And so, over the next few days, Annie, Misty, and Ash naturally stayed on Tangelo Island and found a scenic beach to enjoy their vacation. A few things had happened along the way, but overall, they had a very pleasant time.
But...
As pleasant as it was, for some reason, strange incidents still occasionally occurred in Professor Ivy's research station backyard—that vast forest where Pokémon roamed. Every so often, a Pokémon would inexplicably disappear, and once it was gone, it never came back.
However, since those Pokémon were allowed to roam freely, they sometimes left on their own and moved to other islands in the Orange Archipelago. So Professor Ivy and the triplet sisters hadn't taken it too seriously, choosing instead to focus on their research into "Mew."
After all, compared to the others, the legendary "Mythical Pokémon" was incredibly rare and precious. Professor Ivy had even resorted to a "trick" to finally persuade Annie to let her study it for a few days. With time running out and no idea when Annie might leave, she'd naturally let her research and concern for the other Pokémon fall by the wayside.
Someone—Brock, perhaps—had once discreetly tried to warn her, hinting that the Pokémon in her backyard weren't simply disappearing but were under threat. But she'd just turned a deaf ear and deliberately ignored him.
Whether she was too absorbed in researching "Mew" or had deliberately chosen to turn a blind eye remained to be seen.
Of course, none of those problems mattered anymore!
After spending several days on Tangelo Island, soaking up the sunshine, beaches, sea breeze, blue skies, and white clouds, Misty and Ash had to cut their vacation short and prepare to leave for a few reasons.
However!
That afternoon, when they took Annie, who was still reluctant to