Lusamine collapsed right after whispering her warning.
"Mother, don't worry, everything's alright now!" This was the first time Lillie had ever seen Lusamine look so terrified. But with Solgaleo here, they could escape Ultra Space anytime.
She turned to Solgaleo, "Nebby, take us home!"
Solgaleo circled back and summoned its power, tearing open an Ultra Wormhole leading to their world.
Caleb ordered Mew2 and Zapdos to cover the rear. Lillie and Gladion carried the unconscious Lusamine and leapt through.
Silvally followed closely behind.
"We're leaving too!" Caleb called to Mewtwo and Zapdos.
They nodded.
But just then, something unexpected happened. A beam of unknown origin struck Solgaleo midair.
Caught off guard, Solgaleo lost control and the wormhole vanished.
'What was that?!' Caleb instantly tensed.
He suddenly realized that the surrounding Ultra Beasts had stopped attacking at some point! Before he could warn Mew2 and Zapdos, a blinding flash erupted in front of him and a crushing grip locked around his throat.
This was Mewtwo? No, it wasn't either of his Mewtwos...
Mew2 immediately became frantic: >..Let him go!..<
It unleashed a storm of psychic energy, hammering the stranger with relentless force.
But the unknown Mewtwo merely gave it a cold glance and vanished with Teleport, dodging every strike.
Immediately after, the Ultra Beasts surrounding the area automatically parted, revealing a path.
A man in a black suit, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's, stepped calmly through the gap.
"Cough– cough!" Caleb was thrown to the ground, gasping. He looked up and froze at the face before him.
'Giovanni?! Impossible! Didn't I kill him? Unless…'
Caleb's mind clicked.
This was Ultra Space. And Giovanni appearing here could only mean one thing… Team Rainbow Rocket.
"Your performance has been… quite impressive," Giovanni said, lips curling into a smirk.
Caleb didn't respond. His mind raced, calculating his position and silently communicating with Mew2.
Giovanni had one Mewtwo, while Caleb had both Mew2 and Zapdos.
'Let's take him down.'
The moment the command was sent, Caleb and Mew2 swapped positions.
During the swap, Mew2 was enveloped in intense white light, instantly Mega Evolving into its X form. Then, it threw a punch directly at Giovanni.
But the expected victory didn't come.
The stranger Mewtwo, as if foreseeing the attack, Mega Evolved instantly and stepped in front of Giovanni, catching the punch with one hand. Its eyes locked onto Mew2 with icy disdain.
It had used Future Sight, a psychic move that predicts and counters attacks.
No words were exchanged. Invisible hostility crackled between the two Mewtwos.
In the next second, they shot skyward.
Mega Mewtwo X vs Mega Mewtwo X!
Fists collided at speeds too fast for the eye to follow.
Meanwhile, Solgaleo and Zapdos flanked Caleb, shielding him.
But Giovanni remained utterly calm. He spoke matter-of-factly, "It seems all the so-called 'bosses' of this world have already been crushed. I thought I could use them… but now they're useless. What should I do, Savior?"
'He knows!' Caleb's pupils shrank.
That meant Team Rainbow Rocket had been in this world for a while already.
This Giovanni radiated a pressure the original never had.
Seeing Caleb's reaction, Giovanni chuckled, "Don't be nervous, Savior. I mean no harm. I admire strength. How about joining Team Rainbow Rocket?"
Caleb kept a straight face and feigned ignorance, "What organization is Team Rainbow Rocket?"
At the same time, he mentally ordered Zapdos to strike.
Giovanni currently had no other Pokémon with him. With Zapdos's speed, he simply couldn't react in time.
Caleb thought so, and so acted.
Zapdos blurred, his body sheathed in lightning, streaking toward Giovanni like a bolt of light.
Just as his beak was about to pierce Giovanni's chest, Zapdos froze midair, as if time itself had stopped.
From the shadows, a gaunt man emerged. Floating beside him was a massive blue Pokémon.
It was Dialga, the Temporal Pokémon.
Cyrus glanced at Caleb with cold indifference, then turned to Giovanni and said, "Enough playing. It's time to begin the plan."
Giovanni grinned, but ignored Cyrus. He looked at Caleb and said, "Your refusal is truly disappointing. But don't worry. I won't kill you. I'll let you watch as Team Rainbow Rocket conquers this world."
As soon as he finished speaking, several more figures materialized out of thin air.
Maxie, accompanied by Groudon.
Archie, accompanied by Kyogre.
Ghetsis, accompanied by Kyurem.
And Lysandre, accompanied by Yveltal...
All of them appeared simultaneously in the Ultra Space.
Caleb's heart sank.
Giovanni turned away, not even recalling his Mewtwo. He simply said to Cyrus, "You handle this."
Cyrus gave a slight nod, his hollow eyes fixed on Caleb.
The other bosses followed Giovanni and vanished from the space using unknown technology.
...
Meanwhile, in Alola, above Aether Paradise… Or rather, Team Rocket Castle, as it was now called.
Giovanni looked down at the high-tech facility and laughed, "Aether Foundation, with your interdimensional tech… your science now belongs to Team Rainbow Rocket."
Faba, former Aether Foundation branch chief, opened the main gate with a bow, "As you wish, Lord Giovanni!"
Half a month ago, right after Lusamine was dragged into Ultra Space and Lillie and Gladion set off to find the Sun Flute, Team Rainbow Rocket had descended upon Alola.
Faba, lured by power and ambition, had welcomed them and helped them seize the Foundation.
In the weeks since, Giovanni had used teleportation tech to capture Ultra Beasts, assembling a massive Ultra Beast army.
A male researcher watched this scene with concern and asked, "Is this really the right thing to do?"
"Fool," Faba sneered, eyes burning with fanaticism, "This is for our future!"