Chapter 705: Ultra Beast Invasion!

Chapter 705: Ultra Beast Invasion! (Two-in-One Chapter, Please Vote!)

Just as he was about to head back to sleep, he was called back.

As soon as he returned to the skies above the Harvest Ruins, he saw Tapu Bulu cautiously raising its head, looking around as if searching for something.

“Moo~”

Dratini landed gently, and Jinghe’s voice followed.

“Tapu Bulu.”

Bang!

Tapu Bulu, who had just raised its massive body, stiffened at the call and then fell back to the ground, its uneven snores gradually fading.

Jinghe: “.”

He couldn’t help but feel bad for the "child."

“Alright, no more plowing for you.”

Jinghe patted Tapu Bulu’s body with a sigh and continued, “The other three Island Guardians have gathered at the Solstice Altar in Poni Canyon on Poni Island. Didn’t you feel it?”

Hearing this, Tapu Bulu slowly "woke up" and was taken aback by Jinghe’s words.

“Moo?”

It had been busy with planting and energy consumption, and it had genuinely fallen asleep, so it hadn’t sensed anything unusual.

But after Jinghe’s reminder, Tapu Bulu lifted its head slightly, its expression brightening as it immediately looked toward Poni Island.

“Moo!”

Indeed.

Jinghe sighed inwardly.

However, Ula'ula Island was the farthest from Poni Island in all of Alola, and it would take some time to get there.

“Can you still fly?” Jinghe asked.

Tapu Bulu didn’t respond but proved it by flying directly toward Poni Island.

“This guy…”

Jinghe couldn’t tell if it was really out of energy or just pretending. He immediately climbed back onto Dratini and followed in the direction of Tapu Bulu.

Catching up to Tapu Bulu, Jinghe leaned down close to Dratini and used a Waveguide to communicate, asking:

“Tapu Bulu, can you tell me what you sensed and what’s happening?”

Tapu Bulu looked at Jinghe, who was pale and clinging to Dratini, with a hint of confusion but didn’t ask any questions. Instead, it answered in a deep voice.

【The aura, or more precisely, the spatial ripples, are very strong at the Solstice Altar, accompanied by intense surges of aura.】

Spatial ripples? Aura?

Could it be...

“Solgaleo and Lunala?”

From the previous calls and videos, it was clear that Lila and the others weren’t showing any signs of "laziness", so Necrozma could be ruled out first.

The only ones that could cause such a commotion seemed to be the Sun God Solgaleo and the Moon Goddess Lunala, right?

【You know Solgaleo and Lunala?】

Tapu Bulu looked at Jinghe with a hint of surprise.

“Back then, I met Solgaleo in space... I’m not sure if it was real or just a dream or hallucination. It entrusted me with some tasks. As for Lunala, we’ve clashed before.”

When Ultra Necrozma went out of control, it summoned nine legendary Pokémon, including Lunala.

【You’ve clashed with Lunala?!】

Tapu Bulu was genuinely shocked this time.

No one knew the power of Solgaleo and Lunala better than the Island Guardians.

This guy, who made it "plow", had actually fought Lunala?

Jinghe smiled.

“Small stuff.”

Tapu Bulu: “.”

Damn, he’s faking it!

After a moment of silence, Tapu Bulu spoke again.

【You said Solgaleo entrusted you with some tasks?】

“Probably.” Jinghe was a bit unsure now.

Probably...

Tapu Bulu was too tired to complain.

Finally, it described what it had sensed.

【In human terms, the Solstice Altar is experiencing a lot of Ultra Space ripples. It seems that many, or perhaps very powerful, Ultra Wormholes are opening.】

Many? Powerful?

It seemed they would have to go there to confirm.

But as long as it wasn’t Necrozma, the problem shouldn’t be too severe.

Hopefully.

Poni Island, Poni Canyon.

In the valley near the Solstice Altar, precision instruments were set up, and dozens of Grubbin were connected to them, supplying electricity.

Professor Barnett and the Aether Foundation’s Chairman, Lusamine, were operating the instruments swiftly.

A few planes were parked nearby, and Lila was directing the International Police and their Pokémon to unload more equipment from the planes.

“Professor Barnett, Chairman Lusamine, what’s the situation...”

Lila couldn’t help but ask.

She looked toward the Solstice Altar, where the three Island Guardians were circling around it, seemingly waiting or perhaps worried about something.

Professor Kukui stood at the edge of the canyon, trying to contact Tapu Koko on the Solstice Altar but received little response.

“Thanks to Teacher Jinghe’s help in investigating UB02: Absorption, or Pheromosa, our monitoring system has made a breakthrough.”

Professor Barnett said without turning around.

Lusamine, a highly capable researcher and the Aether Foundation’s Chairman, stared intently at the instrument’s screen and said:

“If everything goes as expected, we will soon see very dense and massive Ultra Space ripples here.”

"Ultra Space fluctuations?" Lila frowned slightly.

"Either it's a massive Ultra Wormhole, or a large number of Ultra Wormholes!" Lusamine said in a deep voice.

Her hands trembled slightly as she faced the screen, her eyes gleaming with barely contained excitement.

Perhaps aware of her state, Lusamine quickly lowered her head and continued operating the equipment.

Either a massive Ultra Wormhole or a large number of Ultra Wormholes—what did that mean?

"Is this a major invasion of Ultra Space into our world?" Lila asked, seeking confirmation.

Despite her reluctance to admit it, Dr. Barnett paused for a moment before nodding.

"Most likely, yes."

!!

Lila's heart tightened.

The appearance of a single Ultra Beast could have a significant impact on Alola.

She had witnessed Mr. Jinghe's Crimson Blade Phantom and Kartana's battle, as well as Pheromosa's power. Each Ultra Beast that appeared in the Pokémon world demonstrated incredible strength.

It was hard to imagine what the destruction would be if a large group of them appeared.

"Why is this happening? What's causing it?" Lila asked again.

While Ultra Wormholes occasionally appeared before, they usually opened briefly and then closed.

Most of the time, no Ultra Beasts emerged. When they did, it was usually just one at a time, and the Ultra Wormholes would close quickly.

Why was this time so different?

"The cause is currently unknown."

Lusamine suddenly stood up, a hair tie appearing in her hand. She quickly tied her waterfall of golden hair into a ponytail.

Turning to the Aether Foundation members who had just arrived from another plane, she ordered:

"Quickly, set up!"

"Understood!"

Zao Bo, the Aether Foundation's branch director, wearing a white lab coat and a pair of large, light-green sunglasses, responded.

Under his direction, the Aether Foundation members swiftly set up more sophisticated and complex equipment on the scene.

"This is..."

Lusamine, having tied her hair and donned a white lab coat, said excitedly:

"I'm going to start."

"Start?"

"Start making specialized Poké Balls to capture Ubs!"

This was one of the Aether Foundation's key projects. While they had previously struggled with certain technical issues, the data from Pheromosa and Kartana had finally broken through those barriers.

Although manufacturing Poké Balls capable of capturing Ubs was still no easy task, the current environment, with the Ultra Space aura fluctuations becoming more intense, presented a good opportunity.

Despite the potentially very high cost, the Aether Foundation was not short of funds.

Upon learning the specifics, Lila had no choice but to gather forces.

The International Police from the "UB Response Division" and the League Police from Poni Island, led by Jasmine, were essential. However, these forces, while effective against ordinary wild Pokémon or common criminals and Pokémon poachers, were not sufficient against the powerful Ultra Beasts that might appear.

As for top-tier trainers...

Lila looked at Hapu, the newly appointed provisional island queen of Poni Island, with a hint of helplessness. Hapu, the granddaughter of the former Poni Island king, Sophocles, was indeed strong due to her grandfather's training and the Pokémon she inherited. However, she had yet to gain the recognition of Tapu Fini and was still quite young, not yet officially the island queen.

In the end, Hapu was the current "main responsible person" on Poni Island, but her lack of experience and youth made her somewhat flustered and unsure of what to do.

Additionally, there was Molayne, the island king of Ula'ula Island, and Liza, the island queen of Akala Island.

Molayne, who had initially discovered and rescued Lila, was her former superior's superior. He was now leaning against a piece of equipment, yawning and playing with his Kendama. It seemed he had not slept well during the day and appeared listless.

On the other hand, Liza, the island queen of Akala Island, was very efficient and was the first to approach Lila to inquire about the situation.

"Miss Lila, what's happening... Ah!"

She had only taken a few steps.

Bang!!

Her high heels caught on a piece of gravel, and she face-planted.

Lila's expression was: d(д)

"Island Queen Liza, are you okay!"

Before Lila could help, Liza had already picked herself up, rubbing her red cheeks and laughing: "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm used to it, hahaha—"

The most notable characteristic of this island queen was her tendency to trip and fall on flat ground.

It wasn't a character flaw; she seemed quite sharp and even wore high heels. Yet, from the moment she arrived, she had already fallen four times!

Bang!

She hadn't taken two steps before falling again.

Well, make that five times.

Liza's Pokémon, Mareanie, watched with indifference, clearly used to this.

If Mr. Jinghe's Dratini were here, it would definitely consider Liza a kindred spirit.

A fellow "flat-ground faller"!

Lila sighed, rubbing her forehead.

There were only four island kings, and the three present were all like this. Lila felt a deep sense of helplessness.

The Alola League had yet to be established, making the island kings and Lila, as the International Police superintendent, the highest-ranking individuals present.

With the special authority of the superintendent, Lila was the overall head.

Originally, neither Molayne nor Liza could leave their respective islands due to the need to protect them, much like Hala from Melemele Island.

However, since Ula'ula Island had Mallow and Acerola, and Akala Island had Kahili, and considering Hapu was relatively young, the two decided to come.

Hala from Melemele Island also mentioned that he would send someone even more capable to assist, initially leading everyone to think it was Jinghe, but Hala later clarified that it wasn't, and that person still hadn't arrived.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

Lila took a deep breath and relayed the information she had received from Professor Barnett and Aether Foundation President Lusamine to the three of them.

Hapu's face was tense, her fists clenched.

Despite her youth and lack of experience, Hapu was the first to speak up.

"I will, I will protect Poni Island!"

This was the place her grandfather had protected all his life, the place where she was born and where her love resided, so she would use all her strength!

Liza comfortingly patted Hapu's shoulder and said earnestly, "Don't worry, we are here too."

Molayne yawned lazily, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, and said, "Has Jinghe not arrived yet? If he comes, everything should be fine."

"Teacher Jinghe", Lila glanced at her phone and said helplessly, "has lost signal again."

Alola's infrastructure is still so poor; it really needs further development, at least to improve the communication network.

But in the current state of Alola, as the head of the UB Response Division, Lila only had authority over the islands when dealing with Ultra Beasts, not the authority to develop or improve Alola.

The Alola League needs to be established as soon as possible.

At that moment,

The three island guardians at the Solstice Altar suddenly stopped their wandering and looked up.

"They're coming!"

Professor Barnett, who was operating the equipment, also shouted suddenly.

On the screen of the device, the grid-like space display showed a depression and collapse, indicating unusual spatial ripples.

This meant the Ultra Wormholes were opening!

One moment.

Everyone and every Pokémon became tense.

What would appear?

"It's not just one!" Professor Barnett exclaimed, "Not just one Ultra Wormhole!"

As he spoke,

Hum—

A hole emitting a special light slowly opened in the night sky, revealing a spiral spatial channel.

Then,

as if a floodgate had been opened, one after another, large and small Ultra Wormholes appeared above the Solstice Altar.

The people below stared with their mouths agape, shocked.

Of course, there were also those who were excited, such as Aether Foundation President Lusamine and Division Head Zao Bo.

"Quick! Record it, gather information, the Ultra Beasts are about to appear!" Zao Bo instructed.

Lusamine, who was making custom Poké Balls, looked up at the sky with a fanatical expression and didn't speak, but she quickened her pace.

"What kind of UB?" Lila clutched her Poké Ball in her hand.

After the Ultra Wormholes opened, a brief silence followed.

It seemed as if time itself had paused, and everyone, whether worried, hopeful, afraid, or anxious, watched the Ultra Wormholes, wondering why nothing was coming out yet.

The unknown is often the most terrifying.

Amidst the silence, only the flying sand in Poni Canyon made a sound.

Suddenly,

Hum—

A bright silver, needle-like object suddenly pierced out from one of the Ultra Wormholes.

Its sudden appearance made everyone's hearts skip a beat.

Then,

the Ultra Wormhole seemed to flicker, and the metallic needle trembled slightly as a purple, bee-like and dragon-like creature squeezed out!

Its massive body, deep purple in color, with bat-like wings, a dragon-like head, and powerful arms, had a wasp-like abdomen with three needle structures, two short and one long, gleaming menacingly in the moonlight.

Nihilego!

If Jinghe were here, he would recognize this Ultra Beast that emerged from the Ultra Wormhole as the poisonous Pokémon, a Poison and Dragon-type Nihilego!

Its body length exceeded four meters, and it looked extremely aggressive, especially with the sharp needles at the end of its abdomen.

"UB: Stinger!" Lila called out for the first time, giving this unknown Ultra Beast a designation based on its most prominent feature: the long needles on its abdomen.

As soon as Nihilego emerged from the Ultra Wormhole, its deep blue, technologically advanced eyes scanned the surroundings.

First, it noticed the three island guardians below and sensed the familiar aura of the place!

"Roar!!!"

A roar echoed through the entire canyon.

"Leave here!"

"This is not your place!"

"Return to your Ultra Space!"

The three island guardians, facing the roaring Nihilego, spoke up for the first time and charged forward without hesitation.

Feeling the threat,

"Roar—!!!"

Nihilego roared again and immediately launched an attack.

From its thick, hard needle, a deep purple, foul-smelling liquid shot out, quickly forming a massive web of venom in the air, enveloping the three island guardians.

While the island guardians differed in appearance and abilities,

Electric-type Tapu Koko, Psychic-type Tapu Lele, and Water-type Tapu Fini,

But without exception, all of them had the Fairy type, which made them weak to Poison-type attacks!

And the Fourjaw Needle Dragon’s greatest strength was its venom!

Furthermore, the Poison type also reduced their fear of Fairy types, despite them being Dragon types.

Zzzt—

Golden arcs of light burst from Tapu Koko’s body, forming a golden arrow that pierced through the Poison Jab web.

Tapu Lele’s eyes glowed, and a wave of Psychic Power erupted, enveloping the three guardian deities.

Tapu Fini unleashed a powerful water jet, aiming to break through the Poison Jab web as well.

However.

Before the three island guardians’ attacks could hit, sharp, long needles suddenly shot out from the other Ultra Wormholes in the night sky.

"So many?!"

Lila’s expression changed when she saw this.

The next second.

Boom—Boom—

The Fourjaw Needle Dragons hadn’t even fully emerged from the Ultra Wormholes when thick, purple venom shot out, targeting the three island guardians.

The dense Poison Jab attacks instantly corroded the Psychic Power barrier Tapu Lele had formed and struck the three island guardians.

Although they didn’t cause any substantial damage, the venom from the Poison Jabs still caused purple toxic auras to appear on the bodies of the three island guardians.

They were now in a Poison Jab state!

Caught off guard!

Next.

One after another, Fourjaw Needle Dragons squeezed out of the Ultra Wormholes.

Their numbers exceeded ten!

This was an alarming number.

But it wasn’t over yet.

After all the Fourjaw Needle Dragons flew out of the Ultra Wormholes, more creatures, similar in appearance but much smaller with needles on their heads, also emerged.

Poipole!

The pre-evolutionary form of Fourjaw Needle Dragons.

After they emerged, they also spat out clumps of thick, purple venom from their mouths.

"UB: Adhesive!"

Lila threw out a Poké Ball and named this group of Poipoles.

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty...

The sheer number made Lila’s heart sink to the bottom.

Such a massive group of Ultra Beasts. If each one exhibited the same strength as the initial Fourjaw Needle Dragon, then...

This crisis would no longer just involve Poni Island but would threaten the entire Alola region, and even the entire Pokémon world!

However.

Lila soon breathed a sigh of relief.

She noticed that while the "UB: Adhesive" were more numerous, their strength seemed far inferior to the "UB: Stinger."

It was more like...

A powerful evolved Pokémon protecting the weaker, unevolved Pokémon in a migration, or perhaps an attack!

There were evolutionary forms in Ultra Beasts?

This was a new discovery!

But clearly, this wasn’t the time to focus on that.

Even though the "UB: Adhesive" were weaker, they were still Ultra Beasts and couldn’t be underestimated.

Especially in such a large group.

Not to mention the dozen or so "UB: Stinger" that were clearly formidable.

Even the island guardians couldn’t break through the venom barrier created by the "UB: Stinger."

On one hand, the island guardians were indeed weak against Poison types.

On the other hand, the Fourjaw Needle Dragons had an incredibly long attack range.

Even from over a hundred meters away, their venom could still threaten the guardians.

In this situation, a row of Fourjaw Needle Dragons and a large group of Poipoles in the sky, continuously spewing venom, was like facing an endless barrage of artillery and gunfire.

Breakthrough?

With the advantage of height.

Unless they could withstand the venom attacks, they wouldn’t even have a chance to counterattack.

At this moment, if a top-tier trainer specializing in Steel-type Pokémon were present, the situation might have been different.

But the problem was that no such trainer was around.

If this continued, the three island guardians, even with the boost from Alola, might not be able to hold out.

So, they had to fight, and they had to act quickly!

Just then.

"Exploud, Cannon Blast!"

A trainer with a bare upper body and an exaggerated mask threw out a Poké Ball and shouted.

A beam of metallic light shot upward, tearing a gap in the impenetrable Poison Jab web.

"Royal Masked One?" Lila looked over, somewhat surprised.

Was this the stronger helper that the Hala Island Chief had mentioned?

Noticing Lila’s gaze, Professor Kukui, who was the Royal Masked One, quickly changed his equipment and grinned, showing his white teeth and giving her a thumbs-up.

With the first "shot" fired, the human trainers finally began to join the battle.

Even if they were poisoned and affected by toxins, they had to fight back!

Lila: "Flygon, Meteor Mash! Gastly, Shadow Ball!"

Molayne: "Murkrow, Hurricane! Persian, Thunderbolt!"

Liza: "Snorlax, Cannon Blast!"

Hapu: "Scyther, Steel Wing! Claydol, Hyper Beam!"

Whether it was Lila or Molayne, they were indeed at a disadvantage against the opponents in the sky.

Liza and Hapu were even more so, with Liza specializing in Rock and Hapu in Ground, neither of which were strong in aerial combat.

Boom!!

Kukui’s Exploud opened the first gap, and Lila and the others quickly led their Pokémon to follow up.

A massive roar erupted in the sky.

"Roar!!"

The Nihilego that emerged first from the Ultra Wormhole let out a long, piercing cry, and all the other Nihilego in the air sprang into action.

The lead Nihilego, flapping its wings, enveloped itself in a surging torrent of venom and charged at the three Island Guardians rushing toward it.

Venom Trap!

The Guardians, already poisoned, were inevitably weakened in their abilities.

Poison-type Pokémon adopt entirely different combat strategies when facing poisoned and non-poisoned opponents.

Once the opponent is poisoned, moves like Venom Trap and Poison Jab can deliver severe "punishments."

At the same time, the delay in time gradually erodes the opponent's ability to fight back.

The lead Nihilego seemed to understand the Guardians' capabilities and kept the battle in the air, avoiding the ground to prevent the Guardians from unleashing their full power.

Amazingly, it managed to single-handedly hold back the three poisoned Guardians!

Its strength must be at least on par with that of a Champion's ace Pokémon!

The other dozen or so Nihilego, though not as powerful, together formed a formidable "army."

Moreover, a few of them were capable of holding their own against Lila and the others' Pokémon.

Even Professor Kukui's Exploding Pokémon could only barely protect itself in this situation.

But there were also the Poipole to consider.

Their numbers far exceeded those of the International Police brought by Lila, and even outnumbered the Aether Foundation's combat personnel.

In just a short while, almost all the Pokémon that had appeared, except for the few Steel-type Pokémon, were poisoned!

In an instant, the deep purple toxic fog spread across the entire Poni Canyon.

No one could have anticipated such a turn of events.

Even knowing about the formation of the Ultra Wormholes, who could have predicted the emergence of so many Ultra Beasts?

And they were all Poison-types, capable of flight, and showed a clear tactical and strategic approach.

The Nurse Joy and the "medical team", along with the Aether Foundation's backup, were unable to keep up with the rescue efforts for the poisoned Pokémon.

For the first time in her role as superintendent, Lila sounded the alarm across Alola and called for the region's Trainers, especially the top Trainers, to come to Poni Island's aid.

But it would take considerable time for reinforcements to arrive, and the situation could deteriorate by then.

"Sandile!"

Hapu cried out as her Sandile struggled fiercely but ultimately fell to the ground due to a Poison Jab from a Nihilego.

With Sandile losing its fighting ability, the League's defensive line was breached.

Zzzap!!

A Thunderbolt from Tapu Koko struck the lead Nihilego, eliciting a pained cry, but it wisely chose not to press the attack and instead quickly pulled back.

Its goal was to entangle and delay, not to defeat the three Island Guardians.

"Damn it, just flying in the sky, and so high!" Liza kicked at the ground in frustration.

Hapu's face was tense, her lips pressed together, and her small face filled with anxiety.

This was a matter of great importance for the entire Alola region.

One of the drawbacks of Alola not having a League was now evident.

Without the League's authority, it was impossible to quickly gather all the combat forces from Alola's four islands.

For now, they could only stall.

Stall until the Island Guardians could deal with the lead Nihilego.

The main issue was their lack of knowledge about these Ultra Beasts, which left them caught off guard, and many Pokémon were poisoned as a result.

If they had known the characteristics of these Ultra Beasts earlier, they wouldn't be so passive.

Of course, in the air, Lila and the others were helpless against the Nihilego and could only defend passively. But if they were to land, the situation would change.

The fear was that these Nihilego and Poipole, without the need to stall and delay, might fly to other islands, or even scatter, which would be a major problem.

Just then, a familiar voice rang out from a distance.

"Gengue, Male, Shadow Ball! Dratini, Dragon Dive!"

Lila's eyes lit up, and Molayne let out a sigh of relief, his hand slipping into his pocket, his expression relaxing.

The "tall one" had arrived.

"Teacher Jinghe, Male!" Lila exclaimed in joy.

"Gengue!"

With a mischievous grin, Gengue, Male appeared behind a Nihilego and launched a Shadow Ball.

Then, Dratini, transformed into a blue-purple dragon, slammed into it with a powerful impact.

Boom!!

Just as Lila and the others were caught off guard, the Nihilego was similarly caught off guard.

It lost its fighting ability and fell from the sky.

Witnessing this, all the Nihilego paused for a moment before roaring in unison at Gengue, Male and Dratini.

"Roar—!!!"

Anger surged in their eyes.

Even the seemingly small Poipole erupted in angry roars.

But Gengue, Male remained unperturbed, scratching his nose and placing a hand behind his ear, tilting his head as if listening.

"Gengue?"

Did you not eat? I can't hear you~

Others might not know the specifics about Nihilego and Poipole, but Jinghe, Male was very clear.

The information gap could also translate into a combat advantage.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end