Under the azure blue water curtain, Lugia slowly poked out its head.
With a long silver-white neck that resembles a heron but without a beak structure, and triangular black fins like eyemasks, mysterious and magnificent.
However, seeing this creature, not only Baimu, but also the other members of the Ocean Team displayed rather strange expressions.
Aquan directly turned his head and asked:
"Are… Lugias in the Ore Region all this small?"
"How could that be?"
Baimu shook his head decisively.
The Lugia in front of him was clearly more than half the size smaller than the normal Lugia portrayed in the animated series, with a rather "miniature" head and neck, estimating that the full length might not exceed four meters.
A typical baby Lugia.
In the animated series, there exists a Lugia infant—Little Silver, which had once met Ash Ketchum's group, was caught by the Rocket Team at the Vortex Islands, and was eventually successfully rescued.
"A wild small Lugia?"
Aquan turned his gaze back, filled with incredulity, then became somewhat excited and wanted to approach.
But Baimu stopped her.
"Wait, don't you feel like the atmosphere is a bit off?"
"The atmosphere is a bit off…" Before Aquan could understand what he meant, a scream suddenly erupted from a member of the Ocean Team not far away.
"Ah!"
Everyone quickly looked over and saw that person pointing at the entrance they had come through, a face full of fear and trembling.
"Lo... Lugia!"
And at the entrance, an enormous head had somehow emerged, with a faint silver light like the bright moon, emitting a cold and desolate aura.
Like a magnified version of another Lugia, it looked down at them with icy eyes, an invisible oppressive force lingering in the dark cave.
The Ocean Team members and Baimu were perplexed and stood still.
However, the Ocean Team members were not inexperienced, and Baimu wasn't so panicked by the aura; their emotions soon calmed down.
Aquan stepped forward voluntarily, raising her hands in a gesture of innocence, and said, "We apologize for trespassing on your territory. We have no malicious intent and won't harm you or your child, please believe us!"
"Please forgive our intrusion; we have no ill intentions!"
Baimu also took a step forward, raised his hands, and said.
Although it's unclear if Lugia could understand this surrender gesture, considering it as a Pokémon of Psychic Attribute, it should be able to distinguish between good and evil.
He constantly recalled the storyline where Ash Ketchum encountered Lugia mother and child, grateful that with Ash's efforts, the rescued Lugia hadn't completely lost trust in humans after dealing with the Rocket Team.
Lugia going berserk in the animated series was quite terrifying...
Suddenly feeling it might be a misconception, Baimu thought this Lugia seemed much larger than the one in the animated series.
Hmm?
Could this be Lugia's father?
His heart skipped a beat.
As he was pondering, the large Lugia in front confirmed that the Ocean Team, Baimu, and all the Pokémon held no hostility, and the oppressive force released dissipated immediately.
"Chew——"
Yet, it obviously maintained a demeanor that wasn't welcoming to human visitors, moving its body aside to reveal the entrance, seemingly issuing an implicit directive to leave.
Aquan saw this and immediately instructed his subordinates to check the view outside, then followed them to the entrance but didn't leave.
"Do you ask or do I?"
She glanced at the large Lugia, then at the curious baby Lugia, and finally turned to Baimu.
"...Wait, let me just shout first."
When Baimu saw the baby Lugia, he realized he likely made a mistake, but for accuracy, he decided to verify it.
Thus.
In Aquan's puzzled gaze, he softly called to the baby Lugia, "Little Silver?"
"Woo!"
Upon hearing this term, baby Lugia's eyes immediately brightened, and the large Lugia beside it was startled, examining Baimu incredulously.
"Is it you, Little Silver?"
Baimu asked again, and baby Lugia immediately dashed out from the waterfall, approaching him enthusiastically.
The large Lugia also bent its long neck, scrutinizing Baimu, occasionally comparing his face with something in its memory.
"You know them!?" Aquan said incredulously.
Baimu shook his head, "No, no, no, I don't know them. I merely know someone who has interacted with them—ah!"
Baby Lugia fiercely dove at him, knocking him down, repeatedly scrutinizing his face and occasionally sniffing him, becoming disappointed upon realizing it wasn't the familiar face.
"Sorry to disappoint you, I'm neither Shuichi, Ash Ketchum, nor Ahong, but I know them," he said to the Lugia mother and child.
Upon hearing familiar names, Lugia mother and child no longer carried any hostility.
It was evident they were quite innocent, believing Baimu was friendly just because he could mention individuals who had once rescued them.
"Sigh…"
Baimu slowly rose, calming down the Galarian Corsola with all its smoke-like antenna extended, said to Aquan, "You ask, I've already finished."
"..."
Aquan looked at him rather complicatedly, as though saying, "Being myself, who has merely encountered Kyogre and Groudon as an Ocean Team cadre, how do you, someone from the Ore Region, know so many Lugias!?"
Escaping Lugia, Lugia mother, and Little Silver Lugia.
"Please tell me why you're here, why…"
While Aquan queried.
Baimu took out his cellphone and sent Shanren a message confirming the failure. Naturally, this message couldn't be delivered from the signal-less seabed, but he merely wanted to vent his inner frustration.
Finally finding one, only to discover it's Lugia mother and child.
Then where could the Lugia in the Ore Region have gone, hopefully not some deserted canyon.
Maybe consider asking these mothers?
Possibly Lugias have some unknown communication network; after all, Lugia's design prototype might include belugas, and whales can transmit information via calls…
Boldly speculating, he looked towards Lugia mother and child.
At this point, Aquan had also been successful in her questioning, confirming that Lugia mother and child fled to the Hoenn Region sea due to previous persecution by the Rocket Team, leaving the Vortex Island involuntarily.
However, being discovered by humans, they naturally opted to follow the ocean currents to other places.
In essence, although being Bird Pokémon, Lugias aren't classified as resident or migratory birds; they can travel anywhere via ocean currents or settle somewhere for millennia, solely based on their volition.
Aquan was satisfied to receive an explanation and backed off, meanwhile, the Ocean Team subordinates reported that their companion was merely fainted, and the submarine was intact.
Baimu stepped forward again, inquiring if Lugia mother and child knew of Lugia near the Ore Region.
The two looked at each other, apparently unclear on what the Ore Region meant.
"Like… um… do you recognize a Lugia flying from the north?" Baimu attempted to show the map to Lugia mother and child, but they couldn't understand.
The curse of knowledge made it quite difficult for mutual communication.
When he tried to inquire about all the Lugias worldwide, Lugia mother and child regrettably shook their heads.
They virtually had never contacted or interacted with any kin; everyone minded their own business.
"I see…"
Baimu's face was evidently filled with disappointment.