During Earth’s final days before Necrozma’s arrival, one singular news outlet had seemingly dominated over the others, whether that being from competitors’ employees all taking shelter or others no longer having a purpose. They had members all across Goldenrod City, aiding the Trainers and allowing those who actually still used television to keep up on all the current news regarding what was to come. Thus, they essentially had control over the entire world’s news.

  A woman appeared on screen, dressed up in a fancy suit with her hair neatly tied together. She cleared her throat, then said, “Good morning, everybody, though it’s admittedly hard to say that due to the circumstances. As I’m sure you all know, this ‘Necrozma’ is supposed to arrive in Goldenrod City today.”

  The image of the lady shrank down into a corner, allowing a helicopter’s view of the city in question to be shown. It was still quite early in the day at Goldenrod, and the sun had yet to arrive. Nevertheless, many trainers and their Pokemon had already stepped out of their tents, looking up at the sky anxiously.

  “Yes, today seems quite dire for Goldenrod City,” Said the newswoman. “Needless to say, the land around Goldenrod has had a significant drop in property value, which makes this next announcement all the more bizarre.” The vision of Goldenrod City changed to that of some kind of sigil. It looked similar to the starry night sky, with a bright glowing ‘S’ at the center. “An organization calling themselves the “Star Foundation” has apparently bought up all that land, as well as Goldenrod City itself, which I didn’t think was actually legal to do.”

  The screen showing the newswoman increased back to its normal size once more, and she continued. “We weren’t actually able to get a live interview with the leader of this strange organization, but we were able to get a look at the company motto, which might help to shine some light on what they stand for. “Star Foundation, working to make a better tomorrow,” is all that’s said.”

  “We don’t quite know their intentions,” The newswoman said, “But from what their motto says, we can infer that they are quite confident in our victory against Necrozma later tod-” The woman cut herself off suddenly, leaning away from the camera and covering her earpiece. “Wait, what? Already?!”

  When she faced the camera once more, her face had become deathly pale, and her eyes had widened. “I-I’m sorry everyone, but you need to take cover!” The sound of screaming and stomping feet soon flooded the room the newswoman was in, and she leapt to her feet. “We’ve received word that multiple unidentified black aircraft have appeared in the upper atmosphere! I repeat, take cov-”

  The screen was then taken over by static before shutting off completely.

  A fleet of jet black ships approached Earth, stopping just before entering its atmosphere. In the mothership, the dark conqueror of the universe, Necrozma, stared at it gleefully from the ship’s main window. “At last,” He said, “It is time for our next conquest.”

  Xurkitree, Necrozma’s right-hand man, knelt at his master’s side. “What is our next course of action, Milord?”

  Without looking away from Earth, Necrozma answered, “Have the fleet surround the planet, and take the mothership down to Goldenrod City.” Had the dark demon had a mouth, he would have certainly had quite the substantially large grin planted on his face. The site of his next conquest reflected in his eyes. “It’s high time I paid my dear friend Arceus a visit once more.

  Goldenrod City, the morning of the fifth day.

  Ash’s eyes shot open. He rushed out of his tent and screamed, “They’re here,” over and over again while rushing toward the center of the city. His Pokemon, as well as Serena, had all awoken at the sound of his yelling and leapt up from the ground to follow him. The faces of the trainers Ash passed all paled with fear, and while most followed their designated leader, many were utterly paralyzed. All they could do was shake their head in a vain attempt to deny what was happening.

  No one dared to speak, save for Ash calling everyone to follow him. Nearly the entire city’s population had now followed Ash toward its center, where the largest opening in the city was held. When Ash stopped upon reaching it, everyone else did as well. Collectively, they stared up into the sky, awaiting the inevitable. Even the most hardened, gruff, and confident of trainers trembled in fear of what was about to arrive.

  Bonnie hugged her older brother’s leg tightly. Up until now, she’d been able to stay her normally fired-up and confidant self, but the choking air of dread had dashed her bravery completely. “Are we...going to make it?”

  Clemont put a hand to her head, gently rubbing his younger sister’s head. “I don’t know, Bonnie,” He admitted, “I...really don’t know…”

  The six champions looked up at the sky as well. Some of them were grinning, while others were simply blank-faced. Whether this was a way to mask their own fear, not even they knew. To stand on the top of the world for so long and then suddenly be faced with a completely overwhelming power was something they didn’t truly know how to deal with. But then again, no one else did either.

  “So,” Said the Champion of Unova, Alder, “Looks like it’s finally time to put this show on the road.” He chuckled and whispered to himself. “Can you see me now, old friend? I might end up joining you.”

  “Indeed,” Replied the semi-Champion of Hoenn, Wallace. He pushed a tuft of hair out of his eyes so that nothing was in between his sight and the sky. “This will be a most grand battle, unforgotten by even the ages.”

  Steven, the other Champion of Hoenn, nodded. “The history books won’t be able to forget this day, that’s for sure.”

  “That is, if there are even any books to write,” Lance, the Champion of both Johto and Kanto, replied. “If this fight goes south, then…”

  Cynthia, Sinnoh’s Champion, merely laughed at Lance’s assertion. “It’s unlike you to sound so dire, Lance,” She said, “Of course, we’ll win. The Legends themselves are on our side.”

  Gary Oak let out a dry chuckle. “It’s...kinda hard to breathe, isn’t it? The air here’s so...choked.”

  Brock nodded in response and replied, “It is...Necrozma’s not even here yet, and everyone seems as if they’ve already accepted defeat…”

  “Not me!” Cried Misty, pumping her fist into the air. “I know we’ll win! It’s not like you two to talk like this!”

  Scratching the back of his hair, Gary laughed and said, “Yeah, I suppose so...let’s give it our all, then.”

  May clasped her hands over her chest, breathing deeply. “You okay?” Her younger brother Max asked.

  “I should be asking you that,” She replied, smiling down at him and wiping away a tear from her eye. “I’m supposed to be the one comforting you, and yet here I am, terrified out of my mind.”

  “I think...everyone is,” Said Max, looking down at the ground. He clenched his hands into trembling fists. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t too…”

  Dawn crouched down and hugged her partner, Piplup, tightly. “We’ll make it through this,” She said to him, “I promise.”

  The little penguin Pokemon huddled his head into her shoulder, hugging his partner tightly. “Pip, Piplup…”

  Paul merely scoffed at the act. “Get ahold of yourself.”

  Dawn glared up at him. “Unlike you, I actually care enough about my Pokemon to reassure them! It’s something you’d never know!”

  Paul turned away from her, looking up toward the sky. “It’s not that I don’t care for them, it’s that I know they’re ready. They don’t need consolation, and if you’re not prepared when Necrozma arrives, you might not have a chance to regret not being prepared.”

  “Are you ready?” Cilan asked Iris. “I don’t think it’ll be long until Necrozma arrives, after all.”

  The aspiring Dragon Master in question laughed at his asking, though with how shaky her voice was, her bravado was fooling no one. “Of course I am!” She claimed. “But I’m impressed! I kinda thought you’d be shaking like a baby! No offense.”

  Cilan laughed back. “Are you kidding?! I’m scared out of my mind! I can’t even come up with any of my lame cooking puns!”

  Alain caressed the underside of his partner Charizard’s chin. “It won’t be long now, Charizard,” He told it, “Let’s give ‘em hell, alright?” His Charizard nodded, letting out a small roar as he stared into his trainer’s eyes.

  ‘So, this is it, then?’ Asked Riley’s partner Lucario ‘This is the final battle?’

  Riley, without looking away from the sky, nodded and answered, “It seems so, old friend. It seems so.”

  Lucario chuckled, shaking his head. ‘Well, now I can say I’m truly glad you took us along with Ash for the ride.’

  Riley forced out a cheap, short-lived laugh, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “It’s not like you to admit you were wrong…”

  Lucario turned his gaze upward at the dark blue sky, his smile disappearing. ‘Either way, you won’t hear me do it again.’

  Serena touched Ash’s hand with her own, and Ash grabbed onto it, holding it tightly. “Ash?” She asked. “In case...I don’t get to say it later, then…”

  “I know,” Ash replied quietly. “I love you too…”

  Hydreigon lowered itself to the ground, allowing Zero to hop onto its back. “You know,” She said, “We...haven’t known each other for long, but…I’m glad I met you…” Hydreigon nodded, and a low growl that sounded akin to a hum of some kind escaped its throat. It felt the exact same way. She looked over at Ash and Serena, who had gone back to silently staring up at the sky and waiting for the inevitable, and frowned.

  ‘I’m sorry I can’t talk to you,’ She said inwardly, ‘If I do...I don’t know if I could trust myself not to say anything about…’ She shook her head vigorously and turned toward the sky with everyone else. ‘If I...no...when we all get out of this, I’ll tell them. They deserve to know. I’ll live so that I can tell them! And I’ll make sure they live too!’

  Ash smiled down at his Pokemon, who’d all assembled here around him. “Thank you all,” He said to them, “For everything. We’ve made so many memories, battled so many enemies, and gone on journeys that would never have been possible for me if not for you.” He took this time to look at them all. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to find his Pidgeot or Butterfree, nor any of his Pokemon that he gave away at some point, but he assumed they were all somewhere nearby.

  He looked out toward the edge of the city. The Flying-Type Pokemon were all circling around it, awaiting Necrozma’s arrival as anxiously as everyone else. He assumed the land-dwelling Pokemon were doing so as well, though he couldn’t see them from where he was at. ‘Are you guys out there somewhere?’ He asked mentally.

  He shook his head to dispel those thoughts. He couldn’t afford to think about them right now. What mattered now was what he could do, and that extended to the Pokemon he had here right in front of him. Bulbasaur. Charizard. Squirtle. Kingler. Muk. Snorlax. Of course, his miniature army of Tauros as well. Then there was Heracross. Quilava. Totodile. Noctowl. Donphan. Swellow. Torkoal. Glalie. Corphish. Sceptile. Staraptor. Torterra. Buizel. Gliscor. Gible. Infernape. Unfezant. Oshawott. Pignite. Snivy. Scraggy. Leavanny. Palpitoad. Boldore. Krookodile. Goodra. Noivern. And Talonflame.

  Greninja grinned at Ash confidently, giving his trainer a thumbs up, though Ash could sense with his Aura that he was just as terrified as everyone else. Ash chuckled and held his fist out toward him. Upon bumping it with his own, Ash merged their Auras, and Greninja transformed into the form their signature bond had created: Ash Greninja.

  Lastly, there was Pikachu. “How you holding up, bud?” Ash asked, to which Pikachu hopped up onto Ash’s shoulder and nuzzled up against him. He then gave Ash a confident thumbs up, earning a laugh from his trainer. “I figured that would be your response.” He looked out at his Pokemon and gave them a grin, which they all happily returned.

  Ash then walked up to Noivern, crouching beside him. He looked into the Dragon-Type Pokemon’s eyes and told him, “It won’t be much time now. Let’s pay him back for what he did to Hawlucha!”

  “VERN!” Roared Noivern in response, which Ash took as an agreement on Noivern’s end.

  Ash smiled at him, nodded, then turned his gaze back up toward the sky to wait for the impending arrival of the greatest foe the world had ever known: Necrozma. But as he stared up at the sky, he noticed something odd. There was a small glint of light opposite to the sun’s position. There weren’t any planes, as all aircraft movement besides the occasional helicopter had been suspended.

  “What is-”

  The sky suddenly turned pitch black, and the civilians began crying out in confusion. They stumbled around in the dark, blinded by something they didn’t know.

  “What’s happening?!” Cried Serena.

  “I don’t know!” Responded Ash. “I don’t know what’s happening!”

  The panicked screaming of the trainers was cut off by a sudden hum. It was so deep and loud, everyone had to double over and cover their ears. The skyscrapers themselves trembled to the point that it was a miracle none of the glass shattered from the loud droning. Then, there was light once more, though not much of it. Hesitantly, everyone slowly looked up at the sky, and their faces paled in horror.

  The sky was now completely pitch black, save for a myriad of odd lights that looked similar to cords one would see in machinery. Only, these ones were a bright crimson red and seemed to be carrying some kind of liquid. Along whatever the trainers and their Pokemon were looking at, large bulbous-shaped objects littered it, which the cords curved neatly around. They could see a silver, cylindrical object jutting down and pointing toward them all. It appeared to be hollow, evidenced by its center being as pitch black as everything else. Ash could have sworn he saw another one of the cylindrical things elsewhere, though it was so far away it was hard to tell.

  Ash could hardly believe what he was seeing. “What the heck is that?!”

  Everyone suddenly doubled over once more, clutching at their heads. A shrill-high-pitched note seemed to tear its way into their minds. They wanted to scream in pain, but they couldn’t even move. Ash felt a terrible nausea and dizziness overtake him, and it took all of his strength not to collapse. A voice then spoke, seemingly coming from within their own minds, and Ash immediately knew who it was. There was only one being who could do such a thing: Necrozma.

  “Why, hello there!” Boomed Necrozma. “I’m so touched that you all gathered here for little old me. But let us skip the formalities.” The bright red fluid began glowing blindingly bright. A loud hum roared from whatever was in the sky as the red fluid began hastening its pace toward the colossal cylindrical object pointed toward Goldenrod City.

  Soon, the object began glowing brightly as well, and before the city’s inhabitants could scream, they were suddenly blinded. An impossibly loud roar threatened to deafen them all, and the blinding light rendered their vision useless. They couldn’t feel the ground beneath their feet, and smelled only what they could describe as ‘burning.’ It was as if every single one of their senses were suddenly under assault. An intense heat followed this burning for a split second before they felt nothing. Everyone, including Ash, thought they had died just then until the light slowly began to fade away.

  Upon opening his eyes, Ash discovered that he, along with everyone else, was still alive and unharmed. However, the same could not be said for their surroundings. Beneath their feet was nothing but rubble. Chunks of skyscrapers jutted up from the ground around them. Their glass had all been completely shattered. The entire city had been flattened, but for some reason, they had been spared.

  Ash looked at the destruction with utter horror. He tried to speak, and his breaths were shaky and raspy. “W-what the…”

  Serena’s eyes widened. She uncontrollably, inhaled sharply, clapping her hands over her mouth. “Th-this...this can’t…!”

  Riley slowly took his hat from his head. He blinked, making sure what he saw before him was real. To his horror, it was. “How...how is this possible…?!”

  The dark laughter of Necrozma rang out from seemingly every direction, chilling everyone to their cores. Their heads were suddenly moved against their will, all toward one singular location up in the sky. They saw a figure cloaked in black, even darker than the sky itself. Its body was prismatic and sharply-angular in shape. On each of its arms was a large, bright white crystal, which was the only thing able to illuminate the being. It was none other than Necrozma himself.

  “I hope you all like the power of my ship,” He spoke, pointing up toward the cylindrical object in the sky. “The destruction you all see surrounding you is a courtesy of one of the ship’s main cannons. I do hope it’s to your expectations.”

  Necrozma’s grip on them all was lifted, making them stagger backwards. A singular thought plagued their minds collectively.

  ‘That’s a ship?!’

  “Indeed,” Necrozma replied, making a chill run down their spines. “This ship is the greatest creation of the Ultra Beasts, used to scour entire galaxies of life.” The dark demon looked down at them with what they could practically feel was a grin. “Of course, I can read your thoughts as well. I know exactly what you’re thinking before, even you do. There is no sanction that is safe from me, not even your minds.”

  Ash managed to stand back onto his feet and step forward toward the dark demon. “Get out of here!” He shouted. “Can’t you see this war is pointless?! What good is it to mindlessly kill others?!”

  Eyeing the source of the voice, Necrozma smirked when he found a familiar face. “Ah, it’s you,” Said Necrozma, descending down toward Ash. Everyone instinctively backed away from Ash as they saw the world’s nemesis approaching, save for Ash’s closest friends and Pokemon who managed to push past their fear and stand by Ash’s side.

  Necrozma chuckled at the group, nearly paralyzing them with fear. The demon’s presence had already been overwhelming when he was airborne. Now that he stood before their very eyes, Ash’s group could barely breathe. Ash grit his teeth and glared at him in a vain attempt at resisting his fear.

  “I remember you,” Necrozma said. “You’re that boy from that town I destroyed. Tell me: Why would you return to face me once more after experiencing my power firsthand?”

  Ash took a step toward him. “What other choice do I have? If we run, then we die!”

  A dark chuckle emanated from Necrozma. He shrugged, replying, “The result will be the same either way.”

  Ash flared his cyan Aura. It flowed around the entire group like flames, yet hurt none of them. They stared at it in awe, but none more so than Riley. Ash’s Aura was immense in scope, far larger and more potent than it had ever been before. He couldn’t even begin to fathom how it had become so strong. “That’s not true!” Roared Ash. “We will protect our world no matter what! We’ll stop you no matter what!”

  “Stop me?” Asked Necrozma with a laugh. “A few seconds ago, you were asking me to leave. What is it then, ‘Chosen One’?

  At Ash’s side, Noivern screeched at Necrozma furiously. Ash put a hand on the Dragon Type’s shoulder and replied to Necrozma, “There’s no point anymore, now that I think about it. There’s no way you’d actually do something like that after coming all this way from wherever you came from.”

  “Guilty as charged!” Chirped Necrozma. “The only way I’m leaving is after I’ve eliminated you and this feeble excuse of an army you’ve gathered!”

  Riley then took a step toward Necrozma, using all of his willpower not to flinch when the action caused the demon to look his way. “It may seem pathetic to you,” He said, “But it has more than enough power to scour you from our home! We will destroy you, Necrozma!”

  Necrozma howled with laughter, putting a hand to his forehead and shaking his head. “Yes, I’m sure you will. Granted, I won’t try and stop you. That wouldn’t be any fun, now would it?” Slowly, Necrozma began floating back up toward the underside of his ship. “Here,” He spoke in his signature dark, metal tone, “Let me show you what a REAL army looks like!”

  The universal conqueror snapped his fingers, making the colossal ship tremble. Ash and the others crouched, readying themselves for battle. They summoned all of their Pokemon, and, taking their signal, the myriad of trainers gathered behind them followed suit and reached into their bags for their Pokemon.

  “Prepare for battle!” Cried Cynthia. “Necrozma’s about to attack!”

  The trainers that had gathered at Goldenrod City to repel Necrozma and save their world threw their Pokeballs into the air, summoning thousands upon thousands of Pokemon. Immensely strong Pokemon such as Steelix, Dragonite, Metagross, and more appeared by the hundreds at their trainers’ sides. As one, they roared at Necrozma in defiance of his evil. The trainers themselves soon followed suit.

  “Get outta here, you monster!” One of them yelled.

  “Yeah, beat it!” Cried another.

  “We’ll crush you!”

  “We won’t forgive you for what you did!”

  “Hey, imagine if we could catch him!”

  “Hah! Imagine that! The one declaring war on our planet getting caught by one of us and forced to obey their commands!”

  These comments served to alleviate the dread that had loomed over the trainers, and all of them began pumping their fists at Necrozma in a rallying cheer against him. Ash and the others grinned back at them, then turned back toward Necrozma, awaiting his next move. The fear he had caused was gone.

  A myriad of holes opened up from the ship suddenly. They made loud clanking sounds that repeatedly happened so often, it sounded almost like rainfall until it fell silent once more. Still defiant, the trainers kept on hurling insults at Necrozma. Ash, Riley, and Lucario, however, felt something was wrong. They now sensed an innumerable amount of life forms from the ship, and they were approaching rapidly. Necrozma grinned at the trainers and Pokemon cruelly and pointed his finger down toward them.

  Immediately, mysterious beings began pouring from the holes in the ship by the thousands. The trainers remained confidant until literal minutes passed and the beings hadn’t stopped appearing. Fear soon plagued their hearts once more as the vision of the ship was blotted out by the sheer number of the beings. Ash and his group were absolutely mortified by the sight.

  “No way…” Uttered Gary.

  “T-there’s so many of them!” Cried Dawn

  “Can we...can we even take that many on?!” Questioned a shaking Serena.

  Ash could only shake his head in disbelief at the enemy’s numbers. “I...I don’t know…”

  The laughter of Necrozma boomed over the soon-to-be battlefield. “I would have expected those ‘Legends’ of yours to have shown up by now. It’s a shame, really. Oh well. I suppose we can have fun without them.” The dark demon raised his hand skyward, and the beings surrounding him tensed up, glaring hungrily at the beings below. “Let this be a grand war! Ultra Beasts…” Necrozma swiftly lowered his arm, pointing toward the city’s remnants. “Attack!”

  The creatures, now named Ultra Beasts, let out a collective, deafening roar and hurtled themselves down toward the trainers. Ash quickly looked back at them and shouted, “FIRE!” An array of beams and blasts of endless colors shot up from the crowd of trainers at the Ultra Beasts, which managed to impede their progress. Ash gave his friends a nod and said to his Pokemon, “Come on, let’s join in!”

  His Pokemon nodded back to him and shot attacks up at the approaching Ultra Beasts as well. Ash’s friends soon did the same with their own Pokemon. Zero leapt off of Hydreigon, shooting a massive Hyper Beam at them from her hands. Ash gave Riley and Lucario a nod, and the three of them pooled their Aura together to join their friends in firing up at the approaching foe.

  Though their attacks definitely seemed to work on the Ultra Beasts, evidenced by many of them dropping from the skies limply, they still pushed back against the attacks sent their way and were making headway. “Come on!” Shouted Ash. “We can’t let them get closer!” In spite of Ash’s attempted rallying cry, the Ultra Beasts pushed through the collective attacks of the trainers and were nearly upon the trainers. Ash shut his eyes, cried out at the Ultra Beasts, pushing against them with everything they had. Necrozma grinned at them, though not at the trainers. He stared past them at something else entirely.

  A burst of light appeared in between the trainers and the Ultra Beasts, suddenly, blinding both sides. When the trainers and beasts opened their eyes once more, a multitude of newcomers had arrived between them, and a hail of dead Ultra Beasts rained from the skies where they had appeared. Shrouded in a brilliant white hue, the Legends had arrived.

  The trainers, including Ash and his friends, stared up at them in awe. Their mouths were gaped, and their eyes sparkled. “Those are…” Started Riley. One by one, the Legendary Pokemon opened their eyes, glaring up at Necrozma. The Ultra Beasts shrunk at their glare, backing away from them. They turned to Necrozma questioningly, as if awaiting his decision, but their leader ignored them. He stared past them, his eyes only on his new targets.

  Ash let out a shocked gasp, but his surprise soon faded, replaced with a confidant smile. “The Legendary Pokemon!”

  Necrozma descended to meet them. “Ah, there you are,” He said. “And here I was beginning to think you all weren’t going to show yourselves.” He let out a harrowing laugh. “But it seems that I managed to drag you out of hiding at last.”

  The emerald green serpentine Dragon of the Skies moved to the front of the Legends, activating his Mega Evolution. “We may have been late,” He admitted, “But we would never hide from the likes of you! It’s time, Necrozma, for you to pay for your transgressions!”

  “YEAH!” Cried the other Legends unanimously.

  Necrozma stretched his arms outward arrogantly. “Very well,” He said. “Make me pay. That is, if you are capable. Last I recall, our battle ended up, with you wishing for death.”

  Rayquaza bared his teeth at the demon angrily. “I was alone then! Now…” He looked around himself. The myriad of Legends that had gathered here nodded to him, then faced Necrozma once more. Rayquaza did so as well, sending a toothy grin the dark demon’s way… “I have help.”

  One of the trainers pushed through the crowd to its front, marvelling at the Legends. It was Tobias who was looking for his teammates. Eventually, he spotted his partner Pokemon Darkrai and smiled up at them. Upon noticing their trainer, Tobias’s team of Legends grinned at him before turning back toward Necrozma.

  Tobias chuckled to himself. “It seems that I’ll be of some use here after all.”

  Necrozma let out a deep chuckle at Rayquaza’s words. “You believe you can overpower me with sheer numbers? I might sound like a broken record, but I’ve single-handedly slain the populations of entire planets. Numbers are meaningless against me.”

  Deoxys appeared as well. His ever-stoic appearance had gone completely out the window. His eyes were wide and yellow, and his glare showed a fury that could only come from one who experienced unspeakable horrors. “NECROZMA!” He roared. “YOUR TIME HAS COME! I WILL MAKE YOU EXPERIENCE THE HELL YOU PUT MY FAMILY THROUGH!”

  Necrozma merely chuckled at Deoxys’s assertion. “Ah, you. The one who got away. I’ll make sure to remedy that mistake and make you watch your home burn a second time.”

  Lugia flew up next to Rayquaza with fury in his eyes. “We will see about that, monster! I will personally send you straight back to the hell you crawled out of!”

  “Hah!” Barked Necrozma, pointing at the missing flap on Lugia’s wing. “You say that in spite of that little mark I gave you quite arrogantly.” He snapped his fingers, and the missing blue flap of Lugia’s wing appeared in his hand. He twirled the severed body part on his finger as if it were a toy and said, “Perhaps I’ll take the entire wing this time.”

  Lugia’s already-thin patience snapped at that. Roaring at Necrozma, he summoned a Hyper Beam in his opened mouth and prepared to fire. Just as the Sea Guardian was about to unleash his fury upon the Earth’s nemesis, Lunala suddenly jumped in front of him with her wings outstretched, forcing him to shut his jaw.

  “What are you doing?!” He roared.

  Lunala bowed her head, and Solgaleo appeared at her side. “I apologize,” She said, “But we believe there may be a way to avert this war…”

  “Indeed,” Followed Solgaleo with a nod. The two of them turned toward Necrozma, whose eyes were widened with a shock never before seen in the demon. “We believe we can stop...our old friend…”

  Necrozma stared at them almost as if he was horrified to see them, but doubled over into a laughing fit. “What luck!” He cried. “It seems you two were here after all! I scarcely recognized you with those new looks, but by god, here you are at last!” He raised his finger toward the sky. It began sparking violently, and a bright white ball of energy began manifesting above his head, growing larger by the second. “Now, to finally sever my past once and for all!”

  “Please, wait!” Shrieked Lunala. “We do not wish to fight you!”

  Solgaleo bobbed his head in a nod and followed his counterpart’s lead. “She’s right, Necrozma! No...Cosmog!”

  Necrozma seemed to recoil at the name. “DON’T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT NAME!” He roared. Shooting his hand skyward, crimson plasmatic energy began sparking around his finger. Above it, an orb of energy slowly began forming and was growing by the second. “THE COSMOG YOU KNOW IS DEAD!”

  “No, he isn’t!” Insisted Lunala. “We know that!”

  “Lunala’s right!” Cried Solgaleo. “We weren’t sure at first, but now…” The Pokemon of the Sun craned his head up toward Necrozma. “We know it is you! Please, stop your assault on this world!”

  “AND WHY SHOULD I?!” Bellowed Necrozma. “WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY YOU KNOW ME AFTER WHAT YOU DID?!”

  From below, Ash and the other trainers looked at the exchange of conversation oddly. “Do they...know each other?” Asked Arceus’s chosen.

  Riley shrugged hopelessly. “If you, of all people, don’t know, then I haven’t the slightest idea.”

  “Well, in any case,” Started Ash, turning toward Alain, “Could you go spread the word not to attack for now? If we interfered, Necrozma might attack.”

  Ash felt a hand tap his shoulder from behind suddenly, and upon turning around, he found none other than the Legendary Pokemon user, Tobias. “Allow me,” He offered. “My team is currently up there facing Necrozma, so I won’t be of much use in a fight. However, I’m more than capable of spreading news.”

  Ash smiled at him and nodded. “Thanks, Tobias. That’d be a huge help.”

  “Not a problem at all, Ash,” He replied with a smile of his own, “I’m simply trying to do my part.”

  Back with the Legends, Lugia was none too pleased about the situation unfolding before him. “What are you two doing?!” He demanded, making Solgaleo, Lunala, and, to his discomfort, Necrozma turn toward him. “There’s no point in talking to a monster such as him! He’ll kill you!”

  “I’m afraid I must agree,” Followed Deoxys with a nod. He sent a cold glare Necrozma’s way, which was returned with a fiery one of his own. Quickly averting his gaze away from his species’ killer and toward the sun and moon Legends, he continued. “Though that thing may have once been your friend, he certainly isn’t now. I would suggest not wasting any energy speaking to him.”

  Necrozma chortled at them, though his expression suggested he was still unnerved by his former friends. “Oh? Are you so keen on throwing away the time they’re attempting to buy you?” He turned his finger toward the two, threatening to unleash the large ball of energy upon them. He reveled in their expressions of rage that attempted to cover their fear, chuckling as he did. “Very well. If you wish to metaphorically rip off the bandage, then who am I to deny you?”

  Lunala and Solgaleo quickly flew in between them, with the former spreading her wings out and the latter crouched down defensively. Necrozma’s smugness disappeared, and he retracted his finger seemingly unintentionally.

  “Please, stop this!” Cried Lunala.

  Solgaleo turned his head toward Lugia and Deoxys. “I know you believe it to be pointless,” He said to the two of them, “But please, at least allow us to try.” Lugia scowled at him, but Deoxys, in spite of his burning hatred, was able to look past it and see the sincerity in the sun Legend’s eye. “Please...even if we cannot get our friend back, we may be able to at least stop this war.”

  Lugia pursed his lips. He desperately wished for vengeance against Necrozma, so much so that he was nearly blinded to all else, but even he could see that this battle would have hefty losses, and he would not be able to live with himself for causing such destruction.

  “...Are you sure it will work?” He asked at last.

  Solgaleo looked down at the ground far beneath them, mulling over his answer. Eventually, he decided to answer truthfully. “I’m...not sure. However, I know it’s our best bet if we wish to end this war without any losses.”

  A low hum escaped Lugia’s throat, and the Sea Guardian looked down at his wing, where Necrozma had torn off one of his wing flaps. “...Do what you need to,” He eventually replied, “So long as you think we can avoid needless death.”

  The Legend of the Sun bowed to Lugia appreciatively. “Thank you, Lugia.”

  Necrozma crossed his arms, tapping at his arm impatiently. “I may be immortal, but I’m still not getting any younger here.” He glanced up at the ball of death above his head, and it suddenly doubled in size. When he looked back down at the Legends, his eyes glowed a bright shade of crimson warningly. “Keep me waiting any longer, and, well, who knows what might happen?”

  Solgaleo gave Deoxys a pleading look. “Please,” He begged, “If there’s any chance we might-“

  “That...thing...took everything from me!” He cried. Deoxys shut his eyes tightly, but doing so offered no respite from seeing. “Every time I close my eyes, I see the family I lost to that monster!” He saw flames everywhere. On all sides, other Deoxys-like beings were buried under rubble and engulfed in flames, filling the air with the wretched stench of burning flesh.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Lunala looked at him sorrowfully, and Solgaleo could scarcely bring himself to even say anything in response. “I’m sorry…I had no idea-“

  Deoxys held up a hand to stop him, then continued speaking. “Every time I blink, I see those I lost; their marred, faces staring off in horror as their corpses are reduced to ashes...and sleeping is only an extension of that horror…!” The DNA Pokémon’s eyes shot open, glaring at Necrozma fiercely. However, instead of rushing at him, Deoxys turned toward the humans beneath with a much softer expression.

  “Lord Arceus gave me a new home and a new family...and I’m not about to throw that away.”

  The red ball of destruction intensified its brightness, making the Legends snap their attention toward its creator. “Your time has run out!”

  Necrozma pointed his finger at them, to which the Legends crouched into battle stances. Lunala floated out in front of them, holding out her wing to stop them from attacking. Solgaleo looked up at him with an expression that was some kind of mix between a glower and a pleading look.

  “Cosmog, please!” Roared the Sun Pokemon.

  This only caused the ball’s light to intensify further due to Necrozma’s fury. “I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME BY THAT NAME!” He reared his arm back as if he were about to throw the ball, causing an uproar of panicked screams from the trainers below. Solgaleo and Lunala spread themselves out as if to stop the attack, unflinching in the face of utter annihilation.

  The searing blood red light of Necrozma’s eyes burned into the eyes of the Legends of the Sun and Moon. Their own were cool, yet warm at the same time, and burned Necrozma in a completely different way. Even as fierce as their gaze was, they still possessed a kind of softness to them. It was their acceptance, which seemed to be the only thing that had yet managed to cause any pain to the demon thus far.

  Necrozma’s eyes twitched in rage. “I’LL KILL YOU!” He roared. “I’LL KILL YOU AND BE RID OF MY PAST ONCE AND FOR ALL!” He lurched forward suddenly, aiming to throw the ball of energy toward them, yet nothing happened. He stopped his arm suddenly, but kept his fiery stare piercing into Solgaleo and Lunala’s.

  “Why did you stop?” Asked Lunala. “I thought you were going to erase us?”

  Solgaleo grinned up at him. “You’re trembling, you know, just like you used to all the time.”

  Necrozma’s eyes widened, and upon looking at his arm, it was indeed shaking like a leaf. His eyes narrowed at them once more, but, was unable to force himself to move. “Damn you…!”

  The sun Legend chuckled at him softly. “I knew it was you in there, old friend.”

  “Shut up!” Roared Necrozma. “That weak, insignificant little thing I used to be is DEAD, and I rose from his grave!” He let out an explosion of energy, sending plasmatic lightning burning across the skies. The Legends and Ultra Beasts were forced to back away from Necrozma, but despite Solgaleo and Lunala not moving an inch, none of the bolts struck them.

  Lunala stifled a giggle. “You always did try to act tough back in Ultra Space. For us.” She looked downward, the memories flowing back to her. “When we were scared of what was to come, you always put on a brave face and said you’d take on the world, even though we could see you were shaking at the thought of confronting a Buzzwole.”

  Necrozma’s eye twitched.

  Solgaleo perked up at Lunala’s memory. “Oh, I remember that!” He laughed. “That takes me back. You know, that reminds me of the time we were stuck out underneath that giant leaf for a week straight.”

  Lunala smiled brightly as she remembered what her counterpart was talking about. “Oh, that’s right! A massive horde of Naganadel were migrating, and we ended up getting caught underneath them!” She looked up toward Necrozma with an endearing smile that made him flinch. “But every day, you risked your life to sneak out and get us food because Solgaleo and I were too afraid. Isn’t that right, dear Cosmog!”

  “S-shut up!” Hissed Necrozma. “What the hell do you think you’re doing dredging up memories as if we’re old friends?!” The crystals on Necrozma’s arms began glowing brightly, and a blindingly white energy blasted out from him in all directions. The Ultra Beasts immediately backed away even further, making an array of noises that seemed to signify panic. Seeing this, the Legends went and backed away as well.

  Necrozma’s energy became more and more powerful until the ground itself began shaking as well, despite him being far above it. Eventually, it became so intense that the trainers and their Pokemon were knocked off their feet.

  “W-woah!” Yelped Serena as she fell onto her behind. She immediately grabbed onto the closest thing to her, which was a severed pipe that jutted up from the ground. “W-what’s happening?! Is Necrozma attacking again?!”

  Ash, who had managed to somehow stay on his feet, shook his head and replied, “I don’t think so…” He looked up toward the demon, shielding his eyes from the light with his hand. “I think this is...something else entirely.”

  Necrozma’s blinding blast sent streaks of light crashing across both the land and the sky. The Ultra Beasts scurried through the air, attempting to weave through the air, before they were completely obliterated. The Legends managed to collectively create a barrier that stopped the attack from hitting them, whereas the trainers were conveniently out of its range.

  Solgaleo and Lunala, however, did none of these things. They stood directly in front of Necrozma, as if challenging his power. They put up no barrier, nor did they make any attempt to dodge the beams or get to a safe distance. Yet, the attack never struck them. Every time a beam came near, it swerved around them like some kind of anti-magnetic effect.

  Eventually, the light began to fade, leaving Necrozma an exhausted mess panting desperately for air. His glare toward the two of them never faded, but he had failed to even hit them once. “Damn you…!”

  “Why is it that you cannot strike us?” Lunala asked quizzically. “Didn’t you say something about severing your past?”

  “Krgh!” Necrozma balled his hands into fists furiously, but had no response to her.

  “Why is it that indeed?” Followed Solgaleo. He narrowed his eyes into Necrozma’s own, making the demon recoil backward as if he’d been struck. “Perhaps it is because you cannot bring yourself to harm us?”

  Lunala chuckled. “It seems you’re in there after all.”

  “SILENCE!” Roared Necrozma, letting out a pulse of energy. Solgaleo and Lunala were unfazed and unamused. “That friend of yours is dead! He died back in Ultra Space when you left him behind! And from his ashes...” He raised his hand back up to the colossal ball of energy hovering over his head, intensifying its power even further. The crystals on his arms began darkening from white to red to match the color of the ball, making the sky itself turn crimson. “I, NECROZMA, WAS BORN! I am not that weak, pathetic little thing I once was. You may have evolved as well, but my death allowed me to reach heights unknowable by mortal flesh!” He laughed madly, sending chills down the spines of all who heard it. “I became...no...I surpassed God himself!”

  The Legends of the sun and moon didn’t reply at first, instead closing their eyes to take in what he had said. They made no move to do so either, only floating still in midair and earning an irritated look from Necrozma.

  “Well?!” Demanded the dark demon. “Do you have nothing to say to that?!”

  “...I see,” Said Solgaleo, “So that is what this is about…”

  Necrozma’s face contorted with rage at that. “That’s-! Of course, that was what this is about! You abandoned me! You left me to die! You betrayed me after everything we went through! After everything I ever did for you!”

  Lunala nodded to him, making Necrozma’s face contort even further. “In a sense...I suppose we did…”

  Necrozma’s speech seemed to trip over itself. He made an odd assortment of half-words until he managed to explode something out. “YOU SUPPOSE?!”

  Lunala turned away from him, making him fume to himself even more, and turned back toward the Legends. “I believe we’ve told you our story once before,” She said to them, “And I’m sure Cosmog already knows most of it, so we’ll give you the abridged version.”

  Solgaleo nodded to them, then turned back toward Necrozma. Clearing his throat, he said, “Millions of years ago, in an alternative dimension called Ultra Space, Lunala, Necrozma, and I were once three tiny beings called Cosmogs.”

  “We were weak,” Said Lunala, shaking her head at the memory, “So much so that every day was a struggle to survive. We had to sneak out to forage for food at a painstakingly slow pace every day so that we could survive and not end up as a meal ourselves.”

  “It was utter hell,” Spat Solgaleo. “We often had to submerge ourselves in mud or sand to hide for hours upon end before going to look for food or shelter, and we could never stay in one place. So...we devised a plan…”

  He looked over toward four Legends in particular. They all possessed jet-black bodies, but had other color and shape differences between them. The first had large yellow growths on its arms, and its fingers resembled a bird’s head. It had white tribal paintings on its body, a large fiery orange mohawk, and four orange triangular growths on its underside. It bounced around spastically, looking like it was itching to battle just about anything. Its name was Tapu Koko.

  The second only had white painting under its eyes. It possessed long, curvy, dark pink hair that stretched down from its head on all sides. It wore a cone-shaped object over its head, which pushed its hair outward. It appeared to be inside of large, round object that looked almost like a pink, hollow insect head, and only its head and arms were visible from inside the object. Its name was Tapu Lele.

  The third had a far-off resemblance to a bull. Its body was a jagged circular shape, with crooked arms jutting out in such a way that it looked to be perpetually flexing them. Its arms also had what appeared to be large red bands right where the arms first stretched from the body. It possessed a tail as well, which seemed to have a large bell attached around its end. On its head were two bright red rectangular growths that jutted out horizontally in opposite directions. Those growths possessed two jagged black horns that bent upward. It also had a nose ring that hung down from a yellow triangular growth in between its eyes. Its name was Tapu Bulu.

  The final one had a large, blue shell attached to its head and feet. The shell seemed to have a pointed horn-like structure at its topmost front, as well as a whitish-blue fin directly behind it. On the shell’s sides were black and white triangular patterns that ran down from top to bottom. The actual Tapu itself had a curvy body, as well as wavy, cyan blue hair similar to a mermaid’s. Its name was Tapu Fini, and these four beings were guardians of a far-off island region called Alola.

  “You four know what I am about to speak of more than anyone else here,” Continued Solgaleo, garnering the attention of the four Tapu’s. “There exist things called ‘Ultra Wormholes,’ which are portals between Ultra Space and this universe. They open periodically, but completely at random. To escape the hell for weak beings like Lunala, Necrozma, and I used to be, we decided to search for one of these Ultra Wormholes to escape Ultra Space and come to this world.”

  Lunala nodded, affirming her counterpart’s claim. “These wormholes, for some reason, appear over the Alola Islands Region more than anywhere else here on Earth. We didn’t know what awaited us in going through the wormhole, but at the same time, we didn’t care. Anything was better than the life Ultra Space posed for us.”

  “And so you two abandoned me!” Exclaimed Necrozma, pointing at them accusingly. “You could no longer stand your own weakness, and the moment one finally appeared to you, did you wait for me?! NO!” His arm shuddered and trembled with rage. “You took your chance and abandoned me without thinking twice, leaving me alone to that hell! He put his clawed hands to his face, shaking his head. “I only lived for YOU! You were my best friends! My only reason to continue my existence, and yet you threw me away as if I were an old toy!”

  “That’s not true!” Lunala cried. “We would have never abandoned you if we had the choice!”

  “THEN WHY DID YOU?!”

  “We had no choice!” Bellowed Solgaleo. “We couldn’t-”

  Necrozma sliced through the air with his arm, cutting the sun Legend off. “I’ve heard enough of your lies! Do you have any idea what life was like for me with you gone?!” The dark demon let out a sharp sigh and crossed his arms. “Here,” He said, “Let me give you my story.”

  The interdimensional warmonger looked up to the sky, or rather, the ship above them, in deep thought.

  After a brief pause, he eventually started. “With you gone...I didn’t know what to do. I wandered aimlessly for years, not knowing why I continued living. Perhaps the fear of what might happen after death outweighed my fear of life. The only hope for my next day was that it might lead me to a wormhole of my own, where I could find you…”

  He shook his head, looking back down at his two former friends. “Eventually, I lost patience. Whatever god was out there certainly cared not for me, and so I took matters into my own hands. I tried to create my own Ultra Wormhole.” He paused once more, his eyes darting around toward the Ultra Beasts behind him, who immediately increased the distance between them and him upon doing so. “However,” He said, “To do such a thing would require an absurd amount of power.”

  Looking back toward Solgaleo and Lunala with a cold stare that chilled them, he continued once more. “Eventually, I found a colossal stronghold, filled with a light so powerful that I thought I would have been blinded! At the stronghold’s top were two crystals, and I knew I had found what I needed.” He chuckled darkly at that, though it was short-lived. “But of course...life is never fair. The moment I touched the crystals, the stronghold’s guards caught me and tortured me for years upon years on end.”

  In spite of what he was saying, Necrozma began chuckling. He put a hand to his face, shaking his head as if he wanted to stop it, yet the chuckling only evolved into mad laughter, then to insane, booming cackling. “For what seemed like an eternity, I was subjected to all manner of torments, all the while my chance of escaping was right in front of my eyes outside the cage.” He once again devolved into a fit of laughter. “It was as if they WANTED me to know just how helpless I truly was! ...And yet…”

  Necrozma’s laughing fit slowly but surely died down, until once again he was able to regain control of his actions. Once it died down entirely, he said, “God seemed to pity me on that day, and for whatever reason, the guards suddenly ran off. The gates to my cage opened, and I immediately took the crystals and ran. They chased me for days upon days on end. I couldn’t stop to eat or sleep, else I would have been caught and returned to that prison.”

  He raised his arms, marvelling at the white crystals embedded in his arms as if he were seeing them for the first time again. “However, by sheer luck, an Ultra Wormhole appeared before me, sucking in both the crystals and I, putting me into a deep slumber. How long, I do not know.” Necrozma sneered down at Solgaleo and Lunala, his fury-filled eyes burning brightly once more. “You two must have had quite the comfortable landing, here on a planet as lush as this. I, however, did not receive such a luxury. When the wormhole dropped me, it was on no such planet. It was directly in front of a star. I was sucked in and burned to ashes, ending my life...or so I had thought…”

  Necrozma clenched his hands into fists, making the crystals on his arm light up. He stared at them blankly, entranced by the light they gave off. “But these crystals...saved me…” He shook his head to rid himself of the trance, then stared down his former friends once more. “I don’t know what happened, but when I next awoke, I was in the middle of a cold void. When I looked down at myself, I was completely unrecognizable from how I used to be.”

  He looked up toward the ball of energy above it and moved it around with his finger. He manipulated its size, shape, and structure. “The crystals had fused with me...and I had become more powerful than I could have ever dreamed! So, I used my power to dominate! To crush everything under my feet, just as life had done to me!” The crystals on his arms began glowing fiercely, and he let out an explosion of energy. “And my first victim...was Ultra Space itself!”

  He crossed his arms together, grinding the two crystals against each other. A burst of light ensued, and everyone’s mouths became agape. The eyes of the Ultra Beasts sparkled with wonder at it, but for what reason, they did not know. Before Necrozma was what appeared to be a blue hole that led to nowhere. It was a hole in space itself. “By having the powers of the crystals collide with one another, I could open up portals to Ultra Space at will.” He raised his opened hand to the portal and closed his fingers, making the portal disappear once more.

  “And, well…” He then motioned around himself at the innumerable Ultra Beasts surrounding them and laughed. “I suppose you can take a wild guess at how that went. With the Ultra Beasts enslaved by my hand, I had that world’s greatest genius, a Xurkitree, forge my battleship and all of its technology. With it, I either conquered or completely annihilated every single planet with life I came across…” Necrozma crossed his arms, looking down upon everyone beneath him smugly. “And became the scourge of the universe, Lord Necrozma!”

  His eyes became dark and possessed an animal-like hunger to them. As he pointed his finger down toward Solgaleo and Lunala, he said, “All for the purpose...of killing you…”

  Lunala scowled up at him. “Why, then, did you not?”

  Necrozma neglected to respond, so Lunala continued. “You’ve had many chances. You could have ended us at any point now, so why haven’t you?”

  “I…”

  “I know why,” Interjected Solgaleo. “It is because somewhere deep inside of you, that Cosmog that was our friend still remains.”

  Necrozma’s face once again wrinkled with rage. “You know nothing! That weak, insignificant thing is dead and gone! Now die, along with him!” He raised his arm backward, threatening to throw the colossal ball of energy down upon them. However, just like before, he still hesitated. He froze up completely, trembling as if he was pulling against some kind of invisible rope that pulled his arm back.

  Lunala and Solgaleo let their cautious stance falter. “Come, then,” Solgaleo urged, “Destroy us if you can.”

  Lunala spread her wings and closed her eyes. “If you wish vengeance upon us, we cannot blame you. If taking our lives is what you wish, then as your friends, we will happily offer them.”

  Choked air escaped Necrozma’s throat, and his face contorted once more. However, it wasn’t out of rage. His brows creased together, and his eyes widened. Once again, he attempted to pull his arm forward, and once again, he failed to actually follow through. His face was contorted in frustration at himself, but whether it was due to being unable to kill his former friends or because he didn’t want to was unknown.

  Solgaleo spoke up once more, his face etched with sorrow. “I am sorry...for what happened to you…”

  Lunala nodded her head. “Indeed...you seem to have had quite the hard life with us gone...I’m sorry, Cosmog.”

  “Stop calling me that!” Roared Necrozma in response. “If you’re so sorry, you would have never gone in the first place! You’re only sorry now because I’m about to end you for what you’ve done!”

  Solgaleo let out a sigh. “Please, Cosmog, just drop the act.”

  “We can’t bear to see you like this!” Added Lunala. “This whole thing...Necrozma...it isn’t you! Necrozma isn’t you, Cosmog!”

  “What am I, then?!” He roared. “If I am not Necrozma, the being I became after building myself up from nothing, then what?! That weak Cosmog you call your friend?! Since you abandoned him-”

  “It was an accident!” Cried Lunala. “We never meant to go!”

  Necrozma was taken aback, evidenced by his widened eyes. “Wha...what did you say…?”

  Solgaleo shook his head. “We should have just said this from the beginning…” He looked up toward Necrozma. “Cosmog...we never meant to leave you…”

  “Then why di-”

  “Please,” Interrupted Lunala, “Just let us talk...let us tell you why we left in the first place.”

  Necrozma let out a shaky breath, and after a few seconds, retracted his hand. “...All right...say what you will…”

  Solgaleo opened his mouth to speak, then sharply closed it and shook his head. “Actually...I believe it would be better if you saw it for yourself.”

  “I agree,” Replied Lunala with the nod of her head. “It would be much simpler if you saw what we did on that day...we know you have the power to read minds.”

  Necrozma hesitantly lowered his finger, allowing the ball above him to fade. He lowered himself to Solgaleo and Lunala’s height, and asked, “You two...are you sure…?”

  They nodded wordlessly, closing their eyes to allow their friend to do what he needed to do. Necrozma looked down at his hands and hesitated to move, as if questioning if he should even do what they offered. Slowly, he raised his arms out toward them. The Legends tensed up, preparing to strike at the slightest wrong movement of Necrozma. The trainers looked at one another in confusion, then looked up at Necrozma once more.

  Upon Necrozma’s hands making contact with the heads of Solgaleo and Lunala, the world around him faded to black. He then saw countless lights fade into existence around him, each one of them acting like a picture frame to hold the memories of his friends. Necrozma floated around through them, looking upon them in wonderment until he came upon the one he was looking for, and froze. He saw it right in front of him, but hesitated to touch it. Slowly, he raised a finger toward it and tapped it. It felt warm, like a nostalgic old home. Letting out a deep sigh, Necrozma took the memory into his hands, and the world went white.

  When the light faded, Necrozma was greeted with an all-too familiar sight, though from a different perspective. He saw three little Cosmogs, bundled together inside a large, hollow tree. They were so hungry they couldn’t stand it. Two of them were so weak they couldn’t move. The other offered to go off and find food since they could still move, and left the trunk. A few minutes later, everything went black.

  Necrozma heard a shrill sound suddenly, and apparently the two remaining Cosmogs did as well, as light returned once more via them opening their eyes. An Ultra Wormhole had managed to appear directly above them. The shrill sound appeared once more, sounding akin to a saw on metal. Then, the two Cosmogs were slowly lifted off the ground. Necrozma felt their panic, but they didn’t have the strength to resist its pull.

  Before the two Cosmogs knew it, they were pulled into the wormhole, and their vision faded once more. Necrozma heard their last memory. It was them, calling out to the friend they’d unintentionally left behind. Then, their memories became separate. Necrozma couldn’t tell what had happened, but apparently, they had exited the wormholes at slightly different intervals, causing them to appear at different places. They appeared at entirely different parts of the same world, and had apparently entered different forms while inside the wormhole, which Necrozma had learned they called ‘Cosmoem.’

  One Cosmog appeared in a bright place. Directly in front of the home star of the planet they would later inhabit as a home, in fact. The sudden burst of energy caused another transformation, and upon that Cosmog’s awakening, they found that they had taken the form of a bright white lion with a starry pattern on its rounded forehead. Its mane possessed six oval-like shapes to it, and it was blindingly bright. It had become Solgaleo.

  The other Cosmog appeared in a darker place, but it still had substantial lighting to it. It was in space as well, though now it was in front of the planet’s moon, which shined brightly amidst the countless stars surrounding it. Upon this Cosmog’s awakening, it transformed into a large bat with a curved tail. It had golden edges to its wings that, when flexed, came together to make a golden ring around itself. On either side of its head were white, crescent-shaped growths that reflected light. Its forehead also possessed the look of the starry night sky, just as Solgaleo did. It had become Lunala.

  Once the two had been done marvelling at their new forms, they travelled down to a nearby planet called Earth, where they reunited above a set of islands with dawn and dusk behind them. Their memories then showed them descending upon the islands and living with the locals for several thousands of years, until something strange happened.

  Solgaleo and Lunala travelled up to a large mountain, one of the smallest of the islands, and, to Necrozma’s shock, managed to open an Ultra Wormhole with their combined might. What’s more, they travelled inside of it without hesitation, which confused Necrozma to no end. He felt, from their memories, that they did not possess the malice toward Ultra Space he did, so why did they return to it?

  He soon found his answer when Solgaleo and Lunala traversed across a burned, scarred Ultra Space until they came across a gargantuan tree. At first, Necrozma didn’t recognize the tree due to its size. Then, he found a small hole in its base, which made his eyes go wide upon realizing this tree’s significance. It was the tree they had taken shelter in on the day that two of the Cosmogs had been sucked into an Ultra Wormhole.

  “They...came back for me…”

  The memory then showed Solgaleo and Lunala traversing across Ultra Space once more. How long they did, Necrozma did not know. All he knew was that it must have taken hundreds of thousands of years for them to do so, but eventually, they were forced to give up. There was no longer a single living thing in Ultra Space besides plant life, and so Solgaleo and Lunala were led to believe, some kind of mass extinction event, occurred. They had no way of knowing that Necrozma had come back at an earlier point in time, single-handedly drove the Ultra Beasts to near-extinction, and left with the rest back to the other dimension Solgaleo and Lunala had now called home.

  Necrozma removed his hands from the sun and moon Legend’s heads, letting out a sharp gasp of air. He looked back up to the two of them and saw them smiling at him kindly. This act alone caused tears to well up in the eyes of the being who slaughtered most of the universe’s life.

  “We tried to look for you,” Cooed Lunala, “But...we couldn’t find you.”

  “I’m sorry we didn’t come back sooner,” Apologized Solgaleo with the bow of his head, “But we didn’t yet know we even had the power to open an Ultra Wormhole…”

  Necrozma clawed at his head and began spastically shaking it. “No,” He whimpered, “No, no, no, no, NO! What have I...what have I done?!” Necrozma’s friends attempted to console him, but he shot his hand up to stop them and backed away. “DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!” He roared. “I’M A MONSTER! A RUTHLESS MONSTER WITHOUT A HEART!”

  Solgaleo took a step toward Necrozma despite his warning. “Don’t say such things,” He said. “You were left hurt and confused. You simply let your rage overtake you, but it’s alright now. It’s all over…”

  Lunala nodded, floating closer to Necrozma with her wings outstretched. “You can rest easy now, old friend. The fighting, the war, and your suffering are over.”

  Necrozma’s eyes somehow became even wider. “You can’t say that! You don’t know what I did!” He pointed his jagged finger at Deoxys. “I slaughtered his people and destroyed his planet, and I would have done the same thing to him had I found him!” He then pointed toward Keldeo. “I slaughtered his family without a second thought! I reveled in his suffering!” Then, he motioned toward Rayquaza and Lugia’s injuries. “Surely you see those injuries?! I caused them! I disfigured them solely for my own warped amusement!”

  With his arm, Necrozma motioned all around himself at the Ultra Beasts and the colossal ship that blotted out the sky. “I took vengeance upon the Ultra Beasts, but most of them had never even met me, let alone harmed me! Yet I either slaughtered or enslaved them without a second thought!” Then, he pointed at himself with a look of disgust and horror that broke Solgaleo and Lunala’s hearts. “What I’ve just described doesn’t even begin to cover all the atrocities I’ve committed! And the worst part…”

  Necrozma’s eyes lost their red glow, becoming a soft blue instead. “I loved each and every moment of it! I took pleasure in the torment and deaths of billions, if not trillions of lives! And for what?! Entertainment?!” He looked down at his hand. The light of his arm’s crystals caused his face to reflect off off it, forcing him to look at himself. “I am not the friend you knew...he died the moment he started hating you...he died long ago…”

  Lunala attempted to speak up. “That’s not-”

  She yelped as Necrozma suddenly grabbed hold of her head, as well as Solgaleo’s. The Legends made a move to help them, but stopped as Lunala held her wing out. “You think you know me?!” Cried Necrozma. “Take a look at this and tell me that again!”

  Now it was their turn to see Necrozma’s memories, and what they saw...was fire. Death. Destruction on a planetary scale. He would visit planets and do exactly as he was in the middle of doing on Earth. He would wage war and watch his forces slaughter the world’s inhabitants before annihilating the planet completely, time and time again. Sometimes, when Necrozma would find entire solar systems with life, he would destroy the star at its center just to watch their life forms die in one grand, fiery explosion.

  Every time, it was a bloodbath. Necrozma would tear his claws through hundreds of life forms in one fell swoop, lavishing himself in their blood. By the time he was done with each planet, there was a veritable ocean of blood left behind. There were times where he literally brought two planets together with his power and forced their inhabitants to battle one another for survival, but he always simply killed the winning side regardless.

  During every invasion, he would torture many of that world’s beings in front of their loved ones as well, going so far as to plunge his fist through their chests and keep them alive with his power so that they felt endless agony. All the while, their loved ones watched on helplessly, begging for his victim to be let free. Never did he stop until their minds were utterly broken beyond repair by the pain. Of course, he killed their loved ones afterward as well.

  There were even times, where he would intentionally leave survivors after an invasion, then go back several thousands of years later to see what kind of technology they created to combat him. Of course, he slaughtered them and their efforts without taking so much as a scratch. He toyed with people’s minds, emotions, and bodies as if they were his playthings, not caring about what he broke.

  And he enjoyed every moment of it.

  He laughed over the corpses he left behind before eradicating the planet in its entirety. The destruction of a planet and its ensuing explosion made Necrozma’s eyes shine with wonder, as if he were a child witnessing the grand finale of a firework show. Even when there were no planets to destroy, he would go to different parts of his ship where his Ultra Beasts trained and slaughtered them to alleviate his boredom. He was completely ruthless, merciless, and heartless with every action he ever took.

  He ripped his hands away from Solgaleo and Lunala suddenly, making them gasp for air as if they’d been forcibly submerged underwater. They looked up at him in horror, to which he simply nodded solemnly. “Do you see now?” He asked. “I am not your friend, nor am I suddenly redeemed now that I realize the error of my ways. I am a monster. A ruthless, heartless killer who would even subject my closest friends to seeing the disgusting crimes I’ve committed!”

  Solgaleo and Lunala didn’t respond, so Necrozma let out a dry chuckle and turned away. “I’m right, aren’t I. The fact that you won’t respond proves it.”

  “You’re...you’re wrong,” Lunala spoke, fighting past her labored breaths.

  Necrozma turned back to her, his eyes widened in disbelief. “What…?”

  “You heard her,” Gasped Solgaleo. “She said you’re wrong about yourself.”

  Lunala nodded. “You may have done terrible things, but…” She looked down toward Solgaleo, who looked back up at her as well. “We’re the reason you became this way at all, so I think it’s fair to say we’re partly to blame for everything you’ve done. Wouldn’t you agree, Solgaleo?”

  The Legend of the Sun nodded up to her. “Indeed I would, Lunala. Had we gone back earlier, we might have been able to rescue you from that prison and stop you from becoming like this.” The two of them turned back toward Necrozma with kind smiles, making him flinch. “So I suppose, then, we can be heartless killers together. Though I would preferably stop the killing here and now.”

  “I would agree,” Lunala followed. “It’s high time we buried this whole, “universal scourge” act of yours, wouldn’t you say, Necrozma? Or would you prefer Cosmog?”

  Necrozma put his hands to the sides of his head, staring at his two friends in wide-eyed disbelief. “What is with you?! Why are you trying so hard for me?!”

  Lunala’s smile faltered, but she still kept her eyes staring into Necrozma’s own. “Why, you ask? Well…” Her smile returned in full force as she grinned brightly his way. “To be honest, I don’t think I could go through the pain of losing you twice.”

  Solgaleo chuckled. “When we were pulled into this world, we believed we’d lost you. When we came back and couldn’t find you, we were certain you were gone.” He mirrored Lunala’s smile. “And yet, here you are! Right in front of us! You’ve certainly changed, but then again, so have we.”

  “You…” Necrozma felt, for the first time in millions of years, a tear ran down his face. “Would still take me back? After all I’ve done?!”

  Lunala stretched out her wings to embrace Necrozma. “Of course. What was that little saying you used to say? Friends to the end?”

  “I believe it was,” Affirmed Solgaleo, “And I would say it still counts after all these years.”

  Lugia guffawed at what he was seeing. “There’s no way...just like that? Is it really over this easily?”

  Deoxys shook his head. “I feel like it’s too good to be true…and yet…” His quizzical gaze was soon converted to one of hope. “If we could avoid this war…”

  Rayquaza narrowed his eyes at the scene before him. “This can’t be real. It’s too good to be true!”

  Beside him, Mewtwo chuckled. “I don’t suppose that’s a complaint.”

  “Of course not!” Rayquaza quickly replied. “It’s just hard to believe in such a turn from someone like him!”

  The clone Pokemon looked up at Necrozma. He could not sense anything from the invader, but the expression he wore is something he could never imagine Necrozma doing if he still carried the pride he boasted about from their earlier battle. “Life is...a very strange thing. I’ve come to learn that during my short years here in this world. Perhaps something like this is believable. After all, I was once similar to Necrozma, but thanks to a certain boy, I was able to look past my anger. Perhaps Necrozma can too.”

  Rayquaza gave Mewtwo an odd look and craned his head up toward Necrozma. “Maybe…” He recalled his own earlier days of life, where at first, Arceus seemed to care about him less and less with each new Pokemon he created. Eventually, he began to pay more attention to him, but it was always accompanied by rage. Luckily, it was rarely directed at him, but a fit of anger seemed to always follow his deity father. Now, however, Arceus was more than merciful. Understanding, even. He was a far cry from how he used to be. “Maybe it isn’t so Farfetch’d after all…”

  “Ash?” Asked Gary. “Can you tell what’s going on up there?”

  Ash nodded and replied, “I can, but...I’m not sure if I believe what I’m seeing.”

  Alain gave him an odd look. “What? Why, what’s happening?”

  Ash shook his head and looked back at the group. “It looks like Necrozma’s been talking to two of the Legendary Pokemon and…” He stopped himself and chuckled, shaking his head. A big dumb grin took up his face, which only served to confuse his friends.

  “What are you talking about, Ash?” Asked Dawn.

  “Seriously, just tell us!” Cried Iris with the sporadic waving of her hands.

  Ash rubbed the back of his head, attempting to stifle a laugh. “Sorry,” he apologized, “I’m just relieved, is all.”

  That remark certainly caught the interest of everyone. Their heads perked up practically in unison, and they began crowding around Ash to get him to talk about what he meant.

  “Come on, tell us!” Cried May.

  Misty nodded, pushing her face toward Ash. “Yeah, get on with it!”

  Still laughing, Ash attempted to get them off his back. “All right!” He said. “Just calm down!” His friends backed off at that, but their eyes were all fiercely squared on him. He chuckled, nervously, and said, “Two Legendary Pokemon are talking to Necrozma...and I think they’re getting through to him.”

  Everyone’s eyes shot open in shock at that. Riley’s mouth gaped, and he looked up toward the Legends. “So that means…”

  Ash nodded, taking the Pokeball of Hawlucha out of his pocket. “That’s right...there might not be a war after all…”

  At the helm of Necrozma’s mothership, the Ultra Beast known as Xurkitree stared at a monitor before him in utter disbelief. “Is this...possible? Could Lord Necrozma truly be having a change of heart?” His stare become more intent as he closed his face further into the monitor. “At last...after all these years...could I return home and finally stop this trail of blood?”

  Necrozma wiped away a tear from his eye, only for another to immediately take its place. “You...are far too kind for your own good, you know that?” To his own surprise, he let out a small laugh. “You guys were always like that...but even if you will take me in, Arceus never will.” He looked down upon Keldeo with sorrowful eyes, eliciting a gasp from the equine Pokemon. “If he really is the god of this world, then I have spilt the blood of hundreds if not thousands of his children already.”

  Lunala looked down, humming to herself in thought. “I see,” She replied. “Perhaps you are right.”

  Necrozma closed his eyes and shook his head, accepting that it was too good to be true. Then, Solgaleo said something that made his eyes widen once more.

  “I suppose, then, that we will all simply have to return to Ultra Space.”

  Necrozma looked up at him in disbelief. “What…?”

  “It might be nice actually,” Continued the sun lion Pokemon, “To return home, now that the three of us are powered up and all.” He looked up at the Ultra Beasts surrounding them. “These ones aren’t the same from back home, so they’ve probably never even seen what Ultra Space looks like.”

  Lunala nodded, smiling up at them. It was clear by their expressions that they didn’t know what to make of the act. “I’m sure they would love to see their birthplace. Where their true home lies. Doesn’t it sound wonderful, old friend?”

  Necrozma froze up for a few seconds, but eventually let out a small laugh and nodded. “You know...that does sound nice, actually. Now that every day won’t be a struggle to survive, we might be able to appreciate the beauty of that world…” He looked up at the ship and said, “To be honest, I’ve always wondered what a peaceful life might be like.”

  Lunala clapped her wings together. “That’s wonderful!”

  Solgaleo laughed, bobbing his head up and down. “Truly, it is. Now, Arceus might not agree with our decision, but he certainly can’t deny that avoiding this war was a blessing.”

  Necrozma barked out a laugh, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. “I couldn’t agree more! Come, let us leave at once. I’ve imposed myself upon this world for far too long, but…” He stretched his arms outward at his sides. “Would you not embrace me, old friends? For old time’s sake?”

  Lunala and Solgaleo beamed at the request. “Of course!” The former cried. “I would love nothing more!”

  “To be honest, I’ve...yearned to do that one last time actually,” Solgaleo admitted. “Come on, friend. Put ‘er there.”

  Necrozma and the two Legendary Pokemon floated toward one another. The other Legends, the trainers, and even the Ultra Beasts waited with baited breath for how this interaction would turn out. Necrozma wrapped his arms around his two friends, hugging them tightly. He even pushed his forehead against their own.

  “My friends,” He uttered. His voice was shaky, and another tear had escaped his once-cold eyes. A few tears had flown from Solgaleo and Lunala’s eyes as they nuzzled against their once-lost friend’s head. “You have made me happier than I thought was possible. I believed I had become soulless and hollow, no longer deserving of redemption and no longer wanting it. Before we leave, may I ask you one last thing?”

  “Of course!” Chirped Lunala.

  “Anything at all!” Followed Solgaleo.

  Necrozma let out a happy gasp, as if he’d been holding his breath while waiting for their answer. “Thank you!” He cried. “Now...I must ask…” Gently, he pulled the two closer toward him, making sure his jagged claws did not harm them. He pushed his head closer toward their ear, then asked, “How good are my acting skills?”

  Lunala and Solgaleo’s faces wrinkled in confusion, and they slowly pulled away from him. “What are you-”

  Necrozma suddenly grabbed at their necks, taking them in a chokehold. The Legends quickly rushed to their aid, but were all blasted into the ground with an unimaginable, powerful pulse of energy. When they flew out from the ensuing dust cloud, Necrozma had surrounded himself, Solgaleo, and Lunala in a crimson, red barrier of energy. As one, they rushed up to the shield and ferociously attacked it, but couldn’t seem to so much as put a scratch on Necrozma’s barrier.

  “F-friend….” Choked Solgaleo. “W-what are you doing?!”

  Necrozma let out a dark chuckle. It echoed for miles upon end, paralyzing all who heard it with complete and utter terror. “Dear, oh dear,” He said with a chortle, “Did you honestly believe I cared about you?”

  Lunala gaped up at him with a wide-eyed stare. “W-what are you...s-saying?! I saw you c-cry!”

  Solgaleo glared, though it was not at Necrozma. It was at the crystals on his arms. “It must be them! Those things must have been controlling his actions all this time!”

  Necrozma howled with laughter. He let go of the two, though they received no respite as a Psychic grip took hold of their necks exactly where Necrozma’s fists once did. “Sorry, but…” With each hand, he gripped at the crystals on his arms and, to Solgaleo and Lunala’s horror, tore them out from their sockets. “Wrong again. These crystals may have given birth to the new me, but I have always been in control! They are inanimate objects that only serve to fuel my power.” He then reattached the crystals into his arms, grinning down at them with his eyes. “Try again.”

  “I-I don’t understand!” Cried Solgaleo. “There must be something controlling you! When you showed us your memories, I felt genuine feelings of remorse!”

  Once again, this response only served to elicit an amused laugh from the dark demon. “Such foolishness. Just how blind can you be?” He crossed his arms, bringing the Legends of the sun and moon closer to him. Once they were eye-to-eye, he said in his signature, hollow, ruthless tone, “Cosmog died, and Necrozma was born. I lost almost all interest in you. I say almost because…” The Psychic hold around their throats intensified, making them helplessly claw at it as they choked for air. “I could still get some satisfaction out of seeing your horrified faces before I sent you straight to hell...but before I do that…”

  He leaned in toward them and whispered into their ears, “When you see Cosmog, tell him I said hi, would you?” He then grabbed their throats once more with his hands, and the crystals on his arms began glowing. From Necrozma’s hands, two colossal, blindingly-white lasers burst outward. The Legends were forced to leap out of harm’s way as the lasers burst through the shield and shattered it. The beams sailed into the sky until it seemed like they were about to tear into the ship, but at the last second, a barrier appeared right where the lasers were about to strike and negated the attack completely. As the Legends turned back toward Necrozma, they were greeted with the sight of him grinning up at them. Solgaleo and Lunala were nowhere in sight. They had been reduced to less than dust by Necrozma’s cruel hands. The trainers, Pokemon, and Legends alike all gaped in horror.

  Necrozma let out another dark chuckle that echoed across the battlefield. “Ah, this truly feels wonderful. I feel as if I’ve finally gotten rid of an itch that has been plaguing me for years.” The dark demon put a hand to his neck and cracked it, rolled his head, and stretched his arms out to the Legends as if he were welcoming guests. “Now then...let the games begin…”