From Tapu Fini's reaction, Lucas immediately knew—the source of those bizarre footsteps was not a guest invited by Tapu Fini.
In fact, it was—
An uninvited intruder.
"Luxray, return for now."
Lucas quietly called Luxray back to his side, then reached back and activated another Poké Ball.
"Swampert!"
A flash of red light—and Swampert appeared in the Ruins of Hope.
If his guess was right, the one on Melemele Island was the all-devouring "Glutton King," and as for this one—on the Power Plant of Poni Island—
The footsteps were getting closer.
First to come into view was a bright white-glowing head.
The bizarrely tall, humanoid body was made of cables, its head emitting a star-shaped, incandescent glow, but showing no facial features at all.
Four limbs and a tail branched off from those wires, each held neatly by three white leaves each, looking almost like zippers or Christmas lights.
Each step forward sent a strange shudder across its cable-like body, as though it were seaweed drifting with the tide.
Watching this scene, one's SAN value would rapidly drop.
Its copper claws clattered to the ground—then the mysterious creature stopped.
Though this was Lucas's first time seeing the creature in reality, he recognized it at once.
"UB03: Lightning"
Or, more accurately, the Ultra Beast—Xurkitree.
In front of the Ruins of Hope, Xurkitree paused.
Its body kept swaying, the star-shaped head tilting from side to side, as if trying to size things up.
It lacked facial features, but that didn't mean Xurkitree was blind.
As an Ultra Beast, being "abnormal" was, in fact, its normal. Lucas could tell at a glance it came with ill intentions. Naturally, he didn't just stand and stare.
With a low voice, he gave an immediate order.
"High Horsepower."
"Grrr!"
Acting on years of tacit understanding, Swampert launched into action the instant Lucas gave the command.
Swampert leaped forward, fists glowing a muddy-yellow, charging straight at Xurkitree.
Through some means, Xurkitree "saw" Swampert's attack and paused mid-sway. The six flat copper fingers on its hands aligned and pointed right at Swampert.
Seeing this—
Tapu Fini's expression changed, just about to call out a warning.
But Xurkitree moved faster.
It was in a state of "Overcharged Electricity." In only a split second, a thunderous roar erupted!
Countless brilliant blue arcs of electricity surged forward, like a tsunami that threatened to swallow everything before it.
The current pummeled the ground, easily blasting a crater in the dirt.
But even then, the currents weren't done—they shrieked and surged onwards under Xurkitree's command, as if intent on annihilating everything in their path.
Witnessing this, Tapu Fini reflexively shut its eyes.
It couldn't help but recall that fateful day.
Countless black figures released thunder that blanketed the skies, like wild serpents picking out their prey. Even as a guardian deity, it was powerless against such force.
Even alone, a single Xurkitree was an overwhelming threat—let alone in such a strengthened state.
But the explosion Tapu Fini expected never occurred. Instead, after a muffled yet solid crash, the shrieking electric noises faded to nothing.
Tapu Fini opened its eyes—just in time to see a valiant Luxray shaking off its fur, dispersing the remnants of the blue lightning into the air.
Right in front of a quietly standing Swampert, the Xurkitree was jammed, unmoving, into the wall.
Solved—just like that?
Tapu Fini froze in place, utterly blindsided by this development.
"Bzz! Bzz!"
Xurkitree thrashed madly, attempting to free itself, but to no avail.
Seeing its continued struggle, Swampert frowned, then delivered a follow-up "Ice Punch." Only when Xurkitree was thoroughly frozen and still did Swampert forsake the idea of a third punch.
It was only now that Tapu Fini realized: What kind of person had its counterpart sent to aid it?
Unlike the relieved Tapu Fini, Lucas frowned while stroking Luxray's fur, feeling a paralyzing tingle at his fingertips.
"Not very good news..."
Muttering to himself, Lucas looked over at the now-encased Xurkitree.
Swampert and Luxray's method of subduing it wasn't complicated.
Swampert took the offense, Luxray supported by siphoning off large amounts of interfering electricity that would block Swampert's feet from the ground. Then—one hit KO.
As an Electric-type Pokémon, Luxray couldn't transform huge amounts of energy like an Electivire's "Motor Drive," but it could still absorb some electricity for "Charge" and clear obstacles for Swampert.
Once obstacles were cleared, it was simply a matter of brute force.
Despite this, Lucas found himself surprised.
This Xurkitree was only a vanguard scout, yet the power it released in that instant was almost on par with the electrical output of Luxray's usual moves.
Lucas had no idea how many Xurkitree were actually on this island.
But his instincts told him—something about Xurkitree's abnormal presence was deeply linked to the current state of Poni Island.
At that moment, Swampert's cry snapped Lucas's thoughts back to reality.
He saw numerous blue threads, like cobwebs, condense into a mysterious tunnel in front of the frozen Xurkitree, slowly pulling it inside.
An Ultra Wormhole!
Swampert promptly retreated to a safe distance from the Ultra Wormhole. Lucas watched approvingly as the wormhole swallowed its target and vanished as if it had never appeared.
Only then did he look at Tapu Fini, with a questioning look in his eyes.
The true cause of all these strange phenomena—very likely, only Tapu Fini knew.
…
Meanwhile...
At the headquarters of the Rainbow Happy Resorts Company on the artificial island—
Under the lights, the well-groomed scalp of a somewhat-rough-looking man gleamed. Stroking his lush beard, the man's face turned cold as he saw the latest report flash on-screen.
"Subject 1146 is missing. Sent back through that Ultra Wormhole, huh..."
He was well aware that Tapu Fini was still wandering near Poni Island.
But by all rights, Tapu Fini should've already run out of power to repel Ultra Beasts, especially a Xurkitree that had been powered up in his own power plant.
So, did someone help it? Or what...?
With a cold grin, the man entered a string of commands into his screen.
Moments later—
Across the ridges of Poni Island, a swarm of Xurkitree, all densely "rooted" near massive power cables, simultaneously looked up.
A clear new target had been painted in their consciousness.
Job done, the man stood up from his executive chair and released a burly Electivire.
"Anyone who gets in Viren-sama's path to riches will taste true despair in the end."
"A rare guardian deity ought to bring in a fat sum..."
With Electivire at his side, Viren left his CEO office.
Back then, nobody had been willing to tell him Tapu Fini's whereabouts—but by now, none of that mattered.
He was going to catch it himself.
…
"First—the base must be moved. Immediately. Urgently."
"As I thought, this place has probably been exposed already."
Speaking with deliberate calm, Lucas explained the current situation to Tapu Fini.
"If you can trust me, come with me. There's a safe house I found before—should be secure for us to hide for a while."
Tapu Fini was quiet for a few seconds, as if weighing options.
Finally, it nodded.
"Pukalai." ("I'll go with you.")
There was no need for translation. Lucas understood Tapu Fini perfectly.
Considering their pursuers could find the Ruins of Hope directly, he intended to avoid the usual route and just dig a new tunnel straight out.
With Swampert, this was easily doable.
Soon, the low rumble of shifting earth echoed through the ruins.
Tapu Fini followed Lucas in silence, showing no extra emotion.
Only Tapu Fini knew—even though it once hated battle and the destruction it brought to the island, these days it had grown numb to it all. Even more so when Lucas acted to get them both to safety.
This human was impressively calm—fully aware that showing himself in public would just make them easier to track, choosing instead the safer approach.
Not long after.
With Swampert boring through the last layer of rock, a withered forest came into view.
Earlier, Lucas had Luxray check the surroundings with X-ray vision, confirming no ambush before clearing the last barrier—so the group moved out without extra precautions.
After checking the direction, Lucas recalled Swampert, climbed onto Luxray's back, and reached a hand out to Tapu Fini.
"We need to get to the hideout as soon as possible. Your flight speed might not keep up, right?"
He'd watched this world's Tapu Fini the whole journey.
Clearly, it was at an all-time low; otherwise, it would never have let Poni Island fall so far.
But the truth could wait until they hid in the natural shelter beneath the Sun/Moon Altar.
This time, Tapu Fini didn't hesitate. It accepted Lucas's offer and hopped onto Luxray's back.
Due to Luxray's size, Tapu Fini had to be held by Lucas—with one person and a Pokémon on its back, Luxray was a bit strained.
At this moment, Lucas rather missed his Spectrier, which he'd sent off to look after Ogerpon and the Eevee sisters. No idea how things were on that front...
Dismissing the thought, Lucas kept busy, stuffing a few canisters of portable oxygen into Tapu Fini's arms. "If the air runs out—help Luxray swap cylinders, will you?"
Tapu Fini studied the canisters underwater for a moment. Swapping oxygen would not pose any difficulty.
Clutching the canisters, Tapu Fini suddenly realized just how ill-adapted Lucas and Luxray (creatures from another world) were to the current environment of Poni Island.
If only it still had the power to purify it all—
As Tapu Fini's thoughts drifted, Luxray took a deep breath, little sparks stimulating its muscles as it thundered along at top speed towards Lucas's chosen direction.
Soon after they departed...
A dense army of Xurkitree flooded the Poni Breaker Coast, while a helicopter appeared on the distant horizon, coming this way.
Luxray was very fast.
Upon reaching the hideout, Lucas immediately ordered Swampert to use "Rock Tomb" to seal the area, only leaving a few tiny gaps.
"Puka."
Realizing they were at the Sun Altar, Tapu Fini shot Lucas a surprised glance.
Using up much oxygen, Luxray was panting, so Lucas quickly recalled it to its Poké Ball for rest, then readied a Dive Ball.
As before—after preparing a suitable pool, he released Popplio from the Dive Ball.
Popplio was still fast asleep. On seeing it, Tapu Fini floated excitedly to the pool's edge, gently caressing Popplio with a look of great tenderness.
Tapu Fini could feel that Popplio's life force had stabilized.
Even some of its congenital issues had improved; aside from unavoidable environmental pollution, Popplio was in its best-ever state.
Tapu Fini looked up at Lucas with teary gratitude, unsure of how to repay him.
In some regard, even as an "island guardian deity," Tapu Fini still retained a Pokémon's simplicity and purity.
"All right, letting it recover in the Poké Ball will be best. I'll recall it for now."
With Tapu Fini's consent, Lucas ended their brief meeting.
Time was of the essence—there'd be plenty of chances for bonding after the crisis was over.
"Let's recap the situation."
Lucas and Tapu Fini's eyes met in the air.
"You know my identity—correct?"
"Puka."
Tapu Fini nodded lightly in response.
Lucas narrowed his eyes and got straight to the point: "In that case, tell me the reason Poni Island became this way—and the true culprit."
"What happened here to cause all this?"
"Reveal the truth to me."
Tapu Fini, deep down, actually knew—there was nobody in this world she could trust. But it didn't matter.
Lucas had crossed dimensions to resolve these problems and come to her aid.
His attitude toward Popplio showed his character, and his defeat of Xurkitree proved his power.
He could be trusted.
After coming to this conclusion, Tapu Fini's eyes flickered, finally turning resolute.
A thin, ephemeral white mist rose up around her.
But, limited by her weakened powers, the fog could only envelop a one-meter radius.
Inside the mist, the phantom figure of an old man slowly took shape.
But, under Lucas's lamp, the man cast no shadow.
Clearly knowing why he was here, the elder's ancient voice echoed in the enclosed space:
"Welcome, trainer from another world, sent here by the island guardian Tapu Fini."
"I am Sofu, once the Island Kahuna of Poni. As you can see—now merely a ghost."
"Any question about Poni Island, the whole truth—I will explain all to you."
…