In Galar—near the home of a certain hopelessly directionally-challenged Champion—two young trainers, a boy and a girl, stood face-to-face.
Each held a Poké Ball in hand. Their expressions were grave; the air between them was so tense it could've been sliced with a blade.
Even the onlookers—fellow aspiring trainers—were holding their breath, unwilling to make a sound.
In Galar, being a Pokémon Trainer was practically equivalent to being a sports superstar, and the ones gathered here were all "future headliners" destined to stand on the grand stage someday.
After a long silence, the girl on the right finally threw her Poké Ball.
"Go! Lucario! I choose you!"
"Heh… so you're finally making your move, huh?"
Facing his charging opponent, Hop merely smiled faintly.
"Too bad—it's useless! There's only one future Champion, and that's me!"
"Go! Dubwool!"
There it was. Even knowing full well that his Dubwool was about to face off against the deadly dual-blade fighter, Lucario, Hop still followed his heart and sent out his most cherished Pokémon.
In fact, not just against Trainers—even if Hop were to battle a Legendary Pokémon, chances were his first choice would still be Wooloo or its evolved form, Dubwool.
And if you asked him why, well… that was simply his tamashii—his soul.
If he was going to battle, then his soul had to take the field first.
His opponent—Sonia's student, Korrina—just sighed and shook her head.
"You'd really take a type disadvantage just to give Dubwool some screen time? Hop, you idiot."
"At this rate, forget being Champion—you'll be lucky to even make it past the preliminaries in next month's World Tournament!"
Wooloo and Dubwool were pure Normal-type Pokémon. Her Lucario, on the other hand, was Steel/Fighting.
From a matchup perspective, Fighting-type moves would completely flatten Dubwool.
And to be fair… Dubwool's overall strength was, well, debatable.
Combine the two, and it was obvious—beating Lucario here was going to be nearly impossible.
Still, she didn't try to talk Hop out of using Dubwool.
There's emotion between Trainers and their Pokémon. If you threw away a partner just because it wasn't strong enough… wouldn't that make you Paul from Sinnoh?
So she could only hope Hop would keep walking forward with Dubwool by his side.
Who knows—maybe one day Dubwool would undergo a sudden surge of power and evolve again into… "Bridgewool"? "Mega Woollord"? (She wasn't sure what it'd even be called at that point.)
Maybe it was that casual attitude of hers that lit a fire under Hop, because he immediately puffed out his chest and yelled:
"Don't underestimate the bond between me and Dubwool! We'll carve out our own future!"
"Dubwool, use Cotton Guard!"
Cotton Guard—a move of the utmost elegance. It boosted the user's Defense by three stages, roughly a 150% increase.
If paired with the move Body Press, which scales off Defense instead of Attack, Dubwool could transform into a mini-Zamazenta—a sturdy wall with the power to strike back.
In fact, this combo was something Hop had developed after getting thrashed repeatedly by Gloria. It was his current "optimal solution."
But… could Cotton Guard plus Body Press really turn the tide?
Could Lucario—frail as it was on the defensive end, and weak to Fighting-type damage itself—actually be taken down by Dubwool's counterstrike?
…Nope.
Korrina's Lucario mega-evolved, then one-shot Dubwool with a Fighting move.
The invincible Dubwool had fallen.
All thanks to Mega Lucario, of course.
Yes—Korrina had recently completed her Mega Evolution research.
Though her control wasn't perfect—sometimes Mega Evolution caused… strange side effects, or sent her Pokémon berserk—she could occasionally pull it off flawlessly.
And for that, she had Haru to thank.
If not for Haru getting Lucario's Mega Stone through Mr. Steven, the veteran player of "Crazy Rock Collector", she'd still be stuck at square one.
Unfortunately, even with her rapid progress, she still couldn't overcome the other bug in the system.
That "bug" being none other than Gloria herself.
Everyone agreed there was something… odd about that girl.
No elite Trainers in her family. No legendary Pokémon partners. No renowned mentor.
And yet, she was terrifyingly strong.
When Haru left, Gloria had barely started her Pokémon journey. Now? She could crush Korrina with ease.
Sure, she sometimes relied on Dynamax, but that growth rate? Faster than a Garchomp's speed stat.
As for Hop—Champion Leon's little brother—he'd been growing quickly too.
But to this day, he had never once beaten Gloria.
A living legend of zero victories.
In fact, Leon himself was starting to think Gloria might surpass his brother someday.
So Hop, tired of being demolished by Gloria, began challenging Korrina instead.
After all, no one's obligated to keep fighting an opponent they literally can't beat.
Sadly, at this point… he couldn't even beat her anymore.
Not even when she didn't use Dynamax.
The battle dragged on for a bit longer before ending with Korrina sweeping Hop's entire team, 2–0.
Meanwhile, Gloria—who had been sitting nearby, acting as both spectator and referee—finally stood up.
She didn't critique either of them. Instead, she just looked their way, pulled out her Rotom Phone, and said:
"I heard Haru's making headlines again in the water capital, Altomare."
"Sounds… intriguing."
Her voice was calm, but the way she cradled her cheek hinted at something complicated.
Korrina, ignoring Hop, who was now kneeling in defeat with dead eyes, leaned in eagerly.
"Master Haru? What's he done this time?"
"Apparently, he's gotten into trouble with Lugia again… Honestly, wherever that guy goes, a Legendary shows up."
Gloria handed over her Rotom Phone.
"I wonder if this means he'll end up with another Legendary partner?"
"That's not likely, right? The reports say he's fighting Lugia, not catching it."
"And if he does keep collecting more Legendaries, wouldn't that make your goal even harder to reach?"
Korrina read for a moment, then returned the phone, smiling.
"Doesn't matter. No matter how many Legendaries he gets, I'll still beat him in the end."
Thus spoke the true protagonist of Sword and Shield, Gloria.
Because deep inside her heart lay an ambition—one she had never told anyone.
For that ambition to be fulfilled, she would have to make Haru kneel.
And if that didn't work… she might just have to use that forbidden technique again—
The Reversal Ritual.
---
Back to Alto Mare…
Compared to Latias, who'd long been in contact with humans, or Mewtwo, who had lived with Haru for a while, Lugia knew very little about humanity.
She'd lived deep beneath the ocean for centuries, and if Team Rocket hadn't kidnapped her child, she never would've attacked Altomare in the first place.
So to Lugia, much of human behavior was utterly alien.
Including the strange writings she'd stolen from Haru.
The pure, innocent Lugia tilted her head, golden eyes full of question marks as she scanned the pages.
She could read the words—but their meaning eluded her.
"What does… 'Get off my boyfriend' mean?"
"And… 'You're being too rough, you'll hurt him'? What kind of ritual is that supposed to be?"
Was this some sort of human mating ceremony?
Puzzled, Miss Lugia flipped a few more pages—only to find the content growing increasingly bizarre.
The "Haru" in the drawings was entangled with another woman in… rather unusual poses.
Strangely enough, both seemed to be enjoying themselves. Off to the side, a character named "Cynthia" was bound in ropes, reaching out toward Haru with a look of frustrated longing.
"The cuckold's duel has ever been thus. You are lucky I permit you to watch."
At that line, Lugia's feathery head-tuft began to spin like a propeller before curling into a question mark.
"What… what does that mean?"
All of this was so far beyond her understanding.
This goddess of the deep, purer even than Mewtwo, simply couldn't make sense of it.
Still, she kept reading—determined to reach the end and uncover the truth.
And then… she froze.
On the final page, written in enormous bold letters, was this:
"After enduring seven layers of solitude and unending torment, Champion Cynthia has finally transcended."
"Her Dream-Shattering Blade and Heart-Demon Doctrine have reached perfection. Now, she stands as the mightiest being in existence."
"Even gods fear her. Even heaven trembles before her."
Beneath those words was an illustration: a woman wielding a sword, standing atop a mountain of fallen warriors.
She faced away from the world, alone, supreme.
Just from her posture alone, Lugia could feel her power—terrifying, limitless.
Lugia's hands trembled. Her head-feather spun wildly like a rotor, betraying the turbulence in her heart.
She might not have understood the earlier pages—but this final one?
She understood perfectly.
It was saying:
Learn this technique, and you will become invincible.
Too perfect. This was exactly what she wanted.
All she needed now was to figure out what "Dream-Shattering Blade" and "Heart-Demon Doctrine" actually meant—and once she did, she could emulate that woman called Cynthia and become stronger herself.
Sure, she didn't quite understand why the Cynthia in the picture looked like she was in pain… but that didn't matter. As long as she followed the same practice, it would be fine.
Better yet—she could train together with her daughter. Then her little one would never again have to fear being bullied by humans!
With that thought, Lugia glanced at Haru once more, then decisively stuffed the stack of papers against her chest.
"I'll be taking these with me. You don't mind, do you?"
Though she was clearly speaking to Caitlin, her eyes never once left Haru.
"...Huh?"
Caitlin blinked in confusion.
What the heck? How had this caught Lugia's interest again?
Wait… could this all be Haru's doing? Had his weird presence somehow affected Lugia's subconscious—maybe even corrupted her?
She didn't fully understand what was going on, but she quickly nodded anyway. "I have no objections."
Not that she could've stopped Lugia from taking those "books" even if she did object—so she might as well go along with it.
Unfortunately, while Caitlin accepted it readily, Mewtwo didn't take it nearly as well.
To her, it was obvious that Lugia had just discovered some kind of "secret to invincibility" hidden within those papers—and was now trying to keep it all to herself.
Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.
She hadn't even gotten the chance to look yet—how could she allow some third-rate legendary to snatch it away?
There could be only one strongest being, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be her.
Fuming, Mew No. 2 exploded in outrage:
"Damn it, why?! Why are you giving it to her? I want to see it too!"
"..."
Haru shot her a strange look.
"I have no idea why you're all fighting over that stuff… but we've got bigger things to worry about right now."
"Mewtwo, if you really want to see that kind of thing, you should probably talk to Mew instead."
No sooner had he finished than Mew chimed in, practically purring:
"My beloved daughter, come seek me out~ I'll be sure to teach you everything you desire—in the most entertaining way possible."
Before Mewtwo could retort, Haru turned back to Lugia.
"And you—weren't you in a hurry to save your daughter? You sure it's a good idea to keep wasting time here?"
"Ah—right! That's true!"
The "Invincible Superpower Manual" dream shattered instantly as Lugia snapped back to reality.
That's right—she'd been so busy fantasizing about becoming the strongest that she'd forgotten the most important thing of all. Her daughter was still—
"We have to go, now!"
"Wait—hey! Don't just ignore me, damn it! I want those manuals too!"
Mewtwo's protests echoed through the hall, but no one bothered to respond.
---
There were, in fact, Rocket members hiding throughout Altomare.
Or rather—had been.
Not only were they there, but their numbers weren't exactly small. Yet not long ago, Haru had single-handedly flattened every last one of them.
While it wasn't impossible that a few high-ranking ones were still lurking around, the majority had already been captured.
During that chaotic battle, however, Haru had never once caught sight of Lugia's supposed child. None of the Poké Balls confiscated afterward had contained anything resembling a young Lugia either.
That left only two possibilities.
Either the Rockets had locked the child away somewhere they hadn't yet uncovered…
Or some other group had been involved—possibly already fleeing Altomare amidst the confusion.
After weighing his options, Haru concluded that the most reliable lead lay with the captured Rockets.
Even if they didn't know anything about the little Lugia, it was still the only real thread to follow.
Yet after hours of interrogation, it became clear: these particular Rockets had come only for Latias, Latios, and the Soul Dew—it had nothing to do with Lugia at all.
Their plan had been simple: identify the targets, send out the "tiger tiger tiger" signal at midnight, and strike.
But the infamous Thief Sisters—ranked #1 on the global wanted list—had beaten them to the punch. Before the Rockets could move, the sisters had already stolen both the Soul Dew and Latios, leaving only a well-hidden Latias behind.
When the Rockets tried to snatch their prizes back, the sisters claimed their loot had already been stolen—by some mysterious, inhuman shadow.
That shadow, they said, was absurdly powerful. Even with all their advanced tech, they hadn't stood a chance.
Of course, the Rockets didn't believe a word of it.
That disbelief directly led to the chaotic "Altomare Pursuit Race" that followed—one that nearly turned into a full-blown no-rules street brawl in the middle of the city.
In the end, none of them fared well. Both the Thief Sisters and the Rocket agents had been defeated and rounded up by Haru and Officer Jenny.
Only later, during questioning, did the Rockets realize the sisters had actually been telling the truth.
Neither the Soul Dew nor Latios had ever been in their possession. They'd been beaten and captured over a completely pointless fight.
As for Lugia's involvement… they were just as baffled.
When Lugia had attacked Altomare, they'd thought the "Calamity from Legend" had descended upon the city once again.
If not for Haru's intervention, they probably would've all ended up as fish food.
Still, one captured Rocket executive did provide something valuable—thanks to a "full-service" session at the Seafoam Hotel.
From that man, Haru learned of a critical lead:
Dr. Namba, the very scientist who'd appeared on TV attacking Lugia, was still somewhere around the island.
Not only that, but Haru managed to obtain the exact coordinates of Namba's secret laboratory.
If the doctor hadn't fled yet, he was most likely still there.
That was the breakthrough they needed for the "Lost Baby Lugia" case.
Haru had considered questioning the Thief Sisters further about the "shadow," but since Namba might escape at any moment, he decided it was best to pursue that lead first.
...Though, knowing Namba, it wouldn't have been surprising if the so-called "lab" turned out to be another "Namba Heavy Industries" front.
The amusing part was that Namba's laboratory wasn't even on Altomare—it was located deep beneath the surrounding ocean floor.
Meaning that even if Lugia had destroyed the city, the lab could still have survived unscathed.
Since the destination lay underwater, Haru decided Lugia herself would take him down there.
As for the water pressure and oxygen problem—Mew would handle those, as always.
And so, once again, Haru climbed onto the back of the great white bird.
This time, though, it felt… different. Something about sitting astride Lugia made him uncomfortably aware of that "pure white, married-woman" image still floating in his mind.
Fortunately, he'd been through enough long rides by now to keep a straight face.
"Ready to go?"
Seated atop Lugia, Haru patted her head lightly, eyes fixed on the vast blue sea below.
But Lugia—still daydreaming about her "Path to Invincibility"—didn't even acknowledge him. She simply dove straight into the ocean.
The icy water split like liquid glass before them, pearly bubbles spiraling upward past Haru's ears and scattering into golden flecks of refracted light.
The current wrapped around them like countless ribbons of blue silk; each movement of his fingertips stirred the shimmering reflections into trails of stardust that twinkled through the darkening, endless blue.
Gentle pressure lifted his hair like strands of jellyfish tentacles swaying to an ancient oceanic dance.
Protected on all sides by two Legendary Pokémon, Haru let himself drift downward, surrendering to the pull of the planet's depths.
Lugia moved with astonishing speed. Though the waters around Altomare weren't especially deep, it didn't take long before they reached the shadowed seabed.
The blue had already deepened into near-black, save for the occasional glow of jellyfish carrying lanterns of moonlight, scattering diamond-like phosphorescence with each pulse.
On the seafloor, there was no sign of the supposed laboratory.
But according to the Rocket executive's account, it was hidden even further below the ocean mud—so it wasn't surprising that they couldn't see it yet.
Neither Haru nor Lugia had any intention of combing through every inch of seabed by hand.
Instead, they decided to sweep the entire area with the combined psychic power of every Psychic-type Pokémon at Haru's disposal, hoping to detect any trace of the lab.
And if that failed—well, Lugia could always use her "map-wide bombardment" option.
After all, when she fought on her home turf, Lugia's Aeroblasts were far more terrifying than usual.
Thankfully, Mewtwo once again proved her professional excellence. Before Haru or Lugia grew impatient, she detected a region that almost certainly concealed the lab's entrance.
Though the exact location of the entryway remained unclear, a single well-aimed strike would likely reveal it.
But rather than risk annihilating the local marine ecosystem with an overzealous Legendary's blast, Haru chose a safer route—having Mew teleport them both inside.
Namba's "laboratory," despite the name, was absurdly vast.
By Haru's estimation, the facility must have been several football fields in size.
Complex machinery filled every corner, most of it incomprehensible at a glance. Some of the monitors were still lit—indicating recent use.
And yet, strangely enough, not a single person was present.
Even a genius like Namba couldn't possibly maintain such a massive installation alone.
That left two explanations: either everyone had left not long ago… or something had happened, and they'd all vanished.
Haru scanned the area carefully—and soon spotted faint traces of battle, carefully concealed but not enough to escape his eyes.
Without lingering, he pressed onward, following the directional signs deeper into the facility.
Beside him, the now-human Lugia's expression had grown grim, as if she'd remembered something unpleasant.
And then, in the core of the laboratory—they finally found their first human.
And the sight of that person made both their faces change dramatically.
***********************
Read advanced chapter ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.
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