With the news of Silver, Green wasn't in a hurry anymore. Ace took the opportunity to search the abandoned base. As he expected, there was nothing left. It was clear that after the Elite Four's defeat and Giovanni's purge, any remaining members on Sevii Islands had likely divided the spoils and fled. While a bit disappointing, Ace was prepared for this and found it acceptable. Green didn't mind either; she was only there for clues about Silver, and now that she had them, her worries were gone.
Leaving the Sevii Islands, Green took out a map and, based on the clues Silver left behind, pinpointed his location.
"The Whirl Islands!" Green said to Ace. "Silver is there. I'm sorry to ask, but would you mind coming with me?"
"No problem at all. I actually wanted to see the Whirl Islands myself," Ace replied nonchalantly. The name "Whirl Islands" had indeed piqued his interest, and he wanted to go check something out.
Soon, Aerodactyl and Crobat flew off, carrying Ace and Green toward the Whirl Islands. With Ace's navigation, they took a short break and finally arrived over the islands as the sun was about to set.
Ace looked down at the islands and the giant whirlpools in the sea, a headache starting to form. He asked Green, "Which island is it?"
Green was also scrutinizing the four islands from above. "It should be that one, I think..." she said, a bit uncertainly, pointing in a direction.
Following her lead, Ace and Green descended toward that island. When they landed, Ace saw a large waterfall on the island, and their landing spot was by the pool it created.
"It really is the Whirl Islands. Even the lake on the island has a whirlpool." Ace stood by the lake, looking at the large whirlpool. Recalling memories from his mind, he was sure this was the place where Lance would later hide.
"Lapras." Ace opened a Poké Ball, and Lapras appeared, landing in the lake.
Immediately, a cold aura erupted from Lapras, and the lake water began to freeze rapidly. Despite the powerful currents of the whirlpool and the waterfall, they had little effect on the thickening layer of ice.
"Roar!" Just as the lake was about to freeze completely, a series of roars sounded. Ten Gyarados burst out of the water, and streams of purple and black Hyper Beam shot toward Lapras.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..." A massive wall of ice formed in front of Lapras, and the Hyper Beams struck it, causing a violent explosion that shattered the ice wall. Amidst the flying ice shards, Lapras slid quickly across the ice, dodging the debris.
"Little..." Green started to say.
"Don't interfere. Let me see how strong Lapras is after its special training," Ace cut her off.
Ace leaped onto Lapras's back, looking at the ten Gyarados in the distance. He grinned. "Let's see how much you've grown, Lapras."
Lapras let out a cry, its eyes filled with a burning fighting spirit.
"Use Blizzard!"
Lapras moved at high speed across the ice, opening its mouth to unleash a wide-sweeping Blizzard toward the ten Gyarados. The Gyarados quickly formed a "^" formation, sacrificing the one at the front to minimize the damage to the others.
"Hold it!" After withstanding the Blizzard, the Gyarados quickly shielded the weakest one. Then, they all opened their mouths together, firing a barrage of Hydro Pump at Lapras and Ace.
A new ice barrier quickly formed in front of Lapras, and it took the opportunity to make a quick escape. In a one-on-one battle, Lapras could easily overpower a Gyarados, but with ten of them, the ice wall couldn't withstand the barrage. The Hydro Pumps shattered it instantly.
"Take out the weakest one first." Ace placed his hand on Lapras's neck. The Gyarados that had taken the most damage earlier was now using Dragon Dance to boost its stats, hidden behind the other nine. Ace knew he had to take it out first.
Lapras understood. It slapped the ice, and a massive wave of water rose from the lake, rushing toward the Gyarados.
"Use Ice Beam!"
Using the wave as cover, an Ice Beam shot through the water and hit the Gyarados that was still using Dragon Dance. In an instant, the Gyarados was frozen, standing like an ice pillar among its peers.
"Charge!" With one Gyarados frozen, Ace saw his chance. Lapras, with Ace on its back, quickly closed the distance to the other Gyarados.
The remaining Gyarados, having been hit by the wave, all fired Hyper Beams at Ace. But Lapras's agility on the ice was incredible. With a few quick turns and slides, the Hyper Beams all missed.
"Use Sheer Cold!" Ace shouted loudly once they were within two meters of the Gyarados.
Lapras opened its mouth, and a blast of super-cold air swept over the Gyarados. At the same time, the ice beneath Lapras suddenly bulged, forming an upward-sloping ramp. Lapras accelerated, slid up the ramp, leaped over the Gyarados's heads, and landed in the water behind them.
"Splash!" Water flew everywhere, and behind Ace and Lapras, all the Gyarados were frozen solid, trapped in the ice and unable to move.
"So strong..." Green couldn't help but gulp, watching Ace and Lapras effortlessly take down ten Gyarados. She realized that at some point, Ace's strength had become frightening.
Ace stood on Lapras's back, turned around, and wiped the water from his face. "Come on over. It looks like there's a tunnel behind that waterfall."
At Ace's call, Green stepped onto the ice and walked toward him. As she passed the ten Gyarados, she instinctively tapped the ice. The hollow thud echoed, and Green was secretly amazed. The ice was at least two meters thick. No wonder the Gyarados, once frozen, couldn't break free.
When Green reached the end of the ice, she saw the waterfall and indeed, a dark cave entrance hidden behind the flowing water.
"How do we get in?" she asked. But before she could finish, Ace extended a hand to her.
Without another word, Green jumped onto Lapras's back, and together they rode toward the waterfall.