Ding—!
With a crisp chime, the Premier Ball clicked shut—Black Nihilego was caught.
"How's she doing, Lillie?"
After securing the Black Nihilego and instructing Lunala to clean up the remaining conscious ones, Dylan crouched beside Lillie and Lusamine.
"She's okay, just a little weak."
"Let's take a break then. Leaf, get the tent and some water. Help Lusamine clean herself up."
Dylan supported Lusamine as he spoke. They'd come well-prepared with supplies, just in case.
The residue from the Nihilego's toxin probably wasn't dangerous, but better to wash it off quickly.
After all, unlike in the original game, where Lusamine was parasitized for a long time and left with lasting damage—this time, it had only been a few minutes. She would recover just fine.
"Got it," Leaf nodded.
"Here, some water." Dylan held out a clean bottle to Lusamine.
"Thank you, Dylan."
After drinking and resting a little, Lusamine expressed her sincere gratitude.
She had narrowly escaped disaster. The journey from Ultra Desert had felt smooth only because Dylan was overwhelmingly strong—not because the Ultra Beasts were weak.
And of course—he'd even captured Lunala, the fabled "beast that summons the moon" of Alola.
"No need to thank me. I said it before—I'm helping you because you're Lillie's mother." Dylan shook his head.
"I'm going to check the remaining Nihilego. Lillie, take care of Lusamine."
"Okay, be careful, big brother." Lillie nodded firmly.
Dylan walked off to inspect the unconscious Nihilego, selecting a few with promising potential. They'd be useful later—whether for his apprentices like Selene, or others.
"He's remarkable. I never imagined Lillie had such good taste."
Lusamine watched Dylan's retreating figure with a rare smile and glanced teasingly at her daughter.
The events that had just unfolded had made her realize clearly—Lillie was the most important person in her life.
But still, what luck her daughter had—to run off and bring back such a gifted young man.
And calling him "big brother" this often? Were young people this bold nowadays?
"Huh?! No—it's not like that, Mother! You've misunderstood!" Lillie panicked, her fair face turning redder by the second.
"Oh? But if you're just friends, why so flustered? I can tell Dylan cares about you."
Lusamine chuckled. Her daughter was still a bit naïve, but she knew Lillie well.
"Lillie, let me tell you—men are easy to find, but one like Dylan? Rare. And you clearly like him, don't you?"
She'd seen the way Lillie clung to his hand earlier—something she had never done with anyone else.
"T-that's not it! He's my foster brother!" Lillie pouted, her thoughts in disarray. Still, she lowered her head and began to explain.
She told her mother how, after fleeing Aether Paradise, she had met Mr. Itto and Amelia—how they had taken her in, and how she'd met Dylan.
She didn't share everything, but wanted to clarify their relationship first and foremost.
"I see… then I must thank Mr. Itto and his wife properly."
Lusamine caressed her daughter's cheek, still marveling at Lillie's incredible luck.
Taken in by kind people—and their son just so happened to be a young Champion? Was her daughter some kind of protagonist?
Before long, Dylan returned, having caught a few more Nihilego. After resting a bit longer in Ultra Deep Sea, the group moved on to their final destination:
Ultra Megalopolis!
"This place is pitch black!"
Leaf clung to Dylan's waist atop Reshiram, squinting into the distance. She couldn't see a single glimmer of light.
"This world lost its source of light."
Dylan scanned the surroundings, but the darkness made it hard to locate anything.
"There's no sun here?"
"No sun."
"Do you know why, big brother?" Lillie asked, curious—wasn't this Dylan's first time in Ultra Space too?
"This world was once peaceful, bathed in light, thanks to Necrozma's blessing."
Lunala and Reshiram flew slowly forward. They couldn't just hover in place forever.
"Necrozma?" Lillie blinked in surprise.
"Yes. Necrozma—but not the one I have."
Dylan nodded, then shook his head.
"The people of this world called Necrozma the 'Blinding One'—because its radiant light once powered this entire world."
Lillie's eyes flickered in recognition. Of everyone here, she alone knew what Necrozma truly looked like. The Ultra form was indeed blinding.
Though… regular Necrozma could drain light too—it had once drained all of Unova's light, after all.
"But the ancient people of Ultra Megalopolis weren't satisfied. They stole Necrozma's light—its very essence. Stripped of it, Necrozma went mad in pain and lashed out."
"To subdue it, they built the Megalopolis Tower—using their advanced technology to imprison Necrozma."
"But without Necrozma, the world was plunged into darkness. What you're seeing now is the result."
Dylan's voice held both scorn and pity. Human greed at its finest.
Necrozma had chosen to share its light. That should've been enough.
But they weren't content. And now?
Without Necrozma, the world began dying. Without light, life couldn't survive.
At this point, how many still lived in this once-great civilization?
Even their skin had changed—sickly and pale from a lifetime without sunlight. They looked like mutants.
Now, only the Megalopolis Tower remained as a beacon. It was the only thing keeping them alive.
"Death and despair—that's the theme of this world. Tragic, really."
Lusamine stared down at the desolate land. The absence of sunlight had clearly doomed it.
"They brought it on themselves," Leaf muttered.
"Poor Necrozma," Lillie murmured, heart aching.
It had given them light and been betrayed. She couldn't help but feel compassion for the creature.
Dylan agreed.
"Even a Legendary Pokémon can't always withstand the darkness in human hearts."
The games never explained how the ancients stole Necrozma's light—but Dylan wasn't surprised. Pokémon science was absurdly advanced, and this world's tech surpassed even that.
The Megalopolis Tower was the only remaining light source. Without it, the people here would've perished long ago.
But even with it—they were barely holding on.
Their ancestors had created this mess, but it was their descendants who suffered.
Just then, Lunala and Reshiram came to a sudden stop. Especially Reshiram, who stared intently ahead.
"Something's wrong, Dylan."
The White Dragon's telepathic voice carried unease.
"What do you mean?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"I sense Zekrom's energy—but something's off. Dylan, this isn't right."
As sibling dragons born of one origin, Reshiram could easily sense Zekrom.
But this signature—it was both familiar and strange. That made Reshiram uneasy.
"Oh?"
Dylan paused, then a thought crossed his mind. His eyes gleamed.
He knew from Alder that Zekrom was currently with Lance. And Lance wouldn't be here in Ultra Megalopolis.
Which meant this Zekrom could only be—
"Can you tell where it is?"
"Straight ahead. Wait—closer. It's flying this way."
Reshiram lifted its head. That odd Zekrom was coming toward them.
"Let's go meet it." Dylan grinned.
"Sure!"
Reshiram didn't hesitate. Please—a weird Zekrom? No big deal. Didn't Dylan already have a whole army of dragons?
The only reason it had paused earlier was the strange signature.
Soon enough, a black dragon crackling with blue lightning came into view.
Against the dark sky, its silhouette blended into the gloom—but the crimson eyes and sparking aura were unmistakable.
"Reshiram? So this world's Hero of Truth has appeared too, huh?"
A calm male voice drifted up from below.
Dylan looked down—and saw a middle-aged man in extravagant green robes.
With that outfit and green hair, there was no mistaking it.
Ghetsis.
"Huh? Isn't that the guy from Team Plasma?"
Lillie gasped, immediately recognizing him. Ghetsis was hard to forget.
"Oh? Seems you're familiar with the version of me from this world. Why don't you come down for a chat?"
Ghetsis raised his head, smiling serenely—like a wise sage who had everything under control.
Wait—"the version of me from this world"?
Yup. Dylan's eyes narrowed.
This was Rainbow Ghetsis.
The original Ghetsis had no reason to be in Ultra Space—or to have Zekrom.
But Rainbow Ghetsis? That made sense.
Dylan had suspected Team Rainbow Rocket would show up eventually—after all, even Selene was already around.
But he hadn't expected them so soon.
And just Ghetsis? That differed from the games, where all the bosses invaded at once.
"Land." Dylan signaled Reshiram to descend.
"Well, what a coincidence. The first locals I meet in this world happen to include the Hero of Truth. Looks like even in this universe, truth and ideals are drawn to one another."
Rainbow Ghetsis's voice was magnetic and calm—far more charismatic than the original. It made sense—he had conquered his own world, after all.
"So, young man—can you tell me what happened to this world's version of me?"
Ghetsis was clearly curious.
"He's probably still rotting in jail. Might be there for life."
Dylan shrugged.
"...What?"
The smile on Rainbow Ghetsis's face froze.
Seriously? His alternate self got locked up?
How embarrassing.