown!"

The Sea Crown was the pillar of the Temple of the Sea, its most important artifact. If something hadn't gone wrong with the Sea Crown, the Temple of the Sea wouldn't be in such turmoil.

As soon as Kyle finished speaking, a gigantic Wailord, radiating a golden light, burst out from the temple above. Standing atop Wailord was a figure.

"Hahahaha..."

A boastful and unrestrained laughter echoed through the temple. Yuga immediately recognized the man standing on Wailord's head as Shimizu Archie. Team Aqua had been wanted by the League for a long time, so there was no way Yuga wouldn't recognize their leader.

"Shimizu Yuga, you never expected this, did you? You went through so much trouble to find this place, only for me to reap the rewards in the end!" Archie sneered.

Without wasting any more words, Archie commanded Wailord, and they charged through the energy shield protecting the Temple of the Sea. To everyone's shock, the golden-glowing Wailord started flying within the Temple of the Sea, despite there being no water. This sight left everyone stunned!

With a single dive, Wailord, carrying Archie, vanished into the ocean in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the energy shield surrounding the Temple of the Sea began to collapse bit by bit, and seawater started flooding into the temple.

As Archie left the Temple of the Sea, somewhere far away in the deep-sea caves, a massive creature opened its crimson eyes!

"Let's go! We need to get back to the ghost ship!" Yuga shouted to everyone. There was no time to question why Archie was there.

The damage to the energy shield worsened, and more and more seawater poured into the temple. Water cascaded down in torrents, destroying the countless exotic flowers and plants in its path. Furthermore, the Temple of the Sea itself began to rise slowly, as if it were about to surface from the ocean.

In a hurried rush, the group barely managed to return to the ghost ship. Controlled by Chimecho and Unown, the ghost ship sped out of the temple.

Just as they left, the Temple of the Sea was completely submerged by the floodwaters. The incoming water was so powerful that even Chimecho and Unown's psychic power might not have been able to hold out much longer.

"Damn it! That guy must have taken the Sea Crown!" Kyle angrily punched the side of the ship.

Hearing this, Jack added, "The top priority now is to retrieve the Sea Crown!"

With Chimecho in control, the ghost ship quickly resurfaced, and alongside it, the now-ruined remains of the once-magnificent Temple of the Sea emerged. What had once been a grand palace was now nothing more than a pile of debris.

As soon as the ghost ship broke the surface, Unown returned to Chimecho's body. Dark patterns briefly flickered across Chimecho's body before disappearing again.

The ghost ship's control was returned to the Ghost-type Pokémon.

Manaphy seemed to have a mysterious connection to the Sea Crown. The moment it reached the surface, it pointed in a direction, urging Yuga and the others to follow.

The ghost ship sailed much faster on the ocean than it had underwater. With the combined efforts of the Ghost-type Pokémon, the ghost ship cut through the waves, racing toward the direction Manaphy indicated. Before long, Yuga and the others spotted a massive Wailord ahead.

Sitting atop Wailord, Archie was somewhat surprised to see Yuga and the others catch up so quickly. However, he soon sneered, thinking, Since you're so eager to seek death, I'll gladly oblige!

Originally, Archie had been hesitant to confront Yuga, but now that Yuga had caught up, he decided to test the powers of the Sea Crown!

As Archie came within striking distance, Yuga and the others suddenly noticed that Archie and Wailord had come to a halt. Then, Wailord erupted in a golden glow, and a massive jet of water shot out from its body, aimed directly at the ghost ship.

"Dusknoir!"

Dusknoir was the first to charge forward, roaring as it raised its fists and used Ice Punch to freeze the entire water column into an ice pillar, shattering it with another punch.

Seeing Dusknoir forced back several steps by Wailord's water attack, Yuga couldn't help but be astonished. Is Archie really this strong? Dusknoir is a Master-level Pokémon!

Noticing the golden glow surrounding Wailord, Yuga quickly understood: So that's it! It's the power of the Sea Crown!

...

[ Wailord (Sea Crown) ]

Type: Water

Ability: Water Veil

Gender: Male

Potential: Unknown (interfered)

Level: Unknown (interfered)

Moves: Bounce, Roar, Water Gun, Whirlpool, Water Pulse, Mist, Brine, Water Spray, Hydro Pump, Aqua Ring, Heavy Slam, Hyper Voice, Zen Headbutt.

...

After reviewing Wailord's data, Yuga unconsciously frowned. He had a bad feeling that Wailord in this state would be difficult to handle. The fact that it could block system checks for skills indicated that the Sea Crown's power was formidable!

Seeing Archie and Wailord brazenly using the power of the Sea Crown, Manaphy became extremely agitated. It struggled to leap out and settle scores with Wailord and Archie but was tightly held back by May.

The Shep family also wore angry expressions. As guardians of the Temple of the Sea, they felt both furious and guilty for losing the Sea Crown.

Watching as Dusknoir absorbed Wailord's attack, Archie was surprised yet thrilled. He thought, If Shimizu Yuga is that strong, defeating him myself and capturing him would be quite an accomplishment!

If it weren't for Shimizu Yuga, I wouldn't be reduced to being someone else's lackey!

Although they had never officially battled before, Archie harbored intense hatred for Yuga!

Wailord unleashed another water attack, this time the water column was much thicker and more concentrated, a full-force strike from Wailord.

Dusknoir's Ice Punch only managed to freeze part of the water column this time, and the remaining force sent it flying far away. It turned out that Dusknoir was no match for Wailord.

In previous encounters, Dusknoir would have never regarded Wailord as a threat, but today it found itself at a disadvantage, leaving it feeling somewhat frustrated.

Seeing that Dusknoir was subtly struggling against Wailord, Yuga immediately released his Lapras. Although Water-type Pokémon were resistant to Water-type moves, they could still exert their full power at sea.

Seeing Yuga release a second Pokémon, Archie felt furious. He wanted to summon another Pokémon as well, but unfortunately, his Pokémon were too weak to engage in a battle at this level.

So unfair! The younger generation has no sense of honor!

As soon as Lapras emerged, it felt as if something was calling to it from Archie. Its bloodline seemed to boil with excitement.

Lapras couldn't help but fix its gaze on Archie.