From an outsider's point of view, Lusamine's earth-shattering genius had long since reached the point where it could only be described as... abstract.
A person really shouldn't—absolutely shouldn't—be doing something like this.
In fact, the very thought of such a plan was already outrageous. Who in their right mind would think that using R-pe to make witnesses "agree to keep secrets" was a valid tactic?!
And yet, from Lusamine's own perspective—while her plan was undeniably abstract—her sheer willpower and the resources at her command made it perfectly viable.
As long as Lana and Wicke were willing participants in becoming her "partners in crime," then they would have no choice but to help her keep the secret.
Otherwise, where would their positions stand?
Hmph. In the end, wouldn't they be just like her—turned into cream puffs?
As long as Lillie didn't find out, everything would be fine. It didn't matter at all whether anyone else knew the truth!
It was because she cared too much about Lillie that she had chosen this path in the first place—otherwise why go this far?
Every time Lusamine thought about this, she couldn't help but sigh at herself.
It's so hard being me!
Hmm... perhaps she could first tell Haru about the plan, and once everything was ready, invite the "main cast" to take the stage for a little ensemble performance.
And once all was prepared—if those two "toys" themselves expressed the desire to be played with by their "Master"—would Haru really refuse?
Hee hee... men are really such simple creatures.
And more importantly—after doing so many "bad things," surely he would punish her properly?
Punish her even harder... with even more wicked methods...
Whatever she was thinking of, Lusamine's cheeks suddenly flushed again with a conspicuous blush.
She wanted to be treated more roughly... all sorts of strange play... utterly irresistible.
At this moment, although she didn't let out an audible moan, her motivation was now fully fueled.
In short—time to act! She couldn't hold back any longer!
You can do it, Lusamine!
The blonde beauty clenched both fists, her blush not fading but growing even deeper.
---
While Lusamine was busy advancing her "wicked" scheme, elsewhere, another group was also setting their plans into motion for their own purposes.
Somewhere in Alola—in a cave no satellite could detect—a handful of mysterious, unidentified figures were seated around a circular table.
The chamber was dimly lit, with only a few flickering oil lamps casting eerie halos in the darkness, making the surrounding figures seem even more distorted and ominous under the shifting light.
Seated in the center were four humanoid beings clad in strange armor, flanked by a bald man in a white lab coat and an old bug-catching master who refused to give his name.
After a moment of silence, the central figure began tapping the table lightly, signaling the others to focus on him.
"Then—I won't waste words."
"We are the Ultra Recon Squad, from Ultra Megalopolis. We have come here to resolve the crisis of the Radiant Deity—Necrozma."
His voice was strange, but his tone was firm and resolute.
"Necrozma is the god of our homeland, Ultra Megalopolis. It once granted us great blessings. But after losing part of its body, it went completely mad."
"In its attempt to restore what was lost, it began frantically chasing after light—seeking to become whole once more."
"It has already stolen the light of Ultra Megalopolis, plunging our world into an era of darkness."
"We struggled endlessly and in the end managed only to build a great tower to temporarily imprison it there."
"But that is not a permanent solution. Sooner or later, it will break free of the tower's restraints and once again devour any light it can find—and the tower itself will be destroyed."
At this point, the armored man's voice took on a hint of sorrow.
For their homeland to have fallen to such a state—was this not tantamount to devastation?
"If it invades Alola and consumes its light, this world will share the same fate."
"Surely none of you want to live in a world where the sun never rises again?"
He swept his gaze around the room. Seeing no interruptions, he continued:
"So—let us cooperate. For us, for this world, and for Ultra Megalopolis."
"We must find a way to defeat Necrozma—either to control it, or to capture it."
"Or... to find Solgaleo and Lunala, and offer them to the Radiant Deity—so that it may return to its former self. And in doing so, save us all."
At its core, Necrozma was the god of Ultra Space—the ruler of all light within that dimension.
And in its fully restored form—Ultra Necrozma—it was even described as "a being whose power surpasses any Legendary Pokémon that has appeared thus far."
Game balance aside—its lore level was maxed out.
Among Legendary Pokémon, perhaps only Eternatus could rival it.
As for Arceus... that was a whole different category—the true supreme deity of the Pokémon world.
Thus, both solutions proposed by the Ultra Recon Squad were extremely difficult.
The first option was simply to capture Necrozma. If they could imprison this deranged god, the problem would be solved.
The most straightforward approach.
But even setting aside whether it could be defeated—what kind of Poké Ball could even capture it?
This wasn't a game—you couldn't just throw a Master Ball and call it a day.
And before you could catch Necrozma, you'd have to defeat it first.
What a joke! Even in its incomplete state, it was no pushover.
Unless they called in true Champions or other top-tier Legendaries, who could guarantee success?
In the games, sure—it only had a base stat total of 600, and nobody really wanted to use it. Even its fused forms weren't as good as Lunala on its own...
You'd better just become Ultra Necrozma first—or go sit with Darkrai in the "cool lore, underwhelming in battle" table. [meme reference tone]
As for the second option...
Capture the legendary Sun and Moon Pokémon—Solgaleo and Lunala—and offer them to Necrozma. Then, regaining its light, it would cease its rampage.
A kind of appeasement strategy.
But to do that, they'd have to deal with two other top-tier Legendaries—and worse, they didn't even know where the two currently were.
One could say this path was even harder than the first.
And either option would require help from Aether Paradise.
At the very least, Aether Paradise could solve the Poké Ball issue.
They were developing a special type of ball designed to capture Ultra Beasts—and since Necrozma technically counted as one, this would be their best bet.
Beyond that, the Ultra Recon Squad weren't particularly skilled at Pokémon battles themselves. If they wanted to go up against top-tier Legendaries, they'd need help from Alola's trainers.
But the problem was... the real power at Aether Paradise wasn't even present.
Among those here, the only Aether Foundation member was Faba, the bald man with the giant scar on his head.
Sensing the others' eyes on him, Faba immediately spoke up in irritation:
"I'd love to help—but the project has been shut down by the President."
"I don't know what kind of tricks that so-called Haru used, but right now the President is clearly under his control."
"Using her authority, that bastard shut down all critical projects—including the Ultra Ball."
"I've even got spies planted around me thanks to that bastard. If I weren't so clever, I'd never have made it out of Aether Paradise alive!"
At this, Faba's face twisted in frustration.
Damn it! Lusamine used to be my biggest supporter—now some random guy shows up and throws everything into chaos!
And what's worse, that guy had even tried to come after him—though fortunately...
In fact, though Haru had an extremely packed schedule, he'd still sent people to monitor Faba afterward.
But they'd been too late.
Because the one who came to "rescue" Faba was none other than Guzma—and Guzma was not someone an ordinary trainer could stop.
So, as soon as Faba finished speaking, the old bug-catching master across from him immediately shouted:
"Oi oi! What do you mean, you were clever? It was me who dragged you out of Aether Paradise! You wouldn't even be here without me!"
"And another thing—are you sure she was forced?"
Faba glared at Guzma.
"Of course! Otherwise, why would the President obey some random brat? It must be that damn Mew using some 'special' hypnotic technique or something."
"What else would it be? That she fell for him? Don't make me laugh!"
"So what we're doing is a righteous cause—purging the influence around the President!"
"Hmph. Then let me destroy that bastard myself."
Guzma immediately fired up.
What was this, if not saving Lusamine from the fire and water?
If he pulled it off, wouldn't Lusamine look at him with new admiration?
Victory!
"So... what should we do next?"
Seeing that Aether Paradise was practically in a civil war, even the Ultra Recon Squad seemed a bit bewildered.
Were these people... really reliable?
***************************
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