Venus stood before Marcus, Grace, and Kasumi with a proud grin. "Well well, looks like the gang's all here again! How I've hoped to see the three of you before me after so long!" She clasped her hands together with her wickedly sweet grin on her lips. "But I'm afraid you're too late. Tapu Lele's already been captured! So you can be on your way now."

"What!?" Marcus grit his teeth.

"As if we'd just let you do whatever you want." Grace scoffed, glaring towards Venus. "You've already done far too much. We're putting you back behind bars!"

"Hmph!" Venus waved Grace off before staring at Kasumi. She looked a lot different since the last time…but considering she was thought to be dead for the longest time, perhaps it was fitting. "But YOU! I was oh so surprised to see that you're still alive, after such a noble sacrifice as well! I was overjoyed to hear that you still walked on this earth! I owe you so much for humiliating me on that dreadful day!"

"…" Kasumi narrowed her eyes at Venus. It was a very unfriendly glare. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, shaking her head. "But I do know that you irritate me deep down in my core."

"Hm? You don't remember me?" Venus placed a hand on her chest, utterly appalled by this notion. "So you kept your life but lost your memories? That's…utterly unforgivable! How dare you forget the anguish you caused me! I've spent all those months in prison wondering how I'd exact my revenge on you and your friends!"

Kasumi furrowed her brow. "Yeah. I really don't remember…but I get a slight hint of enjoyment watching you so angry at me. I wonder why…" She tilted her head unknowingly. But that was enough to send Venus into a fit of rage.

"Ugh! My mission is already complete! So now I'll take the liberty of crushing the three of you under my heel!" Venus snapped her fingers, Pheromosa and Steelix appearing in front of her. "This will not go as it did last time, I hope you know. I intend to fully crush you."

"Oh yeah? We'd like to see you try!" Marcus said with a confident grin, Gallade standing in front of him.

"You'll go down again." Grace replied while calling out Venusaur.

"…" Kasumi didn't say anything, but the way Dragonite was snarling said enough.

"Hmph." Venus flipped her hair. "Don't overestimate your abilities. Pheromosa…Triple Axel!" Pheromosa vanished in a blur, appearing in front of Gallade with ice around her feet. Before anyone could even react, Gallade was kicked in the cheek, sent spiraling into a pile of rubble. Pheromosa kept moving, her next target being Venusaur, who received a kick to the face that forced it to slide back, nearly toppling over as the second hit was stronger than the first; lastly, Dragonite was the final target and the recipient of the strongest and last hit right to the chest, sending it flying back. It all happened so fast, the three trainers had no idea what they just saw.

"W-What the hell just happened!?" Grace asked, staring as Gallade, Venusaur, and Dragonite were recovering from that attack.

"I…I didn't even see it move!" Marcus admitted with a sweat drop. "It's so fast…"

"I blinked and missed it…" Kasumi said with a sweat drop before shaking her head. "Dragonite, use Draco Meteor!" Dragonite recovered from that very effective hit and flew up into the air, pointing its head up to fire off an orange sphere into the air. This sphere exploded into gigantic rocks that began to rain down on the ruined area of Konikoni City.

"She's flying solo!?" Grace grunted.

"Guess we're only here as a commodity…" Marcus grit his teeth.

Steelix was unable to protect itself from the Draco Meteor, so it suffered some damage, but Venus was hardly concerned about that. "Jump!" She commanded Pheromosa, and she did, leaping from rock to rock before jumping higher than Dragonite was in the air. "Lunge!" Flipping around, Pheromosa landed a dive kick on Dragonite's chest, sending it crashing into the ground.

"Dragonite!" Kasumi gasped.

"Aw, did you forget how to battle too?" Venus laughed mockingly.

"Oh that's enough out of you!" Grace pointed at Pheromosa. "Solar Beam!" The Alolan Sun was as strong as ever, so it allowed for a quick charge. Venusaur fired off the beam of light at Pheromosa, but with her speed, it was near impossible to hit her and she simply dodged out of the way. "Tch!"

"Psycho Cut!" Gallade's bladed arms shone brightly. The white knight swung its arms around several times, sending crescent beams of psychic energy at Pheromosa and Steelix. Pheromosa was able to evade this easily, while Steelix just endured the brunt of the attack. It didn't even feel like any damage was being done to the behemoth. "Come on…! I bet that Ultra Beast has the defenses of a wet paper bag!"

"Is that the best you can come up with!? You should've Mega Evolved before facing me, I came prepared." Venus laughed, gesturing at the fact her Steelix was still in its Mega Evovled state. "Stone Edge!" Steelix slammed its tail on the ground, creating azure stones that rose up to strike Venusaur and Gallade.

'"Frenzy Plant!" Venusaur let out a mighty roar, causing large plants to rip through the ground wildly, easily tearing through the Stone Edge. The vines even wrapped around Steelix, keeping it bound despite its attempts to break free. "Now!"

"Focus Blast!" Gallade ran along the vines as they spawned, using them to get closer to Steelix, forming a sphere of energy in its hands. Gallade then leapt forward, slamming this sphere onto Steelix's skull where a fierce explosion occurred. It was a direct hit, but Gallade wasn't able to enjoy this victory for much longer, as Pheromosa appeared in front of it, kicking at it twice to knock it down to the ground. "Gh!"

"Triple Axel!" Pheromosa landed on the vines, spinning around so the frost coming from her heels froze the Frenzy Plant over, allowing it to break and freeing Steelix. But just as she did that…

"Fire Punch!" Dragonite appeared to Pheromosa's left, swinging a blazing fist at her body! Pheromosa was narrowly able to dodge this last second attack with her speed, the flames grazing her body. She simply returned the favor with Lunge, sending Dragonite into another pile of rubble. "No…!" Kasumi grit her teeth.

"Don't you see now?" Venus said with a dark chuckle. "Pheromosa's speed, Steelix's ironclad defenses…you don't have a chance at beating me this time! You won't break through! But feel free to exhaust yourselves."

This situation was a bit grim. "Okay, guess it's time to…" Marcus was about to Mega Evolve Gallade, but he didn't even have the chance, as Pheromosa was already in front of the knight. "Wh..! Close Combat!" Gallade engaged in hand to hand with Pheromosa, managing to hold its own, but barely.

"Now, Venusaur! Use Cut!" Venusaur's vines whipped out in an effort to cut Pheromosa, but it was too slow and the Ultra Beast already evaded the attack before it could reach it. "This is so frustrating! How do we catch this thing!?"

"You don't." Venus snapped her fingers and Pheromosa took to the air. "Bug Buzz." Pheromosa let out a particular cry that was painful for the ears of all three Pokémon, causing them to recoil and try and cover their ears. "Earthquake!"

"Fly!" Kasumi shouted. She could only save Dragonite, but watched in shock as the resounding tremor knocked Marcus, Grace, Gallade and Venusaur on their backs. They weren't doing well due to Pheromos's speed and they had no way to slow it down either. Dragonite was the only one who could escape the powerful combination. "Ugh…"

"Losing heart?" Venus laughed. "Did you really think I wasn't accustomed to how you three fight by now? Quite strong your own, but you don't have the means to combat something like Pheromosa! Too fast for the eye, and beautiful too~"

"I know for a fact we can fold that thing in one hit if we could catch it…" Marcus grunted while trying to sit up. "But we've gotta break through Steelix…."

"She's not making it easy for us…" Grace admitted. Venus really was making sure they stayed down. "We need Kasumi to work with us…but she's not in the right mindset to do that. We're going to lose at this rate."

"You won't need to worry about that." Venus giggled while pointing her hand forward. Pheromosa appeared in front of Marcus and Grace, reluctantly touching the dirty trainers with a look of disgust. "I'm so sorry for asking you to touch such filth, but we have to properly dispose of the trash, you understand?" Pheromosa nodded.

"Ghh…!" Marcus struggled with Pheromosa's grip. Gallade and Venusaur were going to intervene, but they were stuck dealing with Steelix.

"Now you just be a good girl and watch. Those people don't mean anything to you, right?" Venus taunted. "So you can have your little revenge when I'm finished."

"…." Kasumi was staring at the situation in front of her. "We can…do something." Dragonite then landed in front of her, facing her with a stern look. It made a few grunts and noises, gesturing at Marcus and Grace. "What am I supposed to do?! What do you want me to do, protect them? I don't even know them!"

"NITE!" Dragonite roared.

"…Huh…?" Kasumi blinked. "Protect…?" That word spurred something from the dream she had. That vague memory where she looked over her shoulder, spotting familiar faces behind her. She was…protecting them. "This isn't right…" Her head started to hurt. "I don't know these people but I…I don't want them hurt…" The complex emotions surging around her caused her shadow aura to appear. Whenever it was visible to the human eye, that wasn't a good thing.

"Hm?" Venus tilted her head. "Having some trouble are we? You're still brimming with Shadow Power too! The experiment lives on! How wonderful is that! Are you afraid for their lives? That's so cute…!"

"Afraid…?" Kasumi mumbled. "I…"

"Don't be afraid!" Grace exclaimed while being held by Pheromosa. "I know you can remember…the promise we made way back when! I don't want to lose you again, Kasumi! You're in front of me and I wasn't strong enough before. It's all my fault you're like this…I wish so desperately I could turn the clock back so you could be normal again. If you can't remember anything else, please remember this…even times when you're afraid…."

"Ah…!" Kasumi's eyes went wide. It all came flooding back into her at that moment. Those few words snapped to her attention. The aura around her body intensified and she reached out for Dragonite, staring at it with a soft smile. "…I won't let my courage fade…that's the promise you and I have made…" Kasumi seemed to be in control of her aura for a little bit, and it slowly spread to Dragonite. "Trust me for a sec, okay?"

"HOLD ON! HOLD ON!" Venus shouted. "What in the world do you think you're doing!? Pheromosa, stop that!" Pheromosa gladly dropped Marcus and Grace, now shooting towards Kasumi with the intent to halt her.

It was too late even for this speedy Ultra Beast. Dragonite was cloaked in an aura of Shadow Power around its body, but not affecting its heart. "Fire Punch!" Black flames appeared around Dragonite's fist and it swung at Pheromosa, who ended up leaping backwards to avoid the hit. But it was clear by the expression on the Ultra Beast's face she did not want to get hit by that. "Heh…too slow?"

"How did you do that!?" Venus fumed. It brought up bad memories of how Kasumi was able to defeat her all that time ago.

"Dunno." Kasumi shrugged her shoulders. "I've had this stuff inside me for so long, I guess I've just kinda gotten good with it. I mean, I absorbed a lot of it on that ship…I can feel it inside of me, but I'm not using it to corrupt Pokémon like you guys are. Dragonite's already got some experience with this as is...I want to use it to protect my friends…I think even something as sinister as Shadow Power can do something good in the right hands, right guys?"

"K-Kasumi, you…?" Marcus' eyes were wide.

"Mhm!" Kasumi nodded. "I mean…some bits and pieces are still missing, but I remember all the important stuff!"

"What, did seeing your friends in danger spur your memories back? How utterly cliché!" Venus scoffed.

"Nah." Kasumi shook her head, playfully pointing at Venus, winking with her green eye closed. "I just remember how much I enjoyed seeing that twisted face of agony you make when things don't go your way~!"

"WHAT!?" Venus scowled. "HOW DARE YOU!"

"But in all seriousness…I did remember…" Kasumi's eyes narrowed, glaring right at Venus. "And I don't appreciate what you were going to do to them. Wanna get serious, guys?"

"Say no more!" Marcus held up his Mega Ring. "Gallade, let's kick things up a notch!"

Grace did the same, grinning. There was time for the heartfelt reunion later, but for now, they had an Admin to take care of. "Yes. Let us do this properly!"

"I won't allow you!" Venus pointed her finger forward, commanding Pheromosa to attack. She still had control of this battle and she wasn't going to give it up because of Kasumi. Not again! Pheromosa darted forward, but it was once again interrupted by Dragonite, immediately retreating backwards out of instinct. "W-What's wrong with you!?"

"Ah…it ran back." Kasumi snickered while Gallade and Venusaur proceeded to Mega Evolve. "What a shame. Even if it's paired with you, it knows to preserve its own wellbeing first. I guess it really won't last a single hit…mind if I take the bug?"

"Leave the wall to us!" Marcus said while standing behind Mega Gallade. "Close Combat!"

"Frenzy Plant!" Grace commanded. While Gallade ran forward, Venusaur began summoning large vines from the ground that traveled in front of it, attempting to wrap around and strike Steelix like before.

"Steelix, Iron Tail! Pheromosa, use Bug Buzz!" Venus said calmly. She still had the advantage, she just couldn't lose it. As Gallade and the Frenzy Plant came forward, Steelix swung its iron tail around sharply and precisely to combat both the knight and cut down the plants. But having more than two foes to deal with did make defending tricky, as several hits did land upon its sturdy frame. As for Pheromosa, she released a potent wave of sound towards Dragonite to take it down.

"Dragon Pulse!" Kasumi pointed her hand forward. Dragonite reared its head back before throwing it forward, opening its mouth to fire off a blast of draconic energy directly at the Bug Buzz. The two attacks exploded when they met, "Fire Punch! Keep that bug scared!"

"Don't back down! Triple Axel!" Venus commanded.

While Dragonite and Pheromosa rushed at each other, and Steelix was busy dealing with Gallade and Venusaur, she had prime opportunity to launch an attack. She gripped Toucannon's legs firmly, pointing the bird's blazing beak downward. Hitting Pheromosa was next to impossible with how fast it moved, but there was another target that was far easier to hit. "Beak Blast!" Toucannon let out a caw as a powerful burst of heat exploded from its beat, rushing to explode on Steelix's back. Steelix roared as its body lurched forward, the sudden explosion catching everyone off guard.

"What was that?!" Venus turned around, only to see that the assailant was Kahili. "You again!?

"Who the heck is that?" Grace asked.

"No idea…but that was a pretty good shot!" Marcus grinned.

"That's revenge for earlier." Kahili said, still holding Toucannon like a weapon. Neither golfer nor Pokémon were happy about the earlier encounter.

Kasumi realized this was one huge distraction and took this chance. "Dragon Rush!" Dragonite responded to her command, flying forward as energy swirled around its body, taking the shape of a dragon around it. Before Venus could even turn her head, it was far too late. Dragonite slammed into Pheromosa at full power, sending the fragile Ultra Beast flying backwards. "GOT IT!"

Pheromosa let out a cry before it hit a nearby wall with a loud crash. It slid down with swirls in its eyes, signifying its defeat. "AH..!" Venus screamed as her newly beloved Ultra Beast was taken down in a single hit.

"Wow, it really did have the defenses of a wet paperbag." Kasumi scratched her head. "What were we gonna do if it was as durable as it was fast?"

"Luckily, that was far from the case!" Grace said with a firm nod. Truthfully, she didn't know. But they were all glad the assumption of Pheromosa being defensively frail held up in the end. "But it all worked out! Thanks, lady!"

"Don't thank me yet!" Kahili exclaimed. "You've still got one more hole left! The match isn't over yet!"

"Right!" The trio nodded.

"Ghhhhh…" Venus was enraged at this turn of events. She wasn't about to look like a fool again to these insufferable trainers! "Steelix, we're finishing this right here and now! Use Heavy Slam!" Steelix nodded, pushing its body high into the air, preparing to use all of its weight to crash down on Gallade, Venusaur, and Dragonite. Something as heavy as a Mega Steelix coming down on them would end any battle for certain.

"On me!" Kasumi said. "Dragon Rush!" Dragonite cloaked its body in that same energy from before, rushing ahead to clash with Steelix and kept it from crashing into the ground, though it was a difficult endeavor. It was a heavy task, and Dragonite began to struggle due to the damage it sustained earlier. Just like before when Kasumi and Dragonite bonded with Shadow Power, she felt its pain. But that wasn't going to stop her, even if her red eye did start to hurt a bit. "Ngh…I can't…hold it…long…" But that's when Gallade and Venusaur joined

"You don't have to do it alone!" Marcus said. "That's how you got like this! We're here for you, remember!? So we'll finish this together!"

"The three of us! We won't let you go again!" Grace said with a smile. "So let's do this!"

Kasumi felt herself about to cry. How could she ever forget these two…? "YEAH!"

"STEELIX, CRUSH THEM!" Venus commanded.

"DRAGON PULSE!"

"FOCUS BLAST!"

"SOLAR BEAM!"

Everything happened all at once. As Steelix attempted to use its weight to its advantage, it found itself slowly being overpowered by the three attacks building up under it. It ultimately had no defense aside from its rock solid defenses, but that didn't stop it from being carried up into the air by all three attacks. The three attacks converged in the sky, resulting in a gigantic explosion that shook a small area of Konikoni City. Everyone had to cover their eyes as Steelix fell from the sky, landing with a small tremor due to its size and weight. But Steelix was defeated, reverting back to normal. "NOOOO!" Venus cried out. "HOW COULD I LOSE AGAIN!?"

The shadow power faded around Kasumi and she nearly fell over, but she was caught by Marcus and Grace. "Don't worry, we got you." They both said in unison.

"I know…" Kasumi smiled.

"UGH!" Venus stomped around in frustration. "I can't believe this! HOW DID YOU BEST ME TWICE?!"

"I think I said this to your friend once…" Kasumi said while standing upright, pointing at Venus with a wide grin. "As long as my heart beats, it won't lose to the likes of you."

"So that makes you 2-1 against us?" Marcus said tauntingly. "You really can't catch a break, can you?"

"A shame…to think people actually liked you at some point." Grace yawned. "Even with an Ultra Beast, you weren't able to beat us."

Venus was seething…but then she calmed down, flashing a sweet smile. "Well, it's rather annoying that I wasn't able to best the three of you in battle." As she said this, dark clouds began rolling in, but they were rapidly moving towards Melemele Island instead. The air of victory was very short lived as the atmosphere in all of Alola slowly began to shift. "But that's okay. That doesn't mean the war is lost."

"W-What's going on…?" Kasumi asked.

"I already told you once before, didn't I? My mission was complete when Tapu Lele was captured." Venus explained, spinning around as she did a 180. "Honestly, beating you was just a personal wish of mine…but it didn't matter either way. All I needed to do was stall you in the end."

"…What was Ein's plan…?" Grace demanded to know.

Venus's sweet smile turned into a sinister smirk. "I suppose I can tell you now, since you're far too out of the way to do anything about it. This is the beginning of the end to Alola as you know it."

.

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Next Time: Chaos Named.