The Mossdeep Space Center had been tinkering with gravity engines ever since they were first proven viable through the popularization of hover cars, but it wasn't until Team Dominion successfully scaled the technology up for use in their airships that researchers began seriously exploring its potential for space travel.

Years of research eventually revealed a fundamental limitation. Gravity engines simply weren't viable for deep-space propulsion. In essence, the stronger the gravitational influence acting on the engine, the greater its own nullification effect and resulting thrust. This meant the engines required a nearby planetary body to operate efficiently. The farther an airship moved from a large mass such as a planet, the weaker the effect became. Out in deep space, the influence of gravity engines was so minimal that the energy required to run them far outweighed any benefit they provided.

As a result, Rhea needed a different means of propulsion for travel beyond a planet's gravitational influence. Fortunately, the Mossdeep Space Center already had several engine designs available for her to pick from. After examining the options, she ultimately chose a fusion rocket, which was installed at the rear of the airship.

The upgrade was expensive, largely because the material used to contain and direct the fusion, as well as the highly efficient fusion fuel itself, was classified as restricted materials. Fortunately, Alex was able to secure both permission and a substantial discount, provided he agreed to perform several tasks for the space center during their journey. It was an arrangement they were more than happy to accept.

Among those assignments were conducting gravity engine tests in high Earth orbit, delivering supplies to the lunar colony, and babysitting a team of researchers who would accompany them to the asteroid belt so they could safely conduct a survey of what was out there.

“How are we doing, Rhea?” Alex asked as he lounged lazily on the couch with Sable in his arms, overlooking the planet out the window while the airship shot into the sky as fast as the gravity engines would allow.

For reference, the speed at which it broke through the atmosphere was similar to a meteor's descent. This was because they were still close to the planet, giving the gravity engines all the thrust they could need. As for the gravity inside the airship, it was kept at a constant 1 G for comfort no matter how the vessel moved.

“Pretty good, pretty good,” she answered as she observed the holograms around her while sitting opposite Alex and Sable. “The airship’s hull is more than strong enough to withstand the heat. All the gravity engines are focused on pushing us away from the planet, so the strain is well within acceptable limits. In a few minutes, we should reach high orbit, where we can take some readings, conduct some tests, and release the satellites for Nyx.”

Soon, an alert flashed as the airship headed straight toward a gathering swarm of Minior, likely mistaking it for a meteor and the intense heat it emitted for a source of particles to consume.

“Should we be worried about that?” Sable asked.

“I’m not detecting any high-ranked signals, so no. I think we can just smash right through them,” Rhea answered.

“Lower our speed and keep reducing it until we find the climbing speed at which they stop gathering,” Alex instructed.

“You want to find the optimal entry and exit speed for airships to avoid attracting Minior swarms?” Rhea asked. “Oh! I see. You think the information could help promote airship commercialization?”

“At the very least,” Alex said. “It would save lives if airships with thinner hulls tried to break through the atmosphere.”

“Got it,” Rhea said as she started recording. “Rotom, lower the speed until the Minior swarm stops gathering.”

Rotom, who was piloting the airship, followed the instruction, gradually slowing them down until they reached 200 mph (90 m/s), at which point the Minior swarm stopped gathering and instead remained in the area scavenging for Star Dust.

“That’s pretty slow,” Rhea said. “I guess it makes sense that they’re attracted to the heat generated by atmospheric drag, which shaves off Star Dust from meteorites. So as long as we don’t generate enough heat for them to detect, they shouldn’t be interested in us.”

“That’s good. Send that information to the Mossdeep Space Center. I’m sure they’ll be interested in avoiding swarms the next time they launch rockets or airships. Also, take the time to go around the swarm. I don’t want us picking a fight with Rayquaza.”

“Got it. Rotom, evasive maneuvers, please,” Rhea requested.

Suddenly, a streak of green passed through the Minior swarm, carving a path through it before the Pokémon scattered in all directions. It seemed they had accidentally attracted Rayquaza’s attention, or at least provided an opportunity for it to feed.

“Yup, we definitely want to avoid that as much as possible,” Rhea said.

The airship ended up flying straight through where the swarm had once gathered, as the Minior had already scattered due to Rayquaza’s appearance. An hour or so later, they reached high orbit and locked their position relative to the planet while Rhea began running diagnostic tests and periodically deploying Nyx’s satellites.

To ensure they entered stable orbits, the airship’s gravity engines launched the satellites away. With the airship possessing far greater mass, the smaller satellites were easily accelerated into orbit. As for the number Nyx settled on, 12 was sufficient for now, ensuring a constant link between the base and any location on the planet while providing enough redundancy to compensate for potential failures.

“That’s all 12 satellites deployed,” Rhea said a few hours later. “Also, I’ve finished the tests for the space center. Our next stop is the Moon!”

The next leg of their journey was to test and determine exactly how far the gravity engines could operate before their efficiency dropped to impractical levels between the planet and the moon. Since the engines could anchor themselves to both celestial bodies, they wanted to establish the optimal range for efficient operation.

The data would allow the Mossdeep Space Center to determine whether gravity-engine-powered airships could serve as a viable replacement for conventional rockets, at least for travel between the planet and the moon. If so, it could save the space industry a tremendous amount of money once the League managed to synthesize gravity cores for commercial use. After all, the Infinity Energy stored in batteries was significantly cheaper to harvest than any form of physical rocket fuel.

The airship accelerated once more. Now that they were in outer space rather than the planet’s atmosphere, there was no longer any concern about attracting Minior swarms, as meteorites didn’t break apart and shed Star Dust in the void. As a result, they were able to run the gravity engines at full power.

At the start of their journey, the gravity engines operated at 340% efficiency while anchored to the planet. That figure gradually decreased as they moved farther away, while the moon’s efficiency rating started at 1% and steadily climbed as they approached it. Finally, a few hours of high speed travel later, they reached the point where the planet's anchor efficiency had fallen to 120% while the moon's had risen to 100%.

“This pretty much seals the deal,” Rhea said with a bright smile. “Airships are better than rockets. They’re more efficient, significantly cheaper, and even at their worst they still operate at 120% efficiency when they’re two-thirds of the way between the planet and the moon. The guys back at the center are going to flip their shit over the potential financial windfall, assuming they can mass-produce synthetic gravity cores, at least.”

Alex appreciated the news, especially since they already owned an airship. It essentially meant they were free to travel to the Moon whenever they wanted without relying on expensive fuel.

His attention, however, was drawn elsewhere, specifically to the Moon itself, which was now close enough for him to make out details on its surface. At the south pole stood a vast glass dome, and within it sprawled a city filled with artificial habitats for Pokémon. There were vertical farms, towering buildings, public spaces, and, of course, intimidatingly tall walls.

Beyond those walls lay a landscape far more active than Alex had imagined. Hidden among the countless craters pockmarking the Moon's surface were colonies of the Clefairy line, as well as Lunatone, Solrock, and many other Pokémon. They dug into the lunar soil and fed upon whatever resources lay beneath, fought rival nests for territory or meat, and occasionally hurled themselves against the enclosure's defenses in an attempt to get inside.

It was a Master ranked danger zone visible to the naked eye rather than one concealed by mountains and forests, where only a vague heatmap hinted at the threats lurking within. It was both a terrifying landscape and, for Alex in particular, an exciting one.

Unfortunately, he wasn't Master rank yet, so this wasn't a playground where he could roam freely harvesting Master ranked meat. For now, he would have to make do with whatever he could obtain through the Silver Network until he eventually reached Master rank himself.