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

…………

The next day.

Xia Chen arrived in Hauole City, Alora region, at 2 p.m. sharp.

More than half a year has passed since the Ultimate Hole incident that occurred at the beginning of the year. The place has long since returned to its original order, and it is even more lively than before because of the appearance of the Ultimate World.

On a whim, Xia Chen took Rare Crown for a stroll through this bustling, tropical city, eventually arriving at the Alola Pokémon School, which had been open for some time.

He remembered that when he first came to Alora, he stayed here for a while, and almost half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

This time, the Crowned King didn't ride its beloved horse in a high-profile manner. Instead, it sat on Xia Chen's shoulders. With its slender arms and legs, it was no burden for Xia Chen, whose physical abilities could be considered superhuman.

Overall, apart from the large turnip on its head which is not particularly noticeable, not many people recognize them when they walk on the street.

For the Crown King, every trip with Xia Chen since leaving the Crown Snowfield has been a novel experience.

Yuanling Island is only in the nascent stage of a city; overall, it is still a village-level social settlement.

Hau'lor City is different. As the economic center of the Alola region, it is a large and prosperous city with a population of over one million, if not comparable to metropolitan cities like Luna City or Suicune City.

Even the Queen of the Lace Crown couldn't help but show a look of amazement as she gazed at the rows of neat high-rise buildings.

However, Xia Chen had important business to attend to this time, so he didn't linger long at the Alola Pokémon School, a place that held many memories for him. He quickly took Calyrex to Aether Paradise.

This artificial island, once the core hub of the Aether Foundation, is now a heavily guarded headquarters for matters concerning the Ultimate World.

Xia Chen, one of the ten permanent directors of the Countermeasures Bureau, was able to enter the venue by using his Trainer's Certificate. He then went to visit Professor Kukui, the head of the Countermeasures Bureau and one of the strongest fighters in the Alola region.

Because he had made an appointment and communicated in advance, he was able to meet the busy Kukui without any problems.

The doctor, who is usually known for his passionate and unrestrained style in the anime, is actually dressed impeccably for this occasion, though his face carries an inescapable melancholy.

Upon seeing Xia Chen, he immediately began to pour out his grievances: "Dr. Xia Chen, your return is just in time. The Ultimate World has been going through a very turbulent period lately..."

This wasn't the first time the two had met; they had crossed paths during the Ultra Beast invasion.

Therefore, Xia Chen was not surprised by the doctor's somewhat unserious behavior.

He took a sip of the sweet, chilled fruit tea offered to him and said, "I received a message that another orange-level monster disaster has broken out over there?"

Kukui nodded solemnly, "Yes, it's very serious. According to the news from the front lines, the scale is even more severe than the disaster of the same level last month. It hasn't been upgraded to red only because the Radiant God hasn't appeared."

He rubbed his temples in frustration and continued, "Since we got involved in the development of that world, things have gotten worse and worse. Now there's a lot of internal strife within the Countermeasures Bureau, with a large number of people thinking that we should just withdraw from the Ultimate World altogether, which might actually make things better there."

Xia Chen remained calm and did not reply directly. Instead, he asked, "What does Dr. Kukui think of this plan?"

"what..."

Kukui hesitated for a while, his eyebrows twitching, before carefully choosing his words and saying, "Logically speaking, the terrible situation in the Ultimate World is not directly related to our intervention, and our departure may not necessarily make the situation better. Therefore, my current attitude is still more inclined towards the exploration side. Moreover, considering the relationship between the two worlds, um... Dr. Xia Chen should understand what I mean, right?"

Chapter 552 The Situation Between the Two Realms

Kukui phrased it tactfully, but Xia Chen understood what he meant.

The Pokémon world has absorbed most of the advanced technology of Metropolis, but conversely, the humans in this world have not yet fulfilled their promise to help them save their home.

Withdrawing now has a somewhat treacherous feel to it, like discarding a donkey after it has served its purpose and then abandoning it after it has been used.

The argument that "canceling intervention in the Ultimate World might actually improve its situation" is nothing more than a seemingly reasonable excuse that can alleviate the moral burden on those advocating withdrawal.

From the most basic perspective of interests, withdrawing from the Ultimate World at this time is indeed a choice that benefits the Pokémon world in every way.

But Dr. Kukui does not agree with this extremely selfish idea.

It's not about pity for the people of the Ultimate Metropolis, but rather the belief that this would cause a significant decline in the moral standards of human society throughout the entire Pokémon world.

He even believes that all those who insist on withdrawing from the exploration of the ultimate world are short-sighted.

The man before him, Xia Chen, had repeatedly saved the "light of humanity" in multiple regions. Dr. Kukui firmly believed that he would be the most steadfast supporter of the pro-war faction, which is why he revealed his true thoughts to him.

As long as he, the head of the countermeasures bureau, and Xia Chen, the most influential person, stood on his side, he was very confident that he could persuade others to continue to intervene in the struggle of the Ultimate Metropolis.

Kukui thought so, but after a moment of contemplation, Xia Chen suddenly said out of the blue, "I agree to terminate the exploration of the Ultimate World."

"Ha, I knew it, you'd definitely be on my side..."

Dr. Kukui didn't hear him clearly at first, and after rambling on for a few minutes, his brain finally processed what was happening, and he was immediately dumbfounded: "Huh?"

His most steadfast ally... betrayed him?

Dr. Kukui felt a mix of emotions.

It's not really a case of betrayal, since the idea that "Xia Chen would agree to help Metropolis" was just wishful thinking on my part.

But... how could the person who first built the bridge of friendship between the two worlds so decisively tear it down?

Kukui thought about it for a long time but still couldn't find the answer to the question.

Xia Chen's idea was actually very simple. If this trend continued, the Ultimate Necrozma, which was affected by the dark matter, would most likely appear and destroy the Ultimate World. The people staying in the Ultimate Metropolis would naturally be caught in the crossfire, so there was no need to leave them there to die.

As for whether or not to tell Kukui about the existence of dark matter, Xia Chen didn't have much of a mental burden. He would definitely answer if Kukui asked.

Xia Chen would never do something as foolish as keeping a secret and bearing the pressure alone, a kind of individualistic heroism.

Over there, Dr. Kukui finally gave up thinking and looked at Xia Chen with a sense of relief, saying, "I understand. Although I don't know why, I respect your decision."

Hey, wait a minute, aren't you going to ask me why?

Xia Chen, who was about to reveal a shocking secret, was stunned.

The words that were stuck in his throat turned into, "Aren't you... going to ask for a reason?"

Dr. Kukui regained his usual cheerful demeanor and laughed heartily, "I was a little hesitant at first, but now I'm sure. You must have something we don't know. Besides, you know much more about the Ultimate World than I do, so of course you get to decide."

This time, Xia Chen was dumbfounded. "Just because of this inexplicable reason?"

Dr. Kukui suddenly said seriously, "No, there's also the trust in your character. I believe that someone who can repeatedly risk their life to face legendary elves must be a partner of justice."

"What the heck is 'partners of justice'...?"

Xia Chen shuddered at Kukui's childish and cringeworthy choice of words. After thinking for a moment, he asked again, unwilling to give up, "You really don't want to know what my hidden secret is?"

Kukui chuckled and said, "I don't want to know. Since you support the entire exploration team's withdrawal from the Ultimate World, it must mean that that thing is beyond the control of us mortals. Anyway, if the sky falls, you, being tall, will hold it up, so I won't worry about it."

Xia Chen rolled his eyes at the old lecher, but still nodded.

…………

Although the meeting was somewhat different from what Xia Chen had imagined, the result was still satisfactory.

It has to be said that talking to smart people is easy.

Ultimately, Xia Chen and Kukui agreed that the Ultimate Countermeasures Bureau would relocate the personnel stationed in Metropolis as soon as possible after the alien invasion incident ended.

As for how to persuade the remaining pro-war faction, there is no need to worry. As Kukui said earlier, he, as the person in charge, and Xia Chen, the most influential person, are on the same side, which is enough to overcome the opposition and make the final decision.

After concluding this private meeting with only the two of them, Xia Chen immediately took Rairen and prepared to enter the Ultimate Cave again, while Dr. Kukui stayed behind at Aether Paradise to oversee things.

After half a year of development, the interaction between the two worlds has become increasingly mature, and the improved space jump machine can now achieve safety performance comparable to that of an airplane.

Of course, if there is an accident, the consequences are similar to a plane crash, with almost no chance of survival.

Just to be on the safe side, Xia Chen released the Paper Sword to protect himself.

Calyrex still refused to go into the Poké Ball, so Xia Chen had to apply for a Space Jump Machine for the turnip, and the two of them set off one after the other.

Having successfully traversed this time-traveling journey, Xia Chen and the Queen of the Regal machines broke through the void rift one after the other, arriving in the pitch-black Ultimate World.

"Hmm, so this is the ultimate world you mentioned? It does indeed exude a peculiar aura that I find repulsive."

The Crowned King frowned, clearly disliking the unfamiliar environment.

Dark matter represents a series of "negative energies" such as darkness, destruction, and death, which are naturally incompatible with the Crescent King, which controls the power of growth.

Xia Chen, meanwhile, painted a rosy picture for the Queen of the Brilliant Crown, saying earnestly, "That's right, the humans and elves here have been suffering from this substance for hundreds of years. Leilei, think about it, if you save them from their misery, wouldn't you gain the unwavering faith of an entire world?"

The pie in the sky was so big and round that it made King Lei Guan ignore Xia Chen's slightly disgusting nickname "Leilei" and start thinking about it seriously.

To be honest, Xia Chen's proposal was extremely tempting to the Lacecrown. The size of the Ultimate World was not much different from that of Earth. Although the number of living beings had been greatly reduced due to hundreds of years of dark matter erosion, it was still a huge number.

What it failed to consider was that most of these "potential believers" are currently in a state of mental corruption and control, and turning them back is a considerable challenge.

The Crowned King hadn't thought that far ahead. The promise Xia Chen had made had already filled it up, so much so that it was unconsciously grinning foolishly as it rode the Spirit Horse and followed Xia Chen to the Ultimate Metropolis.

…………

After numerous experiments and improvements, the spacetime jump machine achieved a high degree of positioning accuracy.

This time, their jump point was only a few kilometers away from the Ultimate Metropolis. Before long, Xia Chen saw the only lighthouse in the dark world.

And the people fighting against the invasion of the Ultra Beasts outside the Metropolis's protective barrier.

Compared to the relatively "outdated" mecha combat when Xia Chen last came, the main force now consists of elves from the Earth world.

The armored defense soldiers provided tactical support from the sidelines using methods such as suppressing fire and using smoke to cover their positions. They were clearly much more relaxed and at ease than before when they were in a sorry state.

It's not that the invading Ultra Beasts have become weaker; on the contrary, most of the Ultra Beasts on the battlefield are at the extremely high energy level of the Gym Leaders.

It's unclear how dark matter managed to amplify them so dramatically.

The Pokémon capable of fighting these powerful Ultra Beasts are naturally no ordinary creatures; they are mostly "external aids" from elite trainers on Earth.

At least Xia Chen saw quite a few familiar elves—

The perfectly coordinated Gyarados and Aerodactyl were undoubtedly the right-hand men of Lance, the Dragon-type Elite Four member of the Kanto region. These two powerful Pokémon, whose names contain the word "dragon" but are not actually dragons, were extremely efficient.

Basically, a single air blade combined with a high-powered attack like a water cannon is enough to bring down an Ultra Beast.

Over there, a Super Lucario also looked quite familiar.

It's not Cynthia's Pokémon; it's not that strong. Besides, Cynthia's usual Mega Evolution Pokémon is Garchomp, not Lucario.

This Lucario, a master of fighting techniques, is locked in a fierce battle with a Buzzwole and belongs to the Cucumber Korrina from the Kalos region.

Xia Chen heard that the girl who had accompanied him for a period of time had succeeded her grandfather as the gym leader of the Sala Gym before the new year, and he didn't expect her to come to the Ultra World as well.

However, given Korne's combative nature, Xia Chen wasn't too surprised.

In addition, Xia Chen also saw a strangely colored Megalodon—undoubtedly Daigo's rich guy.

A Haxorus with an extremely strong Dragon-type aura—its trainer is Iris from the Unova region's Dragonite Gym.

And Raichu and Electivire from Electric City, Slaking and Kangaskhan from Thousand Miles, Infernape and Magmar from Big Leaf…

They are all powerful and skilled dojo masters or even kings in their respective regions, making it a veritable gathering of stars.