Under Gardevoir's terrifying firepower, Reshiram quickly fell from the sky, almost slipping into unconsciousness.
The Pokémon in the courtyard all showed different expressions.
Archaludon and Dragonair clapped wildly, cheering loudly for Gardevoir.
Gyarados's eyes were shining as well. He was extremely envious of Gardevoir's brutal fighting style, shyly stretching out a stream of water to give Rayquaza a spa.
"Ang~", Rayquaza saw through Gyarados's little thoughts and let out a soft roar.
At the same time, his dragon tail slapped his chest with loud smacks as he plucked off a scale engraved with new knowledge.
'Relax, I'll give all three of you some special training.'
As for Axel, after treating Professor Kukui and his wife to a meal, he had basically finished all preparations.
The only thing that needed to change was that the team had undergone some recent adjustments, and the Pokémon he had originally planned to bring were no longer that practical.
Axel planned to reselect the members for this trip into the Ultra Wormhole and depart at any time.
"Eva said she wants to go too, and she's even figured out how to fuse with Regirock. Safety shouldn't be an issue."
"If we also pair them with Nihilego, then even if we run into Ultra Beasts, we'll be able to communicate and won't get surrounded. That should make things fairly stable."
As for his own side, Rayquaza, Mewtwo, the three Unova dragons, Gardevoir and Glastrier, as well as Giratina and Groudon, were all main combat forces.
Ho-Oh and Eternatus were important logistical support. Even if one or two main forces were missing, these two absolutely could not be.
Then there was Pheromosa. Although her strength was temporarily a bit behind the main force, her status in the Ultra Wormhole was also very high, and her individual combat ability was not weak either, so she had to be taken along.
Little Shark was currently a temporarily level-90-tier Garchomp, and Gyarados was an excellent means of transportation. These also needed to be brought.
Counting it all up, the Pokémon that could be left behind were Archaludon, Dragonair, and Gholdengo.
After deciding, Axel lightly beckoned to Archaludon, "During this period, I'll coordinate with Giratina and Dialga to arrange some special training for you."
"When the time comes, keep an eye on Dragonair and Gholdengo. Just make sure nothing goes wrong. The main thing is still to raise Gholdengo's strength… get his level up as soon as possible."
Ever since Axel ended up with a whole nest of Legendary Pokémon, especially after getting Groudon and Little Shark, his savings had begun to plummet crazily, nearly hitting rock bottom.
If not for Lusamine backing him up, the Pokémon would probably already be going hungry.
But this was not a long-term solution. To avoid Gardevoir getting jealous from lack of attention, making money still had to rely on their own people, namely Gholdengo.
Once this guy's strength improved, the number of gold coins he produced would also increase.
"Roar~", Hearing that he would be staying behind with Dragonair, the general's vision went black for a moment. But thinking about the future life of having small cookies every day after raising Gholdengo properly, he decided to grit his teeth and go all in.
It didn't matter if he went hungry, but if they really ran out of money, even Lord Rayquaza would go hungry.
"Prepare, depar—"
["Wait!",] Just as Axel was about to announce their departure, Giratina suddenly called out weakly.
["There's something I want to look for… could we go a bit later?"]
["Don't worry. My Distortion World is also connected to the Ultra Wormhole. As long as Gyarados gives me the coordinates, I'll be able to find it."]
"Alright," Axel waved his hand lightly, agreeing to Giratina's request.
These Pokémon weren't livestock. As long as they didn't drop the ball at critical moments, it was fine for them to go out on their own occasionally.
"Then we're heading out," Axel recalled all the Pokémon, leaving only Pheromosa and Nihilego outside.
Then he took Eva's hand and stood on a circular platform.
Lusamine carefully inspected the passage. After confirming there were no issues at all, she placed the ornament Axel had seized from Team Rainbow Rocket into a slot on the side of the platform.
As the Nihilego that followed Lusamine exerted its power, the platform immediately bloomed with light like a starry sky, connecting to a point in the heavens and forming a passage.
Lillie hugged Nebby tightly and nervously took a step forward, "Axel, Eva, you must be careful."
"Don't worry, we'll come back safely!", Axel waved to Lillie and Lusamine, then disappeared into the light together with Eva.
After a bout of discomfort from alternating hypergravity and weightlessness, when Axel opened his eyes again, he had already arrived in a world filled with darkness.
The Ultra Wormhole, reached.
———
After another dizzy spell of shifting gravity, Axel opened his eyes.
Darkness. Absolute, viscous darkness wrapped around his entire body in an instant, completely different from the sensations he had felt the last time he entered through a dream.
Beneath his feet was a cold, elastic, void-like ground. Every breath felt like inhaling ice shards, heavy and bone-chilling.
There was deathly silence all around, pressing against his eardrums, with only the sound of his own heartbeat and Eva's suppressed breathing beside him.
"Ugh," Axel activated his psychic power. A faint ghostly red glow spread over his body, but after illuminating only a few inches, it was greedily swallowed by the thicker darkness, only revealing shadowy, writhing ground beneath his feet.
This was an absolute world without light.
Aside from the illumination of Ultra Megalopolis, any form of light would be absorbed by the divine authority radiating from Necrozma.
"Hiss!"
Chik! Chik! Chik!
"GAHHH!"
All of a sudden, sharp, hoarse, inhuman sounds exploded from all directions without warning.
Like water droplets thrown into boiling oil, the dead silence instantly boiled over. Axel felt Eva beside him tense up, goosebumps rising all over her skin.
Countless pairs of eyes suddenly lit up in the unseen darkness.
Crimson, sickly green, ghostly blue, dark purple, dense clusters of cold, greedy points of light locked firmly onto him and Eva.
Eva's hand suddenly clenched the corner of Axel's clothes. Axel gently patted her arm. It felt icy to the touch, carrying a faint tremor.
"Yo~", Pheromosa instantly moved in front of Axel, high-speed airflow swirling around her body with a low hum, her compound eyes sharply scanning the darkness.
Axel was also a bit surprised. When he had come to this world before, he had seen this environment as well.
Although it had been just as deep and silent, there had not been so many Ultra Beasts gathered together.
Moreover, they had not been that different from the Pokémon of the Pokémon world, nor had they been filled with hostility like this.
Why was it so different today?
"Pheromosa, go up and communicate with them," Axel did not release many Pokémon.
This time, coming to the Ultra Wormhole, he planned to first find his parents and gather information about Necrozma and the human faction of this world, Ultra Megalopolis.
Knowing both yourself and your enemy often saves a lot of trouble.
Before that, it was better not to draw Necrozma's attention.
"Yo~", Pheromosa nodded lightly, her pale purple eyes sweeping forward.
Pheromosa present, step out and speak.
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