Chapter 181: Can I Catch This Lugia?

Lugia, one of the legendary large bird Pokémon of the Kanto region.

Legend has it that, because its power was too great, it could only quietly while away the hours at the bottom of the deep sea; it is said that when Lugia flaps its wings, it will cause a storm lasting forty days.

Without a doubt, Lugia is a legendary Pokémon no less than Ho-Oh, and Caitlin actually still held some expectations for Lugia.

At the very least, Lugia is also a Pokémon called the "Sea God"! (Pokédex original words: Lugia is said to be the "Sea God")

But… this one is way too small?

"Lord Lugia…"

May and Tamao were also at a complete loss; looking at this little Lugia that wasn't even a meter tall, both women were dumbfounded.

They had always wanted to meet Lugia and Ho-Oh, hoping they could forgive the mistakes of their forebears.

But not a Lugia like this!

"Waaah～"

The little Lugia tottered to its feet, swaying like a duckling learning to walk, and followed behind Mamon, trying to bite the bread in Mamon's hand.

This little appearance and posture was truly adorable beyond words.

"This child is probably still very young, and I have no idea where its mother is."

Mamon handed the bread in his hand to the little Lugia, and the little Lugia took a big "awoo" bite and chewed happily.

Sure enough, even legendary Pokémon are this cute and innocent as young ones.

"Mamon, do you think I can catch it?"

Caitlin's eyes were sparkling as she looked at the little Lugia; she really liked this cute little fellow.

And now that she knew it was a Lugia juvenile, she liked it even more!

And this was something she had fished up herself! What did that prove?

It proved she had a fated bond with this little Lugia! A natural bond! Not to mention Lugia also has the Psychic typing!

"Catching it isn't actually difficult; its mind isn't mature yet, but the main problem is its parent."

Mamon rubbed his chin and spoke; regarding this little Lugia, he was also quite interested, though his interest wasn't particularly great.

Moreover, he vaguely remembered that Lugia mothers attached extreme importance to their little Lugia, to the point that if a little Lugia went missing, the Lugia mother would directly go mad and rampage.

One could see how much weight the little Lugia held in the Lugia mother's heart.

But how should one put it? This wasn't strange either, after all, for beings like Lugia that naturally stood at the very top of the world's food chain, producing offspring was absolutely extremely difficult.

"Lugia, then…"

Caitlin fell silent, but in her heart she was indeed still endlessly regretful.

But this sort of thing was also within expectations; Caitlin took out from her bag the Ability Cubes specially made for her main Psychic-type Pokémon.

"Would you like some of this? You should like it."

Caitlin walked up to the little Lugia, crouched down with a very gentle tone, and the box of Ability Cubes opened in front of the little Lugia.

"Waaah～"

The little Lugia sniffed with its nose, and its eyes immediately lit up.

The little Lugia gnawing on the Energy Cubes in the box mouthful after mouthful looked just like it hadn't eaten in three days.

"Eat slowly, okay? There's still plenty, don't choke." Caitlin gently stroked the little Lugia's neck; the smooth feathers felt very nice to the touch.

"I wonder if this little Lugia's feathers have any special effect."

Mamon picked up a little Lugia feather from the ground, looking at this little feather shimmering with a faint silver glow with great curiosity.

Lugia's Silver Wing is also an item used to summon Lugia in the games, and it's also one of the items required to make a GS Ball.

The reason the Masked Man wanted to capture Ho-Oh and Lugia was precisely for their feathers, to use them to make something that could capture Celebi, which travels through time.

But that was the feather of an adult Lugia; whether this little Lugia's feather had the same effect was unknown.

And this question was likewise troubling Rika and Kazuki.

They had originally been napping, and after sleeping comfortably had come over to see if Mamon had made any progress, and then they saw the little Lugia playing happily with its babbling sounds.

Kazuki's brain crashed on the spot.

"Is… this really okay?"

Kazuki was somewhat hesitant, unsure whether the feather of this little Lugia that wasn't even as tall as himself was what the Masked Man needed.

If this feather was useless, what would they do if the Masked Man got angry?

"Rika, what do you think?"

"You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?" Rika rolled her eyes and retorted irritably.

She felt that asking Mamon for a little Lugia feather should be completely fine; just say they were keeping it as a memento.

But the problem was, was this feather what the Masked Man needed?

"Wait, why did the sky go dark?"

Abruptly, Rika noticed something unusual.

One saw that the originally fairly clear and azure sky, at some unknown time, had thick dark clouds rolling in, blocking out the sunlight.

The originally calm sea surface also began to surge with towering waves, as if in anger.

A heavy, oppressive feeling filled the world, making it almost hard to breathe.

"What's going on?"

May pressed a hand to her chest, looking around in alarm and uncertainty; this suffocating feeling…

It was as if some being even higher up the food chain had set its sights on them!

Wooo～!!

A deep, melodious wailing sound came from afar, reaching the ears of Mamon and the others.

"Waaah～ wuu～"

Little Lugia heard this voice, but happily bounced up, letting out light, cheerful cries toward the surging sea.

"Looks like this little one's parent has come to find it."

Mammon chuckled softly, his gaze on the distant sea.

One could vaguely see a huge black shadow rapidly approaching from beneath the sea, its target precisely their direction.

Although Lugia is passed down as the 'Sea God,' in reality Lugia has no Water-type; it is a Psychic- and Flying-type Pokémon.

But Lugia likewise possesses the ability to control the weather. Legend has it that with a single flap of its wings it can stir up a storm, and it can also subdue a raging sea.

The reason it is passed down as the 'Sea God' is also because Lugia, like Ho-Oh, is by nature an extremely gentle and kind legendary Pokémon.

Lugia originates from the sea, and it also nearly possesses all the 'virtues' of the sea — gentleness, inclusiveness, beauty.

When people encounter shipwrecks or accidents at sea, as long as Lugia is nearby, it will unconditionally rescue them.

Over time, legends of Lugia began to appear; those who had once been rescued by Lugia came to call it the 'Sea God.'

But even a gentle Lugia can get angry!

"Woo—!"

The low, mournful cries drew closer and closer; the huge black shadow had already neared the shore.

A massive silver-white bird Pokémon slowly rose from the seawater, great cascades of seawater pouring down.

It had a beautiful silver-white figure, its appearance almost identical to little Lugia's, but its size was entirely different.

Even more different was the intense pressure radiating from its entire body!

It was a thick, stifling feeling that made it hard even to breathe, especially those furious, icy eyes of its at this moment.

"Woo—!!"

Lugia cried out once more, its utterly cold gaze falling on Mammon and the others.

"Nyah nyah nyah~ this is no joke, young man. Looks like this Lugia has taken us for enemies."

Rika's words sounded like teasing, but the Solemn meaning within them was so clear.

Experiencing this Lugia's terrifying aura firsthand, Rika suddenly felt how laughable her earlier idea of capturing Lugia had been.

Indeed, the reason the Masked Man was able to capture Lugia and Ho-Oh was simply because he was the Masked Man.

"We didn't do anything to little Lugia, what's there to be afraid of?"

Mammon paid it no heed, but turning his head he discovered that Lugia's mother had already opened her mouth, white airflow continuously condensing.

This was the preparatory motion for Lugia's species-exclusive move Aeroblast!

"Young man, are you sure it's fine?" Rika felt the hairs on her body about to stand on end.

Every single cell in her body was reminding her: if hit by this attack, she probably wouldn't even leave ashes behind!

Rika's hand had already tightly gripped a Poké Ball, ready to throw it at any moment.

Mammon was also rather surprised. He knew Lugia's mother treasured little Lugia, but this indiscriminate opening with a signature move right off the bat?

Wasn't that just a little too over the top?

"Kyogre."

Mammon had no desire to gamble that Lugia's mother would halt the attack, and decisively released Kyogre.

The Lord of the Deep Sea appeared in the air ahead of Mammon, its majestic, ruthless eyes fixed on Lugia's mother.

"This is?"

Rika, May, and the others stared in astonishment at this Pokémon that had suddenly appeared.

Lugia's mother looked at Kyogre, a hint of bewilderment likewise flashing through her eyes.

She saw it clearly — Kyogre came out of that human's Poké Ball? Kyogre was actually caught by a human??

Lugia's mother was deeply shaken. After all, in the impression of their Lugia clan, Kyogre's temper… was really nothing to speak well of.

Although the origin of the sea, besides making rain and expanding the ocean, what else could Kyogre do? It truly couldn't be bothered with anything at all.

Wasn't the maintenance of the ocean always done by their Lugia?

Lugia's mother was suspicious and uneasy inside, but the Aeroblast in her mouth gradually dissipated. If it was Kyogre's Trainer, he probably wouldn't hurt her child, right?

"Looks like it can listen to reason a little. Lugia, we didn't kidnap your child. We were fishing, and it bit the hook on its own."

Mammon didn't even blush when lying; the words just rolled off his tongue.

Besides, he wasn't really deceiving Lugia's mother — catching little Lugia by fishing? He wouldn't even dare imagine it.

As for kidnapping little Lugia, that was even more nonexistent. Compared to when it was first fished up, little Lugia's belly had grown more than a full circle — purely stuffed full of food.

Lugia's mother breathed a quiet sigh of relief inside. And as Lugia's mother's mood settled, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and the raging sea gradually returned to calm.

"Waa—"

Little Lugia clearly hadn't paid the slightest attention to the tense atmosphere just now; it spread its arms and trotted toward Lugia's mother.

Lugia's mother hurriedly lowered her form to the ground, caught little Lugia in her arms, lowered her head, and gently nuzzled little Lugia's head.

This incomparably heartwarming scene truly could not help but move one.

Kyogre glanced at little Lugia, then glanced at Lugia's mother, seeming to wonder about something.

"Woo-ow~ woo—"

After embracing for a while, little Lugia called out excitedly and cheerfully to Lugia's mother, its small wing also pointing toward Mammon and the others.

Lugia's mother immediately understood what had happened, and the look she cast toward Mammon and the others carried a hint of apology.

"I'm sorry for startling you just now. Thank you very much for looking after my child."

A gentle, feminine telepathic voice rang in the ears of Mammon and the others — this was Lugia's mother's telepathy.

"It's alright, I understand." Mammon replied with a smile.

"This child is only just over a hundred years old now, and its temperament is still very immature. I've always worried about it being deceived."

Lugia's mother gazed at little Lugia with tender affection.

"Just over a hundred years old"...

Lihua smacked her lips, looking at little Lokhia with a strange expression. Well, the Lokhia race had a rather long growth cycle? That was normal enough.

For a race like the Lokhia, their lifespans were long and drawn out—god knew how many years they could actually live.

(End of chapter)