"Are you absolutely sure about this, Piers?"

Piers looked up as his paws continued fumbling with the ribbon, tying the goggles around Raihan's head. There had been a brief squabble about who was going to wear them, so Raihan and Leon had drawn straws. Himself wearing them was out of the question, he may be bigger now but they still felt weirdly heavy. "What, do you really want to back out now, Lee?"

Leon swiftly shook his head, returning his gaze to the cave entrance. They had been given a map so finding it shouldn't have been difficult, but it turned out the Rainbow River that they were told to seek out only shone with the colours of the rainbow like the name implied on the weekends. What a stupidly strange phenomenon, it had them questioning whether the map had brought them to the wrong place until they found a friendly Buizel to point them in the right direction.

That friendly Buizel had also done his best to try to sway them away from the Abyssal Peaks, no matter how much they had tried to persuade him otherwise. Fortunately the poor sod wasn't stubborn enough to decide to take them to the wrong place, but they had a few extra reviver seeds now. Very friendly random Buizel, though Leon couldn't help but wonder if he had purposely given them a reviser seed amongst the gift.

"No, not at all. I was just, well.. Do you really think we're ready for this? We have the trap problem solved, but what about any Pokemon inside?"

"Nurse Pawmot said the traps would be our main issue, I think we'll be fine." Piers finished the knot, fished through the bag and took out two orbs. "Worse comes to worst, Yuri gave us an Escape orb and Power-Up Orb. If for some Arceus forsaken reason there's a dynamax spot, we'll trigger the Power-Up Orb and beat the shit out of whatever comes near us." He glanced round to see Raihan's expression. The Trapinch already looked exhausted, no thanks to that river they had to cross. There had been a bridge, but getting over it had been… Put simply, that bridge was definitely not made for three adventurers and a shit ton of supplies. "Are you alright, Rai? How do you feel about this?"

"I feel fine, I think I need a berry though," Raihan mumbled. "I'm glad I can swim but why the fuck does water burn ? I didn't think being a Ground type was that bad!"

Piers went looking for an Oran berry, grumbling. "Yeah, the journey here's been rough for you, hasn't it? Lee fell in too but he seems just fine. It's all the drugs you were taking, isn't it?"

Leon gave an awkward chuckle. "You put it as though I've done something wrong. It's available, it's safe, it's fair game. Don't act like you never gave your Pokemon performance-enhancing drugs before." He lowered his voice. "Besides, I'm not the one with anemia."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He glanced up at the mountain before them. Whose idea was it to embed mystery dungeons within mountain caves? It was just one mountain they had to traverse through, right? "Let's hope the Pokemon who summoned us is still here."

They quickly realised why the dungeon was called the 'Abyssal Peaks'.

It was pitch black inside.

"Never have I been so glad to have dark vision," Piers murmured dryly.

"Never have I been so glad to have some cool goggles." Raihan silently thanked Arceus that the Goggle Specs somehow had night vision too.

Leon awkwardly glanced at his tail. The flame gave off a small light, but it wouldn't be as helpful unfortunately.

Adjusting his line of sight, Raihan noticed he could see panels on the cave floor. "Okay, I can see a lot of tiles. The one closest seems to have an explosion symbol on it… I think the best way to do this is that you two follow me in a single file, huh? Don't step anywhere I don't step."

That plan would surely fall apart if they were attacked, but it'd do for now. Piers made sure to walk immediately behind Raihan so he didn't accidentally get Leon's tail to his face. "If this is a trap, do you think we'll be able to take down whoever summoned us?" Leon's voice piped up behind him, prompting him to shrug.

"It seemed to be a psychic type so I'd have the type advantage but… Something powerful enough to bring us here has to be a legendary right? I think we would die if we had to fight them."

Raihan shuddered, carefully stepping around traps. "I hope not. The other humans were sent for good reasons, right?" He paused to think before shaking his head, guiding them through an empty corridor. "Yuri said natural disasters were occurring when she was summoned… We ended up here in the middle of a dynamax catastrophe… Think they're related?"

Him and Piers heard a clunk behind them, looking to see Leon was shaking, his foot on a tile. Fortunately the trap he had triggered didn't seem to be lethal, judging by the fact they didn't need to dig any reviver seeds out the bag. Instead he was covered in mud. "What kind of trap is that?" Piers murmured as Raihan tilted his head.

"Are you alright, Lee?"

"Peachy," he grumbled, trying to wipe it off. "I feel a bit sluggish… I think it drained my speed stat."

His friends exchanged glances then Piers gave a nervous chuckle. "Watch where you step, okay?" This floor seems to be isolated, if the others are like this then we should be able to get to the top and back in no time."

Omitting the long journey of getting here, of course. Maybe that Buizel would help them find another bridge to cross on the way back.

With the goggles, they managed to make it through to the stairs with no issue.

Then a Gastly popped out of the wall, making them yelp and trigger a chestnut trap.

"Oh come on!" Piers bared his fangs and with a Bite tackled the floating ghost to the ground, barely avoiding another tile.

It made sense that ghost Pokémon would live here, when through using the walls they could traverse without triggering any traps.

Leon watched the Gastly fade to nonexistence, rubbing his nut induced bruises. "A trap that drops chestnuts on you. What the fuck is wrong with this world?"

"At least it didn't blow up on us, Yuri warned me there's two of those." Raihan gave a nervous chuckle and turned his attention to the stairs. "Come on, let's keep going."

It soon became apparent that Goggle Specs were not the miracle it appeared to be when enemies could shove them around.

"What floor are we on now, floor 10? I'm starting to miss floors 2-4, why did all the enemies decide to localise in these last 4 floors?!" Piers snapped as Raihan called out just in time for him to avoid the pitfall trap, the Misdreavus floating over it with a smirk. Suddenly, he had the strange sense that the cocky yet incoherent voice leaving the blasted thing was trying to tell him to 'give himself a fuck'. Growling, he eliminated it with a Bite, flailing to stop himself falling into the trap. It was a very obvious trap, with strings over an empty gap in the floor.

He was certainly not prepared to tackle that floor again but on his own this time.

"I guess ghost types are perfectly at home here, wish Pawmot or Yuri warned us," Raihan mumbled, heading off to the next corridor to check for traps before halting. "Wait- Wait- Piers, how the fuck did you do that?"

He tilted his head as his friends stared at him. "How did I do what?"

"Linoone can't learn Bite, can it?" Leon mumbled, his eyes darting to check around them. "Wouldn't their tongue get in the way? How are you doing that?"

Piers frowned. "I mean… I am able to keep it in my mouth unlike a normal Galarian Linoone, I guess. Besides, it's just biting… Something that simple doesn't need a move slot, does it?"

"I don't know, I'm only able to use four moves at a time so Bite must count," Raihan murmured. "Can you quickly use your other moves on that wall there?"

The badger blinked then turned around. His claw turned purple then he attacked the wall, flinching. "Ow, Night Slash is not very effective on it… Are you sure about this? I'm going to break something if I keep at this."

"We have plenty of reviver seeds and Oran berries left, just keep going." Leon dug one of each out of the bag just in case as Piers headbutted the wall, barely avoiding the pitfall trap as he rebounded off it and rubbed his temple.

"Fuck, that hurts! … Okay, how do I use Baby Doll Eyes on a wall? It doesn't have an attack stat to drop."

Raihan looked expectantly at Leon and he sighed. "Right. You take a Headbutt for a friend and suddenly you're expected to be the training dummy. Come on, give it a try." Piers stared at him then his eyes lit up and the Charmeleon looked away, whispering. "Yep, that works…" How the crap was a punk Linoone cute? "And what was the last move you had, Covet?" Now he thought about it, wasn't Covet supposed to be strictly for Hoennian Linoone, not the Galar form?

Piers reluctantly returned to the wall and slammed into it. Then fell back, twitching.

"Yeah, that's four moves," Raihan deadpanned as Leon fed their now unconscious friend the reviver seed. "Huh, the wall had loot."

As he came to, Piers stared at the seed now clutched in his paw, mumbling. "Where the heck did that come from… Guess that means I have Bite as a fifth move somehow."

"That doesn't make sense though… What happens if you bite without Bite, exactly?" the Trapinch pondered as Leon crossed his arms, pondering something else.

"You probably shouldn't have Covet either, but it works just fine… Did you ever learn Snarl?" Piers shook his head. "How strange… Anyhow guess we should…" The Charmeleon turned rigid, noticing something teal emerging from the wall. "... Piers, I don't think you've been defeating those ghosts after all."

He raised his brow then turned round to see the Misdreavus returning with that familiar smirk. "... Oh fuck."

The Misdreavus took a deep breath then Screeched, sending them running as Leon covered his ears and Piers tried to do the same as Raihan cursed the fact once again that he had stubby forelegs.

"Damn it, you should have stuck to using Night Slash!" Leon yelped, darting for the corridor as Piers scampered after him, shouting.

"I thought it was doing the job! How was I supposed to know it wouldn't work, no one exactly explained how move physics work here!"

"If we can't paralyse our enemies by glaring at them, you should have an idea that biting them without Bite wouldn't have worked!"

"I'm sure if I bit you, your HP would still go down!"

Raihan wished he had hands so he could still face-palm. However as his friends paced ahead of him, his eyes widened behind the goggles and he snapped. "Hey, you two! Watch where you're going!"

They tried to stop and turn around to address him but it was too late, as Leon's feet staggered back and Piers zigzagged into him.

"Wha-" Leon disappeared as he landed on the trap and Piers vanished with him, prompting Raihan to yell out.

"Lee! Piers!"

The Misdreavus giggled behind him and he shut it up with a swift Bite that actually worked, making the ghost withdraw into their necklace with a whine as it fell to the floor.

"Great. Just great. Knew we should have gotten those trapbust orbs."

"Yeah, that would have been a good idea." Raihan jumped and Leon laughed, watching the Trapinch barely avoid another trap that had been unearthed but untriggered in the battle.

"What- You just disappeared! How did you get back so-"

He took a deep breath, exhaling as he looked at the cape hanging from the Charmeleon's shoulders.

"Right, Reunion Cape. Guess that makes me the leader after all if you came back to me."

Leon nodded with a hum before frowning. "I guess that was a warp trap… I wonder where it sent Piers."

Raihan quietly cursed. "We need to find him. He may have dark vision but there's too many traps for him to navigate this place safely…" He sent his friend a sharp look. "This wouldn't have happened if you two listened to me and stayed behind me."

"... Sorry."

"Nothing we can do about it now, let's find Piers."

Piers found himself spawning in a room full of enemies.

"Oh for Arceus' sake," he whispered sharply as the ghosts turned to look at him, grinning in that unnaturally wide manner that ghosts liked to grin with. His claw glowed purple in preparation as they surrounded him.

A Misdreavus blasted a Shadow Ball at him and it phased through him, prompting him to blink.

"Oh wait, why am I worried? This thing can only scream at me, it can't touch me!"

It quickly became apparent that the ghost types did not have any attacking moves that weren't Ghost or Psychic type, no surprise Charge Beams or Gunk Shots like on previous floors. The Pokemon he didn't knock out ran away, prompting him to chuckle.

"Guess I should be glad none of these guys have seen a TM!"

However, one Pokemon remained, a Gastly staring at him as it floated above a Wonder Tile. As he stared back, a smirk crossed its face then he took a deep breath.

"... Can Gastly learn Screech too?"

Instead it started singing.

Piers nearly fell over, inhaling then exhaling as he charged another Night Slash. "Damn thing scared me, what does it think it's doing?"

He made quick work of the Gastly then took a moment to scan the room, pondering how he would avoid any traps. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit him.

That move wasn't… Shit, it couldn't be. "Why did I have to get separated? If Perish Song works like it does back home, then I'm going to faint!" His head was pounding as he observed his surroundings, searching for any items he could see without actually taking a step forward. Nothing in sight. What would happen if he passed out without anyone there to revive him? Would he be easy prey for whatever else lived here?

All of a sudden, he heard what sounded like a bell chiming. It was quiet but clear, a sweet noise that seemed to ward his headache away.

Was that Heal Bell? Piers' breath caught as he noticed a humanoid figure peering at him from the hallway, donning what looked like a green dress. Her orange eyes blinked as they locked gazes before she swiftly turned away, prompting him to yelp and stammer as he took after her.

"Hey, wait!"

As he stepped on a trap he felt his power drop, stumbling and left to watch her disappear up the stairs.

What on Earth just happened?

"There you are!" His friends found him a few floors later, as he rested against the wall gasping. It had soon become apparent that the trap he had stepped on had leeched his Night Slash, leaving him only able to Struggle against the ghosts coming after him. Fortunately Struggle did damage to Ghost types. His vision cleared as Raihan brought an Oran berry to his mouth, tiredly munching it until the exhaustion passed.

"Whoever invented those traps… Can get lost in the Distortion World," he mumbled, digging through the bag as Leon sat beside him so he could find a Max Elixir. "Arceus, I've never been so happy to be a Dark/Normal type. Did you guys come across any Gastly with Perish Song?"

Leon grimaced. "Yes, one. Luckily it somehow missed me so I could give Raihan a Reviver Seed. Did you come across one, Piers?"

He nodded, grumbling. "I thought I was untouchable but no, it had fucking Perish Song. If that Lilligant hadn't saved me, Arceus knows what would have happened."

"Lilligant?" Raihan tilted his head, blinking. "We never saw anything like that."

"She ran for the stairs after helping me out… Did you two really not see anything?"

Leon shook his head, grinning sheepishly. "Nope, only Ghost types. What would a Lilligant be doing here? It's not like they can walk through walls… This dungeon must lead to somewhere if she was willing to deal with all the traps. I guess if we haven't seen her though, it means she must be doing alright. We should really focus on finding that Moon Pokemon, huh?"

"Guess we should play Follow The Leader then, keep behind me so we don't trigger any more traps." Raihan led the way through to the corridor as his friends stayed close in line with him.

Leon quietly peered at Raihan then Piers before whispering. "Hey Rai?"

"Hm?"

"I could have just picked up the berry for you, you didn't have to mouth feed it to him."

Piers' tongue fell out as he looked back to Leon then returned his attention to the Trapinch that seemed to be blushing now. "Shut it, let's keep going."

They made their journey to the stairs in silence, Piers trying to cool the heat inside him.

It wasn't like he minded, he just wished Leon had the decency not to point it out.

A few more floors later and they finally made it to the summit, collapsing as they dragged themselves out of the cave.

"We better fucking never have to do that again," Piers grumbled as Raihan grunted in agreement, Leon quickly searching for more berries. Thank Arceus that travelling through the stairs somehow removed status, the Lick attacks had taken up all their Cheri Berries and they had to keep the Heal Seed reserved in case of more shenanigans.

"I hope we don't have to fight a boss now." After they recuperated their energy, they walked forward. Despite being outside, it was still pitch black. "Do you guys see anything?"

Raihan shook his head as Piers sighed. "Not even with my dark vision. It's like my dream… Least we know we're in the right place. Just be careful where you walk, there's a massive drop."

His friends halted, turning their heads towards him to stare at him. "Jeez, you could have told us sooner! What if we dropped off?!" Raihan yelped.

Leon gave a nervous chuckle. "Not even reviver seeds would save us from that, I think… If that Pokemon's still meeting us here, I wonder how we get its attention."

Raihan took a deep breath.

"EY! YOU LOONY MOONY THING, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Leon and Piers brought their 'hands' to their faces. Welp, hopefully it wasn't a trap now, else whoever it was would waste all their seeds.

The time passed by in silence as the trio waited. Piers squinted in an attempt to force his dark vision to somehow bypass this unnatural darkness. Raihan paced around the summit, closing his eyes as he felt the vibrations. Leon awkwardly flicked his tail around, even his flame was rendered invisible somehow as though it had been extinguished despite him still feeling that heat.

"Who turned off the sun in this place? There's no way we were in there long enough for it to become night time," Raihan finally whined, pacing back to his friends. Piers awkwardly reached his paw out to make sure he hadn't walked past them. "I'm starting to think that Pokemon in your dream is having us on!"

The badger mumbled for him to calm down as Leon chuckled. "It feels that way. Hey Rai, as a ground type do you think you can sense the way back in so we don't walk into a wall instead?"

"We have Escape Orbs, we're not walking through that death-trap again." Piers sighed and took a seed out of the bag. The one that the wall had somehow been wielding. Without vision of course, he could only tell by the shape. … He had never heard of this seed until today, he couldn't help but wonder… "I'm going to try something. If you don't hear anything from me, assume I've fainted and use a reviver seed."

Despite not being able to see him, with his voice his friends could at least tell which direction was right to gawk at him. "What are you-" Raihan cut himself off as he heard a crunch followed by the sound of something light hitting the ground.

All of a sudden, it was as though Piers' dark vision had returned to him. Everything was in black and white, yet he could see the gobsmacked expressions of his companions, the distant drop as he looked around. Whatever the seed was, it was certainly a useful one. And as he focused on the edge of the cliff then tilted his head upwards, he saw a strange ripple in the air, shaped like a creature. "Hey, I can see you! Show yourself!"

A quiet feminine laugh rang through the air, prompting Leon and Raihan to tense. Piers could feel a slight shudder but at least he could see the damn thing now. "You ate something without knowing what it would do. That's stupidly brave of you. Maybe I was right to call you here after all."

The darkness was vanquished by the bright golden shine the mysterious Pokemon blasted out as it revealed itself, Raihan's jaw dropping as Leon and Piers tilted their heads, squinting. The light did not linger and render the creature unidentifiable unlike in Piers' dream, allowing them to see its true shape was that of a giant yet majestic violet bat with golden ridges on its wings.

"That's- That's Lunala!"

The Pokemon basked in its own light until Piers mumbled. "That's what Lunala looks like? I thought it was supposed to have armour like some cool robotic bat, didn't think it'd look like Olympia from Kalos."

Lunala nearly fell right out of the sky, huffing as she landed on the ridge. "I'm not sure who that is, but I feel offended somehow. At the very least you know who I am though, I was starting to ponder if I should have looked for humans from Alola instead. I won't keep you too long, what exactly do you three know about the situation so far?"

The trio looked at each other, furrowing their brows. "Not much, honestly. All we know is that we got dumped here and according to Piers, you should be the one who did it." Leon rubbed his neck. "We were having fun getting drunk, we didn't consent to this shit, you know!"

"Right, sorry." The tone of the legendary Pokemon's voice suggested she was not at all sorry. "I did it for good reason, if that makes you feel any better. I don't know if you children have noticed, but our world is in danger."

Leon gently pulled Piers back as he started snarling on impulse, Raihan letting out a nervous chuckle. "We've noticed something's wrong, but it doesn't seem so serious as to call it 'danger'... Uh hey, do you really have to call us children? We're 23 years old, unless enough time has somehow passed that I've passed my 24th without noticing… How long exactly have we been here for? No, never mind that… Point is, we're adults. Can you maybe treat us like it?"

A melodic giggle danced on the gentle breeze that had started flowing with the erasure of the void. "I'm over 100 years old, you're all kids to me. Now won't you please hear me out?"

The sudden irritation died as soon as it arrived, Piers sinking down and nodding. Somehow it had taken that reminder to process that they were dealing with a Pokemon deity . "Sorry. Please go ahead, explain why we're here. … And maybe how we can get home, if that isn't a big ask or anything."

"That's better." Lunala crossed her arms, a blissful smile resting on her face. "It might not seem like a world-shattering issue now, but I'm sure you've noticed the phenomenon of Pokemon going out of control. Energy's been flooding out of dungeons and driving the ferals berserk." Piers and Raihan exchanged glances as it immediately clicked. The dynamax spots. "It's a small annoyance for now, but it's a symptom of worse to come. It's unfortunate that humans need to be brought in to do the jobs Pokemon should be able to do, however there's been a good track record with the 'heroes', hm? If dynamax energy keeps flowing unchecked, the incidents will only increase in number so I realised we needed to bring someone here before it was too late. You three seemed to be the strongest trainers in a region built around dynamaxing so I deduced you would be the perfect candidates to help me out."

Her information must have been pretty outdated if she hadn't gone straight for Gloria, but Piers was relieved Marnie hadn't been dragged into the mess in his place.

"How did you do it, with ultra wormholes?" Raihan asked, Lunala nodding in response.

"Getting you here was child's play, thanks to my ultra beast friends. Changing you into Pokemon was a bit trickier, however it was necessary. Three humans going around beating up Pokemon would have been frightening to this world's inhabitants."

"So, you brought us here to take care of dynamaxed Pokemon," Piers mumbled, raising his brow. "What's exactly causing this influx anyway?"

Lunala frowned, glancing down at the stone floor of the cliff. "Right, I didn't bring you here just to pick off the ferals. I need you three to take down Eternatus."

They stared at her, Raihan's jaw threatening to unhinge itself and Piers' tongue on the floor whilst Leon tensed, wide-eyed. "You need us to what ?" Raihan shook his head, chuckling. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you say…"

"I know you heard me." The bluntness of her response seemed to threaten to suffocate him, her voice making him shiver. "Eternatus is the Pokemon that radiates the power to allow the dynamax phenomenon, I know you three are aware of this. This dynamax energy laid dormant within the Earth, however in the last couple of months it has been breaking free, infecting every unlucky Pokemon that gets caught in the blast. And it's no mere incident either."

"Hold on, hold on!" Piers fought to regain control of his instincts as he barked, his fur bristling. "You're not saying- Eternatus isn't-"

"I'm afraid he is." The moon Pokemon sighed, her brow creasing. "Eternatus has crossed the line. He's been plotting… These aren't accidents. He wants to throw our continent into chaos, then once all that energy gets released he'll be able to bring himself back to his full strength. He'll revert to Eternamax Eternatus. Then I'm afraid not even Arceus himself would be able to stop him."

Despite the fact that he felt like he was burning up due to an inability to sweat the rising stress out, Raihan murmured weakly. "Well of course he wouldn't be, he only has a 720 BST…"

"So you want us to take Eternatus out before this can happen, I assume." Lunala nodded and Piers gulped. "Welp, uh… Guess we're going home either way-"

"You're kidding me."

His words died and he turned to see Leon shaking, tail flame flickering erratically. "Lee, are you okay?"

The Charmeleon's voice trembled, a quivering smile attempting to stretch across his face. "This is just a joke, right? You two goofed off and found this Pokemon who'd agree to play along and screw with me."

Raihan tilted his head, whispering. "Leon, we'd never do that, you know that…"

"Then what the fuck is going on?!" They jumped, seeing all pretence of a facade drop as his golden eyes shone. "What kind of sick joke is this? What made you think- Why the crap would we agree to this?"

Lunala narrowed her eyes, flexing her wings. "What's the big deal? You've fought Eternatus before, haven't you?" The way Leon's teeth were grinding, it quickly became apparent to his friends that the trembling was swiftly about to return to painful tensing. "You were the 'unbeatable champion', you've seen what that monster can do firsthand. I thought you would be itching to get your revenge, learn from your mistakes and all."

"It's not that simple." Raihan stepped in front of him, sensing him shrink back. No matter how hard he tried, it would not shield his friend, not with this height difference. "Back home it took our new champion, her rival and two legendary Pokemon to take down Eternatus in its Eternamax form. I'm not sure how you think we're equipped to handle that thing when none of us are even fully evolved!"

"Because you're the only ones that can do it!" The sharpness of her voice made the ex-humans stagger back, as her eyes sparkled. "Don't you think I've thought about that? I wouldn't have summoned you if I could do it on my own!" Tremoring, she spun round to reveal the crack in the back of her crescent crest, some small gashes in her wings which were now visible when they focused. "I tried to talk him down before he could spring, I wasn't strong enough to change him but I've weakened him! I needed someone with potential to help me out, we need to stop him before it's too late. That's where you come in. Humans that become Pokemon gain skills a lot quicker than us natal Pokemon for some strange reason, then on top of that you have so many years of experience understanding them as your companions. That's why I need you. We all need you."

Piers let out a low whistle, averting his eyes. "Humans are better Pokemon than Pokemon themselves? Biology sure is racist… Look. You chose the wrong people to help you. Me and Raihan would never be able to take down Eternatus ourselves, and there's no way we're forcing Leon to fight that thing with us. So how about you bring us home and find someone willing to help out? I was already tired of dynamax Pokemon before we got here."

"How can you be so heartless? Our world is in danger, I knew as soon as I saw you that you'd be able to save us!" Lunala snarled, her eyes glowing. "Your friend might have some hang ups but come on! What's more important, saving the world or your own self preservation?!"

The trio looked at each other, Leon still trembling. Raihan deadpanned. "I dunno, our self preservation sounds pretty important."

Lunala fell forward.

"If it was any other Pokemon, we would probably agree. But nothing you say can convince us to fight Eterna-"

"You'll never see your family and friends again."

Piers cut himself off, whispering. "What was that?"

"You heard me." Her voice spiked with ice, her expression turning stoic. "I know you have a little sister, Leon has his little brother. You know they've been worrying about you. Time passes the same in both worlds, the weeks you've spent here? They've been waiting for you to come back."

"You wouldn't." Raihan's growling had no effect on the legendary, instead she idly waved her claw.

"I'm sorry, but saving the world is more important to me than your emotional turmoil. Take down Eternatus before he fully recovers and returns to his Eternamax form. Then I'll take you home."

Leon's legs gave in and he fell to the floor, his companions quickly closing in on both sides in an attempt to prop him up. "Lee- Are you-"

"This really is a sick joke." His almost inaudible words spoke over Raihan's yell of concern, somehow gaining focus. "Take down that- That creature - Or I'll never see Hop again? How dare you… Find the other damn heroes, I'm sure they won't mind! I can't fight that thing, no matter how much you try to force us! The last time, I- I can't lose again!"

"You won't." Despite the rage in her voice, the change in Lunala's expression suggested she was attempting to be comforting. Attempt was a rather strong word. "You will defeat him, you'll take him down and save us. Every hero has a prophecy, and they always come true. I wouldn't send you on a mission I knew you couldn't win. You are destined to be the heroes who will stop Eternatus."

She turned away, the darkness slowly returning.

"You have a week before Eternatus fully recovers. I'll send you to his lair in 5 days starting tomorrow. In those days, I recommend you get yourselves to level 30 or so. If we leave it any longer, he'll become too strong for you. 10 levels in 5 days is realistic, the 20 or so you'll all need to reach to even survive him at full power even without the Eternamax is not. Raihan, Leon. Your Ground and Dragon type moves would prove especially vital in stopping him. I hope you pull yourselves together before we meet again."

Piers wasn't sure if he expected Leon to shout out again in defiance, however the silent shaking as droplets hit the ground felt equally in character. Lunala would not take another glance back at them as his paw patted his friend's back, instead her wing tucked in then whipped out again dramatically.

"Nihilego!"

A ripple opened up at the edge of the cliff and a translucent Pokemon with tendrils appeared from it, swimming through the air as it addressed them. "Yes, Lady Lunala?"

Leon stared at the ultra beast, wet eyes blinking. "It- It's that jellyfish… I knew I hadn't imagined it…"

"Bring them back to Vulpine Guild. They have a long week ahead of them. Don't fail me, alright? As soon as you take down Eternatus, I'll bring you back home. Marnie and Hop are missing you."

The legendary disappeared into her own portal and Nihilego nodded, bowing to the trio. "You're our newest heroes? I hope you save us, the amount of Pokemon uncontrollably dynamaxing has been scary. 5 days might not seem like much, but we know you can do it!" She giggled, her tentacles swaying as she turned to jump back into the portal.

Exchanging glances, Piers and Raihan carefully nudged Leon towards the portal, his legs still adamant on remaining jelly.

As they fell through, they found themselves in their room again.

"What the crap just happened? I thought we'd be doing something important but nothing like this! And only in five days, too!" Raihan buried his head in his hay bed to muffle a long groan, Piers awkwardly patting his shell.

"It doesn't feel enough… I think we can manage 2 levels a day though, heck, we might be able to go over."

Leon was quiet, collapsing into his bed. His friends watched him, both with concern on their faces yet unable to find any words. "This is ridiculous… I can't fight that thing, not again…" His leg twitched, his claw instinctively reached for it and his expression relaxed for a mere second before the heat returned to his eyes. "If I lose again, I'll- I'll-"

"We won't lose!" Raihan's stubby legs were too short to reach out and touch him even with the tiny distance between their beds so he hoped the tired grin that felt all too fake would provide even a glimmer of hope. "We'll get stronger. We'll keep going. Then if when the day comes you can't bring yourself to face him again, Piers and I will take him down for you. I… I know I'm too weak right now, I've not even evolved once yet. But I want… I need to be stronger, so I can help you both. I'll become both the Dragon and Ground we need to defeat him."

"Rai…" Piers forsook his own bed in favour of collapsing between the two, his tail idly tucking itself over Raihan. "We'll get back home, I promise. Even if you can't fight, we'll make sure you can see Hop again. We can tell him and Marnie about all this insanity… There's no way they'll believe us, of course." He let out a chuckle then gently squeezed Leon's trembling claw with his fluffy paw. "We'll make it out of this, together."

The Charmeleon gazed at them then smiled, resting on his side. "Thanks, guys. I wish I didn't feel so weak, but… I know I'm whole again, I'm terrified that won't be for long, though. I'm sure I can take on whatever groupies Eternatus might have though… A Pokemon like him surely won't be planning to do all this on his own, right?"

Raihan stared into space as his brow furrowed. Lunala certainly hadn't given them that much information, but training would be for the best even if Leon didn't plan to fight after all.

He had the sneaky suspicion that the job board would be overrun with dynamax incidents soon.

As they drifted off to rest, a thought lingered on his mind.

What did a Pokemon like Lunala have to do with Eternatus?