"Minccino, are you sure it went this way?"
On the back mountain behind the Pokémon School, Silas climbed along the winding mountain path, occasionally lifting his head to look around. Not a single Pokémon could be seen in the surroundings—it was eerily quiet.
"Min!"
Minccino replied, nodding vigorously. It had clearly noticed the Pokémon that had been secretly watching them earlier, and it had fled in this direction.
As Silas's gaze swept casually across the area, a streak of golden afterimage flashed past the corner of his eye.
"So it really is that one," Silas thought to himself, quickening his pace.
He first recalled Morpeko and Phione into their Poké Balls. Grabbing onto a tree branch, he kicked off the ground with both feet and leapt straight up onto a sheer rock face three meters high.
A single jump of three meters—Silas, are you sure you're not a Fighting-type Pokémon disguised as a human?
Instead of taking the long, winding mountain road, Silas climbed straight up, vaulting over the terrain. After ascending a set of stone steps carved into the slope, he finally stood at the mountain's summit.
Sure enough, right in front of him, a Pokémon stood quietly waiting.
Its body was black, with an orange head and feet. Each of its arms bore a half-shell engraved with ancient patterns.
It was none other than the guardian deity of Melemele Island—Tapu Koko, the protector who punished humans that bullied Pokémon with lightning.
In ancient Alolan history, it was also known as a god of war. Its personality was famously fickle, and it possessed an exceptionally strong sense of curiosity.
Facing such a legendary Pokémon, Silas did not dare to be careless. He slightly bent forward in a respectful bow.
"Guardian deity of Alola, may I ask what business you have with me?"
"Tapu!"
Tapu Koko raised one hand and pointed a finger directly at Silas's chest.
Silas removed Kangaskhan's Poké Ball and held it tightly in his palm, utterly confused.
Was it asking him to battle?
That possibility wasn't unlikely at all.
In records describing Tapu Koko, there were mentions of it occasionally appearing to seek out Trainers for battles.
"Tapu… Koko!"
With a sharp cry, Tapu Koko activated its Ability—Electric Surge.
Rings of yellow electricity spread outward from its body, washing over the surroundings and dyeing everything in brilliant yellow.
Within the duration of the Electric Terrain, Electric-type moves would be powered up, and neither side's Pokémon could fall asleep.
"So it really is a battle!"
Silas murmured as he threw the Poké Ball containing Kangaskhan forward.
"Kangaskhan, prepare for battle!"
"Kang!"
Kangaskhan responded with a low roar, its towering figure standing firmly in front of Silas and giving him an overwhelming sense of security.
The moment Kangaskhan appeared, another Poké Ball at Silas's waist opened automatically.
Phione popped out and climbed straight into Kangaskhan's pouch, insisting on joining the fight.
"Tapu~"
Tapu Koko nodded faintly. Torrents of electricity erupted from its body, arm-thick bolts of lightning blasting straight toward Kangaskhan.
"No need to dodge. Use Thunder Punch to absorb it, then send it back," Silas commanded in a deep voice.
"Kang!"
Crackling electricity instantly wrapped around Kangaskhan's fists. With powerful swings, it intercepted Tapu Koko's lightning attack.
Absorbing the opponent's electricity, Kangaskhan's fists burst with intense lightning. It charged forward in a few strides, closing the distance, and brought its fist crashing down.
BOOM—bang!
Lightning exploded outward, sweeping across the area. Kangaskhan stepped back to create distance.
At the center of the thunderstorm, Tapu Koko suddenly opened its eyes.
At the same time, in another world at the exact same location, a pitch-black, shiny Tapu Koko unleashed berserk lightning that blasted into the sky.
The Tapu Koko before Silas mirrored the exact same movements, manipulating massive lightning to strike the heavens.
"Tapu Koko is charging a big move, Kangaskhan, prepare for Mega Evolution!"
The violent lightning surging around them put Silas on high alert. He was already preparing to Mega Evolve.
But before he could act, the thunder spheres hovering overhead in the two different worlds seemed to collide. A blinding white light engulfed the mountain summit.
Then Silas vanished—along with Kangaskhan.
It was as if they had never existed at all.
"Ran away?"
Shaking his head, Silas looked around. Tapu Koko was nowhere to be seen. "You throw out a decoy and then run? That's way too scummy."
"Kangaskhan!"
Calling Kangaskhan to his side, Silas climbed onto its shoulders.
From this vantage point, he could see the entirety of Hau'oli City. Everything in Alola's scenery looked exactly the same as before.
"Kang!"
Kangaskhan let out a cry and looked toward the outskirts of Hau'oli City.
Silas followed its gaze and immediately noticed something wrong.
The ground had been torn open by some terrifying creature, leaving behind a massive trail of gnawing destruction, with thick smoke billowing upward.
Even from such a great distance, Silas could clearly feel the horrifying Dark-type energy emanating from that place.
There was a terrifying Dark-type Pokémon over there, and judging by its movement trajectory, it was heading straight toward the Pokémon School.
"This is bad!"
Silas quickly recalled Kangaskhan into its Poké Ball, hugged Phione tightly in his arms, and threw another Poké Ball from his waist.
"Noivern, please take me closer."
Leaping up, Silas mounted Noivern.
Noivern beat its wings and soared into the sky, rapidly closing the distance.
As they drew nearer, Silas noticed several black dots appearing in the sky—rotor helicopters.
One after another, people wearing white, high-tech uniforms leapt down from them. Their protective suits bore the emblem of the Aether Foundation.
They released Pokémon one after another—Alolan Golem, Blastoise, Arcanine—fully evolved Pokémon across the board.
Without the slightest hesitation, they commanded their Pokémon to unleash all kinds of energy attacks toward the center of the smoke.
Those attacks were like mud cows entering the sea, swallowed whole by an enormous mouth.
"Ah—!"
A piercing scream, carrying an even stronger shockwave of energy, blasted outward. Noivern, flying at the edge, was forced to climb higher to evade it.
The people below were far worse off—both they and their Pokémon were blasted away by the soundwave, wiped out in a single strike.
As the smoke dispersed, the full form of the Dark-type Pokémon was revealed. With just one glance, Silas's expression changed drastically.
"An Ultra Beast… Guzzlord."
"How did it appear here?!"
Silas was horrified.
Guzzlord, one of the Ultra Beasts.
Its destructive impact on ecosystems was among the worst. If it could not be driven away, it would devour everything on the island with its massive maw, causing catastrophic damage to the natural environment.
If that was the case, then those people earlier must have been members of the Ultra Recon Squad, the special force in Alola dedicated to dealing with Ultra Beasts.
Where were the Island Kahunas, the Totem Pokémon, the guardian deities? Someone, please do something!
"Huff…" Taking a deep breath, Silas raised his hand and patted Noivern, issuing his command. "Take me down. Kangaskhan and I will stop Guzzlord. Noivern, I'll need you to move the unconscious people to a safe place."
He couldn't possibly allow Guzzlord to wreak havoc and destroy Hau'oli City, or even all of Melemele Island.
"Noi!"
Noivern responded and dove downward with Silas.
Driven by hunger, Guzzlord extended two pincer-like tongues from the massive mouth on its body, reaching toward the defeated and unconscious people and Pokémon.
They contained huge amounts of energy—perfect food for Guzzlord. Just thinking about it made it dKangl.
"Dragon Rush!"
As Silas's shout rang out from above, Noivern slammed into Guzzlord's back with explosive force, knocking it down and driving it hard into the ground.
"Go! Take these people and Pokémon away first!" Jumping down from Noivern's back, Silas threw three Poké Balls in quick succession.
"Mudsdale—everyone use High Horsepower! Don't let Guzzlord get back up!"
(End of Chapter)