Chapter 245: The Ultra Forest
These four groups were relatively lucky, as they all had legendary Pokémon as sparring partners to enhance their strength. The others were less fortunate, as only Ultra Beasts survived in other dimensions, making it a very dangerous area.
Moon and Green, two of the stronger trainers, ended up in the Ultra Forest.
The Ultra Forest was a dense primeval forest, filled with towering trees. Some lower branches had leaves shaped like the heads of Kartana. A winding path led to a rockery in the center of the forest.
Moon and Green sent out two Latios, Deoxys, and Darkrai without reservation, facing a massive swarm of Kartana. Because of the Kartana-shaped leaves on the branches, it was even more difficult to discern where the Kartana were attacking from.
They already had four or five Ultra Balls at their feet, each containing a Kartana, but their Pokémon were already panting heavily. Kartana's HP, Special Attack, and Special Defense were all low, making them quite fragile. However, their high attack power and extremely fast speed, coupled with the cover of leaves, made them incredibly effective at ambushing.
"Damn it! At this rate, we'll be worn down to death!" Green exclaimed.
"Calm down," Moon said. "Don't disrupt your battle rhythm. These Kartana are Grass/Steel type, so send out your Fire-type Pokémon to reduce the pressure."
With that, Moon sent out her Blaziken, and Green sent out his Charizard. With the addition of two Fire-type Pokémon, things were temporarily a little easier.
Green, watching the Kartana occasionally pop up to unleash a Leaf Blade and then run away, said, "I have an idea. If we set the entire forest on fire, could we wipe them all out?!"
Moon smiled wryly, "I had that thought too. But it's not realistic; we'd be in trouble ourselves. Unless absolutely necessary, don't do it."
They intercepted a few more Kartana, bringing the total number of captured Kartana to eleven, and the Kartana's offensive slowed down somewhat. Green sent out his Garchomp, which dug a large hole in the ground. Without a word, the two of them crawled inside, sealing most of the hole with a makeshift rock cover, leaving only a small opening for ventilation.
Green plopped down on the ground, panting, "Finally, I can rest. My nerves have been on edge the whole time, and I'm so sleepy."
Moon said, "Let's sleep for a while. There's no immediate danger."
They took out some food from their backpacks and ate. Moon then sent out a Gengar to guard them. The two exhausted trainers could finally get some rest.
When they woke up, refreshed, they emerged from the hole, only to be met with another attack from the Kartana. Reluctantly, they fought again until the Kartana stopped attacking, at which point they crawled back into the hole.
Green took a bite of a cracker and said, "This isn't working. We need to find a way to get out of here."
"How about you try having your Garchomp dig a tunnel?" Moon suggested.
"Let's try. It's better than waiting around here," Green said.
Then Green sent out Garchomp. Garchomp, understanding the situation, immediately used its Dig to tunnel towards the edge of the forest.
They dug for an unknown amount of time—it was probably already evening—before Garchomp finally broke through. The soil in front of them was instantly breached by a torrent of water. Moon and Green immediately grabbed Garchomp's arms to prevent themselves from being swept away. Garchomp then carried the two forward, plunging directly into a lake.
Moon and Green quickly swam upwards, simultaneously recalling their Garchomp, which couldn't swim well.
"Splash!" The two burst to the surface, gasping for air. Reaching the shore, they looked towards the distant forest. Moon sighed and said, "Finally rid of those guys! Let's check this place out properly and figure out where we are."
Green nodded, "Yeah, let's avoid those guys as much as possible."
They set up camp on the shore; it was already late at night. Exhausted, they crawled into their tent and fell asleep immediately. Only Gengar, a Pokémon that loves the night, remained alert, keeping watch for them.
The next day, they slept until noon. They couldn't help it; being so tense was exhausting. After washing up, they began exploring the area.
Then they encountered the black void. After probing it with branches, they realized it was off-limits. During their exploration, they saw a Kartana break through an Ultra Wormhole and escape outside.
"Hmm. If these Ultra Beasts can enter the Alola region, then can we use these Kartana to leave this place?" Moon's eyes lit up as she spoke.
Green also perked up, saying, "We can try! Didn't we capture almost twenty Kartana? We can definitely have them take us out!"
Without another word, the two released two Kartana. The two Kartana didn't attack them, but simply floated in the air. Moon said, "Kartana, can you take us out of this space? Can't you enter the Alola region?"
The two Kartana shook their heads and gestured for a long time, but Moon and Green still didn't understand what was going on. They asked each of the many Kartana one by one, but the conclusion was always the same: no.
Moon and Green fell into deep thought. Green said, "Did we forget something? Like, do we need something? Or..."
"Get down." Moon directly pressed Green to the ground.
Green then noticed a Pokémon made of black crystalline material rushing in from an Ultra Wormhole. Who else could it be but the Pokémon that had caused them to become separated?
The Pokémon hovered high in the air for a moment, then flew around for a while. As if sensing something, it reached out and grabbed at a spot. An invisible wave shot out in that direction, and a black crystal slowly flew out from the forest, which the Pokémon caught in its hand and casually inserted into its body.
After finding the crystal, Necrozma didn't linger and disappeared into the Ultra Wormhole, never to be seen again. The two lay on the ground for a while before standing up.
"I think I understand why those Kartana said there was no way to leave here," Moon said with a bitter smile.
Green also gave a grim smile; he understood too, but it seemed a little too late.
(End of Chapter)
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