Lusamine, the Truth

Xia Chen nodded thoughtfully and continued, "Then what does the size of the passage mean?"

Lillie had clearly done her homework and answered without hesitation, "The passage's size determines the number and strength of the Ultra Beasts that cross over. If it's small, the Ultra Beasts that come through won't be much of a threat."

Xia Chen nodded in understanding.

Conversely, if the passage were large enough, more and stronger Ultra Beasts would emerge from it.

Xia Chen was the sort of person who habitually considered the worst-case scenario before anything happened, so he had to account for the latter possibility.

"What's the most serious incident the Foundation has recorded so far?"

Lillie's expression froze. She bit her lip lightly before replying, "It was... seven years ago, when Nihilego attacked me. I looked through the laboratory logs. The Spatial Fluctuation Deviation Rate reached an astonishing 28.7% that time. Five species and nearly a hundred Ultra Beasts came through at once. It was also the Ultra Beast rampage that came closest to completely getting out of control."

Seven years ago.

Xia Chen silently worked out the timing. That was roughly when his parents had joined the Aether Foundation.

He had looked up relevant information before coming to the Alola Region, yet there had been no record whatsoever of that incident. Lusamine must have deliberately covered it up.

She had even been able to slowly erase all traces of the bombing from just over half a month ago. An incident from seven years ago would be even easier to bury.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Chen asked, "What's the deviation rate now? Can we get the data in real time?"

Lillie nodded. "Yes. I secretly took an obsolete instrument from the laboratory warehouse and kept it in my room."

Xia Chen