After arriving in this world, Tapu Fini's powers have been gradually recovering. Though it still can't participate in battle directly, it can at least provide support from the sidelines.
Tapu Fini also has its own ways to limit the power of this Glutton King as much as possible.
Moving forward a few steps, Tapu Fini held out its palm, releasing a strange fluctuation.
In an instant, a dreamlike pale pink mist enveloped the entire cavern. This was Tapu Fini's Ability, "Misty Surge." Another Pokémon with this Ability is Galarian Weezing.
The effect is to spread a misty terrain at its feet. On this field, any Pokémon on the ground will take half damage from Dragon-type moves, and cannot be afflicted with status conditions or confusion.
This makes for excellent support against the Dark/Dragon-type Glutton King.
The activity on this side attracted Glutton King's attention, but its focus remained on the stone pillars—as if they contained an unparalleled gourmet delicacy it desperately craved.
"Thunderbolt,"
Right after Tapu Fini, Lucas, who had fought with a group of Xurkitree and developed a solid understanding of the unique traits of Ultra Beasts, launched a probing attack on Glutton King—kicking off the battle.
Zzz—!
Within Luxray's fur, blue-white sparks flashed and then transformed into a current that lit up the dark cave. With a loud crack, the golden current pierced the air, charging straight at Glutton King.
But with bestial instincts, Glutton King turned around before the current arrived. Its abyss-like huge mouth opened, and the electric current surged in, disappearing in the blink of an eye without leaving a trace.
There wasn't even the slightest disturbance.
"!!!!"
Witnessing this, Larry's hand, which had been ready for action, froze, his expression twisting slightly.
What the heck was that?
Just as Anabel and Looker had mentioned, it swallowed up the attack in one gulp. Who knows if the attack was instantly digested and absorbed, or if it fell into some other dimension connected to that massive mouth!
Larry grew even more cautious, abandoning the idea of using his Staraptor for melee with Glutton King.
—If that mouth managed to land even a single bite, it'd be game over.
"Oricorio, Air Slash!"
The dancer-like Oricorio fluttered its wings, sending countless sky-blue blades swirling with sharp winds to cut toward Glutton King.
As always, Glutton King responded by swallowing most of the Air Slashes head-on, and the rest it tanked with its tough, thick body.
Because Air Slash covered a wide area, Glutton King inevitably suffered some wounds from trying to take the attack head-on.
But before Larry could breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that Glutton King—strange as it was—wouldn't be too hard to defeat,
Looker's low voice rang out as a warning: "Don't get complacent! This thing can heal its injuries by eating things!"
To Larry's surprise, Glutton King began screeching frantically again.
"Huuaaaahhhhh——"
At the same time, its massive pincer-like tongue acted like a hand, grabbing rocks and feeding them into its mouth.
Glutton King's injuries visibly began to quickly heal.
Even its own aura grew rapidly stronger as it kept devouring.
Glutton King's fierce gaze immediately locked onto Lucas and the others.
To Glutton King, anything disturbing its feast was an enemy.
Within its blood-red maw, blue, purple, and red energy began to gather, forming a ferocious energy dragon that roared as it flew toward the group.
"Snorlax—block it!"
Anabel, without hesitation, threw out an Interpol-issued Pokéball. With a heavy thud, a ragged-looking Snorlax spread its arms, forming a huge blue energy barrier in an "X" shape before it.
Boom!
Amid the deafening noise, Snorlax was almost swallowed whole by the exploding Dragon Pulse.
Fortunately, it was tough and resilient, and with the added damage mitigation of Block, it was able to come through without serious danger.
Lucas frowned, thinking, Even with the damage reduced by Misty Terrain, Glutton King's power is still—!
As dust filled the air, Luxray's eyes flashed faintly. It dashed out like lightning, its electric-clawed paw slashing Glutton King's side and causing a pained roar.
Drawing on its battle experience, Luxray purposely avoided Glutton King's giant mouth, exploiting its relative lack of agility to attack from behind and the sides.
Larry immediately had Oricorio follow up, "Revelation Dance" raining blows on Glutton King's head and drawing its attention.
"Pukalai."
Tapu Fini was busy, not only condensing Healing Drops to treat Anabel's Snorlax and Looker's Croagunk, but also using its psychic power to link Lucas's mind, letting him share its vision.
"This is—"
Lucas's eyes were covered by a thin psychic membrane, bringing about a massive shift in his perspective.
He saw, in the gloomy cave, dozens of green, worm-like, limp creatures clinging to the surfaces.
As Glutton King continued its purposeful devouring, the number of these "worms" dropped rapidly, while Glutton King's aura grew ever stronger.
Lucas had had a hunch ever since learning this cave was called "Terminus Cave."
But seeing it with his own eyes still left him stunned.
Those green worms—were all Zygarde Cells!
Zygarde Cells are fragments of the legendary Pokémon Zygarde from the Kalos region, created after it split itself to monitor and maintain ecosystem balance.
Normally, these cells are scattered across the world, acting as Zygarde's "eyes." When Zygarde needs them, the cells are called home by the Core, transforming into green light and flying back, re-forming Zygarde's true body.
According to what Lucas knew, Kalos had a Terminus Cave, even home to Zygarde's 50% Form in the games.
It was a strange coincidence that Alola also had a Terminus Cave—and it, too, was inhabited by Zygarde.
But from what Lucas knew, both Zygarde Cores should currently be in Kalos and targeted by Lysandre, who wanted to recruit him.
Right now, the other side probably had no time to care about this place, letting Glutton King eat its cells without acting to restore order or chase Glutton King away.
Still, there could be other explanations, especially since Lucas now wasn't sure whether this world—one with Ash, Green, and Red—was the same as in the games.
Maybe, just like in the games, there are more than just Z2 and Squishy (Z1) in Kalos. Alola might have other Zygarde Cores as well.
Before his transmigration, Lucas remembered a lot of "Pokémon urban legends" connecting Glutton King and Zygarde—but that was hardly today's main concern.
Glutton King is growing rapidly more powerful by devouring Zygarde Cells. They had to weaken it before it got so strong they couldn't stop it!
His brainstorming done, Lucas nodded to Tapu Fini, then looked at Anabel and Looker. "You two—help me draw the Ultra Beast's attention!"
If he hadn't brought Tapu Fini and Luxray today, he might have just had Dragonite and Swampert pair up with Luxray to bulldoze through Glutton King.
But now, he needed their help to quickly weaken Glutton King.
Hearing this, seeing that Snorlax and Croagunk were nearly healed, Anabel and Looker nodded heavily.
"Understood!"
At Anabel's command, Snorlax opened its narrowed eyes and bravely charged forward, grabbing Glutton King's arm-thick tongue and holding it in place, limiting its devouring.
Croagunk darted between Glutton King and Snorlax, using "Poison Jab" to keep Glutton King from biting Snorlax with that giant mouth.
Larry, prompted by Lucas's signal, tossed out two Pokéballs—his Ace flying Pokémon and Normal Gym signature: Flamigo and Staraptor, who joined Oricorio in forming a wind vortex to further restrict Glutton King's movements.
With their teamwork, Glutton King's attacks were neutralized.
Having left considerable wounds, Luxray leapt back to Lucas's side.
"Good thing I always travel prepared,"
Lucas took out his Z-Ring and the Electric Z-Crystal given by Tapu Koko, took a deep breath, and activated the ring without any hesitation.
"Luxray—"
"Gigavolt Havoc!"
With the Z-Crystal shining, Lucas's strength poured into Luxray, which was enveloped in frenzied lightning that whipped across the ground, echoing through the cave!
Larry, Looker, and Anabel, without time to question how Lucas used the Z-Move without the required lead-up, immediately called back their Pokémon to safety.
Once Glutton King finally broke free, before it could devour more rocks or Zygarde Cells to recover energy—
With a thunderous roar, the wild current, like a roaring Thunder Dragon under Luxray's control, avoided Glutton King's enormous maw and struck it directly on the head!
The deafening explosion echoed through the vast cave, a thunder mushroom cloud swallowing Glutton King, shaking Terminus Cave as if it would collapse any second.
Thankfully, it seemed to be Zygarde's lair—being a Ground Dragon Pokémon, Zygarde no doubt contributed to the cave's sturdiness.
At Larry's order, howling winds dispersed the thick smoke, revealing the scene inside.
The battered Glutton King lay prone, seemingly powerless to move.
And yet, it was stubbornly, with its perpetually open maw, still trying to gnaw at the dirt on the cave floor.
For a moment, its tenacity left everyone speechless.
The group gathered, keeping wary eyes on Glutton King while discussing a problem.
How would they get Glutton King to the Ultra Wormhole?
The thing had to be at least six or seven meters tall and nearly a ton—hardly something they could just pick up and move.
"How about capturing it with a Pokéball?"
Larry made a suggestion.
"No good. For some reason, the Ultra Beasts' Ultra Aura—the glowing energy you saw in the battle—makes it very hard to catch them with ordinary Pokéballs, even Ultra Balls.
The Pokéballs capable of containing them are still being co-developed with the Alola region, so for now, our only option is moving it by force."
Looking at the beast, heavier even than her own Snorlax, Anabel said helplessly.
"…."
Larry was at a loss.
Realizing the Beast Balls hadn't been invented yet, Lucas considered, then turned to Tapu Fini.
"Pukalai."
Tapu Fini shook its head.
It could only say the battle was over too fast; its kin were still on the way, riding the sea currents.
Based on the aura's distance, they'd probably left the Ruins of Hope on Poni Island to roam the Alola sea.
"…Looks like moving it is our only option."
Resigned, Lucas sighed, realizing there was no signal in Terminus Cave. He pointed at Glutton King and instructed Anabel and the others:
"I'll head to the surface for a bit. No one can be reached from here, so keep attacking it now and then, in case it regains its energy by devouring more dirt."
With their present strength, they couldn't hope to move this beast that was far larger than the Glutton King he remembered from the Pokédex.
He could only call Oranguru for help, and summon Dragonite and Swampert.
Spectrier might also do—dragging Glutton King away into the shadows—but the beast might even manage to eat the shadow. Strangely, Lucas felt like Glutton King really might pull off that stunt.
As everyone began to take the task seriously, Tapu Fini stayed behind just in case, and Lucas prepared to head for the surface—
Suddenly, close to the fallen Glutton King, space itself shattered and collapsed like a spiderweb, and a white, net-like Ultra Wormhole silently reappeared.
From within, another blood-red maw slowly emerged.
This unexpected twist left Anabel and Looker's faces drastically changed.
"A third Ultra Wormhole?! In such a short time!?"
They'd been in Alola nearly a year now. Ultra Wormholes weren't exactly rare—but three opening in such a short time was unprecedented.
"Huuuaaaaahhhhh—!"
With everyone on guard, a second Glutton King emerged from the hole, its greedy eyes sweeping the area before charging without hesitation towards the Zygarde Cells.
"Oh come on, another one?!"
Lucas's movements stalled, his whole body numb.
Before he could order Luxray to attack again, yet another change occurred.
From the depths of the cave, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly echoed.
"ROAAAAR—!"
In the distance, an unmistakable green light flared, accompanied by a majestic roar as a figure became a shining streak, bursting with immense energy as it dashed over, pouring its power straight into the second Glutton King!