The publicity for the blessing event was extremely effective. The next day, Verdanturf City nearly occupied the front pages of major news media outlets, and it quickly became famous across the world. At the same time, all the major hotels in Verdanturf City were fully booked.
Everyone wanted to come and see this city that had been blessed by Latios and Latias.
There are countless cities with legends about legendary Pokémon, but those that can prove the legends are real are very few. Most people go their entire lives without seeing a legendary Pokémon even once, so naturally they were eager to come to Verdanturf City and have a look.
With this wave of publicity, Yuga and Mayor Ishida no longer had to worry about the negative impact caused by the fog incident.
Once everything in Verdanturf City was properly arranged, Yuga, Steven, and Robert rode their flying Pokémon and escorted Latios, Latias, and Mudkip as a family of three out of Verdanturf City.
Originally, the Latios and Latias couple were unwilling to let Yuga and the others accompany them, but after Yuga analyzed the pros and cons of the situation, the couple had no choice but to agree in the end.
At this time, they were very weak. If they really encountered any danger on the way home, they might not be able to protect Mudkip.
The group followed Latios and Latias as they flew westward, and after several days, they flew out of the Hoenn region and entered the oceanic region.
Yuga and the others weren't surprised—Latios and Latias were Pokémon close to the ocean, and they usually lived near the sea.
After entering the oceanic region, Yuga and the others switched all their riding Pokémon to Water-type ones. In the humid air over the ocean, unless it's a specific Flying-type Pokémon like Pelipper, flying over the sea for long periods is very exhausting.
So switching to Water-type Pokémon made things much easier.
As it turned out, just as Yuga's group entered the oceanic region, they actually encountered a criminal gang that was targeting Latios and Latias.
These people were clearly overestimating themselves. Their strength wasn't much to speak of, yet they still dared to get involved in such murky waters. In the end, they were easily subdued by Yuga and his group and handed over to a nearby police station.
After this incident, the attitude of Latios and Latias toward Yuga and the others improved significantly. Although the couple could have handled that group themselves, considering that once something like this happens once, it could easily happen again, they had no choice but to compromise.
Just because this group of enemies was weak didn't mean the next ones would be. Having Yuga and the others escort them indeed gave them much more peace of mind.
But in the following journey, they really didn't encounter any danger. Everything was calm and smooth. They didn't even encounter any wild Pokémon attacks. Probably the presence of the powerful Pokémon surrounding the group was so intimidating that ordinary wild Pokémon didn't dare to approach.
Ten days later, Yuga and the others had already entered the depths of the ocean. If it weren't for the fact that they had been using a map device the entire time and had carefully recorded the route they took, they probably wouldn't be able to find their way back in this vast sea.
That day, Latios, who was flying ahead, suddenly called out to Yuga and the others. Yuga immediately understood that it was saying they had already entered the vicinity of their destination.
Upon hearing this news, Steven and Robert were both overjoyed, because the long sea voyage had been incredibly boring, and they had long been eager to finish the task and return home as soon as possible.
However, just at that moment, a beautiful singing voice suddenly came from somewhere unknown.
The singing was extremely melodious, but the rhythm was very strange, and the lyrics were incomprehensible. It wasn't a human language, and it didn't seem to be Pokémon language either.
Steven couldn't help but say, "Don't tell me we've encountered a sea siren?"
The mysterious ocean is always inevitably associated with various legends—some about legendary Pokémon, some about ghost ships, and naturally, some about sea sirens...
Upon hearing this, Robert shook his head and said, "Probably not. It seems like the one singing is a human."
Yuga and the others listened carefully. The singing did indeed sound very much like a human voice.
But how could there be a human here?
The ocean they were in had already long left the human world behind. Although they hadn't encountered any danger on their journey, that was because they were strong enough. Ordinary humans wouldn't have the ability to cross through so many dangers to get here.
Unless that person was also a powerful individual.
The direction the singing was coming from seemed to be the same as their destination, so they followed the singing and continued forward.
However, at that moment, Yuga suddenly felt that something was wrong. A chill ran down his spine, and his mind became extremely clear. He scooped up some seawater and splashed it onto Robert and Steven's faces.
"This singing is not right. Wake up, quickly!"
Steven and Robert were already a bit dazed. The icy seawater splashing on their bodies instantly cleared their minds.
"This singing seems to be able to confuse people's hearts…" Steven was so frightened he broke out in a cold sweat.
"That's right!"
Yuga had suffered once in the labyrinth cave in the Unova region, so he was on guard and managed to wake up in time.
"We really did encounter a sea siren, didn't we?" Now even Robert began to doubt.
"Impossible. There's no such thing as sea sirens in this world." Yuga shook his head in denial.
At that moment, the cries of Latios and Latias suddenly came from up ahead, and the three of them quickly rode their Pokémon and swam over.
But when they arrived beside Latios and Latias, they discovered that the couple was confronting a human.
A genuine human—and a beautiful girl at that.
The girl had long, deep blue hair and wore a somewhat translucent light blue dress. Her skin was as white as jade, like a beautiful ocean spirit.
She was sitting on a reef, her bare feet gently swaying in the water.
"Did we… really encounter a sea siren?" Steven muttered to himself.
A sea siren? Of course not. But the singing they had just heard really did come from the beautiful girl in front of them. It was just that, clearly, this beautiful young woman did not have a friendly attitude toward them.
"Humans, please leave. Do not continue forward!"
The girl's voice was extremely pleasant to the ear, but the cold tone was like a bucket of icy water poured over Steven and the others, extinguishing even the faintest trace of fantasy in their hearts.
At this moment, Latios let out an angry cry at the girl. Clearly, it recognized her—and their relationship did not seem harmonious.
The girl turned to look at Latios and Latias and said, "Was the lesson you learned before still not enough? This is not a place humans should come to!"
She was obviously referring to the incident where Latios and Latias had saved Pokémon hunters and ended up being repaid with betrayal.
After speaking, the girl turned to Yuga and the others and said, "Please leave quickly." This time, her tone was even colder, like solid ice.
Yuga took a step forward on the Lapras he was riding. "Sorry, but we can't leave!"
The girl was unwilling to waste words with them. She bluntly said, "In that case, don't blame me for being rude!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a strange melody came from her throat, and from both sides of the reef she sat on, a Milotic and a Primarina suddenly emerged.
"Oh~ oh…"
The girl's singing rang out again, and Milotic and Primarina simultaneously launched attacks on Yuga and the others.
At this point, Yuga and the others more or less figured it out—this girl was a human with special abilities, and her power lay within her singing voice.
Seriously… what kind of bizarre and fantastical abilities don't exist these days?
Steven and Robert took the lead. The Cradily and Gyarados beneath them simultaneously fired an Energy Ball and a Hydro Pump, which collided mid-air with the Hydro Pumps from the opposing Milotic and Primarina.
Boom~
Water splashed everywhere, and it was as if a heavy rainstorm had erupted on the surface of the sea, soaking Yuga and the others from head to toe.
The girl's eyes widened slightly, seemingly surprised by the strength of her opponents. However, she remained extremely composed and shouted, "Primarina! Milotic!"
"Oooh~"
"Oooh~"
The two Pokémon responded. Primarina suddenly spat out a giant bubble, and within the bubble, its melodious singing still echoed. This was its signature move—Sparkling Aria.
Milotic, on the other hand, rode the waves, lifting both itself and Primarina to the crest of the surging sea, gazing down at Yuga and the others from above.
Crash—crash—
Primarina controlled the massive water ball and hurled it toward Yuga and his group, while the wave surged down with tremendous force and momentum.
In the next moment, Steven's Cradily suddenly sprouted countless tentacles from its body, forming a massive palm that caught the water ball launched by Primarina in its grip, halting it in place.
Robert, riding on his Gyarados, activated Dragon Dance and leaped into the air. Gyarados, like a true flying dragon, manipulated the water flow to wrap around its tail, then used Aqua Tail to lash heavily at the water ball.
Crash~
The water ball shattered, turning into droplets that fell into the sea below.
Yuga's Lapras exhaled a gentle breath. A cold current flowed toward the towering wave created by Milotic. In the blink of an eye, that massive wave began to freeze inch by inch, transforming into a solid wall of ice.
Even Milotic and Primarina, who were at the top of the wave, had half their bodies frozen into the ice wall, rendering them unable to escape.
This was still the result of Lapras holding back. Otherwise, the two Pokémon would have been completely sealed within the ice wall.
The display of strength from Yuga and his team greatly shocked the girl. She finally could no longer maintain her calm expression and, with a look of concern, cried out:
"Milotic! Primarina!"
She then turned toward Yuga and the others, now full of doubt and suspicion, and questioned, "Who exactly are you people? What is your purpose here?"
The girl clearly regarded Yuga and the others as humans with ulterior motives, because the place she was protecting was indeed a place worth risking everything for—at least, in the eyes of humans.
It's just that this place had been cut off from the world for countless years—no human should even know it exists!
Ah, that's it—it's Latias and Latios!
The girl turned to glare fiercely at Latios and Latias, who were watching the battle from not far away.
You two are the ones who brought trouble to Dragon Island!
It turned out that the hometown of Latios and Latias, and the place the girl was guarding, was Dragon Island—a hidden land inhabited by countless Dragon-type Pokémon.
But Latios and Latias didn't sense the girl's fury. Having lost too much of their life force, they were injured and unable to participate in the battle. Seeing that Yuga and his team weren't afraid of the girl, they calmly stayed off to the side with their baby, Mudkip.
They were never on good terms with the girl to begin with, so seeing her suffer a setback brought them a sense of satisfaction.
The girl turned her head back to look at Yuga and the others again. Her expression calmed. She slowly stood up from the reef she had been sitting on and opened her mouth to sing once more.
But this time, her singing was completely different from what Yuga and the others had heard before. The melody was far more intense—it was like a war song.
The singing pierced straight into the skies, and even the seawater seemed to dance along with the melody.
At this moment, Latios and Latias's expressions finally became unsettled. Just as they were about to warn Yuga and the others about something, several black shadows suddenly appeared on the horizon and, in the blink of an eye, flew directly in front of Yuga and the others.
What arrived were several Dragon-type Pokémon—specifically, a Dragonite, a Garchomp, an Altaria, a Noivern, and a Flygon—each of them radiating an immensely powerful aura.
The girl's singing continued. When the Dragon-type Pokémon saw Yuga and his group, their eyes first showed surprise, and then quickly shifted to fury.
The Garchomp, Noivern, and Flygon even shot fierce glares at Latios and Latias in the distance.
Unfortunately, the husband-and-wife duo paid them no mind.
Within the girl's singing, the Dragon-type Pokémon began to launch their attacks.
Flygon opened its mouth and breathed out a stream of flames. The ice wall that had trapped Milotic and Primarina instantly melted. The two Pokémon, once more submerged in the sea, quickly swam to the girl's side and began singing along with her.
Primarina and Milotic's songs were now infused with the move Disarming Voice, and miraculously, their singing blended perfectly with the girl's.
Within the girl's melody, the Dragon-type Pokémon seemed to be further empowered, and their auras grew even more intense.
"Roar~" "Roar~" "Roar~" "Roar~" "Roar~"
The five Dragon-type Pokémon roared in unison, and Yuga understood the meaning behind their battle cries:
Drive out the intruders!
Dragonite's Dragon Pulse, Garchomp's Dragon Rush, Altaria's Moonblast, Flygon's Stone Edge, and Noivern's Boomburst—they all attacked Yuga and the others in a single overwhelming wave.
Beside Steven appeared his Metagross, beside Robert appeared his Volcarona, and beside Yuga appeared Florges.
Dragonite's Dragon Pulse was intercepted by Robert's Gyarados with an Aqua Tail, while his Volcarona simultaneously used Fiery Dance to repel the Altaria.
Steven's Metagross and Garchomp collided head-on. As two Pokémon highly skilled in close combat clashed for the first time, Garchomp was instantly at a disadvantage and nearly knocked into the sea by Metagross's powerful charge.
The Lapras beneath Yuga fired an Ice Beam toward Noivern, but it narrowly dodged it. However, awaiting it was Florges's Dazzling Gleam.
Florges was a being on par with Legendary Pokémon, while Noivern hadn't even reached the Master level. With just one blow, it was knocked into the sea and didn't resurface for a long time.
Seeing this scene, the girl was startled and panicked. She could no longer focus on singing to boost morale. She hurriedly rode Milotic over to Noivern, and along with Primarina, dragged the now-incapacitated Noivern onto a reef to prevent it from drowning.
The fact that Noivern was taken down in just one move shocked the remaining Dragon-type Pokémon. They could no longer focus properly on the battle, and under the relentless, overwhelming assault from Steven and Robert, they were quickly defeated.