Alola, everyone! It's time to officially bring this tournament to a close! As mentioned in the summary of the last chapter, the Aether Tournament ends here. That may be upsetting to some…
But thankfully, we're ending things on a powerful note this time around with a final battle that's bound to get you talking for days! I'm thankful for all of your support throughout these 33 chapters. And I hope bring a lot more before we wrap this monster of a story up!
So here we go! We're back to "The Challenge of a Lifetime"!
POKÉMON SUN & MOON
THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME
"Arbok, Crunch!" Z commanded fiercely as he pumped his right fist out.
"Sha!" the Cobra Pokémon hissed as he slithered speedily towards Erika's Lycanroc upon the grassy battlefield, making his teeth glow a bright white and sharpen. He attempted to chomp at his opponent, but he was quickly hopping back to evade him, landing in front of his trainer.
"Nice job, Lycanroc!" the pigtailed girl complimented, "Now use Rock Slide!" she ordered, swinging her left arm out.
"Rahk!" the Wolf Pokémon barked in response, making several boulders suddenly appear around his body in bright flashes of light, orbiting around him. With a swing of his arms, the summoned rocks flew out and piled onto Arbok one after another.
"Errrghh…" Z growled in frustration as he balled his fists.
"Way to go, Eri!" Hau cheered from the stands.
"You're doing amazing!" Pyrrha excitedly added. Trent and Paige smiled, glad to see that the Ketchum girl was doing well in her semifinal match. Back in the locker room, Calvin was contently watching the battle unfold the TV screen alongside Rotom. His twin sister was proving to be a formidable opponent for the Team Skull member.
"I guess it's really no wonder since you beat Plumeria…" Z admitted with a sigh of frustration, "Use Acid Spray!" he ordered. Arbok reared his head back before launching a spray of orange acid globs towards his foe.
"Dodge and use Crunch!" Erika called out quickly. Lycanroc flipped forward, evading the globs of acid as he made his teeth glow a bright white and sharpen. He then lunged out and bit the tail of his opponent.
"SSSSHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he shrieked in agony.
"Now spin him around!" the pigtailed girl instructed as she balled her right hand into a fist. Lifting the Cobra Pokémon off of the ground with just his teeth, Lycanroc swung him around rapidly before tossing him aside as he landed hard upon the grass on his stomach.
"Shaa… bokkkuu…" he hissed out, evidently exhausted as he barely managed to get up.
"Come on, Arbok!" Z shouted, "Don't let some stupid kid's Pokémon do you in!" he insisted angrily. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Cobra Pokémon was losing his will to keep going. And that was exactly what Erika needed.
"Finish him off with Rock Slide!" she commanded. Her teammate leapt up into the air and made more boulders outlined in white appear around himself. He threw them down, letting them pile up onto his opponent in a flurry of dust.
"Arbok!" Z exclaimed in fright. When the dust finally settled, it revealed the Cobra Pokémon lying upon his stomach again with the pile of rocks over him. Only this time, he had swirls in his eyes. The referee quickly ran over to assess the result.
"Arbok is unable to battle! Lycanroc wins!" he announced as he threw up his left arm, "Therefore…" he continued, gesturing towards the victorious trainer, "Erika will move on to the Finals!" he declared. The crowd erupted into cheers.
"Alright!" Pyrrha exclaimed with delight.
"Atta' girl, Eri!" Hau cheered happily. Others in the stands clapped and whistled out of excitement. In the locker room, Calvin grinned. He and his twin sister would have their promised battle after all.
"And there you have it!" the announcer exclaimed through the loudspeakers as Erika ran over to hug Lycanroc, "Erika moves on to the final round of the Aether Tournament to face Calvin!" he pointed out excitedly, "One thing's for sure…" he continued, "Tomorrow's going to bring an amazing finale!" he assured to the cheering crowd.
"Way to go, Erika!" Mirajane cheered from back in the Ketchum household.
"Ha, ha!" Kukui laughed, "Who would've thought, huh?" he inquired rhetorically as he leaned back in his seat on the couch, "Those two kids wanted almost nothing to do with the island challenge way back when…" he recalled, "And now look at them," he pointed out.
"They've really come a long way…" Sawyer admitted in agreement.
"Now the only problem is who to root for tomorrow!" Burnet joked, laughing with the others. Ash just looked on happily at the TV, excited to see what would happen in the battle between his two children the next day.
OPENING
Insert "Everlasting Shine" by TOMORROW X TOGETHER
The sun rises over the Alolan ocean as we see various Pokémon swimming about, all around Aether Paradise in the background.
We see Calvin standing over a cliff together with all of his current six Pokémon: Torracat, Gumshoos, Trumbeak, Araquanid, Marowak, and Steenee, all smiling at the rising sun.
Cut to a beach, where standing there is Erika, also having six of her Pokémon out.
She and her Pokémon: Brionne, Lycanroc, Oricorio, Fomantis, Drifblim, and Magby, are also smiling towards the rising sun.
Camera next cuts to a rocky shore, showing Hau, and he too is joined by his six Pokémon: Dartrix, Pikachu, Noibat, Tauros, Eevee and Crabrawler, as they enjoy the sunrise.
Finally, we cut to a side view of Akala Island, before the screen was divided three ways, each show close-ups of Hau, Calvin and Erika's determined faces, colored green, red and blue respectively. The story's logo appears.
Ash and Mirajane share a sweet kiss as they watch their youngest kids and nephew training together on the Melemele Beach, along with the Kanto Champion's Pikachu, Lycanroc and Erika's Sandygast. The Ground/Ghost type is nervously peeking from behind the adults' legs to see the fierce training session below.
Calvin and Erika share glances with each other, reflecting on how far they've both come since they started the Island Challenge. They smile at each other before being brought into a hug by Hau.
Meanwhile, Lillie is walking on a dirt road. In her arms is her duffel bag, with Nebby poking its head out from it. She gives it a soft smile before clutching the duffel bag strap tightly with worry in her eyes.
Unknown to her, she's being closely watched by Gladion, who is seated on the back of Null with his Golbat and Zorua also watching on.
The scene cuts to the Lusamine, joined by Wicke, Faba, Professor Burnet, and several Aether Foundation employees outside of the former's mansion on Aether Paradise. Lusamine looks at a framed picture in her office before she sees a blue light shine overhead. It turns out to be an Ultra Wormhole, which makes her grin ominously.
Cuts to Team Skull, with Plumeria standing in front of them alongside her Crobat, Mareanie, and Salandit, with the latter of the trio crawling onto her trainer's shoulder. They both smirk deviously, while a certain pair of figures loom in the background within the shadows.
The Ketchum twins and their cousin take ready stances, each with a Poké Ball in hand before they toss them towards the camera, opening to release bursts of light.
Paige issues a command to her Medicham, with the Fighting/Psychic type dashing forward, coating her fist in blue energy and cocking it back before trying to punch Calvin's Steenee, who parries the attack with a Double Slap.
Trent's Greninja forms a Water Shuriken in his hands, and flings it at Gladion's Null, who slices it in half with Crush Claw before retaliating with X-Scissor, which is blocked by Erika's Lycanroc as he retaliates with Counter.
Hau's Eevee uses Swift, firing several stars at Pyrrha's Quilava, who responds by using Flame Wheel, with the fire acting as a shield to protect him from the energy stars.
Calvin, Erika, and Hau each perform a Z-Move with their respective starters, who are surrounded by glowing lights: Torracat's is red, Brionne is blue, and Dartrix is green. They unleash an Inferno Overdrive, a Hydro Vortex, and a Bloom Doom respectively.
The three starters charge at each other, their bodies leaving behind streaks of energy based on their colors, before they collide in the center of the battlefield.
Everyone covers their faces to block the smoke, before looking to see the center of the battlefield in shock. Standing amidst the smoke and fiery backdrop are three larger creatures. The others can't yet make out their features since they were silhouetted, but one looks like a muscular, bipedal tiger, One looks like mermaid-like seal with long hair, and the third appears to be a hooded avian.
We cut to Calvin, Erika and Hau looking out onto the ocean horizon from Aether Paradise, each standing alongside their Pokémon as the song winds down.
END OPENING
The First Ultimatum!
It was already dusk by the time the six trial-goers returned to Aether Paradise to rest up in their rooms. After getting dinner, bathing, and dressing up for bed, the group went their separate ways back into their gender-specific rooms. Pyrrha sprawled out onto her bed with a content sigh.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" she exclaimed giddily, "The Ketchum twins face off in the finals tomorrow!" she pointed out, sounding very eager to see the match.
"It's not that big of a deal…" Erika claimed with a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah, but you two are some of the strongest trainers we know," Paige noted, catching her attention, "It's hard not to get excited…" she remarked.
"And have you even battled your brother yet?" Pyrrha questioned curiously as she sat up and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, a couple of times…" the Ketchum girl replied while glancing off to the side, "But honestly, those were just matches meant for training…" she admitted as she exhaled a deep breath, "So I think tomorrow's gonna be a real battle between us for the first time," she said with a smile.
"And it'll be a great one, zzt!" Rotom buzzed additionally. The girls all shared a happy laugh. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the boys' room was practically the same.
"So who do you think Eri's gonna use in the battle?" Hau wondered curiously, swinging his legs back and forth from atop his bed.
"I dunno…" his cousin admitted in response, looking up at the ceiling in thought.
"Well, who are you gonna use?" Trent asked him curiously.
"Heh," he chuckled, "I guess that's for me to know only…" he remarked cheekily to the dark green-haired boy's chagrin.
"Well, you're gonna have a great battle tomorrow!" his cousin assured, catching their attentions, "You think our moms and dads are gonna be watching?" he inquired to Calvin with a smile.
"Probably…" he replied, "I bet they're really happy with how things have gone," he mentioned.
"We probably turn in soon…" Trent advised before letting out a long yawn, "Those battles today were intense…" he admitted.
"Can't believe Eri managed to get Lycanroc to battle twice today like I did with Raichu!" Hau mentioned as he lied down on his bed, "She might use him again tomorrow!" he pointed out.
"We'll see, I guess…" Trent replied, getting onto his bed and yawning once more before shutting his eyes. The ponytailed boy was quick to fall asleep as well, leaving Calvin as the only one still awake.
'This is going to be a real battle between me and Erika…' he noted inwardly, smiling a little, 'I really can't wait for tomorrow,' he admitted through his thoughts. Elsewhere in the deeper levels of Aether Paradise, Faba was wandering about the dimly lit halls before entering a laboratory with two helmeted researchers inside.
"Branch Chief!" one of them exclaimed, "We just pinpointed a strong signal nearby!" he pointed out frantically. Faba widened his eyes.
"Where?!" he immediately asked.
"It's right above us…" the other researcher pointed out, showing him the image upon the small screen. It was faint, but it looked like a crack in the sky over the artificial island. The branch chief's eyes were shaking. His face contorted into a wicked grin.
"This is wonderful news for the President!" he declared, "Once I tell her of this discovery, she'll thank me for furthering her incredible research!" he pointed out with delight, "And then I'll be sworn in to be the next President when she retires!" he added as he sighed happily. The two researchers stared at each other blankly.
"Sir, it's not like the President hasn't already these cases pop up every now and again…" one of them noted, causing Faba to wince a little.
"This is just the first time one's shown itself near us…" the other mentioned to his chagrin.
"I know that, you fools!" he shouted back, "But perhaps this time, we could actually capture one of those creatures from beyond that rift!" he angrily suggested, "Which reminds me…" he continued, walking over to a nearby metal drawer and pressing a button to make it pop open. He reached in and pulled out a peculiar-looking Poké Ball. It was blue and striped with two yellow rings surrounding it diagonally. It looked like a portal from a quick glance.
"It that… the Beast Ball?" one of the researchers guessed.
"Correct," Faba responded proudly, "This Poké Ball I've been developing has the capability to capture those that we call the Ultra Beasts…" he told his cohorts, "Once we finally discover the Ultra Wormhole, we'll be able to take and study as many of them as we so desire!" he declared, "And then I'll surely be named the next President!" he added excitedly.
"But despite the recent discovery of that light in the sky above the island, there hasn't really been any further sightings of the Ultra Wormhole…" one of the researchers pointed out.
"So there's really no telling where it'll appear next, Branch Chief…" the other one mentioned.
"Huh…" Faba sighed, "This is so tedious…" he grumbled. Outside, Erika was standing out at the railing and looking out towards the ocean. Her messy black hair that had its pigtails undone as it waved from the light breeze as she stared up at the starry sky overhead.
"You're up late," a familiar voice chimed in, catching her attention as she turned to see her brother walk over to her side.
"Hey," she greeted with a giggle, "Just thinking about everything before tomorrow," she confessed to him.
"Yeah, same," he replied, "Man…" he uttered out, leaning against the railing, "Did Dad or Leslie ever get this nervous?" he wondered aloud.
"You're nervous?" his twin sister inquired, letting out a giggle, "You're the guy who beat Plumeria and Hau!" she pointed out emphatically.
"Well, you beat Trent and that Z guy…" Calvin retorted, laughing with her.
"We really are lucky to be on this journey…" Erika admitted as she looked back up at the starry sky overhead, "About a month ago, we just wanted to go back home…" she mentioned with a sigh, "You think…" she continued, getting her brother's attention, "You think Mom and Dad are proud of us?" she asked him with a worried look in her eyes. The Ketchum boy blinked in surprise. Why would she ask something like that?
"O-Of course they are…" he stuttered out in response, "Why wouldn't you think they're not proud?" he wondered curiously, arching an eyebrow. His twin sister looked down for a moment.
"After what happened at the Trainer's School where you got your amulet and I didn't…" she began to tell him, "I went to the Ruins of Conflict..." she confessed to his surprise, "I wanted to get a Z-Ring like you did back then… but I ended up angering Tapu Koko," she explained, "Les saved me though and gave me an earful…" she mentioned as she gave off a light grin, "But I still wonder… if I'm really worthy of my Z-Ring… or my amulet," she admitted as she looked down, "And I wonder if Les is happier with who I am now, too…" she added.
"Of course she'd be proud," Calvin assured, causing her to perk up and look over at him, "Remember when you beat Hala, and when Tapu Koko came and gave you that Z-Ring stone?" he inquired to her as her eyes slightly widened, "You worked hard to make yourself worthy for it to do that," he pointed out, "And you showed me just how strong you really were," he mentioned with a smile.
"And you're strong too, you know…" Erika stated with a nod, "You overcame a lot of challenges on Akala, even having to rematch against Olivia…" she recalled, "I wish I had been there cheering you on…" she admitted sadly.
"Well, you can make it up to me," her brother said, making her blink in surprise.
"How?" she asked while raising an eyebrow.
"By giving it your all tomorrow," he replied, "That way, we can both be satisfied with whatever the outcome," he pointed out to her, "That sound fair?" he inquired. Erika smiled.
"Yeah, that sounds fair," she answered with a nod. The two of them stared out at the starry horizon together for a while. They were happy to be there for each other. And they'd both do their best in their match tomorrow.
X
Fireworks exploded above Manalo stadium the next day as the crowd roared with excitement. Amongst them were members of Team Skull and employees of the Aether Foundation. In a section close to the field, Hau, Pyrrha, Paige and Trent were seated. Floating over beside them was none other than Rotom.
"It'zzz almost time!" it exclaimed excitedly. The four trial-goers with the Pokédex all chuckled at his enthusiasm. Above in the lodge box, Lusamine stepped forward to the window with a microphone in hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen," she began through the loudspeakers, making the crowd's chatter die down to listen, "before we proceed to the final match, I'd like to give some quick remarks," she told the audience, "These two trainers are actually children of the famous Ash Ketchum," she pointed out, much to the surprise of many who started murmuring, "And I'm happy that they've come this far in the first of what should be an annual Aether Tournament," she added graciously.
"Does Miss Lusamine know her dad?" Pyrrha inquired curiously.
"It soundzzz like it…" Rotom buzzed out.
"To everyone in the audience, whether you're rooting for Calvin or Erika…" the Aether Foundation president continued, "know that either of them is worthy to be an island challenger as well as a caretaker of the Pokémon Egg we have," she stated firmly. From afar in the lodge box, Wicke smiled, while Faba huffed disdainfully.
'Why did it have to be those rude children who got this far…?' he wondered in frustration.
"Now then, will our finalists please come forward?" Lusamine requested. More fireworks went off as the two dressed figures of Calvin and Erika came out onto the field. They were greeted with an eruption of cheers, much to their surprise as they laughed nervously and waved to the crowd. They never imagined the excitement would be this intense.
"Good luck, Cal! Good luck, Eri!" Hau called out happily.
"Do your best!" Pyrrha added as she waved. Spotting them, the Ketchum girl waved back. She and her brother looked to each other and nodded.
"And we've finally arrived at the final round, folks!" the announcer stated through the TV in the Ketchum household, as Ash, Mirajane, Sawyer, Lisanna, Kukui and Burnet were all watching, "These two trainers have made quite the splash in this tournament," he pointed out, "so looking to see an amazing display today!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"Pikah, pee kah!" Pikachu squeaked, hopping over onto his trainer's shoulder for a better view. He smiled, ready to see his twin children face off. They had taken their places in their respective boxes on the ends of the field, which hadn't changed from its standard dirt one. The referee stepped forward.
"The final match of the Aether Tournament between Calvin and Erika will begin shortly!" he declared, "Each side may use only one Pokémon," he told the two trial-goers, "When one side's Pokémon is unable to continue, the battle will be over," he added, "Now, you may select your Pokémon!" he instructed to them. At the same time, the twins each pulled off a Poké Ball from their belts and enlarged them with a press of their buttons.
'From the start, I wanted to use her last…' Calvin noted to himself.
'And now's the perfect time for her to shine!' Erika inwardly proclaimed.
"Torracat…"
"Brionne…"
"I CHOOSE YOU!" the twins exclaimed simultaneously, throwing their respective Poké Balls forward. They clanked off of each other before popping open. The lights spilling out from them streaked down onto the ground, dissipating to reveal the Fire Cat Pokémon and the Pop Star Pokémon.
"Mrrraahhh!" the former of the two roared out, letting a puff of fire escape her mouth.
"Breeahh!" the latter yipped excitedly, standing upon her tail fins before coming back down.
"And the match is going to be Torracat against Brionne!" the announcer excitedly noted, "I think we're really about to have a fun one today, folks!" he yelled through the loudspeakers.
"You got this, Erika!" one woman from the stands cheered.
"Don't lose, Calvin!" one man called out. The sounds of support for both of the Ketchum twins made them eagerly grin with anticipation. They wanted nothing more than give their new fans a great battle. The same could be said for Torracat and Brionne. Even though they glared each other down, they were just as excited to finally get the chance to battle.
"You may… begin!" the referee declared, swinging his right arm down.
"Brionne, Aqua Jet!" Erika immediately commanded. Immersing herself within a torrent of water, the Pop Star Pokémon zoomed out instantly towards her foe. She slammed into her hard, sending her tumbling back along the dirt before she slid to a stop upon her feet.
"Mrow!" she huffed angrily with a snarl.
"One more time!" the pigtailed girl called out. Still immersed in water, Brionne rocketed out at her opponent again.
"Counter with Double Kick!" Calvin yelled. Torracat whipped herself around and reared her hind legs back. She slammed her left one into her foe's head, keeping her back as they both gritted their teeth. Once the water broke apart into droplets around the Pop Star Pokémon, her enemy kicked her hard with her hind right leg.
"Bree…!" she groaned out as she landed down, wiping her lips with her right flipper.
"Use Bubble Beam!" her trainer commanded. Arching her head back momentarily, Brionne fired off a flurry of bright blue bubbles from her nostrils that were streaking towards the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Dodge and use Bite!" Calvin instructed quickly. Torracat leapt up to evade the incoming bubbles as they struck the ground in a flurry of white smoke. She made her teeth glow a bright white as she dove down towards her target.
"Disarming Voice!" Erika ordered as she stuck her right hand out. The Pop Star Pokémon made her nose glow a bright pink before she let out a powerful screech of pinkish-purple hearts that struck her foe. She grimaced from the attack, falling onto the ground upon her feet as she tried to endure it.
"Hang in there, Torracat!" the capped boy cried out.
"Now use Pound!" the pigtailed girl commanded, swinging her left arm forward. Ceasing her screech, Brionne leapt out and made her left flipper glow a bright white. She smacked the Fire Cat Pokémon with it, sending her sliding back.
"Mrowww…" she growled in frustration after shaking her head.
"Breeah!" Brionne yipped proudly, standing up again upon her tail flippers.
"Already, we've started an intense battle!" the announcer noted through the loudspeakers, "Torracat's doing her best not to take the brunt of so many strong attacks from Brionne," he pointed out, "but will she be able to counter?" he wondered aloud.
"Mrah, mrrooww!" the Fire Cat Pokémon yelled to her trainer, getting his attention, "Torahh!" she hissed out insistently. Calvin blinked in surprise before nodding. He understood what his teammate wanted to try next.
"Torracat, Flamethrower!" he commanded as he pumped his right fist forward. Making the bell-like organ at her neck flare up brightly, the Fire Cat Pokémon unleashed a large stream of flames from it, streaking towards Brionne.
"Bree?!" she gasped in surprise.
"Quick, dodge it!" her trainer called out, enticing her to leap over the flames in just the nick of time, "Now Aqua Jet!" she ordered. The Pop Star Pokémon immersed herself in water once more before zipping down at her foe, who ceased her blast of fire.
"Use Double Kick!" Calvin commanded. Letting off a grin, Torracat whipped herself around again and thrusted up her hind legs to strike Brionne at her chin just as she was about to slam into her. The watery veil around her body had splashed apart.
"Brionne!" Erika screamed, seeing her get blown back from the impact of the kick.
"Now use Fire Fang!" the capped boy ordered. The Fire Cat Pokémon spun around, making her bell-like organ flare up again before she had flames billow within her mouth, while her teeth glowed a bright red. She ran out quickly just as her opponent had stopped tumbling along the ground. The moment she regained herself, Torracat bit her neck, causing an explosion of fire to burst out.
"BREEEEEE!" she shrieked in agony, falling back onto the ground.
"Brionne, no!" her trainer cried out.
"And Torracat counters instantly!" the announcer exclaimed into the microphone, "Looks like Brionne's the one in a tough spot now!" he added excitedly.
"They're really going at it…" Paige noted from the stands.
"Those two have been rivals since the day Cal and Eri met them!" Hau pointed out, "So of course they'd go all out against each other here!" he mentioned as he balled his fists in front of his face.
"Yeah, it'd be rude for either of them to hold back now!" Pyrrha agreed with a smile.
"Breee…" Brionne groaned as she let out quick breaths of air. Erika looked on worriedly.
'Cal knows that Torracat can't fight all that well from a distance, so he's having her draw Brionne in for a big blow…' she noted inwardly, 'We'll have to try what we can for now and keep the fight to a distance!' she declared through her thoughts.
"Brionne, Bubble Beam!" she commanded.
"Bree onn!" the Pop Star Pokémon yipped, arching her head back before firing off a powerful flurry of bubbles out towards her foe.
"Dodge and use Flamethrower!" Calvin called out. Torracat leapt away from the incoming bubbles, having her bell-like organ flare up again as she unleashed a powerful burst of flames from it that rained down towards her target. Instinctively, she jumped back to avoid the attack. "Fire Fang!" the capped boy ordered additionally. The Fire Cat Pokémon's mouth billowed up with flames as she sped out at her foe, making her teeth glow a bright red.
"Quick, Pound!" Erika commanded frantically. Brionne leapt back, but it looked like attempting the attack her trainer called for would come too late as her opponent was about to chomp at her chest. All of a sudden, she unleashed a wind with light blue sparkles from her mouth onto Torracat.
"Mrah?!" she yelped in surprise, feeling the sudden chill the wind was giving off as it made her flame weaken and go out.
"Huh?!" both Calvin and Erika yelped in surprise.
"What was that?" Pyrrha wondered as she saw both Pokémon land back down just yards apart from each other.
"Analyzing… Analyzing…" Rotom repeated as a loading wheel was upon its screen, "That wazzz Icy Wind!" it exclaimed in conclusion, "Brionne learned a new move, zzt!" it buzzed out excitedly.
"Brionne…" Erika uttered out, astonished by the sudden new move her teammate used.
"Bree!" she yipped to her trainer with a wink of reassurance, causing her to grin.
"Okay, use Aqua Jet!" she ordered immediately as she stuck her right hand out. The Pop Star Pokémon immersed herself within another torrent of water before rocketing towards her foe again.
"Catch her with Bite!" Calvin instructed. Just as Brionne raced in and struck her, Torracat made her teeth glow a bright white as she then bit down onto her opponent's left tail flipper.
"Bree…!" she squeaked out in pain, though she endured as she zipped onwards with the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Shake her off!" Erika yelled. Brionne swam about the air frantically, moving in every which way to make her opponent let go of her. But she wouldn't release her grasp. Not when it was so firm.
"Now bring her down!" Calvin called out. Hearing made Torracat maneuver her body to a position that caused the Pop Star Pokémon's trajectory to veer downward, crashing into the dirt in a splash.
"Brreeeonnn…" she groaned out after the dust settled, lying upon her stomach. The Fire Cat Pokémon was right behind her, still holding onto her tail flipper in her teeth.
"Toss her!" her trainer exclaimed. She smirked as she yanked Brionne off of the ground, spinning her around before tossing her away as she tumbled along the dirt to a stop as she now lied on her back.
"Brionne!" the pigtailed girl cried out.
"Double Kick!" Calvin commanded. Rushing forward, Torracat approached her opponent, whipping herself around to rear both of her hind legs back.
"Quick, Icy Wind!" Erika ordered. The Pop Star Pokémon perked up immediately, moving to the side to avoid getting struck by her foe's left hind paw. Unfortunately, her right managed to strike her square in the chest. However, she steeled herself, taking a deep breath before exhaling a freezing blast of air onto her target.
"Mrah…!" she yelped, feeling her body grow cold as she instinctively hopped away.
"Now Bubble Beam!" the Ketchum girl commanded while pumping her right fist out. Brionne arched her head back, firing off a flurry of bright blue bubbles from her nostrils. They bombarded Torracat as she grimaced, getting pushed back with each successive hit.
"Hang in there, Torracat!" her trainer called out.
"Mrroowww!" she roared in response, digging her paws into the dirt beneath her feet to plant herself firmly.
"My, oh my!" the announcer exclaimed excitedly through the loudspeakers as cheers from the crowd rained down onto the field, "Both Torracat and Brionne aren't giving so much as an inch to each other!" he pointed out, "This battle could go on for a while, folks!" he noted excitedly. From the Ketchum vacation home on Melemele, Ash couldn't help but smile. He wanted to see the battle go on longer. He wanted to see his twin children show just how far both they and their Pokémon had come.
"Use Aqua Jet!" Erika ordered. Ceasing her barrage of bubbles, the Pop Star Pokémon yet again immersed herself in a torrent of water before rocketing out towards her foe.
"Flamethrower!" Calvin commanded as he swung his left arm out. The Fire Cat Pokémon had the bell-like organ at her neck flare up before it unleashed a powerful blast of fire onto the incoming Brionne. She grimaced from the heat of the flames, but she pushed through it, slamming hard into her target in a burst of steam.
"Mrraahhh…!" Torracat groaned out.
"Stay strong, Torracat!" her trainer yelled encouragingly, "Use Double Kick!" he ordered. The Fire Cat Pokémon perked up, whipping herself around and slamming both of her feet upside her foe's head to send her flying away out from the cloud of steam.
"Breee…" she growled afterwards through clenched teeth, regaining her composure.
"That's it, Brionne!" Erika exclaimed, glad to see her teammate hanging in there, "Icy Wind!" she commanded. Taking a deep breath, the Pop Star Pokémon exhaled a freezing blast of wind to blow the cloud of steam away and also slam into Torracat, who winced from the cold.
"Mrrrrr…!" she hissed out angrily.
"Turn up the heat, Torracat!" Calvin called out, balling his right hand into a fist, "Use Fire Fang!" he commanded while pumping his fist forward. With her bell-like organ flaring up again in spite of the cold air washing over her, the Fire Cat Pokémon let her mouth billow up with flames as her teeth glowed a bright red. She ran forward towards Brionne.
"Use Aqua Jet!" Erika ordered with a swing of her left arm. The Pop Star Pokémon once again immersed herself within a torrent of water and rocketed down towards her foe. Both of them yelled before colliding with each other in a huge explosion of steam that covered the entire field.
"Wah!" Pyrrha yelped as she and the others braced themselves from the resulting gust of wind.
"D-Do we have a victor?" the announcer wondered with a stutter. The steam was slow to clear from the field. But once it did, it revealed that both Torracat and Brionne were still standing, breathing heavily with scrapes all along their bodies.
"Whoa…" Hau uttered out in amazement.
"I can't believe they're both still standing after that…" Paige admitted with shaking eyes.
"Yeah…" Trent agreed while nodding. Both Calvin and Erika were breathing heavily with exhaustion, too. But they were smiling, having fun all the while.
"Erika!" the former of the two called out, "We're not going down that easily!" he vowed firmly.
"Neither are we, Calvin!" his twin sister retorted as she grinned, "Brionne and I are just getting started!" she pointed out with a pump of her right fist.
"Bree!" the Pop Star Pokémon yipped in agreement.
"Mrow!" Torracat roared, exhaling a puff of fire from her mouth. The crowd cheered excitedly. With the battle already going so intensely, witnessing more to come was sure to be a spectacle.
"Let's go!" both trainers yelled. Their Pokémon nodded… and suddenly were enveloped in bright blue and orange lights respectively. "Ah!" the twins gasped in surprise, while everyone in the audience widened their eyes.
"HOLY MILTANK!" the announcer screamed, "IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?!" he exclaimed into the microphone.
X
The light emitting from Torracat and Brionne's bodies reflected in their respective trainer's eyes as they stared on with amazement. Both of them started to transform, with the Fire Cat Pokémon standing upon her hind legs as she actually started to become bipedal, with her hands and tail growing. Meanwhile, the Pop Star Pokémon had what looked like hair streak out from the back of her head as her front flippers grew out. Everyone watched with amazement as the two fighters continued to morph. The lights finally subsided, revealing their evolved states.
"RRRRROOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRR!" the former Fire Cat Pokémon roared mightily into the air. She was now a bipedal, feline Pokémon with a muscular build. She had a short snout with a small red nose, bright green eyes with yellow sclera, and tiny, pointed ears. Large tufts of red fur extended from her cheeks, and much of her face was also red. The upper half of her muzzle and the top and back of her head were black. A thin red stripe ran vertically along her head to her snout, where it split into a V-shape over her eyes.
Her torso was gray with several black stripes and seemed to resemble a wrestler tank-top; the front and back both had a single vertical stripe up the center, crossed by two horizontal lines. Around her waist was a belt formed from flames that somewhat resembled a championship wrestling belt. In the front at the center was a small, yellow flame shape. The arms, legs, and tail were all red with black stripes forming bands around them. The arms had three stripes, spiky tufts of black fur over the shoulders, and large five-fingered hands with white claws and a single light red pad on the palm. Her legs had only two stripes and simple three-toed paws, and the tail had one stripe and a tuft of spiky black fur around the tip.
Meanwhile, Brionne had become a marine Pokémon that resembled a cross between a sea lion and a mermaid. Most of her body was now white, but she had a long, bright blue, fishlike tail. She had a long snout with a round, pink nose, bright blue eyes with long white eyelashes, and long light blue hair trailing off the back of her head. A tiara-like structure rested on her forehead, consisting of a line of pearls with a pink sea star at one corner and a thin, transparent blue fin extending back over her hair. Her hair itself was contained to a ponytail by two strings of pearls.
On her body were three fins similar to the one on its crown: one that draped around her shoulders and chest, one around her waist where the fishtail began, and one near the tip of her tail. She had long front fins with three digits. Her long fishlike tail had small pointed, pink fins around its hips. Its tail fins were also white.
"Pree mah~…" she sang, standing up upon her tail fins.
"B-Brionne…" Erika stuttered with a look of disbelief on her face.
"Torracat…" Calvin uttered out, "You evolved…" he realized, slowly starting to smile.
"INCREDIBLE!" the announcer screamed through the microphone, "Just like that, both Torracat and Brionne have evolved into Incineroar and Primarina respectively!" he excitedly noted as the crowd continued to look on with amazement. Meanwhile, Rotom quickly pulled up an image of the Heel Pokémon upon its screen.
"Incineroar, the Heel Pokémon, and the final evolved form of Litten," it began, catching the attentions of the trial-goers with it, "This Pokémon has a violent, selfish disposition. If she's not in the mood to listen, she will ignore her Trainer's orders with complete nonchalance. Although she's rough-mannered and egotistical, she finds beating down unworthy opponents boring. She gets motivated for stronger opponents," it explained thoroughly.
"I can't believe they both evolved at the same time…" Trent said as he blinked rapidly.
"Brionne's evolution looks so pretty!" Pyrrha exclaimed with sparkling eyes. Rotom loaded an image of the Soloist Pokémon upon its screen.
"Primarina, the Soloist Pokémon, and the final evolved form of Popplio," it began, "Her singing voice is her chief weapon in battle. This Pokémon's trainer must prioritize the daily maintenance of her throat at all costs. Also known as a songstress, Primarina has a fantastical look on moonlit nights when she leads her colony in song," it explained thoroughly.
"Maaaahhhh~!" the Soloist Pokémon sang beautifully on the battlefield. Erika found herself completely entranced. On the other side, Calvin was left amazed at how powerful Incineroar looked now. Both of the twins smiled.
"Here we go, Primarina!" the pigtailed girl called out.
"Pree!" her partner yipped in response.
"Let's win this, Incineroar!" Calvin declared fiercely with a pump of his right fist.
"Seh, rawr!" the Heel Pokémon yelled with a wicked grin of excitement. The crowd burst into cheers, ready to see what was essentially about to be a round two of the final match.
"Jeez…" Plumeria muttered out from her seat in the stands, "Those brats really are a big deal, huh?" she noted with narrowed eyes.
"Incineroar, Fire Fang!" the Ketchum boy commanded. His teammate had her fiery belt flare up before her mouth billowed up with flames. Her teeth glowed a bright red as she charged forward on all-fours like a feline.
"Primarina, Aqua Jet!" the Ketchum girl ordered. Immersing herself within a torrent of water, the Soloist Pokémon rocketed forward and collided with her foe in a huge explosion of steam. What followed was both her and the Heel Pokémon jumping out from the cloud and letting it dissipate once they landed. The latter of the two then took a ready stance, holding her hands out.
"Incineroar?" her trainer uttered in confusion. All of a sudden, dark red flames erupted from his teammates hands as she spun forward rapidly. Primarina didn't even have a chance to react in time as her foe slammed her right hand into her face fiercely, sending her flying back as she tumbled along the ground, coming to a stop upon her stomach.
"Primarina!" Erika cried out.
"What a move!" the announcer exclaimed, "It looks like Incineroar's brought out her signature Darkest Lariat for this battle now!" he noted into the microphone.
"Darkest Lariat?" Hau repeated from the stands.
"It'zzz Incineroar'zzz signature move!" Rotom buzzed in response, "It'zzz really powerful since it ignorezzz any stat changezzz a target makezzz," it pointed out.
"Whoa…" Trent uttered in amazement.
"Se, raawwwrrr!" the Heel Pokémon exclaimed delightedly, letting a puff of fire expel from her fiery belt. Meanwhile, Primarina slowly got back up.
"Let's put on some pressure, Primarina!" Erika advised, sticking her left hand forward, "Use Bubble Beam!" she commanded.
"Pree mah!" the Soloist Pokémon barked. But instead of just unleashing a flurry of bright blue bubbles from her nostrils, she stood up on her tail fins. Her ponytail came undone as a glowing blue balloon of water expanded on the tip of her pink nose. It then burst apart into streaks that zipped out and struck Incineroar one after another, sending her sliding back as she winced in pain.
"Rrrrr…" she growled once the barrage ceased.
"And now Primarina unleashes her Sparkling Aria!" the announcer added through the loudspeakers, "That might be a big problem for Incineroar, folks!" he pointed out.
"So Sparkling Aria's Primarina's signature move, right?" Pyrrha guessed to Rotom.
"Correct, zzt!" it buzzed in response.
"Sparkling Aria, huh?" Erika repeated after hearing the announcer's earlier shout, "You're full of surprises today, Primarina!" she noted to her partner, getting her attention.
"Pree!" she squeaked in response with a giggle.
"You okay, Incineroar?" Calvin asked of the Heel Pokémon, getting her attention.
"Rawr!" she replied with a thumbs up to him, grinning all the while.
"Okay…" he began, "use Flamethrower!" he commanded as he pumped his left fist out. Upon hearing the order, Incineroar unleashed a powerful blast of fire from the center of her belt, streaking straight towards her target.
"Dodge with Aqua Jet!" Erika instructed quickly. The Soloist Pokémon immersed herself within a torrent of water once more before rocketing past the incoming fire. She then veered around, aiming to strike her opponent from the left side.
"Counter with Double Kick!" Calvin called out. Ceasing her blast of flames, the Heel Pokémon pivoted around and raised her right leg in time to block her foe's attack, keeping her at bay in a deadlock. What followed was her hopping up with just her left leg and kicking her in the face with it, causing the torrent around her to splash apart as she tumbled along the ground.
"Disarming Voice!" the pigtailed girl commanded. Recovering quickly as she slid to a stop, Primarina took a deep breath before unleashing a powerful scream that resulted in a beam of purplish-pink hearts from her mouth zooming towards her foe. She quickly crossed her arms over her face to endure the attack, gritting her teeth all the while.
"Oh my goodness!" Mirajane exclaimed from back in the Ketchum vacation home, "They're really going all out, aren't they?" she inquired with a giggle.
"Yeah, no kidding…" her sister agreed.
"Seems like only yesterday that those two were at each other's necks…" Kukui recalled, "Now they're giving it their all here…" he pointed out. Ash smiled all the while, watching his twin children continue their battle.
"Now Aqua Jet!" Erika ordered. Primarina had water envelop her body once more as she zoomed out and slammed fiercely into Incineroar, making her eyes bug out from the impact. She tumbled across the ground to a stop upon her stomach, groaning all the while. However, she slowly managed to push herself back up.
"Rrawwrrr…" she growled out.
"We're not gonna let you off that easy!" the Ketchum girl declared firmly, "Primarina, Sparkling Aria!" she commanded. Standing upon her tail fins and making her ponytail come undone again, the Soloist Pokémon made a bright blue water balloon expand on the tip of her nose. It then burst apart into watery streaks that zoomed towards her opponent.
"Block it with Darkest Lariat!" Calvin instructed quickly. Getting onto her feet, Incineroar grinned wickedly as her hands ignited with dark red flames. She spun around, striking each of the incoming streaks as they enveloped her in a cloud of steam, much to everyone's shock. "Now go!" her trainer yelled. The Heel Pokémon spun forward, heading for her opponent. However, Erika cracked a smirk.
"Icy Wind on the ground!" she yelled. Her brother blinked in confusion. Taking a deep breath, Primarina exhaled a freezing air with blue sparkles onto the field, freezing it up in ice ahead of her. As her foe spun onto it, she lost her footing and started sliding about crazily, while the flames upon her hands went out.
"Ah!" Calvin gasped in surprise.
"Now use Aqua Jet!" Erika ordered. The Soloist Pokémon immersed herself within a torrent of water once more as she rocketed forward and slammed head on into her foe again, sending her flying into the air.
"Rrrr…!" she growled in agony.
"You can do it, Incineroar!" her trainer cheered, "Use Double Kick and then Fire Fang!" he commanded quickly. With her teeth grit, the Heel Pokémon landed down before lunging forward towards the water-immersed Primarina. She kneed her in the face with her right leg, making the water splash apart again as she winced in pain. Her foe then struck in the chest with her left foot, knocking her down onto the ground. What followed was Incineroar making her mouth billow up with flames as her teeth glowed a bright red. The Soloist Pokémon found herself completely caught off guard when her opponent came down and bit into her neck, resulting in a fiery blast that blew her back.
"PREEEEE!" she screeched in agony.
"Primarina!" the pigtailed girl cried out, seeing her come to a stop upon her stomach. She managed to push herself up though, breathing heavily with exhaustion.
"Now Flamethrower!" Calvin ordered, pumping his right fist out. Incineroar had her belt flare up brightly before she unleashed another stream of fire from it towards her foe.
"Counter it with Sparkling Aria!" Erika yelled. Regaining her composure, Primarina formed yet another orb of water on the tip of her nose, which burst into several shining streaks that struck the incoming fire. It burst into steam veiling the field for a moment. Once it subsided, it revealed the exhausted looks on both of the newly evolved Pokémon's faces. Their trainers seemed just as tired.
"Looks like our two trainers and their Pokémon are almost down for the count!" the announcer pointed out through the loudspeakers, "Who'll be the one to fall first?!" he wondered loudly. Hearing that made the Ketchum twins both grin. They knew how they were going to end this battle. They both pulled out a Z-Crystal from their pockets.
"They're going for Z-Moves!" Hau exclaimed excitedly as others in the crowd gasped. Erika set a Waterium Z onto her Z-Ring, while Calvin put a Firium onto the indent in his Z-Power Ring.
"Se rowr!" Incineroar exclaimed excitedly upon noticing, taking a ready stance.
"Pree mah!" Primarina responded, preparing herself to be in sync with her trainer.
"Let's do this!" the Ketchum twins declared simultaneously, crossing their arms over their faces to make their respective Z-Crystals shine brightly.
"Incredible!" the announcer yelled into the microphone, "We're about to see a collision of Z-Moves from our two finalists!" he pointed out excitedly as the crowd murmured with anticipation. The twins each performed their dances alongside their respective Pokémon, with Erika waving her arms like flowing water as Primarina did the same with her front fins, and Calvin moving his hands like billowing fire before sticking his right hand out, with Incineroar mimicking him all the while. Auras of blue and red light had been shrouding the two trial-goers during the ordeal, which then shot out in streaks towards their respective Pokémon. It merged into their bodies, followed by the Z-Move symbol flashing in front of both of them.
"HYDRO…" Erika began to bellow.
"INFERNO…" Calvin started to echo.
"VORTEX!" the former screamed.
"OVERDRIVE!" the latter shouted. Primarina had water spread out from underneath her before she became enveloped in a torrent and rocketed forward. Incineroar had a massive fireball expel out into the air from her belt, holding it in her hands as she clenched her teeth together. With a mighty roar, she threw the fireball down onto the incoming Soloist Pokémon, enveloping them both in a large explosion.
"Whoa!" both of the Ketchum twins yelped as they fell backwards onto their butts from the blast's force, which enveloped the field in smoke.
"Whoa…" Ash uttered out from back in the vacation home.
"Peekah…" Pikachu squeaked with amazement, wondering what exactly had happened. The smoke slowly cleared, revealing both Incineroar and Primarina still standing in spite of their numerous scrapes. They both breathed heavily as they stared each other, wondering who would end up falling first. At one point, the Heel Pokémon fell onto her left knee in exhaustion. But afterwards… the Soloist Pokémon fell forward. The referee quickly ran over to inspect what had happened. Primarina was knocked out. Standing up, the official took a deep breath.
"Primarina is unable to battle!" he announced while raising his left arm up, "Incineroar wins!" he stated, gesturing towards the Heel Pokémon, "And therefore…" he continued, looking over to Calvin as his eyes were slowly widening, "the victor of the Aether Tournament… is Calvin!" he exclaimed. Hearing that made the crowd burst into a huge amount of cheers.
"WAY TO GO, CAL!" Hau yelled from the stands.
"That was amazing…" Trent admitted, sounding very impressed.
"Yeah, and that finale was killer!" Paige added excitedly. Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Rotom seemed a little upset over Erika's loss. But they smiled, glad that they got the chance to witness such a great battle.
"Pree…" Primarina moaned sadly as she awoke to realize that she had fainted, looking over to see her trainer's card get erased from the big screen before Calvin's went to the center, with a 'WINNER' sign appearing underneath it. As the Soloist Pokémon looked down sadly, she didn't notice the pigtailed walking up to her. She crouched down by her right side.
"Hey, don't look so down…" she insisted, catching her attention as she glanced over to her, "Sure, we caught a tough break back there…" she admitted, looking up at the sky overhead, "But we had a great battle all the same!" she pointed out with a bright smile, "Besides, you got to evolve!" she mentioned excitedly, "I'd say that's a great win either way!" she exclaimed, embracing Primarina happily to her surprise. However, she smiled back, hugging her trainer warmly.
"We… actually won?" Calvin inquired aloud, almost unable to comprehend what had happened.
"Se rawr!" Incineroar suddenly exclaimed, going over and lifting her trainer up onto her left shoulder as he yelped in surprise. But then he laughed, waving to the crowd as confetti started raining down onto the field. Most of those in the audience clapped, with only the Team Skull members remaining silent as Plumeria walked off with them.
'Boss is really gonna give 'em a hard time when they get to Ula'ula…' she noted inwardly with a grin before heading down the tunnel.
"What a finale!" the announcer exclaimed through an old TV in a dimly lit room, "I don't know about all of you, but I certainly wouldn't wanna challenge these any one of those two on a good day!" he admitted jokingly. The person watching the broadcast let off a grin upon hearing the remarks. He was a young man that had a white hair top with a shaved lower black hair, dark eyes and black eyebrows. He wore a black jacket with a zigzag pattern on both sides of his jacket, which had the Team Skull logo on the back. He also wore a white shirt, some black pants with two white X's under his knees and pair of white shoes. With that, he had a purple tattoo of Team Skull on his left arm and a golden watch, while on his right hand are black and white bracelets. He also bore sunglasses with a golden frame, with one of the glasses being bent, and a locket that has the yellow logo of Team Skull around his neck.
"On a good day, huh?" he repeated with a smirk. He was eager to meet the two finalists…
X
"Congratulations to Calvin Ketchum for his victory in the Aether Tournament!" Wicke exclaimed into a microphone. A stage had been set up on the arena, with the capped boy standing upon it alongside his entire team of Pokémon as they waved to the crowd. Gumshoos and Trumbeak were staring in amazement at Incineroar, who huffed proudly. She glanced over to notice Steenee looking at her with the same expression of awe, but upon being spotted, she turned away in a huff as she puffed her cheeks out. The Heel Pokémon chuckled. Meanwhile, everyone in the stands clapped, including Erika as she had gone to join the trial-goers. Lusamine then approached the victorious trainer, carrying the incubator that had the Pokémon Egg inside.
"Calvin…" she began, handing him the incubator, "I know whatever Pokémon hatches from that egg will be in good hands with a trainer like yourself," she told him.
"Thanks, Miss Lusamine," he replied with gratitude, "I promise that I'll take good care of it," he vowed as he bowed to her. She giggled in response. The crowd cheered again, excited for the winner.
Back in the Aether Foundation labs, the two researchers working under Faba were looking through their superior's notes, trying to understand them. Suddenly, a signal blared from one of their monitors. They quickly ran over to see the caution symbol.
"Is it another reading?" one of them asked, sitting down and pressing some keys on the keyboard to uncover more information, which popped up upon the screen.
"It's… larger than before…" the other researcher noted, sounding astonished.
"Which means… we could see an Ultra Wormhole right at Aether Paradise…!" his colleague realized excitedly. But would it be a good omen… or a bad one?
X
"Huh…" Mirajane exhaled as she finished scrubbing the last of the dishes in the kitchen that evening, setting them onto the rack to dry.
"Gengg, gen gar!" her shiny Gengar chimed in, catching her attention as she saw that he had washed a few dishes himself, without using any means of powers. She giggled.
"Thank you, Gengar," she said in gratitude, "Ash, have you gotten word from Ben yet?" she inquired curiously to her husband, getting his attention.
"No…" he replied with a frustrated sigh, "I've tried calling a million times to ask about progress and-" The door suddenly opened, interrupting him. The white-haired woman widened her eyes. Standing there was none other than Leslie.
"I'm home!" she greeted with a smile.
"Pika, pi!" Pikachu squeaked excitedly, running over and jumping into the Champion Master's arms.
"Hey Pikachu!" she exclaimed, nuzzling her head against his gently.
"Leslie…" her mother uttered out, getting her attention as she saw her mother slowly walk over before lunging out to embrace her eldest daughter in a warm hug, "Welcome back!" she cried out happily with tears in her shut eyes. The Champion Master patted her back in response, while Ash looked on and smiled. A lot had happened in the past few days. And much of it was for the better.
ENDING
Insert "Blowing" by NiL
Opens with a messy-haired Erika rising up groggily from her bed. She lets out a long, deep yawn and rubs her eyes before getting up. After heading over to the bathroom, she looks in the mirror to see her unkempt appearance. While once she wouldn't care about such things, this new look suddenly horrifies her. She quickly grabs a hairbrush and starts getting her hair straightened out.
Brionne wanders into the bathroom to see her trainer struggling to undo the locks in her hair, lowering her head in defeat. The Pop Star Pokémon calls over her teammates, catching Erika's attention as she glances back to see her Pokémon wander in curiously. She smiles softly at them as they offer their help to her.
We cut to Brionne using her colorful water balloons to wet her trainer's hair, followed by Fomantis carefully cutting away any misaligned locks. As the hair is cut, Sandygast below to collect the pieces in order to prevent there from being a mess. After that, Lycanroc helps comb Erika's hair as it flows down, followed by Drifblim using Gust with the help of Magby's heat to dry her hair.
As all this happens, Erika reflects on her journey, remembering her change from a stubborn and whiny girl into an admirable island challenger. She looks back in the mirror and smiles, quickly tying her hair up into a pair of braided pigtails. She puts on her hat and grabs her bag, smiling as she's excited to start the day, with her team following her out of the room.
A while passes before she meets up with her twin brother and their rivals. Pyrrha smiles upon seeing Erika, while Trent blushes a little and looks away cutely. Erika cracks a toothy grin, wondering where the day will take her and her many friends…
The song ends with the six trial-goers venturing off into the distance…
END ENDING
And thus ends what I'd call a short tournament arc! If you thought that was great, you should wait to see what I'll do with the Alola League in the future. But anyways, this chapter not only concludes this arc, but also the chapters being released for January! I can't believe I'm still managing to meet my weekly quotas!
It'll probably slow down come February/March, but I'll keep on doing my best to give you all the content you deserve. So since we'll be jumping back into the angst that is "Omni Force: JUSTICE" next… how about a summary, followed by a special preview?
SUMMARY
With the Aether Tournament concluded, the Ketchum twins' next destination is none other than Ula'ula Island! But before they can depart, something strange happens in the conservatory… What will Calvin and Erika be faced with this time?!
END SUMMARY
And now… for a special preview of what's ahead.
TRAILER
Opens up on Apokolips, where we're shown Ben Tennyson inside a holding room with his unbroken right arm chained to a wall. He sits on the floor and only looks up when he notices the shadow of Steppenwolf looming over him.
Steppenwolf: You should be thankful Lord Darkseid was so kind enough to spare your life…
Ben Tennyson: You're not going to win…
Steppenwolf: We already have.
We cut to see that the other founding Justice League members are also imprisoned on Apokolips, as we witness Wonder Woman being tortured by Komand'r.
Steppenwolf: Earth's champions are beaten. Your forces are crumbled. What possibly glimmer of hope do you see?
Ben Tennyson: *smirks* Those weren't all my forces.
The scene changes to an MPG portal opening up with Sunset Shimmer and Superman leading several Omni Force members and other Justice League members out onto Apokolips. Along with them are the Titans and the Plumbers.
Sunset Shimmer: Mission's simple. We get the League and Ben back, and kick Darkseid's ass.
Supergirl: Duly noted. *balls hands into fists*
We cut to a scene of her flying out and landing a fierce haymaker onto Granny Goodness.
Insert "Torsion" by Audio Network
The scene shifts to Darkseid in his throne room, staring down with contempt. Below him are the Justice League members his forces captured.
Darkseid: Bring all the reinforcements you want. It won't matter.
The scene changes to the League members all screaming in agony as they're being forced to succumb to Darkseid's control, thanks in part to his yet-to-be-completed Anti-Life Equation.
Darkseid: Soon, you will be in my grasp…
We cut to the controlled Leaguers facing off against their foes.
Superman: …Bruce?
Batman starts the battle by chucking a Batarang towards the Man of Steel, only for Trafalgar Law to catch it before it can strike him.
Trafalgar Law: We're not falling for this crap twice. *draws Kikoku out from its scabbard*
We see several shots of him slashing through constructs created by Green Lantern, Starfire having to fight Wonder Woman as they fly about the Apokolips skyline, Ruby and Kid Flash racing after Flash, and Martian Manhunter transforming himself into a giant beast to confront the Plumbers. They seem relatively scared until a certain figure steps out in front of them, being Mereoleona Vermillion.
Mereoleona Vermillion: Now this should be fun! *lunges out and slams her enflamed fist into the transformed Martian's chest*
THE ENDGAME COMES…
The scene shifts to one of Ahsoka Tano being confronted by all of the Furies aside from Komand'r. She has her lightsaber hilts fly into her hands.
Ahsoka Tano: I should warn you… It'd be in your best interest not to anger a Jedi. Unfortunately for you, I'm already angry…
She activates her lightsabers and roars as she charges out at the Furies. Meanwhile, we also get to see Toshinori Yagi flip a piece of Kryptonite into his right hand. He closes it into a fist before landing a powerful punch onto Doomsday, sending him crashing through several buildings in the wake of the attack.
Toshinori Yagi: It's time to turn this fight in our favor!
We see him battle Doomsday alone as he and the beast interlock hands. What follows is a shot of Rex Salazar having his B.F.S. clash against Kalibak's Beta Club, a scene of Komand'r trying to have her way with Ben, and Jenny Wakeman raining down a barrage of bombs onto Apokoliptian soldiers and Parademons.
Darkseid: This war was never yours to win. This universe was never yours to protect.
Cuts to him holding the final piece of the Anti-Life Equation in his hand.
Darkseid: In the end, it's all mine…
Ben Tennyson: NO!
The screen cuts to black.
OMNI FORCE: JUSTICE
APOCALYPSE ARC
COMING FEBRUARY 2021
END TRAILER
And with that, I'll be taking my leave for the time being! See you all next time!