"Recruit outside help?"
"Yes, contact people from Sinnoh and Hoenn regions for assistance."
"The Zivochi family and the Temple Clan would be suitable."
Meanwhile, Professor Oak and Damalanth were discussing plans to identify the traitor within the League.
At the same time, Carl rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he made his way to the backyard, completing his daily ritual in front of the World Tree. As the drop of blood was absorbed, the young sapling burst into a dazzling light.
"Spent some time with Serena before coming here, hoping for some good luck," Carl mused, watching the glow with anticipation.
The past three days had been rewarding: the first day brought him a mega-evolution stone for Blaziken, the second day an all-purpose evolution item called the Essence Crystal, and the third day a hot spring that accelerated Pokémon egg hatching. The Essence Crystal could substitute any evolution item and had a 50% chance of enhancing a Pokémon's potential. The hot spring, sourced from Hoenn, quickly restored Pokémon to peak condition.
He had already instructed the Machamp construction team to build a bathhouse in his backyard, expected to be completed today. This meant his Pokémon wouldn't need to frequent the Pokémon Center as much.
Combined with the magnet rock he had gotten earlier, the four prizes had been quite the haul, making Carl eager for today's reward.
"Pop!"
A glowing orb floated before him, gently bursting open to reveal a seed with a faint blue shimmer.
["Mind Seed - Essence Version: When activated, creates a special psychic terrain."]
["Effect: Pokémon within the area can learn psychic-type skills."]
"Serena's luck is indeed remarkable," Carl thought, impressed by the Mind Seed's potential. Not only could it aid psychic Pokémon in learning skills and create a psychic terrain, but it could also grow into a Mind Tree that bore fruit. These fruits could enhance a Pokémon's potential, and the seeds could be used as items—truly a treasure trove.
Although he currently didn't have any psychic-type Pokémon, being a psychic himself, Carl could still benefit. In the future, when he captured psychic Pokémon, nurturing them in the psychic terrain would be doubly effective. This was even more valuable than the magnet rock.
"Splendid!" Carl pocketed the seed, planning to continue his streak of luck with Serena tomorrow. He routinely checked the status of his nature mint tree and the two legendary eggs.
The mint tree was growing well, but needed more time. However, the two Pokémon eggs showed unusual signs—cracks appeared on their shells.
Could there be an issue due to overnutrition? Carl anxiously picked up the eggs for a closer look.
Just then, the eggs fully cracked, and two beams of light flashed. As the light faded, two nebula-shaped Pokémon appeared before him.
"Legendary Pokémon!" Carl gasped, though he had a hunch, he hadn't truly expected to gain such rare Pokémon.
The two gaseous, purple-blue Pokémon floated in the air, their round cheeks adorned with pale yellow eyes, golden crescent motifs decorating their forms, and starry cloud-like extensions from their ears.
"It's Cosmog!"
"No, they should be called Cosmoem."
Carl couldn't hide his excitement. The classification of legendary Pokémon in this world differed from what he remembered. In his past life, Pokémon were ranked by base stats, while here, the gap in power between different levels was vast.
An incident came to mind: a country's league chairman once hired the legendary birds to alter the weather and force a negotiation with Rayquaza. But a distant dragon roar and a deep-sea whale song quickly unleashed a towering wave that crushed the birds' assault. Investigations revealed that Rayquaza had appeared in the clouds, and Kyogre's silhouette was spotted at the tsunami's source. This meant that Rayquaza didn't even need to act personally—Kyogre's remote attack easily ended the battle.
This was vastly different from Carl's previous understanding. In his memory, while tier-three legends couldn't defeat tier-one legends, they could at least hold their ground. But in this world, the power disparity between different legendary levels was immense, with base stats no longer the sole measure of power.
Even so, a Cosmog that could evolve into Lunala or Solgaleo was still an exceptionally rare legendary Pokémon.
Carl examined the two Cosmog's data and found their potential astounding, qualifying them as top-tier mythical creatures. Though their current strength was basic, their potential had already reached tier-one levels.
These two had distinct personalities—one reserved, the other stubborn—indicating their future evolutionary paths. The reserved one was more suited to becoming Lunala, adept at special attacks, while the stubborn one would better evolve into Solgaleo.
This reminded him of the two bear disciples he acquired a month ago, each following different evolutionary routes. But Cosmog was far more valuable—after all, they were tier-one myths. Carl jokingly thought, "Could the World Tree even bestow the Creator Arceus next?"
"Come over here," Carl beckoned the two little ones, intending to take them to Serena for a test. He knew that Cosmog were naturally curious and unafraid of strangers, making them easy to befriend—and potentially abduct. Fortunately, their bond with him was already maxed out, which should make a difference.
Strangely, the two Cosmog didn't approach; instead, they began spinning in the air. Carl was puzzled—could their high bond level cause them to act distant? This odd behavior piqued his interest.
Before Carl could process it, blue lights appeared above the Cosmog. As they rose, the lights expanded, eventually forming a rainbow-colored portal.
"Is that an Ultra Wormhole?" Carl's eyes widened. "Can Cosmog summon this too?"
In his understanding, only after evolving into Solgaleo or Lunala could they open Ultra Wormholes. This situation was completely unexpected. While the idea of capturing Ultra Beasts was tempting, Carl knew he wasn't strong enough yet.
As he considered trying a Poké Ball, the two Cosmog floated back to his shoulder like balloons. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a third Cosmog drifted lazily out from the portal.
"Buy two, get one free?" Carl blinked in disbelief. Having three Cosmog, capable of evolving into legendary Pokémon, appear at once was beyond comprehension.
The new Cosmog curiously surveyed the surroundings, its eyes lighting up at the sight of its companions. But it didn't linger, turning to re-enter the portal. Moments later, it reemerged, this time accompanied by a stranger.
Carl noticed a figure descending from the sky, revealing a blonde girl in a white dress.
"Help!" she cried, flailing as she plummeted.
Carl pointed a finger, and a blue aura enveloped the girl, slowing her descent until she landed gently.
"Is this... psychic power?" she marveled, patting her chest. "Thank you, little Cosmog."
"You've got the wrong one," Carl's voice came from behind.
"Ah!" the girl squealed, quickly hugging herself and spinning around, "Who... who are you?" she blurted out in English.
Carl finally got a good look at her face, thinking to himself, "Quite striking."
"You're the one who should be answering that," Carl said, hands behind his back as he circled her, "You're trespassing in my backyard."
The girl's face turned crimson, thinking, "How did I end up in someone's yard? Oh! Cosmog must have used teleport to escape my mom's chase."