Umberto was an eccentric old hermit living on Fukuhara Island No. 4, where researchers discovered a Kabuto Dome Fossil. When Nurse Joy arrived with an excavation crew to dig up more fossils, Umberto became determined to drive them away—though not out of malice. He repeatedly dislodged massive boulders from a nearby cliff, hoping to scare the group into leaving rather than cause actual harm.
His reason for the sabotage came down to a warning he kept trying to deliver: disturbing the Kabuto Fossils would summon a red moon and sink the entire island. Naturally, no one took him seriously until it actually happened. The moment the red moon appeared in the sky, the fossils came back to life. Turns out Umberto knew what he was talking about—the island had literally formed around these ancient creatures, and their revival destabilized everything. The ground began crumbling apart, and to make matters worse, the boats were stranded on the opposite side of the island.
With escape looking impossible, Umberto guided Ash and the others to the forest where they could quickly build rafts. Between Ash and Misty's Water-type Pokémon and some quick carpentry, everyone managed to get off the island before it disappeared entirely. Nurse Joy eventually apologized for brushing off his warnings, finally understanding that the strange old man had been right all along.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
