Chapter 103: Whirl Islands, Lugia's Summons
Early the next morning, Ryan and Chuck sparred on the beach. Ryan hooked his right arm around Chuck, simultaneously sweeping backward with his right foot and pinning him to the ground.
"Stop!" Chuck called out, sitting up and panting. "Alas, I can't resist getting old. I may be miles ahead of you in terms of technique, but physically you're already on par with me back in my prime."
Ryan nodded. Chuck stood up and diligently taught him some grappling techniques, mostly practical ones.
After practicing all morning, Ryan and Chuck returned to the gym. After breakfast, Chuck asked, "Ryan, where are you guys going now?"
"I already have six badges, and I'm two short. I think I'll have to go back to Olivine City, then Ecruteak City, then on to Blackthorn City, and finally Mahogany Town. That way, I'll have all eight badges," Ryan said after a moment's thought.
Ruby and Rosa also nodded; this had been their original plan.
Chuck took a sip of tea and said, "That's still going to involve some unnecessary travel. I suggest you go to the Whirl Islands first. There's going to be a Whirl Cup there soon, so you can try it. From there, you can take a flight directly back to Ecruteak City."
With that, Chuck handed the boat tickets to Ryan and the others, saying, "These are tickets to the Whirl Islands. You'd better go."
Seeing Chuck's meaningful look, Ryan nodded and said, "I understand. I'll go."
Bidding farewell to Chuck, Ryan pulled the bewildered Ruby and Rosa out of the Cianwood Gym. Ryan searched his memory and seemed to recall Team Rocket capturing Lugia's child to threaten Lugia.
The League certainly didn't know about this; they probably discovered Team Rocket's base in the Whirl Islands, which is why they sent Ryan on this trip. He glanced at the back of the ticket and saw, as expected, a small line of text: "Can't leave, need a favor."
Judging by the handwriting, it was Lorelei's. Ryan truly considered Lorelei a mentor, so as long as Lorelei's request didn't violate his principles or harm his interests, Ryan would do his best to help.
After boarding the ship bound for the Whirl Islands, Ruby spoke, "It's about the League, right?"
"Yeah. A friend asked, so I had to help." Ryan leaned on the railing, enjoying the sea breeze, his mind wandering.
Rosa looked from Ruby to Ryan, bewildered, and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Ryan and Ruby smiled in silence, leaving Rosa a bit irritated.
After sailing for several hours, the ship finally landed at Blue Point Isle in the Whirl Islands in the evening. Landing in the largest port city, Ryan and his companions were greeted by bustling activity as they disembarked.
The three of them went to the Pokémon Center to recover their Pokémon and then registered for the Whirl Cup. Ryan looked at Rosa and said, "Rosa, aren't you joining us? It seems you only brought your Serperior with you on this trip. We haven't even seen your other main team members yet."
"Uh. As for Water-types, I have a Swanna, but as for main team members, I don't think I have any strong Water-type specialists," Rosa said sheepishly.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you about something too, Ryan," Ruby said.
"What's that?" Ryan asked curiously.
"Why do you train Pokémon so quickly?" Ruby said seriously. "Rosa and I have seen your Pokémon level up incredibly fast, Ryan. For us, even if we battle frequently, we might not earn enough experience points to level up our Pokémon significantly, but your Pokémon seem to grow so quickly. Do you have any secrets?"
Ryan was speechless. Did he tell them he had a system? Ryan organized his words and said, "Well, it's just that I frequently battle wild Pokémon, so I gain experience quickly. After all, no matter how weak a Pokémon is, it still gives some experience." Ryan wasn't exaggerating. Currently, Ryan's Pokémon only gained a base 1 point of experience when defeating Pokémon below level 30, and that was even with his system that multiplied experience by eight.
"Experience from weak Pokémon?!" Ruby and Rosa exclaimed.
Ryan was bewildered. Ruby excitedly asked, "Does it mean even Pokémon 10 levels lower give experience?"
Ryan nodded, causing Ruby and Rosa to gasp. Rosa then explained that their Pokémon generally only gained experience when defeating Pokémon of the same or higher level. A level difference of more than five levels meant no experience, and above 10, nothing at all.
Ryan was stunned. Even without his system, experience was still guaranteed; there was no such thing as no experience. After a moment, Ryan guessed it was probably a system advantage. Of course, Ruby and Rosa could only attribute this to Ryan's unique abilities.
This made Ruby and Rosa envious, but there was nothing they could do.
After registering their information, Ryan and his companions planned to rest for the night at the Pokémon Center. The next day, they would head to the tournament location on Red Rock Isle, one of the four main islands in the Whirl Islands archipelago.
However, their true destination was Silver Rock Isle, the final island, which would likely take several days to reach.
Just as they had been assigned their rooms, Celebi called Ryan over, chirping softly. Ryan nodded seriously and said, "Well, since you've asked us to go, let's go."
Leaving Ruby and Rosa to sleep, Ryan went to the dock and sent out Gyarados. Leaping onto Gyarados's back, Gyarados carried Ryan and, following Celebi's guidance, swam towards a small reef in the distance.
By the time they reached the reefs, it was already completely dark. It was summer, so it got dark relatively late. Seeing that it was already nine o'clock, Ryan asked, "What does it want us to do?"
Celebi shook its head, indicating it had no idea. It had simply received a psychic message asking Celebi to bring Ryan to this location.
Ryan had no choice but to recall his Gyarados and sit down on a rock, quietly awaiting the arrival of whoever had summoned him.
Time slowly slipped by, and just as Ryan was losing his patience, an even darker, enormous shadow swam towards him from the pitch-black waters.
He muttered to himself, "Here it comes!" Then, the shadow slowly emerged from the water, revealing its silvery-white form. He whispered, "Is this Lugia?"
Lugia, the legendary Pokémon said to be the guardian of the seas! Legend has it that due to its overwhelming power, it is forced to dwell quietly at the bottom of the deep ocean.
But observing this legendary Pokémon up close, sensing its imposing aura, he couldn't help but think, "The presence of this legendary Pokémon is truly overwhelming for ordinary people to handle."
Furthermore, by comparison, Ryan discovered that this Lugia seemed far more powerful than any other legendary he had ever encountered, including Mewtwo, Primal Groudon, and even Celebi.
But before Ryan could finish his thought, Lugia called out softly a few times. After hearing this, Ryan's face instantly darkened. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out two words: "Team Rocket!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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