Chapter 60: Nebby Has Evolved!
Mammon and Lusamine continued wandering through Ultra Space. Without Nebby, they relied on the Ultra Beasts themselves — powerful enough to tear open Ultra Wormholes — and on the inherent instability of Ultra Space, which occasionally spawned random wormholes on its own.
Using these portals, the two of them hopped from one Ultra realm to the next.
Ultra Crater, Ultra Jungle, Ultra Ruin, Ultra Deep Sea…
How many days had passed? Mammon had lost count. But one thing was certain: his bag was now packed with Poké Balls containing all manner of Ultra Beasts.
A bountiful harvest.
"We have two days of supplies left. Mammon, we need to head back."
Lusamine kept her voice low. She'd prepared generous provisions for this expedition — water and food for what she'd estimated would be a two-to-three-day trip.
But their supplies were nearly exhausted. By her rough calculation, they'd been in Ultra Space for over a week.
Far longer than planned.
"Mm. It's about time."
Mammon picked up an Ultra Ball from the ground, glancing at the defeated Poipole and Naganadel scattered around them.
That's right — the Ultra realm they currently occupied was none other than Ultra Megalopolis.
"Let's go. We need to find a wormhole."
Mammon gazed into the distance. The sky stretched on forever — oppressively dark, suffocatingly gloomy. The mere sight of it weighed on the spirit.
Ultra Megalopolis had once been a world of infinite beauty and vibrant life. But the stupidity and short-sightedness of its ancient inhabitants had driven this world to the brink of death.
Because this world had no light. And without light, there was no life. Nothing could survive in this endless dark.
The two mounted their Dragonite and began searching for a wormhole.
The lightless environment forced the Dragonite to fly cautiously — especially since this world's native Ultra Beasts, the Naganadel, could fly as well.
About half an hour later—
"Hm? Mammon, look over there."
Lusamine spotted something and pointed into the distance.
Mammon followed her gaze. In the vast darkness of this world, a single point of light stood out with startling clarity.
"Is that… a city?!" Lusamine peered into the distance, astonished.
A city meant human civilization.
"Why the surprise? Ultra Ruin used to have humans too — they just evacuated." Mammon wasn't fazed in the slightest. But his eyes were locked on the glowing tower.
That was Megalo Tower. And Necrozma was sealed inside it.
The prison of the Prism Pokémon — and he wasn't far from it at all.
"Should we go take a look?" Lusamine asked.
"We'll go around. No need for unnecessary conflict."
Mammon thought for a moment, then shook his head. Every fiber of his being wanted to see Necrozma with his own eyes.
But reason won out, and he pushed the impulse back down.
The timing wasn't right. If Necrozma were released now, it would be an uncontrollable, rampaging beast. No one alive could stop it.
Necrozma needed light — and it could freely travel to the real world. If that happened, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
Mammon kept his head. Besides, he couldn't be certain that approaching Megalo Tower wouldn't agitate the sealed Necrozma and trigger a premature escape.
"Alright." Lusamine deferred to his judgment without argument.
The two steered their Dragonite wide around the dark city, continuing their search for an exit.
Back in the real world — Alola.
"Faba, Mother and the others — they still haven't come back?"
Outside Lusamine's estate, Lillie stood with a backpack over her shoulders, worry plain on her face as she addressed Faba.
"…There haven't been any anomalous readings. But please don't worry, my lady — I'm sure nothing has gone wrong."
Faba dabbed at the nervous sweat on his forehead, trying to sound reassuring.
Privately, he was panicking just as badly. But someone had to stay calm.
"But it's been ten days!" Lillie bit her lip, a determined look settling into her eyes.
"Faba, prepare another experiment. I'm going in to find Mother and Mr. Mammon."
"W-what?! Absolutely not, my lady! You're not even a trainer — a place that dangerous is—"
Faba went white, scrambling to talk her out of it.
Ultra Space was no place for a girl who wasn't even a Pokémon trainer.
"But…"
Lillie's expression dimmed. Her slender fingers gripped the backpack straps until her knuckles turned white.
She was so, so worried about Lusamine and Mammon.
And then — high above them, a web-like Ultra Wormhole tore open in the sky. Faba and Lillie both snapped their heads up.
Two Dragonite soared out of the portal.
"Mother! Mr. Mammon!"
Lillie's face lit up as she spotted the two figures on the Dragonite's backs.
The Dragonite glided down and landed smoothly.
"Mother!" Lillie ran forward and threw herself into Lusamine's arms.
"Don't worry — I'm perfectly fine."
Lusamine held the trembling girl close, gently patting her back.
She could feel the anxiety and fear Lillie had been carrying. It made something warm bloom in her chest.
"Ahh~ nothing beats real-world sunshine and fresh air."
Mammon stretched hugely, tilting his face up toward the warm sunlight overhead.
"Miss Lillie is quite the cuddle-bug, isn't she? You do realize there's an outsider present?"
"Mr. Mammon, please stop teasing me!"
Lillie flushed scarlet and hastily released Lusamine. The last thing she wanted was for Mammon to think of her as some clingy child.
"Mother, Mr. Mammon — how did the trip go?" she asked, curiosity overtaking embarrassment.
"Very smoothly, thanks to Mr. Mammon's protection. We've gathered comprehensive data on every Ultra Beast species. Once I've compiled everything, I'll send it to Professor Kukui."
Lusamine offered a faint smile, holding up the notebook she'd been filling.
"That's wonderful!" Lillie's eyes sparkled, her hands clasped together in delight.
Ever since reconciling with Lusamine, the old melancholic Lillie had been gradually fading away.
"Does this mean the Alola League can finally be established?"
"There shouldn't be any obstacles now. If Kukui submits the application with concrete Ultra Beast intelligence attached, the approval rate goes way up."
"Oh, that's great! Actually — Mother, Mr. Mammon, look at this."
Lillie seemed to remember something. She swung her backpack around and opened it.
Inside was a Pokémon encased in a hard shell of nine yellowish segments, with a nebula-like core barely visible within.
"After the last time we opened the Ultra Wormhole, Nebby turned into this. It barely moves anymore — it just sleeps."
Lillie held up the bag, her expression troubled.
"That's Cosmoem. Nebby has evolved."
Mammon gave Lillie a strange look — because according to the Pokédex, Cosmoem weighed 999.9 kg. And yet Lillie was casually carrying it in a backpack without the slightest sign of strain.
Then again, Cosmoem probably wasn't fully dormant — it likely had some degree of control over its own weight.
Now that Nebby had evolved into Cosmoem, the next step was bringing it to an altar to trigger its final evolution. The question was: the Altar of the Moone, or the Altar of the Sunne?
Mammon studied Cosmoem with keen interest.