Indeed, that was the case. After Little Lugia initially fused with Yveltal's power, although its appearance turned black, the energy inside constantly clashed. If left unchecked, the inevitable result would be Yveltal's power devouring the source strength of Little Lugia.
And Little Lugia wouldn't be able to inherit Yveltal's power; it could only perish as its own strength was consumed.
Team Galactic planned to release the dying Little Lugia to attract the Sea God's appearance. If it were the Sea God, there would surely be a way to rescue Little Lugia.
In this way, their goal would have been achieved. Who could have thought that someone would intervene halfway and not only destroy one of their bases but also snatch Little Lugia away? That interloper was Sinnoh Champion—Cynthia!
Thanks to Cynthia's obstruction, their initial plan failed, so they set a trap to lure Cynthia in, eventually succeeding in trapping her. Though they couldn't do much to Cynthia, it was only temporary.
Neither Cynthia's own physical strength nor her Pokemon's stamina was limitless. As long as they dragged it out, they would eventually exhaust Cynthia and her Pokemon. By then, even the Sinnoh Champion would be at their mercy.
They also knew that the League had sent numerous people to find their whereabouts, but with their method of concealment, unless they appeared willingly, the League would struggle to find them, even if they upturned the Orange Archipelago.
It was at this moment that Ash and Lorelei appeared, engaging in an exhibition match.
In this seemingly ordinary exhibition match, their experimental subject Dark Lugia appeared!
Little Lugia, which theoretically should have been consumed and dissipated by the Power of Death, was somehow still alive, and had even incorporated Yveltal's power, becoming a Legendary Beast with dual divine powers!
Its future potential was unimaginable; possessing the powers of two Legendary Beasts meant it might inherit the power of dual divine positions!
A Legendary Beast bearing dual divine positions—no one had ever seen or heard of such a thing. Even the leader of Team Galactic, who had witnessed countless significant events, never imagined something like this would happen in the world.
Therefore, reclaiming Dark Lugia became Team Galactic's top priority.
Why did they strive for the Sea God Lugia? In addition to the Sea God's combat prowess and symbolic significance, they needed its power to deal with other deities.
But now, they had a second option: to reclaim Dark Lugia. For Team Galactic, capturing Dark Lugia seemed far less challenging than capturing and controlling the Sea God—at least in their view.
By completely controlling Dark Lugia while it was still weak, even if it matured, it could never escape their grasp. Thus, returning to reclaim Dark Lugia seemed a better choice than the uncertain pursuit of the Sea God.
The trainer currently holding Dark Lugia was merely a young boy. Even if this youngster defeated a Champion Level trainer in the exhibition match, Lorelei hadn't used her full strength.
If Lorelei went all-out, the power Ash had shown wouldn't withstand a single blow.
To Team Galactic, Ash couldn't possibly be more troublesome than Cynthia, could he?
Thus, upon seeing Dark Lugia appearing and wielding its power, which was only at the Champion Level, Team Galactic immediately began plotting and arrived at Little Orange Island that very day, seeking confrontation.
They realized that Ash and Lorelei had deliberately exposed Dark Lugia to lure them out, but they couldn't predict that Team Galactic would show up the same day.
Moreover, it was led by Huoxing, the disguised leader of the Orange Archipelago division, who launched a surprise attack. Given Huoxing's formidable strength, and with the target being a fledgling like Ash, wouldn't it be an easy grab? Surely Lorelei wouldn't be at Ash's residence in the middle of the night, right?
However, the outcome took Huoxing by surprise. Ash's handling of the situation was nothing like his seemingly naive appearance. He seemed to have anticipated her ambush.
Most importantly… Ash could actually block an attack from six Elite Level Pokemon barehanded, looking so effortlessly composed, without a scratch!
This terrifying disparity in power was why Huoxing lowered her stance to negotiate with Ash.
Upon hearing this, Ash curled his lips into a disdainful smile: "Are you kidding me? How could I abandon Little Lugia for something like that? Instead, how about you tell me Miss Cynthia's whereabouts and I might let you off the hook, otherwise, once I capture you and hand you over to Miss Lorelei for questioning, I can't guarantee what you'll go through."
"Cynthia… Since you're not interested in my previous offer, how about a new one? We release Cynthia and in return, you hand over Lugia to us, how does that sound?" Huoxing responded, directly changing the conditions.
Since Ash wasn't interested in the earlier terms, they tried to find something he was interested in, namely Cynthia's whereabouts, which Ash had just mentioned.
For them, holding Sinnoh Champion as a bargaining chip could exchange for many things with the League. Of course, the best choice would be to directly eliminate Cynthia. If they sent Cynthia back, who knows how much trouble she'd cause Team Galactic in the future?
But if they could exchange Cynthia for Lugia, it would be more than worth it. Then, they only needed to lie low for a while, cultivate Dark Lugia, and once they emerged, they would be invincible!
Upon hearing this, Ash's expression darkened even more: "First of all, you don't have the option to negotiate with me. Right now… I'm the stronger one!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ash instantly moved behind Huoxing, grabbing her arms and pushing them behind her back, forcing her to her knees with her arms locked.
Given Huoxing's deliberate distancing earlier, there was at least a thirty-meter gap between them, yet in the blink of an eye, she was subdued by Ash, without even catching a glimpse of his shadow.
What kind of monster is this guy…
When the six Pokemon Huoxing had released reacted, they saw their own trainer captured, and even if they could fight against Ash, they couldn't threaten him with Huoxing in his grasp.
As Ash said, now—he is the stronger one!
Dealing with villains, reasoning is pointless. One must use overwhelming force to make them recognize reality; Ash learned this from the group.
Though he had only been traveling for just over seven months, Ash was no longer that naive hero. He would adapt when necessary, ignoring Huoxing's six Pokemon and targeting Huoxing directly.
"Secondly, both Miss Cynthia and Little Lugia are living beings with emotions, not emotionless bargaining chips. And since when did Little Lugia become Team Galactic's possession? How dare a thief say such things, have you no shame?"
"Now will you tell me, where is Miss Cynthia?"
As Ash finished speaking, Huoxing felt pain in her arms, bent behind her back, indicating Ash's warning. Now that he held the advantage, she should know what choice to make.