Chapter 327

Exist

The scene is filled with familiar mountains and Forest, but a certain area is shrouded in a dark purple shadow, and something seems to be churning within the shadow.

"I can't see it very clearly..." Qiao Ran frowned. Even if he leaned closer to look, he couldn't make out the details. However, a bad feeling still arose in his heart.

"This was the limit. During the period when these problems were discovered, our control of the satellite also encountered unpredictable situations. Moreover, a few days after taking these photos, the satellite was completely out of control."

Molayne touched his head, his face showing deep regret and annoyance.

"Then what exactly is this place... why are these things here?" Acerola couldn't help but ask. These surging things did have Ghost Pokémon feel to them, but they were completely different from the "Ghost type" she remembered.

Even she felt a chill run down her spine when she looked at it.

"This place is in Kanto, and it's right next to Pewter City and Mt. Moon, so there's probably only one other place..."

As former Kanto resident, Mei immediately took over the conversation, stroking her chin with a glint in her eyes.

"Mew abode, the origin of Fossil Pokémon — the Tree of Beginning."

"Is this the place?" Qiao Ran couldn't help but ask when he heard the name.

In the Pokémon World, the so-called "Tree of Beginning" is a rather special location—it is not only the home of Mew, but also guarded by the Legendary Titans: Regice, Regirock, and Regigigas. This central, lush, and enormous tree is not just a tree, but a living being with an immune system and a heart, forming a unique ecosystem with Mew and many other Pokémon.

This is also the birthplace of the earliest Fossil Pokémon. Although those Pokémon are extinct, many Pokémon still live in this area, maintaining everything that exists.

However, what we see on the satellite image is still too small, not to mention that it's currently covered by a dark purple mass, making it really difficult to determine its true nature.

"Based on our assessment, we can be fairly certain that it is the Tree of Beginning."

Molayne nodded. This was an area of expertise for him, and by comparing it with previous data, he was able to determine exactly where this place was.

"However, what exactly happened inside is probably unclear. All we have are these images; we can't get anything else."

"Besides this video, we've also filmed many similar situations in other regions..."

Molayne closed the video and returned to the folder, which, as he had said, contained videos of various sizes. Judging from the preview images, they were mostly taken by satellite.

Judging from the video titles, Qiao Ran recognized many familiar names: Seafoam Islands, Mt. Ember, Burned Tower, Sky Pillar...

However, information about the Unova Region is conspicuously missing from this list.

"The situation in the Unova Region seems even worse than this; it appears to be shrouded in a thick, grayish-white fog by the time we can observe it."

"..."

Molayne's explanation caused Qiao Ran and Mei to exchange a glance, both of them looking somewhat helpless.

The grayish-white fog... This is the same as what Qiao Ran saw in the Unova. It seems that it is still somewhat unlikely to observe the Unova with the help of external forces.

"This data was collected at the very beginning of the Alola Disaster, or even slightly earlier. When we observed these events, we were prepared to report to the Island Kahuna Alola and contacted researchers in other regions... But as you can see, Ultra Beast appeared outside very quickly, our communication methods were almost completely cut off, and even going out became a problem."

"Have you made contact with other regions?" Mei asked.

"It wouldn't really be called making contact... We just sent out the information we had collected, and then we didn't receive a reply. We don't know what the situation is like over there. We can't be sure."

Molayne this. Could this really be considered as making contact? Strictly speaking, at most they had only sent a message.

Over the next few minutes, Molayne showed the contents of the video one by one. They were all basically similar situations: an area was shrouded in a strange blackish-purple substance, and no one knew what was happening inside.

"These phenomena have been observed in many locations. Some places are indeed quite unique, but many others are not so special, such as the Seafoam Islands of Kanto. We also have no way of determining the pattern of these occurrences."

Molayne casually mentioned his thoughts, but Qiao Ran frowned and didn't reply.

In fact, these areas are all very special locations.

--At least, that's how it is for Qiao Ran.

Many people living in the Pokémon World may not know the special nature of these locations; in their minds, many of these places are just ordinary place names.

However, Qiao Ran knew clearly that these places were actually quite special.

Seafoam Islands for Articuno, Mt. Ember response

Moltres, Sky Pillar corresponding to Rayquaza... Every location left a deep impression on Qiao Ran.

Or rather, these places are the habitats of Legendary Pokémon, and the special nature of these locations is precisely due to these Legendary Pokémon.

"Ah... right, do we have a similar situation in our Alola Region? I mean... um, like this..."

Suddenly, as if she had just thought of something, Lillie hurriedly asked a question.

This question drew everyone's attention to her face.

Yes, since these things can be seen in other regions, is it possible that they also occur in the Alola Region?

"This..." Molayne paused slightly, but still nodded.

"Actually, yes, there are."

He reached out and opened a video with his mouse. The video appeared to show the scenery of an island in Alola, with yellow mountains and canyons everywhere.

And among these, there are similar situations, with a small area being shrouded in shadow.

This is Poni Island.

Molayne and said, enunciating each word clearly.

"... Altar of the Moone."

--Moon Altar of the Moone.

This is a very special location in the Alola Region.

It was not built in modern times, but in the very distant past, during the time of the Alola dynasty. The king at that time built this Altar to thank Solgaleo and Lunala for saving the Alola world. At the same time, Shrine to the Island deity were also built, which were the places of worship for the four Tapu.

Come to think of it, this thing should also have some connection to Acerola.

Qiao Ran couldn't help but glance at her. After all, no matter what, she was the so-called nominal heir to the royal bloodline. Although these theories of bloodline were almost useless in modern times, as a descendant of royalty, she might have heard things from her elders that ordinary people didn't know.

"Besides the Altar, have you found anything similar in Tapu's Shrine?"

Following this line of thought, Qiao Ran suspected that besides the Altar of the Moone, the Shrine of the Island deity would also have similar situations, since the Island deity are, after all, legendary Pokémon.

Although... compared to some guardian deities in other regions, they are slightly weaker.

"Regarding the Shrine... similar ones have indeed been observed, but their scale seems much smaller compared to the Altar of the Moone."

In response to Qiao Ran's question, Molayne answered without any concealment, stating that as the director of the Observatory, he was naturally closely observing the situation in Alola.

"Unfortunately, this information is from quite some time ago, at least several months ago..."

"We were prepared to go out and fight those Ultra Beasts to the death once our food and water ran out, but you guys were able to come up directly. In that case... we might still have a chance."

The arrival of Qiao Ran and his group brought new hope to this once lifeless Observatory. Some staff members had already developed mental problems during this period, and only a few people, such as Molayne and Sophocles, still had the fighting spirit. This is why Sophocles set up capture devices on the ground. In order to fight against the Ultra Beast later, he needed to collect information on these Monsters. However, there was still far too little information about these things.

And most importantly, even when using Poké Ball to catch Ultra Beast, the success rate is quite low; at least in Sophocles's tests, he never succeeded.

"We'll take you down the mountain afterward. The Aether House at the foot of the mountain might not be able to accommodate so many people, but you can go and take a look at Po Town. The Malie City is also starting to be rebuilt."

Qiao Ran smiled and reassured him.

After Defeat Guzzlord and clearing out many Ultra Beasts, the situation on Ula'ula Island has greatly improved. Compared to the previous desolate and dangerous place, it is now much safer, and even Pokémon are going out to play as usual.

This is something that Qiao Ran and the others could clearly observe. After the number of Ultra Beast decreased, Pokémon also gained their own advantages in battles. Even if they were slightly weaker, they could make up for it with numbers. In other words, the final cleanup work Pokémon. With their abilities, they could also eliminate these alien Ultra Beast.

"... Qiao Ran, would you like to visit the Shrine on this island?"

Suddenly, Acerola, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up.

"The Shrine on this island is called the Harvest Shrine, and the guardian deity of the Shrine is Tapu Bulu. When there is no crisis, I actually manage it."

"Normally, the Island Kahuna and Island Kahuna are the ones who manage the Shrine, but Uncle Modan is always lazy, so I've had to take on the job."

"Are you still doing this kind of thing?" Qiao Ran blinked in surprise. They had known each other for so long, but she hadn't expected Acerola to have such a function.

"It's just work."

Acerola simply smiled and waved modestly.

"And I..."

People are quite interested in these things; who knows, maybe I'll become the Island Kahuna someday.

"Um..."

Listening to Acerola's speech, Qiao Ran stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

According to Molayne's intelligence, there are indeed many noteworthy locations in the Alola Region. Moreover, compared to Galar and Unova, the smaller size of Alola makes it more suitable for travel. If they want to get a closer look at what those dark purple things are, going to these specific locations in Alola might be the best option.

However... Molayne said, the situation at the Altar of the Moone is the most obvious, while the situation at the Shrine on other islands is not so obvious. This is also important intelligence. If they go to the Shrine now, they might end up with Cynthia and waste a lot of time.

Let's think about it when we get down the mountain.

Qiao Ran glanced at the girls beside her. After reading the information, they seemed hesitant to speak, as if they had something to say.

Everyone had different thoughts in their minds, especially when they saw such a serious crisis in the entire Pokémon World, which cast a shadow over their hearts.

"Then we'll arrange accommodation and food for you... The space and food might be a bit limited, so you might have to Bide with it. Also, you'll have to limit your showers to once every few days..."

Molayne to discuss the arrangements for the future. As the Observatory Director, he could not neglect these guests from abroad, but they really didn't have much stock left.

This is thanks to their unique working environment, which is isolated from the outside world, so they naturally have a large amount of supplies stored up. Otherwise, other research institutes in cities would definitely not be able to sustain themselves for such a long time.

"It's alright, you don't need to worry about these things for us."

Qiao Ran glanced at Molayne and Sophocles and decided to tell them a little secret.

At least, at this critical juncture of life and death, there is no need to hide anything anymore.

Actually, I'm from Otherworld Otherworlder.

"We have our own methods for providing rest, and we can also help with supplies."

Qiao Ran glanced at Molayne's skinny arms; it was obvious he was malnourished. Sophocles, the chubby boy, looked round and plump, but his spirits were very low, and he had probably lost a lot of weight compared to before.

If they were to climb the mountain in this condition, the difficulty would be extremely high; at the very least, they would need to rest and recuperate.

The most crucial thing is their Pokémon. If the Trainer are in this state, the Pokémon's condition probably isn't much better.

A secret is a secret because concealing it can bring value. But when life is on the other side of the scale, these things no longer matter.

The Hokulani Observatory was short of supplies, so Qiao Ran provided them with supplies. These items wouldn't cost much in the Real World, and could be delivered directly to these people through the transit points of the Wild Area.

However, when the secret was revealed to the brothers Molayne and Sophocles, they couldn't help but widen their eyes in surprise.

Are you an alien?

"No, they're from Otherworlder." Qiao Ran chuckled.

There's a big difference Deoxys aliens and Otherworlder, right? And in the Pokémon World, it seems like only Pokémon represents an alien force?

--Perhaps the strange poisonous dragon of Galar could also be included, however, according to the legends of Galar, the poisonous dragon that brought the crisis of the Darkest Day arrived in Galar 20,000 years ago with a meteorite, and then triggered the crisis thousands of years ago. If it was from that era, it is probably possible that there were some discrepancies in the records.

After all, the records of Zacian and her sister have completely disappeared over time.

"..."

Qiao Ran shook her head, banishing the chaotic thoughts from her mind, and turned her gaze back to Molayne in front of her.

"They can also travel with me to other worlds, but there's a great price to pay for going to other worlds, so I won't go into details."

As Qiao Ran spoke, he had Rotom open a Spatial Rift beside him, from which he pulled out a large bucket of purified water and several cans of meat.

"This..."

What's there to explain? No explanation is needed!

The two brothers stared wide-eyed, especially at the canned goods; how long had it been since they'd seen such a lavish spread of food?

"There's still a lot. I'll help you carry it slowly later. There should be many other people at the Observatory. You need to take good care of yourselves during this time. If you're not in good spirits when we go down the mountain together, it would be terrible if we were attacked by Ultra Beast at night."

Qiao Ran patiently explained that these people were different from them; they had no way to rest anywhere else at night. In this situation, staying overnight in the wild was practically tantamount to suicide. Therefore, they needed to be extra vigilant, especially at night, and perhaps taking turns to rest and Rest was necessary.

Qiao Ran and his team were prepared to stay up all night on their way down the mountain; this was the price they had to pay for achieving something.

On the first day of their arrival, after learning about the situation, Qiao Ran and the others handed over their stockpiled supplies to Molayne, the station manager. Since the crisis had occurred, he had been managing the area, so letting him distribute the supplies was definitely the most suitable choice.

After dealing with a great many things, watching Molayne distribute food and water little by little, and seeing the smiles on the faces of those people, Qiao Ran and the others also felt a sense of encouragement.

"... Although the journey was dangerous, it was worth it." Mei looked at the staff members, feeling a mix of emotions.