Equestria, Night.
Eternatus's rampage continues. It had recently caused havoc at the Crystal Empire, destroying many buildings there and even the castle itself.
The Crystal Heart was also threatened by Eternatus, but thankfully, the Swords of Justice had come to the rescue, saving Shining Armor, Cadence, Flurry Heart and the Crystal Heart too. Shame they couldn't save the castle.
Eternatus had flown away from the Crystal Empire to both cause more destruction across Equestria and absorb the remaining Power Spots scattered across the world. Thus, the Swords of Justice made chase.
But they weren't the only group after Eternatus.
Twilight's group, Rainbow Dash's group and Ash had all met up once more in the same spot with almost everyone being back together. Goh was still researching with Sonia about Zacian and Zamazenta. But, they had an extra member with them.
Champion Leon, who was more than ready to help them out with their Eternatus situation.
Since Sweetie Belle said Eternatus was heading somewhere up north, that's where they were all heading. But they weren't really sure which North.
Eternatus was a fast-moving Pokemon. It can go from land to land in just a few minutes or less. As such, it's hard to keep up with, but one way to find it is by listening for a familiar roar, which Fluttershy's Audino played a huge part in.
Also, there was the fact that the skies were turning red in every part of Equestria due to Eternatus moving around, so it was sort of a trail in a sense.
Up in the skies, Leon was on his Charizard, Ash was on his Dragonite with Applejack and Pinkie Pie sitting behind him whilst Spike used his Salamence to carry him, Rarity and Starlight whilst Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash just flew.
Thanks to Audino's hearing, they could track down Eternatus by its roar, but keeping up with the Gigantic Pokemon was another story entirely.
As they flew over the land, Ash and everyone had witnessed the carnage and destruction that was caused by Eternatus and the Dynamaxed Pokemon.
From levelled mountainscapes, craters that expand far and wide, forests that have been torched by possibly a Dynamax Fire-Type, or even some melted grasslands from either Eternatus or another Poison-Type.
It was a dreadful sight to look at as many of the Pokemon living in most of these areas had their homes destroyed by the rampaging Dynamax Pokemon and Eternatus.
"Did Eternatus do all of this...?" Fluttershy gasped at the horrible sight.
"Possibly. It already made Stoutland wreck most of Ponyville anyways." Twilight replied. "I'm a bit worried about everywhere else."
Twilight was starting to think about how some of her other friends might be in danger. Since they were heading up north, the Crystal Empire would most likely be their next destination.
She was worried that her brother, old foalsitter and niece had been caught up in this mess. Or worse, perhaps Eternatus might end up appearing in Canterlot where Twilight's parents reside.
Judging by how much destruction had been spread, that fear was stirring in her. As they continued to fly over the land, Ash noticed some familiar faces below.
Those faces were Celestia, Luna and Hollow, who were also on their own Dynamax mission to find any other Dynamax Pokemon.
"Hm? Down there!" Ash pointed at the trio below, grabbing everypony's attention.
Dragonite, Charizard and everyone else descended, approaching the journeying trio. "Kir?" Passion noticed them arriving as she nudged Celestia's tail. "Kirlia!"
"Hm?" Celestia turned her head to face her subjects or rather friends along with a brand new face in the form of Champion Leon. "Oh, Twilight. Everyone."
"Princess Celestia! This is urgent!" Twilight landed down. "You have to hear this! A-"
"There's a Dynamax Crisis ongoing across Equestria, I know." Celestia nodded.
"I-" Twilight paused for a moment. "You do?"
"Right." Luna walked up to Twilight. "We've already had our own Dynamax encounter back at Canterlot. Daylight Blazer's Medicham suddenly grew and almost destroyed Canterlot in the process."
"What?! Are my parents okay?!" Twilight screeched.
"They're fine. Everypony is. Along with Medicham." Celestia reassured. "Right now, we're currently in search for other Dynamax Pokemon that are on a constant rampage."
"So far, we've only seen the aftereffects of Dynamax Pokemon rampaging." Hollow referred to how the landscape had various types of destruction scattered all over the place. "Not sure how many there are right now..."
"Well, we're doing the same thing." Rainbow Dash spoke. "We're after the Pokemon behind all of this. Eternatus."
"Eternatus?" The trio said in unison.
"Turns out that it's the cause of Dynamax itself." Leon hopped off Charizard. "It recently escaped from the Galar Region hangar and apparently came over to your world."
"Oh! Champion Leon?!" Hollow gawked as his eyes lit up.
"You mean that it's somewhere here in Equestria?!" Luna navigated her head around. "Where did you all last see it?"
"About that..." Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. "We haven't found it yet. BUT! We can track it down no problem!"
"We're following the red sky and trail of destruction." Leon pointed up. "Fluttershy's Audino's also being a great help with her hearing and all that."
"We do know that it seems to be heading North." Rarity pointed her hoof at the North. "But other than that, it's too fast for us to keep up with."
"Too fast is an understatement..." Starlight sighed.
"Hmm...In that case." Celestia thought for a moment. "We'll come with you. Since this Eternatus Pokemon is the source, then we'll focus on it mainly. We all have the same goal after all, don't we?"
"Can we even keep up? If it's as fast as you say it is..." Luna pondered.
"Perhaps chasing it directly won't do if it can outspeed us all. But..." Celestia smirked, averting her eyes to the West. "There are such things as shortcuts."
Indeed they were. Ruling over Equestria for so long meant that Celestia knew her way around the land, even with the newly created Pokemon areas that have been popping up recently.
One of the many perks of being the Ruler of Equestria.
The Slumbering Weald, Galar.
Goh and Sonia had arrived to see if Zacian and Zamazenta would be there to help them in this second Darkest Day event.
"Zacian! Zamazenta!" Goh called out their names.
"Come out!" So did Sonia. They tried, but the two Pokemon didn't respond at all. Not even some howling to indicate that they were listening. Or at least, that seemed to be the case, until the fog showed up once more. "Fog?"
"It's just like before! Maybe they can actually hear us." Goh looked around as he ran off. "Zacian! Zamazenta!"
"Ah! Goh, wait!" Sonia ran after him.
"Can you hear us?!" He shouted out. "Eternatus has revived! And the Darkest Day!"
"Both Galar and Equestria will be wiped out if we don't do something!" Sonia bellowed. "Please!"
"Come on out please!" After many attempts of calling out for Zacian and Zamazenta, finally, there was a legitimate response.
Eerie howling echoed throughout the forest as Raboot heard the sound of footsteps closing. Those footsteps were as familiar as the howls themselves.
And there they were. Zacian and Zamazenta. Both of them in the same spot instead of separate areas in the forest. The two mysterious Pokemon came out of the heavy fog, glaring at Goh and Sonia as they had responded to their cries.
"Zacian...Zamazenta...!" Sonia gawked.
"You really showed up!" Goh had a wide grin on his face.
The two Pokemon didn't say anything at all to Goh and Sonia's words. Instead, they just turned around all of a sudden, walking away without a word.
"Hold on!" Goh yelled.
"We need your help!" Sonia requested. They chased after the two wolf-like Pokemon, walking behind them. Zacian and Zamazenta didn't seem to mind this at all.
But that was because they were actually leading them somewhere. Somewhere that'll bring about the end of the Darkest Day.
The further they advanced in the forest, the thicker the fog became as Zacian and Zamazenta suddenly vanished out of nowhere.
"Boot!" Raboot suddenly ran towards the thick fog.
"Ah! Raboot?!" Goh chased after his partner along with Sonia. Raboot could tell that Zacian and Zamazenta were trying to show them something. The disappearing part was a mystery, however.
But what was an even bigger mystery was what lied beyond the thick mist. The trio soon arrived at an altar of all things, just laying here in the Slumbering Weald, perfectly disguised by the fog.
"Huh...?" And of course, Goh and Sonia were both surprised on what they had discovered beyond the mist. The altar was obviously old with moss surrounding it along with parts of it being broken off.
In fact, most of it was broken off, making it seem like an incomplete altar when really, it had just been here for so long it eventually lost some of its structure, leaving only an A shaped structure instead.
"I never knew this was here..." Sonia stepped up to the altar with go.
Goh noticed how there were leaves covering something that laid next to the altar. Curious, he swept the leaves away, wondering what they were hiding.
There were two objects.
A rusted sword and a rusted shield. "A sword and a shield..." Goh said under his breath.
"Are these the sword and shield from the legend?" Sonia leaned forward.
"Yeah. They must be." Goh nodded. "This must be what Zacian and Zamazenta were trying to show us." Goh picked up both the sword and shield.
"What now?"
"Well, we've got both the sword and shield now. I guess we use them to stop the Darkest but..." Goh looked at how beat up and old they were.
They looked like they wouldn't even be able to cut through paper from how they look as of now. Goh suddenly placed the sword inside of the shield. "What are you doing, Goh?"
"If the sword and shield belong to Zacian and Zamazenta, they may have some hidden powers." Goh stood up, placing the two objects on the back of his bag.
"Oh, I get it. Maybe they can help us stop the Darkest Day and Eternatus."
"Let's hurry to Equestria! That world's not built for Pokemon so we gotta be quick!"
"Right." Sonia nodded as the two of them made haste.
And what about Eternatus?
The Gigantic Pokemon was still on its seemingly never-ending rampage across Equestria as it constantly filled the naturally beautiful azure skies with a dreadful crimson.
Flying-Type Pokemon evaded Eternatus any time it got close to them or even if it was seen within their reach. And even if they did evade it, Eternatus's pressure was enough to knock them out of the sky.
Eternatus was still collecting Galar Particles from across Equestria and Galar at the same time. Granted, Equestria was currently giving the Gigantic Pokemon more power since that was the location Eternatus was currently in.
However, the Gigantic Pokemon sensed one area that not only had a gigantic amount of Galar Particles but was also connected to Galar.
That location was none other than Trottingham. The city which also has a gateway that leads to Galar. Eternatus found the jackpot.
If it absorbs all the energy from Trottingham, it might end up reaching its maximum power. Thus, Eternatus would be in its prime once more.
The Gigantic Pokemon knew that some would try and stop it. And at this very moment, Eternatus was being pursued by two groups. Celestia's group and the Swords of Justice.
However, that didn't matter to Eternatus. It would succeed in its goals one way or another. And nothing will stop it from reaching its goals, no matter what.
That is until a brand new individual decided to get in Eternatus's way.
This individual was a Pokemon who wasn't actually with any of the two groups. But on their lonesome, since they prefer to work alone.
And no other Pokemon fits that bill than Absol, who was standing on top of a hill, anticipating Eternatus this entire time.
Ever since the second Dynamax Crisis began, Absol had obviously set off to stop as many Dynamax Pokemon as he could. However, once his horn sensed something major, his attention averted somewhere else.
Absol could tell that somehow in someway, Eternatus was the cause for all of this. The fact that Eternatus always brought a crimson red sky with it wherever it went helped Absol come to that conclusion.
Absol growled, seeing that Eternatus was about to fly by him. When the time is right, Absol would strike, planning on performing a sneak attack on the Gigantic Pokemon.
As for Eternatus, it wasn't aware of the Disaster Pokemon at all. All it cared about was reaching Trottingham and that was it. If it did see a Pokemon, it would most likely either forcefully Dynamax it or just destroy it.
Eternatus got close to the hill that Absol stood on. The time was finally right. Absol was ready to strike. And he did this, not by hitting Eternatus from afar with Dark Pulse, but instead, Absol jumped off the hill and landed on Eternatus's back.
"Absol!" The Disaster Pokemon hitched a ride on the Gigantic Pokemon's back, going for physical contact. Although, this was the opposite of a sneak attack since Eternatus had noticed that someone was on its skeletal back. The Gigantic Pokemon turned its head around to see the Disaster Pokemon, locking eyes with him.
"Ab...sol!" Absol began attacking Eternatus's skeletal back by using Night Slash. By slashing on Eternatus's back, Absol was barely doing that much damage to the Gigantic Pokemon due to how freakishly powerful Eternatus was at the moment and how it kept absorbing Galar Particles from both worlds to build its power.
But even if Absol did little damage, he was still able to get a reaction out of Eternatus. The Gigantic Pokemon knew that if Absol kept using Night Slash, eventually he'll manage to really put the hurt on the Dragon-Poison-Type.
So the obvious thing to do now was to throw Absol off, which Eternatus attempted to do. The Gigantic Pokemon tried the classic flying upside-down trick, but Absol held on tight, using his sharp claws to dig inside of Eternatus's skeletal body.
Whilst holding on for dear, Absol fired a Dark Pulse from his mouth, blasting Eternatus's back. Dark Pulse had a slightly better result than Night Slash. Since Dark Pulse has a chance to make an opponent flinch, it could come in handy for a scare-tactic move.
Eternatus actually managed to flinch, but it wasn't scared at all. Instead, it almost lost its balance when flying, crashing into a mountain thanks to Dark Pulse flinching it. Absol held on, closing his eyes as Eternatus's body demolished an entire mountain upon contact.
"A-Absol!" Large boulders fell from the mountains above, almost crushing the smaller Pokemon below. Eternatus then hatched an idea that could work.
The Gigantic Pokemon used the mountains as a means to get Absol off its back. It did so by dragging Absol's body on the mountains whilst flying past them.
The Disaster Pokemon wasn't going to let that stop him either. He endured the pain, allowing himself to be dragged across the mountains whilst Eternatus gradually destroys it.
By opening his mouth and closing one eye, Absol released yet another Dark Pulse. He wasn't going to let up. He never does. Eternatus could see that Absol might be the most persistent Pokemon it has come across yet. Not even Zacian and Zamazenta acted like this.
The Gigantic Pokemon took the skies, deciding that the best way to get rid of Absol was to make him feel the true pressure of the wind.
By ascending high into the skies of Equestria, Absol could feel a fierce and overwhelming great turbulence hit his entire body due to how fast Eternatus was going.
With all this wind, his claws were scraping on the back of the Gigantic Pokemon, almost causing the Disaster Pokemon to actually fall off.
But he didn't. Absol proved how stubborn he can be by using his teeth to latch onto Eternatus's back. That actually got a roar out of Eternatus as the Dragon-Poison-Type spun around in the air, doing everything in its power to get this Dark-Type off its back.
But Absol wasn't going anywhere as he unleashed Dark Pulses whilst having his teeth sink into Eternatus's skeletal body.
It was now a seemingly endless struggle at this point. Eternatus couldn't focus properly thanks to Absol's constant attacking. And Trottingham was so close. Eternatus now had one major problem that it had to deal with along the way.
West of Equestria.
The large group had now taken a shortcut that would apparently get them to the north much faster. Celestia knew what she was doing, so everypony put their trust in her.
Through Audino's ears, she could hear Eternatus roar in the far distance. She noticed that it wasn't coming from the North, but instead, from the East, indicating that Eternatus was changing directions.
"Dino! Audino!" Audino called for Fluttershy.
"What is it, Audi?"
"Audino!" Dino-Dino!" Audino flailed her arms around, telling Fluttershy that Eternatus had changed its direction from North to East.
"Eternatus is going East now?!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Audino!" Audino nodded.
"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "We're already gone this far to the West!"
"Why would it be changing directions now?" Rarity wondered. "Unless it's just another one of those Pokemon that is just erratic and goes wherever."
"If it's heading East now, it might end up in Trottingham," Twilight said. "Eternatus might be heading East because it senses a Power Spot there."
"Wait, Trottingham?" Starlight noticed something. Trottingham has a gateway that connects to the Galar Region and is so far the only place in Equestria that has the quickest route to the Galar Region. Starlight thought this was a hunch but it could be possible. "I think I know why Eternatus is heading East."
"You do?" Pinkie and everypony turned to her.
"Remember what Scootaloo's Pokedex said about Eternatus? That the core on its chest absorbs energy emanating from the lands of the Galar region to help it stay active."
"Yeah...?" Rainbow Dash nodded her head slowly, trying to figure out what Starlight was getting at.
"If Trottingham is the one area in Equestria that connects to Galar, then that means Eternatus has a higher chance of gathering more Galar Particles for itself. The closer it is, the faster it'll regain power."
"Oh, I see what you mean..." Twilight looked up.
"Mhm." Starlight nodded. "Eternatus must've come here to Equestria since it sensed Galar Particles here. Our worlds were never meant to cross in the first place after all. So maybe back in the original timeline, the energy from Galar was all that it could absorb."
"And since this timeline has new Power Spots with more Galar Particles to consume, possibly as much as Galar, Eternatus wants to absorb every Power Spot that exists. " Rarity finished Starlight's sentence.
"And with Trottingham being so close to Galar...It'll be an infinite power source for Eternatus!" Fluttershy gasped.
"Princess Celestia! We have to go East now! Quickly!" Twilight screeched.
"Don't worry. The West can still help us." Celestia replied.
"It can?" They all said.
"I didn't say it only had a shortcut to the North," Celestia smirked. "Come along. We might be able to beat Eternatus to Trottingham."
And so they continued West, despite Eternatus heading East. They trusted Celestia to get them to Trottingham with this supposed shortcut.
However, Celestia hasn't yet revealed to them what this shortcut looks like. Because so far, all they've been doing is heading West in a straight line and that's it.
Some of them, mainly Twilight and Starlight, were starting to worry that this shortcut wouldn't actually be that effective and they're just wasting time.
Until they came across a cave system that they all stopped at.
"In here." Celestia pointed her hoof at the cave. "This will get us to the East at a quicker rate."
"A...cave?" Spike tilted his head.
"Princess." Twilight walked up to her fellow alicorn. "Are you sure this is a quicker way? It looks a bit..." Twilight looked inside of the cave, seeing how unearthly and dark it uncanny it was.
"Distrustful?" Celestia finished Twilight's sentence. "I know. But you don't have to worry about a thing. Just stay next to me or your Pokemon and you'll be fine." Celestia entered the shady and dubious cave. "Besides. I've been here before a few months ago."
"She's the princess. No arguing there." Rainbow Dash flew inside of the cave as the others did the same.
The ponies either stayed close to their Pokemon, Ash, Leon, Hollow or Celestia for protection. They weren't sure what was lurking inside this shifty cave, waiting for them.
Celestia used her magic to light up the place with a golden glow, allowing everypony to see better. And that also allowed them to see what the style and structure of these caves.
There were over 12 pathways in this cave system, each leading to various uncharted areas. Around the walls, blue and purple crystals were either on the ceiling, walls or floor as they seemed to emanate the same colour as the Rift. They gave this eerie cave a somewhat mystical feeling with beautiful blue and purple lights illuminating all 12 pathways.
Some Pokemon could be found here, unsurprisingly. The most common of which are Zubat and Woobat. Some Noibats could be seen trying to fly and some Sableye's were resting near the crystals.
Oddly enough, despite this cave having somewhat of a long history and being an old area in Equestria, the crystals seemed to be brand new due to their Rift coloured lights.
"You use this place as your means of taking a shortcut?" Luna said to her older sister.
"That's right, Luna. See all those pathways? They each lead to either North, South, East and West. Its complex design, however, is why not many ponies come here. It's easy to get lost."
"Lost?!" Fluttershy screeched.
"No need to worry, Fluttershy." Celestia put her wing over Fluttershy. "I've been here a few times, so I'll guide you all. I would recommend we go through either the 10th pathway or the 11th. They both head East."
"Well, I'm sticking with you all." Pinkie dragged her friends towards her. "So I say we go for the 10th one!"
"10th sounds good to us." Applejack nodded as the rest of the Mane 7 agreed.
"Sticking together is the best option. So we must head for the 10th pathway, sister." Luna said.
"Alright. We will choose the 10th one." Celestia nodded in understanding. The 11th one does have a fun ramp though..."
The 10th one it was. By advancing towards the 10th pathway and arriving there, they were all greeted with a colony of Joltiks, Durants and one single Galvantula.
Looking at this area gave Rainbow Dash and Applejack not so pleasant memories of when they were sucked inside of a board game and one of the many areas looked exactly like this one.
"Ugh...Durants..." Applejack winced as she stayed close to Grovyle whilst also looking down at the Durants, Joltiks and Galvantula.
But it wasn't just Applejack and Rainbow Dash having unpleasant memories. Luna as well saw something very familiar that she never wanted to see again.
A group of Ludicolo's.
Ludicolo is a common Pokemon so something like this is to be expected. Although, Ludciolo's aren't necessarily Pokemon that live in caves that much.
But the reason why it was so unpleasant for Luna was that it reminded her of the time the Ludicolo's at the Pokemon Festival tossed her around whilst dancing. She had developed somewhat of a fear of Ludicolo ever since then.
"Urrgh..." Luna shuddered as she hid behind Darkrai. "Ludicolo's..."
There was something odd about this pathway and the cave in general. Rarity looked at the walls to see a painting that almost spelt out the words Phero. Almost as if it was trying to say Pheromosa.
Rainbow Dash saw a rock formation that looked a lot like Spitfire, Daylight Blazer and Princess Luna. Three ponies who she's competing against in the upcoming Equestria League.
"Okay um...Something ain't right here..." Applejack shook her head.
"I'll say. Is anypony feeling a bit of deja vu at the moment?" Rarity gulped.
"Ah. I should've probably mentioned. When I came here a few months ago, I made a discovery." Celestia turned her head to them all. "The crystals here seem to affect anypony or Pokemon that enters this cave."
"How so?" Twilight asked.
"They seem to bring out illusions of what you love, hate or are neutral with. Just keep trotting. They're only here to throw you off guard." Celestia explained.
She was right. The illusions can't really do anything. They're just illusions at the end of the day. However, they were capable of stirring up memories and getting reactions out of ponies, that's for sure.
As they journeyed through the pathway, Ash's Xtransceiver was ringing with Goh making the call, prompting Ash to pick it up.
"Hello. Goh, how's it going so far?" Ash asked.
"Ash! Great news! I found something that might help us against the Darkest Day and Eternatus!" Goh yelled on the phone as he had grabbed the attention of everyone there.
"Really?! What'd you find?!"
"Pika?!"
"Zacian and Zamazenta led us to this altar place that had a sword and a shield. They're pretty rusted though, but I think they might have some sort of hidden power that'll work when facing Eternatus!"
"Oooh..." Ash nodded his head.
"Are you still in Equestria?"
"Yeah. We're heading over to Trottingham right now. It's got a gateway that connects to Galar. Eternatus looks like it's heading there too."
"Oooh! Perfect!" Goh exclaimed. "Sonia and I will meet you there! Wait...which part of Galar does the gateway lead to?"
"I think it leads to someplace called...Axew's eye." Pinkie went up to the Xtransceiver.
"Oh. That's in the Wild Area near Motostoke." Leon gave out the actual location.
"Motostoke. Got it! See ya there!" Goh hung up on Ash, giving him and everypony a set destination.
Back with Eternatus and Absol, their struggle continued.
Absol still hadn't let go of Eternatus as he kept firing Dark Pulses onto Eternatus's back along with some Night Slashes here and there.
Eternatus screeched as it was getting frustrated with Absol at this point. Everything that Eternatus tried proved to be futile as no matter what, Absol stayed on the Gigantic Pokemon's back.
So many Dark Pulses and Night Slashes have been unleashed by now. And yet, Eternatus hadn't fainted once. Although, the repeated Dark Pulses have managed to make Eternatus flinch a couple of times.
And that flinching made the Gigantic Pokemon lose focus. Eternatus's crimson sky was filling the area as it could spot the biggest Power Spot yet right in front of its eyes.
The duo had eventually reached Trottingham after constant movements that involved mountain crashes and dark explosions in the sky.
Their constant battling alerted the ponies of Trottingham who witnessed the sky turning red along with a gigantic 20.0 m skeletal dragon approaching.
Trottingham had already gone through their own Dynamax attack during the crisis. And they were all not up for a second one. Especially from a Pokemon of that size.
Panicking and screaming, the ponies of Trottingham scattered, taking shelter in their homes as Eternatus had finally reached its destination after so long. But Absol was still on its back, attacking constantly.
After trying everything from flying high into the sky, smashing Absol and dragging him on mountains ranges, spinning around, nothing seemed to be working.
Eternatus thought that Absol would never get off until the Gigantic Pokemon had an idea. Threatening the lives of the ponies in Trottingham.
Eternatus figured that if it endangers the lives of others, Absol would rush over and help no matter what.
Which is exactly what it planned to do. By using its signature move.
Dynamax Cannon.
Eternatus gathered Dynamax energy in its core, preparing to fire at a couple of small houses nearby.
"Ab?!" Absol gasped, seeing how Eternatus was planning on destroying innocent civilians on the spot with a move that devastating. As such, Absol stood up, jumping off Eternatus's back. Which is what Eternatus planned to happen.
Knowing that made Absol change its focus to Trottingham instead of Eternatus. But that is exactly what Eternatus wanted. With Absol's guard down, his claws and teeth no longer digging into Eternatus's skeletal body and only focusing on the city now, Eternatus could finally get rid of this nuisance.
The Gigantic Pokemon did so by instead shifting the aim of Dynamax Cannon to face Absol who was in Eternatus's line of fire.
"Ab?!" Absol's eyes widened as he was now free-falling in the air. He noticed a red and purple light shining behind him as he turned around, seeing that Eternatus was going for him instead.
Absol was ready to tackle this attack head-on by using his own. In the form of Dark Pulse of course. Absol opened his mouth as a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appeared inside it.
With all his might Absol then fired a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth, sending it straight towards the opposing Pokemon.
Eternatus gave its response by unleashing Dynamax Cannon, sending its own beam forward. Through its mouth a powerful red and purple beam burst out of Eternatus, tearing through the air itself.
The two beams clashed, causing a shockwave that spread across Trottingham, shattering roofs, windows and even bricks themselves due to how powerful their clash was.
However, it wouldn't last long at all. Dynamax Cannon overpowered Dark Pulse by consuming it whole. Absol gasped as he saw how easily his attack had been negated.
The last thing he saw was a red and purple beam come towards him as he had been engulfed as well. "ABSOL!" The Disaster Pokemon screamed as he felt his body being hit with Galar Particles. But they weren't being used to grow him. Instead, Eternatus just wanted to get rid of Absol.
With the beam fading away, Absol fell from above, on the verge of fainting as a smoke trail came from him as he fell. The ponies of Trottingham gasped, seeing how Absol crashed onto the ground, causing a semi-large crater upon impact.
"Ab...sol..." The Disaster Pokemon cried out with a weak voice. He opened one eye, seeing that Eternatus was now hovering over Trottingham. He knew he couldn't just lose and give up here. Absol, despite his injured body and horrible state, stood back up.
But his legs were weak at the moment. He could lose his balance and faint at any minute now. But he would continue to stay up and stop Eternatus. No matter what.
Back with the group.
The 10th pathway was short and quick, despite being seeming somewhat long at first glance. Celestia knew her way around this place so it was lightwork for her. The illusions may have been distracting, but they weren't enough to slow them all down.
Finally, they exited out of the cave and had arrived at the East side of Equestria. And it turns out that their little cave crawl went beyond just getting them to the East.
It actually brought them near Trottingham AKA the Griffish Isles. Much nearer than they expected. Just up ahead, they could see the city of Trottingham in all its glory and how it had a purple Power Spot in the distance.
It was impressive how close the 10th pathway brought them here as Twilight and the others were impressed. However, that impression soon turned to shock as they noticed their main target had already beaten them here long ago.
By looking up in the sky, they spotted the Pokemon behind all of this. The one who brings the Darkest Day.
Eternatus.
The dreadful red sky had occupied all of Trottingham's airspace in just a few seconds. Not only that, but the roar of Eternatus reached their ears. They didn't even need Audino to pick it up. It was a truly ferocious and loud roar.
"There it is!" Ash gasped, looking up at Eternatus. "Eternatus!"
"That's Eternatus?!" Leon's eyes widened.
"Oh my..." Luna backed away, seeing how overwhelming this Pokemon was.
All of them were and rightfully so. This Pokemon was difficult to describe and judging by its dex entry and appearance, it seems to be a Pokemon that was not from this planet. Much like the Ultra Beasts.
Only on a larger scale.
"I-It sure is..." Applejack gulped, lowering herself on the ground. "Big...!"
"No time to be scared!" Celestia stepped forward. "We came here to stop Eternatus and that is what we shall do."
Celestia, Ash, Hollow and Leon were already prepared to step up to Eternatus since they were the only ones not intimidated by its disturbing and weary appearance.
Twilight noticed Absol in the distance, seeing that he was badly injured and on the verge of fainting with scratches on his entire body. "Absol!" Twilight flew over to assist the injured Pokemon.
But when she got close, Eternatus let out a bloodcurdling roar that stopped Twilight in her tracks.
Eternatus was gathering an unnatural amount of energy in its core. More energy than it had ever dreamt of. The original timeline doesn't compare to the amount of power that Eternatus is gaining right now.
"We'll stop Eternatus. The rest of you protect everypony else!" Celestia ordered as she, Ash, Hollow and Leon were about to head towards Eternatus, but not before one more individual joined the scene. Or rather two.
"I think not." A familiar voice rang through their ears, mainly Leon and Ash's ears. The four of them came to a screeching halt, wondering who was the one who told them to stop.
By turning around, they noticed the man who had taken part in this whole Eternatus situation from the beginning.
Chairman Rose. Alongside his secretary Oleana as always.
"Chairman Rose?!" Leon exclaimed.
"Ah...this is much better than I expected." Rose walked forward, passing Luna and the others. "The enormous power it's displaying is even beyond my expectations. " He looked up at Eternatus. "I'm honestly also surprised that Power Spots even exist here honestly."
"Professor Magnolia was right about this guy...he's kinda sketchy." Rainbow Dash whispered.
"Leon. We often discussed the future of Galar together, remember?"
"Now's not the time Chairman Rose!" Leon replied. "Eternatus will end up destroying this world and soon Galar!"
"No, no. This is all for Galar's future."
"What do you mean?" Leon stepped forward.
"I found that in the near future, Galar's energy will be exhausted. I racked my brains on how I could solve this issue and discovered that Galar particles could serve as a new energy source."
"Wait..does that mean..." Rarity narrowed her eyes at Chairman Rose. "You're the one who's been feeding Eternatus from the very beginning?!"
"Yes, my little pony. And more than that. I learned that Eternatus was the Pokemon of my dreams, infinitely creating Galar Particles!"
"But those beams cause Pokemon to Dynamax and go on a rampage!" Pinkie bellowed at Rose's direction.
"Yes. It is very troubling." Rose nodded. "That's why I've guided talented trainers like you. Yes, Leon. You will be the one who shall catch the revived Eternatus and control it! As I desire!"
"Why are you doing this?!" Spike exclaimed.
"Why? To prevent further suffering in the future of course. My father, he worked in the mines. He worked day and night to extract the energy source and to support our family. But after an unforeseen accident, he never came back. But what do you think? If we have Eternatus nobody will ever need to suffer as I did and we'll have infinite energy."
"That's..." Fluttershy was about to say something.
"See?" Rose spread his arms out. "I'm thinking of the Galar from a thousand years from now! Leon...I've watched over you and nurtured you since you were young, all for this very moment. You can't turn me down now."
"Hmph. I'll catch Eternatus." Leon suddenly replied with a stern face.
"Ah- Leon?!" Pinkie and the others gasped, facing Leon.
"Excellent! And you'll be a true hero of Galar!"
"But...I'll only catch it to calm it down." Leon suddenly shut Rose down. "Eternatus has already caused major damage to this world that never deserved this in the first place! So many ponies have had their homes destroyed by this Pokemon and I can't let that happen again! Not to both worlds!"
"Hm, hm, hm." Rose suddenly chuckled. "How naive you are. And it looks like Eternatus's full revival is near. Now, Leon, you're up! Only you can control Eternatus!"
"Even if it creates Galar Particles for more energy, Eternatus is far too dangerous!" Leon exclaimed. "I'll catch it and seal it away!"
"Hmm..." Rose's smile turned into a frown after those words.
"Everyone, let's go." Leon turned to Ash, Hollow and Celestia.
"Okay!" Ash nodded.
"I think not!" Rose held out some Poke Balls along with Oleana. "You've greatly disappointed me, Leon. You as well Ash. I could've turned you into the world's greatest trainer!"
"I'll get there on my own!" Ash replied to him.
"Hmph." Rose sent out all four of his Pokemon. A Copperajah, Escavalier, Ferrothorn, Perrserker and Klingklang.
Oleana did the same, sending out her Milotic, Froslass, Salazzle and Tsareena. "No one is allowed to ruin Chairman Rose's plans!" Oleana's hair flared up.
"This just had to become more difficult, huh?" Applejack sighed.
"Ah, who cares." Rainbow Dash flew in front. "Ash, everyone. Leave these two to us." She took out her Poke Ball. "Eternatus is all yours!"
"Alright! Thanks!" Ash ran off with the others.
"Pikachu!"
"You all intend to make my effort all for nought?" Rose raised an eyebrow.
"Like we'd let you cause any more damage and have innocent Pokemon rampage!" Applejack growled.
"My poor little ponies. You're not from my world, so you'd never understand." Rose shook his head. "Perhaps, Eternatus could one day help your world as well."
"It's helped enough! Go Braviary!" Rainbow Dash sent out her Braviary.
"Viary!"
"Out you come, you three!" Rarity sent out her strongest Leavanny, Flaaffy and Pheromosa.
At this point, it was inevitable for a huge brawl to break out. The battle with Eternatus and the battle against Chairman Rose and Oleana.
On the plus side, it would mean that the ponies of Trottingham would have the opportunity to see possibly Equestria's most chaotic Pokemon battle yet as they observed from their windows.
Through the gateway connected to Galar and Trottingham, Sonia and Goh had finally arrived, expecting to see their friends there.
And well, their friends were indeed there, that's for sure. But some weren't really friendly faces at all. Mostly Eternatus.
"W-What is that thing?!" Goh winced as he had no idea what kind of Pokemon he was even looking at.
"Is that...Eternatus...?" Sonia gawked. She noticed that Trottingham might be the area where the final confrontation against Eternatus occurs. "Goh! You have the sword and shield! Head on and help!
"Huh...?" Ah, right!" Goh stuttered as he ran off to assist with Raboot on his side. "Guys! I got the sword and shield!" He called out for his friends.
"Hm? Goh?" Starlight turned to Goh.
"Now we can stop Eternatus with Zacian and Zamazenta's help!" Goh grinned. "Lucky!"
"I think not! Surround him!" Oleana exclaimed as she had her Milotic Salazzle and Milotic surround Goh, preventing him from moving.
"Eh?!" Goh came to a screeching halt.
"Raboot...!" But thankfully, his partner was here to protect him from whoever tried to harm Goh.
"Do you all have any idea how much money Chairman Rose has spent to revive Eternatus?" Oleana narrowed her eyes. "His dream is also my dream. I won't allow some random ponies and kids from who knows where to stop that dream!"
"Just our luck..." Goh groaned as he looked up at Eternatus. "Ash, you'd better be pulling off one of your crazy stunts to win this..."
The final confrontation with the Darkest Day and Eternatus has arrived. The fate of both Galar and Equestria is now being decided by two opposing forces and one chaotic force.
As Eternatus builds up tons of power high in the sky, Twilight helping Absol up and carrying him to safety, Rainbow Dash and the others dealing with Chairman Rose and Oleana as Ash, Hollow, Celestia and Leon heading off to stop and catch Eternatus, the ponies of Trottingham held their breath in as the journey continues.
Chapter 287 End.