Sam managed to take his eyes off Solgaleo and Lunala and look back to Absol and Alice’s Mudsdale. “Brace yourselves, guys! You can do this!”
Absol and Mudsdale reered back, preparing for the oncoming attacks.
“Those three Pokémon you just fought are strong, yes,” Sun said, “but even they are wild Pikipeks compared to these two. I’ve gone through nearly half of your Pokémon already, and I can promise you that there’s no way any Pokémon you have left with you now will defeat either of them.”
“We’re willing to take that bet!” Alice spat.
“I’m sure you are. Perhaps you two need a taste. Solgaleo, use Zen Headbutt on Mudsdale!”
Throwing its head up and roaring, a cone of magenta light formed around its head. Hopping up off its front legs, it brought them back down as it banged its head forward, shooting the magenta light like a massive bullet into Mudsdale’s body. Even with it tremendous size and weight, it was flung off the ground and flipped over onto its back. Mudsdale arched its back in once before it tipped to its side and slid over to Alice, who could tell that it already fainted. Twilight and Starlight gasped loudly, overwhelmed by Solgaleo’s strength.
Sam watched incredulously as Sam watched Alice tend to her Pokémon. “Holy…”
“Lunala!” He turned back around to see Sun pointing toward him. “Take Absol out with Moonblast!”
The surface of Lunala’s wings glowed a milky blue as argent streams of light swirled up into the space before its nose. With a flap of its wings and a thrust of its head, Lunala shot its beam down onto Absol, who became engulfed in the blast, the strength of it enough to explode the ground where it stood and send pieces of tile and ground up into the air.
“Absol!” Sam cried
Twilight and Starlight lit their horns up, catching each individual piece of debris before they could strike Sam, Alice, and any of the other trainers and Pokémon near them. Lunala finished its attack, revealing Absol lying still in the crater Lunala’s attack left as the two ponies set the rocks back onto the ground.
“That’s insane!” Spike shouted. “How are Sam and Alice supposed to compete with that?”
“Those two creatures are over a thousand years old and were created for the sole purpose of stopping Necrozma,” Luna explained. “In short, they’re not.”
“Son of a…” Sam took Absol’s ball from his belt and returned it inside, Alice doing the same with Mudsdale.
“Now you’ve experienced the raw strength of these two Pokémon.” Sun stood calmly with his arms at his side as he faced his two opponents. “If you really want to continue this stupid battle of yours, I’ll be more than happy to wipe you and your Pokémon out. That goes for the rest of you!” Hau, Gladion, Lillie, and Dexio recoiled at his sudden shout.
“As my friends, I’ll give you a chance to walk away from this and let this whole night slide so we can go to Mossdeep as planned, but if Sam and Alice refuse to stop right here, right now, and either of you wants to take their place against me, I’ll show you as much mercy as I’m showing them.”
“Then it sounds like we have some work ahead of us, right Sun?” Sam put both arms out in a protective gesture, his next Pokéball held in his right hand.
Sun stared at Sam with widened eyes, almost hating his resilience more than he hated him. “Do you really not care what happens to you or your Pokémon? Solgaleo and Lunala are the two most powerful Pokémon in all of Alola, perhaps the world, and you’d continue letting your Pokémon face something like that?”
“Hey, at least if we fail…” Sun jerked his head to Alice, who also held her next ball, “we won’t have to worry about living in the world you apparently want so badly! Thing is, we’ve got too many friends to leave behind to let that happen.”
Sun grumbled, accepting their unbreakable resolve. “Then send them out, if that’s what you want.”
Alice and Sam threw their Poké Balls into the battlefield. “Go, Noivern!”
“Let’s go, Salazzle!”
The balls burst open, and Alice’s wyvern and Sam’s fiery salamander came out from each ball, the latter planting its feet on the ground before slithering up to a bipedal stance.
Sun gulped a breath over seeing Alice’s latest Pokémon. “You evolved your Noibat already?”
“You can thank your good buddy Dexio for the push!” Sun seethed through his teeth. “Noivern, attack Lunala with Dragon Pulse!”
Sam detached his Fightinium Z from his Z-Ring as he watched Noivern’s mouth fill with a blue energy. With a loud hock, a ring of light spread out perpendicularly with the tip of its snout as a flashing ball of blue and purple shot from its mouth. The orb struck Lunala in the chest and knocked it backwards, and with its wings thrown forward, it pulled them back to catch and stabilize itself, floating back to return to its spot.
“Okay…” Sam clicked his Firium Z crystal into his Z-Ring. “My turn.”
Sam crossed his arms over his face, his Z-Ring and the crystal inside flaring to life. Connected with the Z-Ring’s power, Salazzle was compelled to cross its own arms in the same position. After both of them put their arms down and crossed them back out, they fanned their arms upwards twice before they grabbed their right elbows with their arms raised up, finishing by throwing them forward, pointing their palms at Solgaleo.
Z-Energy erupted from Sam’s body and spiraled around Salazzle until the strands of aura seeped into its body. Along with the Z-Energy radiating off of it, flames danced across Salazzle’s back, the feeling of both euphoric to it.
“You unbelievable bastard,” Sun hissed. “You’d really save your Z-Power on them?”
“If they’re half as powerful as you say, I’d be a fool to waste it any earlier! Now go, Salazzle! Attack Solgaleo with Inferno Overdrive!”
With the flames on its back burning more intensely, tendrils of fire burned into existence and swirled into an ever-enlarging orb in front of its face. The ball grew and grew until it was twice Salazzle’s size. Twilight and Starlight, spotting the danger, already began to charge their horns.
Salazzle spat a smaller ball of fire from its mouth, igniting the larger ball to blast its way at Solgaleo’s face. The moment the sphere made contact, Twilight and Starlight grunted at the right possible time, their horns lighting up brighter. The fireball exploded into an intense blast, Solgaleo roaring out as the fires engulfed it. As Sun covered his face with his arms, expecting to feel the heat wash into him, he peeked past them to see that the fire was a controlled pillar, the flames rocketing into the ceiling and spreading out on the surface.
Starlight and Twilight strained and moaned as they struggled to keep in the intense heat and force of the flames. Even Lunala appeared nonplussed by the ponies’ act. Finally, the flames subsided and with Solgaleo standing there with its now incandescent body smoking, Starlight and Twilight stopped their spells, panting as they swooned.
“Whoa! Be careful, darling!” Rarity ran to Twilight and let her friend lean against her so she could straighten herself back up. “That one looked to take a lot out of you.”
“An Inferno Overdrive from Salazzle should do that,” Starlight quipped.
Solgaleo’s body rapidly cooled into its normal colors, and it picked its head up to train its eyes on Salazzle, who scowled at its inability to beat it.
“Your Z-Moves have proven useful in your journey, haven’t they?” Sun said. “But if you think a Z-Move can take out either of them, then you’re dumber than I thought!”
“Salazzle, brace for it!” Salazzle got low, following its trainer’s advice.
“Solgaleo, take his Salazzle out with Zen Headbutt!”
Solgaleo lit its head up and threw it forward, another impression of its face shooting down onto Sam’s Pokémon. Despite its claws anchoring to the ground as best it could, the force of the hit blasted it up and over Sam’s head.
“Salazzle!” he cried.
“I got her, I got her!” Trixie broke away from her friends and charged her horn, focusing intensely on the airborne salamander.
With her aura covering it, she slowed its fall to a stop just before it could hit the ground. As she floated it back to Sam, she panted in relief over the close call she made.
With Sam holding his arms out, Trixie dropped his limp Pokémon into them. “That was still a really good hit you made.” He then looked to the blue unicorn standing there. “Thank you, Trixie.”
“Don’t thank me yet!” she exclaimed with a stomp of her hoof. “You still need to take those two down!”
“And they will never get the chance!” Sun shouted back. “Now, Lunala, finish Noivern off with Moonblast!”
With the spectral membrane of its wings glowing, Lunala formed another silvery ball before itself and launched it out in a powerful beam that crashed into Noivern’s chest, threatening to throw it back.
“Push through!” Alice screamed. “You can do it!”
Leaning forward as hard as it could, Noivern tucked its head in and let the beam crashed into it, finding its footing and refusing to move back another inch.
“Come on,” Dexio whispered. “Come on!”
Lunala could not continue its attack and stopped the beam, looking down to see if Noivern had survived. A glittering rash was left atop Noivern’s head as its body bent down low, but it began a weak push back up, surprising both Sun and Lunala with its survival, staring at the Pokémon with a vengeful squint.
“Alright! I think you’re on to something, Sam…” Alice fished into her pocket, pulling out her the Z-Crystal Kahili gave to her, but before she could put it into the slot on her Z-Ring, a fatal realization came to her and stopped her.
“Alice!” Hearing Hau’s voice, she turned around, seeing him already beginning the motions of a Z-Move activation.
With his legs wide apart, he rolled his arms up and out to the side like a bird’s wings. He then flapped them down and jumped into a crouch, bringing his legs together and putting his hands onto his shins, finishing by standing back up tall, his right fist over his chest while the left punched skyward.
“That’s how you activate your Flyinium Z and use Supersonic Skystrike!” Hau shouted. “You’re welcome!”
As Sam and Alice’s numerous friends assisted them, Sun’s scowl only grew more furious.
“Thanks, Hau.” Replacing her Aloraichium Z, Alice slipped the new crystal into her Z-Ring.
She immediately began to activate it, crossing her arms over her face and causing her Z-Ring and Flyinium Z to shine brightly. Noivern performed the same motions Hau taught Alice as she did them herself, the two of them in complete synch with one another. Upon reaching for the sky, Alice’s Z-Power shot out from her body and swirled its way into Noivern’s, causing it to radiate with energy.
“And you think that’s going to help too?” Sun bellowed. “Even a supereffective Z-Move wasn’t enough to bring Solgaleo down! What do you think you and your Noivern can possibly do?”
“Enough,” she answered. “Alright, Noivern! Let’s knock Lunala down a few pegs! Attack it with Supersonic Skystrike!”
Noivern pushed off the ground, the force of that alone sending it high up into the top of the atrium, a blast of wind spreading out around the room. Flipping over, it put its feet on the ceiling, and with a folding back of its wings, it pushed down again. With the gravity assisting its dive, a cone of energy formed around its body from the tip of its snout.
Colliding headfirst into Lunala’s chest, Noivern slammed it hard enough onto the floor to create a small explosion from the pieces of the floor and the ground beneath it that it tore up, creating a mushroom cloud of dirt and dust. Before the shockwave could collide with him, Solgaleo laid itself in front of Sun, allowing the debris from the explosion to pass around it.
As the dust wave was about to crash into Alice, Sam, and everyone behind them, a rainbow-colored blur flew around the room fast enough to blow it away from them to follow her. As she spiraled upward, the dust was lifted up and blown to one of the far corners away from the battle.
Her work done, Rainbow Dash landed beside Twilight and Spike and sighed pleasurably as she stretched her wings out before folding them to her sides. “It’s about time I was useful!”
Alice nodded back to her as her Noivern crawled off of Lunala and returned to its spot in front of her. Sam finished returning Salazzle into its ball, placing it back onto his belt and removing another, ready to throw it out.
“Archen!” he cried, tossing the ball. “Hit them both with Bulldoze!”
The ball opened up, Archen already flying low to the ground from the ball’s energy and picking up any of the leftover dust from the last attack, which clumped and hardened together to form a large, expansive wave of mud. Lunala still struggled to get up as Solgaleo leapt over Sun to protect him from the front.
Pulling up hard, Archen brought the wave to rise high above Solgaleo and Lunala and crashed it into them, the force pushing them back and knocking Solgaleo over. With the two Pokémon swamped underneath the drying mud, Sam let out a satisfactory exhale as Archen flew back to him and joined Noivern’s side.
Sun’s head hung low as both of his Pokémon began to dig themselves out from the mud Archen entrapped them in. “Alright… if that’s the way you want to play this…” He then widened his stance and held both arms to his sides, squeezing his fists as hard as he could. “…you two will now feel the full power and fury of my almighty Pokémon! Solgaleo, Lunala! Attack Archen and Noivern with Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam!”
The faces of both Pokémon began to glow brightly, a blue sun and a purple eye insignia appearing on Solgaleo and Lunala’s foreheads. Solgaleo’s body then lit up with a bright yellow, leaping up into the air and levitating in its spot. Lunala floated up and spread its now bright blue wings so that they formed a perfectly circular shape. Solgaleo’s body radiated with a hot red aura like a sun as six bright points along Lunala’s perimeter transferred their energy into the rounded spot above its head, forming a bright, spectral light.
As they absorbed more energy, a strong wind began to pick up inside the room, frightening everyone inside, but none more than Sam and Alice. Finally, a tunnel was formed from Solgaleo’s aura, trapping Archen where it stood. The two Pokémon then made their attacks together, Solgaleo charging down on Archen while the energy forming above Lunala shot down toward Noivern. The Equestrians were frozen and appalled.
“Don’t just stand there, help them!” On Discord’s cry, Twilight and Starlight were quick to form a wall between Sam and Alice and their Pokémon.
Solgaleo slammed the full weight of its head and body into Archen while Lunala’s beam consumed Noivern in its brilliance. With the energy of both attacks exerting on their targets at once, the explosions melded into one unrelenting eruption of fire and ghastly light. The force was enough to shatter through Twilight and Starlight’s spell, leaving nothing left to keep the blast away. Along with Archen and Noivern, Sam and Alice were swept hard off their feet along with them, screaming as their bodies were flipped helplessly about in the powerful, stifling gales.
“Guys, no!” Hau, Dexio, Lillie, Gladion, and their Pokémon were also carried away with the others, and with the force refusing to let up, Burnet and the Equestrians could only cover their heads and look away as the shockwave blew them up into the air with everyone else.
A cacophonous chorus of screaming and shouting rang out as they were all forced to the other side of the atrium, each one landing hard on a different part of their bodies. The Equestrians rolled into the back glass wall and each other, several of them hitting it hard enough to leave cracks on it. Hau, Dexio, Lillie, and Gladion slid back into several of the Equestrians and limply swayed to their sides, backs and stomachs as they tried to recover from the immense power they were met with.
Sam, Alice, Noivern, and Archen came to a stop a few inches away from the pile of their friends behind them. Alice, lying on her back, was first to pull herself up, feeling around her leg and the scar on it, muttering to herself in hope that she would feel no sharp pain. As she then looked over her body, finding several scrapes and minor cuts on the bare, unclothed parts of her body, she found Sam lying face down and motionless with his fainted Archen sprawled across his arm. She quickly crawled to him and set Archen off of him.
“Sam, Sam!” As she rolled him over, he let out several large coughs.
With a joyful huff, she hugged him tight as he let out a gargled moan. She quickly let him go, and he managed to sit up, the pain giving him enough energy to do so.
“Are you alright?” Sam wheezed.
“Am I alright? I’m the one who found you unconscious.”
“What about the others?” Sam and Alice looked back at their friends, human, Pokémon, and Equestrian, most of whom writhed as they tried getting off each other, though finding it difficult with the soreness each one felt.
Sam then found Archen lying beside him, letting out a doleful breath as he leaned over it and pet its face with the back of his hand. Alice looked to Noivern, who had also fainted, and she looked down to the ground with the same dismal sense of defeat.
Burnet helped pull Applejack and Fluttershy off of Pinkie Pie and Shining Armor, giving them enough space to get back up themselves. “Are you all alright?”
“May feel that one in the morning,” Applejack answered, “but yeah, nothing serious.”
“To think…” Gladion got to his feet, helping his weakened Lucario up with him, “that Sun would use both of their strongest moves at once in here… against those two.”
Sam continued looking as the humans and Equestrians tended to one another, finally looking back down at his Archen.
“I’m all out,” Alice said. “I lost…”
Sam reached for Archen’s Poké Ball on his belt, the mild realization suddenly hitting him as he ran his fingers across his belt, feeling all six balls there. He then patted his jacket pockets until his fingers felt a slightly spiky shape inside the left one. He then detached Archen’s ball and aimed the center button at its head.
“I’m not…” The red beam connected with his Pokémon and brought it back inside. “…and I haven’t yet.”
“Sam?” Alice was further confused as Sam got to his feet, turning around to see the silhouette of Solgaleo, Lunala, and Sun staring at him through the smoke that billowed from the floors where both its attacks connected.
Sam detached his last Poké Ball from his belt and slowly walked back over toward Sun and his Pokémon.
“Sam, come back!” As he refused to listen to Alice, she began sobbing and getting hysterical. “Sam, please! Stop! You can’t beat him! Stop, please Sam!”
Starlight and Fluttershy trotted to Alice’s side with Lady and Comfey following, allowing her to use their bodies to push herself to her feet. “What’s he doing?” Fluttershy cried.
“Looks like he’s finishing this,” Burnet responded, her hand nervously clasping over her mouth.
By now, everyone was back on their feet, hooves, and paws and standing close behind Alice, Fluttershy, Starlight, and Burnet, watching as Sam finally came to a stop near where he last stood.
“Sam,” Lillie whimpered. “What are you thinking?”
Sun crossed his arms, hardly looking surprised by this point. “You’ve already seen how hard of a time you and your sister had with these two, and now you’re going to fight them alone.”
“I still have one of my guys left,” Sam croaked, “and until they all fall, I won’t stop getting back up.”
“You certainly have a lot of spunk, Sam, and you possess a truly iron resolve for fighting for what you believe in. Only the best Pokémon trainers do. It’s just a damned shame you fought for all the wrong reasons.”
“Promising my friends tomorrow sounds like a pretty right reason to me.”
Sun picked his head up slowly, as if keeping himself awake. “Then come at me, Sam. See if you and your Pokémon will get to have a tomorrow.”
Sam looked to his final Poké Ball, staring deep at the center button as if looking the Pokémon inside of it directly in the eyes. “I need you to trust me, buddy. This is the only way I can think to beat him… Let’s go, Drampa!”
With a wild throw of no turning back, Sam’s ball opened up as Drampa floated down upon forming from its energy. Despite the fearsome Solgaleo and Lunala staring down on it like the last prey that it was, Drampa frowned bravely, refusing to show any fear.
“You think that will save you?” Sun huffed. “Lunala could probably take it out with a single Moonblast.”
Sam’s sister and friends behind him couldn’t help but hold their breaths, waiting for Sam’s bold, desperate strategy to unfold.
“I bet she could,” Sam responded, “but my Drampa isn’t the one who’s going to be fighting here.”
Sam then reached into his left jacket pocket, crouching to let the bottom rest on his thigh for stability. It was then that he pulled out a Max Revive, holding it out to the side to show everyone inside the room.
Sun gasped in a genuine show of shock. “A Max Revive? Where did you– That’s right… from the Prism leader after they fled.”
“You got it. And with it, I’m bringing back…” Sam then pressed the Max Revive into the button of the Poké Ball on his belt closest to him.
With the button and Max Revive glowing, it dissolved until the particles of it were fed into the Poké Ball.
Sun sneered in disgust. “You used your move to bring one of your Pokémon back while leaving the one you have at Solgaleo and Lunala’s mercy?!” Drampa loudly honked back at Sun, assuring him that it was completely accepting of its trainer’s decision. “Fine then… Solgaleo, Lunala, take Drampa out with Zen Headbutt and Moonblast!”
Solgaleo thrust forward, a magenta aura in the shape of the front of its head shooting into Drampa’s chest. Drampa doubled over, but kept its head up, looking at Lunala as it charged its shining energy before it. It then closed its eyes as the beam shot at its face, the light shining past its eyelids. Upon the beam reaching it, it was flung off the ground and hit the ground on its side, his head bouncing off a couple of times before it laid still.
With its ball already in hand, Sam returned Drampa to it, holding another Poké Ball in his other hand. Sam tapped the top of the ball to his forehead, giving thanks to his Drampa before placing it back on its belt.
Sun stared at the ball in Sam’s hand intently. “If I were him, I would have brought back–”
“This is it!” Sam threw the ball out. “Let’s put an end to this once and for all, Aegislash!”
“Of course…”
Sam’s shield-and-sword Pokémon appeared from its ball, taking its defensive stance with its blade inside the handle of the shield.
“And what made you choose that Pokémon?” Sun asked out of genuine curiousity. “You saw how quickly Solgaleo and Lunala finished your Drampa off, right?”
Sam nodded a single time. “Not to speak ill of the fallen, but Drampa can’t take a hit quite like Aegislash can.”
Aegislash let out a metallic roar, prepared to reinforce its trainer’s point.
“Of course,” Sun added, “Drampa was taken down by two of their weaker moves. Do you think it would survive their strongest?”
Sam opened his mouth to gasp before recovering into a braver one. “If that’s the way you need to win, we have no choice but to find out, won’t we?”
“Resilient to the end. Solgaleo! Lunala! Finish his Aegislash off! Sunsteel Strike! Moongeist Beam!”
Solagleo and Lunala rose up, their bodies glowing bright and their markings appearing on their foreheads. As the solar energy encompassed Solgaleo and Lunala drew its lunar energy above its head, another wind began to pick up.
“Aegislash! You hold on here and don’t let go!” Sam’s command gave Aegislash the courage to tighten its hold on its shield.
With Solgaleo forming its flaming tunnel directly to Aegislash, it flew down at it as Lunala shot its beam down. Aegislash closed its eye tight as both attacks connected at the same time, creating another devastating explosion that threatened to blow everyone away again.
Before the wave could reach Sam, a bright, sparkling wall swirling with magenta and light blue rose from the ground between him and Aegislash, keeping the force of the blast at bay. Sam looked behind him in awe, watching as Twilight and Starlight, their brows sopped with sweat, squealed and moaned as they struggled to maintain their shield.
At that moment, another wall rose up directly behind theirs. With Twilight and Starlight preoccupied, Spike turned his head to see Alakazam with its spoons glowing, grunting as it held Starlight and Twilight’s shield in place.
“Nice job!” Dexio shouted. “Keep holding on!”
The sound of a Poké Ball opening up sounded behind them, Lillie’s Starmie floating out and taking Alakazam’s side. With a spinning of its body, Alakazam’s shield became thicker and brighter.
Gladion pointed out at the light wall. “Lucario, you too!”
Lucario held its paws up, the people and Equestrians no longer able to see the fires beyond it. However, the two ponies and three Pokémon still struggled, groaning as the attack’s force refused to let up. Suddenly, Hau’s shadow slid out toward the base of the wall before the head of it rose up to form into Marshadow.
“This should do it!” Marshadow put its hands upon the magenta wall as it suddenly took on a dark-purple tint.
With the four Pokémon helping, Twilight and Starlight breathed easier as they could continue holding their original spell. Burnet stood with mouth agape, astounded by the teamwork on display. Finally, Twilight and Starlight grunted as they let their magic fade away.
“It’s done!” Twilight panted. “The attack’s over.”
At once, the four Pokémon dropped their shields, the half of the atrium on the other side of it covered in thick smoke. They all looked out into it, hoping to find Aegislash still up and floating. Sam squinted, hoping to see his Pokémon’s familiar shape there.
“Did…” Spike wondered. “Did they do it?”
Luna bit her lip, the lack of any sound or movement beyond the haze dampening her hopes.
Inside the smoke, Sun held his shirt over his mouth, careful to take easy breaths. “Lunala!”
Lunala flapped her wings once, and with a flash of the membrane, the smoke began to vaporize into clear, clean air, slowly unveiling the rest of the battlefield. As the smoke cleared near him, Sam found Aegislash’s shape lower to the ground than he had imagined, and as he refocused his gaze, he was stunned and incredibly exhilarated to see Aegislash still standing tall with the tip of its blade on the floor, its blade and shield scuffed and steaming.
“No way,” Pinkie Pie responded in a hushed tone.
“Oh my god,” Alice’s tears went streaming down her face. “Aegislash, you magnificent…”
“NO!” Sun screamed. “Impossible! There’s no way he could have survived that!”
Sam ignored his cries and tightened his expression, knowing that his open window was about to close. “Aegislash, attack Lunala with Shadow Claw!”
Aegislash leapt out of its shield and grabbed onto it with its left cloth arm before darting out at Lunala, who tried to float back away, but was not fast enough as Aegislash quickly gained on it.
Sun’s teeth clenched and his eyes went wide as he watched Aegislash hunt his Pokémon down. “Lunala, get out of there!”
Sam placed his clenched fists above each other, moving them down to the right side of his waist before separating the left one to swing up. Aegislash followed, shifting down to the right as its blade glowed purple. Once it got close enough, it sliced its blade up to the left, the mark it left tracing from the base of the center of Lunala’s left wing all the way to its right shoulder. With a screech, Lunala leaned back and crashed to the ground, laying its arms out along the floor as it rested its head, its eyes closing slowly and calmly.
“LUNALA!” Sun clutched his temples as tears began to freely flow from his eyes.
Sam pursed his lips, struggling to watch Sun’s distress before Aegislash returned to his side. With Lunala fainted, Sun could only refocus his sights on Sam and Aegislash, his rage reaching fever pitch.
“You unbelievable fucking bastard!” Sun screamed. “I’m promising you now that you won’t survive this! Solgaleo, destroy Aegislash with Earthquake!”
Solgaleo roared as he hopped off its front paws, the pads glowing with rumbling energy. Slamming them back down, hundreds of cracks traced along the floor in a similarly colored light. The ground before Solgaleo then began to blast upward and travel its way forward at Sam and Aegislash.
“Alright, buddy!” Sam huffed. “I know you were pretty out of it when Nanu’s Krookodile hit you with it, but you got this! Just find your openings and fly through!” Aegislash banged the side of its blade against its shield, more ready than ever. “Now go get him!”
Sam ran back as Aegislash darted forward. Now at a safe distance away from the Earthquake attack, Sam and the others watched as his Pokémon slipped through the front of the wall of rock. Though unable to see it, Aegislash continued making its way forward, dodging some debris, knocking away some rocks with its shield, and bisecting the rest with its sword.
“Come on, buddy,” Sam whispered, “come on, buddy!”
Sun eyes went narrow and his mouth was pulled open as Aegislash deftly avoided every piece of rock, tile, and dirt that came its way. Upon Aegislash appearing high on the other side of the blast, Sun’s limbs went weak as he fell onto his bottom, no longer a thing separating Solgaleo from it.
As the rocks continued falling, Sam let out a hard breath out and in, his victory now in sight. “You did it! Now, Aegislash, finish Solgaleo off with Shadow Claw!!”
Sam reached his hands up and clasped his imaginary hilt, Aegislash tipping back to prepare its final attack. Sam slashed downward as Aegislash fell down toward Solgaleo, the edge of its blade going alight. Aegislash thrust down as the blade went across the entirety of its face and the corners of its mane. Aegislash slammed into the ground as the force of its hit threw Solgaleo onto its side, producing a heavy bang that shook the entire ground of the atrium, the cracked glass wall behind the Equestrians finally shattering with the pieces scattering along the floor in small chunks.
When the final piece of glass settled, there was not a sound to be heard. Sun and Sam were both too dumbfounded to register what had happened, and Alice and the rest of her friends around her could only stare at the defeated Solgaleo and Lunala, unable to break the excruciating silence.
With as quiet a breath as she could, Luna closed her eyes. “It is done.”
“He did it…” Lillie muttered. “He actually…”
With a shudder in her breath, she hugged Gladion again and buried her face into his shoulder, crying softly. Burnet, completely overwhelmed by the battle’s climax, couldn’t withhold a chuckle, which she was quick to stifle with her fingers over her lips. Sam took his first step toward Solgaleo, who stirred ever so slightly, but even he could tell that it was no longer a threat.
He continued his way over and reached his hand out at his Pokémon, who continued to rest near Solgaleo’s face. “Aegislash.”
Hearing him, Aegislash floated over to Sam and wrapped its free cloth arm around his right arm as he grabbed as much of the wide hilt as he could, the blade facing away from him.
As he got closer, Sun ran around his Pokémon, laying his back on his face and putting his arms out defensively. “No, Sam! Don’t you dare do this!”
“Get out of my way.” Sam’s cold demand was met with no response from Sun, who continued shielding his Pokémon, his eyes red and wet. “Fine.”
Squeezing on the hilt, Aegislash reached across with the arm holding its shield and began scooping beneath Sun’s back. With a forceful thrust, Sun was thrown off and away from Solgaleo as Sam stood before the Pokémon. Sun scrambled back to his feet, only to be tackled back down to the ground by Alice.
“No!” Sun struggled and thrashed to break free, but as she locked his arms and legs back, he could only watch as Sam looked down upon his weak, helpless Solgaleo. “NYAAAAHHH!”
With his other hand grappling the bottom of the hilt, Sam raised Aegislash above his head, both prepared to drive the blade into its skull. Sam hesistated as Solgaleo opened its eyes, shifting its head to peer at him from the corner of its vision. Accompanied with Sun’s shrieks of sadness, Sam’s lip trembled as his hold on the sword trembled.
“Wait!” Lillie ran over, Sam putting his sword down as she stood by his side.
Sam coughed out a difficult breath. “Don’t tell me–”
“I’ve been by his side for more than ten years,” she answered. “If anyone’s going to do this, it’s going to be me.”
Emboldened by her supportive words, he held Aegislash out to her, and she placed her hands on its cross-guard. Solgaleo looked up at Sun and Lillie before it laid its head back down, accepting its fate. As Sam and Lillie raised Aegislash up again, the Equestrians were awash with emotion.
Spike wept into Twilight’s leg as she hugged his back with her wing, tears falling down her face. Fluttershy hugged Starlight, turning her head away and keeping her eyes closed as she cried. Luna, seeing that the act would finally be done, sniffed hard and frowned, wanting to be brave for her creation. Burnet clasped at her necklace, feeling its frame dig into her palm. Gladion bit his lip as he could not keep from weeping himself. Sun, Alice’s hold still tight on him, let out a couple more sobs as he hung his head, defeated.
Lillie took in a deep breath and sobbed once, ready to make the final decision. “Goodbye, Nebby… I love you.”
Sam and Lillie both stabbed down, hearing and feeling the sound of metal piercing through metal. The next thing that struck Sam and Alice was confusion, not hearing a final whimper or whine. Opening their eyes, they found that the top of Aegislash’s blade was caught in a translucent magenta disk, the tip just a hair’s width from Solgaleo’s face.
Sun and Alice looked up to see this, also confused by this. It was then that they heard the gasps of several of the Equestrians, Fluttershy and Twilight in particular. Sam and Lillie looked behind them as Alice and Sun spotted what the Equestrians were seeing, their eyes narrowing and their lips parting in equal bewilderment. Burnet had one hand clasped over her necklace as she reached one magenta-glowing hand out toward Solgaleo, smiling with malicious triumph.
“Professor Burnet…” Hau took a step back, his face draining of its color. “What are… How are you–”
Her smile then became warm and pleasant, appearing vastly more disturbing. “Sam, Alice, thank you… for everything.”
She then clasped her glowing hand and yanked it back, the barrier that caught Aegislash’s blade shooting backwards as well, throwing Sam and Lillie off their feet with Aegislash. Upon sliding to a stop, Gladion, Lucario, Hau, Starlight, and Lady ran to them. As Gladion helped his sister up, he looked back at Burnet, who grabbed at her necklace with her other hand. Hau and Starlight pulled Sam to his feet as Burnet pulled her hands away, the obsidian stone in her necklace now gone.
Inside both hands, two Poké Balls made entirely of obsidian expanded in her hand. Without wasting any time, she threw both balls with both hands, each one flying their way to the fainted Solgaleo and Lunala as if they had minds of their own. Sun and Alice both watched in complete horror as the first ball hit Solgaleo, opening up and converting it into a sparkling white light that was sucked inside.
Alice and Sun looked up and noticed the second ball making its way to Lunala in the corner. “No!” he shouted.
Alice let him go as he shot to his feet, leaping up and reaching out, the ball looking to be headed right for his palm. Burnet chuckled as she drew a U with her finger, and the ball dipped from its path and bashed Sun in the shin, sending him flipping forward and face-first toward the ground. Alice could only catch him before he could, the two only able to watch as the second ball raced out at Lunala, striking it and converting it into energy to be sucked inside its prison. The ball latched closed before it hit the ground.
All eyes were now on Burnet as she put both hands out, both obsidian balls shooting back to her palms. Twilight, Luna, and Fluttershy’s lips quivered, devastated and appalled by what they now knew of their dear friend. Squeezing down on the balls, they appeared to be absorbed into her palms until her fists were fully clenched, a white aura flaring up her arms and spread across her body as the stone in her necklace reformed.
“Of course…” She looked to the poines and other trainers, each of whom recoiled by her eyes meeting theirs. “…I can’t give Sam and Alice all the credit. You all played your parts wonderfully as well!”
“Burnet!” Hau spat. “Tell me you’re joking! This can’t be real!”
“It most certainly is real, Hau! Are you ready for the punchline?!”
The aura blazed up brighter as it began to cover her hands and legs. The light of it turned darker and compressed until the aura on her hands formed into a pair of large, clawed gloves, spreading out to create the sleeves of a black cloak that spread over body and legs, armor on her chest, a pair of black boots, and a belt containing four regular Poké Balls and the two obsidian ones there instead of one. The hood of her cloak remained down to keep her face revealed, her disguise no longer needed.
Dexio’s arms went limp, tremoring uncontrollably. “No… you’re actually…”
Burnet smiled at him, his inability to finish his sentence endearing to her. “Yes, you double-crossing snake.” Shining Armor and Discord gulped, her lower-pitched voice now leaving her lips. “I am the leader and founder of Team Prism!”
“Double-crosser, huh?” Hau and Pangoro tensed themselves up to fight. “Have you looked in a mirror, lately?!”
Both ran out at Burnet, and even without her moving a muscle, Hau and Pangoro were caught midair and then blasted backwards, both of them landing hard and tumbling to the ground near Alice and Sun.
“Hau!” Sun ran over to Hau and hoisted him up by his armpits. “Are you alright?”
Hau worldlessly shook Sun’s arms off, staring at Burnet with hateful, spiteful eyes.
“Why, Burnet?” Thorax shouted. “Why would you do all this?”
“And how?” Trixie added. “How could you do all this?”
“It’s not incredibly complex,” she said in her normal voice before turning to the pink unicorn and Lady. “Starlight. What purpose would I have to send you and your friends out to Paniola Ranch after having Reuniclus use his powers on you?”
“You… actually tried weakening me for those two?” With each new layer of betrayal revealed, Starlight’s eyes moistened.
“Twilight, Spike, you two were so eager to get out of this stuffy lab and find your other friends who were so far, yet so close. Isn’t it convenient that an entire squadron was just waiting outside the front door for you two to catch you sneaking off?” Twilight and Spike scowled at her. “And how about the next night? You’d think that a place like this would have the best security money could buy. Doesn’t do too much good when you unlock the back door and let them in!”
“No…” Lillie shook her head. “No, no, this is crazy!”
“And Hau.” She chuckled. “That was quite a performance I gave as I was being captured, huh?”
Hau gasped, another realization hitting him. “So that’s how they were free to spring Faba out of jail.”
“And why the leader wasn’t there tonight,” Sam surmised.
“Except she was,” Alice breathed out. “She was there the entire time.”
Burnet snapped and pointed to her. “Now you’re getting it! And with all that was going on the past week: the ponies arriving, Team Prism coming out of the shadows, the numerous attacks on you and your friends…” She then looked to Sun. “You just couldn’t allow letting Solgaleo and Lunala out of your sights anymore. Of course, the truth of where they came from would eventually come to light, which would force at least a few of you to make that hard decision to end their lives and destroy most of Necrozma’s powers, which is why I had to be here to ensure that you didn’t finish the job.”
“God dammit,” Sam wiped his eyes with his fingers. “You used us... You used all of us.”
“Oh, don’t feel too bad, Sam. You had the right idea, even if it was all a part of my grand design.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash growled, “we know how now. Now tell us why? Why would you do this?”
“Why?” Burnet replied and giggled condescendingly as if answering a small child, holding her necklace up. “To help him, of course.”
“Him?” Luna blinked several times, finally understanding. “Necrozma! Show yourself if you’re actually here!”
Burnet’s head fell over as if instantly falling asleep. As she picked her head back up, everyone became frozen stiff as her eyes became two black voids, her smile stretching out wider than what was humanly possible.
“.princesS lunA” The voice that came out was icy and harsh, sounding as if it was speaking backwards. “.what a pleasure it is to see you agaiN .if only your sister were here to join uS”
“You let this woman go! She has no part in this!”
“?nO .because the way I see it, she became a part of this the day she ventured deep enough within teN karaT hilL.”
“Ten Karat Hill?” Starlight questioned. “The place where we first met Team Prism?”
“?ironic, isn’t iT …the very place where my last battle ended became the site where my new one began, and where my life ended, it began agaiN”
“What are you saying?” Spike asked angrily. “That she chose to join something like you?”
With a hard blink, Burnet’s eyes returned to normal as her mouth returned to a normal size. “Is it that hard to believe? If only you could see the things Necrozma showed me, the things it promised to grant me! Perhaps you too would have been tempted to start Team Prism had you found its crystal before I did.”
“Enough to betray my friends?” Alice spat. “Or my brother? No chance in hell! I mean, what would Kukui think about his wife gladly trading his life for this… mad power scheme?”
“What my husband thinks is no longer relevant! Now that I have obtained the powers of Solgaleo and Lunala within me, there is no longer any force that can stand in my way!”
“How about this?!” Hau threw a pointed finger at Burnet. “Marshadow, attack her!”
Marshadow weaved around its friends and leapt up at Burnet, socking her in the gut hard enough to send her sliding away. Baring her teeth, she looked back up to see Marshadow about to take another shot. Pulling her left arm in and reaching the right one out, Marshadow was suddenly yanked back as Hau was flung forward, the two crashing into each other and landing on the floor.
With an inward twist of her wrists, a black cross-shaped surface rose beneath them. Hau could only think to pull a Poké Ball off his belt and point it at his Pangoro, bringing it back inside. Burnet then clasped her hands together, the surface quickly folding itself into a cube.
“Hau!” Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy screamed.
“Guys! Ru–” The box closed up, the rest of Hau’s screams silenced completely.
“Hau! HAU!!” Starlight ran to the cube and tried to pry it open with her magic which bounced off its surface and dithered away. “Let him out! He can’t breathe in there!”
“Don’t worry, he can breathe just fine.” With a wag of her finger, Burnet pulled the box to her side. “However, that box is completely light-proof and light-absorbent.”
“Of course,” Twilight hissed. “Without light, there’s no shadows. Without shadows, he can’t summon Marshadow.”
Burnet’s black eyes and inhuman smile returned. “.you ponies have gotten so smart since I’ve lefT !now, it is time to make my returN”
Burnet held her hands up, which began to glow magenta.
“Not if we can still stop it!” Sam shouted. “Aegislash, King’s Shield!”
Aegislash floated out between Burnet and all of its friends behind it, and it hopped into the enarme of its shield and crossed its cloth arms. Its hexagonal barrier appeared as Burnet’s psychic energy washed over the surface.
Sam twisted back to Twilight and the Equestrians, frantic desperation filled in his eyes. “Guys, run! We’ve got her!”
Spike felt a sudden guilt pierce his gut. “But Sam–”
“Just go, dammit!”
Luna galloped to Twilight’s side. “Starlight, Rarity, Shining Armor, quickly, come close!”
The three unicorns joined her, and as Luna touched Twilight’s horn, the others were compelled to do the same. As the aura between their horns flared up with immense intensity, Burnet could see the scene past Aegislash’s shield. Scowling, she grasped her hand and pulled it back, sending Aegislash toward her. Unable to stop, Aegislash was forced to fly into Burnet, who punched through its barrier and shattered it. With the last of its strength depleted, Aegislash was thrown to the floor, its blade and shield scattering at Sam’s feet. Just as Burnet began to refocus herself, she was greeted by Alakazam leaping over, ready to land just inches from her.
“Alakazam,” Dexio commanded, “Focus Blast, now!”
Holding its spoons at its chest, they charged with reddish brown energy, and once its feet landed on the ground, the energy exploded point blank into Burnet, throwing her hard off her feet for her back to slam into the back wall, breaking it in several places and leaving an indent.
“Everypony, gather around!” Each of the Equestrians, Lady and Comfey included, huddled around the five horned ponies in a tight scrum, the light of the horns enveloping them.
Burnet pushed off the wall and threw her arm to the side, sending Alakazam off to the side and out of her way. Just as she reached a hand out at the dome of light the Equestrians created, the dome popped, the spot where the Equestrians stood now completely empty and without a trace of their being there.
Burnet’s hand kept its reach out, only for it to slowly close and shake as her breathing grew heavy and spiteful. With the humans and the Pokémon that were out standing and watching, they took a tentative step back, not knowing what she would do. She pulled her hands to her side and let out an animalistic roar, creating a pulse of energy that launched everyone inside off their feet, sending them crashing into whichever walls they were nearest to.
Sam reached out to Alice as she and Sun were blasted away from each other. His back suddenly hit a wall, the back of his head whipping into it, leaving him unconscious before he slid to the ground.
Sam’s head throbbed as he stirred awake, the chopping sound of a helicopter’s blades sounding just overhead and a rumbling under his rump. He felt that his hands were put behind his back and could not move them more than a few inches off the floor. Pulling himself up into a straighter seated position, he saw Alice, Sun, Lillie, Gladion, and Dexio restrained and the back of their hands belted to the floor.
“Guys!” Sam croaked, taking a moment to try and will the immense soreness out of the back of his head. “What happened? Where are we?”
“You’re finally up!” The trainers looked to the source of the voice, turning and looking as best they could as Faba stood at the front of the cargo hold with Chrysalis by his side, the latter giggling at their complete and utter hopelessness.
Sam frantically felt around for his belt, unable to reach for it. “My Pokémon! Where did you–”
“Sam!” Alice looked directly at the six Poké Balls that were attached to his waist. “Your belt and Pokémon are all right there. Ours too.”
“We didn’t heal them of course,” Faba clarified, “but then again, your latest battle left them pretty worse for wear, so they won’t be too much trouble for us, thank goodness.”
“Where are you taking us?” Gladion shouted. “Where’s Hau?”
“Oh, that annoying kid with the bun?” Chrysalis responded. “He’s on another one of these ‘helicoptors’ under direct supervision from our leader, or now we can say, your good friend Burnet.”
Faba chuckled, the young Kahuna’s imprisonment entertaining him. “It’s quite a long flight to Poni Island by chopper, so if you’d like to get some sleep in, now would be the best time.”
“Poni Island?” Sun breathed out, a bad idea already at the front of his mind. “Don’t tell me…”
“Yes,” Chrysalis answered. “The leader needs to make a small stop at this Altar of the Sunne before we continue any further. Until then, I’d say strap in and enjoy the ride, but it appears you’ve already beaten me to it.”
Faba and Chrysalis laughed as the two of them opened the door to the cockpit and entered inside. Alice could just barely make out another pair of helecopters flying ahead of theirs closing the door behind them to resume flying the plane.
Sun began hoarsely weeping, bringing the attention on him. “This is my fault, everything… I could have stopped this all and I was too much of a stubborn... god-damned child to do it.”
“Hindsight,” Sam sardonically mused, “always 20/20. But hey, at least Solgaleo and Lunala ain’t dead, so that’s good news, huh?”
“Sam, stop!” Lillie snapped. “This isn’t going to help!”
“You know what would have helped, though?”
“Sam, seriously.” Alice was sounding like she was close to falling asleep, even in her uncomfortable position. “No more… It’s done now. At least the Equestrians are safe.”
“Not to be another wet blanket in here,” Dexio said, “but literally no one is safe anymore. Not with Solgaleo and Lunala’s powers inside her.”
“The world hasn’t gone to hell yet. You heard them, they still have steps to make. If they’re out there, you can bet that they’re planning some way of stopping her, rescuing us, or hey, maybe both!”
Sam kept glaring at Sun, nothing his sister and friends were saying negating his actions.
“I have no idea what happens next,” she continued, “but we need to sleep. It’s dark, and I have no idea when we’ll have another opportunity to do so. Awkwardly shifting herself to her side, she laid as comfortably with as much slack as the chain allowed. “That goes for you too, Sam.”
Sam, indeed exhausted and terrified, slid himself to his side, and as Lillie, Gladion, and Sun kept watch over him, his stress caused him to breathe heavier and quicker, the increased oxygen dizzying and lulling him into shutting his eyes. Even the pitter of the helicopter’s blades were drowned out as he slowly eased himself into slumber.
Hapu’s eyes shot open, shooting up in her bed with a cold sweat drenching her body and mattress. Wiping her brow with her hand, she was unnerved by the sweat that visibly pooled into it. She then looked out her bedroom window, confused by how much darker the sky was than what she felt it should have been.
Rolling herself out of bed, she kicked her slippers onto her feet and ran out her bedroom door. Passing through the short, but zigzagging hallways, she hugged her waist as her sweat-soaked t-shirt clung to her stomach and torso. Going straight to the front door, she threw it open and stepped off the porch of her home to better see the night sky from the Ancient Poni Path.
As she feared, dark storm clouds had already covered the sky, staying nervously still as flashes of lightning brightened small patches inside. Something was dreadfully wrong; she could feel it as if it were whispering directly into her ear. Without any further hesitation, she sprinted back inside, not even bothering to close the door.