Instinctively, the professor reached into her bag and put a hand on Adrammalech's Poke Ball. She was not going down without a fight.

But the other Colress didn't send out any of his Pokemon. "I'm glad—I caught you in time—" he panted as he neared the group.

The Colress Magnolia knew narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?" he asked his counterpart.

The other Colress slowed to a stop. "I want… to apologize," he said, shaking his head, unable to meet their gaze. "After what happened in that battle… I couldn't shake the things you said, about how what I was doing wasn't worth it…" He looked up at his doppelganger. "Is that true? You, of all people, should be able to tell me."

"It is true," Colress said. "Nothing is worth hurting people and Pokemon over. Even pursuit of knowledge has its limits—and Magnolia's right, we should be using that knowledge to help people."

"I've been such a fool," the other Colress said.

"So was I," Colress said. "Don't beat yourself up about it. The important part is that you've realized your mistakes."

The other Colress nodded. "Yes," he said. "And—I want to make it up to you. Here are your Pokemon back." He reached into the pockets of his lab coat and pulled out several Poke Balls.

"Oh—thanks!" Zossie said as he handed her three Beast Balls.

"And let me heal your Pokemon," the other Colress said to Magnolia, pulling out some Revives and Potions. "It's the least I can do."

Magnolia sent out Fermi, Aurorus, and Slawomir, and she and the other Colress fed them the Revives and sprayed the Potions on them.

"Gon," Slawomir said to the other Colress, glaring at the researcher warily. "Shelgogon."

"It's okay," Magnolia said. "He's on our side now."

"Au!" Aurorus said, nudging the other Colress with his snout. "Auro!"

"Vika!" Fermi added as he perched on Aurorus's head and playfully tugged at the other Colress's swoop of blue hair.

The other Colress looked up at the two Pokemon in surprise. "Your Pokemon are so forgiving," he said. "How are you not angry with me?"

"Because that doesn't fix anything," Magnolia said as she recalled the three. "I'm just happy that you're trying to make things better. That's all I ask for."

"She said the same thing to me," the Colress from Magnolia's world said.

"Are you really going to confront Ghetsis?" the other Colress asked N as the researcher handed his counterpart his Pokemon.

"Someone has to," N said. "You won't try to stop me, will you?"

"No—I came to help you," the other Colress said. "You know Ghetsis controls the legendary dragons. He won't be easy to convince—you might have to resort to battle."

Dulse folded his arms. "Legendary dragons?" he asked. "That doesn't sound like an easy battle at all."

"Yeah, but we've got Solgaleo and Lunala!" Zossie said, holding up their Beast Balls.

"We've never actually battled with Solgaleo and Lunala before," Dulse said. "I don't even know what moves they know."

N took a breath. "I—I could battle with them," he said. "They'll tell me what moves they know. If—if you trust me with them."

Zossie looked at him for a moment, then placed the Beast Balls in his hands. "I trust you," she said. "Go get 'em, Torracat!"

"What?" Dulse asked. "We don't have a Torracat."

"It's an expression from Alola!" Zossie said. "N's gonna be fierce and strong just like a Torracat!"

N smiled. "I hope so," he said.

"You can do this," Magnolia said, giving him a thumbs-up.

The young king looked around at his companions, nodded, and pushed open the doors in front of them.

The large doors swung open to reveal an immense throne room that seemed more like a cathedral. Light streamed in through tall windows, and the vaulted ceiling rose high above Magnolia's head.

At the other end of the long hall was a raised platform, and on the throne there sat a man with pale green hair, wearing flowing robes that resembled N's. It was ironic, Magnolia thought as they approached him, that he seemed more like a king than N himself. It was obvious who the real ruler was here—at least, for now.

Ghetsis regarded them coldly, staring down his nose at him as he leaned on the armrest of his throne. "No need to tell me why you're here," he said to N. "I've heard all about how you've decided to betray me."

N frowned. "It's you who has betrayed me—and all of these other people," he said. "You've betrayed the entire world."

Ghetsis laughed. "You can't betray someone you were never loyal to in the first place!" he said. "Of course you're all just pawns! And you played your part perfectly during my takeover, never suspecting a thing!"

The king staggered back. "You—you'd just brazenly admit that?!" N asked, looking like he'd been punched in the gut.

"It's not like you can do anything to stop me!" Ghetsis said, standing up. "Give it up! I've already won! And thanks to Colress here, I'm going to launch an assault on all the other dimensions! Everyone will bow to me!"

"Forget it," the other Colress said. "I don't work for you anymore, you despicable man."

Ghetsis pulled out three Poke Balls. "You're not the one who gets to decide that," he said.

"If he's not," N said, "then I am! This ends now, Father! Go, Solgaleo! Lunala!" He threw the Beast Balls and the two Alolan legends emerged in streams of light.

Ghetsis's visible eye widened, and for a moment his confident demeanor was shaken. "It— doesn't matter what you throw at me!" he said. "I'm invincible! Go, Zekrom! Reshiram! Kyurem!" He tossed the Poke Balls into the air. They popped open and the three dragons of Unova flew out. They roared and dove toward Solgaleo and Lunala.

"Three against two?!" Zossie said. "That's not fair!"

Suddenly one of Magnolia's Poke Balls flew out of her bag. "Gon!" Slawomir said as he forced himself out of the Poke Ball. "Shellllgon!" He ran over to stand beside Solgaleo and Lunala.

Magnolia cringed. "Slawomir!" she said. "What are you doing?!"

"Gon!" he replied. Solgaleo and Lunala let out battle cries as well, and the three of them charged Ghetsis's dragons.

"He says he doesn't want to miss this fight," N said. "He won't let Solgaleo and Lunala face three Pokemon alone. Solgaleo, Sunsteel Strike! Aim for Kyurem!" Solgaleo glowed like the sun, and it let out a mighty roar, leaping into the air to crash into the ice dragon. The force of the impact slammed Kyurem into a wall, and it slumped to the floor, dazed.

"But he's a Dragon-type!" Magnolia said. "He's weak against his own type!"

"Lunala! Moongeist Beam!" N said. Lunala spread its wings, which glittered like the night sky, and a ray of light pierced across the throne room, engulfing Zekrom. The black dragon let out a pained roar as it writhed in the air, and when the light faded it fell to the floor, its turbine-like tail sputtering.

The king glanced over at the professor. "He knows," N said. "But he also knows it's a double-edged sword." He looked back to see Reshiram swat Slawomir away, sending the smaller dragon tumbling across the floor.

For a moment it seemed like Slawomir was finished, but then he rolled upright. "Gon!" he barked as he charged Reshiram again.

Ghetsis grimaced. "Get up, you fools!" he roared to Zekrom and Kyurem, but the two legendary Pokemon could only lie where they fell. "Reshiram!" Ghetsis called. "Fusion Flare!"

"Raaaam!" Reshiram called as it spiraled into the air. Above it, a ball of white-hot fire formed.

"Solgaleo! Lunala!" N said. "Take it down, now!"

Reshiram unleashed its flame. The entire room lit up, so brightly that Magnolia had to close her eyes as she felt the heat prick her skin. Solgaleo and Lunala cried out, and when the light faded she saw them lying on the floor, dazed.

Slawomir was there as well, tucked into his shell, and Magnolia bit her lip as she feared the worst. Then four stubby feet poked out of his hard cocoon. "G-gon," Slawomir stammered as he got up shakily. "Shelgon!" He took a step toward Reshiram.

"Just give up already!" Ghetsis said. "Reshiram, Dragon Breath!"

"Slawomir!" Magnolia cried out. A Dragon-type attack would finish him for sure.

He glanced over at her and N. "Gon!" he said.

N nodded. "Slawomir, Dragon Claw!" he said.

"Gogon!" As though he'd caught a second wind, Slawomir charged toward Reshiram. The white dragon unhinged its jaw and let out a blast of purple flame.

Magnolia didn't know if she could look, and as the fire engulfed Slawomir, she was about to turn away. Then a larger, glowing shape burst out of the flames. "Salaaaa!" it roared as it launched itself into the air on two bladelike red wings. The Salamence tackled Reshiram, and beating its powerful wings it pushed the other dragon into the ceiling, causing bits of stone to crumble down from the impact.

"Re… resh…" Reshiram sputtered as it went limp.

Magnolia could scarcely believe her eyes. "Slawomir!" she called up to the Salamence. "You did it! You evolved!"

"Sala!" Slawomir said, shooting out a burst of flame in joy. He brought Reshiram down to the floor of the throne room to join its fallen companions, then lumbered over to Magnolia. "Mence!" He curled his neck around his trainer and she threw her arms around him.

"I'm so happy for you!" Magnolia said. "All of your hard work has paid off! I told you it would! You didn't give up!" She looked up at their defeated opponents. "I hope the legendary dragons are okay," she said. "Poor things."

N regarded them as well. "They were saying 'thank you'," he said. "We've freed them from having to carry out Ghetsis's will."

Ghetsis, meanwhile, staggered down from his throne, clutching his head. "No… no!" he said. "This is impossible! I'd already won! I am invincible!"

"You're wrong, Father!" N said. "Evil will never permanently triumph!"

"Stop calling me that!" Ghetsis growled. "I was never your father, you misfit boy! You were just my tool for world domination!"

Once again N looked as though he'd been struck, and Magnolia couldn't blame him. His world's Colress stepped forward. "That's enough," he said. "Your reign is over, Ghetsis." He picked up the three dragons' Poke Balls and gave them to N.

"But I'd won," Ghetsis muttered under his breath. "You… you took everything away from me… arrrgh!" Face twisted with rage, he charged at the group.

A psychic force caught him and lifted him into the air. "Heeeyem," the other Colress's Beheeyem said as it levitated him telekinetically.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to put him away for a while," its owner said as Ghetsis continued to thrash about, ranting about his anger and frustration. "Beheeyem, deposit him in the maximum-security dungeons, please." The alien Pokemon nodded and floated away, Ghetsis in tow.

N recalled the dragons into their Poke Balls and watched Ghetsis leave. "He never was my father…" the king said quietly. "There was no love in his heart for me…"

"No love for anyone but himself, I'm afraid," said the Colress from Magnolia's universe. "I'm sorry he's hurt you so. He is a rather pathetic man underneath his façade of power."

"But don't let that ruin you," Magnolia said to N. "He may not have been good family to you, but there are others here who are better to you. Like Anthea and Concordia, and your Pokemon friends."

N looked up at her for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes…" he said, pocketing the Poke Balls. "I will not repeat my fa—Ghetsis's mistakes." He turned to the throne. "What now? This world is without a ruler."

"Not entirely true," the other Colress said. "You are technically the king."

"A rather ineffective king," N said.

"Your reign is not over yet," the other Colress said, "so I think it's too soon to make any judgements." He smiled and put a hand on N's shoulder. "You have the power to turn things around now—to make them better. You realize that, right?"

A bit of a grin worked its way up the young king's face. "Oh… I guess so," he said. "I was so caught up in stopping Ghetsis… I didn't think much about what would happen next."

"I think this world needs its king," Magnolia said.

N nodded. "And he will be a true king," he said, "who rules his people fairly and justly." He clutched his robes. "I just… wish I knew where to start. It's a little overwhelming… and I haven't seen the outside world in years…"

"I can help you," the other Colress said. "No—please allow me to help you, Your Majesty. I need to make up for all of the hurt I've caused."

"I would appreciate that," N said. He looked to the dimensional travelers. "What about you?" he asked them. "Are you going home now?"

"Actually," Zossie said, "we were on our way to rescue somebody from another dimension. Your Colress pulled us out of the Ultra Wormhole in the middle of our transit."

The Colress from Magnolia's world examined his forearm. "And I'm not sure we can get there without the coordinates I had uploaded onto my shunter," he said.

"Allow me to assist with that as well," the other Colress said. "I am very sorry I dismantled your shunter. I think that working together, we can rebuild it in no time at all, and I may even be able to reconstruct your motion through the Ultra Wormhole at the time I pulled you out." He held out his hand. "What do you say?"

Colress only had to look at him for a moment before shaking his hand. "Sounds like a plan," he said.