"Party crashers?"
Chloe turned from Ash to Professor Kukui, who stood resolute in the classroom turned party location. Kukui, for his part, was looking at Lusamine, who was still holding onto a confused Mohn.
"That's right. Wicke must have sent the signal," she said with a serious look on her face. "It's time for the Ultra Guardians to ride once more."
Ash, and all his Alolan friends turned to Lusamine and gave a strange salute, crossing their fist over their chests. "Ultroger, Lusamine!" they all shouted together.
With that, Professor Kukui pulled up on the chalkboard, and Chloe saw it slide up along the wall, revealing something that looked more like it belonged in her father's research laboratory, not in a classroom with a giant tree growing through the building. He slapped his open palm against the middle of the technological grid, and it began glowing with a bright, multicolored light.
With that, the ladder in front of the bookcase, as well as the bookcase itself moved away and opened, revealing a secret chamber in the classroom.
Chloe stood stunned, not sure of exactly what was happening at that moment as Ash, Lillie, Kiawe, Mallow, Sophocles, Lana, and Gladion, as well as their Pokémon rushed into the chamber, each standing on different spots.
"I'm going, too!" Goh shouted, with Cinderace, Inteleon, and Grookey charging behind him.
Ash reached his hand towards Chloe, who was standing still. "C'mon, Chloe! You should join us!"
"Pikapika!"
"Eievui!"
Pikachu and Eevee cheered her on as well, and before she knew what she was doing, Chloe was standing with the rest of them in the secret compartment in the classroom.
"I'll be right here with you," Ash said, smiling. "Just go with the flow, okay?"
"A-Alright."
Just as Chloe finally seemed to be catching up, the ground gave way beneath her, and she began descending beneath the floor.
She closed her eyes for just a moment, cringing that something might cause her to fall and get hurt, but she felt a calm hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Ash there. His hand felt strong on her shoulder, and she took a deep breath and calmed herself.
Looking around the transport tube she found herself in, she saw everyone was going down on their own separate platforms, she and Ash included (theirs were close enough that Ash could reassure her, a coincidence Chloe was extremely thankful for). The only ones sharing a platform were all the Pokémon that had joined them, though she did worry that with Eevee and Grookey hopping up and down like they were, they might stumble and fall off.
Looking down, she caught a glimpse of a rubbery, purple fabric that seemed to be rising up from her platform. She saw Ash's confidence out of the corner of her eye as a blue version of what was approaching her covered Ash, and as she turned, she saw everyone else getting covered in various shades. The rubbery fabric covered her party dress, but didn't climb her body to her head. It began wrapping around her arms and legs very tightly, and soon it took the form of a tight bodysuit before it split apart into gloves for her hands and boots that went up to just below her knees.
The transformation continued, with white ceramic plates appearing on her chest and her shoulders, and the rubbery fabric continuing to change, adding details and thickening the boots to provide better protection. Finally, a small blue and gold symbol appeared on the front of this strange outfit, and they were lowered into a room that finally looked like it could be part of the Pokémon School again.
Looking around, she saw that while there were color variants, most of the outfits looked like hers, only with the base color different. Gladion's outfit instead was more modest, covering his body and bearing black ceramic plates instead of the white ones worn by everyone else. Ash stood in blue, Lillie in pink, Mallow in Green, Lana in cyan, Kiawe in red, Sophocles in orange, and Goh in a standard black while Gladion wore his more ornate black outfit.
Goh frowned. "Why does he get the cooler looking one…?"
"Can't you focus on something else?" Chloe sighed. "Like look at this room!"
Looking all around them, there were monitors and computers all around, as well as a door that had a symbol on it. When Chloe looked down, she recognized it as the symbol that seemed to be on everyone's Z-Rings. Standing near what appeared to be a projector of some kind in the middle of the room was a Clefable.
"Fable!" she waved to them as they approached. She turned and pressed a button on a large green and black keyboard, and a projection appeared in the air from the machine.
In the projection was a woman Chloe had only seen once before, and only in a still image. Standing next to the woman in glasses was a rather frail looking man who wore overly sized green glasses. Both were dressed in white outfits with gold accents, bringing to mind the clothing worn by scientists as well as the pantsuit worn by Lusamine.
"What's going on?" Ash asked the woman in the projection.
Gladion stepped forward. "Wicke? What's happening?"
"I bet the Ultra Wormhole opened up again."
Rather than the woman, Wicke, or the man speaking, it was Goh who mentioned those words.
Chloe furrowed her brow. "Goh?"
"I didn't quite get it the day we were there," Goh said, "but when the Professors and I went to the Aether Foundation, Wicke pulled them aside to talk to them about something. I maybe sort of eavesdropped on them, but they were talking about something opening up, and readings that were similar to things a while ago." He turned to Sophocles and Kiawe. "After you guys explained Ultra Wormholes and Ultra Beasts to me yesterday, I spent a lot of time thinking, and I realized that Wicke calling everyone to the Aether Paradise might have been related."
Wicke nodded. "It's exactly as you said, Goh," she said, clearly remembering his name from whatever introduction he got that day. "There's an Ultra Wormhole opening somewhere on Melemele Island."
"U-Ultra Beasts? Ultra Wormhole?" Chloe looked around, still confused. "Can someone PLEASE explain what's going on here!? I feel like I was at a party ten minutes ago and now I'm in one of Parker's favorite TV Shows!"
Lillie giggled. "Mother does love her TV shows for kids…"
"To put it simply," Goh explained, "Ultra Beasts are Pokémon from other dimensions, and they travel through Ultra Wormholes. This can be bad news since they can unbalance the ecosystems of the places they invade, as well as the harm that can befall them as well."
"To add to that," Wicke said, "while some Ultra Beasts are more docile and less dangerous than others, there are some Ultra Beasts that are incredibly dangerous to those around them. And according to the readings we're getting from the Ultra Wormhole, it's possibly the most dangerous of the Ultra Beasts that we've encountered before; Nihilego."
The faces of Ash and his friends went pale, but Chloe and Goh, who had no frame of reference for this creature, frowned. "Nihilego?" Chloe asked.
"That's my cue!'' The Rotomdex floated up in front of the monitor, wearing a bracelet on their arm with the same blue-and-gold symbol of the Ultra Guardians on it. Their screen changed from their mouth to an image of a white, almost jelly-looking creature with no discernable face and long white tentacles. If she didn't know better, Chloe thought that the way it looked actually resembled the way Lillie was dressed above, but she shook such thoughts out of her head. 'It's probably another silly coincidence.'
"Nihilego," Rotom said, "the Parasite Pokémon. A Rock-and Poison-type. One of several mysterious Ultra Beasts, Nihilego appeared in this world from an Ultra Wormhole. Nihilego appears to be a parasite that lives by feeding on people and Pokémon alike. It produces a strong neurotoxin that lowers inhibitions and drives anyone poisoned with it to violence."
"So you guys encountered this before?" Chloe asked the quiet room. There wasn't much of a response, but the silence answered Chloe's question just as well as any words could.
The man with the green glasses spoke. "Unfortunately, it gets worse," he said. "Our readings indicate that there may be a large mass of Nihilego attempting to pour out of the Ultra Wormhole all at once. Though the size of it prevents them from coming out too quickly, they will keep coming, so it'll be important to fight them back as effectively as possible."
"So how are we supposed to handle this?" Goh asked, gritting his teeth.
"The best thing we can do is capture the Nihilego and send them back through the Ultra Wormhole before using a device to close it behind them," Wicke responded. "You should find it with the medicines as well as the Beast Balls, though one of you will need to carry it."
"Beast Ball?" Goh was excited. "You mean… a special kind of Poké Ball designed for Ultra Beasts?!"
"T-That's right," Mallow replied, raising an eyebrow.
Goh grinned widely. "You just leave those Beast Balls to me. Catching Pokémon is my specialty."
Kiawe nodded. "Then the rest of us will be on the attack, weakening them for Goh to catch.
"J-Just wait a minute," Chloe waved her hands, now clad with purple gloves, in panic. "I only have my little Eevee! We're not cut out to battle some alien Pokémon."
Ash put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "It'll be alright, Chloe. You just handle the machine to close the wormhole for us, alright?"
Chloe nodded, her cheeks warming slightly. "R-Right, Ash."
"So we've got our battle plan," Gladion said. "We should move out."
"Right," Wicke said with a nod. "Ultra Guardians, off you go!"
"Ultroger, Wicke!" they all responded in unison, though Chloe and Goh fumbled a bit.
The Ultra Guardians recalled all the gathered Pokémon into their Poké Balls, with the exceptions of Goh's Grookey, Ash's Pikachu, Chloe and Lana's Eevee, Snowy, and both of Sophocles' Pokémon. Then, they all stood on the platform the Pokémon descended on and were raised back up into the air, only this ride took much less time before depositing them in a room with several more Pokémon already waiting. Ash walked towards a Garchomp wearing a harness, while Sophocles hopped on top of a Metang. Lana climbed on top of a Dragonair, and Mallow was riding on the back of a Flygon. Kiawe patted an old Charizard on the side of his face as he climbed onto his back. Lillie and her brother climbed onto the backs of an Altaria and Noivern, respectively.
Chloe and Goh stood back, not seeing any other Pokémon ready to act as their transportation. "I guess they weren't totally prepared for two extra Guardians…" Chloe said, holding the somewhat awkwardly sized machine in her arms as she looked around.
"I've got my own ride," Goh said, taking out a Poké Ball. "C'mon out, Aerodactyl!"
With a toss, Goh's Poké Ball opened, and the Fossil Pokémon Aerodactyl appeared with a shout.
Goh approached his Pokémon with a grin. "We're gonna take flight, Aerodactyl!"
"B-But what about me?!"
Ash shot her a thumbs up from atop the Garchomp he was sitting on. "Dragonite, I choose you!"
In another flash of light, Ash's very affectionate dragon appeared next to Chloe. Ash pumped his fist. "Okay, Dragonite, can you let Chloe ride on your back? We've gotta get moving!"
Dragonite looked at Chloe and smiled before throwing her arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug.
"T-Thank you, Dragonite," Chloe coughed, "but maybe there's a better time and place for all of this?"
Dragonite nodded and crouched down for Chloe to climb on top of her back, and the Ultra Guardians all got onto the launchers that sent them and the Pokémon they were riding flying quickly into the air.
As the Pokémon ascended into the air, Chloe looked behind her and saw the Pokémon school behind her, as well as the pool that apparently drained to give them their launching point as they rose into the night sky.
Ash spoke into his wrist. "Alright, Wicke. Where's the Ultra Wormhole opening?"
From each of the Ultra Guardian's wrists came a hologram, similar to the projection in the base. This time, only Wicke appeared, her green companion seeming gone. "Our readings show that there's an increased surge of Ultra Energy at Ten Carat Hill. The Wormhole seems to be opening there."
"Ultroger," he said, before taking the handlebars on Garchomp's harness and changing course, the rest of the Pokémon changing course as well to follow behind him.
Dragonite came up next to Garchomp, and Chloe reached out towards Ash, but she wasn't quite able to reach him. "Ash, this all feels so crazy," she said. "It feels like everything's moving way too fast…!"
"It'll be alright," he said, giving her a confident grin. "And after we get done with this, there's something I wanna talk to you about."
"Something you want to talk to me about…?" Chloe asked, her eyes going wide. "A-Ash… you don't mean…"
"Look up there!" called Goh, and her eyes were averted from Ash and now looking at the mountain rising in the distance. Lit up by Alola's bountiful moonlight, it looked to Chloe like an extinct volcano – one that may have erupted hundreds of thousands of years ago, but was no longer active. But in the air above it, glowing in a rainbow of colors, was a strange sight that she could only describe as a puncture in the sky. It looked small, but it seemed to be growing slowly larger and larger as time passed and they flew closer to it.
"Is that an Ultra Wormhole…?" Chloe asked, holding onto the machine that had been developed to close it.
No one answered her question.
The hole in the sky expanded further, and at long last, a white, almost glass-like tentacle pushed through it, pulling at the sides of the hole torn in the sky. The pulling motion seemed to open the Ultra Wormhole wider, and the Ultra Beast identified as Nihilego floated out. Chloe felt her hands clench as the strange creature floated in the air, its body moving as though it was floating in the sea though it was floating in the air.
Then, another tentacle pulled through the Ultra Wormhole, and another Nihilego emerged.
"It's just like Wicke said…" Sophocles noted, looking at the emerging Ultra Beasts. "There's a bunch of them coming through."
Lana flew Dragonair a bit closer. "Hey, you guys! You can't stay here! It's dangerous for everyone!"
The Nihilego, though faceless, turned their bodies towards her. Another Nihilego began pulling through the hole as the group remained stationary yet flowing.
Chloe frowned, watching them. "It doesn't seem like they're just stumbling through… it's almost like they're trying to come through," she said.
"But why would they want to do that?" Kiawe asked.
Chloe frowned, trying to think of what it could be. 'Is this an invasion…?'
"The number of Nihilego keeps on increasing!" the Rotomdex called out. "Calculating estimated number of Nihilego… Calculating… Calculating…"
From the Ultra Wormhole emerged another Nihilego, but unlike the other three that had come out so far, this one seemed to have a golden sheen to its glass-like body. The golden Nihilego emitted a loud, grinding sound, and the other three that had emerged so far began to gyrate and buzz as they began moving closer to Lana. They began raising their tentacles towards Lana and Dragonair, the ends of them glistening with a venom secreted from the ends of their appendages.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Piiikaaachuuu!"
With a leap into the air, Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and fired a Thunderbolt that arced between Lana and the approaching Ultra Beasts, making them move backwards from Lana as she pulled Dragonair back towards the rest of the Ultra Guardians.
"I think they're looking for a battle," Kiawe said with a grin. "How about we give them one, Charizard? Use Flamethrower!"
The Charizard that Kiawe was riding opened his mouth and let out a gout of flames at the Nihilego that were drawing close to Lana, burning their otherwise pristine surfaces.
The golden Nihilego sounded off again, and another regular one emerged from the Ultra Wormhole. Soon, all of the ordinary ones began moving towards the Ultra Guardians, raising their tentacles to attack.
"We have to move quickly," Gladion said. "Or else they could overwhelm us with their numbers." He took a white Poké Ball from his pocket and threw it out. "Silvally, use Air Slash!"
The strange, silver-colored Pokémon appeared in the air, forming a sphere made of air before it, launching long, sharp blades forward, striking at the Nihilego that approached.
As Silvally's move ended, the Synthetic Pokémon began to fall, and Gladion maneuvered his Noivern close to it in the air. He took a small, navy blue disc from his outfit. "These clear skies cover the whole world and blanket us all in its embrace. These creatures intrude upon its clarity, and now we must defend it! Silvally, accept this Flying Memory within yourself and take to the skies!"
Gladion tossed the Flying Memory to Silvally, where it entered the Pokémon's body by it's head. The fin on top as well as it's eyes and the fin on it's tail all became the same shade of deep blue, like a clear sky on a cloudless day. Silvally exuded an aura that matched that color, and wrapping that aura around itself, stopped its descent and rose into the sky next to Gladion, standing atop the spinning aura of wind it conjured.
"Gladion's right," Ash said, turning to Chloe and Dragonite. "You guys try to get low and in position beneath the Ultra Wormhole. That machine'll fire a beam that'll close it!"
"How do you know that?!" Chloe asked.
Ash gave her a confident grin. "I've seen it work before!"
"Alright… I'll go down there. You guys better keep them away so we can close it!"
He nodded. "I'll protect you with everything I've got, Chloe. Just leave this to us!"
"Pika!"
Fighting the pounding of her heart in her chest, Chloe directed Dragonite down towards the ground – the top of Ten Carat Hill.
Above her, she could still hear and see the battle commencing, and she could also see more Nihilego emerging from the Ultra Wormhole.
Lana and Mallow threw Poké Balls of their own, sending out Primarina and Tsareena.
"Primarina, Sparkling Aria!"
"Tsareena, Magical Leaf!"
Primarina threw her arms open wide and began to sing, forming a large sphere of water in the air before swinging forward, sending the sphere towards the Nihilego. The sphere burst into many smaller spheres, heading towards the Nihilego.
Tsareena spun in the air, and formed a glowing green sphere of light in her hands before firing an array of leaves made of light out of it, each heading to one of the water spheres, making them and the leaves explode on contact, showering the Nihilego with harmful energy.
The golden Nihilego moved forward itself, pointing a tentacle at Primarina as she fell before firing a spray of inky toxin at her. Two of the ordinary Nihilego aimed their tentacles towards Tsareena and fired rays of sparkling light at her.
Lana and Dragonair swooped down and caught Primarina, and only narrowly avoided the toxic stream that nearly grazed her. Tsareena flipped in the air, kicking each ray fired at her away with her powerful legs as Mallow and Flygon descended, catching her as well.
All the while, the Ultra Wormhole continued to exude one Nihilego after another. Several of the ordinary Nihilego began moving down from where the wormhole was opened in the sky towards Ten Carat Hill, where Chloe was just landing. Goh grimaced. "Fighting in the air means we can't rely on all of our Pokémon as easily," he said. "Some of us should head towards the ground and defend Chloe more closely as she sets up the machine. The rest of us should stay up here and keep them from escaping!"
"Gladion and I will take the sky," Kiawe said. "You guys make sure Chloe can set up the machine."
Sophocles maneuvered Metang over. "Vikavolt and I can fight in the air, too! We'll do our part!"
"Vika!"
"Then Goh, Mallow, Lana, and I'll head to the ground," Ash said, pulling Garchomp towards the ground, jetting off. As he did, two of the gathered Nihilego began darting down to intercept him.
"Wait, Ash!" Goh shouted. "We need to move together!"
"I'm not gonna let Chloe be in danger!" he shouted, leaning in close on Garchomp as the dragon accelerated downwards
"Snowy, use Powder Snow!"
"Vikavolt, use Signal Beam!"
Snowy leapt from Lillie's lap and blew an icy cold breath of wind and snow down. Vikavolt fired the multicolored ray from his mandibles parallel to the Powder Snow. Both attacks were angled to cover Ash as he dove down. Goh's Aerodactyl, Mallow's Flygon, and Lana's Dragonair all began descending towards the ground as well.
Chloe took the somewhat large machine off of Dragonite's back and ran. Looking up, she tried to position herself as close to 'under' the Ultra Wormhole as she could maneuver and set it into the dirt. "Okay," she asked herself. "I need to get ready for when we can close it..."
"Eie…" Eevee chirped, standing by her side.
Suddenly, there was a sound above her head like grinding glass, and looking up, Chloe saw one of the Nihilego approaching, its tentacles splayed wide.
"VUI!"
Eevee leapt up, tackling the beast back before landing on the ground between it and Chloe.
"We have to protect this machine…" Chloe said, staring down the faceless creature.
The Nihilego moved forward, raising its tentacles and spraying a venomous fluid at Chloe and Eevee. Chloe leapt out of the way, as did Eevee. Once she was clear of the move, Eevee raised her tail in the air and began to glow with a sickly purple aura that seemed to match the color of Chloe's Ultra Guardian uniform. From the tip of her tail, she fired the same toxic spray back, catching the Ultra Beast off guard at the counter attack.
The Nihilego seemed enraged by the action and began forming a sphere of acrid toxins in the gap below its main body.
By now, Chloe could recognize the move on sight, recalling the Arbok and Nidoking she'd seen use it. "Sludge Bomb…"
Nihilego moved to fire the attack, but as it did, a wave of psychokinetic energy washed over it, tossing it backwards.
Chloe gasped. "What was that…?"
Before her eyes appeared the shadowy form of the Gengar who haunted her father's Laboratory.
"Gehehehen!" he snickered at the Ultra Beast.
"Gengar?" Chloe asked before looking around. "Ash?!
Somewhere behind her, Ash's Garchomp landed, and Ash began dashing over, with Rotom floating close behind him. Looking into the night sky, she saw Goh, Lana, Lillie, and Mallow descending as well as more Nihilego.
Ash's eyes were focused on Gengar as he approached. "You've got the machine in place?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah."
The Nihilego was soon joined by a partner, and so Ash took a ball from his waist and sent out Sirfetch'd to stand alongside Gengar.
"Use it to close the wormhole, then," he said.
Chloe balked. "Wait, close it now? I thought we should only do that after we send them back through?!"
Ash's eyes were intense and burning hot as he glared at her. "It can open them back up where they've formed as well as close them. We'll send them all back through once we're finished, but if many more come through, there's no way we'll be able t' stop 'em!"
Rather than making her feel attacked, Chloe saw his intensity as the strength he welded, and nodded, completely in accord. "Got it. I'll get this thing up and running!"
"I'll help, too!' called Rotom as they began shining a light on the machine.
"Thanks, Rotom," she said with a smile.
As Chloe crouched over the machine and began activating it, the Nihilego began firing globs of poison and sparkling beams towards her, which Gengar and Sirfetch'd leapt in and blocked, Sirfetch'd with his shield and Gengar with his body..
"You guys are fightin' ME!" Ash challenged, turning his hat backwards. "I'm not gonna let you pass!"
"Pika!" he shouted, jumping off his partner's shoulder.
Eevee leapt over the machine and stood beside Pikachu, her tail raised and her fur ruffling as she, too prepared for battle.
Goh, Mallow, Lana approached the battlefield around where Chloe had set up the machine as she flicked the switches that brought the device to life.
The gathering Nihilego began firing more of the sparkling rays at Chloe as she worked the machine, filling the air with the sound of stones grinding against each other.
Goh tossed two Poké Balls forward. "Inteleon, use Snipe Shot! Cinderace, use Pyro Ball!"
"Tsareena, use Trop Kick!"
"Primarina, use Aqua Jet!"
As Goh's partners appeared and prepared their moves, Tsareena and Primarina leapt into action. Tsareena's glowing legs kicked the Nihilego's attacks away, and the veil of water that formed around Primarina allowed her to charge right through them, smashing into one of the Nihilego and breaking their line.
"Gengar, use Psychic! Sirfetch'd, use Night Slash!"
Ash's Ghost-type formed the swirling vortex of psychic power and sent another telekinetic shockwave over the Ultra Beasts, knocking them off balance as Sirfetch'd leapt in, swinging his great leek like a sword, knocking them all down and away from the machine.
The device finally whirred to life, and it fired a beam of light at the Ultra Wormhole.
Up above them, Kiawe, Sophocles, and Gladion were continuing to battle, using the moves of their Ride Pokémon as well as the moves of their flight-capable partners to keep the Nihilego from spreading out.
The beam of light reached the Ultra Wormhole, and the Wormhole began to react and shrink away, becoming a narrow hole, then a glowing pinprick in the sky, and then nothing.
The golden Nihilego screamed out in dismay before turning its attention downwards, and all the Nihilego that had been contained in the air began descending downwards.
Right for Chloe and the machine.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.
"Eevee, you, too!" called Chloe.
Ash's partner leapt up, slapping his cheeks to generate sparks before unleashing a powerful blast of electricity towards the incoming Ultra Beasts, causing an explosion and knocking a few back, but there were many more already on their way.
Eevee's fur sparkled and cracked with electricity as she unleashed her own blast, knocking a few more of the horde out of the way.
The golden Nihilego was now at the head of it's pack, with Gladeon, Sophocles, and Kiawe chasing the horde in pursuit towards the ground.
"There's just so many…" Lana gasped.
"We've gotta do something!" Mallow said.
"Right," Goh nodded. "We've gotta just keep wearing them out. It seems like they realize this machine is what closed the wormhole, and now they want it!"
"Dragonite, use Draco Meteor!" Ash called, gesturing with one arm as he threw a Poké Ball with another. "Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"
Dragonite gathered power around herself as Lucario appeared next to her and began gathering his Aura as well. With a flap of the massive dragon's wings, meteor-like blasts of violet energy fired out towards the approaching Nihilego. The Golden one dodged around the blasts, but many other Nihilego were caught in them.
Lucario was next, unleashing his own volley of attacks as they approached, sending out a barrage of Aura Spheres, each hitting their marks with precision.
Yet even as the smoke cleared, the Nihilego kept coming, chasing behind their golden leader.
"There's too many…!" Chloe cried out.
Ash stood in front of her as the golden Nihilego approached. "We're not gonna give up! No way!" He spread his arms out and glared at the faceless Ultra Beast.
In the skies above them, a light began to emit from Kiawe and Charizard. His voice boomed over the dead caldera as he began glowing as bright as the sun.
"The Zenith of my mind, of body and spirit! With the great power of Akala! Ride the blazing-hot winds and fly high! Supersonic Skystrike!"
The Z-Power that exuded from Kiawe was absorbed into Charizard, and Kiawe held on to the harness tightly. Charizard, surrounded by the light of Kiawe's power, shot downwards at the golden Nihilego like an arrow, leaving a sonic boom in their wake as they shot downwards. Before the golden Nihilego could reach Ash or any of the Pokémon down there, Kiawe and Charizard crashed into them, crushing them to the ground with the might of their Z-Move.
The golden Nihilego flew backwards, and the other Nihilego began grouping around it, to shield it from more attacks.
Kiawe's Charizard stood, clearly tired from the battle in the sky and the impact as Kiawe himself tumbled off the lizard's back.
"Kiawe!" Mallow shouted, rushing to his side with Lillie, who had arrived on the scene just moments ago.
"I-I'm alright…" Kiawe said, sounding somewhat dazed. "I just… probably shouldn't be on Charizard during that…"
Gladion landed his Noivern nearby. "But it's the right idea," he said. "By using all our Z-Moves, we might be able to weaken this army enough so that we can capture them."
Chloe looked around. "How many Z-Moves do we have available…?" she asked
Ash, Lana, Mallow, Lillie, Sophocles, and Gladion all raised their wrists with their Z-Rings on them.
Kiawe raised his wrist, too. "I… can't use mine again so soon… I just need a break."
Chloe nodded. "I just hope all these moves are enough," she said before she turned to the worn out trainer and smiled. "Thank you for protecting Ash for me, Kiawe. You guys take it easy, we'll handle it from here."
Kiawe nodded, seeing the fire in her eyes. "Give them one for me, too," he said.
Across the caldea, the golden Nihilego rose up again, though clearly shaky and wounded. It gestured forward, and the horde of Nihilego began approaching.
Sophocles stepped up first, crossing his arms in front of him. "Let's do this, Vikavolt!" he shouted, the Z-Ring on his wrist beginning to shine. "All of our systems are in total sync!"
The light began to move from Sophocles to his Bug-and Electric-type, and Vikavolt made the energy his own.
"Now program ready... run! Time for Savage Spin-out!"
Vikavolt fired a long, powerful thread of silk that looked as thick as several ropes all braided together at one of the ordinary Nihilego. Once the Nihilego was sufficiently wrapped up, he began swinging it through the crowds of them, knocking many of them aside and away.
At the side, Goh began picking up Beast Balls from the box filled with them. He charged in, and began tossing them at the downed Ultra Beasts. "Beast Ball, go!"
The Beast Balls came into contact with the defeated Nihilego, drawing them inside, thinning their numbers. The Beast Balls all clicked as they contained their quarry, and a small voice seemed to come from Goh's Rotom Phone in his pocket, declaring that "Nihilego will be registered to your Pokédex!"
Vikavolt tossed his caught Nihilego into the air and charged it, slicing through the cocoon he had made for it, which exploded in a flash of sickly green light. The Nihilego that fell from that was also quickly captured by Goh.
"Keep them coming!" Gladion commanded, glaring down the approaching swarm of Nihilego.
Mallow crossed her arms next, and a flash of vivid green began to surround her and Tsareena. She crouched down with her Pokémon as the light continued to glow from them.
"I can feel it!" she called out, as the energy connected her and her partner. "The breath of nature, the grasslands and the forests!"
Tsareena began to glow with the Z-Power as well, and the two of them began to stand.
"Now… it's time to use Bloom Doom!"
The power erupted from Tsareena in a wave of verdant energy, covering the dusty wastes of the dead caldera with a blanket of bright flowers. Tsareena's hands held onto a sphere made of this power and raised it into the air before firing a beam of this bright power down, aimed right for the front of the Nihilego pack.
The golden one began screeching, and a wall of it's companions formed a barrier between the Z-Move and itself as the attack struck, and an explosion that looked like a rose bloomed open, sending several more of the Nihilego to the ground as the bulk of the horde continued to approach.
Goh continued throwing Beast Balls as he moved around, out of the path of the oncoming attackers. The Nihilego paused, noticing him containing their members, and their direction changed, now heading towards him.
Ash's eyes went wide. "Goh, NO!"
Goh turned, seeing the charging horde rushing towards him. "Cinderace! Inteleon!" he called out.
His partners appeared at his side. Inteleon began shooting compressed sprays of water from his hands, while Cinderace was making use of stones to turn into Pyro Balls, but it was apparent that their moves wouldn't be enough to slow them down as they began hurling more sludge and rays of light their way.
Near Ash and Chloe, another light began to glow as Lana crossed her arms. The blue crystal on her Z-Ring glowed with bright shine. "Embraced by the sea!" Lana called out, waving her arms like waves upon the sea, transferring the energy from her to her Primarina. "Past the ocean's horizon!"
As Primarina made the power her own, Lana gestured to the area between Goh and the Nihilego.
"Use Oceanic Operetta!"
The pearl beads around Primarina's flowing blue hair burst apart as the Soloist Pokémon spread her arms wide and began to sing.
"Priiimariiina, priiimariiina~!"
As she sang, with her voice echoing across the landscape, a huge orb of water formed over her head, controlled by her voice. The singing continued as she sent the sphere to stand between Goh and the Nihilego, shielding him and his Pokémon from their attacks.
For a moment, all that could be heard was Primarina's singing as Lana continued to pose near her to pour all her energy into the move. A Poké Ball snapped open, and Gladion's Midnight Lycanroc's red eyes glowed in the darkness.
"We need to start now, Lycanroc!" Gladion shouted, holding his Z-Ring up. Gladion's Lycanroc matched the pose before they both crossed their arms, and Gladion's Z-Ring sprung to life. From the glowing cobalt crystal, Trainer and Pokémon moved in perfect sync, moving their hands in front of them.
"Vividly shining light, take flight!" he shouted. "Carve the greatest name into this battlefield!" The power began transferring from Gladion to Lycanroc, and trainer and Pokémon kept moving in sync.
As Gladion built up his power, the Nihilego began attacking the giant bubble, and Primarina's voice began becoming hoarse at the stress of maintaining the move for so long.
"Alright, Lycanroc! Use Devastating Drake!"
The energy gathered by Lycanroc was fired from the wolf's paws and became a violet dragon that flew towards the Oceanic Operetta.
The dragon punctured the bubble, and it burst into a wave of violet-tinged water that washed over the horde, flushing them away from Goh and his Pokémon.
All of the remaining Nihilego were soaked through with the empowered water rushing over them as Lillie stepped forward.
"Snowy, this is our chance!"
She crossed her arms over one another, and her Z-Ring began to glow, with the pale blue crystal on it glittering. Snowy stood by her side, doing her best to copy the pose.
"The quiet falling of snow from the skies. Crystals of water, constantly shimmering!"
As Lillie went through the Z-Move pose, the Nihilego that were still able to fight began to attempt to scatter.
"Use Flamethrower!" called Kiawe.
"Use Aura Sphere!" shouted Ash.
Both Kiawe's tired Charizard and Ash's truehearted Lucario launched their attacks, aimed to keep the group together rather than to make direct contact themselves.
"Blanketing the world with their frosty Z-Power!" Lillie's voice continued to carry over the battlefield. She crossed her arms before her, and then began moving them, as though she were stacking these very crystals atop each other. "Together with my fiery spirit, rise up into the vast sky once again!"
Lillie's power shot forth and connected her to her partner, who had a determined look on her face.
She threw her arms wide. "Subzero Slammer!"
At the call, a layer of ice appeared on the ground where Snowy stood, and began quickly growing into a pillar of ice that the fox stood upon. Once the pillar grew high into the sky, Snowy began gathering her strength, forming the chilling winds of ice and snow around her into a focused point of cryogenic energy.
"Vuuuuuuuul-"
Snowy leaned over the edge and fired the intense beam of energy across the field, dragging it across and towards the Nihilego corralled by Ash and Kiawe.
"Piiiiiiiiiix!"
The cryogenic power washed over the Nihilego, encasing them in ice. The ice quickly expanded into a beautiful sculpture that encased them before shattering, the parasites all falling to the ground amongst the ice and snow.
Chloe took in a breath for the first time since the final assault began. "Is… it over?"
Goh raced over to them and began throwing Beast Balls, catching all the Nihilego one by one.
"Now, the last one…! Go!"
Goh threw the final ball at the golden Nihilego, and it made contact, pulling the Ultra Beast inside.
The entirety of Ten Carat Hill went deathly silent.
The ball shook once.
Then again.
When the ball shook a third time, it began to spark and quickly snapped open, the leader of the Nihilego invasion appearing once more. It again emitted the loud grinding sound, but it stopped once it seemed like there were no more allies to come to it's aid.
Ash stepped forward. "The battle's over, Nihilego," Ash said, stepping towards it. "It's time for you to go home."
The Nihilego made the roaring, grinding sound once more and charged for Ash.
"Ash, no!"
Chloe leapt forward, tackling Ash out of the way, knocking his hat off of his head as she did. The Nihilego rushed past them and charged for the machine. Before it could reach it, however, Gengar reappeared and let loose another wave of psychokinetic power, pushing it away from the machine and buying them a few more seconds.
Pikachu rushed over to his partner. "Pikapi?! Pika!?"
"Ash, are you okay?" Chloe asked, repeating Pikachu's sentiment.
Ash laid on the ground under her for a moment before grinning. "Thanks, Chloe. I wanted t' protect you, but you protected me."
She smiled, her face heating up. "Well, of course," she said, her eyes tearing up, "if something happened to you… I don't know what I'd do…"
He nodded. "I get it." He sat up and placed his hat on Pikachu's head. Chloe stood up and gave him a hand, which he took to pull himself to his feet.
"Alright! Are you ready, buddy?" Ash asked.
"Pika!"
"We'll help, too!" Chloe said, standing beside him.
"Eievui!"
Ash crossed his arms in front of him, and the yellow Z-Crystal on the ring began to glow. Pikachu adjusted his hat. "Let's show them what our full power looks like, together!"
"Pi-ka!"
"Yeah!"
"Vui!"
Pikachu leapt up and brought his small fist to Ash's as they bumped them together. As he did, Eevee leapt up behind him, smacking her soft, fluffy tail into his jagged, flat one. Pikachu turned and high fived Ash with his tail, turning and giving Chloe a high five with his paw. All while doing this, the Z-Ring began crackling with an enormous amount of electrical energy.
Pikachu landed before Ash and Chloe, with Eevee at his side. All of them punched forward with their right arms (or paw, in Eevee's case) as the Z-Ring channeled the golden electrical energy that built up around Ash, Chloe, and Eevee and poured all of that power into Pikachu, leaving him with a glowing golden aura.
Chloe took Ash's hand in hers. With a smile, she repeated the words she had heard months ago.
"Much bigger than a Thunderbolt!"
Ash smiled, his eyes sparkling like they had all the stars of the Alolan night sky in them.
"10,000,000-Volt Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu's cheeks began to spark, each spark growing in intensity as the power welled up inside him. "Yeah!" Ash said, grinning wildly. "This is much much bigger! At super-full power!"
The golden Nihilego struggled and finally broke free of Gengar's grasp and began charging at Pikachu.
Pikachu leapt into the air, the sparking from his cheeks becoming a sphere of energy around him that began arcing off his small body and into a group of quickly forming storm clouds, drawn by the buildup of electric power in his small body. The clouds were electrically charged from the outset, and began pouring even more power into Pikachu.
"PIKA PIKA!"
Pikachu launched the seven-colored bolts of electricity from his body towards the charging Ultra Beast. The blasts all converged on Nihilego, crashing into it.
Goh pumped his fist. "Alright! That's that!"
But his jubilation was quickly shattered as Nihilego kept charging forward, pushing back against the attack.
But for Chloe, who held her hands out, pouring her own strength into this move alongside Ash and Eevee, everything seemed to melt away.
She only saw Pikachu, Ash, and Eevee.
She only heard their heartbeats, all thundering in unison.
Chloe closed her eyes and smiled, and felt a feeling of warmth and contentment rush over her. A wave of joy and excitement. Rather than the draining feeling she felt when she first used a Z-Move, she felt like she was connected to something much bigger than just Eevee and herself.
In that moment, she felt her heart become one with Ash's, and that unity became a surge of power.
"GO!"
Chloe wasn't sure if it was Ash or herself that shouted the word, but Pikachu's electricity boomed and surged, and the Nihilego that had been pushing through was now being pushed back.
The rainbow-colored lights all joined, and there was a massive explosion that turned night into day.
Only instead of being blown off her feet, like she was when Ash used this move against Team Rocket, her footing was sure. Instead of being unable to look, she took in the entire sight in her eyes.
The waves of energy threatened to blow over the machine, if it wasn't for Rotom and Gengar working together. Gladion and Goh had to grit their teeth to stay standing, while Lillie, Lana, and Mallow joined with Kiawe to keep him safe from being so close to the attack. Sophocles ended up being blown over.
The light then faded, and the night sky returned.
Laying all but still was the Nihilego, now defeated.
Goh stepped forward towards the fallen Ultra Beast.
"Beast Ball," he said the words, barely above a whisper and clearly exhausted from the encounter. "Go."
He dropped the ball on the Nihilego, and it went inside without any further struggle.
The Ultra Guardians all sighed in relief now that the mission was over.
Goh looked around at all the Beast Balls on the ground, scattered by the battle. "I uh… guess we gotta gather these up now, huh?" he said.
There was a groan from everyone but Ash and Chloe, who only broke into giggles.
All told, it didn't take long for the Ultra Guardians to gather the Beast Balls, and even less time for them to send the Ultra Beasts back through the wormhole and seal it behind them. From there, it was a short flight back to the Pokémon School to return the Ride Pokémon and a debriefing from Wicke.
"I see…" she said, nodding. "It sounds like you all had quite a bit of trouble out there."
"That's an understatement…" Goh sighed.
Chloe frowned. "I wonder, though, why did the Ultra Wormhole open up where it did? And why did so many of them pour out of it?"
"It's difficult to say for sure," Wicke said, "however, I do have a theory."
Lillie blinked. "A theory?"
"Take a look at this."
On the display, there was now a map of Melemele Island. To Chloe, it looked like a heat map, but there were only two spots that were heated: a hot spot right above Ten Carat Hill and a smaller warm spot at the Pokémon School.
"Wait…" Kiawe asked. "What does this mean?"
"As you know, there's a connection between the light of the Z-Rings and Ultra Space," Wicke explained. "This power can be absorbed by living beings."
Sophocles frowned. "Absorbed?"
"If a being spends too much time in Ultra Space, they'll become filled with this energy, and since it's the same energy as the Ultra Wormholes give out, it may be possible that the Nihilego confused that energy for another wormhole, a way to another world."
"So you're saying they sensed that power somewhere?" Ash asked.
There was a gasp that came from Lillie. "The… the accident…"
"The one that spirited Father away…" Gladion said.
Wicke nodded. "It's possible he fell into Ultra Space, and if so, it's possible he was there for a long time, absorbing its power. The Nihilego may have noticed when he reemerged and were drawn to that power."
"Wait," Mallow said, putting her still-gloved hands to her cheeks. "Doesn't that mean since we all went through the Ultra Wormhole that we've got that Ultra Space stuff in us, too?!"
"No," Wicke said, shaking her head. "While you may have absorbed some radiation from the time you all dealt with Necrozma, it's been faded for some time now.
Goh looked to Ash. "And what's Necrozma?"
He laughed to himself. "I'll tell ya later."
"You better…"
Chloe nodded. "So Miss Wicke, does the machine that we used to close the Ultra Wormhole work on the same principle?"
"That's right," she said. "It exudes the same sort of energy, though obviously it's not the same naturally occurring energy of Ultra Space."
Chloe nodded. "That explains why the Nihilego made a beeline for the machine when we used it. They thought it was a portal to another world."
"That makes sense to me," Wicke said.
"But…" Ash asked, scratching the back of his head, "...why would they wanna look for another world? Don't they have their own?"
Lana nodded. "Yeah, that weird place we saw them all at before."
"There's still a lot we don't know about the Ultra Beasts," Wicke said. "Nihilego included. All the data we do have is in the Pokédex."
Rotom's screen displayed a spinning circle for a moment. "There's no data in here yet about why they may be so aggressive, only that their toxin turns other aggressive."
"I see…" Wicke said, sighing. "And I suppose all the Nihilego are gone now, right?"
"Yeah, they are," Goh said, frowning. "Why? Is that an issue?"
"Well, not quite," she said. "Only… the Nihilego's neurotoxin can have powerful effects on the brains of those poisoned by them. Perhaps by studying the poison, we could make a medicine that could help people and Pokémon."
"Like what Chrysa said that night," Chloe whispered, her mind going back to a night that felt like a lifetime ago. "Researching Pokémon to find ways to help everyone."
Lillie took a step forward. "And… their toxins could have an effect on the mind?" she asked. "Like… like with memory?"
Gladion frowned. "Lillie…"
Chloe recalled Mohn's words at the party.
"I suppose the reason I haven't said anything is… that I don't remember anything. It may take me some time to recover and get going again, but I'm going to try my best to get my memories back, so that I can remember this incredible family that I have."
"Poor Lillie…" Chloe said, holding Eevee to her chest. "And we don't have any way of making that toxin again without finding the Nihilego…"
"Vui…?" Eevee chattered before wriggling out of Chloe's grip.
"H-Hey! Eevee! What are you doing?!"
Eevee stood triumphantly in front of the Ultra Guardians, and her fur began to bristle out. She raised her tail and quickly became cloaked in a purple aura, the cream-colored tip of her tail glowing brightly.
She then sprayed a blast of toxins out, thankfully out and away from the Guardians, their Pokémon, and Clefable.
Everyone stood there for a moment, looking at Eevee as she turned around, proud of herself.
"Eievui!"
Chloe frowned, looking at what Eevee had done. "Wait… is that…?" She turned to the Rotomdex. "Rotom, can you scan that toxin? Can you tell us if it's a match for Nihilego's?!"
Everyone in the room gasped.
"Wait, so Eevee's Copycat…" Ash said, his eyes going wide.
"...might be able to fully copy something like that?!" Goh exclaimed.
Rotom floated over to the toxins on the ground and began scanning them. "Calculating… Calculating…" Rotom said, the screen displaying the spinning circles again as the Pokédex performed it's analysis. "Bibibi! It's a perfect match!"
"A perfect match!?" Gladion asked.
"So…" Lillie said, taking a step towards Chloe and Eevee. "So… Eevee can help us get this toxin… and there may be a way for us to use it to help Father restore his memories!"
"Vui!"
Chloe picked up the Normal-type. "Eevee, you're incredible!" she giggled as Lillie rushed over and nearly tackled her over.
The blonde girl, whom Chloe had originally feared, hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Eevee. Thank you, Chloe. There aren't words to describe how grateful I am that you all are here to help my Father."
Chloe smiled and nodded, hugging Lillie back. "I get it. Fathers are pretty important."
"Well?!" Ash shouted. "What're we waitin' for?! There's a party up stairs in the classroom, and I'm not done celebratin' yet!"
The Ultra Guardians all raised their fists into the air.
"Yeah!"