Shamouti Island.
"Attention to all passengers, we will arrive at Shamouti Island soon. Please clear the deck."
A woman's voice came from the intercom.
After three hours of sailing across the sea, Hisoka and the others had finally reached Shamouti Island.
"So this is Shamouti Island, huh? Not bad. I heard this island is the source of all waters in the world."
An old man got off the ship with Hisoka and the others. He used the camera hanging around his neck and took pictures of the surroundings.
The old man then turned toward Hisoka with a smile.
"Well, this is where we part, young man. It's nice to meet you. Have a nice holiday."
"Take care, Mr. Cameron."
Hisoka met the old man on the ship. While he was talking with the old man, he showed him many pictures that he had taken during his travel. One of them caught his interest. It was a picture of Ho-Oh.
It was then he decided to get to know the old man more. The old man, Cameron, lived in Cianwood City, Johto. After retiring from his job, he decided to travel around the world. They later became friends and exchanged contact numbers with each other.
After saying goodbye to Cameron, he turned toward Doran, Will, and Shelly.
"Let's go to the shrine first. Maybe will find some clues about Team Aqua over there. After that, we'll find a place to stay."
He gave a suggestion.
They looked at each other and agreed. Although the information provided by the Hunter Association stated that Team Aqua was on Shamouti Island, they might already be hidden. It was not easy to find them in such a large crowd.
Shamouti Shrine was one of the most famous tourist spots on Shamouti Island. Usually, the shrine was closed to the public. Everyone could only enter it during the Legend Festival.
Since the Legend Festival was going to be held tomorrow, Hisoka and others decided to sniff around the shrine first, looking for some information.
Along the way, the streets were lined up with buildings made from trees and thatched roofs. They were many people strolling along the streets. Some of them were wearing Shamouti Island's traditional attire.
Although the town might look shabby, it was one of the most developed towns in the Orange Islands. While the townspeople might say they were preserving their local culture, it was more likely because of the resulting tourism.
"Sorry, the shrine is temporarily closed for repairs for the Legend Festival tomorrow."
As soon as Hisoka and the others arrived at the entrance of the shrine, they were stopped by two security guards.
They were dressed in the same clothes as the townspeople and holding ceremonial lances.
They were not the only ones. Many people were also stopped by the guards.
"Why can't we enter the shrine?"
"Anyway, if you want to enter the shrine, there is only one entrance to the
Some people complained.
"Yeah! It's just a waste of our time."
"Sorry. The shrine will only be opened during the festival tomorrow."
The guards replied.
"Come on, guys. Let's leave. We can't enter the shrine anyway."
The crowd who came in high spirits could only return in disappointment.
"So what should we do now?"
Doran sat on the stairs leading up to the shrine, crossing his arms helplessly.
"How do we find Team Aqua in such a big place? There are too many people here!"
In fact, Doran was just venting his frustration. Everyone knew it wasn't going to be easy to catch a member of Team Aqua. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack with this many people on Shamouti Island.
Will suddenly had an idea, "How about we draw them out?"
He then looked at Hisoka and said.
"Hisoka, you met Team Aqua last time, right? I think they must be angry at you. Why don't you go participate in the festival tomorrow? I think you will definitely attract their attention."
"Good plan. I'll be the bait while you guys hide. Shelly, what do you think?"
He turned toward Shelly.
"Huh?"
Hearing someone calling her name, Shelly, who was thinking about something else, looked at him in surprise. She quickly recovered.
"Yeah. It's a good plan."
Doran flexed his muscles and said.
"Great. We'll catch all of them."
After they all agreed, Hisoka stood up and walked toward the town,
"It's almost noon. Let's find a hotel first. I haven't eaten breakfast yet. I'm starving to death."
After that small episode, they returned to the town, found a hotel, and checked into their own rooms.
***
Shamouti Town.
"Melody? Are you really the festival maiden?"
Daisy looked at Melody in disbelief.
"How can an ugly girl like you become the festival maiden?"
"Daisy!"
Suzie slapped her arm lightly.
"How can you say that? Melody is our friend."
Daisy chuckled, "Haha. I'm sorry. It's just a joke. But isn't festival maiden supposed to be a beautiful woman like me?"
"Humph! You old hag! Do you really think you can become the festival maiden? In your dreams!"
"Ugly girl! What did you say?"
Daisy looked at her angrily.
"Old Hag!"
Melody also was not to be outdone.
"Ugly girl!"
"Old hag!"
Suzie sighed, "Here we go again."
Ever since they met, Daisy and Melody were always at odds with each other.
However, she wasn't worried that their spat was going to escalate. Strangely, the two always reconciled with each other after a short time.
Waiting for them to finish their quarrel, she recalled their conversation a few days ago. While they were hanging out at the beach, Melody expressed her intention to leave the island together with them.
She told them that she didn't want to stay on Shamouti Island all her life. They were surprised at first. They tried to discourage her not to leave but to no avail. She was intent on leaving the island, with them or without them. In the end, they could only agree with her.
Melody became happy after that. As for Elder Tobias, she could say sorry to him. She wasn't worried the festival would stop after she left. They were many other girls on the island who wanted to become the festival maiden.
***
Shamouti Shrine.
During this time, something suddenly happened at the shrine. One of the three treasures that had a connection to one of the legendary birds had undergone a change.
Slowking was sitting in front of the shrine, looking at the treasures nervously. He felt something bad was going to happen soon.
Suddenly, the flame on one of the spheres representing Moltres had snuffed out.
"This is bad!"
At the moment when the flame went off, Slowking shouted in agitation. He staggered to his feet and quickly ran out of the shrine to report what happened to Elder Tobias.
The three treasures had remained the same since two hundred years ago. It was said that they had been blessed by the three legendary birds. It seemed something might have happened to Moltres.
After he rushed out of the shrine, he immediately used his psychic power to spread around the area. After finding the aura that belonged to the elder, his eyes flashed with blue light, and then his entire body briefly blurred. He then disappeared from view.
As a Pokemon with high intelligence, Slowking could easily learn many skills, not to mention Teleport, which had the same typing as his.
On the southern cliffs of Shamouti, overlooking Fire, Ice, and Lightning Islands, stone structures were set up around the altar in which the treasures were supposed to be placed during the Legend Festival.
Blooming hibiscus flowers grew all around, swaying in the wind as a dozen yellow-winged Butterfree unique to the Orange Islands were happily flying among the flowers. The waves gently crashed on the cliff below, bringing a sense of peace.
Elder Tobias was standing near the cliffs, looking at the Fire, Ice, and Lightning Islands in the distance. A few days ago, the volcanic activity on Fire Island had stopped.
"It's nice weather today."
He took a deep breath.
"Elder!"
Suddenly, Slowking's voice came from his back.
"Slowking?"
He turned around and found Slowking running toward him anxiously.
"What is the matter?"
"Elder, the flame in the sphere just went off."
Tobias looked at him in confusion.
"What did you say? I'm sure I heard it wrong."
"Moltres flame in the sphere went off!"
Slowking roared.
This time Tobias heard it clearly. His eyes widened, and at a speed that belied his age, he hurriedly ran past him, heading toward the shrine.
"No! This can't be happening!"
Tobias shouted as he ran.
***
At the hotel where Hisoka stayed.
After Hisoka and the others had their lunch, they returned to their room. Earlier, they decided to scout the island first. Once they had discovered the whereabouts of Team Aqua, they would notify the others immediately.
Except for Shelly, Hisoka wasn't too worried about Will and Doran. He didn't think they were going to face Team Aqua alone. It was too dangerous.
They would only need to catch four people from Team Aqua to pass the test. In fact, he was curious what Shelly would do. After all, she was also from Team Aqua.
Since he didn't have a Flying-type Pokemon, he took out his drone and set it up. This drone that he paid a lot of money for had helped him a lot.
Compared to Flying-type Pokemon, a drone was much better in terms of functionality. A drone could scout the area, map the surrounding terrain, capture images, and so on. It could also be remotely connected to his laptop, allowing him to have a first-hand view of the surroundings.
The only downside was it didn't have any protection capabilities.
He uploaded the maps of Shamouti Island that he bought at the Pokemon Center that included the surrounding isles into the drone. He then set it to fly in a circle, and soon, the drone took off into the sky.
It would fly around Shamouti Island and the surrounding islands several times. As long as it caught any people from Team Aqua, the drone would alert him immediately.