Continuing the exploration of the Ultra Wormhole—now with a new addition to their party of four—Kaito's expression has been a perpetual grin since the addition.
Glancing at the Zoroark somewhat reluctantly following them from behind, he can't help but anticipate a positive answer to his proposal.
The deal between the two primarily consisted of a few simple terms. The Zoroark, in exchange for being fed as long as she sticks with them and being able to leave whenever she wants, only had to give him a chance.
He has never been one to throw Pokéballs first and befriend later. His Metagross is a prime example, as Kaito kept them a free-roaming Beldum for years until they chose to enter a Pokéball independently.
Kaito, turning forward, looks at the notebook in his hands. A week of effort fills the ten most recent pages. Each page covers a new form of a previously known Pokémon, but he focuses on the most recent of his discoveries.
"A new variant of Typhlosion resembling a Fire and Ghost type. But the weird part is that Cyndaquil and Quilava—its pre-evolutions—look exactly the same as the ones I already know."
His face still wears that perpetual grin at every new discovery, but inwardly, a hint of worry has started to surface.
Even if Kaito hasn't been completely focused on it, he's still tried to find an exit—with nothing to show for his efforts.
'No matter how much I think of this place as a paradise of discovery, I'll need to leave eventually.'
A month quickly passes, and his notebook hasn't seen much use for the last fortnight. He's completed 18 new entries since entering the Wormhole. The exit is still nowhere to be found, but on the bright side, Zoroark is still following him around—visibly less nervous.
As the five of them sit around the fire in their cave base, Kaito holds the map he made of this new dimension.
'It took a while, but we finally circled the circumference.'
Yes, it appears the area they were transported to isn't infinite—only a rather large spherical zone with a dome-shaped translucent barrier, offering no way through, up, or down.
'If I had to make a rough guess, then the diameter is probably around 900 km (~559 miles). And our cave is near the outer edge.'
Kaito, finishing his quick calculations, moves his pen and makes a small circle in the very middle of the sphere.
"It's the best chance we've got..." he murmurs.
While his Pokémon are determined to get their trainer out of this place, Zoroark is far more unsure. While she doesn't dislike Kaito, she doesn't particularly like him either—not because of any fault of his, it's just part of her species' nature.
As he puts down the notebook, Kaito addresses them.
"All right, you all! We rest for today and head to the center tomorrow."
When most of them have fallen asleep, Zoroark gets up quietly and leaves the cave, thinking it's time for her to go.
As the snow crunches under her feet, another similar sound trails behind her.
Turning around and getting into a defensive position, she sees the one trailing her. Of course, it's Kaito.
He speaks first. "You're leaving?"
Sensing no other Pokémon near him, Zoroark nods after a short while.
Kaito can't help but give a sad smile. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."
With an underhand throw, he sends a few berries in Zoroark's direction and turns to leave.
"Those are for the road," are his parting words.
Zoroark stands there, holding the berries, staring as Kaito's back disappears into the night.
The next morning, he can't help but look slightly sad as he goes through his morning stretches.
"Sigh..." His gloomy mood almost radiates visible waves around him, as Gardevoir and Hatterene share helpless smiles. Metagross would probably look similar—if he were capable of facial expressions.
Finishing up his routine, Kaito stands and lightly slaps his cheeks, a more neutral expression now on his face, not in the mood for his usual excitement.
"All right, you three. Let's go." They board Metagross and glide toward the center at a steady pace.
Having traveled a third of the way, Kaito—sitting cross-legged—feels a tap on his shoulder. Turning his head to Gardevoir, he sees her slightly motion behind them with her chin while making a shushing gesture.
Raising an eyebrow, he discreetly looks behind him. The sight puts his usual excited grin back on.
"Sigh... you stupidly adorable fox." The thought escapes him in a whisper.
Kaito pats Metagross once, and they slow down slightly, allowing Gardevoir to teleport to Zoroark, touch her, and teleport them both back.
Zoroark, visibly exhausted from following them, turns her head, embarrassed at being found. Her illusions had succeeded in keeping her hidden until exhaustion overwhelmed her.
He hands her a few Sitrus berries and pats Metagross twice, speeding back up once again.
"I'm glad you're back," Kaito says, as Zoroark ignores him—presumably from embarrassment.
Now with the party of five reassembled, it's once again quite cramped. His Metagross is unnaturally large, at least 50% bigger than others of its kind, but with Kaito and Hatterene both being 2 meters (6'7") tall or over, along with the shorter Gardevoir and Zoroark, the space is barely enough.
The uncomfortable situation doesn't faze him though. 'There's three Psychic-types here, so it's totally safe.'
Once again cementing why he slightly prefers Psychic-types, even though he loves all Pokémon.
The full journey takes them two days, resting when needed. Kaito grows nervous the closer they get, fearing they might overshoot the center—his rough calculations aren't exactly precise.
But that fear is quickly erased, replaced by astonishment.
"Where's the snow?"
One second, they're flying through a snowy forest—the next, there's an abrupt change in scenery.
No more snow. No more trees.
All that's left is a Roman-style temple in front of them.
As the four disembark, choosing to finish the journey on foot, Kaito quickly looks behind them. Just like when he first arrived in the Wormhole, there's nothing but black void as far as the eye can see. But this time, it doesn't change—leaving the temple as their only option.
So they enter, each Pokémon standing diagonally around Kaito as they walk through the front entrance. The space behaves strangely from the start. Judging by the temple's outer size, the inner rooms should be just through the entrance. Instead, they've been walking for an hour with no end in sight.
But instead of frustration, Kaito feels uncontrollable excitement.
'And they always said there's no fun in exploration!'
A thought about his estranged family comes to mind, but he quickly shakes his head before it can ruin his mood.
Just as he looks forward again, the corridor opens into a grand inner chamber. No exits of any kind are visible.
A vast array of interlocking circles and lines, etched in glowing light, decorates the floor. In the center stands a massive stone stele, five meters (~16,5 feet) tall. The letters on it look ancient—and seem to subtly shift in place.
Kaito's eyes widen in recognition.
"I've seen those before—in a ruin from Johto..."
He flips through his notebook in excitement, not noticing how uneasy his Pokémon have become.
"Here it is!" he shouts slightly.
On the page is a list of the ancient letters and their modern equivalents.
"What a fascinating language. It's obviously ancient, but the words are spelled the same as now. I wonder why that is?"
Before he can waste time on the why's and how's, he starts translating the sentences from top to bottom.
"THE WALLS BLEED LIGHT / THE PATH FRACTURES / DIMENSION IS A WOUND""This seems to be referring to the Wormholes. What is the 'Light'?"
"THE LION CARRIES SUN / THE BAT GUARDS NIGHT / TOGETHER THEY GUARD THE GATES""Solgaleo and Lunala! Now I'm 100% sure they exist!"
He calms down slightly, raising an eyebrow.
"'Guard the gates'? Does that mean the Wormholes? But I haven't seen either of them since arriving..."
"HERE LIES A LOCK TO A DOOR NEVER BUILT""'Door'? Another Wormhole? Somehow I doubt that's right."
"THE BODY FAILS / THE THREAD UNRAVELS / BUT THE SPARK CONTINUES""This one seems a little clearer... 'Body fails' probably represents death. But the 'Thread' and 'Spark'...?"
"THE ORIGIN SEES / THE ORIGIN CHOOSES / THE ORIGIN RESTORES"
The final sentence makes Kaito pause, thoughts racing, expression stretching into a wide grin.
"Origin."
He shouts:
"Only one thing in this world represents 'Origin'! After all these years, I've accomplished what should be the ultimate goal of any explorer!"
Taking a deep breath—one that doesn't calm him—he continues.
"An ancient text mentioning The Creator Pokémon! Arceus!"
Kaito laughs maniacally, rapidly but carefully jotting down the stele's inscriptions.
Eventually, his hand slows, and so does his laughter. A strange calm washes over him as he stands still, notebook in hand.
He reflects on his life—his journey. And his estranged family. Not people he hates, just people circumstances pulled him away from.
He thinks of his "Curse"—something only those unaffected by it call a curse.
After half an hour, he snaps back to reality and inspects the stele one final time.
At the very bottom are two new words. He quickly deciphers them:
"CONFIRM" and "DECLINE"
Not exactly sure what he's confirming, he hovers his hand over CONFIRM. At his touch, the stele crumbles from top to bottom—reduced to dust in just three seconds.
At the same moment, two Wormholes appear.
From the left steps Solgaleo. From the right, Lunala.
Before Kaito can admire their arrival, his caution kicks in.
Their auras are hostile.
He scrambles for an explanation—and remembers:
''Guard.' The stele mention they guard... Did I trigger something I wasn't meant to?'
Realizing there's no point trying to talk—he's already done something seemingly irreversible—he prepares to act.
"I don't want to hurt them... this is my fault. But that doesn't mean I'll just lie down and die either."
As he calculates his options, Solgaleo fires a Flash Cannon.
Gardevoir reacts instantly, yanking Kaito out of the way—unintentionally exposing Zoroark, who was standing behind him.
Gardevoir's pull jolts Kaito back into awareness—just in time to see the incoming beam.
Zoroark is about to be hit.
Kaito breaks free of Gardevoir's hold and lunges, shoving Zoroark out of the way.
The Flash Cannon hits.
A pained scream rips through the chamber.
"Gahhh!"