Earlier that evening, it was busy down at the beach of Route 1 where many people along with their Pokémon had gathered onto the coastline to attend Lillie's homecoming party to celebrate her success in the Kanto Region and to welcome her back to the islands she was happy to call home. Familiar faces that she had known and met throughout her travels in Alola alongside Elio and Hau had gathered at the party including several of the Trial Captains from the other three islands. Two of them were engaged in conversation a little ways from the crowd discussing stories they heard from both Elio and Lillie herself, having had the chance to meet the girl in question for the first time a little while before she had left Alola to begin her journey as a Pokémon Trainer.
One of them was shorter than her companion, having blue hair and eyes with freckles beneath them whilst wearing a crown like hairband at the front of her head. She also wore a pair of light blue trousers with wavy designs printed on the leggings and a white top, both pieces of clothing which were on top of a dark blue one piece swimsuit. Even without her trusty fishing rod, it wouldn't take a genius for most citizens of Alola to know of what kind of element her Pokémon were specialized in as well as her own interest in the subject.
The other girl she was talking to had a slighty dark tone to her skin and was the energetic of the two, being more upbeat in their topic of conversation. She had bright green eyes and hair that curled off into two plats around the back. The hairband she wore also had a bright pink flower attached to the portion that was above her right ear and she also wore a light bluish grey top and shorts.
"I must say, those Gym Badges Lillie showed to us look wonderful when you're beneath the Alolan sun Lana," she said cheerfully "It's a good thing we didn't have a large crowd to ask questions or it would have been less of a party then."
"Indeed, their craftsmanship is quite intricate," Lana replied "But what I'm more interested in are the Kanto Pokédex's info on Water Pokémon in that region. I'll admit, I was surprised that she was able to evolve Squirtle all the way to Blastoise over the course of the Gym Challenge."
"Yeah, I almost can't believe she got a powerful Pokémon at that stage before even coming back," her companion said in agreement "I'm glad she decided to bring back some cute ones as well. I always wondered what a Kanto Vulpix looked like."
As soon as she finished her sentence, a roar from towards the end of the beach caught their attention as twin streams of pressurised water shot into the air and struck their target. That being a Pokémon whose stature resembled that of a bird as it landed back on the sand, leaping back onto its talons as it stared off with the Blastoise that had fired at it. It had a pair of brown coloured wings made up of multiple quills and its upper body save for its face was made up of green feathers whilst its legs and lower body was predominately white. Hau stood a short distance from it, having wanted to concentrate on the one on one battle he had challenged Lillie to in order to see what kind of skills she had acquired.
"I gotta say, Blastoise is really giving me some work to do!" he remarked with a confident smile "I guess type disadvantages don't worry you that much!"
"Well, experience from watching you and Elio has helped in Kanto," she replied with a smile "Even if your Decidueye is stronger as a Grass Type, I'm not gonna hold back!"
That was when Lana had noticed an oddity on the girl's right wrist, something she had not seen prior to their earlier conversation when the party was in its early hours. It was shaped like a wristwatch and had a diamond shaped blue coloured crystal locked into the topmost slot.
"Hey Mallow," she murmured, bringing her companion's attention to the battle "Has Lillie always had a Z-Ring?"
"I might have let her borrow mine..."
Mallow and Lana's attention was brought to Elio who had joined the pair of Trial Captains to answer their query and watch the battle together with them.
"Lillie said she wanted to give it a Z-Move a try, so I let her use my Z-Ring and Waterium Z," he explained with a smile "I'm just hoping she's not in over her head."
"Lillie. Over her head?" the Grass Trial Captain pondered playfully "I doubt that's something you'd hear in the same sentence."
"Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon!"
The trio looked back to the battle in front of them as Blastoise was trying to shoot down an airborne Decidueye with its cannons using jets of water. It was having minimal success as its opponent continued to weave between the beams with little effort. As the jets eventually subsided, Hau grew confident with his chances of success.
"Alright Decidueye, let them have it!" he called out as the Arrow Quill Pokémon turned around and charged through the air towards Blastoise who remained on guard.
The bipedal Shellfish Pokémon crouched slightly as a sound rung out from within its cannons, leading Hau to initially believe that Lillie was going to attempt another Hydro Pump to veer it off course. However, he was shocked to find out that she was smiling instead.
"Gotcha!" she called out "Use Dark Pulse!"
Then out of the pair of cannons from within its shell, twin jets of dark energy shot out from Blastoise and struck the opposing Pokémon with great force, causing it to shriek loudly in pain as it was pushed back before it fell out the sky, wounded and seemingly downed, much to Hau's sudden dismay.
"That I didn't see coming!" he exclaimed before turning to his Pokémon "We're still in this, don't give up!"
Slowly but surely, Decidueye wearily managed to get to its feet, panting heavily as it stared off with its opponents before looking back to its trainer and nodding once, sensing an opportunity for what he may wish to do next. The boy nodded with a smile and turned to Lillie, intending to not go down without a fight despite the sudden move he had not expected from one such as Blastoise.
"Lillie, this is going to be the deciding attack!" he announced "Decidueye, charge up and hit Blastoise with the biggest Solar Beam you can get!"
As the Arrow Quill Pokémon was fully brought back onto its own feet, it folded in its wings and began gathering energy for the powerful Grass Type move, causing the opposing trainer to gasp in panic, realizing if Blastoise was to come out of this unscathed, she would have to act now. Shaking her head to clear her doubts, she looked to her Pokémon which nodded back to her, sensing what she was about to attempt.
"Blastoise, with me!" she announced as the Z-Ring she borrowed from Elio began to radiate brightly.
"Is she gonna do it?!" Lana gasped in shock.
"Come on Lillie! You can do it!" Elio cheered from the distance.
Energy began coursing around Lillie and Blastoise as the power of the Z-Crystal was locked into the ring's slot glowed brightly, waiting for the immense power that was building up to be unleashed. Then as she began to make a movement to signal the specific pose and call the name of the Z-Move she intended to use on Decidueye, time seemed to slow down as the glow from the Z-Ring on her wrist suddenly triggered something in the back of her collective memories as a slow, deep and rough voice echoed into her mind.
"COOOOMMMMEEEE..."
Lillie suddenly froze up as images began to fly through her mind once again at an alarmingly fast rate, the tone of the voice from before having frightened her suddenly. The first image showed a tall woman with very long hair that was wildly spread by the immense force and completely obscured by darkness, wearing a strange black mask with several spikes protruding from the sides and the top. She had her arms outstretched as lightning crackled around the stage she stood upon and the ground began splitting apart violently as a portal behind her was open with a pair of red eyes peering through to the outside world.
The second depicted a swirling giant red arm erupting from the portal and poised to grab someone of its intended target. The figure wearing the black spiked mask had a staff manifested in her hand with two long spikes and four blades shaped into the patterns of flames at the very top. Thunder rumbled around the sky as the violent sounds of the clouds above roared across the area as the masked figure had grown several inches taller, presumably as a result of the power of whatever it was she had been wearing.
The final image and the scene it depicted however displayed only darkness with the source of light being from the glowing red eyes of a black coloured mask. This one was only known to merely those that had known about and seen the original bearer in all of his terrifying presence for the thousand millennia that haunted their memories still. It was the Kanohi Kraakhan, the Mask of Shadows and the symbol of Makuta Teridax. The rumble that was his voice thought to be forgotten by all on Spherus Magna echoed in the mind of the bewildered and frightened girl.
"LLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!"
The images ended as Lillie's face turned pale, causing her to drop her arm and stopping the intended procedure of the Z-Move. That left Blastoise defenceless against the incoming Solar Beam attack that Decidueye had launched, the energy blast slamming into the blue Water Type and causing a massive blast that sent it hurtling into the air and crashing into the sand behind her. The girl snapped out of her stupor upon hearing the impact and looked behind her, seeing that her Pokémon wasn't getting up.
Hau although surprised from the result couldn't help but be confused, wondering why his opponent had frozen when attempting to use the Z-Ring and Crystal Elio had given her. As the boy in question ran towards them, Gladion and Wicke who were not far away however were far more concerned and the trio ran towards Lillie, praying that she was not badly hurt in any way.
"Hey Lillie!" her brother called out, waving to her as he stopped "Are you alright?"
"... Gladion, thank goodness," she breathed, snapping out of her stupor and shaking her head.
"What happened out there?" Elio asked as Hau eventually joined them.
Lillie could only look at the group's questioning stares, feeling pressured by whatever it was they wanted to ask her and why she had suddenly acted up the way that she did. Realizing that her knocked out Blastoise was still on the beach, she reached inside her pocked for a Poké Ball and pointed it in the direction of her fallen comrade, shooting a beam of red energy that safely returned it to the sphere. She then unclipped the Z Ring and hastily handed it back to Elio, shaking as she did so much to his confusion.
"What did you see?" Wicke asked.
"I... I don't know!" the girl cried out "... Melemele Island was being destroyed and something reached out for me! I can't tell if it was a vision or memory!"
Though he didn't show it and that he was thankful Elio and Hau didn't notice immediately, Gladion had tensed up slightly as if the vague description his sister had given him was enough for him to recognize this kind of scenario. He turned to Wicke who looked back to him, sensing that their companions would be bound to be looking for answers anytime soon. The woman then looked to Elio, sensing that she could trust him with her next request.
"Elio, could you keep an eye on Lillie for a moment?" she asked, a hint of worry to her voice.
"Sure," he replied, seemingly confused by the sudden tense atmosphere "But do you know what's made her worried like this?"
"I cannot tell what has her worried," Wicke answered solemnly "But if you do wish to know, I only implore to ask her if she is feeling comfortable with telling you whatever information she has."
"... Alright then, you have my word," the boy answered, looking to his friend briefly.
"Thank you Elio," Gladion interjected before looking to his associate "Wicke, come with me."
And with that, the pair wandered off into the night away from the party to discuss matters at hand on their own terms. When they were certain that no one would be busy enough to listen to them from the distance away from the part, Elio and Hau turned to Lillie who had mostly calmed down from her initial freak out. Wanting to diffuse the tense mood, the former spoke up.
"So Lillie..." he began, being careful to not to speak out of term "... is there something bothering you?"
"... Well..." she murmured nervously.
"It's alright if you don't want to tell us right away," said Elio, putting a hand on her right shoulder "Wicke and Gladion just want to make sure you're holding up fine."
"R... Right," Lillie replied as she breathed in and out to relax herself "I don't know why it happened, but when I began charging the energy for that Z Move I wanted to try out... looking at the Z-Ring caused me to see that image I told you about and make a fool of myself."
The two boys looked at one another, seemingly puzzled by her earlier statement before Gladion and Wicke had left the three to themselves. That was when Elio's friend decided to attempt to cheer her up.
"Look at it this way, you pretty much had me there," Hau said cheerfully "I'll guarantee that if we battle like that again and you get the Z-Move right, your Blastoise would've walked all over Decidueye. Honest to Arceus."
"Really?" Lillie pondered, her mind having now been taken off whatever it was she had seen.
"I'll say," Elio replied with a smile "A clean Hydro Vortex would disrupt a Solar Beam charge up any day and even wipe the floor with most Grass Types. Plus that Dark Pulse you pulled was certainly a reminder not to underestimate you these days."
And that had made the girl feel much better. She wasn't certain about the images she had seen from tonight and from whatever it was that the Red Star had given her to access the symbols she had knowledge of, but she now felt more comfortable around Hau and Elio compared to earlier and felt a bit more confident in herself that hopefully, she would be able to share the knowledge she suddenly acquired within her own volition. With that, the three friends returned to the party with Hau being the most excited to try out the Malasada Rack that the staff from the nearby city had set up.
Dawn broke on Spherus Magna over the Rahi Plains as the cloaked Matoran approached Umarak and Metus who had been awaiting his arrival for their plans to commence. They met at the base of a nearby cliff with the masked stranger brandishing the repaired Olmak, handing over to the Shadow Hunter as he took ahold of it. The snake then radiated itself in a dark red aura and began to change shape, gaining a more humanoid body that was indeed the Agori he still was, now back in all of its glory.
"You know what you must do," the cloaked Matoran spoke as Umarak put on the Olmak after taking off his own mask first.
"Indeed," the Shadow Hunter replied in his raspy voice "Today is the day where the possession of the Great Beings' secrets will now commence. Once the Rahi are dispatched, I will send our Agori assistant to do his part in our ploy for that world."
He then turned to Metus who had adorned a confident smirk on his face, something that was common for him when he once served as a Glatorian Manager and as a ally to the Skrall and the Bone Hunters in months past.
"Now Umarak, let us not be hasty," he spoke "No matter how advanced or primitive the societies of that world may function, I will always have my ways. The Rahi will be our chess pawns for the first wave and whatever forces I will gather from the world's surface for your own needs will serve their purpose. Once we have everything the Great Beings stashed on that world... let us give our Toa and Glatorian friends their unsuspecting welcome."
"Not so unsuspecting Metus!"
The three suddenly turned their heads up to the top of the cliff, just in time to see the three Toa sliding down the rocky face with Raanu carried on the back of Iruini. When Norik and Onua hit the ground, the Toa of Air joined them shortly afterwards to let the Fire Tribe Agori down onto his feet. The latter then stared at Metus who did not seem surprised in the least to see him of all his kind, despite not expecting the arrival of the three Toa.
"Well, look what we have here, a fully booked crowd!" he mockingly cheered "So tell me Raanu, were you looking into reinvesting in Arena Battles for our taller friends here?"
"We were not friends then as we should've suspected!" Raanu replied as he brought out his shield, sensing that a confrontation would be unavoidable.
Before Umarak could make the first strike, he glanced upon Onua much to the Toa Nuva of Earth's initial confusion as if the stranger before him had recognized him from a different time and place. He then refocused his attention on the group as a whole before the cloaked Matoran stepped forward between them, staring up at the three Toa and the one Agori before him.
"Toa Onua, this is most... unexpected," he spoke "So tell me, what brings you to the ground that only your kind and predecessors walk upon with the beasts?"
"I do not have to tell what it is you truly are, even with your attempt to mask your voice," the Toa of Earth replied, having recognized the distorted vocal effects once before "It was when Makuta had appointed you Turaga of Metru Nui. Isn't that right... Ahkmou?"
Iruini, Norik and Raanu looked to one another in confusion before the Matoran addressed by that name took ahold of his cloak and threw it off, revealing his full presence for the first time in months. Ahkmou's features as his own kind outside of the group he was a part of were mostly recognizable to the three Toa in front of him, only his body had turned mostly grey and black as a result of circumstances unbeknown to them. His black coloured Kanohi Mask was mostly round with a circle on the lower half carved in the middle of three curved grooves. Little did his four foes realize that the answer would have been made clear to them and it was only then did the Toa Hagah of Fire figure it out.
"Your light has been drained!" Norik exclaimed "Ahkmou, are you so blind for your loyalty to Makuta that you would...?!"
"Drain my own light with a Shadow Leech?" he concluded for his opposition "If I wish to continue his work, then it is only fitting I make myself one with the shadows. That is why I have been able to find my new Shadow Hunter here."
"And just what exactly are you?!" Iruini demanded, clutching his Cyclone Spear tightly.
"I am Umarak," the tall figure replied as he stared through the eyeholes of the Olmak he bared "Controller of Shadows, second only to my creator. Once that distant world has been plundered of the Great Beings' secrets, I will finish what he started beginning with you Toa!"
He then focused his thoughts into the Olmak and generated a portal behind him, leading to the Alola Region from the skyline view above the five islands in view. Before the Toa had a chance to register the sight of the world displayed through the portal, Umarak had drawn a bow with two wooden horn shapes acting as the arc and in the center was six seemingly empty barrels. The Toa and Raanu jumped clear and scattered as he began firing shots that made small explosions upon hitting the ground from where they stood. Onua brought out his Nynrah Ghost Blaster and fired a stream of energy containing rocks at Umarak who effortlessly dodged, much to his surprise.
The Shadow Hunter then charged up the barrels in his bow, firing even more shots with different kinds of ammunition this time around as they landed on the ground as red crystal spikes. Curious why they didn't land anywhere near them, Iruini brought out his shield and began charging energy into it, forming a wheel of some kind that fired right at the crystals, shattering them in an instant. Before he could react however, the shards began to swirl and create a tiny vortex of energy as screeches were heard from within. Then out of it came several small iron beings that possessed four green stubby legs and one red eye with the rest of their entire body resembling and opening and closing to form a beartrap like shape.
They swarmed in on the Toa and Raanu, latching onto their arms and legs which caused them to drop their weapons in the chaos and fall to the ground. Their bite was hard and extremely powerful, making it difficult for even Onua with his Mask of Strength to try and pry himself free with both his arms pinned and stretched apart from one another. Seeing that they were immobilized, Ahkmou turned to Metus and nodded, allowing the former Ice Tribe Agori to run through the portal to Alola to carry out his role there in the grand scheme that had been put into motion.
"We... can't let Metus... get away...!" Raanu groaned as he struggled to shake off two living traps from his right leg and shield.
"A magnificent Rahi-like invention, isn't it," Ahkmou chuckled "Umarak's Shadow Traps are only the least of your problems, I can assure you."
Struggling to break free from the grip of the Shadow Traps pinning him to the ground, Norik eventually stopped trying to waste his energy and breathed in, his mask glowing as this happened. He suddenly shrank dramatically and slipped free of the clamps on his limbs, seemingly disappearing into the sand as the traps could only scuttle in confusion. As Umarak stared around the plain, looking for where the Toa of Fire had vanished to, he soon got his answer. Norik suddenly returned to full size, shoving him upwards in the motion as this happened and knocked him to the ground. He then knocked away the bow with the tip of his Lava Spear and pointed it towards the neck of the Shadow Hunter.
"I do not know what you and Ahkmou have planned, but this ends today!" he proclaimed.
"I think not," the former Po-Matoran replied as he snapped his fingers.
As if on cue, the repaired Olmak then shut off the current portal to Alola and created a new one with that same location in mind above the Toa Hagah of Fire. It began whirling at high speed, threatening to suck them both in as Norik lost his grip on his tools which flew into the portal. By the time this happened, Onua had broken free from his binds and had begun attempting to free Raanu from his traps. Iruini then saw what was happening with Norik and gasped.
"Norik!" he called out as his gold mask began to glow before he suddenly vanished and reappeared beside his comrade.
As he attempted to use his mask's power on the Olmak itself, energy suddenly sparked between the two Great Kanohi and affected the vortex above them. Sparks began leaking from the still present cracks which then threatened to expand.
"You fool!" Umarak hissed as he attempted to wrestle control of the Olmak from the unforeseen power struggle "Do you not realize what you may unleash?!"
Suddenly, multiple vortexes appeared as a result of the power clash with all of them being spread across sections of the planet with one being seemingly present in the upper atmosphere of Spherus Magna at a certain celestial body. They were all unstable and began to pull everything inside from Rahi Beasts who were either infected by the Kanohi they wore or ones that were otherwise normally in their habitat on their free will. Soon, even they began to pull the Toa Hagah in and eventually after Iruini's tools were sucked in as well, the pair were suddenly sucked in with only Umarak's innate power over the Olmak preventing him from being pulled off the ground. Eventually, another one appeared sucking in both Onua and Raanu before they had a chance to react.
Eventually, the Shadow Hunter wrestled control of the Olmak's power back into the once again damaged mask and threw it onto the ground, shutting off all of the unstable portals that lead to the Alola Region on that distant world. Ahkmou who had been clinging to the Shadow Hunter's back previously eventually got back to his feet and reclaimed the damage Olmak, just as the taller being put his original Kanohi back on.
"Do you know what this means?" Umarak growled "Our plan has now been exposed to the denizens of this world!"
"It hardly matters," Ahkmou scoffed, placing the Olmak in his satchel "If you were to have learned one thing from my master, all contingencies to this plan are merely modifications to the end. Even with the Toa there... it will not change what is about to happen."
Meanwhile during that morning in the Alola Region, Elio was making his way onto the winding Mahalo Trail of Melemele Island after leaving his home and travelling past Iki Town. He was hoping to get a chance to talk to Lillie about her ordeal from the previous night and understand what was really going on with her. He knew it was like her to worry over things when there was no need to, but he knew it wasn't like her to try and keep secrets to herself since the battle he had in Ultra Space against Lusamine herself. He shook his head, knowing that she would be bound to have an explanation for what she was hiding from him and that there was no reason for her to be so deceptive.
Reaching the top of the winding trail eventually brought him back into the open around a wide cliffside area where the girl in question was indeed waiting for him. She was looking towards a recently repaired rope bridge with much sturdier materials now holding it together, bringing back some rather nostalgic memories for the two of them. He eventually walked up to join her, looking out to the chasm before them with the waterfall flowing to their left at the cliff face present there.
"It's funny how time flies by," Elio commented, bringing Lillie's attention to him "I can't believe it's been six months since I first met you and Nebby here."
"Yeah," she replied with a smile "I was supposed to be protecting him back then, but in the end... I was too scared to try and get him off. If you hadn't saved him then, who knows what would have happened."
"Well, we wouldn't be travelling Alola and standing her together now, would we?" he said, earning a small chuckle from his companion.
Feeling more relaxed with herself compared to the night before, Lillie closed her eyes to collect her thoughts and turned to face Elio, now feeling ready to get the heavy feeling she had off her chest since the first vision.
"Elio, you do know I trust you, right?" she asked, wanting to be certain with him.
"Of course I do," he replied, blinking once in confusion "Is this about last night?"
"Not just that," the girl muttered, looking down once "It all started the night before that when I was watching the moonlight and stars with Clefairy."
She then took a deep breath to relax herself and then brought the bag on her back in front of her, opening it up and bringing out the piece of paper she had used to draw the symbols she had seen in her first vision. He took ahold of it and stared at the designs of the language written upon it, as well as the symbol that represented the three virtues, bewildered and breathless in wonder at what he was seeing.
"What is this?" he pondered.
"I wish I knew..." she answered "Ever since that weird light struck me... my head hasn't felt the same."
"Strange light?" asked Elio.
"Yeah, that's how it is," Lillie replied remorsefully "I'm sorry if this is so strange to you. I just can't seem to forget them, even down to the last detail."
Seeing how much of a toll this subject was taking on her mind, the boy wanted to stop the conversation there for his friend's sake. But when he tried to speak up, she held up a hand to him, as if she wanted to say more to him.
"There's also something bothering me about last night's images..." she said "I said before I couldn't tell if it was a vision like before or a forgotten memory then."
"Did you figure it out?" he asked in concern.
"No, but I kept thinking back to that portal I saw behind the figure... and who that giant hand belonged to," Lillie answered "At first I thought it was from Ultra Space... but then I remembered that the portals we've seen together looked nothing like it. A name I've never heard of before popped into my mind, at least I think it was one I don't know about. And it wasn't a Ultra Beast like Nihilengo or any vile person in Alola I could think of. It was called... the Maku..."
Before she could finish, a crackling noise rung through their ears at a high pitch, forcing them to clutch them in pain for a brief moment before looking up to the once bright blue sky which had suddenly turned dark. Multiple holes tore and expanded into the sky across the entire region, displaying the orbit of the planet of Spherus Magna as several beings and objects obscured by the speed of their fall landed on the various natural four islands that made up Alola. Some even landed in the vast ocean that surrounded them, much to the surprise of the two trainers who stared at the sight. They didn't have time to process this information as they saw another portal open above them and then with a loud clang, something had hit Elio's head and landed on the ground in front of them.
"Ouch!" he groaned, flinching at the sharp pain in his head.
"Elio, are you alright?!" cried Lillie.
"Ah...! Could be worse..." he muttered as he regained his bearings before looking down to see the object that had been dropped from the now closed portal above his head.
Soon, most of the portals suddenly closed as the sky began to regain its once lost colour as Elio picked up the round disc that was now in his hands, studying it with a curious expression with the girl coming beside him shortly after. In his hands, it felt like metal yet alien to him and the design was nothing like the two of them had ever seen. Its design of pattern was mostly black with several white rectangles on the side with a larger one going vertically down the center with seven black squares following in that direction. A border circle divided by several narrow white lines surrounded the design and on the lowermost portion, was a plain number that they could understand. It was read out as 334.
"Wow..." Elio breathed in awe as he handed the disc to Lillie.
"I've never seen or felt anything like it..." she interjected as she turned it over briefly "Where do you think this came from?"
"Wherever those other portals came from... I think," he pondered.
As they were observing the disc that they held, they suddenly heard another portal open behind them towards the bridge and a large being dropped down from it at a fast rate. The impact on the ground kicked up a lot of dirt, obscuring it as the portal closed up along with all others as the sky above Alola regained its lost colour entirely, though that had done little to lift the two trainers' spirits. A loud snort was heard from the dust cloud followed by a loud roar, making the two feel nervous. Elio motioned for Lillie to get behind him to which she immediately obliged, looking over his shoulder to see what it was that had just landed in front of him. Then it leapt right out of the dirt and landed on its front legs, glaring at the two human children that stood before it.
It was biomechanical in nature like the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe, with it being one of the many creatures that inhabited the many lands there until it migrated to the Rahi Plains on Spherus Magna after the events of the Battle for Bara Magna. It mostly had black and grey colours and its front half was extremely bulky, giving it a great size advantage over the two trainers before it. The bull-like Rahi possessed a pair of powerful front hooves with red eyes and hook shaped horns of the same colour. Instead of having a pair of hind legs and a tail like most quadruped creatures, its movement was otherwise carried by an appendage that seemed to resemble caterpillar tracks which had surprised both Elio and Lillie, not expecting a beast such as this to have what would otherwise be associate with vehicular machines. Unbeknown to the pair, a pair of infected Kanohi that resembled the mask that Ahkmou wore were wedged into the shoulders of the Rahi.
"What is that Pokémon?!" they gasped in unison.
Immediately after they said those words, the Rahi then suddenly growled loudly and lunged straight at them, forcing them to jump to one side as it rammed itself straight into a nearby tree, stunning it for a brief moment. Taking advantage of this window of opportunity, Elio opened his bag and allowed his Rotom Dex to hover out of it. It gazed towards the bull which was struggling to break free from its predicament.
"That is a fierce creature if I've ever one seen one! Bzzt!" it sounded out.
"Do you know what it is?!" Elio asked worriedly "Even with the National Dex?!"
"Negative bzzt!" the Rotom Dex replied "Negative readings detected!"
"Oh great... now what?!" Lillie muttered in worry.
As if on cue, the bull broke free from the trees it had rammed into and turned around swiftly, setting its eyes on Elio. Before the trainer could try to fish for a Poké Ball to call on one of his team to assist him in fending off the beast, it lunged its head forwards towards him, knocking him to the ground and onto his back, skidding across for a few meters with an aching feeling in his now sore ribs. Lillie could only watch in horror as Elio constantly had to dodge rushes and lunges from the bull, sensing that if she didn't do something now, he would be seriously injured or far worse. Then without a second thought as if on instinct, she hurled the disc that was in her hand towards the Rahi, striking one of the masks on its shoulder and knocking it off.
It howled loudly in pain as it was distracted by the sudden loss of some of the dark grip that had it in its cold grasp, giving Elio an opportunity to scramble from where he was sitting and run towards Lillie, picking up the fallen disc and the dropped infected Kanohi on his way over. The Rotom Dex having been frightened by the ferocity of the bull retreated behind the two looking very worried.
"Agression levels rising bzzt!" it buzzed "Would not advise agitating it!"
"What was that all about?" the boy pondered as he looked at both items, handing the disc back to his companion "It looks like a mask... but why on that Pokémon's shoulder?"
"I've never heard of masks being put anywhere other than a face," Lillie interjected before flinching in fright.
The two of them along with the Rotom Dex could only stare at what was now right in front of them with worry as a foul stench was now hanging above the being above their heads. The Rahi was right in front of them and it was far more angrier than when it had both infected Kanohi on its shoulders.
And there we go! Thank you for joining us in the next chapter of Book 1: Challenge of the Rahi where things are now beginning to take shape in the Alola Region. Infected and Dangerous Rahi have been scattered across the four islands by the unstable portals created by Iruini and Umarak's unintentional Mask Power clash and many more beings and artifacts will have followed them there. Metus is already on the planet, looking to further Ahkmou's schemes from a different angle with his 'businessman' talents from previous schemes. And with a Kanoka Disc in their possession in addition to a Kane-Ra now breathing down their necks, can Elio and Lillie escape further harm and potentially free the infected Rahi? Find out next time on BIONICLE Expanded.
From next chapter onwards, the author's notes at the bottom of the page will have a segment called Rotom Dex's Rahi Resource where for those who aren't too deep into the extensive BIONICLE lore outside the novels will get a chance to learn more about the Rahi that appear in various media, including those from the book BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts.
Until then, I look forward to hearing your thoughts and criticisms in the reviews.
