After arriving in this sea area, they didn't go to Silver Rock Island. Instead, following the map, they went to another nearby small island—Oki Island.
Compared to Silver Rock Island, Oki Island was at least two-thirds smaller. The entire island was far from the hustle and bustle of modern society and still retained its original natural ecosystem. There were no human towns, only a few scattered houses distributed across the island.
And near Oki Island, there were also some even smaller islands. These islands, large and small, were clustered together, forming a relatively small island group.
After they landed on Oki Island, Natsui paid the fare and then watched the small boat leave.
From here on, they were on their own.
They had just set foot on the island, and before their legs could readjust to the solid ground, Ash was already asking impatiently, "What should we do next?"
Natsui thought for a moment and then shared his idea: "The most urgent task right now is to find Lugia first, protect it before Team Rocket captures it, or have it move to another location."
"But..." Ash looked around. Seeing dense forests everywhere that all looked the same, he couldn't help but scratch his cheek with his finger. "Where do we even start looking? It can't be hiding on this island, can it?"
Hearing Ash say that, Misty stroked her chin and also analyzed, "Based on our experience in the Orange Archipelago... a legendary Pokémon like Lugia, in order to avoid being discovered by humans, should probably be living in the deepest part of the ocean, right?"
"That's hard to say," Natsui shook his head. "Many of the islands in the Whirl Islands have waterways connected underneath. You can reach the sea directly from the lakes or underground rivers on the islands. Therefore, the possibility of it hiding on an island exists. Otherwise, why has its trace been so rarely found until now? And didn't Maya also say that the clue she got was that someone had found traces of what might be Lugia on an island!"
Erika also added a few words in agreement. "Natsui is right. Looking for Lugia in the vast sea is extremely difficult, like finding a needle in a haystack. So for now, we can only try our luck on these surrounding islands. Perhaps we can first find the person who provided the clue and get some more detailed information from them."
Seeing the two of them in perfect agreement, their views identical, Misty couldn't help but narrow her eyes.
Although she was still young, she was a girl after all. Her sensitivity to matters of the heart was leagues ahead of Ash's, and far beyond that of Brock, the lecher who fell for every girl he saw.
She had noticed that since Erika started traveling with Natsui, as the two spent more time together, Erika had started down the same path as Sabrina, beginning to fall for Natsui!
This was a visible change!
Sigh, another competitor...
She sighed in her heart, but the thought that Natsui had asked her to travel with him in the next region immediately dispelled that little bit of unhappiness.
Hehe, there's still a long way to go, after all.
I'm still just a young girl now. By the time I grow up, both Erika and Sabrina will be thirty-something 'obasan'. How could they be as charming as me!
I'm the number one beauty in the world, after all!
Natsui will be mine in the end!!
After resting by the sea for a while, and once Brock was no longer feeling dizzy, the group picked a random direction and began to explore the island.
They walked from the beach to the grassland, and from the grassland into a dense forest. But before they could go very deep, they suddenly saw a bush to the side rustle a few times.
Usually, when encountering this situation in the wild, it often means there is a small Pokémon hiding in the grass. Seeing this, Ash immediately became interested. He tiptoed towards the bush, and just as he was about to part the dense weeds, a Pokémon with yellow skin, long ears, and a lightning-bolt-shaped tail, resembling a standing mouse, had already come out on its own!
"Huh? A Pikachu?"
Looking at this incredibly familiar Pokémon, Ash couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He really hadn't expected to find Pikachu living on such a remote island!
But after looking at it carefully for a few moments, he suddenly felt that this Pikachu looked a bit familiar, especially the unique tuft of hair on its forehead, which reminded Ash of someone.
"You're Sparky, right?" he crouched down and looked at the Pikachu. Although it was a question, his tone was full of confidence.
Sparky?
Looking at this Pikachu, Natsui thought back for a moment and immediately remembered the boy named Ritchie from the Indigo Conference.
Sparky also seemed to recognize Ash. It called out to him and then started playing affectionately with Ash's own Pikachu.
After confirming its identity, Brock immediately looked around and murmured, "Since Sparky is here, that means..."
He hadn't finished his sentence when a boy dressed very much like Ash walked out from behind a large tree.
"Sparky, don't run around..."
Just as he said that, the boy also saw Natsui's group. His words stopped abruptly, and a look of surprise appeared on his face!
"Ash! What are you doing here?"
"Ritchie! It really is you!"
He and Ash shouted at almost the same time.
As expected, this person was indeed Ritchie!
But after meeting, the atmosphere was inevitably a bit awkward.
At the Indigo Conference, Ritchie had eliminated Ash to advance to the Top 8, and then Natsui had eliminated Ritchie to advance to the Top 4.
These three were like a food chain, especially since Natsui had defeated Ritchie so cleanly, without showing any mercy.
Although after the battle, both Ash and Ritchie had shaken hands and acted as if they didn't mind, there was still a thorn stuck in both their hearts. Now that they had met again here, even if no one mentioned that battle, seeing the opponent who had defeated you was bound to feel a bit uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Ash was thick-skinned, and although Ritchie was a bit more sensitive, both were relatively hot-blooded people. After a brief silence, the atmosphere immediately livened up.
The group found a flat rock to sit on, and some catching up was inevitable.
Looking at Ash and Natsui, Ritchie couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "We haven't seen each other since the Indigo Conference ended. You two haven't changed a bit!"
"You haven't changed at all either, Ritchie!" Ash scratched his head. "But I really didn't expect us to meet again in a place like this. It seems we're really fated to meet. By the way, Ritchie, what are you doing here?"
Without thinking, Ritchie said directly, "I'm here to find a mysterious Pokémon!"
A mysterious Pokémon!!?
Hearing this answer, Natsui and the others subconsciously looked at each other.
Could Ritchie also be looking for Lugia?
But how would he know that Lugia is here!
------------------------
Support my projects and get immediate access to hundreds of chapters of Bleach, Naruto, Pokémon, and more! ✨ Key Benefit: Your favorite novels, with my quality, and always up-to-date.
Featured Novels (with hundreds of chapters available NOW!):
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem (1050 caps)
Goddess Training Manual (800 caps)
I Have Caught a Pokémon (700 caps)
Bleach Getting Stronger (330 caps)
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha (300 caps)
And many more!
Why subscribe?
🔥 Immediate Access: Read my new chapters before anyone else.
📚 Huge Library: Access my complete catalog instantly.
⭐️ High Quality: Enjoy the novels with a professional and well-crafted text written by me.