Immediately upon returning to Earth, Aiden rushed to the Alola region and used his PokéNav to contact all the Champions he could reach.
Necrozma's sheer prestige was too high. Relying solely on himself and the Legendary Pokémon he could summon might not be secure, so he had to gather as much support as possible.
If they lost to the berserk Necrozma, all the light in the world would be devoured, repeating the tragedy of Ultra Megalopolis.
Therefore, even if defeating it was too much to ask, they at least had to restore its sanity!
This was also the reason he had rushed to the Alola region to prepare in the first place.
"I didn't expect so many things to happen during this time—"
Facing the grave-faced Aiden, Professor Kukui could only sigh helplessly.
Since Aiden left last time, with the cooperation between the International Police and the Aether Foundation after their reconciliation, the situation in the Alola region had basically stabilized.
Although the frequency of Ultra Beast appearances was indeed much higher than before—sometimes monsters crossing through Ultra Wormholes would appear every two or three days—they were quickly and easily dealt with through the cooperation of the four Island Guardians and humans.
But thinking about it now—
Could this actually have been an early warning?
A warning to the world in advance that the "King" behind those Ultra Beasts was about to descend?
It sounded a bit chuunibyou, but it seemed like it was about to become reality.
"Necrozma— to think it's that Blinding One who barely left any legends behind."
Professor Kukui recalled the few records about it, and a complex sense of powerlessness suddenly surged in his heart.
The opponent was actually "Light"; why did it feel like they were the villains?
Moreover, that existence whose strength was likely second only to Arceus—would it actually fall into madness too?
He didn't even know the reason, but since these words came from Aiden's mouth, there was a highly probable chance it would actually happen!
There wasn't much time to think; they had to be on high alert immediately!
"Don't worry too much. I've already sent messages to the Champions of all regions; we are not fighting alone."
Aiden patted Professor Kukui's shoulder.
Although from a seniority standpoint it seemed a bit out of order, Kukui couldn't care less at a time like this.
"I understand."
"I'll go contact the Island Kahunas of each island, as well as the Ultra Recon Squad right now."
After speaking, Professor Kukui prepared to turn and leave.
But at this moment, Aiden stopped him again and asked, "Where are Lillie and Nebby?"
"To prevent more dangerous situations from occurring, Nebby must be protected in advance."
Half an hour later.
The door to Professor Kukui's lab was pushed open, and two girls wearing dresses walked in.
"Teacher Azure, were you looking for us?"
The first to speak was, of course, Moon.
Having been in the Alola region for about two months, Moon had successfully integrated into Alola, even tanning her skin to a healthy wheat color.
Lillie, who walked in with her, hadn't changed much, but she looked noticeably more cheerful than the last time they met.
As expected, spending a long time with an optimistic and cheerful person always led to being unconsciously assimilated.
If it were normal times, Aiden might have succumbed to his occupational hazard and asked a bit about their recent studies.
However, right now, business came first.
"I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for Nebby."
Aiden shook his head and looked at Lillie, who also had a serious expression.
She had probably heard some intel from Professor Kukui, so she subconsciously gripped the shoulder bag at her side.
"The Professor said— that the Blinding One of Alola legend has fallen into madness, and will soon come to the Alola region..."
"Its target is Nebby, isn't it, Teacher Azure?"
Aiden shook his head.
"No, it should be said that the evolved Nebby is its target."
As an extremely rare Legendary Pokémon with an evolutionary line, Cosmog (Nebby) needed to absorb enough Ultra Aura to grow into the new generation of the Sun and Moon deities.
The last time he came to Alola, he had already heard about Nebby's current state from Professor Kukui.
After falling asleep, Nebby had entered its second stage, evolving into the transitional "Cocoon of the Stars", Cosmoem.
In the games, making it complete its evolution required going to the Altar of the Sunne and completing an ancient ritual passed down by the ancient Alolan royalty.
Under Aiden's serious gaze, Lillie mentally prepared herself for a moment before finally nodding.
"Yes, I understand!"
"Nebby is sleeping in the basement. I will take it to the Altar of the Sunne and fulfill its final mission!"
When she first escaped from Aether Paradise, she was just an ignorant little girl; the reason she ran away from home with Nebby was out of compassion.
But now, Lillie, who had gradually grown up, knew more about the inside story of the past, and had learned Nebby's true identity from Professor Kukui and the Ultra Recon Squad.
After her relationship with her mother was repaired, Lillie could also understand the circumstances of Nebby's discovery at Aether Paradise and the purpose of keeping it.
Nebby was the child entrusted to humanity by the legendary Sun and Moon deities, descending upon the Alola region every thousand years.
It was the key to opening Ultra Wormholes, and also one of the only two known Ultra Beasts that held goodwill towards humans.
Only by using it to deconstruct the formation principles of Ultra Wormholes was there a possibility for her father, who had gone missing while researching Ultra Wormholes back then, to return.
But it was precisely because of the Aether Foundation's research on Nebby that the Ultra Beast incidents occurred for such a long time, which was also closely related to the major event about to happen now.
Therefore, as the daughter of Aether Foundation President Lusamine, she needed to step up and solve the problem together with everyone even more.
Led by Lillie, Aiden quickly arrived at the lab's basement, and in an inconspicuous crystal box in the corner, he saw the "Cocoon of the Stars", Cosmoem.
This thing really couldn't be carried around—
Aiden nodded, expressing his understanding.
According to the data in the Pokédex, the pre-evolved "Child of the Stars", Cosmog, was a gaseous creature shaped like a nebula, weighing as little as 0.1 kg; a gust of wind could blow it away.
But once it absorbed enough Ultra Aura, coating itself in a golden shell and locking itself firmly inside, the "Cocoon of the Stars", Cosmoem, would suddenly weigh nearly 1 ton; even a Machamp wouldn't be able to lift it.
Probably only a super rookie Trainer could manage to travel with it.
Honestly, whether Nebby evolved or not wasn't crucial to the upcoming battle; after all, even if it evolved, it probably wouldn't have much combat power.
But it *not* joining the battle was very important to Aiden.
In the Pokédex, Necrozma's base stat total in its base form was only 600. Only after devouring either Solgaleo or Lunala would it temporarily gain the 680 base stats corresponding to a first-tier god.
And if it were allowed to devour both the Sun and Moon deities—
Ultra Necrozma's base stats would reach a terrifying 754, surpassing the previous strongest stat monster, Zygarde, and even Arceus wouldn't be a match for it on paper.
Although base stats couldn't be used as the direct basis for judging a Pokémon's strength, combined with its prestige in the game's backstory, Ultra Necrozma was indeed a Legendary Pokémon whose prestige was second only to Arceus.
As for Eternatus, whose theoretical stats were a whopping 1125 and scared a bunch of Trainers to tears—
Because its battle record was truly too abysmal, overall its prestige might even be below Zygarde's.
Eternatus at least had Leon, a responsible and powerful Champion, to hold it off, plus the bloodline suppression of Zacian and Zamazenta, the siblings who specialized in countering "Dynamax," so it couldn't make any waves.
But the Alola region couldn't find any teammates who could deal with Ultra Necrozma; it might even be hard to find them in the entire world.
Therefore, it was best to complete Nebby's mission before Necrozma appeared, allowing it to return to the universe and stay far away from the dangerous battlefield.
With this thought in mind, Aiden took out his phone again and began a "Grand Summoning" via the PokéNav.
Paldea region, Mesagoza.
"Rika, the League shouldn't have any major matters to handle recently, right?"
Sitting at her desk, staring blankly at the computer screen, Rika subconsciously frowned and tried to recall after hearing Chairwoman Geeta's question.
After repeatedly confirming it several times, she stood up, stretched, and replied casually.
"Nothing major, Aiden already dealt with everything."
"Thanks to him, everyone can finally get a good night's sleep lately."
Geeta nodded.
"Indeed, if Aiden hadn't appeared, we'd probably still be having headaches over Area Zero right now."
"So, I'll leave the League to you for the next few days."
Rika: ???
"What do you mean, you're quitting?"
Rika's tone was full of panic, her voice even trembling a bit.
Are you kidding me!
Although Chairwoman Geeta had long been assigning League members workloads far beyond normal levels, that was also unavoidable when they were short-handed.
Joking about it normally was one thing, but if they really had to choose a Chairwoman, there was probably no one more suitable in all of Paldea.
Because Geeta was not only ruthless to others, she was even more insanely ruthless to herself.
Who knew how much overtime she voluntarily worked every day to clear those documents and records that were simply impossible to process, just so it wouldn't affect the League's normal operations.
Even if Larry came, he probably couldn't handle it, let alone the fact that if Geeta stepped down as Chairwoman, the one who would have to step up would most likely be herself—
No way!
She was only in her twenties; she didn't want to prematurely turn into a robot with nothing but work in her head!
Seeing the breakdown in Rika's expression, Geeta smiled with a complex look in her eyes.
"Don't overthink it. Aiden just needs my help over there."
"Of course, if you want to be the League Champion, just tell me directly."
"No, absolutely not!"
Rika immediately waved her hands repeatedly.
"I'll cover for you for the next few days. Just come back and give me compensatory time off once you're done over there!"
"At worst, I'll ask Larry to come help!"
Galar region.
While Rose was handling League duties, the League Champion Leon suddenly barged in, leaving behind a non-negotiable statement.
"Chairman Rose, please postpone or directly decline my scheduled activities for the next few days."
Rose immediately frowned, looking up at him.
"Is there something important?"
"Yes, I need to make a trip to the Alola region."
Leon didn't intend to hide his destination from him.
"A massive, very tricky trouble has appeared on Aiden's end. It requires Champions from all over the world to gather together to possibly stop a disaster that will affect the world."
"..."
Rose didn't reply, but stared at him seriously for a good while.
Just as Leon was starting to feel a bit uneasy, he suddenly sighed.
"I understand."
"Do as you see fit. This is also an opportunity to showcase our Galar Champion's kingly aura."
"However, your schedule will probably be packed after this, so be prepared."
"Also—"
"Even if you're fighting alongside other Champions this time, you still have to show the presence of the Strongest Champion and go all out."
"Yes, I understand!"
Leon nodded.
Generally, with Chairman Rose's words, you only needed to listen to the conclusion.
Although he would often say things like "Everything is for the League's development" or "I am the Chairman, so listen to me," he was actually a very humane person.
It's just—
He could be a bit stubborn in his own views occasionally?
Kanto region, Victory Road.
After a fierce battle, a somewhat staggering Lance stood up with difficulty, looking with a complex expression at the baseball-capped boy in front of him.
"You win."
"Congratulations, Red."
"Thank you, Mr. Lance."
Compared to Lance, Red looked significantly more battered.
His plain Trainer jacket was already soaked, the corners still holding some ice shards, and even his iconic red-and-white cap had a corner burned off.
His body and face were also covered in scars, as if he had just experienced a fierce close-quarters brawl.
And that was indeed the case.
After successfully challenging the Kanto Elite Four in a row, he was only one step away from becoming Champion.
Thinking of this, Lance suddenly sighed.
The title of Kanto Champion had been vacant for over a decade; no one had been able to inherit this glory from the long-retired Professor Oak.
But who could have imagined that in just half a day, two people would successfully challenge and break through Victory Road—
He originally thought that after experiencing so much this year, he might finally be qualified to touch the threshold of the Champion next year when he was in his prime.
As a result, the geniuses of the new era had already defeated him.
Lance sighed, feeling a bit emotional for a moment.
"Keep moving forward. There is one last opponent waiting for you ahead."
"There's more?"
Hearing his words, Red subconsciously frowned, but soon relaxed and instead revealed a face full of smiles.
"I see."
"It looks like you've already become the League Champion one step ahead of me, Blue—"
"It's only interesting when it's like this!"
Lance silently watched as Red suddenly ignited, his body erupting with an aura even stronger than when he had fought him just now, striding out of the room.
Are all the rookies these days monsters?
Not only is there Aiden, but even our Kanto has produced two such terrifying guys—
Could the new era that Former Champion Oak spoke of truly be arriving?
Lance sighed, covering his waist as he prepared to get a good rest, when suddenly the phone in his pocket vibrated.
Opening it, it was actually a message from Aiden.
[Aiden: I heard Kanto's Victory Road is almost over?]
[Aiden: Regardless of whether the Champion is Red or Blue, anyway, once it's over, bring them both along for a trip to Alola!]
[Aiden: The crisis this time is a bit troublesome. We need combat power at the Champion level and above to gather together to possibly overcome this hardship!]
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)