Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.

As she passed through the Ultra Wormhole into the infinity of Ultra Space, Nebby found her spirits soaring as she immediately acclimated to her natural habitat. No longer was she confined to a stifling three dimensions or bound by the tyranny of gravity, here, and only here, could she truly fly as she'd always been meant to. Joy suffusing every atom of her being, she began to sing, both to express her boundless ecstasy of being back in the endless spatial realm that had birthed her, but also so her Ultra-echolocation could safely navigate them back to the material plane in the spot her beloved sister had specified.

The ears of her passengers, vastly superior to those of a baseline human's and so able to better comprehend the multidimensional melodies comprising her song, began to join in, their own spirits buoyed by the splendor of the cosmic realm around them, of the countless warp holes opening into worlds beyond imagining.

Even Director Cyrano's terrified screaming managed to match their tune with pitch perfection!

Swerving around several crystalline meteoroids, Nebby passed through a warp hole, flying through a dark and endless ocean filled with colorful rocks in the shapes of flora, platforms made of diamond drifting through the sea, and millions of Nihilego swimming about, thousands of them containing humans they had assimilated, many of which were parallels of her permanently comatose grandmother from countless realities. Some Nihilego were so immense they contained entire civilizations within their bells, and as she buzzed past one, her sister and friends waved at some of the people inside, who waved back.

And then, with a high-pitched shriek, she opened and passed through another warp hole, this one a large expansive jungle with spiraling trees in the shape of muscular beings flexing their upper torso and arms. As a volcano erupted in the distance, the trees started jabbing at everything in sight, punching each other, the roaring swarms of Buzzwole which emerged from the jungle to fight them, and even tried to knock Nebby out of the sky.

She laughed joyfully as she easily evaded the lightning-quick punches, Julie and Nemona fist-bumping a few before another sang note took them to a new world, a vast desert with turquoise crystals and flowing sand, rocky structures and monoliths scattered about with Pheromosa sunbathing, flirting, and fornicating on just about every surface. More than a few glanced up and cooed or blew kisses at them as they passed, and Nebby blushed, awkwardly screeched, and quickly opened an Ultra Wormhole out of there, much to the disappointment of some of her passengers.

Lightning crackled through the sky as they passed beneath endless storm clouds covering a dark world with large monoliths rising from the surface of the planet with absolutely titanic Xurkitree towering to the skies, eagerly drinking the electricity from the never-ending storm as smaller Xurkitree fed off the lightning passing through their appendages. As the electric giants ponderously turned to observe her, she danced between the lightning bolts, evading the huge cable appendages which lashed out at her before opening a new portal just before a Xurkitree so big it even dwarfed the colossi around it, its cables snaking across the entire world, became aware of them.

Next, they wove between the trees of an endless forest with flowers shaped oddly like Kartana and scattered leaves made of paper, the ground resembling a rock garden. As they passed through, trees, rocks, leaves, and even the ground itself were abruptly cleaved in half, tiny Kartana zipping here and there as they clashed blades against each other, endlessly seeking to sharpen their steel on one another's bodies and anything else in sight.

Before they could think of testing their edges on Nebby, she quickly vacated the realm, arriving in a world full of craters filled with a green substance, metal pipes growing as roots through the rock as monoliths rose from the earth along with geysers. The earth was constantly shaking as Celesteela launched themselves into the yellow sky, rocketing off to new worlds through warp holes.

They passed next through a cliff where the shadows of Legendary Pokémon could be seen in the sky, a cavern of waterfalls with silhouettes passing beneath the water's surface, a dirt path bordered by heaps of rock with dirt clouds moving about as something burrowed underground, and a dark cave devoid of all light.

They traveled through world after world after world-

And suddenly they found themselves in an utterly silent space, a world which looked far too much like their own but completely in ruins, endlessly hungry Guzzlord roaming about, eating everything in sight, including the planet, the sun, the stars, the fabric of space and time itself. As billions of ravenous eyes turned in their direction, Nebby quickly opened a portal out of this dead realm before any of the inhabitants could try to eat them, a titanic white Guzzlord opening its mouth to reveal the face of a screaming tortured woman inside.

And then they found themselves in the skies over a vast dark city of jagged, crystalline black spires so immense it not only dwarfed any city in their world but was larger than any continent. Solgaleo and other Lunala, many of whom were carrying riders in Ultra Spacesuits of their own, flew across the cityscape, passing to and from warp holes of their own, Nebby flipping over so her friends could high-five a group traveling on the back of a Solgaleo with an older man screaming as he desperately hung for dear life from the lion's tail.

There was something oddly familiar about them.

Atop a towering skyscraper rising from the heart of the city, light shining forth to illuminate every corner of the megalopolis, was a magnificent luminous Dragon made of pure light, who roared in welcome as Nebby flew past, dipping in a respectful bow as she went.

And then they passed through another Ultra Wormhole, returning to the place many foolishly considered the "real" world, coming out over a structure built atop an ocean that seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon, much like home…

Except it felt wrong to her.

The sea smelled different, the winds tasted unfamiliar, and the song of Alola, which filled the air of her home region and helped her harmonize with the hearts of the countless humans and Pokémon who dwelled there, was completely absent. The near silence felt positively deafening to her sensitive ears, so tuned to the vibrations of the spheres.

"That's Blueberry Academy?" Nebby asked skeptically as she circled over a large blue circular building with a silver dome with four blue bulbs at the center and a slice cut out of it with a battle court and a long pier at the end extending out to sea. "But it's so small! Our house is bigger than this! They can't have many students in a building like that!"

"Actually, hermana, most of the building is underwater, it goes all the way to the seafloor," Nemona explained.

"Which would make it technically much larger than the Aether Paradise facilities," Arven added.

"Ohhhhhhhh." Nebby frowned. "I still like our place better. And your school, big sis!"

"Oh, totalmente," Nemona agreed.

Julie looked down at the school in amazement. "Building school way out here… How they get back to mainland? Boat?"

ANNA pointed at the end of the pier, which had a metal structure going down into the water. "There is an undersea tunnel connecting the Academy with the mainland. While ships do come out here, the tunnel is the primary source of transit between here and Unova."

"Wow! That long tunnel!" Julie remarked.

"Indeed, construction of the Academy and the tunnel both broke numerous world records," ANNA informed them.

"I imagine it's a nightmare for anyone with claustrophobia or hydrophobia, though," Arven remarked.

"Yes, quite a few people have developed it after frequently traveling through the tunnel or spending too long in the undersea part of the school, which is virtually all of it," ANNA agreed.

"Hey, not that this isn't informative and all, but shouldn't Cyrano be telling us all this?" Nemona asked.

"Director Cyrano does not seem to have taken the trip through Ultra Space particularly well," ANNA commented.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cyrano screamed.

"Oh, so that's what that noise was," Arven commented.

Nebby winced. "Whoops! I thought, since he's a first timer, I'd take the scenic route, you know, let him see some of the stuff that's out there. Guess he, uh, didn't take it well, huh?"

"No," Julie said.

"I had wondered why we were taking so long and passing through so many dimensions," Nemona commented. "Not that I'm complaining, hermana, it was a great trip, lots of fun, but yeah, it might have been a bit too much for the poor guy."

"Right, I'll take us down," Nebby said, chastened.

As she started gliding down towards the Academy, Arven spoke up. "By the way, ANNA, a thought just occurred to me. Why haven't you considered using Ultra Space to get home? From what I understand, it's some sort of higher plane that connects a potentially limitless number of worlds and dimensions."

"I had considered it, yes," ANNA admitted. "And almost immediately rejected the idea."

"Really? Why?" Nemona asked in surprise.

"This nyews to Julie," Julie said.

"First of all, Arven, as you said, Ultra Space connects to a potentially limitless number of worlds and dimensions," ANNA said, raising a finger. "As such, locating Julie's era or my own would be even more impossible than finding a strand of hay in a pile of needles."

"But nyou did that one time," Julie pointed out.

"If I were limited to basic human senses."

"Ohhh."

"Wait, but couldn't you home in on your own dimension? I mean, considering how much you talk up your species' love of exploring and visiting new horizons, then surely they've got an outpost or something in Ultra Space, right?" Nemona reasoned.

"Once again, potentially limitless number of words and dimensions," ANNA reminded her. "That means that not only would there be an Ultra Wormhole leading to my world, but a possibly infinite number of parallel versions of my world. And even if your assumption were correct, given the sheer size of Ultra Space, even finding one such Ultra Wormhole would be insanely difficult."

"She may be right, we've barely really explored Ultra Space beyond a few measly hundred thousand light-years from Alola," Nebby admitted. "And I certainly haven't seen any world that looks like the place she would've come from. And while the Ultra Megalopolitans have much more extensive maps, it's still only a fraction of what's out there, and I'm pretty sure they haven't run into anyone like ANNA either."

"I already asked," ANNA elaborated. "They have not seen anyone like Julie either."

"Darn," Julie complained.

"But all that aside… Your assumption is incorrect, Nemona. My people do not have an outpost in Ultra Space. In fact, it may astonish you to learn that the Aether Foundation has far more data on Ultra Space than my people do, even without your collaboration with Ultra Megalopolis," ANNA told them, to their disbelief.

"Wait a second, are you just admitting that humans know more about something than you do?!" An astonished Arven exclaimed.

"Julie, kiss me, I've got to be dreaming," Nemona said.

"Okay!" Julie said, happily leaning forward to kiss her, only for them to bump their helmets against each other. "Oh, right, forgot space suit."

"We know a great deal, but we are not omniscient," ANNA said defensively, looking embarrassed.

"So, what, did you never discover Ultra Space, or…" Arven asked.

"Of course we discovered Ultra Space!" ANNA scoffed. "However… You recall the last world we visited before Ultra Megalopolis?"

"Yeah, what was with that place, hermana? Place give me the heebie-jeebies," Nemona complained. "And probably didn't help Cyrano's sanity."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nebby cringed. "Sorry. We, um, weren't supposed to be there. That world is super off limits. We only got there because I took a wrong turn by mistake, and it's a good thing we left as quickly as we did, wouldn't want any of them following us home."

"Yeah, what happened to that place?" Arven asked.

"It was a world in the final stages of being consumed by Guzzlord, something my people have theorized, but thankfully never bore witness to," ANNA said. "From what we observed, it is safe to conclude that, having devoured everything living in that reality, they were consuming everything unliving as well, and would finish by consuming the fabric of space and time itself, until there was literally nothing left, not even nothing."

"… Wait, how that work-" Julie started.

"There would not even be a void left where that dimension once was. It would be eaten so thoroughly that it never existed at all," ANNA elaborated.

Everyone stared at her, wide-eyed. "Thanks for that nightmare," Nemona said cheerfully.

"Does that… Happen often?" The horrified Arven asked.

"You really don't want to know the answer," Nebby advised him. "And yes, it could happen here. But only if a certain critical mass of Guzzlord make it into this world. If there's just a few it's easy enough to send them back into Ultra Space to eat something else, it's only when there's a bunch of them they start ringing the dinner bell for all their friends to show up for an all-you-can-eat buffet that their collective appetite becomes great enough to consume not just matter but abstract concepts." She shrugged. "Or, you know, you could just catch them. Mom even has one or two and so long as they're fed regularly, they don't cause much trouble."

"And… Is that why your people haven't bothered with Ultra Space? You want to avoid that happening?" Nemona asked anxiously.

"It almost did," ANNA said gravely. "Eons ago, my people opened our first Ultra Wormhole. It was also our last Ultra Wormhole. A Guzzlord came through."

"And nyou figured, "hey, there's a horrifying meownster behind this portal, let's maybe nyot open more of them?" Julie gasped.

ANNA shook her head. "No. Well yes, but if only it had been that straightforward. The oldest and strongest Guzzlord can incorporate traits from what they eat to make themselves more powerful. The Guzzlord in question happened to eat something it really, really shouldn't have, making it so strong it could not be captured, banished back into Ultra Space, or killed. It just kept eating and eating, and it might've gotten strong enough to devour our entire universe all by itself if we hadn't lured it into the great darkness between galaxies and left it there was nothing to eat until it eventually starved."

"And that was the end of it, right?" Arven asked nervously. "… Right?" He asked again when ANNA did not reply.

ANNA was quiet for a moment. "Regrettably, it was not… But that is a story for another time. Suffice it to say that the Master Computers collectively decided Ultra Space was too dangerous to research further and altered the fabric of space and time to make it virtually impossible for any Ultra Beast incursions to happen again. We did not want a repeat of the last one."

"Nyo kidding," Julie muttered.

"Wait, they can do that?" Nemona shouted.

"The Master Computers can do many things," ANNA said reverently.

"So basically, even if you could find your world in Ultra Space, you wouldn't be able to get into it," Arven said regretfully. "Guess that's another avenue closed to you."

"I have long since resigned myself to the knowledge that the Time Machine in Area Zero is likely our only avenue home, but thank you for trying to think of another way," ANNA said.

"That's a shame, I wouldn't have minded being the one to take you home," Nebby said apologetically, finally landing, having taken perhaps a little longer than she needed to so she could listen to the whole conversation.

As the students loitering around the Academy entrance stared at the lunar bat in disbelief, her passengers gracefully dismounted. Cyrano, unfortunately, hit the ground rather hard, ripped off his helmet, and proceeded to vomit noisily before curling up in a fetal position to cry.

"So, this is Blueberry Academy!" Nemona said after taking off her Ultra Spacesuit, hands on her hips. "It's very… Blue."

"I suppose that's why they call it "Blueberry" Academy," Arven remarked.

"And why they call our school Naranjuva," ANNA commented.

"Nya?" Julie asked in confusion.

"It's a mashup of two Paldean words, Naranja and Uva, which mean "orange" and "grape," Nemona explained.

Julie gasped. "Oh! That explains school colors and fruit on crest. Julie always wondered." She licked her lips. "And nyow Julie hungry. Arven got fruit?"

"Maybe later, little buddy, we just got here," Arven said apologetically.

Scar and Viola suddenly popped out of their Poké Balls. "Did someone say sandwiches?" they both demanded, drooling.

"No, nobody said that!" Arven said in exasperation. They whimpered in disappointment.

"Hey, Director Cyrano! Julie have two important questions," Julie called to the older man as he finally got up, still whimpering. "Nyou got any blueberries, and why nyou choose "blueberry" for school name?"

Cyrano gave her a dumbfounded look. Nemona gasped. "Oh no, his experiences in Ultra Space have made him cross eyed!"

"No, they were already like that," ANNA told her.

"Oh, never mind."

Nebby sighed in relief.

Cyrano, still struggling to recover from the existential horrors he had borne witness to, blinked a few times. "Well, it's very simple. You see, it's…uh…"

"It's because in the language of flowers, the blueberry is said to represent a fruitful life. I think that's where it came from, right?"

Everyone turned to glance at a young woman with pale skin, pink hair, and hazel eyes approaching. She had pink and green pins in her hair and a long lavender coat with sashes around the arms with decorations resembling fairy wings over a school uniform.

She was also, all of them noted with varying degrees of attraction, very pretty.

"Yes! Right! Exactly! Took the words right out of my mouth," Cyrano said quickly, forcibly repressing as many of his memories of Ultra Space as he could. "Always on point, aren't you, Lacey?"

The girl smiled. "Oh, no, it was nothing…" She turned to look at the newcomers and the very large Dragon cycles and Lunala behind them, who quickly puffed themselves up to make themselves look even more impressive. "And… I see we have guests? I've certainly never seen anyone come to the Academy like that before… Or you yourself, Director Cyrano."

"Yes, and I never, ever, ever intend to do so again," Cyrano said hurriedly, causing Nebby to wince. "Anyway, these are Julie, ANNA, Arven, Nemona, and…uh…" He hesitantly glanced at the three legendary Pokémon.

"Scar, Viola, and Nebby," Arven prompted.

"Yes, them!" Cyrano said gratefully. "They're here to hopefully take care of our little, ah, problem in the Terrarium."

"Oh! So you're the girls Carmine can't shut up about," Lacey remarked in surprise as she offered her hand to first Julie, and then ANNA to shake. "And Nemona, it's good to see you again."

"Huh? Oh yeah, you! It's been a while," Nemona realized.

"You know her?" Arven asked in surprise.

Nemona nodded. "Yeah, her dad's Clay, the Driftveil Gym Leader."

Lacey chuckled. "They're still talking about the time you battled him in the middle of a fancy party."

"And won!" Nemona said proudly.

Her friends chuckled in amusement and shook their heads. "Classic Nemona," Arven said.

"Why am I not surprised?" ANNA said fondly.

"This why we love nyou, Nyenye. And nyou're the girl Carcar is obsessed with but in denial of!" Julie said excitedly.

ANNA nodded solemnly. "Classic Carmine. Such a tsuntsun."

Lacey turned quite red. "She… She's actually interested in-" She coughed and quickly shook her head. "Never mind that. I'm going to be honest, a part of me wasn't entirely sure you two were even real, given some of the far-out things she's told me about you. And even though Kieran corroborated a lot of it, he's… Well…"

She trailed off uncomfortably.

The sisters exchanged glances. "It bad as we fear?" Julie asked after a moment.

"It… might be a bit worse, actually…" Lacey murmured, much to their concern. "But that's nothing for you to concern yourself with, you have more important matters to deal with." She hesitated, then blushed again. "Sorry, it's just… The pictures didn't do you justice. You two are really…" She coughed. "Er, really a prehistoric cat girl and a robot-"

"Techno-organic life form," ANNA and everyone else corrected her.

"R-right, those things, and that's not just really good cosplay?" Lacey asked.

"It is not," ANNA said.

"And neither are ours!" Nemona said, showing off her tail while tugging on one of Arven's ears.

"Nemona, cut that out!" He whined.

"Oh wow… Are you two also from other worlds and times?" An amazed Lacey asked.

"Nope!" Nemona said cheerfully, letting Arven go. "Born and bred Paldeans! Just a little, ah, extra."

"Just like Carmine," Lacey murmured, turning red again.

"And just like you'll probably be by the end of this trip, given how easily my little buddies pick up girlfriends," Arven said with amused resignation.

"We are neither smaller nor younger than you," ANNA reminded him.

"Wait… m-me?! A cyborg catgirlfriend?! B-but we just met!" Lacey protested, flustered.

Arven shrugged. "That's never stopped them before."

"Nyou'll look great with spots," Julie commented.

"Your hair is the perfect length and color to draw attention to your largely symmetrical ears, your nose is healthy and well cared for, and your sneakers are an inoffensive shade of white," ANNA said emotionlessly.

Lacey squealed and looked as if she were about either faint, get a nosebleed, or both, Nemona squeaked and clasped her hands over her mouth, Arven sighed, the Pokémon reacted as if that was the most romantic thing they'd ever heard, and Cyrano gave everyone confused looks.

"Dang! Nyou on fire, sis!" Julie said, raising her paw for a high five.

"Thank you," ANNA said, not leaving her hanging. "Sister, when you said she'd look great with spots, was that an assessment, or a prophecy?"

Julie blinked. "Nyah? Julie say that? Julie nyot remember saying that. But nyeah, Lacey look good with spots nyow nyou meowntion it."

Lacey started hyperventilating.

"… Right," said Cyrano, still clueless. "Actually, I've got an idea! Why don't YOU explain how things work around here and take them down to the Terarium, Lacey?"

"You… You want ME to do it?!" Lacey exclaimed.

Cyrano nodded. "Well, yeah. You know this tour guide stuff isn't my strong suit!" He sobered. "Also, I just learned how tiny and insignificant humanity is in the vast and pitiless cosmos and how there are worlds upon worlds upon worlds beyond our reach inhabited by beings so horrifically powerful they could wipe us out as easily as eating a PB sandwich."

"Sandwich?!" Scar and Viola cried.

"Not now!" Arven shouted.

"So, I need to lie down. And cry some more. And maybe talk to the school counselor," Cyrano said with dissonant cheer.

"But Director Cyrano, didn't we already learn how ultimately meaningless and powerless we are in the grand scheme of things after what Mewtwo did in retaliation to the Rotom Phone company's atrocities?" Lacey pointed out.

"Yes, so I didn't really need a reminder, just after I stopped having nightmares about Mewtwo making my brain explode or my phone killing me," Cyrano said with a toothy grin and a twitchy eye.

"Well, that's certainly true… But still, I imagine there must be someone more suitable than me," Lacey protested.

She started, then quickly glanced at the visitors. "Oh! Please, don't take it like – it's not that I don't want to show you around or anything! Director Cyrano just has this bad habit of pushing his duties unto me, you see. And it's just not right!"

The visitors all glared at a very uncomfortable Cyrano, even the Pokémon. "Pushing all your work onto a student? Kinda Mankey house you running here, chico azul?" Nemona demanded.

"Pawpa Clavell never approve," Julie agreed heatedly.

Cyrano laughed nervously. "Well, the thing is… OH NO IT'S LUGIA!"

"Where?" Nebby asked, turning around. She was the only one who did. (Well, Scar started to turn, but Viola patiently pushed her sibling's head back.)

As everyone else gave Cyrano disapproving looks, the headmaster laughed awkwardly and ran away.

Lacey groaned and facepalmed. "Typical…"

"Why are you, of all the students here, the one he makes do stuff?" Arven asked sympathetically.

Lacey sighed. "It's probably because I'm the second-strongest member of the Elite Four, and because he knows if he asks the actual strongest member, Drayton, he'll just make me do it anyway, and Cyrano is understandably spooked by-"

"I'm sorry, did you say Elite Four?" Nemona asked, seemingly teleporting right into Lacey's face, causing her to shriek. "Is there a Pokémon League here? Do you have a League challenge? Is it open to visitors? Can I take it? Can I battle you? I want to battle you now. Right now. Now now now now now-"

She screeched as Arven grabbed her by the ear and pulled her away. "Nemona! Not now! We're here on a mission, remember?"

"But I wanna battle nooooooow!" Nemona whined, trying to claw his face.

Arven proceeded to produce a spray bottle and spritzed it in her face. "Gah! Betrayal!" She screeched.

"We apologize for her," ANNA said. "She has a serious problem but refuses to acknowledge it."

"I do not shut up!"

"Nyeah, it very sad," Julie said, not looking particularly concerned. "Seriously though, nyou got League?"

"Uh… Yes, we have a League of sorts, the BB League," Lacey explained. "It's a student organization that emulates the functions of a Pokémon League within the academy. We're an official club, with the top five ranking members making up the Elite Four and Champion, who is also the president of the club. A challenger must clear one of our Elite Trials to challenge us, and the Champion can only be fought after the challenger beats all of us."

"So, like the gym trials back in Paldea, but for the Elite members instead," ANNA reasoned.

"Yeah. And no, only Blueberry students can participate," Lacey said apologetically.

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY," Nemona wailed.

"Probably for the best, we are here for a reason, after all," Arven pointed out.

"Yeah, okay," Nemona said unhappily. She glanced up at Nebby. "We're heading in, hermana. You gonna be okay by yourself?"

Nebby nodded. "Yes, you don't have to worry about me. I'll wait here to take you all back. In the meantime, I think I'm going to see if I can find that Lugia."

"But there wasn't-" Nemona started to say, only for Nebby to immediately take off and fly away. "A Lugia… eh, whatever."

Julie and ANNA recalled their partners and followed Lacey as she led them towards the central building, pausing to indicate the battle court they had seen from above. "This is the entrance to Blueberry Academy," she said. "Our school puts a great deal of emphasis on the art of Pokémon battling."

"Doesn't every school in world?" A puzzled Julie asked.

"We hold official matches on this central court right here at the entrance – and any student can freely utilize this court if it's not otherwise in use," Lacey continued.

Nemona's hand shot up.

"You're still not a student, so you can't use it."

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY," Nemona wailed.

"Still… It's really relaxing here, with the sea breeze blowing over you. Even when no one is battling, you often see students lazing about in the stands," she said, nodding at the stands surrounding the court, which did indeed have several students lazing about in them, regarding them with interest. "Anyway, that's about everything there is out here. I can give you more of the tour inside, but I suppose you'll be wanting to head right to the Terarium?"

"You suppose correctly," ANNA concurred. "Though I see no reason we cannot see the rest of the Academy once our business is concluded, assuming all goes well."

"It won't," Julie said idly.

ANNA frowned. "Was that a prophecy or pattern recognition?"

Julie blinked. "Nyah?"

Blueberry Academy was truly a marvel of modern architecture and engineering.

A central shaft ran through the entirety of the structure, beginning at the entrance and terminating with the top of the Terarium, a huge spherical construct, the largest part of the entire facility, perched on top of a huge dome shaped geothermal energy plant on the seafloor. Elevators ran down the shaft from the entrance to a multilevel structure midway between the surface of the sea and the terrarium, with five cylindrical wings branching off from it, each with dorms, classrooms, and elevators running down to the Terarium.

After arriving at the hub structure, they had passed through the wing Lacey called home – marveling at the architecture, the technology that made all this possible, and the many windows looking out onto the deep blue sea which Lacey assured them were totally safe and very unlikely to break and cause them all to drown – and made a quick stop at the cafeteria because Julie insisted on getting blueberries.

(Arven was unimpressed by the quality of the food available, but was quietly pleased by how harried the cafeteria ladies were trying to satisfy the hungry Scar and Viola's demands.)

They also briefly passed by a classroom where the teacher was gesturing at a ludicrously complicated equation on a whiteboard and berating her students for not being able to solve it. Julie frowned at this, immediately walked into the class while licking the last bits of blueberry juice off her claws and picked up a marker.

"What the – who are you, you aren't a student here, there's a dress code-" the teacher stammered in indignation, only to gape in disbelief as Julie, with a few elegant strokes, completed the equation. "What… How-"

"Nyou didn't know solution either, picked on students to feel better about self. Bad," Julie said harshly, tossing the marker over her shoulder as she walked out of the classroom and into Blueberry legend.

"How did you do that?!" An astonished Lacey asked. "That theorem's been unsolvable for hundreds of years!"

Julie shrugged. "Nyot that hard. Just had to carry the two."

As Lacey stammered, Arven asked, "Did she just destroy the career of another math teacher?"

"It would appear so," ANNA remarked.

"I'm so proud of her," Nemona said giddily.

From there, it was one long elevator ride and a quick walk through a tunnel to reach their destination.

The Terarium.

The visitors paused at the top of the ramp leading into the undersea habitat, staring at the massive space before them in disbelief. "This is it. The park beneath the sea that has gained renowned around the world… Our very own Terarium!" Lacey declared.

A massive sprawling landscape made of multiple terrains spread out before them. There were mountains, trees, deserts, lakes and rivers, glaciers, and wild Pokémon from all over the globe roaming about. Students and faculty wandered about, observing or catching Pokémon, performing tasks, or taking part in battles. Odd structures made of luminous cubes were clustered here and there, with many students gathered around them interacting with each other or with machines. A huge dome encompassed everything with a simulated blue sky projected on it, a massive shining crystalline orb hanging from the apex of it all, bathing everything in a beautiful, strangely familiar light.

"Okay," Nemona said very grudgingly. "This is… Way bigger than what we have back home."

"It's… Incredible," Arven exclaimed, eyes wide.

"So big! Like we really outside!" Julie cried in wonder.

"To construct all this, under the ocean… This may be the most amazing feat of human engineering I have yet encountered," ANNA remarked.

Lacey blushed. "Really? Wow, considering where you come from, that's really high praise!"

"You misunderstand, I've seen much larger and much more sophisticated underwater habitats, as well as ones constructed in space, within gas giants, or even inside stars," ANNA informed her matter-of-factly. "However, this is one of the most impressive things your species has constructed. As such, you are indeed to be commended."

Lacey blinked. "Um. Thanks? I mean, not that I had a part in building it or anything, but…" She cleared her throat. "We may be underwater, but the projectors built in the walls and ceiling make it feel like we're actually aside, don't they? We've been able to create a comfortable environment for Pokémon through technology! Director Cyrano designed all this himself!"

"That escama? Really?" Nemona asked skeptically.

"Couldn't have been cheap," Arven commented.

Lacey grimaced. "Yeah, there's a reason tuition rates are so high… Within the stone, there are four distinct biomes. Here we have the nice and toasty subtropical Savanna Biome. Then, off to your right, you can see the breezy, tropical Coastal Biome. Further out to your left, you'll see the craggy, crunchy, rugged Canyon Biome. Last but not least, waaay out in the distance, we have the arctic and snowy Polar Biome! Each biome's air temperature and humidity levels are regulated with the utmost care. That's why you can find completely different Pokémon species living in each area!"

"It's so cool! I want to go out there and battle them all!" Nemona exclaimed.

ANNA coughed.

"Later, of course."

"The areas made of cubes are classrooms allowing for students to learn within the biomes and environments the Terarium provides," Lacey continued. "Many of them also contain self-healing machines so students can get their Pokémon taken care of if they get injured. We also have special plazas, one per biome, for the Elite Four, as well as a central plaza right in the middle of everything. Each plaza has a battlefield that can be used to battle other students and Elite Four members."

Nemona took a deep breath.

"No, you still can't use them."

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"

Lacey then pointed up at the shining orb. "And that is the Terarium Core, which constantly emits Terastal energy, allowing wild Pokémon to Terastalize and is the reason why crystals form here."

"And may also be the reason the Paradox Legendaries appeared here as well," ANNA observed.

"So which biome God Beasts and God Machines in?" Julie asked.

"They seem to be sticking largely to the Canyon Biome," Lacey said, pointing at the mountainy region.

"Make sense. Probably lots of caves to hide in there, difficult terrain for most people to traverse, easily defensible," Arven theorized. He glanced at the twins. "Either of you getting anything?"

"I just need a moment to filter out the background Terastal radiation interfering with the signal," ANNA said, tapping an ear module.

"Julie nyot even nyeed that!" Julie scoffed, bounding down the ramp on all fours and hopping onto a rock, confusing some nearby Rellor. She took a deep breath, and then roared at the top of her lungs, sending wild Pokémon scurrying or flying away, startling the nearby trainers, and echoing as it rang to the far corners of the habitat.

Moments later, three even louder roars filled the Terarium, scaring even more Pokémon and trainers.

"What the heck was that?!" Lacey cried, clutching her ears in pain.

"Julie was trying to communicate with the God Beasts of her tribe," Arven explained. "As you could hear, they spoke back."

"Did they have to be so loud?!" Lacey whined. Had she just gone deaf in one ear?

Nemona shrugged. "Well, they are gods."

ANNA gasped at the same time Julie stiffened in horror. "What?! That… That cannot…"

Julie glanced at her sister. "Bad nyews?"

ANNA nodded rapidly. "The same as yours, I believe."

"What? What's wrong? What did they say?" A worried Arven demanded.

"The situation is much more dire than we expected," ANNA said gravely. "We must hurry to the Canyon Biome at once. I have been given coordinates for the rendezvous. They are aware of your presence, but I have vouched for your character, so they will not attack you."

"Same here," Julie said.

"Well, that's a relief," Arven said.

"Okay, this is serious," an alarmed Nemona spoke up.

Julie and ANNA sent out Scar and Viola again, both looking equally dismayed.

"Heard God Beasts. Bad! Let's go!" Scar barked.

"Mistress, we must leave at once," Viola insisted.

"… Wait… Who am I riding with?" Lacey asked hesitantly as Julie and ANNA mounted their respective dragons, Arven climbing onto the Koraidon and Nemona onto the Miraidon.

The sisters exchanged glances, wordlessly shook their fists, and then threw different gestures at each other.

"Black hole beats starship. I win," ANNA said smugly.

"Dang it! Julie wanted to ride with pretty girl," Julie whined as the blushing Lacey climbed onto Viola.

"Well, maybe you could take Carmine? She should be at the Central Plaza right now, and doesn't know you're here yet," Lacey offered. "You could surprise her. She'd definitely want to come along with us. Well, unless this is way too urgent for a quick stop?"

"I do not believe that will be a problem," ANNA contemplated.

Julie nodded. "Julie always make time for pretty girls! Let's ride!"

The two vehicular dragons took off, heading for the center of the Terarium.

Unseen, a figure hiding in the branches of a nearby tree snapped a picture and grinned sinisterly. "Just as planned…"