Ultra Space—the homeland of the Ultra Beasts.
"Ultra Space" was actually just an umbrella term. Strictly speaking, it was divided into nine distinct special sub‑spaces.
For example, Naganadel dwelled in Ultra Megalopolis, Nihilego in Ultra Deep Sea, Xurkitree in Ultra Plant, Guzzlord in Ultra Ruin, and so on.
Right now, the place Damian and Lusamine had arrived in was Ultra Desert—home to the Ultra Beast Pheromosa!
Ultra Desert's terrain was extremely rough, making it anything but easy to travel on foot.
But that wasn't a big deal. Before coming to Aether Paradise, Damian had specifically stopped by the Pokémon ride shop run by the organization and picked up two Dragonite.
Pokémon riding was one of Alola's specialties. The ride shop rented out all kinds of Pokémon to guests for a fee.
Those rental Pokémon typically had no particular battle talent and very gentle temperaments, covering land, sea, and sky options.
Among Pokémon trained specifically for flight and riding, Dragonite was by far the most popular choice.
According to Proton's reports, the customers at Team Rocket's ride shop were most obsessed with Dragonite.
After all, Dragonite was a pseudo‑legendary Pokémon with a gentle personality, and with Extreme Speed backing its flight, it was insanely fast. Of course people loved it.
Honestly, the profits from these ride shops were pretty darn good.
"Let's go."
Damian handed Lusamine one of the Dragonite's Poké Balls. The two of them mounted their Dragonite and took off into the skies ahead.
Ultra Desert was nothing but a barren wasteland, with no traces of human life. After they'd been flying for a while, Damian spotted their first target.
At the top of a stone pillar, a tall, slender Pokémon was standing with one hand on its hip, head tilted arrogantly as it stared at the Dragonite flying overhead.
Its body was vaguely humanoid, most of its thin frame a milky white. Its eyelashes were long, its eyes a blue‑purple, and from the back of its head trailed a veil‑like "hair" resembling a wedding dress, extravagant and elegant.
"UB‑02 Beauty—Pheromosa!"
Lusamine recognized the Ultra Beast instantly. Her pupils lost focus, her whole body trembling with excitement.
That was it. That was what she wanted.
An Ultra Beast!
"Looks like it's decided we're prey." Damian raised a brow, studying the Pheromosa with genuine interest.
He had to admit, Pheromosa looked gorgeous. Its slender, elongated figure gave off a very refined, elegant vibe.
"Pheromosa～!"
The Pheromosa let out a low cry, bent its knees slightly, then sprang forward like a released spring, rocketing straight toward Damian and Lunala at blinding speed.
It shot at them like a cannonball—unbelievably fast.
The two Dragonite immediately picked up on the danger and tried to retreat in a panic.
But Pheromosa was too fast.
"Shadow Ball." Damian tilted his head.
From the Dragonite's shadow beneath him, Shiny Gengar slid halfway out, cackling darkly as it flung a Shadow Ball forward.
Boom!
The charging Pheromosa never saw it coming and slammed head‑on into the incoming Shadow Ball.
With a deafening crash, it dropped out of the air like a torn rag, smashing into the sand below.
"Down." Damian gestured for Dragonite to land.
The bewildered Dragonite instinctively obeyed its employer, flapping down to the desert floor.
Pheromosa was already down for the count, eyes spiraling as it lay unconscious in the sand.
Damian wasn't surprised in the slightest. It was just an ordinary wild Pheromosa, after all.
Most Ultra Beasts were extremely "lopsided" stat‑wise, and Pheromosa was no exception. It was a textbook glass cannon, built entirely for speed and offense.
Both its Special Attack and physical Attack could explode with terrifying power.
But its defenses were paper‑thin. Saying it would topple in a stiff breeze was an exaggeration—but not by much.
Of course, this was the real Pokémon World. Base stats and in‑game numbers didn't dictate everything, but they still made for a decent reference.
Pheromosa was a high‑speed, high‑attack burst‑type Pokémon, and defense was absolutely its weak point.
"Lusamine, you catch it." Damian glanced at it a couple of times, then turned to her.
"Me?" Lusamine blinked, then her eyes instantly burned with manic excitement.
"Yeah."
Damian looked off into the distance, where a cloud of dust was rapidly surging toward them.
"Alright!" Lusamine could barely contain herself. An Ultra Ball appeared in her hand.
Aether Foundation did in fact have Beast Balls specifically designed for Ultra Beasts, but they hadn't managed to manufacture them yet.
Beast Balls had a "special" capture bonus against Ultra Beasts, similar to how Dive Balls worked better on Water‑type Pokémon, or how Leaden Balls were better for especially heavy ones.
But that didn't mean a normal Poké Ball couldn't catch an Ultra Beast—it just had a lower success rate than a Beast Ball.
And that proved true here. Lusamine had to throw six Ultra Balls before she finally captured the Pheromosa.
Her entire body was trembling with excitement.
She'd successfully caught an Ultra Beast!
"They're here."
Damian wasn't looking at Lusamine. His gaze stayed fixed on the horizon.
Multiple plumes of dust were barreling their way, and soon a group of figures skidded to a halt not far off.
One Pheromosa after another stepped forward, slowly closing in and surrounding Damian and Lusamine. The malice in their eyes made one's scalp prickle.
Obviously, they'd been drawn here by the explosion from that earlier Shadow Ball.
"H‑how can there be so many?"
Even Lusamine, obsessed with Ultra Beasts as she was, unconsciously edged closer to Damian. She stared, stunned, at the encroaching Pheromosa.
One, two, three, four…
There were nine Pheromosa in total.
Lusamine was completely floored.
"Dragonite…"
The thick, suffocating hostility radiating from the Ultra Beasts, the way those predator's eyes sized them up like prey, had the two rental Dragonite clutching each other and shaking.
These humanoid cockroach spirits looked terrifying.
(Terrified.jpg)
"Damian, what do we do now?"
Lusamine pulled out two Poké Balls, a chill creeping into her chest. They were badly outnumbered here.
"What do we do? Simple. Just beat them all up."
Damian bared his teeth in a low chuckle, his eyes locking onto one particular Pheromosa perched on a stone pillar to the left. His smile widened.
This one looked very different from the others—gray, luxurious "hair" hanging behind it, its upper body white while its lower body was pitch‑black. Its long, slender legs looked like they were wrapped in black stockings.
It was a Shiny Pheromosa!