Chapter 235
When it was time to get down to business, even the usually lazy Uncle Modan straightened up and, like Giovanni, started petting the Meowth in his hand.
Let me explain the situation here.
Lillie glanced at Qiao Ran and Mei beside her, hoping they would give her the opportunity.
Qiao Ran and Mei didn't object; they just smiled and nodded.
As the eldest daughter of the Aether Foundation, Lillie also has her own principles, and this pressure is especially heavy in the Aether House established by her mother.
Looking at the group of people in front of her, Lillie briefly explained the situation the Aether Foundation had encountered, starting with the sudden appearance of the Ultra Wormhole, the disappearance of most of the staff and her Older Brother, and then the invasion by Nihilego. Mei and Qiao Ran were the Trainer who helped her and her mother drive away these Nihilego.
To make Qiao Ran's identity more plausible, Lillie didn't mention any other worlds or Qiao Ran's identity Otherworlder from another world. Instead, she described Qiao Ran as Trainer traveling from another region who just happened to be trapped in the Aether Foundation.
Watching Lillie speak eloquently and calmly in front of a large group of people, Qiao Ran could indeed see some of the charm of Lusamine in her.
"So... when you finally escaped, you actually discovered that Chairperson Lusamine had disappeared, and the spatial restrictions around you had also disappeared?"
Acerola basically understood what had happened, but the current situation at the Aether Foundation... sounded even worse than what they were in.
"How could this happen... Chairman... and the others at headquarters too..."
The members of the Aether Foundation nearby listened to Lillie's account with gloomy expressions. They did not question the truthfulness of Lillie's words, but... the reality was just too cruel.
"That's pretty much the truth."
Lillie nodded.
"It may be very difficult, but I will bring them all back and rebuild the Aether Foundation!"
She clenched her fists firmly. The situation was gradually improving, and besides, she was no longer alone. Hope shone in her eyes.
"..."
The staff of the Aether Foundation fell silent. They had been immersed in despair, but looking at Lillie in front of them, they couldn't say a word. They had seen the Lillie of the past before, although only from afar. But the Lillie of now was like a completely different person compared to that time.
Looking at her, it felt as if a miracle could truly happen.
"... In that case, let me tell you about what happened to us."
After a moment of silence, Acerola took over and began to describe their situation.
"At first, we didn't Frisk anything unusual; everything was exactly the same as usual."
Nothing happened.
"But one day, a black star fell from the sky, and when it hit the ground, all of Alola went dark..."
"It's getting dark..." Qiao Ran thought of the Ultra Recon Squad that had visited before. The Pokémon capable of stealing light was probably Necrozma, the "god" from Otherworld.
So, is the situation in Alola really still related to that the Blinding One?
"Wait, you said Alola was once darkened?"
Lillie Mei both frowned, as if they had Frisk something was amiss.
In their recollection, there was absolutely no such thing. Moreover, given the magnitude of the event, the Aether Foundation couldn't possibly remain silent.
"Actually, it's like this, Miss... When this happened, we reported it to headquarters immediately, but we tried many times and were unable to contact them."
The Aether Foundation employees standing nearby all wore helpless expressions. They had initially thought there was something wrong with the communication equipment and were planning to send someone back to headquarters to investigate. However, before they could even set off, those strange Ultra Beast had already appeared.
Unable to contact...
Lillie knew all too well how powerful the Aether Foundation's technology was. Although the organization appeared to be an environmental charity, in reality, from its leaders to its middle and senior management, everyone in the Aether Foundation was an extremely talented scientist. In the entire Pokémon, there probably weren't many organizations that could surpass the Aether Foundation in this regard.
So how could there be a problem with being unable to contact them at a time like this?
"Perhaps... the timing was just not consistent to begin with."
Lillie suggested another possibility: the Aether Foundation was attacked by the Ultra Beast at a different time than on the island. When the black meteorite appeared on the island, the Aether Foundation had already been invaded by the Ultra Beast.
So, the Aether Foundation is where the initial incident actually occurred...?
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However, considering her mother's past actions, Lillie wasn't too surprised. The Aether Foundation's research had caused her father to Disappearance for who knows how many years, and perhaps this time it was due to some other reason that this had happened.
"I don't know much about the Aether Foundation's situation, but we here have definitely experienced a long period of darkness."
Acerola still remembers the scene: the whole world had completely lost its light. Not only was there no light from the Sun and moon in the sky, but even the fires they lit and the lamps they turned on gradually disappeared, as if they were being absorbed by something.
The world was plunged into complete darkness; the oppression and fear were beyond the power of imagination to fully describe, yet they experienced it firsthand.
"To resolve this crisis, the guardian deities of the four islands, the Tapu, all flew there simultaneously. Then, Light returned to Alola, but before she could rejoice for long... spatial rifts appeared throughout the entire island... no, it could be all over Alola, as if space itself had been torn open, and countless Ultra Beast emerged from them."
Tapu – the Legendary Pokémon native to Alola – consists of four Pokémon: Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Fini, each corresponding to a guardian deity of one of the four islands of Alola.
However, although they are not weak in combat and have many admirers and followers in Alola, their base stat total of 570 is still a step below that of Pokémon like Dianxi and Latias when placed in the broader Pokémon World, not to mention that Dianxi can undergo another Mega Evolution.
"Did the four Tapu resolve this crisis?"
Qiao Ran stroked his chin, his tone thoughtful. It wasn't that he looked down on the Tapu's fighting power, but compared to the "gods" of Otherworld, the gap was simply too great.
"I don't know either. In short, our light has returned, but along with it came these Ultra Beasts."
Acerola's mood suddenly plummeted; the appearance of the Ultra Beast had destroyed everything.
Their former lives and everything else have vanished completely. They can only hide here, and every day they have to be on guard against attacks from Ultra Beast.
"... My Ghost Type Pokémon can help detect approaching Ultra Beast, Uncle Modan's fighting strength is enough to protect these children, and the food stored here by the Aether Foundation is sufficient, but sooner or later... these things will run out, won't they?"
"Didn't you consider going to the city to find food?"
Mei asked, "Back in Galar, the people of Spikemuth would often go out to forage for food, and they even leveled up their farming skills. If they continued farming like that, they might even be able to launch a counterattack against those Gigantamax Monster."
This advanced experience should also be feasible in Alola, right?
After all, judging from her intuition, the Ultra Beast in Alola are much easier to deal with than the Gigantamax Pokémon in Galar. If there are people like Qiao Ran and Lillie who know a lot about Ultra Beast Ultra Beast know their weaknesses, then dealing with them will be even easier.
"No, our largest city is Malie City. Over there... there's a terrifying Ultra Beast that can devour everything around it, and it keeps getting stronger."
"Uncle Modan and I tried to fight that Ultra Beast before, but... in the end we could only run back."
Acerola
"Oh dear... I almost collapsed there that time."
Modan scratched the back of his head, his face still bearing his signature "Dark type grin," even as he spoke of something extremely dangerous.
"...!"
Qiao Ran opened her mouth in surprise.
Although he hadn't witnessed Modan's battles, judging from his opponent's status—this "Island Kahuna" and "former International Police Chief"—was at least Elite Four-level fighter. And then there was Acerola, a future Elite Four —how could she be Defeat by an Ultra Beast?
This Ultra Beast, could it be...?
"Dealing with this Ultra Beast is far too difficult. Besides, even if we manage to Defeat it, we won't have the strength left. And who will be able to protect these children then?"
Acerola glanced at the children surrounding her, her gaze softening slightly. Although she herself looked like a child, she appeared much more mature standing before these even younger children.
"We can help."
Mei raised her hand and offered her opinion.
She didn't want to give up so easily; acquiring food was just the beginning of developing a base. She glanced at Mei, Lillie, and Qiao Ran beside her.
"With the combined strength of the few of us, plus you and Uncle Modan, there's definitely no problem!"
The Trainer present were all at least elite level, with an average skill level approaching Quasi-Elite Four. Even in any Pokémon League, this lineup would be a force to be reckoned with. No matter how terrifying that Ultra Beast was, it couldn't possibly be this strong, right?
"Hmm... maybe it's possible."
Acerola touched her lips and secretly glanced in the direction of Qiao Ran. She knew that Mei was very strong, but she didn't know much about the other two girls. As for this boy... the Pokémon he used had left a deep impression on her.
"However, you didn't come here just for these things, did you?"
"..."
Qiao Ran and his group did not answer, but they nodded nonetheless.
Their initial purpose in coming here was simply to find the Disappearance Lusamine, Lusamine personal safety was still very precarious in such a world.
Lillie might abandon her mother, but Qiao Ran is unlikely to.
"Chairwoman Lusamine has never been here. No one from other islands has appeared here for a long time... or rather, they should never have appeared at all."
Acerola glanced at the members of the Aether Foundation standing beside her, and they all nodded in agreement, indicating that Chairperson Lusamine had indeed not been present.
"However, you can go and take a look at another place; there are many more people living there than here."
Where?
Qiao Ran asked a question.
Acerola didn't hesitate and gave her answer directly.
"--Soul Po Town."
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Po Town is a special location on Ula'ula Island. Specifically, it is a small town settlement consisting of luxury villas. However, for some unknown reason, the town gradually fell into disrepair and eventually became the gathering place of the Alola gangster group, Team Skull.
"The Team Skull's old lair... I feel a bit nostalgic."
Mei rubbed her nose. Back in the day, she was a woman who single-handedly stormed through the Team Skull's hideout. Although the Team Skull members dressed similarly to the Spikemuth Galar, there was no comparison between them. The people of Spikemuth were just dressed in a punk style, but the Team Skull were really those really awful street thugs.