Early the next morning, Alex and the group flew west on Mantine from the Ancient Poni Path towards the Poni Wilds before planning to head south towards Seafolk Village. They were excited to visit the only official settlement on the island, a village of wandering people who lived on ships and seemed to love living free and unfettered.

The Poni Wilds stretched beneath them as a dense, untamed route where narrow paths twisted and curved around thick trees and overgrown roots, forcing the terrain into a natural maze of green. The western section eventually opened onto a shoreline, where the forest gave way to a quiet beach washed by steady waves. Pokémon moved freely through both environments, with Exeggcute clustered in shaded clearings among the trees, while Gastrodon drifted slowly through the shallows near the coast and Lapras surfaced farther out, gliding just beyond the surf line.

Rather than continuing west, however, they turned south and made their way toward a floating city out at sea. A steady line of trainers from across Poni Island could be seen doing the same, likely coming to sell their finds and purchase supplies.

When they arrived by noon, they weren’t disappointed to find that Seafolk Village was essentially a city-sized floating pier, with boats of all kinds, shapes, and sizes docked for supplies or offering services. It was literally a city made up of individual boats that had come together to build an economy without hindering their freedom.

At the entrance of the pier, there was a Pokécenter and a police station, but neither was built on the island itself. Instead, they were constructed on floating platforms anchored just offshore, as if none of them dared to commit to a true settlement on Poni Island. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Alex and the group disembarked from Mantine and stepped onto the pier, moving slowly through the walkways as they took in the sights of the floating city. They explored as they went, following the flow of people between vessels and platforms.

“Alex,” Sable called out. “Doesn’t this remind you of Pacifidlog City in Hoenn?”

“A bit,” Alex replied. “But theirs were all interconnected platforms connecting two islands. This is more of a pier where boats can dock and pool supplies. I guess that’s why it’s still called a village despite its size. There aren’t really any platforms apart from the basic necessities.”

Looking further south, they found additional floating platforms used for farming and agriculture, with actual soil packed into their foundations. Berry trees, shrubs, and rows of vegetables grew in dense clusters across the surfaces. It didn’t look like it was enough to feed the entire population of thousands of boats gathered here, but it was sufficient if the community primarily relied on fish. On top of that, a steady market system imported goods from the other islands, making the farms more of a supplement for nutrition and emergencies than a primary supply.

Once they passed these main platforms, the rest of the settlement was a network of walkways connecting the boats themselves, and the variety was striking. Most were fishing vessels, cheap boats that had endured years of heavy use and storms before eventually being sold for low prices. Interspersed among them were yachts comparable in size and luxury to Alex’s own Azure Voyager, with some even larger, clearly belonging to the wealthier segment of the city.

“Are we going to be staying long?” Alvera asked. “Because if we are, we might as well stay in the Azure Voyager. It’d be nice to blend in.”

“It depends on what everyone thinks at the end of the day, but it’ll be easy enough to get the airship to deliver it,” Alex replied, before turning to Nyx. “Have Rotom bring the airship over. We’ll be leaving from this side of the island anyway.”

“Sure thing,” Nyx replied as she made the call.

“Daddy, look at those boats!” Lila shouted, pointing at one that looked like a giant Magikarp. “It’s a Magikarp.”

It was just one of many business ships that used their hulls as advertising, shaping them to resemble Pokémon. Giant Magikarp and Gyarados designs were the most common, though there were also vessels shaped like Wailord and Whiscash. Of course, there were also other Water type Pokémon designs as well, such as Schooling Form Wishiwashi, Sharpedo, Kingler, and Lapras, although these were definitely rarer.

As for the services these business ships offered, there was everything. Some boats sold food, whether cooked, raw, or still alive, often with seating areas built directly into the decks. Others offered supplies such as tools, repair kits, metal, and lumber for maintaining vessels. Trainer supply vendors were scattered throughout as well, and Alex could have sworn he even saw some selling firearms. Either way, it functioned as much like any land-based city, only built entirely on water.

Finally, there were the largest vessels, such as ferries, tankers, and cargo ships. These were responsible for bringing tourists and supplies from the other islands in order to sustain the needs of the rest of the boats. This ensured the floating city remained supplied and operational despite its distance from industrial suppliers and manufacturers and its lack of reliance on Poni Island.

Since it was already noon, the group decided to try a noodle shop in a Wailord-designed ship. They were served Z-noodles in varying bowl sizes, with the largest ones including complimentary Heart Scales. Everyone decided to eat here specifically because of the Heart Scales, which the girls planned to turn into necklaces as souvenirs. They were all Elite ranked, so it was easy enough for them to eat noodles from bowls the size of their chests, a benefit of their impressive metabolism required to support their strength.

“Does this belong to Umbraline as well?” Alvera asked.

“I don’t know,” Alex answered. “I’d have to ask. Either way, it’s best not to call attention to it unless you’re in need of their services. They’re still an Underworld organization after all.”

By evening, it was decided that they would stay for a week since the place had enough interesting amenities for everyone to enjoy. There was shopping, of course, but more than that was the excellence of the food. In particular, they served the best-cooked seafood they had ever tasted anywhere in Alola, so they wanted to continue enjoying it, with Lina leading the initiative to convince the others to stay. She wanted to learn their secrets and bring it back to the base, so everyone agreed.

Since they had decided to stay, Alex went off on Mantine to retrieve the Azure Voyager before docking it at the floating pier among other luxury yachts. There was a docking fee for a set duration, but it wasn’t even worth considering the price since Alex was rich.

They toured the place for three days while spending their nights in the Azure Voyager before deciding to take a trip to Exeggutor Island, a nature reserve for the rare Alolan Exeggutor.

Apparently, they used to be quite violent and would chase off any visitors to the island. After a brief stint of mass capturing, their numbers plummeted to unsustainable levels, forcing the League to act. Now, the Exeggutors were much more docile, while a capture limit was instated to ensure there was no repeat of the incident.

Visitors were also allowed onto the island from that point onward, provided they didn’t interfere, so the Exeggutors had become accustomed to human presence with their aggression significantly reduced. The place had essentially turned into a zoo.

Alex wanted to go to try his hand at filling out his 6th attack team slot. The Alolan variant had higher Attack values, so it was worth considering depending on whether he could find any that were interested.

They departed Seafolk Village aboard the Azure Voyager, crossing the open sea toward Exeggutor Island in under a day. Calm conditions carried them along the coast until the island’s silhouette appeared on the horizon. By arrival, they were ready to begin the tour, stepping ashore from the anchored vessel onto a docking area where tour guides were already waiting.

Exeggutor Island’s shoreline was a mix of pale sand and jagged volcanic rock softened by constant wind and salt spray. The interior was dominated by dense groves of towering palm-like trees, mostly Alolan Exeggutor rising high above the canopy, their long necks swaying slowly in the wind. Exeggcute clustered in shaded clearings where the soil was warmer and richer from fallen fruit and decaying plant matter. The ecosystem was tightly managed, with carved pathways for visitors bordered by low fencing and warning signs to prevent disturbance of nesting and feeding grounds.

It was as Alex had feared, the place was far more of a zoo than a reserve, considering how extremely content and docile the Pokémon were. None of them showed any drive for strength or adventure, likely because those traits had already been selected out by visiting trainers. That meant Alex had been unlucky in his search. It seemed he would have to look elsewhere to find the star of his 6th attack team.

Fortunately for Alex, that opportunity came faster than he had expected, as he, Clarissa, Sable, Lyra, and Mika received alerts on their phones regarding a battle that had forced Tapu Fini’s hand. They were being requested to head to the eastern part of Poni Island, out at sea, to help deal with a Guzzlord that had escaped and was on a rampage.