Pokémon Radiant Sun


Well, here we are. The climax of the main story.

Not much to say except that I appreciate everyone who's made it to this point and I hope you all have fun with the big showdown. I enjoyed sitting down and powering through what's likely the last massive chapter left in this fic before we barrel through the final Act.

What? You thought I wouldn't make this a giant chapter? The big battle between Sun and Lusamine? Hahahaha!

Shoutout to Oragonking and BraviaryScout, who reviewed since the last update and are both quite rad.

Let's get on with it!

Enjoy.


Chapter 159: The Beauty of Madness


"I will build my empire next to the sea, so I can laugh from my throne as my enemies drown." - Bray Wyatt.


Aether Paradise

President's Mansion Depths


The inner sanctum of Aether President Lusamine Jardin was in absolute chaos.

Gladion was fiercely battling the monstrous Ultra Beast that had traversed into their world, with Type: Null frantically trying to keep the deadly creature at bay. Meanwhile, Hau was fending off the infamous Guzma, his grandfather's former student and the leader of Team Skull . Meanwhile Sun and Lillie were facing off against Lusamine herself.

"First Impression!" Guzma barked as Hau's Komala was instantly attacked by Goliath with the brutal and swift slash, with Haimoe counter-attacking with a Rollout which dealt super-effective damage to the ace of the Team Skull Boss.

"Pin Missile!" Guzma bellowed as Goliath growled in annoyance, hunching over and unleashing a bombardment of Pin Missile upon the Komala. However the Drowsing Pokémon continued to use Rollout and managed to weave in and out of the bombardment, shooting towards Goliath and striking him a second time with Rollout. As the second and more-powerful round of the attack hit Goliath, Guzma scowled with annoyance briefly before smirking at the boy.

"Come on, kid! You can do better than this!" Guzma jeered as Goliath suddenly rushed forward with Aqua Jet to attack Hau's Komala, only for Hau to counter with Sucker Punch, causing Goliath to reel backwards with a surprised snarl as Haimoe lashed out with a surprisingly strong swipe of its sleeping log.

"You're right! I can do way better than this! My team's not gonna let you hurt my friends…and that includes Gladion, for the record!" Hau shouted over his shoulder, earning a middle finger (and a smirk of amusement) from Gladion.

"Aww, that's heartwarming. Goliath, use Liquidation!" Guzma shouted, no longer smiling. Goliath should have had no issues taking down the Pokémon of Hala's grandson, but somehow this fight was already taking far longer than it should have.

"I'm losing my touch…Nah, screw that." Guzma thought as Goliath rushed forward with a water-sword, delivering a heavy slash to the Komala, but still it remained standing. Even worse, Hau ordered his Pokémon to attack with an Acrobatics, which forced Goliath back a step as it roared in agony.

"Razor Shell! It's gotta be close to keeling over!" Guzma barked as Goliath crouched low, launching its hulking frame off of the ground and lunging at the prone Komala who was looking as if it was about to faint rather than fall asleep. The Golisopod slashed the Drowsing Pokémon, causing a bleeding slash to rip across its chest.

Hau suddenly barked out an order, surprising Guzma as he called out, "Use Flail!"

The Komala suddenly leapt at Goliath, shining bright white as it began frantically smacking the Golisopod with its log. Guzma's eyes widened in shock at the sudden and well-executed attack, but was genuinely stunned when Goliath was knocked to the ground, groaning in pain before looking towards Guzma and suddenly using Emergency Exit to return to his Poké Ball.

Guzma sent out Masquerain, which trilled softly before launching a Bug Buzz that instantly knocked out Haimoe. Guzma exhaled softly, releasing some of the pent up tension in his chest.

"Dang. Was hoping I could knock out one of yours before mine." Hau remarked with a sigh as Guzma chuckled, standing up and throwing out his hands with a wide grin. Hau returned his Komala with a grimace, wondering if he truly stood a chance against the man who had once been a student of his grandfather. Even his newest strategy of implementing an unconventional move like Flail wasn't enough.

The boy looked up at Guzma, and Hau considered his words carefully before he spoke to the Boss of Team Skull. While this was certainly a long shot, Hau wouldn't have felt right if he didn't at least try and reason with the man.

"You know if you just apologized to Tutu, he'd forgive you in an instant, right?" Hau said to Guzma, who blinked twice in confusion before scowling.

"The hell are you talking about? I'm Guzma. I don't need anyone's permission, forgiveness or their mercy!" Guzma laughed, brushing aside Hau's words. The boy frowned at the dismissal, but persisted.

"I'm not sure about that. Being alone and on the outs with the people who care about you has to be really miserable. I know I'd be sad without my friends. They just make my life plain better." Hau said to the thug, who's eyes narrowed at the child's words.

"Even Professor Kukui would probably welcome you back with open arms if you just talked to him. I guess what I'm saying is…" Hau trailed off, struggling for words. "There's another way. This isn't the only path, you know? Stop helping Miss Lusamine. Even you can see she's way in over her head, right? This is all wrong."

"I…I don't…" Guzma trailed off, looking away from Hau and gritting his teeth. He despised the fact that the boy's words were getting through to him. His clash earlier with Sun had made some of the old memories come back that Guzma had tried to suppress, and Hau was only making things more difficult.

"Please…" Hau all but begged as Guzma audibly growled with frustration.

Finally the Team Skull Boss looked at Hau and spat at the ground with a wretched scowl. "Don't try to get in my head. None of them ever gave a damn about me. They watched me get abused, beaten and scarred by my parents for years and did nothing! They refused to support me when that wretched bird tore apart my Vikavolt and a Captain assaulted me. The only person who's ever seen me for me is President Lusamine. She alone acknowledged how strong I am. And that's why I follow her. And I'll crush anyone in our way!"

Hau sighed, rubbing the back of his head while Guzma snarled in irritation. "Why do you care, anyway? This has nothing to do with you, kid! Go back to blindly following the ways of the Island Challenge! Hell, you'll probably end up replacing Hala someday anyway."

"Maybe so. I'd honestly love to carry on his legacy." Hau remarked with a shrug. "But not because I'm forced to. But because I want to make other people smile as much as Tutu makes me and everyone else smile back home. If I become a Kahuna someday, it's because that's where my path led me and it's what I wanted to do."

"Good to see you're as naïve as you are dumb." Guzma remarked, rolling his eyes. However, Guzma was truly caught off-guard by Hau's next words.

"I'm just sorry that you're so unhappy. I really wish you could see that people still care about you. Even Professor Kukui feels bad about how things turned out between you two. Way back, you two were as close as me and Sun are. Maybe even closer, right?" the boy asked Guzma, who stared at the boy's expression of concern and his kind eyes and for a moment, actually considered his words.

"We were more than friends. We were brothers." Guzma breathed, shutting his eyes and sighing deeply as he shoved his hands into his pockets, looking up at the ceiling. Hau's expression looked stricken as he heard the genuine, raw agony in the man's voice that he chose to show Hala's grandson.

The Team Skull Boss promptly seized onto that pain, as well as the fury that drove him forward and crushed that remorse ruthlessly. Guzma's eyes then snapped open, contempt in his gaze once again. "But those times have long since passed. Now I walk this road, kid. So, I don't want their forgiveness. And I don't want your sympathy. Now stand tall or stand down!"

The boy glanced at the Alola Raichu floating beside him, clenching his fists and with sparking cheeks. Hau smirked at Duke and said, "Yeah, I guess talking down Guzma was a long shot, huh? It's time to get serious, then. Sun and Gladion are counting on us to hold the line!"

"Raaai raaai!" Duke agreed, nodding as he floated in front of Hau. Masquerain let out a soft trill as Guzma crouched low, frowning as he regarded the grandson of his teacher. The regret, anger and sorrow simmering beneath Guzma's skin almost made him itch. But the Team Skull Boss would never admit that. His pride wouldn't allow it.

"You've got a good heart, kid…and part of me wishes things were that simple. But they ain't." Guzma whispered too quietly for anyone to hear. Guzma then spoke up, his usual grin returning. "I'm gonna beat your ass so bad Hala's gonna fucking sing!"

A sudden explosion behind Hau made him and Guzma glance backwards, seeing Gladion's Golbat soaring around the room to dodge repeated Power Gems from the mighty Ultra Beast. Meanwhile Type: Null rushed forward with Flame Charge, slamming hard into the side of the Ultra Beast and earning a pained hiss in response before being struck with Pound and getting sent flying backwards.

Gladion gripped his arm tightly, the pain reminding him of the fact that this was the moment he had been waiting almost three whole years for. All of the heartache. All of the isolation. Putting up with Team Skull and fighting alongside Demi to make himself and his team strong enough to stand against the monsters the President was so infatuated with. This was Gladion's final stand against the monster that had torn his family apart, and he would not fail.

Gladion had even let out his Riolu, even if he wasn't cleared to battle just yet. The Emanation Pokémon stood by Gladion's side, crying out encouragement to his friends as they stood their ground against the terrifying monster from beyond.

"Null, use Aerial Ace! Golbat, attack with Shadow Ball! Then hit it with a Crush Claw, Null!" Gladion shouted as the Beast-Killer rushed forward, quickly slamming into the Ultra Beast right as Golbat launched the sphere of darkness. The Ultra Beast cooed right before Type: Null rammed into it, knocking it backwards into the Shadow Ball. This ended up throwing the monster forward again into a Crush Claw that spattered the ground with strangely-colored blood.

And then suddenly a plume of flames struck Type: Null in midair, blasting him towards the ground with a howl of pain. Gladion gasped in surprise, but then looked down and noticed that Fiaro the Ninetales had gotten back up from where Hau's Raichu had attacked it earlier.

"Fiaro, defend my darling Ultra Beast with your life. That's an order." Lusamine called to the Ninetales, who obediently nodded as it slowly padded towards Gladion as Type: Null got back to its feet, growling in anger.

"How could you? I thought you were supposed to protect us!" Gladion accused the Ninetales, who looked away in shame before his eyes shone bright blue. Golbat suddenly hissed in pain as Psychic suddenly enveloped it, bringing it towards the ground where it slammed into the floor harshly.

"We're going to need every shred of skill and grit we've got to bring the Ultra Beast down with Fiaro helping it out." Gladion muttered to himself before looking towards his left, where Sun was battling the puppet-master behind all of this. The battle between Lusamine and Sun was now finally underway, and Gladion prayed Sun was able to survive the Jardin family matriarch's deadly wrath.

"Spirit Shackle!" Sun shouted as Oliver fired his arrow, which exploded in Luna the Clefable's face and sent her skidding backwards with a pained hiss. Lusamine pointed a finger at Oliver, grinning at the children and the Decidueye protecting them.

"Ice Beam on the children." Lusamine instructed her Clefable, who hesitated for a brief moment before holding out her hands and firing off the beam of energy at Sun and Lillie, forcing Oliver to swoop in front of them and attempt to throw up another Protect. However, the barrier failed to form in time and the owl was struck directly by the super-effective attack.

"That's cheap!" Sun barked at Lusamine, who was unapologetic as Oliver hunched over, ice coating his body as he shivered violently.

"You shouldn't be pulling any punches, Sun. I am not your father. I don't care who I have to use and cast aside to achieve my goals. Friends. Family. Pokémon or humans. They mean nothing when it comes to fulfilling my destiny." Lusamine said with a smirk, her tone haughty. "You should have known better than to stride into this castle and defy the will of its queen. And so I shall make you bow before me, little boy, and show you the error of your ways."

"Razor Leaf!" Sun called to Oliver as the bird shook the ice from his feathers, flapping his wings and sending a wave of leaves towards Luna, slashing open the Clefable's arms, chest and legs as she cried out.

"Luna, Moonlight!" Lusamine called with a wide smile, gesturing upwards as Clefable sent up a sphere of light into the air, creating a shimmering translucent moon that shone down on the battlefield. Before their eyes, the injuries the Clefable had sustained began to heal.

"Razor Leaf!" Sun barked as Oliver swept his wings aside, sending another wave of leaves at Luna and shredding her skin again, with Lusamine's smile thinning slightly.

"With as many weaknesses as that bird has, I only need one strong move before it goes down. Something that cursed boy won't suspect, so I have to play the odds…Metronome!" Lusamine shouted the final word as Luna waggled her fingers, with Oliver bracing himself for an attack. Two gleaming sets of metallic claws sprang out from Luna's hands as she rushed forward, attacking Oliver with Metal Claw and forcing the owl back.

"Leaf Blade!" Sun countered as Oliver kicked off of the ground, blocking the next swipe of Metal Claw with his glowing green swords before kicking Luna in the chest and delivering a double-swipe of the Leaf Blade to the chest of the Clefable, causing her to drop to the ground.

"Flamethrower!" Lusamine commanded Luna as she struggled to her feet, opening her mouth and firing off a stream of flames, forcing Oliver to block with Protect. Lusamine smirked as her Clefable got back to her feet.

"Sing that disgusting owl a song, won't you Luna?" Lusamine cooed as Clefable closed her eyes and began to sing. Sun and Lillie watched as Oliver froze in place, grimacing as he fought the urge to fall asleep standing up.

"Now hit him with Ice Beam!" Lusamine shouted as Sun's eyes widened in surprise.

"But Clefable is using Sing! How is she able to attack while already using a move?" Sun asked as he watched Clefable sing her song, but also hold out her hands and charge up another Ice Beam before firing it at the prone Oliver. The owl shrieked in agony as the attack hit him directly, but this also had the effect of helping him stay awake through Luna's song.

"Spirit Shackle!" Sun called to his Starter as Oliver pushed through the freezing cold seeping through his body and swiftly took aim, firing at the Clefable who had stopped her song in time to get blasted by the ghostly arrow.

"How was she able to do that?" Sun muttered to himself, with Lillie watching the display uncomfortably. She knew exactly how Lusamine was able to pull that off, but she was too terrified to say anything.

"You think you're the only one with fancy tricks?" Lusamine said to the boy, chuckling lightly. "Fancy combination attacks and special strategies aren't anything new, Sun. I've trained my Pokémon to be able to use two moves at once. Years of practice and hard work culminating in a beautiful display of power. As I said before…you don't stand a chance."

"You talk too much." Oliver hooted with annoyance as Lusamine's expression became more amused.

"Do I? Perhaps we should take this more seriously. I see you've yet to use the power of Radiance that helped you take down Borlath." Lusamine remarked, smiling wider. "I want to see it, Sun. That gorgeous shining light that pierced the dark. Show me every last ounce of your strength so I can match it against the beautiful power I possess!"

"You're nuts. The last time I used Radiance, I blew holes open in a battleship! I could end up killing everyone in this room!" Sun protested, shaking his head. However, despite himself, he knew full-well what the woman was trying to do.

Radiance puts an incredibly high physical burden on both the Trainer and the Pokémon using it. If Sun and Oliver took advantage of Radiance and unleashed its full might against Lusamine now, they'd be hard-pressed to deal with the rest of Lusamine's team and maybe whatever else came next. It was too risky.

"Hmmm…Seems he's smarter than I gave him credit for. That's fine. I can coax it out of him. These children are nothing if not easily manipulated." Lusamine murmured, grinning slyly. "Luna, use Metronome!"

The Clefable's fingers glowed as she waved them back and forth before a Fairy Wind blew past Oliver, doing some damage but not enough to bring down the mighty owl as he lashed out with another Leaf Blade. The Fairy-type Pokémon fired back with Moonblast at Lusamine's command, forcing Oliver to fly back over to where Sun and Lillie were. Lusamine stepped forward, placing a hand on her Clefable's side.

"With all your skill, Sun, you still lack something that I have. Experience." Lusamine remarked, gesturing to her Pokémon. "Now, let's see how you handle this!"

"Brace yourself, Oliver! She's up to something!" Sun called to his Partner, who readied himself for whatever Lusamine had in store for them.

"Freezing Flames!" Lusamine commanded her Pokémon, smiling widely as she clenched her hand into a fist. Luna matched her Trainer's malicious smile and held out her hands, firing off an Ice Beam that Sun had Oliver block with Protect. However, Sun gasped as he saw Clefable inhale deeply before releasing a Flamethrower from her mouth that also smashed against the barrier Oliver had called forth.

The Protect shattered from the force of two attacks hitting it at once, forcing Oliver to stand in front of the children and throw apart his wings to shield them both. The Flamethrower and Ice Beam struck the owl directly, causing him to screech in agony as the fire and ice ravaged his body. Meanwhile the sound of Lusamine's cruel laughter filled the sanctum. Guzma, Hau and Gladion watched in surprise as the raging flames and ice washed over Oliver, completely engulfing the owl.

"Dammit." Gladion hissed, feeling the dread creep into his heart. He knew that Sun was their best bet against dealing with the Aether President, but Gladion also knew Lusamine was the greatest threat they were facing right now. With over two decades of experience under Lusamine's belt as a Trainer and a former Champion, coupled with an insane ruthlessness and a battle-hardened team, the matriarch of the Jardin family would truly test the limits of Sun's abilities.

Finally Luna released her two attacks, panting hard at the strain of using two powerful moves at the same time. This was nothing compared to Oliver, who was covered in burns and wracked with tremors as his body struggled to remain standing after withstanding the onslaught of attacks.

"What the hell was that!?" Sun demanded as Lusamine laughed coquettishly, placing a hand against her cheek.

"Remember when I mentioned being able to attack with two moves at once? You're not the only one with cute-sounding combination attacks, darling. That particular combination was what won me the Kalos Championship." Lusamine responded with a smug smile. She looked to Oliver, who was panting heavily while looking down at the floor.

The owl then looked up, offering the Aether President a dark grin. "Thank you ma'am…may I have another?"

"Metronome!" Lusamine practically snarled as Luna's fingers glowed brightly and moved back and forth. The Clefable fired off a stream of water at Oliver, who calmly sidestepped the Water Gun with a bored expression before inhaling deeply and exhaling, something that Sun was also doing while holding out his Z-Ring.

The artifact began to shift in color from white to black as shining light poured from the Z-Ring into Oliver, coalescing into a spectrum of light that was joined by an ethereal humming sound. Oliver and Sun's eyes glowed brightly, even as the rainbow flame-like Radiance danced around the two of them.

"I won't let you hurt them." Oliver said calmly, summoning a Leaf Blade that was coated in rainbow flames of raw power. Lusamine burst into joyful laughter, clapping her hands together.

"So that's your Radiance…How delightful. Your full-power on display at last! Now, Luna, use Ice Beam!" Lusamine shouted with a delighted grin as the Clefable charged up and fired the attack directly at Oliver. The Decidueye inhaled and exhaled softly before calmly stepping forward, slashing at the beam directly as it struck the blade and redirecting it somewhere to the left, freezing a portion of the wall.

Oliver walked forward, unfazed as he powered through the Ice Beam while using his Radiance-boosted Leaf Blade continually to redirect the attack. Lusamine watched almost hungrily, grinning at the display of power from the boy who was calmly staring her down. Sun was resolute and powerful and the Aether President knew that he was a worthy opponent.

"Stop and use Flamethrower!" Lusamine shouted as Luna switched gears, opening her mouth and releasing a torrent of flames from her mouth.

"Dodge and use Razor Leaf!" Sun called as he focused on the bond between himself and Oliver, even as the bird kicked off of the ground and soared into the air, dodging the Flamethrower with ease. Oliver then let out a shout as he flapped his wings hard, releasing a wave of shining leaves that resembled stars that promptly slashed the Clefable all over her body as she screamed in pain at the Radiance-boosted Razor Leaf, falling to one knee as she clutched the bleeding wounds all over her body.

"You wanted Radiance? You've got it. I can use it to boost the power of a regular move, too. Not just use it in one big super Z-Move." Sun said as he glared at the Aether President, with Oliver giving the woman a matching look of fury as his Trainer. "I won't let you hurt anyone else, Miss Lusamine."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, Sun!" Lusamine sang with delight, snapping her fingers. "Freezing Flames!"

"Protect!" Sun shouted as the owl threw apart his wings to withstand the double attack from the Clefable. However this time as the barrier sprang up, it appeared as a shimmering golden bubble of light around the Decidueye and children that shielded them from the flames and ice unleashed in tandem by Luna. Lillie marveled once again at the power Sun was able to bring out of his Pokémon, with this barrier easily able to withstand the combination attack.

"Very impressive Sun. But how long can you last like that?" Lusamine asked the boy, who's expression shifted into one of annoyance alongside Oliver's. "The strain of using such incredible power must be extreme. You yourself told me the attack caused you internal damage within moments of you using it. And you've already been through so much in the past few days, unable to truly rest and recuperate. How strong is your desire to protect the pathetic wretch cowering in your shadow?"

"Beating you is a pretty close second to making sure Lillie is safe and happy, I will admit." Sun responded with a shrug of the shoulders. "And as to whether or not I can last, I think me and Oliver can take whatever you think you got."

However, the price of maintaining such a shield soon became obvious. Oliver's breathing became labored, with the owl grimacing in pain as he taxed his body to its absolute limit to safeguard the children behind him. Meanwhile Sun wavered on his feet, finding it increasingly hard to remain standing upright. He began to find that his chest and stomach were hurting, and after about half a minute the child couldn't see straight as his vision began to distort through a haze of exhaustion.

But to Lusamine's annoyance, Sun's words were accurate. Luna continued to unleash her dual-Flamethrower/Ice Beam combo attack for a full minute without it breaking down the powerful golden Protect that halted her attack in its tracks, and finally the Clefable had to cease her combination attack and catch her breath, exhausted by maintaining such a costly move for so long. Oliver dispelled his shield and nearly fell over, overcome with exhaustion. Lillie managed to grab Sun before he toppled to the ground, with Sun murmuring a weak thanks to the girl as he regained his footing.

"Incredible. But we're not done yet, little boy. You could slaughter me and my Pokémon with the power you wield, but your kind heart refuses to let you take advantage of the beautiful light of Radiance. So allow me to take advantage of your weakness." Lusamine crooned as Clefable struggled back to a standing position. "Metronome."

Luna's hands glowed and her fingers twitched back and forth as Sun called for Oliver to strike down the Clefable with Leaf Blade. However as the owl swooped forward, two shining emerald blades gripped within his talons boosted by Radiance, Luna's eyes widened in shock as the light faded away from her hands. She held her hands together, aiming it right at Oliver with a determined expression.

To the shock of everyone, an almighty gale erupted from the hands of the Clefable with such a ferocity that it shook the entire sanctum. Sun and Lillie nearly fell over at the sheer power behind the force of the torrent of wind shooting out of Luna's hands…directly into Oliver.

The Decidueye was in too much pain to even scream as he was trapped within the blast, forced still and unable to do much more than simply endure it. Finally the owl was slowly forced backwards, tumbling through the air as the attack overpowered his momentum and sent him flying backwards and into the air.

Sun's eyes went wide as the Radiance surrounding himself and Oliver flickered and died, with Oliver slamming hard enough into the ground to leave a harsh indent. Lusamine laughed with delight as she saw the unconscious owl lying on the ground, and Lillie gasped in horror.

"What kind of attack was that? It was so powerful!" Lillie wondered, trying to think of what it could have been. She had learned a lot about moves over the past year or so, but her studies with Professor Kukui had never shown her this particular attack. To her surprise, Sun spoke up, his exhausted voice tinged with awe.

"That was Aeroblast, Lillie. It's the signature move of Lugia, the Guardian of the Seas and the master of the Legendary Birds." Sun said quietly, scowling at Lusamine as he returned Oliver. "As strong as Oliver is, there was no withstanding something like that. Thank you for everything, Partner."

"Such a shame poor Oliver is so worn out from battling through my employees and dear Guzma." Lusamine said mockingly to Sun, who exhaled deeply to calm himself. He had to focus. He was battling someone just as dangerous as his father when it came to experience as a Trainer.

Plus, Lusamine had no qualms about playing dirty, unlike his father who at least had some restraint. Sun was going to need to get creative if he wanted to defeat her.

"Brago, help me out!" Sun called out the Arcanine, who crouched low and stood in front of Sun and Lillie. Lusamine chuckled softly, pointing at the growling Arcanine as it struck Luna with Intimidate, but Sun cut her off before she spoke.

"Extreme Speed!" Sun shouted as Brago rushed forward, becoming a blur and slamming hard into Luna and knocking her to the ground.

Lusamine huffed as her tired Clefable slowly got back up, snapping her fingers as she said, "Minimize."

Luna glowed a bright pink color, growing slightly smaller in size as Sun called for Flame Burst. Brago unleashed the fiery tongues of fire that exploded outwards, but to Sun's annoyance Luna dodged the attack with relative ease.

"Minimize!"

"Fire Fang!"

Once again, Brago bounded forward with a growl, with his mouth exploding into flames as he attempted to bite Clefable, only for Luna to dance out of the way with ease. Sun frowned as he tried to consider a way to actually hit the annoying Clefable, but Lusamine took that moment to laugh with delight.

"You must be so frustrated, seeing the Pokémon that have carried you through your adventure fall so easily, Sun." Lusamine remarked with a taunting smirk. "Well, I have you to thank for that."

"What are you talking about?" Sun asked slowly, wondering where this was going.

"I'm talking about you showing me all of your strategies and tactics back in Konikoni City, when we sat down and had lunch." Lusamine reminded Sun, who's face went pale as he realized he had done just that. Lusamine was a former Champion, and he had consulted her for advice on what he had written down in a journal he had started making. Sun had considered Lusamine a friend and mentor then, and never thought twice about showing her his ideas and plans for training and battling.

Which suddenly explained how Lusamine was able to take down Oliver and make Brago look like a chump so far. She had been able to get a peek into Sun's mind, memorize his strategies and come up with ways to exploit the flaws. Such as surprising Oliver and forcing him to keep protecting Sun and Lillie from a hostile Trainer and boosting a Pokémon's evasion so high that even a speedy Pokémon like Brago couldn't hit them.

"I'm so grateful for you showing me all of the various tactics you've come up with over your journey, Sun. Your trust in me was very much misplaced." Lusamine purred, flashing a cruel grin to the boy. "Metronome."

Luna the Clefable's fingers glowed again, moving to the left and right three times before Luna held out her hands. To Sun's horror, a massive blue pillar of stone erupted from the ground and slammed hard into Brago, with the Stone Edge sending him hurtling backwards with a howl of pain. Brago struck the ground hard, causing Lillie to gasp in horror as Sun grit his teeth in frustration.

"You caused this, my beloved daughter." Lillie looked at her mother and saw Lusamine's cold gaze burrowing into her soul. The Aether President gestured to the Arcanine as Brago got back to his feet, wincing. "You just had to run off with Cosmog. You had to rope Sun and Hau into this. Running and hiding all of these months, trying in vain to return my property back to the Ultra Space. You really never considered the consequences of your actions, did you?"

"You…I…" Lillie withered under the harsh glare of her mother, who kept on going.

"I always warned you, didn't I? That dragging more people into this affair would simply mean more pain all around. And I was right. Poor Hau and Sun are battered and bruised, barely able to stand. Their Pokémon are being forced to fight and hurt others again and again all because of your selfishness. Because you just couldn't listen." Lusamine went on ruthlessly, grinning as she saw the fresh tears in her daughter's eyes. "You never deserved my love. You don't deserve any love, Lillie. You deserve to be snuffed out like the worthless little fool that you-"

"SHUT UP!"

Lusamine blinked at being screamed at, but was even more surprised by the red gleam in Sun's eyes as he stared down the Aether President. Brago was also growling furiously at Lusamine, vocalizing his desire to punish the woman for her cruel words to Lillie.

"How can you just stand there and talk about your daughter like that? After everything you've done, all the people you hurt and manipulated. And you have the nerve to treat Lillie like the villain because she didn't want you to murder a defenseless Pokémon?" Sun shot back at Lusamine, who shrugged carelessly.

"What is one life compared to the endless amounts of Ultra Beasts that await my love within the Ultra Space?" Lusamine responded, grinning at Sun. "It's Lillie who's being selfish by denying them my love. Maybe because of jealousy? Comparing that hideous little cretin to the beautiful beasts that I've unleashed upon Alola isn't even fair!"

Lillie shrank back, shutting her eyes as Lusamine let out a peal of laughter, reveling in the pain she was inflicting upon Lillie. Sun crossed his arms, shoving down the anger he felt towards the woman who had revealed her true self to them all. Lusamine went on, gesturing to the girl standing beside Sun who was now staring at the ground as tears ran down her face.

"I don't see how you can think there's any good in her. Didn't Lillie lie constantly to you, Sun? She never told you that I was her mother, after all. I know for a fact from Guzma that Gladion and Lillie didn't have any contact besides our little reunion at the Battle Royal Dome, so you likely had no idea she was related to him. Do you really even know Lillie, Sun? Well, I'll save you some time and tell you this…She's a cowardly, pathetic girl who lies and steals to get what she wants." Lusamine flashed Sun a smug smirk. "Quite frankly, I think you can do better than her. She's not worth your time or any affection that you may feel for her."

"Good thing we don't care what you think." Brago remarked in a bored tone, glancing back at Sun. "I think I speak for all of Alpha's team when I say that Lillie has proven herself to be a trustworthy friend and ally."

"That'zzz right!" Rotom Dex cried out, floating above Lillie and waving its arms around. "She'zzz not a Trainer, but that doesn't mean Lillie hasn't been brave! We wouldn't have made it this far without her."

"Rotom Dex…Brago…" Lillie whispered, wiping the tears dripping from her eyes. She was amazed that the two of them regarded her so highly despite what she had put them through. Sun's team didn't think any less of her despite her lies and deception.

However, the person who's opinion mattered most to her in the world opened his mouth to speak, and Lillie hung onto Sun's every word.

"Lillie's better than you in every way that matters." Sun said firmly, as Lusamine rolled her eyes.

"So you're blind as well as stupid. You poor deluded child." Lusamine bemoaned, shaking her head. Sun gave the mother of his best friend a disappointed look.

"Not really. Lillie's selfless and kind, routinely helping Pokémon and taking great care of Cosmog all on her own. Plus she's repeatedly faced death and adversity alongside me during all of the Cipher crap I've been dealing with. Oh, and she was smart enough to constantly avoid both Team Skull and the Aether Foundation for over a year. How does that reflect on you and Guzma, I wonder." Sun responded with a grin that contrasted heavily against the annoyed scowl on Lusamine's face. Sun decided to go the extra mile just to annoy the Aether President further.

"Oh yeah, and she's absolutely beautiful. Can't forget that. Lillie's definitely a better sight to see than your wrinkly old ass!" Sun called to Lusamine, who's expression twisted into one of absolute loathing. Needless to say, Lillie's mouth dropped at the words coming out of Sun's mouth, even as her face lit up bright red at Sun openly calling her beautiful in front of her mother.

"You shut your whore mouth!" Guzma bellowed from somewhere behind Sun, who responded by not even acknowledging the Team Skull Boss while Lusamine clenched her fists in anger.

Meanwhile Sun was thinking, "I'm really glad Kukui taught me about how wrestlers smack-talk each other during promos before he left. I don't like to cuss, but it's really effective. I just have to remember not to ever mention any of this to Mom or she'd kick the Professor's head off."

"Is that so? Then by all means, Sun, prove me wrong. I'm winning in this battle of wills and I know all of your tricks. You don't stand a chance." Lusamine regained her composure, smiling at Sun mockingly and holding out a hand before curling two fingers inward. "As the kids say these days…put up or shut up."

Sun grit his teeth in annoyance, unable to refute the point that Lusamine had the upper hand. His Pokémon were tired from the intense battling they'd been through over the entirety of the day. The Grand Trial with Nanu, battling the Aether Foundation and Faba, Team Skull and Guzma, and now finally the Aether President herself. Plus Lusamine knew most of his tricks and had plenty of time to develop counters to them. Things weren't looking good.

However, that was when Sun noticed that Lillie had moved closer to him. He was surprised when she leaned close and pressed her lips against his ear, covering her mouth as she did so.

"Mother relies on Metronome to throw her opponents off-guard until she finally gets a strong move that's super-effective. Luna's really weak when it comes to actually attacking, though. Oliver just had the bad luck of being weak to both Ice Beam and Flamethrower. Try using a move you know for sure can hit Luna despite Minimize. Like Shock Wave or Swift, something like that." Lillie whispered into Sun's ear, causing the boy's eyes to widen in surprise at the insightful suggestion. That was when Sun remembered that Lillie had likely grown up with Lusamine's team for years, and that she herself was Professor Kukui's assistant.

"Thanks Lillie." Sun said warmly, grinning at the girl before focusing back on the fight as Lillie hovered nearby, ignoring the annoyed look on Lusamine's face.

"Thankfully, I've got a move like that right now. Brago, Aerial Ace!" Sun called out, with Brago dashing forward while coated in a bright white light and crashing into Luna, sending the Clefable tumbling backwards. Sun smirked as Lusamine's expression twisted into surprise.

"Doesn't matter how evasive you make your Clefable. Aerial Ace doesn't miss, and a lot of my Pokémon know the move." Sun said with a laugh at Lusamine, who clenched her fists in anger. She then noticed Lillie smiling at Sun, looking rather proud of herself. "Hit her again with Aerial Ace!"

"Moonblast!" Lusamine shouted as Clefable held out her hands, sending out a harsh blast of shining pink light that struck Brago. However the Arcanine tanked the attack and slammed into Luna for the second time, knocking her down to the ground. The Clefable slowly got back up, panting hard as Brago sped back around, preparing himself for another rush.

"Metronome!" Lusamine shouted desperately, with Luna wagging her fingers three times as Brago sped towards the Clefable. The Arcanine struck with Aerial Ace for the third time, but Luna responded by causing her right fist to glow bright yellow before leaping forward and punching Brago right in the snout.

Then, to the surprise of both Lusamine and Sun, Luna turned into a burst of red energy and returned to her Ultra Ball.

"Bzzzt! Sun, that was U-Turn! Lusamine's got to send out another Pokémon!" Rotom Dex helpfully explained, with Lusamine fuming with annoyance before carelessly shrugging.

"No matter. Monique, deal with this mess!" Lusamine commanded as she sent out another Ultra Ball, calling out a strange purple ghost-like Pokémon. Sun had Rotom Dex pull up the appropriate Pokédex entry.

"Mismagius. The Magical Pokémon and the final evolved form of Misdreavus. Mismagius have been known to cast spells to make people fall in love, so some people search for this Pokémon as if their life depended on it. It appears as if from nowhere—muttering incantations, placing curses, and giving people terrifying visions." Rotom explained as Sun eyed the ghost floating in front of Lusamine, who had regained her composure rather quickly.

"Any insight on this one?" Sun asked Lillie quietly, glancing at the girl. Lillie nodded, stepping closer to Sun.

"Monique hits hard and has a versatile move-set, but she can't take a lot of damage. Brago should be fine, but be careful. If you have some way of making Brago harder to hit, that would help a lot." Lillie advised Sun, who nodded in response before Lusamine shouted out a command, restarting the battle.

"Shadow Ball!" Lusamine barked as the ghostly Pokémon charged up a sphere of darkness and fired it at Brago, who dodged the attack at Sun's command and attacked with Flame Charge. Brago lunged at Monique, slamming hard into the Mismagius with a cloak of flames bolstering his speed and causing the ghost to float out of range with a soft hiss of annoyance.

"Power Gem!" Lusamine shouted as Monique turned to face Brago, grinning nastily as three shimmering gems formed around her and fired at Brago, blasting him in the side and knocking down the Arcanine with a pained howl. "Follow up with Thunder!"

"Dodge with Aerial Ace!" Sun called, but Lusamine was quick to issue a different command. "Use Phantom Force instead!"

Brago's body shone white as he got to his feet, bounding forward and charging right at Mismagius. The Magical Pokémon flickered as a wraith of shadows enveloped her before vanishing entirely, causing Brago to run through empty space with a confused expression.

"What was that about Aerial Ace not missing?" Lusamine grinned and snapped her fingers, causing Monique to reappear from behind Brago and collide hard with him, blasting him to the ground from the impact of the move. But now the ghost was close to the Arcanine, and Sun made his move.

"Bite!" Sun shouted as Brago got back to his feet with a huff, lunging at Monique and clamping down his teeth around the chest of the ghost, causing her to shriek in pain. Brago jumped into the air and with a swift movement of his head, tossed the specter onto the floor before landing lightly nearby.

"Mother likes to take advantage of Will-o-Wisp and Hex during battle, so it's really good you have Brago to take her on since he's immune to burns. She's having to rely on Monique's high attack power to wear Brago down instead of any true strategy." Lillie commented quietly, smiling as Sun nodded at the girl before calling out, "Flame Charge!"

"Shadow Ball!" Lusamine countered, having Monique fire off a sphere of darkness that Brago tanked at the cost of inflicting another direct hit upon the Mismagius, causing her to shriek in pain. However the powerful hits the two Pokémon were unleashing upon one another were taking their toll, with Brago sustaining several powerful direct attacks that were wearing him down. Monique wasn't faring much better, sustaining less attacks but taking far more damage than Brago with each attack taken.

"Use Fire Fang!" Sun called as Brago's mouth exploded into flames, with the Arcanine rushing towards the specter. Lusamine hummed softly before she considered a course of action.

"Counter with Psychic!" Lusamine barked as Brago lunged at Monique, only to be halted mid-leap and then slammed harshly onto the ground again and again with howls of pain before Monique's eyes stopped glowing, allowing Brago to get back to his feet, albeit unsteadily.

"Flame Charge!" Sun called as Brago's body became wreathed in flames. The Arcanine dashed towards Monique, crashing into her faster than the Mismagius could react to. Lusamine counterattacked with a Power Gem, but Sun grinned as his Arcanine frantically dodged the beams with ease.

"How did he…Wait." Lusamine muttered to herself, realizing Sun's plan. She inwardly cursed the boy's creativity. "Flame Charge, of course. Monique naturally outspeeds his Arcanine, so Sun boosted his Pokémon's speed to the point where it's faster than my Pokémon. He hasn't been trying to knock out Monique, he's been trying to outspeed her and everything else on my team without me realizing it, calling out attacks to disguise his true intentions!"

"I appreciate you letting Brago use Flame Charge again and again. Some of them may not have hit, but they still made him faster." Sun said as he watched Monique fail again and again to hit Brago with Power Gem, the lasers striking nothing but ground and wall as the Arcanine gracefully dashed around the room with a fierce grin on his face. "I might have to hold back on using the moves and strategies I've come up with for my team, but that doesn't mean we still can't surprise you."

"Get her, Brago!" Lillie cheered the Arcanine, who suddenly veered off and dashed towards Monique at Sun's command and struck the Magical Pokémon with Bite, causing her to shriek in pain before Brago threw her back at her Trainer. Lusamine sidestepped the flying ghost as she soared past, causing Monique to land roughly on the ground as Lusamine glared at the children with smoldering fury.

"You really think doing any of this makes you right?" Sun asked as the Mismagius slowly floated into the air. Brago growled softly, crouching low to the ground and preparing to pounce.

"I don't care at this point. I'll do whatever I want. I've already won, Sun. My Ultra Beasts have invaded Alola and are wreaking havoc on the region. I imagine some of your little friends are dying as we speak!" Lusamine remarked as she gave them a haughty smile, watching with amusement as Sun's eyes flickered white at the realization. "Maybe if you beg for mercy, I'll let you live so you can see if any of those poor fools survived."

"You really have become a monster. Why would you think you deserve Lillie or Gladion's love after everything you've done?" Sun asked Lusamine, who's smile faded as she considered that question with her gaze drifting to Gladion and then to Lillie.

"If I can't be loved, then I'll be feared." Lusamine responded coldly as she snapped her fingers. "Here's a move you won't have any smart ideas for. Shadow Swerve, but aim for the girl!"

"Shadow Swerve?" Sun muttered in confusion before realizing what Lusamine had said regarding the rest of the attack. Monique the Mismagius paused for a moment to sigh reluctantly before charging up a Shadow Ball and firing it off towards Brago as the Arcanine stood his ground for the attack. However, Monique's eyes suddenly shined bright blue and to Brago's surprise the attack froze in its place as Psychic went into effect. The Shadow Ball was halted in its trajectory, glowing bright blue-

Before suddenly spinning around like a ball on its axis and moving again, this time curving around Brago and soaring right at Lillie. The girl screamed and shut her eyes, only to feel something grab her before an explosion rocked the sanctum.

"Sun! Lillie!" Hau screamed out as Gladion turned around, gasping as he saw the smoke enveloping the spot behind Brago. Gladion took a step towards the faraway battle, but a shriek behind him reminded the boy that he had his own battle to deal with and so reluctantly turned back towards the Ultra Beast he was dueling.

"Your pathetic sentimentality really does pull at my heartstrings. Too bad this is a fight to the death, Sun. That weak little girl is a weakness of yours I'm all too happy to exploit as many times as you allow me." Lusamine laughed, tossing back her voluminous golden hair with a wide grin as the smoke surrounding Sun and Lillie began to clear. It revealed Sun holding onto Lillie tightly, his back facing Lusamine.

To the horror of Hau, Gladion and Brago they saw that the back of Sun's shirt had been burned away by the attack, revealing a harsh bleeding burn-like mark from taking a Shadow Ball directly to the back. Lillie opened her eyes and after a moment, realized she was completely fine. She then noticed that the same could not be said of the boy who had taken an attack meant for her.

"Sun! Are you okay!?" Lillie cried out, trying to pull away from the boy's embrace to check on him. Lillie gasped as Sun's legs gave out, pulling her to the ground along with him.

"Alpha!" Brago roared in concern as Lillie attempted to keep the boy upright. Sun laughed weakly, looking up at Lillie with a pained grimace on his face.

"Princess…You're okay. Good." Sun mumbled deliriously, offering the girl a smile despite having taken a direct hit from a powerful Pokémon like Monique.

"H-how could you do that Sun? You put yourself in danger!" Lillie practically sobbed as Sun shook his head, whether to keep himself conscious or in protest of the girl's words she was unsure. And then Sun's next words confirmed the latter.

"Worth it. I won't let her…H-hurt you ever again, Lillie. I promise." Sun muttered, wrapping an arm around Lillie's shoulder. The girl realized quickly what Sun needed and helped support his weight as he pointed directly at the Mismagius, trying to get back into the battle before Lusamine could press the advantage.

"End this Brago! Wild Charge!" Sun called out in a croak to the Arcanine, who faced forward again with a furious expression before he charged forward.

Lusamine blinked in surprise at the fact that the boy didn't slow down a step despite being badly hurt, with a billowing cloak of electricity surging around Brago's body as he dashed towards the surprised Monique. The Arcanine crashed into her, sending the Mismagius flying backwards and into one of the frozen containers, where she slid onto the ground unconscious.

Sun quickly glanced at the battle Gladion was having with the Ultra Beast, seeing that the boy seemed to be holding his own. The same could not be said for Hau, who was dueling Guzma's Pinsir with his Flareon who was getting pummeled. Sun thought quickly and then made a decision.

"Brago, use Sunny Day over where Hau is at!" Sun shouted to his Arcanine as the red static of recoil crackled around him. Brago fired off a Sunny Day over towards Hau and Guzma, bolstering his Flareon's firepower and allowing him to unleash a brutal booted-Fire Fang at Guzma's Pinsir and knock it out.

"Appreciate the assist, buddy! As soon as I'm done dealing with this dork, I'll be right there to back you both up!" Hau cheered to his best friends, giving them a smile and a thumbs up. "Lillie, watch Sun's back! He's counting on you to support him!"

"U-um, okay! I've got it!" Lillie called back, fighting back her nerves and focusing on supporting Sun. The boy had regained his balance again and was standing on his own, but after using Radiance and taking a Shadow Ball blast directly, the boy was definitely on his last legs. Sun's face was pale and he was breathing hard, panting as he stared across the battlefield at the Aether President.

Meanwhile, Lusamine scoffed with annoyance and sent out her next Pokémon. It was a gorgeous serpent-like Pokémon that Sun remembered Lusamine using in their battle against Roran Rubinara. Rotom Dex popped open the Dex entry anyway.

"Milotic. The Tender Pokémon and the final evolved form of Feebas. It lives at the bottom of clear lakes. In times of war, it shows itself, which soothes people's minds and hearts. Milotic has provided inspiration to many artists. It has even been referred to as the most beautiful Pokémon of all." Rotom Dex explained as the serpent cooed softly, coiling around Lusamine as the Aether President stroked her head.

"Alice…crush them." Lusamine instructed the Milotic, who uncoiled around her Trainer and drifted into the air, swiftly flying towards an exhausted Brago who stood his ground against the latest threat.

"Extreme Speed!" Sun called out as Brago flickered, moving so quickly he couldn't be seen until he had already collided with Alice the Milotic, sending her flying backwards with a squeal of pain.

"Hydro Pump!" Lusamine ordered her Pokémon, snapping her fingers as Alice opened her mouth and released a torrent of surging water that struck Brago head-on, sending him hurtling across the room and slamming down hard onto the ground with a whine of pain.

"Can't…won't…" Lusamine's eyes widened in shock as the Arcanine rolled onto his stomach, slowly pushing himself upright through sheer willpower alone and toughing out the pain. Sun stepped forward, putting a hand on Brago as the barely-conscious Arcanine glared down at Lusamine and Milotic.

"These children. I won't…let them down!" Brago wheezed, baring his teeth at the serpent and her Trainer despite his limbs shaking from the sheer effort of keeping himself upright.

"I'll admit you are a particularly annoying thorn in my side." Lusamine mused as Alice cooed softly. "Finish him off with Aqua Tail."

"Sun, as much as it pains me to say this…Brago won't last much longer. Remember how you took down Monique?" Lillie asked Sun, who sighed quietly as he patted Brago on the head. Brago offered his Trainer and Lillie a smirk, knowing exactly what the girl was talking about.

"Yeah. Alright Brago, hit her with Wild Charge!" Sun shouted as Brago howled, his body bursting into electricity before he rushed at the shocked Milotic and slammed into her, releasing a burst of electrical energy that nearly sent Alice crashing into Lusamine, instead hitting the ground hard behind her. Brago landed on his feet, panting hard as he grinned with triumph at the damage he had just dealt to his opponent.

And then the recoil struck, and Brago tensed for several seconds before finally collapsing. Sun returned the Arcanine as Lillie walked over and patted the Poké Ball with her hand.

"Thank you, Brago. You're a very good boy." Lillie said fondly as Sun clipped the ball to his belt, considering who his next Pokémon would be. However, as he sent out Finn and the Poliwrath struck a pose upon being sent out, Lusamine began to speak.

"I simply don't understand what you all see in her." Lusamine sighed, placing a hand against her temple as if she was trying to ward off a headache. "The girl you call your friend doesn't exist, Sun. She lied to you about who she was and what she did. Can you imagine what would have happened if Cosmog's powers went off in a public area? What if it called the Ultra Wormholes forth on its own without provocation? Hundreds could have died, all because of Lillie's selfishness and impulsivity!"

Sun frowned as Lusamine went on. "You all care so much for her, even after the lies she told. She manipulated you and countless others into protecting her from my wrath. Doesn't that bother you? Do you even know who Lillie Jardin really is?"

Lillie forced herself to turn her gaze away from her mother and to Sun, who was looking at Lillie with a smile, his eyes flickering gold once again before returning his gaze to Lusamine and shrugging his shoulders.

"I think Lillie had to hide a lot of things to protect us from you. A lot of her vague warnings and hints from these past few months now make a lot more sense considering the insanity that's been hiding here at the Aether Paradise with you and Faba." Sun responded to Lusamine, who sighed with annoyance.

"I suppose that's something you won't budge on. You'll side with a liar and a thief over someone who battled Cipher alongside you. Someone who comforted you and guided you." Lusamine said in a soft voice, crossing her arms as Sun adjusted his hat with a wan smile.

"Yes. Even if she hasn't been honest with me, I still care about Lillie. She's always been my friend, even with her secrets. And I refuse to let you keep hurting her, Miss President. And I don't appreciate you trying to manipulate me either." Sun said as his eyes gleamed bright red again.

"Sun…" Lillie whispered, holding her hands over her heart as Sun stared down Lusamine with righteous fury in his eyes.

"Which reminds me." Sun remarked, his eyes darkening along with his expression. "The Aether Foundation kidnapped and tortured my father and Colress. Don't think I've forgotten about that. Did you manipulate Faba into doing that or did he come up with the idea?"

"Ahh, so you know about that?" Lusamine sounded delighted, flashing a bright smile at the boy. "Yes, the ideas were mine. Both in finding your father and assassinating him in his jail cell. Ashton's immortality was something I couldn't have expected, but kidnapping and torturing him was a delightful way of further corrupting Faba and gaining a useful tool in case I needed to deal with you later, Sun."

"Faba was ultimately a means to an end, though. I counted on his anger over the deaths of his friends and simply nudged him in the right direction. Forcing Faba to deal with Hope, or whatever she called herself, also made it all but certain he would unleash the thing at some point. Which would ramp up the carnage and give me more time with Lillie and Cosmog." Lusamine remarked, chuckling to herself. "You know, making Ashton die again and again was great for venting some of my stress while we hunted Lillie down. Maybe once I crush you fools I'll drag what's left of you to your father and force him to watch as I kill you."

Sun stared at Lusamine, processing both her words and actions of the woman both today and what she had done in the past to Lillie. Even considering the situation Gladion had put himself through because of the President's actions. And Sun came to a startling conclusion.

"You know, I thought Borlath at his worst was a madman hellbent on saving the world from itself in the worst way possible…but after everything you've done to your own children, I honestly think you're worse my father." Sun remarked, causing Lusamine to cross her arms as she frowned. "Because you truly don't care for anyone's happiness except your own. You're not doing this for the betterment of anyone or to make anyone's life better. You're willing to manipulate and crush anyone and anything to get what you want. Just you. As wrong as Borlath was and as terrible as his crimes were, the principle of what he was doing had at least some degree of merit. There was some endgame that justified the terribleness in my father's eyes. He realized how terrible his plans were, too, and even tried to correct things towards the end but…you somehow think this is all great. You don't give a crap about anyone but yourself and those Ultra Beasts. Honestly, you're just selfish at the end of the day. And expecting Gladion and Lillie to just fall in line is just nuts, of course they weren't going to want any part of this insanity!"

"Alice, use Attract!" Lusamine suddenly barked out with a smirk as Alice's eyes shined pink, with hearts flying out from them and striking Finn directly. The Poliwrath let out a silly laugh, staring at the Milotic with a lovingly glazed look in his eyes. Sun mentally scolded himself for letting himself get sidetracked with talking to the madwoman and focused back on the fight.

"I'm sorry, Sun! I should have warned you that mother enjoys using Attract first with Alice to stun her opponents before hitting them with high-power moves." Lillie apologized to Sun with a frustrated expression, but the boy hummed as he considered his choice of action. He could switch to Penny or Tetra to negate the Attract, but he knew that this Milotic had Ice-type moves which would be terrible for his two remaining Pokémon. Without Alastor or Oliver, Finn was his best bet for dealing with the powerful Milotic. Lusamine then spoke, snapping the boy out of his thoughts.

"Lillie, are you telling things to Sun that you shouldn't be?" The girl flinched at the harsh tone of Lusamine, slowly looking up to her mother's face. Lusamine was not amused, realizing now why Sun had been able to take down Monique despite having such a large disadvantage.

"It seems as though my decision to deal with you directly was more apt than I thought." Lusamine mused, her expression frosty. "It's fine, though. It only proves the righteousness of my decisions. Even with my traitorous daughter helping you, victory won't come easy."

"Finn, Brick Break!" Sun called to his Poliwrath, ignoring Lusamine's pontificating. To the relief of Sun, the Poliwrath responded to his words, leaping forward and delivering a powerful strike to the Milotic, who recoiled in pain before Lusamine counterattacked with a Blizzard that howled past Finn, blasting him backwards.

"Finn, hit back with a Body Slam!...Finn?" Sun questioned, seeing the Poliwrath roll to his feet, only to begin giggling softly to himself with a vacant expression on his face.

"So purty…hehehehehe…" Finn laughed with hearts swirling in his eyes, just in time to catch an Iron Tail to the face courtesy of Alice the Milotic.

"Finn! Snap out of it!" Sun shouted as Alice slithered out of range from the Poliwrath, who was still immobilized by love. That was when Lusamine flashed Sun and Lillie a terrible smile, drawing her thumb across her throat.

"Go for the kill. Hyper Beam!" Lusamine shouted as Alice reared back, crying out before an almighty beam of raw energy exploded from the serpent's maw, blasting Finn directly. Finn screamed in agony as he was thrown backwards, tumbling through the air and sent crashing down onto the floor with a sickening thud. Finn twitched several times on the ground as Lusamine burst into laughter, ignoring the frustrated expression on the face of her Milotic. Then to her surprise, Finn slowly rocked his body forward and hopped to his feet. The Poliwrath was panting heavily with hearts still in his eyes, but he was still in the fight.

"Finn, use Body Slam!" Sun called to his Poliwrath as it staggered forward, only to kick off of the ground and shine bright white, slamming hard into Alice and knocking her to the ground. To Sun's delight, the Milotic twitched with a pained groan as a yellow crackle of electricity surrounded her.

"She's paralyzed. Now's our chance!" Sun breathed as he winced in pain, pointing at the downed Milotic. "Use Psychic!"

"Ice Beam!" Lusamine barked as Finn's stomach glowed blue, picking up the Milotic and violently slamming her up and down onto the floor several times while she fired off an Ice Beam at Finn. The Poliwrath grunted as the beam struck him, coating his arms with ice that he broke with a flex of his muscles.

"Finn, use Brick Break!" Sun called out as Finn charged forward, hearts dancing in his eyes as he wound up a punch and decked the serpent in the face, only for Lusamine to retaliate with an Iron Tail.

"Get her with Submission! Throw her into the floor!" Sun shouted as Finn punched his fists together, leaping forward as the Milotic went for an Iron Tail. Alice swept her tail at Finn who shot the floor with a Water Gun to vault over the tail. However, he grabbed Alice as he flipped in midair, heaving the serpent over his head with a shout of fury and spinning in midair.

Lusamine sighed with annoyance as Finn dropped to the ground, slamming down Alice the Milotic with all of his momentum and knocking the Tender Pokémon out cold. Finn stood tall above the unconscious serpent, wincing at the recoil damage but still showing no signs of wavering.

"Camille, it's showtime. Deal with these pests!" Lusamine called as she returned her Milotic and sent out her Lilligant, which Rotom Dex pulled up the entry for.

"Lilligant. The Flowering Pokémon and the final evolved form of Petilil. No matter how much time and money is spent raising it, its flowers are the most beautiful when they bloom in the wild. As soon as it finds a male to be its partner, the beautiful flower on its head darkens, droops, and withers away." Rotom Dex explained as Sun stared down the formidable Grass-type, knowing full-well that he was at a disadvantage. Sun looked at his battered Poliwrath, still raring to go and no longer affected by Attract now that Alice was off the field.

"Sun, Finn! Camille is strong, but she has a slow reaction time and doesn't react well to being surprised! Try to catch her off-guard!" Lillie called out, causing Lusamine's expression to darken.

"~Lillie dearest, don't make me come over there!~" Lusamine said in a singsong voice, causing Lillie to shrink back in fear. Sun responded by grabbing Lillie's hand and glaring at Lusamine.

"If you want to touch Lillie, you'll have to go through me." Sun responded as he adjusted his hat, his eyes gleaming bright red. "Finn, Brick Break!"

"Teeter Dance!" Lusamine commanded Camille, who began to dance elegantly as pink mist drifted outwards from the Lilligant. Finn grunted as the mist blew past him, making his body glow blue for a moment before he began shaking his head frantically, his eyes gaining a glazed look to them. He tried to attack the Lilligant, but only ended up punching himself in the face.

"Excellent." Lusamine breathed, grinning to herself. "This should be easy. Quiver Dance!"

"Oh no, not again! Finn, use Psychic!" Sun called to his confused Poliwrath, who's chest glowed bright blue. Camille began to dance, glowing bright as her speed and strength increased. Camille let out a yelp as she suddenly glowed bright blue, getting lifted into the air before getting hurled backwards, slamming violently into one of the frozen containers and cracking it heavily.

"Quiver Dance again!" Lusamine called to her Pokémon, uncaring that she was wincing in pain. Camille continued to dance as Sun called for Brick Break, only for Finn to punch himself in the face again.

"Now use Petal Dance!" Lusamine shouted as Camille thrust her hands out, sending out a whirling barrage of glowing green petals that crashed into Finn hard, causing him to let out a scream as he was lifted off of the ground and sent crashing down again. Finn twitched on his back, groaning in pain, but to the surprise of Lusamine and Camille the Poliwrath flopped onto his stomach and pushed himself upright, laughing weakly as his gaze became focused once more as the confusion wore off.

"You can't count my team out that easily. Every one of them is determined as hell to battle until the very end. Now, hit her with a Body Slam!" Sun called as Finn punched his fists together, charging towards Camille as she launched a second wave of Petal Dance, only for the Poliwrath to blast himself up into the air with Water Gun and come crashing down with Body Slam.

Camille cried out as she was knocked back, but she retaliated with a third wave of Petal Dance that struck Finn from the side, knocking him out cold at long last.

Sun returned Finn, smiling briefly and saying, "Thank you. You did great."

"I don't know why you bother thanking your Pokémon. After all, you're currently losing in this battle of wills, Sun." Lusamine crooned, opening her arms as if to embrace the boy. "It's not too late, dear. Cast aside Lillie and your little friends and I can give you everything you could ever want before I depart Alola forever. Money. Fame. Freedom from your father's shadow. Whatever your heart desires could be yours if you simply give up."

Sun gave Lusamine a bored look as he called out Penny, who glared down Lusamine. "Are you done lying through your teeth yet? Because now it's kind of getting lame."

"Through lies I get a new lease on life. Lies make the world go round, you stupid little brats. But here is a truth that cannot be denied. I will become the mother to countless beautiful beasts who shall adore me forevermore!" Lusamine then gave the two children a chilling grin, gesturing at the silent crate that Nebby had been trapped within. "And all for the low, low price of a child. Cosmog was a wonderful little sacrifice for my beautiful beasts."

"Penny! Shut her up!" Sun screamed with fury as Penny's eyes narrowed dangerously at the Lilligant who stood across from her on the battlefield. "Drill Peck!"

"Stun Spore!" Lusamine countered with a confident laugh. But Sun was ready for that particular trick.

"Penny, go up!" Sun commanded his bird as she flapped her wings hard, spinning her entire body upwards to avoid the burst of dangerous powder before swerving back into Lilligant, knocking her backwards with a scream of pain. Camille hunched over, clutching her stomach with a grimace.

"Guzma tried the same trick on me not even ten minutes ago." Sun remarked with a smirk as Lusamine looked at the boy in surprise. "Did he learn that from you? Or did you just steal his idea?"

"Just a bit more Sun!" Lillie urged the boy, who nodded. Lusamine caught this exchange and scowled.

"Use Leaf Storm!" Lusamine shouted as Camille flung her arms apart and released a maelstrom of leaves that rushed Penny, slashing her again and again as she cried out in pain. Sun called for Rock Blast, which began to punch through the torrent of leaves and struck Camille directly, causing the Lilligant to cover her face as she let out a cry of pain. When the Lilligant felt the attack stop, she peeked out from behind her hands in time to catch a Pluck to the chest and knocked her to the ground.

"Lillie's knowledge about her Mother's team is coming in handy…this one doesn't like being caught off-guard one bit." Sun thought to himself as he glanced at the girl holding his hand, meeting his gaze and nodding at the boy with a small smile.

Meanwhile, Penny swooped through the air as Lusamine ordered her Pokémon to get back up. Lusamine was fuming at the fact that Sun was still in this fight. If it wasn't for that meddling little girl, the son of Ashton Aupuni would have been dealt with already.

"Fine. So they can counter my knowledge of Sun's tactics. This changes nothing, because I still have the advantage." Lusamine murmured before thrusting a hand forward. "Teeter Dance!"

Camille grimaced in pain as she slowly rose up before twirling around, continuing the same dance from earlier that had made Finn confused. Pink mist drifted outwards from the Lilligant and floated towards Penny, blowing past the Toucannon, causing her to screech loudly and stagger backwards while frantically shaking her head. Lusamine grinned, exhaling a pent up breath as Lillie gasped, watching as the bird flailed about in her confusion. Penny staggered forward, turning her back on Camille and staring right at Sun and Lillie.

Except when Penny opened her eyes, they were focused. No trace of confusion or uncertainty. The Toucannon then deliberately winked at the children, who both realized that she was faking being confused. Penny turned around, screeching loudly as she erratically walked towards Camille.

"Get close and use Leaf Storm! That way there's no chance of her dodging." Lusamine shouted to Camille, who hastened to obey. Penny stumbled erratically closer to the Lilligant, who pulled back her arms to deliver an attack-

Only for Penny to suddenly flap her wings hard and soar directly at the Lilligant, spinning around in a circle and becoming a whirling drill of force. Camille was so frightened by the sudden action of Penny that she was unable to get out of the way in time, and so Penny slammed into the Lilligant with Drill Peck as the Lilligant screamed in terror and surprise. Lusamine's jaw dropped in shock as her trusty Lilligant collapsed onto the ground as Penny landed, smirking at the stunned expression on Lusamine's face.

"Or Sun's Pokémon could just act on their own initiative and completely undercut me!" Lusamine thought as she gripped Camille's Ultra Ball so tightly she was in danger of making it shatter.

"She really is the smartest Pokémon on my team…" Sun muttered with a proud smile as Lusamine returned her Pokémon, scowling with annoyance before sending back out her Clefable. The battered Luna smiled merrily at them, but Sun knew just how deceptively dangerous this Pokémon was.

"Lillie, is there any way you can talk your mother's Pokémon out of fighting?" Sun asked the girl, who shook her head sadly.

"Mother has used them in the past to…punish myself and Gladion if we misbehaved. Aside from Fiaro, who belongs to my father, all of the President's Pokémon obey her no matter how much they don't want to hurt others. They're used to getting questionable demands at this point after being with her for decades." Lillie admitted sorrowfully, looking at the Clefable who had used to sing her to sleep alongside her mother. Watching Lusamine's loyal Pokémon help her do such terrible things tore at Lillie's heart.

"Ice Beam, Luna!" Lusamine barked as Penny flew forward, with Sun calling out for his bird to use Pluck. Penny swerved through the air and barely dodged the beam, but it forced her to abandon the attack in order not to be blasted out of the sky.

"Rock Blast!" Sun called as Penny opened her beak and shot back a barrage of pellets that struck the Clefable, causing her to cry out in pain and retaliate with another Ice Beam. Penny swooped low and attacked with Fly, but Lusamine had Luna use Minimize again to dodge the move.

"Freezing Flames!" Lusamine ordered Luna, who released a torrent of flames from her mouth with Flamethrower while her hands fired off an Ice Beam. However, Penny was far more mobile than Oliver was and managed to soar away from the Flamethrower/Ice Beam combo. Lusamine considered switching targets to Sun and Lillie, only for Penny to suddenly dive towards the ground and slam hard into Luna, knocking the Clefable to the ground. Luna forced herself upright, huffing loudly as her face was pulled into a grimace.

"Metronome!" Lusamine called as her Clefable leapt into the air, flames trailing behind her as Luna delivered a Blaze Kick to Penny. Sun then grinned, sensing an opening.

"Use Supersonic!" Sun shouted as the Toucannon tumbled through the air. However, Penny's eyes snapped open as she righted herself and then released a pulsating wave from her beak that washed over Luna, causing the Clefable to fall to the ground with a dazed expression.

"Damn you evil little brats. Luna, use Moonlight to heal!" Lusamine shouted to her Pokémon, only for Luna to begin punching herself in the face.

"Swords Dance!" Penny's eyes shined bright as several swords materialized around her, shifting so that they clanged together several times in quick succession before pointing above her head. As a bright red glow shined around her, Lusamine called for an Ice Beam that resulted in another punch to Luna's face.

"Drill Peck!" Sun shouted as Penny launched herself forward, flapping her wings hard as she spun wildly, becoming a spinning drill of force. However, Sun looked towards Luna and saw that the Clefable's expression of confusion was fading, replaced with her usual awareness.

"Penny! Look out!" Sun shouted as Lusamine called for Ice Beam. To the boy's horror the now-frustrated Clefable lashed out with the fastest Ice Beam it could manage, striking Penny directly. The Toucannon screamed in pain as the ice seeped into her bones, but she powered through and struck Luna again, this time throwing the Clefable onto her back. Penny landed on the ground, shivering violently as the ice slowly began to spread across her body.

Suddenly, her beak burst into flames and began to melt some of the frost, causing the bird to sigh with relief. But Sun could see how battered his bird was and knew that she was running on fumes. Meanwhile, Lusamine's Clefable was equally exhausted, but Sun knew it was only a matter of time before the Aether President healed her Pokémon again with Moonlight.

"That thing is a menace. I need to catch off-guard somehow like with Lusamine's Lilligant. But with it being able to use two attacks at once and Metronome being able to do anything, that's easier said than done." Sun muttered under his breath, thinking fast. Lillie looked at Lusamine, who locked eyes with her daughter and offered the girl a taunting grin in response. Lillie felt a spike of fury in her at the smug look on her mother's face.

Lusamine Jardin had hurt so many people. Mentally and physically tormented and abused Lillie and Gladion while diving headfirst into madness and her own selfishness. Now the Aether President was trying to strike down the people Lillie cared about the most while endangering the place that had become her home.

"No. No more! I won't let you ruin my life anymore…" Lillie thought, looking down at the ground, wondering how she could help. But she also knew it would likely make Mother even more furious at her.

"Wait…Why am I worried about making things worse for myself?" Lillie realized, her eyes widening in surprise. "Everything I've been so terrified of is happening right now. There's no point in dreading what Mother could do anymore. No reason to be scared of her…I don't need to be afraid of Mother anymore! She's literally doing what I feared most right this second! She has nothing to hold over me!"

Lillie looked back to where Hau was battling Guzma, the infamous gangster. And from what she could tell from the frustrated expression on Guzma's face, the boy was putting up one hell of a fight.

The girl then turned her attention to her big brother, Gladion, who was currently fighting off one of the monstrous Ultra Beasts Lillie had been so terrified of. And that were currently pouring into Alola in unknown numbers.

"There's no reason to be scared anymore…I'm free." Lillie whispered, holding her hands over her heart as she turned back towards the battle playing out before her, with Sun and Lusamine staring each other down. The boy was battered and exhausted, as were his team, but they were standing against the evil of Lusamine and refused to give in.

Lillie Jardin exhaled deeply, almost able to feel the weight coming off of her shoulders as years of stress slowly began to fade away. The girl inhaled a small slow breath, closing her eyes as a small smile crossed her lips.

"Everything that I feared would happen is happening right now. But it's not the end! My friends are fighting with everything they've got to save Nebby, Mother and the world! I can help too…somehow." Lillie murmured, glancing at Lusamine for several moments before turning to Sun.

"So, if we could somehow distract Mother long enough for Penny to knock out Luna, would that be helpful?" Lillie asked Sun, who looked at her and nodded. Lillie then looked at Penny, who was watching the conversation with interest. "Then that's what I'll do. Penny, attack the Clefable with the strongest attack you've got when I give you the signal. Put everything you have into it. I'll distract Mother so much that she won't even know her Pokémon is knocked out."

Sun blinked at the sudden command, but smiled when the somewhat surprised Toucannon nodded in understanding. The boy recognized that it was a testament to how highly his team regarded Lillie that any of his Pokémon would listen to her instructions rather than just his own.

The girl took that moment to step in front of Sun and address Lusamine directly. "Mother! I know you're determined to do whatever you want. But please, you have to understand the effects that this will have on everyone! Me and Gladion do still love you, despite everything, but you have to stop! Stop trying to control everyone and everything…You'll only lose it all if you keep going down this path!"

Lusamine smirked at the words of her daughter. "Oh Lillie, you speak of the silliest things. Do you think any of those words matter to me? That you and Gladion matter to me? You don't. Not anymore. There is nothing you or anyone else can do to change my mind and stop the pain that lies in store for you brats once I crush you beneath my heel."

"Somehow, someway…I'll get through to you!" Lillie called to the Aether President, who gave her daughter a pitying look. "I'll make you see reason and understand the consequences of what you have done!"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Lusamine asked in a bored tone, putting a hand on her hip. "Your words have no effect. You're not a Trainer, nor anything else that has power or respect. You're a worthless, disgusting brat that I should have snuffed out years ago. And nothing you do will impact me or my plans in any way."

Sun growled audibly in anger as Penny ruffled her feathers, as if itching to fight. Hau glanced back at Lusamine, a rare expression of fury on his face as he listened to the cruel words of the Aether President. Gladion clenched his fists, fighting away the hurt expression and focusing on destroying the Ultra Beast attacking his Pokémon.

Lillie simply smiled at her Mother, and Lusamine felt her cruel smile slip away somewhat. Because for the first time in years, Lillie was looking at her without a trace of terror in her eyes. Instead there was something there that sent a small shiver of fear through Lusamine.

Defiance.

"Is that so?" Lillie responded quietly, with Lusamine nodding in response. "Well, then I guess you won't mind if I do this!"

The blonde-haired teen then turned towards Sun and suddenly wrapped her arms around the boy's shoulders, surprising him. Lillie's cheeks flushed bright pink before she leaned forward and kissed Sun full on the mouth. Sun's eyes widened in shock for a brief moment before the Trainer shut his eyes and leaned into Lillie's kiss, instinctively wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against his chest. Sun felt as if his face were on fire, but the swooping surge of excitement and joy he felt while holding Lillie in his arms, kissing her in the heat of battle was something indescribable to the young Trainer.

Meanwhile, Lusamine stared at the two kissing children with an expression of absolute horror. The woman couldn't understand how anyone could care so much for her daughter, and yet the Aether President found herself absolutely livid at the fact that Lillie would do something so wildly inappropriate.

While Sun and Lillie kissed, Penny laughed softly at the display between the two children before flapping her wings hard, soaring straight at Luna and attacking the confused Clefable with the strongest Drill Peck she could muster while Luna's Trainer was completely distracted. The Fairy-type Pokémon flew backwards with an agonized squeal and collapsed onto the ground, fainting after several seconds. Penny landed more gracefully, sighing with exhaustion but smiling with triumph at succeeding in knocking out the Clefable and finally bringing down one of Lusamine's strongest Pokémon.

"How…h-how dare you!?" Lusamine shrieked, finally losing her composure and not even noticing that Luna had been knocked out cold. "How dare you kiss a boy like that, Lillie! Do you have any decorum left!? I trained you to hold yourself back! To show grace and elegance and restraint! You disgusting little…your act of rebellion will cost you dearly, you goddamn HARLOT!"

Lillie pulled away from a slightly dazed Sun, her cheeks flushed. But the girl was grinning widely as she turned to the Aether President. The shackles around her heart that bound her to the Aether Paradise no longer existed, thanks to the bravery of her friends and allies. "I don't have to listen to you or your threats anymore, Mother. Your little flower has bloomed on all her own!"

Sun snapped out his daze, getting over his surprise at what had just happened but also Lillie's daring act. She had just kissed him in front of her own mother and used that as an advantage to help Penny knock out Lusamine's Pokémon.

"I really hope Gladion wasn't paying attention to that…" Sun thought to himself, blushing furiously as Lusamine continued to shriek at Lillie, who withstood her mother's words without shrinking back for the first time in her life. Instead Lillie slipped her hand into Sun's and looked at the boy with an expression of fondness and just a little bit of hope.

"We're gonna have to talk about that after we're done taking down your evil Mom." Sun said with a sheepish grin as he ignored Lusamine's continued screaming. "But you have no idea how happy I am that you did that, Lillie."

"It was mostly to mess with Mother, but I won't lie and say that I haven't been wanting to do that for months now." Lillie admitted with a giggle and rosy cheeks, squeezing Sun's hand and giving him a dazzling smile of sheer joy. "Besides, you kissed me back in Hau'oli City. So that makes us even. Now, don't you have a battle to win, Sun?"

"We have a battle to win." Sun corrected her, turning back towards Lusamine. The Aether President was apoplectic with fury, trembling as her face turned bright red with rage and she pulled out the Ultra Ball containing her final Pokémon.

"Valérie! Tear these children limb from limb!" Lusamine screamed as she completely lost control, hurling the Ultra Ball forward. A massive bear with dark brown, pink and white fur erupted from the capsule in a shower of light, towering above them with a soft cry. Penny stared up at the bear fearlessly as Rotom Dex provided the appropriate entry.

"Bewear. The Strong Arm Pokémon and the final evolved form of Stuffle. This Pokémon has the habit of hugging its companions. Many Trainers have left this world after their spines were squashed by its hug. This immensely dangerous Pokémon possesses overwhelming physical strength. Its habitat is generally off-limits." Rotom Dex said to Sun as he shuddered under the strange glare of the mighty bear. He had seen the power of Lusamine's Bewear firsthand and it was something he knew none of his Pokémon could match head-on.

"Do you really think you have it in you, Sun? This Pokémon is the greatest protector of the Aether Paradise. Simply leave that foul little bitch beside you and walk away…you have earned that much from lasting this long against me." Lusamine breathed, trying to rein in her mounting fury. Lillie's display of rebellion had shocked Lusamine and sent a message to the Aether President that was against everything she had ingrained into the fragile girl's mind.

"Of course I do. Why would I have any reason to doubt myself now?" Sun said with a fierce grin, giving Lillie's hand a gentle squeeze and causing Lusamine to growl audibly with anger.

"You're losing, Mother. And this time you have nothing left to threaten me with." Lillie said calmly, offering her mother a soft smile. That was when the truth struck Lusamine at her core, causing her to go pale.

"I've lost my control over her…She follows Sun and her heart now." Lusamine whispered, horror in her voice. Lusamine clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms and drawing blood. "No. No, I will not be denied like this!"

"You really are insane if you think I'm going to listen to anymore of your nonsense. Penny, let's do this!" Sun called to the Toucannon, who readied herself by flaring her wings and glaring down the mighty bear before her.

"Sun, be careful. Valérie is Mother's strongest Pokémon. She's weak to fire because of her Ability, but I don't think we can take advantage of that so she'll take a lot less damage than she normally would. This is going to be a tough fight." Lillie explained to Sun as the boy eyed the Bewear.

"You better show me something truly impressive here, Sun." Lusamine said to the boy, her expression one of total contempt and rage. "Because now you've really pissed me off."

"Charge up, Penny!" Sun called out as the Toucannon's beak began to glow brightly with heat.

"I knew you'd do that. Rock Slide!" Lusamine shouted as the Bewear threw apart her arms, causing a portal to open above Penny. Boulders began to rain down, forcing the bird to fly forward with a squawk of surprise. Thankfully for Penny, she managed to dodge the attack and flew right at a surprised Valérie as the bird's beak exploded, knocking back the Bewear several steps as she growled in pain.

"If I can burn her, this would be a lot more doable. But that thing barely looks bothered by taking a super-effective hit like that. I wish I had thought to teach Penny Flame Charge…" Sun muttered to himself, thinking quickly. He knew his Toucannon was exhausted after defeating both Camille and Luna, but he also knew swapping into Tetra wasn't the answer either.

"Thunder Punch!" Lusamine barked as the Bewear lunged forward with a crackling fist of electricity, punching Penny directly in the face and sending her hurtling backwards. To the shock of Sun the bird righted herself in midair, a trickle of blood running down her face from the power behind the move.

"Penny, keep your distance. We can't engage this thing up close." Sun said to the Toucannon as she swooped by, barely able to keep herself in the air. She was determined to keep fighting, but even so she looked ready to drop. The Toucannon even acknowledged this a moment later.

"I won't last much longer…W-what do you want me to do?" Penny asked her Trainer, who thought about it for a few moments before nodding.

"Burn that bear. It'll weaken her attack power and sap away at her strength. Once you go down, Tetra will take over. And that'll have to be enough to bring her down." Sun said quietly, smiling with pride at Penny who nodded back at her Trainer. She could feel the absolute faith he had in her, and that made her strong.

"I'm not worried. That little dragon has heart. She won't let you down." Penny said with a fond smile on her face. "I'll make sure that stupid bear gets a nasty little burn before I go. How about we go for a little deception, Trainer?"

"You mean use False Burn? Sounds good. Hit her with your best shot!" Sun said to his bird, who flapped her wings hard and soared right at the Bewear as she charged forward, both arms crackling with lightning. "Penny, charge and use Drill Peck!"

"Crush her head-on! Thunder Punch!" Lusamine shouted as Penny kept flying at Bewear as the fluffy bear drew closer, swinging her fists. But Lusamine noticed that the Toucannon wasn't spinning around, as if she was trying to attack with Drill Peck.

Instead, her beak glowed a harsh red color from the pure heat it was giving out and Valérie punched Penny with both fists, dealing devastating damage to the Toucannon but also scorching the Bewear and burning her.

"Wait, what?" Lusamine said as her Bewear let out a shriek of pain, flames engulfing her as Beak Blast exploded against her. Valérie staggered backwards as Penny collapsed onto the ground, eyes shut in pain but smirking with amusement. "But you told her to use Drill Peck. Why was she charging up for Beak Blast?"

"Yeah, that's a fun trick I came up with after I showed you my journal. I'd explain it to you, but unfortunately I don't like you as much as I used to, now that I know you treated my best friend like crap." Sun remarked as Penny let out a small laugh. Meanwhile Lusamine was staring at Sun with an unreadable expression, even as her Bewear panted from the pain of her burn.

"Thunder Punch. And this one better finish the job." Lusamine said quietly, but the threat was clear as Valérie stomped forward, growling angrily at the Toucannon who had tricked her and her Trainer. Penny let out one final laugh before the Bewear lashed out with another Thunder Punch, bringing down the Toucannon. Sun returned Penny with a fond smile, proud of how hard she had fought.

"Damn it! Stop interfering!" Sun and Lusamine glanced over to where Gladion was battling the Ultra Beast. Golbat and Sneasel were lying unconscious on the ground behind Gladion, who was sporting several new scraps and scratches while standing protectively in front of his Riolu.

Meanwhile Type: Null was facing down an Ultra Beast missing several tentacles and covered in scars that made it ooze strange multi-colored blood as Zoroark fired off a Dark Pulse to blast the creature away. Fiaro the Ninetales was standing nearby, growling softly as it launched a Flamethrower at Type: Null who barely dodged the attack.

The Ultra Beast then summoned a Power Gem, firing ten lasers towards Gladion directly. The teen gasped and braced himself for impact, only for Zoroark to throw himself into the line of fire and take the attack directly. The resulting blast threw Gladion to the ground, but Zoroark dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Aggh…damn it. Why? Why are you listening to her!?" Gladion shouted at Fiaro, who gritted his teeth and didn't meet the eyes of the son of his original Trainer.

"Silly boy. Fiaro is loyal to me!" Lusamine laughed, enjoying the expression of frustration on her eldest child's face. Gladion grit his teeth, looking at the Ninetales as flames dripped from its mouth.

"Are you really going to let Mother kill us!? What would Mohn say!?" Gladion screamed at the Ninetales, who suddenly froze with a horrified expression. Lusamine's gaze narrowed, seeing that the Ninetales was actually hesitating at the boy's words. Sensing that speaking was having an effect, Gladion went on.

"Would Father really approve of the President slaughtering her own children? Me and Lillie are trying to stop this insanity! Mother is trying to kill us all! She released these monsters all over Alola to kill more people! Are you really okay with t-that?" Gladion asked the Ninetales, his voice cracking on the final word.

Fiaro closed his eyes, sighing deeply as the flames in his mouth faded away. The Ninetales looked towards the Ultra Beast it had been defending, a brief expression of anger on its face.

"Mmmm. Can't have that. Valérie, break Fiaro, would you?" Lusamine asked her Bewear quietly, causing the bear to look at her in surprise and shock. Lusamine nodded slowly, shooing the Bewear away with her hand. The Bewear quietly crept behind the frozen displays, approaching the Ninetales as it considered Gladion's words. Gladion spotted the danger, his face going pale.

"Fiaro, watch out!" Gladion screamed out as the Ninetales glanced to the side, spotting Valérie a moment too late. Valérie lashed out with Hammer Arm, sending Fiaro hurtling into one of the ice displays and cracking it heavily. The stunned Ninetales dropped onto the ground, groaning softly as Valerie grabbed Fiaro and slammed him hard onto the ground with a pained cry, causing the floor to crack heavily.

"End him!" Lusamine shouted, an insane grin on her face as her Bewear drew closer. Type: Null lunged at the Bewear, only to be blasted away with a Mega Kick before Valérie finally reached the barely conscious Ninetales. Several agonizing seconds later, the Bewear raised its right leg…and then stomped down on Fiaro's back as hard as she could.

A sickening crack could be heard throughout the room as Fiaro's spine was broken by the Bewear. The Ninetales collapsed onto the ground, going completely limp as Lusamine cackled with delight in the background. The Aether President casually unclipped the Poké Ball for Fiaro from her belt and dropped it onto the ground before stomping on it, shattering it into pieces.

"Fiaro, no! Mother, how could you!?" Lillie screamed at Lusamine, tears streaming down her face as Sun reached out and grabbed the girl's hand, stopping her from running to the aid of the Ninetales.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Gladion bellowed furiously at Lusamine as the Bewear picked up the unmoving Ninetales and hurled him across the room, landing harshly next to Guzma who seemed surprised by the sudden occurrence.

"I will no longer tolerate even wavering loyalty. Only those who show me absolute faith are allowed to live in my world." Lusamine remarked without remorse for her late husband's Pokémon. Lillie trembled beside Sun, who wrapped the girl in his arms and hugged her tightly to console her. Meanwhile Gladion clenched his fists, allowing his newly replenished fury to harden his resolve to finish this fight.

"Fuck that. Let's tear that monster apart, Null!" Gladion shouted as Type: Null roared in agreement, angered by the cruel display from Lusamine. Meanwhile, the President turned back towards Sun as her Bewear stomped towards the boy.

"Tetra, I'm counting on you!" Sun called as he sent out his final Pokémon. The Gabite emerged in a flash light, beaming at them all. She glanced at her Trainer, seeing how badly hurt he was and the chaos happening around her before turning towards Lusamine and her Bewear.

"Things got really bad, huh?" Tetra said in a small voice. Sun limped forward, placing a hand on the dragon's head.

"Yeah. But that's okay. Because we're going to win this fight and save the day. Right?" Sun said encouragingly to the dragon, who grinned at Sun and nodded before turning towards Valérie and getting into a fighting stance. Lusamine was less than impressed, sighing deeply as she tossed her voluminous hair aside.

"So now it's come down to our final two Pokémon. Such a shame that Lillie had to cause so much hurt for your wonderful team, isn't it?" Lusamine tutted, shaking her head in mock dismay. "You've safeguarded Lillie all this time, shielding her from the consequences of her actions. Things would have been so much easier if you had just listened to the adults and simply gave in. And all for what? Someone who has never once been able to stand on her own two feet. Someone who's always had to have someone protecting her. Someone who deserves none of the affection you cretins shower upon her!"

"I don't want to protect Lillie because she's weak. I want to protect her because she's important!" Sun shouted back at Lusamine, his eyes flashing red. Lillie stared at Sun with an open mouth, stunned by the power behind his words. "Every step of the way she's supported me! With her help, I've become stronger than I could have ever dreamed. She helped me save the world, Miss Lusamine. And if you can't see how wonderful Lillie is…then you're an idiot."

Lusamine's eyes narrowed down to slits, the woman's body trembling with rage. "Valérie…End their miserable lives."

The ace of the Aether President nodded, punching he hands together before charging at Tetra as the dragon growled softly. Sun was ready to go, however.

"Dragon Claw!" Sun shouted as Tetra rushed forward, powerful green flames erupted into claws around her own claws as Lusamine called for Valérie to use Hammer Arm. The Bewear swung a glowing fist down at Tetra, who swiped at the fist as it came down and blasted it to the side, throwing the Bewear off balance and allowing Tetra to get a swipe on it. The Bewear grunted at the attack, but winced as its burn seared its body.

"Hammer Arm again!" Lusamine commanded Valérie as the Bewear regained its footing and rushed at Tetra, swinging her hand downwards and striking Tetra directly, knocking her down to the ground. Valérie growled softly as the flames licked the Bewear's body, but that didn't stop its purposeful stride. Tetra was slow to rise, disoriented from the immensely powerful strike only to get kicked harshly in the side and sent skidding across the floor as Lusamine laughed with delight. Lillie cried out in distress as Sun called out for Tetra to counterattack, but Lusamine wasn't going to give him that chance.

"Strength!" Lusamine shouted as the Bewear picked up Tetra in her arms, Valérie's body glowing bright blue before she threw Tetra hard onto the ground. Tetra rolled several times across the floor, but somehow managed to maneuver herself into a crouched position, panting hard from the beatdown the powerful bear that delivered thus far.

"Bulldoze!" Sun shouted as Tetra nodded, glowing a bright brown color before stomping hard on the ground, sending out a shockwave that made the Bewear stumble as she approached. "Now use Aerial Ace!"

"Hammer Arm!" Lusamine shouted as Tetra rushed forward, a trail of white energy behind her as she sped into the stomach of the Bewear, causing its swing to go wide and hit the ground instead. Tetra leapt back to avoid another Low Kick and retaliated with another Bulldoze, nearly knocking over the Bewear.

"Double-Edge! Finish her off now!" Lusamine shouted as Valérie glowed bright white and charged at Tetra, who waited several seconds before she leapt out of the way, causing Valérie to miss her attack completely due to how much quicker Tetra was than her.

"Looks like using Hammer Arm so many times made your Bewear way too slow. It can't keep up with Tetra." Sun remarked with a grin as Tetra lashed out with Dragon Claw again, raking her fiery claws against the side of the Bewear and causing her to scream out.

"How…" Lusamine breathed as Valérie swung and punched, unable to hit the Gabite as she dashed out of the way. "How can you stand against me!? You worthless little maggots are nothing! Do you hear me!? You won't ruin my happy ending!"

"You wonder how we can stand against you? That's an easy one. Tell her why, Tetra, and use Slash!" Sun called to his Gabite as she crouched low, leaping forward and delivering a brutal double-Slash attack and scoring a critical hit, making the Bewear squeal in pain as she stumbled forward, punching with a Hammer Arm.

"Because I can do anything!" Tetra cried out as she sped out of the way using Aerial Ace, dashing forward and delivering a Dragon Claw that caused Valérie to cry out as blood spattered the ground. The Bewear growled furiously at the little dragon, slowly lowering her hand as Tetra stared at her without fear.

"What you don't get, Miss Lusamine, is that I'm always looking to get better. Develop new strategies, think in new ways. You may know a lot of my tricks, but you didn't get all of them. And my Pokémon keep coming up with new ways to get better all on their own." Sun remarked with a tired grin as Lusamine stared at him with a cool smile despite her fury.

"You really are something else, Sun." Lusamine sighed, shaking her head. "You are so very much like your father, for better and for worse. He stood for what he believed in and let his heart guide his path."

"However, you and I are down to our last Pokémon. Can your newest capture stand against a Pokémon who helped me become a Champion? Can sheer skill triumph over cunning and experience?" Lusamine's mouth curled into an eager smirk.

"Guess we'll find out. Either way, I won't lose to someone like you." Sun replied, causing Lusamine to chuckle despite herself.

"No wonder my daughter looks at you like that. Your charisma and sheer determination are admirable. Foolish, but still admirable." Lusamine remarked quietly, sighing and taking a moment to compose herself before opening her harsh green eyes.

"It's time we end this little showdown once and for all. Valérie, use Hammer Arm!" Lusamine shouted as her Bewear rushed forward, swinging a shining arm down at Tetra who zoomed out of the way with Aerial Ace while dashing forward, slamming into the Bewear and barely doing anything to the mighty beast as it growled in annoyance, especially because of the flames trickling around it. Lusamine gritted her teeth, frustrated at the amount of damage her trusty Bewear had taken so far.

"Perhaps it's time to take things up a notch." Lusamine mused with annoyance as her Bewear swiped with Strength, punching Tetra and sending her careening backwards through the air. The Gabite flipped in midair and landed on the ground, growling softly before speeding forward with Aerial Ace and delivering another strike to Valérie. Lusamine's eyes widened as she saw the Bewear stagger forward, the pain finally catching up with her.

"Time to end this little farce. Use Bind!" Lusamine barked as the Bewear let out a loud cry, charging forward as Tetra tried to dodge by leaping back, but she was unable to get out of the way before the Bewear pulled the Gabite into a hug. Tetra looked confused for a brief moment before the Bewear let out a joyful cry…and then began to squeeze.

"TETRA!" Sun screamed, raw fear in his voice as his Gabite was crushed within the terrifyingly powerful grip of one of the deadliest Pokémon in the Alola region. Lillie gasped in terror, her hands shaking as she realized the enormity of what had just happened.

"Crush her, Valérie. Show those children the price of their defiance." Lusamine instructed her Pokémon as the Bewear tightened her grip, causing Tetra to scream in agony. The sound of cracking bones filled the room as the sound of Tetra's screaming increased, pained tears streaming down her face.

The worst of it was that Tetra was being crushed and suffocated at the same time, and soon her screams of pain quickly faded in volume as the air was crushed out of her lungs. A trickle of blood trailed out of her mouth as she thrashed futilely in the Bewear's arms.

"Oh no…" Hau whispered, going pale upon seeing the horrific situation the young dragon was in. Even Guzma looked surprised, knowing full-well that being hugged by the infamous bear was a death sentence.

"This was all preventable." Lusamine said in a voice like permafrost, no trace of remorse or empathy within it as Valérie crushed the life out of Tetra. "She will die. And so will the rest of you hideous little monsters. Your beauty has faded, but my beauty and the beauty of the Ultra Beasts will endure forevermore."

"No…No, not a chance! Tetra! You can do this! You can do anything! Show that stupid bear how strong you are!" Sun screamed to his Pokémon as the Gabite frantically wriggled within the Bewear's grip. It was so much easier said than done.

Tetra was in an entirely new state of pain right now. Her arms were hurting more than her chest, which felt as if it was on fire. She couldn't even suck in the air right now to scream, let alone fight back. She didn't know what to do. She opened her eyes, hoping to at least be able to look at her Trainer one last time. The Trainer who had taken her into a warm and supportive family and given her love. A love she had been taught in a previous life that she never would deserve.

However, she wasn't able to move her head enough to look at Sun and Lillie. However, she was able to slowly look towards Gladion, Type: Null and Riolu who were currently watching her with terrified expressions while fighting off the weird monster-

Wait…a Riolu?

Tetra locked eyes with the Emanation Pokémon, seeing his terrified expression. That expression of fear, however, made her remember something from her past. During the dark days before Sun and his team had saved Tetra from the desert.

The young Gabite remembered a dear friend who had done his best to protect her from a Trainer who had hated her. Tetra remembered the same exact expression of terror on her friend's face when that Trainer had beat her and punished her for being weak. For being weird and broken and useless. Despite that, her friend had supported her until that fateful day she was left to die in the Haina Desert.

"Is it really you…?" Tetra thought through the haze of pain as more blood trickled down her mouth. The Riolu's expression turned to one of confusion, as if he was trying to recognize her, and that's when the truth struck the young Gabite.

"No…I can't die here. My family needs me. My friends need me. I…am a dragon. I am strong. I CAN DO ANYTHING!" Tetra screamed at herself mentally as she looked back towards

Valérie, who was trying to kill her.

A wild yet pure fury sprang into the dragon's heart, and with an annoyed snarl her eyes flashed bright blue. A whirlwind of sand erupted around the Bewear crushing her to death, surprising Lusamine. It also made Valérie grunt in pain at the Sand Tomb, and in her surprise she loosened her grip on Tetra just enough for the Gabite to inhale and force air into her caved-in chest.

But that was all she needed. The Gabite snarled as she released a blue fireball directly into the face of Valérie. The Bewear squealed in pain, staggering backwards as she loosened her grip ever-so-slightly on the Gabite. Tetra roared and attacked with Dragon Rage again. And again. And again.

Finally Valérie had no choice but to release the Gabite as she collapsed onto her hands and knees, heavily disoriented from the repeated point-blank Dragon Rages to the face. Tetra dropped to the ground like a stone, landing roughly on her feet while her arms dangled uselessly at her side, completely broken by the sheer power of the Bewear's Bind attack. Crimson dripped down the arms of Tetra, who was barely able to breathe and was crippled from Valérie's cruel show of power, but she was still ready for more.

"Tetra…" Sun whispered, amazed at the quick thinking of the Gabite she slowly looked up, a ferocious gaze leveled at the beast that stood against her.

"I'm not worthless…not anymore. And neither are they." Tetra snarled, panting as she swayed on her feet with a dangerous glare in her eyes. "I won't let you hurt them! My family…you won't make them sad!"

"Try and stop me! Murder that little shit!" Lusamine screamed as Valérie growled furiously, getting back to her feet and stomping towards Tetra with glowing arms. The Gabite fearlessly stood her ground, but this time Sun was ready.

"Sandstorm!" Sun barked as Tetra's eyes flashed orange, with a howling sandstorm suddenly kicking up all around them. Lusamine grunted with annoyance as the sand blew past her, and Lillie gasped as she clutched Sun's arm as the wind billowed all around the room.

"Tetra's Sand Veil should be in effect. She'll be way harder to hit now." Sun muttered as he heard the angry shouts for the Bewear from within the sandstorm. "Hopefully that can keep her around long enough to end this thing. Tetra, can you still use Dragon Claw?"

Tetra glanced down at her broken arms and grit her teeth, focusing her power through the useless limbs. It was agonizing, but after several moments emerald flames coalesced around her hand and twisted into burning claws. "It hurts and I can't move it, but yes."

"Then use Aerial Ace!" Sun shouted as the Gabite nodded sharply, growling before diving into the thick of the storm.

"Hammer Arm!" Lusamine called as Bewear tried to see where the Gabite had vanished off to. A searing pain erupted across Valérie's back, causing her to stumble forward before lashing out with a punch, only to meet empty space. The Bewear growled as blood rolled down her back, swinging again at Tetra who easily dodged the attack.

"Bulldoze!" Sun shouted to his dragon from within the storm, who responded by releasing a shockwave on the ground that knocked Valérie around. Valerie swiped again at Tetra with Hammer Arm, but missed yet again before another tearing pain erupted from the side of the massive bear. Valérie whined softly, wincing as the burn she still had sapped away more of her strength.

However, Lusamine was able to see exactly what was going on. Tetra was charging up attacks in her broken arms and running at Valérie, turning around and allowing her own momentum to swing the arms enough to execute the attacks.

"She's using her broken arms to attack…are all of your Pokémon this tenacious, Sun? What can't they do? " Lusamine breathed in awe, stunned at the sheer determination of the dragon. Tetra was fighting on sheer willpower alone, and Lusamine realized that the sandstorm and the burn were both quickly sapping Valérie of her strength. The Bewear was panting hard now, and finally falling to one knee as it heaved in and out.

"Sun! Now's your chance!" Lillie cried out as Sun nodded, pointing forward as the sandstorm subsided, revealing a bloodied and battered Tetra glaring down her exhausted opponent. The burn Penny had given the Bewear, coupled with the damage both the Sandstorm and Tetra had inflicted upon her had left Valérie completely spent. However, Lusamine wouldn't give up so easily. She couldn't give up so easily, not when she was so close to the end.

"Valérie! Use Hammer Arm! Hit that fucking dragon and tear it to bloody pieces!" Lusamine shrieked, unable to hold back the fear in her voice.

"Let's finish this, Tetra! Aerial Ace!" Sun shouted as Tetra roared, white light shining bright around the young dragon. The stunned Bewear was unable to hear Lusamine's shouts to get back up, instead stumbling forward as Tetra lunged at her opponent with a wicked burst of speed and rammed into her stomach, bowling over the Bewear as a spray of blood erupted from the beast's mouth.

The Bewear's body trembled in pain as she staggered forward, falling to her knees. After a soft whine of pain, Valérie shut her eyes and reached out towards Tetra…and then slowly toppled face-first into the ground.

Valérie didn't get back up.

"No. No, this can't be. Get up, Valérie! Get up and kill them!" Lusamine called to her ace, who was unresponsive. Lillie let out a deep sigh of relief as Sun shut his eyes, laughing softly.

"You did it. Sun, you beat Mother! This is amazing! Your team is amazing! You're amazing…" Lillie whispered, tears of joy in her eyes as she hugged Sun lightly around the shoulders, only slightly putting him off balance.

"Couldn't have done it without you, Princess." Sun chuckled, looking back at her with a smile as he returned her hug. Sun turned back towards the battlefield, where Tetra was poking Valérie with her tail, a pained but bemused expression on her face.

"Tetra!" Sun called to the dragon, who looked up. "You saved the day! You really can do anything!"

Tetra beamed at the praise her Trainer was giving her. "Yep. Alastor said so. And I wanted to prove I can fight just as good as everyone else. My arms really hurt though. That was the worst hug ever."

Sun grimaced, glancing down at the two limp limbs dangling uselessly beside Tetra. "I'll get your arms fixed up as soon as I can! Thanks for toughing through it to beat Valérie. You really made me proud, Tetra."

Despite the agony she was in, Tetra gave Sun a smile of such joy that practically lit up the room. Unfortunately, this was around the point Lusamine had snapped out of her confusion and horror that she had lost. The Aether President took that moment to observe the other fights, and saw that Guzma was having similar issues.

The Team Skull Boss hissed with fury as he returned his Ariados, calling out a battered Goliath who was panting heavily in pain. His brutal showdown with Oliver earlier and the beatdown Haimoe had given him was testing the limits of the Golisopod's endurance.

"First Impression!" Guzma shouted as Goliath rushed forward, slamming hard into Kaha and knocking out the Flareon with a savage roar. Hau thanked his Pokémon for his hard work and returned him, sending out his Partner. Cassy the Primarina appeared in a flash of light, throwing apart her arms with a beautiful trill of song.

Guzma had no patience left, bellowing out, "Crush her with X-Scisssor!"

"Blizzard!" Hau shouted as the howling icy storm blasted through Goliath's armor, making the bug hiss in pain as he delivered a brutal X-Scissor to Cassy, knocking her back with a pained squeal.

"Shadow Ball!" Hau retaliated as Cassy shook her head frantically before giving Goliath a glare. The Primarina stood on her tail and charged up the sphere of darkness within her flippers before sending it at Goliath, who blocked the attack with its armored forearms before lunging forward with a Slash.

As Cassy hit the ground as the powerful claws struck her, Hau frowned as he considered his options. He knew the Golisopod outclassed his entire team, but he also knew it was exhausted and hurt and nowhere near peak condition. All Hau had to do was hit it hard enough to knock it out!

"Ice Beam! Right down the heart!" Guzma shouted as Goliath released a wicked beam of ice that struck the ground and went right at Cassy, creating a series of icy pillars as the beam froze the ground. "Get ready for an Aqua Jet into Slash! Tear it to ribbons!"

"Hyper Voice!" Hau called as Cassy opened her mouth, releasing a massive blast of sound that blew apart the ice and washed over Goliath, forcing it back a step. Goliath tumbled to one knee, taking several slow rattling breaths as it tried to recuperate. Guzma scowled with frustration, pointing towards Hau with an expression of fury.

"Hit it with Poison Jab! End that damn thing right now!" Guzma roared to Goliath, who heaved himself upright before charging at Cassy, his claws glowing purple. Hau, shockingly, made no attempt to order Cassy block the attack or retaliate…or so it would seem.

At the very last second, Hau smirked and snapped his fingers, causing Cassy to suddenly duck low, dodging the double-swipe of Poison Jab, much to the shock of Goliath and Guzma.

"Psychic! Blast him away!" Hau shouted as Cassy's eyes shined with a bright blue light, slamming into Goliath at point-blank range and blasting him across the room. The Golisopod flew across the empty space of the sanctum and crashed into the far wall, where he hung there for several long moments before his head lolled forward, his body stuck there even though he was unconscious.

"Did I just lose to another punk kid?" Guzma asked himself, blinking several times, looking at Hau for several seconds before turning back towards his fainted Pokémon. "What the fuck?"

"Holy crap…We beat Guzma!" Hau laughed, amazed at the fact that he had taken down such a skilled and powerful Trainer. Cassy sighed with relief before beaming with joy, clapping her hands together. Guzma, meanwhile, simply stared at his immobile Pokémon with a stunned expression.

"I lost…how could I have lost?" Guzma murmured as Hau pumped his fist, hugging Cassy hard as the Primarina nuzzled her Trainer. The man looked down, shaking his head in disbelief. The sound of approaching footsteps made Guzma look up, and to his annoyance he saw that Hau was standing nearby.

"You don't have to do all of this. Just stop. We can fix it." Hau said quietly, walking towards Guzma and holding out a hand to the man.

The Team Skull Boss stared at the outstretched hand for several long moments, truly considering the boy's words and the olive branch he was offering. Through battle, Guzma had felt the sincerity of the boy's emotions and the truth behind what Hau had been saying. But the man's pride was a stubborn thing, and was refusing to back down.

Guzma sighed, rubbing his face roughly as he stood again. The man opened his mouth to respond, but an unearthly shriek made both Trainers wince and turn towards where Gladion was dueling the Ultra Beast.

The monster had suddenly dipped low to the ground, covered in lacerations and injuries as both blood, goo and poison slathered the ground below it as a fiery red aura surrounded the monster. Gladion stood beside an exhausted Type: Null and a Riolu who was looking back and forth between the battle happening in front of him and the battle between Sun and Lusamine, paying particular attention to Sun's Gabite.

"We're so close…We just need a little more pressure!" Gladion hissed, clenching his fists as Type: Null continued to dodge the Power Gem attacks from the Ultra Beast, but eventually it was struck by one of the beams. The Beast-Killer tumbled onto the floor, panting heavily as crimson dripped from the harsh burns on its fur and flesh.

Gladion was snapped out of his frustration by something poking him, and looked down to see his Riolu staring up at him intently. Then, very deliberately, Riolu walked in front of Gladion and got into a fighting stance.

"You want to help out, huh? Even though you're not okay to fight?" Gladion muttered, looking down at the Riolu with concern. Gladion was given a nod in response from the little Pokémon, and Gladion found he could not tell Riolu no. Not when he could see the determination within his Pokémon's eyes. Gladion then eyed the Ultra Beast, his eyes gaining a gleam of ferocity to them.

"Alright…I believe in you, little guy. Let's take this bastard down together!" Gladion shouted as he gripped his arm, emboldened by the courage of his Pokémon. Riolu smiled at the words of his Trainer and strode forward, ripping at the bandages that covered his chest and arms and throwing them aside, revealing the scars left behind from his former Trainer. Riolu may not have been totally healed yet, but that was irrelevant compared to its desire to fight and protect those who were precious to the Emanation Pokémon.

"Here it comes!" Type: Null growled as the Ultra Beast let out an ethereal shriek of fury before summoning several glowing rocks, charging up a wave of lasers before firing them all at once. Gladion's eyes widened in horror for a brief moment before he gave the command.

"Protect!" Gladion shouted as Riolu dove in front of Type: Null, throwing up his hands and summoning a shimmering green shield that blocked the Power Gem completely. Riolu grunted softly as it held off the powerful blasts, but the shield held firm.

"I'm really glad Demi convinced me to teach you TM moves a few weeks ago. Guess I'll have to pay her back somehow." Gladion thought to himself with a small smirk as the barrier flickered away. "Null, Aerial Ace! Riolu, get close and use Force Palm!"

The Riolu leapt atop the back of the Beast-Killer as it rushed forward with a great burst of speed, leaping into the air and slamming hard into the Ultra Beast, causing it to hiss with annoyance. However Riolu leapt off of Type: Null and pressed his palm against the top of the Ultra Beast, blasting it downwards with a burst of energy.

The monstrous creature snarled with irritation as it flung back, flailing wildly and sending Riolu flying through the air. The Ultra Beast then shrieked, flying forward and slamming hard into Riolu to knock him hard towards the ground, only for Gladion to run forward and catch the Emanation Pokémon in his arms.

"Keep it up. You're doing great." Gladion said to his Pokémon, grinning with pride at the Riolu as he set him down on the ground. "Let's show this bastard we mean business. Null, Crush Claw! Riolu, sneak up from behind it and get on top of that beast!"

Type: Null nodded, charging forward yet again and dodging an Acid attack and leaping into the air, only to be batted aside with a Headbutt from the Ultra Beast that knocked the Beast-Killer to the ground with a pained groan. However, this provided Riolu the perfect chance to quickly leap atop one of the containers housing the frozen Pokémon and jump high into the air, landing atop the head of the Ultra Beast.

"Bullet Punch!" Gladion shouted as Riolu grinned fiercely, his fists shining brightly as he pulled back his fists and began to pummel the Ultra Beast as hard and as quickly as he could, forcing the monster to shriek in agony as the repeated super-effective attacks struck it again and again. Gladion watched as the Ultra Beast slowly floated lower and lower to the ground, finally succumbing to the damage that had been done to it throughout the grueling brawl.

"What are you doing!? Stop that!" Lusamine shrieked at Gladion, who looked at his Mother with an expression of contempt and promptly gave her a middle-fingered salute before turning back to the fight.

"Null, let's help Riolu finish this! GIGA IMPACT!" Gladion bellowed as Type: Null bounded forward, leaping into the air as a wreath of energy manifested around the Beast-Killer and transformed into a shining, twisting sphere of orange and white energy that was now rushing towards the Ultra Beast.

Type: Null struck the Ultra Beast directly, knocking it backwards and dislodging Riolu from the monster as a wicked explosion of raw force erupted outwards. The Emanation Pokémon landed lightly on the ground and darted towards Type: Null as it dropped roughly onto the floor, keeping a watchful eye on the monstrous creature as it flew out of the massive smoke cloud billowing outward from the impact.

The Ultra Beast shivered erratically, shuddering in midair as the trio glared down the alien jellyfish. And then suddenly the creature's red aura flickered and vanished. The monster made a strange noise, akin to a sigh of relief before suddenly descending towards the ground.

"How…how can you be so awful!" Lusamine snarled, clenching her fists as the Ultra Beast crashed onto the ground. Gladion ran forward, embracing his Riolu with a joyful laugh. The teen then placed a hand on Type: Null's helmet, looking down at the creature who had stood by his side since the beginning.

"Thank you…." Gladion whispered, looking towards the fallen Ultra Beast with a relieved sigh escaping him. The boy felt his eyes stinging, and forced back the urge to break down into tears of relief. "We did it. We pooled our strength together and took it down. All the heartbreak, all the struggles…we were more than enough. You're the best."

Type: Null hummed, rubbing its head against Gladion affectionately while the Riolu laughed happily, hugging Gladion tightly around his neck. The small Pokémon then looked towards the Gabite watching the display and gave her a bright grin, which she returned with a smile of her own.

Tetra turned towards her own Trainer, swaying slightly on her face as she did so. Despite the brutal beating she had been through and two broken arms (as well as several shattered ribs), Tetra was the last Pokémon standing in the showdown with the Aether President. Tetra gave her Trainer a bloodied but still bright smile as he limped forward, looking towards the frustrated Aether President.

"Miss Lusamine, didn't Tetra tell you earlier?" Sun said proudly as he limped forward, rubbing Tetra's head fondly as she beamed at him. "She can do anything. And so can we."

"Hmph…" Lusamine grumbled, looking at each of them in turn. She then screamed out, "All that I want is my precious beast! I don't care about any of the rest of you!"

The Ultra Beast behind her shuddered, seemingly drifting backwards as its body flickered in and out of reality. Lusamine whirled around and gasped in horror as the Ultra Wormhole suddenly became a small shining rift in the room, glowing brightly.

"Bzzzt! I wonder if the Ultra Beast izzz retreating? It can probably tell the tidezzz of this battle changed, and not in itzz favor!" Rotom Dex wondered aloud as the creature chittered softly.

While everyone was focused on the Ultra Beast, no one saw that Guzma had swiftly revived his Pokémon, taking special care to heal his Ariados to full health.

"No! The Ultra Wormhole is disappearing!" Lusamine shouted out in distress, but she quickly regained her composure and looked back at Guzma, who had returned his team and was watching the proceedings with a contemplative expression. "Guzma. With me."

Lusamine then smiled, her confidence returning in full-force as she walked over to the side of the console and picked up a backpack that had been tucked away behind it. "We shall catch the beast using the Beast Ball that we've developed here. It should be more than sufficient for our purposes."

Lusamine turned towards the Ultra Beast, her smile shifting into a maniacal grin. "Don't worry, my darling Nihilego…I'll save you."

"Nihilego?" Sun questioned, confused by the word.

Guzma nodded, his expression grim as he watched Lusamine stride over to the monstrous jellyfish, much to the horror of the children. With a smirk he muttered, "Yes, ma'am…even beaten and bruised, Guzma's got your back!"

Lusamine's body began to flicker beside the wounded Ultra Beast. Sun, Hau and Gladion ran towards her, only for all three of the boys to trip and fall to the ground. A glance behind them showed that they were pulled to the ground by the webbing of Guzma's Ariados, with the man causally whistling as he brushed past them.

Lillie stepped forward (being the only one Ariados hadn't shot web at) and shouted, "Mother!"

Lusamine waved mockingly to them all before the Ultra Wormhole tore open behind them, sucking the Ultra Beast back into its depths. Lusamine vanished moments later behind the monster, with Guzma sauntering forward after her, returning his Ariados as he did so. The Team Skull Boss spun around and delivered double middle fingers to all of them before he vanished too.

The Ultra Wormhole closed and the sanctum fell silent once more.


NEXT TIME: The aftermath of the battles, with Sun regrouping with his friends and allies. Meanwhile, Lillie thinks about the future and the kind of person she wants to be.


There we go! The climactic showdown is done! Now to see where things go from here in the final chapter of this Act of the story!

No questions this time around! Please Review, Favorite and/or Follow the story to show your support and stay updated with the story and my nonsense. I also have a Discord server and I answer questions in the review section below!

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Until next time, FlygonNick out!