To become the hunted

[umixnoxkami]

It had been five years.

Five years of peaceful, uneventful life around the islands of Shamouti. With every day that went by, the incident that had almost brought about the destruction of the world seemed like more and more of a distant memory.

Then, something happened that none of the ocean's Pokémon ever expected.

The Great Guardian grew inexplicably

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[surrender_lugia]

The sea was dark as the man walked on the shoreline, reflecting on the setting sun. Somewhere in the vast ocean was his quarry. Oh he knew he shouldn't feel like that still. After all, it'd been five years since that magnificent creature took everything from him.

He liked to think that he'd changed. He'd gotten a steady job--something he'd never had before--had an apartment instead of an airship, did simple, mundane things for himself like mending clothes and grocery shopping...But as long as those thoughts remained, he knew he couldn't be nearly as different as he wanted to believe.

That job had brought him to Cianwood. The Whirl Islands nearby were said to be home to a creature of legend, and he believed it to be another Lugia. For some reason, the thought of seeing a different one didn't excite him. Only the guardian was important.

In that way, he'd both changed and stayed the same.

[umixnoxkami]

Just then, unintelligible, rough notes, as if sung by a mysterious sea creature filled the air.

It was a Mantine, gracefully skimming over the water. Suddenly, just when it was about to disappear from Jirarudan's view, its flight slowed down considerably. Then it picked up again, and then the Pokémon expertly plunged into the water.

[surrender_lugia]

Jirarudan had never much cared for Mantine. They flew, but only in a manner of speaking, and then returned to the waters.

But he had to admit that the flight was beautiful. He went closer to the water.

[umixnoxkami]

For a few more moments, the sea was peaceful, the sunset painting it a stunning shade of red and orange.

There was a faint, almost unnoticeable flash of red in the shallow waters at Jirarudan's feet. Perhaps that, too, was one of the small wonders of a sunset over a beach.