During the night, Yuga lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Perhaps Yuga's restless movements had woken up Beidou, who asked, "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
"Sort of," Yuga replied.
Having a rare opportunity but failing to achieve his goal left Yuga feeling somewhat frustrated. Tomorrow was the final day, and it seemed unlikely that he would capture enough Fire-type Pokémon of the same species.
Beidou jokingly said, "Is it because you're thinking that once the mission ends, you'll have to part ways with your big brother, and you can't bear it!"
Yuga retorted, "I may not be able to bear parting with Flannery, but who would have a tough guy like you in mind!"
After nearly a week of bonding and fighting side by side, the three of them had formed a deep friendship. They now often joked around .
Beidou was the oldest among the three and was especially close to being a decade older than the youngest, Flannery. Therefore, these days, he looked after Yuga and Flannery like a big brother.
Though he wasn't the strongest among them, Beidou excelled at taking care of others. He had noticed that Yuga seemed upset, which was why he tried to lighten the mood with a joke and help Yuga feel better.
"You say that, but aren't tough guys also deserving of care?" Beidou playfully complained.
"By the way, aren't you from the Sootopolis Gym? Why have I seen you capturing so many Fire-type Pokémon?" Beidou had always found this puzzling. Yuga was clearly from the Water-type Gym, so why was he capturing Fire-type Pokémon? He hadn't asked earlier because they weren't familiar yet.
"I never really explained it to you, but I'm not from the Sootopolis Gym. I just came here as a replacement for them," Yuga admitted, somewhat embarrassed.
Beidou was surprised. "Oh! That's possible?"
Although Beidou was from an official League breeding base, he had only recently arrived and was unfamiliar with the intricacies of these arrangements.
Yuga explained, "I have a friendship with Mr. Juan, the Gym Leader of Sootopolis, so he offered me this mission."
"I see," Beidou said, understanding now.
Then, Yuga talked about his responsibilities in managing a Day Care, and Beidou briefly shared some of his background. The two of them finally got to know each other better.
They chatted for a long time, and as they talked, Yuga's feelings of frustration gradually faded away. Without realizing it, he fell asleep.
The next morning, after getting up and tidying up, the three of them embarked on the final day of their exploration mission.
This time, they headed to the other side of the dormant volcano.
Since the dormant volcano was located at the center of Illuma Island, it was connected to the West Coast and bordered the other three coastlines.
Yuga's team explored the side of the dormant volcano that faced the East Coast. By walking directly down the mountain, they would enter the territory of Shiftry, one of the three rulers of Illuma Island.
Pokémon had a strong sense of territorial boundaries. As long as there was an abundant supply of food and water within their territory, they rarely ventured beyond it. So, as long as Yuga's team didn't trespass, they wouldn't encounter any danger.
The number of Fire-type Pokémon near the dormant volcano had been decreasing. After walking for half a day, Yuga's team hadn't even seen a shadow of a Pokémon.
"Let's go check near the mountaintop!" Beidou suggested.
The mountaintop used to be the territory of the Fire-type Pokémon, led by their king, Charizard, and had a lava pool.
However, Charizard and its strong subordinates had all been taken away by Mr. Moore, leaving the lava pool unattended.
After climbing to the mountaintop, Yuga's team saw bubbling lava in the distance, which looked a bit intimidating. Apart from Fire-type Pokémon, it was unlikely that any other Pokémon would choose to live here.
"Look, it's a Rapidash!" Flannery suddenly pointed and exclaimed.
Yuga and Beidou followed the direction indicated by Flannery and indeed spotted a Rapidash with its body enveloped in crimson flames, peacefully basking in the warmth beside the lava pool.
It was a green potential Rapidash! Yuga recognized it at a glance.
At that moment, the Rapidash also noticed Yuga's group and wasted no time, immediately lifting its hooves and sprinting away.
The Rapidash knew that humans had occupied the dormant volcano, so upon seeing them, it had no intention of battling and chose to flee first.
"It's running away!" Flannery exclaimed.
Due to the considerable distance and the well-known speed of Rapidash, there was no guarantee they could catch up to it. Neither Flannery nor Beidou had any intention of intervening.
However, Yuga was different. He didn't want to give up on the chance of capturing a good Fire-type Pokémon, which had been a rare find.
"You two continue exploring here. I'll go after it!" Yuga declared.
With those words, he withdrew Absol, who was outside, and summoned his Dragonair, then quickly mounted it.
"Hey! Wait..." Flannery shouted after Yuga, but Dragonair was too fast, and before she could finish her sentence, Yuga disappeared from their view.
"What should we do?" Flannery felt a bit helpless.
Beidou sighed and said, "Let him go. With his skills, he shouldn't be in any danger."
Reluctantly, Flannery nodded.
On the other side, Rapidash was indeed swift, but Dragonair possessed the advantage of flight, and it didn't take long for Yuga to catch up to the Rapidash.
The running Rapidash, initially confident in its speed, was horrified when it glanced back and realized that it was being pursued by a flying human.
Oh my Arceus! That human can fly!
Rapidash immediately exerted all its energy, breaking its own speed record as it sprinted desperately.
While running, Rapidash suddenly felt a chill down its spine. Instinctively, it veered to the side, narrowly avoiding a golden bolt of lightning that struck the ground right next to it.
Damn! He can use Thunderbolt too! Rapidash felt a surge of panic. It sprinted even harder, swearing that it had never run this fast in its entire life.
In this chase, they inadvertently crossed into the territory of the East Coast. For Rapidash, this place was more familiar than the dormant volcano; it was its home. So, instinctively, it ran towards this area.
Seeing the Rapidash enter the boundaries of the East Coast, Yuga found himself in a dilemma. Going further would take him into the territory of Shiftry, and Mr. Moore had repeatedly emphasized not to cross those boundaries.
For a moment, Yuga hesitated. Should he go on? Was it worth it to capture a green potential Rapidash?
Just then, Yuga spotted another green potential Rapidash running towards them from the opposite direction.
Gritting his teeth, Yuga urged his Dragonair forward, diving into the territory of the East Coast.