“You know the one thing I’ve noticed in common with the Legendary Birds?”
Aidan turned to see the slightly annoyed look on Tia’s face. “What’s that?”
“Caves,” Tia answered. “Lots and lots of caves. Or places so ruined they might as well be caves.” She looked around at the dark cave walls surrounding them. “I guess Lugia is no different.”
Aidan chuckled. “That’s… an interesting way to look at it. Another reason why people say Lugia is the head of the Legendary Birds.”
“I wonder if the fact that we caught them already has anything to do with the activity the locals are seeing here,” Tia mused. There were recent mentions of storms randomly whipping up within the Whirl Islands, along with roars constantly being heard from deep within the caves.
When Tia and Aidan decided to visit the Whirl Islands to investigate the rumors, another big storm was brewing. If Tia listened carefully, she could almost hear the heavy rainfall outside and the strong winds whistling through the caves.
“I can’t tell if this place is boring me to death or creeping me out,” Tia said sourly. “Tell me more Lugia legends, so I’ll stop thinking about it!”
Aidan burst out laughing. “If you insist!” He paused for a moment, thinking. Then he spoke up again.
“Well, Shamouti Island in the Orange Island archipelago has a Lugia legend,” he said, “in which each of the Legendary Birds lives on its own island – Ice Island, Lightning Island, and Fire Island. If the three Birds ever unleashed their fury upon the world, a Chosen One would appear, to awaken Lugia and calm all of them down.”
“Interesting,” Tia said. “It sounds a lot like a movie plot!”
Aidan laughed. “I’m sure there’s been a movie or two about the legend,” he replied.
Then his face grew serious. “There’s also a couple of conspiracy theories about Lugia,” he continued darkly. “In the Orre region, where the government is so lawless that groups like Cipher and Team Snagem run amok, there’s been whispers about Shadow Pokemon – Pokemon that have had their ability to love and trust completely cut off. People speculate that a Shadow Lugia was either captured and experimented on… or created.”
“That’s pretty disturbing,” Tia remarked.
Aidan nodded. “Either way, it was given the code name XD001. Some people say that the process of experimenting or creating Shadow Lugia also changed its appearance. Instead of a bright silvery-white, Shadow Lugia is a dark midnight-blue, with wild red eyes that reflect its pain.”
“How awful,” Tia answered softly, “I hope for Shadow Lugia’s sake that it doesn’t really exist!”
They continued walking through the cave system, exchanging stories and filling the empty caves with their laughter. They reached a wide river alongside a giant waterfall when the ground suddenly rumbled, and a haunting melody echoed through the caves.
Tia gasped in surprise, the song tugging at her heart.
Aidan nodded. “Lugia’s definitely here.” He looked across the river to the waterfall, squinting, then pointed. “Look over there. I think there’s a cave behind the waterfall!”
Tia sent out Emi, her Dewgong, and they Surfed across the river toward the waterfall. As they floated into the cave hidden behind it, there was another rumble.
Tia heard Aidan suck in a surprised breath. “Look!” he whispered, pointing. Hovering at the center of the room, surrounded by another, wider waterfall, was Lugia. It stared at them with a deep, piercing gaze.
Then, suddenly, Lugia whipped its head around and paused, as if it were listening for something. After a moment of silence, in which all that could be heard was the roaring of the falls, Lugia let out a roar that shook the entire cavern. It flew up, then dove down like a bullet, entering the water with a massive splash.
Tia and Aidan held on to Emi for dear life as the rippling waves rocked and splashed against them. A dark shadow appeared in the water, with eyes brightly shining through the depths. There was another rumble, then the shadow sped away, cutting through the water like a torpedo. Remnants of the same haunting melody lingered in the air.
Tia and Aidan waited until the waves subsided before they Surfed out of the cave behind the waterfall.
“What was that all about?” Tia asked shakily.
Aidan shook his head. “I have no idea.” He looked off into the distance. “But it seems like Lugia is gone now…”
They were interrupted by the whirring of motors approaching, the sound bouncing off against the cave walls. They looked down the river to see three motorboats, one behind the other, all filled to the brim with people – likely tourists – with blindingly bright fog lights lighting their path. One of the lights shined on Tia and Aidan, causing them to shield their eyes.
“Hey there!” the pilot of the first boat called out, “Whatcha doin’ out here all by yourselves?”
“We should probably ask you all the same question,” Aidan called out.
“We’re running a special tour this weekend,” the boat pilot answered, “For the right price, you’ll get to explore the Whirl Islands and maybe even catch a glimpse of Lugia!” He looked rather smug. “With all the noises people have been hearing here lately, we’re bound to see Lugia sooner or later!”
“We were told there wouldn’t be many explorers out today, though,” one of the other pilots mentioned. “It’s storming like crazy out there. You two aren’t lost, are you?”
“Uh… no.” Tia murmured. Aidan shook his head firmly. He looked about ready to explode.
“Well, you two take care on your way out,” the first pilot said, “The next time you come by, you might have to get in line!” He laughed, and the three boats moved on, their motors rumbling.
They waited until the boats were out of earshot, then Aidan scowled. “What. The. Hell.” he muttered. “They’re taking advantage of the local stories, and charging money, to bring a bunch of noisy boats and even noisier tourists around to disturb Lugia and its habitat!”
Tia looked at Aidan in puzzlement, not sure whether to be amused or indignant along with him. “I… guess that’s probably why Lugia left,” she said delicately. “Where do you think Lugia could have gone?”
Aidan huffed and thought a moment, trying to clear his head. “In the different legends, Lugia is painfully aware of how powerful it is and how much damage it can do. So to keep other people and Pokemon safe, it hides itself in isolated and secluded locations where it can sleep in solitude.”
“And the Whirl Islands was an isolated place,” Tia concluded.
“At least, until people started bringing giant tourist groups into the caves!” Aidan glared in the direction of the group that just left. “I mean, really… what the hell?”
“Well, ultimately, the joke’s on them, since they won’t be seeing Lugia anytime soon,” Tia said cheerfully. “As for us,” she added, “we should be going, too. Let’s get back to the Pokemon Center and get tracking!”
When the two Trainers arrived at Cianwood City’s Pokemon Center, the storm that had been in full force at the Whirl Islands was already starting to die down. Sheltered from the freezing, wet weather, Tia and Aidan settled down at a table in the lobby, their laptops and other tracking gear in front of them.
Tia opened the Pokedex and navigated over to Lugia’s entry, focusing primarily on its current location.
“Lugia’s definitely on the move,” Tia said, pointing at a blinking dot on the region map. “It’s moved from the Whirl Islands and is heading south, past the coast of Goldenrod City.”
Aidan looked at the map, eyebrow furrowed. “There’s nothing but open ocean that way,” he said, “Where could it be going…?” He turned to his laptop and pored over several maps of the area.
“If it heads toward open ocean and hides itself under the sea,” Tia said, “we’d never find it, especially if the Pokedex loses track of it.”
“Hmm.” Aidan pulled up one map of Kanto and Johto, zooming in to an area far to the south. “There’s a spot between Kanto and Johto where there’s a few big shipwrecks.” He pulled up a handful of news articles and quickly scanned through them. “Apparently people call it the Tohjo Triangle. According to these reports, hardly anyone goes through there due to the current being too fast for swimming or Surfing, and numerous storms cause big ships to run aground.”
He sat back and thought a moment. “How likely would it be that Lugia would choose one of those shipwrecks to hide in?”
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Tia answered. “Either the Pokedex tracker stops in the Tohjo Triangle, or it goes off-map and we lose it.” She made a mental note to check in with Mira at Professor Oak’s lab to see if she had an update to the Pokedex’s tracking ability.
After what seemed like hours, the Pokedex beeped. Tia picked it up and looked at the blinking dot that was Lugia’s location.
It was right smack in the middle of the Tohjo Triangle.
Tia smiled and turned to Aidan. “Ready to go treasure hunting?”