Chapter 1160: The Moon Flute and Cosmoem
Chapter 1160: The Moon Flute and Cosmoem
However, there was a clear boundary at the edge of the forest. On one side were bare rocks, while on the other side, lush flowers, trees, and grass flourished—a stark contrast.
Several Guzzlord were stationed at the boundary. Though they eyed the verdant forest hungrily, they didn\'t dare cross the line. Both sides remained at peace, watching each other.
Deep in the forest, four figures were floating aimlessly in the air. If Yuga were here, he would surely recognize them. Not only was Luna here, but so were Ayashi and Arata Sena.
The reason they were floating in the air was that Nihilego had parasitized them, controlling their bodies.
Nihilego, as a Pokémon, had a unique ability: it could parasitize other living beings, releasing neurotoxins into its host, thereby taking control of them.
Before coming to Alola, Yuga had thought about Ayashi and Arata Sena, knowing they were here. He even tried calling them, but no one answered.
At the time, he assumed the two were off on some remote adventure and didn\'t think much of it. Little did he know that not only had they accidentally entered Ultra Space, but they had also been captured by Nihilego.
When they first entered this Ultra Space, Ayashi and Arata Sena encountered some trouble, but thanks to their quick thinking, they managed to evade Guzzlord\'s pursuit.
Later, however, they happened to witness Luna and Kaname Hirakawa fall into this Ultra Space through an Ultra Wormhole.
Unlike the fortunate Ayashi and Arata Sena, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa were immediately attacked by several Guzzlord. Fortunately, Ayashi and Arata Sena who are hiding in the shadows, sent out their Flying-type Pokémon to save them. Without this intervention, Luna and Kaname Hirakawa wouldn\'t have stood a chance.
Although the four of them managed to escape from Guzzlord, they unfortunately wandered into Nihilego\'s territory. Nihilego, like Guzzlord, was not to be trifled with, and it had the added advantage of being able to fly, unlike the slow-moving Guzzlord.
Although Luna and the others, under Nihilego\'s control, retained some consciousness, they could neither control their bodies nor think deeply. They were stuck in a half-awake, half-asleep state.
Nihilego\'s neurotoxins were damaging to the nervous system. If a creature remained parasitized for too long, its nervous system would suffer damage, potentially resulting in a vegetative state.
Meanwhile, Yuga, having saved the Kartana earlier, was being warmly welcomed by the Kartana tribe. However, the Kartana tribe lived a harsh life themselves, so what they could offer to Yuga wasn\'t much—just some dried-up fruit, which Yuga couldn\'t help but wonder how long they had secretly stored away.
The oasis where the Kartana lived had been suffering from severe environmental degradation, and its size was rapidly shrinking. Before long, they might not even have those dried fruits to eat.
For years, the Kartana had been hiding from Guzzlord, but now Guzzlord had discovered this place. It was only a matter of time before more of them would swarm here.
As Yuga ate the fruit, he chatted with the elders of the Kartana tribe, and the conversation eventually turned to his Kartana.
As an Ultra Beast, how had it ended up in the human world?
The Kartana egg had appeared in the human world decades ago. It was accidentally found and taken away by Manaphy during one of its patrols.
Based on the timeline described by Yuga, the elders of the Kartana tribe confirmed that several decades ago, when the Guzzlord first arrived here, one of their members had indeed thrown an egg into a suddenly appearing Ultra Wormhole during a desperate chase.
However, the couple who had thrown the egg had long since died in the chaos caused by Guzzlord, so there was no way to confirm whether Yuga\'s Kartana had come from this Ultra Space. After all, Kartana did exist in other Ultra Spaces.
Besides, even if Yuga\'s Kartana had originated from this place, the Kartana tribe had no intention of asking it to stay. In their eyes, following Yuga into the human world was clearly a better option for Kartana.
It was uncertain whether their tribe could continue to exist in the future.
The pessimistic mood of the Kartana tribe also affected Yuga\'s Kartana, causing its spirits to drop significantly.
Seeing its friend upset, the Cosmoem in Yuga\'s arms quickly jumped out to comfort it.
However, when one of the elders of the Kartana tribe saw Cosmoem in full view, they suddenly exclaimed, "The Star Cocoon?"
"You know Cosmoem?" Yuga asked in surprise, while Cosmoem looked curiously at the Kartana elder who had spoken.
"Cosmoem? This is the legendary Star Cocoon! Follow me," the Kartana elder said.
With that, the Kartana led Yuga and the others deeper into the oasis, where they saw three statues of different sizes—Cosmog, Cosmoem, and Lunala.
In addition, there was a peculiar white flute placed right in front of the three statues.
"A long time ago, the Star Child, the Star Cocoon, and the Moon God protected this place, but one day, they all disappeared," the elder Kartana said, gazing at the statues with nostalgia. "I never thought I would see the Star Cocoon again."
Cosmoem felt a strong connection with the statue that resembled itself and curiously approached it, but before long, it became captivated by the flute in front of the statue.
"What\'s this flute for?" Yuga asked, puzzled.
The elder Kartana explained, "I don\'t know either. It\'s something passed down alongside the statues for generations. I only remember that it\'s called the Moon Flute."
The Moon Flute? Yuga thought. Could it be related to Lunala? Lunala was also known as the Beast that Calls the Moon.
Cosmoem playfully used its psychic power to lift the Moon Flute from the altar. Just as Yuga was about to stop it, the elder Kartana shook its head, signaling that it was okay.
Cosmoem then eagerly handed the Moon Flute to Yuga, persistently trying to place it in his hands.
"What are you doing? Do you want me to play it? I don\'t know how!" Yuga said helplessly.
But Cosmoem insisted, refusing to give up until Yuga took the flute.
"Alright, alright, I can\'t say no to you," Yuga said, accepting the Moon Flute. "But don\'t blame me if I can\'t play it."
Cosmoem, its eyes squinting with joy, continued to smile at Yuga, seemingly unbothered.
"Whooooo..."
To Yuga\'s surprise, he actually managed to produce a sound from the flute, though it was terribly off-key. But it did make a sound.
Could I be a musical genius after all? Yuga thought, feeling quite pleased with himself.
The sound was so loud that even the elder Kartana, along with Yuga\'s own Kartana and Absol, couldn\'t help but want to cover their ears. Only Cosmoem seemed to enjoy it thoroughly.
At that moment, Yuga noticed something unusual—Cosmoem\'s body had started to glow with a silver light. When the pitch of the flute rose, the glow intensified, and when the tone dropped, the light dimmed.
Not only that, Yuga could even feel the Ultra Aura surrounding Cosmoem fluctuating along with the sound of the flute.
Just as Yuga was about to further explore the connection between Cosmoem and the Moon Flute, a Kartana suddenly flew over, reporting that a large number of Guzzlord had appeared outside the oasis.
The elder Kartana panicked upon hearing this. It hadn\'t expected the Guzzlord to arrive so quickly. In a fluster, it flew out of the oasis, and Yuga, along with Absol and the others, followed closely behind—though he forgot to put the Moon Flute back in its place.
When Yuga and the others arrived outside the oasis, the rest of the Kartana tribe were already standing their ground, ready to face death. Facing the overwhelming number of Guzzlord, they stood little chance of victory.
However, this oasis was their last home. If it were destroyed by the Guzzlord, even if they managed to escape, where would they go?
Thus, not a single Kartana retreated in the face of the approaching Guzzlord.
Seeing their kin prepared to die fighting, Yuga\'s Kartana screeched at him in agitation. Instantly understanding its meaning, Yuga smiled and said, "Don\'t worry, I won\'t just stand by and do nothing." Even if they couldn\'t win, Yuga was confident he could escape if necessary.
The battle was about to begin. With a roar, the Guzzlord charged into the oasis, and the Kartana rushed to meet them without fear. Yuga called out all of his Pokémon to join the fight.
The battle was intense. The oasis, already fragile, quickly became devastated under the onslaught of the Guzzlord.
As Dragon-type Pokémon with tough skin and immense durability, the Guzzlord were highly resistant to attacks, and the weaker Kartana couldn\'t do much against them.
Among all the Pokémon, the one that performed the best was Yuga\'s Florges. It activated Misty Terrain and providing support to all the allies on the field.
Under the effect of Misty Terrain, the Dragon-type moves of the Guzzlord had their power halved.
With Florges\'s current strength, its Misty Terrain covered a vast area, almost the entire battlefield. The Guzzlord, influenced by the Misty Terrain, were severely uncomfortable.
Not long after that, Florges transformed into a turret, firing one Moonblast after another like a cannon. Every Guzzlord hit by it howled in agony.
Unfortunately, Yuga\'s Lapras didn\'t join the battle; otherwise, it would have been another expert at dealing with the Guzzlord.
Despite Yuga\'s help, the Kartana tribe gradually started losing ground in their battle against the Guzzlord. In terms of both numbers and overall strength, the Kartana couldn\'t compete with the Guzzlord—the gap was too great.
Watching as the grass and trees were torn apart by the charging Guzzlord, even Yuga, an outsider, couldn\'t help but feel heartbroken.
At this moment, Cosmoem suddenly tugged at Yuga, urging him to play the Moon Flute, leaving Yuga puzzled.
At first, he thought Cosmoem was being unreasonable, but seeing the seriousness and determination in its eyes, Yuga eventually chose to trust it.
"Woooo..."
The harsh sound of the flute echoed across the battlefield, and for some reason, all the Kartana and Guzzlord felt a shiver run through their hearts.
"Woooo..."
The flute\'s sound continued, as did the battle. Suddenly, Cosmoem, glowing with a silver light, transformed into a streak of light and shot up into the sky.
"Wooo..."
Under the influence of the flute, Cosmoem\'s silver glow intensified. Then, all of a sudden, beams of rainbow-colored light erupted from the bodies of the Guzzlord, each one shooting towards Cosmoem in the sky, as if returning to their source.
Yuga instantly recognized that these rainbow-colored beams were the manifestation of the Ultra Aura from the Guzzlord. He continued playing the Moon Flute without pause, and the Ultra Aura from the Guzzlord flowed continuously into Cosmoem.
As the Ultra Aura drained away, the Guzzlord felt themselves growing weaker and weaker, a deep sense of fear rising in their hearts. They tried to stop the loss of energy, but found they were powerless to do so.
Wrapped in silver light, Cosmoem seemed to truly become a cocoon.
Buzz...
No one knew how much time had passed when a massive image of Lunala suddenly appeared above Cosmoem. The apparition was enormous, covering half the sky.
The image had its eyes closed, its expression solemn and dignified, and its wings spread wide, illuminating the gloomy sky with unparalleled brightness.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
All the Guzzlord, upon seeing the enormous apparition, were filled with an inexplicable fear and involuntarily crouched down to the ground.
Not only were the Guzzlord astonished, but Yuga was also shocked. Was Cosmoem about to evolve? But that didn\'t seem right! From what Yuga knew, Cosmoem was still far from the point of evolution.
Boom!!!
A massive silver beam shot out from Lunala\'s apparition, leaving a nearly bottomless chasm in its wake.
After firing this attack, the giant Lunala apparition shattered into pieces, turning into countless silver particles that merged into Cosmoem\'s body. Then, Cosmoem plummeted from the sky.
Fortunately, Gengar reacted quickly, flying over to catch Cosmoem as it fell at high speed.
Clearly, Yuga had guessed wrong. The appearance of the Lunala apparition didn\'t mean that Cosmoem was about to evolve.
When Yuga took Cosmoem from Gengar\'s hands, he found that it had already fallen asleep.
Looking at Cosmoem\'s smiling face, Yuga guessed that it was probably fine.
Because Cosmoem had used the Moon Flute to extract a large amount of Ultra Aura from the Guzzlord, all of them had become incredibly weak, their combat abilities significantly reduced, and they were no longer a match for the Kartana tribe.
After driving away the Guzzlord, all the Kartana let out a sigh of relief. However, they knew that this safety was only temporary. As long as the Guzzlord continued to exist, they could never live in peace. The Guzzlord could return at any time.
After the battle, the oasis was in even worse condition, and the mood of the Kartana tribe was very low.
With the battle over, Yuga planned to return the Moon Flute to the Kartana tribe, but surprisingly, the Kartana all unanimously agreed to gift the Moon Flute to Yuga and Cosmoem. Yuga was delighted to hear this, knowing how important the Moon Flute must be to Cosmoem.
In return for the Kartana tribe\'s gift, Yuga decided to give them a gift as well.