Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

"It's not entirely my fault, that guy is really tough to deal with," Kyogre muttered in protest. "Besides, the Orb is with Blue, and I can't revert to my original state right now..."

"Never mind..." Upon hearing the other person mention Blue, Ash didn't know what else to say.

In the end, Giovanni didn't get the egg, which was a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

But the problem came full circle: they couldn't pinpoint Manaphy's location.

As the prince of the Azure Sea, Manaphy may not be the strongest, but his status in the ocean is exceptionally noble.

Even Lugia and Kyogre, these two great gods, often have to obey its commands, and they cannot actively sense each other's location; they can only obediently wait for its call.

Kyogre sensed Manaphy's emotions quite by chance this time, and realized that something was wrong, which is why he sailed all the way from Hoenn.

It was really pure luck that it met Sakaki.

"In the end, we can only watch helplessly." Lugia frowned in exasperation. "It's strange, how come those bad guys are able to find the prince so accurately?"

“They can’t actually pinpoint Manaphy’s exact location…but they can find rangers,” Xiaozhi explained.

His phone also had a lot of messages, but he hadn't had time to look at them carefully since he left Metal Island in such a hurry.

The champion's office has already sent over the basic information.

Unlike those mythical beasts that can sleep for hundreds or thousands of years, Manaphy's appearances are not long, ranging from several decades to just a few years.

Its eggs initially appeared in a vast deep-sea area on the outskirts of Sinnoh.

The location was close to the areas of Fire and Almia, where rangers were active, so the Ranger Alliance took the initiative to take on the job.

They have an advantage over trainers in this regard. They can use a hunting buoy to get help from Pokémon in the sea. As long as they take the opportunity to raise their affinity, these Pokémon will still be happy to help keep an eye out for unusual activity on the seabed, even if they are released from capture.

If a trainer were to leave their captured partner to fend for themselves for years or even decades just to monitor a certain area, they would probably be criticized to the point of questioning their existence.

In short, with the help of these wild Pokémon in the ocean, the rangers can find Manaphy's eggs as early as possible and then send people to escort them.

Manaphy's eggs must be delivered to the Water People in order to hatch successfully, which is why the Ranger League has also acquired a lot of information about the Water People.

Decades ago, they could send the eggs to Sinnoh, which was nearby... but after the Water People's lineage was also cut off in Sinnoh, they had to take a long detour to send the eggs to Kanto.

Their actions gradually came to the attention of those with ulterior motives, attracting various individuals with malicious intentions.

Attacking rangers and stealing Manaphy's eggs is not an isolated incident; otherwise, why would the Ranger Alliance send three chiefs at once?

As a result, they encountered Sakaki this time…

"By the way, did the news mention how they escaped? It couldn't be that Giovanni showed mercy, could it?" Ash suddenly realized the key point.

He vaguely remembered the storyline involving the rangers. The three chief rangers were severely injured when they faced Deoxys, who was controlled by the Rush Team. Now that Giovanni is in command of Deoxys, they are completely at the mercy of the enemy!

"It's said they were rescued by Manaphy's guards, three Phionos." Rika handed her phone to Ash, the screen displaying three small, light blue Pokémon.

Phiona... Unlike the mysterious prince, this Pokémon is widely known.

They are known as the 'descendants of princes'. It is said that if Manaphy is cultivated in a specific way, it can give birth to Phiona, but the latter can no longer evolve into Manaphy and its abilities are vastly different from those of its parent prince.

Even so, Fiona's popularity remains high.

They also frequently appear in front of people, such as in the town of Mutten in Sinnoh, where Phionos will parade through the town at a fixed time every year, and a lively festival will be held.

It's plausible that three Fionas act as guardians, protecting Manaphy's egg throughout the sea and offering assistance in times of crisis.

“Those three Phiona have already split up,” Rika suddenly said. “One of them went to the Ranger Alliance with three chief rangers, seemingly to provide intelligence; another is with other rangers, intending to continue searching for the Manaphy eggs; and the last one seems to be taken to Mr. Wataru to provide testimony…”

"Those rangers are planning to take Phione to the Indigo Plateau?" Ash frowned, feeling that something was amiss.

Three Phiona of unknown origin claim to be Manaphy's guardians, but is that really true?

No... there's definitely something wrong here!

Ash became more and more suspicious as he thought about it, and finally became almost certain that it was a trap, a three-ring trick that could target the Rangers, Manaphy, and the Kanto League at the same time!

"Miss Rika, immediately inform Mr. Watari to be on high alert... those three Fionas are suspicious; they might be enemy spies!"

Yes, that must be it!

Who is Giovanni? He only has three Water Babies with a base stat total of 480 and who can't even learn Firefly. How could he let anyone escape right under his nose?

So he actually controlled those three Fionas, just to allow the three seriously injured rangers to escape in a reasonable way, and then take the opportunity to plant nails in different places!

Ash has even thought of going to different places separately, which might have been Phiona's idea.

And that's where things don't make sense... If they were really Manaphy's guards, then all three of them should be searching for the prince's egg, and wouldn't have time to worry about human affairs!

Another crucial point is Manaphy's emotions.

What Ash sensed on Vanilla Island was not Manaphy's first expression of emotion.

Actually, long before he left Hoenn and went to Mauville with Gary and Blue, Silver heard Manaphy's call by ringing the Sea Bell!

That ethereal call, in Xiao Yin's current recollection, seemed to carry a sense of loneliness...

Including the emotions she perceived in the later episodes, Manaphy was constantly surrounded by loneliness and panic, and seemed eager to find a stable environment.

If it truly had companions by its side, how could it possibly be so afraid in its dreams every time?!

"Miss Rika, when will the Ranger League arrive at Indigo Plateau?" Ash asked in a deep voice.

"The appointment is for the day after tomorrow."

"Let's hold back for now and send the Ring directly to support Mr. Lance when the time comes!" Ash quickly made the decision.

If it really is all a conspiracy, then we can leave Manaphy's egg alone for now.

It's certain that Giovanni lost that egg, and now, regardless of which faction it belongs to, they can only try their luck to find it.

So even if the ranger with Phiona finds the Water People first, it's all for nothing without the egg.

Conversely, if the Kanto and the Rangers form an alliance, the enemy will definitely take action!

This is a perfect opportunity to turn the tables and launch a counterattack!

Chapter 1031 Preparations, Before the Conspiracy!

After confirming that this was an enemy plot, Ash and Rika immediately contacted Lance and worked together to make meticulous arrangements.

In addition to ensuring the safety of high-ranking members of the alliance such as Yulongdu, he also wanted to seize the opportunity to expose the mastermind behind the scenes!

"Kyogre, Lugia, and Silver, you guys need to work harder lately. Use more Pokémon in the sea to see if you can find the egg. I'll also have Blastoise and Lapras search for it."

The eggs in Manaphy aren't the main focus right now, but we still need to find them, so we'll leave that to our seafaring friends.

"Don't worry, we won't let the enemy get it first!" Lugia assured him firmly.

"After all, it concerns the prince... I will also contribute my strength!" Kyogre promised in a deep voice.

Its relationship with Ash isn't great, but they're willing to work together for a common goal.

"Then I'll leave it to you all."

Watching the two legends, along with Silver and the other Water-type companions, depart, Ash and Rika once again rode on Dragonite.

They found an island to settle down temporarily, and Ash threw out a special Ultra Ball.

A flash of light appeared, and a blonde woman stood before them.

"What's gotten into you today that you suddenly remembered me?" The perverted wife started posing and making faces as soon as she appeared, her tone full of sarcasm.

"I'm so sorry, I haven't had a chance to call you out lately... Also, thank you very much about Latias." Ash explained sincerely and thanked him immediately.

Many of the girls around him knew that he had tamed the perverted wife, including Serena, Liga, and Lillie.

Even so, it was still somewhat inappropriate to release the lady out of the ball so openly in front of Xiaoyao and the others.

Moreover, she shares the same face as Lusamine, and her frequent appearances will inevitably cause problems. Ash can only let her out for a stroll when no one is around.

"Alright, just tell me what you want me to do?" the wife asked bluntly.

"I need you to go and support the Ranger League!" Ash instructed with a serious expression. "I'm sending Mewtwo, Solgaleo, Latias, and Charizard with you, plus Mew which is hiding. You can choose the other partners yourself. Just make sure it's safe and do your best to help the Ranger League!"

"Ha, with the situation so dire, you still have time to meddle in other people's business?" the wife sneered disdainfully.

“They are, after all, a righteous organization. If we can save them, we will definitely do so… Besides, I have a feeling that there is more than one Manaphy involved in their conspiracy.”

In Ash's opinion, Giovanni may not be the real mastermind.

He had already lost once, and shouldn't be so arrogant as to try to take on multiple forces, including the alliance, all at once.

This kind of "biting off more than you can chew" strategy is somewhat similar to what happened at the city of Ordron...

Then another question arises: why would the alpaca group target the rangers?

Ash has rebelled against Alpaca. Anyone around him, including several high-ranking members of the alliance such as Daikan, who obeys Ash's leadership can be considered an accomplice by the Alpaca faction, and any conspiracy they plot is considered reasonable.

But is the Rangers Alliance getting in their way?

The mastermind behind this wanted to steal Manaphy, and Sakaki got it, so why did he have to use Phiona, this spy, to sabotage their alliance?

An organization that wholeheartedly strives to maintain harmony between humanity and nature—the alpaca people—can no longer even tolerate them?

Therefore, Xiao Zhi felt that there must be some conspiracy involved, and it might even be some kind of backroom deal.

And it's very likely related to me!

His own Luca was initially sent to Kanto for hiding by Armia's patrolmen...

"In short, I'm currently overwhelmed, so I'll have to leave things there to you." Xiao Zhi solemnly concluded, "Madam, you must..."