"Sacred Fire, huh…"
Lugia, still in flight, lowered its head and pondered for a few seconds. It was interested, but also surprised to hear the name of that move from Lucas's mouth.
Once, both it and Ho-Oh had resided in tall towers built by humans who worshipped them, receiving offerings.
But due to certain accidents, the humans angered them. After delivering punishment, both legendary birds left the towers—one vanishing without a trace, the other sinking into the depths of the sea.
Hearing the name "Sacred Fire" suddenly brought back a trace of daze.
They were already close to the Kanto seas. They found a small island, where Lugia and Moltres landed while the Giant Dragonite stayed in the water.
Its current size made flying impossible anyway, and the island couldn't support its weight.
It could only blow bubbles while staring at Lucas, Lugia, and Moltres with its huge, honest eyes that were many times larger than light bulbs—like a super-giant peering over a castle wall.
Once settled on the island, Lugia had only one thing to do.
Using its omnipotent psychic powers (much like Calyrex), it probed the iridescent flame seed inside Moltres with spiritual energy.
"It is indeed genuine Sacred Fire."
Lugia first gave the most important conclusion—one Lucas had already confirmed.
Then it tried to touch the slightly restless flame seed with its psychic power.
"You mean this flame seed was gifted to your Moltres by a living flame that became a Moltres?" While examining it, Lugia asked again for confirmation.
"Yes, that's right."
Lucas nodded and recounted the events once more.
Unexpectedly, a human-like smile appeared on Lugia's face, and the blue membrane on its body that appeared when using psychic power vanished.
"In that case, there's no need to investigate further."
Under Lucas's puzzled gaze, Lugia suddenly said something that seemed out of nowhere, then quickly explained.
"The one who left behind that 'living flame' was the previous generation's Fire God—the Moltres that once resided on the Island of Fire."
Lucas was stunned. "Previous generation…? Fire God?"
"Why couldn't there be one?" Lugia sounded equally puzzled but continued explaining.
"You don't actually need to worry about the previous generation. Just know that after stepping down, it spent some time with humans again. Once that human's lifespan ended, it left behind some of its power and disappeared to who-knows-where."
"Due to some past events that no longer matter today, it learned 'Sacred Fire' from Ho-Oh."
"The reason the flame it left reacts so strongly to your Moltres is half because they are the same species, and half because after that event your Moltres also received partial favor and blessing from nature, carrying the corresponding aura."
Lugia paused.
"It's like a senior's gift to a junior. Just like Dragonite—once your Moltres grows stronger and gains better control over its power, it will naturally master Sacred Fire."
"It's merely a legacy of a legacy, so its power and effect may be slightly weaker than the genuine article."
Lugia's explanation was thorough. Although Lucas was curious why the previous Fire God had passed on its position and how it learned Sacred Fire from Ho-Oh, he knew better than to press when Lugia chose not to elaborate.
Lucas's perfect sense of distance made Lugia sigh in appreciation.
While it preferred humans like Ash with passionate hearts, getting along with someone as perceptive as Lucas wasn't bad either.
A short while later.
Having resolved a small issue, they continued toward the sea where the Giant Tentacruel lived, guided by Lucas's precise directions.
They finally stopped in the distant waters off the side of the golden beach at Acapulco, a famous resort in the Kanto region.
Honestly, when the system guided him all the way here, Lucas was a bit dumbfounded—especially when he saw the bustling golden beach on the other side of the sea.
Wow… it's been almost a year and you're still hanging around here?
Acapulco wasn't far from Hutber Port, meaning the Giant Tentacruel had been living in these nearby waters the entire time without much reaction from the Kanto region.
If it had been Cynthia, she would have been restless and would at least have sent people to communicate with the giant and reach an agreement.
It was unclear whether Kanto already had measures in place and thus chose a hands-off approach.
The origin of the Giant Tentacruel was both absurd and heavy.
It began when Brutella in Hutber Port occupied the coral reef where the Tentacool lived and turned it into a luxurious floating hotel.
The construction severely damaged the Tentacool's habitat, so the jellyfish began retaliating against humans.
As the conflict escalated, Brutella not only refused to admit her mistake but even paid mercenaries to drive the Tentacool away.
Team Rocket's trio had also come after hearing the news.
During their operation, an ordinary Tentacool was hit by their barrel-shaped "domestic three-cup vinegar."
Stimulated, the Tentacool evolved into the Giant Tentacruel and led its kin in revenge and counterattack.
In the anime's ending, no one defeated or drove away the giant. Instead, through the efforts of Ash's friend Misty from Kanto and the Pokémon's persuasion, the Giant Tentacruel—who felt it had taken enough revenge—stopped its destruction.
After Meowth said "We'll let you off this time," the Giant Tentacruel led its group back into the sea.
Lucas made no judgment on the events themselves. After confirming something, he spoke to the Giant Dragonite, whose massive body was mostly submerged and created thick fog when moving: "In these waters, there is an existence roughly the same size as you."
"Its species is Tentacruel, not Dragonite. Do you think it could be the companion you've been searching for?"
The Giant Dragonite blinked its honest eyes and gazed at the sea ahead. Its vision seemed to pierce the water and see what lay hidden below.
Lugia flapped its wings, visibly surprised. It too had sensed the colossal entity beneath the waves.
It was also astonished that this world truly contained two Pokémon of such enormous size.
Although Lucas's group had only just arrived, the presence of the Giant Dragonite swimming in the sea had naturally drawn the attention of the Tentacruel clan—the undisputed overlords of these waters.
Countless Tentacool rose from the depths like a dense, oppressive swarm of sea thugs.
But the real pressure came from the Giant Tentacruel itself, slowly surfacing under the protection of its kin.
While not as terrifying as the Giant Dragonite, up close it was still taller than most buildings.
Its eyes were cold. It clearly viewed the Giant Dragonite as an invader and pointed nearly eighty massive poisonous tentacles straight at it.
At the same time, the ruby crystals on the Tentacool's heads glowed with an eerie red light.
If not for the thick fog that accompanied the Giant Dragonite's movement, the scene would have scared any returning fishermen to death.
Battle was imminent.
But before Lucas could intervene, Lugia descended between the two parties.
A majestic, domineering whale-like cry rang out.
"Wuuu—" (Cease this conflict—)
Though Lugia was tiny compared to the Giant Tentacruel, the moment it appeared, the giant's pupils shrank and it felt overwhelming pressure.
It was a pressure the Tentacruel could not resist—even after its mutation had granted it such power.
The majesty of a god!
…
In the slightly rough seas of Hoenn.
Proof that the temptation of food is infinite.
At this moment, Nemona and the other two were sitting on the back of a rather spacious Pokémon that felt like a moving island at sea.
Its name was Wailord—the largest known Pokémon in the world.
Carrying three small humans was effortless for it.
Nemona's group had managed to hitch a ride thanks to a playful Wailmer.
After a night of patient waiting and rest, at dawn they began considering which wild Water-type to tempt for help.
A Lapras would have been ideal for riding, but although Hoenn had abundant water, Lapras groups rarely stayed here.
Sharpedo were also suitable mounts with speed like a speedboat, granting excellent maneuverability.
But that required a trained, saddle-equipped Sharpedo.
Wild Sharpedo—the notorious sea thugs—were unlikely to cooperate, and sitting unprotected on one with Rough Skin would shred their backsides.
Fortunately, luck always favored traveling children.
While Nemona's group walked back and forth on the beach holding Pokémon food that gave off a strange aroma, they heard several duang duang duang sounds. A fairly large blue ball bounced in front of them. Its tiny black eyes—disproportionately small like green beans—stared longingly at the food in their hands.
A wild Wailmer.
Shizuka might be slow in battle, but her knowledge of Pokémon ecology was worthy of the Joy name.
The moment she saw the Wailmer begging for food, she recalled the species' habits.
A young Wailmer was almost always accompanied by an adult Wailord. In deeper waters, entire family groups of Wailmer and Wailord could exist.
Her guess proved correct. After befriending the Wailmer with food, they successfully boarded the Wailord express.
The Wailord was quite intelligent. With the trio's descriptions, it quickly understood their goal.
As freely roaming sea Pokémon, they knew everything that happened in the ocean.
Team Aqua's actions, while avoiding the Hoenn League, were almost completely open to wild Water-types.
The abstract description "a big iron thing without life aura in the water" quickly connected in the Wailord's mind with the submarine it and the Wailmer had avoided the previous night.
Thanks to the sociable Wailmer's connections with many other Water-types, asking for directions saved them a lot of detours.
Around two in the afternoon.
A small island not recorded on any map came into view. The island was quite large, with a massive active volcano in the center spewing thick smoke.
"The Team Aqua submarine is docked at the edge of the island!"
Paul, who had sent out the fastest and stealthiest Ninjask to scout, reported after it circled the island.
"So this is their base?"
Standing on the slightly slippery back of the Wailord, excitement flashed in Nemona's eyes.
Shizuka and Paul naturally refused to let her charge in recklessly. "We shouldn't board rashly. We're still in the signal-jamming zone. Let's leave the area first and contact Officer Jenny in Mossdeep City."
As a former Joy, Shizuka didn't want Nemona taking risks and preferred notifying the Hoenn League safely first.
Though Nemona was the strongest of the three in battle, Shizuka's big-sister aura was strong in daily life. Under that pressure, Nemona could only lower her head dejectedly and abandon the idea of storming the base.
However, just as they asked the Wailord to turn around and leave the jamming zone, a somewhat conspicuous figure on the sea suddenly entered their sight.
It was a bright red Gyarados!
And on the back of this seemingly shiny Gyarados were three people who had also spotted them on the Wailord. They were waving vigorously.
Coincidentally, for both sides, the other party consisted of acquaintances!
…