Never in his wildest dreams did Kashiwagi expect this.
Neo Team Aqua's miniature submarine had already located the underwater cave where Lugia resided!
He was so stunned by the footage that he couldn't find his voice.
Even the usually unflappable Yanagihara frowned, crossing his fingers under his nose in a posture of deep thought.
However, as the sub continued forward within the footage, it quickly reached the edge of the water. Beyond lay flat, solid ground.
The sub's built-in floodlights peered into the cavern, but they were met only with a darkness so profound it seemed to swallow the light whole.
Even more perplexing, when the light hit the ground, there were no visible tracks or signs of Lugia's movement.
Did Lugia fly in?
That was a question shared by the Porygon pilot, Kashiwagi, and Yanagihara alike.
Unfortunately, the mini-sub lacked land-cruising capabilities.
Unable to leave the water and explore the dry ground, the Porygon circled the area twice to confirm there were no other paths before finally descending back into the trench.
Once submerged, the Porygon searched for other entrances but came up empty-handed.
It began to head back the way it came.
Yanagihara paused the video and pulled up a side window. A string of numbers and strange text flickered on the black screen.
Seeing Kashiwagi's confusion, he explained,
"These are the sub's remote operation logs. According to the descriptors, it was initially in 'Cruise Mode.' Once it detected Lugia, it switched to 'Follow Mode.'"
"Follow Mode?"
"Mm. It's used to track designated aquatic Pokémon—including Lugia, in this case."
"So, when the sub found Lugia, the people outside knew about it immediately?"
"They knew. The sub's video feed is transmitted to the surface in real-time via a network connection."
"This black box doesn't just store footage; it records all the parameters of the internal mechanical components."
Yanagihara seemed to anticipate Kashiwagi's next question and tapped a few keys.
"However, once it entered that underwater cave, the data link was forcibly severed due to signal instability... Clearly, there is some kind of power in that cave affecting signal propagation."
"Affecting the signal..."
"Yes. When dealing with powerful Pokémon, you'll often encounter scenes like this. Their mere presence emits a field. From a distance, it's fine, but up close, it interferes with everything."
Wait... is that Pressure?
Hearing Yanagihara mention a "field," Kashiwagi instinctively thought of the Pressure Ability—a trait shared by many legendary Pokémon that often felt underwhelming in game mechanics but was clearly formidable in reality.
The thought flashed by as Yanagihara resumed the video.
The logs showed that after failing to track Lugia further into the cave, the Porygon reported its discovery to the mothership and uploaded the recorded footage.
The ship then issued the command for the sub to surface.
As the sub broke the surface, the camera captured several Neo Team Aqua members surrounding it, their faces lit with uncontainable excitement.
"Captain Shelly was right!"
"There really is a Lugia here... why would it be in a place like this?"
"Who knows? You should figure out if it's a Hoenn native before asking questions like that."
"Hey! Less talking, more working!"
Under someone's urging, the camera was cut off as the sub entered its maintenance phase.
From those few snippets of dialogue, it was clear that a primary objective of this submarine trial was indeed to hunt for the legendary Lugia.
So, what would Neo Team Aqua do next?
Many days had passed since this recording. Had they already gone back down and captured it?
Kashiwagi didn't doubt that Neo Team Aqua possessed the technology to catch Lugia.
In the world of the anime, human "black technology" often surpassed the power of legendary Pokémon.
Even Giratina had once been captured and had 99% of its power drained by human machines.
Seeing Kashiwagi's worried expression, Yanagihara spoke up.
"Don't worry. We've been monitoring their movements, including the day they tested the sub. We just didn't know what they had seen."
He tapped the keyboard, looking at the data.
"If I remember correctly, they haven't returned to this specific sea sector since."
"They haven't gone back?" Kashiwagi was stunned.
"Why?"
"The next video should explain that."
Yanagihara pointed to the screen.
He opened the final file, which showed the sub's last deployment.
The reason Neo Team Aqua hadn't returned became clear almost instantly:
The underwater cave was gone.
As if everything they had seen was a dream, the sub returned to the exact same coordinates in the deep trench, but the cave was nowhere to be found.
It was as if it had never existed.
The Porygon pilot was clearly just as skeptical.
It had even equipped a drill, attempting to bore a hole into the rock face where the entrance should have been.
But no matter how deep it drilled, there was only solid stone.
The bizarre situation left the sub—and its operators—in a state of confusion.
Eventually, the sub began exploring in a different direction.
After leaving the trench, it discovered traces of human activity that it had missed before: a massive network of underwater pipelines.
Following the pipes, the sub discovered a whole new world.
It was an abandoned underwater energy excavation facility.
But just as the sub prepared to enter the facility to investigate, a swarm of Sharpedo surged out from the interior.
They rammed the sub in a coordinated frenzy, forcing it to make an emergency ascent.
When it reached the surface, the view changed again.
Appearing before the camera was a massive, island-like maritime platform. Its aft section had sunk into the ocean, causing the forward deck to tilt upward, looming over the waves.
"This is..."
Kashiwagi recognized it.
Though it looked different from the game version, there was no mistaking its identity.
"Sea Mauville"
Yanagihara answered, assuming Kashiwagi didn't know.
"A technological relic left behind by a powerful company in Hoenn that went bankrupt."
"It was abandoned because it was too costly to dismantle and has stayed there ever since. Nowadays, it's basically a paradise for wild Pokémon. It's quite similar to the S.S. Cactus."
The S.S. Cactus—the shipwreck where Tommy lived.
So, the Abandoned Ship and Sea Mauville coexisted in this world?
Perhaps because the ocean here was much larger and more vast than in the games.
But the questions remained:
Why did the underwater cave disappear?
Was it opened using Secret Power?