Maki had no idea what Golurk was trying to accomplish or what the strange flashing frequency meant. After all, he wasn't an ancient person who had created Golurk in the first place. Some researchers had reportedly deciphered the language of Golurk, but Maki certainly wasn't one of them.
After making a series of unintelligible noises, the Golurk in front of him turned around and started walking away.
This action allowed Maki to breathe a sigh of relief. Typically, such behavior indicated that the Golurk did not perceive him as an intruder. As long as he remained cautious, he should be able to leave safely.
However, just as Maki was beginning to feel reassured, heavy footsteps echoed from all directions—more Golurk were approaching.
For reasons unknown, they were all converging toward his location… or rather, toward the Golurk standing before him.
Before long, Maki found himself surrounded by a large number of Golurk. Their presence exceeded his initial estimation—there were over twenty of them. Some were even larger than the first one he had encountered. But given the unique nature of Golurk as Pokémon, it was difficult for Maki to gauge their strength.
Regardless, he knew that if they decided to attack, crushing him would be effortless.
The Pokémon beside Maki all remained on high alert, their eyes fixed on the advancing Golurk. If anything went wrong, they were prepared to grab Maki and flee immediately.
Fortunately, the Golurk did nothing more than encircle him for a short while before dispersing, seemingly returning to their original positions.
Despite the brief encounter, Maki could feel cold sweat soaking his back.
"Slowly… start moving toward the exit," Maki whispered to his Pokémon, taking careful steps to withdraw from what seemed to be an altar.
"Whim!"
"Mawile~"
His Pokémon nodded in understanding. They, too, recognized that even a single Golurk here would be difficult to handle, let alone an entire group.
Just as they began their careful retreat, another unexpected event occurred.
The ground beneath them suddenly lit up. If Maki had taken to the air with the help of his Whimsicott at that moment, he would have noticed that the glowing patterns on the stone floor closely resembled—if not exactly mirrored—the markings on the Golurk.
At the same time, a disturbingly familiar energy began to gather within the space.
"You've got to be kidding me… again?"
Maki's expression shifted. He suddenly understood what was happening—just like at Mt. Moon, this place contained an Ultra Wormhole!
And these Golurk… for some reason, they were activating it.
Was it really this easy to open an Ultra Wormhole nowadays? How was it that he kept running into them?
Then, a realization struck him—this was no coincidence.
Everyone who had ever traveled through an Ultra Wormhole carried a distinct energy signature upon their return.
This energy, in turn, attracted Ultra Beasts. That likely explained why these Golurk were reacting to him so strongly—they had sensed that residual energy.
Unlike the difficult activation process at Mt. Moon, this Ultra Wormhole formed almost instantly. A powerful and familiar force pulled at Maki and his Pokémon.
"You…"
Maki didn't even have time to curse properly. He hastily recalled his Pokémon into their Poké Balls. Thankfully, there were no complications this time. Although his Absol had been traveling with him, it hadn't technically been caught, so he had to make do with a temporary Poké Ball.
Then, everything went black.
Just before losing consciousness, he managed to spit out one last curse:
"Damn it all!!"
First, he had been inexplicably dragged from Kanto to this island in Alola, and now he was being taken who-knows-where again!
...
Alola – Aether Foundation.
"P-President Lusamine! Our experiment was a success! The Ultra Wormhole has been opened!"
Wicke, perpetually holding some sort of paperwork, burst into Lusamine's office, breathless from running. Despite her panting, excitement was evident on her face.
"What? It worked?"
Even Lusamine appeared stunned. The Aether Foundation had attempted to open an Ultra Wormhole countless times before, and every single attempt had ended in failure. She had assumed this latest experiment would be no different.
But against all odds, the Ultra Wormhole had actually opened.
"Take me there."
Without hesitation, Lusamine abandoned her current task. Nothing could be more important than the Ultra Wormhole.
She and Wicke hurried to the lab. However, by the time they arrived, the Ultra Wormhole was already closing. Faba and the other researchers stood frozen, seemingly unaware of Lusamine's presence.
As she watched the wormhole seal itself, Lusamine's expression darkened with frustration. The Ultra Wormhole had appeared too suddenly and disappeared just as quickly, making it impossible to control.
Still, opening it even once meant they had a chance of stabilizing it in the future.
"What's the status?" Lusamine asked, stepping forward.
Wicke coughed to get the researchers' attention. Only then did they snap out of their stupor.
"P-President…"
"Madam President, here's what happened." Just as one of the researchers was about to report, a man wearing green sunglasses—his receding hairline making him look every bit the seasoned scientist—stepped forward, pushing the original speaker aside.
"Faba, do you have something to add?" Lusamine asked, frowning. She wasn't particularly fond of Faba—he was too scheming for her taste. But his competence was undeniable, which was why she tolerated him as a branch chief of the Aether Foundation.
"Ah, well, the experiment itself wasn't much different from previous attempts," Faba began. "Just as I thought we were going to fail yet again, I had a brilliant idea and made some last-minute adjustments to the plan—"
"Get to the point," Lusamine interrupted impatiently.
"…I accidentally pressed the wrong button."
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