Yikes! It's been almost a month since I've last updated. Now that the school year has begun, I'm going to be super busy with work so I won't have as much time to write. Lucky for you guys, I've already written a couple of chapters so updates should still happen relatively frequently. Thanks for sticking by for this long!
Chapter 13
Battle With the Beast
The sun was already down when Jason sent the message to his family and friends, as well as Kara and Rhetta. They met him and Carson in the Valley, right in front of the Solgaleo statue. While the statues of Tapu Koko, Tapu Fini, and Tapu Lele were fully colored, Solgaleo and the others were not.
Steph, upon hearing that Jason had passed his trial, felt happiness and a bit jealously. She was excited to see what her brother would choose, but at the same time she wanted to be the one to evolve first. She had always thought she was the strongest, and wanted to prove it by evolving first, but that wouldn't be the case.
"Ready to get your powers?" Rhetta asked, crossing her arms and smiling.
"Oh yeah," Jason replied, nodding excitedly.
Beside him, Cosmog cried out in joy, seemingly more excited than him. It danced around in a circle, singing. It was excited to see Solgaleo again and excited to see its descendant evolve.
"You're clearly not choosing an Espeon," Kara mentioned, taking note of the time of day. "So I'm guessing Umbreon?"
Jason shook his head. "Nope."
Steph gave a confused glance to Kara. "You're the other Libra, right?"
The Ninetales nodded.
"Why do you think he would evolve into an Espeon?" she asked, a little suspicious.
Kara gave a sly smile. "I think it suits him."
Stephania reared her head at Kara's answer. How did she know what suited her brother? How did she even know Jason?
After fishing the stone out of the river, Carson held it out to Jason. Before anyone could react to the type of stone he chose, the Eevee picked it up in his mouth.
The stone transformed into particles of light and energy, diffusing through his fur and concealing him in a bright light. The electrical energy from the stone raced through his veins, allowing his heart to absorb it and learn to produce the same form of energy. Then, with the internal change complete, his physical appearance altered as well.
His once short legs grew longer, adding nearly two feet in height. His torso stretched and thinned, and his head and ears shaped to fit his body. His fluffy collar clumped together in several pointed clumps that jutted out in all directions, and his tail did the same. Several more teeth poked through his gums, which would give his Bite extra power. When the white light disappeared, a Jolteon stood where the Eevee once did. With the evolution completely resetting his system, the green eyes that concealed his royal status were gone, leaving pure, sapphire blue ones behind.
Rhetta, being the only one there who didn't know the royal status, was the first one to react. "I knew you-"
Luckily for the Equilibrians, a roar cut her off. The ground began to shake, gradually increasing in magnitude, and the Solgaleo statue began to light. A quadruped figure jumped over the mountain, landing beside Jason and jostling the earth. The sudden movement caused the Libras to fall over, making the Sunne pokemon seem larger than it was.
The blue, star scaped forehead shined like the night sky while it's gold and white face and mane blazed like the sun. His tail swished through the air as he focused its sharp blue eyes on Jason. He examined the new Jolteon and grunted with satisfaction. Jason met the legend's eyes and quickly stood. The aura radiating from Solgaleo felt empowering, yet warm like the sun.
Cosmog squealed and floated to Solgaleo, hugging his leg with its appendages. Of course, the baby was so small, so his arm-like appendages didn't reach around the white column of a leg. Solgaleo responded by rubbing his nose against the baby cloud pokemon and purring. When Cosmog was content, it back away and let the cosmic beast resume his duty.
Solgaleo closed his eyes and bowed his head to Jason, opening the third eye on his starscape forehead. Particles of sunlight manifested in the air in front of Jason, forming a hexagonal shape. Once the light disappeared, a stone with diamond-shaped indentation in the center floated to Jason. As he took it in his paw, three bands, colored white-gold-white, stained his left wrist.
Solgaleo, with a deep yet wise voice, spoke, "You're very extraordinary. I look forward to seeing how much you grow with your new power."
Before he left, Stephania met eyes with Solgaleo. She was his descendant. She would eventually carry his power just like her brother. Just like him, she felt the power radiating from the legend. She longed to talk to him, to ask him why she couldn't evolve, but she didn't. This was her brother's moment, and she couldn't drag the attention to herself.
Solgaleo gave Steph a questioning gaze. He could sense her troubled thoughts. He knew she was struggling with who she was. The Eevee was very strong, both mentally and physically, but she had one obstacle she had yet to overcome. He knew that she would overcome it eventually, but time was running out. He wished he could tell her, but that would only cause her to take longer to evolve. She had to overcome what was holding her back, and she had to do it on her own.
Solgaleo gave out one last roar, turned, and leapt back over the mountains in a single bound.
"Well now that that's over," Rhetta began calmly. "You are the missing royals from Equilibrium!"
Carson was quick to jump in. "Well, yes, but-"
"I knew it! I knew you were lying! I knew you were the royals!" She paced back and forth. "I hoped you weren't, but now you could possibly start a war with your kingdom and mine! Do you know how many messages we've received from Equilibrium? They're looking for you and they're blaming us!"
"Queen Valerie and King Hollow already know," Leona explained, attempting to calm the Zoroark.
"Okay, but you couldn't tell your parents that you're here?"
"Not really, no." Carson bared a half-smile, hoping Rhetta would understand. "We have to train here, and our parents would never let us stay. And, if we refused to come home, they would think something's up and declare war on your kingdom."
Rhetta sighed. "I understand, but you're endangering my kingdoms by being here. Ultra Kingdom and Equilibrium are already on bad terms with us, and both of them are looking for you."
"I know. Trust me, we want to tell our parents we're here, but now this is our home too. We would never want anyone to get hurt."
"I'm surprised you didn't figure it out sooner," Kara stated. "I thought you were smarter than that."
The dark type shot the Ninetales a look. "In the back of my mind I knew they were the royals. I had just hoped they weren't, or that they would tell me instead of letting me find out on my own."
"Sorry," Carson apologized. "You, Kara, the King and Queen, Bolt, and Silver are the only ones that know. We want to keep it a secret so that no wars begin."
"Aris and Ronan don't know either," the Ninetales pointed out.
"How did you even know?" Rhetta asked Kara with a not-so-kind tone. "You haven't even shown up to train with them."
"I helped them escape from the Ultras," Kara replied, not giving any sort of verbal retaliation. "And you can cool down. I'm coming to train tomorrow."
Rhetta huffed, debating in her mind whether to challenge the ice type or not. A glance at Carson calmed her down and convinced her not to, she and began walking back to the entrance of the Valley. "Fine. I'm going to bed. We'll talk more in the morning."
Once the Zoroark was gone, Liam's attention went to Kara. "So that's why there was so much ice everywhere. You're the one who saved us."
Kara nodded and shrugged. "Don't give me so much credit. I did send you guys tumbling down a mountain. Sorry about that."
She's apologizing? Jason placed his Z-stone on the ground, rolling his shoulders to adjust to his new Jolteon form. "Don't apologize. Who knows what would've happened to us if you didn't help."
Carson turned and smiled at his friend. "How does evolution feel?"
He flicked his left wrist, shaking off the tingling feeling from his colored bands. "Different, but a good different."
"Well then," Kara yawned, stretching her front legs, "if we're all done here, I'm going to call it a night."
As everyone began to leave, Jason noticed his sister didn't move. Her gaze remained on the stars. "Steph?"
The Eevee looked at her brother, blinking in confusions until she realized the Jolteon was her brother. "Uh, yeah?"
"You coming? We've got training tomorrow."
She shook her head. "I think I'm going to stay here for a little while."
"You sure?" he asked, concern filling his voice. "Are you okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine," she answered, smiling. "Don't worry."
"Steph, I know you. I know when something is wrong."
She dropped her fake smile and sighed. "I just need to be alone right now, Jason, and you need sleep."
"Steph I-"
"I'll be better tomorrow, Jason."
"I really don't think-"
"I promise."
"Just...come to me if you need to talk."
As soon as he left, Steph put her plan into action.
...
The second attack came at midnight.
The earth shook as vibrations of energy pulsed through the air, followed by a snap like lightning cutting a tree clean in half. A thin glowing line appeared in the sky above the Fire Kingdom castle, expanding slightly as something from the inside pulled at it. Pokemon rushed from their homes, startled by the noise, only to be met with daunting fear.
The threat was recognized almost immediately. The police came quickly, evacuating the citizens as fast as they could, all while the creature continued to free itself from the wormhole.
Despite being asleep in the Ice castle miles away, Rhetta was up and ready before she even got the signal for help. It had been a while since she had seen an Ultra Beast, but she knew better than to underestimate their power. She glanced over to Cosmog, who chose to sleep at the foot of her bed that night. How can it be coming through? Cosmog is perfectly fine.
The Zoroark ran out of her room, leaving the door slightly open for Cosmog, and dashed down the hallway. She stopped at one door, banging rapidly on the wood, and did the same to the one next to it. "Carson, Jason! Wake up! We've got an emergency!"
A Jolteon opened one door and yawned casually, unaware of the danger looming over the kingdoms. His sleepy eyes barely opened, but enough so that his now green eyes could be seen. "Why are you yelling?"
"There's another attack. It's an Ultra Beast." She turned and slammed her fist against Carson's door again, growing impatient and worried. "Wake up!"
Liam emerged from behind Jason, his chest tightening with worry. "Another one?" Memories of his previous encounter flashed in his mind.
"Yes! And we all need to get there now!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Carson apologized, opening the door in a hurry. "Let's go."
Rhetta gestured to Carson and Jason. "You two are with me. Liam, go tell the queen what's happening and that we're on it."
The three took off, two of which who were unsure what the actual plan was, while Liam ran to find Queen Valerie.
Unlike Carson, Jason adapted to his new form in hours. He ran ahead of them, determined and ready to fight. He was fast, faster than he had ever been on land or in the water. He could feel the electricity dancing in his heart, ready to unleash a new electric attack. Not choosing a Vaporeon was a regret he did not possess.
Being the new fastest, he made the stop by Princess Kara's room and woke her just as loudly as Rhetta woke him. "Kara!"
A not-so-happy face greeted him. "I was sleeping."
"Kingdoms are under attack," he explained quickly. "We need your help."
With just one sentence of explanation, Kara was wide awake and tailing the Jolteon.
"What are you doing here, Novoa?" Rhetta growled as she ran beside the Ninetales.
"Same as you," Kara replied without acknowledging Rhetta's tone.
As soon as the four Libras arrived at the Fire Kingdom castle, the Ultra Beast sensed their presence. Unlike Nihilego, however, it responded with aggression. It was not scared and was not going back. It flew toward them, buzzing, and landed on the ground in front of the Libras, not daring to back down. It's blood red skin and bulging, transparent muscles made Jason back away. A long, needle nose and black spikes protruded from its body, and its four legs dug deep into the ground. Carson could sense the angry aura radiating from it.
As it charged with a glowing fist, Carson pulled Rhetta close to get her out of the way. She felt the wind of the beast's fist as it zoomed behind her, causing her to trip and fall into the Lucario. He quickly helped her regain balance.
"Nice reflexes," she complemented, unaware of the blush on her cheeks.
Luckily, Carson was too distracted the the Ultra Beast to notice. "You gotta plan? You're kinda the expert here."
The beast spread its wings, catching the wind, and twisted around to charge again. Its arm glowed with a white aura as fighting energy flooded its veins.
Jason's reflexes were sharp. He easily dodged, dashing away in a yellow blur. He glanced down at his paws, surprised at how much his evolution had allowed him to grow.
When Jason dodged, Carson took the nasty hit from the Hammer Arm, but luckily flew out of the way of any buildings or debris. His land sounded rough, though it hardly hurt as his new body was used to the pain of hitting the ground. "Anyone know what this thing is?" he shouted as he pulled himself to his feet.
Kara blasted beams of ice, knowing it wouldn't do much more than keep the Ultra Beast occupied. "It's called Buzzwole! Bug and fighting!"
Rhetta jumped to Kara's side with long, glowing white claws. "I've got this." She pushed off the ground, rushing into the air and aiming her Aerial Ace directly at Buzzwole's chest. Inches away from landing a super effect hit, the beast intercepted with Hammer Arm. With one arm it blocked her attack, and with the other it slammed her to the ground.
Rhetta's impact caused a small crater to form in the ground and sent waves of pain through her back, but she forced herself to get up. Powering through the pain, she formed a bright blue orb in each paw and threw them at Buzzwole.
The beast dove down, avoiding the Focus Blasts, and circled around with another Hammer Arm.
"Dark is weak to fighting and bug," Kara growled, leaning back to avoid the attack. "You can't fight this thing on your own."
"I have been for almost three years now," the Zoroark snapped, preparing another Aerial Ace, "while you've been ignoring your responsibilities!"
The Ninetales ignored the snarky comment. "Jason's the only one here without a type disadvantage." She blasted another beam of ice.
Buzzwole dodged and shot into the air, spinning rapidly while dozens of needles sprayed from his body. The Leech Life hit all four Libras, temporarily paralyzing them while sapping the energy from their bodies. The spinning red body gradually turned to silver as Buzzwole coated itself in iron. While the Libras were still feeling the effects of Leech Life, it spun through the air and bashed its body into three of them, sending them flying in all directions.
The fourth Libra, however, had allowed his sharp reflexes to take over. He bolted out of the way, only to be followed closely behind. When an opening formed, he pivoted on his paws, kicked dirt and rocks into the spinning silver ball, and dashed away again.
Buzzwole's eyes suddenly burned as particles of dirt sharply poked them. As it slowed, its body lost its silver shine, and it rubbed its eyes to clear away the dirt.
Jason circled back to his friends while the beast was distracted. "Does anyone have a plan?"
Rhetta pushed herself back onto her feet, gritting her teeth. "I've got one."
Kara jumped in, an Ice Beam ready to fire. "I've got a better one."
The Zoroark scowled. "I know this thing better than you do, Novoa!"
"Well apparently you don't know that you're weak against it!" She blasted the Ice Beam, nailing Buzzwole in the back, and froze its wings. "Jason, keep it distracted!"
The Jolteon peered back at Buzzwole who was twisting around angrily and firing random moves in attempt to break the ice off his back. "Not to question your judgement, but how exactly?"
"You're fast and if you can use your electric attacks to distract it, you'll sap more energy than the rest of us."
Buzzwole shattered the last of the ice and flew back into the air, turning his attention to the Libras.
"Jason! Go now!"
Trusting Kara, Jason charged at Buzzwole, nicked its leg with a quick Bite, and landed behind the beast. The bite wasn't so much to deal damage as it was to get attention. Kara, Carson, and Rhetta moved behind a broken house, giving him room to run and distract Buzzwole as they formed a plan.
A Thunderbolt came naturally to the newly evolved Jolteon. Electricity raced through his heart as he ran, sending jolts up and down his legs. He focused it into the ends of his spiky white collar and released it.
Buzzwole dodged, only for another Thunderbolt to be thrown his way. He continued to fly around, trying to avoid the electrical bursts of energy. Its anger rose as it continually became frustrated with how annoying the Jolteon was being.
But, as Jason noticed, the more frustrated Buzzwole got, the more unbalanced and inconsistence its fighting ability became.
"Carson, how good is your Aura Sphere?" Kara asked, keeping an eye on Jason. So far, he was doing good.
"My aim isn't perfect. I don't know if I'd be able to hit a moving target."
"Alright, that's fine. We can do something else." Her eyes scanned the area, picking up large pieces of debris. "You two, grab anything with a flat surface and follow my lead."
Kara guided her fellow Libras, coating the flat sides of the objects with a thin layer of ice and instructing on where they should be placed. Jason's area of distraction was limited and the difficulty was increased. He started taking more hits and was growing tired when Kara pulled him into the shadows.
Buzzwole was left wandering in a maze of ice, slowly hovering around and searching for the Libra. It could feel them near. It could feel their power.
Jason stepped in front of the reflecting ice that coated a wooden door. His reflection bounced onto the other strategically mirrors, appearing to Buzzwole as multiple Jolteons.
The beast instantly attacked, shattering the mirror in front of him. Jason stepped out of the way, disappearing again.
While Buzzwole was distracted, Rhetta snuck up behind it by hiding in the shadows behind the makeshift mirrors. When the beast attacked the decoy Jolteon in the mirror, she darted from the shadows. Her Aerial Ace slashed its back twice as it shattered the ice. After landing back on the ground, she retreated.
Buzzwole spun around, intending to hit whatever attacked him with his Hammer Arm, only to have the Jolteon appear again. It growled and punched another mirror only to be hit again by the flying type move. It didn't dare back down, but instead proceeded to shatter all of the reflective ice in an angry fury.
Rhetta managed a few more Aerial Aces, taking a lot of energy from the bug and fighting type. It seemed to be at the point of fainting when she decided to attack again.
However, Buzzwole got a second wind. It twisted around, grabbing Rhetta by the throat, and growled, "I...AM NOT...GOING BACK!"
Carson's stomach dropped when he saw Rhetta in danger. Instinctively, his aura gathered into a sphere at his paws, energy flowing from his Z-crystal, and he fired a bright beam at Buzzwole. The impact echoed and caused a cloud of smoke to whip up, and from it Rhetta fell.
She easily flipped around and landed gently on her paws, but her face still had an expression of shock. She had never heard an Ultra Beast speak before.
Buzzwole changed into flight mode and speed away. Jason attempted to hit it with a few Thunderbolts, but it had dodged and flew out of the way as fast as it could. With it gone, the wormhole closed.
"I'm not gonna lie," Kara panted, "but we did pretty good."
"It got away, Novoa!" Rhetta snapped. "Your plan didn't work."
"Well, we did have some good teamwork there," Carson pointed out with a pleased grin. "And it was our first time battling with each other."
The Zoroark raised an eyebrow at Carson, but his grin broke her serious face and made her smile as well.
…
"I'm not sure that's a good idea."
Steph jumped upon hearing the voice. She turned quickly, a Shadow Ball at the ready, but was met with a familiar Pikachu. Silver smiled as she let her disguise disappear, revealing the Mimikyu hidden underneath.
"It's just me," Silver said calmly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Stephanie glanced around the rock formations in the Evolutionary Ruins and nodded. "I'm ready to evolve."
"Well that's not for you to decide."
"Well it's not for Ronan or Aris to decide! I should be able to choose when I evolve, and I want to evolve now."
"Stephanie," Silver sighed, "even if you do evolve, you won't be able to use your powers. You still have an internal block."
"So I'll evolve now and figure it out after."
"It doesn't work that way."
"Of course it doesn't!" Steph snapped. "Carson and Kara evolved without even starting their trials, but somehow Rhetta and Jason had to! Please explain to me how this all works!"
Silver waited a few moments, knowing Steph wasn't feeling too good. The Eevee took a few seconds to breath before sitting down in defeat. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just don't understand. I've always been stronger and faster than Carson and Jason, so why do they get to evolve before me? Why can't I evolve?"
Silver sat by the Eevee, dropping the stick she used as a tail and placed the arm around Steph. "Evolving isn't just about physical change. Most pokemon evolve when they've experienced an internal change. Rhetta and Jason had to complete their trial to understand what was holding them back. Carson and Kara evolved when they understood what being a Libra was. Like them, something's holding you back."
"I keep hearing that, but I don't get it. Does everyone else know what's holding me back, because it would help a lot if they do."
Silver shook her head. "Only Solgaleo knows, but Ronan is trying to figure it out. He wants you to evolve and become a Libra, too."
Steph nodded and thought aloud, "If Jason had to pass his trial to evolve, maybe I have to pass mine. Maybe if I take it right now, I'll pass and I'll evolve."
Silver responded with a sigh. "I don't know, Steph. It doesn't seem like a good idea to me."
"Why? I'm not hurting anyone by seeing if I can evolve."
"You'd be going behind Ronan and Aris's backs, telling them that you don't respect their teaching methods, and you could be hurting yourself with the results."
The Eevee gave Silver a confused look. "You don't think I'll be able to complete it?"
"I…" Silver paused, and though she couldn't give any facial expression, Steph could tell she was at a loss for words.
"You don't think I can do it." Steph stood and back away, leaving the Mimikyu's shadow arm.
"I don't," she admitted honestly. "You're growing stronger, but not in the way you need to. I can't stay here and watch you take your trial."
"Then don't. You can leave, and I'll do it on my own."
Silver sighed again and picked up her stick. "I really hope you pass Steph." She replaced her Pikachu illusion and scurried out the front entrance to the Ruins.
Steph shook her head, clearing away the thoughts. She faced the Zygarde fountain and dipped a paw into the pond as Jason had said he did.
"Okay, Solgaleo," she whispered. "I want to take my trial."