A few days later.
Axel walked out of the room looking exhausted, his legs going weak as he dropped onto a sofa in the hotel lobby.
"Damn… that was terrifying. I need to hurry up and unlock a new location and grind Super True Newbie to the ultimate level."
After going through battles with Pheromosa, Diao Chan, and the two Gardevoir, Axel finally experienced what "ultimate" really meant.
That scene… Axel honestly felt like he and Diao Chan might've been finished off.
But after these past few days together, Axel's relationship with Diao Chan and the white Gardevoir had warmed up rapidly.
It was no longer just simple dependence and longing like at the beginning. Real feelings had formed.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Just as Axel was resting in the lobby, his Rotom suddenly rang.
Axel glanced at the avatar on the screen, his mother, and was immediately surprised, ["Mom, you guys came out of the Ultra Wormhole?"]
Dusk nodded gently, smiling warmly at him, ["Eva couldn't wait any longer. She dragged us home a few days ago."]
["Look, this is the villa she bought for us,"] Dusk turned the camera so Axel could see their new home.
It was a three-story Chinese-style villa, complete with a courtyard, gate tower, water features, and rock arrangements.
Through a crack in a door, Axel could even see his father entertaining several people in suits. He could vaguely recognize the one serving tea as the executive vice principal of Ninox University.
"Mom, are you in Emberpine right now?"
["Yep,"] Dusk was smiling from ear to ear, ["Eva arranged for someone to buy the villa early in the morning. We're neighbors with your Uncle Graham and Aunt Stacy now, so we're staying here for the time being."]
["When you come back, we'll go stay at the old house in City for a few days."]
["Oh, I gotta go. Your Aunt Stacy might not be able to handle cooking by herself. There are a lot of people eating today, I'll go help."]
Hearing that they were cooking themselves, Axel twitched his lips, "With so many people, why not just eat out, or hire a chef to cook at home?"
["How could we do that? They're all guests, and important ones at that. We can't get arrogant just because we're strong."]
["And you too, if you little brat dare bully my daughters-in-law just because you're strong, I'll have Lunala beat you up!"]
Axel: "..."
'Alright, alright, I'm scared.'
As expected of someone who could suppress the Ultra Wormhole, that pressure was on another level.
"Alright Mom, let's stop here. Recently I found that in the Paldea region, there are a few legendary Pokémon that drifted here from Aurient."
As he spoke, Axel lifted a semi-transparent Poké Ball, letting his mom see the Chi-Yu inside.
"There are three others like it. Right now there's an evil organization here also looking for them."
"I'm going to grab the other three first, so that organization doesn't get stronger."
"Once I save them, I'll come back to Aurient and meet up with you."
["So pretty,"] On the other end of the Rotom, Dusk's eyes suddenly lit up.
As an archaeologist, the moment she saw Chi-Yu, her DNA practically got excited.
["Have you found any clues? If not, I'll bring Lunala over to help you right away."]
["Your mom is now one of the top archaeologists in the world!"]
Axel quickly waved his hand, refusing Dusk's kindness.
From the intelligence over the past few days, the Explorers team clearly had some real capabilities, and likely possessed power to contend with legendary Pokémon.
If his mom brought Lunala over, it might make things even more complicated.
"Alright then, Mom will wait for you at home."
Dusk didn't worry too much about Axel. After seeing his combat power in the Ultra Wormhole, she had full confidence in her precious son…
———
[At the same time, South Province Area One of Paldea]
A long quarantine line had been set up outside a forest, with numerous security personnel standing nearby alongside their Pokémon.
"Restricted area ahead. Entry is forbidden," In front of the bright yellow barrier, more than twenty security personnel in black uniforms stood in a row. The words "Ecological Protection Association" on their armbands glinted coldly in the sunlight.
A young man clenched his Poké Ball so tightly that veins bulged on his arm, "I was still training in there just a few days ago. How did it suddenly become a protected zone today?"
"The League hasn't issued any notice at all, and the people in our town have always protected the Pokémon here really well."
"Kid, this is the League's order," The security captain snorted coldly. The Obstagoon beside him let out a threatening growl, dark red energy flowing at the tips of its claws.
He looked at the crowd with indifference, as if he might strike at any moment.
More and more people gathered. Trainers who wanted to enter the forest for training grew increasingly restless. The air was filled with a tense feeling, like a storm about to break.
"Something's wrong inside!", Suddenly, a girl in a red jacket pointed deep into the forest, "Look!"
In the direction she pointed, a massive pitch-black stone pillar appeared, visible from almost anywhere in the forest.
Dense black patterns, carvings that seemed to represent some kind of ritual, and black mist constantly rising from it.
Even the once lush green treetops were visibly withering, turning yellow before their eyes. Purple-black fog seeped out from cracks in the ground.
The ancient stone pillar surged up from the earth, the pictographic symbols carved into it emitting an ominous blood-red glow.
Whoosh!
Just as everyone stared in shock, the ground suddenly split open, and dozens of thick, purple-black tendrils burst out.
A phantom of a never-before-seen Pokémon, shaped like a snail, slowly rose beneath the pillar, repeatedly slamming into it.
With every impact, it drained the life force of the surrounding trees, leaving them shriveled and dry.
A presence of pure calamity surged forward like a tidal wave.
"This is bad!", Someone quickly realized. Wo-Chien was absorbing the forest's life force.
They wanted to rush in and fight the massive phantom, but the security personnel stood firmly in front of them, blocking them completely.
The stone pillar erupted with a blood-red barrier. Ancient inscriptions wrapped around the phantom like chains, but the red light in its eyes flared violently, and even more tendrils burst out from underground.
At the same time, several members of the Explorers rode in from the distance on Corviknight, commanding their Pokémon to attack the stone pillar sealing the phantom.
"Increase the output!", the leading woman shouted excitedly, "As long as we break the seal, we can control this legendary Pokémon!"
"Only by borrowing their power can we suppress the Six Heroes and rediscover the legendary paradise!"
Her subordinates all nodded, directing their Pokémon to unleash even stronger attacks.
Before long, cracking sounds echoed from the pillar as it began to give way.
Wo-Chien was about to awaken.
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