Pokémon: The Journey of Ordinary People

Following Lunayara's spiritual guidance, Zhang Yu rode on the back of Tetsuka Kaguya, speeding through the dim high-altitude clouds.

Although the black mist in the air was weakened by the light emitted by the two legendary Pokémon, it still lingered like invisible tentacles, attempting to corrupt Celesteela.

Fortunately, Lunala spared some of its light to create a barrier, protecting Zhang Yu's Pokémon from the contamination. The black aura continuously covered the barrier, emitting a sizzling, burning sound.

After flying for an unknown amount of time, the black mist in the sky grew increasingly dense, and the luminous figures of Lunala and Solgaleo in the distance began to flicker between light and shadow.

"This is... Mount Ranakira?"

As the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket who had lived on Ula Ula Island for several months, Zhang Yu was naturally very familiar with the distant snow-capped mountains.

He hadn't expected that the mountain peaks above the clouds would be completely shrouded in black mist, with a continuous stream of black mist emanating from the mountaintops and spreading into the sky.

Zhang Yu's heart skipped a beat: "This must be the source of the pollution..."

Meanwhile, Solgaleo and Lunala continued their flight at full speed, heading straight for the summit of Mount Lanakira.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu hurriedly ordered Tetsuka Kaguya to follow the two.

Soon, they broke through the layers of black mist and arrived at the summit of Mount Ranakira.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, Zhang Yu frowned. He noticed a bottomless cave that had appeared there sometime earlier.

The cave was still continuously releasing black mist, making it look extremely eerie.

"Roar……"

Solgaleo and Lunala also stopped at the cave entrance.

The two Pokémon exchanged a glance, then nodded slightly, and flew down without hesitation.

"Come back, Tetsuka Kaguya"

Zhang Yu clenched his right fist, recalled his Pokémon, then released Pidgeot, following closely behind them as they entered the cave.

As soon as Zhang Yu entered, he felt extremely suffocated, and his breathing became labored. The surrounding black energy was as if it were tangible, tightly enveloping him and trying to devour him.

If it weren't for two Pokémon clearing the way ahead, most people would have been suffocated by the concentrated black mist, even if they weren't contaminated themselves.

Boom!

Solgaleo and Lunala finally reached the bottom, their combined light only illuminating a small area around them.

The black aura was as thick as ink, so dense that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face. The chilling, chaotic atmosphere made the two Pokémon feel as if they were facing a formidable enemy; Solgaleo's fur bristled slightly.

The extent of the space at the bottom of the cave was unclear. The two Pokémon had only been able to pinpoint the source of the pollution by relying on their internal energy's resistance to the black energy.

But at this moment, the entire bottom of the cave was filled with the same concentration of black mist, which made them feel as if a huge boulder was pressing down on them, causing them to cautiously and slowly search for their target.

boom--

Suddenly, Solgaleo unleashed a beam of light at a patch of black mist without warning, but it only caused the black mist to churn violently without any other unusual activity.

But it didn't let its guard down; its Pokémon instincts told it there was danger.

Sure enough, after that cannon shot, as if a switch had been flipped, pairs of dark red eyes emerged from the black mist.

"Woo!"

Without hesitation, Lunayara flapped her wings, instantly conjuring countless moon blades, which she then slashed outwards.

The moon blade tore through the black mist, striking the opponent hidden within.

As the two Pokémon unleashed their attacks, the black aura slowly dissipated, but the scene that was revealed sent chills down Zhang Yu's spine.

"these are……"

Zhang Yu was on high alert; he finally saw the scene within the black mist.

Those dark red eyes were actually the true identities of countless corrupted ultimate monsters.

They seemed to have absorbed the dark energy from the cave, causing the skin of each Ultra Beast to turn a strange blackish-gray, and parts of their bodies to mutate.

This scene reminded Zhang Yu of the viral parasitic mutation movies he had watched before his transmigration.

Upon seeing Solgaleo and Lunala, the Ultra Beasts' eyes blazed with even greater madness. Strangely, however, they seemed to be waiting for something. Even though they desperately wanted to pounce and devour the two Pokémon, they inexplicably remained rooted to the spot, merely roaring restlessly.

Until a figure descended, all the Ultra Beasts looked up at the Pokémon in the sky.

"That figure... is it Tapu Koko?"

Zhang Yu's heart tightened; Tapu Komcho's behavior was far too strange.

The once golden outer shell of armor has now turned as black as ink and is covered with twisted crystals. Rather than being contaminated, it looks more like... parasitism.

Tapu Koko appeared to be in great pain; his entire body was almost entirely covered in black crystals and constantly emanating black energy.

"Roar--!"

Before the other party could make a move, Solgaleo launched the first attack. Its golden mane grew several feet long, and blazing energy gathered in its mouth. The surrounding air was scorched and distorted, and even the remaining black energy dissipated with a hissing sound.

It suddenly shook its head, and the cannon beam, carrying a world-destroying momentum, blasted towards the few ultimate beasts in the front row!

With a deafening roar, the cannon beam hit its target precisely, and the golden shockwave spread out in a ring, striking several massive Gluttonous Kings head-on before they could dodge.

Their dark gray skin instantly charred and carbonized, emitting a shrill scream. Their bodies flew backward like kites with broken strings, crashing into the cave walls and turning into smoke that dissipated into the air.

"These Ultra Beasts are not physical entities!"

Zhang Yu seemed to have thought of something, but the situation was too critical to delve into it further.

This attack failed to deter the other Ultra Beasts. Tapu Koko suddenly let out a sharp screech, and the black crystals on its body instantly glowed with an eerie red light.

The eyes of those previously restless Ultra Beasts suddenly blazed with ferocity, their last shred of reason vanished, leaving only pure bloodlust and madness. They surged towards Solgaleo and Lunala like a tidal wave!

"Pidgeot, Air Slash!" Zhang Yu coldly ordered, simultaneously releasing all his Pokémon to support the battle. Pidgeot understood, its wings flapping fiercely, unleashing several pale blue wind blades that precisely slashed at the few Ultra Beasts charging at the forefront.

The wind blades sliced ​​through their bodies, but no blood flowed out. Instead, wisps of black smoke rose from the wounds. The ultimate beasts seemed to feel no pain and continued to launch their attacks frantically.

Dozens of sludge-filled blasts hurtled towards Lunala.

However, Lunayara simply spread her enormous wings, transforming the power of the moon into a semi-transparent wall of light that blocked the impact of the mud wave.

The wall of light rippled as it trembled, yet it never broke.

"Woo—" Lunala cried out, its wings spinning with its body, and countless blades of air swept across the Ultra Beast horde like rain.

Wherever the air blade passed, the bodies of Ultra Beasts were sliced ​​into pieces, then dissipated into smoke.

However, there were simply too many Ultra Beasts. As one batch fell, another batch would take its place. The red light in their eyes grew brighter and brighter, and their attacks became increasingly fierce.

What puzzled Zhang Yu was that these berserk Ultimate Beasts didn't seem to be that strong... Before he could think about it further...

Solgaleo leaped into the air, his golden claws wreathed in flames, and pounced on a Gluttonous King whose body was as large as a small mountain.

The moment the claws struck, flames erupted, and the Gluttonous King let out a deafening scream as its body twisted and turned in the flames before finally dissipating into black smoke.

Just then, three small, extremely fast Jaw-Stinger Dragons circled around Solgaleo from behind, their sharp venomous needles aimed at its hind legs!

"Watch out!" Zhang Yu's pupils shrank suddenly.

At the critical moment, Niu Da's Rock Cannon arrived just in time and blasted the three Four-jawed Needle Dragons to pieces.

However, Solgaleo's hind leg was still pierced by one of the poison needles, and the area around the wound quickly turned grayish-brown, clearly indicating that it had been corroded by the black aura.

It let out a low growl of pain, and golden light flowed around its wound, temporarily suppressing the spread of the black energy.

Even so, the Ultra Beasts' offensive did not weaken.

Zhang Yu noticed that the black crystals on Tapu Koko's body were getting brighter and brighter, and the black energy emanating from its body was actually transforming back into a new Ultra Beast!

"This can't go on! We have to defeat Tapu Koko first!" A thought flashed through Zhang Yu's mind.

He looked at Lunala and conveyed his thoughts through their mental connection: "Lunala, Tapu Koko is the key! We must carry out the decapitation strike!"

Zhang Yu then said to the Flower Queen, "Next, you will assist Lunala in clearing away obstacles, while Solgaleo and I will attack Tapu Koko!"

"Dafu..."

Hearing this, the Queen of Flowers looked somewhat worried, but still nodded.

"Don't worry... I might have a way to remove the dark energy."

Zhang Yu gave the woman a reassuring look and comforted her.

Lunayara understood, sensing something was wrong. Its light surged, and its two crescent-shaped wings spread to their fullest extent.

The third eye on its forehead shone brightly red, followed by a beam of dark light several meters thick that shot out, blasting all the Ultimate Beasts blocking its path into ashes.

"Solgaleo, please!" Zhang Yu leaped and landed on Solgaleo's back.

Solgaleo roared, its body enveloped in golden light, and ignoring the obstruction of several Ultra Beasts around it, it charged towards Tapu Koko like an arrow released from a bow!

Tapu Koko seemed to sense the threat, raised its head, and opened its eyes, which had been half-open, completely, with an eerie red light flashing in its pupils.

The black crystals on its body suddenly bulged out, and several black tentacles shot towards Solgaleo like venomous snakes!

"Now!" Zhang Yu's eyes narrowed. "Solgaleo, charge!"

Solgaleo's forehead shone with a dazzling golden light, and like a shooting star, it charged towards Tapu Koko with unstoppable momentum. The golden light and the black mist intertwined violently, emitting a sizzling sound. The black tentacles were instantly shattered and dissipated into black mist.

But just then, Tapu Koko suddenly let out a deafening screech, and the black crystals on its body instantly shattered, turning into smoke that obscured Solgaleo's vision.

"Roar!"

Solgaleo became somewhat impatient after its first attack missed. The light within it was dwindling, and the dark energy was steadily eroding its sanity.

"Don't worry, Solgaleo, listen to me..."

"I suspect that this dark energy wasn't brought by Tapu Komatsu; it might just be a medium."

Zhang Yu took out a pink, round gem from his spatial bracelet. The moment the gem appeared, the remaining black energy around it seemed to be guided and slowly merged into the gem.

Inside, fine black lines, as thin as hair, also appeared.

"We've gone in the wrong direction!"

Zhang Yu said with frustration, "Not only him, everyone thought the pollution was caused by some tangible substance or a specific Pokémon."

But no one ever thought that pollution could be caused by negative emotions!

At the time, Kapu Moo Moo and Zhang Yu said that the Radiant God absorbs the energy emitted by life and transforms it into light to sustain His activities.

Conversely, negative emotions such as greed, rage, and sadness constantly erode the inner light of humans and Pokémon, which is equivalent to eroding the divine power of the Radiant God!

Evil organizations are rampant in the Alola region, and many bad people are committing atrocities in the Ultra Space, causing the living environment for humans, Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts to deteriorate, and generating a large amount of negative emotions.

That makes sense...

The two gods of time and space also said that gods cannot interfere too much in the development of the mortal world, so the power of the Great God of Radiance is greatly limited.

This colorless Alora space must be the means by which the Radiant God exhausted his divine power to purify himself.

The contaminated Tapu Koko is like the virus's parent organism in the human body, while Tapu Koko and the Sun and Moon Gods are like the most aggressive immune cells.

And the final breakthrough...

If Zhang Yu wasn't mistaken, it was the Emotion Stone in his hand that could absorb emotional energy.

This was a gift from Emrido a long time ago; I never expected it would come in handy here.

"Is everything arranged by fate...?"

Zhang Yu gripped the Stone of Emotion tightly and murmured...

But only for a moment, and he regained his resolve.

We've come this far, so whether it's fate or arrangement, it's all just a bit of hardship!

Now, the most important thing is to find Tapu Koko that escaped! And then... purify it!

"Roar!"

"Woo!"

Solgaleo and Lunala seemed to sense that Zhang Yu's state was somewhat strange, but after listening to his analysis, they both nodded in agreement with Zhang Yu's conjecture.

After all, they don't have a better way to solve the problem right now.

"Let's get going without delay!"

Zhang Yu recalled his Pokémon, then mounted Solgaleo's broad back and, using their ability to sense the dark aura, sped off in the direction Tapu Koko had fled.

----

"Ah Qiu!"

Kanto, Mt. Tsukimi, Yggdrasil

As Emberman watched Mew, Uxie, and Azelf play and frolic, he suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.

Emridor rubbed his nose, somewhat bewildered.

"Can even gods catch a cold? That's strange..."

Unbeknownst to them, the frolicking and playing among the birds revealed a mysterious smile.

----

I've been quite busy with work, so I'm only updating when I have a spare moment, everyone. How many of you are still reading? Please let me know if you want to update more!