Cynthia quickly discovered that beyond having the name "Cosmog" and being a Psychic-type, there wasn't much other information on this Pokémon at all. It seemed to be because it hadn't officially joined her team yet.
Just then, the chat started rolling.
[If this is an Ultra Beast, why not ask that Gladion guy?]
Cynthia paused, thinking that wasn't a bad idea.
She immediately opened the in-game Holo Caster and dialed Gladion's number.
The call connected after two rings.
Cynthia got straight to the point, describing what had just happened.
"Gladion, I brought a strange little creature out of that wormhole. It's white, really small, shaped like a star, and it can teleport."
Silence on the other end.
A full five seconds passed before Gladion's voice came through, incredulous.
"White... an aura ring... you're saying that's a Cosmog?!"
His tone had shifted into something urgent, completely unlike his usual composure.
"Strawberry Sundae, don't move. Bring it to Steven's mansion right now. I need to confirm something extremely important. And as for how to catch it, I have to tell you in person."
The line went dead.
Cynthia stared at the darkened Holo Caster screen, lost in thought.
So just what kind of Pokémon was this?
The chat was buzzing with discussion about the name.
[Wait, Cosmog? What kind of name is that.]
[It's so cute but the name is so complicated. Just give it a nickname. I'm calling it Little Meatball.]
[That's worse than just calling it Cosmog, honestly.]
Cynthia used Fly.
With the cry of a bird Pokémon, the camera swept upward into the sky, clouds rushing past in a blur.
Seconds later, her character landed in Slateport City.
She headed straight for Steven's mansion.
She hadn't even reached the door before she spotted Gladion standing on the front steps, arms crossed, pacing back and forth with barely concealed anxiety.
When he saw her character approaching, he stopped. His gaze locked immediately onto the small creature cradled in her arms. "Get inside," he said, and turned to push open the door.
Cynthia followed him in.
The main hall was empty at this hour, the space feeling hollow and vast.
Gladion stopped at the large table in the center of the room.
"Put it on the table," he said, gesturing to the surface.
Cynthia did as instructed and set Nebby down. The moment it touched the tabletop, it began spinning in curious circles, seemingly fascinated by everything around it.
Gladion held out a red-and-yellow sphere.
"This is an Ultra Ball. Try catching it first and see if it works."
Cynthia found this a little odd. Just handing over a ball and telling her to catch it? The pacing felt rushed. Still, she opened her bag and took out the Ultra Ball. It arced through the air and struck Nebby squarely on the table.
The ball burst open, a red beam of light engulfing the little creature and drawing it inside.
The Ultra Ball hit the tabletop with a crisp clack.
It began to shake.
Once.
The chat exploded immediately.
[Can it catch it?]
[Ultra Balls have a pretty high catch rate, should be fine.]
Just as the ball was about to shake a second time, a dull pop rang out.
The ball cracked open right down the middle.
A flash of white light, and Nebby reappeared on the table. It shook its head, blinking around in bewilderment, completely unaware of what had just happened.
A red system message appeared in the center of the screen.
[Catch failed! This target cannot be captured with a standard Poké Ball.]
Cynthia stared. An Ultra Ball had just been outright rejected, without even a struggle.
The chat erupted.
[What the hell? It can't be caught?!]
[That was an Ultra Ball! Is this thing a legendary or something?]
[Probably. Did you see the message? 'Cannot be captured with a standard Poké Ball.']
Gladion looked at Nebby on the table and let out a heavy sigh. His expression held no real surprise.
"As I expected," he said.
"Cosmog, along with the Ultra Beasts you encountered in the wormhole, have a physical composition and energy wavelength completely unlike any Pokémon native to this world. Standard Poké Balls cannot recognize or lock onto their biosignals."
He paused. "Cosmog is a particularly unusual Ultra Beast. It's said that once it matures, it becomes an extraordinarily powerful existence..."
Gladion reached into his jacket pocket and produced a small, finely crafted metal case.
He set it on the table and gently lifted the lid.
Inside, nestled on black velvet, sat ten Poké Balls of a design unlike anything Cynthia had seen before.
The lower halves were white, the upper halves deep blue, covered in intricate golden patterns. At the center of each ball, a tiny glowing crystal pulsed with a faint blue light.
Cynthia zoomed in for a closer look, taking in these strange new items.
The chat was immediately captivated.
[New ball type? These look incredible, so blue.]
[They look incredibly high-tech.]
[So these are specifically made for catching Ultra Beasts?]
Gladion picked one up.
"These are the latest development from a joint effort between the League and the Aether Foundation." He turned it over in his hand, a trace of pride in his voice. "We call them Beast Balls. The energy core is made from Ultra Crystals, designed specifically for capturing Pokémon from other worlds."
He slid the entire case toward Cynthia.
"Take them. All ten are yours. You've already started exploring Ultra Wormholes, which means you're fated to deal with what lies beyond. Try one."
Cynthia made a mental note to use them sparingly. Ten was not a lot. Special items in this game were never easy to come by, and if she ran out, there was no telling where she'd be able to restock.
The chat agreed.
[Only ten? Be careful with those, streamer.]
[Try catching it already!]
Cynthia reached out and took one of the Beast Balls.
The moment she touched it, a faint vibration registered through her mouse, as though a subtle current were running through the ball's surface. She stepped back, aimed at Nebby on the table, and pressed the throw button.
The Beast Ball spun through the air toward its target.
The instant it made contact with Nebby, it didn't release the red light of an ordinary Poké Ball.
Instead, it erupted in a dazzling cascade of blue luminescence. The light streamed out like chains, wrapping around the little creature in an instant. Without so much as a sound, it was drawn inside.
The Beast Ball landed on the table.
Once.
Blue light raced through the golden patterns on the ball's surface.
Twice.
A low, resonant hum emanated from within.
Three times.
A sharp, clear chime rang out, and the indicator on top of the ball went dark.
A celebratory firework animation burst across the center of the screen, followed by a system message.
[Congratulations! You caught Cosmog (Nebby)!]
Cynthia stared at the screen, barely believing it.
Ultra Beasts could actually be caught?
The chat had gone absolutely wild.
[She got it! She actually got it!]
[The catch animation is completely different from a regular ball, that was incredible!]
[The aesthetics on these things are off the charts.]
[Is it in the party now? Check the stats!]
Cynthia opened the party screen immediately.
The previously empty slot was now filled by Cosmog's icon.
She could finally see its detailed attributes.
The little one was a pure Psychic type for now. Its level was very low, and its moveset was a pitiful two moves: Splash, and the Teleport that had saved her earlier.
Combat effectiveness: essentially zero.
It would have to sit in the party as a mascot for the time being.
Gladion watched Cynthia put away the Beast Ball, and his expression grew serious.
"Now that you've learned to use the Beast Ball, there's something I need to ask of you."
He walked over to the holographic map display in the hall and tapped several points. A handful of red markers lit up across the map.
"According to our monitoring, there are still several locations in the Hoenn region showing abnormal Ultra Beast readings. You'll need to find the hidden wormholes at each site, enter them, and use the Beast Balls to bring back the Ultra Beasts that have wandered through. They're too dangerous to leave in our world."
A quest update chime sounded.
Cynthia glanced at her quest log.
[Hunt and Catch Five Ultra Beasts]
The chat lit up with excitement.
[A side quest! Ultra Beast hunting!]
[This storyline is so good. We get to go around catching rare monsters now.]
[Go catch them, streamer! I want to see what other weird Pokémon are out there.]
Cynthia was excited too. The ones she'd encountered earlier had left quite an impression, especially that terrifying white jellyfish. She couldn't wait to see what else was waiting out there.
She left the mansion with Nebby in tow, placing it second in her party on the field slot. It couldn't battle, but watching it drift around behind her character was undeniably adorable.
The first red marker was on Route 110.
Cynthia hopped on her Bicycle and rode south from Mauville City.
The southern stretch of Route 110 was thick with tall grass. Normally only a scattering of Electric or Grass types would appear here. But the moment she drew near the grass's edge, the Wrist Gauge on her character's arm flashed red and began emitting a soft beeping sound.
She slowed her pace.
She watched the screen carefully.
Deep within the grass, the air seemed to warp slightly. Faint rings of purple ripples expanded outward. Without the Wrist Gauge to alert her, this kind of detail would have been almost impossible to spot.
She pushed through the tall grass and pressed forward.
Beyond it, a purple spatial rift had appeared out of nowhere, its edges crackling and sparking like arcs of electricity.
Without hesitation, she walked through.
The scene cut.
The space inside was long and narrow, like a corridor with no visible end. The walls on either side were made of some unknown metallic material. Countless razor-sharp white paper fragments drifted through the air, swirling as though they had a life of their own.
Her character's footsteps rang out against the metal floor.
At the end of the corridor, Cynthia found her target.
It was an extraordinarily slender Pokémon, standing with its back to her character. Its body appeared to be folded entirely from white paper, impossibly thin.
At the sound of footsteps, the creature turned around.
Its head was shaped like a star. Most striking of all were its arms, which were nothing less than two gleaming blades, throwing cold, hard light in the dim glow of the corridor.
The Wrist Gauge displayed its information.
[Target Encountered: Kartana, Lv. 80]
[Type: Steel / Grass]
The chat was speechless.
[What is THAT? An origami crane??]
[Is this even a living creature? This looks like a craft project.]
[It looks amazing though! It's a Grass type?]
[Watch out, that thing looks like it hits hard!]
Cynthia skipped the formalities and went straight to the battle button.
The combat screen loaded.
Against a Steel and Grass type combination, Fire had an overwhelming advantage. Cynthia sent out her primary Fire type attacker, Victini.
The battle had barely started before Kartana's speed proved absurd.
It crossed the entire field in what felt like an instant, its blade-like arms sweeping down on Victini in a single, vicious strike.
A blinding white flash lit up the screen, accompanied by a piercing tearing sound.
Victini's HP bar plummeted, dropping well over half in one hit.
Cynthia felt a jolt of alarm.
The attack power and speed on this thing were completely unreasonable.
Even against Victini's considerable bulk, it had dealt that much damage in a single move.
Fortunately, Kartana didn't seem to have much bulk of its own.
A torrent of blazing flame erupted and swallowed it whole.
With such a massive type advantage, Kartana's HP bottomed out almost instantly, leaving just a sliver of red.
Now.
Cynthia opened her bag, selected a Beast Ball, and threw it.
The familiar blue luminescence flashed, and Kartana was drawn inside.
The Beast Ball hit the ground and shook exactly once before releasing its clear, decisive chime.
Caught.
The chat cheered.
[Congrats on the origami Pokémon, streamer!]
[That thing's speed is insane, the damage too. One move and Victini lost half its HP. That's terrifying.]
[Attack is clearly maxed out. If you give it a Swords Dance, imagine the numbers.]
Cynthia shared that assessment. She pulled up Kartana's stat screen, and the absurdly high Attack and Speed values were genuinely impressive.
Even more notable was its Ability.
[Beast Boost]
After knocking out an opposing Pokémon, the stat it excels in most is raised by one stage!
That was a ridiculous level of power.
The next target was on Route 115.
Cynthia used Fly to reach Fallarbor Town, then continued down the road on foot.
The stretch of Route 115 nearest Mt. Chimney was perpetually dusted with pale gray volcanic ash. The game's visuals gave everything a hazy, misted quality, visibility low at every turn.
Her character's footsteps left a clear trail in the thick blanket of ash.
The Wrist Gauge vibrated again.
Following the indicator, she arrived near an abandoned mine.
Rusted rail tracks and derelict mine carts were scattered everywhere.
Behind one of the carts, a purple wormhole pulsed quietly with light.
After stepping through, the interior space had shifted entirely in appearance.
Thick metal pipes with an industrial quality filled every direction, joints between them venting bursts of hot white steam. The whole space hummed with the low, unrelenting sound of machinery at work.
Cynthia guided her character past several of the venting pipe openings.
Before long, on a large platform ahead, she spotted the second target.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones