He knows Pokémon better than me.

Just as Ash was struggling with this problem, Arcanine offered a good suggestion.

"Ouch~!"

It tilted its head towards the central lava pillar, where there were holes resembling a volcano crater, though not very large, only two or three meters wide.

However, like other volcanoes, it is filled with magma that flows from the earth's core. Although it does not erupt on a large scale, it has been continuously flowing out magma over the years, forming this lava battlefield area.

"Ouch~!"

It was only after becoming the Island King that Arcanine gained a portion of its special connection to the Fubuki Island volcano.

It seems that a Pokémon has always been sleeping deep inside the magma at the Earth's core.

It must have been several years, I estimate?

"Sleeping in lava for years?"

Ash raised an eyebrow. Even a Magmar with the Flame Body ability can only stay in lava for a day or two at most, right?
Several years.
Is that Heatran?!

Ash immediately remembered Mount Harsh from the future, where he and Michael, Ash's younger brother, found Heatran inside the volcano.

"Ouch~!"

Arcanine wagged its tail and barked smugly. It must be able to stay in the water for so long because of its Flame Body ability, right?

"Shiddlen, huh? It seems there are indeed examples of people with the Flame Body trait."

Ash stroked his chin thoughtfully, but it could also be the Flash Fire ability.

However, it is a legendary Pokémon after all. Even with the Flash Fire ability, its warm body must have played a significant role in the hatching of this ancient dragon.

"Okay, I'll get the legendary Pokémon to be your babysitter right now!"

Ash made up his mind and temporarily recalled Empoleon.

Arcanine had already lowered its body, signaling Ash to hurry up and ride on it.

"Thanks, Island King, you've been a great help!"

Ash took the opportunity to ride on Arcanine, grabbing the fur on the back of its neck with his hand.

Unlike the Kanto dog, the ordinary Gyro Dog has thick, spiky hair on the back of its neck.

The Green Growlithe's back is sturdy, as if it's sitting on a rock, and the mane on the back of its neck also feels like touching rough rock. With a little force, you can "insert" your hand into the rock.

"Ouch~!"

The next moment, Arcanine stepped heavily on the rock wall and climbed to the top of the lava pillar in a few steps. There was a stone platform less than half a meter high at the edge, but it was covered by the gushing lava.

Bang!

It's not a big problem. As the island king, Arcanine's feet were completely submerged in lava, so it only felt a little hot.

Ash was sitting on Arcanine's back. The thick smoke and steam from the lava were particularly intense there, making it impossible to look down directly.

Then the waveguide power is activated!

"Tsk!"

Soon after, Ash frowned, as the magma seemed to have a certain weakening effect on the waveguide force.

The waveguide's perception extended downwards for about ten meters before reaching its limit, roughly the distance to the ground surface. The location of the Heatran seemed to be even deeper.

"This is a bit tricky."

Ash scratched his head, wondering how to wake up the sleeping Heatran.
Even the island king, Arcanine, shook its head.

Although it is not afraid of lava, it can only dog ​​paddle at a depth of a few meters at most, and cannot dive into volcanic lava more than ten meters deep.

"We can't rely on fishing, can we?"

Ash twitched his lips. This bubbling lava pool probably isn't a good place to fish.

Just as he was struggling with this, something suddenly started moving in his arms—

Ash instinctively hugged the Pokémon Egg to comfort it; if it accidentally fell, lunch would be served.

However, a moment later, Xiao Zhi looked down in astonishment.

It didn't seem to be the Pokémon egg shaking, but rather something inside his collar.
It's a silver feather pendant!
He immediately pulled out the almost forgotten feather pendant, a beautiful silver-white color, shaped like a ginkgo leaf. It was where Little Lugia used to live, or rather, its "Poké Ball".

However, Little Lugia has long since immigrated to the Reverse World, so the pendant is empty and shouldn't react.
"Wait a moment!"

Xiao Zhi suddenly realized that there were new people living inside!
It was a Kyogre that he had encountered by chance in the Alola region. It was only a little over two meters long and was a baby.

It seems that due to the Ultra Hole, they accidentally traveled from another, more ancient world to the Alola region.

And then, there was no going back.
Logically, Kyogre should have been dormant and growing all along.

After returning to Pallet Town from the Alola region, Ash mentioned this baby Ancient God to Professor Oak.

Unlike Lugia, who grew rapidly in just a few years and is now able to compete with normal Old Gods.

Ancient gods like Kyogre and Groudon, who are not very intelligent and rely more on instinct, naturally need a long period of time to develop and grow.

According to Dr. Oak's prediction, it will grow to three meters wide in ten years and four meters wide in a hundred years.
It takes a thousand years for one to truly grow into a powerful ancient god.

"So Ash, you can forget about using it for the rest of your life. Your sons and grandsons can forget about it either. Well, maybe after a few dozen great-grandchildren, it can be used as a starter Pokémon and take Kyogre on its journey."

This was Professor Oak's comment at the time.

Ash had no choice but to give up, having finally captured an Ancient God, only to find himself unable to use it.

Later on, I simply kept it in the silver feather pendant and left it alone.

Why did you suddenly start reacting today?
Something that can make Kyogre react seems to be...
A bold idea suddenly popped into Xiao Zhi's mind:

"Could it be that the one sleeping down there isn't Sidran?!"

That's right, Arcanine never said that the one sleeping in the lava was Heatran. This is the Sinnoh region, so he subconsciously assumed it was Heatran.
But if we're talking about what else might exist in the Earth's core magma, it seems there's only one possibility, right?
Splash! Splash!
The next moment, water cascaded down from the silver feathers like a waterfall, its flow magnified as if magnified by a "magnifying light."
This is a "Poké Ball" that Lugia specially made for his child. Lugia, who controls the power of ocean currents, can even create an ocean within the silver feather, with a continuous flow of water.

呲!
Water splashed onto the lava, instantly evaporating at high temperatures, producing a sharp sound, and countless plumes of steam rose into the air.

Amidst the continuously falling water column, a Pokémon resembling a catfish emerges, its body growing larger as it falls.

With its flat, wing-like fins spread out, it exceeds two and a half meters in length. The smooth, deep blue whale body is also outlined with red stripes, resembling strange and peculiar markings.

It was that young Kyogre!
Emerging fully from the silver feathers, Kyogre plunged headfirst into the lava pool, his body almost completely filling the hole.

Pfft!
Countless sparks of lava erupted, forcing Arcanine to hastily retreat and maintain its distance! (End of Chapter)