"Moon Tower, this is Airship KS-317. Requesting landing clearance," Rotom's robotic voice announced over the intercom.

With the Moon Base only minutes away, Alex, Rhea, and Sable lounged in the airship's living area as it began its final approach.

"Airship KS-317, this is Moon Tower. You've picked a bad time to land. The surface is currently at Alert Level 4. Expect Elite rank bombardment during your approach. We strongly recommend entering orbit and returning in two cycles once the situation has calmed down."

"Negative, Moon Tower. Our defenses are sufficient to weather the approach. Requesting landing clearance."

"Your funeral, Airship KS-317. You are cleared to land on Sector 3, Pad 5."

"Copy. Beginning approach to Sector 3."

"We're coming in hot!" Rhea said excitedly as seatbelts sprang from their seats and wrapped themselves around her, Alex, and Sable.

Outside the window, the Moon steadily grew larger as they approached the south pole. Countless craters and jagged mountain ridges came into view, broken up by clusters of silver domes, landing pads, and towering communication arrays that marked the sprawling Moon Base enclosed within a massive defensive wall.

Without warning, brilliant pillars of light erupted from several distant craters and converged on the airship. Its translucent energy shield flared to life around the hull, shimmering blue as it absorbed the brunt of the bombardment. The surviving Elite rank beams punched through the weakened barrier and splashed harmlessly across the airship's armor, scattering sparks and molten fragments into the vacuum.

Dozens more beams raked across the ship as it continued its steady descent, leaving glowing scorch marks and black streaks across its once-pristine hull. The airship never wavered or deviated from its course, pressing steadily through the barrage until the landing pads, hangars, and domed structures of the Moon Base filled the entire viewport.

"Moon Tower, this is Airship KS-317. Beginning final descent to Pad 5."

"Copy. Continue."

As the gravity engines eased the airship downward, three landing gears deployed from its underside. Moments later, they touched down softly on Pad 5.

"Airship KS-317, touchdown confirmed."

"Copy. Welcome to the Moon."

"That was so much fun!" Rhea shouted gleefully, throwing her hands into the air before unbuckling her seatbelt and hurrying toward the docking bay.

Alex and Sable followed, boarding the elevator down to the cargo deck. By the time they arrived, the docking bay, packed to the brim with shipping containers, was already opening its massive bay doors.

Beyond them waited a team of ground crew and their Pokémon, ready to unload the promised cargo, alongside roughly a dozen scientists. At the front stood Professor Cozmo, a short man with brown hair, glasses, and a white lab coat, greeting them with a broad smile.

“Welcome to the Moon Base, Alex Wattson and company.”

“Happy to be here, Professor,” Alex replied as he stepped forward and shook the professor's hand.

Behind him, the ground crew, with Rhea enthusiastically pitching in, got to work unloading the cargo they had delivered for the Mossdeep Space Center.

“What a magnificent spaceship,” Professor Cozmo remarked. “It endured an Alert Level 4 bombardment without sustaining any meaningful damage, all while its gravity engines maintained over 120% efficiency. The only drawback I can see is the limited cargo capacity for a vessel of this size.”

“It was built with personal use and luxury travel in mind,” Alex said as he led the scientists toward the elevator. “Once the Mossdeep Space Center has its own production line running, you'll be able to build custom models suited to your needs. You could dedicate entire decks to laboratories, greenhouses, living quarters, or anything else your research requires.”

“Wouldn't that be nice,” Cozmo said, his smile widening at the thought.

The elevator hummed as it carried everyone to the living area. Compared to the utilitarian cargo deck below, the spacious lounge was extravagant. Wide walkways, comfortable furnishings, and generous open spaces occupied much of the deck. To researchers accustomed to cramped stations and densely packed laboratories, the sheer amount of space dedicated solely to comfort felt downright luxurious.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Alex said. “If you have any questions, just ask Rotom out loud and it'll point you in the right direction. The next deck up contains your accommodations, while the deck below has enough space for your Pokémon to roam freely instead of remaining cooped up in their Poké Balls. The top deck, however, is reserved for our personal use.”

“Our schedule is fairly straightforward,” Alex continued, pulling up a hologram of their planned voyage. “Once we're off this rock, we'll spend three days traveling at 10 to 15 Gs toward the asteroid belt beyond the planet. We'll remain there for one to three weeks while we harvest resources. After that, it'll take about two days to return to the Moon to drop you off before we head back to the planet.”

“You're planning to race the planet's orbit around the sun?” Professor Cozmo asked. “Why not wait for it to complete a full orbit? That would give us more time to conduct our survey.”

“I'm a busy man, Professor,” Alex replied. “A month is more than enough time for Guzzlord to feed. Anything longer would just be a waste of time. Besides, this is only a survey expedition. Your team is here to collect random samples from every asteroid Guzzlord consumes and record environmental readings along the way, nothing more.”

“A pity,” Professor Cozmo said with a sigh. “It'll be quite some time before we have another opportunity to fund an expedition like this.”

Alex smiled but remained silent. The original proposal had been for him to stay in the asteroid belt until the planet completed a full orbit around the sun and caught back up with him. That would have given the scientists over a year to conduct their survey, but Alex had refused.

Guzzlord could devour an enormous quantity of asteroids in just a week of nonstop feeding. Remaining out there for a year afterward, long after the harvest was finished, was simply an unacceptable waste of time.

Also, who knew what was waiting out in the asteroid belt? For all he knew, it could be home to entire colonies of Master rank Pokémon. That was why he had compromised by agreeing to a survey expedition instead. It would serve as a reconnaissance mission, allowing them to assess the dangers of the region before committing to any long-term operations.

Soon, Rhea and Sable rejoined Alex after finishing the unloading of the cargo hold. It had to be fully cleared before Guzzlord could begin feasting on the asteroids.

"Moon Tower, this is Airship KS-317. Requesting takeoff clearance," Rotom's robotic voice announced over the intercom.

"Airship KS-317, this is Moon Tower. Be advised, the surface remains at Alert Level 4. Expect Elite rank bombardment immediately after departure."

"Copy, Moon Tower. Defenses remain sufficient to withstand the ascent. Requesting takeoff clearance."

"Copy that, Airship KS-317. You are cleared for takeoff. Safe travels."

"Copy. Beginning ascent."

The gravity engines emitted a low hum as the airship gently lifted from Pad 5. Its three landing gears retracted into the hull while the vessel steadily climbed above the sprawling Moon Base.

The moment it cleared the defensive wall, dozens of brilliant beams erupted from craters scattered across the lunar surface. They converged on the ascending airship in a dazzling web of light. The barrage continued for several seconds, but the airship never wavered, climbing steadily until the Moon shrank beneath them and the attacks finally fell out of range.

"Clear of the Moon," Rotom announced.

Rhea grinned as the fusion thruster controls appeared on her holographic display. "Time to stretch her legs."

With a few quick taps, she brought the fusion drives online.

Far behind the airship, twin columns of blinding white-blue plasma erupted from the fusion thrusters, their exhaust stretching for kilometers through the vacuum. The vessel surged forward as the engines ramped up to cruising thrust, the gravity engines seamlessly counteracting the mounting acceleration.

Inside the cabin, not a single passenger felt the crushing weight. To everyone aboard, it was as though the airship were drifting lazily through space, even as it accelerated under a steady 10 to 15 Gs of thrust toward the asteroid belt.

“Marvelous,” Professor Cozmo remarked as he and the dozen or so scientists watched the stars streak past in awe, all while remaining perfectly comfortable.

Their sense of wonder lingered for hours. Eventually, exhaustion drove them to their quarters, only for the excitement to return when they awoke. Whenever they had a spare moment, they gathered by the windows, quietly watching the endless expanse of space drift by as the airship pressed steadily toward the asteroid belt.

Three days later, right on schedule, they reached their destination. Before them stretched an endless asteroid belt, a sprawling graveyard of rock and metal. Countless asteroids drifted through the void in every direction, from pebble-sized fragments to mountain-sized behemoths spanning dozens of kilometers. Though separated by vast distances, their sheer number gave the impression of a colossal minefield, with slow-moving giants silently weaving past one another against the backdrop of the stars.

“Check for any signs of life,” Alex instructed.

“None detected through visual, auditory, infrared, energy, surface, or deep-field scans,” Rotom replied. “The entire region is clear for harvesting.”

“You can start, Rhea.”

“Alright! Come to mama,” Rhea said with a grin as she brought the gravity control array online.

Like invisible fishing lines cast into space, the gravity fields extended outward from the airship, latching onto nearby asteroids as they passed. Each one was gently but inexorably pulled off its original trajectory, drawn into the ship’s wake.

As more asteroids were captured, their combined mass built into a growing drag force, steadily bleeding off the airship’s forward momentum. The vessel gradually shed speed and eventually matched the belt’s natural drift, no longer pushing through it but moving with it while towing a dense cluster of captured asteroids like a sustained, controlled harvest.

“We’re ready to go!” Rhea exclaimed, turning to the others, all suited up in standard space gear while Alex, Sable, and herself wore upgraded Deep Suits.

They moved into the cargo bay, which opened directly into the void. With a gesture, Alex released Guzzlord, who drifted free and immediately began devouring the nearest asteroids, swallowing them whole into its stomach like a black hole.

Around it, the scientists fanned out, taking readings and collecting samples with little concern for drifting off, the airship’s gravity systems keeping them securely within range.

Unbeknownst to them, on a distant cold asteroid far from their formation, something stirred.

A pair of red eyes flickered to life in the dark.

Deep within the rock, a metallic form awakened from hibernation after registering an unmistakable psychic signature.