Chapter 401: Huntail and Gorebyss
After finding a replacement pearl for Spoink, Ash's group continued their tour of the archipelago.
Today, they were about to arrive at the Iroha Islands, which, as the name suggests, are three islands connected together.
The ship they were taking was headed to I Island, the only one with a Pokémon Center.
"Move... move aside!"
"Charge!"
Suddenly, a group of children riding various fish-type Pokemon rushed past the ship.
"What's going on?" Ash asked, puzzled.
May also cast a curious glance. "Huh, it looks like they're riding some kind of Pokemon!"
"Those are Huntail and Gorebyss, both of which evolve from Clamperl," Ash explained.
"They both evolve from Clamperl? That seems interesting. Should we follow them and take a look?" May became interested.
"Looking at the direction they're heading, they should be going to I Island too. Once we land, we can ask Nurse Joy about the situation," Brock said.
As the ship docked, the group arrived at the Pokémon Center on I Island.
"Good afternoon, Nurse Joy!" the group greeted.
"Good afternoon, and welcome to the I Island Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy said enthusiastically.
"Wow, she's so beautiful. As expected of a seaside Nurse Joy..." Brock's infatuation flared the moment he saw Nurse Joy walking over.
But the next second, his Deoxys came out of its Poké Ball, placed a hand on his shoulder, and then delivered a jolt of electricity, instantly shocking Brock into numbness.
"So... so numb..."
Seeing this, Jirachi took the opportunity to cast Teleport, sending Brock to the dock to cool off in the water.
"Dammit... why isn't it like I imagined?"
Deoxys's actions left Brock in tears.
He had thought he'd found a helper to keep Jirachi in check, but he never expected it to stab him in the back!
"Nurse Joy, please!" Ash and May both brought out their Poké Balls and asked Nurse Joy to help check them.
"What do you think you're doing!"
"What do you mean 'what am I doing'? Obviously, Huntail is the strongest!"
"Bullshit! Gorebyss is the strongest!"
A commotion came from nearby.
The smile on Nurse Joy's face vanished instantly. With a dark expression, she walked to a room and pushed open the door.
Inside the room were the group of children that Ash's group had encountered earlier.
Nurse Joy shouted in a deep voice, "That's enough! Everyone, return to your seats!"
Seeing this, the children obediently turned and returned to their seats.
"Nurse Joy, who are they?" May asked, puzzled.
"They are children from Lu Island and Bo Island. This Pokémon Center is the school for the Iroha Islands..." Nurse Joy explained.
"So, Nurse Joy, you also double as a teacher?" Brock said.
"Yes, but the relationship between Lu Island and Bo Island actually isn't very good."
Upon hearing this, Ash asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"
"There are many Clamperl living in our area, but for some reason, the Clamperl on Lu Island evolve into Gorebyss, while those on Bo Island evolve into Huntail.
As a result, the people on these two islands often argue about it, and over time, the relationship between the two islands hasn't been very harmonious."
After finishing her explanation, Nurse Joy turned to the group of children and announced that it was time for swimming class.
The group of children excitedly ran toward the nearby swimming pool.
Ash and the others, led by Nurse Joy, also headed toward the swimming pool.
Upon arriving at their destination, Ash and the others saw a familiar figure floating in the swimming pool, enjoying themselves.
"That is... Professor Birch?" May said in surprise.
Professor Birch heard the familiar voice and quickly looked up. "Oh, it's you, Ash! It's been a long time!"
"Huh? That person is Professor Birch?"
Nurse Joy was clearly shocked by Professor Birch's background.
"That's right, he really is Professor Birch," Ash and Brock confirmed.
"How can that be? I didn't ask his name before and just thought of him as a weird uncle who loves Pokemon..."
Upon learning the truth, Nurse Joy felt a bit embarrassed.
"Professor Birch is just like that—approachable and without any airs," Brock said.
"Well, it's great to see everyone so healthy. By the way, Ash, I'm sorry for the trouble back in Larousse City."
Professor Birch climbed out of the pool.
"That was nothing," Ash said modestly, waving his hand, then asked, "Doctor, why are you on this island?"
"I'm here to conduct research on Clamperl's branching evolution," Professor Birch replied.
Upon hearing this, May's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "So, Professor Birch, have you discovered anything?"
"Well... so far, I only know the items needed for evolution. As for whether Lu Island and Bo Island have any connection to these two branching evolutions, I don't know yet. But I think there should be results soon."
As he spoke, Professor Birch's gaze fell on Ash.
Ash braced himself and asked, "Uh... Professor Birch, you aren't thinking of asking me for help, are you?"
"That's right!"
Professor Birch patted Ash on the shoulder excitedly.
There was no escaping it. Ash could only say helplessly, "Well then, we might as well go and do some field research."
"Let's go take a look at Bo Island first!" Professor Birch suggested.
"Going to Bo Island? Then I'll lead the way!"
A little girl volunteered.
Faced with this sudden request, Ash didn't want to agree too quickly. "This... Nurse Joy..."
"Namiko, if you're going to accompany them, you must listen to Professor Birch!" Nurse Joy had no intention of refusing.
Seeing that Nurse Joy had tacitly agreed, another little boy spoke up, "Then Nurse Joy, I want to go too! Anyway, after Professor Birch and the others finish examining Bo Island, they'll have to go to Lu Island."
"This..."
This time, it was Nurse Joy's turn to be troubled.
Professor Birch didn't have many reservations and readily agreed, "Since both Kikuma and Namiko are interested in this, they might as well come along."
Under Namiko's guidance, the group arrived at a mysterious cave on Bo Island.
"I heard from my grandmother that if you put a Clamperl into this spring water, it won't be long before it turns into a Huntail," Namiko said, pointing at a gushing spring.
"I see!"
Professor Birch reached out, scooped up a handful of the spring water, and drank it. "Hmm, this is indeed delicious spring water full of minerals!"
Ash speculated, "The source of this spring water should have many Deep Sea Teeth. Perhaps there are some in this Lake too, Brock!"
"Alright!"
Upon hearing this, Brock immediately knew what to do.
The two entered the Lake and searched around for a while, and in the end, they actually found a complete Deep Sea Tooth.
"Doctor, we found it."
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