Chapter 0791: Nebby Appears! Ultra Defense Team(Two-in-One)

March 6th, Wednesday.

Natsume sat in his office, spinning the Beast Ball with his fingers, his expression thoughtful.March 6th, Wednesday.

Natsume sat in his office, spinning the Beast Ball with his fingertips, his gaze thoughtful.

The Beast Ball had a unique design, resembling a sundial and a starry sky motif, with more arcs and ridges compared to the other round Poké Balls.

According to what 'Handsome' relayed from Aether Paradise Section Chief Wicke, a single Beast Ball cost several million Pokémon Coins.

The Beast Ball currently in Natsume's hand was a gift from Lusamine.

The Aether Foundation's condition was to employ Natsume to search for Cosmog and open the Ultra Wormholes.

It looked like a win-win deal; Lusamine could enter the Ultra Wormholes to search for her husband.

With Natsume as backup, there would also be no need to worry about Ultra Beasts invading Alola.

However, as a member of the International Police,

Natsume intended to use this opportunity to collect evidence of the Aether Foundation’s illegal activities, and to protect Cosmog, neutralizing the crisis from the original story.

“Cosmog… is Nebby’s official scientific name.”

Natsume rotated the Beast Ball on his finger and pondered, “Lusamine can’t personally appear, so she needs to hire a Trainer.”

“She originally hired Guzma from Team Skull, but since I had just arrived in Alola and fit the requirements, she chose to employ me…”

Firstly, Natsume’s official status was a retired Champion, with “Battle Legends” as an honorary title.

Secondly, the Aether Foundation monopolized all of Alola’s industries, so they had the clout to negotiate with a retired Champion.

“A foundation as big as Aether really shouldn’t be employing small-time gangs like ‘Team Skull.’”

Natsume nodded with a hint of pride. “It makes a lot more sense to hire me!”

Team Skull was known as Alola’s villainous organization, on par in embarrassment with the Yell Team.

The boss of Team Skull, nicknamed “The Indestructible King,” was Guzma!

Team Skull had the vibe of a fake gangster “family,” and their nicknames matched their bravado.

As the saying goes—the blade’s too blunt, the steed too frail, how can you challenge the king? (crossed out)

Honestly, Guzma’s strength was at the level of a local Leader; he held real weight in Alola.

But in a real head-to-head, it felt like Brock’s Mega Steelix could steamroll Guzma’s whole team.

Alola really was a hardship zone: the Trainers were all at “beginner village” level, and yet a crisis on a “super demon god” scale like Necrozma could still appear...

Natsume looked up at the sky.

He needed to hurry and take Sylveon to absorb the auras of the two remaining islands.

As for “Nebby” Cosmog, there should still be a little while before its appearance…

……

First period that afternoon.

There was now a small pale purple star-cluster on Ash’s desk, waving its pale blue arms.

Natsume: ?

Hold on, isn’t that Nebby!

“What an adorable Pokémon!” Mallow gasped.

“Let me see!” Sophocles exclaimed.

“I just found it on my way to school,”

Ash grinned. “And I dreamed of two giant Pokémon who asked me to take good care of it~”

Natsume leaned on the podium, falling silent.

The Nebby that Aether Foundation is sparing no effort to find—you picked it up on your way to class?

Now that’s what you call the chosen one!

“What’s its name?” Lana asked curiously.

Ash scratched his head. “It’s not in the Pokédex… and those two Pokémon didn’t tell me.”

“In that case, why don’t we name it ourselves!” Mallow smiled.

“Let’s ask Lillie for advice~” Lana said, “She’s the smartest among us!”

“Um…” Lillie’s cheeks turned red as she gazed shyly at Cosmog.

Cosmog blinked, curiously staring at Lillie, feeling a strange closeness to her.

Lillie took a gentle breath and smiled:

“Let’s call it Nebby~”

Nebby: (^▽^)

Nebby waved its little arms, bouncing on Ash’s desk.

Lana cupped her chin, “It really seems to like that name~”

“Oh, well done, Lillie!” Kiawe said, folding his arms.

Ash braced his chin on his arms and smiled, “Looking forward to having you from now on, Nebby~”

In ancient times, Nebby was known as the “Child of the Stars,” with the unique power to open Ultra Wormholes.

For Lusamine to open Ultra Wormholes, she needed to find Nebby—which is why she hired Natsume-sensei.

Natsume stroked his chin.

Should he bring Nebby back to the earth defense squad—cough, UB Countermeasures Division, for protection…?

He glanced at the students crowding around Nebby with such warmth, and his expression softened.

Let Ash, Lillie, and the others look after Nebby.

As for Lusamine, just explain to her that he had tracked down Cosmog’s whereabouts and was waiting for the right moment.

In just one day, Ash already blended in with the other students.

(In a physical sense: Ash VS Kiawe.)

As always, the “tournament champion” lost to the local: Rowlet got thunderously wiped out by the Kiawe Firium Z, who’d been trained by Natsume.

That said, Ash’s newly caught Rowlet was very loveable, making Natsume-sensei think of that frail Stoutland from the original story.

“I’ll have Rocket Delivery people look into Stoutland’s whereabouts.”

Natsume looked at the ceiling, “Take good care of it, make sure it doesn’t go cold or hungry…”

Natsume wasn’t worried that Ash would end up missing out on Litten because of this.

After all, bond is destiny—true encounters won’t be changed by trivial events.

After class, Natsume returned to the office and contacted the undercover ‘Handsome.’

Detective Handsome had been investigating Giovanni since the Kanto period and now the Aether Foundation in the Sun and Moon era, showing up in all generations, and was truly gifted in individual ability.

“I managed to get a few risky photos of Nihilego…”

Handsome gasped, voice barely steady: “There was actually a living Nihilego… drifting around the sewers, looking just like a transparent jellyfish!”

It’s one thing to keep a pet Tentacool, but someone actually kept a Nihilego at home.

It must have come to Alola through an Ultra Rift. Lusamine didn’t report it and instead kept it for her own research.

Handsome struggled to understand Lusamine’s obsession, but it meant there was now conclusive evidence of Ultra Beast smuggling.

“Good work…” Natsume frowned, “Don’t alert them—focus on how to return Nihilego first.”

“Chief Strategist Anabel has mentioned that Cosmog can open Ultra Wormholes—not a chaotic Ultra Rift, but a one-way gate. However, under stress, the Ultra Wormhole Cosmog opens can become unstable.”

Handsome rubbed his chin. “My advice is to openly cooperate with Aether Foundation: search for Cosmog, open the Ultra Wormholes, then repatriate Nihilego publicly and bring Lusamine and Faba to justice.”

Natsume was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ve already found Cosmog's whereabouts…”

Handsome was shocked; after hearing about Chief's wrangling with Lusamine and Nebby's appearance, he stammered,

“A love—no, a counter-plot?”

“A counter-plot,” Natsume corrected.

“If we’re working with Aether Foundation, Chief Strategist Anabel must be the intermediary.”

Handsome spoke gravely, “After all, she’s UB Countermeasures Division’s acting chief in name.”

Upon learning everything that happened these two days, Anabel weighed the pros and cons and agreed to the Chief’s somewhat daring plan.

“This way, your identity won’t be exposed, and we can protect Cosmog. The Aether Foundation and UB Countermeasures Division will have the same goal,”

Anabel’s eyes sparkled.

“To open the Ultra Wormholes!”

Natsume raised his hand, “What happens if the plan fails and Necrozma attacks Alola?”

“It’s simple, we activate our secret weapon,” Anabel said calmly.

“We have a secret weapon?!” Natsume exclaimed.

A mecha, or a magical wand? Zygarde or Regigigas?!

“The secret weapon is—you, one of the world’s only four Battle Legends.”

Anabel replied solemnly, “You’ll take the field and battle Necrozma, and resolve it!”

Natsume: ???

……

Two days later, press conference.

Anabel, dressed in a black suit and looking cold, shook hands with the smiling Lusamine.

The flash of magnesium lights; the media was in an uproar.

The Aether Foundation, holding a monopoly over Alola, and the rarely seen UB Countermeasures Division had collaborated to form the 'Ultra Defense Team’!

The Ultra Defense Team’s mission was to use Beast Balls to catch Ultra Beasts that invaded through Ultra Rifts, and protect them until a stable Ultra Wormhole could be formed to return them all together.

Currently, the Ultra Defense Team was headed by Lusamine, who continued recruiting Trainers from all over Alola.

Lusamine wasn’t worried about being exposed for illegal experiments or Ultra Beast smuggling… given the size of Aether Foundation, such issues were trivial.

Even if it all came out, Lusamine was willing to accept the consequences.

At the press conference, Lusamine faced the cameras, smiling elegantly, her emerald gaze agleam.

Lillie, Gladion… even if you don’t understand me, it doesn’t matter.

With Faba’s research, and the help of the UB Countermeasures Division, I will open the Ultra Wormholes.

Then, I’ll bring your father back to you!

……

March 7th, Friday.

During the break, Nebby was teleporting among the desks and chairs, playing happily.

However, all the students’ attention was fixed on that morning’s newspaper, which left Nebby feeling a little disappointed.

Lillie picked up Nebby, smiling as she gently patted Nebby’s head.

Thanks to hatching the Alolan Vulpix, Lillie was now unafraid to touch Pokémon.

The newborn Alolan Vulpix, a female, was named “Snowy” by Lillie, and her fluffy white tail was irresistibly adorable.

At that moment, Snowy was trying to imitate Sylveon's walking posture—lifting her front paws, wobbling bravely forward, and suddenly toppling over.

“Sylveon~” Sylveon glanced sidelong at the newborn Vulpix.

Little thing… can’t even walk straight.

Right away, Sylveon turned around and helped Vulpix up with her ribbon, saying coolly, “Sylveon! o(′^｀)o”

Can’t help but lend you a hand this time!

“Snowy~” Snowy licked her paw, rubbing affectionately against Sylveon.

“Sylveon.” Sylveon snorted.

Being cute doesn’t get you far. You have to grow strong on your own.

Snowy looked up at her majestic Sylveon sister, her eyes glittering, and nodded spiritedly. “Snowy!”

The students gathered around, discussing today’s newspaper.

“The UB Countermeasures Division and the Aether Foundation—did they really form an Ultra Defense Team together?” Sophocles said in surprise.

“Ahhh, I really want to join!” Ash shouted.

“That woman in the paper, isn’t she Lillie’s mother? The golden hair is exactly the same~” Mallow commented.

Lillie, holding Nebby, walked closer. Her mother on the newspaper seemed both unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar. She reached out and gently touched the photo.

When this photo was taken, Mom must have been silently thinking my name…

With this intuition, Lillie shook her head at once and softly said:

“Natsume-sensei’s class is about to start. Let’s get back to our seats.”

Dong, dong—

From outside the window came the sound of Komala knocking to signal class.

Natsume walked into the classroom, looked around at everyone, and smiled:

“Tomorrow is Saturday. What plans do you all have?”

“I’m going to challenge the Island Trial!” Ash declared.

“I’ll help out at the family ranch,” Kiawe said.

“I’ll be learning cooking with my father~” Mallow said, grinning.

“Fishing,” Lana answered with determination.

Each student gave their answer.

“What a full weekend everyone has~”

Natsume rubbed his chin, smiling:

“As for me, I’ll be heading with Mrs. Sensei to Poni Island tomorrow to inspect Vast Poni Canyon, so you won’t find me here tomorrow… Just letting you know, so you don’t make a wasted trip!”

“What!?”

“What’s with that reaction? For any questions, talk to Professor Kukui. It’s just as good.”

Natsume added, “Oh, and about that Ultra Defense Team—if you keep studying and training hard, you might have a chance to join.”

Ash and Kiawe were both visibly excited.

“All right… let’s start today’s lesson.”

Natsume cleared his throat and said:

“Today we’ll be tackling a rather tricky problem, so listen up:

Can Counter be countered by Counter!”

……

Aether Foundation.

Faba met with Lusamine to report on Cosmog’s appearance.

“We spent so much, and the Trainer still hasn’t brought back Cosmog.”

Faba, hunched over, muttered, “The efficiency is really unsatisfactory…”

Lusamine replied unhappily:

“Cosmog is under Mr. Natsume’s watch. There’s no need to worry.”

“Besides, right now we’re in partnership with the International Police.”

Lusamine shot Faba a cold look and remarked:

“If you want Mr. Natsume to act rashly… do you intend for him to fall under International Police scrutiny?”

“My intention wasn’t that… it’s just, something about working with the International Police feels off…” Faba said, bowing his head.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Lusamine swept up her golden hair, crossing her legs on the sofa, and spoke calmly:

“It doesn’t matter who opens the Ultra Wormholes… our interests and those of the International Police are aligned.”

“But if the International Police get involved, it’ll be hard for us to maintain control over Cosmog’s power!” Faba said anxiously.

“We—or rather, you…” Lusamine asked coldly, “What do you want to do with Cosmog’s power?”

Faba froze.

It was, of course, to defeat Necrozma, to control it, and accomplish what not even Colress had achieved…

Any scientist—Colress, Xerosic, or Faba—held such grand ambitions.

He dared not voice it, and Lusamine continued:

“Cosmog is only the key to open the door… I’ll enter the Ultra Wormholes myself, use Nihilego’s guidance, and search for Professor Mohn.”

“If… I do not come back, the Aether Foundation will go to you, Faba; Aether Paradise will go to Wicke; the Ultra Defense Team will return to the International Police.”

“I only ask you to promise me one thing.”

Faba looked up—and in Lusamine’s eyes, he saw for the first time something he’d never seen before: sorrow, tenderness, and regret.

“Give my children, Lillie and Gladion, a proper education.”