Ash's Just Reward Chapter 45

"Entire sentence." = Normal talking.

"Entire sentence." = Psychic talking.

"Entire sentence." = Powerful being talking.

'Entire sentence.' = Person's thoughts.


Fires raged throughout the ruins of the recent battle, the few scattered response teams available trying their best to contain it, slowly but surely halting its spread. The mass amount of scattered rocks and rubble made the job somewhat harder, but they were doing well regardless.

Squirtle wanted to push himself up and try to help, but his muscles ached too much to even attempt the gesture. It was a painful stab to his pride, but Squirtle had to relent and let his body rest, even if it was only for a moment.

That recent battle had been too close for Squirtle's liking. Squirtle had been in many tough battles before, ones that he had come out on top before and ones that had left him feeling the harsh sting of defeat. But he had never been in a fight so intense where one wrong mistake could have left him dead or dying.

Or at least, that's what he had thought earlier that day.

But now all that was running through Squirtle's head was memories of a battle against himself, and not in a metaphorical sense either. As in a Pokémon that was more than his equal, more than a fair match, but his exact mirror image; created and fighting for a Legendary he had no memory of ever meeting before.

A Pokémon that had killed Ash.

Squirtle frowned to himself, his sore body tensing up and shooting more pain through his body. Whoever that Pokémon was, whatever its deal was that had led it to wanting to destroy the world, and wherever it was hiding now.

Squirtle was going to find it.

But that could wait, since there were literally a dozen other things that were infinitely more important than this. And most of them revolved around him getting the others and finding Ash. These memories, that intruded his current thoughts and refused to give him clear clarity, were clearly from so long ago, from before they ever attempted a League if Squirtle's newfound recollection was right, and Ash clearly recovered even in these new gazes to the past, despite it being because of the tears of himself and others. So it would wait, until Squirtle had the time to properly make sense of it.

Able to now think of the others, Squirtle tilted his head as much as he could, seeing the group of wounded and exhausted Pokémon all around him, sucking in wind much like he was. A few of them had managed to find their feet, shaky though they may be. Squirtle couldn't help but chuckle as he saw Torracat, who was standing with trembling legs as he stood over Lugia, refusing to let his guard down.

He was a good kid. And having someone to help open him up was never a bad thing.

Squirtle then noticed the scattered Legendaries, who were all struggling to get back on their feet just as much as the rest of them. Which was somewhat reassuring for Squirtle's pride. He had never actually fought a Legendary in a proper battle before, something which was both a relief and a source of frustration. But nonetheless, Squirtle knew one thing about them: they were inherently strong. Even the weaker members of their kind were much stronger than most Pokémon. So to see them wounded and exhausted as well meant that this was most definitely a challenging battle, which made their near defeat easier to accept.

But pride aside, Squirtle knew they needed to get out of there. They were now in a much worse condition than they were after having escaped from the Aether Foundation, which was saying a lot. Half of their collective strength from then had been held captive and hadn't recovered from their battle with the Ultra Beasts that morning, and then they had to fight their way from that. The appearance of the Legendaries was at first reassuring, but apparently it meant nothing since they were beaten aside as well. And somehow, despite their combined strength, they still needed an outside rescue from Ultra Beasts of all things to get through the day.

What a strange day.

But now that was behind them, and they needed to focus on what came next, which seemed to present itself to them front and centre when one of the nurses who had been working in the, now barely standing, Ash Ketchum fan club walked out anxiously.

"Just to inform you all, the Pokémon you brought to us earlier is now feeling better." They said, before they were suddenly knock aside by said Pokémon bursting out from the building.

"Are you surprised?" Hoopa asked, a massive grin on his face as he spread his arms out, only to sweat drop at the large group of wounded Pokémon, who did not look the least bit impressed by his theatrics.

A collective groan was shared by the Legendaries, with Tapu Koko even trying to facepalm, only to falter when pain shot through his arm.

But Squirtle smiled, as he realised exactly what this meant.

They had a mode of transportation!

"Hey Hoopa!" He yelled, grabbing the smaller Legendary's attention. "You good to open some portals? We need to find Ash!"

A massive smirk broke out on his face, before he flicked one of the rings off his wrist into his hand, twirling it around on the tip of his finger.

"To help Ashkan? Easy. Where we going?"

Before Squirtle could say a location though, the two present Tapus suddenly snapped to attention, their gaze suddenly on the horizon with concerned looks plastered on their faces. As everyone else began to notice this, two small shapes slowly began to appear, growing larger as the seconds passed by. After a moment, they finally arrived, and Squirtle was surprised to see what appeared to be two more Legendaries, both looking injured and frightened, as they darted to Tapu Koko.

"Captured! They've been captured! Humans have taken captives!" Tapu Fini yelled, her voice high-pitched and panicky. Tapu Koko looked at her sceptically, before gazing over to the red Genesect, who looked somewhat more composed than the Tapu.

"Explain."

"We were travelling to the abode where your fellow Tapu, Bulu I believe their name was, has made residence. But as we approached, we were ambushed. Bulu and two of my own were captured, and we barely escaped ourselves. Who they were or what they wanted is unknown to us, but whoever they were, they were not fools. They were too well prepared for us."

Tapu Koko frowned, as Lunala seemed to droop at this, silently muttering "All is lost." to herself. But the others just shared a look, one only interrupted as they turned to look back at Hoopa then at each other.

"It can't be a coincidence, can it?" Hawlucha said slowly, as the others nodded in reluctant agreement.

"We don't get the luxury of coincidences. It's them. Only question is 'why'?" Emboar added, before Squirtle waved his arms at the group.

"Ok, time for a plan. We know who the likely perpetrators are, which means we know where they're gonna take those Legendaries. If we know that, we know where to go to rescue them. But to do a rescue, we need more firepower. Which means we still need to find Ash." Squirtle paused for a moment, turning to see if the Legendaries were listening to him and waiting to see if they'd interrupt him. After seeing their gazes locked onto him, and seeing none of them try to say anything, he pressed on.

"With Hoopa back in action, we can finally get out of Alola. I don't know exactly where Ash is, but I reckon he's not in Alola. So I say we use Hoopa's portals to try and find him. Ash may be directionally challenged, but he's got enough sense to try and find somewhere recognisable. And that means somewhere we probably know of. We'll need to pool together our knowledge on this one, cos there's a lot of regions out there so we need to narrow it down."

"Try Kanto or Johto first." Genesect suddenly interrupted, catching their attention. "We were also searching, and we managed to check many locations, with only those two regions left. Start there."

Squirtle nodded, before turning back to the group. "Right then, we'll start in Kanto. Specifically, Pallet Town. Even if Ash isn't there, I'll bet my shell that someone will be." He said.

"Does the shell come off?" Glalie asked from the back but was ignored as everyone voiced their agreement. Everyone except the humans that was, which highlighted something rather important to Squirtle.

"Can someone fill in the humans please? We kinda need them to come with us."


Ash allowed himself to smile as he watched Misty interact with the others, all talking and asking questions about the memories that had been returned and the history between them and Mewtwo. Both before their memories were wiped and afterward.

Ash decided to just sit back and allow them to have that discussion, because he wanted a moment to himself to process it. Emotions had flown pretty high back then, with everyone reacting pretty badly to it. Which was somewhat of an understatement when you look at how his Pokémon reacted.

Ash spared a moment to glance over at Pikachu, who was isolated with Espeon and Absol near the treeline, faaaaar away from Mewtwo.

But as they discussed these long past events, Ash just sat there feeling… unsure for lack of a better word. He knew that he should be feeling something because of what had happened, but what? Betrayed? Maybe, as he had considered Mewtwo a friend after what happened at Mount Quena. But technically that happened after these events, when Mewtwo had realised the error of his ways and became a better Pokémon. Angry? That would make sense, since Mewtwo had killed him. But it was clear that Mewtwo had been misguided by anger and had realised that what he was trying to do was wrong. Bitter? Not really, since this wasn't even the only time he'd died. Shocked?

Maybe.

Turning to face his Pokémon, who had amassed not too far away, never letting themselves be too far away from Ash, they were mostly discussing things amongst themselves, taking stock from the recent reveal and periodically turning a cautious eye to watch Mewtwo, but not making any moves to attack or accuse.

Ash smiled to himself as he looked over the large group, which was filled with so many Pokémon from so many places. So many backgrounds, histories, and personalities, all a part of his family. They meant so much to him, and he would do anything for them.

Perhaps that was why it was so easy to desensitise his own death. Because it happened to him and not one of them.

As Ash pondered this, leaning back on his hands to allow himself to stretch out, as his gaze swapped over to a group that had been long neglected since that reveal, especially since they had purposefully isolated themselves away from everyone to avoid being the next victims of accusations.

The group of clone Pokémon that Mewtwo had brought with them.

Far away from his house, the eight clones were shuffling anxiously, nervous to see how things would turn out. Running through the group to do a quick headcount, they were all there. The Raichu, Ninetales, Meowth, Scyther, Rapidash, Seadra, Hitmonlee, and Gyarados. All accounted for, and all shaking.

They had come to join Ash, to fight alongside him, and to show their gratitude for everything he's done. Their arrival was meant to be joyous, and yet here they were, trembling and fearful. This wasn't how he wanted things to turn out

Ok. That's something to move to the top of his 'To fix' list.

But before Ash could do anything, a slight tremble rocked the ground. But it was faint, so much so that Ash almost missed it. But then, a few seconds afterward, another one. He paused, trying to process the sensation. But as he waited, it only got stronger, until he was certain he wasn't the only one feeling it.

Everyone was now staring off toward the forest, where the sound of the steady thump was getting louder and louder. And the closer it got, the clearer it was that whatever the source was, it was big. Big, and most likely powerful.

Though Ash couldn't help but notice Azelf's reaction to the sound, as they almost seemed to smile in mild amusement.

"It can't be." They muttered, one of their tails palming the side of their face.

Suddenly, before Ash could question Azelf about it, the treeline almost seemed to part, entire trees ripped out of the ground as a large golem tore through, unbothered by the deep-rooted trees in its path.

"Regigigas?" Ash asked, catching the attention of most of the humans.

"You know what that is?" Gary shouted, sounding both surprised and annoyed by the revelation.

"Yeah, they're an old friend. Though I'm surprised to see them if I'm honest. I thought they were in a deep slumber. Haven't see them since I was last in Sinnoh." Ash said, earning a nod from Azelf.

"Yeah, you'd be right on that front. But Arceus made a point of waking Regigigas up when we arranged the meeting to discuss your reward. I was unaware they had prepared anything though."

Ash nodded at this and proceeded to wave at Regigigas.

"Hey! How're you doing!" He yelled, causing the Colossal Pokémon to turn toward Ash, its multiple eyes flashing as it stared down Ash.

"CHOSEN ONE IDENTIIFED: ASH KETCHUM. GREETINGS. UNEXPECTED MEETING. UNAWARE OF CURRENT LOCATION AND ACTIVITY." It boomed, its voice sounding almost mechanical as it spoke. But it soon turned away, turning toward his house.

"MISSION PARAMETERS: UNCHANGED. PROCEEDING AS PLANNED." It then began to slowly step toward Ash's house, leaving the boy to stare with furrowed brows as he pondered what he was doing.

"Erm, hello? I'm here. What're you up to buddy?" Ash asked, slowly walking after Regigigas before Suicune stopped him.

"I don't believe that its intentions involve you Ash." She started, as she watched the pale giant curiously. "It came here being unaware that you were here at all. And from what it said, I don't think it was looking for you. So, whatever their plan is, it's best to just wait and see, so that the gift may present itself."

Ash nodded slowly, as he watched the lumbering giant close in toward his house. But near the edge of his garden, a few meters from the white picket fence that marked it out from the field behind his house, he paused. He then raised up one of his hands and began channelling energy into it. As Ash watched, he spotted that it looked like a basic version of Iron Ball, consisting of the same Steel type energy but in a more primal state.

With the energy now in its hand, Regigigas then used its other hand and thrusted it into the ground, grabbing a massive handful of dirt and raising it up, its claw holding the clump of dirt together. With a fairly deep hole now ready, it lowered the other claw, allowing the Steel type energy to be placed within the hole. It then returned the dirt to where it belonged, planting it and patting it down before it moved on.

He then strolled around the house, circling it before stopping yet again. It then repeated the process, this time charging up what appeared to be Ice type energy. It planted this energy and then finished the same process. Once it had done this, it moved on, repeating this process a third time with Rock type energy.

As they watched, Azelf found herself smiling, having figured out what Regigigas was doing. Or… she thought she had. For a brief moment, she was completely certain of this, until Regigigas began to repeat the process for a fourth time. This time with Electric type energy.

That completely threw her off, and when he repeated the process for a fifth time, this time with Dragon type energy, she was completely baffled.

Ash, meanwhile, had no idea what Regigigas was trying to do.

After the fifth time doing this process, Regigigas finally seemed content, slowly marching back toward Ash as he stared in awe.

"MISSION STATUS: COMPLETED. MY GIFT HAS BEEN AWARDED. FOR SERVICES TOWARD MYSELF AND THE EARTH I ONCE SHAPED: I THANK YOU." Regigigas boomed once again, before turning back toward the house.

"Sorry, sorry." Ash said, waving his arms as he walked in front of Regigigas, catching the Legendary's attention. "But, if I can ask, what exactly is your gift?"

Regigigas was silent for a moment, his eyes all locked with Ash's before they flashed, in what Ash hoped was understanding.

"INQUIRY: YOUR GIFT. AS CHOSEN ONE, YOU ARE BOTH HERO AND WORKER. ENTRUSTED WITH MUCH, YOU ARE STILL BUT MORTAL. HUMAN AND POKÉMON ALIKE MUST REST, AND TO REST; ONE MUST HAVE A SAFE PLACE. AS I HAVE MY TEMPLE, YOU HAVE YOUR HOME. AND NOW, I SHALL ENSURE ITS ETERNAL PROTECTION, IN HONOUR OF YOUR DEEDS."

Regigigas then rose both of its arms, and the Earth itself began to tremble, with such an intensity Ash worried that his house may collapse. But instead, the trembling suddenly ceased, as five pillars of light burst from the ground, shooting upward and piercing the sky. And each beam was different, composed of the same elements that had been placed in the ground.

The lights began to recede, and as they burrowed back down into the ground, they collapsed inward, leaving five holes around the house. And from those holes, rose five Pokémon.

Three of them Ash recognised, having met and tangled with them before. The three Legendary Titans: Regirock, Regice, and Registeel. But among them were two who Ash had never seen before, two more Legendary Titans. One was an electric type, with the only part of its body seeming to be entirely solid being its central body. Its arms and legs were entirely composed of electrical energy, crackling away like crazy, while the three prongs of electrical shapes that made up its legs seemed much more solid. The other was clearly a dragon type, if the dragon skull that its arms made up were any indication. It seemed like if it closed its arms around itself, it was become an actual skull.

Which left everyone, including the ancient and near-omniscient Azelf, in a total state of shock.

"What… are they?" Ash asked.

"I have no idea." Azelf replied.

The five seemed to be in a trance, before Regigigas began to beep incomprehensibly, and the five began to seemingly activate, stirring to life silently. After they've activated, they began to patrol, circling around the house with an eerie silence.

Regigigas then spoke again, this time addressing Ash directly.

"HERE STAND FIVE GUARDIANS OF MY OWN DESIGN. AND HERE THEY WILL REMAIN, WHERE THEY WILL STAND GUARD OVER THIS DWELLING YOU CALL YOUR HOME. SO LONG AS THEY STAND, THIS PLACE WILL REMAIN SAFE. REST WELL NOW CHOSEN ONE. YOUR TRIALS ARE NOT YET OVER, AND YOU WILL NEEDS YOUR STRENGTH YET."

Once finished, Regigigas turned back to the forest from whence he came, slowly lumbering away with little more to add to the matter.

"Is he going to come back to Sinnoh?" Ash asked as they collectively watched him walk away.

"I imagine so. That's where he came from at the very least. Probably spent the last few days doing that as well. And the next few will be spent of the return trip."

"Fun."


Bulbasaur smiled proudly as he probed the young Honedge with his vines, gently checking the new-born Steel-Ghost type over.

"You seem to be in perfect health. I can't say I'm overly familiar with the Honedge line, but I've interacted with enough Steel and Ghost types to know how to care for them. Your metallic components are completely rust free and fully solid, and the sash that seems to be linked to your ghostly energy has a nice ghastly complexion. So… how do you feel?"

Bulbasaur stared at the blade-like Pokémon, looking for some response from them as he retracted his vines. But that was exactly what Bulbasaur didn't get, as the one-eyed Pokémon seemingly stared into his soul; unblinking, unemotive, and seemingly unfeeling. For a moment, Bulbasaur was wondering whether Honedge's were even capable of communicating, or whether they were simply silent souls who inhabited the world passively.

But before he could ponder what the truth really was, or what that last thought even really meant, before Honedge suddenly shot forward.

"BOO!"

Bulbasaur jumped back, vines jutting from his bulb as an automatic response, as the young child began cackling with laughter.

"Oh, my most sincere apologies, I simply could not help myself. You were speaking in such serious tones that the idea just popped into my head. But yes father, I am well. Currently contemplating my new existence and what knowledge has come to me so naturally, something which I feel may be the influence of foreign powers that I am unfamiliar with, since I am somehow aware of who you are, and who our collective trainer is: Ash Ketchum."

Honedge stopped for a moment, the sash on their head seemingly stroking the main blade portion of its body, as Bulbasaur frowned, simultaneously caught off guard by the flowing speech and concerned by the implications of it.

"Wait, so you just know all of this? How? This may be my first time raising a hatchling, but I'm like… ninety-nine percent sure that you're not supposed to be born with this inherent knowledge. And considering I've seen a few be hatched in the last few days, I'm fairly sure I'm right on that."

Honedge nodded, waving its sash in what Bulbasaur could only assume was agreement.

"And you would be correct on that front father, (by the way, thank you for not speaking down to me. I'm aware it must be bizarre to speak to a literal infant this way, so I appreciate the gesture) but I don't believe I am meant to be an ordinary hatchling. Nor, I suppose, are my siblings."

"Siblings?"

"Of course. My five siblings of whom were gifted by the embodiment of life itself: Xerneas. We six who were gifted to the Chosen One, Ash Ketchum, as recognition of his deeds. You do recall, yes? I may not know much of life before… my own existence, but I can assume your life is one filled with many hazards that remain at the forefront of your mind, yes?" Honedge asked, earning a nod from Bulbasaur. "Excellent. But yes, we are six who are blessed. Six who are born above others of our kind. Maybe not in raw strength, since the Chosen One has a certain level of respect for earnt strength, but we are born different nonetheless."

"Different how?" Bulbasaur gingerly asked, as he listened with a great intensity, hooked onto the trickle of information that was being revealed.

"Different in that we each are unlike any Pokémon who came before us. Let us go through my many siblings, so you can grasp exactly what has been gifted to our trainer through our existence." Honedge started, pausing only to clear its throat (which Bulbasaur was pretty sure it didn't have) before carrying on.

"First, my sister Absol. A natural disaster magnet through the virtues of her species, you'd think that this fact alone would warrant her inclusion. But consider who she's attached to, and what events transpired not too long before. The Chosen One's first and most iconic champion, risen in power to match that of a Legendary's. Most Pokémon, even ones as brilliant as he, are not meant to wield that power lightly. But then a mortal attachment, one more grounded than that of the Legend that is Ash Ketchum: a child. A tether to the mortal world that helps reign in the powerful more than any deterrent."

"Next, my sister Lugia: a literal child of Legend. Naturally powerful, yes, but that's besides the point. Ash is but a human, Chosen though he may be, and part of being Chosen is that they are part of something bigger. And are linked to forces much bigger than themselves. Such as Lugia, tamer of the Beast of the Sea. The very Legend which brought about Ash's title. Possessing a Lugia, a child though they may be, is a natural symbol of Ash as a Chosen One."

"Thirdly, my brother Eevee. Eevee's are an intriguing Pokémon capable of evolving in ways no other Pokémon can claim to. Which is interesting to think about when you discuss the evolutions that happen around and because of Ash. Evolution does not often come easily, even under stress. Though time and time again, Ash has pushed Pokémon, both his own and others, to go beyond their limits without any adherence to the acknowledge rules. So it is only appropriate that he procure an Eevee, a literal embodiment of this adherence, which can further distort the rules of evolution."

"Next, my sister Mawile. The only one of the six who has formed an incredibly emotional bond with Ash himself. Coincident? There is no such thing. In a world where the Chosen One must endure trial after trial, his mental health must be taken into consideration. And what better cure for a stressed mind than the unconditional love of another? And for one with such a burning love for Pokémon such as Ash, a young Pokémon was the only suitable choice."

"And finally, the last of my siblings, my sister Ralts. Her fate is currently hidden, shrouded by the mist that is the future, so I don't know yet what role she'll play. But I do know that the great Xerneas, with the immutable foresight that a being of life would possess, has created a plan for her to challenge some great truth, which will aid the Chosen One in some way."

"And you?" Bulbasaur finally asked, shifting the focus back to the present. "What of your own differences?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Honedge asked, their eye lazily gazing over to his father. "My intellect. I cannot say for certain where this has all come from. Perhaps I've been blessed with this knowledge by Xerneas to assist Ash understand his role better. Or maybe, as a Ghost type, I am a reincarnation of a knowledgeable soul, one whose role has not yet ended. I do not know. But the past, present, and future all seem to be intrinsically tied, and I'm curious to see how this all pans out."

Bulbasaur said nothing to this, finally shocked into silence and left to simply stare forward dumbly, before the tension was suitably broken by a follow-up question by the Ghost type.

"Now then father, I must ask. Who here is most susceptible to pranks?"


Ralts swung her sticks around, trying to mimic the motions she saw the Gallade perform in the recent battle between Ash and Gary.

She swung one round, in line with her shoulders, before thrusting with the other. But as she extended her arm out, she found her centre of gravity dragging her whole body forward, bringing her crashing down onto the ground.

As dust was kicked up, Ralts cursed to herself, pushing herself up before she readjusted her grip. That was the eight time that had happened since she began her training, and it was beginning to frustrate her. The twin branches were meant to be the first step for her learning the many different blade moves that existed, but that seemed like a distant dream at best with how she was performing. How was she meant to execute Leaf Blade if she couldn't even swing a sword?

She kicked a small rock away, on the verge of screaming to the heavens when she was denied the chance.

"Your footwork is atrocious." The voice said, causing Ralts to drop her sticks as she spun round to meet them. And there, standing behind her, was Infernape.

"What do you want?" She asked bitterly, bending down to pick up her sticks as he chuckled.

"I wanted to come check up on you. You disappeared after the whole showdown with Mewtwo happened, and I kinda guessed that you were getting started on your training. I see things are going well."

Ralts growled at him, crossing her arms with a pout.

"I don't need your pity, so leave me alone."

"You're definitely like your mother." Infernape muttered to himself, before clearing his throat. "And I'm not here to offer pity, but a helping hand. If you'll take it."

Ralts gave him a sceptical look, cautious curiosity hooking her interest.

"How exactly are you going to help me learn about swordsmanship? I've not seen you fight much, but even I can tell you aren't much of a 'sword Pokémon'. More the 'punch them in face Pokémon'. And why would you help me?"

"First of all, you're right. I prefer using my fists over a sword, much simpler if you ask me. But some things cross over, and its those things that I can help you with. It may not be much, but I imagine you'll take it over nothing. As for why, well, I felt a bit bad after my comment earlier. Your mum was right, we're not exactly normal Pokémon so why would we let something small like blocked-off evolutions stop us. And you're definitely one of us, so do what you want to do. Don't let anyone stop you. Now then, let's get started."

Infernape then walked over to Ralts, using his tail to slightly change her stance.

"Now, the main thing you need to be thinking of when swinging those things around is your centre of gravity. Once you get the hand of these you'll need to pick up the pace, and that means throwing your body around more. So whenever you move, you need to think ahead so that you don't knock yourself off balance. When your body one way, always be ready to catch yourself. Observe."

Infernape then lept forward, pushing himself into a long leap, and he twisted himself in the air so that his legs were ready to catch him, allowing him to land with ease and without toppling over. All while Ralts watched with wide eyes.

Something which made Infernape brim with pride and chuckle awkwardly.

"Don't worry, I won't be making you leap around like that just yet. For now we'll work on footwork. But once I'm done with you, you'll be leaping and gliding through the air like a flying type."

Ralts stared at the fire type for a moment, before a massive grin broke out on her face.

"Great."

Necrozma ran through the Ultra Space tunnel, fleeing from the pursuing Ultra Beasts as fast as it could.

It had nearly won! The stubborn Pokémon that were stopping it from getting more light were on their last legs, and all it would have took was to knock aside those last few fighters, those fighters who could barely even stand, and it would have had it ALL!

But no. That wasn't how it played out. At the last moment these interlopers intervened, bombarding it with dozens of attacks, draining it of its limited power. A drawn-out battle against these new fighters would have meant defeat, so Necrozma fled.

It needed light, more light to fuel its strength. Lunala was no longer an option, so another source must be found. And then, it would destroy these interlopers for their heinous crimes, for denying Necrozma what was rightfully THEIRS!"

So now they would run, run until they secure more light. Necrozma could be patient, so long as it meant it'd get its reward. And it would.

One way or another, Necrozma would become WHOLE.


Hey everyone, guess who?

First and foremost: I'm sorry. I had no intention to leave this story for as long as I did. I don't really have any one reason if I'm honest, just lots of little things that kept me busy. Work was hectic, I've been trying to focus on my own projects more, and the world just being in a general shamble just kept my attention elsewhere. And before I knew it, three months had passed without an update on this story.

So here it is, very overdue, but hopefully you'll all like it. The story HASN'T been abandoned, and I don't intend to abandon it any time soon. I have more stuff I want to do in this story, and I fully intend to finish every plot point I've introduced. So I think from here on out, set-up is over. There'll be one more chapter to make sure everything is covered, and then everything I've put into place will come to fruition.

Hopefully that makes up for the long absence.

Thank you all for continuing to support and read my story during my long absence. I understand it's been a while since I've updated, so to see that you lot are still reading and reviewing is great. So thank you all for that. And I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think of this chapter, so if you can leave some reviews for this chapter, it'll be deeply appreciated. It's been too long since I've read what people thought of this story.

Other than that, this is all I've got for this time. Sorry it's not a massive chapter, but take it as a promise for more to come. I'll try and get one out in decent time, though I don't know when. Quicker than this chapter, that's for sure.

But for now, its goodbye. Much love and peace as always – TWoS.