While Ash and Lugia were risking their lives in that sea of death, Misty, who remained on Shamouti Island, felt her unease tightening around her heart like creeping vines.
Her right eyelid twitched nonstop, and her chest felt unbearably heavy.
"I can't just sit here, I have to go!" She suddenly stood up and grabbed Melody's arm. "Melody, please, ask Captain Maren to take me to find Ash! I just know… something's going to happen to him!"
Melody looked at Misty's reddened eyes, then glanced toward the distant, terrifying phenomenon that seemed ready to swallow everything whole. Gritting her teeth, she nodded. "Alright! Captain Maren!"
At first, Captain Maren refused. "Young lady, that's no place for you! It's far too dangerous!"
"That's exactly why I have to go!" Misty's voice trembled with tears, yet carried unwavering determination. "He's always like this, rushing ahead on his own every time. I can't… I can't just stand by and watch anymore! Please!"
Perhaps it was that heartfelt concern that moved her. Captain Maren let out a sigh. "…Get on! Hold tight! If things go wrong, we turn back immediately!"
The speedboat plunged once more into the raging waves, speeding toward the direction of Ice Island.
The closer they got, the heavier Misty's heart became.
The sky looked like an overturned palette, streaks of purple, red, gold, and blue energy colliding chaotically. The ocean below resembled a boiling pot, churning with ice chunks and flames.
And then she saw a scene that nearly stopped her heart.
In the distant sky, Lugia's massive indigo body was falling powerlessly downward. At almost the same moment, a small, all-too-familiar figure, along with that flash of bright yellow, was wrapped in a gentle current of air and thrown from Lugia's back, tracing an arc before plunging straight into the furious waves below that looked capable of tearing anything apart.
"Ash! Pikachu!"
Misty's mind went completely blank.
Without even thinking, at the exact moment that figure hit the water, she leapt to her feet and kicked off the edge of the boat.
"Hey! Have you lost your mind?!" Maren's shout faded behind her.
Splash!
The freezing, bone-piercing seawater engulfed her instantly, the massive impact leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
Saltwater flooded her nose and mouth, but there was only one thought in her mind. Swim. Find him.
She struggled forward with all her strength, relying on the excellent swimming skills she had honed at the Cerulean Gym, searching desperately through the chaotic currents.
Finally, amidst the churning foam, she saw the sinking figure, and in his arms, Pikachu, completely unconscious.
'Ash! Pikachu!'
Summoning every ounce of strength, she swam toward them, grabbing Ash's arm with one hand while holding Pikachu with the other. Kicking furiously, she dragged them both upward through the water.
"Cough! Cough!" As she finally broke the surface and breathed air again, Misty coughed violently. Her arms trembled from exhaustion and the cold, yet she clung to Ash with everything she had, refusing to let go.
"Over here! Hurry!" Captain Maren had maneuvered the speedboat dangerously close. With Tracey and Melody's help, they scrambled to pull the unconscious Ash, Pikachu, and the completely drained Misty onto the boat.
"Ash! Ash! Wake up!" Ignoring her soaked and freezing body, Misty knelt beside him, slapping his face urgently, her voice trembling with tears.
Because of his small size, Pikachu hadn't taken in much water. Under Misty's calls and Tracey's first aid, he was the first to cough and regain consciousness, weakly letting out a "Pika…"
Ash soon came to as well, coughing hard and spitting out mouthfuls of seawater.
He looked around in a daze at the people surrounding him, until his gaze finally landed on Misty, drenched, pale, and with reddened eyes.
"Misty… you… I…" He rubbed his still-clouded head. "I just fell into…"
He was genuinely confused. Logically, the moment he hit the water, his Aura should have automatically protected him. Even if it couldn't block all the impact, it shouldn't have let him take it head-on like that.
In that instant just now, it felt like… his power had been interfered with, or suppressed by something.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
He suddenly sat up and immediately reached into his clothes. The pouch containing the three orbs was still there.
The subtle resonance between them had grown even clearer.
"The orbs! We have to return them to the shrine as soon as possible!" Ash struggled to his feet. Though his steps were still unsteady, the determination had returned to his eyes. "Lugia and the Legendary Birds… we can't wait any longer!"
Everyone immediately understood the urgency. Maren pushed the speedboat to its limit, breaking through the increasingly violent waves as they sped back toward Shamouti Island.
The moment they reached shore, Ash did not even have time to change out of his soaked clothes. Clutching the orbs, he followed Melody's guidance and sprinted toward the ancient temple at the highest point of the island.
Pikachu ran closely, with Misty, Tracey, and Melody following right behind.
At the center of the temple were three ancient recesses, each corresponding to fire, lightning, and ice.
Ash took a deep breath and carefully took out the three orbs, each still containing immense energy. One by one, he solemnly placed them into their respective slots according to their attributes.
Buzz!
The moment the final Ice Sphere settled into place, all three orbs simultaneously emitted a soft yet pure radiance.
Crimson, golden, and icy blue pillars of light shot into the sky, converging above the temple and merging into a warm, peaceful, life-filled rainbow halo that spread outward like ripples!
At the same time, Melody stood before the temple, closed her eyes, and raised her ancestral flute, playing the long-lost melody that held the power to communicate with the guardian of the sea, the Song of Lugia.
The ancient, flowing tune, accompanied by the rainbow halo, swept across the sky and sea like a gentle hand soothing wounds.
A miracle occurred.
The violent, destructive crimson vortex in the sky began to slowly calm and dissipate. The towering waves, like mountains, gradually returned to their natural rhythm. The raging thunder, falling flames, and freezing chill all seemed to be paused, rapidly fading away.
Sunlight finally broke through the clouds once more, shining upon a world that had nearly been destroyed.
In the distant ocean, accompanied by a gentle yet massive column of water, Lugia's majestic and beautiful form slowly rose from the sea. Though it appeared somewhat fatigued, its eyes had regained their depth and tranquility. It lifted its head and released a long cry, no longer filled with anger, but like a sigh, like a soothing lull.
With that call, the abnormal ocean currents beneath the sea that had triggered global climate chaos were guided and calmed by its immense power, returning to their natural course.
Soon after, the ocean surface stirred again in three different directions.
Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno, the latter still recovering from heavy injuries, rose from the sea one after another.
The ferocity and madness in their eyes had vanished, replaced by the exhaustion of regained clarity, and a faint trace of shame.
The three Legendary Birds glanced at each other, then at Lugia in the sky who had pulled them back from the brink of losing control. Finally, their gazes turned toward the temple on Shamouti Island, toward the human boy who had restored their treasures.
It seemed they had reached some kind of agreement.
Moltres opened its beak, releasing a strand of condensed crimson-gold flame that seemed almost alive. Zapdos summoned a thread of pure golden lightning that crackled without destruction. Articuno condensed three crystal-clear shards of ice that embodied the ultimate laws of cold.
These three streams of light, each representing a fragment of their core power, crossed the ocean and precisely entered Ash's body!
"Ugh!" Ash felt three completely different yet immensely pure energies surge into him, reacting violently with his Aura.
[Detected high-density rule-level foreign energy infusion! Energy types: Fire Origin, Lightning Origin, Ice Origin!]
[Initiating adaptive fusion with host core energy: Aura...]
[Warning! Energy conflict detected! Searching for optimal stable structure...]
[Fusion successful! Based on host will and energy characteristics, new forms generated!]
The system's notifications rang rapidly in his mind.
Ash could clearly feel the power within him undergoing a drastic transformation.
Part of his Aura merged with the blazing fire essence, forming a molten-like energy filled with explosive force, flowing through his body, as if containing boundless physical strength and burning battle intent. Aura, Sovereign Form.
Another part of his Aura fused with the icy frost essence and the active lightning essence, creating a more agile, profound energy with a hint of mystery, primarily gathering within his mental and perceptive domain. Aura, Lunar Mystic Form.
These two forms were not fixed. It seemed they could be switched at will, or even partially used at the same time.
Having completed this, the three Legendary Birds seemed to have fulfilled their final duty. They each flew toward Fire Island, Lightning Island, and Ice Island, their figures gradually disappearing into the now peaceful horizon.
Lugia looked deeply at Ash, its gaze filled with approval, trust, and a subtle hint of expectation. Then it let out a long, echoing cry as its massive body slowly sank back into the deep sea, continuing its eternal duty of maintaining the ocean's balance, becoming once more a legend in the hearts of people.
The crisis was finally over.
At that moment, a rescue helicopter broke through the previously chaotic air currents and landed on Shamouti Island.
The cabin door opened, and Delia, Professor Oak, and Professor Ivy rushed out.
"Ash!" Delia spotted her son at once, standing before the temple, soaked and looking somewhat battered but with bright, determined eyes. Misty stood beside him, equally drenched.
She rushed forward, but instead of embracing him, she grabbed his ear!
"You little brat! Going off to do something this dangerous again! Are you trying to scare your mother to death? Falling into the ocean? Fighting Legendary Pokémon? You…" Her eyes were red as she scolded him, her voice trembling with lingering fear as her words poured out like a barrage.
"Ow! Mom, that hurts! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Really!" Ash winced and begged for mercy, trying to dodge while sneaking a glance at Misty, who couldn't help but laugh, and Tracey, who looked helpless.
After calming his mother and answering Professor Oak and Professor Ivy's barrage of academic questions about the Legendary Birds and Lugia, Ash finally found a moment to quietly ask in his mind, "System, when I fell into the water earlier, why didn't my Aura automatically activate to protect me?"
[…Beep. Host inquiry detected. Analyzing... Conclusion: Interference from a high-tier divine field caused temporary disruption of passive defense mechanisms. Specific source of interference... Data missing. Insufficient permissions.]
A high-tier divine field? Was it the energy from the clash between the Legendary Birds and Lugia, or… something else?
Ash frowned slightly, a question lingering in his mind.
One day later, on the shore of an unnamed island near Shamouti, three battered figures were washed up by the waves. It was Jessie, James, and Meowth.
They lay sprawled on the sand, coughing up seawater, too exhausted to even move a finger.
At that moment, a Slowking holding a staff, its eyes filled with wisdom, slowly walked up to them.
"Yadon…" It pointed its staff at them, then toward Shamouti Island. "You… helped the chosen one… calmed the wrath of the legends… the island's people… all saw… the end…"
"What… what?" Jessie struggled to lift her head.
"They said… they saw us?" James looked incredulous.
"They said we… helped the twerp?" Meowth was stunned.
Slowking nodded, then slowly walked away, leaving the trio staring at each other.
Helped? That word felt so unfamiliar to them, yet… it didn't feel bad.
Jessie shook her wet hair and huffed. "Hmph! At least those islanders have good judgment! When Team Rocket steps in, success is guaranteed!"
For once, James didn't agree. He looked thoughtful. "But… it feels different from what we usually do…"
Meowth stared at his paws and muttered, "Not stealing, not tricking… being thanked instead… doesn't feel so bad, meow…"
The three fell silent, gazing at the now calm and peaceful sea in the distance. For the first time, they truly began to think about what kind of "beautiful life" they had been chasing all along.
Maybe… trying a different way once in a while wouldn't be so bad.
The Lugia arc has officially concluded. Next, the final challenge, the Orange League!
...