Trottingham.
Eternatus was at its absolute peak with its power overloading. It was now in its Eternamax Form. The form it took during the first Darkest Day many centuries ago.
The final confrontation against Eternatus was here. If they stop Eternatus now, the Darkest Day comes to an end and they can all go home and laugh about this.
Audino had healed all of the Pokemon that were injured here, giving them the extra strength they needed to continue. Meanwhile, Eternatus was in perfect condition and at its full strength. The absolute peak of its power.
"Let's use all we have at full power! Everyone! Go!" Ash commanded all of his Pokemon. From Pikachu to Farfetch'd.
Ash gave off the first command, which prompted everyone else to command their Pokemon as well. It started with some ranged attacks.
From Thunderbolt, Plasma Bolt, Aura Sphere, Hyper Beam, Dragon Pulse, Ice Beam and so on. All of these attacks were thrown at Eternatus, flowing together in perfect unison.
But even with their combined might, once their attacks connected, they just fizzled out all of a sudden. Even Passion's Plasma Bolt faded away despite how powerful it was.
"Nothing?!" Applejack stepped back.
"Then let's try getting up close!" Rainbow Dash flew up. "Braviary! Use Brave Bird!"
"Braviary!" Rainbow-Braviary surrounded itself in a rainbow aura as he charged towards what might be the largest Pokemon in existence.
But even Rainbow-Braviary couldn't get this thing to budge at all. Once he smashed his head into Eternatus, the Gigantic Pokemon didn't even move an inch.
"Viary?!"
"Dragon Claw!" Both Ash and Leon commanded Dragonite and Charizard. The two Flying-Types engulfed their claws with draconic energy. By dashing over at Eternatus, they swung their claws at its face, hoping to budge the Gigantic Pokemon.
But Eternatus still didn't move at all.
Hollow's Scrafty went in for a Zen Headbutt but to no avail. Darkrai tried putting Eternatus to sleep with Dark Void, but even that failed as Eternatus simply stood there with the Dark Void fading away.
"None of our attacks are having any effect?!" Rarity stepped back. "Why?!"
"Just how strong is it now...?" Luna said to herself.
Eternamax Eternatus seemed indestructible as more attacks were thrown at it. Passion teleported up to Eternatus's face, using Plasma Bot from up close. Not even an attack that was hotter than the sun could work on Eternatus now.
And yet, they persisted.
Gengar used Ice Punch whilst Darkrai used Ice Beam with both of them trying to freeze the Gigantic Pokemon, but with no luck.
Everything they tried was futile. From super-effective moves to neutral moves, Eternatus just stood there, floating endlessly as it just let the attacks come to it.
"Is it indestructible or something?!" Hollow exclaimed.
There was a moment of peace between them. Seeing how Eternatus was just floating there, not moving an inch made them all weary.
Was it unresponsive? Taking a nap? Nopony knew why Eternatus was acting like this. Was this just apart of its Eternamax form?
Turns out, Eternatus wasn't actually being unresponsive. Instead, it was both observing its opponents movements and charging up an attack at the same time.
The Gigantic Pokemon finally did something as it had used its signature move.
Eternabeam.
Eternamax Eternatus fires a purple beam of energy from its hand and multiple smaller, similar beams from around its body. These smaller beams scattered across Trottingham, targeting the innocent civilians who were all watching from afar.
The ponies of Trottingham gasped as they saw the Eternabeam race towards them. They held each other, covering their eyes as they expected the worst to happen.
"Darkrai! Grab them!" Luna turned her attention to the citizens, ordering Darkrai to save them instead of focusing on Eternatus.
The Pitch Black Pokemon went into the shadows, making himself move faster that way. He managed to outpace the Eternabeams as he manipulated the shadows, creating dark shadowy hands that grabbed some of the ponies.
The Eternabeams rained down as Darkrai held the ponies with his shadows whilst also trying to avoid the rain of Eternabeams from above.
"Hatterene! Help Darkrai!" Starlight ordered.
"Hatt!" Hatterene nodded in understanding as she went over to save the civilians.
As for the others, Audino put up a Protect by standing in front of everyone, shielding them all from Eternabeam. The purple beams blew upon contact with the barrier as numerous explosions cluttered the field.
"A-Audino...!" Audino managed to hang in there as she took a bit of damage from the aftershock of Eternabeam.
The sheer force of this attack was powerful enough to sweep everyone off their feet as they all either held on to their Pokemon or the ground.
They all screamed as they felt their bodies being blown back by Eternabeam's shockwaves as Audino did her best to keep the beam from breaking through.
"D-Dino...!"
Eternatus knew that Audino's attempts were futile. So to add insult to injury, the Gigantic Pokemon used another Eternabeam whilst the current one was still being blocked by Audino.
"Audi?!" Audino's eyes gasped as she saw the second Eternabeam heading her away. Even Protect wasn't enough to stop a second one since the first one was already proving to be difficult.
As such, the second Eternabeam broke through Audino's Protect, shattering the barrier. "Audino!" The Hearing Pokemon went tumbling as the Eternabeams blew upon contact with the ground, knocking everyone away like ragdolls as they had all now witnessed just how powerful Eternatus was now.
"Ugh!" Ash rolled on the floor as everypony else tumbled. Even if they hadn't been hit by Eternabeam, the shockwave was enough to injure them as they all had scratches on them.
"I-Is everyone okay?!" Celestia got up from the ground as her regalia had been chipped.
"We're fine." Spike held his head as Salamence broke out of some rubble.
"Sala!"
"So strong..." Goh got on one knee. "Now I wish we were just battling the original timeline Eternatus..."
"Cinder..."
"It's almost as if it's an entirely different Pokemon now." Rarity said as her Pheromosa helped her up. Things were getting difficult now.
Even with some newly evolved partners in the form of Lucario, Gardevoir, Cinderace, Sceptile and Ampharos, Eternatus was still proving to be quite the challenge.
Ash noticed that the sword and shield Goh brought along had fallen to the side after all those devastating hits. But he also noticed that they were both glowing red and blue all of a sudden.
"The sword and shield!" Ash got up, running over to them both. "Let's see if they can actually come in handy like you said, Goh." Ash held the sword and shield in his hands.
"But they're all rusted! What can they even do?" Starlight said.
"Let's find out. Over here, Eternatus!" Ash called for Eternatus, grabbing the attention of the gigantic Pokemon.
When Eternatus turned to Ash, it recognized the sword and shield from the first glance. And that sparked up some memories that Eternatus wasn't too fond of.
Eternatus roared in Ash's direction as seeing Ash reminded Eternatus about the two kings who fought alongside Zacian and Zamazenta long ago. It was ready to take out Ash by charging up another Eternabeam.
"Ash! Don't get too close to close to it!" Twilight shouted.
"No need to worry! I can tell that Eternatus doesn't like the look of these two weapons!" Ash grinned. "I don't know how, but I'm gonna beat it with just these two!"
"Ridiculous!" Luna stood up. "You can't defeat something like that with-"
Just as Luna was about to tell Ash why that was physically impossible, the sword and shield were emanating their colours once more. But this would be the final time they glowed since they were reacting to something from far away.
And that something came from the Slumbering Weald and the altar that laid there. Two lights similar to the colour of the sword and shield emerged from the altar for one reason.
They were reacting to something familiar. Someone was fulfilling the legend. That someone, of course, being Ash and his friends.
And because of that, the two Pokemon who fought alongside the two heroes from long ago had finally awoken, returning to the land of the living.
Zacian and Zamazenta.
Two beams of energy shot up from the altar, moving at speeds faster than light itself. These two beams managed to go from the Slumbering Weald to Trottingham in just 2 seconds flat.
The two beams got in the way of Eternabeam, halting the move and saving Ash's life. "Pika?!"
Everyone gawked as the Eternabeam was being held back by these two mysterious lights. Suddenly, the sword and shield left Ash's hands, flowing over to the two lights as they responding to their rightful owners. "Huh?"
The sword and shield entered the energy domes as Zacian and Zamazenta revealed themselves. A flow of beautiful red and blue energy spread across Trottingham, giving it a beautiful view despite its current state. They both held the sword and shield in their mouth's just like what the statues depicted.
And with the sword and shield reacting to Zacian and Zamazenta, their true forms had been revealed, just like Eternatus's true form.
Zacian now had fringes of fur on its back become wing-like armour as its braids grow to resemble ribbons. Additionally, its head is covered by a golden helmet, and it carries a golden sword decorated to resemble Zacian's colours.
Zamazenta had a set of golden armour covering the front of its body like a shield that resembled its colours; while the side portion covered its forelimbs. Its ponytail also grows to cover most of its backside.
These were their Crowned Forms. Their true forms.
"Would ya look at that..."Ash gawked along with everypony else. "The heroes of legend!"
Rainbow Dash took out her Pokedex to see what these two Pokemon had on them. Before, there was no data on Zacian and Zamazenta back in the Slumbering Weald.
But now that their true forms had been revealed, the Pokedex had something on them finally.
"Zacian. The Warrior Pokemon. Now armed with a weapon it used in ancient times, this Pokémon needs only a single strike to fell even Gigantamax Pokémon. Able to cut down anything with a single strike, it became known as the Fairy King’s Sword, and it inspired awe in friend and foe alike."
"Zamazenta. The Warrior Pokemon. Its ability to deflect any attack led to it being known as the Fighting Master’s Shield. It was feared and respected by all. Now that it’s equipped with its shield, it can shrug off impressive blows, including the attacks of Dynamax Pokémon."
"Wait...So the heroes of legend who wielded the sword and shield... were the Pokemon themselves?!" Twilight screeched.
"Alright!" Ash grinned. "Let's do this! Let's finish this Darkest Day and stop Eternatus!"
"Pikachu!"
"Right you are on that, Ash." Leon stood beside Ash along with everypony else. "Let's finish this in one attack! Charizard! Dragon Claw!"
And so it had begun. An intense struggle between Eternatus and everyone. Pikachu hopped on Dragonite's back whilst Eve hopped on Charizard's.
Eternatus fired Eternabeams from above, raining down destruction in hopes of hitting its targets. Dragonite and Charizard evaded the Eternabeams as they were closing in on the Gigantic Pokemon.
Zacian and Zamazenta were about to use their signature moves. Behemoth Blade and Behemoth Bash. Zacian's sword glows blue and grows in size whilst Zamazenta's extended its shield on its chest as it glowed red.
Dragonite and Charizard both smacked Eternatus in the face with super-effective Dragon Claws whilst Pikachu and Eve hopped off, using Iron Tail and Psybeam to continue the damage chain.
Eternatus was about to blast them all away with Hyper Beam, but Salamence came to the rescue, blasting his own Hyper Beam point-blank.
Eternatus had been interrupted thanks to Salamence as Zacian and Zamazenta had their turn. Zacian slashed Eternatus once with its enlarged sword as 5 hits happened in one single slash.
Zamazenta launched itself, ramming its hard shield onto Eternatus's body, causing the Gigantic Pokemon to move back a bit as it roared.
Sceptile and Ampharos both combined their Dragon Pulses as Eternatus was now being overwhelmed by attacks, not getting the chance to counteract.
They all kept the pressure on as Eternatus was being bombarded with Ice Beams, Dragon Pulses and more. With all this damage alongside Zacian and Zamazenta's strength, Eternatus was finally weakening.
"It's working!" Ash exclaimed.
"Then let's finish it! Passion!" Plasma Bolt!"
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Lucario! Aura Sphere!"
"Cinderace! Pyro Ball!"
With their unified might, the four attacks smashed into Eternatus, flinching the Gigantic Pokemon as Darkrai was above Eterantus, using Ice Beam to distract the Dragon-Poison-Type.
Eternatus wanted to attack Darkrai, but its attention had been averted by Braviary carrying Scrafty. Braviary tossed Scrafty towards the Gigantic Pokemon as it had used Zen Headbutt, making direct contact with Eternatus by smashing its head with the Dragon-Poison-Type.
Eternatus had finally come out of the sky as its enormous body was now on a lower level instead of high into the air. This made it easier for Pokemon who couldn't fly to get more hits in.
Which they did. Pheromosa ran up to Eternatus's face, giving it a Triple Kick before running off. Eternatus roared, shooting out a Flamethrower from its mouth, spraying the fire across the ground, preventing anyone from getting close.
But that didn't matter to some Pokemon. Charizard flew threw the flames, using Dragon Claw on Eternatus's eye. Once Charizard hit the eye, Leon noticed how affected Eternatus was by that as it let out the loudest roar yet.
"Ah! It's the eye! Aim for the eye!" Leon exclaimed, giving out Eternatus's weak spot
"Then in that case...everypony aim for the eye!" Celestia ordered.
"Pika!" Pikachu and everyone did exactly that. All of the Pokemon here either rushed over towards Eternatus or stood afar, attacking from a distance as Zacian and Zamazenta passed by them with superior speed.
All at once, they all used their strongest moves to only focus on its eye and nothing else. Eternatus didn't have time to think of a way to fend all of them off. They were all gathered around it and were already too close to it.
As such, all of their attacks struck Eternatus's eye at the same time. This was all they had. All of their current strength poured into these final attacks. They had all essentially gone past their natural limitations for this one moment.
And it all paid off.
The result of all attacks hitting Eternatus's eye sent out streams of various colours that flowed into the sky. Whether they came from Zacian and Zamazenta or a combination of moves, it was beautiful nonetheless.
A red and blue explosion could be seen from afar as the ponies of Trottingham closed their eyes the entire city had been engulfed by this strange energy.
The energy had faded away as smoke covered the city with all the Pokemon being launched back at their trainers after the explosion knocked them away.
Eternatus had finally reached its limit. Hitting its eye was the ticket as its large hand crashed on to the ground, causing a mini-earthquake.
"Now might be the right time...!" Leon dug into his pocket, getting out an Ultra Ball. Once he got it out, the Ultra Ball reacted to Eternatus's energy, growing in size. "Ultra Ball, GO!"
Hoping that this was the final time they had to battle Eternatus, Leon put all of his strength into this one single throw as the giant Ultra Ball absorbed Eternatus inside.
And now. They had to pray and wait for the outcome. Before, the Ultra Ball didn't shake, but now, much to their pleasure, it was actually shaking as they all held their breath and anticipation.
1...
2...
3...
Gotcha! Eternatus had been caught as the Ultra Ball returned to its normal size.
"Yes!" Leon grinned as he picked up the Ultra Ball. "I got Eternatus!"
"Finally!" Rainbow Dash fell on her back, feeling exhausted. "That felt like forever!"
It was finally over. With Eternatus captured, the dark vortex in the sky had faded away, restoring it to its natural colours as the sun was starting to set.
Everyone was exhausted. They wanted to celebrate but they were too tired to move around so they all either sat down or laid on their backs.
"I thought that would never end." Starlight chuckled.
Zacian and Zamazenta had done their job. They reverted to their previous forms as the sword and shield were dropped. By surrounding themselves in red and blue energy, the two Warrior Pokemon flew off, returning to the Slumbering Weald.
"Ah! Zacian! Zamazenta! Wait!" Twilight called for them, but they were already long gone.
The defeat of Eternatus meant that Dynamax Pokemon across Equestria and Galar were returning to their normal sizes as Eternatus was no longer affecting them.
The Darkest Day had officially come to an end. The black clouds were gone. Just like in the legend. Ash went over to the sword and shield, picking them both up as they were back to their rusted states.
"Thanks, Zacian. Zamazenta." Ash said whilst looking at the sword and shield.
"Wait. If we saved both Galar and Equestria like in the legend, does this mean we're..." Spike pointed at himself.
"Legendary heroes? That's right." Leon nodded.
"Sounds good to me!" Spike grinned.
"Things got a bit aggressive back there, didn't they Passion?" Celestia giggled.
"Gardevoir!" Passion nodded as she hugged Celestia.
"Now we've got some even stronger partners on our side." Applejack took her hat off, placing it on Sceptile's head.
"Scep!"
"Dragonite!" Relieved that it was finally over, Dragonite pulled everypony in for a massive hug, having them all in its clutches.
"Oof! D-Dragonite...!" Twilight's eyes widened as she smacked her hoof on Dragonite's claws. Dragonite released them all, allowing them to breathe. Although, Pinkie PIe stayed for more hugs.
Twilight then noticed that Absol was walking away. Just like before, with the disaster over, he had no reason to be here anymore. But due to how much damage he had taken, his walking speed was relatively slow.
"Sol..." The Disaster Pokemon held his head, trying to ignore his injures.
"Absol, wait!" Twilight teleported next to him.
"Ab?"
"How about we heal you up first before you head back into the mountains. You've been hurt pretty badly after all." Twilight smiled.
"Absol." Absol expected something like this to happen. Twilight constantly coming towards him and offering to help with every opportunity she had.
However, this time, instead of being reluctant, Absol grew to admire Twilight's care for him. Whenever he gets hurt, Twilight is always there, thinking about his health instead of everything else.
She did this during the first Dynamax crisis and even for this one. Because of this, Absol was no longer reluctant being next to Twilight.
If she would help him get back to full health all the time, then Absol is grateful to her.
More grateful than Twilight expect.
"Absol." The Disaster Pokemon went up to Twilight, taking a Poke Ball out of her saddlebag.
"Hm?" Twilight saw Absol grab the Poke Ball from her bag, holding it in his mouth as he dropped it on the ground afterwards. "Absol?"
"Sol." Absol put his paw on the Poke Ball, rolling it to Twilight.
Twilight didn't need Fluttershy to understand what Absol was trying to tell her. By looking at the Poke Ball and Absol's eyes, Twilight knew what this meant.
"Absol...Do you...want to come with me?"
"Absol." The Disaster Pokemon nodded. Twilight had won him over after all.
A wide grin graced Twilight's face as she felt like she was about to explode but she calmed herself down. Twilight used her magic to raise the Poke Ball, tossing it to Absol. "Alright then!"
The Poke Ball absorbed Absol with its red light as Twilight waited for the triple shakes. However, there was no triple shaking. Once Absol was pulled in, it was a critical capture.
Absol had been caught the moment he was sent inside of the Poke Ball, making it seem like this capture was destined to happen.
Twilight smiled, picking up the Poke Ball as she released Absol from it. She now had a new partner who could be by her side at all times.
"Absol."
"Espeon!" Eve was happy to have a fourth teammate and new friend. Albeit one who is somewhat intimidating as she ran around Absol, welcoming him to the team.
"What do we do now?" Goh wondered.
"Guys!" Sonia's voice reached their ears as she ran over. This entire time, she had taken shelter since the battle between Eternatus was just too chaotic for someone to stand out in the open, especially if they're not battling.
"Sonia...?" Leon recognized his old friend.
"You did it! I thought that would never end!" Sonia sighed. "Where's Eternatus?"
"In here." Leon showed her the Ultra Ball. "It won't be causing any more Dynamax issues for a long time. But where to put it...?"
"Leave that to me! Grandma will handle that!" Sonia pointed at herself, knowing the one place that they can seal Eternatus in.
The next day.
Professor Magnolia's lab, Wedgehurst.
"That must've been quite tough." Magnolia drank some tea. "And Chairman Rose's whereabouts are still unknown?"
"Yes. Though Leon's helping search for him."
"Hm. Although Eternatus remains asleep, contained beneath the earth, the possibility remains that it may awaken. We need to look into countermeasures should that ever happen again. I'll be counting on you for that...Professor Sonia."
"Of course!" Sonia smiled as she was wearing the traditional Pokemon Professor lab coat. "I'll do my best to live up to this professor's coat you gave me!"
The Ultra ball containing Eternatus was hidden beneath the earth itself with a metal safe containing it. Not even Ground-Types would be able to reach it. But even if they did, they knew that it meant bad news if it was being locked up like that.
As for the sword and shield, they had been returned to the altar where they originally belong as Ash placed them both down. "Thanks again, Zacian. Zamazenta. Let's battle someday!"
"Pikachu!"
"Luca!"
"And I hope to catch one of them someday!" Goh exclaimed.
"Cinder!"
"I'm glad that's over with." Luna yawned. " I require some rest now...Darkrai carry me."
"Guess you won't have the chance to ride on my back anymore, Passion."
"Garde." Passion was actually upset about that one. The one thing she'll miss from being a Kirlia.
"You're gonna love Ponyville Absol. But uh...maybe not in the state its currently in." Twilight laughed nervously.
"Sol."
"But at least the Pokemon House is still intact. We can have every Pokemon there chime in and have Ponyville repaired in at least 1 week!" Fluttershy said.
"4 days if Big Mac's Machamp doesn't act lazy again." Applejack chuckled, prompting everypony else to laugh as they left the Slumbering Weald, heading back home for some rest.
With this grand case revolving around Galar's legends behind them, Ash, Twilight and everyone have all grown once more, advancing as trainers.
And with Absol joining Twilight, they essentially have their own personal danger detector and possibly their most resilient and stubborn friend so far.
The door to another adventure surely awaits them all as the journey continues!
Chapter 289 End.