Hau swung the Marshadow-possessed taiaha against the arm of a Metang hybrid. Neither blow was particularly strong, but Hau audibly grunted as he struggled against the hybrid’s force. As Metang readied itself to punch Hau with its free arm, it was suddenly blasted away by a Flamethrower attack by the Akala Kahuna’s Salazzle. As it ran past his feet, so did its trainer, neither of whom seemed to see Hau standing there.
Focusing on a Bruxish hybrid and a Kadabra hybrid standing there, Hau ran at them screaming, the blade of his taiaha flaring with Marshadow’s purple aura. With an upward outside slash, he knocked the Kadabra hybrid away and onto its back. The Bruxish hybrid lunged its tilted head forward and opened its maw wide, intending to crunch Hau’s head with its powerful jaws.
Hau slipped the blade of the taiaha in between both sets of teeth, and upon reaching the corners of its cheeks, the hybrid began to gnaw on it. Hau continued to push back with one hand on the grip and the other on the backside of the top of the blade. Hau screamed in distress as the hybrid grabbed both of his arms and moved its head down so that its teeth held onto his right wrist.
“Exeggutor!” Hearing the Poni Kahuna’s call, Hau kicked back off the hyrbrid and pulled his hands away right as their Pokémon slammed its heads down upon it.
With his immediate area cleared of hybrids, Hau stood relaxed as he watched the Exeggutor run back into the fray with its trainer, watching as Salazzle, Vikavolt, and the other Kahunas did battle against the hybrids who were still willing to battle. Hau was so fatigued that he found himself entranced by the Melemele Kahuna’s Vikavolt as it delivered an impressive Discharge attack, unaware of the Kadabra hybrid that he hit running at him from behind.
“Sandslash!” The Ula’ula Kahuna’s Pokémon leapt in and uppercut the Kadabra hybrid at the base of its lower jaw, sending it flying back toward the crater wall.
Upon turning around and catching the tail-end of the short confrontation, Hau stumbled backwards on his rump, dropping the taiaha in the process.
As he panted, the taiaha glowed in time with Marshadow’s pleas. “Hau, get back up! We’re not done yet!”
“I know…” Hau felt ashamed to admit it. “But I feel like I’m getting there… the air feels so thick and hot here and my body feels heavier than normal.”
“You have to get back up! This battle is from when Necrozma was first defeated! If you can survive long enough, we’ll know how to beat Burnet and Team Prism out there! Now get up! Our worlds depend on it!”
Hau took in deeper breaths as he tried to regain some stamina just as a Hypno hybird ran in, ready to kick him. Hau tumbled back and shot his legs up, grabbing the taiaha once again before pushing himself onto his feet, using the momentum to strike the hybrid across the chest, spinning it onto its back where its arms and legs sprawled out. With the icy, metallic Sandslash and its trainer joining their other six comrades against the hybrid menace, Hau mustered every ounce of strength in his legs to run after them to assist.
A flurry of lights, beams, bolts, and flames filled the air and the ground inside Ten Karat Hill, Burnet standing before it all without flinching or wincing. Even with each Pokémon and the Equestrians making several different attacks each second, Burnet appeared to be processing them all. With neither side gaining ground on the other, even she knew that it could be anyone’s win.
Guzma’s Golisopod threw a water-coated punch at a Kadabra grunt, forcing it back as whipped its arm out to throw a Charge Beam attack at Kahili’s Mandibuzz. Upon getting hit and thrown several feet up, it retaliated with a Snarl attack that ravaged each of the hybrids as well as Burnet’s Pokémon below. An Espeon hybrid was quick to recover, flashing a Dazzling Gleam out at Mandibuzz and each of its ally Pokémon beneath it, lowering it down toward them.
Lady leapt up off of the back of Flannery’s Arcanine and shot at the Espeon hybrid with Shadow Ball while Arcanine attacked a Metang hybrid with Flare Blitz, plowing its way through the other hybrids still recovering from the Snarl. A Slowbro-faced hybrid blasted Arcanine with Hydro Pump, shooting it off to the side. Fluttershy’s Comfey was quick to avenge the large dog with Energy Ball.
It was then caught by a Kadabra hybrid’s Psychic hold, Fluttershy whimpering as her Pokémon struggled to break free. As a Bruxish hybrid and the Espeon hybrid joined its side, it quickly let Comfey go before delivering a hard blast of energy into the Bruxish hybrid, followed by a lashing of its claws at the Espeon hybrid, throwing it away from it. The real Kadabra hybrid telekinetically picked the doppelgänger up and threw it back towards the humans and Equestrians, the psychic glow covering it destroying its disguise to reveal Thorax, who roughly landed on his side near Trixie, Starlight, and a returning Lady.
“Thorax!” Starlight shouted, running to his aid. “Are you alright?”
“I didn’t think that would last long,” he coughed, rolling over to his side, “but at least I got to attack two of them.”
“I can probably beat that!” Trixie darted toward the front lines, weaving around the trainers and some of the Pokémon standing there as they attacked from a distance.
With her own magic charged, she threw out four smoke balls that burst and sprayed out from end to end on the hybrids’ line. With their vision obscured, they haphazardly looked around to try and find any sign of a sneak attack. The smoke was thick enough to hide the luminence of Acerola’s Sableye’s gemstone oculars as it leapt out to attack the Bruxish hybrid with an oncoming Shadow Claw. Before the attack could connect, a Moonblast from the back launched it out of the fog and back in the direction of its trainer, Burnet’s Gardevoir staring where it aimed its attack with orange-glowing eyes.
Malamar, its eyes also alight with the same orange radiance, lifted several small boulders from the ground and threw them out, the trainers and Equestrians only able to see them once they shot out from the smog. Mallow’s Trevenant threw its arms out, the bark rapidly sprouting branches that that formed a net for the boulders to crash into and turn into harmless pebbles and dust. Applejack managed to bust a larger fragment into pieces with a single buck of her hoof as the other large pieces bounced off behind them toward the southern wall of the crater.
Mixing in perfectly with the smoke from Trixie’s bombs, Plumeria’s Gengar appeared only as a pair of red eyes as it chucked Dark Pulse after Dark Pulse at the hybrids inside, hitting a Slowking hybrid and an Oranguru hybrid. It was quickly immobilized by another hybrid whose head was a Starmie and whose limbs were blunt points. With the hybrid hurling Gengar back out at the trainers and Equestrians, Discord saw it coming and juked about to ensure it would be directly before it.
“I got it, I got it!” Holding his left talon against the back of his right lion’s paw like an outfielder about to catch a pop-fly, Gengar’s lower back landed on Discord’s paw and bounced off to the ground on its feet, holding its arms up and kicking its foot out in a showy manner. “And they said the Spirit of Chaos couldn’t also be a professional baseball player.”
Olivia stood by as Shining Armor kept behind her Golem, his back hooves directly on its bottom as its protrusion dug into the ground facing the battle.
“Ready?” Shining Armor shouted to Golem.
With its head squeezed between its body and the ground, it let out a short, annoyed roar to signal Shining Armor to go ahead.
“Wait!” The air began to feel tingly on Shining Armor’s fur and Olivia’s skin as blue-and-yellow plasma began to appear in between the space of Golem’s protrusion, forming and compacting into Zeraroa. “Allow me to give her a boost!”
With a grunt and a bright glow of its body, Zeraora dissolved into a flurry of sparks that fed themselves into both inner sides of Golem’s protrusion, filling the rest of its body up with even more electrical energy. With a louder bark, Shining Armor scooted its front hooves toward it and tucked its back legs further in, prepared to fire the living cannonball.
“Alright, Golem,” Olivia commanded, “break through with Steamroller!”
Shining Armor bucked with all his might, the protrusion swinging itself off the ground and sending it flying over the other trainers and their Pokémon. Landing right in the space between them and the hybrids, Golem's spin propelled it forward, bowling through the center of the hybrids and on its way to Burnet and her Pokémon, painful sparks spraying off to the side like wakes from a speedboat.
Burnet was the furthest thing from impressed as the rotund Pokémon reached her. “This again? Malamar, finish it this time with Superpower!”
Malamar quickly floated in front of Golem’s line and then shot its bottom appendages off the ground, racing out for a head-on collision. Before Malamar could even recognize it, Zeraora warped itself out of Golem’s protrusion and shot at it, its paw already thrusting forward for a head-on Plasma Fist. Malamar’s head met Zeraora’s knuckles, their forces and strength immense enough to stop each other’s momentums.
Zeraora screamed through its teeth as the bone and muscle in its arm strained to support itself against Malamar, while Malamar cried out with the tremendous power of the electricity rushing through its body. Despite the agony it felt shooting all the way up its shoulder, Zeraora grinned and vanished in a zapping flash of light, leaving nothing to separate Golem’s continued advance toward Malamar. With another screech, Malamar was plowed into by Golem, flying high over Burnet and toward the north side of the crater.
As Golem rolled back to its front lines, the trainers and Equestrians who saw the entire thing roared with cheers over the incredible ploy. Zeraora appeared beside Shining Armor and Olivia, its right arm hanging down limply and trembling involuntarily.
“You’re hurt!” Olivia pulled a Max Potion bottle from her bag and rushed over to Zeraora’s other side. “Let me see it.”
As she placed her palm beneath its forearm and lifted it up, Zeraora tilted its head back as far as it would go and clenched its teeth, gurgling through the shooting pain. Just as Golem returned, Olivia began spraying up and down the length of Zeraora’s entire arm, his breathing becoming more stable as the soreness disappeared second by second.
As Zeraora flexed its paw, Shining Armor breathed a small sigh of relief. “Feeling better?”
“Perfect now.” Zeraora began to glow bright, ready to disappear back into the battle. “Thank you.”
He immediately vanished, leaving Olivia and Shining Armor alone again with Golem.
“Nice work, stud.” Olivia put her fist to him, Shining Armor proud to bump his hoof against it.
Ilima’s Gumshoos gripped onto the edges of Pinkie Pie’s cannon, Ilima staring at Pinkie Pie’s weapon with uncertainty over its impracticality. “Are you sure this thing is safe?”
“If it’s safe for me, it’s safe for a weasel!” Pinkie Pie rotated it carefully, unsure which of Burnet’s Pokémon she should target next. “Where to, friend?”
Ilima looked out amongst the other three Pokémon standing before Burnet, frowning at one in particular. “Gardevoir would be the hardest to take down, so direct your aim at her, if you could. And the name is Ilima.”
“You got it, Ilima! Alrighty Mr. Gummy Shoes, lock and load it!” Letting go of the rim of the cannon’s barrel, Gumshoos slipped in, Pinkie Pie raising her arm over the button in the back. “Okay, let’s go, go, GO!”
Slamming the button down, Gumshoos rocketed out from the cannon following a small burst of streamers and confetti. Zooming past two hybrids, one with the head of a Raichu and the other with a head of a Drowzee, Gumshoos was directly on target with Gardevoir, who turned to see it get too close to avoid.
“That’s it!” Ilima shouted. “Now hit her with Super Fang!”
Opening its mouth, Gumshoos hit Gardevoir in the chest first, fastening its teeth upon the horn and tackling it to the ground. Gardevoir tried to wrench Gumshoos off with all its might, but Ilima’s Pokémon refused to let go, and with its white-glowing teeth biting harder, Gardevoir screamed out as it failed to suppress its feelings of pain.
Angered, Gardevoir charged up its Moonblast attack on its chest horn, the energy forming finally getting Gumshoos to let go. With Gardevoir holding the flailing rodent up before its chest, it was clear to Ilima and Pinkie Pie that it wouldn’t escape. Letting go and shooting its attack, Gardevoir blasted Gumshoos away and back toward the wall of the crater. Just then, a white-scarfed Flygon flew around the diminishing Moonblast and caught Gumshoos in its arms.
“Yeah!” Kaj whooped. “Nice catch, Rông!”
Banking inside the edge of the crater, Rong came back around and landed by Ilima, dropping his greatly injured Gumshoos in his hands. “Thank you, I owe you one.”
Rông affectionately accepted Ilima’s stroking its face before flying back into the battle, spotting Hapu’s Flygon attacking the Hypno hybrid with Dragon Rush and going to assist it.
“Persian!” Nanu called. “Try and attack Burnet’s Reuniclus with Dark Pulse!”
Nanu’s cat ran out at the line of hybrids, a Hypno and the Oranguru ones among them noticing them. As they turned to block and attack Persian, Rarity leapt in and kicked the Oranguru hybrid in the head, sending it flying back.
“Quick, Crunch!” Leaping in from the same side as Rarity, Kukui’s Lycanroc bit down on the Hypno hybrid’s throat and sent it down, leaving a gap for Persian to run through.
As it set its sights on Burnet’s gelatinous Pokémon, a large Alakazam hybrid spun in to stop its advance. Persian refused to let its speed up as it noticed Lana’s Araquanid coming in from its right to leap onto the hybrid and clamp onto its neck for a Leech Life attack. With its path now clear, Persian ran through the line, spotting Burnet’s terrified Reuniclus.
Malamar floated down to serve as its last obstacle for the Persian to try and overcome, only for Mina’s Ribombee to fly over from behind Persian and go ahead of it. With a strong Pollen Puff attack, Persian was thrown back behind Reuniclus, who now had nothing to protect it from Persian as it opened its mouth and shot a dark orb from it, hitting it in the gut and sending it crashing to the ground.
“Xatu,” Burnet exclaimed, “Air Slash!”
Burnet’s tribal bird swung its wing at the Persian as it prepared to pass, the blade of air it created bashing into its left back paw and tripping it. As it roughly rolled over and stood back up, Persian quickly realized that its paw was too injured to put any weight on. With Burnet and her other Pokémon turning to face it, Persian could only pant as it awaited for them to make their final moves against it.
Molayne’s Magnezone pointed its magnets in front of itself, Sophocles’s Togedemaru held in its magnetic force as it began to charge up with electrical energy. Luna stood beside them as she charged her horn, ready to do what she needed to.
“Okay, Mo,” Sophocles said, “whenever you’re ready!”
“Ready!” he shouted back. “Magnezone, hit Xatu with Zap Cannon!”
“And then control the path with Zing Zap!”
With Sophocles’s Pokémon adding to the electrical charge surrounding it now becoming a solid, golden ball of energy, Magnezone launched it hard enough to get blown back several feet back, forcing Molayne to dodge it. Hearing the attack called, Burnet and her other Pokémon turned to face forward as Togedemaru came at them, curving its line to reach Xatu. Luna disappeared in a magical flash, appearing a moment later beside Persian with her horn still charged. Burnet’s Pokémon glanced back just as Luna escaped again in an instant with Persian. With no time left to defend, Togedemaru collided into Xatu, creating an immense, bolt-filled explosion that spread out in an electric shockwave. With Luna and Persian appearing again beside Nanu, Luna charged her horn and created a wide barrier spell for the shockwave to crash into, protecting all the trainers and Pokémon behind it.
Luna dissolved her spell and looked out to see the results of Molayne and Sophocles’s teamwork. Each hybrid, along with each of Burnet’s Pokémon, were lying on the ground, their bodies smoking lightly from the explosion that had swept into them. Burnet, meanwhile, had protected herself in a round barrier wide enough for her, Necrozma’s aura charging off of her like fire.
“Wha…” Kaj breathed. “Did we do it?”
“It sure looks that way,” Shining Armor panted, the tension eating him.
Burnet then shot her head up, her eyes shimmering with the same intense light as her aura. All four of her Pokémon, followed by the downed hybrids were then covered in the same aura, and at once, they all began to rise back to their feet. Unnerving each trainer and Equestrian facing them.
“No… no way!” Applejack stammered.
“That didn’t do it?” Plumeria growled. “God damn…”
Burnet then pushed her hands out, a pulse of orange light racing out at her foes. Similar ripples of light shot out from each Pokémon and hybrid on her side as well, crashing through the trainers, the Equestrians, and the Pokémon there. Each Equestrian and trainer fell to their knees, feeling half their strength ripped from them.
Along with them, save for Persian and Mandibuzz, each Pokémon weakly sunk or floated down to their shins, hands, knees, or stomachs. Then, one by one, most of them keeled over and fell to their sides or rested gently before closing their eyes and letting their exhaustion take over. Once the Pokémon had finished fainting, the only ones strong enough to weather through the Psychic blast were Zeraora, Molayne’s Magnezone, and Sophocles’s Togedemaru.
“No…” Luna struggled to pick her head up to face the hybrids and Pokémon glowering at her and her allies. “She’s just far too strong… how can we possibly defeat her?”
“The short answer is you can’t.” Burnet chuckled as a curtain of red beams shot out from each trainers’ Poké Ball and called their Pokémon back in, Starlight and Fluttershy tiredly pulling Lady and Comfey back in for safety. “You don’t suddenly gain the full power of Necrozma only to be beaten by a small gathering of trainers. I would ask you to step aside and spare you and the rest of your Pokémon from any more pain and suffering, but I can already tell by your pissed-off faces that you have no intention of giving up.”
Ilima clenched his fists, his teeth visibly bared to her. “You're god-damn right.” He then tossed another Ultra Ball out. “Go, Smeargle!”
With the exceptions of Nanu, Sophocles, Molayne, and Kahili, each trainer threw another ball to reform their defenses. Appearing back on the front lines were Ilima’s Smeargle, Kukui’s Snorlax, Mina’s Granbull, Hapu’s Mudsdale, Lana’s Cloyster, Olivia’s Probopass, Plumeria’s Alolan Muk, Guzma’s Masquerain, and Acerola’s Dhelmise. Appearing before Mallow and Flannery were a feminine plant-like Pokémon with three thick, green leaves for hair and pointed dark-red legs like boots, as well as a red, bulky camel-like creature with two rocky humps and three blue rings along the sides of its stomach. From Kaj’s next ball, she sent out Mohuku, who now appeared larger and bulkier with six yellow bulbs on both sides of its back and a larger tail like a small pine tree.
As the next round of Pokémon came out to continue their battle with Burnet and her army, the Equestrians summoned all their strength to stand beside them, unwilling to give up neither. Burnet smirked again. It would only be a matter of time.
Hau swung his taiaha at an Alakazam hybrid, the weight of it nearly throwing him forward onto his stomach. As he struggled to lift his arms to defend himself, Alakazam swung its arm out, blowing Hau like a ragdoll as he tumbled to the ground, focusing only on not letting his weapon slip out of his hands. Sliding onto his back, Hau rested his arms to the side, taking deep breaths as he began to prepare to accept his fate.
“Hau, get up!” Hau didn’t respond to the taiaha vibrating in his hand as it flashed purple. “Hau, you’re going to die!”
Hau screamed as he shot up to his feet, but with the last rush of adrenaline leaving him, his body swayed as gravity tried to pull him back down again. With a trembling arm, Hau could only lift the taiaha with both hands so that he pointed its tip at the Alakazam hybrid’s chest, his arms wobbling as if he were an old man on the verge of death. From the back of the crater, Hau could hear the synchronized laughing of Necrozma and the hooded native as Hau made what they all were certain was his final stand.
“That’s it…” Marshadow huffed. “Your body may not be able to move, and the enemy may outnumber and outmatch you, but that doesn’t matter, because–”
“I am a Kahuna,” Hau panted, “and I will protect my island and those on it until I draw my final breath!”
Suddenly an explosion of bright, cool light erupted from the top of the crater, the eyes of every human, Pokémon, and hybrid being drawn up to it. As the bands of light that spread out settled down, providing enough illumination to simulate daylight, everyone watched as the four Island Guardians descended from the light, Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Fini coming down toward their respective Kahunas.
No one felt compelled to move as the Tapus came before them, and with their hands clasped together, they slowly opened them up to let a Z-Crystal float out before the Kahunas’ faces. Each crystal was golden in color and had an egg-shaped icon of an idol inside each one. Each Kahuna reached for their crystal and hugged it close to their hearts as the guardians’ auras surrounded them.
“This is it,” Hau whispered. “This is how they won.”
With their eyes shooting open, all four Kahunas turned and faced the hooded native and the three forms of Necrozma. At once, they stood in a line with their Tapus joining them on their right and placed the crystal into their Z-Rings. They then began to cross their wrists before their faces, the Tapus mimicking their movements.
With a grinding shriek, Necrozma pointed forward, commanding Dawn-Wings and Dusk-Mane Necrozma to run at them. After putting their arms down and crossing them back up, the four Kahunas and guardians began to do the same motions of activating Fairium Z, and upon them all lifting their legs off the ground and holding their hands and arms up to mime tiny wings, a ring of light formed around the eight of them.
With Hau caught inside and Dawn-Wings and Dusk-Mane Necrozma getting close, Hau dove outside with all his might just as the ring shot up in a tremendous tower, both Necrozma forms crashing into it. Try as they might, neither of them could claw, bash, or blast their way through it, worrying Necrozma greatly. Jumping off the ground and throwing its arms and legs out, a bright light shone on the center of its chest. Both Necrozma forms and each of the hybrids cried out as their bodies turned to light, their forms becoming amorphous as they were drawn into Necrozma’s center, filling its own body with tremendous energy.
With the pillar of light still rising, thick bands of yellow aura surrounded its entire body and expanded into a large sphere. Hau, the hooded native, and the Kahuna’s Pokémon watched dumbstruck as two pairs of draconic wings unfurled off the sphere and revealed an equally dragon physique with a white body and golden armor, unveiling its complete form.
The pillar of light then broke off on the ground and formed a pointed end. As it spiraled up into the sky to meet Necrozma, the pillar began to form into a serpentine-shaped body that branched out into four necks at the top. The Tapu’s brightly-glowing bodies appeared on the ends of each neck, facing Necrozma with contempt in their eyes before their battle could begin.
With Tapu Koko pulling both halves of its shell in over itself, it now resemebeled a disembodied bird’s head. Tapu Lele receded into its shell, its conical cap serving as a lid that closed it tightly and rose its bangs up to form a pair of antennae, followed by a rounded tail slipping out from beneath its shell to reveal a proboscis, now more clearly resembling the head of a butterfly. Tapu Bulu’s shell swung down over it from the sides of its head, closing to form what appeared to be a bull’s head with its belled tail looking like a nose ring. Finally, Tapu Fini’s shell closed over it like a clamshell, the ends of its hair sticking out like a pair of fins to maintain the appearance of a swordfish’s head.
The ends of each neck of light then began to envelop over the guardians in fine, sinewy strands as if flesh and muscle were forming over a skull. The light then began to brighten and dim in areas as it melded into defined versions of the creatures each shell resembled. The far right head took the form of a majestic eagle, the center-right head took the form of a butterfly, the center-left head became that of a bull, and the far left head resembled a swordfish.
As the scales and underbelly of the divine hydra formed from the neck down, a two pairs of wings, one avian and one insectoid, sprouted out the back and unfurled their majestic forms. Along with a pair of muscular arms ended with cloven hooves that grew out beneath where the heads branched off, a strong fish’s tail swung itself into existence, completing its transformation.
“Amazing…” Hau and Marshadow both whispered together.
Both creatures let out a roar and flew at each other. As their bodies collided, Hau, the hooded native, and the Kahuna’s Pokémon watched from the sky as they spent the next several moments crashing into each other, ricocheting off, and then flying around to hit each other again.
“Incredible,” Marshadow commented. “Necrozma’s in its strongest form, but they’re both evenly matched!”
“But how did they win?” Hau was more determined than ever to stay standing and awake through this.
After the twentieth or so fruitless collision, Necrozma beat its wings and rose higher above the Tapu Hydra. As it maintained a steady height high above Ten Karat Hill, beams of light began to shoot down at a single point in front of Necrozma’s mouth, and as the orb that it formed grew bigger, Hau couldn’t help but notice the stars in the sky getting noticeably dimmer.
“Impossible!” he gasped. “He’s actually draining the stars of their light to charge its attack! How did they possibly win?”
The Tapu Hydra opened its mouths as four balls of energy formed there, ready to fire out and take on Necrozma’s attack. Necrozma fired its beam as the Tapu Hydra converged its four beams into the center, where they shot out just as powerful and wide as Necrozma’s beam. Both attacks crashed at the point directly between both creatures, creating a loud boom that blew down hard on Hau and everything else inside Ten Karat Hill. To Necrozma’s surprise, the center of the Tapu Hydra’s beam stayed put to hold its own in place while it branched out into four individual ones that flew directly at it.
Necrozma let out a final roar as each of the four beams pierced through its body, filling it with light before it exploded like a supernova, consuming the sky with pure white. Mixing in with the deafening boom of the explosion high above were the screams of the hooded native, whose eyes and mouth erupted light like a geyser that evaporated into the air. Once all of it had left them, they collapsed onto their stomachs and lied still. Hau and the Kahunas’ Pokémon all looked away until they could feel through their eyelids that the light began to die down.
Beautiful nighttime began to return to Alola, the sky dark and vast and the stars once again shining brightly in place. Neither Necrozma nor the Tapu Hydra were visible anymore, but the Kahuna’s Pokémon began to cheer and dance about as they floated back down to the ground with each of the Tapus, gladdened over their victory and safe return.
While the Kahuna’s hugged and thanked their Pokémon, Hau caught a glimmer in the corner of his eyes forcing him to look up. He saw as all three forms of Necrozma plummeted back toward the ground, Dusk-Mane and Dawn-Wings Necrozma in particular shining brightly as their black armor began to fade from them and their colors returned to normal to transform them into Solgaleo and Lunala.
As they passed the top of the crater, their bodies began to dissolve into blue stardust until they had now become two small purple nebulous clouds with black faces and two sparkling blue appendages above its body, the two of them now beginning to float gently toward the ground. Hau watched in solemn amazement as both creatures then began to fade away, completely disappearing with a bright glow of light before they hit the ground. Necrozma’s body continued to freefall until it landed hard upon the ground beside the hooded native, who remained unconscious.
With its landing noticed by the Tapus, the Kahuna, and their Pokémon, they all slowly walked toward Necrozma, who rolled onto its hands and knees, too weak to even pick itself back up. Hau walked toward it, and as the Kahunas stopped to consider what to do with their defeated nemesis, Hau walked through them so that he could stand right in front of it. Necrozma managed to pick its head up to look at the Kahunas, but even Hau knew that it was deliberately looking right into his own eyes.
“You did it, Hau.” Marshadow's fiery purple aura appeared all over the taiaha before covering Hau as well, filling him with new energy. “Now, complete the attack. Finish the Seven Star Soul Stealing Strike!”
Hau widened his stance as he swung his sword to hold it with the blade pointing down. Necrozma let out one final screech at him before Hau charged at it with a shout of his own. Throwing his fist forward, Hau punched through Necrozma’s chest as he was sucked into the void he created.
Burnet’s army continued battling the trainers and Equestrians, resulting in a similar stalemate that saw her Pokémon and the hybrids losing no ground against them. Burnet let out another chuckle, elated that only a few more minutes separated her from undeniable victory. Immediately, she felt her heart beat against her ribcage as it tried to squeeze its way out, weakening her stance. As well, each one of her Pokémon and the hybrids all froze, still as statues. None of the trainers or Equestrians could know what was possibly happening, but the Pokémon or Equestrians fighting in close quarters with the hybrids used the opportunity to slink back to rejoin the others.
Soon, the only sound that could be heard was Burnet’s heavy panting. Suddenly her body shot up and she arched her back up, screaming out into the sky as a purple inferno suddenly razed her from the ground up. Fluttershy and Starlight noticed immediately as Hau was hurled from Burnet’s back, holding Marshadow close like a stuffed animal.
“Hau!” they both shouted.
Their elation was cut short as each hybrid and Pokémon of Burnet’s also screamed out in complete agony. From the head down, the hybrids began to disintegrate into brightly shining ashes that were pulled into the ghastly blaze covering Burnet like a magnet. The aura covering Burnet’s Pokémon was extinguished as the energy was sucked into the fires like a lit match in a tornado. Despite the disappearance of the hybrids, the trainers and other Equestrians were in far too much shock to celebrate just yet.
Finally, the inferno subsided, Burnet’s arms flopping limply to her sides before she crumpled to the ground, all four of her now-exhausted Pokémon doing the same. Finally, Hau stood up with Marshadow hopping down from his grasp to join his side. Turning around and finding every other Kahuna, Trial Captain, and Equestrian there, he increased the pace of his walk as he ran toward them, his body feeling more refreshed than ever, which only made him smile more.
“Hau!” Starlight and Fluttershy reached Hau first, throwing themselves atop Hau as he caught them, hugging them tight.
“You made it!”
As the other Equestrians and trainers surrounded him to greet him back, Burnet slowly turned her head to look out as Hau continued hugging or shaking the hands of his friends, her dead-tired Pokémon lying on the ground as weakly as she was.
A pair of tears rolled down her cheeks as she rested her chin back on the ground. “Necrozma… I failed you…”
“!NO…” Necrozma’s voice in her soul jolted her awake and eradicated her hopeless sadness. “.i can offer you one last chancE !i shall imbue my other two forms with their ultimate attack, but should you fail me after this, our world will never see its completioN ?will you choose to no longer disappoint mE”
She then watched as Hau completed introducing himself to Zeraora, who looked upon him with great reserve, clenching her teeth past her barely-parted lips. “Always.”
Hau then looked amongst his human friends, spotting Nanu first. “Nanu, Olivia, Hapu!”
The three Kahunas made their to the front of the group, facing Hau with their undivided attention.
“What the hell even happened to you in there?” Hapu asked. “What did you even do?”
“Marshadow lent me its power to let me use its signature Z-Move. This allowed me to access both Burnet’s memories, as well as Necrozma’s.”
“Eh?” Olivia tilted to the side in disbelief. “You went into that creature’s memories?”
“Burnet and Necrozma are virtually one in the same now, but that doesn’t matter. Guys, I know how to defeat it once and for all.”
“What?” Nanu gasped.
The other three Kahunas stepped in, wanting to hear Hau more clearly as the other trainers and Equestrians began to murmur amongst each other.
“You jest!” Luna spoke in.
“I’m not,” Hau responded with a gentle shake of his head. “All I’ll need to do is go to the Ruins of Conflict and have Tapu Koko summon the other guardians. If I leave to do that now, can you watch over Burnet while I’m gone?”
“I don’t think that’ll be too hard a task to tackle,” Applejack mentioned, her eyes kept on Burnet and her Pokémon. “After whatever you just did, they don’t look to be in any fightin’ condition anymore.”
Burnet very carefully peeked over the top of her sleeve, watching as Hau turned away from her and everyone looked back at him. With the slightest of movements, she reached her right hand to the Poké Balls on her belt.
“Either way,” Hau said, fishing his Ride Pager from his pocket, “she needs to be kept here until the other guardians arrive. Then we can finally put this entire nightmare to rest–”
With a telekinetic push, Burnet swung off the ground and reached for her Poké Balls, grabbing two in each hand. The red beams connected with each of her Pokémon and returned them back inside just as Hau and all the others turned to face her.
“You really just can’t stay the hell down, can you?” Guzma punched his fist into his hand, grinding it into his palm.
“And don’t think I’m going to go easy on you because you lost your powers!” Kaj blurted. “You still owe me for the friends you took from me!”
“Lost my powers?!” Burnet laughed. “You think because Hau got a good hit on me that I’m powerless? Then prepare for utter disappointment, you dense child!” With her obsidian Poké Balls appearing in her hands, she lobbed them up and leapt backwards to give the Pokémon inside room to stand. “Appear, Dusk-Mane Necrozma and Dawn-Wings Necrozma!”
With the balls opening up, the corrupted Solgaleo and Lunala appeared from their energy for all to see, disgusting some of them and horrifying the others.
“Dear lord,” Acerola stammered, “what in god’s name have you done to them?”
Luna breathed heavily as her lip quivered, the premonition she felt earlier that night having come terrifyingly true. Burnet held her hands out with her claw-gloved fingers pointing skyward. As Solgaleo and Lunala began to rise up off the ground, a watery, rainbow-colored aura began to bubble and boil over her hands, Solgaleo and Lunala becoming covered in the same light.
Oliva turned to Hau, who stood just as terrified at what Burnet was about to do. “Hey! Get Tapu Koko now, you dumbass!”
Hau’s breath seemed to seep out of every pore in his skin as he fumbled through his Ride Pager, finally getting to the Charizard there.
“With this final move,” Burnet screamed, “there won’t be a single one of you able to stand in my way!”
“Everyone!” Hapu shouted, swinging her arm up toward the cavern entrance. “Get into the cave, hurry!”
“Prismatic Laser!”
The group began to scramble back into the cave as Hau tossed the Ride Pager ball out, unleashing his Charizard. The aura on Burnet’s hands and the bodies of Dusk-Mane Necrozma and Dawn-Wings Necrozma began to bounce violently with spikey crests. Hau ran up Charizard’s tail and swung onto the seat just as his steed took off. Both forms of Necrozma hammered a singular beam down that was wide as their combined widths, pulverizing the ground it touched.
It quickly expanded, engulfing Burnet inside of it as it raced to catch the trainers, Pokémon, and Equestrians struggling to reach the cavern. It began to hit those in the back, their screams of pain muted by the sheer force of the beam. As it began to swallow the others in its girth, Pinkie Pie, Plumeria, and Flannery all reached for the mouth of the cavern entrance, hoping to swing inside. The brightness began to flood their vision with only a few feet left to go, and upon feeling the instant thrust downward, their vision went black.
As Hau’s Charizard climbed the side of the crater, the space between it and the expanding wall of concentrated psychic energy began to close a few yards now becoming only a few feet. With a few stories still left to go before they reached the top, Hau screamed loudly as he kept his eyes on the night sky above, hoping he’d still get to see it in a few moments time. Reaching forward, the colors all around Hau and his Charizard began to brighten to absolute whiteness just as his vision reached over the crater wall.