Chapter 58: Just Take Them All Out — Problem Solved!
Ultra Space — the home of the Ultra Beasts.
"Ultra Space" was actually an umbrella term. Strictly speaking, it comprised nine distinct spatial realms.
There was Ultra Megalopolis, where Naganadel dwelled. Ultra Deep Sea, home to Nihilego. Ultra Plant, where Xurkitree resided. Ultra Ruin, domain of Guzzlord. And so on.
The realm Mammon and Lusamine now found themselves in was the Ultra Desert — and the Ultra Beast that inhabited this wasteland was Pheromosa.
The Ultra Desert's terrain was rugged and uneven, making travel on foot far from easy.
Not that it mattered much. Before coming to Aether Paradise, Mammon had swung by one of Team Rocket's Pokémon Ride shops and picked up two Dragonite.
Pokémon Ride services were one of Alola's signature features. Ride shops offered all manner of Pokémon for hire — land, sea, and air.
The rental Pokémon were typically gentle-natured creatures with minimal battle aptitude, bred specifically for transport. And when it came to flying mounts, Dragonite were far and away the most popular choice.
According to Lance's reports, Dragonite-riding customers outnumbered all others at Team Rocket's ride shops by a wide margin.
It made sense. Dragonite were pseudo-legendaries with mild temperaments and — boosted by Extreme Speed — staggeringly fast in the air. What wasn't to love?
The ride shop business was surprisingly lucrative, too.
"Let's go."
Mammon tossed a Dragonite's Poké Ball to Lusamine. They each mounted up and took off across the desert sky.
The Ultra Desert was nothing but barren wasteland — no trace of human habitation whatsoever. After flying for some distance, Mammon spotted their first target.
Atop a towering stone pillar, a tall, slender Pokémon stood with one hand on its hip, its head tilted upward to watch the Dragonite soaring overhead.
It had a humanoid frame — lithe, predominantly ivory-white. Extraordinarily long eyelashes framed blue-violet eyes. From the back of its head, veil-like "hair" cascaded down like a bridal train, lending it an air of extravagant elegance.
"UB-02: Beauty — Pheromosa!"
Lusamine identified the Ultra Beast instantly. Her pupils went hollow, her entire being vibrating with excitement.
This was it. This was what she'd been dreaming of!
An Ultra Beast!
"It seems to think we're the prey." Mammon raised an eyebrow, studying the Pheromosa with open interest.
He had to admit — Pheromosa's design really was striking. That slender, elongated physique radiated a kind of lethal elegance.
"Mero~!"
The Pheromosa let out a low cry, bent its knees in a slight crouch — and then launched itself upward like a rocket, streaking toward Mammon and Lusamine at terrifying speed.
It moved like a cannonball. Blindingly fast.
Both Dragonite sensed the danger immediately and scrambled backward in a panic.
But Pheromosa was too fast.
"Shadow Ball." Mammon tilted his head.
From Mammon's shadow cast across Dragonite's back, Shiny Gengar poked its upper half out with a cackling Keh heh heh~, lobbing a Shadow Ball directly into Pheromosa's path.
BOOM!
The charging Pheromosa never saw it coming. It collided head-on with the incoming Shadow Ball.
A violent explosion — and Pheromosa dropped like a torn rag, crashing heavily into the desert sand below.
"Take us down." Mammon signaled the Dragonite to land.
The bewildered Dragonite obeyed instinctively, flapping down to the sandy surface.
The Pheromosa was already seeing stars, spiral-eyed and unconscious.
Mammon wasn't remotely surprised. This was just an ordinary wild Pheromosa, after all.
It was worth noting that most Ultra Beasts were extremely lopsided in their stat distribution, and Pheromosa was a textbook case — a classic high-speed glass cannon with devastating offensive power on both the physical and special sides.
Its burst damage was phenomenal.
But its defenses were paper-thin. Saying it would topple in a stiff breeze was a slight exaggeration — but only slight.
Of course, this was the real Pokémon world. Game-data base stats didn't dictate everything, but they were a reliable reference point.
Pheromosa was an aggressively offensive, speed-oriented sweeper. Defense was its fatal weakness.
"Lusamine, you capture this one." Mammon glanced over.
"Me?" Lusamine blinked, then her eyes ignited with fervor.
"Mm."
Mammon turned his gaze toward the distance. A column of dust was rising fast, heading their way.
"Yes!"
Lusamine could barely contain herself. She produced an Ultra Ball — though the Aether Foundation had been developing specialized Beast Balls designed specifically for Ultra Beasts, they hadn't been manufactured yet.
Beast Balls had a capture-rate bonus against Ultra Beasts, similar to how Dive Balls worked on Water-types or Heavy Balls on massive Pokémon.
But that didn't mean regular Poké Balls couldn't catch Ultra Beasts — just that the success rate was lower.
And indeed, it took Lusamine a full six Ultra Balls before the Pheromosa stayed caught.
She was trembling with excitement. She'd successfully captured an Ultra Beast!
"Incoming."
Mammon hadn't been watching Lusamine's celebration. His eyes were fixed on the horizon.
Multiple dust trails were converging at high speed. Within moments, they resolved into distinct shapes that stopped just short of their position.
One Pheromosa after another emerged, closing in and forming a ring around Mammon and Lusamine. Their eyes radiated undisguised predatory malice — the kind that made your scalp tingle.
Clearly, the explosion from the Shadow Ball had attracted them.
"How can there be this many?" Even Lusamine — obsessed as she was with Ultra Beasts — instinctively moved closer to Mammon, staring at the encircling Pheromosa in shock.
One, two, three, four…
Nine Pheromosa in total.
Lusamine was floored.
"Bawu…"
The dense hostility radiating from the Ultra Beasts — those predator-sizing-up-prey stares — had the two rental Dragonite huddling together, shaking like leaves.
These humanoid cockroach-things had terrifying expressions!
(scared.jpg)
"Mammon, what do we do now?"
Lusamine had two Poké Balls in hand, her heart hammering. They were hopelessly outnumbered.
"What do we do? Just take them all out — problem solved."
Mammon bared his teeth in a sharp grin, his gaze locking onto a Pheromosa perched on a stone pillar to their left. His smile deepened.
"And it looks like our luck is exceptionally good today."
That particular Pheromosa was distinctly different from the others. Gray "hair" trailed behind it like an ashen veil. Its upper body was white, but its lower half was jet black — those impossibly long legs looking as if they'd been wrapped in dark stockings.
A Shiny Pheromosa.