"UB-02: Absorption? What is that?"
Listening to Anabel's question, Moon was a bit confused, as it didn't sound like a name for something, but rather a code name for some kind of entity.
Sun and Lillie, who were beside her, had also never heard of it before. Hoshino, however, knew what it referred to, but he waited for her to speak first.
Seeing that the others didn't understand, Anabel explained, "UB is an abbreviation for Ultra Beast!"
"Ultra Beast?"
"That's right! I heard that you encountered a very large mosquito last night and fought with it. That was an Ultra Beast!"
With that explanation, the group finally understood. At this point, Lillie seemed to have a question and raised her hand, asking, "Um… Miss Anabel, may I ask a question?"
"Yes, ask away."
"What exactly are Ultra Beasts? Are they Pokémon? Or are they other creatures?"
"That… I'll tell you after you've answered my questions first."
Anabel deliberately kept them in suspense. If she explained everything first, wouldn't that make her passive? She always preferred to be more proactive…
A moment later, the three of them each recounted their experiences. Moon's memory stopped at the moment she ran away; when she woke up, it was already dawn. Sun, needless to say, was knocked out directly by her.
Lillie had experienced a bit more, but it was limited to Cyclizar being hit into the sky by that rampaging strange Pokémon with a Dark Pulse, and then the sunlight falling.
After listening, Anabel turned her gaze to Hoshino, the last one, waiting for his response.
Fortunately, he was an old hand; he said what needed to be said and left out what didn't. As for where Lunala went in the end, he truly didn't know.
Now that the whole story was clear and many details had been heard, Anabel closed her eyes, pondered for a moment, then opened them and looked at the group, saying, "Although the handling wasn't perfect, I must admit, you all did very well!"
"Very well…"
Moon didn't quite know what to say. She had been practically unconscious the entire time. If Hoshino hadn't returned to the campsite to find them missing and then brought people over, they probably would have been completely dead by then.
Seeing her expression, Anabel's lips curved slightly, and she continued, "Just now, this little girl among you asked me what Ultra Beasts are, right? Well, I'll tell you now."
"…"
Except for Hoshino, everyone listened intently. Anabel then explained, "Whether Ultra Beasts are Pokémon or not is still up for debate."
"When they pass through an Ultra Wormhole, which is what you referred to as the net-like passage, and come to our world, they carry an Ultra Aura!"
"According to our research, this aura is similar to the Totem Aura possessed by the Totems in the Alola Region, and they can sense each other. That's why that Vikavolt appeared last night."
As Anabel recounted these things, she didn't notice that Lillie's expression seemed to change, but Hoshino, standing nearby, did notice…
At this moment, Sun, who was listening attentively, raised his hand and asked, "Why is Totem Aura similar to Ultra Aura? Could it be that Totems are also Ultra Beasts?"
Hearing this, Moon burst out laughing, and Anabel also smiled and shook her head, saying, "We haven't figured that out either, but the reason Ultra Beasts are called Ultra Beasts is because they are anomalies in our world!"
"Anomalies?"
"That's right! It would be fine if they were just ordinary outsiders, but Ultra Beasts are simply too dangerous. You fought that UB-02: Absorption last night, so you should know that its proboscis can be inserted into living organisms to suck out nutrients and stamina, right?"
"Hiss! Could it be that…"
"Yes!"
Anabel nodded and continued, "Ultra Beasts are that terrifying. We don't know their names, so we can only use code names. Code names are usually based on their physical or ability characteristics."
"However, a normal UB-02: Absorption should be red and black. The one you encountered, with red and green coloring, might be a special type, and stronger than the usual ones. It's just a pity that we didn't capture it."
Upon hearing this, Moon instantly realized something and asked, "So it's still in Alola?"
Anabel nodded and replied, "That's right. So I hope this matter, and everything we've discussed, won't be spread. Can you do that?"
"Don't worry, we won't say anything!"
Although they didn't know why she would deliberately reveal these things, the group wasn't foolish and naturally understood the seriousness of the matter.
They were then released, and the room instantly fell silent. However, the smile on Anabel's face gradually faded, returning to calmness.
She then suddenly took out her phone, operated it for a bit, and Hoshino's name and avatar appeared. After looking closely, she squinted, feeling that something was strange, but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
At this moment, a police officer not far away suddenly asked, "Are we just letting them all leave? After all, they're just students, what if…"
"It's fine. I feel these children have a lot of potential. Perhaps in the future, they can become powerful allies in our fight against Ultra Beasts."
"Understood, but what was that strange Pokémon they mentioned?"
"I don't know…"
Anabel shook her head. There was too little detailed information to confirm, but what could be known was that it was probably also an Ultra Beast!
"Since it's unclear for now, let's tentatively call it UB: Moon. It's highly likely that it's still in Alola. We'll change it once we find out more!"
"Understood!"
…
Outside, escorted by several police officers, the four of them left together. Moon and Sun were quietly discussing Ultra Beasts, while Hoshino looked at Lillie and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Wha… what's wrong?"
"You don't look too good. Did hearing about the Ultra Wormhole make you think of something?"
Hoshino didn't beat around the bush, going straight to the point. Lillie's body trembled imperceptibly upon hearing him, then she quietly replied, "I don't know, I just feel like it might be related to my lost memories."
"What's there to be afraid of? You need to know that you are a member of the Yorozuya. This is your strongest backing. That's enough!"
Hearing this, Lillie was slightly stunned. Thinking of the scene she witnessed last night, this was the first time she felt such a strange sense of security, it was very peculiar. She pursed her lips lightly and nodded, "Thank you!"
But the next second, Hoshino took his hand away and said casually, "I'm not concerned about you, I'm concerned about my employee. I need to quickly heal your psychological trauma, and then you can honestly get back to work for me."
"…"
Lillie instinctively clenched her fists. She was truly fed up with this guy; he was very serious when he needed to be, but also truly infuriating when he wanted to be.
…
The four quickly rejoined the main group. As expected, all students had been given a gag order, not to speak of what happened last night. However, it seemed only their group knew about the Ultra Beasts.
Due to this sudden situation, the outdoor survival course had to end early, just in time for the weekend, allowing them to go home and relax.
Hoshino was eager to go home and lie down for a while. He hadn't slept all night, and seeing Sprigatito sleeping on his shoulder, he almost fell asleep too.
Cyclizar had recovered and, as expected, had forgotten its memory of using Koraidon's power. However, other aspects were unaffected, and it was still the same as before, which greatly relieved everyone.
That afternoon, Hoshino declined Moon's invitation to a gathering, rode Cyclizar back to the Wanderer District, and then returned to the Yorozuya.
As soon as the front door opened, Sprigatito jumped off his shoulder and ran inside. Gengar and Cyclizar immediately followed, leaving a trail of footprints.
"…"
Hoshino almost lost his balance. They were chasing and playing around the house again. These guys really had a lot of energy. But Sprigatito was gradually integrating now, which was a good thing.
He then walked inside, calling out helplessly, "Keep it down, or Boss Slowking downstairs will come up and hit someone."
After speaking, he first put down his backpack and opened all the windows for ventilation.
He also carefully checked the house and found that nothing was missing. Then he went to prepare dinner, using the ingredients he bought on the way back, for a good meal.
In just one day, two dangerous creatures had escaped from the Ultra Wormhole, but he wasn't panicked, because it didn't matter; Bear God would take action.
However, there was less than a month left now, so he had to prepare well to feel at ease before heading to the Paldea Region.
…
In the evening, all the Pokémon were asleep. After finishing the household chores and listening to the noise of Kabukicho, Hoshino was ready to rest.
He lay in bed and then saw the message Lillie had sent. She had caught Vulpix, once again having her own Pokémon.
"That's really something…"
Hoshino smiled slightly, then typed "Congratulations" into the text box. Just as he was about to send it, he deleted it all and changed it to "Mm-hmm, but you can be happy after you catch your second one."
After sending the message, he didn't bother waiting for her reply, turned off the light, and went straight to sleep, quickly falling into a dream. The room became quiet again.
But just then, Sprigatito, sleeping in its cat bed, suddenly opened its eyes and stood up, though this time it wasn't trying to escape.
It touched the floor with its paw pads, making no sound, then jumped and landed softly on the bed, snuggling up next to Hoshino and rubbing against him.
"Meow~"
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