Pokémon: Above the Top

"Mana! Mana!"

It was once again time for Manaphy to dive into the sea and sense the direction to move forward. But this time, something was different.

Manaphy kept tumbling through the water, happily waving up at Mark on the ship, seemingly trying to convey something.

Although the two got along well, they hadn't known each other long enough to be fully in sync, so Mark could only stare blankly at Manaphy in confusion.

"Mana~ Manana~"

Manaphy kept calling out to Mark, diving underwater every so often, and taking longer each time before resurfacing.

"You want me to play in the water with you? That's not it…"

…

"Is it because the water here is clearer, and you like it?"

…

"You want to do some diving? Mhm, that was cute, your pose was graceful!"

Manaphy: 'What a dummy.'

Finally, after racking his brain, Mark suddenly had a flash of insight and shouted down to Manaphy, "You mean… go underwater?"

"Mana! Manana!" Manaphy instantly nodded excitedly, signaling that Mark had finally guessed right, and even wiped away imaginary sweat in a very human-like gesture.

"…I actually got it?" Mark froze. After confirming that Manaphy really meant for them to head underwater, he became even more speechless.

They were on a ship, not a submarine.

"No, our ship can dive!" Kyle suddenly said with pride, for the first time showing an expression that screamed 'I'm clever.'

"This ship can be used as a submarine too~?" Mark asked again, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"I said from the start this was a hybrid ship. The diving function is one of its features! If it's confirmed, we can depart right away."

Kyle was full of energy, feeling like he had finally redeemed himself!

His strength was average, and he wasn't as socially skilled as his wife Meredith. Other than this hybrid ship, he had nothing else to boast about…

Soon, everyone cleared off the deck, returned to the cabin, sealed the airtight doors, and gathered at the underwater observation deck.

It was only then that they realized this section of transparent glass wasn't just for viewing underwater scenery.

This time, Manaphy didn't return to the ship, but swam down to the area in front of the glass, happily waving to everyone.

Underwater, directions weren't limited to just north, south, east, and west, so Manaphy decided to lead the way outside itself.

As seawater flooded in, the ship began to slowly submerge. Manaphy swam deeper as well, but always stayed within sight so the group wouldn't lose track.

Gyarados, Wailord, Crawdaunt, Lanturn, Sharpedo… a huge number of marine Pokémon began to appear before them.

Each one, upon encountering Manaphy, made way willingly; even the Pokémon behind the ship did the same.

And as they descended deeper and deeper, the number of Pokémon in the sea gradually decreased, yet Manaphy's speed didn't slow at all. Its direction remained firm and steady.

In the pitch-black deep sea, even with floodlights turned on, everything around them remained dark, like it extended endlessly in all directions.

Meredith walked over to Kyle, but didn't dare disturb him while he was navigating. She simply leaned silently against him.

Sato, Joseph, and Mark stood side by side at the observation deck, staring intently at Manaphy; the same color they'd seen countless times over the past days, but now the only trace of blue in the deep sea.

"…It turned"

Sato suddenly spoke. In the heavy silence, his voice easily reached everyone's ears.

Manaphy was no longer diving downward, but instead swam forward in a straight, horizontal line.

Kyle quietly let out a breath of relief. While the ship could function as a submarine, it couldn't dive indefinitely without limits.

Fortunately, the depth of their destination was within the ship's safe range… otherwise, Kyle would never gamble with everyone's lives.

This time, they hadn't traveled far before the surroundings became filled with giant reef formations. Manaphy also slowed down its swimming pace to accommodate the trailing ship.

They circled around one unremarkable reef after another. But when they made another turn, the ship suddenly shook violently, causing everyone to panic and instinctively grip the handrails tightly.

"There's an undercurrent! HOLD ON TIGHT!" Kyle shouted loudly, his voice steady, which in turn helped calm the others.

Manaphy was spinning anxiously in front of the glass, struggling to stay steady against the current.

When it saw the ship successfully adjust its direction and go with the flow of the undercurrent, it finally let out a breath and allowed itself to be swept away.

"Manaphy!"

Mark rushed up to the glass, eyes bloodshot as he watched Manaphy quickly disappear from view. He looked like he was about to smash the glass and dive out to find it.

"Don't move! Manaphy let the current take it, it's leading us, and we'll reunite at the end!" Kyle roared. He hadn't panicked at all during the undercurrent, but now he was clearly afraid Mark might really break the glass.

Joseph and Sato quickly pulled Mark back. They'd both broken into a cold sweat. Seeing Mark like that was terrifying…

The undercurrent didn't move in a straight line, so everyone had to hold onto the rails the entire time. Occasionally, they could hear the metallic clanging of small rocks hitting the hull from outside.

The sound of those rocks striking the ship made Kyle's heart ache. He didn't even want to think about whether his beloved ship would still be usable after this.

As the ship moved forward, it picked up more and more speed and shook harder and harder.

Kyle had no choice but to reverse the propellers to slow them down; otherwise, he feared they wouldn't make it to where Manaphy was waiting.

Sato looked down at his watch and realized only ten minutes had passed. But in the deep sea, it felt like an entire century. All around them was darkness, so dark even Manaphy had vanished from view.

Only blackness…

Suddenly, the pull of the undercurrent disappeared, and the ship's speed dropped abruptly.

Mark lost his balance and was thrown into the glass by inertia.

Meredith immediately tackled Kyle to the ground. She shut her eyes tightly and hugged him with all her might, thinking that if they were going to die, at least they'd die together.

A few seconds passed. The expected death didn't arrive. Instead, a gentle, reassuring pat landed on her back.

"It's okay… we made it," Kyle's voice was full of exhaustion.

He'd never experienced anything like this before. All his previous "composure" had simply been the professional duty of a captain in crisis.

Now that they were out of danger, his body felt weak and limp, his back already drenched in sweat.

At that moment, Sato and Joseph didn't even bother helping the pitiful Mark up. Their eyes had already been drawn to a massive, strange stone wall in front of them.

"It's a mural of the People of the Water!" Meredith stood up with Kyle's support, her face pale as she spoke to the group.

"Leave the rest to me!"

"Mana~"

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