Chapter 582: Kijiru

Since arriving in this world, Kappu·Finneon's power has been gradually recovering; though it still cannot fight, it can still provide auxiliary support.

Kappu·Finneon also has a way to restrict this Ultra Beast, Glutton King's, power as much as possible.

Taking a few steps forward, Kappu·Finneon extended its palm forward, releasing an odd fluctuation.

In an instant, a dreamlike pale pink mist enveloped the entire cave—this was Kappu·Finneon's ability "Mist Maker," another Pokémon with this ability being Gascon (Galarian form).

The effect creates a mist terrain beneath its feet: any Pokémon on the ground takes half damage from Dragon-type attacks and cannot be inflicted with status conditions or confusion.

This provided excellent auxiliary support against the Glutton King, which is both Dark- and Dragon-type.

The commotion drew Glutton King's attention, but its focus remained fixed on the rock pillars, as if they concealed some exquisite delicacy meant solely for it.

"Ten Thousand Volts."

Immediately after Kappu·Finneon's move, Luo Mu, having fought the Electric Trees and thoroughly understood the Ultra Beast's peculiarities, launched a tentative attack against Glutton King.

Zzzt—!

Blue-white sparks flickered across Litten's fur, then surged into a current that illuminated the dark cave. With a thunderous crack, golden electricity pierced the air and raced toward Glutton King.

Glutton King's beastly instinct caused it to turn again before the current struck; its abyss-like maw opened wide, swallowing the furious current whole, and in an instant, it vanished without a trace.

Not even a ripple was stirred.

"!!!!"

Seeing this, Aoki froze mid-motion, his expression shifting slightly.

What the hell is this thing?

It really did swallow the attack whole, just as Lila and Shuai Ge said—either digested and absorbed directly, or swallowed into some alternate space connected to that monstrous mouth!

Aoki became even more cautious, abandoning the idea of sending Mukkuru into close combat with Glutton King.

—Any bite from that mouth and it's over.

"Florges, Air Slash."

Light and graceful Florges flapped its wings, launching countless azure blades wrapped in biting winds toward Glutton King.

Glutton King responded as usual: it swallowed most of the Air Slashes head-on, while the rest it shrugged off with its thick, rugged hide.

Because Air Slash covered such a wide area, Glutton King inevitably bore minor wounds from taking the full brunt.

Before Aoki could even relax, thinking Glutton King was strange but manageable,

Shuai Ge's low warning rang out: "Don't let your guard down—it can heal its wounds by eating objects!"

Under Aoki's stunned expression, Glutton King let out another piercing, frenzied screech.

"Hnnnnngh—!"

Simultaneously, its pincer-like thick forked tongue, like a pair of hands, began actively clamping rock fragments and shoving them into its mouth.

Glutton King's wounds were visibly healing at a rapid pace.

Worse still, its own aura was surging upward at a terrifying rate as it devoured.

Glutton King's vicious gaze locked onto Luo Mu and the others.

To Glutton King, anything disturbing its meal was an enemy.

Within its gaping maw, blue, purple, and red energy coalesced, forming a monstrous energy dragon that roared toward them.

"Snorlax, Block!"

Lila unhesitatingly threw an Interpol-standard Poké Ball; with a heavy thud, a slightly disheveled Snorlax opened its arms, erecting a blue energy barrier shaped like a giant "X" in front of it.

Boom!

In the thunderous explosion, Snorlax was nearly swallowed by the Dragon Pulse.

Fortunately, its thick hide and the Block ability lessened the damage, so it survived with only a close call.

Luo Mu frowned slightly—even weakened by the mist terrain, it still had this much power—what exactly is this Glutton King?

Amid the swirling dust, Litten's glowing eyes shot out like lightning, its electrified claws slashing hard against Glutton King's flank, forcing another pained roar from the beast.

Accumulated battle experience allowed Litten to deliberately avoid Glutton King's massive mouth, instead exploiting its sluggish mobility by targeting its back and sides.

Aoki immediately ordered Florges to follow up: "Awakening Dance" hammered continuously against Glutton King's head, further drawing its attention.

"Pukarai."

Kappu·Finneon was extremely busy: it had to concentrate life droplets to heal Lila's Snorlax and Shuai Ge's Toxapex, while also diverting part of its psychic energy to link with Luo Mu's mind, sharing its vision.

"This is—"

Luo Mu's eyes were veiled by a thin film of psychic energy, transforming his vision drastically.

He saw, in the dim cave, numerous soft, worm-like green "creatures" clinging to the walls.

As Glutton King deliberately and continuously devoured them, their numbers rapidly dwindled, while Glutton King's aura surged.

Although Luo Mu had suspected this ever since learning the cave's name was "End,"

Seeing it with his own eyes, he still couldn't suppress a look of astonishment.

Those green worms were all Kijiru cells!

Kijiru cells are the byproducts of Kijiru, the Legendary Pokémon of Kalos, the observer who monitors and maintains ecological balance, after it split itself apart.

These cells normally spread across the world, serving as Kijiru's "eyes"; when Kijiru needs them, they respond to the core's call, rising as green light to reunite and reconstruct its full body.

According to Luo Mu's knowledge, Kalos had an End Cave, and in the game, even a 50% form of Kijiru resided there.

And now, this End Cave in Alola, coincidentally sharing the same name, also housed Kijiru cells.

But according to Luo Mu's understanding, Kijiru's two cores should currently be under surveillance by Faldari, the man in Kalos who tried to recruit him.

He's probably too preoccupied to care about this place now, which is why he's letting Glutton King devour his cells without appearing to maintain order or drive the disruptor away.

But other possibilities exist—after all, Luo Mu himself wasn't sure what kind of world this was, with Ash, Green, and Red all coexisting.

Perhaps, like in the game, there were other Kijiru cores in Alola besides the two in Kalos: Z2 and Soft.

Luo Mu remembered that before his crossing, many Pokémon urban legends linked Glutton King with Kijiru, but that wasn't the focus now.

Glutton King was rapidly growing stronger by consuming Kijiru cells—he had to incapacitate it before it became too strong to stop!

The storm in his mind ended. Luo Mu gave Kappu·Finneon a slight nod, then turned to Lila and Shuai Ge: "Both of you, help me draw the Ultra Beast's attention!"

Had he brought more Pokémon on this trip, he could've had Dragonite and Swampert assist Litten to crush Glutton King effortlessly.

But now, he needed Shuai Ge and the others' help to quickly incapacitate Glutton King.

As Luo Mu finished speaking, Shuai Ge and Lila, seeing Snorlax and Toxapex's wounds nearly healed by Kappu·Finneon, nodded firmly.

"Got it!"

Under Lila's command, Snorlax opened its half-lidded eyes and charged forward, grabbing Glutton King's arm-like forked tongue to restrain its feeding.

Meanwhile, Toxapex weaved between Glutton King and Snorlax, using "Poison Jab" to prevent Glutton King from biting Snorlax with its gaping maw.

Aoki, having received Luo Mu's cue, threw two Poké Balls in quick succession; his Flying-type Champion and Normal-type Gym Leader's elite Pokémon, Corviknight and Mukkuru, appeared, joining Florges to form a wind vortex, further restricting Glutton King's movements.

Glutton King's attacks were neutralized by their coordinated efforts.

Litten, having left considerable damage on Glutton King, leaped back to Luo Mu's side.

"Good thing I always carry these no matter where I go."

Luo Mu pulled a Z-Ring and the Electric Z-Crystal gifted by Kappu·Mimikyu from his waist pouch, took a deep breath, and unhesitatingly tapped the ring.

"Litten—"

"Max Lightning!"

As the Z-Crystal blazed with light, merging with most of Luo Mu's stamina and flooding into Litten, a blinding lightning storm erupted, licking the ground and thundering through the cave.

Aoki, Shuai Ge, and Lila had no time to wonder why Luo Mu launched the Z-Move without a charge-up—they called their Pokémon to retreat in unison.

By the time Glutton King finally broke free, before it could devour nearby rocks or Kijiru cells to restore its strength,

With a rumbling roar, a furious current like a screaming thunder dragon, under Litten's control, dodged Glutton King's gaping maw and struck its head with pinpoint accuracy!

A deafening explosion echoed through the vast cave; the roaring lightning formed a miniature mushroom cloud that swallowed Glutton King whole, shaking the End Cave as if it would collapse in the next second.

Fortunately, the End Cave, suspected to be Kijiru's dwelling, benefited from Kijiru's excellence as a Ground-type Pokémon in fortifying its home.

At Aoki's command, howling winds scattered the thick smoke, revealing the scene within.

Glutton King lay on the ground, battered and seemingly incapacitated.

Even so, it still tried to gnaw at the soil with its perpetually open maw.

For a moment, its stubbornness left everyone speechless.

The group gathered, watching Glutton King warily, discussing one question:

How do we move Glutton King to the Ultra Wormhole?

It looked six or seven meters tall, possibly weighing close to a ton—not something easily carried.

"What about catching it with a Poké Ball?"

Aoki suggested.

"No—somehow, the Ultra Aura, that glowing energy you saw during battle, makes ordinary Poké Balls, even Ultra Balls, nearly impossible to capture them."

"The Poké Balls capable of containing them are still under joint development by the Task Force and Alola. For now, the only option is to move it."

Looking at Glutton King, heavier than even her Snorlax, Lila sighed.

"."

Aoki could only remain silent.

Confirming that Ultra Balls had not yet been developed, Luo Mu paused, then turned to Kappu·Finneon.

"Pukarai."

Kappu·Finneon shook its head.

It could only say that the battle ended too quickly—its kind were still en route, riding ocean currents.

Judging by the distance of its aura, it was likely traveling from the Far Shore Ruins of Boni Island into Alola's waters.

"Looks like we have no choice but to move it."

Luo Mu sighed in resignation, realizing there was no signal in this End Cave, and pointed at the fallen Gluttonous King and the others:

"I'm going up to the surface. We can't contact anyone down here. Keep attacking it occasionally so it doesn't regain strength by swallowing dirt."

The current force alone isn't enough to move this thing—it's much larger than the Gluttonous King in Luo Mu's memory and the Pokédex.

He could only call Zikong, and have Dragonite and Swampert come over.

Spirit Horse might also work—dragging the Gluttonous King into shadows to move it—but the thing might actually eat shadows. For some reason, Luo Mu always felt Gluttonous King could truly do such a thing.

Just as the group took the task seriously and Kapu-Finny stayed behind as a precaution, Luo Mu prepared to return to the surface.

Not far from the fallen Gluttonous King, space shattered and collapsed like a spiderweb, and the white, net-like Ultra Wormhole reappeared silently once more.

From the Ultra Wormhole, a massive, bloodied maw slowly emerged.

This sudden turn of events instantly changed Lila and the handsome guy's expressions.

"A third Ultra Wormhole in such a short time!?"

They had been in Alola for nearly a year; while Ultra Wormholes weren't common, they weren't unheard of either.

This was the first time three Ultra Wormholes had opened in succession within such a short span!

"Hnnnnnnnnn—!"

Amid the group's alert expressions, a second Gluttonous King emerged from the wormhole, its greedy gaze sweeping the surroundings before it charged without hesitation toward the location of the Kyogre cells.

"No way. Again?"

Luo Mu froze in place, his whole body going numb.

Before he could order Litten to fight again, another anomaly occurred.

From deep within the cave, a series of rapid footsteps suddenly rang out.

"Roaaar—!"

In the distance, a dazzling burst of emerald light flared, accompanied by a majestic roar. The figure became a trail of light, surging forward with overwhelming energy, unleashing all its force upon the second Gluttonous King!

(End of Chapter)