Paldea region, a small back alley in Levincia.
The figures of Lucas, Victini, and Mewtwo appeared out of thin air in the deserted alley.
Using Mewtwo's psychic power, they could cross the distance between cities in an instant. In Lucas's impression, even powerful Psychic-type Pokémon couldn't achieve teleportation over such long distances—let alone warp across half the planet.
Legendary Pokémon really are on a different level.
What a convenient mode of transportation. I want one.
Lucas glanced at Mewtwo, whose whole body was hidden beneath a black robe, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He exchanged a look with Mewtwo—who had no idea Lucas was eyeing it like a coveted ride—and headed for the street.
This was one of the most prosperous cities in Paldea. Giant screens lined the streets, playing ads for the latest luxury goods. In a sense, it felt more like the human cities buried deep in Lucas's memories where he once lived.
Victini lay sprawled atop Lucas's head, curiously taking in everything around.
Victini felt that neither Eindoak Town nor Los Platos could compare to the bustle here. Only Castelia City and Nimbasa City, which it and Lucas had once hurried through, could rival this.
Occasionally, passersby glanced curiously at the Victini on Lucas's head. They just thought it was very cute; no one screamed about spotting a rare Pokémon and crowded around.
Naturally so. This world keeps discovering new Pokémon. An ordinary person might only recognize a few dozen to a few hundred species in their entire life.
Even authoritative Pokémon Professors wouldn't claim to know every Pokémon, let alone ordinary folks who aren't even Trainers.
Compared to Victini, Mewtwo drew more attention—there aren't many people who go out swaddled tight in a black cloak. Some thought it was cosplay, gave it a look, and moved on, muttering inwardly how odd it was to dress like that in broad daylight.
Lucas and Mewtwo shared an understanding: being looked at was better than revealing their true forms on a crowded street, getting filmed by someone, uploaded to the internet, and then discovered by Team Rocket—who would come to Paldea like sharks smelling blood.
Uneventfully, Lucas brought his two very not-ordinary Pokémon into Levincia's largest department store.
On the second floor lay one of Lucas's goals for this trip, a shop named Delibird Pouches.
Seeing the sign, Mewtwo commented through telepathy, face cool, "You humans come up with such strange names."
As if remembering all the even weirder shop names from the way over, the face hidden under Mewtwo's hood tightened further.
Lucas gave an awkward smile and, under the curious yet hesitant gaze of a sales clerk (hesitant because of Mewtwo), headed straight to the Poké Ball counter.
Not just the standard red-and-white Poké Balls, Great Balls, Ultra Balls, and Luxury Balls—there were all sorts of specialty Balls here too, including Apricorn Balls.
According to the descriptions, these were procured specially from Azalea Town, which explained the markup.
But even then, prices could only go so high. There are Poké Ball factories all over the world, and the market is already set. Only a few specialty types run pricier.
Lucas told Victini, "Pick one you like."
Victini's eyes lit up. It fluttered its little wings, excitedly making its choice.
But the dozen-odd types made Victini's eyes spin—it thought they all looked good.
Seeing its indecision, Lucas just smiled and didn't interfere, browsing on his own.
There really were a lot of types.
Beyond the standard Balls and Luxury Balls, there were Apricorn Balls from Azalea like Level Balls, Moon Balls, Lure Balls, Friend Balls, Love Balls, Fast Balls, and Heavy Balls in stock.
Regardless of their effects, Lucas thought the Moon Ball's look really suited Umbreon, while the Love Ball fit cute Fairy-types—like Sylveon. Same for the Love Ball next to it.
Heavy Balls were for a man's romance—big-bodied Pokémon. In the anime, Lure Balls somehow paired well with Totodile.
As for Friend Balls, Lucas remembered they helped Pokémon bond more closely with their Trainer.
On a whim, Lucas picked up a Friend Ball. He didn't intend for Victini to use it.
It was just a strange intuition telling him he might need it someday.
Standing to the side quietly observing the environment and the passersby and Pokémon, Mewtwo suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation.
It turned toward the source—only to find nothing, just Lucas admiring a fresh green Poké Ball in his hand.
A false alarm?
Mewtwo knit its brow, puzzled.
After agonizing a while, Victini finally chose the Ball it liked.
It pointed at a Ball half white on the bottom, black on top with gold below, and a red V-shaped emblem, calling out to Lucas.
"V-Vi~ Vi-ni!"
"That's… a Level Ball?"
Lucas followed Victini's little finger, then froze—yet also found it quite reasonable.
As if on impulse, Mewtwo translated, "It says the emblem on that Ball looks like it, so it likes that Ball."
As if to prove Mewtwo's translation, Victini flashed its signature V gesture and beamed a radiant smile.
"Alright, I get it."
Lucas nodded gently, rubbed Victini's head, and picked up the lone pristine Level Ball, then took it and the Friend Ball to the register and paid.
A bit pricey, but no big deal.
Leaving the shop, Lucas headed down to the basement and bought a lot of ingredients.
Now switched into its new Ball, Victini hugged the Level Ball the whole way, face full of excitement and joy.
This was V-kid's very own Poké Ball—one of a kind!
At that moment, Mewtwo spoke: "Let's head back."
Lucas paused, looking at Mewtwo in confusion. "That's it? Not going to browse a bit more?"
Mewtwo shook its hooded head. "You've done what you came for. I've confirmed what I needed to. There's no point staying. Besides…"
Mewtwo glanced toward a corner, where two people—probably mall security—were peeking at them, likely thinking the outfit was inappropriate and discussing how to politely ask them to leave.
Since Mewtwo put it that way, Lucas didn't insist. "Alright, so how do we get back?"
Mewtwo pointed at a bend. "No cameras there, and no one around. You're carrying a lot—let's just teleport over there."
Lucas nodded without objection.
The moment they rounded the corner, a faint spatial ripple spread, and Lucas, Victini, Mewtwo, and a pile of paid-for groceries vanished.
At that moment, from a little ways off, a streamer named Iono approached, selfie stick in hand. She froze mid-step, shark-like little teeth showing as she stared blankly.
She looked at the empty corner, full of doubt. "Huh, was that the new Champion…?"
Before Iono could think further, her chat exploded, scrolling by like crazy—mostly asking who the "new Champion" was.
With Nemona's help, Iono's channel had surpassed six digits of followers in no time, and it was still growing.
Realizing her slip, Iono panicked inwardly—but then thought better of it. That champion battle video buried among her thousand uploads hadn't been deleted. Didn't that mean the League tacitly approved her discussing it?
["If you want to know who the new Champion is, check Iono's post, video No. 405~"]
["Iono's relationship with the new Champion?"]
["He's the new Champion, duh, of course Iono lost~"]
["You want Iono to battle the new Champion again?"]
["Don't make Iono do that~!"]
…
Night draped over the sky, and the farm that had just hosted a raucous party fell quiet.
With Politoed and the others' Bubble Beam helping wash up, Lucas quickly finished the greasy dishes, stacked them neatly in the kitchen, wiped sweat from his brow, and muttered.
"Feels like the parties are getting a bit frequent… better dial it back a little…"
Then, like a ghost, Mewtwo drifted up behind Lucas and suddenly spoke. "Are you free? There's something I want to discuss."
Lucas's heart leapt, then he relaxed seeing it was Mewtwo. He complained, "Don't sneak up on people without a sound—you'll scare them."
"I see. Understood."
Mewtwo's telepathy was very flat; it was hard to tell if it took that to heart.
Lucas and Mewtwo sat in the living room lit by a single lamp—and found Delibird already waiting there.
Lucas: ?
Facing Lucas's questioning look, Mewtwo calmly explained everything: how it and Delibird reached Shamouti Island, sensed an unknown danger, met the sage Slowking, and learned the island's prophecy.
They came back to ask Lucas what he thought—after all, Lucas was the only human Mewtwo trusted.
After a long silence, Lucas, face oddly solemn, asked, "When you scanned the island, did you spot a boy wearing a Pikachu hat?"
"A boy wearing a Pikachu hat?"
Mewtwo frowned. The question rang a bell, but why was Lucas asking about that boy? What was special about him?
Though it didn't understand, Mewtwo still shook its head. "At least during the time I and Delibird were on Shamouti, there was no sign of him."
Hearing that, Lucas fell into thought.
As a Psychic-type, Mewtwo had strong danger intuition. What could make its nerves tighten like that—likely only that person's presence.
But by Mewtwo's account, the seas around Shamouti were calm for now, and the three Legendary Birds were staying home—no signs yet of a nature imbalance.
So… had the plot not reached the starting point?
Lucas wasn't sure, but he knew the root cause—that was enough.
Was there any need to hide it?
Lucas felt that to protect this world where everyone could live in peace, sometimes you had to be decisive.
"Can you track down Lawrence III? He's a crazed collector. If we can find him, we can stop this from the very beginning."
Mewtwo's expression was placid. "Why are you so certain, when you're half a planet away?"
Lucas didn't dodge Mewtwo's gaze. "Does that matter?"
Mewtwo looked deeply at him, recalling that fleeting sense of déjà vu, and chose to believe Lucas.
Mewtwo nodded. "It doesn't. But if I have to search remotely for that guy's trail, infiltrating Kanto's surveillance will be difficult. There won't be results tonight. You should sleep."
"Alright."
…
Not long before this.
On the other side of the planet, shortly after dawn.
A massive airship was flying above the skies around Shamouti Island.
Lavishly decorated and filled with countless collectibles, the ship's onboard AI announced in an emotionless female voice:
"Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno—detected life signatures of three special-species Legendary Pokémon. Please advise."
A green-haired man with elegant movements pondered a moment, then smiled. "Capture Moltres. As the source of the Sacred Flame for the Kanto and Johto League Conferences, I'm curious to see its performance."
His name was Lawrence III, a somewhat famed collector in Kanto. Because his tastes were a bit unusual, he was ostracized by others.
But for a man of immense wealth who had even built this gigantic airship, that was nothing.
"It's only collecting living Pokémon to appreciate up close. Such a bunch of philistines who don't understand art."
Lawrence III shook his head, clearing those thoughts.
Now, he was stepping into the climax of his career as a collector.
The Fire Guardian, Ice Guardian, Thunder Guardian, and the Sea Guardian—he would collect them all as his treasures!
Others' opinions didn't matter. If someone wanted to visit his collection and behaved politely, he'd be happy to oblige.
Arms spread in intoxicated delight, Lawrence III gazed at Fire Island drawing ever closer, face full of certainty.
And as he expected, after just a few minutes of engagement, Moltres was trapped in a special electromagnetic cage, its face twisted in pain.
Looking down at Moltres from above, Lawrence III smiled faintly. "However special, it's still a Pokémon. And being a Pokémon, it can't defy this technological marvel of an airship."
"But my ultimate goal is the Sea Guardian said to dwell in the ocean's deepest depths. You three are merely along the way."
Shaking his head, Lawrence III turned the airship back up to altitude and, with AI assistance, began preparations to capture the Thunder Guardian.
At the same time, with Moltres captured, the exquisite balance among the three islands began to falter.
Deep beneath the sea, a noble being sleeping soundly snapped its eyes open.
Starting from Shamouti, the surrounding seas grew shrouded in dark clouds. Gale winds howled, as though heaven and earth themselves were enraged.
The boat carrying Pikachu, the boy, and his companions had no choice but to make landfall on Shamouti Island.