Cosmoem's Plan

Not long after Sena Arata woke up, Luna, Ayashi, and Kaname Hirakawa also regained consciousness one by one. Luna was delighted to see Yuga come to their rescue, though she felt useless—she'd suffered such a major setback on her very first mission.

However, Yuga didn't blame her. The sudden appearance of Ultra Beasts hadn't been detected in time, which was primarily a failure on the part of the League's Investigation Bureau, not Luna and Kaname Hirakawa's fault.

After all, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa were still new recruits who hadn't even passed the formal entry exams. Without adequate preparation, how could they have stood a chance against Guzzlord?

After comforting Luna, Yuga said to the four of them, "Your bodies are still very weak. Focus on recovery for now. I'll go talk to the Kartana to see if there's a way for us to leave this place."

"Mm, go ahead, Brother. We'll be fine here with Florges taking care of us," Luna said obediently.

After Yuga left, Kaname Hirakawa, while eating some berries, gazed after Yuga's retreating figure and remarked with admiration, "So that's Gym Leader Shimizu. I didn't expect you to really be his sister!"

Luna, hearing this, was about to snap at him, but too weak to muster much anger, she replied faintly, "Didn't I already tell you? What, did you think I was lying?"

Back when Ayashi and Arara Sena had rescued Luna and Kaname Hirakawa, Luna had introduced Ayashi and Arata Sena as apprentices of the Verdanturf Gym and clarified that she was Yuga's cousin.

Even after going through life-and-death situations together, she couldn't bring herself to like Kaname Hirakawa—how could he not believe her? Luna thought indignantly.

Kaname Hirakawa chuckled awkwardly, "I was just too surprised back then. It's a good thing you're Gym Leader Shimizu's sister. If not, who knows if we'd still be alive now?"

To Kaname Hirakawa, someone like Yuga seemed like a legendary figure from far away—who would have thought he'd be personally saved by him one day?

"Hmph, at least you have some sense!" Luna huffed.

After leaving Luna and the others in Florges's care, Yuga went to see the Kartana tribe leader.

"You want a way out of here?" the elderly Kartana leader said. "Currently, the weakest part of this world is in the area where Guzzlord has gathered in large numbers. If you want to leave, you'd have to use the Ultra Wormhole that sporadically appears there."

Yuga frowned, "Isn't there any other way? Going to Guzzlord's gathering area is far too dangerous. If we're discovered, I can't handle them all alone."

The Kartana leader shook his head and replied, "That's the only method I know."

"Ah..."

Yuga had just sighed when he noticed Cosmoem beside him rubbing against him repeatedly.

"What is it?" Yuga asked curiously.

"Woo woo woo…" Cosmoem suddenly made a strange sound, and Yuga immediately understood that it was imitating him playing the flute.

"You mean we could use the power of the Moon Flute?" Yuga's eyes suddenly brightened. How had he not thought of this sooner!

Cosmoem quickly nodded, but then it hesitated and shyly communicated to Yuga that it wanted to help the Kartana drive Guzzlord out of this Ultra Space.

Yuga was silent for a while before asking, "Do you have a specific plan?"

Cosmoem nodded immediately.

"Alright, then!" Yuga murmured after a brief pause. "Tell me how we should go about this."

Of course, getting rid of Guzzlord would be ideal. If this Ultra Space collapsed, the next place in danger would be the Alola region.

Beside him, the Kartana leader's face broke into a joyful expression upon hearing that Cosmoem had a way to drive out Guzzlord: It truly was worthy of being the Star Cocoon!

An hour later, Yuga returned to the resting area where Luna and the others were recuperating on the Grassy Terrain. He told the four who were still lying there, "In a bit, I'll be heading out to find a way for us to leave this place. Just focus on your recovery; the Kartana will look after you."

Yuga didn't reveal Cosmoem's plan to them since they couldn't really assist in it anyway.

Upon hearing this, Luna immediately looked worried and said, "Be careful out there."

Both Ayashi and Arata Sena shared her concern, frustrated that they were too weak to be of any help and had even held Yuga back.

Yuga smiled and said, "Don't worry. I was able to rescue you safely from Nihilego; of course, I have a way to ensure my safety too."

After giving Luna and the others some instructions, Yuga hurriedly left the Kartana territory, bringing Florges with him while leaving Bellossom behind to continue caring for the four of them.

The next day, Yuga looked at the dense forest in front of him, feeling a sense of wonder. He hadn't expected to return so soon after escaping.

Yes, Yuga had returned to the Nihilego's territory.

With Cosmoem's guidance through Teleport, Yuga appeared in the heart of the Nihilego territory, where he was confronted by their leader and other high-ranking members.

The Nihilego, seeing Yuga, launched an attack without a word—Power Gems, Acid Sprays, Sludge Bombs, Venom Drains… a barrage of skills surged toward Yuga and Cosmoem with the intent to pulverize them.

Scoundrel! How dare you return!

Fortunately, Yuga and Cosmoem were prepared. At the moment the Nihilego attacked, they Teleported out of harm's way.

"Let's talk things out; no need to be so hostile, alright?" Yuga said, waving a Pokémon egg around.

The sight of the Pokémon egg was enough to bring the Nihilego back to their senses.

"Human, what do you want now?" the Nihilego leader floated forward and barked angrily, its eyes full of hatred toward Yuga and Cosmoem.

"I'm here to propose a deal," Yuga replied.

"A deal? Do you think we'd fall for your tricks again?"

Mentioning a deal nearly made the Nihilego leader explode in rage—this despicable human still dared to talk about making deals.

Yuga spread his hands and said, "Whether you take it is up to you. I'll lay out the terms first."

"If you help me with something, I'll return your children to you. To show my sincerity, I'll give you a third of them right now."

After Yuga spoke, dozens of Pokémon eggs appeared in front of him.

At the sight of the eggs, the Nihilego began to grow restless, eager to rush forward, but Yuga waved his hand, and the eggs disappeared again.

(#｀皿) The Nihilego glared at Yuga with fury: You scoundrel!

"Well? Are you in or not? If you agree, I'll return a third of your children to you right away," Yuga said with a grin.

"We'll do it! We agree!" the Nihilego leader gritted its teeth, forced to accept. "But I have one condition."

Yuga raised an eyebrow. "What condition? Let's hear it."

"Our poison pool—did you take it? If you want us to agree, you'll have to return the poison pool as well," the Nihilego leader demanded.

"What are you talking about? Poison pool? I don't know anything about that!" Yuga replied, putting on an innocent expression. "You can't blame me for every little thing that goes missing."

Of course, Yuga wouldn't admit to it. He held the advantage, and he wasn't about to give it up.

"If it wasn't you, then who else?" The Nihilego leader demanded angrily.

Yuga put on an annoyed expression. "How would I know? Anyway, it wasn't me."

"You!" The Nihilego leader was livid—how could someone be this shameless?

"So, are you going to do it or not? If you keep dragging your feet, I'll just leave," Yuga said impatiently, acting as if he was about to walk away.

"What do you want us to do? Just tell us!" the Nihilego leader ground out, full of resentment. Even though it knew Yuga was lying, there was nothing they could do but compromise. Getting at least some of their children back took priority; as for the poison pool, it was a small matter in comparison to their species' survival.

"I want you to round up all the scattered Guzzlords," Yuga said, emphasizing each word.

In order to carry out Cosmoem's plan, all of the Guzzlords had to be gathered together.

Most of the Guzzlords had already congregated at their nest to prepare for an invasion of the human world through the Ultra Wormhole. Still, some remained scattered outside.

It might be difficult for the Nihilego to fight all the Guzzlords, but gathering those scattered outside shouldn't be too challenging.

"What did you say?" The Nihilego leader was so shocked its voice changed. "Capture the Guzzlords? What exactly are you trying to do?"

"That's not your concern," Yuga replied. "But you don't want the Guzzlords sticking around here forever, do you? My goal is to drive the Guzzlords out of this place. Just tell me if you'll do it or not."

The Nihilego leader glared at Yuga in silence for a long moment before finally responding bitterly, "We'll do it."

Yuga grinned. "Good, then I'll be waiting for your news!"

With that, Yuga left behind dozens of Pokémon eggs and, with Cosmoem's Teleport, disappeared from the scene.

Before leaving, Yuga suddenly remembered something and said to the Nihilego leader, "Oh, by the way, you still have the Poké Balls from those four people, right? Hand them over."

Fearing that the Nihilego didn't know what a Poké Ball was, Yuga took out a new Poké Ball to show them.

Indeed, the Nihilego didn't recognize Poké Balls or understand their purpose. As they were about to negotiate with Yuga over the Poké Balls, Yuga added, "If you don't have them, that's fine, but I'll need to reclaim a few of your children's eggs."

As he spoke, he moved as if he were about to collect the eggs in front of him, and the Nihilego leader hastily instructed others to retrieve Luna and the others' Poké Balls.

(－＂－怒) Infuriating!

After counting the Poké Balls and confirming everything was correct, Yuga left with ease.

Watching Yuga leave so calmly, the Nihilego felt enraged, wishing Yuga would slip during his Teleport and end up drowning in a pond.

In the following days, the Nihilego tribe mobilized almost all of its members, leaving only a few behind to guard their home.

The capture operation went smoother than Yuga had expected; since the Guzzlords had absorbed the Ultra Aura during their attack on Kartana's territory, their strength was greatly diminished. Originally, the Nihilego and Guzzlords were on par in power, but with this shift in balance, the Nihilego gained the upper hand.

Yuga had secretly observed the Nihilego capturing Guzzlords and noticed they were very adept at dealing with them, as if they'd ambushed the Guzzlords many times before.

Every day, Yuga would visit the Nihilego territory to check on their progress. To his surprise, each Guzzlord they brought back was in a poisoned state, rendered completely immobile except for its impotent rage.

The capture operation continued for five days, and during this time, Luna and her companions in Kartana's territory had mostly recovered from their injuries. They were becoming increasingly worried as Yuga still hadn't returned, and Ayashi and Arata Sena even wanted to go search for him. However, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa who are still rational managed to hold them back.

Without their Pokémon with them, if they went out, they would not only fail to help Yuga but might also cause him additional trouble.

In the Nihilego territory.

Looking at the unconscious Guzzlords scattered around, the Nihilego leader said, "All the Guzzlords you asked for are here. Now, you should return our children."

Yuga shook his head. "Not just yet. You need to help me transport these Guzzlords to their gathering place."

"You!!" The Nihilego leader was furious, but seeing Yuga's indifferent "take it or leave it" expression, it had no choice but to relent, warning, "You better not be trying any tricks, or we won't let you off!"

"Don't worry! I'm a man of my word!" Yuga replied with a cheerful smile. "Once you reach the destination, you can leave, and I'll send the eggs to you later."

Indeed, a person who abandons shame is invincible! Yuga thought silently to himself, though he had to admit he felt a bit like a scoundrel.

But being a scoundrel wasn't such a bad feeling!

The Nihilego had no other choice now but to put their faith in Yuga.

And so, Yuga and the Nihilego members set off, transporting the unconscious Guzzlords toward the gathering place.

The Guzzlords were incredibly heavy; a single Nihilego couldn't manage one on its own, which meant that the transport required the majority of the Nihilego tribe. Furthermore, to prevent Yuga from pulling any tricks, several powerful high-ranking Nihilego, including the leader, joined the escort.

The Guzzlord gathering place was located in a vast canyon surrounded by eroded rock formations. When Yuga and the others arrived, most of the Guzzlords were lounging around lazily.

Just as the Nihilego leader was about to ask Yuga where to place the unconscious Guzzlords, Yuga suddenly jumped out, producing an iron pot and spoon he usually used for cooking in the wild, and began banging on them loudly.

The noise instantly disturbed the resting Guzzlords, and they quickly spotted the Nihilego holding their unconscious kin. By this point, Yuga and Cosmoem had already Teleported away to some unknown location.

The Guzzlords, not known for their intelligence, assumed the Nihilego had broken their agreement.

Realizing they had once again been duped by Yuga, the Nihilego leader let out an enraged screech, which only further agitated the Guzzlords.

The Guzzlords began their attack on the Nihilego!