In the living room, Gladion was explaining the past incident to Lillie and Lusamine.
Lusamine's expression grew more and more shocked.
│ "Wait." She raised her hand.
│ "You're telling me Faba completed the 'Type: Null' project AND opened an Ultra Wormhole years ago? And you two saw an Ultra Beast come through?"
Bai Chen had only said he was going out to buy something.
He returned… with Gladion in tow.
Then, Gladion immediately dropped the bombshell that Faba had opened an Ultra Wormhole and nearly let Lillie be kidnapped.
Gladion still held deep resentment.
│ "Lillie used to be able to touch Pokémon.
│ Then one day, she suddenly couldn't.
│ As her mother, did you ever even notice anything was wrong?"
│ "I—" Lusamine wanted to claim she had,
but recalling what Gladion described…
She swallowed her words.
A mother who overlooked her daughter's trauma for years—
It was inexcusable.
Gladion coldly continued:
│ "Until you punish Faba… don't expect me to forgive you."
│ "…I'm sorry."
Empty words, but the only ones she had.
Clap. Clap.
Bai Chen clapped twice, interrupting the tension.
│ "You can fix mother-son drama later.
│ Right now, the priority is restoring Lillie's memories, isn't it?"
Gladion and Lusamine snapped back to focus and turned toward Lillie.
Lillie's hands were clenched nervously.
Seeing everyone looking at her, she forced a small, brave smile.
She asked quietly:
│ "Brother… can I meet that Pokémon?"
Gladion hesitated.
│ "Are you sure?"
Type: Null represented the start of her nightmare.
He feared she might break down again.
│ "I'm sure.
│ If he saved me before… then I don't want to be afraid of him anymore."
Gladion closed his eyes for two seconds, then nodded.
He took out the pure white Poké Ball and tossed it.
A dog-sized Pokémon emerged, its face bound by a brown metal restraint.
Bai Chen observed it closely.
Type: Null — the sealed form of Silvally.
In the games, Silvally was classified as a second-tier legendary—
the same tier as the Tapu guardian deities.
│ "A genuine artificial Pokémon… built entirely by the Aether Foundation."
He had never doubted the Foundation's scientific power.
With enough data from him, they might even create anti-monster Pokémon someday.
Lillie's body trembled at the sight.
Fragments of fear flashed through her mind.
Bai Chen stepped forward.
│ "Don't force yourself."
Lillie took a deep breath.
She whispered to herself, then steadied.
│ "It's okay…"
She walked toward Type: Null.
At close range, she swallowed nervously and reached out her hand.
He won't hurt me…
He saved me back then…
I shouldn't be afraid…
Finally—
under everyone's watch—
Her fingertips touched the cool metal of his helmet.
Her entire body froze.
Breathing quickened.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
Gladion instinctively moved to stop it—
—but the next second, Lillie surprised everyone.
She threw her arms around Type: Null and hugged him tightly.
│ "Thank you… for saving me before…!"
Gladion stopped in his tracks.
He exhaled in relief.
Maybe… maybe she was okay?
Of course, she wasn't okay.
This was Lillie's deepest trauma—something not resolved in a few seconds.
But taking the first step was already a miracle.
Lillie's voice trembled:
│ "Mr. Bai, help, help me... QWQ" Tears welled in Lillie's eyes."
She had mustered all her courage just to hug him.
Now she couldn't move again.
Bai Chen gently pulled her away.
│ "My Indeedee knows Hypnosis.
│ I'll have her undo Faba's work."
Lillie nodded weakly.
Humiliating—
yet familiar.
Indeedee spent a few minutes carefully unraveling Faba's hypnosis.
Slowly… Lillie's sealed memories resurfaced.
She stared blankly as the pieces fell into place.
Lusamine hurried over.
│ "Lillie? Are you okay?"
Lillie lifted her head, recalling everything from yesterday:
Faba is adjusting the Ultra Wormhole machine.
Faba is disabling her with Hypnosis.
Faba is trying to reopen the wormhole.
│ "Mother… Faba is preparing to open an Ultra Wormhole!
│ Yesterday I saw him working on the machine!"
│ "What!?"
Lusamine immediately understood how serious this was.
An Ultra Wormhole meant danger for all of Aether Paradise.
Gladion stepped forward.
│ "Let's go stop him."
Everyone agreed.
They took a jet straight to Aether Paradise.
The place was unnaturally quiet—only a few employees were working overtime.
Guided by Lillie, they reached the underground lab.
Lusamine frowned at the massive machine.
│ "This machine shouldn't even be operational…
│ How did Faba open an Ultra Wormhole with it?"
They looked around.
No sign of Faba.
Gladion muttered:
│ "Did he run when he realized he was exposed?"
│ "No."
Bai Chen's eyes glowed gold as he scanned the room.
He stared at the spot where the wormhole had appeared.
│ "He didn't run.
│ He was taken."
│ "…Taken? By Ultra Beasts?"
Although furious at Faba, none of them wanted him dead.
Bai Chen exhaled lightly.
│ "There's barely any natural energy left in that spot.
│ If nothing went wrong…
│ He reaped what he sowed.
│ The Ultra Beasts dragged him into their world."
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