The Orange Islands aren't that large overall, incomparable to a proper League region like Kanto. The distance between Polania Island and Tanoba Island is also standard; riding a Blastoise, it takes less than half an hour to reach the destination.
This was even with Ash and Misty admiring the ocean view along the way, causing the Blastoise to slow its speed. If the Blastoise had gone all out, it probably wouldn't have even taken ten minutes to arrive.
On the way to Polania Island, Ash and Misty could clearly feel the change in weather. The slightly chilly weather originally saw a drastic transformation in just ten-odd minutes.
Both of them had originally been wearing jackets, but before they even reached Polania Island, the jackets were taken off.
Fortunately, they were at sea and could catch the sea breeze; otherwise, even if they were just wearing long sleeves, they would likely be sweating like rain.
After arriving at Polania Island, the weather had completely turned into a scorching sun. The sun hanging high in the sky scorched the ocean and the land. After the two arrived on the island, the first thing they did wasn't to ask for information, but to change their clothes.
Ash changed back into his classic outfit, a blue jacket with a black undershirt, while Misty wore her classic midriff-baring outfit. After scouting for information, they might even go swimming, at which point they could change into swimsuits for fun.
After changing, the two went to the Pokémon Center and found Nurse Joy. Ash and Misty had already had Mewtwo use special means to mask their appearances, so although some people felt they looked familiar, a closer look would reveal they were people they didn't know at all.
When facing Nurse Joy, Ash had Mewtwo lift the shielding only for her, revealing his true face.
"Hello, Nurse Joy. I'm Ash from Pallet Town. I'd like to ask, do you have any news about the appearance of Lugia, God of the Sea?"
"god of the sea? Why would you ask such a question? Of course I don't—Wait, who did you just say you were?" Nurse Joy instinctively denied Ash's question; it seemed more than one person had asked her this before.
But when Nurse Joy reacted to Ash's self-introduction, she suddenly looked up, then took a closer look at Ash's face, her expression turning to one of surprise: "The Indigo Plateau Conference Champion? Why are you here? On vacation?"
"No, I've accepted a League commission to find Lugia's whereabouts. I need its help with an important matter. So, Nurse Joy, can you tell me where Lugia is?"
"Hmm~" Nurse Joy tapped her chin, and after a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "Well, since it's Ash, you can be trusted. Lugia's habitat is near Shamouti Island, but that's just a rumor; there's no real evidence to prove Lugia exists there."
"And even if Lugia really is at Shamouti Island, you might not necessarily find it. After all, that's a legendary divine Pokémon. As long as it doesn't want to be found, no one will find it. Just like Ho-Oh; Ho-Oh hasn't appeared before humans for hundreds of years."
After knowing Ash's identity, Nurse Joy didn't hide anything and told Ash everything she knew, even giving him some of her own insights.
This was why Ash only revealed his identity to Nurse Joy. Regarding the existence and information of Lugia, God of the Sea—if you were just some random person, how could Nurse Joy possibly tell you?
Joy was beautiful and kind-hearted, but she wasn't a fool. If she randomly revealed Lugia's whereabouts, then both Lugia and its habitat would be harassed, causing a disturbance.
So when a stranger suddenly asked her about Lugia's whereabouts, there was no way she would disclose it. But if it was Ash, it was a different story.
This was the benefit of being famous.
Hearing this, Ash also took on a thoughtful expression. Before coming, he had studied the distribution of the Orange Islands in detail. Shamouti Island was located in an area with treacherous winds and waves year-round. Not only was the weather there frequently harsh—thunder, rain, snow, scorching sun—
It was simply an anomaly in the vacation paradise of the Orange Islands!
Anyone who knew anything about the Orange Islands would likely head that way. After all, people came to the Orange Islands for vacation or to challenge the unique Southern Cross Orange League.
How could people with those two goals in mind head toward Shamouti Island?
The weather there was terrible, there were no places to visit, and there were no Orange League challenge sites. Generally speaking, it was an island with absolutely no point in visiting. Who would have thought the legendary god of the sea would have appeared there?
Even if one really wanted to go, they would have to face extremely harsh weather. A boat could easily be overturned by the waves, and in the event of thunder and rain, the possibility of an accident would increase significantly. Overall, it was a very dangerous place.
However, it wasn't much of a problem for Ash. After all, with Mewtwo's power, even the weather could be controlled. As for the waves—while he couldn't control the ocean like Kyogre, with his powerful Psychic abilities, controlling a portion of the seawater was no problem.
At the very least, he could ensure his journey to Shamouti Island would be smooth.
While Ash was thinking, Nurse Joy glanced left and right. Although it was morning, there were quite a few people in the Pokémon Center because many were staying there, and the Pokémon Center provided free breakfast.
But among so many people, not a single one recognized Ash, which was a bit strange.
"They... don't they know you? Your fame shouldn't be that low, Ash, right?" Nurse Joy finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked Ash.
If he were just the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion, he certainly wouldn't be famous to this extent. But besides being the Champion, Ash had many other titles. Especially debuting for half a year and being on par with the Elite—wasn't that more outrageous than being the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion?
Yet the occasional glances from the people around them treated Ash as if he weren't there, as if he were just some passerby. Instead, they focused their gaze more on her.
Nurse Joy knew her beauty would attract many people, but in this Pokémon-centric world, Trainers should be more highly regarded than beauty.
Why didn't they recognize Ash?
"Because I used a special masking method. Except for you, Nurse Joy, others can't see my true appearance."
"Eh~ There's such an ability? How is it done?"
"It's a type of Psychic power. Only extremely powerful Psychic Pokémon can do it."
"I see, that's a pity~" Nurse Joy said with some regret.
If she could mask her appearance, maybe she wouldn't attract so many unwanted admirers.
But in reality, if Joy really changed her appearance, it would cause a real sensation because—all Joys look exactly the same. Why would only you look different? Wouldn't that be even more prominent and attracting?
After finishing the conversation with Nurse Joy and obtaining the information, the two didn't set off immediately, but instead went to enjoy the morning beach and ocean!
The two strolled along the beach, the sea breeze blowing gently, and the scorching sun shining over the entire beach, bringing the two a completely different atmosphere from last night.
Neither of them wore shoes, walking barefoot on the beach, feeling the heat of the sand and the cool sensation of the seawater occasionally surging up with the tide to submerge their ankles. This contrast of fire and ice felt quite comfortable.
Chatting, the two walked along the beach when suddenly, a noisy sound came from ahead.
"Hey, hey, move! Why are you so useless? Are you a rare Pokémon? Why are you so weak!"
"Exactly! They say the ace of Lorelei, the Ice Elite, is a Lapras. Why are you so weak? Get up and fight!"
"If you don't get up, you'll never be able to go back to the ocean!"
Misty and Ash looked at each other, then quickly ran toward the sound. What met their eyes were three Delinquents constantly poking and prodding a sickly Lapras, and a painful expression appeared on the Lapras's face.
It was clear that the Lapras was currently in very poor condition. Even in the face of the Delinquents' prodding, it had no power to fight back. Those guys didn't even take out their Pokémon and could bully the Lapras; this showed that the Lapras was so weak it even found fighting back difficult.
"Hey, you—"
"Stop right there!!" Before Ash could finish his sentence, a crisp voice rang out ahead of him.
Ash and Misty stopped and looked to the side, only to see a girl jogging up to the Lapras, glaring at the three Delinquents: "Treating a Pokémon like this is too much! Get off the Lapras right now!"
This girl had flaxen, slightly curly, medium-long hair tied in a single ponytail. She wore a pink dome hat with a black ribbon and a bow, a black sleeveless top with a white Peter Pan collar, and a red high-waisted pleated skirt, paired with dark gray over-the-knee socks and short boots—a girl in the prime of her youth.
There was a hint of anger in the girl's bright light-blue eyes, and her pretty, cute face also showed an extremely angry expression because of the three Delinquents' actions.
"Ha? Who are you? Why are you meddling? Is this Lapras yours?"
"Al—Although it's not my Pokémon, your behavior of bullying Pokémon is wrong!" The girl was a bit intimidated by the Delinquents' frightening faces, but she still courageously tried to reason with them.
However, since they were called Delinquents, there was naturally no reasoning with them. They didn't listen to a word the girl said; instead, they were angered by her actions.
"Who do you think you are? Daring to meddle in the business of the Delinquent Trio? We aren't just ordinary Delinquents; we're powerful Delinquents, hey!!"
"Let us show you our strength!"
"Come out, my Pokémon!"
The three of them released their Pokémon one after another. A Fearow, a Beedrill, and a Hitmonchan appeared before the girl, confronting her.
Serena was frightened by this display and took a step back, but seeing the pained expression on the Lapras's face, she suppressed her inner fear and instead took a step forward: "I don't care what kind of Delinquents you are, bullying Pokémon is wrong! Go, my partner!"
As Serena threw out her Poké Ball, a flash of light appeared, and a small red fox appeared on the beach.
"What is this thing?"
"A Pokémon I've never seen before. It looks weak as heck."
"Exactly, it's so small, it must not be strong."
Not far away, after seeing the little fox, information about it surfaced in Ash's mind—Fennekin, the Starter Pokemon of the Kalos region.
Is this girl from the Kalos region?
"Don't underestimate my Fennekin! Although I haven't had her for long, she's very strong. Fennekin, use Ember!!"
"Fenne!" Fennekin took a deep breath and then spat out a small burst of flames toward the three Delinquents' Pokémon.
"Tsk, flames of this level couldn't even light firewood. Hitmonchan, use Quick Attack to disperse it!" Delinquent A sneered upon seeing the size of the Ember and then gave the order to Hitmonchan.
Hitmonchan swung its fists clad in red gloves, countless fist shadows flashing in the air. The flying Ember was smashed to pieces by the wind from the punches and dissipated in the air.
"How can this be... Don't give up, Fennekin, use Tackle!"
"Little girl, you'd better go back and practice. Beedrill, Twineedle!"
"Bang!!" Fennekin's body collided with the Beedrill's Twineedle, and without surprise, she was sent flying back, suffering significant damage.
The level gap between the two sides was simply too large, and Serena's response method was also poor. Plus, the opponent had three whole Pokémon.
In an instant, Fennekin was heavily injured; she was no match for the three Delinquents at all.
A few beads of sweat appeared on Serena's pretty face, and her small hands were tightly clenched. She had come out to travel to follow in that person's footsteps, but she had only just started, and she was already being completely crushed by some roadside Delinquents?
She couldn't even help an injured Pokémon and even let her own Pokémon get seriously hurt. She really was useless...
"Give it the final blow! Fearow, use Hurricane!"
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
In the air, a golden light flashed. Delinquent B didn't even see a shadow before the Fearow, which was preparing to use Hurricane, was sent flying back, crashing hard into a rock on the beach, leaving a deep indentation!
What happened?!