Kellyn thought he had overcome his insomnia, but nope. He lay awake for a few hours on Mantine, fretting about the others and listening to Ash and Blu snore softly. His Pokémon Ranger brain just wouldn't let up.
Kellyn thought long and hard about how to save the others, the ferry, Lucario, and the other Gem Guardians, but just as his thoughts began to make him drowsy, something splashed beside him and Ash.
An enormous, blue, dragon-like Pokémon with a gaping mouth emerged from the ocean, followed by a few others, and roared at the Mantine.
"What the—?" Ash shouted, holding onto Mantine and Pikachu. His brown eyes locked onto the dragons, and his mouth gaped like theirs. "Gyarados!"
A whoosh followed the Gyarados, and J appeared above them on her Salamence. With her face red, she yelled, "I finally got you!" at Kellyn, then growled upon seeing Ash.
Could she give up already? Apparently not.
Ash clenched his teeth. "J! What did you do to the others?"
Kellyn saw the frustration on J's lips, which twitched.
"That's none of your concern!" she said to Ash. She and the Gyarados faced Kellyn. "I want that Pokémon and that boy!"
Kellyn hugged Blu, then glared at her.
Ash's Mantine swam before them, and Ash yelled, "Well, you're not going to! Isn't one Gem Guardian enough?"
"That boy is the key to everything!" J held out her hand. "Gyarados, do what you must, but bring him and that Pokémon to me!"
"Forget it!" Ash glanced at Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt—full power!"
Pikachu leaped from his shoulder, crying, "Pikachu!"
Kellyn closed his eyes against the blinding light, but he went ahead and cupped his hands. "Are you ready to transform, Blu?" he asked.
"Blue-Bird!" Blu replied, as if snarling.
J gritted her teeth and mumbled, "Yes, show me the power." Her hand hovered over something on her belt, her fingers coiling as if about to grab it.
"Kellyn, stop!" Ash held up his arm to both him and Blu. "She's up to something. Don't use your power."
That was when Kellyn also noticed J's gesture. Without another thought, he dropped his hands and told Blue-Bird, "Use Thunderbolt with Pikachu. We may be able to catch her off guard." Hit J with her own medicine. Kellyn had wanted to do that for the past few days.
The Thunderbolts struck the Gyarados hard, another flash of yellow light exploding in J's face like firecrackers.
She stumbled on Salamence—almost falling—but held out her arms to balance herself.
While she was distracted, the Mantine flapped their wings and cut through the ocean like knives through butter—success, but not for long.
Though weakened, the Gyarados swam after Ash and Kellyn, occasionally bumping into one another and twisting around each other's necks like Dodrio's three heads.
They nipped at each other, and Kellyn urged the Mantine, "Come on, Mantine, let's move faster."
The Mantine did. Their eyes fell on something on the horizon: dark storm clouds and a wave moving toward them.
For a second, Kellyn fixed his gaze on the wave, thinking. Then he remembered Mantine Surfing in another region. People surfed between islands on a Mantine to get there faster. That was probably what Ash and Kellyn had to do to escape J and reach Boyleland quickly. While Kellyn was good at riding Pokémon, Mantine Surfing was unfamiliar. Still, the ferry and the Gem Guardian were counting on him and Ash.
Reaching for his arm, Kellyn said, "I have an idea, Ash." Ash grinned, but his smile faded as Kellyn gestured toward the incoming wave. "We're going to Mantine Surf to Boyleland."
"Mantine Surf?" Ash tilted his head. "What's that?"
"Pika?" Pikachu agreed.
Kellyn made the explanation quick. "They do it in another region. I believe it's called Alola? But people surf on a Mantine to get between islands quickly if they don't want to take the ferry."
Ash gulped. It looked like he was remembering his first failed flight on Staraptor.
"Just follow my lead," Kellyn said, grabbing Blu and settling onto Mantine. "Hold onto Mantine's antennae, and you'll be fine."
The Gyarados drew closer, their mouths seeming to gape even wider than before.
"Hurry!" Kellyn said, and Ash nodded, clutching Mantine's antennae.
The Chinchou swam into the wave first, lighting the way with their own antennae.
Kellyn asked Ash, "Are you ready?"
"Sure am!" he said, nervous and excited.
"Then let's do this thing." Blu snuggled into Kellyn's shoulder, and Kellyn held him with one hand, Mantine's antennae with the other. The wave crept closer and soon began to crest. "Now!" Kellyn shouted at Ash. "Stay close!"
The Mantine followed Chinchou's light and moved their white bellies up onto the wave. It wasn't long before Kellyn and Ash rode it, J and the Gyarados behind.
Ash and Pikachu nearly flew off Ash's Mantine, and Ash yelped, tears welling in his eyes as he was tossed around.
Kellyn didn't know whether to laugh. Neither Ash nor Sven was a great rider of Ride Pokémon. Granted, he was having a hard time staying on Mantine himself. Mantine Surfing wasn't common in Almia.
Behind Ash and Kellyn, one of the Gyarados cried out and fired an Ice Beam, narrowly missing both of them and the wave. Aside from that, Kellyn could barely make out a black stretch of land on the horizon—Boyleland! They were almost there; they only needed to lose J and her Pokémon.
But how? Ash's screams weren't helping Kellyn think clearly.
Wait, hold on—his power! Ash had warned him not to use it, but what if it were an emergency like this? J wasn't right on their tail anymore; she was a little farther away—maybe half a mile. Still, a Pokémon Ranger needed to take risks. That was how they and the Trainers learned.
With seawater spraying in his face, Kellyn lifted his hand to examine his palm. He could do it. Just one flash of Vatonage light, paired with a Flash from Blu, Pikachu, and the Chinchou, would blind J and the Gyarados, giving Ash and Kellyn time to escape.
"I think I got it, Ash." Kellyn hoped his voice didn't shake too much. "It's risky, but we sometimes have to take that risk."
"Wait, you're not talking about…!" Ash started, but Kellyn nodded and whispered his plan.
"J's far enough behind," he elucidated. "And I believe it will work if I use my power, and Pikachu, the Chinchou, and Blu Flash at once."
"We're in over our heads, Kellyn," Ash said, then bobbed his head. "Don't worry—I trust you. As long as it gets us to Boyleland in time to save the others and the Guardian."
"Thank you, Ash," Kellyn said, looking from him to Blu, Pikachu, and the Chinchou. "Then on 'three.'" He opened his hand, and the Pokémon prepared. "One… two…" A long pause. "Three!"
Kellyn lifted his hand, and the wave crested over him, Ash, and the Pokémon. "Vatonage!"