“We’re now approaching Navel Rock,” the voice on the intercom said.
Tia looked up suddenly and rubbed her eyes. The soft rocking of the boat and the whirring of the motor had lulled her to sleep. She looked over at Aidan, who was sitting next to her. He flashed her a smile.
Tia and Aidan were on a Seagallop Ferry, one of the high-speed ferries that regularly brought tourists to and from the Sevii Islands. But this particular island was special – known only to people in high places, who had arranged for a small group of researchers to visit and document the Pokemon within.
As Tia looked out across the water toward the island, which was steadily growing larger and larger, she thought about the circumstances that had brought them there in the first place.
“It’s called Navel Rock.” Mira said. “Part of the Sevii Island archipelago.”
“Part of the Sevii Islands?” Tia asked. “But why does it not show up on any maps?”
“Aha!” Mira exclaimed, pointing out a finger. “That’s where my own research comes in!” She pulled up a certain website that looked to be run by a well-known conspiracy theorist.
Tia looked at her in disapproval. “A conspiracy theorist, Mira?”
“No, wait! Just bear with me for a minute!” Mira answered crossly. “This blogger is actually connected to the Kanto government’s Wildlife division. She says that the island was newly discovered – sometime within the last couple of years – and that the Kanto government decided to establish a Pokemon wildlife preserve there, since it was so small. The preserve is an open secret among government officials right now, and it’s not scheduled to open to the public for some time.”
Tia and Aidan looked at each other. “And?” Aidan asked.
“The thing is,” Mira continued, “there’ve been reports within the last few days about Ho-Oh sightings at the peak… and rumbling noises within the caves!” She pulled up the Pokedex’s tracking system, which showed two dots blinking steadily over a blank area in the middle of the Sevii Island archipelago – southeast of Four Island, and northwest of Five Island.
“I compared the location of the island given on the blog to Ho-Oh and Lugia’s current locations,” Mira said, “and they were an exact match!”
Tia and Aidan looked at each other again. “So… now that we know where both of them are,” Tia mused, “How do we get there? If it’s some super-secret preserve, won’t we need permission to go there?”
“Easy!” Mira said proudly. “I got you both tickets.”
There were footsteps on the stairs as one of the ferry staff came down to the main cabin. She looked around at the group of researchers looking on expectantly. “Just out of curiosity,” the staff member said, “what kind of research are you all expecting to do on Navel Rock?”
“We’re going to look at the reproduction habits of Rattata and Pidgey when there’s a lack of human contact,” one researcher said.
“How about studying the population growth of Water Pokemon in isolated places?” another researcher added.
“Same idea, but with Flying Pokemon,” still another researcher put in.
The three turned to Tia and Aidan. “What about you two?”
Tia and Aidan looked at each other, then Tia answered. “We’re… looking at the rarity ratio of certain species of Pokemon on the island.”
The researchers nodded. “Interesting,” one of them replied.
“Isn’t it?” Tia said excitedly. Aidan smiled at her.
Not long afterward, the ferry touched down at a small, wooden pier on Navel Rock.
After the group disembarked and went their separate ways, Tia and Aidan stood on a quiet, desolate trail, a map of Navel Rock open on their Pokegears.
“So…” Aidan said slowly, “we have Ho-Oh at the peak, and Lugia in the caves. If we’re going to handle this the best way...”
They looked at each other, with Professor Oak’s latest bit of advice ringing in their ears:
“In a situation like this, where both Ho-Oh and Lugia reside on the same, isolated island, the worst thing you can do is have both of them attack you together. Not only will it attract attention from the other scientists, but it may also adversely affect the island’s weather and attract the government’s attention as well – which is something I’m sure you don’t want. Also, challenging one Legendary on its own will likely attract attention from the other, and inspire it to join in the battle. So the best way to handle this, moving forward…”
“We split up,” Tia murmured, “and take on both Ho-Oh and Lugia alone, but at the same time.”
Aidan nodded seriously.
Somehow, taking on a Legendary Pokemon alone filled Tia with dread. She and Aidan had challenged the other Legendary Pokemon together, and had come out fine in the end. Challenging one alone shouldn’t make much of a difference. Even still…
Tia swallowed, and stared up at the island’s mountain peak, where Ho-Oh resided. She thought back to her previous encounter with Ho-Oh, to the gentle look in its eyes as it healed her wounds, then nodded.
“I’ll challenge Ho-Oh at the peak,” she said confidently. Now that she said it, she was determined to see it through.
Aidan nodded. “Then I’ll go down to the caves and challenge Lugia.” His expression softened, and he put a hand on Tia’s shoulder. “We can keep in touch with our Pokegears on our way to the nests,” he said, “We won’t be alone.”
After another silent moment, the two parted ways – Tia toward the mountain peak, and Aidan toward the underground caves.
Tia reached the mountain peak by late afternoon. The sunlight hit her eyes at an angle, and reflected off the rainbow iridescent feathers of Ho-Oh, who was currently circling the peak directly above its nest. Tia stared at the rainbow-colored bird in awe, remembering the other times she and the Pokemon had encountered each other. Would Ho-Oh remember her?
She walked forward, readying a Poke Ball and waiting for Ho-Oh to notice her. A silly, stray thought popped into her mind, what Aidan said during their last phone call before she arrived at the peak. Don’t fall off the mountain! To which she immediately answered back, don’t drown! She said a silent protective prayer Aidan’s way, then shifted her focus toward Ho-Oh.
Ho-Oh circled the peak one more time until it finally sensed Tia’s presence. Its eyes locked onto hers with what she thought was recognition, and it let out a loud, challenging cry.
Meanwhile, Aidan emerged into the main chamber of Navel Rock’s cave system, surrounded by large waterfalls, cliffs, and small rock islands dotting the water. He felt a rumble pass through the cave, followed by a high, melancholic melody that tugged at his heart.
He looked down into the water of the underground lake and could almost see a pair of shining red eyes reflecting back at him when the surface of the water suddenly broke, and Lugia emerged with a bellowing cry and a swirling of waves.
Aidan looked back at Lugia with both fear and awe. For a moment, he wished Tia was here with him to see this spectacular sight, but he knew she probably had her hands full with Ho-Oh at the moment. Don’t drown, she said playfully during their last phone call. He smirked to himself and pulled out a Poke Ball. He definitely wouldn’t, not at this point.
We finally meet, Lugia, he thought, as he stared up at Lugia hovering over the waves. Lugia tipped its head toward Aidan, as if it had heard his thoughts, and let out a cry of challenge.
“Emi!” Tia called to her Dewgong, “Waterfall!”
Emi let out a loud cry as a pillar of water shot out. It twisted in the air, landing behind Ho-Oh and catching its head underneath. The Waterfall sizzled into steam as droplets fell between Ho-Oh’s feathers, and it quickly shook its head out from under the falls.
Ho-Oh focused on Emi and Tia and stared directly into their eyes. Psionic waves whipped up and streamed over them, then faded away.
Tia nodded to herself. “Future Sight...” she murmured, remembering the previous battle with Ho-Oh and intending to keep that fact in mind this time. She turned to Emi. “Take Down!”
Emi rushed at Ho-Oh and slammed directly into it, shuddering from the recoil. Before Ho-Oh could hit her with its wings, Emi leaped away.
Just then, Tia noticed sudden movement from the corner of her eye. Psionic waves swirled around them, and Tia recognized this as Ho-Oh’s Future Sight attack.
Not this time, Tia thought. She immediately turned to Emi. “Protect!”
Emi’s barrier went up as soon as the blast of psionic energy tore through the area. The gusts of wind bounced harmlessly against the barrier. Tia breathed out a quick sigh of relief.
“Good work,” she said to Emi. That attack could have blown them straight off the mountain if it had hit. She looked back at Ho-Oh, who flapped its wings and hovered even higher. Its wings glowed, and massive heat enveloped the wings, rolling off of them in waves.
“Emi!” Tia called out, “Surf!”
A gigantic wave of water rose up, covering Tia and Emi with a cool protective barrier while at the same time rushing quickly toward Ho-Oh. The Surf immediately connected with Ho-Oh’s flames, immediately converting to steam.
As the waves of Emi’s Surf continued to flow, Tia called out to her again. “Dive!” Emi immediately dove straight through and underneath the waves until she reached an area underneath Ho-Oh itself, then fired herself straight above like a torpedo. A wall of water blasted from below Ho-Oh like water from a Wailord’s blowhole.
Ho-Oh let out a painful cry and dropped from the sky like a stone. Right before it hit the ground, it spread its wings and hovered with a blast of wind. Tia shielded her eyes, and when the combination of wind, steam and water vapor finally faded away, it revealed a very exhausted Ho-Oh, hovering not more than a foot away from the ground.
Ho-Oh’s eyes focused directly on Tia’s, and after a moment of silence, it closed its eyes and bowed its head.
Tia immediately took this opportunity to pull out a Legend Ball and fling it toward Ho-Oh. It disappeared inside with a flash of light, and the Ball tumbled to the ground, wobbling once, twice, a third time, then calmly sealing shut.
“Tatra, use Rock Slide!”
An avalanche of rocks fell from the waterfall-topped cliffs and rained down on Lugia. Lugia managed to dodge most of the rocks, but a large amount still clipped one of its wings, causing it to tumble through the air. It quickly righted itself and let out a roar, flapping its wings. Gusts of wind whipped up between its wings and from its open mouth.
Aidan’s eyes widened. “Aeroblast…?”
Lugia fired a volley of gale-force winds toward Aidan and Tatra. Tatra stood his ground with his large, bulky body, but Aidan was blown off his feet and into the air. Before he hit the ground, Aidan curled into a ball and rolled, managing to land at a crouch.
“Tatra,” Aidan called out, “Ancientpower!”
Tatra levitated a group of large boulders and shot them directly at Lugia, knocking it out of the sky. Lugia banked its wings and hovered directly over the ground, landing with a thud. Lugia then opened its mouth and charged up another attack with a bright blue shine.
“Tatra, Protect!”
The protective barrier went up seconds before Lugia’s Hydro Pump slammed into them. The impact knocked Aidan to the ground, but still within the barrier. As the waters streamed away, the protective barrier faded. Aidan looked over at Lugia, who was readying another water attack.
As Lugia fired another Hydro Pump, Aidan commanded Tatra to put up another protective wall. Then, he pulled out another Poke Ball and tossed it into the Hydro Pump’s beam.
“Tigerblade!” A Sharpedo appeared, taking the full force of the Hydro Pump with ease.
“Crunch!” The Sharpedo quickly swam up the length of the Hydro Pump until it reached Lugia’s neck and clamped down on it.
Lugia let out a cry of pain and the Hydro Pump stopped like a faucet turning off. It twisted its body around, shaking Tigerblade off of its neck.
“Tigerblade, return!” Aidan called out, recalling the Sharpedo into its Poke Ball before it hit the ground. He pulled out another Poke Ball and threw it.
“Honcho!” A Honchkrow appeared in a flash of red light. It was about half the size of Lugia, but it bristled with energy.
“Dark Pulse!” Aidan shouted.
Honcho glowed, and fired a pulse of violet light toward Lugia. The pulse hit Lugia directly, causing it to wobble in midair.
“Hit it again!” Aidan called out.
Honcho swooped down, then upward, firing another Dark Pulse behind Lugia, causing it to fall from the sky. As Honcho flapped away from the cave walls, Aidan called to Tatra again.
“Rock Slide!”
A large pile of rocks fell from the cave cliffs, this time falling directly onto Lugia and causing it to fall from the sky and land on the ground with a loud rumble. After a few moments, the dust settled to reveal a large mound of rocks, dirt and grit, with Lugia likely underneath.
There was silence for another long moment, then the pile of rocks immediately shifted, and Lugia burst out of the pile with an angry roar that shook Aidan’s bones. It looked around wildly, then caught Aidan’s eye.
Lugia’s eyes flashed red for a split second, then reverted back to a brilliant blue. Its serious gaze struck through to Aidan’s very soul, and the soft melancholic melody it hummed tore at his heart.
Aidan’s previous words came back to mind: 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.
Lugia stared back at him, as if asking if he understood its pain. Could it be entrusted to him? Would it be misused by him?
Aidan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. He nodded to Lugia, with a slight smile. You can count on me.
Lugia answered with a gentle creel. With that, Aidan pulled out a Legend Ball and threw it toward Lugia. With a flash of red light, it disappeared inside, and the Ball wobbled three times before finally sealing itself shut.
It was nearly nightfall when Tia and Aidan met each other again on the quiet, desolate trail. They both looked at each other questioningly, then smiled and hugged each other when they each pulled out their respective Legend Ball with Ho-Oh and Lugia inside.
“We did it,” Tia said softly.
“We did,” Aidan answered, smiling. “We should celebrate.”
“Discreetly,” Tia said, “The other researchers think we’re monitoring Pokemon ratios – no point in letting them think otherwise!”
After returning to the Pokemon Center and having a large dinner with the other researchers, Tia set up her workstation in a quiet corner and scanned both Legend Balls.
Ho-Oh
Level 80
Element Type: Fire
Maximum Temperature: 800°C
Capture Rate: 9.10
Lugia
Level 80
Element Type: Psychic/Flying
Total Kinetic Energy (Water): 3.1 MW
Capture Rate: 8.30
“It looks like the more Legendary Pokemon we catch, the stronger they are,” Aidan said, nodding toward the computer screen. “And it must mean we’re getting stronger as Trainers.”
Tia nodded quietly. She stared blankly at the computer screen with a pensive look on her face. “There’s only two Legendary Pokemon left now,” she said. “Mew… and…”
“Celebi.” Aidan nodded. “We’ve tried tracking Mew since the beginning, but we haven’t seen any sign of Celebi yet.”
“We just got news from Mira, saying that the Pokedex has Mew’s exact location now,” Tia said, indicating the message she just read. “So that should be our next stop!”
“But not until we’ve rested a little,” Aidan spoke up, “Lugia and Ho-Oh would want us to be in top form before we challenge Mew, just like when we challenged them.”
The two of them gazed at the Legend Balls sitting on the table, feeling a sense of great responsibility.