Pokemon: Alola Journey VOL 1 - The Trials of Sarah

by Snow Nadder

In the Alola Region, Sarah attends her first day at the Pokemon School where she meets Ash, Pikachu and their friends. With her pokemon, Sarah will take on the Island Challenge along with Ash, but while doing the Island Challenge, Sarah discovers there may be more to her than meets the eye.

66. Chapter 66: Galar Special Finale Part 2

"Last time, Sarah and her friends, joined by her new Galar Legendary Pokemon, have just completed their final Galar project for Prof. Kukui and were ready to return Postwick and Wedgehurst to complete it and prepare to head for home the following day. But, just as they were meeting Sonia at Stow-on-Side for something she's discovered from her research on Galar's history and the Darkest Day, they were interrupted by a series of booming noises coming from a mural on the mountains which turned out to be the rival of Gloria, Hop, and Victor, Bede, who's on a mission to collect Wishing Stars for Chairman Rose by whatever means possible."

---

"What are you doing to that mural?" Sonia gasped in shock.

"Are you crazy?! What were you trying to prove by coming here and using a Pokemon you stole to destroy the mural just for your Wishing Stars?" questioned Hop angrily.

"Rilla, Rillaboom, Boom, Boom!" snapped Rillaboom in agreement.

"What's it to you, you motley lot of peasants? You really think you can start collecting Wishing Stars and get in the chairman's favor?"

"For the last time, we're not doing any of this for the chairman!" groaned Gloria, exasperated at Bede. "This is not about us, it never has been!"

"It's always been about you ever since we've been meeting each other throughout this trek. That's the way things are involving the Gym Challenge, isn't it? I see, so you do have some cunning in you... You must be more clever than I thought, even after you didn't show much..."

"We've beaten you many times before, Bede, we can do it again! What you're doing is wrong, it's not what the Gym Challenge is about!" barked Victor, trying to get the truth about the Gym Challenge through to the trio's rival but to no avail.

"Liar! If you and those meddling brats of yours plan to get in my way, I'll show you no mercy! Reuniclus, stop them!" screamed Bede, sending out a Reuniclus.

"Damn, he's evolved his Duosion again!" growled Victor, eying Bede's Psychic Type darkly.

"We gotta stop him!" Ash shouted.

"Hold it, guys! Bede is ours to deal with!" said Gloria, stopping their new friends in their tracks.

"He dragged us into this mess by threatening to destroy a part of Galar's history and egging us on since our first meeting, and now, it's time for us to clean house!" Hop agreed as Inteleon, Rillaboom, and Cinderace prepared to attack.

"We're not going to stand by and let him get away with all this just for what he thinks is the chairman's favor," vowed Victor. "And, that's what we plan to do like we've always done! It's time for us to settle the score with him, right here, right now!"

Before anybody could make another move, one of Sarah's Pokeballs opened from inside her satchel and a familiar Shiny Eeveelution that eyed Reuniclus as his eyes glowed, "Breon..."

"What the-?!"

"Is that an Umbreon?!"

"I've never seen an Umbreon like it before!" gasped the Postwick Galar trainers in bewilderment.

"Wha-What in the name of Queen Elizabeth is this?!" cried Bede in shock, not expecting to see a Shiny Pokemon, let alone a Shiny Umbreon before he growled. "Urgh, no matter, that still won't be enough to stop me from fulfilling my destiny!"

"By all the saints, is that really an Umbreon?" gasped Sonia in awe and amazement as her Yamper whined in stunned awe and its eyes twinkled.

"Yep, that's Sarah's Umbreon, all right," Mallow nodded, smiling.

"He and his daughters were really something," nodded Sophocles in agreement.

"He may seem strange given he's a Shiny but he's a powerhouse of a Pokemon," finished Ash.

"Umbreon, you want to battle this dork, too?" asked Sarah, taken aback by Umbreon's entrance, to which he nodded in response.

"Umbreon... Gloria, Hop, Victor, I hope you don't mind a little help!"

"Well, Bede was originally our business but..." Hop began.

"But, I suppose it won't hurt for you to give us a hand," said Victor.

"It's also a good chance to see what your Umbreon can do!" smiled Gloria at Sarah.

"Hmph, preposterous! I doubt your giant alley won't last a minute against me and my Pokemon, you'll be the first to fall! Reuniclus, Confusion!"

"Don't be so sure about that, Dork! You should've studied more on Pokemon Types in addition to their attacks and defenses 'cause some Pokemon are Psychic-Proof!" smirked Sarah. "Umbreon, use your Shadow Ball!"

"Bre...ON!" shouted Umbreon, charging up his Dark Type attack before he fired it and it broke through Confusion before landing a 1-Hit KO on Reuniclus.

"I don't believe it! He beat his Reuniclus in one blow!" gawked Gloria in shock.

"How did he-?!" gasped Victor.

"Now, that's power!" replied Hop, flustered.

"AH!" gasped Bede in shock before he composed himself. "Hmph, not bad, for an Alolan boomie. I've already seen more than enough to determine you and your team's abilities. You still won't stop me from fulfilling my destiny, I was just getting started."

"That was just a warm-up and besides, we're not the one you should be worried about the way you banged on my new friends," scoffed Sarah, allowing the three Postwick trainers to take over.

"Bre!" nodded Umbreon, unimpressed by Bede's lackluster battling.

"We'll see... Gothitelle, Psycho Cut!" cried Bede, sending out his second Pokemon and allowing it to use Psycho Cut on his next foe.

"Inteleon, Protect then Snipe Shot!" called Gloria, her Secret Agent Pokemon shielding herself before taking aim and firing her signature attack on the Psychic Type.

"Light Screen!" Bede screamed, with Gothitelle summoning a screen to protect itself from Snipe Shot as he scoffed smugly again as he noticed Inteleon's disappearance. "Is that all you can do? I thought you'd learn something better the last time I crushed you. Did your 'secret agent' run away?"

Gloria just smirked, "Nah, we've learned to improvise and come up with aggressive negotiations. She's still my plan as always! Inteleon, go!"

"Intel!" smirked Inteleon as she appeared from behind Gothitelle.

This time, she's at extremely close range after using her chameleon-like abilities to fool Gothitelle and disappear out of sight after it blocked her Snipe Shot.

"Hey! Gothitelle, grab it!" Bede gasped.

"Sucker Punch!" countered Gloria.

Gothitelle was also taken aback by Inteleon taking it for a fool with one of the oldest tricks in the book and tried to grab Gloria's fully-evolved Water Type. However, she was too slow to react in time as Inteleon grabbed her right hand and used her own to punch Gothitelle in the face first. As it was also a Psychic Type like Reuniclus, Gothitele couldn't take on the power of the Secret Agent Pokemon's Dark Type attack.

"Gothitelle-?!" said Bede, stunned.

"As I said, I'd call these kinds of things with you aggressive negotiations," smirked Gloria again as Inteleon bowed to him with a mocking smirk.

"...Not bad, girlie. But, as I said earlier, I'm just getting started. Besides, you won't be so lucky next time, I promise you that much!"

"Don't make it any harder than it already is, Bede! You're already in more than enough trouble than you are! I doubt the people here would forgive you for destroying the mural just to find those Wishing Stars you're desperate for!" warned Victor, glaring dangerously at his and his friends' rival.

"That's easy for you to say, Vickey. But, you see, I can't do that and since you still planned to get in my way, I have this overwhelming desire to crush you all."

"You spoiled brat!" snapped Hop, now having enough of Bede's arrogance.

Bede's eyes widened before he snarled at Hop for the insult, "What did you say to me? Who do you think you are, you whelp?!"

"You can't compare to us and other trainers before us because you think being the best for Chairman Rose as his favorite is your destiny and you'd just run over everyone who don't think the same way as you! Whereas with Gloria, Victor, our Pokemon, and our mates, we work together to carve out our own destinies as nothing's set in stone!"

"You're going to regret that! Hatterene, get in there!" bellowed Bede, sending out his third Pokemon which looked like a pink, lavender-blue, and white witch. "Power up with Swords Dance and destroy that brat and his gorilla with Disarming Voice!"

Powering up with the special status move, Hatterene smirked darkly before it screamed loudly with hopes of stopping Hop and Rillaboom in their tracks while the others did their best to block out the noise as they covered their ears despite

Hop, however, wasn't deterred as he and Rillaboom endured Disarming Voice and stood their ground. "You might as well be attacking us with what you would use in a bad singer's song contest! Rillaboom, Growl, Noble Roar, and don't forget, Wood Hammer!" he scoffed.

"Rilla!" agreed Rillaboom, growling at Hatterne through its Disarming Voice, then breaking it with Noble Roar, and then lashing out with Wood Hammer.

"Hatterene! Don't stop, you fool, get up and use Dazzling Gleam!" snarled Bede towards his nearly beaten Pokemon.

Not wanting to deal with its trainer's anger, the Silent Pokemon glowed and charged forward but Rillaboom snorted in disgust at this and soon smirked darkly and cheekily as he used a final Wood Hammer to play a game of Whack-A-Mole with the Psychic/Fairy Type, causing everybody to laugh as Hatterene screamed in panic before it was finally whacked and it fainted.

"What the-!?" stuttered Bede, now starting to lose his cool.

"Boom, Boom!" snarked Rillaboom with a smirk, drumming a victory tune.

"Oh, yeah! That's how we do it, Galar Gorilla Beatles Style!" cheered Hop using the "Peace" victory pose.

"Damn! Now, I'm annoyed!" snarled Bede as he returned his defeated Hatterene before he thought over what was going on. "How are they doing this? I can't predict moves such as that, let alone Triple Combos! Who do they think they are, mocking me like this? This wasn't supposed to be! I was chosen by Chairman Rose, I have to do this to make him proud! It has to be me!"

"Bede, we don't want to do this the hard way given what you're doing! As we said, you're already in more than enough trouble as it is!" warned Victor as he and Cinderace took Hop and Rillaboom's place for the Postwick Trio's last battle with him. "It's all over for you once this is over, give up?"

"Silence, you! You've foiled my plans for success for the last time! I'm going to keep collecting those Wishing Stars for Chairman Rose and nobody's gonna stop me, you hear me?! Rapidash, finish the job!"

Giving in to his growing angst, anger, fear, and fury brewing within him just to fulfill what he sees as his "destiny", Bede sends out a Galarian Rapidash of his own but one who seemed to be his loyal partner as it eyed the battle-ready Cinderace. He was now more determined than ever to do what he must do to win and achieve his goal, even if he has to play dirty should it come to it.

"Okay, then... Cinderace, Flame Charge!"

"Rapidash, Quick Attack!" shouted the two trainers in their last battle.

Bede's Rapidash and Cinderace soon clashed as they tried to force one or the other back and overpower them using speed. Amidst a small explosion that followed, the evolved Unique Horn and Striker Pokemon continued their assaults on each other using Tackle attack to see who would make the first fail that would give the one or the other a leg up or until either of their trainers makes a move. Then, when either trainer saw an opportunity for another opening...

"Rapidash, Megahorn!" snapped Bede, allowing Rapidash to slash Cinderace with its horn and force it back.

"Pyro Ball and don't lose your ground, buddy!" countered Victor.

"Ace!" nodded Cinderace firmly, knowing what he has to do.

Picking up a random pebble around him with his feet, he dribbled it in the same manner as a Soccer/Football player would before it turned into a small burning soccer ball from it. Then, as he dribbled it into the air, he jumped and did a flip kick, sending the ball towards Rapidash.

"Rapidash!" shrieked Bede, seeing the Pyro Ball coming.

Seeing the Pyro Ball attack coming towards it, Rapidash used Psychic to try and hold the ball in place before sending it back towards Cinderace to use it against him. But, the Striker Pokemon just smirked as he jumped forward and kicked the Pyro Ball back with a rebound shot.

"Yeah, rebound!" cheered Victor, smirking.

"WHAT-?!" gawked Bede.

His Rapidash snorted in shock as the Pyro Ball managed to land a hit at twice the power and knock it back, barely managing to stand as it started to wobble on its tired-out legs. Knowing this was his last chance to end it with the tide of the battle in his and his partner's side, Victor pointed at Rapidash and issued his last command.

"Cinderace, finish it off with a full-powered Fire Punch to the face!"

"Cinder...ACE!" screamed Cinderace as he charged forward, jumped into the air, and threw a hard flaming right hook at Rapidash's face.

In slow-motion, Cinderace's punch struck true as he landed a hit. And soon, unable to take the burning and growing pain from its Fire Type opponent's Fire Punch, Rapidash was knocked over on its side and fainted after failing to get up and continue fighting. This utter defeat by four trainers, three of which are his fiercest rivals and one of them being an Alolan boomie newbie, left Bede reeling as he snarled with disdain at Sarah and her Umbreon as well as Gloria, Victor, Hop, and their partners as they cheered.

"We did it!"

"We've finally defeated Bede!"

"That'll show him!" cried the Postwick Trio in delight!

"Rillaboom, Boom, Boom!"

"Intel, Teleon!"

"Ace, Cinder, Cinderace!" agreed Rillaboom, Inteleon, and Cinderace with pride, their feelings mutual.

Sarah smiled at Umbreon as he nuzzled her. "Good job, Umbreon," she said, petting him.

"Bre," smiled Umbreon.

"I don't believe it, this has got to be some kind of mistake!" Bede growled furiously. "I never lose, I shouldn't have! I demand a do-over!"

He turned back and continued to scowl, "But, how? How can this be? I was so close but I never stood a chance, beaten by those peasants and an Alolan boomie... How could I've let you three continue to get in my way for so long and now this...? I was the one chosen by the chairman himself, I was supposed to beat the Champion when I finally fulfilled my goal...! I'm one of the elite, the best of the best... Someone who can possibly, surely, shoulder the future of all of Galar!"

"You better believe it, Bede, mate! You've lost!" spat Hop, sending a determined glare at him as his, Gloria, and Victor's partners stood with them.

"You don't have what it takes to beat Leon or decide Galar's future no matter what you do or no matter how many times you'd wish to take to achieve that!" agreed Gloria, feeling the same.

"You can't win against him or decide Galar's fate just by being someone's favorite or strength alone," put in Victor, glaring at Bede with a wisdom that came from his and his friends' journey across their home region and maturing from it. "It's about learning to trust yourself and your Pokemon to choose your own destiny or change it. We've learned that from someone a long time ago ever since the three of us started this journey. That someone...was you."

"But, it can't be...! Why, how could you-no... You don't understand, none of you do, you blithering imbeciles!" snapped Bede, growing more and more frustrated as he listened.

"Challenger Bede!" shouted a furious voice.

Everyone barring Bede turned to find a tall and slender woman with fair skin, green eyes, and long blonde hair rushing up with a few guards alongside her. The woman wore a long white coat, a red blouse, a black pencil skirt, sheer grey pantyhose, and matching black high heels. She even wore a black choker, hoop earrings, and a bracelet and she also had red lipstick on her as well as red-painted fingernails. The tall woman is the Admin of Marco Cosmos, Oleana.

Alongside her and the four Marco Cosmos guards with her was the company's chairman, Rose, himself. Needless to say, from the way they looked shocked and furious at Bede when they found him, they didn't look very happy.

"There you are, young man! I've been wondering what you're up to when you came by to Chairman Rose's office earlier and asked if you could 'borrow' his Copperajah," Oleana admonished, giving a deadpanned glare at Bede as she spoke in a disappointed and icy motherly tone. "I thought you'd be borrowing him to understand more about Pokemon and to push you in the right direction to fulfill your goal but to go and try to use him to destroy a historical site such as the mural... This is crossing the line, there is no letting it slide!"

Bede gasped in shock before he snarled angrily from what he was called out for. "Who cares about some stupid ancient ruin when the next thousand years are at stake and we don't know what's coming?!" he bellowed callously, making the Alola group glare at him dangerously.

"Are you kidding me, Miss Oleana, did you seriously just happen to stand in the middle of a Pokemon's Single Beam or something? Tell me this, how, in any sense of this blasted world, do you expect to support the chairman and his company with that sort of thinking?"

Oleana didn't change or react to that; she didn't think it fit to give Bede a reaction since she knew that he was being too stubborn and stuck-up for his own good despite her own anger brewing from his insufferable vanity and self-importance. Rose, on the other hand, sighed heavily and shook his head as he glared at Bede softly with sheer disappointment and loss. He didn't want to say what he's about to say to the trainer he had supposedly endorsed for the Gym Challenge but he had no choice on the matter.

"Young Bede, it greatly pains me to say this and I surely had high expectations for you given what I've helped you for and with what I wanted you to do, but..." he began.

"...I'm very disappointed in you. You've not only lied to me about your reasons for wanting Copperajah when you asked me to let you borrow him but you've also let my endorsement get to your head and cloud your judgment. It's true that I was the one who found you prior to all this back when you're all alone and nobody bothered to help you out of the slump you were originally in..."

He sighed with great disappointment again as he held his forehead, trying to comprehend what Bede had done behind his back.

"...I admit I like your cocky but well-meaning attitude, though. You had a lot of talent in you and through that, you reminded me of myself when I was in my youth as an up-and-coming Pokemon trainer like you, Gloria, Hop, and Victor. That's why I sent you to a trainer's school in the first place, to give you a greater chance of success so that you may become a true Pokemon trainer in your own right. I thought you'd be able to bear the weight of being a trainer who appreciates the inner beauty and mystique of Galar as you become successful but this... Trying to destroy the Stow-on-Side mural, a vital part of Galar's history... I don't know what to say from what you've shown me and our young friends here, you showed no love towards Galar!"

When he finally managed to compose himself, Rose took a deep breath and then hardened his disappointed glare towards the rogue trainer who could only gawk in horror at him as he spoke.

"As Oleana said, this right here is crossing the line. There is only one way I can think of in order to rectify all this since you've clearly proven yourself no longer worthy to partake in the Gym Challenge. My team and I will decide what to do with you later. For now, we'd like you to return to Hammerlocke to await your punishment," he finished.

There was a long silence as everyone took in Rose's words to Bede; as much as they had been harsh to hear, they were necessary to make him realize what he's doing is wrong.

Nobody could argue with Rose since the words he had spoken to Bede came from his heart; they couldn't deny the truth that came from them. They could also feel his pain over his admonishing of the rogue trainer; they knew he didn't want to revoke his endorsement of him and punish him for his actions just to fulfill what he thinks is his goal to become worthy enough for the Gym Challenge but they knew he was right and it had to be done.

Bede was horrified by what he had heard, he didn't know what to think after hearing how Rose was so disappointed in him. What was he supposed to say after hearing those harsh but necessary words? What was he supposed to believe now after Rose revoked his endorsement of him?

"You... Chairman, why, how... How could you do this to me? You must be joking, right?" he stammered, begging Rose to be merciful in his actions. "You're actually disqualifying me from the Gym Challenge?! But, you're the one who endorsed me! I was only doing everything I can to be the best and become the greatest in all of Galar, for your sake! There are a hundred, no, thousands of ways for this to work out! Why are you even choosing the worst possible outcome, why?! WHY?!"

Rose, Oleaea, and the guards ignored him. They didn't want to waste time with Bede and his nonsense since they had a lot to do to recompensate for the people of Stow-on-Side should there be any witnesses to his heinous crime.

The Marco Cosmos Admin then stepped forward, deciding to take the first step in her and Rose's punishment towards him.

"Challenger Bede, I'd advise you to calmly and quietly give me all of the Wishing Stars you have gathered along your journey. We'll all have a long talk with you when we return to Hammerlocke," she replied, leaving no room for arguments as she snapped her fingers to signal the guards to apprehend Bede. "Take him away."

"N-n-n-No! No, wait! Rose, Oleana, please! Please, I'll be good! I'll explain, don't do this to me! Please, no! NOOOO!"

All the group could do was watch as the guards took away his Wishing Stars and dragged him off back to Hammerlocke, hearing Bede struggle to break free from their hold while begging and crying all the way back to wait for Rose and Oleana to join them. Somehow, after seeing Bede become so broken after that crushing moment, they began to feel sorry for him.

But, they soon turned to Rose as he sighed and smiled sadly at the group while his Copperajah happily reunited with him. "Ah, Gloria, Hop, and Victor of Postwick Town! And, Sonia, too! Terrible shame, terrible shame you have to see all this," he replied as he gently petted his Copperderm Pokemon.

"An absolute disaster, this is. In all my years of being Marco Cosmos' chairman and ever since we started the Gym Challenge, I've never wished to see us lose any challengers for this sort of reason. I deeply apologize to you four for having to cross paths with Bede again while he committed such an atrocious act, yet we must do what we can to keep things between them including our new rising stars here fair and sportsmanlike. I hope you'll understand why we had to disqualify him for what he did."

"No, we get it, Mr. Chairman," Victor shrugged understandably.

"We're just glad we were all able to set him straight even if he might not see it that way," added Gloria.

"Not to mention, we were able to stop him from destroying the mural before he did any more damage," finished Hop.

Rose nodded kindly before he noticed Sarah and her friends with them. "Ah, and who are you friends here? Have they come to take part in the Gym Challenge as well?" he asked.

"Oh no, they're students from the Pokemon School in Alola. They've been learning much about our region throughout the previous week with Prof. Kukui," corrected Victor. "This is Sarah, Ash, Kiawe, Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, and Lillie."

All seven of the Pokemon School students greeted him and Oleana warmly while the two of them gave friendly nods, grateful to meet them.

"I might be a little late in saying this but welcome to the Galar Region, kids," replied Rose warmly. "I hope your week here wasn't as boring as it sounded."

"Nah, we've been having loads of fun while we were here!" chuckled Ash.

"Pika, Pika!" agreed Pikachu.

"There's been so much to see and do while we were here, I'm sure gonna miss it all when we go back," smiled Mallow.

"It's been a total blast!" agreed Lana happily.

"I sure wish we could come back here again, even for another field trip!" put in Sophocles eagerly. "One week isn't enough to take it all in!"

"It's an honor for us to be here and learn about the region and its beautiful splendor, Mr. Chairman," replied Kiawe politely.

"I do hope your people will welcome us with open arms again should we choose to come back and visit our friends from Postwick and Wedgehurst," finished Lillie as Sarah just nodded with a smile.

"Well, I'm sure we'll be more than happy to have you back anytime. children. You all seem so eager to learn and it'll be great for you all to see more of what Galar has to offer. Now, I'm sorry to cut our time short but we better run along and sort things out. I'm sure the people in the town below would like an explanation to what's happened to the mural and what Bede has done and we've got to pacify them as best we can."

"Do be good, dearies, and don't try to go looking for trouble," nodded Oleana as they left to do damage control and their own business again.

After Rose and Oleana left (but not without them eying Sarah and smirking at each other with a wink as they parted ways with the group) leaving the Postwick Trio, Sonia, and the gang by themselves, Sonia became thoughtful as she recalled what she had heard regarding some information about Bede.

"You know, I've been thinking... During one of Bede's matches, I heard the announcer state that he has no family... Apparently, Rose took him under his wing and he battled for his sake ever since," she stated to the group.

She then turned to the destroyed mural, frowning at what Bede had done. "What an awful turn of events, and look at that giant hole there... I hope the mural survived after all the punishment it was given from him," she sighed sadly.

The group could only sigh sadly at what Bede has done but Umbreon noticed something off as he went over to it.

"What's wrong, boy?" she asked, coming next to him. "You find anything strange about the mural?"

But, the young Pokemon scientist had spoken too soon; as soon as she said those words and then touched the damaged painted rock, with the mural unable to take in all the punishment it had received from Bede in his foolishness to battle for Rose's sake in the Gym Challenge, it eventually gave way and broke apart.

"It's breaking apart!" Lillie screamed.

"Watch out!" cried Victor.

Everyone stood back and braced themselves as the mural completely fell apart, the rocks from it thankfully not hitting any of them. But, as the dust from the destroyed mural settled, Sonia was the first to open her eyes to assess the damage but she noticed what looked to be a cave behind the old mural that had a statue hidden in it. And, to her immense wonder and awe, the statue was revealed to be comprised of the two kings mentioned in the Hammerlocke Vault Darkest Day tapestry.

But, that's not what got her full attention; what she saw in front of the kings were two giant wolf-like Pokemon that wielded a sword and a shield. She thought back to the tapestry depicting the Darkest Day and what had been told while observing the statue just as everyone got their bearings and gasped in shock to see the statue featuring the kings and the Pokemon, too.

Sonia's eyes lit up with the revelation that followed just as Sarah looked closer at the two Pokemon while the others took in the statue's beauty and majesty. She gasped in complete surprise and awe as she recalled what Riolu told her from her dragons and their first encounter with Zacian and Zamazenta.

Nobody had anything to say regarding the shocking reveal that ultimately backed up what Sonia is doing her research on. It was nothing like they've ever expected, let alone be something that the princess had suspected and known since she and her dragons have met them before. Even Gloria, Hop, and Victor could hardly get their heads around seeing the statues of the Pokemon they met at the beginning of their journey when they first started out.

"Well, I'll be," Sonia breathed in fascination. "Not the best turn of events, really, but Stow-on-Side's ruins are now clear for all to see. And, I think we've struck gold with this incredible discovery! Do you all know what this statue and the ruins tell us about Galar's legends?"

"Something about a sword and a shield?"

"Or, maybe even Pokemon are somehow involved in the Darkest Day besides Eternatus?" put in Lillie and Victor.

"Right and Double Right! More than just any hero including the Two Kings in the back, there are those things that looked like two Pokemon that stand out! In addition, what we're seeing here is that those Pokemon look like have a sword and a shield on them as if they were actually using them! Is there anything else about the statue that seemed interesting to you?"

"You did mention that the statue at the Budow Drop Inn depicted only one hero responsible for saving all of Galar, right, Sonia?" quizzed Hop. "Does that statue there show that *two people* were able to save Galar and not just one?"

"Oh, good observation, Hop. The statue did depict two people, or two Pokemon in this case, who were responsible for saving Galar from Eternatus on the Darkest Day. But, it still draws my curiosity, why is it that people would only show a statue of one hero at the Budow Drop Inn instead of showing two like with the statue and the tapestry at the Hammerlocke Vault? What was their reason for doing this? What did they have to hide regarding the truth about who really saved the region during the Darkest Day?"

"This stuff is ancient Poke-Truth GOLD!" screamed Rotom-Dex with delight as he took pictures of the statue. "Who else knows about there not only two kings but two Legendary Pokemon who were able to save the region like knights in shining armor? This has gotta be something of a mythical fairy tale come true!"

They all looked at the statue again as Sonia continued to piece together her research into the Darkest Day and Galar's history regarding its previous saviors.

"More than just any hero of any kind, whether they'd be a statue or something from a masterfully-woven tapestry, these ruins here made in truly ancient times must tell us the real truth about Galar's heroes. Which means..."

"The sword and shield shown on the statue are both Pokemon?" put in Sarah, to the surprise of the entire group as they turned to her.

Sonia, on the other hand, brightened up as if she had the same thoughts. "Yep, I was thinking the exact same thing! It seems like at some point in our region's history, the sword and shield that the Pokemon were wielding have combined with them and they are treated as the same thing..." she continued.

"But, then what? What happened to them after the Darkest Day ended, did they just vanish? Did they just fade from history without a trace? Two young heroes and yet, they were actually two Pokemon using a sword and a shield... But, I don't understand, why would the truth about these Pokemon, the region's greatest story of these ruins be hidden away when those stories are all depicted in artwork?"

She smiled as she turned to the group and felt like she accomplished a lot with their help. "With your help, I'm sure we've made the biggest discovery that Galar's ever witnessed. Thanks, kids, I'll stay here and update my findings. Gloria, Hop, Victor, you three just do your best at the Champion Cup. I'll be cheering for you when that happens. Sarah, you and your friends take care as well," she said as they left to go over what they've seen.

Leaving Sonia to go over her original findings and update them with their latest discovery and the biggest piece of the truth to the events of the Darkest Day, everyone couldn't help but wonder what it really meant to have something of valuable information locked away behind the destroyed mural. As they left Stow-on-Side to return to Wedgehurst and tell Prof. Kuki and Prof. Magnolia about the statue they've found beyond the ruined mural, several people in the town below came to see what had happened and they were all baffled and shocked to see the Two Kings and Pokemon statue amongst the hidden ruins. This literally flew in the face of the stories told to them about one hero saving all of Galar from Eternatus 3,000 years ago.

Sarah, however, couldn't help but feel off after seeing the statue, specifically, the statues of Zacian and Zamazenta with the Two Kings and what she had heard Katzenberg had said before he and the grunts with him were sent blasting off back at the Slumbering Weald. She was now sure that they were the Pokemon she had seen saving her from them and whom the dragons told her and her Pokemon about while she was out cold having fainted from shock.

She was unsure of whether or not to tell everyone about her encounter with them but deep down, she knew she'll have to at some point since she had a bad feeling something's going to happen. Not only that, but she also felt like she'll need the Warrior Pokemon's help regarding what was to come.

As the gang made the return trip to Wedgehurst, deep within a factory basement area, an alarm sounded off as Rose and Oleana, joined by Katzenberg, Glam, Fester, and Hammer, came into a room where they saw a couple of Marco Cosmos' staff working on what looked to be a mechanical core of some sorts. By the looks of how fast they're working, they seemed to be frantic about something that demanded their attention.

"What's the problem here?" asked Oleana, wanting the answers as to what's happening before them.

"Lady Oleana, the core went into complete overload just as it was beginning to absorb Galar Particles at a phenomenal rate," replied one of the staff.

"Isn't that what this hanger here's for?"

"Well, you see, the energy has breached the hanger walls. It's a sign that we're going into max power, much earlier and faster than we've anticipated."

"Escaping again?" asked Oleana incredulously, wanting to be clear just as energy levels for the Galar Particles being absorbed have reached critical levels, catching everyone's attention.

"Doctor, Mr. Chairman, your machine!" cried Katzenberg in shock. "It's going crazy, what is it trying to do?!"

Katzenberg soon got his answer; as soon as the core was overloaded to the max with Galar Particles and since it could no longer hold the extreme influx of energy coming from them, several bursts of Galar Particles shot from the hanger's core and broke through, scattering across the region to where there are nearby Power Spots. The sight of the hanger being breached annoyed Oleana as she observed the damage.

"Reinforce the hanger at once!"

"Yes, M'am!" nodded the man as he and his team went to work.

"It's truly endless energy made real," mused Rose, looking impressed by what he had seen. "Stupendous..."

"So, Mr. Chairman, what did you find besides taking care of that brat who went against your wishes?" put in Katzenberg, coming up next to him and taking the sight of the energy from the Galar Particles being produced in the core.

"...I found her," he replied, looking to him. "She'll be departing from the Galar Region soon but I've taken care of that."

"You have, how?"

"I've sent a message to Prof. Kukui asking if he, his class, and Principal Oak would like to stay over for a couple more days for the Champion Cup. Since she and her friends will remain in the region upon my request for this event, this will be the perfect opportunity for you to finally take her and bring her to your leader. No trouble, at all."

"Oh, really? Very interesting, I'm sure it'll be fun to take her and her meddling rangers by surprise once they're all having fun. You must be very generous of them given what you've been hearing recently."

"Yes, I've been catching up with their escapades ever since they've arrived. And, I must say, they really are an interesting lot. The Sun Princess is definitely most intriguing with what she's been up to... I would love to see what she's capable of and in return, I'd very much like you to help me with my goal involving Eternatus as you've found out from the legends surrounding it and Galar's Sword and Shield, correct?"

"Indeed, they may have lost their powers but there's still a chance that they've caught on to what's going to happen after meeting her. They could potentially foil our plans as well which means we must act now if we're to get the drop on her before she does anything. What's more, she needs to be away from her ranger bodyguard posse if my crew were to bring her to our boss alive."

Rose nodded, he knew what Katzenberg was thinking about and the moment when they'll strike is when Sarah would meet her end and when his plan kicks into overdrive as he already had Step 1 of it in motion.

---

Back at Wedgehurst, the gang managed to meet up with Prof. Magnolia, Principal Oak, and Prof. Kukui again and explain what they've found at Stow-on-Side with Sonia and turn in their final completed project involving the Isle of Armor while showing the trio Hashimoto and Ching Wan. Needless to say, they were mighty impressed and surprised by what had been done and discovered.

"Well, I must say, your Agility's remarkable with this assignment. I think it's safe to say that you've all passed with flying colors, congratulations," praised Kukui as he handed the group their report which had an A+ grade on it for their efforts.

Kukui then turned to Sarah, "And, congratulations for doing brilliantly in Master Mustard's class, Sarah. You did all of Alola proud."

"Well, I did do my best and it all turned out all right despite some bumps on the road," she sighed modestly, blushing but accepting the praise.

"Now, let's go over it again just so we got it straight and what you're saying is the truth," replied Prof. Magnolia, coming forward and going to the subject of the uncovered statue. "The statue you all and Sonia found on Stow-on-Side, you said that, in contrast to the statue of one hero at the Budow Drop Inn, it showed the Two Kings from the tapestry at the Hammerlocke Vault and two Pokemon who were responsible for defeating Eternatus 3000 years ago?"

"Yep, Sonia managed to piece together everything she found and come to the conclusion that those two Pokemon were indeed the ones who saved Galar," confirmed Rotom-Dex, showing them one of the photos he took of the statue that featured the Pokemon mentioned.

"Do you know anything about those Pokemon on the statue holding a shield and a sword, Prof. Magnolia?" asked Kiawe.

"I've heard stories about them but not a lot has been said about them, unfortunately. But, I did also hear rumors and tales from explorers who've come to check out the Slumbering Weald at Postwick hearing and seeing what looked to be large lupine-like Pokemon that are battle-worn and had a powerful aura about them. But, sad to say, I don't know anything as to why the mural was in place in front of the statue nor the reason why it was to be kept hidden from passersby."

"I got a look at the nameplate while we were looking at it," Sophocles noted. "It said that the two Pokemon on the statue are known as Zacian and Zamazenta."

"Zacian and Zamazenta, eh? Hmm, how very Pidgeot, I've never known such Pokemon to exist as far as I can remember and the school's books on the region can't recall them from what I can tell," mused Principal Oak thoughtfully before he turned to Magnolia. "Professor, your granddaughter may be on to something given what she's also updated us on regarding her findings as well."

"You mean the Darkest Day, Zacian, Zamazenta, and Eternatus are all somehow connected?" puzzled Solar curiously.

"I can't tell for sure but by the sound of it and given what she's told us, I don't have any reason to believe that they're not involved. It also allows me to believe that the truth behind the real saviors of our fair region being Zacian and Zamazenta was covered up for some reason but why would anybody do that, even I don't know..."

Everyone thought for a moment, trying to work out why anybody would try to blot out Zacian and Zamazenta from the region's history books and who would be crazy enough to do such a thing. But, Sarah twiddled her thumbs worriedly, wondering if she'll have to spill the beans about her encounter with the Heroes of Many Battles before long if the others start to notice her becoming tight-lipped about them.

But, eventually, she decided to tell them since keeping silent about her meeting them and what they had shown her dragons wouldn't do much good, anyway.

"Hop, Victor, Gloria, you told us that when you started your journey and you went after your Wooloo when it went into the Slumbering Weald, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, what's that got anything to do with it?" quizzed Hop, confused.

"While you were there, right after you found Wooloo, do you remember meeting two Pokemon that looked like large wolves in a hugely dense fog?"

"Actually, I remember now," recalled Victor, remembering that moment when they started their own Pokemon journey. "It was right after the day we got our partners from Leon and when Wooloo rolled through the gates and we charged in to get him back. We got lost after a while but then we heard loud howls coming from who knows where and then, two Pokemon as you described appeared before us."

"We all got such a fright from seeing them and we thought they would try to hurt us so we attacked but none of Sobble, Grookey, and Scorbunny's attacks made a dent on them no matter what they did," added Gloria.

"Then, if you recall the Pokemon from the statue back at Stow-on-Side, do they look like Zacian and Zamazenta before you eventually passed out?"

Victor nodded, "Yes, they eventually howled a few times before they covered everything up with the fog we're in before we passed out soon after. And, when we woke up, the fog cleared up and they just went and gone."

Hop nodded in agreement as he continued to think back, "Now that I think about it, the Pokemon we met that day before we left home were alike to the Pokemon from the statue we found. Maybe it could've been Zacian and Zamazenta but the fog they made was so thick and we didn't know anything about them so we couldn't tell."

"They didn't do anything to us when we met them, fortunately. But, there was something strange about them, they were staring at us the whole time while we were trying to fight them like they were watching us for some reason," continued Gloria.

Before she could get another word out about Zacian and Zamazenta and her, Victor, and Hop's own encounter with them, however, Mulan suddenly popped out of her ball from Sarah's satchel and sniffed around for something that seemed to disturb her. Her arrival surprised everybody as they didn't expect her to appear as she did.

"Mulan, what's wrong?" asked Sarah, before she found the disturbance and slammed the door open, running outside and forcing Sarah to follow as the others watched in bewilderment. "Mulan, wait!"

"What's Mulan doing out of her ball?" asked Lana.

"You think something's wrong and she's on to whatever's happening?" Lillie asked.

"Whatever it was, it can't be good if she's acting like that," Kiawe mused, having a bad feeling already.

Kukui nodded, knowing what it must mean. "Then, go after Sarah and Mulan. See if you can find out what's going on but don't engage unless you really need to," he advised.

"Right!" replied his students before they went out.

"Let's get going!" said Gloria.

"Right!" agreed Hop and Victor as they left.

"Children!" called Magnolia as they left. "Be careful..."

While the others hurried after Sarah and Mulan to discover what got the Shiny Disaster Pokemon's attention, several beams of Galar Particle lights struck different Pokemon from across the region. In places where there were little to no Power Spots anywhere outside of Wild Areas and Stadiums such as nearby towns and other hotspots, several Pokemon including a Centiskorch belonging to a father and a daughter had been affected and were becoming rampant from the energy they were infused with, causing destruction and nearly getting people hurt even though they had no idea what they're doing.

The incidents have started to go so bad that when she got wind of them as she was riding with Rose in a limousine, Oleana started to assess that everything going on about the Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon going rampant in places where they shouldn't have involving their experiment in their company's factory basement.

"Chairman Rose, the energy that has passed through or bypassed the hanger's walls has caused Pokemon across Galar to Dynamax and Gigantamax in every area," she informed. "They're all rampaging as we speak."

"A certain amount of this is unavoidable no matter which direction we take from this," he said to her. "But, even so, this is all for the sake of Galar's future..."

---

Meanwhile, Sarah and been running after Mulan with Ching Wan, Hashimoto, Calyrex, Spectrier, Glastrier, Riolu, and Blitz (Charmander having been returned to his ball for the time being after she and the others returned to Wedgehurst) following close behind. The female Shiny Absol had been running so fast to find out where the danger she sensed is coming from, the princess and her fellow Pokemon had to run so fast to catch up to her.

"Mulan, wait!" cried Sarah as they finally caught up with her. "Mulan, would you please tell us what is going-DAH!"

Suddenly, the Centiskorch rushed past their view, startling them beyond belief.

"What was that?!" shrieked Riolu in fright.

"It's a Gigantamaxed Centiskorch! But, that's impossible, how could it be able to Dynamax or Gigantamax in this city without being near or at a Power Spot?" gawked Calyrex. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"If that strange red beam we saw was anything to go by as our first clue, then that would be it!" put in Hashimoto.

"Something's wrong, they shouldn't have been able to Dynamax like this and go rampant let alone be being able to do so as far from a Stadium or Wild Area," added Ching Wan, feeling very uneasy as he got ready to fight. "We need to find out what's causing all of this and fast!"

"But, how do we do that? We don't even know where to start!" argued Sarah.

"Pika, Pika, Pikachu, Pika, Pika, Pi, Pi!" shouted Blitz, pointing the group to a crowd of frightened people including the father and daughter that the Centiskorch belonged to.

Seeing this as an opportunity to get some answers as to what's been happening, they made their way to the pair to make a quick inquiry.

"Excuse me, do you two know anything about that Centiskorch and why it's Gigantamaxed like that without being near a Stadium or Wild Area?" she questioned.

"It was glowing red and it started Gigantamaxing without any of us doing a thing," replied the father. "Centiskorch didn't listen to any commands I give him and I'm his trainer, what could've happened to him to become like this?"

"What could be wrong with Poor Centi?" fretted his daughter named Eve. "He was just friendly with us just a few seconds ago..."

"Princess!" called Tsukumaro as he arrived with his Absol, the older Disaster Pokemon having picked up the strange feeling as well while on an outing. "I trust Mulan sensed a disturbance involving those bright lights as well?"

"Yeah, and I think we found one of those Pokemon that have been affected by those lights and is going crazy right now," she nodded, pointing towards the Gigantamaxed Centiskorch as it continued to wreak havoc.

"Allow me! And, I thank you for not leaving me behind since you'll need my help!" replied Rotom-Dex, coming into view as he scanned the Gigantamaxed Bug/Fire Pokemon. "Centiskorch (Gigantamax Form), the Radiator Pokemon. A Fire and Bug Type, with a body temperature of over 2000 degrees, its heatwaves can incinerate its enemies."

"That sounds hot, hot, hot. But, hopefully, it won't be too much for us to handle," thought Sarah before she activated her Wrist Com to call the others. "Ash, Kiawe, Lillie, where are you guys?"

"We're on the southern side of the town, another one of those Gigantamax Pokemon is going crazy. It's a Pangoro, from what we can see," replied Kiawe. "It cut us off just as we were trying to get to you. What did you find?"

"My godfather and I discovered a Centiskorch belonging to a father and his daughter going wild after it became a Gigantamax Pokemon. If this keeps up, I don't know how much longer the people and their city will last. We have to do something before they destroy all of Galar if there are any more incidents like this!"

"Okay, we're going to take care of this Pangoro right here! You got that Centiskorch on your end?" called Ash.

"Yep, I'll do what I can. In the meantime, be very careful; we still don't know how much power Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon can output and if we don't watch our backs, we'll be run over or stomped on when we least expect it! If you have to morph should things get any worse, do it!"

"All right, good luck!" nodded Mallow.

"Be careful, Sarah!" finished Lillie.

"I will, and may the power protect you!" agreed Sarah, ending her call before turning to Eve and her father. "Don't worry, Sir, we'll do what we can to stop Centiskorch and bring him back to you!"

"Thank you but please, don't try it! You're in over your head!"

"Trust me, I have a plan!" Sarah replied, leaving no room for Eve and her father to argue before she charged forward and the rest of her group followed.

"No, wait!" begged Eve's father.

But, it was too late; Sarah and her group were already racing towards Centi as he continued to cause havoc in his current state. As he continued to wreak destruction, the power-crazed, Gigantamaxed Radiator Pokemon left nothing left in his wake as everyone nearby could only watch with horror and fear of what he's about to do.

"Centi, wait! Don't do it!" called Sarah as she came forward and took out her Beast-X King Morpher and summoned her Beast-X King Ultra Bow and brought out Nebby, Houndoom, Luna, and Dusk to help her and Mulan.

While they took their positions, Blitz, Riolu, Calyrex, his steeds, Ching Wan, and Hashimoto stayed back to be ready in case things get nasty between their family and Centi.

"Centi..." snarled Centi, unknowingly seeing Sarah as an enemy in his current form.

"This isn't you at all, something's happened to you and making act like a monster!" she begged, trying to reach out to his heart as she aimed her bow at him. "You don't know what you're doing right now, you've become so charged up with energy and going mad from it at a terrifying rate, you've started to scare the people around you including your trainer and his daughter! Don't make us have to do this!"

"Sir Centi, please listen to what my goddaughter has to say!" agreed Tsukumaro as he and Absol prepared to fight. "Control yourself and look within yourself, you know she's right!"

But, being in his rampaging state, Centi couldn't tell right from wrong and just saw Sarah and her family as enemies or nuisances to crush so he charged forward and smacked the ground, causing the group to frantically dodge. Sarah quickly composed herself before she gave a determined glare, now willing to do anything to make the crazed Radiator Pokemon listen.

"It's not working, Mommy! He can't hear you!" called Riolu, seeing what the problem was.

"Maybe this will make you listen!" fired back Sarah at Centi as she fired a Beast-X King Power Bolt and it landed a hit but not enough to scratch him.

"Princess, your arrow, it didn't hit hard enough to snap him out of it!" gasped Tsukumaro.

"Aw, man! I can't believe it, how powerful is this guy?" gawked Sarah in shock.

"What?! The energy arrow from Sarah's bow didn't even faze him in his Gigantamax Form!" spluttered Ching Wan.

"Run for it, Master!" screamed Hashimoto as he watched Sarah, Tsukumaro, and their Pokemon fighting Centi as they dodged its next assault. "He's gonna pummel you if you don't get out of there!"

"No! Centi's in too much pain for us to give up and run away now!" retorted the princess, firing another arrow before she turned to Houndoom, the Lycanroc Brothers, and Nebby. "Nebby, Hounddoom, use Sunsteel Strike and Sludge Bomb! Dusk, Luna, Twin Rock Slide, go!"

"Gotcha, Mama!"

"DOU!"

"ROOOOOOOOCCCCC!" they complied as Nebby charged at Centi and forced him back, Houndoom unleashing a poison ball bomb that exploded after making contact, and both Lycanroc Brothers firing two Rock Slides that did some damage.

But, to the Gigantamaxed Bug/Fire Type, the attacks only seemed to be literal bug bites that only served to annoy it further.

"Dou, Dou-?!" gasped Houndoom.

"Lycan, Ly, Lycanroc!" cried Dusk in alarm, seeing little to no damage done to knock some sense into Centi.

"Roc, Roc, Lycanroc, Ly, Lycan," cursed Luna in frustration, seeing what little they could do to prevent more unwanted destruction from happening.

"Then, how about this? Focus Blast!" screamed Nebby as he fired a Focus Blast at Centi, only to find that it did nothing to him. "Nothing's working, Mama!"

"I never knew how much power a Pokemon could really have when its either Gigantamaxed or Dynamaxed until Calyrex and Ching Wan showed me their power but seeing it up close and how resilient something or someone like Centi could be, that's a whole other level," breathed Sarah, horrified that nothing she and her Pokemon did would stop Centi from causing more havoc and bring him back to Eve and her father.

But, before Sarah could think of a Plan B or even consider morphing if there is anybody else around her watching her and her family's struggle against Centi, the power-crazed Radiator Pokemon then folded into a house radiator-like shape and prepared to incinerate his supposed enemies with a Gigantamax Move only he knew known as G-Max Centiferno.

"NO! He's going to use G-Max Centiferno!" screamed Hashimoto in a panic. "If they don't move now, they'll be burned alive!"

"Sarah, guys, move! He's faster than he looks and he's going to burn you with that attack!" bellowed Ching Wan but to no avail as they, Blitz, Calyrex, his steeds, and Riolu watched Sarah, Nebby, Houndoom, Luna, Dusk, Mulan, Tsukumaro, and Absol brace themselves to counter G-Max Centiferno.

"MOMMY, RUN!"

"PIKA!"

"NO!"

"BRRRRRIIIIICCCCEEEEE!"

"SHHHHIIIIEEEEDDDDDD!" they screamed in horror, unable to do anything as Sarah and part of their family prepared to sacrifice themselves just to bring back Centi.

"Now, Charizard, Rock Tomb!" shouted a voice before a flurry of rocks was shot at Centi, forcing him to cancel his attack and flinch hard.

Sarah, Tsukumaro, and their Pokemon felt no heat coming from G-Max Centiferno as they realized they had been saved from being incinerated to nothing but ash as they looked around for who saved them.

"Princess, what happened?" asked Tsukumaro, greatly surprised.

"I don't know, somebody must've saved us but who stopped Centi from pulling off that Gigantamax attack?"

"Hey, are you Sarah from Alola?" called the voice again.

The group all looked up to find the owner of the voice appear from the smoke from Rock Tomb connecting with Centi's failed G-Max Centiferno which was a Charizard and the person riding on it revealed to be Galar's Undefeated Champion and Hop's older brother, Leon.

"Wow, are you Leon?" asked Sarah in surprise.

"Right! I've heard a lot about you but we'll save it for later, just leave the rest to me!"

Then, he and his Charizard turned back to face Centi to take over in stopping him from causing more trouble for everyone, even in his crazed state. Sarah could see that he's experienced in dealing with Gigantamax and Dynamax Pokemon just from the way he saved her and her family. She also had a lot of questions for him but she knew this was no time for a Q&A response to him with all of Galar at stake.

"All right, good luck! Come on, guys, move back!"

Leaving Leon and Charizard to deal with Centi, Sarah, her Pokemon, Tsukumaro, and Absol went off to the side and watched as they prepared to end things with one blow to snap him out of his Gigantamax trance.

"Now, Charizard, use Air Slash!" commanded Leon.

"Rawr!" agreed Charizard, his wings glowing and sending tons of glowing air blades at Centi.

The Flying Type attack actually proved to be effective and strong given the kind of training Leon and Charizard had to go through to become Galar's undefeated Champion Pair Team and with their aim true, Centi was pummeled to the ground as he screamed, his Gigantamax Form no longer being possible to hold as he exploded, turned purple, and then returned to his original size.

"Wow..."

"Incredible power..." gawked Tsukumaro and Sarah in awe.

Even their Pokemon couldn't muster a response to seeing Leon and Charizard defeating Centi and saving him with just one attack, they couldn't believe what they had seen but they now understood why Leon was the undefeated Galar Champion for so long and why Victor, Hop, and Gloria would be eager to beat him.

When the dust settled and Centi was back to his normal size, he groaned before he blinked in surprise and looked around for his trainer. He couldn't remember or understand what's gotten into him or how he's far away from him and Eve.

"My Centi, oh! Thank goodness you're all right!" cried Eve, running to Centi looking relieved as she cried and hugged him. Centi nuzzled Eve, apologizing for going crazy on her and his trainer.

Her father then approached her just as Leon and Charizard landed next to her and her family, also looking happy and relieved to see Centi still in one piece and back to his normal self.

"Oh, thank you so much, young lady! You and your Pokemon saved us and the town, Eve and I were so worried about Centiskorch," he thanked, feeling grateful.

"Daddy, look! It's Leon!" cheered Eve, her eyes glowing and becoming excited to see Galar's Champion coming towards her and the townsfolk who gathered excitedly.

"He had that suspicious look in his eyes but he's all right now," he reassured.

The townsfolk were also grateful to not only Sarah and her family but also mainly to Leon, all of them singing their praises. Sarah and Tsukumaro had to smile, Leon surely wasn't the undefeated Galar Champion for nothing if the townsfolk can be taken in by his and Charizard's powerful friendship and battling. Then, Leon knew that he had to calm everyone's concerns and fears over the Dynamax Pokemon rampaging across Galar.

"Well, I only did what any other Champion would've done. Everyone, I know you're all deeply concerned about the rampaging Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon that have suddenly appeared without warning. I assure you that I will do my best to find out the cause and get to the bottom of all this but for right now, I'm asking that you do everything you can to protect yourselves and stay out of harm's way, understand?"

"Right!" the townsfolk agreed, dispersing to make the necessary arrangements in case something like what happened with Centi occurs again.

"Hey, Leon," greeted Sarah, coming forward.

"So, you're Sarah Tomoe, I've heard much about you and I must say, it's an honor to finally meet you," smiled Leon.

"Yeah, I've even heard a lot about you from Hop and his friends. Are you really the undefeated Galar Champion?"

"The one and only and I'm looking forward to seeing how good of a trainer you are if you're willing to stay for a bit but right now, I have to get going."

"Leon, wait!" called Sarah as Leon and Charizard prepared to leave. "Where are you going now?"

"Now that they're safe, I'm going to stop all the other Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon from rampaging. There's something funny about all of this and I need to find out what it is and nip the whole thing in the bud before it blossoms into something worse."

"Then, let me help you. I have the means to give you a hand if you trust me."

"I concur, you'll need all the help you can get," agreed Tsukumaro, bowing to Leon for his blessings.

Leon then grew concerned about letting Sarah and Tsukumaro help him with the Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon, "I'm glad you want to help, especially after hearing that you're a Power Ranger from Professor Magnolia, but-"

"Please, Leon, you can't do this alone! My friends and I will do everything we can, what's happening in Galar now involves all of us! We all have a saying: all for one and one for all, right? We're a team, Leon, we have to fight together! I'm sure Hop, Gloria, and Victor would give you a hand as well!"

Leon was still concerned about Sarah's offer but after seeing the determined look in her eyes and her wanting to help protect everyone, he could see she and her family don't plan on backing down with everyone's lives at stake. All of Galar is in danger and the people and the Pokemon affected and suffering from what's happening right now need all the help they can get. He also had a feeling that since Sarah's now a Power Ranger, from what he had been told by Prof. Magnolia in private, she and her friends and family have saved their region many times before and would do the same for Galar.

Finally, he smiled, knowing he's outnumbered. "All right then, but we'll leave immediately!" he complied.

"Right!" nodded Sarah, her Pokemon also agreeing.

"We promise, you won't regret it," smiled Tsukumaro.

And so, with Leon leading the way, Sarah (riding on Solar), Tsukumaro, and their Pokemon made their way to his next destination.

---

Meanwhile, back in the Alola Region, Zorua, disguised as a wild Pikpeck, was roosting near Sarah and her family's house when an urgent newscast came up on the TV in the living room and caught her, James, Nikki, and their Pokemon's attention.

"And, just in today's forecast, in the Galar Region, there have been numerous reports going on all across the region that a number of Pokemon are Dynamaxing against their will and are rampaging without warning!" replied a black newswoman, looking concerned but serious. "We'll go now to Marie Nguyen for a closer look at one of the incidents that demanded the attention of Galar Champion Leon and get a tippet over the possibility of it all being a prelude to the return of the Darkest Day, over to you, Marie."

"Thank you, Carol, the situation involving Dynamaxed Pokemon has been growing dire by the minute as we speak," replied the female Vietnamese newswoman, Marie. "In fact, Leon and Charizard have managed to subdue a rampaging Centiskorch just in the nick of time but even before they caught wind of its rampage, a young girl and a man with her and a group of Pokemon belonging to them have attempted to stop Centiskorch but to no avail despite their best efforts..."

As the news report went on and mentioned the Darkest Day and Eternatus, James, Nikki, and their Pokemon grew concerned since they now know it was Sarah and Tsukumaro who attempted to save the people from the once-rampaging Centi. But, as much as they want to go over there and help her, they eventually decided to hold out hope, knowing that their adopted daughter would do whatever she can along with her friends and Tsukumaro.

Greatly worried over Sarah's own safety the more she listened in, Zorua quickly flew back to her master's floral field to tell Zeraora and the Swords of Justice about Sarah's involvement in Galar's current predicament.

"What?! The Darkest Day and Eternatus?" gasped Cobalion, after they were briefed on the matter.

"Yeah, and I'm betting a million Poke-Dollars that Team Eclipse is behind this but at a much larger scale," nodded Zorua. "But, who would want to summon that jumbo-sized, overgrown, and ugly caterpillar back into the world after nearly laying the Galar Region to waste? And, why them?"

"I'm guessing there's foul play on Team Eclipse's front," put in Terrakion suspiciously. "They couldn't pull off something like that, let alone reenact the Darkest Day from 3000 years ago unless they had help from another source."

"If whoever's known about the Darkest Day is trying to repeat history and if Team Eclipse is responsible for that, then we must intercept them before they make off with the princess," added Virizion. "She's been growing stronger by the day and they could use Eternatus as a front to cover-up their continued mission to kidnap her and bring her to Lothor."

"Then, I guess we better get to the Galar Region and fast!" said Keldeo, his mind already made up. "If any more of those Dynamaxed Pokemon are going wild and threatening to destroy the region, there won't be much left for Galar's people to live in! Not to mention, Team Eclipse will be making their move already!"

"Zera..." nodded Zeraora, agreeing with the Colt Pokemon.

"Then, we're all in agreement," confirmed Cobalion, nodding firmly. "We'll leave for the Galar Region and find Sarah, immediately!"

---

Back at the Galar Region, Sarah (already morphed into Solgaleo Ranger) was piloting King (who was called to help with the Gigantamax and Dynamax Pokemon) as she, her Pokemon, Tsukumaro, Absol, Leon, and Charizard continued to subdue any nearby rampaging Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon before they cause any more harm.

Right now, they were battling a trio of Dynamaxed Coalossal near a mining area. "Latios, Latias, get the miners out of here and to safety, quickly!" shouted Sarah from King's cockpit, the Eon Siblings quickly escorting the miners out of the danger zone and out of harm's way.

"Remember, King, we're only trying to subdue the Dynamax Pokemon so they'd go back to normal!" she reminded her Zord. "Don't rough them up too much, all right?"

King roared in acknowledgment, promising to go easy on the Dynamaxed Pokemon before him, his pilot, and their family.

"There's your answer, Sarah, he promised!" chuckled Solar, having joined her amidst King's controls again.

"Dragapult, let's go!" shouted Leon, bringing out his Stealth Pokemon to give his group a hand with the Dynamaxed Coalossal trio.

"Absol, use Razor Wind to get their attention for Sir Leon and the princess!" called Tsukumaro.

"Sol! Ab...SOL!" bellowed Absol, successfully drawing their attention and allowing his goddaughter and Leon a chance to take action.

At the Marco Cosmos factory basement and hanger housing the core holding Galar Particles, more and more Galar Particles are pouring out and continuing to affect several more Pokemon across the Galar Region, which made things harder for Ash and the others along with Leon, Sarah, and Tsukumaro trying to keep track of how many Dynamaxed and Gigantamaxed Pokemon are up and how many are down after subduing them. The staff continued to watch in bewilderment and Oleana was slightly indifferent as she thought to have the team improve the hanger's structure and but Rose continued to look on in growing fascination.

"Chairman Rose? Until the hanger has been reinforced, do you wish for us to halt the release of the Galar Particles?" suggested Oleana.

"Isn't it stupendous, Oleana? Energy so strong and incomparable we can't even begin to control it," replied Rose, seemingly oblivious to her request. "Once upon a time, there was a time when the entire region was brought to the brink of destruction. That Darkest Day will now be the beginning of Galar's future. The revival of Eternatus..."

Even as Rose and his team continue their work, Sarah and her friends were all still working to protect everyone in Galar as best they can.

With Ash and the others, they've been able to hold their own despite whatever odds are against them. But, with the Dynamax Pokemon continuing to rampage, they were forced to morph (safely away from Victor, Gloria, and Hop's sight at one point) to even the odds but even then, they were in desperate need of help to stop the random Dynamaxing from happening.

"They're so powerful, I don't think we'll be able to stop them before they lay waste to everything!" panted Mallow.

"But, we've got to!" argued Ash. "Something's making the Pokemon act like this and it's not their fault!"

"Ash is right, we've got to keep fighting and we need to figure out what's causing the Pokemon to Dynamax and go crazy!" agreed Lillie.

"Then, I guess we better get cracking since everyone still needs our help!" suggested Kiawe.

"But, what about Sarah?" Lana asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, guys, I got a lock on her! She's with Tsukumaro and Leon at a mining area and there are plenty of Dynamax Pokemon in their current area so they have their hands full," reassured Sophocles.

"Okay, let's get moving!" said Ash, before they got a call from Lusamine and the Aether Foundation and answered through their morphers. "What's up, Lusamine?"

"Rangers, thank goodness we finally got through to you! I was worried when we heard about Pokemon in the Galar Region going on a rampage after Dynamaxing without warning and where they shouldn't!" chirped Lusamine, relieved. "Are you all right?"

"We're okay, Lusamine!" reassured the Kanto trainer. "What did you call us for?"

"You remember those new weapons we've told you about? Well, my team and I have finally finished them and now, we're sending them over to you. You're obviously struggling to deal with the Dynamax Pokemon and Sarah and King have their hands full helping Tsukumaro and Leon. The new weapons should give you a leg-up in stopping those rampaging Pokemon, use them well, be careful, and don't die. Wicke, begin the transport!"

"Right, Lusamine! Good luck, guys, here they come! Transport!" spoke Wicke, sending the completed weapons to Ash and the others.

"Whoa!"

"Wow!"

"Amazing!"

"Sweet!"

"Incredible!" they gawked as their new individual weapons arrived and information on how to use them is sent through to their visors.

"Awesome! I got a Beast-X Thunder Blaster!" cheered Ash, taking what looks like a Pikachu-inspired shamisen that works like the Ninja Storm Lightning Riff Blaster.

"I can come to grips with this for my treasure hunting! Beast-X Ocean Detector!" smirked Lana, holding her Popplio-inspired Drive Detector.

"All right! Beast-X Rose Lance, ready to spin!" hollered Mallow, twirling her Tsareena-inspired Lunar Lance like a lightweight gymnastic's baton.

"Oh yeah, now this is what I'm talking about! Beast-X Fire Enforcer!" quipped Kiawe with a smirk with his Turtonator-inspired Delta Enforcer at hand.

"What a shot! My new Beast-X Roly Poly Blazer is locked and loaded!" smirked Sophocles, his new Togedemaru-inspired SkyShift Blazer at the ready.

"Thanks, Mother, this Beast-X Fox Saber is incredible!" smiled Lillie, holding her Alolan Vulpix-inspired Spin Saber. "But, will they be of help to us in saving the Dynamaxed Pokemon amongst other things?"

"I'm sure they'll serve you well using them wisely, Lillie. Now that someone's raised the stakes beyond our imagination, we have no choice but to call upon them," confirmed Lusamine. "If you combine your powers with them at the right moments with the right amount of energy, the charges should be enough to subdue them and return them to normal."

"Got it, let's do it!" nodded Ash, as they all got to work in testing their new weapons.

---

Back to Sarah, Leon, and Tsukumaro; while Sarah, Solar, and King waited for their turn to attack, Rotom-Dex did a quick scan. "Coalossal (Gigantamax Form), the Coal Pokemon. A Rock and Fire Type, Coalossal's torso is a giant furnace that heats up to about 360 degrees," he briefed.

"Sounds like they're hot under the collar except they have no idea what they're doing after being infused with those Galar Particles," mused Sarah.

"That's putting it mildly given what we're up against," nodded Rotom-Dex as Blitz and Riolu nodded in agreement while riding with them in King's cockpit.

"We're going in, Sarah," called Leon through two video phones connecting him and Sarah. "Keep your eyes peeled and be ready to attack!"

"Okay, but I'm gonna need a clear shot for King to land a hit! I don't want the miners we've evacuated getting caught in the crossfire!"

"You got it! Now, Dragapult, Dragon Darts!" ordered Leon, the Stealth Pokemon firing dragon-like darts at the first Coalossal.

"Let's go, Absol! Hyper Beam!" shouted Tsukumaro, pointing towards the second Coalossal and allowing Absol to fire on it.

"Latios, Luster Purge! Latias, Mist Ball!" screamed Sarah, allowing Latios and his sister to fire their respective attacks on the third Coalossal.

The attacks did do some damage but then, the first Coalossal in the middle then started to send rocks at them but also, unknowingly putting the miners below in danger as they were in the path of the rocks.

Sarah saw this and gasped in shock, "Calyrex, Latios, Latias, Triple Psychic!"

Calyrex (riding Spectrier in his Shadow Form), Latios, and Latias noticed the rocks coming at them and the miners and quickly held them back using Psychic, saving the miners from being crushed.

"Hey!" shouted Hashimoto to the miners, grabbing their attention.

"Brrrrriiiicccceeeee!" neighed Glastrier.

"This way, over here!" called Ching Wan, waving to them with Hashimoto on his left shoulder as he waved, too, with Glastrier beside them at the edge of the nearby forest close to the mines. "You should be safe over here until this is over!"

The miners nodded, making their way over to their current spot while Leon and Sarah watched. "We can't let this go on much longer, let's stop them! All in one shot!" Leon suggested.

He then turned to Tsukumaro below them, "You got your shot from below, Sir?"

"On your and the princess' command, Sir Leon!" nodded Tsukumaro, Absol nodding in agreement as well.

"Dragapult, use Dragon Rush!"

"Latios, Latias, Dragon Purge plus Giga Impact!" screamed Leon and Sarah, allowing their three Dragon Types to rush forward and assault him with their Dragon Type combo.

"Absol, use your Psycho Cut!" shouted Tsukumaro, having Absol launch a hard Psycho Cut at the Coal Pokemon.

"Calyrex, Astral Barrage, go!" continued Sarah, directing her order towards Calyrex.

"Right away, Sarah! Now, Spectrier, my boy, attack! Full power!" he bellowed, he and Spectrier sending several clusters of small ghosts at the Dynamaxed Pokemon, making them groan.

"Your turn, King, let's end this! King Flame Burst, now!" directed Sarah to her Zord.

Knowing what she wanted, King roared as it spun its "mane" and shot a large string of fire from its mouth at the three Dynamaxed Coalossal, managing to return them back to normal size after subduing them.

"Stupid Coalossals!"

"You've ruined everything!"

"Why don't you-AH!"

"HEY!"

"Who did-!?" ranted the miners as they demeaned the restored Coalossals, throwing stones at them before they jumped back from a few energy arrows nearly hitting them.

They looked to the perpetrator behind the attacks on them but then they saw Sarah with her Beast-X King Ultra Bow at hand, pointing it at them and preparing to shoot them if necessary. She was glad that the three Coal Pokemon were all right but she was furious at the miners for not being more open-minded about the whole incident and looking to use force to stop them if they took their bad treatment of them too far.

"You idiots better lay off or you'll have to answer to me!" she threatened. "I don't take too kindly to anybody badmouthing or roughhousing any Pokemon, wild or otherwise. Just be glad that you're all alive and that those Coalossals are not hurt and you didn't end up dead!"

The miners snarled from nearly being attacked but they grunted out of frustration, seeing that it wouldn't be worth it picking a fight with Sarah. With that, they simply went back inside the mines to resume their mining operations.

The little princess, as she demorphed, scoffed at the miners before she turned to the Coalossal trio and gave them a soft smile, the Coal Pokemon giving them a thankful smile in return before they left to resume their own business. Leon and Tsukumaro came forward and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and side-hug, telling her that things will be okay even if the miners didn't know the full story behind the Coalossal Trio's rampage. This left Sarah to sigh in resignation, even though she still wants to give the miners a piece of her mind.

Even Riolu and Blitz couldn't help but glare daggers at the miners. "You big bullies!" spat Riolu at the miners before she gave them an angry raspberry.

"Pikachu, Pi, Pi, Pika," put in Blitz, telling her the miners are not worth it.

The rest of her Pokemon saw what had happened as they joined their foster mother/trainer but they didn't bother with the miners since they knew they're not worth it despite also not approving of their lack of thanks for their lives being saved and their lack of heart from their treatment of the Coalossal Trio.

"Why is it that humans are always so hard to please?" grumbled Hashimoto, pouting angrily as he crossed his arms and looked towards the mine.

"They're not worth it, Hashi, they just don't understand," scoffed Ching Wan in agreement, not impressed with the miners.

Then, they all heard a small clapping sound coming towards them and when they turned to the source of the clapping, they found Rose and Oleana approaching them.

"Stupendous, just what I'd expect from our undefeated Champion as well as the incredibly diligent Absol Trainer and the talented young leader of the new Power Rangers Ultra Rescue who accompanied him," Rose praised them as he applauded.

"Chairman Rose," replied Leon in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"I was already out here inspecting the site but when I heard there was trouble from nearby, I rushed over to see what was happening."

"Chairman Rose, what a surprise, I didn't expect to see you here after meeting you back at Stow-on-Side," gasped Sarah.

Leon chuckled when he noticed this, "Oh, I see, so you two have met before, huh? Well, just in case you don't know, this is Chairman Rose, the president of Macro Cosmos, a company he's founded dedicated to developing and supplying energy to Galar. He discovered me as a young trainer and helped me get to where I am now and I owe him a lot."

"It's good to see you again, Sarah," smiled Rose as he came up to shake hands with Sarah.

"I've been keeping tabs with Kukui and Chairwoman Lusamine ever since you've arrived and the day when the Aether Foundation partnered up with Grid Battleforce at Coral Harbor to form the Power Rangers Ultra Rescue. They've been telling me about a young and promising student of his that's been overflowing with talent and love for Pokemon and that's got to be you. I've wanted to meet you ever since I've heard about you."

"Thanks, Rose, I very much appreciate it," nodded Sarah, deciding to go along with his praises.

However, deep down in her heart, she had a sinking feeling that there's something more about Rose that she couldn't put a finger on. Her Pokemon also seemed a little on edge about the Macro Cosmos Chairman and couldn't help but send suspicious glares his way even though he didn't notice them. Not even Tsukumaro and Absol couldn't resist the urge that something was up with Rose even if they can't figure it out as well.

"Chairman Rose, by any chance, do you know the reason regarding all of the rampaging Pokemon?" quizzed Leon.

"Hmm, we've been researching different possibilities but they haven't yet quite panned out. This may simply be a present danger or perhaps, it's a test needed to jumpstart Galar's future."

"A, a test?" questioned Sarah, confused.

Leon narrowed his eyes, something about Rose's answer didn't quite pan out with him. The answer didn't fly smoothly with Riolu either as she narrowed her eyes at him, feeling like there was something darker brewing with his Aura.

"Something must be done quickly! If we do nothing, the safety of Galar's people and Pokemon will be in danger!" Leon announced.

"Sir Leon, if you could, would you please let us join you a little more to help you?" requested Tsukumaro.

"What do you mean?" asked Leon, surprised.

"We have a feeling that the Pokemon aren't rampaging at will after they Dynamaxed, something's causing them to go nuts and-" began Sarah before everyone heard a small growling before they turned to Calyrex.

"...Oh, excuse me, Sarah," he spluttered as he blushed and held his stomach. "I must apologize, that battle to save those Coalossal was intense, as you humans put it, and I'm extremely famished."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I see, you got yourself a new friend in the Legendary King of Bountiful Harvests," chuckled Rose, taking notice of Calyrex and his stomach. "You all must be hungry after saving the mines and those Coalossal, let's celebrate our meeting. Let me humbly treat you and a few friends of yours I've reunited with to a gourmet dinner, Galar Style."

"A gourmet dinner?" gasped Sarah, taken aback from the honorary invite.

"Sir Rose, this is such a generous offer-!" added the old advisor, not expecting such an offer.

"That's a rare invitation indeed," chuckled Leon, knowing where Rose was going. "Go on and have fun, I'll stay and help repair the mines."

"But, don't you still need our help to-Uh..." Sarah stopped as soon as she heard her own stomach growling, meaning she was hungry, too.

Everyone, even her own family (barring the stoic Oleana), had to laugh as the little princess blushed and groaned in embarrassment. Even Hashimoto and Ching Wan couldn't help laughing as they rolled on their backs.

---

With Ash and the others, they and their Pokemon managed to stop another Dynamax Pokemon with the help of their new individual weapons. Needless to say, they were all amazed by what they've seen after using them. They felt like they've got a new extension of their powers and themselves and they were just getting started after taking the time during their battles to have them in their hands and learn the ropes with them.

"Whoa, these new power-ups rule!" Mallow gasped in wonder as they demorphed and took in their new weapons.

"Yeah, I'm amazed that Mother, Wicke, Professor Burnet, Faba, and their teams took great inspiration from the original weapons and modified them to suit our individual battle styles with our Pokemon," added Lillie, impressed by her new Fox Saber.

"With these bad boys with us, we'll be able to protect everyone and save Galar's people and Pokemon in no time," Sophocles agreed.

"Right, although there's still one thing bothering me," put in Ash, thinking about the Dynamax Pokemon they've been fighting so far. "Pokemon aren't just rampaging because they wanted to, something else must've made them act like that."

"I agree, you think it has something to do with those strange lights comprised of Galar Particles we've been seeing hitting several Pokemon that Mulan noticed earlier?" inquired Lana.

"Well, if it does involve those Dynamax Pokemon and the Galar Particle streams were connected to the Darkest Day, Zacian, and Zamazenta, we better start looking for the answers right now," suggested Kiawe.

"And, see how Sarah, Hop, Victor, and Gloria are doing on their ends," finished Lillie. "I hope they're okay."

Everyone nodded; they hoped that Sarah and their Galar friends wouldn't get into any trouble in dealing with the Dynamax Pokemon. Little did they know, however, as they went off to find Sarah and look for answers as to the incidents involving the Dynamax Pokemon, Sarah was having dinner with Rose and joined by three familiar Galar trainers.

---

When night finally rolled in, at a tower that served as Rose's headquarters for Macro Cosmos, in an elegant dining room on one of the upper floors, the chairman himself was true to his word and treated her, her family, and their Pokemon to a fine and elegant Galar gourmet dinner. With them was Victor, Hop, and Gloria, who had finished with their bit of the Dynamax Pokemon incidents and were taking a break to recover before they would continue. Leon, on the other hand, had stayed behind at the Coalossal Trio's original site to help repair the damage the mines had sustained so he couldn't join them.

By some surprise fortune, the Postwick Trio came across Rose and Oleana, and seeing how they were to save everyone and the Pokemon from their crazed Dynamax state along with how they're being worn out from the battling, he offered them the same Galar gourmet dinner he treated to Sarah. Needless to say, she was glad to have come across them again and she had to chuckle when she decided to trust them with her Power Ranger secret (which they kept from Rose and Oleana in private before dinner).

They all were delighted from the food they've been served and even the Pokemon couldn't find it in their hearts to resist what had been prepared as they all ate their hearts out.

"This sure is good," sighed Hop happily as he ate. "Sure wish Lee was here to join us, he's really missing out!"

"Boy, you sure have been busy when Leon arrived and gave you a hand," smiled Victor before he whispered, "And, who'd ever guess you're a Power Ranger of all heroes?"

"Well, I'm full of surprises," whispered Sarah, smiling.

"Yeah, just make sure you don't choke when you eat the wrong way regarding that," joked Gloria.

"This dinner is astounding, Sir Rose, it's phenomenal," gawked Tsukumaro in awe as he took in the food. "Galar's chefs are incredible professionals."

"I'm glad you all liked it," smiled Rose as he looked out the window. "You know, I really like the view from up here..."

The group stopped eating for a bit as they listened to Rose while Nebula floated to the nighttime view they could see past the window from where they are and babbled and cooed happily from the lights down below.

"Everywhere you look, wherever there are flickering lights out there, they represent someone in the wide-open world no matter where they are living their life along with the dream. I was raised from humble beginnings and worked hard to get to the position that I've now occupied and I have Galar to thank for that. I want this nighttime view we're all lucky to have tonight to be here a thousand years from now and I intend to do everything I possibly can to ensure that it does."

"Really...?" Victor questioned curiously.

"Huh?" puzzled Hop in surprise.

"You think so?" quizzed Gloria, intrigued.

"But, what do you mean?" asked Sarah, not getting the point.

Rose just smiled as he faced the four trainers and Tsukumaro (who had been listening in on Rose's words), "Let me be frank; I'm in the process of recruiting talented young trainers such as Leon into my fold, trainers such as you all. You especially from what I've seen, Sarah, what do you say?"

"Like me, what are you talking about?"

"I'm making my business to support strong trainers just like you. It's all for the future of Galar and with your help and unique ways, I'm sure my company and friends will do what we can to ensure that our region's future is secure and safeguarded. Please work with me and lend us all a hand."

"Oh my! Such an honor it must be for a wonderful young girl like yourself to receive such an honor from Chairman Rose!" sweet-talked Oleana, sounding like she wanted Sarah to take up Rose's offer in her excitement.

Sarah didn't know what to say from the offer for her; she was tempted to help the people of Galar with Rose's request but she didn't feel like it was right. She was most comfortable with helping people through Alola's traditions and her everlasting kindness to others.

Victor, Hop, and Gloria were also surprised by this but like Sarah, they grew concerned about what else it would offer compared to what their Pokemon journey together has given and taught them and their Pokemon. It was almost like it was another easy way to reach the top of being a great Pokemon trainer and even if they and Sarah took Rose up on his offer, what would they ultimately gain from it?

After much thought and what she wanted to do, Sarah made her mind up. "Thanks, Rose. I'm deeply honored but I'm afraid I can't take you up on it," she declined politely, much to Rose's surprise.

Even the Postwick Trio was baffled by her response while Tsukumaro smiled proudly over his goddaughter's choice. But, Oleana seethed with fury over her superior's offer being rejected as she glared daggers at her, which the little princess didn't take notice of (barring the startled Galar trainers as they saw her reaction) as she continued.

"You see, I have a responsibility to bring peace and happiness to all of Alola and to the people and Pokemon living there. Ever since I started my own journey and being through and experiencing so much since then, I've been helping everybody through my own power and meeting so many different people and Pokemon. They've all taught what things like true love, honor, courage, trust, devotion to family, loyalty, bravery, and truth of heart are all about. Not only that, but I still have family out there waiting for me to find them. I don't want to abandon them and all that I've learned for your offer, I hope you'll understand. I'm sorry..."

Rose was even more surprised by what he had heard and couldn't help but feel impressed so he had to smile and accept her refusal. "I see. In that case, I understand your position. No hard feelings," he accpeted.

"Thank you, Rose," nodded Sarah.

After dinner, it was time for Sarah and her group to turn in as they were each given two deluxe suites, compliments of Rose as was his Galar gourmet dinner.

While Gloria, Hop, and Victor shared the first suite they've been given, Sarah, Tsukumaro, and their Pokemon were given another one with a fascinating and just as glorious view of Wyndon down below. She had also returned much of her Pokemon to their Pokeballs to rest up for the night while leaving out Calyrex and his steeds, Ching Wan, and Hashimoto to join her, Riolu, Blitz, Tsukumaro, and Absol as long as they don't roughhouse the place.

"This sure is a nice suite Rose prepared for us," sighed Sarah as she, Riolu, Blitz, Nebula, and Hashimoto got onto one of the master beds after changing to her pajamas. "But, I'm not sure if I would really want to take up his offer since I've already learned much that's already given me my true power back home. What do you think, Tsukumaro?"

"About Sir Rose and his offer to you? I think it's good in theory but preposterous for you in practice," he replied, giving his two cents as he settled on the other master bed while Absol and Mulan settled down together on the floor in between their beds. "I don't know what good would come out of such an offer. By the way, if I may point out something, you were going to tell everyone about Zacian and Zamazenta before the Dynamax incidents happened, right?"

"Yeah, but they cut me off when Mulan sensed them happening. What's even stranger about that is why so many Pokemon had been hit with Galar Particles and Dynamaxed and Gigantamaxed without being a few feet from any nearby Power Spots. I thought they were only meant to Dynamax and Gigantamax at specific Power Spots at Stadiums and Wild Areas like the ones we found at the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra, so what's changed?"

"That's something I wish we could get to the bottom of. But, you also mentioned that when you, the others, and Sonia discovered the statue at Stow-on-Side, you've mentioned that they are two heroes and two Pokemon that were responsible for saving the Galar Region from the Darkest Day and Eternatus, did you not?"

"Yeah. If what Sophocles and Sonia mentioned was correct, according to the legend surrounding the Darkest Day... 3000 years ago, Eternatus came to Galar and this world from a dark vortex in the sky and brought the region to the brink of destruction through its influence even though it did so to ensure its own survival. When the Darkest Day became too much for everyone to bear, the Two Kings and their faithful Pokemon partners, Zacian and Zamazenta, rose up to challenge Eternatus and prevent Galar's imminent demise. They managed to do so but unfortunately, nobody knows what happened to the Heroes of Many Battles, not even the Two Kings themselves."

"Then, if Sonia's findings are true and coupled with what we now know from the hidden statue of Zacian, Zamazenta, and the Two Kings, that would surely explain Galar's Legend of the Darkest Day in its truthful entirety But, there's still one question that still bothers me: why would anybody dare to change the truth about the legend and the battle that took place three millennia ago? Who could possibly have a reason for wiping Zacian and Zamazenta from Galar's history books about that terrible event?"

"I don't know but if those rampaging Dynamax Pokemon are anything, I'd say what we've just gone through is a prelude to a storm."

"I'm just want to know what that Rose guy was up to when he made that funny offer to you, Mommy," put in Riolu.

"You think he might know something about those rampaging Dynamax Pokemon, Riolu?"

"I felt his Aura, there's something off about him. It's almost like there's some kind of lust in his eyes, like he really wants to do anything and everything he can think of just for ensuring Galar's future. But, I don't know what he's got planned."

"Even though he seems like a nice guy, something about him just didn't sit right with us," added Hashimoto.

Before Sarah and Tsukumaro could question the Pokemon further about Rose, Sarah's Wrist Com went off and she answered the call to her.

"Hello?" asked Sarah.

"Hey, Sarah, are you all right? Did you take care of whatever Dynamax Pokemon you could find?" asked Ash, who called her.

After they had done their work on dealing with the Dynamax Pokemon, Ash and the rest of the gang returned to Wedgehurst to tell Prof. Kukui, Sonia (who had returned after getting wind about the incidents from her grandmother), Prof. Magnolia, and Principal Oak about the Dynamax Pokemon rampaging.

"Yeah, we've managed to deal with a Centiskorch and a trio of Coalossals but it's all fine now with help from King and Leon."

"Wow, this is serious. I totally understand how dire it must've been for you guys if you had to call him from the Zord Bay back home to help you," sighed Kukui, relieved. "I'm glad you weren't badly hurt, Sarah. But, where are you now?"

"I'm at Wyndon, at Chairman Rose's headquarters with Tsukumaro and our Pokemon. Even Victor, Gloria, and Hop are crashing with us for the night. Rose caught up with us after we dealt with the Dynamax Pokemon wherever we are and treated us to dinner."

"That's awfully kind of him to do so even though we just met him a little while ago. But, you're so lucky!" murmured Mallow jealously.

"That sounds like a dinner with Lillie but only grander," agreed Lana, feeling green with envy but getting a raised incredulous eyebrow from said girl.

"I suppose we won't see you all until tomorrow?" asked Kiawe.

"Nope, we'll leave tomorrow morning. We'll have to get ready to leave, anyway."

"Actually, Sarah, my colleagues and I got a call from Chairman Rose earlier. He's asked for us to stay a few more days to see the Champion Cup and he wants you to take part in a demonstration match with Leon when it comes."

"What?!" gasped Sarah in shock, not expecting the change of plans.

"Personally, I think it's a great idea!" Kukui smiled. "Since you've all worked so hard and learned so much about Galar throughout the past week, I think seeing the Champion Cup would be a nice reward for you!"

"Awesome! Thank you so much!" cheered the others through her Wrist Com.

This got Sarah's blood boiling as this was the moment she had been waiting for involving her plan for Calyrex. "The Champion Cup, really? Could we-?!" she asked, growing excited.

"Yep, I seem to remember Victor, Hop, and Gloria being permitted to compete in it for a chance to battle against Leon and either one becoming Galar's new Champion after overthrowing him from his victory throne at the speed of Agility. It would also do me some good to see the demonstration match between you and Leon so I can get ideas on developing the Alola League back home!"

"Okay... I just hope our families understand that we'll be a little late coming back."

"Don't worry, Principal Oak and I talked it over with them and they don't mind but they'll be expecting to hear how the Champion Cup goes as your last big experience in the region! I doubt even they couldn't resist hearing who would become the new Galar Champion after Leon!"

"Don't worry, Professor! I'll record every last moment in the Champion Cup!" saluted Rotom-Dex with a smile. "Then, we can put it on DVD or video along with everything else we've experienced in Galar and show everybody what we've learned and seen!"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I don't expect anything less! Anyway, we'll see you tomorrow. Until then, good night, Sarah."

"Good night!" called the others.

"'Night, guys, Professor," nodded Sarah, shutting off her Wrist Com before tucking her Pokemon with her into bed with Calyrex, Glastrier, Spectrier, Mulan, and Absol nearby having already fallen asleep along with Tsukumaro before she turned in for the night as well.

---

But, that night, while everyone else was asleep, Leon was wide awake and making his way to Hammerlocke. He had a funny feeling about what Rose told him, Sarah and, Tsukumaro and was keen to find out what he was alluding to about Galar's future. "Does Chairman Rose know anything about the rampaging Pokemon?" he thought. "I wonder what's actually going on in this underground energy plant of his..."

While he was looking to find Rose and talk with him about his previous words, in the underground energy plan, Katzenberg, Glam, Fester, and Hammer were overlooking the core that once overloaded with Galar Particles. They could hear a roar coming from inside it and the Sin of Wrath was becoming more enticed by what he's hearing.

"Excellent, the Pokemon in question will soon awaken and then, once it's free, Galar shall be the first region to fall under our and Rose's control," he sneered while the others nodded eagerly, feeling success finally coming their way. "Your time has come, Princess. Once you say 'Hello' to our giant friend, the Alolan Royal Hierarchy will be obliviated, once and for all..."

---

The next morning, at Professor Magnolia's place, Sonia and the rest of the Alola gang were about to depart for Wyndon. It was finally time for Gloria, Hop, and Victor to attend the Champion Cup for the three Galar Trainers from Postwick, who were preparing themselves for the big event at Wyndon Stadium in the meantime, could hardly wait to see who's eventually going to become the new Galar Champion after Leon.

"We'll see you three later, Gran!" called Sonia as she, Ash, and the others prepared to depart with Magnolia, Principal Oak, and Kukui seeing them off.

"We'll tell you everything that happened at the Champion Cup!" said Ash excitedly.

"We can't wait to Persian all about it!"

"Give Victor, Hop, and Gloria our regards and tell them to Brick Break a leg when you get there," smiled Principal Oak and Kukui.

Magnolia, however, looked grim as she turned her attention to Sonia as Kukui and Principal Oak left. She felt like she had something important to tell her and her friends and wanted to get it out to them quickly. "Sonia, dear, there's something I need to tell you and your friends... Why I withdrew from the research I was doing with Chairman Rose," she began.

"...You see, I saw a certain madness in his eyes. Chairman Rose will stop at nothing to realize his dreams. The incidents with Pokemon Dynamaxing and Rampaging yesterday; while Kukui and I've no proof, I have a bad feeling... That is why, Sonia, once you get to Wyndon, please get to Sarah and ask her about the legend of the Darkest Day. She might have the answers we so desperately needed; I need the legend's mystery involving Zacian and Zamazenta solved before Chairman Rose achieves his goals, as fast as you can."

"Don't worry, Gran, we'll figure out what it means," agreed Sonia.

"We'll finally be able to ask her, Victor, Gloria, and Hop about those Pokemon," added Lana.

"You can count on us, Professor!" smiled Sophocles.

"Right!" agreed Ash, Kiawe, Mallow, and Lillie.

Professor Magnolia nodded warmly as she watched them leave for Wyndon to attend the Champion Cup and to finally question Sarah; she knew she could count on her granddaughter and her friends to accomplish their common goal about the mystery behind the two Pokemon of the Two Kings. But, as they left to catch a train there, an agent from Macro Cosmos had been eavesdropping on them and recorded everything Magnolia told the group and sent it through to Oleana, who was less than impressed.

"We must weed out the roots before they spread," she remarked, signaling a few more agents to find and eavesdrop on them when they get to Wyndon before making their move.

---

At the same time, while the Postwick Trainers prepared to compete in the Champion Cup, Sarah, Tsukumaro, and their Pokemon had all woken up early and got out to find Leon, whom they've learned was at Hammerlocke the previous night.

"What do you suppose Sir Leon was doing at Hammerlocke? That woman at the information booth was pretty vague on what he was doing there," said the advisor as they prepared to leave Wyndon.

"Maybe he's got a new lead as to what or who could be responsible for the Dynamaxing Pokemon," Sarah suggested.

She then thought about what Rose told them, Victor, Hop, and Gloria about something he alluded to regarding anything like the nighttime view of the city they all witnessed being common about a millennium from now. She couldn't put her finger on what he could be talking about but those words still somehow didn't sit right with her the more she thought about it.

"If he has found anything, we should go there at once and see what we can do to help," offered Tsukumaro, seeing no other option.

The little princess nodded but before they could catch a train or a Flying Taxi to Hammerlocke, Nebula suddenly babbled happily before she floated over to whatever caught her attention. "Hey, wait! Nebula!" cried Sarah, not knowing what the female Cosmog was doing.

They saw her floating over to a large bush that was close to them and behind a straight hedge from their left and babbling as she poked it with her wisps and giggled before she went in and tried to pull a bit off. When she did, though, they were greeted with a short pained yelp from the bush and a few startled gasps.

"Ow! Hey, where'd you come from, kid? Zer-! Get off, watch it! Look out! OWCH! That hurt! Get your tail off of me! Only if the kid moves out of my face! Careful! Zera!"

Hearing the bush talk made Nebula laugh as she cooed at it and made a baby raspberry of curiosity but the voice coming from it threw Tsukumaro, Sarah, and the other Pokemon in for a loop as they reeled back in shock and bewilderment. The two humans, Riolu, Absol, Blitz, and Mulan immediately recognized who the voices belonged to but Ching Wan, Hashimoto, Calyrex, and his steeds didn't know who spoke.

"Zorua, Keldeo, is that you?!" asked Sarah.

The Colt and Tricky Fox Pokemon immediately popped out of the bush and found Sarah and Tsukumaro along with their Pokemon, old and new, staring at them in shock. "Sarah, Gramps!" gasped Zorua.

"Well, hello again, Princess," greeted Virizion as she, Zeraora, Cobalion, and Terrakion appeared.

"Zorua, Zeraora, you crazy pair team bunch! Virizion, Cobalion, Terrakion, Keldeo, why did you come here as well?" questioned a baffled Tsukumaro as Nebula floated back to Sarah and landed in her arms. "I thought I told you guys to stay in Alola and out of sight before we left last week."

"What are you all doing here? Don't you know everybody in Galar is going to go bananas when they see you with us?" agreed Sarah, looking around to see if anybody else is watching.

"Zorua told us about the Dynamaxing incidents happening yesterday and we saw it fit to come here and help you. We've been told about the news forecasts about the Pokemon affected by Dynamaxing rampaging anything in their crazed wake and found out you were involved," Cobalion told her.

"And, don't worry," chuckled Terrakion. "We still have some sort of mythical presence being Legendary Pokemon and not many in the Galar Region knew about us so we've been able to bypass them without anything finding or ratting us out. But, you can thank Zorua for hiding us while we were looking for you."

"We were so worried about you ever since Zorua mentioned that you, Tsukumaro, and your Pokemon clashed with a Dynamaxed Centiskorch and nearly died from your attempt to stop it," putting Virizion, acting like a worried mother. "Do you have any idea what you're doing against a Dynamax Pokemon?"

"I couldn't just stand by and do nothing while Centi was causing havoc beyond his control and worrying his trainer and his daughter! What was I supposed to do?"

"You could've somehow updated us on what you were up to and then, we'd gotten here sooner after getting wind of what happened yesterday," argued Keldeo.

"How was I supposed to send a letter or a video message to you? Most Pokemon can't get their heads around technology and many people would think I've gone crazy or could be looking for you if they saw your names on the front of a letter."

"An update of anything would've been nice," retorted Keldeo again.

His response only got another an annoyed yet deadpanned look from the princess. While Sarah and Tsukumaro were talking with the Swords of Justice, Hashimoto, Ching Wan, Calyrex, Spectrier, and Glastrier all gawked at the Legendary Pokemon before them. They were even more surprised when they noticed Zeraora and Zorua coming over to talk to them.

"Hi, I'm Zorua and this is my Master, Zeraora. Who are you?" greeted Zorua.

"Uh... H-h-h-h-Hi, I-I-I-I'm H-Hashimo-o-to," stuttered Hashimoto, trying to overcome his shy nature again.

"And, I'm his brother, Ching Wan," added Ching Wan. "We're the secret armor of the Master Dojo from the Isle of Armor."

"You don't look like actual armor, do you?" quipped Zorua, raising an eyebrow and looking them over.

"Yeah, we don't get it either but that's what we are since we've trained to become strong enough to endure anything thrown at us whether we evolve or not."

Zeraora nodded, accepting his answer even though he was also confused about what he was told. He looked over to Calyrex and growled, introducing himself to the King of Bountiful Harvests.

"Zeraora, is it? My name's Calyrex, I'm known as the King of Bountiful Harvests from the Crown Tundra in the southern side of Galar," introduced Calyrex before he directed him to his steeds (now riding on Glastrier again in his Ice Rider Form). "And, these two here are my steeds, Glastrier and Spectrier."

The Thunderclap Pokemon nodded as they both shared a friendly handshake; the Mythical Electric Type could tell there was something special that Sarah brought out of him to allow the High King Pokemon to travel with her.

"So, it's in our best interest to do give you a hand to stop the Darkest Day from repeating itself again and ensure Galar's safety," replied Cobalion, still firm on helping Sarah and her friends.

"No, we can't let you do this, it's too dangerous," warned Tsukumaro.

"Your safety and that of the Princess' come first, Tsukumaro, always," convinced Virizion.

After a while, with him and Virizion exchanging knowing and loving glares in regards to Sarah and what she planned to do to stop the Dynamaxing incidents from repeating themselves, Tsukumaro finally sighed and relented. It was clear that the Swords of Justice along with Zorua and Zeraora are firm in their decision to give them a hand and he had to admit that they'll need their help should things get hairy.

"Well, all right, we sure could use the help," he complied, accepting defeat. "The more, the merrier. We'll have a better chance of stopping the Darkest Day from happening with you all joining us."

Nebula babbled happily as she clapped her feelers, which caught Virizion's attention as she saw her in Sarah's arms. "Ah, I see you've got yourself another Cosmog in the family," she smiled, chuckling.

"Yeah, Nebula was given to me by an old lady while we were leaving the Crown Tundra as a thank-you present. It's not too hard for me to look after her, reminds me of when Nebby was once a Cosmog himself."

"So, what'll we do now that we're on the same page, Princess?" asked Terrakion.

"Well, my class and I were rewarded for our work on the Galar Region for a chance to see the Champion Cup but if we're going to stop the Darkest Day from happening again as it did 3,000 years ago, we start by paying to Hammerlocke and finding our new friend, Leon."

"You mean the undefeated Galar Champion who you helped deal with some of the Dynamaxed Pokemon we're heard about?"

"The very same, we think he may have a new lead as to what happened regarding those incidents and the rampaging Pokemon and we're gonna find out what."

"Then, let us hurry," affirmed Cobalion, preparing to leave.

---

Meanwhile, back at the Hammerlocke Energy Plant, Leon had returned and was now going to see what Rose and his team are working on. He had gotten a call from the Macro Cosmos headman about his plans for Galar's future and he wanted to let him in on his master plan which is what he wants to see.

One of Rose's staff was about to enter an elevator to the underground plant when he noticed Leon entering. "Stop, Leon! You can't go in there, you need Chairman Rose's permission to enter the facility!" he begged the Galar Champion.

"Chairman Rose called for me," replied Leon bluntly as he entered the elevator and the man pulled out his phone.

"Then, I'll just call him to make sure, if you don't mind. W-wait outside."

"I apologize, but there isn't time."

As the elevator took him to the basement hanger, Leon could only hope that what Rose wanted to tell him about would lead him to the answers he needed regarding the rampaging Dynamax Pokemon. He only hoped he wasn't too late to find out what the man who sponsored and supported him wasn't anything crazy or drastic and stop it before it gets any worse.

---

Back to Sarah; the princess and her group had prepared themselves to head for Hammerlocke to meet up with Leon and discover what had caused the incidents with the Dynamax Pokemon as Solar came to them upon his partner's call from a nearby park when nobody was around yet in the early morning.

"Hey, Solar, where've ya been?" asked Sarah.

"Been outside the whole night, didn't want to cause a panic for Rose's staff with me being a Beast Bot," he explained. "Not sure how the people would respond to me if I try to make their acquaintance and sleep with them, either. I don't think I'd do well as a kiddie ride for a shopping mall or a kid's robot toy."

"Well, whatever your reasons are, I'll need your help again. Can you help get us to Hammerlocke?"

"Sure thing, I'm sure I got the directions and the map of the entire region downloaded in my systems by now. Hop on and I'll take you there and-"

"Hey, Sarah!" cried a voice coming from Rose's headquarters.

"Aw, buckin' bolts," cursed Solar, groaning.

"Oh no," sighed Sarah, realizing she and Tsukumaro are in trouble after being seen with several Legendary Pokemon at once.

"Oh, dear," murmured Tsukumaro worriedly.

Everyone looked and there were Gloria, Hop, and Victor with their partners coming to see Sarah and Tsukumaro. But then, they did a double-take when they saw the Swords of Justice, Zorua, and Zeraora with them in plain sight and their jaws dropped in shock. With them was Rotom-Dex and he was also baffled to see the Swords of Justice with the two along with Zeraora and Zorua as he floated them, looking absolutely flabbergasted.

"Uh, Sarah...?" asked Victor, not knowing what to say.

"Are those...?" added Gloria, still left in shock as she pointed to the Swords of Justice, Zeraora, and Zorua.

"Yep, they're the Swords of Justice. And, that's Zeraora and Zorua with us," sighed Sarah, not wanting to lie to her Galar friends.

"When were you gonna tell us you knew these guys?!" gawked Hop in complete disbelief and exasperation.

"Well, technically, you knew who they were at some point and I didn't want my knowing them to get out to anybody since you know what'll happen if anybody else found out," she told them, only to get a pebble thrown at her face from Victor's disgruntled Cinderace. "Ow! Seriously?"

"Sarah, what is all this?! Zeraora, Zorua, what are they doing here?" Rotom-Dex shrieked in exasperation as he looked at Zeraora and Zorua before he looked at the Swords of Justice in confusion being a little slow on the draw. "Who are these guys?"

"Maybe your databanks can help you with that, notice anything about them that looks familiar?" she asked in turn, waiting for Rotom-Dex's reaction.

Rotom-Dex looked over the Swords of Justice, one-by-one, taking in their shapes and features and searching his databanks for anything about them that strikes a chord with him as a Pokedex. Then, he started to buzz uncontrollably as if he found the entries for the Pokemon in question and was left gobsmacked by what he had found.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" he finally shrieked in overwhelming shock. "THESE POKEMON WITH YOU ARE THE LEGENDARY SWORDS OF JUSTICE FROM UNOVA?!"

He then pulled out the entries he found and read them aloud to make sure he wasn't dreaming, starting with Cobalion. "Cobalion, the Iron Will Pokemon. A Fighting and Steel Type, It has a body and heart of steel. This Pokémon appears in a legend alongside Terrakion and Virizion, fighting against humans in defense of the Unova region's Pokémon."

The living Pokedex dashed over to Terrakion, pulling out his entry of the Cavern Pokemon himself. "Terrakion, the Cavern Pokemon. A Fighting and Rock Type, it has phenomenal power. It will mercilessly crush anyone or anything that bullies small Pokémon."

Next, he looked over Virizion as he read her entry. "Virizion, the Grassland Pokemon. A Fighting and Grass Type, its head sprouts horns as sharp as blades. Legends say this Pokémon confounded opponents with its swift movements."

"*Hey, what about me?*" asked Keldeo as he looked at Rotom-Dex with a raised eyebrow before he pulled out his entry.

"Keldeo, the Colt Pokemon (Ordinary Form). A Water and Fighting Type, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion taught this Pokémon how to fight. It dashes across the world, seeking more opportunities to further its training."

As soon as he finished, he turned to Sarah, getting angry at her after realizing she had lied to them at times when she mentioned who saved her life from Umbreon and his family's hunters and what she had been doing in her spare time.

"Why didn't you tell us about them in the first place?!" he angrily screamed.

"It's no big deal, they're my mentors," replied Sarah simply. "They came from Unova to help me learn and improve my swordplay and they did in flying colors."

"WHAAAAAAAT!? What do you mean it's not a big deal?!" shrieked Rotom-Dex incredulously, getting steamed at Sarah as he flailed angrily in her face. "Do you know what the others would say if they saw you with the Swords of Justice right now and you didn't say anything about them?! Do you realize you've been lying to us about them this whole time?!"

Rotom-Dex's angry ranting was cut short when an annoyed Zorua transformed into a female Jellicent and smacked him hard to shut him up as he faceplanted on the concrete. "She has a good reason for keeping you all in the dark about them, you know," she retorted indignantly as Zeraora nodded in agreement.

"She's right, Rotom-Dex. Don't blame her for not telling you and her friends about them, blame me. I was the one who asked them to come to Alola to help them, I'm responsible for getting the teachers and tutelage she needs to become a true warrior," added Tsukumaro, deciding to take responsibility for Sarah's private training.

"Okay, wait, wait, wait! Time out, hold up! Wait a bloody minute!" interrupted Victor, not getting what they're saying. "This is all very well and good but what in Dusknoir's Hell are you all talking about?"

"Yeah, mates, we're kinda lost," agreed Hop, scratching his head in incredulous confusion.

"How did you know the Swords of Justice, Sarah? We know you're a princess but that's all we were told by Professor Magnolia," put in Gloria, having several questions. "What it is about you that makes you a Princess?"

Sarah sighed; she knew she was going to have to tell her friends including the Postwick Trio the whole truth about her lineage and what other secrets she has for her own safety and that of the Legendary Pokemon she's with at some point.

"Look, I'm sorry, guys. But, I didn't want you to get too involved in my affairs involving my lineage and why I know the Swords of Justice. It's just, if anybody besides my family and I and even Zorua and Zeraora found out about them, my enemies, Team Eclipse, would do anything to capture them and use them as their own against me."

This got Gloria, Hop, Victor, and their partners worried; is Sarah's life really in danger, does she really have a hidden target on her back and they didn't know?

"Sarah, please," began Gloria calmly. "Whatever happens, we can help you. Tell us, we'll keep a secret."

Sarah was worried about unintentionally dragging her Galar friends into her ongoing war against Team Eclipse and her fallen uncle and she didn't know how they would react if they found out how she came to meet with the Swords of Justice. Hell, they probably had no idea how she even came to meet Tsukumaro in the first place or if she's really adopted and born into an actual royal family.

Nebula, sensing her new caretaker's hesitation and worry, babbled with great concern for her as she turned to her. Babbling again and gently eying her, the female Cosmog nuzzled her chest and convinced her to let it out seeing that it would make her better instead of bottling whatever secrets she has in her away from them.

"...All right, I'll tell you. It was back when my godfather, Tsukumaro, came to live with me, my adopted parents, and our Pokemon after he helped us deal with the incident involving the Ultra Beast known as Pheramosa. When my friends and I were first given a thrashing by my former uncle, Lothor, and his Darkrai, I was separated from them and badly wounded until he found my Pokemon and my dragons and I at a river a few miles from a cave he and his Absol were staying in. They nursed me back to health and together, we were able to fend off Lothor and his second-in-command, Ivanka, before they could make off with me and Pheromosa. Then, while I was on a camping trip with my friends, I was brought to Zeraora's floral sanctuary and told that I was to improve on my swordplay and martial arts through private lessons if we were to have a chance at going against Lothor and his forces should they strike again. Next thing my family and I knew, we were greeted by the Swords of Justice who proceeded to test us and we failed. Then, after telling us what I have to do to defend myself against Team Eclipse, he summoned the Swords of Justice to help me improve my swordplay should there be a chance when Lothor and his goons would come and take me alive for who-knows-what."

Gloria, Hop, Victor, and their Pokemon partners were left speechless by what they had been told.

"Bloody hell, I knew there was something cool about you but this is just crazy and over the top," gawked Victor.

"Too right, how did you guys find out and came to Alola in the first place?" agreed Hop as he turned to the Swords of Justice.

"That happened after Tsukumaro was accepted into her adopted family and he saw how she fared against Lothor's forces," explained Virizion. "Her swordplay was greatly lacking and she had no idea of the powers she already possessed with it in her hands. Seeing as how she would be in great danger if she doesn't know how to properly defend herself, he took the initiative to call for help and, by whatever means he had, he managed to find us instead of other humans."

"We had to be sure nobody saw us so they can capture us as we found a ride in the form of a Whalord that knew her a few times when it transported her between Ula'Ula Island and Poni Island on a few occasions after Tapu Koko heard his plea and answered it. Considering the trouble Lothor's just put her through, it's hardly surprising he wouldn't trust anybody else to teach her what we know about swordplay," added Terrakion.

"So, Tsukumaro called you because he knew she needed help and he didn't want to leave her with another human to learn from," clarified Gloria. "He knew you were the only ones he can trust because you've protected Pokemon and good humans with your lives?"

"Exactly, and what makes it worse was that when she said that Lothor was once her uncle," Cobalion trailed off, letting the Galar trainers figure it out.

They soon understood as they squirmed a little. "Oh, right...Sorry," Hop apologized, Gloria and Victor nodding apologetically as well.

"No worries, some family tree I had," nodded Sarah.

"Princess, I don't know how to put it gently to you but...Lothor's no relation to you even if he was your uncle," interrupted Tsukumaro gravely.

This took Sarah, Victor, Gloria, and Hop by surprise as they turned to Tsukumaro in bewilderment.

"How can you say that?" she asked, not getting what he's telling her.

"By your late grandparents' laws regarding interlopers within your family, once the perpetrator is found and is banished for crimes such as treason or espionage after being punished, they cease to exist. That was the difficult choice they and your parents had to make after he was found guilty of betrayal out of growing jealousy for My Lord and Lady."

"I should've been told he was my uncle, anyway. I could've done something to help him even though he's too far gone."

"Perhaps, but would it have changed anything if I were any different doing what he had done and had our roles been reversed?"

Sarah sighed, defeated; she knew there was nothing she could do about Lothor. He made his choice when he did what he did and there was nothing she could do to change it since it wouldn't matter.

---

But, while she was spilling the beans to the Galar trainers, Leon had made it to the underground plant's hanger and entered to see the core housing the Pokemon Katzenberg, Glam, Hammer, and Fester had been looking after the previous night and to speak with Chairman Rose. The staff overlooking it watched as alarms rang as he entered and even he couldn't help but look on and sweatdrop in shock as he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Emergency, hold the Galar Particles injection!" ordered a businesswoman.

"W-we're not gonna make it in time!" objected a businessman, seeing the futility in what they're trying to do.

"What's this?" Leon breathed, stunned.

"It's overloaded!" cried the businessman again, his panic becoming apparent to see.

Then, suddenly, without warning, a low growl from the hidden Pokemon was heard before it was succeeded by a loud roar. At that moment, the Pokemon's roar resulted in a much stronger surge of Galar Particles shooting out of the core and bursting through the hanger as it shot off into the sky.

A large, dark vortex from the beam of Galar Particles appeared as foretold in the old legends detailing the Darkest Day and the terrifying power that came from it was so powerful, a gust of wind blew across the region from the Hammerlocke energy plant. The explosion from the vortex appearing even shook the trains traveling across the region, even the train Sonia, Ash, Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, Kiawe, Lillie, and their Pokemon were on as they and their fellow passengers screamed as they held on tight.

"Sonia! Hey!" cried Lillie, terrified from the force they're feeling.

Kiawe looked to the source of the blast but when he looked up, he gasped in shock to see the vortex appearing. "Guys, look! A vortex is coming from that beam of Galar Particles!" he shouted as he pointed at it.

"Where did it come from?"

"What's going on out there?" asked Ash and Mallow worriedly.

Sophocles activated his Wrist Com, trying to figure out where the beam is coming from just as several other smaller beams are shooting out from it. It wasn't long until he found out where the beam was located.

"I think I know where. According to my Wrist Com, the beam looks like it's coming from Hammerlocke," he explained.

"Hammerlocke, but why?" Mallow asked in surprise.

"What could be going on over there?" pondered Lana worriedly.

Sonia stared at the beam intensely, she had a feeling something was up regarding the legend of the Darkest Day and she could only hope that she and the others would reach Sarah in time so they can ask her about Zacian and Zamazenta. If they really are the Pokemon she and her young trainer friends saw, then they'll have the mystery of that terrible event solved.

But, they weren't the only ones to feel the force from the Galar Particles beam from Hammerlocke; back at Wyndon, the gust of wind from the beam reached Sarah and her group and they were taken aback by the beam hitting the sky and the vortex from it appearing before them.

"What was that?!" screamed Hop, shocked.

"It looks like a beam created from Galar Particles but this one's much stronger than the ones I saw that Dynamaxed other Pokemon like that Centiskorch I saw on the news forecast yesterday," replied Zorua, having transformed into a Swellow and seeing the beam from a clear distance.

"There's some kind of vortex appearing from it," added Keldeo, eying the vortex. "It also looks like the vortex that was foretold in the legend of the Darkest Day!"

"The Darkest Day?!" gasped Sarah, Tsukumaro, and the Galar trainers.

"Are you sure, Keldeo?" gawked Sarah in disbelief.

"Yes, and look," he nodded, directing everyone to the beam as six smaller beams of Galar Particles shot out and separated to different parts of the region including Wyndon. "Where's the beam coming from and which Pokemon are those beams going to target next?"

"I don't know, but we better find out where that big beam's coming from," replied Sarah before she turned to Rotom-Dex. "Hey, Rotom-Dex, you know where that beam's coming from?"

"I'll check the Galar map, I think it's not far from where we are now," he said, looking through Galar's locations on his digital map before he finally pinpointed the beam's source and gasped. "It's coming from Hammerlocke at the center of Galar!"

"My systems are also telling me it's from Hammerlocke... Sarah, that must be where Leon is heading right now!" put in Solar, remembering Leon going there last night. "He must've gone off to Hammerlocke to find out where the beams originated from!"

"Wait, Lee's already at Hammerlocke? What's he doing there?" asked Hop, surprised over the mention of his big brother.

"We asked the staff before leaving about Leon's whereabouts since we're supposed to meet him for the Champion Cup but he didn't show up. The lady at the reception desk told us he had to go on a business trip since Chairman Rose called and asked to speak with him at Hammerlocke," said Sarah.

"What do you suppose he found while he's there?" questioned Victor.

"You think the Darkest Day, Eternatus, was somehow actually brought back by any humans who knew about what happened 3000 years ago?" quizzed Terrakion, having a suspicious feeling about the vortex.

"The black vortex we saw was definitely a sign that Eternatus is not too far away from reemerging," nodded Cobalion grimly. "If Eternatus really has returned, those imbeciles will have no idea of the horror they've truly unleashed upon Galar, its people and Pokemon, and the world."

"And, I'm still betting a million Poke-Dollars that Team Eclipse is in on the whole scheme," Zorua spat in disgust as she got on Zeraora's left shoulder. "We've already head enough headaches with what those bozos dished out and now they're on somebody's dance team to bring back the monster that destroyed this place for its own survival."

"If Galar's deadliest moment does end up repeating itself, we need the help of the two Pokemon that once helped to save the region from eternal destruction," added Virizion. "If we're to have any chance of stopping whoever's responsible for this madness, we must find the legendary Heroes of Many Battles, Zacian and Zamazenta."

"Zacian and Zamazenta?!" gasped the Postwick Trio before Gloria remembered the group's previous conversation. "Those must be the Pokemon we saw when we began our journey! Sarah, you were going to tell us something about them, right?"

"Yeah, actually... I met them just as you guys had," she revealed.

"It was when one of Team Eclipse's Seven Sins tried to kidnap me again after I ran away but then Zacian and Zamazenta appeared and he mentioned them from the legend of the Darkest Day Lothor told him about. But, I must've fainted after seeing them and when I woke up, my dragons said we were taken to a grotto where they slept after Eternatus was first defeated. There were a few things there related to them which are a broken sword and a chipped shield and there was a second shield but it didn't belong to either of them."

This got everyone intrigued; they started to realize that Zacian and Zamazenta had saved everyone with the help of their human partners of old, the Two Kings, but at the cost of their powers three millennia ago and they went to the Slumbering Weald where they went into a deep, undisturbed slumber.

"And, they've must've helped deal with the rampaging Dynamax Pokemon that caused destruction just as Eternatus was making its mark on the region," finished Hop before he gasped in realization. "That's what's happened yesterday and it's gonna happen again today!"

"If any Pokemon gets hit by those beams, they'll Dynamax and they'll run wild on Galar all over again!" nodded Tsukumaro gravely, knowing where the incident is going. "I say we make our way back to Postwick and into the Slumbering Weald, we'll head for the area where the bridge spanning the small river leading to their final resting place is. We'll find what remains of their powers and that second shield."

"But, why would a second shield be where they and their powers are?" questioned Gloria.

"It's been said that My Lord and Lady used it during the Ultra Beast War but at some point, it was lost to time and nobody knew what happened to it."

"Wow..."

"Really?"

"Bloody awesome," the Postwick trainers gasped in amazement.

"That would've been the Moon Shield, my own defense made for the princess as is the case with the Sun Sword. While the Sun Sword was forged in honor of Solgaleo, I've crafted the Moon Shield in honor of its counterpart, Lunala. Somehow, after the Ultra Beast War, it made its way to the Galar Region and Zacian and Zamazenta had found it and kept it at the Slumbering Weald so it can be found and returned to its rightful owner."

"Maybe it could be of help to us!" suggested Keldeo. "If that shield can help us deal with the Darkest Day, we'll have a better chance of stopping it!"

"That's our only chance right now," agreed Solar. "It's not much but it's a good start as we go from it."

"That's all the more why we have to stop the Darkest Day from ever happening again before Eternatus goes wild again," Sarah replied, steeling herself for what's to come. "If our theories, our discovery of the Stow-on-Side statue, and Sonia's research are all true, then Eternatus is back and will bring Galar to its imminent demise once again!"

"Then, we should head for the Heroes of Many Battles' resting grounds and see if their powers and the Moon Shield are there!" said Terrakion, determined. "We can't let anybody bringing Eternatus back do this!"

"We'll have to make haste if we stand a chance of saving all of Galar," agreed Virizion as she turned to the Postwick Trainers and their partners. "Hop on! We'll take you all there!"

The Postwick trainers nodded as they and their Pokemon got on Virizion, Terrakion, and Cobalion's backs while Tsukumaro and Sarah manned Spectrier and Solar respectively as Riolu, Blitz, and Hashimoto joined her.

"Riding or running?" asked Sarah to Zeraora and Ching Wan.

"Race you there," smirked Ching Wan as he and the Thunderclap Pokemon prepared to run.

Even Mulan and Absol decided to run their way to the Slumbering Weald instead, making her chuckle at them and her two Mythical Pokemon.

"Last chance before we head back, guys. Anybody want to chicken out?" warned Sarah to her Galar friends.

"Not happening, we're all in this mess together and that's how we're getting out of it!"

"Cinderace!" replied Victor and Cinderace determinedly, riding atop of Cobalion.

"Count us in, Sarah!"

"Intel!" nodded Inteleon and Gloria atop of Virizion, feeling the same way.

"It's not even a question."

"Boom!" agreed Hop and Rillaboom on Terrakion.

"All right, to the Slumbering Weald!"

Upon her signal, the entire group made their way out of Wyndon as fast as they could on the return dash to the Slumbering Weald. The run back was long and arduous for Sarah, her family, and her friends but nobody complained as time was running out for Galar.

While the Swords of Justice, Zeraora, Ching Wan, Mulan, Absol, Spectrier, Glastrier, Calyrex, and Solar ran as fast as they could on the way back to the Slumbering Weald, Sarah realized she needed to call her friends and Sonia and tell them to meet them there now that they know what they have to do to save Galar.

"Ash, Sonia, where are you guys?" she called, activating her Wrist Com.

At a temporary safety stop in the glowing forest town of Ballonea, Ash and the others got Sarah's call and moved to a private spot where they would be safe from any prying eyes that might listen in on them.

"We're at Ballonea, we were forced to stop on our way to you guys for the Champion Cup," answered Ash before he noticed the scenery from Sarah's side flashing by. "Sarah, where are you guys? Aren't you all back at Wyndon?"

"We're heading back to Postwick and the Slumbering Weald for something, we're in big trouble. Something big's going on at Hammerlocke and there's a giant black vortex coming from there."

"We know, we just saw that huge beam from there and we were about to catch another available train going there until you called us," replied Sonia, feeling grim as well. "Sarah, do you have any ideas what's going on there?"

"All I know is that Leon's over there meeting with Rose but I think he found a huge lead regarding the Dyanmaxing incidents yesterday and it's all tying back to the Darkest Day, or actually, Eternatus. Eternatus must be at Hammerlocke as we speak..."

"Oh no..." gasped Sonia, horrified as the others were after hearing this. "Sarah, what else do you know about Eternatus and the legend involving it? Do you know anything about Zacian and Zamazenta?"

"Well, don't freak out but I've been meaning to tell you all this yesterday: I met them before."

"Huh?!" gawked the Alola gang in shock.

"Where did you last see them, in the Slumbering Weald?" inquired Mallow.

"Yeah, right after they saved me when Katzenberg tried to attack."

"Katzenberg, here in Galar?! What'll we do now that he and Team Eclipse are involved? We need their help now and Galar will be destroyed if we don't do something!" Lillie fretted. "I should've known he's a part of this whole thing!" grumbled Lana as she held the bridge of her nose.

"Got any ideas on what we should do?" Sophocles asked, open to any solutions.

"There's bound to be a lot of Pokemon that have Dynamaxed against their will and are causing chaos in several parts of the region again, we can't deal with them and finding Zacian and Zamazenta at once so we'll have to split into two groups in doing so! Ash, you and the others deal with the Dynamax Pokemon, see what you can all do to stop them and get them back to normal!"

"You got it!" agreed Ash with determination.

"Pika!" added Pikachu.

"Sonia, I need you to join my party at the Slumbering Weald. If Zacian and Zamazenta are still around, we'll need your help to keep an eye out for them."

Sonia nodded, "Okay. If they really are there as the legends state, I'll help you find them. I'll catch the next available train home and meet you there immediately!"

"Be careful, Sarah! In the meantime, we'll deal with the Dynamax Pokemon. You sure you can handle this after finding Zacian and Zamazenta?" finished Ash.

"Yep, we've never let each other down yet, have we? We'll head down to Hammerlocke while you're busy, just do whatever you can to save the Dynamaxed Pokemon!"

"Right, just watch out for Katzenberg while you're at it!" "Good luck!" replied Lillie and Kiawe.

"Thanks, guys, I'll need it!" said Sarah, ending the call.

"All right, guys, as Sarah said, go to wherever there are any Dynamax Pokemon around! I'll take the next train home and rendezvous with Sarah, Gloria, Tsukumaro, Hop, and Victor at the Slumbering Weald," affirmed Sonia.

"Okay, be careful if there are any Dynamax Pokemon on the way!" nodded Mallow as they separated to begin their own parts of the new plan.

But, just as things were getting hairy for everyone on the surface, back at the underground hanger of Hammerlocke's energy plant, Leon and the Macro Cosmos staff could only watch as the core holding the fully-revived Eternatus kept on overloading with Galar Particles. It looked like it was going to crack and allow the Gigantic Pokemon to escape at any chance it has and they could feel the tension in the air coming from that growing possibility.

"This must be the same light that caused all those Pokemon to Dynamax and go on a rampage," thought Leon as he looked on, now knowing the full cause of the Dynamax incidents.

"If this keeps up, Eternatus could escape the hanger and it'll be out of our control and reach!" panicked another businesswoman.

"Eternatus..."

"Contact Chairman Rose and immediately! And, get those four accomplices of his here, too!" ordered another businessman.

"Yes, sir!" replied third, getting a call to Macro Cosmos' president.

"I thought so!" growled Leon, his suspicions firmly on the dot.

Another roar from Eternatus came out with the power the Gigantic Pokemon had stored in itself but this time, it was coupled by a voice that started to grow in volume from a hiss and a whisper as the core cracked. Out of the crack came a large black claw that chipped away at the core and slowly but surely, the core was being destroyed bit by bit for the Pokemon known to many as the Darkest Day was about to make its escape.

"Yes... Yesssss..." the voice hissed through Telepathy, which sounded like it was coming from Eternatus and sounding like a combination of Power Rangers In Space's Ecliptor and Power Rangers SPD's Emperor Grumm.

"After 3000 years, I am free...! Free, FREE!" Eternatus screamed, firing its signature move known as Eternabeam.

The Eternabeam proved to be so powerful, it obliterated the core and nearly blew everyone away with his power. Leon managed to hold his ground as he now stared in shock at him.

"So, that's really Eternatus?" he gasped, still stunned by the terrifying sight of the Gigantic Pokemon.

"Hear me now, Galar! Finally, I have returned! From this day forward, my revenge...IS NIGH!" roared Eternatus, now set to take his revenge on all of Galar, no matter who or what gets in his way.

As Eternatus made his escape, after having been fully revived and brought back into the waking world, Sarah and her party finally managed to make it back to Postwick and enter the Slumbering Weald. Sonia also rendezvoused with them after she managed to catch an available train that would take her home and allow her to sprint to Gloria, Hop, and Victor's hometown the Slumbering Weald, which increased their chances of finding the Heroes of Many Battles.

They were worried that they would be in the very place the Postwick Trio's families and Leon warned them to not go into but they all didn't have a choice as they took the chance to enter. Crossing over to the Slumbering Weald through the gate as the fog permeating the Weald started to build, they could only hold out hope that Zacian and Zamazenta would still be there and lend them their strength to save Galar and stop Eternatus.

Even so, things were already going from bad to worse back at Hammerlocke as Eternatus was about to make his escape as he eyed the terrified staff that couldn't pull their stupified and horrified eyes off of him. Out of all of them, only Leon was able to stand his ground and not cower before him. What's worse for the Macro Cosmos staff is that Rose didn't get the call directed to him and Katzenberg, Fester, Hammer, and Glam and they haven't arrived.

"Haven't you gotten hold of Chairman Rose and his accomplices yet?!" screamed another businessman before he was grabbed by Leon.

"What are you doing?" he questioned the shocked businessman, who wasn't expecting him to be at the plant. "He will escape into the city!"

"What are you doing here?!" shrieked the businessman in disbelief.

"That doesn't matter now! Isn't there anything you guys can do to stop him before he destroys us all?"

"Leon, we can't do anything to Eternatus right now without Chairman Rose's approval!"

"I don't care! Charizard, go!" snapped Leon, sending out his partner to stop the Gigantic Pokemon.

Eternatus looked at Leon and Charizard and he just scoffed, thinking that they won't be much of a challenge to him in his revived state. "Hmph, I've no time for groveling insects such as these fools and you and your lizard, Champion. I've got bigger fish to fry like the entire region and then, the entire world!" he declared before he escaped out of the hanger and into the open, much to Charizard and Leon's shock and worry for what would happen to the world.

The hole he flew out of that was created from his Eternabeam lead straight to the abandoned Hammerlocke Stadium as he took in his surroundings. As Eternatus' rebirth became something utterly dire and he destroyed the middle of the field possibly during a battle between Hammerlocke's gym leader and a Gym Challenger during a match to escape, Hammerlocke Stadium was quickly evacuated before anybody would get caught in the crossfire.

"Hmm... So much has changed and yet, I feel like this world's just standing still in the march of time," he mused. "But, no matter, I'm sure the people and Pokemon living in this age now will be no different. Pity I took this long to even return and make my escape, this will be much easier since Galar's heroes are no longer a bother, heh!"

Before he could begin to carry out his revenge, he saw a net being fired in his direction and saw a familiar quartet comprised of two humans from Team Rocket, a Meowth, and a Wobbuffet with the intent of capturing him for their own gain. This minor annoyance wasn't what he wanted to deal with as he shredded the net and fired an Eternabeam at the Meowth, turning it into a Dynamax Pokemon.

"DO NOT INTERFERE!" he warned furiously as he fired his attack.

The quartet, now revealed to be Team Rocket (who had stowed away to follow Sarah and her friends and/or make a quick buck out of a Pokemon steal they could make in Galar), realized their mistake as Meowth was hit by the beam and turned into a Dynamax Pokemon against his will. Now, power-crazed by Eternatus' Galar Particles, he began attacking his own comrades, forcing Wobbuffet, Jessie, and James to panic and hightail it out of Hammerlocke before they could be crushed, leaving Eternatus alone.

---

Back at the Slumbering Weald, Sarah and her party (Sonia included) were still searching for Zacian and Zamazenta but their search bore no fruit regarding their presence no matter how hard they looked or how loud they called for them. They could only stick together and keep looking, hoping they don't get lost or separated while they find the Warrior Pokemon. The dragons, deciding to keep watch over them and give them a guiding hand, stayed within the trees but made sure to stay hidden from Gloria, Sonia, Victor, and Hop's sight so they don't startle the four.

Sonia was indeed shocked to see Zeraora, Zorua, and the Swords of Justice joining them after she reunited with her friends but she was promised an explanation for after they deal with Eternatus since they still needed the Heroes of Many Battles to defeat him.

"Zacian, Zamazenta!" called Gloria.

"Yoo-hoo! Zacian!" cried Hashimoto with a whistle.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" shouted Victor.

"Olly, Olly, oxen free!" put in Hop, looking around through the already-thick fog.

"Pika-Pi!" said Pikachu, shouting into the mist.

"Sir Zacian, Sir Zamazenta!" called Calyrex, he and his steeds sticking close to their group.

"Where are you?" screamed Riolu.

"I'm worried, already a few minutes into entering the Slumbering Weald and they're not found yet," pondered Virizion worriedly.

"It's okay, Virizion, we'll find them," reassured Cobalion as they walked.

"Zacian, Zamazenta, please help us!" shouted Sarah.

"We promise we won't hurt you!" added Tsukumaro. "We really need your help!"

"Please come on out!" begged Sonia before they all noticed the fog getting thicker before them. "The fog..."

"Man, it's becoming like what humans call Pea Soup," remarked Terrakion. "You could hardly see anything from 2 ft. or so coming from a mile away."

"I can't see a damn thing!" grumbled Ching Wan.

"If it's this thick, I think I could hear a foghorn blaring right now if we were on the sea coming here," put in Keldeo.

"Hey, wait! I remember this fog, it's like the first time we were at the Slumbering Weald before with Zacian and Zamazenta!" gasped Hop, remembering his and his friends' first encounter with the Warrior Pokemon.

"Me too, it's exactly the same as my encounter with them last week," nodded Sarah in agreement.

"I wonder, could we be getting closer to Sir Zacian and Sir Zamazenta?" pondered Calyrex.

He didn't get an answer as Sonia got a news tab from her Rotom Phone and she looked up the newscast which showcased the Dynamaxed Pokemon incidents and footage of Ash and the others (morphed once again and using their new Ranger Weapons) doing their best with their partners to save the Pokemon affected by Eternatus' power and prevent more of Galar being destroyed.

"Could it be Eternatus?" gasped Sonia, seeing an image of the Darkest Day in the flesh before he targeted the news reporter and the helicopter she's riding on.

"It looks like somebody restored it and brought it back to the world!" said Gloria, stunned beyond belief.

"We better find Zacian and Zamazenta, now!"

Sarah knew that she had to call out to the Heroes of Many Battles now that the situation has fully gone from bad to worse. And, with the return of Eternatus as he started to enact his revenge, the region and the world need their help right now.

"Zacian, Zamazenta! Please help us, guys, Eternatus has come back and it's going after all of Galar again!" she screamed, desperate for their help.

"If we don't do something, Galar and the world could be destroyed! Come out!" called Sonia.

"We need your help, we're sorry if we've disturbed your slumber but what our friends are saying is true!" added Hop. "Eternatus is ready to wage an all-out war against everyone and we need your help, now!"

"You saved Galar and the world 3000 years ago and you have to help us save everyone or else all of Galar won't have a home to go back to or protect!" shouted Gloria.

"Sarah mentioned you protected her from this Team Eclipse guy when he and his creeps tried to kidnap her!" put in Victor. "If you can still protect her, you can help us protect all of Galar like before! Please, come out!"

"What if they don't answer us?" fretted Hashimoto worriedly. "We'll never find them at this rate or they'll never come."

"They will, we've got to have faith in them!" argued Riolu. "They're the Heroes of Many Battles, just as that giant statue said!"

"She's right, Hashimoto. You and Ching Wan weren't there at the time but an old lady at the Crown Tundra mentioned to her granddaughter that she needs to believe in Zacian and Zamazenta so that they'll always be around to protect everyone," nodded Sarah. "I'm not giving up until we do find them! They're called the Heroes of Many Battles for a reason, we just got to believe in them!"

"That's why...I trust them with all my heart! I believe in Zacian and Zamazenta!"

Those words from Sarah did the trick; as soon as she said them, two familiar loud howls rang out from around them as they jumped and looked all over.

"ARRRRRRROOOOOOO!"

"BOWOOOOOOFFFFFFF!"

Then, after the loud yet soothing sounds of howls rang in the air, footsteps can be heard coming towards them until out of the fog came the familiar shapes of two giant lupine-like Pokemon watching them. The fog lifted a bit to reveal the two Pokemon the group had all been looking for, the Heroes of Many Battles and Galar's Sword and Shield: Zacian and Zamazenta.

"Zacian, Zamazenta..." gasped Sonia in wonder.

"The legends were true, you are real..." Tsukumaro gawked in stunned fascination.

"If I somehow faint, catch me..." squeaked Rotom-Dex as he took photos of Zacian and Zamazenta.

"So, you're the legendary Zacian and Zamazenta, the Heroes of Many Battles and the Sword and Shield of Galar." said Cobalion as the Warrior Pokemon both eyed the Swords of Justice. "It's an honor to finally meet you, at last... We are the Swords of Justice from Unova and we have come to help you in your endeavor and that of the princess."

"I'll say, it's amazing to see that you've been living here all this time after that great battle 3000 years ago," added Terrakion, impressed. "Color me impressed, I never thought you'd still be around waiting to help everyone when asked given what most humans are like."

"We've come to your domain to ask you for your help, Eternatus is back and he needs to be stopped," put in Virizion.

"You guys look great, you know that?" asked Keldeo, also looking impressed at Zacian and Zamazenta.

The Warrior Pokemon nodded before they directed their attention towards Sonia, Tsukumaro, and the trainers before them. They recognized Gloria, Hop, and Victor from their first encounter with them at the start of their journey but then they turned to Sarah, fondly remembering her and her dragons on their first day at Galar after they saved her from Katzenberg's clutches. The humans were all stunned to even come up with another response and even their Pokemon didn't know what to say to them.

Zacian tilted his head at Sarah, seemingly wondering where her dragons are since they were with her and his brother when they told them about their battle against Eternatus, their lost powers, and the Moon Shield.

Seemingly watching Zacian's silent inquiry to their rider about them, Winter, Shadow, and the other dragons landed around the group behind several trees and appeared before everyone gathered.

Sonia, Victor, Gloria, and Hop were left speechless again by the sight of dragons that don't look anything like Pokemon and the only response that Hop could let out was, "Okay, seriously, what else about you haven't you told us yet?"

Sarah blushed with embarrassment from this, she knew she still has a lot of explaining to do as long as she can trust them to keep a secret for the greater good involving her and her royal lineage or if nobody would snitch them out. "...Sorry," she replied meekly.

Winter warbled happily to see Zacian and Zamazenta again which got a small smile from the Pokemon Heroes but they frowned seriously again before they turned and left, making Sarah realize what they want regarding the help they needed.

"They want us to follow them," she said, moving forward to follow them with Tsukumaro, her dragons, Zeraora, Zorua, the Swords of Justice, and their Pokemon joining her.

The others soon followed suit as they didn't want to be left behind but the deeper they go into the Slumbering Weald, the thicker the fog became. Not only that, even though Zacian and Zamazenta were going at a relatively slow pace as they walked and led the way, it looked like they were getting farther away. Then, when they reached a peculiar yet familiar point to the heart of the Weald, the fog thickened again. And, soon, Zacian and Zamazenta vanished.

"They're gone!" gasped Gloria.

"Intel, Tele, Leon!" stuttered Inteleon in surprise.

"Where'd they go?" pondered Hashimoto.

Everyone looked around for them as if the path before them had reached a dead end but then, Winter and Shadow noticed something below them and they warbled at the group to look at what they found as they pointed. Victor, Hop, and Gloria gasped in surprise at what they found as they looked closer; there was a small yet familiar river leading straight to where Zacian and Zamazenta went to, and spanning over it was the small stone bridge they and the others once found Sarah and her dragons nearby.

"Victor, Gloria, do any of you recognize that bridge and that river?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of them.

"Yeah, it is! Sonia, Tsukumaro, do you remember seeing them after we found Sarah and her Dragons passed out?" Gloria replied, then turning to ask the old advisor and up-and-coming Pokemon professor.

"Of course, my goddaughter and her dragons were near this bridge when we found them passed out in the midst of the fog!" nodded Tsukumaro.

"We never thought she would be this far into the Weald when we found her with those creatures of hers and we didn't know what they are at the time," added Sonia.

"Where do you suppose they lead to?" questioned Keldeo.

"We better find out, now. Giant, Grumpy, and Petty won't wait around forever to beat the stuffing out of everybody for his revenge," Ching Wan put in.

"He's right, the answers we need from Zacian and Zamazenta must lie at the other side of that bridge and the end of that river," agreed Calyrex.

"Right, that means the altar housing their powers and the Moon Shield is close. Come on!" called Sarah, leading everyone as they passed over the bridge and followed the river to wherever it ended up.

They all ran through the fog, following the path towards Zacian and Zamazenta's altar. Finally, when they reached the heart of the Slumbering Weald and the fog finally lifted, they were greeted by the magnificent and majestic sight of the altar and the lake behind it that was believed to be Zacian and Zamazenta's resting place following the initial end of the Darkest Day.

"I never knew such a place existed here..." gasped Sonia in stunned silence.

"Now, this is something you don't see every day. This has got to be the stuff of legend!" said Hop, amazed by what he's seeing.

"Is this really where Zacian and Zamazenta are sleeping now?" asked Gloria, looking on in fascination at the altar and lake.

"If they are, I never knew they were sleeping right next to us and our town the whole time," breathed Victor.

"Hey, what's that?" noted Riolu, pointing at three objects covered by fallen leaves.

Sarah went over to the objects and brushed the leaves off of the objects which were revealed to be Zacian's sword, Zamazenta's shield, and her family's Moon Shield.

"They're still here," gasped Sarah, stunned.

"It's Zacian's sword," breathed Virizion in amazement.

"That large thing must be Zamazenta's shield," noted Ching Wan.

"And, that's King Doug and Queen Delilah's Moon Shield," added Sonia. "Zacian and Zamazenta's powers are the ones that appeared in the legend and the Moon Shield must've found its way to the Slumbering Weald after the Ultra Beast War and ended up at their altar."

Nebula, having ridden in her caretaker's arms for a while and after noticing the Moon Shield, started to babble excitedly as she took in the sight of the shield that Tsukumaro made in honor of the Moone Pokemon, Lunala. It looked as though she had developed a connection to it just by her excitement over it and started to try and lift it off the ground with her feelers.

But, if that wasn't enough to get everyone even more surprised, Sarah noticed the Sun Sword attached to Winter's saddle had started rattling and giving off a pulsing glow from being close to the Moon Shield again. The Moon Shield was also rattling and giving off a pulsing glow in response to the Sun Sword as Nebula held it before a brighter glow came over her as the two weapons sent two shots of light at her that started her as they touched the Cosmog.

"Hey, what the-?!" spluttered Ching Wan, hiding his eyes from the brightness.

"What's going on with Nebula!?" gasped Sonia.

"Wait, Nebula, she's somehow evolving! I know what form she's going to become now!" replied Sarah as they watched Nebula now become a Cosmoem and she fell asleep soon after. "Wow, she's a Cosmoem now."

"Now, that's trippy," commented Victor.

"Is she okay?" asked Hashimoto worriedly.

Sarah just smiled, "Yeah, she's just a little tired right now."

"Whatever power she gained from the Moon Shield and the Sun Sword acting up, I'm guessing she's put in a lot of effort to evolve so suddenly. I can see now why they would be powerful in the hands of anybody pure of heart in my family. It could mean something, I just don't know what. We'll probably let her rest until she's ready to wake up."

"Pika, Pi, Pikachu, Pika, Pi, Pika, Pika-Pi," remarked Blitz, seeing that Sarah's taking Nebula's evolution easily now.

"I have a feeling she's going to evolve into an incredible Pokemon after her nap, Blitz. She'll be all right, I don't have to worry about her now."

"Well, I don't know about you but maybe Zacian and Zamazenta are still asleep," remarked Hop as she put the snoozing Nebula in her satchel and took the Moon Shield with her. "We're really on our own if we're going to help Lee at Hammerlocke, this is the best help we got."

"Well, it's better than nothing but as long as we believe in them, I know we can still stop Eternatus," reassured Sarah as she looked at the remains of Zacian and Zamazenta's lost powers. "Which ones are you guys going to take?"

"Well, it's obvious for me, I'm taking Zamazenta's shield with me for good luck," replied Hop, already making his choice and taking Zamazenta's shield.

Tsukumaro nodded but he noticed one problem, "A good choice, Sir Hop. But, that leaves your friends with only Zacian's sword and there are only two of them. Who's going to be the one to take it?"

Everyone pondered over it but Victor looked to Gloria and nodded firmly before he went to the rusted sword, picked it up, and brought it over to his and Hop's best friend.

"Here, Gloria, you take it," he offered.

Gloria gasped, "No, Victor!" She was most surprised by Victor's act of kindness and generosity.

"Yes, you have to do this. You've helped Hop and I out of a jam numerous times before all this happened. We wouldn't have lasted a day without you and you're the brains and heart between us. You deserve his sword."

Gloria was still taken aback from being offered Zacian's sword since she felt that Victor would be more deserving of it considering how he had managed to save her and Hop several times before by charging into battle whenever danger finds them and when he's battling other trainers. But, eventually, she had to smile and accepted the rusted sword, nodding to him in thanks.

"Now what, guys?" asked Sonia, wanting to know the next phase of their plan.

"Well, I know that the Moon Shield my real mom and dad used in the Ultra Beast War has powers I've yet to unravel. And, if Zacian and Zamazenta's weapons could be of any help, they must still have hidden power in them to allow them to keep fighting if they can be awakened again," replied Sarah after she had fastened the Moon Shield to her left arm.

"I see. And, somehow, they may help us in bringing back Zacian and Zamazenta to help us fight off Eternatus," Sonia nodded.

"Then, let's get over to Hammerlocke!"

"Right!" everyone agreed.

As quickly as they could, the group exited the Slumbering Weald and made their way over to Hammerlocke to stop Eternatus before he enacts his revenge on the world and Galar as payback for what had been done to him. They were making good time with how fast Solar, the Swords of Justice, Spectrier, Glastrier, Zeraora, and Ching Wan were all going while their passengers held onto them tightly.

But, as they entered Hammerlocke and approached the Hammerlocke Stadium, they were soon greeted by eight of Macro Cosmos' guards who have set up a small barricade and are awaiting their arrival.

"Look, over there!" cried Gloria.

"Now, what'll we do?" questioned Victor.

Terrakion smirked as he got in front and then charged forward. "Do what I always do, charge them straight on and break through their line! Hang on, Hop!" he shouted.

"Oh yeah, bring it!" hollered Hop excited as Terrakion broke through the barricade and forced the guards to dodge before he, Cobalion, Virizion, and Keldeo faced them.

"Princess, take the others and go! We'll stay and deal with the small fry!" said the Cavern Pokemon as Sonia, Gloria, Hop, Victor, and their partners got off of the Swords of Justice.

"Terrakion, guys!" gasped Sarah.

"Just go, we got your back! Get to Eternatus and stop him, now!" urged Keldeo, getting into his Resolute Form.

"You all are our final hope, you must defeat Eternatus before it's too late for Galar and the world!" added Virizion.

"The fate of Galar rests with you, Princess, now go!" ordered Cobalion.

"Mind if I give you a hand, you guys?" asked Sonia, her Yamper being brought out and ready to fight. "They're right, Sarah, we'll be just fine! You have to find Eternatus and stop him before all this continues!"

"Okay, good luck! Don't die!" nodded Sarah before she turned to Tsukumaro and her remaining friends and the dragons. "Let's go! Winter, Shadow, you two lead the other dragons to the top of the stadium! If you see Eternatus, try to hold him off as long as you can!"

Winter and Shadow nodded before they lead the rest of Sarah's dragon pack and prepared to stop Eternatus long enough for Sarah and her friends, Tsukumaro, and her Pokemon family to come along and give them a hand as they went inside the stadium. In the meantime, Sonia and the Swords of Justice will hold their own against the guards trying to stop them.

Just as Sarah, Victor, Tsukumaro, Gloria, Hop, and their Pokemon have entered the stadium and were about to cross the main doors, Oleana appeared and halted them in tracks, not wanting them to disrupt everything she, Rose, and their team had worked on for some time.

"Oleana!" gasped Tsukumaro in disbelief.

"Oh, it's you again, kid. Running around with your friends and Magnolia's granddaughter playing 'Dectective', huh?" Oleana mocked stoically to them.

"What's it to you?" scoffed Victor, annoyed at her.

"Nothing, really. I just don't want anything or anyone getting between Chairman Rose and his dreams. That's all."

"What we're trying to do is stopping the Darkest Day, Eternatus, from destroying all of Galar and the world!" snapped Gloria angrily at Oleana. "You have no idea of the danger you've wrought upon us all!"

"That is exactly what I mean and I'm pretty sure we all know what we're doing, you snot-nosed brat!" snarled the Macro Cosmos admin, sending out a Milotic, a Froslass, a Tsareena, a Salazzle, and a Garbodor she had on her as her Pokemon team to fight.

"The Darkest Day A.K.A. Eternatus has been restored and do any of you meddling kids have any idea how much time, money, and passion Chairman Rose has put into building this project?"

"But, why are you doing all this?!" spat Hop, shocked and angered by what they've been told. "Why go so far as to bring Eternatus back from the grave when you know exactly how dangerous he could really be?"

"Because, as you've already known from our meetings prior, I'm Chairman Rose's admin and secretary. His dream is my dream and nobody dares to interfere!"

"Well then, you're lost!" snapped Tsukumaro, having enough of Oleana and her nonsense along with Hop, Victor, and Gloria. "Absol, prepare to fight!"

"Sol!" Absol agreed, getting into a battle stance.

"I've no time for this, we have to get to Eternatus and stop him so stay out of our way!" snarled Sarah, not wanting to deal with Oleana and her Pokemon.

"You mean you have to get to Eternatus," smirked Hop, surprising Sarah as he sent out his Dubwool, evolved from his Wooloo at one point during the week. "Sarah, get to the stadium and help Lee if you find him."

"We'll take care of this washout," Victor added in agreement.

"We'll be fine, just don't look back!" finished Gloria with a determined nod.

Sarah looked to Tsukumaro and he nodded, mentally telling his goddaughter to press on and that they'll meet up with her later to which she soon nodded. "Okay, good luck! We're out of here, you got her! Solar, Blitz, Riolu, guys, let's move!" she ordered as they ran past Oleana.

"AH! Where do you think you're going?!" shrieked Oleana as she tried to stop her, Solar, and their Pokemon family while they opened the doors and ran out. "Come back here! Garbodor, Froslass, stop them now!"

"Hold it! Rillaboom, use Vine Whip and shut the doors tight!" shouted Hop.

"Rillaboom, Boom, Boom!" screeched Rillaboom, using his drums and sending several Vine Whips to entangle Garbodor and Froslass and drag them back.

Having failed to follow Sarah and stop her, her Beast Bot, and her Pokemon, the two Pokemon were brought back to their current spots as Rillaboom quickly shut the doors to prevent Oleana and her Pokemon from following her and have them focus on the Postwick Trainers and Tsukumaro.

"You're going to regret that!" she snarled, preparing to battle them.

While Tsukumaro, Hop, Gloria, and Victor keep Oleana busy with Sonia and the Swords of Justice squaring off against Oleana's guards outside, Sarah, Solar, Blitz, Riolu, and the rest of her current Pokemon are making their way to the stadium to find Leon and help him deal with Eternatus.

"Are we going the right way, Sarah?" asked Calyrex as they all ran through a hallway.

"How should I know? I'm following my heart, Calyrex!" she replied.

"Well, our hearts are following yours!"

"That's for sure!" joked Hashimoto as they ran before they finally entered the stadium.

Seeing that Eternatus could pop up at any moment now that he's been restored, Sarah quickly summoned her Beast-X King Ultra Bow and they looked around for the Gigantic Pokemon.

"I don't like this, Mommy," said Riolu, feeling uneasy. "It's quiet around here, too quiet."

"Yeah, and where's Leon? He should be here if what happened to this place is any indicator," remarked Solar, looking around for Hop's brother.

But, before they could look any further, a familiar Galar Champion and his Charizard appeared from a nearby hole from the underground hanger and saw them.

"Hey, Leon!" cried Sarah.

"Sarah, it's you!" he said.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, and you arrived just in time. I'm sure you probably found out about Eternatus over there, right?" he replied, pointing the group towards the Gigantic Pokemon in front of them from their right.

Sarah, Solar, and her Pokemon could only gawk in shock at the massive Pokemon towering over them despite him floating from his current spot as he eyed Sarah keenly.

"Hmm, another small fry but one flanked by a couple of pipsqueak Pokemon and a colorful bucket of bolts," he chuckled.

"Pika, Pikachu, Pika!" snarled Blitz, not taking kindly to Eternatus' insults to him and his family.

"Hey, we're not pipsqueaks!" snapped Riolu indignantly.

"And, I don't find 'bucket of bolts' to be flattering when you put it like that," growled Solar, feeling insulted.

"So, you're Eternatus, the legendary Darkest Day from 3000 years ago. Aren't you?" asked Sarah to Eterntatus. "Eternatus, please listen to me! This doesn't have to be this way, you don't have to bring forth the Darkest Day anymore!"

"What's it to you, you insolent whelp? That's all I'm ever known to you humans because you all grovel in your fear of me," Eternatus snarled. "I'm just a freak to them, an oddity, a monster! They said so! And, now I'm going to make sure they feel the same pain that I felt!"

"You can't do this to them! There's so much more to you if you would just trust the good humans, those who would be willing to take one look you in the eye and-!"

"THEY WON'T! They won't accept me for what I am and who I am, they've proven that when they gawk in fear at me and left me to instill fear and sorrow into their hearts because they couldn't find it in themselves to accept me! They'll reject me all the same! Ever since I've arrived at the Galar Region 3000 years ago, at the very end of my tether, I've only been searching for a means to survive even if it meant I have to destroy a whole world to do so... The loneliness, the pain, my suffering, my long agonizing suffering..."

"Eternatus..." gasped Sarah, realizing how hurt Eternatus truly is. Even Leon couldn't help but pity Eternatus for thinking what he's thinking.

"You selfish and maddening humans don't know what it feels like for me to be rejected each time I come to a new world to call home, to get the help I needed only be denied and chased away simply for who and what I am... When I did finally find a home here, it was the same story all over again. They blew their fears out of proportion just by looking at me and seeing me as a threat, then when that blasted Zacian and Zamazenta came and destroyed me, sealing me away thinking I was doing everyone harm just for my own survival out of malicious intent... I was only doing it because I was dying and I had no choice! But, nothing's changed since then, 3000 years and everyone still continues to admire and respect those wolves that killed me! But, no more... Now, that I've been restored and I'm finally free, I'll make all of Galar wish I had left them for dead all those years ago... And, nobody is going to stop me!"

Having enough and blinded by his own anger and hatred for Pokemon and all of humanity, Eternatus tried to escape to enact his revenge but he found out that he couldn't as he hit the force field that protects audiences during gym battles. "Urgh, blast this wretched barrier!" he growled.

"Eternatus, I never knew something like that actually happened to him..." breathed Leon, now sympathizing with Eternatus along with Sarah.

"And, I never knew how much of a magnificent Pokemon he really is until he told us what he was suffering through as the Darkest Day," agreed the princess.

"Very good!" called a familiar voice, catching the duo and their Pokemon's attention as the figure revealed himself as Chairman Rose. "In the past, people called him that 'though that was because of their fear."

"Chairman Rose!" gasped Leon.

"But, I renamed him Eternatus, out of a deep and abiding reverence."

"You mean you actually see Eternatus as some sort of god?" questioned Riolu in disbelief.

"That's right, Little Riolu, Eternatus can be seen as a Pokemon God. After all, he's a vital Pokemon for generating unlimited power. But, little did I realize just what unlimited power really meant."

He then looked at Eternatus as he tried to escape from the stadium, only to let out a painful grunt as he hit the barrier again. "That barrier was for protecting audiences during Dynamax and Gigantamax gym battles but I didn't expect it would help me now. You see, Leon, you and I have talked quite a lot about the future of Galar."

"This is no time for talking!" Leon retorted.

"Don't you see yet? This is all for the future of the Galar Region, you know that as well as I do."

"What does that mean?"

"We have learned that in the very near future, Galar's energy supplies will be depleted leaving us with nothing left. I've been thinking long and hard about this problem until I came to the realization that Eternatus' Galar Particles could be used as a new energy source."

"Galar Particles?"

"That's right, and I realized one more thing: Eternatus generates absolutely limitless amounts of Galar Particles, he's the Pokemon of my dreams!"

"But, at the end of each beam fired, Pokemon Dynamax and Gigantamax and would then go on a mindless rampage against their own free will!" argued Leon.

"A very troubling occurrence that I've taken note of and for that very reason, I find and sponsor talented trainers like yourself, your little brother, and your two friends, Victor and Gloria, and help you advance. Yes, and now, after all the hard work you've done with us, you will now capture the revived Eternatus and you will work hard to learn how to control all that power! Then, he will do whatever I command!"

"I will never work with or listen to filthy weakling humans such as you, you bearded pest!" snarled Eternatus.

"He'll never join you Rose!" Sarah yelled angrily at Chairman Rose.

"And, how exactly would you know, dear Sarah?"

"You don't have any idea what he's been through before coming to this world 3000 years ago! Admittingly, I never knew anything about his suffering and neither does Leon, unfortunately. But, after hearing how much he's suffered throughout his life, even a small shred of what he really went through because of how we humans feared him because we didn't understand and accept him for who and what he is, I'm planning on changing his destiny for the better! The moment I laid my eyes on Eternatus, I've felt nothing but sympathy and pity for him... I realized he has a unique beauty that only a few people like myself could see; he's not a monster as everyone else sees, I see a giant dragon in never-ending turmoil and pain calling out for help. I've let my fear cloud my judgment before on other big matters but no more, I'm not afraid of him!"

"Do you hear me, Eternatus?" she declared to the shocked Gigantic Pokemon. "I'll never run away from you even if you try to destroy me just for stretching out my hand to you!"

Leon looked at Sarah, surprised by her words. But, eventually, he smiled with great admiration and respect. He had a feeling Sarah really was more than what she seemed on the surface ever since Prof. Magnolia told him about her and now, after seeing trying to reach out to Eternatus and speak out in his defense against Rose, he couldn't help but find her to be a truly noble girl for her age. If she wants to help Eternatus, then he's going to help her with her goal.

"Chairman Rose, if I may ask, why would you bring Eternatus back after all this time? What's the meaning of this and why would you use Galar Particles as an energy source?" inquired Calyrex, wanting answers from him as well.

Rose smirked; despite only hearing about him in legends and even after recently knowing Calyrex from assisting in stopping the Dynamax incidents, Sarah had already made a noticeable change in the King of Bountiful Harvests.

"I see, you're curious as to why I'm doing what I can for Galar's future. All right, Calyrex, I'll tell you. You were right to question why I even decided to consider and push through with bringing back Eternatus, especially when I had a little help from a few new friends of mine."

He snapped his fingers and Katzenberg, Glam, Hammer, and Fester appeared with their Pokemon and some Poke-Mechas. The heroes and their Pokemon (including Zorua and Zeraora) gasped before they immediately got into battle stances, with Sarah having already known about them from Zorua, Zeraora, and the Swords of Justice, and Leon, shocked but ready to fight to help protect her.

"Surprise!" snarked Hammer, Fester, and Glam.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" sneered Katzenberg. "Hello, Princess, long time no see."

"I take it they must be part of this Team Eclipse I've heard about?" Leon questioned Sarah as they glared at Team Eclipse.

"Yeah, bad to the bone and wanting me ever since they've returned. What are you trying to pull with bringing back Eternatus and teaming up with these guys, Rose? Are you stupid or something?!"

"Well, their assistance has been most appreciated ever since they've told me the truth about you and I figured, why not let them have the means to achieve their syndicate's dream considering we're fighting for a similar cause despite our differing agendas? As for Eternatus, you see, my father worked down in a mine. He worked night and day without fail to support and feed our family by digging in the ground to find an energy source that was used in olden times. But then came the tragedy of an accident and he never returned. But, that's all in the past-too great a loss for a young boy. With Eternatus, we can have unlimited energy, no child can go through suffering a loss like that again. You see, I'm truly looking ahead to Galar's future a thousand years from now! And, with Katzenberg's help, my dreams for salvaging its future are all finally coming true!"

Katzenberg smirked at Leon as he began to reveal what Rose has told him and his goons. "You should consider this offer carefully, Leon. Rose told us that he discovered trainers such as yourself for this moment and you were no different when he found you as a young boy and trained and mentored you for all this! At this point, with all the hard work you've done and complete with Team Eclipse's contribution, our friend refuses to accept 'No' for an answer to his request!" sneered the Sin of Wrath again.

Leon glared harder at his and Sarah's common enemies with everything they and their Pokemon heard; all of this was so that Rose could have no more people suffer from the same loss he endured when he lost his own father? Was Rose really going to go through with his dreams involving Eternatus with Team Eclipse's help, consequentially forsaking the Pokemon and people he's helping just for doing what he felt was right for him to do? Did it feel right anymore?

"...Then, I'll capture Eternatus," he answered, much to his group's surprise.

"Excellent, we knew you'd see things our way," hissed Katzenberg gleefully.

"Spoken like a true hero of Galar," praised Rose.

But, Leon wasn't finished as he had more to say after deciding to capture the Gigantic Pokemon. "But, I'll do it only to quell his fury!" he finished, shocking the villains before him and his party.

"There has already been great loss and some loved ones, people and Pokemon, that have already died or are on the brink of death just for your dreams! I don't want to see any more tragedy!"

"Hmph, how naive," smirked Rose as Katzenberg and his goons just laughed at Leon over what they think is absurd of him to say.

Eternatus, meanwhile, was still starstruck over Sarah and Leon's words. Could either one of them, especially Sarah (who made the most effort to accept him with her speech and lack of fear of him), could show and give him the love, help, and appreciation that he so desperately cried out for?

But, his anger and fear over his tragic history repeating itself caused him to shake off the compassion they attempted to give him, becoming lost in his hatred for humanity and Pokemon who feared him.

"No... I don't believe you, you'll just be like all the other humans! You won't stop me from having my revenge! I WON'T ALLOW IT!" he bellowed, firing his Eternabeam again at full power.

The barrier surrounding Hammerlocke Stadium tried to hold in the attack but as Eternabeam was fueled by its wielder's overflowing hatred and lust for vengeance, it broke through and allowed Eternatus to fly outside and reach the top of the stadium shocking everyone. The princess' dragons, seeing the Gigantic Pokemon appear and begin to collect more Galar Particles, met Eternatus and prepared to do their part to stop him after hearing everything.

"After 3000 years, imprisoned in an eternal slumber and slowly being restored by those filthy humans, do they really think they can control me? Does humanity in this accursed island think they have the right to continue gawking at me and leaving me for dead just to ensure my own survival and being run to the ground by the Heroes of Many Battles they so cherished?" growled Eternatus, no longer willing to listen to anybody and lust for revenge being the only thing on his mind.

"No more, no more... I'll show them, I'll show them all! From this day forward, Galar, you will witness my full power once again! You'll soon feel the long-awaited true might OF THE DARKEST DAY, ETERNATUS!"

"Eternatus, no!"

"He's gone completely mad!" gasped Leon and Sarah in shock and horror.

"Eternatus is going to destroy everything and Dynamax every Pokemon his beams hit as he collects more Galar Particles!" screamed Ching Wan.

"We gotta stop him!" replied Riolu.

"There's nothing you can do, my friends! The full restoration of Eternatus is near!" sneered Rose as he eyed Leon again. "And now, Leon, this is your shining moment!"

"Even if he generates Galar Particles for the foreseeable future, Eternatus is too dangerous for all of Galar to endure let alone live alongside with! Not after all the pain and suffering he went through just to find a home to live in and a single person or Pokemon to call a friend!" rebutted Leon, no longer agreeing to Rose's demands for his own goals. "Yes, I will catch him, then either seal him away or trust him and his well-being to another trainer who will give him the compassion and love he so desperately desires!"

Rose frowned with a stoic glare; he hadn't expected Leon's refusal to come out like that even if he did agree to capture Eternatus since sealing him away or giving him to another trainer who would help rehabilitate and give him the compassion he craved for so long wasn't on his mind.

Even Katzenberg and his goons couldn't help but gawk in shock and disbelief over Leon's alternative plans for Eternatus after capturing him. Eventually, they started to snarl and glare darkly at their enemies for Leon's refusal and his and Sarah's shared defiance to abide by their wishes.

"Sarah, let's go!" called Leon, preparing to leave for Eternatus.

"Okay!" nodded Sarah, raring to go with him.

"One moment! I must say, I'm very disappointed!" snapped Rose, stopping them and sending out his Copperajah. "Copperrajah, use Power Whip!"

"Riolu, Blitz, Ching Wan, use Wicked Blow, Aura Sphere, and, Thunderpunch!" countered Sarah, allowing her said Pokemon to launch a Triple Combo to counter Copperajah's Power Whip and halt him at a stalemate.

"Leon, go after Eternatus! Rose and Team Eclipse are mine!" ordered Sarah, much to Leon's surprise. "You vowed to capture Eternatus! You go on ahead, I'll join you after my family and I stop these creeps!"

"All right, good luck!" nodded Leon as he and Charizard left.

"Imbeciles..." growled Katzenberg before he snapped his fingers and the PokeMechas activated while his and his goons' Pokemon also got ready to battle.

"Do you intend to go so far as to destroy everything I've worked hard for just to accomplish and salvage Galar's future?" Rose spat, unamused by Sarah's resistance.

"You've already caused more than enough pain with your work even if it was for the good for Galar in your mind!" retorted Sarah as she morphed into the Solgaleo Ranger again. "I'll may you pay for all the Pokemon and people you've hurt because of what you did to them and Eternatus!"

"Pika!" nodded Blitz, glaring.

"And, how!" agreed Zorua, becoming a Grapploct.

"Hear, hear!" added Riolu, an Aura Sphere at hand.

"Zera, Zeraora!" spat Zeraora, preparing to fight.

"All my life, I've assumed that all humans are arrogant, selfish beings that made this world a dark, cruel place. But now, after reuniting with my boys by Sarah's guiding hand, I see now that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!" replied Calyrex as he and his steeds got themselves ready to fight. "So, I'll be more than happy to avenge all those who have suffered including Eternatus because of what you did, you horrid creature!"

"Me, too!"

"Me three!" chirped Hashimoto and Ching Wan, getting into battle stances as well.

"You have some nerve. Ferrothorn, Escavalier, Klinkang, Perrserker!" scoffed Rose, sending out the rest of his team to assist his Copperajah.

Katzenberg just snarled as he prepared to fight. "You would knowingly shackle Galar's future with an empty promise of compassion to the Darkest Day? You and Leon would both be Heroes of Galar yet cast aside the best means for saving this region? You both turned away from the truth because your hearts are weak. For that reason, you will never defeat us!"

"Not going to happen!" snarled Sarah.

"Too bad for you, Princess. As Eternatus' lightless oblivion devours you, drown in the everblooming darkness!"

---

"Eternatus has been restored. Can Sarah and everyone aligned with her save Galar from destruction? The answer to that will come as the journey continues!"

---

Sarah's Team:

1. Pikachu

Moves - Thundershock, Tackle, Thunderpunch, Double Team, Thunderbolt, Electroweb

2. Lycanroc (Dusk Form)

Moves - Rock Throw, Bite, Tackle, Rock Slide, Protect, Accelarock, Outrage

3. Lycanroc (Midnight Form)

Moves - Rock Throw, Bite, Tackle, Protect, Rock Slide, Outrage, Counter, Accelarock

4. Silvally

Moves - Crush Claw, Air Slash, Hyper Beam, Swords Dance, Dragon Claw, Multi Attack, Tri Attack

5. Mudsdale

Moves - High Horsepower, Double Kick, Mud Slap, Bulldoze, Iron Head

6. Wooloo

Moves - Wild Charge, Tackle, Electro Ball, Volt Tackle

7. Ponyta (Galar Form)

Moves - Dazzling Gleam, Moonblast, High Horsepower, Heal Pulse, Psybeam

8. Meowth (Alola Form)

Moves - Thunderbolt, Scratch, Iron Tail, Dark Pulse

9. Brionne

Moves - Pound, Water Gun, Icy Wind, Bubblebeam, Aqua Jet

10. Milotic

Moves - Dragon Pulse, Ice Beam, Twister, Mirror Coat

11. Ampharos (Shiny)

Moves - Thunderbolt, Confuse Ray, Power Gem, Signal Beam, Discharge, Iron Tail, Thunderpunch, Dragon Pulse

12. Sylveon

Moves - Tackle, Tail Whip, Copycat, Shadow Ball, Light Screen

13. Goodra

Moves - Water Gun, Protect, Tackle, Dragon Breath, Dragon Pulse, Rain Dance, Aqua Tail

14. Noctowl

Moves - Wing Attack, Foresight, Air Slash, Confusion

15. Meowstic (Male)

Moves - Helping Hand, Psyshock, Light Screen, Future Sight, Dark Pulse

16. Meowstic (Female)

Moves - Heal Pulse, Psyshock, Dark Pulse, Future Sight

17. Snivy

Moves - Vine Whip, Leaf Storm, Twister, Leaf Blade

18. Oshawott

Moves - Water Gun, Razor Shell, Icy Wind, Iron Tail

19. Tepig

Moves - Flamethrower, Flame Charge, Solar Beam, Rock Tomb

20. Vulpix (Alola Form)

Moves - Protect, Powder Snow, Ice Beam, Iron Tail, Aurora Beam

21. Dragonite

Moves - Dragon Rage, Iron Tail, Ice Beam, Hyper Beam, Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw

22. Hydreigon

Moves - Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Wing Attack, Flash Cannon, Dragon Rush, Tri Attack

23. Flygon

Moves - Crunch, Dig, Rock Slide, Steel Wing, Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw

24. Solgaleo (aka Nebby)

Moves - Sunsteel Strike, Focus Blast, Teleport, Flamethrower, Wild Charge, Cosmic Power

25. Riolu (Shiny)

Moves - Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Aura Sphere, Dig, Vacuum Wave, Shadow Claw

26. Poipole

Moves - Venoshock, Fury Attack, Peck, Iron Tail

27. Mimikyu

Moves - Shadow Claw, Drain Punch, Wood Hammer, Psychic, Mimic

28. Umbreon (Shiny)

Moves - Dark Pulse, Psychic, Moonlight, Shadow Ball, Iron Tail, Flash

29. Jolteon

Moves - Thunder Fang, Thunderbolt, Double Kick, Shadow Ball, Pin Missile

30. Vaporeon

Moves - Water Gun, Swift, Iron Tail, Shadow Ball, Dive

31. Flareon

Moves - Fire Fang, Flamethrower, Double Edge, Shadow Ball, Ember

32. Espeon

Moves - Psychic, Psybeam, Iron Tail, Shadow Ball, Light Screen

33. Leafeon

Moves - Synthesis, Energy Ball, Solar Blade, Shadow Ball, Leaf Storm

34. Glaceon

Moves - Shadow Ball, Ice Fang, Icy Wind, Ice Shard, Iron Tail

35. Eevee

Moves - Helping Hand, Protect, Dig, Double Edge, Swift, Tail Whip

36. Skitty

Moves - Doubleslap, Ice Beam, Iron Tail, Copycat, Double-Edge, Play Rough

37. Braviary

Moves - Superpower, Sky Attack, Brave Bird, Close Combat, Steel Wing, Aerial Ace

38. Absol (Shiny)

Moves - Night Slash, Psycho Cut, Shadow Claw, Hyper Beam, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball

39. Houndoom (Shiny)

Moves - Thunder Fang, Solar Beam, Sludge Bomb, Flamethrower, Crunch, Stone Edge

40. Latias (Shiny)

Moves - Safeguard, Psychic, Mist Ball, Dragon Pulse, Steel Wing, Recover

41. Latios (Shiny)

Moves - Steel Wing, Psychic, Giga Impact, Dragon Pulse, Luster Purge, Charge Beam

42. Salamance (Shiny)

Moves - Incinerate, Hydro Pump, Dragon Tail, Dragon Rush, Protect, Steel Wing

43. Rapidash (Galar Region)

Moves - Psycho Cut, Mystical Fire, Megahorn, High Horsepower, Heal Pulse

44. Yamper

Moves - Wild Charge, Fire Fang, Play Rough, Double Edge, Dig

45. Scorbunny

Moves - Quick Attack, Double Kick, Flame Charge, Ember, Headbutt

46. Stufful

Moves - Force Palm, Ice Punch, Thunderpunch, Focus Punch, Brick Break

47. Calyrex

Moves - Psychic, Magical Leaf, Agility, Pound, Solarbeam

Calyrex (Ice Rider)

Moves - Psychic, Headbutt, Thrash, High Horsepower, Mist, Icicle Crash, Double Kick, Glacial Lance

Calyrex (Shadow Rider)

Moves - Psychic, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Calm Mind, Agility, Phantom Force, Double Kick, Astral Barrage

48. Glastrier

Moves - Headbutt, Thrash, High Horsepower, Mist, Icicle Crash, Double Kick

49. Spectrier

Moves - Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Calm Mind, Agility, Phantom Force, Double Kick

50. Cosmong (aka Nebula)

Moves - Teleport

51. Charmander

Moves - Ember, Fire Spin, Dragon Rush, Metal Claw, Flamethrower

52. Kubfu (aka Hashimoto)

Moves - Counter, Aerial Ace, Fire Punch, Thunderpunch, Ice Punch

53. Urshifu (Single Strike Style) (aka Ching Wan)

Moves - Brick Break, Revenge, Fire Punch, Thunderpunch, Ice Punch, Wicked Blow

---

Sarah's Dragon Companions:

1. Winter - Light Fury (F)

2. Shadow - Night Fury (M)

3. Skystorm - Deadly Nadder (F)

4. Mist and Spark - Titan Wing Hideous Zippleback (M)

5. Inferno - Singetail (M)

6. Sunflare - Monstrous Nightmare (F)

7. Starfire - Stormcutter (F)

8. Silver - Razorwhip (F)

9. Venom - Triple Stryke (M)

10. Camo - Titan Wing Dramillion (M)

11-15. His pack of five - Dramillions (3 F and 2 M)

Yellow Dramillions: Mimic - F, Violet - F, Sunflower - F

Red Dramillions: Ocean - M, Tidal - M

16. Melody - Death Song (M)

17. Echo - Slithersong (F)

18. Twilight - Deathgripper (F)

19. Dawn - Deathgripper (M)

---

Sarah's Pokemon Gems (Original):

1. Cresselia

Moves - Psychic, Moonlight, Moonblast, Magic Coat, Psycho Cut, Protect

2. Giratina (Origin/Altered Form)

Moves - Shadow Force, Dragon Pulse, Aura Sphere, Will-O-Wisp, Dragon Claw, Iron Tail

3. Rayquaza

Moves - Draco Meteor, Hyper Beam, Dragon Rush, Dragon Claw, Dragon Ascent, Twister

---

Sarah's Pokemon Gems (Non-Original)

1. Dialga

Moves - Roar of Time, Flash Cannon, Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, Aura Sphere, Protect

2. Palkia

Moves - Spacial Rend, Hyper Beam, Dragon Claw, Fire Blast, Aura Sphere, Protect