Chapter 560: Another Reincarnation

In just a few breaths, the mist that had drifted only at his feet had spread to his face.

Dragonite flapped its wings, trying to stir up a gale to disperse the fog.

But the mist seemed incorporeal; no matter how violently the air churned, it stubbornly gathered and rose.

Until his vision was entirely swallowed by a blinding white haze, a strange sensation gripped Luo Mu's heart.

In perhaps overly abstract terms, it felt as if he were being peeled away from this world.

But the feeling vanished in an instant—a blink, a thought, a moment of distraction—and Luo Mu realized everything around him had changed.

"Dragonite."

Luo Mu, instinctively concerned for Dragonite, hadn't finished speaking when he involuntarily breathed in.

A heavily polluted, literally throat-burning air surged into his trachea—once blessed by the fresh air of Paldea and Alola, now pampered and delicate.

In an instant, tears welled uncontrollably in his eyes; he instinctively gasped and forcibly held his breath.

Dragonite beside him fared no better, clutching its throat and gazing at Luo Mu with pitiful, pleading eyes.

Good thing we didn't get separated—

The thought flashed through his mind; without time to survey his surroundings, Luo Mu quickly unslung his backpack and rummaged frantically through its vast interior.

Just as he was about to suffocate, he finally found the mask—designed for poison resistance, air purification, and independent oxygen supply—and its Peitao portable oxygen tank.

He'd also prepared custom versions tailored to Pokémon Tixing and species, besides his own.

Fortunately, he'd brought the space backpack and had preemptively stocked it with all manner of supplies.

Though he often joked his pack was as cluttered as some robot cat's magic bag, his preparations had truly paid off now.

Once Luo Mu and Dragonite had both donned their masks, they took deep, relieved breaths.

Alive again!

Only now did they have the chance to examine their surroundings.

They were no longer in the Ruins of the Other Shore; the figures of Kapu-Kahu and Kapu-Fini had long vanished.

Around them stretched a desolate mountain range, heavy black clouds blotting out the sky, making it impossible to tell if it was day or night.

Added to this was the air he'd just experienced—polluted beyond even the word "filthy" could describe.

Clearly, Kapu-Fini had dumped him into a terrible place.

This reminded Luo Mu of the anime plot where Ash, battling Kapu-Kahu on his way to school, suddenly found himself in a region of sand and ruins.

He remembered the explanation given: Ash's Kapu-Kahu had formed a connection with a shiny Kapu-Kahu from a parallel world.

Through some unknown mechanism, surging lightning had transported Ash and Pikachu to the ruined Melemele Island of the alternate world—or rather, to a place called Ultra Megalopolis.

Greedy humans had monopolized land and exploited it recklessly, causing rich nature to vanish; forests, oceans, and even the air had been progressively polluted.

The island's guardian gods, disappointed, vanished entirely; humans remained oblivious and continued their development.

Until one day, an Ultra Beast named "Guzzlord" appeared beneath a shopping mall.

Guzzlord destroyed everything, devouring anything within sight, ultimately creating the ruins Ash had witnessed.

Luo Mu wasn't yet certain where he was.

But he could be sure it wasn't Ultra Megalopolis, where Ash and Pikachu had arrived.

"Guess I'll have to wander around and take a look."

Luo Mu muttered to himself, deciding to scout the area and determine his current location.

"Fly as high as you can."

Climbing onto Dragonite's back, his voice sounded slightly distorted through the mask.

"Bōmū~"

Dragonite nodded gently and flapped its wings, ascending.

Because portable oxygen reserves were limited—even if replacements were possible—he and Dragonite had to conserve usage, uncertain how long they'd remain here.

Vigorous movement would inevitably consume vast amounts of oxygen; thus, Dragonite's ascent was painfully slow, but this deliberate pace allowed Luo Mu to clearly observe his surroundings.

Even at higher altitude, the mountain he'd just left remained utterly barren—not a trace of life, not even a dead tree.

Flying higher still, through the hazy air, Luo Mu saw endless mountain ranges.

Massive cables, like giant serpents, coiled around the towering, grotesque rocks, faintly glowing with a pale blue light—as if still operational.

Industrial ruins stretched across a vast canyon, situated farther away on the opposite side.

Thick black smoke continuously rose from them, filling the sky and forming the oppressive clouds.

Faintly, lightning flickered within the black clouds.

Before he could even react, as Dragonite climbed higher, Luo Mu could now see the full picture.

As expected—a large island.

But what was that endless black surrounding the island's edge? The sea? The thought made Luo Mu frown deeply.

Then, as he studied the island's full expanse, he suddenly remembered something—his expression changed.

He told Dragonite to hold still, then pulled from his waist pouch a neatly folded paper map of Alola.

Comparing the outline of an island on the left side of the map, Luo Mu fell silent.

He could guess where he was.

This was still Boni Island—but not the Boni Island he knew. It was something like Ultra Megalopolis… Ultra Power Plant! Meanwhile—

Far from Boni Island, a man-made island built atop polluted oceans.

In the CEO's office of "Rainbow Happy Development & Construction Co."

A blue-lit screen suddenly flickered, its crimson glow issuing a warning.

"Who… has breached my Boni Island?"

A pair of arms, thickly covered in coarse hair, reached out and silenced the alarm.

In the faintly flickering light, the speaker's rugged, grim-faced visage emerged.

After completing reconnaissance, under Luo Mu's command, Dragonite landed at a concealed base beneath a rocky outcrop.

He'd already marked their original landing spot on the standalone Boni Island map; terrain-wise, it was nearly identical—he wouldn't get lost.

"This is sufficiently hidden—good enough as a base for now." Once on solid ground, he replaced Dragonite's oxygen tank with a fresh one. Gazing at the empty canister, Luo Mu frowned.

He thought the bizarre environment here might affect him and Dragonite far more than he'd initially assumed.

Though he'd scouted for about thirty minutes in the air, oxygen consumption had risen sharply with the intensity of movement.

If combat erupted, the impact on combat effectiveness could be severe.

High-intensity battles would drain oxygen rapidly, and the air here—so foul it made one recoil—was clearly unusable.

Compared to Ash and Pikachu's arrival in the parallel world's Melemele Island, where Guzzlord had merely devoured most things into a desert of ruins, Ultra Megalopolis was far cleaner than this.

Even if one could attempt to adapt to the pollution here, Luo Mu had no intention of letting his Riolu or Dragonite try.

Who knew what unforeseen changes might occur? What if they fell ill?

In the short time since landing, Luo Mu, suddenly feeling itchy, had already pulled a protective suit from his backpack and donned it.

Dragonite felt fine, but due to the mask, most electric-type moves were likely unusable.

Staying inseparable from Dragonite, Luo Mu remained vigilant in this unfamiliar environment, inspecting the temporary base.

Original text in view!

It was a partially enclosed space formed by stacked, collapsed rocks, with hollow cavities.

Better than sleeping under the open sky for hiding from unknown enemies.

And the most important reason Luo Mu chose this spot, besides its structure, was—

He'd selected the landing site based on the Boni Island map.

And the location he'd chosen was—where the Sun Disc or Moon Disc altar once stood.

Through his gloves, he traced the heavily worn patterns on the floor, his gaze settling on a stone nearly shattered beyond recognition—barely visible, a corner of a sun emblem remained engraved.

Who could have imagined this was once the most sacred site in Alola, storing vast amounts of light energy to evolve Cosmog into the legendary Pokémon Solgaleo or Lunala?

Now, it was nothing but ruins.

What had happened to Boni Island? As he released Riolu, Swampert, Milotic, and Dragonite's mother from their Poké Balls, preparing masks for each, Luo Mu silently pondered.

The answer was already obvious.

Further ahead, beyond the Boni Grand Canyon, the power plant built atop those endless rocks was almost certainly the source of this environmental collapse.

The vast plumes of black pollution rising into the sky had created this endless, dayless night—just looking at it was horrifying.

Nearly an hour had passed, yet Luo Mu had seen not a single wild Pokémon or human.

Perhaps someone—or an Ultra Beast—was active near the power plant.

Luo Mu had no intention of rushing there recklessly.

Due to the air, his combat strength was already compromised.

Rather than charging ahead blindly, he preferred to rest, then return to Boni Wave Rock Shore to find this world's Kapu-Fini.

With Kapu-Fini's power—the "pure water that purifies all filth"—he could fight without restraint.

Even if he faced the true culprit behind Boni Island's ruin, he'd at least have a fighting chance.

Having outlined his plan, Luo Mu ate a pre-packaged liquid meal—minimally exposed to the polluted air—for lunch, tidied up his traces, recalled his Pokémon, and kept only Riolu beside him, mask still on.

This time, he wouldn't fly directly. Earlier, to clarify the situation, he'd taken a risk; now, after reconnaissance, reckless actions weren't his style.

Before setting out, to confirm something, Luo Mu took from his waist pouch his Z-Ring and all his Z-Crystals.

Grass Z, Ground Z, Mimikyu Z, and the Normal Z Kapu-Ditto had tossed him, plus the Electric Z he'd won from Kapu-Kahu.

These items no longer shimmered with their former radiant hues—they were all dull, just as Ash's had been when he crossed over.

Perhaps because the Kapu family no longer favored him—or because the radiant light of the Ultra God, Necrozma, no longer shone upon him.

Fortunately, even though Z-Moves were banned, this did not affect the Terastal Zhu, which stores Terastal energy directly, or the Evolution Stone and Evolution Key Stone, which activate through the bond between Trainer and Pokémon.

But be aware that the Terastal Zhu 's energy may not sustain multiple Terastallizations.

"If you bring Victini, you won't have to worry about this."

With a sigh, after orienting himself, Luo Mu headed toward Boni Gulang Coast with Raichu.

It was some distance from Boni Grand Canyon, but not too far.

On foot, you could make it from day to night.

Tiring as it was, fortunately, Boni Island had no day or night—on the other side of Boni Grand Canyon, across the hills and valleys, power plants stretched endlessly.

A bolt of lightning split the sky, briefly illuminating the surroundings.

Among countless snake-like giant cables, an unknown creature resembling a humanoid wire—with a head like a white star and a body formed of several cables—lay embedded in the rock in a conical shape, utterly motionless.

Such creatures were encountered almost every few steps.

As if receiving a signal, when a warning light in a nearby power plant flickered faintly, the star-like heads of these creatures began to flash at the same frequency.

Then, after a brief delay, several of them leapt into the sky and scattered in all directions across Boni Island.

After walking a long time and replacing his portable oxygen tank several times, Luo Mu finally saw the outline of Boni Gulang Coast.

Yet, compared to the ruins on the far side of Boni Gulang Coast, something else now weighed heavily on Luo Mu's mind.

"This… is the sea."

Gazing at the endless, utterly lifeless black sea, Luo Mu and Raichu exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity in each other's eyes.

The sea, once teeming with life, had become this lifeless wasteland—here, the pollution was simply—

Luo Mu sighed deeply.

Even the air on land was this polluted; despite Raichu's special ability, they had found no trace of life along the way.

Given the sea's current state, life could hardly exist here at all.

Even hardy, environment-tolerant Gyarados and Magikarp would not survive.

Just as Luo Mu was about to turn away, the system prompt—normally silent unless he asked a question—suddenly appeared.

A line of gilded characters quietly surfaced in Luo Mu's vision.

【At twelve o'clock to your right, 500 meters along the beach, there is a life that needs your help】

Luo Mu halted, without hesitation, shouting to Raichu: "Follow me!"

(End of Chapter)