Pokémon Radiant Sun


And here we are! Final chapter of the Act!

Man, it's been a wild ride.

Before we move onto that, there's an important statement I want to make.

Take this COVID-19 stuff seriously, people. Seriously. This shit isn't a joke.

Wear masks. Stay inside whenever possible. Avoid large gatherings, parties and celebrations that put you at risk. Stay safe.

My parents caught this thing last week and I'm terrified for the both of them. Especially since my father is high-risk. Right now they're sick but managing, but things could change in an instant and I'm stuck halfway across the planet and unable to do anything but hope that they beat this thing. And it all could have been avoided, but they made a single mistake and ended up catching this damn virus.

Be smart. Be safe. Please.

Now that that's out of the way...let's get right to the main event!

Shoutout to those who reviewed since the last update, which includes SolanaLeonhart, Oragonking, Madame Rodoshe, SonicIKE, Joey, and a new reviewer named dewlyfrau. Thanks for the feedback and support, you wonderful people!

Note: The Battle theme of the Roran fight is the "Emperor Ing A" extended theme from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. It's easy enough to google. The video I listened to on YouTube was by Official VGM and it's thirty minutes long, so that's highly recommended. I make a note inside of the chapter when to play that theme for the best effect.

Enjoy!


Chapter 119: Memento Mori


Highborn Production Plant

Many Years Ago...


"Sir! We've got company!"

Roran hissed in anger as he got up from his table, eyeing the stack of money he had been sifting through with annoyance. His hand ached in pain, but Roran ignored this and called out his Ariados as he staggered forward.

"It was too much to hope that they wouldn't track me down here. Highborn wasn't exactly my smartest option." Roran thought, even as he snatched up his bright red cloak and stuffed two handguns into the pockets, as well as expertly flipping the serrated black knife in his hands. He then secured a third, hidden handgun on his person before deciding to greet his guests.

The Highborn Production Plant sat at the tip of Malie Cape, in the exact same place the Malie Recycling Plant would be built years later. It was a large and sprawling facility, consisting of several small warehouses and a large two-story factory that oversaw a large portion of the manufacturing on Ula'ula Island. Roran owned the building, and had been hoping to hide out there while he regrouped.

Unfortunately for him, Agent Jackal was a damn good investigator and wasn't the Commander of the Alolan Police Force for nothing. It seemed that the man had been able to track the Kahuna down, and Roran realized he might not have been as subtle as he had hoped.

"My mind is slipping...It's a shame I don't have years to make sense of what Tapu Bulu did to me, as opposed to the handful of days I've been allowed." Roran thought as he sighed, rubbing his face. Thankfully the Curse of Abundance hadn't struck him today, but he had a feeling it would soon. It had very bad timing, and as far as his research into the Forbidden Archive had shown, that was on purpose. The Tapu's powers were vast and mysterious after all.

"Very well. Let's go downstairs and greet our guests." Roran muttered as he stepped into his own shadow, which slunk off into the darkness. Several moments later Roran slipped out of the darkness, peering out carefully from behind a pillar to see a battalion of police officers led by Agents Jackal and 000 (also known as Nanu, a Captain within the Alolan Police Force), along with Lusamine, Mohn, Ashton and Hina at their backs.

Roran smirked from the darkness and crouched down to his Ariados, whispering, "Web traps leading this way. Prepare to strike at Jackal first."

Ariados Shadow Sneak'd away, leaving him to observe from the darkness as his former friends began to sweep the dark floor of the main factory. Roran waited until they had moved far enough away from the door before he directed a thought towards the door and, with a glow of Psychic from a hidden Baltoy, the doors slammed shut and were quickly barricaded by a series of heavy crates crashing down in front of them.

The Trainers were noticeably surprised by this, but even more so when their main target suddenly stepped out of the shadows and began clapping.

"Excellent. The gang's all here. Except for Tommy, sadly, but what can you do?" Roran sighed, shrugging carelessly. Ashton was quick to react, pointing down towards Roran.

"Flamethrower!" Ashton bellowed as Damien released a torrent of flames at Roran, who ducked behind the concrete pillar and hissed as the flames narrowly blasted past him on both sides. The group moved towards the pillar Roran had hidden behind, intent on capturing him quickly and ending this scheme once and for all, but quickly found themselves unable to move, as the floor was covered in barely visible webbing.

"What is this?!" one of the officers yelled out, unknowingly letting Roran know that they had fallen into his trap. With a whistle, Roran stepped out from cover and drew both of his pistols, firing upon the group as his Ariados fired off a Signal Beam at them. Three of the officers were shot by Roran before Lusamine had her Delphox, Adele, summon a Protect to shield them from the gunfire. It buckled under the Signal Beam, however and shattered on impact, though Gretel was quick to lunge at Roran and blast him thirty yards back with a Dark Pulse, causing him to scream in pain as he crashed down hard onto the concrete, which also sent both of his handguns flying into the shadows.

Jackal and Nanu quickly tore through the web to try and see if the wounded officers could be saved, but they had already lost a great deal of blood. One of the officers with a Kadabra quickly teleported the injured out, and Jackal turned his fury to Roran as the Kahuna stumbled to his feet, panting as he threw back his tattered robe as his body shook from being hit by a Pokémon attack. It was a testament to how serious this had become, if it meant Jackal had resorted to attacking someone directly with his Pokémon.

"How could you?" Lusamine spoke to Roran, righteous fury burning in the former Champion's eyes. Roran dusted himself off, flashing them all what had once been a charming grin. Now it was the smile of a predator before he pounced on his prey.

"Because Alola needs change. The world needs change, truthfully, but Alola comes first. I have been single-handedly saving this damn place for all of my adult life. Millions poured into development projects, boosting trade and creating a tourism industry and even helping you push the idea of a Pokémon League out there!" Roran said with a determined gleam in his eyes, the ambition of his desires shining within them.

"And to accomplish all of that, you become a criminal mastermind and fostered your own organization bent on making you enough money to secure Alola's future and give the region a visible enemy to unite behind." Nanu summarized, with the man who would later become the Kahuna seemingly impressed by the scheme Roran had kept up for well over a decade.

"There's a lot more to it, but yes, that's the gist of it. Sadly, I underestimated a certain someone's skills as an investigator and you discovered my secrets on the Endless, and stopped my efforts to attack Malie City." Roran remarked, his smile waning a little. He turned to Ashton, who was glaring at him with red eyes of hatred.

"Ashton...Your Radiance shined like a star, my young friend. I hoped that maybe in the future, Tapu Bulu would choose you as my successor, and that we could walk down the road of making Alola better for everyone together." Roran said quietly, sounding genuinely mournful. "And for the record, I am sorry for losing control over myself and killing Tommy. It was an accident. It's hard to control-"

"I don't want to hear any of it! You're a liar and a killer!" Ashton shouted, even as Hina grabbed his hand comfortingly. Damien crouched low, growling softly and more than prepared this time to end Roran's life.

"Maybe so…" Roran lamented, sighing softly as he placed a hand against his head. "And it's a shame I have to add a few more murders to my belt tonight. Ah well. I can fix this right up. After all, I have a wonderful knack for coming up with backup plans."

"Doesn't do you much good if we kill you. Last chance to come quietly, Roran." Jackal said to the former Kahuna, who simply beamed at him.

"Roran, please do the right thing!" Mohn called to the man who had been a close friend to many of them. A confidant and trusted companion. Now revealed as Alola's worst villain, someone who had been lying and stealing and murdering his own people for years.

"No, Mohn. Because the right thing is to continue down this path. Change is not a pretty thing, and neither is it something that can happen through dealing with the usual idiots we've come to know." Roran retorted, his smile becoming a more sinister thing.

"Then you're a lost cause and an enemy. I suppose the only thing we can do is make your capture swift, or failing that, your death painless. Out of respect for our friendship." Lusamine said as Adele moved in front of her, aiming her wand directly at Roran.

"So be it…" Roran snarled softly as he held out his Z-Ring, with his Radiance shining brightly, even as the Kahuna quickly took aim with his hidden third pistol and fired it Lusamine. Through some unknown signal, several men and women clad in bright red outfits appeared all throughout the room, calling out their Pokémon. Roran had called upon his Ruby Raiders one final time.

The former Champion threw herself to the ground, barely dodging the bullet that embedded itself in the wall behind her. Nanu and Jackal returned fire, as did several of the other cops while the others fanned out, calling out their Pokémon and engaging with the Ruby Raiders as the battle unfolded between them.

Roran laughed as he dove into his shadow and reappeared behind the two men, only for a Dusknoir to grab him from behind and pull him into a deadly embrace from behind. Gretel then shouted as a force struck her from below and dragged her into the shadows, dropping Roran to the ground and allowing him to slash out with his knife, stabbing Nanu in the chest before jerking out the knife and kicking the man to the ground. Jackal took aim and fired at the Kahuna, who swung his cloak to somehow block the bullet, which shocked Jackal enough to allow Roran to take aim once again-

"NO!"

Roran felt someone grab his arm and pull him backwards, only for Lusamine to surprisingly punch the man in the face hard enough to make him stagger backwards. Roran flashed her a terrible smile as she stood her ground, glaring down the Kahuna with her fierce green eyes.

Just as his own began to glow.

Everyone present stopped at the sound of Roran screaming in agony, clutching his eyes as if they were being burned. Orange light poured from his sockets as tremors wracked his body, causing the Kahuna to fall to his knees screaming.

"Damien, Fire Blast!" Ashton barked out to his Partner, who opened his mouth and unleashed the fiery star at the prone Kahuna. A Baltoy teleported beside Roran and threw up a Protect, shielding him from the attack even as the shield faded and Roran recovered from the curse taking effect. With a grunt, Roran pushed himself upright and smiled widely at them all as his Ariados scuttled out from behind him. They could practically feel the bloodlust coming off of the man.

"Come on, Lusa! Ash! Mohn! Hina! Jackal! Let's see what you all can do! It's SHOWTIME!" Roran laughed as he slowly rose to his feet, grinning demonically as the Curse of Abundance burned bright in his eyes. The Kahuna thrust out his hand, allowing a harsh light to fill the warehouse, even as more Ruby Raiders filled the room. As the battle raged around them, Roran had eyes only for former friends. His only coherent thought was that tearing each of them limb from limb sounded like a wonderful idea.


Magma Basin

Present


(Play Vs Emperor Ing A)

Roran's Guardian of the Greats loomed above them all, its glowing hands shining with energy as the goliath loomed above them. Resembling a black stone helmet depicting a Tapu-like creature, with glowing veins running through its structure. Three floating hands drifted in front of the head, alongside two stone spears that rivaled the head in size. Fragments of Roran's Claydol were lodged in each of the stone structures, glowing brightly with energy. It was an overwhelming show of power from Roran. But that didn't mean Lusamine, Aria and Sun would give up now.

"Dimitri, Hyper Beam!" Aria shouted, reacting first to the new threat. The Tyranitar opened his mouth and charged up another attack, releasing a massive beam of energy directly at the head of the statue. The beam struck the head that Roran was now inside of, exploding against it and causing the head to jerk backwards. As the smoke cleared, it revealed that the large cracks that had appeared on the golem were repairing themselves, orange light shining through each of them.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT! HAHAHA! THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS MAY BE TAKING LONGER THAN I EXPECTED, BUT I ONLY NEED A FEW MINUTES. PLENTY OF TIME TO CRUSH YOU! " Roran laughed from within the titan, holding out its palms as they charged with energy.

"Hit the deck!" Aria yelled as she ducked behind Dimitri. Lusamine and Sun hid behind Oliver's Protect as the attack lashed out at the Trainers. Oliver's shield shattered as the blast struck them, throwing Lusamine, Fiaro, Sun and his entire team backwards across the ground. The others were less fortunate, with Dimitri showing signs of major damage despite his thick and powerful armor. Aria pulled herself up using Dimitri, seeing the damage that the attack had done to the area around them. The hard stone ground was warped by the sheer force of the attack.

Roran then punched one of the hands against the ground, causing rock to erupt around Hau's unmoving form and encase him in rock. Not wanting to take chances, Roran knew that this was the smartest move he could make while dealing with his opponents.

Sun and his team slowly picked themselves as Roran laughed, the fists extending outwards and flying towards them. One flew at Oliver, who had taken to the air, and the Dartrix easily dodged a slap from the hand and a burst of energy from another. While this was happening, the two stone spears suddenly tilted in the air and shot towards Sun. Penny soared in front of her Trainer and lashed out with Hidden Power, the blast smashing into the rocks just enough to slow them down slightly. Finn grabbed Sun and leapt away, causing the stones to smash into the wall.

"Thank goodness…" Penny sighed as she turned her attention back to Roran. She was surprised to see two Poké Balls suddenly drop onto the ground, and a large bird and a strange-looking coffin appeared in a flash of light. Roran's other Pokémon were also moving back into the fight, having retreated while the former Kahuna fought them.

"YOU THINK I'D LEAVE ANYTHING UP TO CHANCE? NO...DESTROY THEM!" Roran shouted as his team rushed forward, with Shadow Archeops and Shadow Cofagrigus joining Cloyster, Claydol, Umbral Torkoal and Shadow Heatran. The Pokémon lashed out with various attacks to batter back the Pokémon battling Roran, but there was something strange about all of this.

"Do they seem more...unfocused? Zzzzt!" Rotom Dex asked Sun as Penny and Oliver dueling Shadow Archeops in midair, with Finn and Alastor focusing on the Guardian as it battled Lusamine and Aria's Pokémon. The Snagger had sent out her Leavanny and Lucario, Leonardo and Sebastian respectively, to even the odds. Lusamine had done the same, calling out a Mismagius to help Fiaro, and the two sides were in pitched combat now.

"Now that you mention it…" Sun muttered as he thought about it. He saw Shadow Archeops wait several moments in midair before using Acrobatics, which missed since Oliver and Penny were able to dodge the attack. Penny shot forward, smashing into the First Bird Pokémon with Brick Break while Oliver hit it from the side with Leafage, causing Shadow Archeops to cry out in pain.

"Maybe it's because Roran's attention is so divided. He's trying to do too much." Sun thought, realizing that he might be not too far off. "He's not drugged, like he was during a large part of our fight in Malie City. But he's tired, and trying to control all of his Pokémon via telepathy while controlling a crazy Z-Move that's taking a lot out of him. He can't do it all...He thinks he can though. Maybe we can use that against-"

"Penny!" Oliver cried out, snapping Sun out of his musings. He looked up just in time to see the Toucannon to punched out of the air by one of the Guardian's fists.

"No!" Sun cried out as the bird flew through the air, landing harshly on the ground with a pained cry before fainting. Sun quickly returned the bird, even as Oliver chirped angrily and glared down at Roran hatefully.

"The hands! We've got to be careful!" Lusamine called out Roran laughed out, the three fists clenched as they soared towards her. Lusamine threw herself to the ground even as a wave of attacks from Aria and Sun's team struck the head, causing Roran to swear loudly and make the hands retract slightly.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! TIME TO DIE!" Roran bellowed both spears of rock suddenly began to glow, with the chunks of Thanatos glowing the brightest. Energy surged within each of the hands, with all three of them glowing a harsh color of red.

"This power...It's unreal…" Aria breathed as she grit her teeth. Sun took notice of the fact that Aria and Lusamine had been focusing on damaging the Guardian, and it now sported several different cracks and chips. However, it wasn't anywhere close to being truly damaged as the damage slowly repaired itself over time.

"IT SEEMS FATE HAS TURNED AGAINST YOU." Roran laughed as the power summoned by his Guardian of the Greats hummed loudly in the air, to the point where it was nearly deafening.

"If that hits us, I don't think my shield will hold!" Oliver hooted as he shuddered in fear of the waves of raw power Roran's Guardian of the Greats was now giving off.

"Everyone! Just hit him! All at once! Don't let him finish that attack!" Lusamine shouted as Fiaro opened his mouth and let loose a Hyper Beam alongside Dimitri, with Mismagius firing off a Shadow Ball. Sebastian used Focus Blast while Leonardo used Energy Ball. Oliver lashed out with Razor Leaf, while Finn and Alastor used Scald and Thunder Shock respectively. The attacks smashed every part of the Guardian, in an attempt to take it down. Each of the glowing sections of the Guardian flashed repeatedly as the energy continued to build in the air.

But to everyone surprise, the energy suddenly imploded within the hands of the Guardian and Roran let out a shout of fury, considering several glowing cracks were now spreading throughout the head. On top of that, the stone hands had dropped to the ground.

"Y-YOU...TCH. WELL PLAYED. BUT I'M NOT DONE!" Roran intoned from within the golem, even as the two pillars crashed down beside Aria, who ordered her team to dodge and retaliate with various attacks.

"It dropped…the hands dropped and that thing took some damage. That means something. But what?" Aria breathed, her mind racing to figure out what this development could possibly mean. "Maybe there's a weak point. Those chunks of his Claydol hidden in the hands and spears, maybe? Plus attacking when it was charging up that move seemed to work too."

"Worth a try." Sebastian the Lucario said as he charged up an Aura Sphere and fired it off at one of the glowing sections in the side of the head. Roran let out a shout as the head shuddered, the explosion rocking the titan.

"GAH...IT SEEMS...I UNDERESTIMATED HOW WEAK I WAS BEFORE USING THIS MOVE…" Roran groaned from within the Guardian, the hands clenched in front of him. Aria suddenly grinned, realizing what was going on.

"He's exhausted...After everything he's been through, he wasn't able to put nearly as much power into his attack as he thought he could." Aria said with a pained laugh. "That means that there's a chance we can end this sooner rather than later."

"For Hau's sake, we should hurry every chance we get." Lusamine said as red wisps of energy began to drift out from the rocky prison Hau was contained in. The energy flowed into Roran's Guardian, which made Sun worry even more about his friend.

"We've got to hit those glowing points where his Claydol's fragments are! It's like a video game, in a way." Sun realized, causing Lusamine to look at him strangely.

"We hit the fragments of Thanatos. That weakens him. But they glow strangely when he tries to go for really powerful attack. We hit him then, and it damages the Guardian. I bet we only need to do that one more time and we've got him if he's this tired now." Sun said with an excited grin as he turned towards the titan, who's hands slowly drifted back into the air. Each of them flipped open palm up, charging up a sphere of energy.

"Dimitri, use Stone Edge to Protect!" Aria shouted as her Tyranitar roared, stomping down his feet and summoning several glowing pillars of rock. Everyone else braced themselves for the attacks, which easily smashed through the stones conjured by Dimitri, but thankfully the stones absorbed enough of the attacks to protect everyone. However, that didn't stop the fist that smashed into the Tyranitar and knocked it to the ground. Roran let out a shout as a red blast of energy and erupted from his hand into the Tyranitar that was now pinned to the ground.

"Dimitri!" Aria called out as a wave of attacks struck the hand, causing it to shift away from the Tyranitar. However, it was unconscious on the ground and unable to fight any longer.

"Dimitri...good work." Aria murmured as she returned her Tyranitar, turning to face Roran as her Lucario and Leavanny braced themselves.

"Leaf Storm and Focus Blast!" Aria shouted Roran laughed from within his Guardian, who sent two fists out to crush the two Pokémon even as Cloyster and Claydol fired off attacks at them. The two Pokémon swiftly dodged the attacks, but Sebastian was smacked by the third hand as it appeared overhead, sending him flying through the air and crashing down hard on the ground, where he was struck by an blast of pitch-black flames from Umbral Torkoal. The Lucario screamed in pain, quickly getting to his feet to hit the Umbral Pokémon with Stone Edge, but at this point he has taken significant damage.

Meanwhile, Lusamine barked orders to her Pokémon as the Shadow Cofagrigus fired off attack after attack at her two Pokémon, even as the two stone pillars attempted to crush them. Fiaro was quickly tiring, but Mismagius was fighting back just as hard as the Shadow Pokémon, scoring several direct hits on both it and the Guardian that continued to attack them.

"COME NOW, LUSA. WOULD MOHN WANT US FIGHTING LIKE THIS? JUST SUBMIT. AND YOU CAN REJOIN HIM!" Roran laughed as two of his hands thrust outwards, releasing a wave of orange energy at the Aether President directly. Lusamine gasped and took a step back, but was even more surprised when her Mismagius flew forward and fired off a Dark Pulse at the hands, blasting them backwards and causing Roran to let out a yell of pain. The titan's attack struck the Ghost-type, knocking her out instantly but saving Lusamine's life in the process.

Lusamine returned her Mismagius, smiling faintly at her loyal Pokémon before she looked up at Roran. Fiaro nodded beside her, crouching low and more than prepared to keep fighting.

Lusamine looked into the air when she heard a pained cry and saw that Sun had gotten the upper hand on Roran's Shadow Archeops, seeing Finn grab the bird in a chokehold while spraying Scald into its face. Archeops dropped onto the ground with a muffled screech of agony before it finally managed to throw Finn off.

The damage was done, though, with the Shadow Pokémon covered in burns and panting harshly from the pain it was in. That pain increased when Alastor threw a Thunder Shock at it, causing the bird to cry out. It was then silenced when a glowing Ultra Ball suddenly hit it in the forehead, sucking it inside of the device. Aria flashed a grin as Roran let out a shout of rage.

"NO! DAMN YOU, GIRL!" Roran roared as he suddenly swung a fist at the Snagger, only for a Psychic to strike the hand and cause it to slam down hard on the ground. A few moments later it broke Fiaro's hold on the stone hand, smacking aside the Ninetales. But the distraction had worked, because...click.

"Snag confirmed." Aria said as the ball flew back into her hand and the Snagger pocketed her newest capture, grinning painfully. Roran let out a shout of fury and one of the hands flew towards her. Sebastian fired off another Aura Sphere and blasted it backwards, even as Sun's team slowly picked themselves up.

"Looks like this form is falling apart. It's strong, but there's a lot going against it and Roran is only human." Sun panted as he held his leg tightly, feeling a sharp pain within it.

"Maybe if we hit it really hard we can beat it." Finn began to say, only to get an annoyed look from Alastor.

"That didn't work last time. What makes you think it'll work this time?" Alastor demanded as Sun considered his options. It was then that he looked down at his Z-Ring, and then looked at Roran.

"Radiance works when a Trainer and Pokémon are completely in sync, bringing out the true potential between the two. It also requires a Trainer be chosen by the Tapu themselves…" Sun trailed off, clenching his fist as he stepped forward. His gaze was determined, with each of his remaining Pokémon watching him.

"There's no reason I shouldn't be able to do it. Not with the bonds I have with you all. Oliver, let's do this." Sun said as he looked at his Starter, who fluttered over to him nervously. As they spoke, Lusamine and Aria were continuing to batter the colossus, even as Roran sent Leonardo and Fiaro flying across the room with two blasts of energy from its hands.

"Alright...focus. Focus, focus, focus. A single thought...We need to focus on bringing him down. Save everyone. All of the people we care about. All of the people Roran's hurt...We can do this. I believe that." Sun said as he focused on the Z-Ring on his wrist. Oliver thought about what Sun had said as well. The righteous anger they both felt towards Roran, and a desire to protect those he would hurt. Sun brought forth the power of his Z-Ring like he usually did, focusing intently on those feelings.

Sun was surprised when he looked down at his Z-Ring and saw it glowing brightly, a new myriad of colors shining out from the armband. After a few moments, the Z-Ring slowly began to morph in color from white, to gray, to black. Oliver's eyes began to glow then as well, as did Sun's. The boy then felt a feeling of great warmth spread through his body, quickly building as growing hotter each moment.

"Keep focusing on that...Focus on what he did to us. How he killed Ollie, Hugh, Aria. And me...We have to bring him down." Sun said quietly as he glared up at the Guardian that floated to the side to avoid a Focus Blast.

To Sun's surprise, he felt the growing feeling of warmth between himself and Oliver suddenly vanish, the light fading from his eyes as Oliver suddenly stilled. The beginnings of Radiance within Sun and Oliver were vanishing.

"What happened? You looked like you kinda had it going." Finn asked, confused.

"Oliver?" Sun asked the owl, feeling the power slip away from him. His Z-Ring faded back to its usual color of white while Oliver flinched, shuddering now. Sun lowered his hand and looked down at the owl on the ground, who gazed up at him mournfully.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. I'm too weak. I can't do this. I can't let you die again...I'm not strong enough." Oliver hooted as he hung his head, causing Alastor to scoff in disgust.

"Pathetic. You practically had that power coming out of you, and you're too weak to bring it out." Alastor scolded the owl, who glared silently at him. Sun frowned at the implications of what this meant, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Not when Roran was beating them all into submission and they were so close to bringing him down. They just needed a push to outlast Roran's Guardian of the Greats.

"Finn! Get ready! We're going for a Z-Move!" Sun said as Finn jogged forward, standing in front of Sun as Oliver fluttered behind the boy. "Alastor and Oliver, get ready. I think this is going to be it."

Roran snarled in annoyance as he charged up another attack and fired it off, only to have Leonardo and Sebastian leap apart, dodging the blast. The force still ended up throwing them halfway across the room.

"Energy Ball!" Lusamine shouted as Fiaro burst out of the ground to strike the bottom section of the Guardian, cracking one of the fragments of Thanatos before releasing a blast of greenish energy from his mouth before swiftly leaping away as a fist punched the ground where the Ninetales had been but a moment before.

"Channel Scald...and use Hydro Vortex!" Sun suddenly screamed out, causing Lusamine and Aria to look towards where the boy had been standing.

The Hydro Vortex quickly formed overhead, growing in size rapidly and soon dwarfing the Guardian that Roran had created with his Radiance. Roran laughed as his hands flashed red, power surging within them. Lusamine winced, realizing that Roran was charging up for another devastating attack.

"IDIOTS...YOUR TENACITY IS NO MUCH FOR MY LIGHT!" Roran boomed, clearly confident he could weather whatever Sun could throw at him. That did nothing to deter the boy, who grunted softly before bracing himself, with Finn doing the same and letting out a holler.

"That's not gonna stop us!" Sun shouted as Finn threw the attack at Roran, knowing that this was the moment it was vulnerable. Roran fired off a beam of energy at Finn, but Oliver intercepted with a Protect, blocking it before swooping away as Finn hurled the typhoon at the Guardian. Roran let out a shout as the force of nature smashed into him, filing in the cracks within the creature with water and allowing the tempest to strike the man within, even as it lashed out at the exposed weak points and battered the already damaged titan. The hands drifted upwards and charged up another devastating attack. If it connected, it would likely end the efforts of Lusamine and her team right then and there.

"Everyone! All at once!" Aria shouted as the fragments of Thanatos began to glow harshly within the tempest that was the Z-Move striking Roran's Guardian. Fiaro released a Shadow Ball as Sebastian and Leonardo fired off a Focus Blast and Seed Bomb respectively. Meanwhile Oliver and Alastor let loose with a Razor Leaf and Rock Throw at the golem that surged with energy, prepared to attack again. Again and again the group of Pokémon bombarded the titan with attacks, trying to do enough damage to bring down the force created from Roran's Radiance.

But, a cry of pain suddenly erupted from the Golem as the Hydro Vortex exploded, causing the three hands of the Guardian to shudder in midair before dropping to the ground, falling apart into a pile of rocks as the shining fragments of Thanatos suddenly glowed bright red. The stone spears that floated behind the Guardian stilled in midair before drifting slowly to the ground, dropping down and exploding a shower of rubble and light.

"I...WILL NOT…" Roran intoned as threads of orange light seared through the massive stone head, which opened its mouth slowly before suddenly releasing a flash of light. A shockwave erupted from the Guardian, shaking the entire room.

"We did it…" Lusamine breathed as the head crashed down on the ground, the rocks dissolving in a shower of white particles as more chunks of Thanatos fell to the ground. The glow of Radiance finally died around Roran, who was freed from the Guardian as it fell apart around him, the man's bare torso covered in lacerations and burn marks. As he tumbled out of the stone head, he barely caught himself from falling to the ground in a heap. But only just, as the soaking wet Trainer looked up at the three Trainers with an expression of loathing.

"You know, that move would've been a lot more impressive if you weren't trying to mentally command a half-dozen Pokémon while exhausted and badly injured." Aria pointed out with a grin, which only served to infuriate the Cipher Admin further.

"H-How...I miscalculated. Again. Blast it..." Roran wheezed as he stumbled out of the rubble, blood dripping down arms even as Thanatos reformed behind him, dropping onto the ground with an audible groan. Roran tried to gather his bearings, even if his body was shaking violently because his legs threatened to give out on him.

"Nice work, everyone." Aria said weakly, grinning now as her Lucario sighed with relief. Sun grinned in triumph as Lusamine stepped forward, glaring the madman down.

"It's over, Roran. You can barely stand and your team is exhausted. Let's end this." Lusamine said tiredly to the former Kahuna, who simply scoffed in response and opened his mouth to retort, only to suddenly cough several times and fall to one knee.

"N-No...Not yet. So close…" Roran wheezed as he pushed himself to his feet, glaring down Lusamine and the others. Shadow Heatran snarled besides Roran, though it was obvious that it was on its last legs. Umbral Torkoal was in the best shape, despite everything it had been through, as a result of the number of experiments performed on it that made it a true abomination of nature. His remaining Pokémon were exhausted, but Roran made it clear he wasn't giving up.

And then, Hau began to scream.

As everyone's eyes went towards the boy, Roran grinned widely and turned towards the three Trainers as more energy began to come out from the rocky tomb that Hau was trapped in. Roran chuckled softly as the energy wrapped around his body, which slowly began to darken in color.

"And so...it begins." Roran breathed harshly as he slowly stood up a bit straighter, and life force from Hau bolstering him. Even as this happened, Roran's pale skin darkened completely until his skin was completely jet-black. It reminded Sun of Tapu Koko. Roran's glowing eyes stood out even more now as the transformation began in earnest.

"Flamethrower! Hydro Pump! Shadow Ball!" Roran shouted, stepping forward and scooping up his sword, ignoring the blood dripping down his mouth. "Kill them!"

"He's on his last legs. We're so close! Let's keep pushing!" Lusamine said with fierce smile at Roran, who gritted his teeth in anger as Shadow Cofagrigus laughed sinisterly nearby. Beside him, Thanatos stirred, weakly floating into the air beside Cloyster despite the dozens of cracks and scratches against its body and the black fluid dripping down its sides.

"You really think so…" Roran hissed, hate burning with his gaze as the Curse of Abundance shined bright in his eyes. Without many of his resources at his disposal, Roran was simply not able to stand up to three talented Trainers at once who knew how to counter some of his more useful tricks. He and his Pokémon knew it. But the Ritual had begun in earnest, and now he simply had to withstand the assault.

"Dark Pulse! Magma Storm! Flamethrower! Hyper Beam! Hydro Pump!" Roran bellowed, with his Pokémon quickly leaping into action and releasing a wave of attacks at them. Leonardo and Sebastian managed to get out of the way while Fiaro used Dig to avoid the attacks. Oliver used Protect once again to shield his teammates, though the wave of attacks began to crack the shield almost immediately. Thankfully Aria and Lusamine's Pokémon retaliated with a wave of attacks that forced Roran's team to stop.

"I'll tear you apart. I stand strong...My team stands strong. I will become a God! Burn this damn place to the ground!" Roran bellowed, his voice deepening slightly, but the look in his eyes was of absolute insanity.

"He's losing it…" Sun said quietly, seeing the furious glare on the face of the Cipher Admin, even as he directed his Pokémon to attack Lusamine's Pokémon, which struggled against the onslaught of attacks. Aria took advantage of that and pointed Leonardo at Shadow Cofagrigus.

"X-Scissor! Follow up with Leaf Storm!" Aria called to her Leavanny, which dashed forward despite its injuries and struck the Coffin Pokémon from the side, nearly causing it to topple over. The graceful Leavanny kicked off of the ground and soared into the air as Roran turned his attention to it, but the Leaf Storm that swept past him and his Pokémon prevented him from dealing with Leonardo.

And it was exactly the opening Aria needed. While all of this was happening, the Snagger pulled out an Ultra Ball and charged it up, transforming it into a Snag Ball. And as soon as the Leaf Storm struck, the young woman hurled the Snag Ball at the Shadow Pokémon.

"No! Damn it!" Roran shouted as Cofagrigus was sucked into the device. The Ultra Ball clattered to the ground, shaking back and forth on the ground. Once. Twice. Three times...click.

"Snag confirmed, you bastard." Aria said as Shadow Cofagrigus' Poké Ball flew into her outstretched hand, much to the frustration of the former Kahuna.

"We can keep dragging this out. Or you can surrender." Lusamine said before she snapped her fingers. "Flamethrower!"

"I'M NOT DONE!" Roran screamed as red wisps of energy burned off of his body, which was slowly beginning to glow with red runes as Hau began to scream louder. Roran opened his mouth as his teeth suddenly became razor sharp and deadly, resembling a shark. "Thanatos! Hyper Beam! Shadow Heatran, use Magma Storm! Umbral Torkoal, use Shadow Inferno!"

"What a resilient asshole." Aria grunted as the attacks raced towards them, with Roran holding himself against Thanatos as the Claydol attacked them, sending its Hyper Beam right at Sun. Finn stepped in front of Sun and, with an almighty yell, let loose a harsh blast of Psychic.

"Finn, stop it! You know that won't work!" Sun called to his Poliwrath, but the Tadpole Pokémon braced himself as he held out his hands, shouting as his hands, eyes and stomach all glowed a harsh blue color. The attack rippled outward and and struck the Hyper Beam, halting it in its tracks. Finn let out a scream as he was forced backwards, his feet skidding across the stone.

"Whoa...I knew he'd be stronger after evolving into a Poliwrath, but this takes the cake." Sun thought as Finn held off the Hyper Beam, suddenly redirecting the attack so that it was aimed back towards the roof of the chamber angled towards Roran. The Hyper Beam exploded against the ceiling, causing debris to fall onto the ground all around the Magma Basin, including pipes and chunks of metal. Finn huffed as the smoke cleared before letting out a shout, flexing his muscles.

"OH YEAH! YOU AIN'T GETTING THE DROP ON ME THIS TIME!" Finn bellowed out defiantly as Roran's expression became visible through the smoke. The former Kahuna seemed shocked that Sun's Pokémon had redirected such an attack, and reinforced the idea that he was dealing with yet another prodigy child.

"Magma Storm and Umbral Scorch on the boy!" Roran shouted as Thanatos and Cloyster fired off other attacks towards Aria and her Leavanny, the latter of whom shielded his Trainer with his body and sent the two of them flying back in a shower of ice and dust. Sebastian the Lucario leapt into the air and hurled an Aura Sphere at Roran, who teleported thanks to his Cloyster and reappeared in front of Lusamine, slashing at her with his sword. Lusamine fell backwards in an attempt to dodge the attack, only for Oliver to fly at him again after using Protect to save Sun from the fire attacks Roran had unleashed on him. Roran teleported again to avoid the bird, but that was more than enough of a distraction for Aria to take advantage.

"Stone Edge! Bury that damn thing!" Aria barked at her Lucario, who had dodged a Flamethrower from Shadow Heatran and charged up an Aura Sphere, firing it at Shadow Pokémon. Sebastian followed it up by raising one foot and then stomping it down, slamming his palms against the ground as well.

Shadow Heatran roared in pain as the Super-Effective attack exploded against its face, sending it flying backwards into the wall. What made matters worse was when four glowing stone pillars erupted out of the floor and smashed it further and further into the wall, preventing it from getting out.

"UMBRAL BLAST!" Roran roared as Umbral Torkoal repaired the damage to its body, the horrific things done to it allowing the Umbral Pokémon to continue fighting long after any normal Pokémon would have collapsed. Aria swore softly as a jet-black orb of raw energy formed within his mouth and fired off towards her, causing the Snagger to throw herself to the ground.

"Sweep it across the room! End them all!" Roran shouted, a terrible grin coming to his lips as Umbral Torkoal obliged, moving its head and sending the beam of energy towards Roran's opponents, who scattered behind Oliver's Protect while Sebastian and Fiaro both fired off attacks at the beam, which barely did anything to diminish the attack that struck all of their Pokémon, knocking out Fiaro and Leonardo at the same time.

"Psychic!" Aria shouted out suddenly, causing Roran's neck to snap towards the Snagger. Sebastian the Lucario had suddenly dashed forward, lashing out with a Psychic attack that blasted all of Roran's Pokémon backwards. He then followed up with a Close Combat on Umbral Torkoal, ferociously beating it with his hands and feet before hitting it point blank with a Focus Blast. Roran himself was thrown against the stone tomb Hau was trapped in, weakly draped over it with a pained expression on his face before he fell onto the ground, heaving as his bleeding and broken body tried to cope with the damage and stress that it had been subjected to. Even with the boost Hau's life force had given him, getting struck with Psychic was nearly too much for him to bear.

"We've got to deal with this thing. Now, while Roran's down! He can't give it orders, so it's a sitting duck!" Lusamine barked as Roran struggled to recover, dazed ad unable to issue commands. The Umbral Pokémon remained still, unable to know what to do without someone giving it instructions. The one flaw of the Umbral Pokémon was that while it was indeed a killing machine with unnatural powers of endurance and regeneration, it was unable to act on its own. This was evidenced by the fact that Sebastian the Lucario had been frantically attacking it nonstop for the past minute and was making no headway, nor was he being attacked by the Pokémon that was simply standing still and taking it. Whenever Sebastian paused to recover, Umbral Torkoal repaired the damage and he was right back to square one.

"I can't snag it from him and knocking it out doesn't work. We've got to kill it." Aria said bitterly, clutching her shattered ribs with a pained gasp as she struggled to remain standing at this point. Sun wondered how she was even managing that much after the blow she had suffered from Shadow Rampardos earlier.

Oliver, Finn and Alastor looked at each other. They knew none of them had the sheer power to take down an Umbral Pokémon, and it had required someone as strong as Guzma using Radiance to defeat Umbral Rhyperior. Sun himself considered the matter, with Rotom Dex humming softly beside him. It was Lusamine who spoke aloud though, eyeing the weak form of Roran even as more energy poured into his body.

"That thing might be an Umbral Pokémon, but it's still weak compared to the rest of his team. There's a chance we just need to deliver a fatal blow that's enough for death to stick. I believe Guzma decapitated Fontaine's Umbral Rhyperior. Managing the same for a Fire-type without the defenses a Rhyperior would have shouldn't be as difficult." Lusamine mused as she called out her final Pokémon, a Clefable, who regarded the scene before her with shock.

To their surprise, Finn spoke up, drawing their attention. "I think I've got an idea. You said we just have to hit it so badly it can't heal, right? In a way that'll kill it?"

"Yes, you idiot. Do you have any more stupid questions?" Alastor demanded angrily, only for Finn to look to his left. He spotted Roran's fallen sword, made of bone and etched with runes that glowed faintly. Finn called upon Psychic, his eyes and stomach glowing blue, and used his power to make the sword fly into his outstretched hand.

"Yeah. Can you hold that thing down? Because I'm gonna hurt it really bad." Finn said confidently, swinging Roran's sword downwards to test it. The Trainers stared at the Poliwrath for a few moments before turning their attention to Umbral Torkoal.

"I've got an idea. Finn, get airbourne! Whoever can, hold down that Umbral Torkoal and weaken it. Everyone else, batter that thing with everything you've got!" Sun called to everyone, who took a moment to process the young Trainer's orders before they made their moves.

"Sebastian, use Psychic! Blast it with everything you've got." Aria instructed her Lucario, who's eyes glowed a harsh blue color as it unleashed the attack on Umbral Torkoal. The abomination roared in agony, lowering its head as its body harshly flared with purple light as the energy of Psychic surrounded it.

"I've got it!" Sebastian screamed, even as Clefable added her own Psychic to the equation, forcefully holding down the Umbral Pokémon and sending it to the floor, making it utterly helpless.

Oliver let out a fierce hoot before releasing a large wave of Razor Leaf onto the Umbral Pokémon, boosted by the power of Oliver's Ability, Overgrow. The Dartrix watched as Finn fired off a powerful jet of water into the air, sending himself hurtling into the sky, his hand tightly gripping the sword that Roran had used to torment them not so long ago.

The former Kahuna groaned as he rolled onto his stomach, watching the scene unfold. He looked to his left and saw an unconscious Cloyster beside his dazed Claydol, alongside Shadow Heatran, which was buried under several Stone Edges. As he caught sight of the Poliwrath flying through the air carrying his bone-sword, he felt dismay creep into him.

"Don't you dare!" Roran barked, pushing against the ground, shutting his eyes tightly to focus his remaining strength to stand. Sun, Lusamine and Aria's eyes flickered to Roran before they focused on Finn again.

"FINN! DO IT!" Sun screamed as the Poliwrath flipped in midair, hurtling towards Umbral Torkoal with the Roran's bone-sword in hand. The Cipher Admin had made it clear that the sword wasn't normal by any means. Now they would see just how strong it was.

Roran staggered upright and opened his eyes just in time to see Finn diving through the air at breakneck speed towards his Umbral Torkoal, and the madman shouted out as Finn reached the ground, slamming the sword downwards with both hands as he landed on Umbral Torkoal's body…

Driving the blade through the Umbral Pokémon's neck.

"NO!" Roran screamed as he watched a whirlwind of black smoke explode out from Umbral Torkoal, sending Finn flying backwards. The Poliwrath landed lightly on the ground besides Sun, crossing his arms with a small laugh.

Meanwhile, Umbral Torkoal was writhing on the ground, trying to move despite a sword almost completely lopping its head off. All eyes were on the Umbral Pokémon as it struggled to breathe, even as blackish fluid seeped from its neck and its movements slowed down...until it stopped moving altogether and the darkness billowing around it flickered away, dying within moments along with the Pokémon who had been turned into a killing machine.

"D-damn...No. All...falling apart." Roran rasped, swaying on his feet as a wave of nausea hit him. To his surprise, he felt something strong support him from the side, and realized that Thanatos had woken back up. He looked forward to see Aria and Lusamine moving towards Roran, their battered Pokémon preparing to finish the madman off.

"My friend...It's time...for our last stand. Just a few more minutes...I can feel it. It's nearly complete!" Roran whispered, shutting his eyes and drawing upon the last of his strength.

Sun sighed as he looked away from the dead Umbral Pokémon. It was the first time he had any of his Pokémon kill another in a battle like this.

"Nice work Finn. I'm...I wish we didn't have to do that." Sun whispered to himself more than his Poliwrath, only to be surprised when the Poliwrath gripped his hand.

"Me either, buddy. But sometimes you've got to do things you don't want to for good reasons. You know-" Finn began to say, only for a rippling wave of force to suddenly erupt from Roran and Thanatos, crimson waves of energy rushing from Roran's body as his Z-Ring shined like a falling star. Thanatos' entire body glowed as it released a massive blast of Psychic that erupted across the battlefield. The former Kahuna then dug into his pocket and pulled out the Revive he had managed to retrieve from his cloak earlier and tossed it at his Cloyster, revitalizing it.

"TEAR THEM APART!" Roran bellowed, his voice deepening further in pitch as his eyes glowed even brighter, but not from the Curse of Abundance. It was the Ritual of the Lost God feeding more and more power into the madman, keeping him pushing through the fight and showing exactly why it was that Borlath had feared the man so.

"What does it take to keep this guy down!?" Sun demanded as he watched Sebastian get thrown backwards, the attack that struck him being bolstered by Roran's Radiance. Finn barely jumped to the side in time, but was thrown to the ground and crashed down hard despite his efforts.

It was obvious now that the Ritual of the Lost God was feeding Roran more and more energy from Hau, but what exactly Sun could do about that wasn't something he knew. Hau was trapped in that strange set of rocks, and Sun was betting that Roran had made it so they couldn't simply rescue Hau without defeating him.

Oliver swooped down and threw up a barrier around them, sparring them from the worst of the Psychic attack. Oliver screeched at the effort, shaking his head as if trying to clear it. After a few moments, a response to Sun's rhetorical question came from an unexpected source.

"I've got an idea." Alastor remarked, causing Sun to look at the Alolan Geodude. The Rock Pokémon looked pretty worn down, which wasn't surprising considering how long they had been battling today. He may have been a strong Pokémon in the Wilds, but he definitely wasn't used to constantly fighting like this back in his clan.

"What kind of idea are we talking here? Because anything sounds good at this point." Sun admitted as he watched Lusamine and Aria deal with what seemed like Roran's final stand, pouring every bit of energy he was leeching off of Hau and the Ritual of the Lost God to fend them off.

"That depends...I have an idea that could end all of this pretty easily. And it's definitely something that human can't bounce back from. But I don't think you'd approve of it." Alastor remarked dryly, causing Sun to look at the battered Geodude with surprise.

"What's the idea?" Sun asked, causing Alastor to smirk at him.

"Heal me first. This is a long shot, but I think I can pull this off." Alastor said to Sun, who thought about it for a few moments before nodding, reaching into his pocket to pull out only healing item he had left. A single Super Potion.

"Damn him. Our teams are exhausted from battled this asshole and he's keeping up the pressure too much for us to...heal?" Aria trailed off in surprise as Sun began to spray Alastor with Super Potion, restoring him to full strength. Aria then focused on the battle and punched forward. "Sun, you really should've mentioned you had some healing items on you."

"I only had a Revive and a Super Potion on me. I usually keep this stuff in my backpack, and I was told I couldn't bring that." Sun retorted as Aria sighed, shaking her head.

"Fair point. Sebastian, Bone Club!" Aria shouted as Sun turned his attention back to the battle, with Alastor floating close to Finn as the Poliwrath got to his feet.

"Finn. Get ready! We're going to end this!" Alastor said as he prepared himself to attack, grinning at the Poliwrath in a surprising show of comradery. Finn let out a low chuckle, getting into a fighting stance himself along his newest teammate as they prepared to jump into the fray. Meanwhile, Sebastian the Lucario was able to strike with a Metal Claw and a Bone Club before getting blasted away from Roran by Thanatos, landing in a crumpled heap next to Aria. The Lucario slowly rose, growling softly as Lusamine ordered her Clefable to fire off a Moonblast at Thanatos, who teleported as Cloyster rejoined the fight properly, teleporting above them and raining down an Ice Beam before vanishing to avoid an Aura Sphere.

Finn charged forward, preparing to dive right back into the action, only for a shout erupt beside him-

The Poliwrath let out a cry of pain as his body seized up, dropping the Finn to his knees as electricity surged through his body and numbed his limbs, paralyzing him. Finn slowly turned his head to see Alastor smiling almost evilly at his teammate. Alastor drew back a fist that crackled with electricity before punching Finn right between the eyes. Finn dropped to the ground unconscious, with Alastor chuckling softly as his Thunder Punch surged along his fingers.

The fight stopped at that moment, with everyone being too surprised to do much more than stare at Alastor in surprise. Even Roran had been shocked by the brutal betrayal, not expecting such a strange twist out of nowhere.

"Alastor! What are you doing!?" Sun shouted as the Alolan Geodude grinned widely, blasting Finn a second time with Thunder Shock to ensure he had fainted. The newest member of Sun's team turned towards the boy in triumph, though his expression soon turned to surprise, because at the moment…

Alastor began to glow.

Everyone present in the Magma Basin watched as the Alolan Geodude's entire body flashed and shined with the familiar blue light of evolution, with his entire body morphing into something completely different. Alastor's body expanded rapidly, with two legs appearing beneath him as two extra arms sprouted from his sides.

As the light surrounding Alastor faded, the Pokémon raised his arms into the air and then thrust them downwards, smirking as electricity danced around his body. Sun was surprised at how different Alastor looked compared to a normal Graveler, but realized that Alolan Regional Variants were just that unique. Rotom Dex snapped out of its shock before Sun could dwell on that further.

"Graveler. The Rock Pokémon and the evolved form of Geodude. Alolan Regional Variant. They eat rocks and often get into a scrap over them. The shock of Graveler smashing together causes a flash of light and a booming noise. Its preferred food is dravite. After it has eaten this mineral, crystals form inside the Pokémon, rising to the surface of part of its body." Rotom explained as Alastor flexed its hands, electricity crackling along the length of his arms.

"Heh...heh...heh." Alastor laughed in a deeper, rougher baritone. "Now THAT was a rush. I can feel the power."

"Yeah, but you just knocked out Finn!" Sun shouted at Alastor, who simply gave him an annoyed look.

"Be quiet, human. I told you I had a plan. And that plan required that idiot out of my way." Alastor snapped at the boy, who jerked back in surprise before Alastor looked towards Roran with a dark smile. "Evolving will just make our victory more certain. Now...Keep him distracted."

Sun grit his teeth at the blatant disregard for his orders and for the well-being of his team, but at this point Alastor had proven to be an incredibly cunning Pokémon. It reminded him a lot of Penny, who was easily the smartest member of the team.

"Bzzt! Sun, just so you know, Alastor just learned Rock Blast." Rotom Dex alerted Sun, sounding rather wary of the Alolan Graveler. Sun didn't blame the device in the slightest for being scared.

"Alright...I'll keep that in mind if we survive this. Oliver! Let's take this creep down!" Sun called to his Starter as the exhausted Dartrix turned his furious gaze from Alastor to Roran, who's body began to shake as it began to slowly morph even further. The madman's legs trembled as orange and red electricity flowed around them, with two orange spikes erupting from his shins as Hau screaming increased in volume.

"So close…" Roran wheezed, laughing horribly as his body shimmered, the power of the Ritual allowing him to feel every ounce of power that his murders had given him. All of the conditions were right, and now he would get exactly what he deserved. It was his right as the one chosen to save Alola. From itself, if need be. Shadow Heatran may be buried, but that was an easy fix. He would destroy the three Trainers and their Pokémon and then ascend to a higher plane of existence. And then Alola would burn forever.

He was surprised when a lance of electricity struck him from behind, causing him to fall to one knee with a howl of pain. The former Kahuna glanced backwards and saw Alastor grinning darkly, holding a rock in each of his four hands.

Cloyster teleported overhead and fired off a Hydro Pump at Alastor, who's eyes widened in surprise. The Alolan Graveler tucked into a ball and rolled forward, to Sun's confusion, only serving to hold himself in place as he spun on the ground. Eventually Alastor rolled backwards and collapsed a few feet away, unmoving.

It was at that moment Roran's body violently twitched, with the madman letting out a scream of agony as an explosion of light erupted from his body, and two shell-like wings erupted from his back. They were orange and dark red in color, with jagged designs in gray dotted along the sides.

"He's transforming! He's becoming a Tapu!" Sun shouted out, much to Lusamine and Aria's growing horror as Roran screamed in agony, blood dripping down his back as he struggled through the changes his body was going through.

"STAY...DOWN!" Roran bellowed at Alastor, his voice booming with power as the former Kahuna laughed, the strange shell now protruding from his back now forming glowing spikes along the edges.

"Alastor!" Sun cried out as the Alolan Graveler went still, so great was the force behind the Hydro Pump that Cloyster had delivered to the Rock-type. Roran nodded and turned his attention back to finishing off the others, content that the newly evolved Graveler was no longer a threat.

No one noticed Alastor's left eye crack open a fraction.

Nor did they notice the Graveler very slowly drag his body towards Roran, with the Cipher Admin too focused on bringing down his enemies to pay attention to a defeated foe.

Thanatos and Cloyster teleported again and again, firing off rapidly at the crowd of Pokémon. Oliver released his shield and flung Razor Leaves at the two Pokémon, catching glancing blows before being blasted backwards by a Psybeam that sent Oliver to the ground. The Dartrix healed himself with Synthesis while Lusamine's Clefable used Metronome, firing off a wicked typhoon of wind that blasted both of the Pokémon backwards and gave them some breathing room as Roran let out a shout, his body continuing to morph under the Ritual of the Lost God as the seconds ticked by.

"We've got to deal with that Teleport stuff! We can't win if he keeps spamming the move!" Sun called out, causing Lusamine to hum as she dug into her dress pocket, feeling her hands touch something cool and hard. Spherical in nature, but so much more that. Meanwhile, Clefable was thrown backwards by an Earth Power and an Aurora Beam.

"I've got an idea!" Aria called out, pulling out a Poké Ball and calling out her Jolteon, Sophie. The Lightning Pokémon looked exhausted, but determined, and growled softly as she stood alongside Sebastian.

"I'm surprised you haven't dealt with them already, Seb." Sophie said to the Lucario, who pouted as he crossed his arms.

"They keep vanishing! And this weirdo is doing a lot of strange stuff, Sophie." Sebastian responded as Aria stepped up to the two of them, grateful that Sun's Dartrix was currently getting the attention of Claydol and Cloyster, with Lusamine's Clefable firing off Moonblasts to keep them busy as well.

"Sophie, get in between them and use Taunt. Sebastian, nail that Cloyster with your strongest Focus Blast when it tries to get away. Sophie, hit the Claydol with Shadow Ball." Aria said just in time for Oliver to get blasted by an Ice Beam and get sent tumbling through the air, crashing down onto the ground. Sun ran over to his Starter, only to be knocked backwards by a Psybeam that exploded against the ground in front of him. Cloyster and Thanatos teleported over Sun and his exhausted Dartrix, who still remained conscious through sheer force of will.

"Y-you...w-w-w-won't…" Oliver hissed, unable to move but still capable of directing the primal rage that burned through his veins at the two Pokémon who had all but sold their souls to their monstrous Trainer.

"GO!" Aria shouted as the exhausted Jolteon landed between Cloyster and Thanatos, her body flashing black as she grinned at the two Pokémon. Both Pokémon flashed black and let out cries of fury at the Jolteon, who used Agility and dashed away in time to dodge a Hyper Beam and an Icicle Crash.

All the while, Lusamine continued to muse, pulling out the small sphere in her pocket and admiring it.

It was an Ultra Sphere.

The power of Cosmog thrummed through it, holding infinite potential within it. Despite the situation she was in, Lusamine lamented the selfishness of her daughter for stealing away the creature before Lusamine could force it to use its powers.

"Perhaps...I brought this here on a whim…Or did I?" Lusamine thought to herself, retreating inwards. It was then that she heard a soft voice speak to her. Bound by the venom that coursed through her veins.

"Let us help you, Mother...So that you may save us."

Sophie managed to dodge a Psybeam and retaliated with a Shadow Ball, blasting away Thanatos and finally managing to knock out the Claydol, its body crashing down beside Roran as the Cipher Admin growled in annoyance. Cloyster tried to fend off the Lucario now dashing towards it, but Sebastian was too fast and fired off a Focus Blast that Cloyster barely managed to tank.

"Use Ice Beam! Create a wall!" Roran bellowed as Cloyster did just that, firing off the attack that struck the floor and created a frigid wall of ice. However, a sudden and surprise Moonblast from Clefable stunned the Bivalve Pokémon enough to where it couldn't dodge the second Focus Blast that smashed through the ice and collided with it, exploding violently and sending the Cloyster flying away into a faraway wall, knocking it out.

"No...! Thanatos! Cloyster! Heatran!" Roran called desperately, though he heard nothing from the wall that the Lava Dome Pokémon was buried in. His remaining Pokémon were snagged, unconscious, or worse. And yet…

Roran never felt stronger.

"Your Pokémon are done! Give up already!" Sun called as he slowly rose to his feet, even as Roran's body began to twitch violently, a harsh grin coming to his lips as he held out his hands, which shimmered with power and slowly morphed before their eyes. Within moments, Roran's hands and fingers had elongated and grown sharper, forming into two massive and deadly claws. The group watched in horror as Roran's mangled shoulder hissed and smoked, healing before their eyes.

Hau's screams began to grow weaker.

"No...I don't think i will. I think it's time you take your final bow!" Roran intoned as he walked towards them, grinning monstrously as Sebastian hurled an Aura Sphere at the former Kahuna. Roran surprised them all by drawing back his hand and swatting it aside like it was nothing. The attack soared off in another direction and exploded against the wall as Roran chuckled, his voice reverberating with power.

"I stand on the brink of my destiny." Roran rasped as his body shimmered with holy power, in a way that felt like the man's Radiance turned up to a hundred. His mutating body continued to twist and morph, bringing the man closer and closer to his goal of becoming a Tapu as Hau's life faded away.

"You really are a monster…" Sun breathed as he painfully stood back up. Roran laughed deeply as he flexed the newly-formed claws that had once been his fingers, feeling the power within them.

"If it bleeds...it can die!" Aria shouted as she aimed her Snag Machine at Roran and fired off the blade, sending it hurtling towards Roran. The madman seemed surprised by this sudden action and the blade slammed home into Roran's exposed chest, causing him to jerk back with a pained gurgle.

Only for the madman to smile.

"W-w-what?" Aria whispered in surprise as the Cipher Admin grabbed the black blade jutting out of his chest, causing him to bleed profusely, and ripped it free in a shower of blood. The hole left behind healed before their eyes, hissing softly as the Ritual of the Lost God took effect. Roran thrust out a hand and summoned a wave of energy that blasted Aria and her team away, causing them to scream out in pain.

"I'm a God." Roran said simply, a laugh escaping his mouth before he turned his attention to the child of Borlath. He paused for a moment before holding out a clawed hand towards Sun, a sphere of pulsating energy within it. "Don't worry, Sun. I'll be sending your father, mother, and all of your friends to the afterlife along with you."

Lusamine made her choice, gripping the Ultra Sphere tightly in her hand before throwing it as hard as she could at Roran. To her dismay, it landed a few meters short of the monster, shattering on the ground. Wisps of Cosmog's energy drifted into the air, vanishing into nothingness as Roran's head snapped towards Lusamine and the shattered glass-like fragments on the ground.

"Oh? Trying to get the drop on me, Lusa. How quaint…" Roran hissed, grinning as he shifted his hand from Sun to her. The Aether President glared at him defiantly, with her Clefable standing in front of her Trainer, ready to protect her at all costs.

Roran, as well as everyone else present, was surprised when a crackle of energy ran through the air and a small tear suddenly appeared in the space right beside Roran. The madman stared at it in wonder, as did Sun and Aria. Ethereal light poured from the crack in the air, even as it ripped open and became a larger shimmering rift.

Sun recognized immediately.

It was an Ultra Wormhole.

"What...what is this!?" Roran snarled, taking a step back. "And why does...why do my instincts tell me to fight? To leap into the portal myself, and kill everything within? WHAT IS THIS!?"

Roran's answer came in the form of several long tentacles suddenly erupting from the Ultra Wormhole, wrapping themselves around Roran's hands and neck and constricting around him, trying to pull him into the Ultra Space. Sun recognized the white tentacles as the same kind belonging to the Ultra Beast that had attacked the Aether Paradise.

"How is this possible? Did Miss Lusamine cause the attack at the Paradise? Or did she make this after that? I have so many questions...And a really bad feeling." Sun thought as he watched the former Kahuna snarl and step back, pulling away from the tentacles even as they tightened their grip on his body, their mere touch sending toxins into his body that were already attacking him. But Sun could only look at Lusamine, a growing horror seeping into him as he beheld the expression on Aether President's face.

Lusamine was smiling now. Grinning in a way that made Sun shiver with fear. It was a smile not unlike the ones that Roran had been giving them all night. The smile of absolute, deadly insanity. It felt wrong for the kindly and motherly Lusamine Jardin to be wearing such a smile. It reminded Sun of Roran. Of his father. Sun knew that something was wrong here. Very, very wrong.

Roran slashed at the tentacles with his claws as he snarled in anger, severing many of them and spraying the ground with strangely colored blood and poison. Roran grinned as he held a hand against his head, swiping again and again at the tentacles…

Unaware that finally fallen right into a very deadly trap.

Roran was surprised when he felt two powerful and unyielding hands suddenly clamp down on his legs with enough force to shatter the bones. Naturally the former Kahuna looked down and saw to his surprise that Alastor was lying down on the ground beside him, his hands wrapped around his lower legs and wearing the most terrifying smile Roran had ever seen on a Pokémon before.

"Gotcha!" Alastor shouted as he yanked Roran down to the ground, slamming him down onto the rocky floor with enough force to crack his head open. Roran screamed in pain at the impact, though the shouts of agony increased as Alastor grabbed the man's legs with all four of his hands and pulled him as close as possible, pinning the man's legs underneath his heavy body as Roran screamed even louder. The tentacles of the Ultra Beast clung tighter to Roran's arms and neck, the strange jellyfish-like being pulling itself into their dimension with a familiar shriek that made Oliver and Sun's blood run cold.

"You fell for the same trick twice! I've always wanted to kill a human like this...SELF-DESTRUCT!" Alastor shouted with a delighted laugh as everyone suddenly felt a chill go down their spines. Aria threw herself to the ground as Sebastian and Sophie hit the ground. Oliver threw up a Protect over Sun as Lusamine's Clefable shielded her with a turquoise energy shield.

"NO! NOT LIKE THIS, DAMN IT!" Roran pleaded as he frantically pounded on the head of the Graveler while Alastor's body glowed a harsh white color.

BOOM!

A wicked explosion rocked the Magma Basin as Alastor detonated his entire body like a bomb, sending a shockwave of force, energy, heat and smoke across the entire room. Aria and her team were thrown backwards. Oliver and Clefable's shields buckled and failed, causing the blast to send them crashing to the ground as well.

Pained groans filled the room as everyone struggled to recover. Sun was dazed for a few moments, shaking his head and trying to make sense of what was going on, wincing in pain at the small burns on his arms and legs from the heat from the explosion and his other minor injuries accumulated over the battle. The boy looked up towards where Roran had been-

"Agggh! M-m-my...aaagh! Y-y-you..."

"Holy shit…" Aria breathed as she looked across the Magma Basin, where Roran had been standing. Needless to say, the former Kahuna wasn't standing anymore.

Nor would he ever again.

Roran was lying down on the ground some distance from where Alastor now rested, his entire body was blackened and burned as a result of the direct explosion he had taken. His newly formed shell and claws were cracked and bleeding black ichor, but the worst of it was that Roran's legs were completely blown off from the mid-thigh downward as a result of Alastor's sneak attack. Now they were little more than charred stumps caked with blood.

The Cipher Admin twitched weakly on the ground, wheezing and crying as he tried to cope with the agony that he was in. But it was obvious that he was done for. The battle was over. Roran's entire team was out of commission and he couldn't even stand. In just a single move, Alastor had brought the scourge of Alola down. The glowing runes that had filled the chamber were completely gone too, since the explosion had hurt Roran so badly. It seemed that the Ritual of the Lost God had been stopped.

"So why do I feel so...dirty?" Sun wondered guiltily as he turned his attention to Alastor, who was lying unconscious on the ground a short distance away from Roran. The newly-evolved Alolan Graveler wore a tranquil smile on his face, even though he was no longer conscious. It was the most relaxed Sun had seen his newest teammate in the entire time that he had known him.

Sun realized, with horror gripping his heart, that Alastor had done exactly as he had instructed. He had told his Pokémon to brutally damage another Trainer, to the point of crippling him. In a fit of anger, even if it was justified, he had hurt another Trainer directly.

"Does...does that make me just as bad as them?" Sun thought as he felt a wave of nausea rise up within him, even as he watched Roran weakly try crawling towards Thanatos, who was clearly unconscious and of no help to him. Sun noticed Aria retrieving her blade from where Roran had thrown it, out of the corner of his eye.

"WARNING! EMERGENCY ELEVATOR ACTIVATED. PLEASE STAND C-C-C-C-CLEAR…"

"He's done...Let's finish him." Aria panted, slowly bending down to grab her blade with a tired grin. Aria stood upright, extending her blade outwards as she limped slowly towards Roran's mutilated form, even as the former Kahuna fell onto his side, completely and utterly spent.

"N-no...please…" Roran wheezed, raising a mangled hand towards Aria, barely conscious through the pain that he was in.

"I can't believe you have the nerve to beg...Die with some dignity." Aria growled as she slowly advanced towards Roran, her teeth gritted with anger.

"I...I am a god…" Roran hissed, pressing a hand against the ground and pushing slightly upwards, though he only managed to fall onto his back with a gasp. It was a pathetic display from someone who not moments before had been at the cusp of joining the other Tapu in becoming a Guardian Deity. Much like the ancient kings of Alola had in the past, to protect the region from invaders from another dimension.

Aria was surprised when a silver cylinder began to slowly rise out of the ground in front of her, causing the Snagger to stop mid-step and stare at the device with confusion. Roran let out a groan, shaking his head back and forth slowly.

After a few moments the strange tall cylinder emerged completely from the ground, about two yards in diameter and completely seamless in design. The cylinder shuddered for a moment, and then it began to open. It was then that the three Trainers realized that this was the elevator that the warning system had mentioned a few moments ago.

However, that didn't prepare them for the sight of Amber Fontaine striding out of the elevator to kick Aria down to the ground, a smirk of amusement on her face as the Snagger crashed down onto her side with a cry of pain. Sophie and Sebastian struggled forward, determined to protect their Trainer from her worst enemy.

"Just in time, I see." Amber said in a low voice, taking in the destruction that the Magma Basin had endured. However, when she turned her attention to Roran, her eyes widened slightly at the state the Cipher Admin was in.

"Saves me the trouble of having to tear his legs off myself." Amber remarked as she walked toward Roran, tossing out a Poké Ball and calling out Avis. The Xatu floated towards Roran, lifting up his body with a Psychic. She noticed Sophie and Sebastian making their way forward and fired off a Dark Pulse that blasted the both of them backwards, followed by a Psychic that knocked them both out. The Xatu then returned her attention to the mangled form of Roran Rubinara.

"How...You s-should be dead…" Roran rasped, barely able to speak. Amber smiled as Avis narrowed her eyes and the glow around Roran burned a darker shade of blue, causing the fallen ex-Kahuna to scream in agony.

"The gods have decided that I get to live another day, and I've decided to make it everyone's problem." Amber explained as Roran screamed in agony.

Lusamine couldn't help the smirk on her face upon hearing that, though the Aether President turned her gaze to the now-closed Ultra Wormhole and the charred tentacle pieces that now lay on the ground. It seemed as though the Ultra Beast had been blasted back into the wormhole before it resealed itself.

"How could I be so careless?" Lusamine mentally scolded herself, casting a brief glare at Sun, since it was his Graveler who had maimed her beautiful beasts trying to take down Roran.

"This is incredibly satisfying. Definitely the highlight of my pretty shitty week." Avis remarked dryly as she suddenly dropped the man on the ground and dragged him across the floor for several moments, which was doing Roran no favors as his muffled screams rang out across the room.

"What...what are you doing here?" Sun asked Amber, who turned to look at him. The assassin slowly walked towards them, placing a hand on the pistol strapped to her thigh. Within a handful of moments, the Cipher Admin stood in front of the trio, regarding them with a frown.

"Your father sent me to deal with Roran. The emergency elevator out of this facility is luckily located in the room that Roran decided to make use of for his stupid ritual." Amber explained to the boy as he continued to struggle to his feet.

"So now what...You gonna kill us while we're too weak to fight back?" Aria asked her mortal enemy, who looked at her with a bored expression before shaking her head.

"I came to stop Roran before he murdered Sun and took control of Alola. I appreciate you making my job easier. That said, the next time we meet, I will finally end your miserable life. Killing you now is too easy. I want to earn your death." Amber assured Aria as the Snagger glared daggers at the assassin.

Amber turned her attention back to the sobbing form of Roran, who was trying to crawl towards the unconscious Thanatos while sobbing in pain. Avis dragged the former Kahuna across the floor towards Amber with Psychic, with the brutalized man letting out a cry of dismay before floating in front of the assassin.

"Borlath is really looking forward to seeing you again." Amber said with a dark grin of malice before lashing out with a punch, knocking out Roran and knocking a few newly-sharpened teeth out of his mouth. "And that was for dropping a building on me. Next time be a man and kill me yourself."

"Should we destroy the facility? There's a lot here…" Avis asked Amber, who shook her head.

"That doesn't matter now. Roran is done, thanks to these idiots. All that matters is the boy is alive and we have our target in custody. We should get moving." Amber responded, glancing over at the boy in question as he stared at them. Amber began walking towards Sun again, who slowly pushed himself upright into a kneeling position as he stared her down.

"Get away from him!" Aria shouted as she struggled to stand, glaring down Amber with hatred burning in her eyes. Amber ignored her and looked down at Sun, her expression unreadable.

"Well...I'm waiting." Sun said quietly, fearlessly staring down Cipher's 'Angel of Death' with an exhausted glare of his own. The Cipher Admin stared down at him in kind. For what reason, Sun had no idea. Amber was in a position to kill all three of them, or kill Aria and Lusamine and kidnap him. And yet here she was, staring into his eyes as if searching for something within them.

After a few moments Amber spoke, her words tinged with annoyance. "Kid...You have no idea how badly you fucked up."

"W-what...what do you mean?" Sun asked, earning a shake of the head from the assassin.

Amber turned on her heel and left without another word, Avis floating alongside the limp form of Roran on the way out. However, Amber did take time to collect Roran's Poké Balls and retrieve Shadow Heatran while they recovered, but by the time Aria was able to get to her feet, the Admin was gone.

"So...that was a thing." Rotom Dex muttered from behind Sun, peeking out now that it was safe. Sun returned Oliver at last and called out Brago, since the Arcanine was the only Pokémon he had that was actually conscious. Lusamine had already risen to her feet, her Clefable weakly stirring beside her. Sun, however, focused on one thing.

"Hau!" Sun shouted out as he ran over to his best friend, making sure to return the unconscious Alolan Graveler as he moved past him. The stone tomb that Hau had been in was badly damaged after the explosion, so Hau's limp form was visible within it. Sun fell to his knees beside the groaning Hau, who weakly opened his eyes as Sun pulled him out of the rubble with an exhausted (and badly hurt) Brago's help. Seeing Sun's face upon waking, the young Trainer cracked a grin.

"So, first thing's first, Sun...Get me a malasada. Then untie me. In t-that...order…" Hau passed out with a relieved grin on his face as Sun let out a shaky laugh, his shoulder sagging with relief as he hugged his best friend. Aria smiled at the scene before taking a glance inside the room. It was definitely quite the set up and warranted further study.

All the while, Lusamine was rubbing her arm with a pained expression. She knew that calling upon the powers of the Ultra Beast...no, the Nihilego would be detrimental to her health, but it was necessary.

"I need to save them. Ashton's nonsense has distracted me for too long. Lillie's capture and securing Cosmog should be our top priority." Lusamine thought as she looked down at her arm, the one that had held the Ultra Sphere. Crimson veins stuck out on her arm, the results of the poison that coursed through her veins.

"The question remains...What happens now?" Lusamine murmured as she walked over to where Sun and Aria were talking, even as the sound of voices filled the room and the Aether Team Alpha charged into the room. Apparently the door had reopened, though they seemed surprised by the scene ahead of them. Hugh ran forward and tightly hugged Aria while Ollie did the same with Sun, checking over him with worry in his eyes. Sun laughed and hugged the man back, with Ollie sighing with relief that the boy was okay.

Lusamine sighed internally and adopted a polite expression of smugness while crossing her arms behind her back as Faba strode towards her. The veins would recede soon enough, but now that the thought had entered her mind, there was nothing else for it.

The Ultra Beast priority had to be moved up. The Ultra Space could wait no longer. And for Lusamine that meant tracking down her rebellious little girl and reclaiming her property.

"I may even have to teach them both a lesson in pain afterwards. After all, tough love is still love in the end. Gladion and Lillie, my two foolish flowers...I'll find you soon." Lusamine thought with a dark smile as she looked towards Sun and Hau, who she knew were both friends to her precious Lillie. The Aether President looked away from the children, her smile becoming friendly as she greeted her staff and their allies in a way befitting of the motherly and kind Lusamine Jardin.

All the while, the Aether President schemed…

Because in her heart of hearts, she knew that in the end love triumphs over all.


Highborn Production Plant

Many Years Ago...


Lusamine hissed in pain as she slowly rose to her feet, glaring down at Roran hatefully as the Kahuna chuckled softly, his hand glowing as he invoked his Radiance, the light almost blinding in the warehouse. All around them, the sounds of officers and Ruby Raiders were deafening, but the former Kalos Champion had eyes only for taking down Roran.

"Come on Lusa...We can still fix things. Make Alola better. Didn't you tell me you wanted to raise a family someday?" Roran breathed, grinning now. "I can make Alola a wonderful place. I just need some help...I can fix this. All of this! Even if Tapu Bulu broke me...I can-" Roran began to say, only for the space beside him to explode as a rush of Psychic exploded beside him, sending him flying backwards. A spider web caught him in midair and he bounced off of it, landing on the ground with a grunt as his Ariados hissed from the shadows.

With a thought, Lusamine sent her Delphox, Adele, charging forward from the side and lashing out with Mystical Fire, the bright blue flames soaring towards Roran and his Ariados. Roran ducked into his shadow, leaving his Golurk to fly into the air and fire off two Shadow Balls that exploded against Adele, sending her flying backwards with a cry. However, the Golurk was promptly blasted out of the air by two Dark Pulses smashing into it.

Roran stepped out of the darkness in time to see Hina and Ashton arrive upstairs, their Incineroar and Houndoom respectively standing in front of them. Roran took aim at his former friends, a deadly smile coming to his lips.

"So...this is it, huh?" Hina asked the man, who's smile widened.

"What could I possibly say to make this moment any less awkward?" Roran asked seriously, despite his smile. "I mean, you all already know that I've recently become a cannibal. And you know what...I've embraced this. If that demented old king that pretends to be a god thinks that it can stop my ambitions...That it can stop me from saving Alola! Then it's wrong! Nothing will stop me!"

Roran had stopped smiling then, his face replaced with a distorted snarl, even as the Curse of Abundance slowly receded in his eyes, causing him to sigh with relief as he braced himself against the pillar he was beside.

"Hercule, Flamethrower!" Hina yelled out, with the Incineroar nodding and bounding forward, releasing a stream of flames Roran, who sidestepped the flames with a scowl as his Ariados leapt out from the shadows, slamming into Hercule with an X-Scissor before dashing away, using its web to avoid a blast of flames.

"So be it." Roran hissed before shouting out, "Psychic!"

A wave of force erupted from Roran's Ariados, and Ashton yelled out in pain as he was blasted backwards. Hina gasped in surprise before Hercule let out a shout beside her, getting struck with a Signal Beam that knocked Hercule down to the ground, with a second one hitting Damien. Hina made a move to call out another Pokémon, only for Ariados to suddenly strike her with Psychic and slam her down into the ground repeatedly, leaving her stunned.

"Stay down!" Roran barked, only for a torrent of flames to smash into his Ariados and knock it out. Roran gasped in surprise, but whirled around to see Lusamine striding towards him with her exhausted Delphox prepared to fight. The former Champion suddenly threw herself forward to dodge a gunshot from Roran, who was scowling terribly now. Lusamine then swore under her breath as she tried to pull herself off the ground, struggling because she had been caught in a stray piece of web from Roran's Ariados.

"No...I'll end this. End all of you. I will save Alola! Even if it costs me the lives of everyone I care about!" Roran bellowed as he levelled a pistol at Lusamine and fired four times. Lusamine tried to avoid the shots, but she was stuck on the ground. Her Delphox cried out and moved, lacking the time to use a move or do anything else.

The bullet struck the Delphox and went straight through her heart, and the next three hit her lungs.

"Adele!" Lusamine screamed as the Delphox shook slightly before collapsing onto the floor, groaning in pain as crimson fluid leaked from her chest.

"You bastard! You were never our friend, huh? You're just a monster!" Ashton yelled as he struggled to his feet alongside the others. He soon felt a shiver of fear as Roran turned his weapon onto the teenage boy.

"DIE!" Roran barked as he shifted his aim to Ashton, firing the gun at his former protégé. Ashon felt something collide into his side right as the gun went off and crashed onto the floor. The teen felt something drop onto the ground beside him, letting out a pained whimper.

Damien let out a worried bark as Ashton rolled to his feet, looking up…

His blood went cold at the sight of Hina, lying on the floor beside him with a shocked look of pain on her face, looking down at her bleeding chest. Ashton somehow knew that by the look of the amount of blood on the floor right now, she needed urgent medical care along with Adele.

"Hina...N-no…" Ashton whispered as he crawled over to his friend, looking around. "Someone! Help! I need-"

Ashton was suddenly thrown backwards, slamming into one of the building's support beams by a blast of Psychic. Roran scoffed, walking forward as a Baltoy slowly rotated around and around beside him. The Clay Doll Pokémon lashed out with an Ancient Power at the weakly growling form of Hercule the Incineroar, knocking it out. It then did the same to Damien, burying the Houndoom in a pile of rocks. For good measure, Roran emptied the remainder of his pistol into Hina's Partner, smirking the entire time as the Incineroar snarled in pain and collapsed onto the ground.

"N-no...Her...c…" Hina gasped, unable to say more as she slumped onto the floor. Ashton forced himself upright, even as Damien did the same, blasting his way out of the rocks that had been dumped onto him. Roran grinned and aimed the pistol at Ashton, laughing softly as he levelled the weapon at Ashton's head and pulled the trigger...only to hear clicking.

"Wait, that's right. I'm...empty?" Roran muttered, placing a hand over his head. Roran was surprised when a crisscrossing beam of darkness suddenly smashed into his side, searing his chest and throwing him across the room, landing harshly on the ground. Roran rolled onto his side to see the battered form of Damien limping towards him, baring his teeth and preparing to rip out Roran's throat. With a rearing back of the head, the canine blasted the Kahuna with a gout of flames from his mouth...only for a barrier to appear around the Kahuna, and for a Baltoy to peek out from behind the man's head.

"Heh...Good...timing." Roran grunted as he pushed himself painfully into a sitting position. All the while, Ashton had crawled over to Hina.

"Hina...Hina! Please, stay with me!" Ashton begged his friend, who stared back at her friend with unseeing eyes before a final, broken smile flickered across her face, even as tears rolled down her cheeks. Ashton grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, not even noticing his own tears that were flowing down his face. "Don't go. Please...I can save you."

Hina laughed, placing her head against Ashton's heart, even as her own mangled heart stopped beating. Hina stilled in Ashton's arms, and within moments she too was gone. Just like Tommy.

"It's a shame...You knew what you were getting yourself into by coming after me." Roran hissed as he slowly got to his feet, ignoring the cracking of the barrier around them as Damien continued to pour power into the Flamethrower he was unleashing upon it, the white-hot hellfire threatening to overwhelm the shield entirely until Roran placed a hand on the head of Baltoy and suddenly teleported, causing the entire barrier to fade and vanish, and for the torrent of flames to blast out of a nearby window.

Roran reappeared in a flicker of light and reloaded his weapon, but not before Ashton got back to his feet, his crimson eyes shining with hate.

"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!" Ashton screamed as his own Z-Ring flared, slowly changing colors. Beside him, Damien growled angrily, glaring down hatefully at Roran as if he wanted nothing more than to burn the man alive.

Roran watched in awe as the boy's Z-Ring morphed under the power of Radiance for a second time, invoking the sacred power of the Tapu without even realizing it. Without understanding how important it was. Even now, Ashton was using his Radiance to bolster the power of Damien's flames as the Houndoom unleashed a Flamethrower twice as large at the Kahuna, forcing him and Baltoy to Teleport again.

"How...How do you have it!? I am not good enough!?" Roran shouted, lost in his madness as power poured from Ashton into Damien. He was surprised when a gunshot rang out and caused him to jerk backwards with a shout of pain, blood pouring from his leg and almost causing him to fall over. The Kahuna turned his head towards Jackal, who had his gun aimed at Roran with a smoking barrel. The man was covered in scraps and had a black eye, but his expression was livid.

"Stand down!" Jackal shouted at the man, even as Gretel grappled with his Golurk in the air. The Gripper Pokémon got the upper hand by ducking under a Shadow Ball and delivering an uppercut Shadow Punch to the Automaton Pokémon, sending it tumbling out of the air and crashing down onto the ground.

"I'll...never give in!" Roran panted, clutching his bleeding shoulder as he took several steps backwards, glancing out of the window behind him. Roran became aware of the fact that his Ariados had woken up and was now beside him. He was promptly distracted by a sudden shout from his former friend across the room.

"Fire Blast!" Ashton bellowed as Damien opened his jaw and fired off a massive flaming star at Roran, who's eyes snapped back to Ashton in surprise. Baltoy attempted to use Protect, but the shield failed, and the Fire Blast struck Ariados. The flames exploded all around Roran and Baltoy, blasting him backwards, but not before the flames had a chance to rake over his body, causing him to scream in agony as he flew backwards. The Kahuna crashed against the windowsill, but was now clutching his face as he cried out in pain.

"My face! M-m-my face! Aaagghh!" Roran howled as he lowered his hands, showing the freshly forming burns apparent even now. Burns that would never heal, and would always cause the man pain for the rest of his life.

That pain was increased substantially when a second gunshot rang out and impacted his other shoulder, and Roran's body tumbled backwards out of the window, causing him to drop towards the sea hundreds of meters below.

Roran couldn't even shout out, so great was the pain that he was in. The night air embraced him as he plummeted towards the black water and crashed into the ocean.

Jackal growled as he ran over to the broken window, looking down at the sea. He didn't see anything surfacing. He turned his gaze towards Roran's Pokémon, and to his annoyance saw that the Baltoy and Ariados were gone. The Golurk had been left behind.

"He's gone...Damn it. We'll have to get a team down there. We can't risk him getting away." Jackal growled as he holstered his weapon, scowling as Gretel floated up beside him.

"He's a tough one, but I doubt he could get up from that. If the fall doesn't kill him, the blood loss and drowning will." Gretel noted grimly as she turned to where Ashton had collapsed onto the ground, shaking and crying. Lusamine was clutching Adele in her arms while Mohn consoled her.

"There's going to be a reckoning for this, Gretel." Jackal sighed, feeling very tired all of a sudden as he walked over to where Hina was. The Police Commander gently closed the girl's eyes. Gretel hugged Ashton as the boy wept.

"I HATE YOU!" Ashton screamed hoarsely at the window Roran had fallen out of before curling into a ball. Gretel made shushing sounds and rubbed the boy's back as he lost himself in his despair. Police had subdued the Ruby Raiders within the building at this point, and more were now coming to the building as paramedics arrived onto the scene.

"We may have stopped Roran…but this is definitely not over. Something tells me in my bones." Jackal thought as he made his way to Lusamine and Mohn, forcing himself to remain calm as his friends mourned.

He could be sad later, once things were taken care of. Until then…

He had to do his duty.


Present

Malie City General Hospital


"So...did you bring the goods?"

"Yup. Lillie, will you do the honors?"

"...You two are dorks."

Sun burst into giggles while Lillie looked at him with bemusement, even as Hau laughed with delight from his hospital bed. The girl tried to fight the urge to smile, but because of her relief failed miserably.

Hau had been rushed to the ICU as soon as the Cipher Base had been secured. To everyone's collective relief, the boy had only minor injuries and was suffering from exhaustion. Kahuna Hala had stayed with the boy throughout the night, keeping watch until the doctors were sure Hau would be okay.

President Lusamine had taken over the investigation, with the International Police assisting in the efforts to process everything that had been happening. It'd take a while to make sense of everything going on inside the base, and even more to crack into their computer systems to see what sort of things Roran had been up to.

Sun, Aria and Lusamine had all gone to the hospital as a result of their showdown with the former Kahuna. Aria had several shattered ribs and internal bleeding as a result of the fight, while Lusamine was suffering from heat exhaustion. Sun was the best off, being treated for only minor injuries. It was agreed that Sun would stay at the hospital with Hau overnight while Aria would stay for a longer stretch of time. President Lusamine refused treatment, insisting on getting treated by her world-class medical team at the Aether Paradise. Three days had passed since Roran had been taken down and Cipher's HQ was purged. According to Dawson, that was their only stronghold in Alola and things should be a bit more quiet. However, he also didn't know what Amber and Borlath had planned for the future, considering how much things had changed. Dawson also didn't know whether or not he'd contact his boss and inform of the news.

After a few moments of waiting, Lillie reached into the large plastic shopping bag she had brought along with her to the hospital, pulling out a yellow paper bag. The children could all smell something from within it, and the mere sight of the bag caused Hau to start drooling.

"Yaaasssss…" Hau whispered, slowly reaching towards the bag. Lillie jerked the bag of malasadas away from the boy, smiling mischievously.

"What's the magic word?" Lillie said teasingly.

"Please?" Hau said weakly, ignoring Sun as the boy laughed at the sight of Hau reduced to begging for malasadas. Lillie nodded smartly and handed the boy the bag, smiling at him a moment later.

"I picked out some of everything. Don't worry about the bill. Consider it a get-well soon present." Lillie said brightly as Hau frantically opened the bag and stuffed a chocolate-filled malasada into his mouth at a speed that Sun thought was vaguely concerning. The boy sighed with contentment and leaned back in his hospital bed.

"And all is well in the world." Hau said as he shut his eyes, not seeing Sun and Lillie exchange a look and roll their eyes at him in sync with one another.

"Not quite, but I guess you having a slightly fuller stomach is something I guess." Sun remarked with a shake of the head, setting down another bag on the table nearby. "By the way, I thought you hated hospitals. You look pretty relaxed, Hau."

"Dude, I've been asleep for most of the day. Turns out losing a bunch of blood and losing...energy? Life force." Hau shrugged weakly, smirking despite everything. "Anyway, I think I've been awake for only two or three hours since you guys stopped Roran. Tutu is finishing up some work, but he'll be by in a few hours to spend the evening with me."

"That's nice of him." Lillie said with a smile as she and Sun sat down. "I'm just so glad you're okay, Hau. I was so worried."

Hau grinned at that, his cheeks becoming red at that comment. Sun didn't remark on that, but instead said, "So has anyone caught you up on everything that happened? After you got kidnapped, things got crazy."

"More crazy than any of the other nonsense that happens around us?" Hau countered dryly, raising a single eyebrow. Lillie giggled while Sun raised a finger to interject, but found that Hau was completely correct. Sun shrugged, grinning at his best friend before launching into an explanation of what had happened. How he had managed to figure out Roran's secret identity, the attack on Aupuni Industries Celadon HQ by the Pokémon League, and of how he and their friends managed to infiltrate the Cipher HQ. Sun didn't reveal Dawson's identity, since he kept true to his word, and simply explained he knew the man from meeting him elsewhere in Alola, which his friend accepted as the truth.

After about two hours, a nervous head of blue hair poked into Hau's room, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a small bag the other. The girl gasped in surprise as she stared at Hau before making her way into the room, setting down the flowers and the bag on the table.

"Lana! Good to see-" Hau began to say with a wide smile before being cutting off by a fierce hug from the blue-haired Captain. Hau looked surprised for a moment, especially considering how the girl began to suddenly shake as she held onto him.

"D-D-Don't you ever worry me like that again!" Lana whispered as she cried into Hau's shoulder, with the young Trainer gently wrapping the Captain in a gentle hug. Sun and Lillie took that moment to step out, allowing the two to have a moment together.

"I wonder if they'll ever actually hook up." Sun mused aloud as Lillie gave him a scandalized look before smiling slightly.

"Maybe. Which reminds me, did Demi ever call you back?" Lillie asked. "After you saved Hau, I mean."

"Yeah, she said that they managed to break out Bone Unit 71 out of the base. We should really meet up with her sometime to talk about that. I kinda miss having her around."

"Me too. She's a good friend. I've been meaning to ask her more about Team Skull."

Lillie and Sun continued their walk around the hospital for the better part of an hour, catching up on recent events before returning to Hau's hospital room. Sun knocked on the door before peering into the already-open door, wanting to be polite.

"You two good?" Sun asked, earning a smile and a nod from Lana, who seemed considerably more relaxed now, sitting beside Hau. The bedridden boy was currently digging through a bento box packed to the brim with delicious-looking sandwiches and vegetables, as well as fried rice with egg mixed in.

"Yep. Sorry about that. The past few days have been...stressful." Lana said with a bright pink blush in her cheeks, causing Sun and Lillie to laugh as they sat down to join her.

"So, no Mallow? Kinda surprised she hasn't been here to see Hau yet." Sun remarked, causing Lana to shrug.

"We all had a late night last night and I had the day off today. Mallow's in the middle of some Trials right now, but I know she'll be by later tonight to drop off some dinner for Hau. She's the one who actually made this for him." Lana explained, gesturing to the large bag sitting nearby that had quite a few smaller boxes within and smelled delicious.

"That's a lot of food, even by Hau's standards." Lillie remarked, earning a baleful glare from Hau. The boy couldn't speak with his mouth full, though, so he simply returned to his food with vigor.

"I packed plenty, by the way. Help yourselves! Mallow wanted enough for everyone!" Lana said cheerfully as Sun and Lillie quickly went to buy everyone drinks and then returned to enjoy their lunch with Lana and Hau. Time passed by quickly, and after the Nurse came by to check in on Hau, the group's conversation turned to other things.

"So, what's gonna happen now? With the whole Cipher Base thing? And your Dad?" Hau asked Sun, who thought about it for a few moments before he shook his head.

"I don't know. Cipher's fallen so far from where they were a few weeks ago because of Roran, and the last time I talked to my Dad he was...upset. Very upset." Sun said with a guilty wince, earning confused looks from Hau and Lana.

"I made a promise with him a few days ago, when I was traveling towards Blush Mountain. That I avoid Roran and Cipher at all costs and let him handle things." Sun explained to his friends, which actually surprised them. Both Hau and Lana had been expecting worse. "In return, Dad would deal with Roran himself and then make peace with the Pokémon League. He'd leave Alola alone and let me become the Trainer I had always wanted to be. He wasn't bothered when I returned to Malie City to help out because I didn't know Roran was personally there and he understood wanting to help my friends. But with the Cipher Base...I forced everyone to let me come with them to save Hau and stop Roran."

"You helped save me, though. It was because of you that Aria and Lusamine were able to take him down, and it was Alastor that got that last hit in." Hau pointed out, which Sun agreed with by nodding. However, the Kanto-native wasn't done.

"Hau, when we went into the Magma Basin, Dad was talking to Roran through a camera set up in the room. He looked genuinely devastated that I broke my promise to him and went after Roran. He was terrified of what that monster would do to me, especially now that he didn't need to be subtle anymore." Sun recounted quietly, even as Lillie silently grabbed his hand. "My Dad was crying...begging, pleading with Roran not to kill me. It doesn't matter if I thought my father might have been dead or that I wanted to save my friend or even that I really wanted a chance to take Roran down myself. At the end of the day...I broke a promise to Dad. As awful as he's been lately, he genuinely meant everything he told me. And all it's done is blow up in his face. I just wish I could apologize…"

"We don't always get that chance. I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Lana remarked, shrugging after a moment. "The Pokémon League has issued a statement thanking Aether Foundation for taking down Cipher's facility with the help of their 'friends from the Unova region'."

"But still no corrections on the lies they told earlier, huh?" Sun asked, earning a wince from Lana.

"Sadly, no. It's incredible, if what you're saying is accurate. I am amazed that this isn't bigger news." Lana remarked, frowning deeper now. "It's weird."

"I'm not surprised. Dad never did trust the Pokémon League, and while I've always given them the benefit of the doubt, blowing up the family business' HQ isn't exactly making me think he was entirely wrong." Sun sighed, leaning forward for a moment. "What else is going on?"

"President Lusamine is currently having the Cipher HQ combed through by her people and that she's been at the Paradise ever since we saved Hau." Lana pointed out, which caused Lillie's expression to become unusually blank. Sun looked at his friend for a moment, concerned by this, and was about to ask her about it when Hau cut him off.

"It's a shame she hasn't come by to see me." Hau said wistfully, snapping Lillie out of it and caused her to look at Hau with surprise and shock. Lana simply looked annoyed, but understood. President Lusamine was very beautiful, as well as influential and wealthy.

"She's busy, and handling a lot of things at once. I'm sure she'll be by to see you at some point." Sun assured Hau, who looked a bit more chipper at that.

"I can live with that. Heh. Well…huh?" Hau stopped speaking as the TV in the room suddenly flashed and flickered, as if the connection had gone bad. Or rather, something was forcing the TV to switch to a different broadcast. It wasn't the first time any of them had seen this happen, but it suddenly threw up red flags for each of them.

Especially when the sigil for Cipher appeared on the screen.

"Oh no…" Lillie whispered, fear laced within her voice. Sun grabbed her hand, giving it a small comforting squeeze. Several moments later, the screen flickered again and cut to an image of a man sitting on a throne. A man that all four of them recognized instantly as the leader of Cipher and Sun's estranged father.

Dressed in a crisp white suit, his long black hair tied into a ponytail with an ornate crown sitting atop his head with a dark purple gem embedded in the center of it, was Ashton Aupuni. At his left side was Damien, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. To his right was Amber Fontaine, who's eyes were bright pink, showing that the Curse of Life was activated right at that moment. Both Ashton and Amber looked exhausted, but the man on the throne wore an expression of grim determination.

"Not him…" Lana whispered, knowing that whatever it was that Sun's father had to say, it wouldn't be good. Especially after Amber's parting warning to him before she escaped the Cipher Base.

"Dad?" Sun whispered as the man shifted on the throne, running a hand over his face as he sighed, his eyes flickering several different colors before settling on black. The expression on his face slowly became a haunted one...And then he began to speak.

"Hello there. My name is Ashton Aupuni. Many of you know me as Borlath." The Cipher Master said, his voice low and deep. Smooth and measured, as he usually was when speaking. "This isn't news to many of you. After all, this isn't my first broadcast."

"Says the wanted leader of the biggest terrorist organization on the planet." Hau retorted weakly, scowling at the man on the TV as if he could hear Hau. Ashton...or rather, Borlath shut his eyes for a moment before they opened again, becoming gray.

"Today I'm going to discuss the future of Cipher going forward. I'll be explaining the truth as it stands, because at this point, I have absolutely nothing to lose and nothing to gain. So here it is…the truth." Borlath sighed then, leaning back on his throne and crossing his arms.

"Many years ago, I realized that this world had many problems. Problems that concerned me enough to sacrifice everything I cared about to see resolved. I've spoken in depth about the issues plaguing our world. How anyone with cunning and the resources to do so could easily get ahold of Legendary Pokémon that could unleash havoc on the planet. Much like how I have myself." Borlath admitted, shaking his head slightly before leaning forward.

"How the children of our world have had to stand against evil time and time again, because our leaders refuse to take a proper stand." Borlath continued, his voice gaining a hard edge to it. "To that end, I took control of a dying criminal organization based out of Oore named Cipher and funded their efforts through Aupuni Industries."

"With millions in backing, Cipher was able to renew its efforts at global domination at the hands of Greevil, unknowingly operating in a way that suited my own admittedly selfish goals." Borlath explained, his eyes darkening to black.

"And they were selfish. I ignored the deaths and pain that Cipher would cause. I shoved down my doubt and despair at the terrible things I was doing because I thought that the price would be worth tearing my very soul asunder. The goal of creating a world free of villainy. A world where competent leaders protect their people. A world where children aren't put in harm's way on a routine basis...But most importantly, a world where my son could live in peace. And never have to deal with the horrors I dealt with when I was a young Trainer in Alola." Borlath's words died down to a whisper, but it was still very audible.

"You see...The way Cipher tended to operate was something I found I could use to further my own ends. An alternative agenda that I sought to abuse. Cipher is a lot like a parasite, and requires the help of other groups to properly thrive. For instance, Cipher once allied itself with Team Snagem in its scheme to conquer the Orre region. But when Team Snagem had failed time and time again to subdue a single rogue agent from their organization, Cipher left them weak and destitute, twisting in the wind while Cipher continued to grow. Whenever a group allies with Cipher, in time those groups are discarded and destroyed when their use has been expanded." Borlath continued, folding his hands as he stared into the camera. Why he was explaining all of this on national television, none of them could know. Even Sun had no idea what was going through his father's mind at the moment, except that the boy felt nothing but dread.

"I thought that taking control of a group like that and using it to slowly consume other criminal organizations was a roundabout, but effective, way to end their existence while expanding my own power. Power I sought to use to force the Pokémon League to do its job." Borlath explained, though with another shake of the head the criminal mastermind scowled. "I was a fool. Simple as that. I couldn't handle the weight of my own ambition, nor the ambitions of others I chose to ally myself with. While groups like Team Galactic, Team Rocket and Neo Team Plasma fell completely as a result of my efforts, it was not without costs. Costs that I knew I would have to pay, but never imagined they would be so steep. Like I said before…I was, and still am, a fool. An idiot to think that my schemes did not require me to pay dearly."

"Sir...you don't have to-" Amber began to say, but Borlath cut her off, ignoring her.

"In time, I lost both my wife and my child. I retreated into the shadows and relinquished my company, Aupuni Industries, because I knew the League would try to tarnish my legacy however they could and I didn't want to drag my employees down with me. But I couldn't have imagined how things would have turned out these past few months. Greevil dead. Roran Rubinara alive, and more evil than he was all those years ago...And that I would lose everything I've worked for in a matter of mere weeks. After some thinking, I've realized something very important."

"That, in all honesty...I have nothing left in this world."

The words were delivered with a finality that made the children shiver. The Cipher Master continued, his gaze somber, his words thick with guilt and anger and a myriad of other emotions. "The Pokémon League has destroyed my livelihood, though they've covered up the truth of their actions with lies. Roran has taken my ambitions with Cipher and dashed them, ensuring that my plans will never succeed. My wife is gone, though I don't blame her for forsaking me. And my son…" Borlath trailed off, a crack audible in his voice as he shut his eyes.

"My son chose to break a promise." Borlath said, his eyes opening again and flashing red with anger. "He made a choice. And choices have consequences. It's the way of the world. But as a result of a promise that has been reduced to dust, I find myself in a position that I haven't been in for quite some time. The position of not caring what anyone says or thinks of me, and of simply being so tired of this world that I want nothing more than to not think of anything else again."

Borlath's anger ebbed away, his eyes flickering back to black. "I have hurt so many people. So many...too many. I tried to do the right thing and make peace, but I was shown that peace has no place in this world. I tried to save those few I still cared for from a monster worse than myself, and that too was cast aside. So...here we are. What is there to do now? Well...I'm an Aupuni. And we get creative when we want something we are denied."

"What is this? What is he up to?" Sun whispered, more to himself than anything else. And that was when Borlath spoke again, standing up to address the camera and the world.

"This is a warning to you all. There's more than one way to force change. Secrets hidden and truths buried. I say, what's the point in living when everything you do hurts other people? When even your own child thinks of you as nothing but a villain to be brushed aside. So now...all bets are off." Ashton said slowly, lowering his head as he went silent.

"Bring him in." Borlath quietly instructed Amber Fontaine, who nodded and then walked offscreen. Sun suddenly felt a horrible sense of forbidding nestle into his heart. After a few moments, a door clanged open and the sound of moaning could be heard.

"Hang him up. I want him to be visible." Borlath said curtly, reaching into his coat and drawing out a gleaming silver magnum. After a few moments, he addressed the cameras again.

"Now then. Some of you may be aware of the fact that a certain criminal has been under the banner of Cipher and chose to go rogue some time ago. Most of you do not." Borlath explained, his tone curt and businesslike. "This same criminal decided to attack the Alola region, and was only barely stopped. This man is named Roran Rubinara, leader of the Ruby Raiders and former Kahuna of Ula'ula Island in the Alola Region. And as a result of my own intervention and the aid of the Aether Foundation, as well as several allies of theirs, I have brought Roran back...And ensured he suffered for his crimes."

The camera then panned slightly to the right, causing Sun and Hau both to let out a scream of horror, while Lillie simply gasped at what was now on their screen. Lana simply stared, unsure of what she was even looking at.

Dragged into the room by chains was the groaning form of Roran Rubinara, though the only reason that the children recognized him on TV was because of what Borlath had said and because they recognized Roran's voice from his groan of pain.

What was left of his body was beyond mutilated, his face unrecognizable. His arms had been cut off, as had been the extra Tapu-related body parts he had grown the other day. Nearly every inch of his body was covered in harsh burns, the agonizing kind that only a Houndoom could leave behind. Roran's eyes and teeth had been ripped out of his face and as the man's mutilated and nude form was hung in front of the camera, it became obvious that he had been castrated as well, a bloodied and burned mass was now all that lingered between his legs as he was strung up on camera for all to see. Sun noticed, to his horror, that several syringes were jammed deep into the man's back.

"H-h-how...is he alive!?" Lillie whispered, fighting the urge to throw up. Sun looked to his crush for a moment before turning back to the TV.

"Those syringes. They're probably the only thing keeping that monster alive. Though...I'm honestly not surprised that Dad did all of this to him. Especially after what Roran tried to do to me." Sun muttered as Borlath stepped back into frame, a dark little smile on his face.

"Roran is guilty of many things. Terrible crimes, much like myself, though his reasons were far more self-serving. He has eluded justice for far too long. I am in the unique position of being able to deliver his judgement." Borlath intoned, gripping his silver magnum. Roran made a gurgling sound from his throat, a dribble of blood dripping from his mouth. Amber Fontaine smirked beside him, stepping away from the man as Borlath continued to speak.

"This is the last pleasure I will ever have in this world...Because soon I will be no more. I will save this terrible, twisted world from itself even if it costs me my life. I will fix my mistakes...I'm going to make things right." Borlath said quietly, his voice barely getting picked up by the cameras.

With that, Borlath stepped forward and jammed the pistol into Roran's mouth with a determined glare in his bright red eyes before pulling the trigger. Lillie looked away, as did Hau and Lana, as a loud bang rang out from the TV followed by the sound of blood spattering against a wall.

Sun watched his father kill on live TV for the third time, now. First Lorelei. Then Team Rocket. Now, Roran Rubinara.

And this time there would be no Claydol or Cloyster to teleport in to save the day. No deus ex machina would stop the bullet this time. His Radiance was nothing now. Roran's schemes had all been stopped, and now it was time for the madman who had caused so much pain and suffering to meet his end.

Roran's head lolled to the side, crimson dripping down onto the ground from both his mouth and the bullet hole in the back of his head. The madman who had tormented Alola for so long, and had come so close to becoming a Tapu strong enough to wipe out an entire region was dead. He would never hurt another soul again. The monster had finally been slain.

Borlath lowered the smoking pistol as he stepped away, letting out a long exhale as he looked down at Roran's mutilated body, with the madman finally dead at his hand. Blood spattered the once-pristine white suit that the Cipher Master wore. He stared at Roran for nearly a minute, taking in the sight of what he had done.

Borlath then slowly looked into the camera, a soft smile coming to his lips. It was a kind and gentle smile...while his eyes were the color of blood, with black and white rings appearing within his eyes. A madness not unlike Roran's now stared back into the eyes of everyone watching the broadcast. But as the transmission cut out, he had five chilling words left for the world...or rather, someone he knew that was watching him right at this very moment.

"Sun...I'll see you soon."


Chilling, huh?

That's right folks! Roran is finally dealt with, and Borlath had made his declaration. But what does that mean for Sun and his friends? And what does Borlath have planned for his return to Alola? Stay tuned!

Q & A

From: dewlyfrau

If (or when) Lillie does become a trainer, will she start out with a pup of Brago and Winter? It seems fitting, since in the anime she hatches an alolan vulpix, and both Winter and Brago seem to have a great relationship with her, and she seems like someone that they would entrust their child with.

As far as I remember, you're the first person to comment on this and make that connection. After all, Brago is Lillie's favorite Pokemon on Sun's team. We'll see what happens.

From: Joey

What an action-packed chapter. It was also great to see Wes again. Can't wait to see what happens next. Few questions:

1) What's Sun's mom been up to? I'm surprised she wasn't recruited to Lusamine's squad considering she's a strong trainer. I'd also imagine she'd want to be closer to Sun and Ollie considering both of them would be dead had MissingNo not turn back time.

2) Did Roran have his Cipher grunts dress in Red as homage to the Ruby Raiders?

3) Hypothetically, could what Roran does to stave off the effects of his curse do the same for Amber's?

1. She's been at work as a teacher like a normal person. And she's a strong Trainer, but also not really involved in the Cipher drama because she was trying to escape it. And she was properly horrified when Sun explained what he had dealt with over the past few days.

2. Partly, but also to distinguish themselves from the normal Cipher personnel. Both were a means to an end for him, but Roran was always theatrical when it counted.

3. Roran actively embraced the curse after he was defeated at Highborn, so any knowledge of managing the curses died with him at the hands of Borlath. And even Roran's attempts to suppress the curse, which was altering his state of mind with drugs, didn't work all of the time and didn't matter in the end.

Amber could theoretically do that, but she'd lose out on a lot of her effectiveness and those kinds of drugs aren't worth the effect they'd have on her body.

And that's it. Chapter's done! Woot woot!

But on that note, I do have an announcement to make.

I plan on taking a brief hiatus with the story in-between Acts.

It's been a long time coming and truthfully, these past fifteen or so chapters have been really draining. I need some time to decompress and not write for a while, but at the same time review the story and sort out some of the small details.

The beginning of Act IV, Chapter 120, will be posted on Wednesday, March 17th. I'm hoping to keep to the bi-weekly schedule like I have for the past few updates, as well as keep the updates from getting ungodly levels of long like the past few have been. I'll admit it's a problem I have as a writer, and one I'm looking to work on. But as I always say...We will see what happens. I'm hopeful for the next round of updates though. It's shaping up to be fun.

That being said, I do have to thank everyone for your support and for sticking with the story through all of the madness. Especially given how...out there the past few chapters have been. It's definitely appreciated, and I can't thank you enough.

As always, please favorite and/or follow the story if you haven't already, so you can keep updated with it. Reviews and questions are definitely appreciated, and feel free to join my Discord server.

A new perk, or sorts, with joining the Discord server is you have the opportunity to see chapters early since I'll be starting to share those within the server once I return from my hiatus. You can also just chat about games, life, and anything else. PM me for a link to the server. I'm testing this out for now, so we'll see if that works how I want it to.

Now then, I'm gonna go play Stardew Valley and enjoy a nice break from things. In the meantime, I'd like to pose a question.

What has the highlight of this Act been for you? Brago's evolution? Borlath battling the Pokémon League? Sun's battle against the Nihilego? Or maybe the Festival of Celestial Lights? Tell me your thoughts in the review section below.

And on one final note, I will leave you with a small teaser from the next Act. I'm sure you all can figure out the context for yourselves. Major spoilers for Pokemon Sun and Moon coming ahead, for those who don't know the story's main twists (even though I've spoiled them already).

Take care and stay awesome.

Until next time, FlygonNick out!


"Sun! Stop the President!" Gladion shouted as Type: Null crouched low, snarling ferociously as the Ultra Beast loomed overhead, cooing softly. Black venom dripped from its tentacles, causing Oliver to shudder slightly besides Sun. "If we don't, Alola will be flooded with beasts!"

"Sun! We have to get Nebby back!" Lillie cried out, hiding behind the boy. Sun looked back at Lillie, seeing the handprint still on her face from what Lusamine had done earlier. It was insane. How could they not have seen this coming? Had all of this been a lie? Had President Lusamine ever been their friend?

"Miss Lusamine, this is crazy! Please, just…" Sun trailed off, unsure of what to say as he turned back towards the Aether President, who simply smiled sweetly at the boy.

"Just what? Surrender the Cosmog? Leave my Ultra Beasts in misery within the depths of their worlds? Leave Team Skull to wallow in squalor for the remainder of their days?" Lusamine asked Sun, amusement flashing across her features as her sharp green eyes narrowed further.

"I just don't get why you've changed so much! What happened to the woman who risked her life for mine against Roran? Who comforted me about my father? What happened to the kind woman who I respected so much!?" Sun demanded, hurt in his own voice. Not just at the betrayal of Lusamine. But because of the fact that she had been the one ruthlessly hunting down Lillie. The source of all of his best friend's fears and pain had all come from the person who should have been looking out for her daughter.

Lusamine shook her head, a disgusted frown on her face. "That person was someone who got distracted with unimportant matters. Even your father feared what I could do with the powers of the Ultra Space at my disposal."

"I'm not surprised. I've seen what those things can do! If they get unleashed on Alola, who knows what could happen!" Sun barked out at the woman, who's frown softened into merely one of annoyance rather than disgust.

"What a disappointment...To think that you are all so small-minded…You're going to startle my sweet beast!" Lusamine sighed, shaking her head as she stepped towards Sun.

"Sun...It looks like I'll have to silence you first." Lusamine said as her voice turned cold as ice. There was no trace of the kindly woman who had saved his life. No flicker of motherly affection. Only a woman hellbent of achieving her goals, no matter the cost.

A terrible smile crept across the woman's face, even as she unclipped a Poké Ball at her waist and called out her Clefable, which smiled at them before looking at Lusamine in confusion.

"I guess we're done trying to negotiate. If you won't listen to Lillie...maybe I can force you to listen to me." Sun said as Oliver braced himself for another battle, the mighty owl stepping forward calmly.

"It's all fine Sun. I do this because I love my children. Lillie. Gladion. The Ultra Beasts. I love you too, my sweet child." Lusamine said as her Clefable held out a finger, readying itself for an attack as Lusamine held out her arms with a serene smile.

"I do this because of love. And I love you...to death." Lusamine's smile twisted further, becoming a terrible scowl as cold horror filled the heart of Lillie. She felt Sun's hand grip hers as the boy pointed towards Clefable, with Oliver himself ready to leap into action against the woman they had fought alongside. A woman who had comforted them. Protected them. Cared for them…

Now consumed within her own madness. Just like Dawson. Just like Roran. And just like Borlath.

"I'll deal with you like I did the rest of them." Sun thought before Rotom Dex popped out of his backpack, playing an intense piano theme. Sun ignored this, and focused only on bringing the Aether President back to her senses while Hau held Guzma back and Gladion battled the Ultra Beast.

"Oliver, use-" Sun began to say, only for Lusamine to shout out, "Hyper Beam on the boy and girl! Now!"

Sun and Lillie recoiled in surprise, and even Clefable hesitated for a moment before pointing a finger directly at Lillie and Sun and firing off a massive beam of energy directly at them. Lillie shrieked in fear as Sun shielded her with his body. Oliver stepped in front of them both and summoned a Protect, blocking the direct attack while glaring down the woman responsible for attacking two of the humans he cared about the most.

"Just like his father...You have failed in your duties as a parent." Oliver said quietly, his voice low with anger.

"You all seem to be under the impression that I was playing around…let me assure you. Nothing and no one will stop me from saving my Ultra Beasts." Lusamine said firmly as Oliver swept his large wing aside, dispelling the Protect he had summoned to shield the two children standing behind him. Lillie was openly shaking in terror at the sight of her mother while Sun grit his teeth in anger.

"I don't understand. But at this point...I don't think I want to. I'm going to stop this. Right here. Right now." Sun growled as he held up his Z-Ring. Lusamine's mouth twisted into a beautiful but dangerous smile. The boy could hear the sounds of Hau battling Guzma's Pokémon and of Gladion and Type: Null dueling the Ultra Beast, but Sun faced down the madness of Lusamine with determination burning in his eyes.

"Then by all means, Sun...Try. I'll teach you the same lesson I taught Lillie." Lusamine purred as her Clefable finished recharging, shifting slightly as the battle began in earnest.


End of Act III

The Cipher Arc will be concluded in Act IV…

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