Pokemon: Skybound

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Inside the airship's cargo hold, the prisoners were crammed tightly together in a suspended metal cage, leaving barely any room to move.

Ash rubbed his forehead, having accidentally smacked it during the rough capture, and winced.

"Ouch… That hurt. Is everyone okay?"

"I'm fine!" Tracey was the first to respond, though his face was currently squished against the bars, making his expression look hilariously distorted. It was clear he was just trying to sound tough.

"What about you, Kai?"

"I'm good." Kai's voice was calm as always. Unlike the others, he wasn't particularly uncomfortable except for one very pressing problem.

Due to how they'd landed, he was currently sandwiched between multiple people.

In front of him: Sabrina, pressing against his chest.

To his left: Misty, her arm brushing against his side.

To his right: Melody, practically leaning into him.

And behind him… Well, he was pretty sure that was Jessie.

Kai sighed internally.

It looked bad, but he swore on Arceus that this was not intentional.

It was just… the way things had turned out.

..soft

Sabrina shifted slightly, noticing something.

"...What's that in your pocket?" she asked, feeling something firm press against her.

She wiggled a little to adjust, causing Kai's entire body to stiffen.

"Wait—hold on, don't move!" he blurted, struggling to keep himself composed. "It's just… um… this cage is really cramped right now…"

Sabrina raised an eyebrow, clearly not getting what he meant.

She sighed and glanced away.

"I still don't understand why you stopped me earlier," she muttered. "If I had just used my powers, we wouldn't be stuck like this."

"Don't worry," Kai replied, adjusting his stance as best as he could. "They caught us, so they're going to want to explain their plans first. That gives us a chance to figure out what they're after."

Misty and Melody, meanwhile, were also struggling in the tight space.

They both shifted slightly and suddenly—

Kai's arms were enveloped in something extremely soft.

His heart skipped a beat.

'Oh no.'

The situation had just gotten worse.

Melody, however, was too focused on something else to notice.

"Look!" she gasped.

Everyone turned, following her gaze.

There, locked inside another reinforced cage was Zapdos.

And right next to it—

Moltres.

"The God of Fire!" Melody's eyes widened. "They caught it too!?"

In her shock, she practically pressed herself against Kai to get a better look.

Kai, meanwhile, was internally screaming.

Kai quickly redirected his attention to something else in the room.

Just below the captured Pokémon was a glass display case.

Inside it—

An ancient stone tablet.

"What's that?"

Kai nudged Melody's side lightly, pointing toward the artefact.

Unfortunately… he accidentally nudged her bare stomach.

A soft, smooth sensation pressed against his skin for a brief second.

Kai immediately retracted his arm.

'This is a disaster…'

Luckily, Melody was too distracted by the stone tablet to notice.

She leaned forward, reading the inscriptions aloud.

"'The Fire, Ice, and Thunder Gods must never be disturbed…' Wait… Isn't this the prophecy from the legends!? What's it doing here!?"

"Simple," Kai replied, focusing back on the artefact. "This prophecy is the reason they're hunting the Legendary Birds."

Melody's eyes widened in realization.

"...Which means…"

She turned to Kai in shock.

"The next target must be Articuno!"

The moment Melody said that she froze.

Because, for the first time, she realized something.

She was almost entirely pressed against Kai's body.

"Ah—"

She gasped lightly and quickly pulled away, her face turning bright red.

Misty, watching from the side, smirked smugly.

She tightened her grip on Kai's arm, leaning in just a little more, then tilted her head at Melody.

A silent message:

'Jealous?'

Kai, meanwhile, pretended not to notice anything and kept his focus on the prophecy.

"We won't know for sure until they tell us themselves," he said calmly. "So let's just—"

Vrrrr…!

A mechanical humming interrupted him.

Kai looked up.

From the ceiling above, a large platform was descending.

And standing atop the platform, resting casually on a velvet couch—

A man with an eerie, smug grin.

The elevator-like platform touched the ground, and the man stood up slowly.

His sharp gaze swept across the prisoners.

"Hello! Everyone, You're the first uninvited guests to arrive here," he said smoothly.

"How does it feel?"

His eyes drifted toward the cages.

"The God of Fire, Moltres… and the God of Thunder, Zapdos. My newest prized possessions."

A chill ran down Misty's spine.

"What the heck is wrong with you!?" she snapped. "If you wanted to capture a Pokémon, why not battle it fairly instead of locking it up like this!?"

The man simply smirked.

"Oh, I'm not a Pokémon Trainer," he said lazily.

"I'm a collector." His eyes gleamed.

"I capture rare, legendary Pokémon and put them on display. That's what it means to collect."

Then, he gestured grandly toward the room.

"Feel free to admire my collection, but do not touch the exhibits."

Freedom…?

With a casual snap of his fingers—

CLANK!

The cage split apart.

Everyone lost their balance, tumbling onto the ground.

Kai, however, moved quickly.

As they fell, he caught Sabrina, twisting his body so she wouldn't hit the floor.

But just before impact, a small gust of air slowed their fall.

Gardevoir.

Her psychic influence was subtle barely detectable.

The Collector didn't even notice.

Kai exhaled quietly.

Just then—

A robotic voice echoed through the airship.

"Articuno detected. Tracking… Target locked."

The Collector's eyes lit up.

"Excellent."

He turned away.

"The God of Ice has appeared."

He stepped back onto the elevator, grinning.

"My collection is almost complete."

The platform rose back into the upper decks.

Kai's gaze hardened.

'It's starting.'

This was the final phase.

And soon… Lugia would appear.

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