Johnny caught up with the men, but kept at a discreet distance. He clung to the many shadows in the cave. Their voices drifted over the roar of the falls. "Once we get this one, we'll be millionaires, right, guys?" Johnny didn't have time to mull that over, because one of the men pulled a strange shell-like instrument out of his pocket and brought it to his lips. A sweet, airy tune came out of it. Johnny gasped. "That's it! That's the song that Derek was playing," he whispered. He hid from view, but kept an eye on the men. The tune stopped, and the only sounds that could be heard were the roaring of the tumbling water and the drip-drops from water dripping from the stalactites into the pools beneath. Then, something answered the tune. Out of the pool of water below rose Lugia, the magnificent Pokémon Johnny had been searching for. It sang the tune along with the odd instrument. Johnny's mouth fell open. Forgetting where he was, he rushed forward. "Unbelievable! It's really you! Lugia!" The men stopped and looked at him.
"Hey, kid, get outta here," an old man cautioned. He looked oddly familiar to Johnny, but he shook it off. He figured the mist was getting in his eyes and playing tricks on him.
"Yea, if you know what's good for ya," a younger, red-haired man said. They spoke in hushed voices.
"What? What are you doing here," Johnny asked. "Do you want Lugia?"
The men laughed quietly. "Do we want Lugia," the oldest one said. "Yea, we do. Now, scram."
"No." Johnny stepped ahead. "I came here to catch it." He held up the silver wing.
"Sorry, tyke," one of the other men said. "You're not catchin' it, because we're huntin' it." He cocked a large harpoon and aimed it at the still airborne Lugia.
"What? No!" Johnny threw the Master ball at Lugia to save it from the poachers. His throw fell short, and the ball splashed into the pool below. He looked down at it. He heard the harpoon fire, and saw the sharp end slice into Lugia's neck. The great bird screamed a terrible noise and thrashed its wings wildly. The whole cave shook from the force. One of the men fell into the pool miles below. "Get out! We're all gonna die!" They scrambled for safety. Lugia was losing strength fast. It summoned the last of it to execute its greatest attack, Aeroblast. Johnny was just out of Lugia's lair when the blast hit. The attack blew off the top of the cave, creating a huge crater. The blast threw Johnny into the air. He came down into the cave again, tumbling against the sharp rocks. He finally splashed into a murky lake. He was broken, battered, and bloody. On the way down, a shower of heavy stones from Lugia's rage fell from the sky, one of them striking Johnny squarely in the back of the head. He lost conscientiousness completely and sank below the water's surface.
*
Officer Jenny reached the Ketchum house by midmorning the next day. She looked at photos of Johnny, asked each member of the family questions about him, looked in his room, but came up with no answers. As she and Ash left Johnny's room, she asked him, "What's this room here," indicating the trophy room.
"It's my trophy room," he said, ushering her in. She took in the large number of awards and accolades. "Hey, what's missing from the wall?" She pointed to the empty space.
"What?" Ash drew closer. "Hey, the silver wing is gone. Where did it--noooooooooo," he whispered.
"What? Is everything okay, sir," she asked.
"Misty, come see this," Ash shouted. Misty was in the room in no time. "Look." She saw the feather was missing.
"Oh, no, Ash," she said tearfully. "You don't think he... No, no, he didn't. He couldn't have." She pressed her stomach with her hands.
"We have to get to Olivine and look for him," Ash said.
"Come on. We'll make a search party. Let's go." He pulled his wife downstairs. He assembled a team of his good friends to help. Brock Slate, of course, was the first to arrive. He'd known Ash and Misty since they were kids, and had been with them almost since the beginning of Ash's Pokémon journey. His time was limited now that he had a very successful Pokémon breeding center, and was a renowned breeder. His family also took up the bulk of his time. He had ten younger siblings, most of whom had moved on, but the three youngest were still around, and Brock was all they had left. Their mother was long dead, and their father had just passed away that year. Brock was also training his little sister to take over his position as the Pewter City Gym Leader, and entangled in a messy divorce from his wife, Susie, a fellow breeder. Not far behind were Ritchie, Tracey and Snap. Ritchie was an old friend of Ash's from his first Pokémon League competition, and now, a fellow Pokémon Master. Tracey traveled with Ash and Misty in the Orange Islands while Brock was away, studying to be a breeder. He had achieved his goal of being a famous artist. Snap was a friend of theirs who pursued a career in photography. They all put their lives aside to help their friends. They gathered in the Ketcham's living room to receive instruction from Ash and Misty. "We've got to get to Olivine City and look for Johnny," Misty said. "We think he may have gone after Lugia. The silver wing is gone. He could be anywhere in the ocean, or in the Whirl Islands. The police are going to help with the search by providing boats and officers to aid our search. It looks like rain on the ocean, so dress accordingly. All right," she said, pulling on her poncho. "Let's get going."
A massive search party turned out to search for the boy. Boats of all sizes circled the shores of Olivine and Cianwood, while smaller, more agile boats patrolled the open sea. They were all avoiding the Whirl Islands. They knew the dangers that lurked inside. They also knew that if Johnny was in there, it was likely he wouldn't get out alive. They combed the water until night fell, and the darkness and rain made it nearly impossible to see. Misty and Ash were on one of the small boats probing the waters near the Whirl Islands.
"We'd better head back, men," the pilot of the boat said to his crew.
"No! We have to find him," Misty pressed. "He could be-- he's in there--we have to do something." Tears poured down her face.
"Ma'am, we can't go any further tonight," he explained gently. "It's too dark, and in this rain, we'd likely get very sick. It won't do any good to be out anymore tonight. We should go back." Before she could protest any more, Ash embraced her and tried to soothe her, although he was as distraught as she was.
"Hey, kid, get outta here," an old man cautioned. He looked oddly familiar to Johnny, but he shook it off. He figured the mist was getting in his eyes and playing tricks on him.
"Yea, if you know what's good for ya," a younger, red-haired man said. They spoke in hushed voices.
"What? What are you doing here," Johnny asked. "Do you want Lugia?"
The men laughed quietly. "Do we want Lugia," the oldest one said. "Yea, we do. Now, scram."
"No." Johnny stepped ahead. "I came here to catch it." He held up the silver wing.
"Sorry, tyke," one of the other men said. "You're not catchin' it, because we're huntin' it." He cocked a large harpoon and aimed it at the still airborne Lugia.
"What? No!" Johnny threw the Master ball at Lugia to save it from the poachers. His throw fell short, and the ball splashed into the pool below. He looked down at it. He heard the harpoon fire, and saw the sharp end slice into Lugia's neck. The great bird screamed a terrible noise and thrashed its wings wildly. The whole cave shook from the force. One of the men fell into the pool miles below. "Get out! We're all gonna die!" They scrambled for safety. Lugia was losing strength fast. It summoned the last of it to execute its greatest attack, Aeroblast. Johnny was just out of Lugia's lair when the blast hit. The attack blew off the top of the cave, creating a huge crater. The blast threw Johnny into the air. He came down into the cave again, tumbling against the sharp rocks. He finally splashed into a murky lake. He was broken, battered, and bloody. On the way down, a shower of heavy stones from Lugia's rage fell from the sky, one of them striking Johnny squarely in the back of the head. He lost conscientiousness completely and sank below the water's surface.
*
Officer Jenny reached the Ketchum house by midmorning the next day. She looked at photos of Johnny, asked each member of the family questions about him, looked in his room, but came up with no answers. As she and Ash left Johnny's room, she asked him, "What's this room here," indicating the trophy room.
"It's my trophy room," he said, ushering her in. She took in the large number of awards and accolades. "Hey, what's missing from the wall?" She pointed to the empty space.
"What?" Ash drew closer. "Hey, the silver wing is gone. Where did it--noooooooooo," he whispered.
"What? Is everything okay, sir," she asked.
"Misty, come see this," Ash shouted. Misty was in the room in no time. "Look." She saw the feather was missing.
"Oh, no, Ash," she said tearfully. "You don't think he... No, no, he didn't. He couldn't have." She pressed her stomach with her hands.
"We have to get to Olivine and look for him," Ash said.
"Come on. We'll make a search party. Let's go." He pulled his wife downstairs. He assembled a team of his good friends to help. Brock Slate, of course, was the first to arrive. He'd known Ash and Misty since they were kids, and had been with them almost since the beginning of Ash's Pokémon journey. His time was limited now that he had a very successful Pokémon breeding center, and was a renowned breeder. His family also took up the bulk of his time. He had ten younger siblings, most of whom had moved on, but the three youngest were still around, and Brock was all they had left. Their mother was long dead, and their father had just passed away that year. Brock was also training his little sister to take over his position as the Pewter City Gym Leader, and entangled in a messy divorce from his wife, Susie, a fellow breeder. Not far behind were Ritchie, Tracey and Snap. Ritchie was an old friend of Ash's from his first Pokémon League competition, and now, a fellow Pokémon Master. Tracey traveled with Ash and Misty in the Orange Islands while Brock was away, studying to be a breeder. He had achieved his goal of being a famous artist. Snap was a friend of theirs who pursued a career in photography. They all put their lives aside to help their friends. They gathered in the Ketcham's living room to receive instruction from Ash and Misty. "We've got to get to Olivine City and look for Johnny," Misty said. "We think he may have gone after Lugia. The silver wing is gone. He could be anywhere in the ocean, or in the Whirl Islands. The police are going to help with the search by providing boats and officers to aid our search. It looks like rain on the ocean, so dress accordingly. All right," she said, pulling on her poncho. "Let's get going."
A massive search party turned out to search for the boy. Boats of all sizes circled the shores of Olivine and Cianwood, while smaller, more agile boats patrolled the open sea. They were all avoiding the Whirl Islands. They knew the dangers that lurked inside. They also knew that if Johnny was in there, it was likely he wouldn't get out alive. They combed the water until night fell, and the darkness and rain made it nearly impossible to see. Misty and Ash were on one of the small boats probing the waters near the Whirl Islands.
"We'd better head back, men," the pilot of the boat said to his crew.
"No! We have to find him," Misty pressed. "He could be-- he's in there--we have to do something." Tears poured down her face.
"Ma'am, we can't go any further tonight," he explained gently. "It's too dark, and in this rain, we'd likely get very sick. It won't do any good to be out anymore tonight. We should go back." Before she could protest any more, Ash embraced her and tried to soothe her, although he was as distraught as she was.