The crowd surrounding Archie almost took up the entire harbor. Although Sato and the others were clearly dressed like outsiders, they didn't stand out among the masses.
Soon, the crowd gradually reached a massive plaza, with a high platform in the center resembling an altar.
At this moment, Archie stood on the platform, smiling broadly as he scanned the people below. The way the people looked at him was as if they were gazing at a 'king'.
And indeed, that was the case; Rosen Island was originally an isolated island, disconnected from the mainland regions.
Here, aside from Archie going out to bring back various supplies for everyone, the majority of civilians spent their entire lives on Rosen Island without ever taking a single step off it.
On this island, Archie was king!
In fact, considering Rosen Island's population, this small autonomous "nation" was still quite small, and it wasn't recognized by the Pokémon League.
Famous places like Alto Mare, Cameran Palace, and Michina Town were all recognized by the Pokémon League and held autonomous rights.
These cities often had their own independent cultural heritage and, even during the Pokémon League's rapid development, still retained formidable strength, giving them the right to sit as equals at the table.
What was even more fascinating was that many of these cities had their own ancient legends and exclusive Legendary Pokémon.
And now, Rosen Island seemed to have its own cultural heritage and faith as well, with Archie as its acknowledged monarch.
However… their strength was far too lacking.
Take Archie's ship as an example, when attacked by a swarm of Tentacruel, they almost lost crew members.
They simply had no qualifications to request autonomous rights from the Pokémon League!
"People of Rosen Island, I, Archie, have not let down your expectations. This time, I've once again brought back a lot of much-needed supplies from the outside world…"
The noise in the plaza gradually subsided as Archie began passionately recounting their many perilous journeys.
A horde of Sharpedo, surprise attacks by Tentacruel, crashing into a Wailord, tsunami assaults. One dangerous event after another stirred the crowd with excitement.
Sato sighed. Archie really had a silver tongue.
That Tentacruel attack? It wasn't even that big of a deal, but the way he told it, it sounded a hundred times more dangerous.
"What a smooth talker!"
Joseph nearly laughed aloud at Sato's comment, but when he turned to look at Mark, the guy was actually listening intently… he totally bought into it.
'This silly kid is hopeless,' Joseph thought silently. The gap between people really was huge.
Archie's speech went on for about half an hour, followed by the distribution of supplies. Large iron crates had already been carried by the crew and neatly arranged below the platform.
At a command, all the boxes were opened: clothes, medicine, tools, crop seeds. Everything was there.
The residents of Rosen Island swarmed forward. A scuffle might've been expected, but it didn't happen; though noisy, no one fought, and everyone lined up obediently to trade for supplies.
It was called "buying," but most of it was bartering. Many of the trade values were clearly unequal, but the crew in charge didn't seem to care.
Archie showed no reaction either, clearly he approved.
The most valuable items were the medicines. Within the Pokémon League's domain, more than half of all medicine was controlled by the Joy family, with most of the rest divided up by powerful families.
That Archie could bring back so much medicine -and it didn't seem like the first time- meant that as a 'king', he was doing a decent job.
No wonder he had the adoration of Rosen Island's people.
"Archie just left!"
"So what if he did? The captain is such a good person," Mark said happily as he watched the people in the plaza laugh heartily, already moved by the scene.
"I'm going to check it out. Are you guys coming?" Sato asked.
"Let's go, let's go!" Mark was the first to agree, already eager to chat with the captain and 'shower' him with praise.
"Let's go together," Joseph nodded along with the group.
---
They skirted the plaza, and Sato quickly ran in the direction Archie had gone, which also led deeper into Rosen Island.
The three of them walked until they reached the outer edge of the port.
The surrounding vegetation became denser, and a dirt path extended from the main road into the depths of the forest. Without hesitation, the three of them entered.
Soon, they caught up with Archie. At that moment, only two crew members and four native residents remained by his side.
Seeing Sato and the others, Archie smiled and greeted them, not objecting to their company.
"Captain, you're so cool! Have you always been helping the people of Rosen Island?" Mark asked eagerly after catching up to Archie.
"It's not about helping. I'm originally from Rosen Island. When I was little, I basically grew up eating meals at different homes," Archie laughed heartily as he explained.
"What does that mean? Meals at different homes?"
"Ahem!"
"How dare you ask such a rude question to Sir Archie!"
Joseph had meant to warn Mark, but an old native man couldn't hold back and scolded Mark outright.
Mark froze, thinking, 'Why are people from Rosen Island so cranky?'
"It's fine. These three young men are all my friends. I was the one who brought them here," Archie stepped in to calm things down.
"Oh, so they're Sir Archie's friends. My apologies, I was too hasty," the old man apologized, bowing his head.
Mark gave an awkward smile and stopped talking, but Sato frowned slightly.
Archie's boat was the only ship at the port capable of long-distance travel. All the others were small boats.
Along the way, Sato hadn't seen any other visitors besides the three of them.
Rosen Island clearly looked like a very closed-off island, which meant the only link to the outside world was Archie's boat.
This old man clearly knew Archie. There was no way he didn't know that the three of them had come with him.
What a lousy performance!
Sato glanced subtly at Joseph, only to see Joseph looking back at him and blinking, clearly having noticed something off too.
Thankfully, Mark was the only one clueless. Sato quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Archie, where are you headed? Is there something in the mountains?" Sato asked, seeing Mark sulking and deciding to speak himself.
"The-" the old native man started to answer, but Archie quickly cut him off.
"There's a shrine dedicated to Kyogre deep in the mountain. If you're interested, come along and have a look."
"Sir, that-"
"No need to say more. Sato is no outsider," Archie interrupted again, speaking firmly.
Sato almost couldn't resist covering his face. That performance... it was truly unbearable to watch.
'Archie, my dear future leader of Team Aqua, if you're going to do a comedy routine, at least pick a better partner.'