The two Pikachu chased each other nearby, having a great time.
Ritchie didn't notice the strange expressions on the others' faces. He continued to speak with enthusiasm, "Before I came here, I did some research on that mysterious Pokémon. Although I still don't know what it is, based on the information and rumors online, I've compiled a list of possible locations and movements. This Oki Island was the most suspicious among them, which is why I rushed over immediately!"
It had to be said, Ritchie was quite impressive. After all, Natsui and his group had come here because of Maya's intelligence, whereas Ritchie had figured it out entirely on his own, step by step!
However, looking at it this way, the fact that two different channels of information both pointed to this place meant that the possibility of Lugia being near Oki Island was undoubtedly the highest. It also proved that Natsui and his friends hadn't come to the wrong place.
Only then did Ritchie belatedly ask, "By the way, why did you guys come here?"
Ash was about to open his mouth to answer but suddenly hesitated. He glanced at Natsui and then swallowed his words.
From this, one could see that Ash had truly grown up a lot. He had actually learned to think before speaking!
If it were the old him, he probably would have answered directly without a second thought!
Fortunately, there was nothing to hide. Seeing Ash look at him, Natsui chose to tell the truth. "Actually, our purpose is similar to yours."
Ritchie looked at them with some surprise. "So, you're also here to find that mysterious Pokémon? I thought I was the only one looking for it."
In fact, upon hearing this, Ritchie subconsciously tensed up. If their goals were the same, wouldn't that mean one party was destined to go home disappointed?
After all, there was only one mysterious Pokémon. No matter who ended up catching it, it would affect their relationship.
It was one thing with Natsui. To him, Natsui was just a powerful opponent, someone who had defeated him. There was no real friendship between them. But because his personality was very similar to Ash's, the two had a sense of mutual admiration, and he didn't want this precious friendship to be damaged over the issue of catching a Pokémon.
Natsui saw his concern at a glance and explained with a smile, "Although our target is the same mysterious Pokémon, we're different from you. To be precise, we're here to protect it."
"Protect it?" Ritchie was stunned at first, then, as if realizing something, he quickly asked, "So, you know what that mysterious Pokémon is?"
Natsui smiled faintly. "It's the God of the Sea, Lugia."
"Lugia!!?" Hearing this name, Ritchie's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in shock, "The mysterious Pokémon is Lugia!? Is that true!?"
Seeing Natsui nod, Ritchie was dazed for a long while before he was forced to accept this reality.
He had had all sorts of guesses about the identity of this mysterious Pokémon, but at most, he had only thought it might be a rare shiny Pokémon. Who could have imagined it would be the God of the Sea!
From Ritchie's still-shocked expression, it was clear he was still processing this news.
Natsui continued, "According to the information we received, Team Rocket has its eyes on it, so we were entrusted to come and protect this Lugia."
"I understand." Ritchie let out a long breath and then said with a solemn expression, "Please, count me in. I'll help you too!"
"What? You're not going to try and catch it anymore?"
Shaking his head with a complicated look, Ritchie gave a wry smile. "That's the God of the Sea. It shouldn't be captured by humans."
Hearing this, Natsui couldn't help but look at him with considerable surprise.
Having such an awareness was truly remarkable.
He remembered that the last person he met with such a quality was Kenta. Back then, when facing Raikou, he had also been able to maintain such composure, similarly believing that legendary Pokémon should not be captured by humans but should live in nature.
Unfortunately, he himself had no such awareness, which was why that Raikou was still lying quietly in his Ultra Ball!
Since their goals were now aligned, the group didn't rest any longer and decided to start searching for Lugia immediately. But before setting off, Ritchie told them a piece of news.
"Actually, before you arrived, I had already explored the entire Oki Island, but I didn't find any signs of the mysterious Pokémon... that is, Lugia."
Natsui nodded. "In that case, let's focus our search on the smaller islands nearby."
Following his gaze, the others looked towards the closest small island to Oki Island. It was a tiny, uninhabited island, more than half the size smaller than Oki. In the center of the island were two towering mountains, and a ring of dense forest surrounded them.
Such an isolated island, surrounded by the sea and far from human civilization, was an excellent habitat for Lugia or any other Pokémon.
Returning to the seaside and looking at the vast ocean, they were now without a boat. To cross the sea, the group each sent out their own Pokémon.
Natsui mounted his Charizard and pulled Erika up with him, while Misty carried Brock, and Ash took off with Ritchie.
The distance was only about two thousand meters, and it didn't take long for the three Pokémon to arrive one after another.
Natsui was the first to set foot on the small island. He took out his map but found that the island's name was not marked on it.
Another unnamed island...
After the others had also landed, the group headed towards the island's interior together.
They hadn't gone far when they saw a little boy in a small pond with a Lanturn, floating in the water and watching them nervously.
The boy was about six or seven years old, wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, with a common round haircut for little boys. The Lanturn, as the evolved form of Chinchou, had a distinct fish-like shape, with a yellow, mask-like pattern on its face.
Compared to Chinchou, Lanturn had only one antenna on its head, but it branched into two yellow, spherical light emitters in the middle. The one hanging in front of its head was larger, while the branched one was relatively smaller.
Before Natsui could take out his Pokédex, Ash had already aimed his own at the Lanturn.
Pokédex: "Beep. Lanturn, the Light Pokémon. A Water- and Electric-type. Lanturn live in the deep sea and are known as the Stars of the Deep. It can emit a blindingly bright light to daze its opponents, and while they are unable to move, it attacks them with electricity before swallowing them whole. It is said that because prey is scarce on the deep-sea floor, it has to compete fiercely with Finneon."
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