After saying goodbye to Lusamine,
Bai Chen boarded a plane back home.
On the flight, his mind finally cleared.
Yes—Solgaleo had forbidden him from returning to Ultra Space.
But that didn't mean he'd never meet Ultra Beasts again.
During his time over there, he figured something out:
Faba's earlier wormhole experiments had already alerted some Ultra Beasts to the Pokémon world.
Compared to their crumbling home,
the vibrant, energy-rich Pokémon world was infinitely more attractive.
Some of the stronger ones—
with dense Ultra Aura—
definitely had both the interest and the ability
to cross over.
│ "Hah.
Hunting them in Ultra Space was trouble anyway.
Might as well wait for them to deliver themselves to my doorstep."
He had already warned Lusamine of this.
And he made it clear—he was very interested in dealing with any Ultra Beast incursions.
Since someone volunteered,
Lusamine obviously had no objections.
Homecoming
By late morning, Bai Chen finally returned.
The first thing he did was calm Lillie down.
│ "See? I came back in one piece. Don't worry."
Lillie was angrier at her mother than at him.
Toward Bai Chen, she was only worried.
Once she confirmed he was fine, she finally relaxed.
She asked what he planned next—
Nervous, he might try returning to Ultra Space.
│ "For the next two days?"
│ Bai Chen thought for a moment.
│ "I plan to rest.
Once your birthday passes, I'm starting my Island Challenge run—
and collecting the remaining Z-Crystals."
Right now, he only has the Fighting Z and Normal Z.
Only he and Nergigante could use the Fighting Z.
Basarios and Zinogre could only use Normalium Z.
Lillie blinked.
│ "You're going after all the other Z-Crystals?"
│ "Of course.
Basarios alone can use Ground Z, Rock Z, Fire Z, and Poison Z.
Even Steel Z and Dragon Z, theoretically."
After all—
Basarios had moves in all those types:
ground, rock, fire, steel, poison, dragon.
Zinogre could use the Electric Z,
which Bai Chen absolutely needed to get.
Nergigante could use Fighting Z, Normal Z, Dark Z, and Flying Z.
And Bai Chen himself could use Dragon Z and Psychic Z.
But there was also one very important one:
Fairy Z — "Twinkle Tackle."
Tinkatuff could use it.
And Fairy-type was an absolute weapon against all those dragon monsters.
│ "Since I have to collect them anyway,
I might as well gather them all."
Lillie asked softly:
│ "Can I come with you?"
│ "If you're free, absolutely."
│ "Then I'll help plan the route!"
She immediately went to start organizing the order of Z-Crystal hunts.
While the island kahunas give out one type each,
the other Z-Crystals require locating and defeating Totem Pokémon.
Lillie began sorting through maps and records.
│ "That's a huge help.
Indeede, give her a hand."
He sent Indeede to help—
Since it was his route, he couldn't just dump all the work on Lillie.
A Restful Night… Sort Of
That night, Bai Chen called a full rest day.
Everyone deserved it.
The Ultra Space trip was nonstop combat.
Basarios was thrilled—A
rest day meant fewer beatings.
Zinogre scoffed and went out into the forest to train alone anyway.
Tinkatuff returned to forging weapons
and tinkering with her "Flame Soul Bomb."
Indeede, after helping Lillie, she retreated into her personal mini-theater for quiet time.
Bai Chen himself actually relaxed—
no Sleep move, no meditation—
just a normal night.
…And on this otherwise peaceful night—
Tapu Koko silently entered the house.
The guardian deity of Melemele Island floated through the darkness
carrying a small, sleeping puffball.
A "Cosmog."
On the bed, Nergigante was dozing beside Bai Chen
when she sensed the presence outside the window.
Her orange eyes locked onto Tapu Koko.
The two stared for a long moment.
Then—without waking Bai Chen—
Nergigante hopped off the bed
and padded to the window.
With a soft click,
she unlocked the window latch.
Tapu Koko slipped inside quietly,
hovered over the bed,
and gently placed the sleeping Cosmog beside Bai Chen.
He exchanged one last glance with Nergigante—
then vanished as silently as he came.
Nergigante turned to inspect the tiny creature.
She sniffed the newcomer,
noting it had settled in her spot—
The place closest to Bai Chen.
With a flick of her tail,
she nudged Cosmog aside.
Then she lay down
and promptly went back to sleep.
Morning
Bai Chen woke to—
│ "Moguuuu—! Moguu—!"
He opened his eyes…
…and a huge dark face filled his entire field of vision.
He jolted upright.
Cosmog tumbled backward, startled, rolling in circles.
│ "Mogu?"
As Bai Chen finally processed what he was looking at,
he inhaled sharply.
│ "Who…
WHO HAD THE PUBLIC DECENCY
to put a legendary Pokémon on my bed!?"
│ "And not just any legendary—
IT'S AN ALOLA REGION BOX-ART LEGEND!?!"
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