Necrozma and Solgaleo

Looking at the towering peak that reached into the clouds, Yuga and the others didn't hesitate to release their Flying-type Pokémon and rode them upward.

As for climbing themselves, that was out of the question. With such a tall mountain, by the time they climbed to the top, the vegetables would have already gone cold. (T/N: A Chinese idiom meaning they would be far too late.)

No one knew how long it took, but eventually, Yuga and the others finally reached the summit. However, they did not see any supreme being at the peak. Instead, they saw a scene that shocked them beyond belief.

The summit of the mountain was actually a ruin. Upon the massive plaza stood countless statues of Ultra Beasts: Nihilego, Buzzwole, Pheromosa, Celesteela, Kartana, Guzzlord, Xurkitree, Blacephalon… those Yuga had seen before and those he hadn't — they were all there.

These Ultra Beasts were arranged in a starry arc as if surrounding the moon, encircling two even larger statues — none other than Solgaleo and Lunala.

All the statues were incredibly lifelike, almost as if they were real. Even the facial expressions of the Ultra Beasts were carved with exquisite detail.

In addition to that, the enormous plaza was also engraved with many strange patterns. These patterns were complex and beautiful, delivering a unique visual impact.

Could the supreme being that Pheromosa spoke of be Solgaleo or Lunala? Yuga looked silently at the forest of statues before him and wondered.

"There's nothing here! That so-called supreme being really not be home!" one of the Trainers said, sounding a bit dejected.

"Are we going to be trapped here forever?" another Trainer asked.

A third Trainer tried to comfort everyone, saying, "Maybe if we wait a while, that supreme being will return."

"We don't even know if it's willing to help us. Don't get too optimistic!"

"Maybe that so-called supreme being is just a legend. After all, no one's ever really seen it!"

…

Everyone was discussing noisily. Yuga's brows furrowed deeply.

"It's getting late. Let's rest here for the night and talk about everything tomorrow. We've been on the road all day, so I'm sure everyone's tired," Yuga suddenly said after thinking it over. There was no use in being anxious now.

"Let's do as Mr. Shimizu says."

And so, everyone began to find a suitable place on the plaza to set up camp.

The night passed quietly like that. The supreme being still did not return.

Early the next morning, as the sky began to brighten and Yuga and the others were still asleep, a loud noise suddenly rang out from outside, accompanied by strange, ferocious roars.

Everyone was awakened by the commotion and quickly came out of their tents to check what was going on.

In the sky, two mysterious Pokemon had suddenly appeared from who-knows-where and were engaged in a fierce battle — one black as ink, the other radiant like the sun.

Yuga stared at the two Pokémon in the sky with a look of shock and horror, and he recognized their identities.

The black one was Necrozma, and the white one was Solgaleo.

The battle between the two Pokémon was extremely intense. Solgaleo already appeared injured, but Necrozma kept pressing forward, launching ferocious attacks one after another.

Boom!

Necrozma swung its claws and struck Solgaleo with Night Slash move, sending it flying. Solgaleo immediately fell like a kite with its string cut, crashing down onto the plaza where Yuga and the others were.

"Roar~!"

Solgaleo let out an enraged roar and tried to get up, but Necrozma didn't give it the chance. It shot down at high speed, landing beside it and instantly wrapping Solgaleo tightly with its limbs.

"Roar~!"

Solgaleo struggled, but it couldn't break free. All it could do was open its mouth and fire a Sunsteel Strike at Necrozma, but Necrozma turned its head and dodged it with ease.

The silver beam shot into the sky, turning the barely bright horizon into a field of blinding white.

"Roar~!"

Necrozma let out a cry at Solgaleo, wrapping itself even tighter around it, then suddenly opened its mouth and inhaled sharply. In an instant, countless multicolored energy streams surged out of Solgaleo's body and flowed toward Necrozma.

As the rainbow-colored energy drained away, Solgaleo's aura began to diminish, while the pitch-black Necrozma started to emit a faint glow. At the same time, the limbs it used to restrain Solgaleo tightened even more.

"Roar~"

Solgaleo cried out in pain, growing even weaker and less able to resist Necrozma.

Just then, a pillar of fire appeared out of nowhere and struck Necrozma's head, knocking it sideways.

It was Yuga who had made a move—he clearly couldn't just stand by and watch Solgaleo get devoured by Necrozma.

In a sense, Solgaleo and his Cosmoem belonged to the same family.

Necrozma was devoid of reason, driven only by its instinct to devour. It let out a furious roar at Yuga, but what greeted it was another blast of Flamethrower from Ninetales.

This time, Necrozma, along with the Solgaleo it was restraining, was blasted away and sent tumbling across the plaza several times.

"Roar~"

Necrozma angrily fired a Power Gem, but Ninetales dodged it easily. Solgaleo finally got a clear look at Yuga and Ninetales.

A human? How could a human be here?

This thought flashed through Solgaleo's mind.

Necrozma, having missed once, prepared to strike again. But just then, a buzzing sound rang out behind it. A massive sword suddenly appeared, gleaming with an unstoppable edge, and struck it on the head.

"Roar~"

Necrozma let out a cry of agony, involuntarily releasing Solgaleo from its grasp. As soon as Solgaleo was free, it quickly distanced itself from Necrozma.

At the same time, Yuga released a burst of healing energy that fell onto Solgaleo, instantly alleviating some of its pain.

Solgaleo looked deeply at Yuga. Though it didn't know how this human had appeared here, now wasn't the time to dwell on that—as long as he wasn't an enemy, that was good enough.

Necrozma clutched its head in pain, and a powerful wave of Psychic-type energy burst from its body. The Aegislash that had ambushed it didn't even have time to react before being swept away by a shockwave.

At the same time, a Dusknoir that had been hiding in the shadows and trying to sneak up on Necrozma was also blown away.

Necrozma's figure flickered, and in the next second, it had already reappeared beside Aegislash. It raised its claws and used Shadow Claw to strike.

Clang~

Aegislash quickly deployed its King's Shield just in time to block the attack, but Necrozma didn't let up. Its sharp claws continued to slash at the shield, shaking it violently.

Up in the sky, Solgaleo had finally regained some strength. It used its signature move, Sunsteel Strike, crashing directly into Necrozma.

Boom~

A loud explosion rang out as Necrozma was sent flying, crashing into the plaza and cracking the stone tiles beneath it.

The plaza's material was quite unusual—despite Solgaleo having fallen on it multiple times before without leaving a single mark, now it was riddled with fractures from Necrozma's impact.

Necrozma finally turned its attention back to its original target. Beneath its shadowy face, flickering lights danced erratically as it charged recklessly toward Solgaleo once more.

But just halfway into its charge, Dusknoir suddenly appeared and punched it, sending it flying again.

…

While Yuga was fiercely battling Necrozma, inside Team Rocket's aircraft—

"Mr. Giovanni! We've detected the mission target! We've detected the mission target!" the middle-aged man suddenly shouted excitedly as he looked at the red dot on the machine in front of him.

Upon hearing this, Giovanni shot up from his chair with a whoosh, asking excitedly, "Where?"

The middle-aged man's excited voice paused for a moment.

"The target's location seems to... overlap with where Shimizu Yuga and the others are!"

"Shimizu Yuga encountered the mission target?" Giovanni asked with a frown.

"It appears so," the middle-aged man replied hesitantly.

"Seems we didn't come to the wrong place after all," Giovanni said.

"And the missing Ms. Matori and the others..." the middle-aged man asked quietly.

Giovanni fell into thought for a moment, then said, "Once we've dealt with the mission target, we'll search for them."

"Understood!" the middle-aged man replied respectfully.

"Head toward the target's location now!" Giovanni ordered.

"Mr. Giovanni, the target is a bit far from us—it'll take some time to get there," the middle-aged man reminded him.

Giovanni: "No matter—move out!"

Meanwhile on Yuga's side, Necrozma, under siege from Solgaleo, Aegislash, Ninetales, and Dusknoir, quickly fell into a berserk state.

It began ruthlessly pursuing and attacking Solgaleo, ignoring Ninetales, Aegislash, and Dusknoir entirely—even taking their attacks without so much as flinching.

Solgaleo had already been injured, and under Necrozma's frenzied assault, its condition worsened. Although Yuga kept using healing energy to sustain it, Necrozma's madness was overwhelming.

With no other choice, Yuga released Florges as well. One human and one Pokémon supported Solgaleo together, allowing it to barely keep clashing head-on with Necrozma.

Boom!

Necrozma took a direct hit from Aegislash's Sacred Sword while simultaneously knocking Dusknoir flying. At that moment, Solgaleo struck it again with a Sunsteel Strike, sending Necrozma crashing from the air.

Seeing Aegislash, Dusknoir, and Solgaleo hovering above it, Necrozma finally realized it was no match for them.

Its body erupted with another violent surge of Psychic-type energy, blasting all three away, and then, with a whoosh, it shot into the sky.

Bzzzz~

With a buzzing sound, a dimensional portal emitting multicolored light suddenly appeared in the sky. Necrozma dove straight in and vanished in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, the group from Team Rocket that was rushing toward Yuga—

"This is bad, Mr. Giovanni! The mission target has vanished again!" the middle-aged man shouted in panic.

Giovanni, who had been leisurely grooming his Persian, accidentally tugged too hard upon hearing that, nearly ripping out a chunk of its fur.

"What?!"

He rushed to the machine, only to see that the red dot that had been there moments ago had disappeared.

"And what about Shimizu Yuga and the others?" Giovanni pressed.

"Their location hasn't moved," the middle-aged man said, pointing to a green dot on the machine.

"What's going on?" Giovanni asked seriously. "Do you know what happened?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "No idea."

Seeing that Giovanni remained silent with a stern face, the middle-aged man cautiously asked, "Then… should we still continue heading in that direction?"

Giovanni thought for a moment and said, "The plan remains unchanged, continue moving out."

"Yes!" the middle-aged man responded respectfully.

On Yuga's side, as soon as Necrozma left, the injured Solgaleo slowly descended from the sky, and as soon as its head tilted to the side, it passed out.

Yuga's companions all came out one after another, looking at Solgaleo in surprise and asking, "Mr. Shimizu, this is the legendary Pokémon from Alola—Solgaleo, right?"

Although Yuga categorized Solgaleo and Lunala as Ultra Beasts in his own understanding, they were not listed in the Ultra Beast Pokédex published by the Aether Foundation and Professor Kukui. They existed only in the mythical legends of the Alola region.

In the eyes of the people of Alola, Solgaleo and Lunala were no different from the mythical Pokémon in legends of other regions.

"It should be," Yuga nodded and said.

He checked Solgaleo's injuries and found them to be very serious. Some of the wounds seemed to have existed even before he had intervened in the battle.

After some thought, Yuga took out a Max Revive and fed it to Solgaleo.

At some point, Cosmoem had emerged from Yuga's shadow space and was curiously observing the unconscious Solgaleo.

While Solgaleo was unconscious, Yuga cleaned its wounds once again.

No one knew how much time passed before Solgaleo slowly regained consciousness. When it found that most of its injuries had already healed, it was very surprised.

But this surprise turned into shock the moment it saw the Cosmoem beside Yuga—after all, it had also evolved from Cosmoem and naturally recognized it as one of its own species.

This was the first time Solgaleo had ever seen one of its own kind.

Cosmoem, seeing that Solgaleo was looking at it, happily approached and rubbed against its face.

Solgaleo was startled by Cosmoem's action, and an unnatural blush appeared on its face.

At that moment, Yuga and the others also noticed that Solgaleo had awakened.

"You're awake," Yuga said to Solgaleo with a smile.

Originally, Yuga thought that Solgaleo, like Pheromosa, wouldn't understand him, but to his surprise, this Solgaleo was very knowledgeable—not only could it communicate with him fluently, it also knew they were humans.

"Human, thank you for helping me," Solgaleo said gratefully. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably be in serious trouble right now."

Yuga was curious about what had happened between it and Necrozma, but didn't know where to start, so he gave up asking and explained instead, "No need to thank me. In fact, we came here to ask for your help."

"You came to ask for my help?" Solgaleo asked in surprise. "Please go ahead. If I can be of assistance, I will definitely help."

Whether it was because of Yuga's timely help, or because of Cosmoem—a fellow of its species—Solgaleo had a very good impression of Yuga.