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

As if sensing something, Gadriya turned her head and glanced at Xia Chen, who was gloating, before raising her empty left hand in a half-open gesture.

Not far away, a ferocious pheromone suddenly changed direction and pounced towards Xia Chen like a puppet on strings, its speed even surpassing that of the pheromone itself.

Snapped--

The pheromone was smeared all over Xia Chen's face, like a facehugger.

Because of my light build, the pain wasn't too bad; it just felt a little cool to the touch.

After giving his mental assessment, Xia Chen calmly pulled the pheromone off his face.

"You're not afraid at all?"

"I can't help but ask," Gadriya, the one who started the prank.

Xia Chen calmly replied, "Have you ever seen those animated shorts online that feature cockroaches as cute anime girls? They're so adorable."

A rare look of shock appeared on Cattleya's face.

Cockroach? Anthropomorphized? Cute?

How could these three words be connected?

How utterly insane must XP be to do something like this?

For the first time, Gadriya felt that her superpowers were not quite enough, and she really wanted to understand what was going on in the minds of people with such twisted ideas.

…………

If this were a game, then the ruins of Daman City would be a pretty good spot for grinding monsters.

A group of powerful but brainless Ultra Beasts surged forward one after another, only to be wiped out in droves by Garchomp's Meteor Shower, Milotic's Water Spray, and Metagross's Cannon.

If converted into experience points in the game, the experience points of the three Pokémon would probably increase dramatically.

Even without the so-called experience points, Xia Chen felt that this was a good trial opportunity for the elves.

Instead of letting Guleton and Deoxys take action, he sent out the other elves to join the fray against this wave of elves that was even more terrifying than the previous wave of orange-level monsters.

The dilapidated city resembled a colossal beast forged from steel, with fire and electricity illuminating the deep sky, creating a magnificent symphony.

The flares were no longer effective, but the sky still shone brightly amidst the turbulent collisions of countless energies.

It's unclear how much time passed, but the sounds and noises finally ceased, leaving only the lingering traces of various colored energy waves in the inky sky to tell the story of what had just happened.

"Well done, Milotic, and everyone."

Xia Chen patted Milotic, who was panting excitedly after the battle, and then fired another flare. This time, no Ultra Beasts rushed up.

"It should be safe now, let's go down."

As she spoke, Gadria spurred Metagross to take the lead and fly towards the tallest building in the city complex.

The building in the Ultimate World is incredibly strong. Although the bottom of this building has been gnawed away by Gudetama, the upper part still stands tall and proud in the air, making it look like a trophy that is wider at the top and narrower at the bottom.

The three elves carried Xia Chen and the others safely to the rooftop. Judging from the remaining traces, this place must have once been a sky garden.

Amidst the decaying plant communities, almost unrecognizable, are commercial buildings such as swimming pools, cafes, bars, and restaurants.

Cynthia took out her phone and Rotom started recording, her expression slightly cold.

Xia Chen turned his head and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

He was curious about what he had discovered that could move Cynthia, who had excavated countless historical sites.

Cynthia gazed absently at the dilapidated buildings in the distance, then suddenly asked, "Do you think... our world will one day become like this?"

Xia Chen understood her thoughts. The human appearance and civilization development of the two worlds were so similar that it was hard not to think of herself in the other world.

After a moment's hesitation, just as Xia Chen was about to say something comforting, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

What if the dark matter, after destroying the ultimate world, still doesn't stop and wants to destroy Earth again?

On the city's highest point, where not a breath of wind blew, Xia Chen suddenly shivered.

It seems... that this possibility is not entirely out of the question.

Before arriving in the Ultimate World, didn't the Dark Matter also erode the Carlos region ten thousand years ago by parasitizing Yveltal?

The dark matter draws energy from the elves' negative emotions to strengthen itself.

But what if the dark matter, having devoured the energy of an entire world, were to descend upon Earth once again with unprecedented power? How would humanity cope?

…………

Xia Chen's sudden frozen expression also caught the attention of Cynthia and Gadriya.

Cynthia, who was closer, asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Xia Chen didn't answer, but instead glanced at Gadriya and found her looking at him with a thoughtful expression.

"Are you scared? What are you scared of?"

"After returning from Carlos, you were pessimistic, but at that time it was pessimism about the situation of Metropolis. You thought they couldn't overcome the unknown darkness. Now, you're starting to be afraid."

After a moment of silence, she suddenly said with certainty, "You're afraid that one day our world will be swallowed by darkness, aren't you?"

Cynthia's expression was no longer cold. She turned her gentle gaze to Xia Chen and said softly, "You said you would tell me about important matters like this in the future, right?"

Two sentences, one firm and one gentle, broke Xia Chen's suppressed mood. He raised his head, a bitter smile on his lips.

"Okay, I'll tell you."

After making the decision, Xia Chen felt much more relaxed.

He simply released all the elves, and then, starting with his conversation with Xerneas, slowly recounted everything he knew about the dark matter.

When they heard that dark matter had once appeared on Earth, they all showed surprise, but when they heard about the nature of dark matter, their surprise turned into horror.

"...What I'm worried about is whether there's any possibility of it returning to Earth?"

Xia Chen finished with a simple and understated sentence, and the rooftop garden fell into silence.

The sheer power of dark matter can be glimpsed from this tormented ultimate world.

If Xia Chen's guess is true, then when it comes to Earth, can they really be sure of victory?

Not to mention the existence of so many legendary spirits, no one would dare to be sure which side the legendary spirits would be on at that time.

"So... I think we need to eradicate the dark matter here."

Xia Chen's deep, calm voice was filled with determination.

Cynthia nodded slightly and said, "I agree. This is the best solution overall. If we really drag it out until it completely devours and destroys the Ultimate World..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood the meaning behind her unspoken words.

There are countless reasons why it's considered the optimal solution—

At this point, the power of the dark matter is definitely lower than that of the future after the destruction of the ultimate world;

Setting the main battlefield in this world will not affect Earth, but the impact on the Ultimate World...

As I said before, we're already at rock bottom; whichever way we go, it's upwards.

To put it bluntly, even if the Great Dao is obliterated here, at most only an Ultimate Metropolis will be destroyed.

There seems to be no reason not to do so.

However, everything must be based on one premise.

Suddenly, Gadriya asked, "Can we be certain that the dark matter will travel to Earth after destroying the Ultimate World?"

Xia Chen couldn't give a definite answer to this question, but someone else could.

To be precise, there are "insects" that can be found.

…………

"Kona—(Yes, the connection between the two worlds is so strong that there are at least three ways to travel back and forth. For dark matter, this is not difficult.)"

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound and saw that it was Volcano who had spoken those words.

Xia Chen translated for Cynthia and Gadria, who didn't understand Elvish, and after thinking for a moment, added, "Vulcanmoth knows a lot about the Ultra World. It even told me about its existence when I first arrived in Alola."

He believed in Volcano's judgment and endorsed its statement.

Although Cynthia and Gadriya did not believe in Volcano, they trusted and believed in it, Xia Chen.

In the silence, the three reached a tacit agreement. After exchanging glances, they all understood the determination in each other's eyes.

Aid the Ultimate World in the fight against Dark Matter!

This is a strategy, and how to execute it requires a long-term plan, as well as a deeper understanding of Necrozma and Dark Matter.

Xia Chen and his two companions, along with the elves, couldn't help but turn their gazes back to Volcarona. Volcarona, feeling somewhat guilty under their scrutiny, instinctively shrank back into the group of elves.

Seeing that it couldn't avoid the questioning any longer, it weakly said, "Kona—(To defeat the Dark Matter, three steps are needed: first, defeat its host, which is Ultimate Necrozma; second, fight its main body; and finally, after defeating it, we can banish it into nothingness.)"

Xia Chen was speechless. What's the difference between this and "it takes three steps to put an elephant in a refrigerator"? You didn't mention a single crucial point.

What he didn't know was that Volcano Moth itself was also feeling aggrieved. It was clearly its true source of information, [Light], that refused to speak, and he had become the scapegoat.

The reason given by Light was that the time was not yet ripe, and revealing it in advance would only arouse the vigilance of the dark matter.

This only indicates that, given Xia Chen and his team's current strength, they might not even be able to achieve the first step of the three-step plan.

"The key to breaking the deadlock lies with you and your partners, Volcano."

Light's somewhat meaningful words puzzled Volcarona. Besides herself, did she have any connection with Sylveon and the others?

It instinctively asked, "What does this mean?", but Light remained silent as if asleep, so Volcano had no choice but to give up.

After failing to get any answers from their inquiries, Xia Chen and his group had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being.

Their plan to explore the city ruins was not affected by this; instead, they focused even more intently on searching for information about Ultimate Necrozma within the city.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The ruins of the city were simply too vast, and they hadn't found anything of any worthwhile before the agreed-upon departure time arrived.

However, that extremely chilling information may have been the biggest takeaway from this trip.

Back in Ultimate Metropolis, they tacitly avoided mentioning the incident to A-Du and Xin-Li, instead pretending nothing had happened and chatting about their experiences that day.

Although this civilization is on the verge of collapse, it must be said that there is still a lot to experience.

Xinli and Adu both said they had a very fulfilling day, and as for Acerola... she said she had a lot of fun in her dreams too.

With a few days left before their agreed-upon departure to collect the Radiant Stone, the three Heavenly Kings took the opportunity to experience the life of a metropolis dweller.