Zeraora's residence wasn't far from Axel's temporary lodging.
At the entrance, aside from a Guzzlord tirelessly eating discarded garbage, there was nothing else. It was very quiet.
Axel walked around Guzzlord and stopped at the courtyard gate.
Because he saw Zeraora guarding a pile of sand, trying to shape it into sculptures.
It was just that the result was... hard to describe in a few words.
You could barely make out the rough outline of a cave. As for the things at the cave's entrance, it was completely impossible to tell whether they were Pokémon or some kind of objects.
"An Electric-type Pokémon playing with sand? Seriously?"
Axel blinked, but he didn't go over right away.
Right now, Zeraora was extremely focused. He hadn't even noticed Axel arriving with Gardevoir.
Only in moments like this could you most easily see into Zeraora's inner world.
Axel always felt that this Zeraora was hiding something in his heart. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain how he could be this lonely.
Under their gaze, Zeraora crouched down. Completely different from his usual swift appearance, he carefully kneaded the sand.
He kneaded for a full several dozen minutes before finally shaping a humanoid figure. It looked rough, but at least it was standing upright.
Zeraora's eyes lit up. The whole cat looked cautious, using fingertips carrying faint electric currents to gently brush across the surface of the rough sandy "human," trying to smooth out the sharp edges.
Only now did Axel finally see clearly. Zeraora was sculpting himself.
Two big ones and one small one, three Zeraora figures, along with a large tree. It looked like a family of three.
But as the electric current joined in, the little sand figures seemed to undergo some kind of chemical reaction. With a dull collapse, they slumped to the ground.
A flash of impatience crossed Zeraora's eyes, but he quickly calmed down. He flattened the sand again and repeated the same actions.
Clearly, he was already used to this.
Seeing Zeraora's lonely look, Axel blinked softly. Even without Gardevoir saying anything, just relying on his own psychic power, he could tell that Zeraora was homesick.
"Let me help you."
Axel stepped forward a few steps and connected with Groudon in his mind. A dense Ground-type energy appeared in his hand.
The sand in Zeraora's hands instantly became solid, like clay. No matter how he shaped it, it would easily take form, forming a sharp contrast with its earlier loose state.
Zeraora glanced at Axel, then immediately refocused on the sand sculpture.
With the blessing of Ground-type power, Zeraora easily shaped the sculpture he wanted.
"It looks pretty good," Axel praised him sincerely.
Zeraora nodded, then suddenly said, ["Human, are you trying to catch me?"]
Axel: "..."
'I mean, yes, but that's really not why I came.'
As the Pokémon on his team kept growing, Axel had already become more easygoing about catching Pokémon.
The reason he was interested in Zeraora, aside from his identity as a Mythical Pokémon, was more because of the strong sense of responsibility he had shown these past few days.
At first, he wanted to carry Ash and leave Ultra Space together.
Later, after going to Ultra Megalopolis, he protected his parents.
Of course, aside from all that, Axel also had a slight thought of not wasting the "Bond Thunder" trait.
That trait's description looked very simple. But everyone knew that the simpler an item's description was, the more powerful it usually meant the item was.
More importantly, that was a trait originally on Ash himself. The true chosen son of destiny's standard equipment.
Before Axel could speak, Zeraora continued, ["I also think you're a great Trainer, because your Pokémon are all very happy. But not right now…"]
["At the very least, I need to be like you and find my mom and dad first."]
Axel: "???"
'Why is it this storyline again?'
'It feels like I'm being controlled by some invisible hands.'
Axel asked, "Where did they go? Don't tell me they also ran off to some other world?"
["I don't know either,"] Zeraora shook her head.
["They suddenly disappeared years ago. I've been searching for them ever since."]
["I wanted to return to the Pokémon world from Ultra Space because I was afraid I'd never see them again…"]
"Alright," Seeing that Zeraora's story wasn't exactly the same as his own, Axel let out a slight breath of relief.
"As long as they're still in the Pokémon world, it won't be hard to find them. I know some Legendary Pokémon and Champions. I'll ask them to help search when the time comes."
"And let me make this clear first. Even if I help you find your parents, that doesn't mean you have to follow me. If you don't like it, then don't."
After thinking for a moment, Axel added that sentence to avoid Zeraora misunderstanding and thinking this was some kind of forced contract.
Anyway, Bond Thunder could also be used by Zekrom. The only issue was that ancient deities like that weren't easy to build bonds with.
But it wasn't some fatal problem. When the cart reaches the mountain, there will always be a road.
"Come on, let's go eat first," Axel called the cat along toward home. But just as he stepped out of the courtyard gate, he saw Guzzlord at the entrance wearing a thoughtful expression.
"Lord~", Guzzlord pointed at the sculpture Zeraora had made and suddenly spoke.
"Meow?", Zeraora looked confused, like he was doubting his own life.
"Lord! Lord!", Guzzlord nodded again.
"Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow?", Zeraora suddenly puffed up all over, her four paws pressing against the ground, looking like she was ready to fight at any moment.
Seeing the two Pokémon suddenly start communicating in Pokémon language, with a clear tendency toward a fight breaking out, Axel looked blankly at Gardevoir.
"What are they babbling about?"
["Guzzlord said… years ago, he accidentally fell into Alola and accidentally fought with a Pokémon covered in electricity that could fly."]
["Based on my guess, that Pokémon should have been Tapu Koko."]
["But that's not important. The reason Zeraora puffed up is because Guzzlord said he almost lost to Tapu Koko, and while running away, he accidentally brought two cats back…"]
Axel fell into thought, 'According to this storyline, Zeraora's parents were brought into Ultra Space by Guzzlord?'
Although he didn't know why Ultra Space had been so easy to return from back then, there was one thing Axel was sure of.
Zeraora really wanted to hit someone right now.
But for the moment, this wasn't all bad. You could say it was a blessing in disguise.
At least Ultra Space was already under his control. Finding Zeraora's parents should be a very simple matter.
"Guzzlord, do you still remember the place where you escaped back to?", Axel hurriedly winked and gestured, signaling Guzzlord to be smart about this, afraid the cat might beat him to death.
Seeing Axel's exaggerated winks and Zeraora's puffed-up state, Guzzlord suddenly looked wronged.
The mental fluctuations were so intense that even Axel, who was only half-skilled at telepathy, clearly heard what he said.
["Of course I remember!"]
["Ever since those two cats came, I've felt guilty and gave all the normal food to them."]
["Even during this big reconstruction of Ultra Space, I was afraid they'd come out and suffer, so I settled them in a cave."]
As he spoke, Guzzlord picked up a brick, ["I've been eating construction trash like this for decades."]
["And you still want to hit me?"]
Axel: "???"
Cat: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a!!
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