Tapu Fini shook her head when she heard Roy's question.
"..."
Tapu Koko seems to be busy with the final construction stages of the Sun Altar recently, so he hasn't been able to give us timely updates.
Roy nodded, indicating that he understood the situation.
There had been no news about the matter he'd previously entrusted to Tapu Koko, and Roy figured the guardian deity must be extremely busy.
"Then what about Tapu Bulu..."
Seeing Tapu Fini's transparent, knowing gaze, Roy suddenly realized something.
"Never mind, forget I asked."
Tapu Bulu?
Of course the guardian was resting.
Tapu Fini nodded, indicating that she would remain in the surrounding waters. If they needed help, Blastoise could call for her.
Roy thought to himself with confusion: When did you two become so close?
Meanwhile, Blastoise huddled inside his Poke Ball, fielding curious questions from both Electivire and Metagross who flanked him on either side.
Blastoise insisted he didn't know anything about it either.
Tapu Fini had no idea that her words would cause Blastoise to be teased by his teammates.
She simply felt that among all of Roy's Pokemon, she was most familiar with Blastoise's presence and energy.
Roy climbed onto Salamence's back, sitting beside Lucario, while Mimikyu perched on his shoulder.
The moment Salamence took off, Roy felt the fog rushing toward his face, as if attempting to block his vision completely.
However, Salamence had been training intensively with the Silver Wing recently and had become somewhat proficient in sensing and controlling air currents.
This bit of fog coverage couldn't prevent Salamence from feeling the airflow at all.
Following the flow patterns of Alola's overall air currents, Salamence quickly identified the correct route to the island.
Originally, Salamence could have chosen to fly high above the sky and break through the fog's confinement entirely.
But Roy was concerned about alerting potential enemies. After consulting with Salamence and receiving confirmation, he directed the Dragon-type to navigate through the fog by following the direction of the air currents.
Since the thick fog blocked their vision, it would naturally also obscure the sight of any other creatures.
For Roy and his team, this was actually a fairly advantageous strategy.
Roy could clearly see how much Salamence had improved in controlling air currents.
"Congratulations, you've made real progress."
Salamence, pleased by the praise, raised his large head proudly, expressing his determination to continue working hard.
"..."
Lucario quickly muffled Salamence's excited roars, preventing the Dragon-type's calls from echoing throughout the airspace.
Salamence suddenly remembered that they needed to approach the island quietly, so he immediately settled down and stopped making any noise.
As they approached the island, Roy realized the situation might be far more serious than he had initially imagined.
The fog near Poni Island had only engulfed the sea surface, and it had only begun slowly spreading to the island areas earlier today.
Brooklet Hill was also located in a waterside area.
So Roy had assumed the other islands would be experiencing similar conditions—perhaps caused by some Water-type Pokemon or an incident in the ocean.
But now it seemed they might need to reassess the situation entirely, and possibly reconsider which Pokemon Roy planned to use.
The iconic flower meadows that originally belonged to this island had been completely swallowed by the fog, let alone the rest of the landmass.
If Salamence were to fly high into the sky right now, he would discover that the entire island had been shrouded in thick fog.
The sunlight radiating from above couldn't penetrate the dense fog at all to reach the island's surface.
Some of the more fragile plants had gradually turned yellow from the lack of sunlight.
The delicate flowers drooped one by one, and even the wind seemed reluctant to visit this island.
Based on the approximate location in his memory, Roy directed Salamence to land near Tapu Lele's camp.
"Wave!"
The instant Salamence touched down, Roy sensed the presence of many Pokemon approaching from all directions.
They seemed to be surrounded.
Roy quickly released his Aura power to reveal his identity.
"I'm Roy. I'm here to find your guardian deity, Tapu Lele."
The grass rustled as it was stepped upon, and a round, pink figure gradually emerged from the white fog.
The deep voice that came forth didn't match the creature's adorable appearance at all, but it sounded strangely familiar to them.
As it turned out, the Pokemon was Blissey, accompanied by her subordinates.
Blissey naturally recognized Roy—she had previously served under Totem Ribombee.
Now Ribombee and the other Totem Pokemon had been taken away by Tapu Koko to work as laborers on the temple construction, but the guardian deity still needed Pokemon attendants.
So Blissey had been fortunate enough to escape the fate of hard labor.
The lead Blissey immediately became respectful upon seeing Roy, especially when she noticed the light blue Aura power that practically served as Roy's signature identification.
"Blissey."
Please follow me this way. The guardian deity is waiting for you.
Roy nodded calmly, though he thought to himself that having connections in high places certainly helped.
Tapu Lele's condition didn't look very good. Her pink hair appeared lifeless, hanging messily and haphazardly down her back.
Upon seeing Roy arrive, Tapu Lele's eyes seemed to light up as if seeing a savior.
Mimikyu remained on high alert, her vigilance peaked.
"Butterfly!"
Thank goodness you're finally here!
Roy nodded. "Tapu Fini has already briefed me on the general situation. Can you take us to Brooklet Hill? I'd like to investigate."
As soon as he said this, Tapu Lele shook her head helplessly, her tone lacking its usual energy.
"Butterfly..."
I'm sorry, but that's not possible. I entered Brooklet Hill with Ms. Caroline earlier, but I got lost in the thick fog. No matter which direction I walked, I could only wander around at the entrance of Brooklet Hill.
According to the message from Ms. Caroline, she was able to enter Brooklet Hill quite easily.
I thought it was just me losing my way, so I didn't think much of it at the time.
I didn't realize something was wrong until today, when the Wingull I sent to deliver a message never returned.
And now I can't enter Brooklet Hill no matter what I try. It's as if the place is actively rejecting me.
That's when I went to Tapu Fini, only to discover she was experiencing the same problem. We don't know why this is happening.
That's why I urgently asked for your help.
Roy heard the anxiety and seriousness in Tapu Lele's tone and understood that she was genuinely worried about Caroline's safety, which explained her current state of distress.
"Don't worry. I'll go in and investigate what's happening."