With no other choice, Lucas could only agree to Professor Oak and Professor Ivy's request. He hadn't brought Arcanine this time, so he'd have to later visit the Oak Laboratory in Pallet Town to let them observe it.
As for that Pokémon that inexplicably resembled Raikou, one of the three legendary beasts of Johto—they wanted to observe it too, if possible.
Of course, Professors Oak and Ivy weren't freeloaders. Lucas had come all the way from the distant Paldea region; by rights, they should be the ones traveling to Paldea.
The two were already considering what gift to prepare for Lucas. They'd heard from Ash that Lucas's main job nowadays was… a farmer?
After they finished chatting, the three headed to the residential area on Shamouti Island, accepted the islanders' warm hospitality, and played around the bonfire until near dawn before parting.
Lucas was in great spirits after witnessing something amusing.
Tsk, just a bunch of kids around ten… and already a love square battlefield.
He recalled Misty saying, "He's my problem," and "He's not my boyfriend," while staring warily at Melody, who seemed quite fond of Ash; meanwhile, the blockhead Ash and the forgotten Tracey sat off in a corner. The memory made Lucas want to laugh.
Afterwards, Lucas declined the islanders' offer to stay the night on Shamouti Island, saying he still had things to do. With Ash and the others reluctantly seeing him off, he rode Dragonite out of the residential area and, guided by memory, flew to a deserted beach on the edge of the island.
The sky was cloudless; bright moonlight bathed everything, and visibility was high.
With the counterflow from Dragonite's wingbeats stirring a bit of sand, it touched down steadily. Lucas dismounted and looked around.
There, in plain sight, was Lugia—the Sea Guardian who had declared it would not lightly appear before humans—quietly waiting!
"You're here."
Lugia opened its resting eyes and looked at Lucas without surprise. As a legendary Psychic-type, it had sensed Dragonite's aura the moment it entered the vicinity.
"I'm here."
Lucas answered reflexively, then remembered something and wore a strange expression, worried Lugia might telepathically follow up with "You shouldn't have come." He quickly shifted topics.
"Sea Guardian, what did you call me here for?"
Though it was meant to divert the topic, Lucas really was curious why Lugia had specifically called him.
He recalled the moment Lugia dove into the sea before everyone earlier—the telepathic message that had singled him out.
The end result was that he and Lugia were now meeting like lovers on a secret midnight tryst, sneaking off to a deserted place.
Lugia fell silent for a moment. From a relaxed prone pose on the sand, it rose to stand on its legs, though its wings remained folded.
Without answering immediately, Lugia's telepathic voice sounded in Lucas's mind.
"No need to be formal. You are one of the rare strong among humans. You know it as well: even against me—called the Sea Guardian—regardless of the final outcome, you still have the power to fight, do you not?"
"Our relationship is one of equals."
Lugia's calm voice rang out. Ever since Lucas had shot down the Fire Guardian and suppressed the Thunder and Ice Guardians, it had regarded him as an equal.
Seeing Lucas nod to show he understood, Lugia glanced at the adorably blank-faced Dragonite and sighed, "Humans are truly wondrous. Even though its species bears only the faintest connection to me, you trained it to single-handedly defeat the innately sacred Fire Guardian. Impressive."
"Thank you for the praise. This is also thanks to Dragonite's own effort."
Lucas knew Lugia was referring to Dragonite, and he could plainly hear Lugia's unreserved admiration for it.
Dragonite was a bit embarrassed by the compliment. Its two chubby little claws crossed, and the whole dragon fidgeted shyly.
Lucas suddenly recalled a fan theory he'd once seen online before crossing over.
Lugia is called the "Sea Guardian," while captains who glimpsed Dragonite's form called it the "Embodiment of the Sea." Both Lugia and Dragonite share the Flying type; despite their oceanic epithets, neither has the Water type. And both have the Hidden Ability Multiscale.
Lucas didn't know the exact truth of Lugia's connection to Dragonite, but he was certain there was some bond—perhaps an unknown history in the ancient past, maybe a wrong done from one to the other…
There's a story here!
The thought flashed across Lucas's mind.
Lugia did not miss the fleeting expression on Lucas's face. It could tell he was thinking something—but not what.
Had Lugia known Lucas was speculating about its gossip, it would probably have preferred not to know.
Unable to read Lucas, Lugia didn't press and directly stated why it had sought him out: "I'll be blunt. Aside from you, me, and those humans yesterday, are you aware of who else was secretly suppressing the aftershocks caused by the three legendary birds, slowing the collapse of natural balance?"
Lugia had tried to search for the other party.
Unfortunately, while their power was beneath its own, their control was superb, perfectly concealing themselves and leaving Lugia no trail.
"Of course, that's only one reason I sought you. If you don't know, it's fine. I'm simply curious about the one who lent a hand and want to thank them personally for saving me a lot of trouble."
Lucas fell silent. Before he could decide whether to reveal Mewtwo to Lugia, the ever-hidden Mewtwo, hovering high above Lucas, sent him a telepathic message—
Just simple words:
"I'm here."
In the next instant, Lugia's gaze snapped to a point in space. A subtle spatial ripple appeared; Mewtwo's figure slowly manifested.
Under the moonlight, Mewtwo's silver-white body seemed to glow.
"You're the one who helped, aren't you?"
Though framed as a question, Lugia's tone was certain.
The moment it saw Mewtwo, it confirmed the identity from the faint, barely veiled psychic fluctuations at close range.
Faced with Lugia's query, Mewtwo nodded slightly—but its words were sharp: "Sea Guardian Lugia, you came too late."
Had it and Lucas not noticed the Orange Archipelago's issue in advance, by the time Lugia arrived—not to mention the proverbial cold soup—the difficulty of resolving everything would have multiplied.
Besides, it had worked quite hard to smooth out the turmoil caused when Lucas beat up the three legendary birds. Mewtwo still hadn't cooled off.
Lucas gave a few embarrassed chuckles, hugged his cute Dragonite, and pressed his face to its soft belly, not daring to speak.
Lugia didn't refute the reproach, merely shook its head.
"Ordinarily, I slumber in the deepest sea, accompanied by the planet's ocean currents. That place is very far from the Orange Archipelago. Even though I set out as soon as I sensed the imbalance in the currents, it still takes time to arrive."
"After all, I can't learn Teleport."
Mewtwo: …
Right—some Psychic-types indeed don't have the talent to learn Teleport.
Though ill-timed, another doubt popped into Mewtwo's mind.
Lugia is called the Sea Guardian, but judging by its abilities, it's a Flying/Psychic composite.
A Sea Guardian with no Water typing—how's that logical?
Unaware it was being maligned, Lugia examined Mewtwo for a long moment, then dropped a bombshell: "You weren't a naturally born being, were you?"
Boom—!
Before the stunned Lucas and Dragonite, a terrifying aura erupted from Mewtwo. Its nearly tangible psychic power whipped into a storm.
Its eyes shone fiercely with active psychic energy. It stared hard at Lugia and asked in an icy tone, "And what if I wasn't? Are you saying I shouldn't have been born on this planet?"
Although a bit of electricity therapy plus talk therapy from Lucas and Luxray had adjusted its personality, Mewtwo was still at the stage of seeking the meaning of its existence. In this phase, it was fine when calm, but once a sore spot was touched, it erupted like a volcano.
It also tended to assume the worst. To it, Lugia's sudden remark was basically telling it to get off the planet.
While conjuring a psychic shield to block Mewtwo's leakage—and casually shielding Lucas and Dragonite as well—Lugia shot Lucas a baffled look. Why was Mewtwo suddenly losing it?
Lucas couldn't worry about currying favor anymore.
He glared at Lugia. You just poked Mewtwo's reverse scale out of nowhere.
Thanks to Team Rocket, Mewtwo hated having its scars ripped open.
If a fully grown Mewtwo suddenly snapped, suppressing it would be troublesome. Lucas wasn't confident he could subdue Mewtwo without a big commotion.
Given yesterday's incident, crowds were already converging on Shamouti. If anyone filmed them, Team Rocket might show up in no time.
This time, Lugia oddly understood Lucas's meaning. It wasn't here to fight. Before it could make amends, the seemingly enraged Mewtwo abruptly stopped releasing power and said coolly, "I want an explanation."
At that moment, Lucas admitted he'd misread it.
Looks like over the past few months, Mewtwo had completed a fair bit of self-repair.
Grumbling inwardly about how every youngster in these last tens of thousands of years was so hot-tempered, Lugia explained, "I mean that even if you weren't naturally born, this planet has already accepted you. Moreover, you made an outstanding contribution when natural balance faltered."
"Perhaps you don't sense it yet, but I can clearly perceive one fact—"
"Your connection to nature has grown closer. You may have been alone at birth, but before long, you should be able to do many things by borrowing the power of nature, as we do."
Mewtwo looked down at its hands, a note of disbelief in its voice. "My connection… to nature has grown closer?"
"What about the other cloned Pokémon? Has this planet—has nature accepted them?"
Lugia gave Mewtwo a curious look. It didn't quite grasp what "clone" meant, but as one of the legendary beings embodying nature—
It could be absolutely certain of this.
"Do you not understand? From the moment you all came into this world—into this planet's natural web—you were already accepted!"
Mewtwo knew that, in a sense, Lugia was a partial embodiment of nature.
Which meant Lugia's words were nature's words.
In that instant, Mewtwo felt as if struck by something. One of the questions that had long troubled it finally gained an answer—it actually froze in place.
Lucas was almost dumbfounded. That speech was so potent it convinced even Mewtwo?
Having lived unknown ages, Lugia could tell from Mewtwo's look that one of its tangled inner knots was untying.
Without disturbing it, Lugia lifted its head proudly, pleased to have guided another lost Pokémon, then turned to Lucas with the second reason it had called him to the beach.
"As for the Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno who are your partners—I'm worried."
Hearing Lugia's second point, question marks popped over Lucas's head.
Worried?
About what?
Meeting Lucas's puzzled gaze, Lugia spoke slowly.
"Do you know why the three birds on the Fire, Lightning, and Ice Islands are special?"
Lucas hesitated.
"Because just provoking them causes nature's balance to falter, so they're basically invincible?"
"No."
Lugia shook its head. While those three were indeed troublesome to strike directly for that reason, that wasn't what it meant.
"After yesterday's ritual—when the deep ocean current began self-repair beside the melody the priestess and I raised—the three received 'Nature's Blessing.'"
"'Nature's Blessing' is, simply, a qualification. Like us legendary Pokémon, it is the qualification to use nature's power, nature's force, or nature's energy—different names, same essence."
"The three on those islands are special because they wield nature's power and are tightly linked to nature, and because they symbolize nature's cycles."
Lugia remembered that in the region humans call Hoenn there were super-ancient Pokémon: one that never leaves the land and created land, and one that created the very seas it inhabits.
They could do many incredible things through natural energy…
Lucas listened until his head swam. Lugia was spouting terms he'd never encountered.
As for Dragonite, it had given up, plopping onto the sand.
After some effort, Lucas distilled two points.
In the future, the three birds will be able to fight or do other things by harnessing nature's power.
The so-called Thunder Guardian, Fire Guardian, and Ice Guardian are essentially special states that Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno can exhibit when infinitely close to this planet's nature through using nature's power.
Suddenly catching the key, Lucas's eyes widened. "So you're saying Moltres and the others could someday become special existences like the Guardians?"
Lucas was excited.
While the Fire Guardian's raw combat strength was only at the level a Champion could solo, it could influence climate to an extent!
He'd already planned it out—once the ranch's Terarium Project launched, he'd have Moltres regulate climates between different zones!
However, Lugia's next words crushed his expectations.
"No. This world already has the Fire, Thunder, and Ice Guardians. At most, they'll be able to fight by channeling nature's power."
Lucas: …
Tch, and here he thought he could raise a new set of Guardians.
Still, just being able to fight with nature's power was strong enough. Even Lorelei had struggled against a bird roughly equal in strength to herself because it could use nature's power.
That alone satisfied Lucas.
Heh, this trip wasn't in vain!
As Lucas basked in joy, Lugia suddenly spread its wings. A feather, shining silver in the moonlight, floated before him.
Lucas admitted—his heart nearly leapt out.
Lugia's calm voice sounded: "This feather contains my power. It is called the Silver Wing. Take it as thanks for saving this island, the Orange Archipelago… and this planet."
"If you hold the Silver Wing to your chest and silently call my name when you need me, I will come to aid you."
"Of course, if I need you, the Silver Wing will notify you."
"I'm not that stodgy Ho-Oh. Don't worry—accepting the Silver Wing won't saddle you with some long, stinky trial."
Joy evaporated; one thought rang in Lucas's mind—
So the grand prize was here all along.
A Silver Wing that can summon Lugia—the Sea, Current, and Monsoon Guardian. Was he about to become an invincible protagonist?!
Lucas always faced his desires honestly. Any hesitation would be a disservice to himself.
He opened his hand; the Silver Wing—floating by some unknown force—settled into his palm. That subtle, indescribable texture finally made it feel real.
Then Lugia turned its gaze to Dragonite, who had gotten so bored it was playing in the sand.
Like the Rainbow Wing, the Silver Wing meant that, in some sense, Lucas had been chosen. Naturally, Lugia would add another benefit.
Lugia had seen the Pokémon Lucas sent out when suppressing the three Guardians.
But those either had nothing to do with its own typing—or couldn't even fly.
Only this Dragonite, in a certain sense, was most suited to learn Lugia's skills and insights. Dragonite's combat power was high, reflecting great talent and comprehension.
With that in mind, Lugia pointed at Dragonite and said, very straightforwardly: "Have your Dragonite fight me. I want to teach it a few things."
"Drago~?"
Dragonite's sandcastle-building paused. It looked at Lugia, then at Lucas, bewildered.
Eh? I'm fighting Lugia?
For real?