In truth, both the Ultra Recon Squad and Faba had big plans in mind.
The Ultra Recon Squad's goals were simpler — they just wanted to restore light to Ultra Megalopolis. At the very least, they didn't want to keep living in a place where even farming tools and the protagonist of Assassin's Creed were indistinguishable in the gloom.
But Faba was different. He genuinely harbored ambitions of capturing Necrozma with an Ultra Ball, then finding ways to harness its power…
Just like the villain teams of other regions, he wanted to use a Legendary Pokémon to insult and fortify the world with brute force.
If he could seize control of Necrozma, who would be able to stop him?
Unfortunately, things were now completely spiraling out of control.
Necrozma had been fairly docile at first.
But now it was behaving like someone who had just discovered that their long-lost childhood sweetheart's death was actually caused by AIDS — utterly berserk.
Everyone knew the Spire wasn't going to hold much longer.
And the Ultra Ball? Its development was stuck like a download that stalls at 99%, completely frozen.
As for ways to defeat Necrozma… well, at this point they could only pray to Teacher Arceus to drop a divine intervention and smite it with a Judgment Stone.
But that chance was slimmer than Sukuna managing to beat Gojo — basically nonexistent.
So now, both the Ultra Recon Squad and Faba had fully abandoned the idea of defeating Necrozma.
Their Plan B: offer up the Sun and Moon Gods to Necrozma.
It was the classic "The monster wants us to hand over Ultraman, so let's just hand over the entire planet instead so we don't have to give up Ultraman" logic.
Okay, not quite the same, but the core idea was similar.
Besides, unlike kaiju from tokusatsu shows, Necrozma was at least technically a benevolent Pokémon — it didn't go around spamming a Gojo-like Lover's Ability out of nowhere.
Its current rampage was due to extreme pain, causing it to lose all reason.
At least… theoretically, that was the case.
But most importantly — they'd already found clues to the Sun and Moon duo.
Dulse from the Ultra Recon Squad put down Faba's report:
"So, you're saying there's actually a Solgaleo hidden in Ultra Space all this time?"
"And the Pokémon in that girl 'Lillie's' hands is a young Lunala?"
He paused briefly, his tone becoming hesitant:
"If we offer the Sun and Moon Pokémon to Necrozma… won't that mean we're taking away her Pokémon?"
"Are we really okay with that?"
Though the Ultra Recon Squad weren't native Alolan Trainers, they understood well what a Pokémon meant to its Trainer.
They weren't evil in the traditional sense, and this plan made them deeply uncomfortable.
But… the trail to the Sun and Moon duo was right in front of them…
Faba, a true Alolan, had no such reservations. He immediately berated them for their "naivety":
"This is a necessary sacrifice! Do you know what time it is? We can't afford to worry about such minor details."
"This is about doing big things, BIG things! Think about it clearly — if you don't go through with this, how could Ultra Megalopolis ever regain its light?"
"In its current rage, that Pokémon could very well destroy the entire city."
"So get moving already — go DO BIG THINGS!"
Since Guzma had already vanished without a trace, Faba had to come up with new ways to capture Lillie's little Cosmog.
It was hardly an easy task.
After all… who knew why that damned man kept sending people to protect Lillie — he even had Mew stationed at her side.
How the hell was Faba supposed to make a move? Was he supposed to fight Mew?
He'd already failed several times today alone.
But there was still a way — though it would require the Ultra Recon Squad to make a few small sacrifices.
And maybe, if it worked out, he could even skim a few extra benefits off the top.
With his own calculations swirling in his mind, Faba called out to a subordinate who was adjusting the equipment nearby:
"Shift the Rift Generator five centimeters to the left — then proceed with the original plan to open as many Ultra Wormholes as possible!"
"Remember — this is all for Blue's dream! Don't let yourselves feel guilty — our path is the righteous one!"
—
While the "villain team" was still brewing their schemes, a different kind of drama was unfolding in Aether Paradise.
Guzma, Lusamine… and Gladion — three people with extremely complicated relationships — had gathered in one room.
Oddly enough, it wasn't the two men with actual fighting ability, Gladion and Guzma, who held the upper hand. Instead, Lusamine appeared fully in control.
Each of the three stood in their own corner, the room thick with an eerie tension. It was suffocating — even Gladion felt like he could barely breathe.
The deadlock lasted a full three minutes before Gladion finally couldn't hold back. He opened his mouth and asked the first question:
"…What the hell is going on here?"
He'd already thought the intel he got from Lillie had been absurd enough — surely nothing could top that.
But the sight before him proved him completely wrong.
After leaving Lillie, he'd gone straight to confront Guzma, intending to show him exactly what happened when someone dared lay a hand on his little sister.
But after tracking Guzma down with great effort, he discovered that Guzma had already come to Aether Paradise to look for Lusamine.
So Gladion had to return to Aether Paradise himself, using the authority of the "prodigal son returned" to demand an audience with Lusamine.
The next second… he found himself staring at Guzma, who had apparently just arrived and looked utterly horrified for reasons unknown.
And Lusamine…
…who was standing there with an unknown piece of small clothing, holding it up to her nose and wildly sniffing it with gusto.
In that moment, it was as if time itself had frozen.
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