The little girl was named Masami, and her older brother was named Isao. The two of them relied on each other to maintain this shop. It had previously been run by their parents, but they had passed away.
As the eldest son, Isao inherited the shop, but he didn't possess his father's exquisite carving skills. While he knew how to carve Pokémon, Isao felt that the Pokémon he carved lacked a soul.
Consequently, he produced many glass items but didn't put them on display. Even though those products were actually quite good for ordinary people, for Isao, that level was far from enough.
Therefore, there were only two or three glass items that could be displayed in the shop. To Isao, the glass products currently on display were the best he could possibly achieve.
These were just inanimate objects, like glass bottles and bowls. To create a Pokémon glass product as clear as crystal, he hadn't reached that level yet.
After Ash's group understood the situation, they entered the shop and met the young man named Isao. He was several years older than Ash and the others, looking about the same age as Brock.
The glass products he had made were also displayed inside. From their appearance, they were indeed quite excellent glass products, just as Masami had said, but Isao still felt they lacked a soul.
What he wanted to create was the kind of Pokémon that, when seen through glass, looked as lifelike as a real Pokémon.
"—In that case, why don't you just Mimic and learn your father's techniques? Didn't your father have that kind of skill? Even if he passed away, he should have left behind some secret manuals or something," Ash said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Since the glasswork was a heritage, it was only normal to leave behind some technical manuals!
Otherwise, if one were to suddenly pass away one day, wouldn't the heritage be broken?
Isao shook his head and said, "It's no use. No matter how I studied the techniques my father left behind, I can't reach the realm he achieved. But if—if I could see that Pokémon, I could definitely reach my father's level!"
"That Pokémon? What Pokémon?" When it came to Pokémon, Ash became energized.
He knew nothing about glass products, but when it came to Pokémon, he had definitely seen and known far more than Isao!
"The Crystal Onyx!"
"Crystal Onix?" Ash frowned, carefully searching his mind for this variety of Onix, but ultimately found nothing.
If it were a Shinny Onix, the color should be gold; it wouldn't have anything to do with crystal. If it were a regional variant, there shouldn't be such a species either.
"What kind of Pokémon is it? Is it different from a normal Onix?" Serena, standing to the side with her hands behind her back, asked curiously while looking at the displayed glass products.
"The biggest difference from a normal Onix is that its entire body is like it's carved from crystal. If the glass products made by others look like lifelike Pokémon, then the Crystal Onix is like a real Pokémon actually made of glass—one that moves! So as long as I see it, I'll definitely know how to create lifelike glass products!"
An entire body carved like crystal, meaning a transparent blue... Ash hadn't seen this variety of Onix either, let alone Serena.
"Do you know where this Onix can be found?"
"It's said to be in the Crystal Cave on the island, but—we've searched for a long time and haven't found it," Isao said with a look of defeat.
Rumors of the Crystal Onix weren't a secret on the island, but in reality, it had always been just a legend. There was no actual evidence to prove the existence of the Crystal Onix. Over time, the people of Sunkan Island began to treat the rumor as something fictional.
But Isao knew that his father had once seen the Crystal Onix, and it was precisely because of this that his father was able to carve crystal sculptures of that level!
Isao believed he had already received his father's full heritage. As long as he could see the Crystal Onix and gain inspiration from it, he would certainly be able to do what his father could.
"I see. Don't worry, leave this matter to us. Misty, Serena, let's go find the Crystal Onix!" Ash patted his chest and took on the task.
Misty secretly poked Ash's waist and whispered near his ear, "Did you forget why you came to the Orange Islands? Do we have the time for this?"
Ash had come to the Orange Islands with an important mission this time. For that, he wasn't even challenging the Southern Cross. If they wasted time here, what about the matter of the god of the sea and Cynthia?
"Don't worry, one day is enough. Weren't we going to rest on this island for a day anyway?" Ash waved his hand dismissively.
Although finding Lugia was indeed an urgent matter, the time they needed to get from here to Shamouti Island wasn't short. Unless they flew, they would still have to rest frequently among the islands.
If he hadn't caught Lapras or met Serena, Ash might have chosen to use Pidgeot to fly to Shamouti Island in one go. But after catching Lapras and meeting Serena, Ash had changed his mode of travel.
On one hand, he wanted to take Serena to experience the various things encountered during a journey, and on the other hand, he needed to train Lapras, the new member of the team.
Ash, who originally wanted to reach Shamouti Island in one breath, changed his strategy because of the encounter with one person and one Pokémon. He also felt this might be fate; even if he really went to Shamouti Island, could he truly find Lugia directly?
Nurse Joy's intel did say it was possible for Lugia to be on Shamouti Island, but it was only a possibility. Perhaps traveling at such a slow pace would instead allow him to find more intel about Lugia and Team Galactic.
As for why he was meddling in others' business now—it could only be said that this was Ash's personality. He wasn't the type to stand by and watch when he saw someone facing a problem.
Furthermore, Isao's carving skills were actually very good. As he said, he had already received all of his father's heritage; now he just lacked an opportunity to 'enchant' the crystal.
To make the carved glass products lifelike, he needed an opportunity that could spark that posture. Finding the Crystal Onix was that opportunity.
So after finding the Crystal Onix, Ash could also ask Isao to carve a Fennekin for Serena. Having helped so much, it wouldn't be too much to ask Isao to carve one for free, right? That way, he could help Serena save some money.
An hour later, Ash's group arrived in front of a cave. Ash had Isao and Masami mark all the places where the Crystal Onix was rumored to appear. With the scanning range of Ash's Aura, as long as he set a location and used Aura to scan, he could understand the situation of that entire area clearly.
Now, this cave was the last area. Ash closed his eyes, and a faint azure light glowed on his body. Not far away, Serena's pure eyes were filled with curiosity and admiration.
From the first time Ash used Aura, Serena had felt it was a bit strange. Ash would arrive at a place, not even enter, just close his eyes like this, and then he could know the situation of the entire area clearly. How did he do it?
Later, it was Misty who, in her spare time, explained the wonders of Aura to Serena. For a moment, Serena was stunned by how a human could master such a miraculous power.
—
She had originally thought Ash just had great physical strength, but now it seemed Ash didn't just have strength; he himself contained all sorts of powers, practically a human Pokémon.
As Ash's Aura spread, the scene of the entire cave was reflected in his mind. Then Ash suddenly opened his eyes, a look of surprise appearing in them: "Found it! Come on, let's go in!!"
Found it? Does the Crystal Onix really exist?
The two girls were stunned, then quickly followed Ash's footsteps into the cave.
Upon entering the cave, the light inside was so dim it was almost impossible to see. Misty and Serena were in a state where they couldn't see their own hands. Togepi, in Misty's arms, seemed very excited upon entering this dark place.
She chirped happily, her tender voice echoing throughout the cave.
Ash reached out and grabbed the soft palms of both Misty and Serena, leading them through the dark cave.
Misty was already used to holding hands like this, but it was the first time Serena had held Ash's hand this way. Especially with Misty right there, she hadn't seen Ash take Misty's hand, but she could more or less guess—in such a dark place, it was impossible he'd leave his girlfriend's hand unheld to hold the hand of someone who had just recently joined the team, right?
In the darkness, Serena's small face turned crimson, and her heartbeat quickened. She even felt her palm starting to heat up, her heart pounding incessantly for fear that Ash would discover her abnormality.
But it could only be said that she was overthinking. Ash didn't notice any sign of Serena's abnormality at all, merely concentrating on walking in the direction guided by his Aura.
In reality, although Ash's Aura could detect the shape of Pokémon, it was impossible to know what color they were. What Aura could do was penetrate all obstacles and then transform them into 3D models etched in his mind.
So the 'things' Ash saw were only shapes and the energy contained within their bodies, not specific colors.
The reason Ash said he found it was that in this cave, he detected an Onix whose presence was actually in the water!
One must know that Onix has a fourfold weakness to water. Even if normal water doesn't contain any damaging energy, it's an extremely uncomfortable existence for an Onix, the kind they wouldn't even want to touch, let alone live in!
Furthermore, Ash also detected that this Onix had Ice-type power within its body. Conversely, it didn't have the Rock-type and Ground-type powers that a normal Onix possesses.
Therefore, Ash was certain that this Onix was most likely the Crystal Onix Isao and the others mentioned!
After all, an Onix that isn't afraid of water could probably only be achieved by a mutant Onix.
Under Ash's guidance, the two soon followed him to the depths of the cave. The originally dim cave suddenly opened up upon entering the deep section!
While it couldn't be said to be like broad daylight, it was different from the pitch-black situation where nothing could be seen just now; it was as if illuminated by moonlight.
Misty glanced left and right and found the light source—they were massive crystals!
These crystals didn't look like the glass-made crystals back in town, but were truly translucent blue crystals!
The blue crystals also emitted a faint glow. The clarity of these crystals was already comparable to some precious gems. If they were sold, a fist-sized blue crystal could probably sell for tens of thousands or even a hundred thousand.
And in this open space, it was filled with blue crystals! Who would have thought that a cave on a small island would hide such a treasure.
If all these blue crystals could be mined, they could sell for at least over a hundred million!
While observing the cave, Misty also saw Serena and Ash's clasped hands. A strange look flashed through her emerald eyes, but she didn't say anything.
Serena was initially shocked by the crystals in the cave, and only after a few seconds did she suddenly react—her hand and Ash's hand were still held together. So she quickly let go of Ash's hand and then looked at Misty somewhat guiltily.
This look happened to meet Misty's gauze. The latter returned a bright smile, while Serena gave a somewhat awkward smile—that scene just now had definitely been seen by Misty!
Although walking hand-in-hand in a dark cave was a normal thing, holding hands in front of someone's girlfriend would surely make the girlfriend angry, no matter how you looked at it!
If she put herself in Misty's shoes, Serena felt she would definitely be angry, even though Misty wasn't saying anything for now.
Just as Serena was thinking of explaining to Misty, there was suddenly movement in the calm lake in the middle of the cave.
"Boom!!" Along with the deafening sound of rushing water, a giant serpent the color of ice crystals soared up from the lake water!
Misty and Serena stared dumbfoundedly at the 'Onix' rising from the lake. Calling it an Onix, but in reality, besides its shape, it had practically nothing to do with an Onix.
The shape of this 'Onix' was a bit larger than a normal Onix, and its entire body was as if carved from crystal, looking exactly like the crystal carvings in town come to life.