A feeling of dread filled Nanu's stomach when he learned that the next Ultra Beast was sighted in Poni Meadows. That wasn't the first time Ultra Beasts were found in Alola, but reports of this Ultra Beast being more dangerous than the other ones he and his team had encountered left Nanu worrying over Sana and KR. But this was the order from Director Clarkson, so he couldn't reject the request.
According to the report, Glutton was hiding in Resolution Cave. Not too many people except for more experienced trainers went down there, and already the Ultra Beast had eaten several Pokémon. As the team trudged through the cave, Charlotte, the Pokémon Biologist, had been communicating with them through their headpieces and letting them know if they were close to their target.
They found Glutton at the end of the cave. The crab-like creature opened its jaws and Nanu's nose wrinkled at its bad breath. The Ultra Beast's two heads stared at the group, raised its arms, and screamed. He stared at it both in awe and in terror.
"Oh, that must be Glutton!" Charlotte called over from Nanu's headpiece.
"Does that beast have to be killed?" KR asked. "It is inhumane."
"As hideous as it is, I agree with KR," Sana said. "Whenever we kill those Ultra Beasts, we never get the chance to understand them."
"We've done this many times, and only now you two are questioning the morals of it. Interpol's protocol, so we have no choice."
"Triples is right, you all have this mission to fulfill," Charlotte said in a sympathetic voice. "Do be careful, everyone."
The hideous creature screamed again and stomped on the ground, causing the earth to shake and small debris to fall. They each sent out their Pokémon and had them attack it.
Nanu ordered his Persian to fire Power Gem at it, but Glutton swallowed those up like pokébeans. Persian's fur bristled and she launched a series of glowing stars, targeting Gluttony's face. The creature flinched for a second, but it then roared and smashed Persian's side with its tail. Persian crashed on the ground but picked herself up quickly.
Sana's Mightyena, Jackie, sank her teeth into the Ultra Beast's leg, but it easily pushed Jackie aside. When that happened, Sana had Jackie jump and go for Glutton's throat. Glutton screamed and punched her, causing Jackie to fly towards the wall and collapsed on impact.
"Jackie!" Sana called out urgently and returned her to her pokéball.
KR's Crogunk, Dewy, leaped with his fists glowing purple and he jabbed at Glutton's knee. Glutton roared in pain, and Dewy punched at its back next. That caused the Ultra Beast to almost stumble.
Nanu called for his Persian to launch another Power Gem, which she did. The gem on her forehead glowed and Glutton was hit with glowing rocks, which made Glutton recoil. Dewy attempted several punches on Glutton's legs and back and Glutton wailed in pain.
At that moment, Nanu glanced at KR to see him gazing at Glutton with a sympathetic expression on his face. Dewy stopped and looked at his trainer with concern.
"KR! KR!" Nanu yelled.
KR still locked his gaze at Glutton, as if he was feeling sorry for the poor Ultra Beast. As soon as Glutton calmed down, it faced Sana with a hungry expression. At that moment, Charlotte asked through Nanu's headpiece if everything was alright, but he didn't respond. When a terrified look crossed Sana's face, Nanu's stomach dropped.
"Run, Sana!"
Sana didn't move, her whole body tensed.
Glutton grabbed her with one of its pincher hands and she screamed.
xxx
"Nanu? Nanu?"
Hearing Grimsley's voice snapped out of Nanu's daze. He turned around to see both Grimsley and Acerola giving him concerned looks.
"Are you alright, Uncle Nanu?" asked Acerola.
"Huh?" Nanu turned around to see Tapu Bulu, Gladion's Silvally, and Anabel's Salamence, Pablo, going against Glutton. The Ultra Beast was able to counter their attacks either with its arms or by swallowing any moves that didn't require physical attacks. He felt that flashback crawling in the back of his mind, so he mentally shook that off and grunted. "Sorry, I froze there for a second."
"Is that an Ultra Beast you dealt with before?" Grimsley asked.
Nanu dragged out a deep breath. "Yes. Back in Interpol it was known as Glutton."
Anabel had called for Pablo to use Flamethrower. The dragon Pokémon opened its jaws and let out blazing flames that hit Glutton's eyes and caused it to roar in pain. The Ultra Beast raised its arm and slammed Pablo's side, making him lose balance for a bit. At that instant, Anabel fell to her knees and gasped. Everyone rushed over to her side.
"Chief, you shouldn't exert yourself!" Looker said and Anabel gave her a weak gaze. He helped her get up.
"I know, but we need to do something about Glutton."
Nanu regarded Anabel for a second before he turned to see Silvally go at Glutton in a blink of an eye and landed a hit on it. The Ultra Beast retaliated by swiping them with ghost-infused energy and that caused Silvally to be pushed back. Glutton attempted to reach Tapu Bulu next with its claws, only for the guardian deity to tuck themselves inside their shell for protection.
They need to lure Glutton out before this area took any more damage. Nanu's forehead shot up, an idea hitting him
"Anabel, do you still have Raikou? I'll need to borrow them for a bit."
With a suspicious brow, Anabel asked, "Why do you need Raikou?"
"I'm going to lure Gluttony into the desert, and I'll need a fast Pokémon for that."
"Wait, you have a freaking Raikou?" Gladion asked with wide eyes.
"She does," Looker said. "There is no other partner better for Raikou than the Chief."
Anabel's forehead was squeezed into a furrow, but she seemed to consider Nanu's plan. After a moment, she nodded.
"Promise that you'll bring them back," Anabel said, and Nanu responded with a grunt of agreement.
She pulled out an Ultra Ball and Raikou was released in a flash of light. The sabertooth-tiger-like legendary stretched their neck and roared, which rumbled like thunder. Their fur crackled with electricity, and their purple mane bellowed like a curtain in a breeze. Everyone gazed at the beast in awe.
"I've heard stories of Raikou from my mother and others that were lucky to catch a glimpse of them," Grimsley said. "This is my first time laying my eyes on them."
"Same here!" Acerola exclaimed. "It's so cool that you have Raikou!"
Not too many trainers owned a legendary Pokémon, so Nanu had taken a double-take when he first saw them under Anabel's possession. Interpol let her keep Raikou, Alakazam, and Snorlax while her Weavile and Salamence were given to her. Her Raikou was a powerhouse against Ultra Beasts, and there was no doubt they could handle Glutton. Still, Nanu would need some help and so he turned to Grimsley.
"I believe your Pokémon can distract Glutton for a good while. Will you help me?"
A smirk crossed Grimsley's lips. "Of course."
"I want to help too," Gladion said. "Silvally was created to go against Ultra Beasts."
Nanu's stomach lurched. A part of him was hesitant in bringing in a kid to help with Glutton, but knowing Gladion he would be too stubborn to listen.
"Alright, you can come too but stay close with us."
"Before you guys go, take these goggles!" Acerola took out three goggles from the bag she had been carrying and handed them to Nanu, Grimsley, and Gladion. Nanu mused that she must've still carried Becky's goggles with her.
"Thank you, Acerola. This will help out a lot."
Nanu put on the goggles, as did Grimsley and Gladion. He gazed up to see Glutton turning his attention to Tapu Bulu now. A dark aura surrounded Glutton's claws and it swiped Tapu Bulu's side. Tapu Bulu retaliated by slamming into Glutton's back and making it fall down on the ground. That caused the ground to shake and everyone almost lost their balance. Nanu whistled and that brought Tapu Bulu's attention.
"Hey, Tapu Bulu. I'm gonna lure Glutton into the desert!"
Immediately Tapu Bulu let out an agreed "Bulu!"
Nanu acknowledged Bulu's response with a low grunt. He turned to Looker and placed one hand on his shoulder. "Watch over Anabel and Acerola, Jean."
Looker flinched over Nanu saying his real name, and his face softened. "I will make sure that they are safe."
"Looks like Glutton is still down, now is your guys' chance to run," Anabel said. She gazed up at her Pokémon. "Pablo, you can take a much-deserved break."
Pablo let out a roar and Anabel returned him inside his pokéball. Nanu and Grimsley hopped on Raikou's back while Gladion went on Silvally's. Grimsley wrapped his arms around Nanu's waist, which caused him to flinch.
"Never felt a man's arms around you before?" Grimsley asked in a teasing voice, and Nanu's ears burned. Oh hell no, he wasn't going to fall for that.
"This isn't the time for jokes, vampire boy!"
After he snapped at him, Glutton roared and picked itself back up. Crap, they need to make a run for it now. Nanu gazed down at Raikou and patted on their side.
"Go, go, go!" he urged, and immediately Raikou took off with Tapu Bulu and Silvally following behind.
They needed to get through Route 13 first in order to reach Hania Desert, which luckily wouldn't take too long. When Glutton picked up speed, the Pokémon did too. Both Nanu and Gladion took out Honchkrow and Crobat, who evolved from Golbat recently it seemed, respectively.
Gladion had ordered Crobat to use Cross-Poison, so Crobat's wings glowed purple and he dived down to slash Glutton's face and caused it to scream in pain. It swung its arm at Crobat and smacked him, but he recovered quickly and let out sharp gusts that hit Glutton's eyes and blinded him for a second.
Meanwhile, Honchkrow and Tapu Bulu let out dark airwaves and pink electric bolts on Glutton's back which left several scars there. Glutton swung its claws at them, but they dodged and continued to throw their attacks at it.
"Looks like the Pokémon are distracting Glutton well there," Grimsley said as he watched over his shoulder.
"Yeah, but not for long. We're getting closer to the oasis just before Hania Desert's entrance."
"Some of the Aether employees went there earlier to have the people and Pokémon evacuate with the Tapu Village people," Gladion said as he and Silvally picked up Raikou's speed. "We shouldn't worry too much about other people getting hurt."
It wasn't long until the group reached the oasis and caravan. There was no one outside, and the food stands and shops were closed. The PokéRide ranch was also closed with the open field empty. Up ahead was the entrance to the Hania desert.
Nanu looked over his shoulder to see Glutton still chasing them. It swung its larger arm at a nearby palm tree, breaking it in half. Its tail also hit one of the food stands, destroying the top roof. Crobat, Honchkrow, and Tapu Bulu continued to dish out various attacks to distract it from gaining on Raikou and Silvally.
"We're almost there!" Nanu announced, and that led Raikou to pick up the pace.
After passing the oasis, caravan, and businesses, the group finally made it to Hania Desert. The sandstorm picked up, but despite the reduced visibility both Raikou and Silvally managed to push through fine. Nanu was glad that Acerola had given him googles as it would be hell to have sand in his eyes. Just a little more...
Nanu glanced over his shoulder to see Tapu Bulu used its horns to ram into Glutton's back. Gladion ordered Crobat to use Air Slash, which Crobat did by letting out airwaves that slashed at Glutton's legs. Both of those assaults led Glutton to scream in pain.
Glutton retaliated by slamming its arm straight at Tapu Bulu and Crobat's faces. Crobat squealed and flapped his wings frantically while Tapu Bulu flinched and needed a few seconds to recover.
Nanu narrowed his eyes, not liking that Glutton was getting dealing of damage to the Pokémon. He called Honchkrow to use Steel Wing, who swooped down with glowing wings. Before Honchkrow reached the Ultra Beast, Glutton grabbed the bird's waist with one of its pincers and crunched his right-wing.
"Honchkrow!" When Honchkrow squawked in pain, Nanu's heart almost skipped a beat and he bit his lips. Raikou stopped so that Nanu and Grimsley could hop off.
"Roulette, go save Honchkrow!" Grimsley pulled out his pokéball and released his Absol, who had a necklace with the Absolite attached to it. As soon as she was out, he touched the keystone that was attached to his scarf and it glowed alongside the keystone.
As expected from a Mega Evolution, her appearance changed with the back of her fur standing out like wings and her horn widened. Nanu had seen Mega Absol several times before but not Grimsley's, so he gazed at her in awe due to how majestic she looked.
A dark aura surrounded Roulette's claws, and she leaped up to swipe at Glutton's eyes. The Ultra Beast screamed in pain, causing it to open its mouth and let go of Honchkrow.
Roulette jumped up and caught Honchkrow's neck with her mouth before he fell to the ground. As soon as they landed, Roulette gently put Honchkrow down and Nanu rushed to his side.
"Are you alright, Honchkrow?" Nanu picked him up, noticing his right-wing was badly damaged. Honchkrow would need to be taken to the Pokémon Center as soon as possible. When his Pokémon let out a low squawk, Nanu smiled a little. "You actually did great there. Take a rest."
After he returned Honchkrow back into his pokéball, he looked up to see Tapu Bulu and Silvally dissing out Wood Hammer and X-Scissor at Glutton. The Ultra Beast screamed when it got hit by those attacks and swiped them with its shadow-infused claws. Both Tapu Bulu and Silvally were left with deep scratches on their horns and side respectively.
A loud howl caused Nanu's heart to race. He turned around to see Raikou stretched their back and immediately dark clouds gathered. The sandstorm changed into rain within seconds, the droplets of water soaking humans and Pokémon alike. That led Glutton to stop fighting with Silvally and Tapu Bulu and be distracted by the rain.
"Raikou can learn Rain Dance?" Gladion asked.
"Anabel had Raikou use it a few times before," Nanu said. "I have an idea what they're doing next."
Right on cue, Raikou roared and large streams of electricity surrounded their body. The Thunder attack struck Glutton, stunning them for several seconds.
"Try to stun Glutton too, Tapu Bulu!" Nanu urged. "Follow up with Shadow Ball, Raikou!"
Tapu Bulu let out a mighty scream and their horns glowed. They slammed into Glutton's back, the horns digging into the Ultra Beast's skin and leeching some of its lifeforce. Glutton cried in pain and pushed Tapu Bulu away with its elbow. Before Glutton could take a moment to breathe, Raikou spat out several crimson-colored balls that hit its eyes and made it stop to rub its eyes.
Grimsley ordered Roulette to use Night Slash and Aerial Ace. The Absol's horn glowed and she leaped up to slash at Glutton on the back of its neck. The Ultra Beast jerked its head and attempted to swipe at Roulette but missed, giving Roulette the opportunity to rush forward and ram into Glutton's side.
Glutton almost lost its balance, but once it straightened itself up its body flared up in a blue aura and slammed Roulette like a truck. Roulette crashed on the ground and picked herself up, her fur soaked with mud from the rain still falling.
"Cut through that Ultra Beast's legs," Gladion ordered, gesturing his arm forward. Silvally's claws glowed and they swiped at Glutton's lower leg. Glutton cried in pain, so it retaliated by slamming its fist into Silvally and knocking him out for a few seconds. When Silvally picked themself up, they shook the mud off their body.
Satisfied with that blow on Silvally, Glutton changed their attention towards Raikou. It used its arm to try to grab the legendary beast, but they kept dodging. Raikou soon released a burst of electricity straight at the Ultra Beast, stunning it.
Tapu Bulu took that chance to use Nature Madness by letting out a stream of pink energy at Glutton's mouth. Glutton made a bleching sound and flailed their arms around. A blue aura surrounded the Ultra Beast, and it rushed towards Tapu Bulu. When their bodies collided, Tapu Bulu was pushed back at a fair distance and dazed for a second.
Once Tapu Bulu recovered, they screamed out "Buluuuu!" and the earth pulsed with green light. Thick vines sprouted out from the ground, wrapping around Glutton like a lasso. The vines pulled Glutton down, who screamed and crashed on the ground. Tapu Bulu took deep breaths, likely a little exhausted from pulling the Ultra Beast down.
When a few seconds had passed and Glutton hadn't gotten up, Nanu threw a Beast Ball at it. Glutton was sucked inside the ball with Nanu, Grimsley, and Gladion waiting with bated breath.
First shake.
Second shake.
Third shake.
Nanu was ready to sigh in relief, only for the Beast Ball to break and Glutton to burst out. The Ultra Beast screeched and stomped on the ground.
"Shit," Nanu said through gritted teeth. "Just when things were turning around for us."
"Well, I'm not ready to fold yet." Grimsley turned his attention to Roulette. "Try to wear it down a bit more, Roulette!"
After making a bark of acknowledgment,, Roulette's horn glowed. She jumped up and slashed Glutton's back, leaving another deep cut there. Roulette dodged several of Glutton's Shadow Claws, but one landed on her and she got swiped on the face.
Both Raikou and Silvally took action also. With electric sparks crackling onto their teeth, Raikou crunched Glutton's foot and stayed there for several seconds until Glutton shook them off.
Before Glutton could act, Silvally rushed in at incredible speed and collided with the Ultra Beast. Glutton slammed its claw down, only for Silvally to counter with their own claw. They attempted to push their claws at each other until Silvally managed to outdo Glutton and slashed at Glutton's lower jaw. The Ultra Beast screamed in pain and punched Silvally on the side, causing them to fall on the ground.
"Silvally!" Gladion rushed to his Pokémon's side and helped them get up. Silvally assumed a stance and growled.
Grimsley narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips. "That hideous beast just won't go down easily, huh?"
Nanu was about to respond but stopped and his mouth hung open when a thundering noise was made. It wasn't from the rain that was still falling; instead, an Ultra Wormhole appeared and a creature came out. It seemed to be an Ultra Beast with black armor and wings that resembled the crescent moon. That thing just came right on time.
"What the hell..." Nanu stared in awe. He couldn't help but feel like he recognized that Pokémon before.
At that moment, the mysterious Pokémon screamed and its wings glowed, releasing several moonbeams at Glutton. After being hit with those, Glutton made sweeping arm gestures but recovered and swiped them with its ghost-energy-infused claws.
"Wait," Grimsley said, his eyes widening. "That's Lunala!"
"Lunala?" Gladion said in shock. "But hadn't Nebby turned into Solagelo?"
"I think that's the same Lunala I saw the Ultra Recon Squad with. But why is it in armor? Unless..."
This was the first time Nanu had seen Lunala up close, only knowing of the Moone Legendary from stories and pictures. He didn't remember reading Lunala having dark armor, however. That other Pokémon released a large stream of dark energy at Glutton, hitting its back. Glutton surrounded itself in a blue aura and punched the dark-armored Pokémon with its large pincer arm. At that moment, Nanu figured something out.
"That's not Lunala," Nanu said and faced Grimsley. "Necrozma is the Pokémon the Ultra Recon Squad folks mentioned, right?"
"Yes," Grimsley said. "Colress told me that Necrozma and Lunala can fuse together, so that must be it. This is Black Kyruem all over again."
While Necrozma and Glutton continued to dish out ghost and dark-type energy at one another, Tapu Bulu took action by firing Nature's Madness at both Glutton and Necrozma. Both Pokémon flinched and Necrozma released its pillar of moonbeams at Tapu Bulu, pushing it back several feet. Upon seeing that, an idea hit Nanu and he faced both Gladion and Grimsley.
"I have an idea, you two. We're gonna unleash our Z-Moves at Glutton."
"But Roulette can't use Z-Moves now due to being in her Mega form," Grimsley said. He furrowed his brow, as if unsure of this plan.
"And that is why you'll bring out another Pokémon that can. How about you, Gladion? Does Silvally know any Z-Moves?"
"Silvally can, yes," Gladion said.
"Alright, then. Then get ready, everyone."
Both Grimsley and Gladion grunted in acknowledgment. Grimsley took out Raz's pokéball and once released she stretched out her whole body.
Nanu pulled out a Z-crystal from the pocket of his short-sleeved jacket. It wasn't his usual Darkninum-Z, but instead a Tapunium-Z with the Alolan guardian engraved on it. He couldn't remember the last time he used it, as it wasn't often that he and Tapu Bulu worked together. Now was as good as any.
With a small crooked smile, Nanu glanced at Glutton, who went back to battling both Tapu Bulu and Necrozma. If this idea succeeded, he would have his payback at Glutton.
"Hey, Tapu Bulu!" Nanu called out their name, which grabbed the guardian's attention. "Are you ready to show off Guardian of Alola?"
Tapu Bulu regarded him with a stare, and after a moment hummed in approval.
Both Grimsley and Gladion prepared their own Z-Moves first. After Grimsley performed the Z-Pose for Never-Ending-Nightmare, Raz screamed and the ground burst into purple flames with liquid oozing out. Tendrils also burst out, grabbing Glutton's arms like chains.
Meanwhile, Gladion did the Z-Pose for Savage Spin-Out. Silvally howled and unleased large amounts of silk which covered up Glutton's waist. With both arms and waists covered, Glutton struggled to get out.
After Nanu slipped the z-crystal inside the slot of his z-ring, he inhaled and did the z-pose for the fairy type. He felt both his and Tapu Bulu's energy in sync, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long while. Just then a large chasm opened and a muscular being climbed out from there. Tapu Bulu floated up and attached themselves onto the giant as its head.
While all of this was happening, Necrozma pulled away at a distance and simply watched, as if immersed with the light from the Z-Moves
Nanu finished off the Z-Move by lifting his fist and slamming it on his palm. Tapu Bulu did the same and slammed their fist onto Glutton. A small chasm opened beneath the Ultra Beast and engulfed it in golden light. Once the light faded, Glutton collapsed and fainted.
Tapu Bulu let out a proud roar before turning back to normal. Exhausted, Nanu dropped to his knees and he took deep breaths. It really had been a long while since he had done this.
"Nanu, are you alright?" Grimsley asked in concern as he and Gladion approached him.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Nanu picked himself up and glanced at Glutton, still unconscious on the ground. His palm touched the Beast Ball attached to his belt, but he stopped there. For ten years that Ultra Beast was the source of his and his friends' nightmares and sorrows. And yet, it didn't feel right for him to do so. He looked up at Grimsley.
"I think you should be the one to catch Glutton."
Grimsley's eyes grew wide. "What, me? But why?"
A smirk formed on Nanu's lips. "Us getting through Glutton is good enough for me. Now, if you'll do the honors?"
After regarding him for a moment, Grimsley hummed in understanding. He pulled out the Beast Ball from the knot wrapped around his waist and threw it at Glutton. The Ultra Beast was sucked inside the ball-first shake, second shake, third shake.
There was a clicking sound, and Glutton was caught.
Author's Note: So this chapter took several months on and off writing it and why this is the last of my backlog. Starting to losing steam, real life obligations, and my muse wanting to write other ideas is why I struggled for a while.
I contemplated to end this portion with capture of Guzzlord and Necrozma events mentioned in background, but decided that next chapter will wrap up the Necrozma stuff as I did set some pieces for Necrozma's appearance. Upfront this will be slightly different from the games and inspired more from the anime's version. Nonetheless, I hope you guys will look forward to that.
Since I exhausted my backlog, it might be a while until a new update comes. I'm actually going to focus on a few other fanfic projects for now, so consider this another short hiatus. After I finish those projects through I hope to come back to this. Thanks to bobandbill for betaing as always!