Chapter 61: What Can It Even Evolve Into?
"So it did evolve — but Mammon, why isn't Nebby moving anymore?"
Lillie scrunched up her face in confusion. She'd suspected as much, really. Cosmoem looked nothing like Cosmog, but the strange part was how silent it had gone. All that boundless energy and curiosity from its Cosmog days had vanished completely. The lifeless stillness made her genuinely worried.
"It's storing up energy," Mammon said, unwrapping a candy and holding it up to Cosmoem's mouth.
Its eyes were still closed — but as though it had caught the scent, Cosmoem opened its mouth anyway.
Mammon gave a quiet, amused laugh and slipped the candy in.
"Cosmoem needs an enormous amount of energy before it can evolve again. It doesn't want to waste a single second."
What he didn't say was that if Cosmoem were left to accumulate that energy on its own, who knew how many years it would take. Conservative estimate: several years. Realistic estimate: several decades.
So Mammon had decided to give it a small nudge.
"Oh, okay…"
That made sense to Lillie. Now she was curious — what Pokémon would Nebby eventually become?
"Qi~ qi~!"
Without warning, one of the Poké Balls at Mammon's side clicked open. A flash of white light — and Tapu Fini materialized beside him.
Shell Lady's eyes locked onto Cosmoem without blinking.
"Huh? Is that…"
Lillie blinked. She wasn't a Trainer, but she knew what she was looking at. That was one of the legendary Tapus, wasn't it? Mammon had caught a Tapu Fini?! How was he this insanely strong?!
The girl stared at him with wide, starry eyes, not thinking for a single moment that there was anything strange about this.
"Looks like you recognized it."
"Qi…"
Tapu Fini glanced over at Mammon. Of course she recognized Cosmoem. She'd recognized it back when it was still a Cosmog, honestly. But they were different now.
"Feel like doing me a favor?"
"Qi?" Tapu Fini startled. A favor? Help Cosmoem evolve? Her Trainer being this charitable? That was new.
Though — she did have feelings about this. As a Land Spirit Pokémon, the four Tapus were, in a sense, vassals to Solgaleo and Lunala. Long ago, the Sun and Moon Pokémon had crossed over from Ultra Space to Alola, and the Tapus had met them in fierce battle. But the guardians lost — every last one of them — and submitted to the two great legendaries, who in turn blessed them with their Z-Power.
So when Tapu Fini saw Cosmoem, some ancient instinct stirred. She wanted to help it awaken.
"Don't give me that look — I'm not some villain, you know." Mammon laughed and reached over to ruffle her sleek flowing hair. "In that case: head over to Exeggutor Island and bring the flutes back."
Tapu Fini stared at him like she'd seen a ghost. How does he know about everything?
But she didn't ask. She simply shot upward, a blur of motion, heading toward Poni Island — toward Exeggutor Island, where the two flutes waited.
"Mammon, do you know what Nebby can evolve into?"
Lillie had been watching quietly the whole time, and Mammon's words hadn't escaped her. She asked, curiosity bright in her eyes.
She'd always known Nebby was mysterious. That was actually why she'd originally planned to travel every island in Alola — visiting ruins, digging through libraries, piecing together where it had come from. But now that she'd reconciled with her mother, that research had stalled.
"Mm. This little one is remarkable, Miss Lillie." Mammon gently stroked a thumb across Cosmoem's cheek, and visibly — unmistakably — its tightly closed eyes curved upward at the corners, just like a crescent moon.
Maybe it could hear them after all.
"I'd just say: try not to be too surprised when the moment comes."
Lillie blinked her wide eyes, already giddy with anticipation. To her, Nebby was one of the most important friends she had.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Tapu Fini returned from Exeggutor Island right on schedule, the Sun Flute and Moon Flute in tow.
And Lusamine had already begun moving.
"Is this really the data you collected during your time in Ultra Space?"
Kukui stared at the documents in his hands, unable to hide his shock.
He kept turning pages. Detailed profiles on Ultra Beasts of every kind — precise height and weight measurements, behavioral notes, special annotations. It was thorough in a way he hadn't dared expect.
"That's right. It took quite a bit of effort," Lusamine said with a gracious smile. "But the results were worth it. I hope this helps you, Professor."
"Helps me — enormously! President Lusamine, you have no idea how much this means!"
Kukui was ecstatic. The Ultra Beast problem had been hanging over Alola's future for years, but Ultra Beasts existed in a whole other dimension entirely. He'd always known the Aether Foundation was researching them — even Dr. Mohn's disappearance was tied to that Ultra Wormhole research — but honestly, he'd never been sure it would lead anywhere.
And yet here Lusamine was, delivering exactly that.
"Wonderful. As a member of this community, it was the least I could do." She tilted her head, a thoughtful note in her voice. "You could enter this data directly into the Pokédex, Professor. That way, even if an Ultra Beast ever appears, people will already have a reference — they'll know what they're dealing with."
"Yes, yes, I'll look through it all carefully. And…" Kukui nodded slowly, brow furrowing.
Under normal circumstances, he'd have taken these findings and immediately set off for Kanto to formally petition for the Alola League's founding. He had every justification now. But. The Ultra Beast mystery wasn't the only shadow hanging over Alola — there was still the Rocket situation.
The Alola League has to happen.
But the decision came fast. Compared to what Team Rocket represented, the League mattered more — and the League was the only thing that would give Alola the standing to fight back.
The corner of Lusamine's mouth curved upward. An elegant smile. Unreadable.
That evening, stars scattered across an endless night sky, and a clean crescent moon hung high above, its pale light braided through the starlight.
Deep in the Poni Canyon — the Altar of the Moone.
Ancient. Vast. Solemn in a way that made you feel your own smallness.
Three people climbed its steps.
Tapu Lele and Tapu Fini flanked them like sentinels, leading the way.
"All right, I'm leaving this to you two."
Mammon held out the Sun Flute and the Moon Flute, placing one in Lillie's hands and one in Caitlin's, a quiet smile on his face.
The ritual was simple in concept: at the ancient altar, let the twin melodies of the Sun Flute and the Moon Flute rise together. That music would stir something deep in Cosmoem — and the evolution would begin.