Pokémon from Galar

Half of his body tumbled out of the tentacles' reach, yet they still managed to wrap around his chest and abdomen. A wave of weakness instantly washed over him.

"Mother--!!"

"Marie—Mother!!"

The other person was indeed Rosamund… Mary, who was so weak that she couldn’t even speak properly, learned who the person who had tried to save her was after hearing the shouts behind her.

"Roar—!!!! (You bastard!! Put Mary down!)"

"Ee-! (Mary!!)"

Having caught two people, Niohuru was also decisive and unleashed an astonishing speed for the first time, quickly retreating back towards the Ultimate Hole behind him!

Bal and Ito reacted the fastest, quickly regrouping their offensive. No longer caring about the strange contact ability from before, Bal activated high-speed movement and then raised his claws high, charging towards Nihilego Ito, who was about to retreat into the Ultimate Hollow in mid-air!

I-chan burst forth with a dazzling white light, like a lightning bolt unleashing its potential, instantly matching Pazu's speed. I-chan leaped high, landing on Pazu's outstretched tail, using Pazu's cooperation to accelerate once more.

Her petite body flipped in mid-air, unleashing her most powerful Iron Tail! It slashed towards the translucent head!

While Balu was cooperating with Ichigo, his dragon-type energy seemed to be flowing freely towards his right claw, with the target being the two tentacles that were binding Mari!

With a slight delay, after the iron tail landed, Baloo grabbed Marie with one paw and slashed the tentacle hard with the other!

*Thud!* *Rip!*

"Wu~wu~ (Ouch~)"

For the first time, she let out a wail, and the two tentacles loosened their bindings on Mary. Unfortunately, both Bal and Ichigo forgot one thing: their sudden burst of speed allowed them to catch up with Nihilego Ido, but it also brought them closer to the Ultimate Hollow!

Bal and Ichigo were completely oblivious to the situation. They dared not stop their attack, and Mari was still bound by the tentacles. The dragon claws and iron tail materialized once more.

Rip!

The second combined attack even tore off one of Nihilego's tentacles, and Pazu took the opportunity to shield the now completely immobilized Mari in his arms.

After saving Mari, Balu originally wanted to save someone else, but as soon as he looked up, he was shocked to see the Ultimate Hole that was almost within reach!

"Roar—!! (Come here quickly!)"

"Ee-! (I know!)"

The three Pokémon, locked in a fierce struggle, couldn't reverse their slowdown in that instant. Palm only had time to raise its paw to shield Eevee as well before disappearing into the Ultra Slug along with Nihilego and Lusamine.

P.S.: Two updates today, I'll finish this part quickly.

Chapter 138 Struggle Inside the Ultimate Hole

What's inside the Ultimate Cave?

The tunnel was empty, with nothing in sight. There was no way forward and no destination in sight; all that could be seen was a passage leading to an unknown place.

The Ether Foundation had been trying to investigate, but in the end, Mary witnessed it firsthand.

The instant she entered the Ultimate Cave, along with the feeling of weightlessness came a dizzying spin, and the exhausted Mary immediately fainted.

She didn't know exactly how much time had passed, until she was awakened by the excruciating pain that seemed to penetrate to the bone, only to find herself sandwiched between Bal and Ichigo, while Nihilego and Lusamine had completely disappeared.

"Ah...ah...Balu...you guys, come back into the ball..."

Mary tried to take the Poké Ball off her waist, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't muster the strength. Ichigo, who was nestled in Mary's arms, answered first:

"Ee... (Don't speak, Marie, Pazu is looking for an exit...)"

Upon hearing Yi-chan's voice, Mary was about to reply when suddenly there was a loud bang, accompanied by the sound of something breaking. Mary let out a muffled groan as the pain, which felt like her body was being gnawed at, suddenly intensified!

"Well--!!"

"Ee! (Mary!)"

I-chan exclaimed in surprise, then suddenly tensed up. A protective light barrier, familiar to Mari, suddenly appeared, and she watched helplessly as it enveloped her.

As Yi-chan moved, the pain in Mary's body subsided quickly, like a receding tide.

Seeing this, how could Mary not know what Ichigo had done? Mary absolutely refused to believe that she was the only one experiencing that pain. If it required protection to alleviate it, then there must be something wrong with the energy within the Ultimate Void.

But why only for myself?!

Mary wanted to argue, to make I-chan protect Balu, but looking into I-chan's eyes, she opened her mouth wide but couldn't say a word. What should she say?

Should I let Ichigo and Pazu give up on her? Or should I let Ichigo continue to push herself to the limit to protect Pazu's massive body? Watching her Pokémon risk their lives just to lessen her pain, Marie felt nothing but anguish.

"...Conserve your energy...Don't waste it on me..."

"Hmph... (Marilyn, stop talking, conserve your energy, I'm looking for an exit...)"

A suppressed voice came from above. Mari couldn't imagine what kind of pain Balu was enduring.

The pain was so intense, it felt like every cell in her body was trembling, there was no blind spot, every nerve ending was screaming in agony. Even after the protective light barrier had slowed it down, the pain that had erupted in that instant almost made Mary lose consciousness.

"...Backpack...Energy Cubes..."

Mary could only be thankful that she had brought her backpack with her today because she was carrying the elf egg; otherwise, she would never have carried so much with her when she went to school, as was her usual habit.

"Ee... (Okay... Mary, go take a nap...)"

As Ichigo was saying this, she suddenly opened her mouth and made a yawning gesture, which made Mary panic.

"Stop...no...stop it...I...chan..."

With virtually no chance to resist, Mary, who was already barely conscious, lost consciousness again. Seeing Mary close her eyes once more, Ichigo suddenly wore a pained expression.

"Ee... (Have you found the exit...?)"

"Roar—! (I'm looking! I'm looking! Conserve your energy, Mary needs your protection!)"

Baloo's tone was more disordered and agitated than before. Before Marie woke up, the two Pokémon had already been flying through this sunless passage for quite some time.

In fact, Chirp and the others received similar treatment to Marie; they were slapped back and stuffed into Poké Balls. The environment and situation here were beyond their control.

And the originally abundant physical strength and energy were gradually depleted by the consumption along the way and the inexplicable surge of energy.

In fact, if it weren't for protecting Marnie in their arms, the two Pokémon might have already fallen into despair in this empty space.

But at this moment, both Balu and Ichigo believed that there must be an Ultimate Cave open ahead of this passage, and they had to believe it.

Remembering what Mary had said earlier, I-chan used her mental energy to search through Mary's backpack and found a large bottle of Bal's special energy cubes. Controlling the opening of the bottle, I-chan held it directly in front of Bal.

Balu didn't mince words and ate the whole bottle with his mouth wide open. Seeing this, I-chan immediately released her mental energy, threw the empty bottle away, and then took out her own energy cube and ate it in big mouthfuls.

There wasn't much left in her backpack; most of it was stored inside the house. But this wasn't the time to conserve energy. Without the protection of her physical strength, she didn't know if Mary's body could withstand the onslaught of this strange energy.

Silence returned.

Balu held Marie and Ichigo in his arms, feeling extremely agitated but trying his best to suppress it. He was the only one who could easily move around with Marie here, and he couldn't afford to collapse before finding the Ultimate Cave.

I don't know how much time has passed...

Baloo and Ichigo devoured all the energy cubes in Marie's backpack, and even the other energy cubes and the few remaining tree fruits were eaten without hesitation.

Even so, Bal and Ichigo were almost exhausted, both mentally and physically nearing their limits. If they hadn't been determined to protect Marie and their other companions, they might have already lost consciousness.

Baru flew forward mechanically, without any reference points or weather changes. He didn't even know how long he had been flying or how far he had gone, and he didn't even have the strength to do anything else.

The girl in his arms was in even worse shape, her eyes half-closed as if she had lost consciousness, her limbs still tightly clinging to Mary, using her body to protect her.

Is it too late to hold on...?

Balu strained to keep his eyes open, staring straight ahead. The intense pain from his exhausted body had rendered him unable to utter a sound. He was about to give up; he couldn't even remember the worst beatings he'd ever suffered as a child when his elders dragged him into fights.

Trying to recall his childhood memories, Balu gradually remembered his first meeting with Marie. He tried to smile, but found his mouth had already slipped out of his control.

Just then, a white, net-like hole suddenly appeared in front of Balu!

The Ultimate Hole!!!

Pazu swore he would never forget what the Ultimate Hole looked like. He clung tightly to Marie and Ei-chan in his arms with both paws, flicked his tail, and with his last bit of strength, plunged into the Ultimate Hole, whose destination was unknown...

P.S.: While writing, it suddenly dawned on me that there's a lot to write about the Alola storyline, much more so than that Ghost Sword and Shield story. My feelings are really mixed...

Chapter 139 Help from the Guardian Deity

Alola, Melemele Island.

An Ultimate Hole suddenly appeared in the sky above the forest, instantly attracting the attention of the Guardians and the Aether Foundation, which was monitoring the Ultimate Hole.

Tapu Koko remained hidden in the shadows, cautiously watching the Ultra Cave. Although a group of humans had recently dealt with the Ultra Beasts quite effectively, the Garp family had become less involved in combat.

But by sheer coincidence, the flower bloomed above the forest where Tapu Koko usually lived. To prevent his backyard from being destroyed, Tapu Koko had no choice but to stall for time and wait for the human girl to come and deal with it.

However, something unexpected happened at Ultra Cave today. Tapu Koko, who was on high alert, did not send out any Ultra Beasts, but instead, two Pokémon and a human girl fell out.

"..."

Was she a trainer who had been attacked by an Ultra Beast and accidentally wandered into the Ultra Cave? Tapu Koko quickly made the judgment. There had been such people before, so he wasn't particularly surprised. But just as Tapu Koko was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly sensed an aura emanating from the girl.

Stopping its turn, Tapu Koko immediately flew to the side of the girl and her Pokémon who had fallen, carefully sensing their surroundings to confirm its judgment—it was absolutely correct.

This human's Pokémon has a very strong Cosmog scent, which is obviously due to living together for a period of time to acquire such a peaceful aura.

Moreover, this human girl also seemed to possess a Z-Crystal. Tapu Koko rather unceremoniously opened the backpack behind Marie, who was already unconscious, and her two Pokémon showed no reaction whatsoever.

Tapu Koko found Water Z and Dragon Z inside, which surprised Tapu Koko quite a bit, because obtaining Dragon-type Z Crystals is extremely difficult. Perhaps in the eyes of humans, this only represents strength, but in the eyes of the Guardian Spirits, Z Crystals actually represent a kind of recognition from nature.

Especially the Dragon-type Z-Crystal.

Tapu Koko quickly took the Pokémon egg out of its backpack and assessed the condition of the Pokémon, including those still inside the Poké Ball. The condition was quite dire. Suddenly, Tapu Koko looked up.

"Boom—!!!"

The sharp cry, using some unknown technique, was quickly transmitted to the other three islands of Alola and was received without hindrance by the other three guardians who were leisurely passing the time.

In that instant, the Tapu family quickly stopped what they were doing, soared into the sky, and flew towards Tapu Koko on Melemele Island, causing countless islanders to look up in awe.

The Tapu family, who rushed to the scene, found five Pokémon, a human, and a Popplio egg lying on the ground in Tapu Roaring Forest.

Without needing to communicate, the four island guardians immediately understood why Tapu Koko had summoned them. The Cosmog aura emanating from the five Pokémon was indeed very obvious, no wonder Tapu Koko was suddenly so enthusiastic.

Tapu Lele became interested as well. Just recently, two humans had appeared who were able to capture Lunala, and now another girl who had been intimate with Cosmog had appeared, and this girl's scent was very much to her liking.

Even though this girl doesn't belong to this world, Tapu Chocho doesn't mind helping this girl who she found quite pleasing to the eye at their first meeting.

"Butterfly~"

Tapu Lele, already somewhat reckless, was the first to act, suddenly raising herself high and then showering shimmering scales over Marnie and her Pokémon.

The scales transformed into light and fell upon Marie, the Pokémon, and the egg, quickly merging into their bodies and repairing the terrifying, invisible injuries.

"Well……"