by Alex Polan
But wait, where was Nisha in this fantasy? Right behind us, Marco decided. She’s probably flying on something she invented herself.
He imagined his Focus Band glowing pink and orange, giving him strength. And the feather in his hand was from Cresselia—he knew for certain that it was. In fact, he imagined himself riding on the Pokémon’s back, its ring-like wings rising and falling with a magical rhythm. He could feel the cool wind on his face as Cresselia soared toward Crescent Isle.
Then suddenly, someone was calling his name. Marco fought to open his eyes, as if he’d been in a deep sleep. And there was Officer Jenny in front of him—waving from the platform on the island.
His harness hit something in the wire above, and after a bump, bump, bump, he slowed to a stop.
“Well, how was it?” asked Officer Jenny as she helped unbuckle his harness.
Marco couldn’t speak. But as he started down the steps on his wobbly legs, he couldn’t stop smiling.
When he found his footing, Marco started to explore the island. It was green and wooded, like much of Camp Pikachu. But for a moment, he couldn’t remember what he was looking for. Pokémon? Which ones?
The feather in his hand reminded him: Cresselia. There would be just one Pokémon to find here on Crescent Isle.
But for some reason, Marco wasn’t in a hurry to find it. He didn’t have a compass, at least not until Nisha got here.
He listened to the shrieks and squeals of other campers crossing the zip line, and knew that soon the island would be crawling with kids. But for now, he felt like the first man on the moon.
He walked along the edge of the island, away from the zip line toward a quiet, marshlike area. With each step, his feet sunk a little into the earth. Squish, squish, squish. Cool water seeped into one shoe, but Marco didn’t care.
It felt so quiet here, almost dreamlike. And then he saw it—a tall, majestic bird with a pinkish chest and deep blue feathers. It stood perfectly still at the water’s edge just a few yards away.
As Marco held his breath and watched, the bird turned its head slowly, as if to say hello. It took a few slow, graceful steps with its stork-like legs. And then, without warning, it crouched low and sprang into the air. Giant wings flapped and lifted the bird out of the water.
Marco shaded his eyes to watch the beautiful bird circle the marsh and then disappear into the morning sun.
“Marco!”
He turned back expecting to see Nisha rushing toward him. But it wasn’t Nisha at all. Maddy’s blonde pigtails bounced up and down as she ran along the wet ground.
“You did the zip line?” he said. “But I thought you were scared of the water!”
Maddy shrugged. “You were scared too,” she said. “But you did it anyway. And I didn’t want you to be by yourself. So I just closed my eyes and pretended I was flying over grass.”
Marco laughed. “I pretended on the way over, too,” he confessed. “Hey, did you see that bird that just flew away?”
She nodded. “Was it Cresselia?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.
He cocked his head and smiled. “I think it could have been.”
A crowd of kids hurried past, including Sam and Stella. They had their camera out, ready to be the first to capture a Pokémon. But Sam slowed down just enough to smile at Marco.
“Hey,” Marco heard Stella say as she passed. “They found the hidden item!”
Marco and Maddy looked at each other. “Did we?” Maddy asked.
Marco slid the map out of his pocket, careful not to disturb the Cresselia feather. And sure enough, the hidden item marked on Crescent Isle was feathers.
“We found the hidden item!” said Maddy. “And we already saw Cresselia too, right?”
“I think so,” said Marco. “We don’t have a picture to prove it yet, but we have something even better.”
He grinned as he handed her the feather. Then he held out the map in front of him, ready to lead the way.