final chapter let's goo. like the rest of the chapters in this fic, this chapter is illustrated via little sketches I made while writing this. they can be viewed on my tumblr (golby-moon) or on the ao3 version, where they're embedded directly into the fic
(8,465 words)
They head out early the next morning to stock up on Potions and berries to give to Jack, when they find him. Dean hates having to rely on Crowley's word, but with nothing else to go on, they don't really have a choice. It takes nearly all day to get from Ula'ula Beach to the meadow, and the uncertainty of whether the trip is even worth it at all makes everyone more than a little irritable.
In other words, everybody's pissed and more than tired of wandering around in circles with no clue where they even are. Not even their frequent stops for everybody-please-stop-hating-each-other snacks don't ease the tension in the air. Well, except for Vullaby, who can be temporarily placated by hoarding all the PokeBeans, which just makes the other Pokemon even more upset with the whole scenario…
Basically, nobody's having a good time and the only marginally decent thing that happens the entire trip is the egg that Sam got from the daycare hatching into an Eevee, so Dean's just happy when they finally get to Ula'ula Meadow. Of course, as per usual, the entire meadow is so foggy that he can barely see two inches in front of his face, and since neither him nor Sam has a Pokemon that knows Defog, there's not a thing they can do about it—aside from complain, of course.
"Geez, why's it always so freakin' foggy in this place?" Dean grumbles to himself as he tromps through fields of red flowers. Unlike the last time they were here, when there were plenty of trainers to battle and tons of Pokemon around, the meadow is now more or less deserted, making the thick layer of fog that much more ominous. "I can barely see where I'm going!"
"Well, fog is formed when warm air meets a cold surface, and with the big lake only a short distance from here, the temperature would fluctuate enough for fog to form at least every morning. Alola is pretty hot, but the water's cool enough that it makes the whole region more temperate."
Dean smirks a little. "Nerd."
Sam shoots him a look. "What, did you think a Pokemon made all this fog every day?" When Dean doesn't answer, Sam makes a sound, amusement all but audible. "You did. Wow. Okay. What kind of Pokemon were you thinking? Petilil? Oh, maybe Oricorio? Its dancing forms fog, I bet, even though it only learns Normal and Flying type moves no matter what form it's in."
"Hey, I think I see the entrance to the lake up ahead," Dean interrupts, seeing no such thing. It gets Sam to shut up, nonetheless, and they are able to eventually find their way through a patch of tall grass that leads to this old dilapidated stone archway that's seen better days, sitting nice and comfortably on top of a body of water that's difficult to tell the size of due to all the fog. "Is this the place?"
"Yeah, I think so. This arch should lead us right to the Lake of the Moone."
Dean frowns as Salandit shifts on his shoulder to cling to his face, as if trying to get a better look. "You sure it's even stable?"
Sam just shrugs. "Only one way to find out."
With that, they begin carefully stepping out onto the stone bridge that leads to the big archway. Dean grips the bag on his shoulder a little tighter, hoping the whole bridge doesn't just crumble beneath their feet. When Ribombee pokes its head out of the back, it occurs to Dean that they could've sent a Flying type out to survey the area before they risked walking on the bridge.
Oh well. Only thing they can do now is keep walking and prepare to plunge into the lake below, hoping the water's deep enough that they won't crack their skulls open on the bottom or hit any rocks. Dean's fingers inch towards Mantine's PokeBall just in case, though he doesn't want to squash his Pokemon if the bridge does start falling apart.
In the end, the bridge holds up their weight and they're able to go through the archway with no problem. The archway leads to a long stone hallway that's covered in webs (from the Ariados that live in the meadow, probably) and dust, telling Dean that it's been a long time since anyone was dumb enough to wander around here. He just hopes they didn't have a good reason to avoid the lake…
Concern for Jack makes the webs and the weird smell that lingers in the musty air almost bearable. Despite himself, which each step he takes that brings him closer and closer to the Lake of the Moone, Dean can't help but start feeling like something's about to happen. At this point, he really can only cross his fingers and hope they're not waltzing right into a trap, either created by Team Smoke or by erosion and all that crap that makes him feel uneasy about the entire stone deathtrap they're walking in.
Sam, of course, seems oblivious to the danger now that they're inside the thing, all previous reservations gone as he examines each and every dusty stone that makes up the corridor. If he's anxious to get to the other side, he definitely doesn't show it, because he's a nerd and when something ancient is dangled in front of his face, all further non-nerd brain function ceases.
Luckily for said nerd, looking after Sammy has been Dean's top priority for so long that it's practically second nature. Hell, if he weren't such a strong battler, Sam probably would be on the sidelines more often than not if Dean had his way. As is, Sam's also a hardhead and all he needs is to flash his puppy-dog eyes and Dean inevitably folds, but that doesn't mean he doesn't look out for him.
After entirely too damn long, they finally reach the end of the corridor, which opens up to reveal a grassy area with a stone staircase. Thankfully, despite its unnecessary three tiers (more like tears, really), the stairs aren't nearly as annoying to conquer as the hallway was. At the top of the steps is a stone platform not unlike the one at the Altar of the Sunne, but Dean barely even notices that.
No, his eyes are drawn right to where Jack's laying on the ground and one of those jellyfish-like Pokemon is grabbing either side of the Sunne Pokemon's face. He's not sure if that's Naomi over there or what, but he's not taking any chances at all, not when the possibility of getting Jack back is there.
"Hey!" The weird Pokemon's nonexistent face turns to him, tentacles leaving Jack's face as it suddenly hurries towards Dean. Panicked, Dean takes a stumbling step backwards as Salandit leaps from his shoulder and lands on the ground with a chattering noise. "Uh, Salandit, use—"
He's cut off before he can even think of what moves Salandit knows as the jellyfish thing wraps its tentacles around him in what almost seems like a hug, but could just as easily be Wrap or Bind. Dean doesn't take his chances and tries to wiggle out of the embrace, but he can't even move his arms with how tightly, almost desperately, the Pokemon is holding onto him. Damnit, where the hell is Sam?
All the jostling and squeezing does, in the end, is make Pyukumuku and Ribombee shriek from within the bag, which finally draws the Pokemon's attention away from Dean long enough that he can finally escape the hold. Dean's hand automatically flies to his belt, feeling for a PokeBall, but before he can call anything out, Ribombee bursts out of the bag.
"Oh, hey. Uh, Ribombee, use Pollen Puff!" he commands, since that's the only move he knows it can use.
Despite not being its trainer, Ribombee follows his orders, but instead of damaging the weird Pokemon, it seems to heal it in a way Dean can't even write off as being due to type advantages and not very effective moves. No, the only reason Pollen Puff would heal instead of hurt is if Ribombee sees the jellyfish Pokemon as an ally and not an enemy.
As Dean struggles to figure out what happened and debates on trying the attack again, Ribombee flies over to hover in front of the weird Pokemon's face, its head tipping slightly to the side in a quirk it must've picked up from Cas. The jellyfish-like Pokemon copies the movement with what Dean supposes might be its head, reaching out a tentacle for Ribombee to land on.
Unbelievably, Ribombee bypasses the weird Pokemon's tentacle and lands on its head instead. Dean…Dean's not sure how to explain that away, since the Bee Fly Pokemon doesn't seem to sense any danger and in fact seems more comfortable around this weird Pokemon than it does even around him, as it's never rested on his head before—only Cas'.
"Cas," Dean whispers without even meaning to, and the Pokemon freezes and visibly stiffens, body suddenly a little less…transparent than it was a few seconds ago. Suspicious, Dean repeats, remembering Naomi's freaky transformation and her knowledge of Cas' existence, "Cas?"
"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asks from somewhere far away (about ten feet, hovering over Jack and hand-feeding him berries), but Dean can barely hear him.
"Cas, what the hell happened to you, man? We were worried about you!" The Pokemon backs up slightly, arm-tentacles raised placatingly in a way a Pokemon wouldn't know how to replicate, and Dean crosses his arms, unimpressed. "Cas. Turn back human so I can yell at you."
Finally, the Pokemon shifts, becoming more and more opaque and, at the same time, more human. After a few seconds, instead of a weird jellyfish-like Pokemon standing in front of him, it's Cas, Ribombee drifting to land on his newly-human head with an affectionate sort of trill. Dean just looks at Cas, taking him in in all his trench coated glory, and Cas stares back.
"Um…hello, Dean," Cas finally says, deep voice cracking like fire kindling, the words familiar enough to bring actual tears to Dean's traitorous eyes and—
Dean yanks him into a tight hug that has Ribombee flying off at the last second to avoid getting squished. "You bastard," he breaths into Cas' dark, messy hair. "You just dump your weird stardust kid on me and run? What the hell was that about?"
"It wasn't by choice, I can assure you." Dean loosens his hold just enough to lean back and look at Cas, needing to see his face. "Naomi was the one who… Years ago, I escaped Heaven and the Ultra Space and fled from them—all of them. I took the form of a human to hide from them, but then I found you, and that form became me and I knew I could never go back."
"Back where, Cas?"
"To Ethereal Paradise and the Nihilego."
"Nihilego," Sam repeats, reminding Dean that he exists and making him step away from Cas just a little. With nothing else to do, Dean unzips the bag to check on Pyukumuku and, seeing the way Cas' face lights up, hands the Pokemon over to Cas for him to hold like it's a Meowth and not a weird sea cucumber. Pyukumuku, for its part, melts into the hold with a content little sighing noise. "Is that your, uh…Pokemon form?"
"Yes. It's a type of Ultra Beast. There are…thousands of us in the Ultra Space, and I was banished there again by Naomi until something happened that resulted in many of us being sent down to Earth." Cas looks down, petting the Pyukumuku's spiky back (while strategically dodging all the spikes) with a solemn expression. "I'm sorry. I know this is all a lot to take in—"
"Actually, we're…kind of on board right now," Dean interrupts, watching Salandit bury itself into Jack's mane and Ribombee get upset about it. "We actually saw that bitch Naomi disappear into one of those wormholes, transform from the, uh, Nevil-ego or whatever into a human, and reappear with some giant, black, spiky Pokemon that tried to eat Jack's brains, so…"
Cas looks kind of pale at that. "I…I see…"
Sam opens his mouth, probably to smooth some of the feathers Dean probably just ruffled, but Dean continues, "We were looking for you. You just disappear out of nowhere after saying to take care of Jack and, well…we were worried. I was worried. You're…you're my best friend, man. You don't just get to disappear on me."
"I didn't want to," Cas replies miserably, looking to the ground. "I knew I'd get taken, but I just wanted to keep everyone safe. I-I wanted to come back, so when the Ultra Wormhole opened and all the nearest Nihilego began pouring out, I followed. I tracked the sudden power surge to here, where I found Jack. He…he was very badly injured, and I did the best I could, but…"
"Hey, it's fine, Cas. That's why we bought out the store's entire supply of Potions." He pats Cas on the shoulder, ignoring the way Sam rolls his eyes and fishes out the Potions to give to Jack, who looks noticeably less lethargic than he did when they first got there, either due to the berries Sam had fed him or the Pollen Puffs Ribombee keeps giving him. "So…level with me here. How're you doing?"
"I'm fine." Dean gives him a look, and Cas says again, somewhat warily, "I'm fine, Dean. I'm just…very relieved to be back. I missed Earth. I missed you."
"Oh. I, uh…missed you too, buddy." Would it be weird to hug him again? Probably… "So…you're a Pokemon?"
"Kind of. I don't feel like one anymore. I feel more human than anything these days, though."
"Right…" It's clearly an awkward topic, so the conversation is quick to die off as their attention then turns to Jack, who's rapidly regaining his strength, though he looks more ready for a nap than a battle. A thought occurs to him and he turns back to Cas, who's still slowly petting Pyukumuku. "What do you know about Necrozma?"
"Not much," Cas admits. "I know that it goes by the name Lucifer, and that it once resided in the deepest parts of the Ultra Space, but that's about it. It supposedly feeds on light, which may be why it attacked Jack."
"Doesn't 'Lucifer' mean light-bringer?" Sam asks, as if that's the problem, and he and Cas just look at him blankly, making Sam frown. "I just thought it was interesting…"
"It's not," Dean replies plainly before turning back to Cas. "Is Lucifer in the Ultra Space right now?"
"Yes, I think so. I felt a massive spike in energy right before all the wormholes started opening and any nearby Nihilego was thrown down to Earth."
"All those portals probably took quite a bit of energy, right?" Cas nods slowly, a squint already creeping into his eyes, expression so familiar it hurts, but Dean continues, "It's probably pretty wiped out right now, so if we wanna have a snowball's chance in beating it, we better go soon before it can regenerate any of its energy."
"That…actually makes sense," Sam agrees, face scrunching up as he thinks about it. "If that's the case, it would make sense to try to defeat it quickly. Question is, is Jack up for traveling already?"
At this, Cas looks visibly conflicted, troubled eyes drifting over to where Jack is entertaining their Pokemon. Dean feels for the guy, really, but this is important enough that he thinks they should push it, even if Jack's not all the way up to it. When Cas turns to look at him then, he tries to say this without words, and surprisingly, Cas accepts it, turning back to Sam.
"I believe so." Jack looks over at them like he understands, and without Cas saying a word, he stands and comes over to them, where Cas cups his huge face. "Jack, I know you're tired, but we need you to open an Ultra Wormhole…"
Jack opens his mouth in what Dean at first thinks is a snarl, but quickly realizes is just a really big yawn. Then, shaking out his mane in the same way people crack their knuckles, he draws in energy and spits it out all at once in a beam of light, and the next thing Dean knows, there's an Ultra Wormhole in front of him. Jack yawns again and moves into sort of a crouch; it takes Dean an embarrassingly long time to realize he's offering them a lift.
Dean climbs on first, wanting to test out how structurally sound their ride is before they go anywhere, and Salandit follows him a second later and grabs onto the sides of his head, because of course it does. After Cas sends both Pyukumuku and Ribombee to their PokeBalls for possibly the first time since he caught them, he gets on behind Dean. Once Sam is safely aboard as well, Jack bursts into a run at a speed Dean didn't know he was capable of, and just like that, they're in the air and flying through the Ultra Wormhole.
He immediately discovers why Cas had described going through the wormholes as being 'thrown' through them, as Dean's never had such a jerky, uneven ride before in all his life. Even Cas seems to be squeezing the life out of his torso, desperate to grab on while literal galaxies flash before their eyes.
Cas yells something about a white portal being the source of the energy surge, but Dean can barely hear anything with all the huge gusts of air rushing past them, echoing in his ears and brain alike. Weirdly enough, Salandit's weird little hands pulling on his ear keep Dean grounded enough to feel a wave of relief when the white portal comes into sight and Jack steers right towards it, air-running into it without a problem.
There's a noise like a hundred thousand bird Pokemon taking off at once and then it's all over, and all four of Jack's legs are on the ground again. Sam slides right off Jack's back with minimal quivering, Cas' legs are decently shaky, and Dean feels like he's about to become a liquid. Never again, he promises himself as he peels Salandit's grubby little hands from his face, pretending like Jack isn't their ride out of here as well.
"Jack?" Cas calls quietly, worriedly, and Dean only just realizes how wiped out Jack looks from the trip, all but sinking onto the floor. Cas lays out a few berries on the ground beside Jack, but the Solgaleo barely looks at them as he lays down on his side. "That's okay. You stay here and rest. We…we got this."
"Don't jinx us, Cas," Dean mutters as he takes a look around, only just noticing that they're in some sort of a city. It's…dark, not unlike the topside version of Alola is now, and he can't help but wonder if Necrozma is to blame for this darkness, too. If not for the almost fluorescent-y lights along the ground, it'd be completely pitch black. "Where are we?"
"Ultra Megalopolis."
"Hm. Try saying that ten times fast."
Cas seems to ignore the small remark and instead takes them through the…town with buildings made entirely of geometric black shapes, leading them over to a tower that may or may not be made of solid light. Sam nerds out the entire way, but Dean gives him a pass because this is pretty damn cool, even if failing means Alola might look depressingly similar to this angular dump.
The tower, for whatever reason, has a fully functioning elevator, because of course it does. It's a little bit of a tight squeeze with three people in there, but the elevator is surprisingly fast and they're to the top within thirty seconds, ready to hopefully not die. When the elevator stops, there's a set of winding steps that swirl all the way up to the top of the top of the building (how tall is this thing?!), and that's where they find Necrozma.
Unlike before, where its amazing jumpscare nearly scared Dean into an early grave, Necrozma now is…kind of pathetic, just laying on the rooftop like a sack of potatoes. There's some sort of an energy around it, pulsating and growing stronger the closer they dare to get, a golden aura shining around the Pokemon with the occasional streak of light not unlike a shooting star bursting into the air behind it.
For a moment, everything is weirdly calm, with the three of them looking at Necrozma and Necrozma…probably looking back, though it's hard to tell since it doesn't exactly have what Dean would call 'eyes'. The shining dots on its forehead might be eyes, though, so it's probably close enough. Whatever.
The calm begins to fade. What might be wind whips around them faster and faster, and after a moment, the calm shatters and Necrozma stands, its forehead cracking in half as the jagged black husk falls to the ground and what he can only describe as a dragon of light bursting from the husk, which disappears as the massive Pokemon—well over 20 feet tall now—towers over them.
It's a good thing they're on the roof…
Necrozma in this weird form does have a face, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's itching for a battle. The three of them exchange looks to try to figure out who's lucky enough to be first up to the plate, but Cas' Pokemon aren't really used to battling, so it's mainly between him and Sam.
As per usual, Dean chooses to look out for Sammy. Even if that means getting to try to battle the huge light dragon first and hope it isn't as volatile as its chunky, jagged form. Necrozma makes a loud sound Dean tries not to think of as a battle cry, lights flashing all around it in the way they do around Totem Pokemon right before their stats spike.
"Uh…Salandit, get out there." Salandit grunts and clings to his back, all but refusing. "Aw, c'mon…"
Really, Dean doesn't blame it at all for not wanting to battle the giant dragon thing. That does mean that Mantine is sent out instead, only to be tromped on by an unexpected Rock type move. To make matters worse, as Dean debates who to send out next, Necrozma shows it's not interested in turns and sends out a Stealth Rock, which will damage anything sent onto the battlefield.
His Alolan Marowak meets a similar fate at the hands of Power Gem, as do Sam's Growlithe and Vullaby when Sam decides to switch in. The newly hatched Eevee literally doesn't stand a chance, as Sam hasn't really started training it, so as their remaining Pokemon tick away and Poliwhirl goes flying across the battlefield, Dean can confidently conclude that they're boned.
Sam's Lycanroc, at least, is able to land a few hits in the form of Crunch, which is super effective and confirms Necrozma's suspected Psychic typing, but it's only a matter of time before it faints too. By some miracle, Salandit's able to poison it with Toxic and deal some serious damage with Dragon Pulse before some insane Psychic type move does it in and Dean's forced to return it to its PokeBall.
Bewear, the last of their collective Pokemon, gets some good hits in and manages to spice things up with Pain Split, sapping away Necrozma's strength and giving it to itself, but Necrozma's weirdo Psychic canon takes out Bewear within four turns, leaving them all but out of Pokemon.
Seriously, why is Dean only just realizing that neither him nor Sam have a full team?
"It's gotta be getting down to low health by now, right?" Dean asks somewhat hysterically, feeling around for a PokeBall. "It's poisoned and that-that Pain Split—it's gotta be getting down there."
Necrozma, however, shows no signs of backing down, making it impossible to figure out how much strength it has left. In other words, they're seriously screwed at this point, but if the poison is given enough time to take out a majority of its remaining strength, they might have a chance. If only they could stall it…
Sam uses up a few minutes throwing PokeBalls at the thing, but it breaks out of every single one and only seems stronger afterwards, if only because it's visibly more pissed off. The Pokemon stalks closer to them, its long tail swinging wildly behind it. Dean gets the distinct impression that if they don't send something out, they're gonna be the ones fighting the thing, mano-a-mano.
"Uh, guys?" he calls, backing away from it as far as he can before he's in danger of tumbling off the rooftop. "Now would be a great time for a plan!"
"Working on it," Sam says somewhat frantically. "Um. As a Bug and Fairy type, Ribombee has the type advantage? But then this thing has a Rock type attack, and Ribombee's not that strong of a battler…"
"Dean," Cas cuts in, a weirdly determined look on his face that Dean doesn't like one bit.
"Cas…" Their eyes meet, and Dean knows right then and there that the idiot has his mind made up, and whether he likes it or not, he knows this isn't his decision to make. So he sighs and pats Cas on the shoulder. "Give 'em hell, Cas. And don't do anything stupid."
"Wait, what?" Sam's head snaps between them almost comically, though Dean has trouble finding humor in the moment as Cas changes back into his Pokemon form, floating idly in front of them. "Uh…what's happening? Is Cas gonna try to fight Lucifer?"
Dean doesn't feel too enlightened himself, so he doesn't reply as Cas dodges whatever attacks Necrozma throws at him, obviously just stalling for time. The whole thing makes Dean feel…weird, wondering just how intelligent other Pokemon are if Cas is basically on par with any human they see walking down the street. Is that just an Ultra Beast thing, or is his team more capable than he thought?
Necrozma shows its own understanding of humanity by giving up on trying to swat Cas out of the sky and instead turning to them, launching an attack before they have time to do much more than stand and stare like a couple of sitting Farfetch'd.
Instead of getting chopped to pieces right then and there, Dean opens the eyes he didn't realize he closed to see a semi-transparent blue shield hovering in front of them, with Cas' shorter tentacles holding it up with visible effort, probably not used to using Pokemon moves. Still, if Cas didn't know Protect, it's entirely possible that they'd be pancakes right now, so he appreciates it either way.
Necrozma, on the other hand, does not and cracks his disproportionately small head in half to shoot out that weird Psychic type move at Cas, who's still straining to keep using Protect. The move bounces off the barrier, but when the Pokemon uses it again almost immediately, Dean knows Cas' strategy could fail at any second.
"Cas, use something else!" Damnit, what moves does he know? Dean can barely remember what his own Pokemon know, but he's pretty sure Cas didn't give them any hints as to what moves he himself can use. He can use Protect, Dean knows, and if he thinks back to how Cas had countered some of Necrozma's attacks… "Cas, use Headbutt!"
The shield splinters apart as Cas listens without question, using his smaller form (not even 4 feet tall to counter Necrozma's staggering 24 plus, making the fight seem even more unfair) to weave between Necrozma's limbs and get right in his face before launching into a Headbutt, slamming the top of his head right in Necrozma's face.
The big light dragon stumbles back and swats at Cas, but all that does is cause it to step on some of the rocks still laying around the battlefield from the Stealth Rock Necrozma itself threw out there earlier. Using that to their advantage, Dean calls out for Cas to stay close but keep on dodging, which means Necrozma is doing a majority of the moving while Cas more or less conserves his energy.
Eventually, the strategy pays off and Necrozma is visibly weaker, clearly affected by the barrage of attacks from all their Pokemon as well as the poison still running through its system. Unfortunately, before it finally drops, it manages to hit Cas with Smart Strike, a Steel type move that's super effective against Cas' weird Rock typing. Cas drops to the ground and Dean's heart drops with him, and before he can even think about it, he's running over to him, desperate to make sure he's okay.
"Cas!"
"Dean, stop!" Sam shouts, but he's already moving and has no intention of stopping as he runs past Necrozma's feet, falling to his knees beside Cas' unmoving, semi-transparent body.
"Cas? You okay, buddy?" It's hard to tell if he's conscious or not until Cas makes a noise and gets back up. Dean hesitates, but nods, knowing Sam's running out of PokeBalls to stall the thing with. "Okay. Okay, let's do this. It's getting weaker, so hang in there just a little longer."
That 'little bit longer' ends up being nearly fifteen more minutes, and Dean watches Cas get tossed around like something from the Pokemon Pinball games, but through it all, he manages to keep going, mostly dodging but throwing the occasional Headbutt in there while Dean bites his nails.
When Necrozma finally drops and all the too-bright light drains out of it and literally melts into the floor like somebody spilled a bucket of paint, Dean's barely looking at it, his eyes darting around and frantically searching for Cas, who he'd lost sight of when the giant dragon of light started falling. Is Cas okay? Did that thing's giant…everything squash him like a Caterpie?
"Dean, Lucifer's gone," Sam says with obvious surprise, as if that's what Dean's looking at. "It just…vanished. The light all poured out of it and now there's just…nothing there. Where do you think it went?"
"Where do you think Cas went?" Dean snaps, more worried than angry, and Sam looks visibly caught off-guard. "Damnit, if that idiot got himself killed…"
"Dean, Cas…Cas is a Pokemon. He's used to battling."
"No he isn't!" He's not even sure which claim he's denying. "Cas is…Cas is Cas, and he hates battling. Seriously, when's the last time he seriously tried to fight anything with his own Pokemon? Let alone with himself?"
"Dean, he's fine." Dean brushes off the words and stomps around the rooftop, but no matter how many times he circles it, there's still no sign of Cas. When he finally stops, Sam puts a hand on his shoulder, grabbing his attention. "Maybe he fell or something. We should check the base of the tower."
Reluctantly, he allows himself to be led to the elevator, which seems to take much longer to go down than it did to go up. Dean shifts uncomfortably the entire ride, counting the seconds in his head until they finally get to the bottom of the tower and the elevator doors open back up. He looks around frantically for Cas, and when he sees two legs sticking out from around the base of a building.
"Cas!" He wastes no time in running right up to him, carefully rolling Cas from his side to his back and trying to figure out where he's hurt, though he can't exactly ask right now given that his best friend is unconscious…has fainted(?). Cuts, bruises, scuff marks all over his skin, maybe even a sprained wrist or something… "Cas?"
Not for the first time, he feels powerless staring down at the dorky little guy that's been in his life since they were ten, going on eight years now. Of course, he never knew Cas was a Pokemon before a few…hours? Days? Some amount of time ago, anyway. Maybe he should've seen it coming, seen the signs, but there weren't any. Sure, Cas is kind of weird, but Dean doesn't think that's because he's a Pokemon. He's just a weird guy…right?
Dean stares at his best friend and takes in all his injuries with a twist of uneasiness squirming in his gut. Should he just…give him a few Potions and hope for the best? Would that even work when Cas is in a sort of human form…? Cas' eyes slide open, looking at him silently, and some of Dean's tension eases. This is still Cas, staring at him and being all weird like he always does. He's still just Cas.
"Hey," he breathes with obvious relief. "Hang in there, buddy, we'll get you patched up."
Cas' eyes close again, and he does his best not to panic as he tries to maneuver Cas upright, shooing away Sam when he attempts to help, even as Sam huffs in that bitchy way he does sometimes. Once he has Cas in a sloppy bridal carry, he follows Sam back to Jack, who's thankfully conscious and standing, the berries Cas had left for him before gone.
Jack makes a decidedly happy noise when he sees them before kneeling down like he had before when he let the three of them on his back. Sam stops off to pet Jack's mane, probably trying to figure out how much strength he has and if he can handle this, but Dean doesn't pay too much attention to that, too worried the answer might be that Jack isn't strong enough to make another Ultra Wormhole.
"Hey, Jack. Think you have one more time warp in ya?" Dean asks as he carefully climbs on Jack's back, keeping Cas' limp body in his arms and more or less on his lap. Jack looks over his shoulder at them, looking almost…sad, and if Dean's hands weren't full, he'd probably be petting Jack to erase that sad look. "We need a Pokemon Center. Or a hospital. Or…both?"
"Sol!"
"Right. Sol. Think you're up for it?"
"Dean—" Sam starts, but Jack cuts him off with a mighty growl and spits out a new portal, leaving Sam scrambling to get on in a way that Dean might laugh at under different circumstances.
As is, he just holds on tight to keep Cas from falling, hoping he himself won't send both of them hurtling towards the unseen barrier that hopefully exists as Jack runs through an Ultra Wormhole. Dean squeezes his eyes shut and hunches in closer in an effort to protect Cas, even as all the stars and portals rushing by them makes him kind of dizzy.
When they finally land, it's with a lot less grace than Dean was hoping for, with Jack more falling out of the Ultra Wormhole than anything. Still, they're thankfully back in Alola at the Lake of the Moone, but they're all wiped out and Jack is laying on his side and decidedly exhausted and Cas is a Nihilego again which means he has no idea how to check if he's okay—
"Do you have any Potions left?" Sam asks, and Dean shakes his head, trying not to freak out when he feels very much inclined to freak out right now. "Okay. I'll go get some at the PokeMart. It's just on Route 16, so I should be back in a few minutes. Obviously we can't take Jack or…Cas there, but I could take your Pokemon, if you want."
Dean hesitates, but hands Sam all his PokeBalls, not wanting to leave them hurt in there any longer than possible, not when they deserve a nice long rest after battling so hard. Besides, the less Pokemon that need healed up, the better, and he has no idea how much it might take to heal two Ultra Beasts.
That still doesn't make it any easier when he watches Sam walk away with his Pokemon, leaving him feeling even less confident that he can protect Cas if need be. Calling out Cas' Pyukumuku and Ribombee helps a little, even though he knows they're not overly powerful. Fishing ingredients out of his bag to start cooking up a pot of soup also helps, if only because it makes him feel like he's actually doing something.
Still, through it all, questions linger in his mind. Would soup even help Cas the way it helps humans, or should he stick to Potions and berries? He's made Cas soup before when he'd gotten sick over the years, but that was before he knew…before he knew what Cas was, not before Cas was a Pokemon. He's just…being stupid.
That's the problem, actually. He knows he's being stupid with this whole thing since Cas is still the same he's always been, but he can't help but feel like things have changed, now even more so as he doesn't see a human using Jack as a pillow, but a Pokemon, and a really weird one at that.
(Honestly, if Cas were a Pokemon, Dean would've pictured something more like…Sentret or Espurr or something. Cute and weird and mostly harmless with a bit of a staring problem. Not…whatever a Nihilego is. Not that he has a problem with Cas' actual Pokemon form, given that it's a part of him no matter what, it's just…weird.)
Given Cas' lack of actual facial features in this form, it takes Dean a minute to realize the thing he's staring at is awake, which Dean only realizes once he starts moving, lifting his head up and probably looking towards him. Dean swallows and stirs the soup, trying to appear calm when he's very much not. Pyukumuku pressing its face into his stomach helps, even if it's probably only doing that because he's been stress-eating enough to be described as 'pillowy'.
"Hey, Cas." He grins like an idiot when Cas makes a noise that he swears is the Nihilego equivalent of 'hello, Dean,' his shoulders untensing just a little already. "Sammy's at the Pokemon Center, grabbing more Potions. Should be back soon."
Cas gets up from his fluffy couch and drifts closer to Dean, though he noticeably keeps his distance, which is pretty noteworthy considering his inability to understand the concept of personal space. For a moment, Dean wonders if Cas isn't quite sure how to interact with him either before it occurs to him that Cas can probably sense his unease and is acting accordingly. The very thought makes him scowl and scoot closer to Cas, who stays where he is even as Dean gets close enough to bump his shoulder against him, leaning over the pot.
"Nothing like some warm soup to get you feeling better again, huh?" Cas makes another weird noise, noticeably subdued, and Dean looks away. "Look, sorry if I'm…weird about all this, man. It's just kind of a lot to take in, y'know? I mean, I know it's still you in there, but you look so…"
At this, Cas ducks his head, and it occurs to Dean that maybe he's just as uncomfortable about this form as Dean is. Maybe the reason he didn't tell them about it isn't because he doesn't trust them or something, but because he's not a huge fan of it anymore. Cas himself had said he feels more human than anything these days. Cas doesn't have a face in this form, but he still gets the distinct impression that Cas' thoughts aren't great right now, and he hates that he's contributing to that.
"This is still you, though," he continues slowly, and Cas looks over at him again. "No matter what you look like or how many tentacles you've got, you're still just Cas. And besides, that battle earlier was pretty badass, man. I mean, you just went right up and headbutted that thing, right in its face! And it couldn't seem to catch you no matter how hard it tried, 'cause you're just that cool. Seriously, if you weren't there, kicking ass and taking names and all that, who knows what could've happened?"
Cas makes a soft…chirping sound that seems almost like a laugh, making Dean grin and stand up to fish bowls out of his bag, which he then fills with soup. Cas accepts a bowl into his weird tentacle arms, but when Dean picks Pyukumuku back up and turns back around, he finds Cas looking at him, and Dean looks back. Somehow, even without a face, Dean still gets lost when he looks at Cas…
This moment is, of course, completely obliterated when Sam, slow as a Shuckle, finally gets his ass back to the Lake of the Moone, a dopey expression on his face that Dean does his best not to comment on, not knowing how his own face might look right now. Sam hands his PokeBalls back, and Salandit wastes no time before popping out without being called.
"Hey, you made soup?" Sam puts his face right over the pot, probably getting all kinds of hairs in the soup. "Smells good. What's in it?"
"What the hell took so long? I was starting to think you died or something," Dean says instead of answering, even as he gets another bowl out of the bag and its endlessly deep pockets and fills it for Sam. "Seriously, what happened? The Pokemon Center isn't that far, is it?" Sam just kind of ducks his head and mumbles something, not answering. "You meet somebody?"
"No. Shut up. Jerk."
Dean rolls his eyes. "Bitch."
In his opinion, Sam very much deserves it when half of his team pops out of their PokeBalls at the smell of food and promptly steal half his soup. If he thought he was weak to puppy-dog eyes, Sam is just pathetic, which is a problem given that most of his Pokemon know exactly how to use that to their advantage. Even Eevee is stepping up to the plate, clearly following in Growlithe and Vullaby's voracious footsteps as it begs for food.
Yeah, he definitely deserves every bit of that. Though…maybe not when Jack decides to join the begging, considering Jack is humongous and could toss back the entire pot of soup like he's doing shots, but the rest of it, definitely.
Dean keeps a close eye on Cas throughout the night (turns out that it's actually night, as the sky is bright like it should be again when he opens his eyes next), and in the morning, Cas is back to his human form and ready to go. Dean doesn't question it too much and they keep pressing forward, finally leaving the Lake of the Moone and heading back to the Pokemon Center on Route 16 on the way.
It takes only seconds for Dean to figure out why exactly it took Sam over an hour to go there and back, and it has everything to do with the blonde behind the counter with the sweet smile and a Vanillite. Sam flushes and fumbles like a dope while Dean sits back and watches, though once the amusement dies down and he grants the two some privacy, the whole situation just makes him think about Cas…
Eventually, Sam pries himself away from the girl—it takes ten minutes to get a name from him, but he does cave (it's Jess)—and they Mantine Surf back to Poni Island to finish up the final trial. They nail the trial, of course, and just like that, their island challenges are complete. They get a bunch of malasadas to celebrate, and just like before, Cas is able to tell them all which kinds their Pokemon prefer.
That little ability never made much sense before, but in light of the big reveal, it…kind of does. He mostly tries to ignore the fact that Cas is actually a Pokemon, and for the most part, he's able to. Still, he can't help but feel guilty for pushing down a part of who Cas really is, so one night in the Pokemon Center, while Sam's conked out on one of the beds and snoring like a Slaking, he asks something that's been on his mind for a while.
"Should I…" Dean shifts uncomfortably, "catch you or something? So we can stay together?"
Cas shakes his head slightly, smiling softly. "I'm your friend, Dean, not your Pokemon. But that doesn't mean I won't continue to be your companion. I'd just rather it be by my own free will."
He lets out a relieved breath, lips quirking up in a smirk. "Sounds good to me. But, uh, what happens if anyone tries to nab you again?"
"Well…I suppose you'll just have to be there to protect me."
"I think I can live with that." Dean hesitates for all of two seconds before pulling Cas into a hug. "It's good to have you back, Cas."
"I'm glad you feel that way, since I have no intention of leaving."
"Those are the best words I've heard all year."
There's no doubt that they'll run into trouble in the future, but Dean's not worried. He's got Cas back by his side where he belongs, Sam in his corner, their weird stardust kid with an affinity for nougat backing them up, and a dozen or so Pokemon to help them along the way. Everything else? Well, they'll make it up as they go, just like they always do.
And make it up they do. When the Pokemon League begins, he and Sam both enter, and Cas and Jack cheer them on from the bleaches, nobody daring to sit anywhere near them with Jack being so huge and unknown. They don't win first place, but they do place decently high in the scoreboard, so Dean's satisfied.
Sam squirms but asks to head back to Route 16 to go tell Jess all about his victory, and Dean takes the opportunity to enjoy another Mantine Surf, able to enjoy it much more without having to go out and find Cas or Jack or anyone else (although he does wonder why Team Smoke has been so quiet, but he knows better than to start poking around and asking questions about any pictures being leaked).
Komala Coffee in hand, he watches Sam and Jess talk a mile a minute from outside the Pokemon Center, looking through the window at them and smiling at how happy Sam looks. "Look at those two, talking up a storm."
Cas squints in at them, but eventually nods, the bag Dean carted halfway across Alola back over Cas' shoulder where it belongs. "Yes, they seem to already be very good friends."
"Uh…right. Friends." Dean glances at Cas, wondering if he really believes that, but his expression reveals nothing since it's still all squinty. Deciding to take a chance, he hesitantly adds, "Like you and me, huh?"
"Um…yes. Very good friends."
Despite his words, Cas' face goes kind of red. Bingo. Dean smiles and nods to himself. "Yeah, great friends. The kind of friends that share sleeping bags and clothes and kisses and all that."
"I…don't think Sam and Jess are that close yet."
"Who said I was talking about them?" Cas looks up at that, and instead of looking away, Dean meets his eyes. "I, uh, wouldn't mind being that kind of friend with you, Cas."
"You mean…boyfriend?" Dean bites the inside of his cheek at the word and drains the rest of his Komala Coffee. "I wouldn't, either."
"Cool. That's…that's cool."
"Yes…" They stare at each other for another long moment before Dean sets his coffee down and presses a quick kiss to Cas' big dumb face, retreating quickly. Cas blinks a few times before he smiles. "I believe this is where you'd say 'awesome'."
"I believe you're a dork." Albeit, a dork that gets more kisses, but still a massive dork, because human or Pokemon, that's just who Cas is. When Dean runs out of air, he does pull away, feeling even more breathless at the way Cas struggles to get his own oxygen. "Yep. Massive dork."
"Dean, I think Sam is looking at us."
Dean pauses, but shrugs. "Didn't think he'd ever look away from Jess." Cas squints again, and Dean looks down, asking quietly, "Do you, uh…really wanna stay with me?"
"Yes, of course."
"Hm… That's good. But if you change your mind—"
Cas cuts him off with a kiss, and pulls away with a marginally grumpy expression. "I've been with you for eight years, Dean. If I wanted to leave, I would've done so."
"You sure? 'Cause there's still, y'know, a whole lot of world to explore…"
"Dean, escaping Ethereal Paradise granted me freedom, but meeting you…it gave me life, and I don't intend to let that go."
"Oh. Well, uh…good. Awesome." Cas smiles a little at that, and Dean smiles back, pressing a kiss to the top of his messy hair. Yeah, he could get used to this… "What do you say we go in there and grab another coffee, just to see Sam squirm?"
Cas shoots him a vaguely disapproving look, but takes the hand Dean offers with a blinding smile, because at the end of the day, no matter what happens, Dean can be assured that he'll have Cas by his side every step along the way for any adventure. Even if their next adventure is trying to stop Jack from eating a rock, because Legendary Pokemon or not, Jack's basically a toddler, and it's like trying to keep baby Sammy from accidentally killing himself all over again.
Despite it all, Dean's pretty fond of their weirdo stardust kid and the addition he makes to their weird little family. Still, trying to sneak him into hotel rooms is a bitch and he takes up an entire bed on his own. At least that gives Dean and Cas an excuse to share—just to conserve space, Sammy, don't make that face.
(Sam better be careful because his faces will not only guarantee endless teasing when he and Jess do anything couple-y, but also may very well earn him a place in Jack's bed, trapped under 500 pounds of fur that, despite Jack not being a Fire type for whatever bizarre reason, is basically a thousand degrees. And Jack refuses to ever sleep on the floor or anything, so they're at risk of losing their security deposit basically daily, which is…fun.)
Exploring regions, battling gyms (and sweating to death after being exiled to Jack's bed when a pullout isn't an option and hoping the mattress doesn't burst into a million pieces)… Just another day in the life of the Winchesters.