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in an attempt to cover more ground and to utilize their limited time available in the ultra desert, the expedition team has decided to split up. while he would've preferred to have gone with someone else, he supposes it's not the end of the world to be paired up with boruta maher.[break][break]

even if they aren't really on speaking terms.[break][break]

the two mahers find themselves at what appears to be a SUN DIAL. the tall structure towers over them, casting a long shadow that stretches across the beige plains.[break][break]

"this is a sun dial, right? pretty sure i saw one in an anime before."[break][break]

27 encounter a sun dial that when operated or adjusted, can change the day and night cycle instantaneously.

[attr="class","bottom"]boruta maher Andrea Vaneau Shalin Nariya[break]

While the Maher siblings did their thing, Andrea and Shalin Nariya would explore the beached wreckage of a Megalopolan vessel, named Angelum Lucis, that they found in the middle of the desert. The name was written on the hull in faded letters. Its very presence in this realm was an enigma. Its shape did not resemble any human-made ship, making one question if it was even a naval vessel in the first place.

"Ooh, maybe it's actually a spaceship!" Andrea theorized, while making her way to the top of the dilapidated vessel with Chomper's help. Pokémon with the ability to fly once again proved their usefulness in expeditions like these.

Her Hydreigon made quick work of the rusted steel hatch standing in their way, whereupon the young PokéManiac peered over the large hole leading into the ship's interior hallways. "It's too dark. I can't see a thing down there." She said, readying her Rotom Phone to act as a flashlight.

"We should stick together so that we don't get lost." The dragon enthusiast suggested to her fellow explorer, before jumping down the hole, a metallic thud echoing once she landed. "I see something sparkling in the distance! Maybe it's treasure!" She hollered from inside.

boruta maher, CIAN MAHER, Shalin Nariya

☉

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it wasn’t the end of the world to be paired with his little brother. in fact, after the recent nightmare, he was relieved to be close to family. angry though he still was, they all felt too far away at every moment.[break][break]

”congrats on becoming gym leader.” it came terribly late, but hopefully better than never at all. other than that, he was quiet, eyes ahead until they came upon the sundial.

[break][break]he shook his head. it did not surprise him that cian still watched anime. ”yeah, i think so.”[break][break]

in his inspection, he found that the top seemed detached in a way, easily rotated on a post. as it did, the sun moved, diving down behind the horizon in an instant. it was night.[break][break]

”what the hell?”[break][break]

nearby, a mandibuzz was occupied with something in the sand. a buzzwole lay dead, booba all but picked away by scavengers.[break][break]

29 go back in time within the realm using the sun dial or a magical hourglass to avoid or resolve a situation.[break][break]

21 encounter the corpse of a pheromosa or buzzwole being picked apart by mandibuzz.

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"thanks."[break][break]

it's months late but better late than never, he guesses. at least bo said something unlike his other brother caden maher. he briefly wonders how his twin is doing but his attention is soon pulled away by the moving sun.[break][break]

suddenly, it's night. the stars above shine bright enough to cast light on the nearby mandibuzz.[break][break]

"oh shit. i think this happened in the anime as well."[break][break]

he gestures up at the dial and how easily it seems to move.[break][break]

"that's so cool. i think you can rotate it to either move forward in time or go back."[break][break]

reaching up, the dial twists once more, taking them further back in time until the sun shines down over them. the body of the BUZZWOLE is gone. in fact, there are a few very alive ones hovering above them in formation as though preparing for a battle.[break][break]

"huh?"

[attr="class","bottom"]boruta maher Andrea Vaneau Shalin Nariya[break]

It was treasure... Or was it? The two intrepid explorers soon found out the hard way that they were actually mirage-like illusions designed as a trap by a swarm of Mismagius. "No fair! I wanted to try out the cool suit!" Andrea whined, siccing Chomper on them. The Dark/Dragon type tanked the Shadow Balls, Energy Balls and Mystical Fires with ease, and drove the mischievous ghosts away with a series of brutal Crunches.

After the Mismagius had fled, the group would discover what truly lied inside the treasure-less room: Corpses. The bridge of the ship was riddled with the mummified bodies of Megalopolans, some lying on the floor, while others were propped up against the walls. "Are they... dead?" The young PokéManiac muttered, poking one of the corpses' heads, which got detached from the rest of the body. No blood came out of its empty stump of a neck, but it didn't make the sight any less horrifying when the head rolled down to her feet, staring up at her with its hollow eye sockets. "KYAAAAAAAH!!!"

Suddenly, time inexplicably moved backwards (thanks CIAN MAHER for fucking around with a time-altering artifact), and the severed head moved back in place as if nothing had happened, giving pause to the girl's horrified screams. "Huh... That was weird." Having recovered from the initial shock, her attention was drawn to an old journal held in the corpse's bony fingers. It kinda looked like those tattered manuals they kept finding. Curious, the dragon fanatic picked the book up and read it aloud.

CAPT█IN ████████'S LOG, 20██-W██

Our sc█nners have fail█d to loc█te any life█form oth█r than U█tra Beas█s. Ph█ro██sa and █uz██ole are the sole res█dents of th█s d█sert. We c█nnot fend them █ff for much l█nger. The sh█p's engin█s are d█maged beyond repa█r. We may not be abl█ to open a w█rmhole b█ck to Megal█polis at this r█te.

If th█s journal f█nds its█lf in your hands, pleas█ g█ve it to my son. His n█me is ████████.

"I can't make out the rest of it..." Andrea somberly mused, feeling like she'd just read the last record of a person's life. The Megalopolan mission's notes seemed to suggest only Ultra Beasts lived here, which directly contradicted the crew's own experiences with the desert. "If those Ultra Beasts were the sole residents, where did the Mismagius and the Orthworm come from?" The dragon-costumed girl pondered, stroking her chin in deep thought.

boruta maher, CIAN MAHER, Shalin Nariya

☉

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bo looked over, at his brother, who was still talking about anime.[break][break]

”seriously?”[break][break]

and then, the dial was turned again. they were in another place in time, and apparently, right in the middle of what would be a harrowing battle.[break][break]

”shit, that’s a lot of ultra beasts.”[break][break]

a hand reached for the first pokeball. his golem was released, prepared for combat. a protect would shield them from the oncoming buzzwole, who rushed past to clash with a nearby swarm of pheromosa, their real target. he watched, in awe. to see this many in action and not be the one to have to take them out was a new experience.[break][break]

after a brief moment, he suggested, ”we should wait it out and take a couple.” the ones that remained at the end of it, the strongest that would still be weakened enough by battle. ”i want one of those pheromosa.”[break][break]

his golem held back, seeming aware that they were biding their time.[break][break]

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instinctively, his flygon curls up around cian, protective in the way it glares up at the ultra beast, ready for battle. but it seems, at least for now, that there is no need for them to partake.[break][break]

"that's a whole swarm of 'em."[break][break]

and what a sight to behold. the great battle between buzzwole and pheromosa, each side clashing for dominance over the land. who will come out on top?[break][break]

"yeah, waiting it out seems like a good idea."[break][break]

a smart one, at least.[break][break]

"which one suits me better?"

[attr="class","bottom"]boruta maher Andrea Vaneau Shalin Nariya[break]

"I guess you're right. If things can get in, things should also be able to get out." The dragon fanatic concurred. Galarian and Paldean Pokémon had been integrated into Hoenn's ecosystem surprisingly well, so why couldn't Ultra Beasts follow suit? Were they truly humanity's natural enemy, or was that just prejudice talking? Andrea didn't have all the answers yet.

"I hope Kiara will be alright... She took quite a beating back there." The young PokéManiac mused, remembering how distraught Shalin had looked at the very thought of something bad happening to her beloved Pyroar. She took one last look around the room, the mummified corpses giving her chills. "There doesn't seem to be anything else for us here. Let's get out." She proposed, taking the old journal with her.

After they'd gotten outside the decrepit vessel with hopefully no more weird incidents happening, Andrea put a hand over her brow and gazed at the horizon, her eyes still adjusting to the light. "Woah... Do you see what's going on over there?" She pointed far off in the distance where clans of Pheromosa and Buzzwole clashed with each other, the swarms' great numbers forming a crimson and a creamy cloud respectively.

"Cian and Bo might be in trouble! Let's go!" The trainer of dragons hopped onto her shiny Hydreigon's back, and the two flew towards their newfound destination. Although she worried about the fate of their allies, part of her was also itching to see those so-called Ultra Beasts in action.

boruta maher, CIAN MAHER, Shalin Nariya

☉

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buzzwole and pheromosa clashed in an epic battle for the land. pheromosa slayed, stunning their enemies with elegant poses between hard smackdowns and high kicks. blam, kapow, k.o.[break][break]

”you know better than me. make a choice.”[break][break]

but gigachad mosquitos were none to be kept down, charging, knocking heads, and stabbing with their noses. bug legs flew into the air as foes were ripped limb from limb. a massacre. it’s a bug-eat-bug world out there, princess — hopper from a bug’s life.[break][break]

bo homed in on a hardy cockroach with all of its legs left. ”that one’s mine.” a true beast of survival. it resonated with him.[break][break]

”golem!”[break][break]

she took the fight, leading with a defense of the weakened pheromosa from its closest pursuer. the turtle’s fist glowed, stone hardening over it as she delivered her z-move, monolithic punch.

🗺️ utilize a z-move in an advantageous way.

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"ugh i'm asking for your advice you rillaboom."[break][break]

extend a branch and watch boruta snap it in half. typical. and all cian wanted was advice from his big brother. he guesses he won't be trying that again.[break][break]

with a resigned sigh, he watches the battle with patience, waiting until a buzzwole inevitably falls to a pheromosa. and sure enough, one does. it crashes into the ground right in front of him. but he decides he doesn't want a LOSER buzzwole.[break][break]

"fuck it. we're getting the strongest one."[break][break]

there's only one that looks as though it's having an easy time fending off the pheromosa. it's the same one that's giving the other side the most trouble.[break][break]

so, climbing aboard his flygon, he ascends with a BUG BUZZ only to DRAGON RUSH into it, catching it off guard.[break][break]

"let's fucking go!"[break][break]

flygin veers back around and holds it down with a BOOMBURST that shrieks and echoes. the buzzwole, unable to fend off the attack, simply holds on until a pokeball snaps it up.[break][break]

he swoops down to catch it.

[attr="class","bottom"]boruta maher Andrea Vaneau Shalin Nariya[break]