Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

[Sigh, we can only pray that we're lucky and don't run into that guy.]

After a moment of silence, Volcano said, "By the way, Xia Chen also asked me if I had a way to freely travel between the two worlds."

[So this guy isn't too arrogant; he'll leave himself a way out. The method... naturally, is only through the Ultra Window. But the Ultra Window only appears when spatial fluctuations are extremely strong, making it unstable and hardly free. Let me think...]

[I've got it! Paper swordsmanship!]

Volcano asked again in confusion, "Paper Sword?"

[Yes, Kamiya, a type of Ultimate Beast, known for its sharp body. A very few powerful Kamiya can even create a temporary Ultimate Hole!]

The fire moth also got excited, "So, as long as we find such a paper sword, we can freely travel between the two worlds?"

[Yes, but such paper sword control is extremely rare; one must possess immense strength to achieve it!]

Volcano pressed, "How much? Can you describe it?"

The Ultimate World doesn't have a specific classification for energy intensity levels like the Champion level, so Volcarona could only ask for more details.

After thinking for a moment, he replied: [Probably... comparable to the Gluttonous King who can swallow an entire island in one gulp.]

Volcarona's heart sank. Such strength was definitely beyond the Champion level, even without legends. The Ultimate World was so vast, where could she find a Kamimitsu with such power?

After thanking the light, its consciousness left the ultimate world and returned to reality.

No matter how bad the situation was, it still had to tell Xia Chen the news.

…………

The real world.

The awakened Vulcan moth immediately found Xia Chen.

"Kona—(The question you asked me before, I have the answer.)"

Xia Chen, who was still working out his plans, was delighted and looked up at Volcano Moth, asking, "What method?"

"Kona—(There is an ultimate beast called Kamiya...)"

It took Volcano quite a while to convey the message of [light] to Xia Chen, who immediately fell into deep thought.

Paper sword... He certainly knew this spirit.

He had even considered this method, because in the Pokémon anime, there was indeed a Kartana that could create Ultra Hole.

That guy's blade was truly sharp enough to cut through iron like mud; it even helped Ash and his friends cut through a meteorite that was heading towards the Alola region at the end of that episode.

To some extent, the radiant gods in the anime lost their light while resisting the meteorite, and Arceus also suffered a setback from the meteorite in the theatrical version.

Therefore, we can conclude that Paper Sword is superior to Arceus and the Radiant God...

This was obviously a joke, after all, meteorites come in all sizes, and the meteorite that the Paper Sword cut open didn't look very big.

In any case, that paper sword was definitely not weak.

The reason he didn't think of it immediately was because there are differences between the real world and the anime world. Catching a blade with bare hands is conceivable, but cutting through the Ultimate Hole with bare hands is a bit exaggerated.

Xia Chen hadn't dared to think about it before, but with the confirmation from the Fire Moth, he felt more confident.

With this news, the most important part of the plan, "running away if you can't win," can be achieved.

No matter what, Xia Chen always had to leave himself a way out, because it was his responsibility to all the elves who trusted him and went with him to the Ultimate World.

However, this aspect is only a concept and not yet finalized.

After all, according to Volcarona, the Paper Mage that can cut through the Ultimate Hole must have near-legendary strength.

Even among Ultra Beasts, individuals that can reach this level are extremely rare, and finding one is a problem.

Pulling himself back to reality, Xia Chen looked at Volcano and smiled, "Thank you. This information is very important. As long as we find a Paper Sword like this, I dare to take you to the Ultimate World."

Volcarona weakly reminded her, "The problem is, perhaps only by going to the Ultimate World can we find Kamikatsu..."

Xia Chen: "......"

Oh no, I'm going to get stuck in that endless loop of "I need to find the Paper Sword to go to the Ultimate World" and "I need to go to the Ultimate World to find the Paper Sword".

After thinking it over for a while, Xia Chen said, "Forget it, let's go to the Ether Paradise first and see if they have any paper swords. If not, we'll just have to go to the Ultimate World to find paper swords."

In fact, he already had the answer in his heart. With such strength, even the Ultimate Ball could be split in two, so how could the Aether Foundation accept it?

Even if Lusamine has developed some kind of advanced technology, why doesn't she, who controls such a Pokémon, go directly to the Ultra World and fulfill her long-held wish?

Therefore, the only option is to venture into the ultimate world first and find the paper sword that can take me freely between the two worlds!

Chapter 497

Although the plan for the Ultimate World has been finalized, the final implementation date will depend on the opening of the Ultimate Hole.

As time passed, the Etherland explosion gradually lost its momentum under the suppression of some unknown force. In just half a month, even the people of the Alola region gradually forgot about it.

Xia Chen also settled into a seemingly mundane daily life.

You can take Milotic out fishing, stroll around the bustling city of Hauorlos with Zeraora, or immerse yourself in Alola's local library searching for ancient documents that may be related to the Ultra Cave.

The closer it got to the opening time of the Ultimate Cave, the more peaceful and serene he felt.

However, instead of the Ultra Cave reopening after half a month, they were visited by Lillie and Gladion.

"Excuse me, teacher, I've come to visit you again."

Lillie smiled and tugged at the clothes of the young man in black standing next to her: "This is my brother, Gladio, whom I told you about last time."

The young man, who seemed to have an indifferent expression, smiled slightly. "Hello, I am Gladio. Thank you for taking care of Lillie these days."

Xia Chen waved his hand, "You're welcome. We get along very well, bro."

"Big brother..."

Gladion frowned slightly; this title wasn't very popular in Alola.

Xia Chen chuckled awkwardly to cover it up. He had originally blurted out "brother-in-law," but fearing that Gladio, who was obsessed with his sister, would beat him to death, he changed his address at the last minute.

It wasn't that he actually had any feelings for Lillie; it was just that the nickname "brother-in-law" for Gladio was too easy to say in his previous life.

Although "big brother" sounds strange, Gladio seems to be two or three years older than him, so it's not like he's at a disadvantage.

After a somewhat awkward first meeting, the three went inside and sat down in the living room.

Grazio spoke first, "Actually, I should have come to see you a few days ago, but something unexpected happened and I've been busy until now."

Xia Chen nodded. The so-called "accident" should refer to the explosion at Etherland Park two weeks ago.

I don't know what role Gladio played in it.

He thought for a moment and tentatively said, "I've heard about that incident too, and I deeply regret the lives lost in that accident."

Xia Chen deliberately observed the other person's expression when he said the word "accident." His excellent insight made him notice that Gladio did indeed have a slight, imperceptible change in expression when he heard those two words.

As expected, they were in the know.

Xia Chen thought to himself without showing any emotion.

Gladio was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "That matter was indeed heartbreaking. Actually... my main purpose in coming here this time was to fight you."

Xia Chen was speechless. Brother-in-law, your skill at changing the subject is really too poor.

…………

The abrupt turn of events left the air somewhat silent, and Lillie gave an awkward laugh to smooth things over.

"Well, it's like this... because we Alola are basically excluded from the mainstream of the Pokémon battle world, my brother rarely has the opportunity to fight against real masters. He has wanted to battle against his teacher for a long time."

That's true. The Alola League was only established a few years ago. Because it's so immature, it doesn't even have a Champion. Top international tournaments like the World Championship or the Masters Tournament are reluctant to include trainers from the Alola region.

"However, even so, teacher, don't underestimate your brother."

Lillie said seriously, "My brother is a strong contender for the first Alola region champion."

This information surprised Xia Chen somewhat. No matter how weak the Alola region was, to be a strong contender for the regional championship, one must at least be at the Elite level.

Gladio should only be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, yet he's so strong?

Xia Chen thought back for a moment, and even Cynthia reached the championship at the age of twenty-five, which was already breaking the previous record. Gladio is something else.

After Lillie said that, Xia Chen became even more eager to fight Gladion, and his heart, which had not fought for a long time, began to stir.

He picked up his phone, glanced at the time, and chuckled, "We still have some time before dinner, why don't we call now?"

Grazio, of course, had no objection and nodded in agreement.

After some discussion, the two decided to set the competition format as a standard 3v3 singles match, where each of the three specialization systems could only be used once. Of course, Dynamax could not be used due to unforeseen circumstances.

The battle location was chosen to be the battlefield outside the house, which was conveniently located nearby.

Before the battle, Lillie found an opportunity to separate from Gladion and pulled Xia Chen aside to whisper, "Teacher, the spatial fluctuations near Ether Paradise exceeded the 3% threshold yesterday, and there is a greater than 50% probability that an anomaly will occur and the passage will open."

Xia Chen asked in surprise, "The probability is that high?"

Lillie nodded, her face showing some worry. "Well, I originally wanted to stay on the island and keep an eye on things, but my brother insisted that I bring him here today, and I'm a little worried about what's going on there."

Xia Chen comforted him, "It's alright, it's only a few minutes' walk from Guleton, which will allow you to stay away from danger at this critical juncture."

Lillie sensed something was wrong and frowned, asking, "Why are we moving away from danger? Didn't we agree to investigate together?"

Xia Chen then realized he had let something slip and quickly tried to cover it up, saying, "Of course, Gu Leton has a big back, I will definitely take you with me."

Despite saying that, Xia Chen's thoughts were completely the opposite. He didn't want Lillie to fall into the vortex of the Ultimate Cave, as that place was far too dangerous.

Lillie was still somewhat skeptical. She pursed her lips and stared at Xia Chen for a while before finally nodding.

"Okay, let's talk later. Your brother has been waiting for a long time."

Xia Chen sent Lillie to the sidelines of the battle, then gave Gladion a thumbs-up, indicating that the battle could begin at any time.

They responded with the same gesture.

Thus, under the direction of referee Lillie, the battle officially began.

…………

Since the end of the Eastern Tournament, Xia Chen has not had a formal Pokémon battle for more than two months.

Therefore, he was quite looking forward to the match against Gladion and sent out Volcarona as his first Pokémon.

It's not that we underestimate our opponents.