The moment Indeede lifted the skewer of grilled meat toward Little Nebula—
│ "Fuu?"
│ She asked gently.
Little Cosmog shook its head.
│ "Mogu."
Bai Chen tried next, shaking a small tin in his hand—
a familiar rustling sound.
│ "What about this?"
He was holding a box of konpeitō—
Cosmog 's favorite snack in the anime.
But to Bai Chen's surprise,
The baby took one look at the candy…
…and shook its head again.
Absolutely no interest.
│ "Huh.
Doesn't like konpeitō?
So this isn't the same Cosmog Ash got.
Which means… its final evolution might not be predetermined."
Cosmog officially had no gender—
But Solgaleo was always male,
and Lunala always female.
│ "So it's a Schrödinger's gender situation, huh."
Until it evolved,
no one could know which form it'd become.
│ "There's definitely some hidden factor that affects its evolution route…"
Indeede continued testing food options,
trying to sense what Cosmog liked through its emotions.
After a moment of silent reading,
she turned toward the kitchen and began cooking.
Potatoes.
Ground meat.
Oil.
A few minutes later—
Indeede floated forward with a freshly fried croquette.
│ "Fuu?"
Cosmog stared at it…
Then lit up with joy and dove in mouth-first,
eating fast and happily.
│ "So croquettes, huh."
Thank goodness the team had its own master chef.
Otherwise, Bai Chen would've burned the house down trying to fry anything.
Meeting the Squad
Once Cosmog was fed,
Bai Chen began introducing it to the rest of the team.
Tinkatuff welcomed the baby immediately—
Her bold and boisterous personality fit right in.
Zinogre only gave a chilly nod…
But Cosmog seemed fascinated by him anyway,
even playing with the lightning bugs on his back.
Basarios, however—
When he heard this little thing had potential greater than most Elder Dragons, and
his already shaky confidence was shattered.
│ "Great…
another one above me…"
As expected,
his smile toward Cosmog became exceptionally polite.
If he raised favorability early,
maybe he'd suffer fewer beatings later.
He even attempted his old routine—
offering "Basarios Tears" as a gift.
But Cosmog wasn't interested in minerals—
It was fascinated by the fine rock dust he shed.
Cosmog fed on light and atmospheric particles,
and Basarios produced both in absurd quantities.
│ "You like eating dust?
That's easy!
Every time I get beaten up, I have tons of dust!"
Basarios was thrilled.
No need to hand over precious minerals—
He could feed it with after-battle debris alone.
Bai Chen sensed his ridiculous thoughts.
He was honestly too tired even to mock this self-defeating lizard anymore.
A Small Problem: No Poké Ball
Now came the issue:
He had no way to capture Cosmog.
Regular Poké Balls couldn't capture Ultra Beasts.
Only Beast Balls—the Ultra-exclusive capture device—could.
│ "Lusamine's still developing Beast Balls…
I should have them by the time I return to the Monster Hunter world."
Until then, Cosmog would remain free-range.
At level 2, with only Teleport and its innate skills…
It wasn't going to be fighting anytime soon.
│ "I'll train you up slowly.
Once you evolve into a full legendary,
That's when you'll become real combat power."
For now, Cosmog would simply be the team's adorable mascot.
Evening — Lusamine Returns
Hearing the news, Lusamine rushed home immediately.
Seeing the baby legendary, she was stunned.
│ "This boy…
Every time I blink, he surprises me.
He leaves for one trip and comes back with another partner."
When she learned Cosmog would one day evolve into Solgaleo or Lunala,
Her respect for Bai Chen skyrocketed again.
She urged Wicke and the researchers to accelerate the Beast Ball project.
Lillie's 20th Birthday
Soon came Lillie's birthday.
Her diablo's egg—Bai Chen's gift—hatched on the same day.
The little diablos could use Minimize from birth,
making it extremely convenient to raise without space issues.
The birthday party was lavish.
Many of Lusamine's business acquaintances attended.
Bai Chen arrived in a suit—
And with his already handsome features,
the formal attire drew many stares.
Several young ladies approached him—
…but Lillie politely shooed every single one away.
By the end of the night,
everyone knew the Aether Foundation's princess
already had someone in her heart.
Lusamine's "Big Gift"
During the banquet, Lusamine called Bai Chen to the study.
She placed two files on the desk.
│ "This is the gift I mentioned before.
Look over them—tell me if you're satisfied.
If not, I can revise them."
He picked up the first file…
…and froze.
It was the complete blueprint for the Monster Ball (Poké Ball) technology.
She was giving him the core technology of the most important device in their world outright.
│ "…I was still thinking about how to convince her to give me this.
She just… hands it over?"
He opened the second file—
a contract.
A transfer of shares.
From Lusamine's own profitable companies.
Large percentages.
High-value stakes.
Collectively worth more than ten thousand months of James's salary.
│ "So this is her way of changing our partnership…"
│ "Well?" Lusamine asked gently.
│ "Is the gift… satisfactory?"
Bai Chen exhaled.
│ "Satisfactory?
This is… beyond generous."
The money didn't matter to him.
He could earn that easily with his current power.
What mattered was trust.
Until now, their cooperation was polite—but cautious.
Lusamine held the advantage.
The Poké Ball tech was her leverage.
But now—
She gave him the tech.
Gave him shares.
Gave him a binding interest in Aether's future.
This wasn't "trust."
It was commitment.
A total alignment of interests.
│ "Do you accept it, then?" she asked softly.
│ "Why would I refuse?"
Bai Chen picked up the pen
and signed his name.
Lusamine finally exhaled in relief.
Did it hurt to give away such valuable shares?
Of course not.
To her, she had profited greatly.
Bai Chen's power and potential were already incredible.
But more importantly—
He represented an entire other world.
If he ever introduced even a fraction of that world's technology or materials…
Her companies would explode in value.
By the end of the night,
they had entered an entirely new stage of alliance.
The Island Trials Begin
The next morning—Lillie's first day as an adult—
She accompanied Bai Chen to challenge Totem Pokémon.
She had prepared a detailed plan.
│ "There are four natural islands in Alola…"
│ "Melemele Island's kahuna is Hala.
Winning earns you the Fighting Z."
│ "Akala Island's kahuna is Olivia—her badge gives Rock Z."
│ "Ula'ula Island's kahuna is Nanu—he gives Dark Z."
│ "Poni Island has no kahuna currently, so no trial."
She pointed at the map.
Totem Pokémon locations, Z-Crystal types, conditions—all marked clearly.
│ "For Dark Z, we can avoid Nanu entirely by challenging Melemele's Totem Raticate instead."
That worked better for Bai Chen.
Island kahunas scaled their strength to match the challenger.
If he fought Hala now,
Hala would almost certainly send out his true ace.
Not ideal.
│ "Only Rock Z requires fighting Olivia directly."
Lillie added.
│ "Then she goes last."
Bai Chen nodded.
Olivia might be new as a kahuna—but she was no pushover.
│ "All right. Challenging every Totem Pokémon should take around fifteen days."
│ "Fine by me.
If we can gather every Z-Crystal before I return to the Monster Hunter world, all the better."
Thus began their journey—
A half-month adventure across Alola.
Progress & Beast Balls Completed
During this time, various events unfolded in Alola.
Most importantly:
The Beast Ball research was finally complete.
Bai Chen received a test model—
a blue, high-capture-rate ball for Ultra Beasts.
He immediately used it on Cosmog.
│ "Once you're in this ball,
You're never leaving."
He didn't raise Pokémon for others to take.
A legendary he raised would stay with him forever.
Meanwhile — The Kahunas Talk
Elsewhere, Hala met with Olivia and Nanu.
Nanu smirked:
│ "Your Melemele Island's been lively lately.
Ultra Beasts, mysterious super-powered youth…"
Hala chuckled loudly.
│ "I heard Bai Chen went to your Ula'ula Island. How'd it go?"
│ "Sigh…"
Nanu exhaled flatly.
│ "He's the type who creates extra paperwork.
He has this overwhelming aura that frightens weaker Pokémon.
The whole island's been in chaos."
│ "So his strength really has grown,"
Hala nodded seriously.
│ "If he's as strong as you say…
That boy is a monster.
His growth speed is absurd."
│ "At least I can confirm he has no ill will toward Alola,"
Hala added, vouching for him.
Nanu shrugged.
He had met Bai Chen from afar—
and approved of his behavior.
Then both turned to Olivia.
│ "He's on your island now, right?" Nanu asked.
│ "You sure you should be here chatting?"
Olivia smiled calmly.
│ "It's fine.
I already arranged a trial for two days from now.
Right now, he and his partner are soaking in the volcano."
│ "…Soaking in the volcano?"
Hala blinked.
│ "Yes.
A child called 'Basarios.'
We agreed he'll fight my partner afterwards."
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