Eight legendary Pokémon! And judging from Lucas's attitude, he had picked them out casually, as if choosing snacks from a shelf!
It wasn't just the still–young Iris who was stunned. Even the calm and mature trainers like Alder, Leon, and Steven couldn't help but feel genuinely shaken.
These people were the absolute elite—champions who already had their own pride and convictions. Their desire for legendary Pokémon was far weaker than that of an ordinary trainer.
And yet… even they couldn't stop themselves from marveling at the sight of a box full of legends. As for the power of these legendary Pokémon, Lucas had already demonstrated that perfectly in battle.
"Are these… really all legendary Pokémon?"
Iris couldn't suppress the doubt in her voice. A whole box packed with Poké Balls—how was this not shocking? It practically defied common sense.
"They're absolutely genuine, okay? You can accuse me of being a bad person if you want, but you cannot question my credibility."
Lucas shot Iris a look, clearly annoyed. Sure, he might have been a little shameless…
But Ultra Beasts were classified as legends!
Green and Marnie stayed silent. They exchanged a look, and then—emmm…
Actually, never mind. Better to say nothing.
"Nihilego, Buzzwole, Pheromosa, Poipole, Celesteela, Xurkitree, Kartana… and Guzzlord…"
"Guzzlord?"
Cynthia softly read out the labels written on each Poké Ball—or rather, each Poké Ball with a sticker stuck onto it.
Yes… stickers.
Every Poké Ball had a label stuck on, purely for easy identification.
After all, Lucas had captured these Pokémon mostly for collection purposes, and wasn't this moment the reason he had collected them? Of course, he needed to make sure the "customers" could tell which is which.
But when Cynthia read the Poké Ball in the corner, she paused.
"Isn't this… an Ultra Beast?"
Iris also froze. Wasn't Guzzlord the same Pokémon Lucas had sent out against her?
And he had personally told her it was an Ultra Beast.
Cynthia stared at Lucas with complicated eyes. Ultra Beasts were still shrouded in mystery, but… Ultra Beasts counted as legendary Pokémon?
Steven and the others looked at Lucas with equally strange expressions.
"That's correct. It is an Ultra Beast," Lucas said without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"And who told all of you that Ultra Beasts aren't legendary Pokémon?" he countered calmly.
"Uh… well…"
"I can tell you very clearly: Ultra Beasts are legendary Pokémon. They aren't on the same level as Reshiram or Rayquaza, but in terms of species strength, they're absolutely not weaker than Articuno or Suicune!"
Lucas's tone was casual, so calm that it revealed no guilt at all.
And honestly—he wasn't wrong.
High-tier legends were one thing, but Ultra Beasts definitely weren't inferior to the lesser legendary trios. Lucas could swear on his conscience about that.
"I see…"
Steven nodded slowly. He had already sensed something was abnormal during the fight—Guzzlord's strength was simply too strange.
Legendary Pokémon weren't just rare. Their inherent physicality was far superior to ordinary Pokémon due to their species characteristics.
If that was the case…
Steven looked at the Poké Balls deep in thought. It really did seem viable, didn't it?
For a trainer, what was the most important thing? Strength, of course!
And if one wanted to increase their strength, then gifted and high–potential Pokémon were essential. But at the level they were operating at, finding a Pokémon that met their standards was extremely difficult.
The stronger the trainer, the stricter their criteria.
After becoming champion, Steven had only captured one new Pokémon over the past two years—an extremely rare shiny Beldum, which he had finally raised into his current ace, his shiny Metagross.
That alone showed just how few Pokémon could satisfy them.
As for Lance—why was he nicknamed the "Doduo"? It wasn't because of his resources. In the real world, Lance had more resources than anyone could ever use.
The truth was simply that Lance's standards were too high. Ordinary Dragon-types no longer appealed to him.
"Aren't you going to introduce them?"
Leon asked with genuine curiosity as he looked at the eight Poké Balls. Except for Guzzlord, he didn't know anything about the other seven Ultra Beasts.
And he was very interested in them.
He had already been shocked by Guzzlord's power during Lucas's battle with Iris.
"Of course. Marnie, go ahead and give Champion Leon an introduction to the Ultra Beasts."
Lucas smiled and turned toward Marnie.
Naturally, an explanation was necessary. How could Leon choose if he only had names to go by?
"Nihilego. Rock and Poison-type. Its strengths lie in special attack and special defense. Ability: Beast Boost. Height: one point five meters…"
"Pheromosa. Bug and Fighting-type. Extremely fast and incredibly strong in both physical attack and special attack. Ability…"
"Guzzlord. Dark and Dragon-type. Its strength lies in its absurdly high stamina…"
"Celesteela…"
Marnie's delicate expression remained calm as she spoke. Her voice was crisp, clear, and provided a surprisingly thorough introduction to all eight Ultra Beasts.
She didn't mention any weaknesses, of course. Weaknesses weren't something one casually advertised.
Besides, this much information was already more than enough.
"All of these Ultra Beasts have their own advantages, and I guarantee their quality. I personally captured every single one, so you can trust them," Lucas said with a light smile. "Just choose one. But once you choose, no exchanges, got it?"
"It's… such a rich selection that it's almost impossible to choose~"
After listening to Marnie's introduction, Leon let out a heartfelt sigh.
Damn it… why did every single one of them sound good? What was he supposed to do if he wanted all of them?
Steven, meanwhile, was staring intensely at Celesteela's Poké Ball.
A Steel-type Ultra Beast. Ten meters tall. A monstrous living fortress.
He was already in love.
"Uuuhhhh…" Iris clenched her handkerchief, eyes shimmering with tears as she stared at Poipole and Guzzlord.
As a Dragon-type lover, the temptation of those two was too much for her.
Not only that—she had already experienced Guzzlord's terrifying strength firsthand. Poipole, meanwhile, was the only Ultra Beast that could evolve. How could such a unique Pokémon possibly be weak?
Raihan was no better. He, too, was glued to those two Dragon-related Ultra Beasts.
Cynthia looked more restrained, but the corner of her eyes kept drifting toward Pheromosa…
Alder: "…"
Watching all these top-tier trainers struggle, Green tried her best not to laugh. But the pride in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Well… it made sense. What elite trainer could resist powerful and mysterious Ultra Beasts?
Besides, Ultra Beasts came from other dimensions!
Which meant that once you owned one… there was almost no chance of anyone in the world owning the same Pokémon.
Was that not a kind of honor?
"So? Have you decided?" Lucas finally asked after giving Leon time.
Leon frowned deeply, his gaze drifting again and again over the Ultra Beasts.
Why was this harder than fighting Lance?!
"…I've decided. I'll take this one."
After careful consideration, Leon finally fixed his eyes on the Poké Ball containing Xurkitree.
A pure Electric-type Ultra Beast.
Leon was a well-rounded trainer who did not specialize in any particular type. At the moment, he actually lacked an Electric-type powerhouse. Xurkitree's addition would greatly increase the flexibility of his team.
Not to mention—according to Marnie's introduction, Xurkitree was an extremely aggressive offensive Pokémon.
"Xurkitree, huh? A very good choice."
Lucas raised his brows and handed the Poké Ball to Leon.
"Make sure to train it well. Xurkitree's special attack is absolutely monstrous. Once you get used to it, you'll understand."
Indeed, Xurkitree was one of the most extreme Ultra Beasts.
Ultra Beasts were all extremely specialized:
Guzzlord's absurd HP, Pheromosa's incredible dual attack stats, Naganadel's blazing speed, etc.
And Xurkitree?
Its special attack stat reached an unbelievable 173.
Yes—173.
Xurkitree was practically a walking artillery cannon.
Of course…
None of its other stats even broke 100.
But that was just how Ultra Beasts were.
If you could properly utilize their strengths, they were incredibly powerful.
"Naturally. I always train my Pokémon with full dedication," Leon replied, accepting the Poké Ball with a smile.
He genuinely loved Pokémon.
He may not have chosen one before, but now that he had—he would raise this Ultra Beast with everything he had.
And no matter what, Xurkitree was still a legendary Pokémon. He had traded crucial intelligence about Calyrex for this! Of course he would train it into one of his main forces.
"So, what about the rest of you? Any intelligence to trade?"
Lucas closed the box and looked toward the others.
"Uuugh… I don't have any…" Iris grabbed her hair in frustration.
She wanted one so badly! But she had no legendary information! Black and White Kyurem were gone, and she had no clue about the Swords of Justice either.
Cynthia regretfully shook her head as well.
As for Sinnoh's Creation Trio… Lucas didn't seem interested.
"If you get any information in the future, be sure to contact me."
Lucas wasn't surprised. He even considered adding another Xurkitree back into the box…
But with the others still watching, he decided to wait until he got home.
"Make sure you save Celesteela for me!"
Steven suddenly spoke with great seriousness, staring straight at Lucas.
He wanted Celesteela. Badly.
Legendary information? Easy.
When he got back, he would mobilize his Steven Stone Mining Corporation, Wallace, and the entire Devon conglomerate to search for Groudon and Kyogre.
Those two were walking natural disasters. Any day they might start fighting again and bring ruin to Hoenn. Better to let Lucas capture them.
Would this make Lucas even stronger?
Please. Lucas was already unbeatable.
Even if he caught both Groudon and Kyogre, what difference would it make?
And the current Lucas wasn't with Team Rocket anymore. Working with him had been perfectly fine so far.
"No problem."
Lucas blinked and agreed without hesitation.
If he remembered correctly… he still had five more Celesteela in storage.
Yes… Steven could form an entire team of Celesteela if he wanted.
(End of Chapter)