If Ash hadn't captured Lapras and hadn't met Serena, he might have chosen to fly straight to Asia Island using Pidgeot. But after capturing Lapras and encountering Serena, Ash changed his plans.
On one hand, he wanted to let Serena experience the various encounters of the journey, and on the other hand, he needed to train Lapras, the new member of his team.
Originally planning to rush to Asia Island, Ash changed his approach because of meeting one person and one Pokemon, feeling that perhaps it was fate. Even if he reached Asia Island, could he really find Lugia directly?
Miss Joy's intelligence did suggest that Lugia might be on Asia Island, but it was just a possibility. Perhaps this slow-paced journey might actually uncover more information about Lugia and Team Galactic.
As for now, why bother to meddle in other people's business—it's simply Ash's nature; he isn't someone who stands by when seeing others facing problems.
Moreover, Ah Gong's carving skills are really impressive. As he stated, he has inherited everything from his father and now only lacks an opportunity to enchant the 'Crystal'.
To make the carved glass products lifelike, an opportunity is needed to inspire its form, and finding the Crystal Onix is the key.
Hence, after finding the Crystal Onix, Ash could also ask Ah Gong to carve a Fennekin for Serena, after helping out so much. Asking for a free carving from Ah Gong isn't too much, right? This would save Serena some money.
...
An hour later, Ash and his companions arrived in front of a cave. Ash had Ah Gong and Zhengmei mark the places where rumors claimed Crystal Onix appeared. Within the scanning range of Ash's Aura Power, he could easily understand the state of a location thoroughly just by setting a point and scanning using Aura Power.
This cave was now the last location. Ash closed his eyes, and a faint glow of vibrant blue light emerged from his body. Not far away, Serena's pure eyes were filled with curiosity and admiration.
Ever since Ash started using Aura Power, Serena felt somewhat puzzled. Ash arrived at a place and didn't enter, just closed his eyes and got a clear understanding of the entire area. How was this possible?
Later, Misty explained to Serena the wonders of Aura Power during their free time. For a moment, Serena was amazed, pondering how humans could possess such miraculous powers.
Originally, she thought Ash simply possessed great strength, but now it seemed Ash was not only strong; he contained various powers within him, akin to a human Pokemon.
As Ash's Aura Power spread, the entire cave scene was imprinted in Ash's mind. He suddenly opened his eyes with excitement: "Found it, let's go in!!"
Found it? Is there really a Crystal Onix?
The two girls paused, then hurriedly followed Ash's steps, quickly entering the cave.
Upon entering the cave, the light almost disappeared entirely, rendering Misty and Serena in an utter darkness. Togepi in Misty's arms seemed quite excited upon entering the dark place.
It joyfully cried out, its childish voice echoing throughout the cave.
Ash reached out and grasped the slender hands of Misty and Serena, leading them through the dark cave.
Misty had grown accustomed to hand-holding, while for Serena, it was the first time holding hands with Ash in such a manner, especially with Misty nearby. She didn't see Ash hold Misty's hand, but she could somewhat guess: In this dark place, surely Ash wouldn't leave his girlfriend's hand unattended to hold the hand of someone who recently joined the team, right?
In the darkness, Serena's face turned crimson, her heart raced, and she felt her palm heating up, worried that Ash might notice her unusual state.
But let's say she was thinking too much; Ash didn't notice Serena's peculiar behavior at all, solely focused on following the direction guided by Aura.
In reality, while Ash's Aura Power can detect a Pokemon's shape, discerning their color is impossible. Aura Power can penetrate all obstacles, then transform them into 3D models engraved in his mind.
So what Ash 'sees' is merely the shape and the energy contained within them, without any specifics on color.
Ash said they found it because, in the cave, he detected an Onix with an aura in the water!
Bear in mind, Onix is four times weaker to water, even if normal water doesn't contain harmful energy, it's extremely uncomfortable for Onix, something it doesn't want to touch, let alone inhabit water!
Furthermore, Ash detected ice attribute power within that Onix, instead of the usual Rock Type and Ground Type powers usually found in an Onix.
Hence, Ash concluded this Onix was highly likely the Crystal Onix Ah Gong mentioned!
After all, an Onix unafraid of water could only be a mutated Onix.
With Ash leading, the two quickly followed him to the depths of the cave, where the initially dark cave suddenly opened up!
Though not as bright as daylight, it's entirely different from the previous darkness, resembling moonlit illumination.
Misty glanced around, found the light source, spotting a cluster of huge crystals!
These crystals seem unlike the glass-made crystals in town, but rather genuinely transparent blue crystals!
The blue crystals emanated a faint glow, their transparency comparable to some precious gemstones; even selling a fist-sized blue crystal might fetch tens of thousands.
Yet this vacant area inside was filled with numerous blue crystals! Who'd have thought a cave on a small island hid such treasure.
If these blue crystals were entirely mined, they'd probably sell for billions!
While observing the cave, Misty also noticed Serena holding hands with Ash. A hint of peculiar color flashed in her green eyes, but she didn't say anything.
Initially shocked by the cave's crystals, Serena took a few seconds to realize her hand was still holding Ash's, hurriedly letting go and sheepishly glancing at Misty.
That look met Misty's gaze, and Misty returned with a bright smile, while Serena gave an awkward smile — Misty must have seen that moment!
While it seems normal to hold hands in a dark cave, doing so in front of someone's girlfriend definitely risks angering the girlfriend!
Thinking in the other person's shoes, Serena figured she'd definitely be upset, although Misty hadn't said anything yet.
As Serena considered explaining to Misty, suddenly there was commotion in the calm lake at the cave's center.
"Boom!!" Accompanied by a deafening rush of water, a gigantic, ice-crystal-colored serpent soared from the lake!
Misty and Serena stared open-mouthed at the 'Onix' rising from the lake, called Onix, yet besides its shape, it doesn't share any resemblance to an ordinary Onix.
This 'Onix' is larger than the average Onix, its entire body akin to crystal, resembling a moving version of those crystal sculptures in town.