When the group reached the edge of the pool, Ritchie bent down and asked the little boy, "Hello, do you live on this island?"
While they were sizing up the little boy, he was quietly sizing them up as well. Though his eyes were full of wariness, he slowly nodded.
"Sort of. I live on Chong Island, but I often come here to play. Why? Do you need something?"
As he spoke, Xia You keenly noticed what seemed to be a dark shape quietly slipping away underwater behind the little boy.
The dark shape vanished in the blink of an eye, disappearing beneath the water in an instant, but he had still caught sight of it.
The boy seemed to be deliberately hiding it, positioning his body squarely in their line of sight. From the look of it, he did not want them to discover that shape at all!
However, the shape was too indistinct, and the reflections on the water obscured it, so Xia You had not seen clearly what it was.
But whatever it was, it was definitely a Pokémon.
As he was thinking, he felt Erika's shoulder gently bump his.
He turned to look at Erika and saw her wink at him. Though she said nothing, she had clearly seen that shape too.
Neither of them let it show, in silent understanding.
Just then, upon hearing the little boy's answer, Ash eagerly asked, "Since you're from around here, have you spotted any mysterious Pokémon?"
The question was so blunt that everyone except Ash clearly saw the obvious panic appear on the little boy's face!
"There's nothing like that around here!" the little boy answered stiffly, but his eyes kept darting around. He was clearly lying.
Now, not just Xia You and Erika, but Misty, Brock, and Ritchie