Chapter 58: Taming the Ultra Beasts
Charizard didn't end up traveling with Ryan. It planned to stay with the Salazzle for a while, intending to return when Ryan prepared to travel to the Johto region.
Reluctantly, Ryan asked Dragonair to take him down the mountain. They then went to Kiawe's ranch. Kiawe's mother, Sima, and his father, Rango, warmly entertained Ryan. After all, Ryan had been quite considerate of Kiawe and his family back in Kanto.
Of course, there was Kiawe's little sister, Mimo. She curiously eyed Cosmog, who was drinking Moomoo Milk, and asked, "Big brother Ryan, what's this Pokémon's name? It's so cute!"
The three Pokémon drinking milk suddenly took a 10,000-point critical hit. After all, they all had intimidating appearances, each one more ferocious-looking than the other, and Cosmog immediately outshone them in cuteness.
"It? Well, you can just call it Nebby," Ryan said, stroking Cosmog's little head.
Cosmog tilted its head. "Nebby? Are you calling me that?"
Mimo curiously poked Cosmog's face and played with it for a while, then turned her attention to Dragonair and the others. Dragonair and the others immediately put on friendly expressions, welcoming Mimo's affection.
Ryan drank some Moomoo Milk and thought: When I go to Johto, I'm going to need to catch a bunch of Miltank. Moomoo Milk is incredibly nutritious and tastes amazing.
"Ring-ring-ring. Ryan, there's a call." Ryan's phone rang, and the voice message Lillie had recorded for him served as the ringtone.
Ryan answered the call and asked, "Hello, this is Ryan speaking. Who's calling?"
"It's me," said Lusamine. "Ryan, we've found traces of Ultra Beasts on Mount Lanakila on Ula'ula Island. Could you please capture them?"
"I see. How many are there? I'll need to be prepared."
"Not sure yet, but at least two."
"Understood. I'll head there immediately."
"Thank you. The guardian deities seem to understand the situation as well."
"I'm hanging up now." Ryan hung up with a slight frown. He didn't particularly appreciate his future mother-in-law's obsessions, something he and Lillie had in common.
He recalled Gyarados and Tyranitar, then climbed onto Dragonair back, carrying Cosmog. After speaking with Kiawe's parents, Dragonair took off with Ryan, heading for Mount Lanakila on Ula'ula Island.
Dragonair was quite fast, though not as swift as Charizard. Over an hour later, Ryan reached Mount Lanakila on Ula'ula Island. Guided by the Aether Foundation's helicopter, he landed in a snowy field. As the helicopter descended, the strong downdraft whipped up a torrent of snow, which pelted Dragonair, making it uncomfortable. This kind of environment would surely be unpleasant for any Dragon-type Pokémon.
The helicopter door opened, and two people jumped out. One was Lusamine, the other Professor Burnet. Ryan looked at the ring on Burnet's finger and asked, "You're Professor Burnet, right? Your husband is Professor Kukui, correct?"
"Yes. You're the Ryan that Kukui always mentions, right? I'm counting on you this time," Burnet said with a smile, a hint of warmth in her expression.
Ryan felt like he'd been fed another dose of couple energy, silently cursing himself for bringing up such a topic. Then he said, "Don't worry, leave it to me."
"Huh? Ryan, where's your Charizard? Why did Dragonair bring you here?" Lusamine asked curiously.
"Well, it's fallen in love. It's at Wela Volcano. It won't leave until I return," Ryan said helplessly.
The two women exchanged glances and couldn't help but chuckle. After a while, they finally stopped laughing. They brought out some equipment and explained to Ryan that after capturing the Ultra Beasts, they would open an Ultra Wormhole and allow them to return home.
Of course, if there were many of them, they wouldn't mind keeping one or two for research. Ryan acknowledged the plan and mounted Dragonair to begin searching Mount Lanakila.
With his enhanced vision ability, Ryan's eyesight was exceptionally sharp. He indeed spotted an Ultra Beast in the snow two kilometers away from Burnet and the others. Ryan quickly had Dragonair land.
A slender, tall, humanoid Pokémon lay in the snow. Ryan immediately recognized it as an Ultra Beast—Pheromosa—though it appeared to have been attacked by an Ice-type Pokémon. It was severely injured, its body frozen in various places, with frostbite evident in the worst areas.
Pheromosa struggled to open its eyes, looked at the human before it, and cried out weakly. Ryan realized he could understand its words. It seemed that in the anime, even Meowth couldn't understand Buzzwole's speech. After mentally thanking the system, Ryan said, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'll capture you first, then heal your injuries."
He then produced a Beast Ball and easily captured Pheromosa. He immediately released it and used coins to purchase Revival Herb and Ice Heal from the system store. The system's products were of the highest quality, and the two remedies instantly healed Pheromosa's injuries.
Pheromosa embraced Ryan with a hint of elegance, and Ryan didn't mind at all. Pheromosa was always noble and graceful, seemingly disgusted by everything in other worlds, disdaining to touch anything with its delicate appendages. Just embracing Ryan was a sign of deep gratitude. Ryan then asked Pheromosa about its companions and learned that they had accidentally fallen through an Ultra Wormhole and ended up here.
Their habitat was a vast desert dotted with stone pillars and numerous caves. Some of the rock formations were covered in sky-blue crystals—a description very similar to the games' depiction of Ultra Desert.
Ryan asked Pheromosa, along with any companions that had also fallen through, whether they wanted to return or stay. If they wanted to go back, Ryan would help them. If they wanted to stay, he welcomed them, but they couldn't disrupt the local ecosystem. They would have to live with the Aether Foundation for a while until everyone was sure there were no problems, then they could move to other locations.
Pheromosa said it wanted to live with Ryan, so it didn't plan to leave. As for its companions, they had gone looking for something to help save it and would return soon.
Just as Pheromosa had predicted, ten more soon came running over, overjoyed to see their companion healed. Seeing their frostbite wounds, Ryan purchased Ice Heal from the system to help them recover. Soon, the group of Pheromosa warmed up to him considerably, and many expressed a desire to stay. After all, their dimension was a desolate desert, and while they were accustomed to life there, with better living conditions available, who wouldn't want to stay?
Two, perhaps concerned about something back home, decided to return, but Ryan didn't pressure them. He captured all eleven Pheromosa in Beast Balls, boarded Dragonair, and returned to Burnet and the others.
He explained the situation to Lusamine and the others, and Lusamine agreed to have the Aether Foundation accept the nine Pheromosa and help them adapt to life in Alola.
Burnet then used a machine to open an Ultra Wormhole, and the two Pheromosa eager to return leaped into the wormhole and disappeared.
After handing the remaining nine Beast Balls to Lusamine, Ryan tossed one Beast Ball in his hand. This time, he had made a significant gain.
His Pheromosa was exceptional quality, and the remaining Pokémon were all high-grade specimens. Ryan asked Lusamine to save one for Lillie, hoping that Lillie would like it. At least when Lusamine saw Pheromosa, she liked it very much and hugged one of them, refusing to let go.
Pheromosa pushed Lusamine away with obvious distaste and looked at Ryan helplessly. Ryan shrugged, indicating he had no choice in the matter. To be honest, Pheromosa did share many similarities in appearance with Lusamine. He guessed they would get along well in the future.
(End of Chapter)
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