Paul and I dashed to the docks, eager to sail out to the fabled Fullmoon Island. We knew what we needed, where to find it and what to do to receive it. We weaved through crowds of people as they boarded and left ferries, some occasionally yelling at us for our recklessness, but we paid them no heed as we ran around the docks, seeking out any lone sailors who could possibly help us

"Come on, Dinara!" Paul yelled at me as he flew ahead of me

"I-I'm coming!" I panted. Paul was much faster (and fitter) than I was. I was definitely a slowpoke... However, I tried my very best to match his pace. I knew that he was more than likely running on pure adrenalin, wanting to save his brother, and I didn't want to be a hindrance to him on this race against time. Who knew what condition Reggie was in, and who knew if he would get better or worse in his sleep...?

Paul finally halted in his tracks, with me now trudging behind him, tired from the sprint I had just performed. Paul just shook his head at me, disappointed at my lack of fitness, before we began walking down by the docks. Many boats were ported by the docks, all guarded by a lone sailor

"Who do we ask?" I asked Paul. He only narrowed his eyes

"Whichever one is willing to help us," he replied sternly

"What if-"

"They have to help us," Paul insisted. "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer." I pulled a face, but nodded in agreement. Surely, at least one sailor would help us. There were so many around, at least one would possess a generous heart that was willing to sail two teenagers out to a mysterious island and save the life of a young man

... At least, that's what I thought...

Paul and I approached one of the sailors, fairly buff with a Wingull perched on his shoulder. His Wingull squawked at us before we could even ask a thing, which alarmed the man. He turned around and I immediately saw his look of judgement. He didn't look happy with us...

"What do ya kids want?" he asked us in a scruffy voice

"We apologise if we're interrupting you, sir," Paul started politely. "But we're seeking out someone who could sail us to Fullmoon Island, where Cresselia resides." The man looked at us for a moment, before roaring with laughter. His Wingull flew off his shoulder, startled

"Fullmoon Island?!" he exclaimed in mid-laughter. "Stupid kids, that island ain't exist!" Paul narrowed his eyes. I knew he wouldn't give up

"I understand this is a bizarre request," Paul continued on, his voice raised and stern. "But a family member of mine is in grave danger; he's fallen into a nightmare cursed upon him by a Darkrai... We understand this island may not exist, but for my brother, could you please, please sail us out there for a chance to save him?" I was surprised how genuine Paul sounded when he spoke of his brother, the sternness of his voice fading into a mixture of pleading and concern. Anyone hearing his pleas would surely attempt to help him save his brother, however, the sailor only scoffed at us

"I ain't falling for ya lies!" he snapped. "Darkrai haven't come out to these parts in years!"

"My brother is in Veilstone," Paul pushed on. "A Darkrai-"

"Veilstone myth?" The sailor butted in, curious. He pulled a face. "You kids need to stop believing in everything you hear. Sinnoh has many a myths, and none are true. Your brother is just asleep, kid, no need to exaggerate all this"

"I-I'm not!" Paul stuttered. The sailor only laughed

"You kids really need to grow out of lying, it's a bad habit," he scoffed. "Now go! The docks ain't a playground! Go challenge the gym leader or somethin', or other..."

"Sir! I'm not lying-"

"We're finished, kid," the sailor replied. "Conversation over..." I could see anger flaring in Paul's eyes, burning with pure rage. No doubt he was pissed

"Why you-!"

"Paul, stop," I quickly grabbed his arm, hoping to stop him from starting something physical. "He ain't a sailor; he's an asshole. Let's just go ask someone else." The sailor turned around at my remark, his eyes filled with rage

"What did you just call me?!" he shouted. I frowned

"An asshole," I sneered. The sailor gritted his teeth

"Now listen here missy-!" the sailor began to throw a colourful array of words my way, but I merely took Paul by the arm and took him away from the sailor and his disturbed Wingull. Paul looked up at me, looking surprised. I caught his gaze, confused

"What?" I asked him. He smiled slightly

"I didn't know you swear." he said. I laughed

"You think that's a swear word?!" I asked him, chuckling. To my surprise, he chuckled himself!

"I was sheltered growing up." he explained. "I thought the word 'fit' was a swear word because 'throwing a fit' was a bad thing, and I confused it with... Well, you know." I only giggled

"Welcome to the world of Pokémon, good sir!" I replied. Paul smiled, while I smiled back. Only then had I noticed that... We were getting along, genuinely getting along. No fighting, no arguing, just mucking around like the teenagers we were. It felt... nice. However, Paul's smile slowly faded

"I don't think any other sailors are going to help us..." he remarked. "That sailor made a bit of a scene after you called him out. He'll warn the others about us..." Paul sighed sadly. "How are we going to get to Fullmoon Island?" I fell silent for a moment, pondering on a possibly solution. I looked around for a moment, noticing a sailor with an Empoleon swimming in the water by his boat. I looked down at my Poke-Balls, netting an idea. I pulled Paul close, just in case someone was around to hear us

"I've still got Lapras," I whispered to him. "We could sail on our own!" Paul's face lit up immediately

"That's great!" he whispered. "But we need to be careful. I doubt we could just sail out with no consequence..." I nodded. Paul and I started to sneak around the docks, avoiding any sailors we came across. We had to be sneaky; if we got caught, we would get into major trouble and possibly lose our chance to save Reggie... Paul and I kept close to each other as well ducked behind crates, boats and other objects around the docks, avoiding all eye contact with citizens and others. We crept towards the end of the docks that headed out north. There, we could set sail quickly and avoid capture if we're chased. Paul poked his head out around a crate and scanned the area. He turned back to me, giving me a thumbs up: the coast was clear. I took out Lapras' Poke-ball, and threw it out, releasing Lapras into the water, before Paul and I booked it. I jumped onto Lapras with ease, with Paul following

"HEY!" We heard someone shout. "What are you kids doin'?!" I swiftly turned around, spotting a sailor. No time to hesitate now

"Lapras, go! NOW!" I commanded. Lapras let out a roar as it surged out into the sea. Paul and I looked back to see a group of sailors on the edge of the docks, yelling at us. I smirked, however it soon faded once two problems arose: the sailors were trying to close the bridge off so we couldn't sail out. To make matters worse, their Pokémon were after us. Paul stood up and pulled out a Poke-Ball

"I got this!" he shouted. "Concentrate on getting past the bridge!" He threw out the Poke-Ball, revealing to be his Frosslass. I flinched, remembering his scolding of Frosslass before this whole fiasco had started. What would he do now? What would Frosslass do now?

"Frosslass, Ice Shard!" I could only hear Paul's commands as I concentrated on getting past the bridge. From the sounds of the masses of squawking Wingulls, we were in the clear. Now, the bridge:

"Lapras, Ice Beam that bridge!" Lapras launched a large ice beam, freezing the bridge in its place. Citizens immediately fled the icy cold area as we rode under the frozen bridge. I turned around to see the Wingulls retreating back to their trainers. I only smiled, knowing we were in the clear. I cheered happily and even gave Paul a high-five, before looking over the horizon

"Fullmoon Island, here we come!"

A few hours later...

The ocean sparkled a beautiful orange as twilight fell before us. Paul was looking out over the horizon, watching the sunset while his Frosslass (whom he decided to keep out) interacted with Lapras, keeping him entertained. The two ice-types laughed as we continued to sail north like the myths stated. However, the sun had started to set, meaning time was ticking by, and fast... However, Lapras was going as fast as he could, and it was something that couldn't be changed, so Paul and I only held out, looking out for the island, hoping to spot it in the distance. As we continued to sail, I rummaged through my bag and grabbed some apples I had as snacks. I handed one to each of the Pokémon, who then began to munch on their fruit happily, before I handed one to Paul. He took the apple, but didn't say a word. He only kept a lookout for the island. I frowned, concerned

"Are you OK?" I asked him. He was silent for a moment

"...I'm fine" he replied. "Just... Worried..."

"I understand" I replied. "This must all weigh on you a lot..." Paul fell silent once more

"...You don't understand half of it..." he finally spoke. "You don't know how scared I am right now, how... scared I am that I might lose my brother..."

"You two sound close..." I said. Paul merely nodded. I saw his hands were trembling with anxiety and fear. He really was on edge... We fell silent for a moment, before Paul suddenly handed the apple back to me

"... I'm not hungry," he spoke

"Are you-"

"I'm fine..." he urged. "You can have it..." I pulled a face. Knowing he would eat later, I put the apple back in my bag and began looking over the horizon for the island. All that bordered it was sun-lit ocean... It was a beautiful sight, though one I didn't want to see at the moment. We were desperate to find this island, hoping it existed, and if it didn't... Who knew what we were going to do...

"...Dinara?" Paul spoke. I turned around

"Yeah?"

"... Thank you for coming," Paul replied. "Really, I appreciate your help. I know I can be a little intimidating or cold to others, but I really do appreciate what you're doing. It means a lot to me..." Once again, I was stunned Paul was showing such kindness to me. I smiled sweetly

"You're welcome," I said. Paul smiled. Not a smirk, a genuine smile. I couldn't help but feel happy when he smiled. It felt like an accomplishment of sorts, making someone so 'emotionless' smile. It felt warm and fuzzy. It felt nice. Paul and I began searching the horizon together, scanning the twilight ocean for the island we hoped to see. Even though we were having no luck so far, Paul and I began to talk. Not an argument or anything, a real conversation. It was these moments that made me think that, maybe I judged Paul too quickly? Maybe I just got off on the wrong foot with him? He seemed quite nice when you got to know him and pushed his training methods aside. He really was a nice boy

"So you chose Torchic as your starter?" Paul asked me. I beamed

"Yep!" I exclaimed. "Torchic was so cute and fluffy, and now Blaziken is tough and strong! Evolution is amazing!" I chuckled slightly. "I assume Turtwig was your starter?" Paul nodded

"I picked Turtwig because my brother chose Turtwig as well" he explained. "He had a Torterra that I'd always climb over when I was younger, like I was on my own adventure." I chuckled, trying to imagine Paul as a mere child climbing over a large Torterra. It was a funny image

"God, you sounded like a hyper kid!" I exclaimed

"Heh, I was," Paul admitted. "I was eager to go on my own Pokémon Adventure, follow in my brother's footsteps." Paul smiled, however it suddenly faded... He fell quiet, avoiding eye contact with me

"... Is something wrong?" I asked him. "Was it something I said?" He shook his head

"It's... It's nothing..." he murmured. "Really, just... Forget I said anything..."

"Are you-"

"I'm sure," he cut me off. "Let's... just keep an eye out for the island..." I wanted to continue our conversation, but instead I sighed and looked over the horizon once more. We were getting along just now... What happened? Did I say something wrong? Did I bring up a sensitive topic? As my thoughts swirled within me, my phone beeped. I pulled it out and saw I had a text message; it was Emile

Emile: Hey, how's the research going? Reggie's doing fine so far, he isn't tossing and turning too much anymore

Paul turned to me, wondering who it was. I showed him the text, and he sighed with relief, knowing his brother was doing OK. I took my phone back and replied to Emile immediately

Dinara: All is good so far, we're sailing to the island right now. If the myths are true, we should be back just after midnight

Emile: That's great news! I'll tell Nurse Joy!

I put my phone away, assuming the conversation was over. However, a few minutes passed, before Emile texted me again. I pulled out my phone, curious, while Paul looked over my shoulder, also wondering what was going on

... We didn't like the answer we received

Emile: Uh, guys... I think you need to hurry

Emile: He looks like he's getting worse...