The commotion caused by Gigantamax Butterfree was massive, startling all the Pokémon in the western region into fleeing en masse in the opposite direction...
Caleb turned his head to glance at the Pokémon rushing past him, his brow slightly furrowed.
Luna suggested, "Should we talk somewhere else?"
Only then did Caleb look up at her and ask, "Why aren't you with the others?"
Luna rolled her eyes and countered, "Would you team up with arrogant bossy idiots who don't have brains?"
Caleb was amused and chuckled, "Fair point."
Luna glanced at the Dragonite standing guard beside him and asked, "You came here to investigate the Gigantamax Pokémon in this area, right?"
Caleb raised an eyebrow slightly, "You noticed too?"
Luna hummed in affirmation and voluntarily shared the intel she had gathered, "I received a hidden quest from a Roserade. The reward was a clue fragment for the main quest."
As she spoke, she pulled up her interface to show him:
[Clue Fragment 1: The method to leave this Instance is to liberate this island...]
Luna mused, "'Liberate this island'... it's pretty clear it refers to defeating the Gigantamax Pokémon that appeared here for some unknown reason. From what I've observed, these Pokémon revert to their normal forms during the day."
Caleb scanned the text on the interface and asked, "Why tell me this?"
Luna smiled faintly, two adorable dimples appearing on her cheeks, "Obviously, to team up with you!"
As if worried he might refuse, she quickly added, "I can give you intel on that Butterfree! My Pokémon is a Pachirisu. It can provide support from the backline!"
A blue-and-white squirrel-like Pokémon poked its head out from Luna's hoodie pocket, clambering up her arm to perch on her shoulder. Together, trainer and Pokémon fixed pleading eyes on Caleb.
Caleb was thoroughly charmed. After some thought, he realized he had no reason to refuse.
In this Scenario, all players shared the same main quest. As long as one player defeated the Gigantamax Pokémon and liberated the island, every other player's main quest would automatically be completed as well.
Of course, those who contributed nothing would receive significantly reduced rewards, or even none at all.
With that in mind, Caleb readily agreed and took the opportunity to inspect the Pachirisu's stats with Scout:
[Pachirisu: Lv. 78]
It was several levels higher than Dragonite.
After defeating Dynamax Mamoswine, Dragonite had only leveled up from 65 to 66.
Luna also used Scout on Dragonite.
Noticing Caleb's puzzled expression, she explained, "Levels don't mean much. They're just the Infinite World's way of quantifying a Pokémon's surface strength for our reference. Some Pokémon might have high levels but lack battle experience or a strong bond with their trainer. Even against lower-level opponents, they'd struggle to gain an advantage."
Here, an awkward smile crept onto her face, she continued, "My Pachirisu was just caught in the previous Instance. Don't let its level fool you... it's all from Experience Candies. I was planning to use this Instance to properly train and bond with it…"
'Who knew this Instance would pull this crap, throwing five or six Gigantamax Pokémon at us to screw us over,' Luna grumbled internally.
Caleb's expression cleared with understanding.
Luna said, "Follow me. Let's head to my place first."
"Sure."
Caleb and Dragonite trailed behind Luna as they navigated a winding path, crossed a bubbling swamp, and arrived before a waterfall.
Without hesitation, Luna and Pachirisu plunged straight through the cascading water.
Dragonite stepped forward, then used its right wing to shield against the waterfall before turning back to call out to Caleb.
Caleb walked in and surveyed the surroundings, commenting, "A 'Water Curtain Cave', nice."
Luna wrung out her soaked hair and grinned, "The Roserade that gave me the hidden quest led me here. People who love Pokémon usually have pretty good luck."
Caleb agreed with that sentiment. Nodding, he sat down on a rock with Dragonite and said, "Let's get down to business."
Luna's expression turned serious. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she settled onto a smooth rounded stone and began, "I arrived in this area two days ago. It was just getting dark when I got here, and that Gigantamax Butterfree appeared, rampaging out of control."
"...I found a safe spot and hid until dawn. Then I followed Butterfree and saw it revert to its normal form. After that, I tracked it to its nesting grounds." She looked up at Caleb and asked, "Should we attack it before it Gigantamaxes?"
Just then, the Pachirisu on her shoulder suddenly perked up, its gaze snapping toward the cave entrance.
Something seemed to have flickered past the exit.
Pachirisu let out a puzzled chirp, but Luna, who was deep in thought, didn't hear it. Seeing this, Pachirisu simply flicked its blue-and-white tail and scampered over to investigate.
Caleb glanced at Pachirisu but didn't pay it much mind. Shaking his head, he replied, "I wouldn't recommend that. That Butterfree clearly isn't aware of what it does at night. Besides, more than that, I'm more interested in how it gained the ability to Gigantamax in the first place."
Luna frowned slightly, mulling over his words. Suddenly, she recalled something she had found on the beach their first day and said, "I remember... before we reached the shore that day when Mamoswine was chasing us, you were fighting a Gigantamax Pokémon, right?"
The topic shift was abrupt. Caleb paused for a second before nodding, "Yeah, it was a Gigantamax Lapras."
But Luna hadn't seen Lapras when she arrived and asked curiously, "Did you defeat it?"
Caleb: "…"
This topic was a bit awkward...
Against that Gigantamax Lapras, he and Dragonite had been utterly outmatched, nearly drowning in the process.
Keeping a straight face, Caleb replied, "No. For some reason, it just swam off into the sea mid-battle. Right after that, you guys showed up."
Luna made an understanding noise and didn't press further. Instead, she said, "So far, three Gigantamax/Dynamax Pokémon have appeared before us: Lapras in the sea, Mamoswine in the forest, and Butterfree here..."
"...Let's make a bold assumption... we can divide this island into six sections, each with its own Gigantamax Pokémon. Our next move is to travel to each region, defeat them, and free the Pokémon they've oppressed."
Caleb already knew this much. Nodding, he added, "We can cross Mamoswine off the list. I've already defeated it..."