When the group walked to the edge of the pond, Ritchie leaned down and asked the little boy, "Hello, are you from this island?"
While they were observing the little boy, he was also secretly observing them. Although his eyes were full of vigilance, he still slowly nodded.
"Sort of. I live on Oki Island, but I often come here to play. What's up? Do you need something?"
As he was speaking, Natsui keenly noticed that under the water behind the boy, a dark shadow seemed to be quietly slipping away.
The shadow vanished in a flash, disappearing underwater in an instant, but he had still caught it.
And this boy seemed to be intentionally hiding it, positioning his body to block their line of sight, as if he didn't want them to discover that shadow at all!
However, because the shadow was too blurry and obstructed by the water's reflection, Natsui didn't get a clear look at what it was.
But in the end, it was definitely a Pokémon.
Just as he was thinking, he felt Erika's shoulder gently nudge his.
Glancing at Erika, he saw her wink at him. Although she didn't say anything, it was clear that she had also seen the shadow.
But the two of them tacitly pretended not to have noticed.
At that moment, hearing the little boy's reply, Ash couldn't wait to ask, "Since you're from around here, have you seen any mysterious Pokémon?"
The question was so blunt that everyone except Ash could clearly see a look of panic on the little boy's face!
"There's nothing like that around here!" the boy answered dryly, but his eyes darted around, clearly lying.
This time, it wasn't just Natsui and Erika; even Misty, Brock, and Ritchie could tell something was off.
This little boy definitely knows something!
However, the careless Ash didn't notice anything unusual. He clearly wasn't giving up and continued to press, "Then have you heard any rumors?"
Faced with Ash's direct attacks, the boy was finding it harder and harder to cope.
"N-not at all!"
But in the next second, he seemed to realize he shouldn't just keep retreating. Fearing that Natsui's group wouldn't believe him, he forced a smile. "Think about it, if there really was a mysterious Pokémon here, it probably would have caused a commotion and been captured by someone long ago, right? So, I advise you not to believe those boring rumors."
"Is that so..."
Ash seemed to have been convinced by him, showing no suspicion at all.
But in Natsui's view, the boy's explanation only made him seem more suspicious, as if he were trying too hard to cover something up.
Of course, Ash's reaction didn't mean he was stupid, but rather that he was too young and immature. He couldn't read people's expressions and lacked a certain amount of social experience.
At this time, looking at the little boy, Natsui tried to recall the plot related to Lugia, but his memory was too vague and it had been too long. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember any more details.
But one thing was certain: this boy was a key figure. One could even boldly guess that the shadow that had just left might have been Lugia!
With this in mind, he took a step forward and smiled at the little boy. "We've been talking for a while, but we still don't know your name."
Seeing this handsome big brother with a sunny smile, the little boy thought he had successfully fooled them and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"My name is Shuichi, and this next to me is my Pokémon, Lanturn."
Natsui asked with a cheerful smile, "Then, Shuichi, what was the identity of the Pokémon that just left your side?"
Hearing Natsui's words, Shuichi's face changed drastically. Despite being in the cold pond, cold sweat still trickled down his forehead!
"I... I don't know what you're talking about..." he stammered. "You must have seen wrong, right? It's only been me and Lanturn here!"
And hearing Natsui say that, and seeing Shuichi's reaction, the others finally realized that a Pokémon had quietly left without them noticing!
"Really?" Natsui's smile didn't fade. "But I saw it very clearly just now. A Pokémon swam away from right behind you."
"There was no Pokémon, you really saw it wrong!" Shuichi didn't want to talk to these people anymore. After a hurried reply, he actually started to swim away. While swimming, he didn't forget to turn back and shout at them, "Oh, I just remembered I have something to do, so goodbye for now!"
He ran...
Seeing him swim farther and farther away, Natsui shouted at his back, "Even if you don't say it, I know. The Pokémon that just left was Lugia, wasn't it?"
This time, Shuichi could no longer pretend to be calm.
He stopped in the water and turned back to look at Natsui, wanting to ask something, but he swallowed the words before they could come out.
"Don't worry," Natsui said kindly. "We actually came here to protect it from being captured by bad people. We mean it no harm!"
He was, after all, just a seven or eight-year-old boy. Seeing how serious Natsui was, he couldn't help but ask, "Really?"
"I'm not lying to you." At this point, Natsui suddenly remembered something else. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Natsui, and I'm this year's Sea Hero!"
"The Sea Hero!!?"
Hearing this title, Shuichi's eyes went wide with what could only be described as joyous surprise!
After all, for the children of the Whirl Islands, the Sea Hero represented strength and courage and was highly respected and welcomed by the people here. In their hearts, the status was no less than that of a League Champion!
Of course, this didn't mean the people of the Whirl Islands were ignorant, thinking a Sea Hero was comparable to a League Champion. It was simply that the Pokémon League's influence here was completely overshadowed by the Sea Shrine. Moreover, for a long time, no trainer from the Whirl Islands had ever become a League Champion, so the people here felt no sense of belonging to the Pokémon League.
Upon hearing that Natsui was the Sea Hero, Shuichi's attitude did a complete one-eighty, without even a hint of doubt.
He swam to the shore and suddenly found this man to be incredibly agreeable. He no longer felt any resistance towards him in his heart. He circled Natsui, looking him up and down as if he were some rare animal.
After a long while, once Shuichi had calmed down a bit, Natsui finally said, "Alright, can we talk frankly with each other now? By the way, would it be possible for Lugia to meet with us?"
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