Ancient-Method Essence

The next morning, Baimu leaned against his pillow, stroking Deino's head as he browsed PokéBlog.

But he wasn't looking for news about Pokémon Contests. He was looking for traces of Lugia.

The diver who had claimed to glimpse Lugia swimming beneath the sea said he lived near Dewford Town. Plenty of trainers interested in Legendary Pokémon had rushed there, but none had even found a stretch of sea resembling the one in his video.

The diver seemed to realize he had brought trouble on himself. He had deleted the video and hadn't updated his blog in a while. His latest post showed him playing with Swampert.

Watching the diver's videos, Baimu noticed that although the backgrounds were lush and green, a rusty deck occasionally appeared in the frame.

That was enough for him to make a good guess about the diver's location—

The Abandoned Ship near Route 108.

Ash and his companions had once gone there and met a young man who had accidentally lost his Pokémon while fleeing danger. That Pokémon happened to be Swampert.

The other Pokémon in the diver's older videos—Marill, Spinarak, Wooper, and more—all supported Baimu's guess about his identity.

Of course, it was still only a guess.

He would have to go and see for himself. There were only so many Pokémon species; coincidences happened.

"If I do find him... what are the odds I can talk to Lugia? What are the odds it's the Lugia I'm looking for? And what are the odds it won't beat me up when it hears I'm from Orre?"

Baimu figured Orre had to hold painful memories for Lugia. Otherwise, it surely wouldn't have left like that.

Either way, he had to take a look. Whether or not he managed to speak with Lugia, he could at least confirm