Jason and the Fleece of Hoenn

Chapter 16 – Journey to Hoenn

Jason woke with a yawn and a stretch. He was finally getting used to the rocking of the boat. In fact, it helped him sleep, making up for the discomfort of the makeshift bed he had to lie on. Around him, it looked like everyone else was already awake and busy with their chores. He packed away his bedding and went up on deck.

The sails were billowing in the wind. The sky was overcast, but the clouds didn't seem too eager to rain just yet. Ru was at the helm with Happy. They greeted each other with a wave. Some sailors were busy with the sails, but he couldn't see Argo, so he went forward to look for him.

Buff saw Jason and flew over, whinnying a good morning. Jason stroked her. She responded with a friendly wiggle. Near the bow, the rest of the Pokémon were gathered with Praxis and Argo. Jason greeted them.

"Good morning, Jason," said Argo. He looked very tired.

"Hi," Jason replied with a smile.

"Some bad news."

"What's up?"

"It clouded up yesterday evening. And the winds have been shifting all night."

Jason looked blank. What did that mean?

"They couldn't use the stars to navigate," Praxis explained, "and the wind kept changing direction."

"We went off course," said Lucario.

"I set our course straight at sunrise," said Argo, "but I've got no idea how far we drifted from the mainland. We've seen nothing but sea all morning."

"So what's going to happen?" asked Jason.

"I've changed our course to west-south-west instead of south-west. Hopefully we'll see land soon. Until then, we're on three-quarter rations."

Jason's stomach rumbled. If only Argo had decided that after breakfast, not before.

"I just hope we don't have to row," he added. "I've been up most of the night. I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me up unless it's an emergency. Ru's at the helm until I wake up."

Argo left, leaving Jason with a bad feeling. If Jason was the rightful heir to Johto, shouldn't he be in Ru's position?

"What did he mean, 'row'?" asked Jason.

"If the winds die down," answered Praxis, "the only way to move the ship will be to row."

Jason remembered his last experience rowing and how hard it was. He massaged a spot on his chest that was still aching from it. He hoped it wouldn't come to that again.

Jason silently left Praxis and Lucario to go aft to the helm. He found Ru happily doing his job. Ru had made good recovery after resting since his accident the day before yesterday, although he still had a bandage tied around his head to keep the wound clean.

Jason didn't know what else to say, so he asked, "How's your head?"

"OK. Thanks for helping me, by the way."

"So we don't know where we are?"

"We're somewhere in the ocean off the south coast of Johto, but we don't know exactly."

Jason looked over the sea on both sides of the ship. There was not a speck of land in sight. In the distance towards the south, he thought he could see some kind of long, blue, sinuous creature leaping out of the water and diving back in. He hoped it would keep its distance.

"Tell one of the guys below to come and take the helm," said Ru. "I need to talk to the guys up fore."

"Uh-huh," Jason replied and headed towards the hatch. Along the way, it hit him that Ru had given him an order and he obeyed automatically. It made him feel uneasy. He didn't want to lose what authority he had, but he wasn't sure what to do. The order sounded like something that needed doing.

Then he thought, maybe if he fulfilled the order but did it his own way, maybe that would work. He did an about face and walked back.

"Um … why don't I do the steering?"

Ru looked astonished. He blinked a few times and stood there speechless.

"I need someone who knows what they're doing," he said finally. "Now hurry up, I'm new at this and I can't afford to muck it up. Do you want us all to die?"

Jason sighed. Now he only got Ru annoyed with him. He couldn't even bring himself to nod. He just took off and did as he was bid.

By evening the sky had cleared. At least that meant that they wouldn't get further off course. Argo explained that the main risk at night was encountering uninhabited coastland and crashing into it, so they shifted their course to south-west for the night.

Another day passed with no land in sight, and another. Jason could tell that Argo was doing his best to hide his worry. He and Lucario spoke privately and quietly with each other more often. Argo mentioned to Jason that they would have to go to half rations if their current situation didn't change by the end of the day.

Praxis passed some of the time writing on his scroll. The first entry was about the pincered Pokémon he and Jason had encountered on the island. Praxis managed to draw a reasonable representation of its outline with his quill. Jason helped by recalling and confirming each detail before Praxis committed it to pen and papyrus. It wasn't until Praxis had finished that one of the sailors noticed the picture and mentioned that it was called a krabby, and that they were common along coastlines and islands.

Later on, Praxis wrote about the giant white Pokémon that saved him. This time he asked the sailors if anyone knew anything about it. Apart from it looking like the statue in Olivine City, none of the sailors he asked knew anything about it or what it was called.

On the morning of the sixth day of their voyage, the monotony came to an end and hope replaced the increasing gloom among the crew and passengers. It was a brilliant day, with a cool sea breeze to complement the clear, blue sky.

"Land!" someone shouted.

"Where?" several people called out.

"Port side!" said someone, pointing south.

Jason strained his eyes but couldn't make out a thing.

"Articus spotted it," Argo explained, pointing to the sailor atop the foremast. "We'll see it soon enough."

It turned out to be a small island consisting of a grey, cone-shaped mountain surrounded by a luscious, green rainforest. There were some white birds flying around, but there was no sign of other life.

"Plenty of trees means there's a good chance we'll find fresh water," said Argo, "and if we're lucky, something we can eat."

They neared the island, cast anchor and sent a small party ashore to see what they could find. Two hours later, they had not yet returned.

Argo paced the deck, frantic with worry.

"Jason and I will investigate," Lucario offered. That was news to Jason.

"Jason is the last person to expose to danger," Argo replied. "I'm responsible for my men, so I'll go."

"No." Lucario was adamant. "Although it's faint from this distance, I can sense the aura of unfamiliar Pokémon."

"You think Pokémon attacked them?" asked Ru.

"It's possible. And Jason is the only Pokémon trainer among us. Don't worry, I'll guard him with my life if necessary."

"Lucario, don't say that!" Jason implored.

Lucario did not answer Jason's concern but instead said, "Get your team ready."

After a short discussion, everyone agreed that Lucario's plan was the only one that made sense. Jason gathered Quil, Buff and Fluff. Ru's and Praxis's pleas to join the team were flatly denied.

Since the three missing sailors had taken their only small boat to reach shore, Jason and this team had to wade in, except for Buff who could fly. Jason took his clothes off and rolled them into a bundle which he gave to Buff to carry. He climbed down a rope ladder into the cold water. Fluff jumped in, and found she could just keep her heads above water as she slowly waded forward. Quil needed coaxing to jump in, but once in found that he instinctively knew how to paddle where he wanted to go, which surprised Jason. Lucario also swam and arrived on the sandy beach first.

Reaching shore, the Pokémon shook themselves, while Jason ignored his shivering, flicked what water he could off his skin and put his clothes back on.

On the beach, they found the boat, but there was no one in sight. Lucario pointed to footprints in the sand leading several yards from the boat towards the edge of the rainforest. Following the trail into the trees, they saw that they continued further inland. Jason did not need Lucario to remind him to be on his guard. He let Quil and Lucario take the lead, Buff balanced herself on his head, while Fluff, who could see forward and backwards simultaneously, guarded the rear.

The forest had an earthy smell, much stronger than Viridian. The ground beneath his feet was soft and moist. Sunlight fell in patchy streaks through the canopy above. Leaves rustled faintly in a gentle breeze. Here and there, the odd white flying Pokémon glided between trees. But apart from their tracks, there was no sign of the missing men or of any danger they might have run in to.

Lucario stopped. "Something's moving up ahead."

"Can you tell what it is?"

"It's the unfamiliar aura I sensed before. It's coming this way fast." Then a few moments later, he said urgently, "There are three of them. They're surrounding us. Head back, quick!"

Jason about-faced, sending Buff into the air. Quil lit his flames to prime himself in case of attack. The group aimed for a hasty retreat back to the beach.

"Too late!" said Lucario. "They're attacking."

He raised his left hand and sent a dragon pulse towards the trees. A long, slender, grey Pokémon burst out of the foliage and landed directly in the path of the attack. A second, identical Pokémon appeared on Jason's left. Quil shot out a flamethrower, hitting it full in the face.

Fluff was not so lucky. The third member of the pack emerged, leaping towards her. She tried to dodge and peck it, but it was too nimble and bent itself out of the way of her beak. It leaped again and caught her right leg in its jaws.

There was a squawk from above as a bird in a tree overhead flapped away from the disturbance. Fluff cried in pain at the same time as Quil's opponent howled, but the latter's momentum kept it moving. Quil jumped out of the way while his opponent crashed into Fluff, toppling her on top of her own opponent, and itself on top of Fluff.

Meanwhile, Lucario's opponent bore the impact of the dragon pulse, yet managed to land in front of Lucario squarely on its feet, shaken but alert. It bristled its grey hairs out to make itself look large and fearsome. Lucario took a step back and shot an aura sphere.

This time the attack had more effect. Lucario's opponent winced in pain, but managed to hold its ground. It bared its fangs and growled ferociously.

The Pokémon that was biting Fluff had Fluff and its partner land on top of it, and was forced to let go. The three of them got back onto their feet. The two grey attackers began to circle Jason's party warily.

Jason gave a signal to Buff, who had been floating above the battle scene. She darted towards the enemy on Fluff's side and dropped stun spore. Jason hadn't had the time to come up with a better strategy, realizing too late that at this close range, Fluff and he would also be affected. He quickly lifted his shirt to cover his nose and mouth. The strange grey Pokémon's movements slowed and stiffened. Fluff, no longer able to support herself on her uninjured leg, fell down, barely able to move.

Quil's attacker, meanwhile, took advantage of Jason's distraction and dived in for a tackle. Quil was knocked off his feet onto his back. His opponent seized the chance and leaped for Quil's throat.

Jason wanted to figure out why the Pokémon would be attacking them, and why so viciously. Did they perceive Jason's party as a threat? Did they want to eat them? But he couldn't spare another moment to think of anything other than survival.

Meanwhile, Lucario's attacker reared and jumped at him, his jaws open in a snarl. Unintimidated by his opponent's tactics, Lucario easily sidestepped. As his attacker flew past, he whacked him with close combat to the side. A rib cracked and the Pokémon landed in a heap on the ground. Its growl turned into a yelp of pain.

Fluff's attacker was faring better than her. Unable to move other than to crawl, it still closed in cautiously. Fluff strained against the paralysis and snapped at her opponent with one of her beaks. Buff flew overhead, uncertain what to do while Jason's attention had been diverted to Quil who had been tackled to the ground.

Quil's opponent flew straight toward Quil's exposed neck. Quil breathed in for another flamethrower, but the flame never got a chance to leave his throat before the enemy Pokémon struck. Instinctively, Quil defended himself with all four paws, which was enough to save his life, but the Pokémon managed to seize his shoulder. One fang pierced his neck, narrowly missing his windpipe. Quil bellowed in agony.

Quil tried to kick his attacker away with his hind legs, but it held on too tightly. In panic, Jason tried to attack Quil's opponent with his fists, but it kicked back with a hind foot, hitting Jason in the groin and sending him sprawling back.

Fighting the pain, Jason managed to look up. He saw Lucario deal an aura sphere with each hand to his fallen opponent, rendering it motionless. Lucario then turned around to see the disaster that was unfolding.

Quil and his opponent were now locked in mortal combat, his attacker waiting for an opportunity to bite his throat. Fluff's opponent had also manged to bite her injured leg again, making her writhe in pain and unable to defend herself. Buff flew overhead, still unsure what to do without instruction from Jason. Jason was aware of what was going on, but was losing the fight with the pain.

Jason saw Lucario turn to Quil first. He formed an aura sphere and tried to aim, but the two Pokémon were twisting and squirming on the ground as they struggled against each other. If Lucario hit the wrong Pokémon, Jason knew that Quil would die.

Jason finally managed to pull himself together. The Pokémon behind Lucario was moving—slowly, but surely.

"Lucario!" Jason cried out, but Lucario was too focused on Quil to be able to respond on time.

The Pokémon seized Lucario's left leg between its teeth. Lucario was taken by surprise. He moved his arms up to regain his balance and the aura sphere vanished into thin air.

Jason realized he had to take the lead. Firstly, he would have to do something to save Quil immediately.

"Sleep powder!" he called to Buff, pointing at Quil and his attacker.

To help Fluff, he looked around for anything he could use as a weapon, and found a stick. He picked it up and smashed it against Fluff's attacker's head. The stick broke in two, but the attacker still held on. Fluff by now was screaming with both her heads, too much in pain to focus on attacking.

"Buff," he cried desperately. "Gust!" Buff attacked Fluff's opponent, careful to avoid Fluff herself, but the attack was too weak to be effective.

Jason heard a whimper from behind. He whirled around. Lucario was free, and his foe was on the ground. He got a shock. The Pokémon lay still, blood seeping from its mouth. Was it dead? Did Lucario actually kill another Pokémon? He started to shake.

Lucario aura sphered Fluff's attacker, but it tenaciously held on. His hand came down and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. The Pokémon tried to writhe and fight back, but the stun spore was still in effect. Jason feared that Lucario meant to kill another Pokémon. He was sorry he ever stepped foot on this angry, vicious place.

Eventually, rather than die, Fluff's attacker gave up and let go. Jason let Lucario attend to Fluff while he diverted his attention to Quil. Buff's sleep powder had worked, and both the grey Pokémon and Quil were asleep. If the enemy regained consciousness before Quil did, Quil would still be in danger. He stooped down and, with a heave, peeled the limp foe off Quil's motionless body.

He was shocked a second time. Quil's neck was covered in blood. Was Jason too late? Was Quil already dead? Overcome with shock and grief, he sank to his knees. He slapped Quil in the face, but he didn't stir.

"Quil!" he cried. "Quil, wake up!"

Suddenly, he felt an aura sphere fly past him. The Pokémon next to Quil gave a yelp, got up and retreated. It must have awoken, but fortunately Lucario had noticed.

Jason looked around to see what else he might have missed. Fluff's attacker had left the scene too.

"Lucario, Quil's dead!" Jason grieved, his eyes welling with tears.

"Quil's very much alive. He breathed in more sleep powder than his attacker, that's all."

"All this blood …"

Lucario crouched low and examined Quil's injuries. "It's just a couple of small punctures. He'll be fine."

Behind him, Jason heard a moan. He turned around. It was the other Pokémon, the one that he though Lucario had killed. It got up on its feet and staggered away.

"I thought you killed it."

"I broke a few ribs."

"But its mouth …"

"I knocked out a tooth. Now pay attention. We have to get out of here. They might be back with reinforcements."

Quil woke up and winced in pain. He licked some scratches and got onto his feet. Jason breathed a great sigh of relief and hugged him.

Fluff was not so lucky. Although she managed to get onto her feet, she could only limp. Her injured foot was bleeding. The fact that she could stand meant that no bones were broken, but her opponent's teeth had pierced the thin layer of skin on her leg.

"What about the missing guys?" asked Jason.

"Fluff is hurt. We have to take her the ship and come back."

Jason nodded. He knew he had to put ointment on her wound to stop it festering, and Quil's too. The last thing he needed was for either of them to get sick.

- – — – -

Back on the ship, Jason treated Fluff and Quil while they retold the events. Argo was grief-stricken. If his men had been attacked by such vicious monsters, was there any chance of finding them alive? What was worse, he made no secret of the fact that if they didn't get food and especially water soon, they might all die.

"Why would they act like that?" Jason pondered out loud.

"We can't understand wild Pokémon," Argo replied.

Praxis brought his hand to his chin. "Hmm … sounds like they were being territorial," he said thoughtfully. "Wild Pokémon don't normally attack unless they're threatened."

"And who are you to know that?" said Argo.

Jason was about to lose his temper over Argo's harshness, but Praxis kept his cool. "I've read about it."

"Oh you've read about it. And have you read anything that will help my men out there? What threat do you suppose they posed?"

"Obviously the sailors weren't a threat to their physical safety," Praxis explained, "but maybe they thought they were entering their territory, or maybe they ate some of their food. It might be scarce on a small island like this."

"At least we know how strong those Pokémon are if we ever have to fight them again," Jason said, but to be honest with himself, that was something he wouldn't want to face again any time soon. He couldn't shake from his mind the sight of Quil bleeding, and he still felt the shivers from seeing the Pokémon that he thought Lucario had killed.

"We know that they seem susceptible to aura sphere and close combat attacks," said Lucario.

"And we have a theory why they might be attacking," said Praxis.

Argo paced around the deck twice before coming back. Jason noticed how Argo's responsibility was a difficult thing to bear. He wondered, if he got to become king, how would he manage the responsibility for a whole country if just a shipload of crewmen was hard enough.

Argo said, "Theories! How do they help us?"

"Well, first we need to get as much information as possible," said Praxis.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Argo asked.

"First we observe," Praxis replied. "We have to look around the island to find out as much about it as we can."

"Oh, so we leave my men to fend for themselves while we go on a sightseeing tour."

"I think Praxis is right," said Lucario. "If we send anyone else to look for them on land, most likely they'll only get attacked again."

"Maybe we'll spot them from the ship," said Ru.

"Maybe we'll see a stream where we can get water," said Jason.

Lacking other ideas, Argo gave the order for the ship to circumnavigate the island. They passed the end of the beach where they had set foot and sailed around the point. A second small beach came into view. Everyone had their eyes pealed for any sign of anything useful, but no-one noticed anything of significance. Argo kept shaking his head and sighing, but they kept to their plan.

After they passed the second beach, a third came into view. At first no one could believe their eyes, but there was no doubt. It looked like a ship had run aground, while further away from the shore there seemed to be huts.

"Maybe it's inhabited," said one of the sailors.

"I wonder if they know how to handle the wild Pokémon," said Jason.

"I hope they didn't send those Pokémon to attack," Ru remarked. That thought freaked Jason out.

"Let's not get carried away," said Argo, evidently trying to keep himself collected. "Let's get closer and investigate."

As they got closer, the ship turned out to be the remains of a shipwreck. "Judging from the design," said Argo, "it's from before my time. For all we know, it could be a hundred years old." The huts were in better condition than the ship, but no-one could be seen in or around them. Argo ordered the sailors to drop anchor.

The next question was whether it was safe to set foot on the island again. To be honest with himself, Jason felt more and more uneasy about going ashore and chancing to face those wild grey Pokémon. Argo and the others were straining to see if they could see anyone on the island, but it looked completely deserted.

"I can't sense any living aura nearby," said Lucario. "I don't think those Pokémon that attacked us are in the area."

"So it's safe to go ashore?" asked Praxis eagerly.

"How about we have a look at the ship?" implored Ru.

"It means that they're not nearby right now," Lucario replied. "It doesn't mean they'll stay away."

"If there are people living there," said Argo, "we don't know if they're friendly either."

But in the end, as usual, Ru and Praxis wore Argo down. Argo rowed the three boys, Lucario, Quil, Buff and Happy to the island. Lucario, Jason, Quil and Buff went to investigate the settlement while the others checked out the shipwreck.

The huts, though, were dusty, dilapidated and deserted. Quil sniffed around but didn't seem to recognize anything.

"People lived on this island once," said Jason as he peered into one of the huts, "but that must've been a long time ago."

"I can detect something," said Lucario, "not far from here."

That set Jason worrying. What if it was more of those grey Pokémon?

"It's probably a small Pokémon," Lucario added, to which Jason breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait, I can sense people approaching!"

"Which way?"

Before Lucario could answer, the three sailors they were looking for burst out of the forest and into the open area where the huts lay.

"Jason!" called one of the men, seeing Jason.

"Lucario!" called another.

Jason and Lucario ran up to them. Quil and Buff followed.

"What happened?" asked Jason.

"How did you find us here?" asked one of the sailors.

"Time for questions later," said another. "We have to get off the island before we get attacked again."

"But—" Jason began, but Lucario raised his hand.

"They're right, let's go," Lucario said. "I can sense something approaching."

They headed straight back to the beach.

"Were you attacked by those grey Pokémon?" asked Jason on the way.

"Yes," replied one of the sailors. "We were stuck up in some trees for hours until a pack of persian came and they started fighting."

"They're keeping each other busy, so we were able to get away," said another.

"From up the tree, we saw huts so we decided to come this way," said the third.

"Oh no," said Lucario. "The persian are on their way."

Alarmed, Jason and the others ran towards the grounded ship. It wasn't long before a persian appeared. It stood at the edge of the trees, where the men had come out, its fur blood-stained, its face scarred, and growled.

It surveyed Jason's group, then pounced towards them. Immediately, three more persian bounded out behind and followed.

Lucario turned back and fired a dragon pulse at the sand in front of the persian. Sand scattered into their faces and stalled them enough for Jason's party to make it to the shipwreck where Argo's group were exploring.

Ahead of the others, Jason went straight for the boat. Behind him, one of the sailors tripped.

"Help!" he cried in panic.

Jason turned around. Argo came out of the ship where his group were exploring and saw what was happening. Jason instinctively called Quil and rushed to the sailor's aid. Lucario got their first and made a threatening gesture towards their pursuers. Quil arrived next, flared up and growled.

The group of persian stopped to consider their situation. Warily, one of them, the largest and fiercest looking, who had first appeared on the scene, snarled back and inched forward.

At a gesture from Jason, Quil fired an ember at the ground in front of it. The persian paused but remained unfazed. The group of persian slowly spread out in an attempt to surround Jason's party.

"Draw back, slowly," said Lucario. The party moved back towards the beach.

Jason was not sure how they would get out of this situation. It was an oversight in their planning, but the small boat couldn't fit seven people plus four Pokémon in one go. Even if Buff flew, it would make little difference. If some of them tried to swim, would the persian swim after them and attack them in the water? Furthermore, out on the beach they were too exposed. If only there was some shelter.

As if to answer Jason's wish, Argo called out, "Quick, on the ship!"

Jason wasn't sure what Argo meant. His ship was moored too far from the shore. Then one of the sailors saw Jason hesitate and grabbed him by the arm and took him through a hole in the side of the wrecked ship. Once everyone was safely inside the half-moldering structure, Lucario and Quil remained at the entrance to keep the enclosing group of persian at bay.

"What's with this island?" said one the men.

"I'm sorry we even came here," said Jason. He looked down.

"We weren't to know," said Argo, shaking his head. "We only have enough water for a few more days at sea."

Jason looked around at the ship. It was dark and dank, and the smell of rotting wood pervaded the air. They were inside the hull. Between holes in the ceiling above them, he could see there was a middle deck, and it seemed there must be a top deck above that. Even if they could climb to the top, though, how would they get out and get back safely?

"My guess is that this island is inhabited by two packs, the persian and those grey Pokémon," said Lucario while standing behind the hole in the hull, "and they're both guarding their territory."

Just then, there was a noise above them. Praxis shouted and at the same time small pieces of rotting timber fell down on everyone's heads.

"What's wrong?" called out Argo. "I told you to be careful."

"I got him," said Ru.

"Sorry, I didn't realize the floor was so rotten," said Praxis. "But I found something useful."

"What could help us now?" said Argo.

"A parchment," said Praxis.

"You and your books," said Argo, sounding exasperated. "There are Pokémon out there trying to eat us and you've found something to read!?"

"I think he's right," said Ru. He and Praxis made their way down carefully from the middle deck. Ru helped Praxis climb down with his one good arm while Praxis held a flat, yellow sheet in the hand of his arm in the sling.

"I have to get some water to clean it," said Praxis. "I think it's a map, but I can't read it clearly."

"A map?" said Argo, his tone picking up once he took in what Praxis had said. "Let me see!"

Praxis brought the parchment close to the opening in the side of the ship so they could see it in better light. Argo and one of his men took it and looked at it carefully.

"I recognize that outline," said Argo.

"Yes, it looks like it could be Hoenn," said the sailor. "But Praxis is right. We need to clean it."

"Careful with it!" Praxis exclaimed. "It's only barely hanging together. If it'd been papyrus, it would've rotted completely by now."

"The persian are retreating," said Lucario.

Jason, who was nearest the opening, looked out. The group of persian were walking away. Three of them went into the trees. One remained at the top of the beach, sat and looked towards the ship.

"I suspect if we make a move, it'll call the others back," said Lucario, pointing to the sole persian who was watching them from about thirty or forty yards away.

Meanwhile, Ru had found a spot at the back of the vessel where seawater was leaking in. He took off his shirt, wet a corner of it and came back. Praxis set to work cleaning the map.

After a few minutes, it was clear that it was a map of Hoenn and the surrounding seas, with Mossdeep Island marked in the north-east, and an X was drawn somewhere not far from there near the edge of the parchment.

"If that mark …" Praxis started to say.

"… is this island," said Argo, "then Mossdeep should only be a day's journey west from here."

"Praxis, you're a lifesaver," said one of the sailors.

"Only thing is, we need to get back to the ship," said Ru.

"And it's getting late," said Argo. "I don't fancy us staying the night in here."

"We can fight our way back," suggested Jason.

"I can't fight!" complained Praxis.

Eventually Lucario came up with a plan. He guarded one group to the boat while Quil guarded the others in the ship. Argo took half the party back to the ship, and then came back for the others. Once they realized that the intruders were leaving the island, the persian didn't bother them any more.

After the day's ordeal, they rested that night, and set sail at dawn for Mossdeep Island.

The adventure on this island replaces the Lemnos story which I didn't particularly take to, not to mention that what Jason and crew got up to on the island didn't quite suit my story …