Chapter 400: Back to the Future

"Pah, damn… where the hell did you two throw me?"

Huo La rubbed his heavy, swollen head, struggled to prop himself up, his neck a sour ache, and couldn't help twisting it side to side.

He looked around, and his heart tightened instantly.

All around was endless darkness, except for a narrow shaft of sky‑light high above, as if the heavens had been torn open, a thin yet blinding beam pouring down through the crack, drawing a long, solitary column of light in the gloom.

With that sliver of light, Huo La could barely make out his surroundings,

All four sides were sheer, jagged black cliffs, the rocks snarling, the walls riddled with cracks of varying depth and strange crystalline patterns, glinting a cold, eerie sheen in the dim light.

Beneath his feet lay uneven rubble and sand, crunching with each step, the empty echo reverberating repeatedly in the enclosed space, making it feel especially desolate.

Looking up, the light opening was absurdly distant, as if hanging on the horizon, with no visible way to climb toward it.

Huo La's mouth twitched, and he cursed deep inside, "What the hell… did they just drop me straight into the bottom of the Paldea Giant Pit?"

In the Pokemon World, a giant pit this deep that subtly extends upward like a spiral staircase exists only in one place on the whole world, and that is the Paldea Giant Pit.

He instinctively pulled out his phone, lit the screen, and the flickering signal bar gave him a sigh of relief—though it was only a weak single bar, far from stable, it was far better than the situation in Hisui where he couldn't even see a signal shadow.

"Looks like I've truly returned to the future world," Huo La murmured softly, his fingertips rubbing the phone screen, suppressing the turmoil within, inhaling deeply, and slipping the phone back into his pocket.

He bent over, opened his backpack, fished out a Pokeball, gave it a gentle toss; the Pokeball arced through the air and landed steadily, emitting only a soft "click," with no flash of red light and no Pokemon appearing.

Huo La's brows furrowed slightly, a flash of understanding in his eyes, and he whispered, "So that's it… Pokeballs from Hisui don't work here."

He should have realized earlier that Pokeballs from different times and spaces might not sync with the future world's energy frequency.

Without lingering, he reached deep into his backpack and pulled out another Pokeball of a completely different design—one he had carried before the crossing, his longest‑standing companion Pokeball.

He exerted force with his fingertips, tossed the Pokeball again, and a dazzling red light burst forth; as the light faded, a broad‑bodied Vileplume settled steadily before him.

"Vileplume~~~" As soon as Vileplume appeared, it let out an affectionate, delighted cry; its round eyes instantly locked onto Huo La, filled with the joy of a long‑awaited reunion, tears glistening at the corners, and it waddled forward to gently nuzzle Huo La's arm, eagerly calling, "Vileplume! Vileplume!"

Huo La's tone was also full of surprise and unspeakable emotion; he reached out, gently stroked Vileplume's head, his fingertips feeling the familiar texture, and softly said, "Long time no see, Vileplume."

Successfully releasing his original partner shows that everything has returned to the proper course.

He gently patted Vileplume's leaf, his voice soft yet pleading, "Vileplume, from now on I entrust you—illuminate this place so we can find the way out."

Vileplume obediently nodded, immediately extending two emerald vines; the tips glowed a soft white, and its Flash skill activated instantly, warm white light spreading slowly, gradually dispelling the surrounding darkness and illuminating the area beside Huo La with crystal clarity.

Huo La nodded with satisfaction, pulled another Pokeball from his backpack, and tossed it with a smile, "Crobat, come out too."

A red flash surged again, and a Shiny Crobat burst forth, its wings beating; the moment it appeared, it keenly sensed Huo La's aura, let out a joyful call, and excitedly fluttered around Huo La, the airflow from its wings gently brushing his cheek.

"Hahaha, that's enough, stop messing around," Huo La laughed, raised his hand, lightly tapped Crobat's wing, then his tone grew serious, "Our top priority now is to leave this Giant Pit. Crobat, please scout ahead, check the direction of the spiral staircase, and guide us out."

Crobat immediately halted its flight, anthropomorphically nodded, emitting a crisp call, then flapped toward the light above, its wings cutting the air and leaving a faint airflow trail, its figure gradually vanishing among the interwoven light and shadow on the cliffs.

Crobat circled ahead, leading the way, with Vileplume close behind; the Flash on its vines lit the rugged cliffs transparently.

Huo La rode on KenTaiLuo's broad back, climbing the spiral staircase upward, while his fingers continuously refreshed the phone screen.

It's been almost four years since he left this world, and the outside has already turned upside down; he must quickly ascertain the current situation.

The most direct method is to rely on this lone signal bar, connect to the net, and browse the news.

The signal flickered on and off, pages loaded unusually slowly, yet Huo La watched with growing seriousness, his complexion gradually darkening.

Since being thrown into the Hisui Time and Space by Sakaki all those years ago, the Rainbow Rocket Team has launched its world‑conquest plan.

Now, over three years later, the entire Pokemon World has been divided into nine regions, each holding its own territory.

Rocket Team Sakaki, Team Magma Chi Yan Song, Team Aqua Shui Wu Tong, Galactic Team Chi Ri, Team Plasma Ghetsis, Flash Flame Team Lysandre, Aether Foundation Zha Ao Bo, and Expedition Team Jibeiweng—each of the eight major villain leaders claimed a sector, fragmenting the world into a shattered mosaic.

Only the final region remains, barely upheld by the struggling Pokemon League.

What alarmed him even more was that Super Evolution, discovered only three years ago, has already spread worldwide like a disaster;

The Dynamax power triggered by Eternatus has also begun to erupt sporadically across the world, uncontrollably;

Z-Move has become widely popular, turning into a power that ordinary Trainers can wield.

Only Terastallization remains strictly confined within the Paldea Region, unable to spread outward.

Huo La stared at the shocking headlines scrolling on the screen, his fingertips tightening slightly.

He had originally thought that returning to the future was merely to resolve Arceus's lingering issue, but he hadn't expected that in just a few short years, the whole world had become like this.