If you're not familiar with Steven Universe, I recommend you go to Youtube and look up "Stronger than You." It's less than 3 minutes, but it's the best freaking fight song ever. That scene is… heavily referenced in this chapter. (Garnet is my favorite female character ever).

Polaris-Ponyta, Mia-Alolan Marowak, Marin-Primarina, Lunick-Midnight Lycanroc, Twine-Lurantis, Hachi-Mimikyu, Zetty-Rotom Dex

Phantom-Darkrai, Shira-Reshiram, Kuro-N's Zekrom, Mewtwo, Lily-Mom Mewtwo, Twilight-young Mewtwo, Edward-Zoroark, Griff-Type: Null

Chapter 19: One on Two

As Poni island materialized around us, we found ourselves beneath a towering cliff. The rock walls were streaked with layers color from cream to purple. I turned to find us standing at the edge of a patchy forest, with the sea sparkling in the distance. The seaport was just visible through the trees.

A scraping, grating sound echoed off of the cliff face, with the occasional rustle and splintering crack. We edged around the trees to see what was making the noise. I couldn't tell what I was seeing at first. A hulking shadow was bobbing up and down, seeming to tear at the branches. But as my eyes picked out the shapes, I saw the long tail and huge pincers. The pincers were tearing apart trees, bushes, rocks, and dirt, then stuffing all of it into a gaping maw. Our group stared in stunned fascination, watching as it ate everything it could reach. The wild Pokémon had already fled. Destroying the forest was bad enough, but what if it got down to the seaport?

"So, you made it."

Two people were standing nearby. A girl with a pair of bushy black braids, and a blonde lady in a paint-splattered smock. The Captain and Kahuna of Poni Island.

It was Hapu, the girl Kahuna that had spoken. She continued. "Tapu Fini was fighting the beast. But it was too strong. We ended up using our Pokémon to help the Tapu escape. She fled to recover from her wounds."

"That thing is seriously strong," said Captain Mina. "Are you up for it?"

"We should be."

Mewtwo nodded.

Looker sighed. "That is the most dangerous Ultra Beast we know of. I've provided what information I can."

"Cara's Pokémon have already done an amazing job on the other islands," Anabel said. "But we're here to help as well."

Julio nodded, looking uncertain as he eyed the beast stuffing the island into its mouth bit by bit.

I sent out Phantom and spoke to him and Mewtwo. "Looker said we need to beware of its mouth. If anyone…" I trailed off with a shudder. "Try not to get too near that thing. I'll have Phantom stay at a distance, and try to hit him with Dark Void. That should put him to sleep, so we can hopefully send him back home. I'll bring out more Pokémon as backup if I need to. I don't want to put anyone else near Guzzlord if I don't have to."

Mewtwo and Phantom nodded.

"Good luck, you guys. You know what to do. I'll back you up however I can."

Mewtwo shot forward. He was still in his Alakazam disguise, thanks to Edward. My Mega keystone activated, and I sensed his mega evolution. He rocketed straight at Guzzlord, slamming into him from the side. The Ultra Beast went toppling end over end, so startled that he didn't even react until he righted himself. He opened his huge mouth wide. A deep, rattling bellow echoed out, as if from an abyss. It sent my teeth rattling in their sockets. Mewtwo hurled Psycho Cut at it, but the attacks splashed off, harmless.

"Zetty, do you have any input?" I asked as Mewtwo fought.

"Yezzz. I believe that it is at least part dark type."

I hissed. Mewtwo wouldn't be able to hit Guzzlord with any of his powerful distance attacks. His mega stone meant that he was now part fighting type. But that still meant that he had to get close to fight, which put him near that dangerous mouth. I sent this information on to Mewtwo, who gestured to show that he'd heard.

Phantom took advantage of Guzzlord's distraction and shot Dark Void. But Guzzlord used Wide Guard, blocking the attack. Phantom shook his head. He wouldn't be able to shoot again if Mewtwo was near Guzzlord. Mewtwo might get hit by accident. So he hung back, waiting.

Mewtwo charged and swung his fist. Guzzlord punched back with his giant pincer. Then he swung his huge spiked tail. Mewtwo saw it coming and threw up a protective blue bubble around himself. The tail hit and sent the bubble skittering across the valley floor. It cracked into a rock and popped. Mewtwo tumbled out, dizzy. Guzzlord was bellowing and charging. His toothy mouth was open, the inside lined with spikes. As he moved closer, I could get a better sense of the strange alien creature. The huge pincers were coming out of its mouth. It had another set of arms near the top of its head. Its entire body was taken up by the mouth, but there also looked like a smaller head sprouting out of the top. And oddly, there was one-no two- tiny pairs of vestigial wings.

Mewtwo grabbed one of the claws. It was big and slippery, and he needed both hands to hold it. His psychic powers were no good against a Dark opponent, and he had to rely on his fighting moves. But with both hands full, Guzzlord struck with the other pincer. Mewtwo twisted at the last second, punching a counter attack. The two blows met and threw them each backward.

Then Guzzlord rolled into a ball. It was so bizarre that I just stared, dumbfounded. It tucked in all its arms and shut its mouth, and started to roll at Mewtwo.

"It'zz using Steamroller!" Zetty cried. "A bug attack! Be careful!"

Mewtwo launched into the air and started firing Aura Sphere down on Guzzlord. The attacks struck, knocking him off his momentum. Additional attacks hit the surrounding ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Blinded and enraged, Guzzlord bellowed. I could hear him thundering around beyond the veil of dust. He loomed into view, charging straight at us. Looker grabbed the nearest person, Anabel, and pulled her behind a ridge of stone. Hapu and Mina dove after them. Julio, Edward and I weren't close enough to the rock, and dashed the other way. We ducked behind the tangled roots of a fallen tree. It was big, but wouldn't be much of an obstacle to the massive Guzzlord.

Mewtwo shot toward us, but Phantom got there first. He didn't have any moves that would do serious damage, but he used Dark Pulse to slow Guzzlord's charge. It worked a little. But Guzzlord pivoted, slamming his tail into Phantom. Dragon Tail. An attack that forces a Pokémon back into a Pokéball. Phantom disappeared in a flash of red light. And Guzzlord came at us again.

Mewtwo threw himself between us and the charging beast. Guzzlord opened his mouth wide and lunged at him.

"No!" I screamed.

Mewtwo threw up a blue bubble around himself. Guzzlord's jaws closed on it, squeezing. Mewtwo grit his teeth, holding his bubble as Guzzlord crushed down. Only Mewtwo's determination was holding the psychic-powered bubble against a dark-type Pokémon.

I threw out Shira and Kuro's Pokéballs. Both of them whipped up into Outrage, attacking in unison. Their strikes made Guzzlord flinch. Mewtwo's bubble shoot out of his mouth and popped on the ground. He splayed on the dirt, stunned.

Shira and Kuro ran out of power with their Outrage. It had been a fast and furious attack, to save Mewtwo. But now both of them were left in the confused aftermath of the attack. When they spotted Mewtwo motionless on the ground, they started to fidget nervously. Their opponent was strong enough that he had knocked out Mewtwo. Guzzlord attacked, and the two dragons tried to fight him off. But their movements were sloppy during their confusion and nervousness. I'd also never battled alongside Kuro before, and didn't have much rapport with him yet.

I had to do something to snap them back to their senses. Then the sight of Reshiram and Zekrom together made me think of something. "Hey Julio," I said far too loud, since he was standing right beside me. "Coco may be the best movie. But do you know the best fight song?"

He gave me a questioning look.

I wasn't sure if he'd heard of this show, let alone one of the songs from it. But I gave it a shot. "Stronger than You."

He stared at me for a moment, then grinned. "Yeah, you got it man." He turned toward where Shira and Kuro were trying to hold back Guzzlord. And he started to rap out the intro to the song.

"Here they are, back together.

And they're never going down at the hands of the likes of you,

Because they're so much better.

And every one of us is saying 'go get em."

No one here is gonna follow your rules.

Bring it on without any of your fancy tools.

Let's go, just us and you. Let's go, just one on two."

He had improvised new lyrics to the intro, to fit Shira and Kuro. He swung an arm around, gesturing for me to take over. I wasn't any good at improvising songs, but I knew the original words by heart. I started to sing.

"Go ahead and try and hit me if you're able,

Can't you see that my relationship is stable?

I can see you hate the way we intermingle,

But I think you're just mad that you're single!

You're not gonna stop what we've made together.

We are gonna stay like this forever.

If you break us apart, we'll just come back newer.

And we'll always be twice the gem that you are."

Julio started singing too, and we both hollered over the battle,

"I am made ooooof loooove!"

The song did just what I'd hoped. It was psyching up Shira and Kuro. I'd never seen the two of them fight side by side. And when they began to sync up, the results were incredible. They moved in perfect time with each other, like two parts of a whole. The perfect fit for this song. While one dragon drew back, the other lunged into the opening. They attacked one side and the other, not giving Guzzlord any opportunity to rest. He was tiring, but so where Shira and Kuro.

Then Kuro stumbled. Guzzlord surged at him, but Shira shoved her brother out of the way. Fatigue made her trip over Kuro, and both dragons collapsed in a heap. Guzzlord loomed over them, opening his jaws wide.

But Mewtwo was stirring.

I continued singing, as did Julio.

"This is who we are. This is who I am.

And if you think you can stop me, then you need to think again.

Because I am a feeling, and I will never end

And I won't let you hurt my planet

And I won't let you hurt my friends!"

Mewtwo shot into the sky, using his height to hurtle downward and slam his fist between Guzzlord's glowing blue eyes. The jaws crashed shut and Guzzlord flattened to the ground.

Once again, Julio and I called out, "I am made of love. And it's stronger than you!"

Mewtwo landed and struck again, knocking the massive form into the air.

"And it's stronger than you!"

Shira and Kuro righted themselves, and the three legendary Pokémon unleashed their most powerful attacks. The combined force shoved the Ultra Beast back toward the swirling Wormhole. Guzzlord opened his mouth, letting out one last defiant roar before he slipped out of sight. The last wormhole fizzled away.

"And it's stronger than you," I murmured for the last time.

We stood there, each of us trembling. I felt like I was buzzing all over from the rush of battle. Julio and I stared at each other for a moment, then gasped out relieved laughter. I walked over to my Pokémon. Kuro and Shira nuzzled me, looking tired but proud. I wrapped an arm around each of their muzzles. Mewtwo sat heavily on the ground and gave me a tired smile. I grinned and dropped down next to him. "You guys are all amazing." I said it to Phantom's Pokéball as well. Then to Mewtwo, "Do you think all the Ultra Beasts are gone?"

He closed his eyes, reaching out with psychic powers. After a minute he said, "yes, I think so. Across all of the islands."

Someone held a water bottle out to me. I looked up to see Hapu. "Thanks."

"No, thank you," Hapu said. I took a sip, then handed the bottle to Mewtwo. He drained it.

"Let's get you guys something to eat. You earned it."

"Yes, let's all get something to eat," Looker said. "We need our energy back, after all of this! I know just the place!"

Anabel covered a small laugh.

"Well then," Hapu said. "Whenever you come back to Poni Island, make sure you swing by! We'll give you a proper welcome."

"I have to paint a picture of that battle," Mina said, more to herself. "And that wormhole. And those dragons with their fire and lightning."

"Yes, I'll be back," I promised. "I have to do the island challenge."

…

Ben and Hari met us in Malie City. Hari was bandaged up and moving gingerly, but at least he was out of the hospital. I wanted to hug him, but someone with cracked ribs doesn't appreciate that. I reintroduced them to Anabel and Looker. Anabel didn't remember them, of course. Professor Kukui and Burnett arrived by ferry, along with Captains and Kauhunas from the various islands. Gladion and Lillie stayed with their mother in the hospital. She remained unconscious. I still had to see about fixing Nebby, healing Lusamine, and restoring Anabel's memories. But we had time for a good dinner. Anyway, Lily had told me to rest my Pokémon for the night, and come back in the morning. She could tell how exhausted we all were. Mewtwo would need a good rest before the challenging task of restoring memories.

Looker picked out his restaurant and made special arrangements. It wasn't hard. The people there had witnessed the trouble with the Ultra Beasts. Luckily Malie City hadn't been evacuated since the fighting had been at a safe distance. When the restaurant owners found out we were largely responsible for saving Alola, they agreed to set up tables outside, and to prepare some special dishes for the Pokémon.

As we ate, everyone exchanged tales of the battles. There had been plenty of damage to buildings and city structures, but it seemed like everyone had avoided serious injury. Everyone related their stories with energetic relief. Professors Kukui and Burnett took notes about the Ultra Beasts, even though everyone told them to relax and enjoy the party. Zetty cheerfully provided them a commentary of his own observations.

At first, Julio looked uncomfortable surrounded by all these people. After all, a day before Team Skull was one of the biggest problems in Alola. But he wasn't in his Skull unform now, and eventually he started to relax. He told some of his tales too, about how he'd helped evacuate and protect the people and Pokémon. Kukui pitched in, adding to the tale of Julio's heroics. I hadn't realized how much he'd done while we were fighting the Xurkitree. I thought about how badly I'd treated him earlier, and felt like the biggest jerk. Since he didn't really know many of the people at the party, I tried to stay with him and keep him included. Ben and Hari joined in to make him feel welcome.

There were so many people, and all of their Pokémon were out and taking part in the feasts and festivities. With many mouths to feed, it seemed like the food would run out. But as word spread that this was the group that had fought off the Beasts, the locals started bringing in food too. A batch of excited kids clustered together, milled around, hesitated, then approached Shira and Kuro. Between them, they were bearing two whole cakes. They all squealed in glee and mock terror as the dragons each chomped down a cake in one bite.

Mewtwo had retreated, not wanting anything to do with the crowds. Edward had to stay with him to keep up the illusion. I set aside some food for them to pass on later. When the party started winding down, I bid everyone farewell and made arrangements to meet Anabel the next morning. She needed her memories back. Looker would stay as well until Anabel and Lusamine were on the mend. He also gave me an update on Fleur, my friend from Kalos. She had a good job now, and was doing great.

After the feast, we slipped away so Lily could teleport in and pick up Shira, Kuro, Phantom, Mewtwo and Edward. The whole group went back to Avalon. Lily, Edward, and Mewtwo would be back tomorrow. I'd need the pair of them to help with the last loose ends.

But for the rest of the night, we could look forward to warm beds and relaxing sleep.