"It's been forty-five minutes! I wonder what the hold-up is?" Green groans impatiently, looking at his watch.

"Here comes a few of them," Hau says, pointing up at the sky.

Three Charizards circle down from the sky, landing on the lower deck of the ship. They hiss and snap at each other, batting their wings to show dominance.

Red looks up from the small Pikachu in his lap, he grabs an old Pokeball from his belt and tosses it towards the quarrelsome creatures.

The three feisty beasts freeze at the sight of Red's Charizard, it is much larger than the rest of them.

"I guess we're just going to have to make this work," Gladion grumbles, "Some of us will have to ride together."

Hau helps Lillie onto one of the Charizards, before climbing on behind her. Red pages his Charizard back into its ball and Gladion gives him a puzzled look.

"Red's Charizard won't carry anyone," Green says, noticing Gladion's confusion.

Green climbs onto Charizard behind Gladion, making him flinch.

"Sorry pal! I think Red and I are too big to ride together," Green chuckles nervously.

"Understandable," Gladion mutters under his breath.

I nervously approach Red, he seems even bigger and more intimidating on Charizard. To my surprise, he smiles and offers me a hand. Pikachu climbs into my lap as our Charizard begins to flap its wings. I find it somewhat strange that a powerful trainer like Red wouldn't evolve his Pikachu. It peeks over my shoulder at Red, it's obvious the two have a very strong bond.

______________

Red's eyes coldly study the monument as he places Nebby down in the center of it, he seems to be on edge for some reason.

I watch Gladion out of the corner of my eye as he screams into his phone at the far edge of the alter. I know it's wrong of me, but I have extremely bitter feelings towards him at the moment. I feel as though, maybe, there was nothing between us but lust. He ends the call by hanging up, I assume it's something concerning work, but I won't bother to ask.

"Finally," Lillie groans as he joins us.

She wraps her arms around me before handing me the Sun Flute, "I hope this works. If anyone can help, it would be Solgaleo."

Everyone stands in reverence as Lillie and I take our places on the Alter. I take the flute to my lips and wait for Lillie's queue. She plays the opening note and I play along as we rehearsed. A shiver runs up my spine as we play the haunting melody, I didn't expect to be this moved by our actions today. Truth be told, I don't usually believe in legends.

The air hangs heavy and humid around us as we carry the last note, letting it ring across the large plateau.

Several moments pass, I fear nothing will happen.

Suddenly, the sky seems to darken. We all watch in awe as day turns to night, sending brilliant streaks of falling stars raining down from the sky.

The stone under our feet begins to rattle and quake, knocking me to my knees. The water trickling through the monument illuminates as it shifts to an unnatural, aquamarine color and fills the ancient channels carved throughout the alter.

"Nebby!" Lillie wails as her beloved Pokemon levitates off the ground.

The whole earth seems to shift and bend. I grow light headed as I struggle to keep my orientation, it almost feels like I'm being flipped upside down. My fingers desperately grasp the cracks in the stone as space and time lose their laws on the world around me.

Suddenly, a white-hot heat burns my skin. My eyes burn and water as I struggle to look up at the glowing ball of light at the center of the alter. I catch a glimpse of Nebby in the center of the orb before the pain in my eyes becomes unbearable.

An explosion rocks the massive structure, sending lose pieces of stone and gravel raining down around us. A metallic cry deafens our ears as the aftershock settles.

Speechless, I gaze up at the wondrous, lion-like Pokemon. Its tail lifts happily into the air as it approaches Lillie. She watches in amazement as the giant, all-powerful, Pokemon lays down at her feet.

"Nebby! Is that really you?" Lillie sobs as she presses her face deep into Solgaleo's thick mane.

"So Nebby was Solgaleo all along," Hau whispers.

Lillie perks her head up and freezes.

"Nebby wants us all to touch it."

"Is it telepathic?" Green stammers in excitement.

Lillie nods her head, moving to the side so we can all gather around it.

One by one, we join Solgaleo. I hesitate before placing my hand on one of its golden pinnacles. Its eyes seem to be incased in a glass-like dome, surrounded by what appears to be a tiny, swirling, galaxy. I lose feeling of my body as we are hurled through time and space, feeling nothing but a serene sense of consciousness.

We all immerge just as we were, but the landscape has changed dramatically. Everything is covered with strange, emerald and violet vegetation and hunks of glistening gemstones litter the dark world.

An unearthly silhouette slithers out of the shadow of the monument, I shudder as a large tentacle-like appendage appears out of the shadows. A strange, squishy, eye-ball on the end of it looks around before withdrawing back into the darkness.

Without warning, dazzling beams of light blast past, shattering the rock behind us.

"It's an attack!" Gladion shouts as poisonous spikes pepper the area around us.

"Send out your tanks!" Red yells as his Pikachu expels an electrifying flash of light, illuminating the area around us.

Lillie screams in horror as she catches a glimpse of her mother inside of the parasitic beast.

Lusamine's wild, possessed eyes glow with an ominous yellow aura as her blackened hair floats in the jelly-like tank of fluid.

Hau rushes Lillie to safety while the rest of us instinctively cover them.

Lusamine's legs dangle limply as the Ultra-Beast raises itself from the ground, its tentacles whip and curl wildly as it rushes towards us.

"Cover them!" I scream to Skarmory as Nihilego shoots streams of acid upon us.

"Now, use Steel Wing!"

"Blastoise! Shelter Pikachu!"

"Pikachu! Thunder bolt!"

The Ultra-Beast's powerful tentacles shield its vulnerable, soft body blocking our efforts to land an attack. It comes back at us with a ferociously strong Power Gem. I dodge to escape the attack, she seems to be aiming at us and not the Pokemon.

"Null!" Gladion wails in terror as two of the tentacles wrap themselves tightly around type: Null's body.

Lusamine smiles insidiously as the Nihilego's tentacles rip into Null, a sickening snap fills the air as the creature's legs stretch past their natural limitations. Gladion frantically tries to page Null back to its ball, but the extra arms of Nihilego block his attempts.

Out of desperation, Red tosses a handful of Pokeballs into the air, calling out his entire team. I watch helplessly through the chaos as Red's team desperately works to free Null.

Suddenly, Hau's Raichu zips out from the darkness.

"Recall your Pokemon!" he bellows as he sprints behind Raichu.

He stops several feet in front of Nihilego and begins to summon Z power.

"Just do it!" I scream to Red.

Streams of sparkling crimson light streak around us as all the Pokemon return.

An eerie silence falls as Hau strikes his pose, sending a beautiful puff of purple smoke, snaking and curling towards Raichu. The earth rumbles below us as Raichu receives the Z power.

I strain to see Lusamine inside of Nihilego's dome, her face seems to be frozen. In fact, the entire body of the creature has ceased to move.

Suddenly, Nihilego crashes to the ground, releasing its grip on Null. Gladion quickly pages it back, hunkering down in sadness.

Hau thrusts his hand out, sending Nihilego crashing into the rocks behind it.

Working telepathically through Raichu, Hau tosses Nihilego back and forth into the rocks with the movements of his hands. He doesn't stop until he is sure they have fainted.

"Mother!" Lillie cries as she rushes towards the limp, unconscious body.

"Be careful Lillie!" Gladion shouts as he sprints to her side.

We all peer somberly over the fused bodies of Lusamine and Nihilego. Lillie reaches out to touch it, but Green stops her.

"It's venomous," Green says, blocking her hand.

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a pair of rubber gloves. Green groans as he lifts one of the heavy tentacles, looking it over carefully. He also quickly examines the area where Lusamine and Nihilego have fused.

"Anybody have a spare Ultraball?" he asks, removing his gloves and tossing them to the side.

"Yeah, why?" I ask, pulling one from my messenger bag.

"Are you going to try and capture her?" Hau asks, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

"Worth a try!" Green shrugs.

Green takes the Ultraball from my hand and drops it on the parasitic Pokemon. Its body turns to a shimmering red silhouette as it draws into the capsule, bringing Lusamine with it.

We watch anxiously as the ball wiggles and rolls around on the ground at our feet. Red's hand hovers over the Pokeballs on his belt as he watches. He relaxes when the ball powers down, trapping the fused pair inside.

Solgaleo's metallic roar echoes across the nightscape as it slinks down from the top of the monument to join us.

"It's okay Nebby," Lillie says softly, rubbing the large Pokémon's leg, "I understand why you're scared of her."

Green somberly hands Lusamine's Ultraball over to Gladion.

"I promise I'll do everything I can to help," he says, placing his hand on Gladion's shoulder.

"Nebby says it's time to go now," Lillie says, grabbing Gladion's hand.

_______________

"...Yes. Yes, I know! Send a helicopter now!" Gladion barks into the phone before hanging up.

I feel a strange tugging at my bag, the clasp comes undone all on its own, as if it was being worked by an invisible hand.

"Are you guys seeing this?" I stammer as the flap of my bag opens.

Everyone watches in amazement as a Pokeball zips out of my bag towards Solgaleo. It roars as it enters the capsule, seemingly capturing itself on its own free will. The Pokeball rolls and bounces along the cracks in the stone, landing at Lillie's feet.

She picks up the Pokeball and smiles, "This is going to be so much easier than carrying that stupid old bag around!"

Hau wraps his arms around Lillie's waist and kisses her cheek.

I glance over at Gladion, our eyes meet for a moment, but he quickly looks away. I want so badly to hold him, but I can't bring myself to do it.

Green paces back and forth anxiously as he rambles into the phone.

"Are you catching any of this?" Hau asks under his breath, looking in Green's direction.

"Yeah, um...something about a man named Dr. Bill and Kanto."

"Dr. Bill? Isn't that the guy who accidentally fused himself with a Pokemon?" Lillie whispers.

"Green has a lot of connections back home," Red says to Gladion as he straightens his ball cap.

"He thinks he knows someone who can help."