Hey folks! We're in the home stretch now! After this chapter and a few more, we'll finally be finished with this epic Pokémon adventure! I will say, I wish I could've done more with it. Between all of the events that happen in the Sun/Moon games along with their stories, it was hard for me to come up with my own. But I'm glad I was able to make it for so long, and I can't wait for you to see how it all ends.

So now with that settled, we've got a heck of a problem for our heroes. Guzzlord's practically taken everyone down and is seemingly unstoppable. Is there any way for our heroes to overcome the odds?

Let's find out!

POKÉMON SUN & MOON

THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Guzzlord screeched with purple rings of energy leaving its mouth, washing over both Primarina and Starbright as they tried to stand their ground. However, they both found themselves blown back along the cavern ground, tumbling to a stop.

"Are you okay?!" Calvin called out as he hurried over to them.

"Mah…" the Soloist Pokémon groaned weakly, trying to push herself up. The Ultra Beast stomped towards them, grabbing more rocks with its arm-like tongues to gobble down.

"What's it doing…?" the Ketchum boy wondered upon noticing.

"Fay, faybel!" Starbright cried out in warning, getting his attention. Guzzlord reared itself back, opening its mouth to again unleash another powerful belch with purple rings of light. They crashed onto Calvin and his sister's Pokémon again, making them tumble back along the ground. However, the former trial-goer managed to bring himself to a stop, clenching his teeth.

"Cal…" Hau weakly voiced out, getting his attention as he looked over to see his cousin trying to move.

"Hau!" he exclaimed, "What happened?!" he asked frantically.

"Guzzlord…" Paige uttered, causing him to look over and see the silvery-haired girl attempting to sit up, "It got too strong from beating so many of us…" she pointed out.

"It's just like all of the other Ultra Beasts…" Trent added weakly while upon his stomach, "But this time, we couldn't even hope to stop it…" he mentioned with a cough.

"Trent… Paige…" the Ketchum boy uttered, shocked that his friends would all lose. He looked over to find Soliera, Dulse, Zossie, Phyco, Anabel, and Pyrrha all down themselves with their respective Pokémon. And then he glanced back at his twin sister, who lied up against the wall with her worried Poipole by her side.

"Pree… mah…" Primarina grunted as she pushed herself back up, having a determined look upon her face.

"Primarina…" Calvin uttered upon noticing. Starbright also got onto her feet, letting out a determined huff. The former trial-goer took a deep breath, giving off a serious expression. "This isn't over yet," he affirmed, readying a pair of Poké Balls in his hands, enlarging them with a press of their buttons, "I doubt it can keep this up forever…" he mentioned, rearing his arms back, "so we'll stop it here and now!" he decided, flinging the spherical containers up into the air. They burst open, with their lights spilling out onto the ground and dissipating to reveal both Incineroar and Melmetal.

"Sehh rawr!" the former exclaimed.

"MELLLLL!" the latter bellowed, flexing its arms. The other former trial-goers gasped.

"Cal… is that…?" Paige started to ask.

"Don't worry," the Ketchum boy assured, adjusting his cap, "We're going to win!" he vowed, swinging his right arm out. His Pokémon voiced out in agreement, charging forward alongside Primarina and Starbright.

OPENING

Insert "Acacia" by BUMP OF CHICKEN

Opens with sparkles over a black screen before we catch a glimpse of Calvin and Erika. The two of them are walking down a set of old railroad tracks together. As they continue, they're followed by Litten, Popplio, Yungoos, Rockruff, Pikipek, Oricorio, Fomantis, Dewpider, Drifloon, Cubone, Magby, Bounsweet, Sandygast, Poliwag, Starbright as a Cleffa, Togedemaru, Sandshrew, Mimi, and Jangmo-o. Those of their Pokémon that can evolve do in flashes of light, hurrying after their trainers.

We get shots of the Ketchum twins during their various adventures, meeting their first Pokémon, going to the local school, taking part in the island challenge, and meeting all sorts of people. We pass by Ilima, Lana, Kiawe, Mallow, Sophocles, Acerola, and Mina, finishing with Ryuki shredding his guitar as his Kommo-o chimes his scales behind him. We also see Hala, Olivia, Nanu, and Hapu, each at their respective islands of Alola.

The opening continues with Calvin and Erika helping each other out, climbing mountains, traversing rivers, and crossing bridges as they keep on their path. All of a sudden, an Ultra Wormhole opens in front of them, much to their shock. A Nihilego pops out, attempting to ensnare them with its tentacles. However, it's knocked away by a Mudsdale, belonging to Paige as she shoots the twins a wink. They're joined by Hau, Pyrrha, and Trent, sending out their Pokémon to do battle as more Ultra Beasts pour out.

Nihilego fires off a Venoshock, which Trent's Skarmory blocks before Erika's Starbright strikes it back with a Meteor Mash. A Buzzwole blows Calvin's Incineroar and Paige's Electivire, only to suddenly get bombarded by Acrobatics from Pyrrha's Starlight. A Pheromosa kicks Hau's Raichu back, but he counters by having the Alolan Mouse Pokémon pull off the Stoked Sparksurfer Z-Move, which zaps the Ultra Beast fiercely.

We cut to a shot of Looker and Anabel together, who wave to the group of young trainers. We also get to see the members of the Ultra Recon Squad: Phyco, Soliera, Dulse, and Zossie, each with a Poipole as a partner. One of them flies about around Erika, playing with her Jangmo-o as she giggles.

Afterward, we see Calvin investigating a mysterious box he found, narrowing his eyes curiously. His Incineroar taps him on the shoulder, enticing him to turn around and gasp at the multitude of Meltan roaming about. His Tsareena picks one of them up, nuzzling her head against it lovingly.

We then watch Erika command her Primarina against Leslie's Serperior, as the two Pokémon whisk about each other before unleashing their respective attacks. Witnessing the battle from afar with sparkles in her eyes is Nemona, who clenches her fists determinedly. Meanwhile, Calvin approaches a large tree at Poni Island, only to meet Leon and Sonia. The former's black Charizard huffs as he steps forward, making the Ketchum boy smirk nervously.

The song winds down, with the twins heading on the path back to their vacation home. There, Pikachu calls out to them as Ash and Mirajane smile, waving happily. Calvin and Erika head back inside for the night, ready to head off for the next journey. As he's about to follow them, Pikachu takes notice of a red, crocodile-like Pokémon waddling by, sneezing a puff of fire.

END OPENING

The Last Ultra Beast

"Agh…" Erika groaned as she started to stir awake. She almost didn't remember what had happened. After she arrived in the cavern's depths, both Anabel and those of the Ultra Recon Squad had gotten promptly defeated, leaving her and the other former trial-goers to try and tame Guzzlord. And one by one, they were only giving it more power with each opponent it was able to defeat.

Ultimately, the Ketchum girl was able to send in her Fairy-types to counter their foe's Dragon Pulse, but its other moves were proving to be far too much for them to handle alone. The Junkivore Pokémon ended up blowing her back with its Dragon Pulse, causing her to fall unconscious against the well. She winced as she grabbed at her left hip.

"Poy!" Poipole squeaked worriedly as it floated beside her. She opened her eyes to see it there.

"Poipole…" she uttered. Though faint in her ears, she could hear rumbling nearby. She looked out, widening her eyes slightly.

"Incineroar, Cross Chop! Melmetal, Dynamic Punch!" Calvin commanded. The Heel Pokémon crossed her arms in front of herself, making them flash orange before lunging out at Guzzlord. It threw its arm-like tongues out, prepping a multicolored ray of light between them. However, it was suddenly ambushed by the Hex Nut Pokémon's left arm, which pulsated with a red, explosive energy as it struck. That allowed for its teammate to swipe at the Ultra Beast, sending it sliding back a few feet.

"Aaaaaahhhhh…" it groaned angrily. At that moment, Primarina and Starbright leapt up into the air. Golden auras cloaked their bodies as they both began forming pink orbs of energy in front of themselves, firing them down at the Junkivore Pokémon. An orange light shrouded its own body as it began angrily stomping the ground, making shards of rock shoot up and strike the orbs in powerful explosions. The resulting debris also knocked back his many foes, with both of Erika's Pokémon crashing down hard onto the ground.

"Primarina! Starbright!" she screamed out. She tried to stand up, only to wince as she collapsed onto her knees, breathing heavily with exhaustion.

"Poy! Poy poll!" her Poipole squeaked worriedly as she grimaced in frustration, wishing that she could still help. Meanwhile, her brother clenched his teeth.

"Incineroar, use Darkest Lariat!" he ordered of the Heel Pokémon, "And Melmetal, you—!"

"MELLLL!" the Hex Nut Pokémon bellowed, charging in as it raised its arms.

"Ah, wait a sec!" its trainer yelled in panic. Meanwhile, Guzzlord opened its large mouth, unleashing several multicolored rays of light in the shape of dragons' heads towards its incoming foe. But Melmetal wasn't deterred. It started spinning its body rapidly, swinging its arms out to counter each of the beams. It then thrusted them out with the gained momentum, striking the Ultra Beast twice as it tumbled back and crashed against the wall in a flurry of dust.

"Rawwwrrrr…" Incineroar uttered in amazement, followed by blinking in realization, "Sehh rawr!" she called out to her trainer, getting his attention.

"Yeah, go!" he yelled with a swing of his arm, enticing her to make dark red flames ignite upon her arms before spinning forward. As Guzzlord tried to regain itself, she struck repeatedly, pressing him further into the rock wall. "Melmetal, help her out!" Calvin instructed of the Hex Nut Pokémon.

"Mel!" it responded, raising its right arm as a reddish, explosive energy pulsated from the large nut at its hand. Guzzlord growled as it endured the seemingly endless assaults from both of its foes. It saw Melmetal coming, about to strike with a fierce punch. But suddenly, the attack was thwarted as the right arm-like tongue of the Junkivore Pokémon caught it.

"Ah!" Calvin gasped out.

"Mel?!" Melmetal exclaimed with disbelief, looking as if it was blinking to make sure it wasn't just seeing things. The Ultra Beast started to pick itself up, pushing back on its foes as it managed to grab Incineroar to stop her from continuously striking away at it.

"Ahhhh…" it growled, moving both Pokémon back as they tried to break free of their opponent's grasp. All of a sudden, they gasped to see the multicolored mass of light forming in Guzzlord's mouth. Calvin widened his eyes.

"Quick, get away!" he screamed. Unfortunately, the mass of light formed into a dragon's head, which engulfed both of his Pokémon in a massive explosion, blowing them back. "GUYS!" he exclaimed in fright, seeing them crash down onto the ground beside the groaning Primarina and Starbright. They managed to pick themselves back up, but their foe was stomping over, ready to attack again.

"Oh no…" Erika uttered out, trembling with fright. Poipole looked over to her, seeing the frustration in her eyes. As much as she wanted to help, she couldn't now. She didn't have a Beast Ball left on her person, and neither did anyone else when she arrived in the cave's depths. The Poison Pin Pokémon looked back at Guzzlord, seeing it ready its arm-like tongues as it prepared masses of multicolored energy upon them. Giving off a determined look, Poipole flew off. "Poipole?" its trainer uttered, seeing it heading for the opposing Ultra Beast, "Wait, where are you going?!" she cried out in question.

The Poison Pin Pokémon didn't look back, closing in on Guzzlord as it hadn't even noticed its fellow Ultra Beast yet. It aimed the needles on its head down at its foe, firing off streams of purple poison down onto it.

"AHHH!" it yelped out upon being struck, while the others widened their eyes in surprise.

"Poipole!" Calvin exclaimed.

"It landed a Toxic…" Trent noted weakly.

"That means they've got a chance…!" Paige pointed out, letting off a smile. Growling, Guzzlord turned its attention onto the Poison Pin Pokémon, readying a mass of multicolored light from its large mouth.

"Poipole, get out of there!" Erika screamed. However, the Ultra Beast stayed where it was, preparing its own multicolored mass of light at the tip of its needle. It aimed it downward, unleashing a ray in the shape of a dragon's head. Guzzlord fired off a similar ray as well, completely engulfing the one opposing it. The Poison Pin Pokémon thankfully wasn't directly struck by the way, but was sent tumbling back in midair, heading for the wall. Willing herself to her feet, Erika hurried over and leapt up to catch the small Ultra Beast in her arms, landing down safely.

"Erika!" her brother cried out.

"I'm okay!" she assured through a wince, "Just hurry up and take care of that guy!" she insisted of him.

"Right!" he responded, turning to face the now-poisoned Guzzlord with his Pokémon.

"Poyy…" Poipole squeaked, trying to wriggle its way out of its trainer's arms.

"Hey, stop it!" she shouted, "You might've been able to poison it, but that doesn't mean you can fight!" she pointed out seriously.

"Poy!" Poipole exclaimed, freeing itself from her grasp and turning to face her.

"Poipole…" she uttered out. There was a determined look in its eyes. After coming so far, it didn't want to just roll over and lose. It wanted to help. And it reminded Erika of her own stubbornness. She let off a grin, bringing herself back up onto her feet. "Okay…" she said, "Let's do this, Poipole!" she insisted of the Poison Pin Pokémon.

"Poy!" it squeaked with a nod. At that moment, a brilliant blue glow shined upon its body, much to its trainer's surprise, along with everyone else watching. From afar, Phyco awoke and widened his eyes.

"Unbelievable…" he uttered. The Poison Pin Pokémon's body grew and morphed, with its arms gaining claws as it gained draconic and insectoid features. When the light vanished, it revealed that its upper body was slender with thin arms and a long neck. The upper chest, neck, head, and arms were light purple, while its waist was dark purple with a fuchsia stripe on each side. Each shoulder had a long gray spike and each hand had three pinkish-purple claws. Running down each side of its neck was a dark purple stripe, which connected and formed a loop on its chest. The lower area of the loop was fuchsia and had a short, downward extension in the middle. At the end of its long neck was its head, which had a long, spiked crest on the top. On the sides of its mouth were a pair of curved, gray spikes that acted as mandibles. Its glowing cyan eyes were conjoined, rimmed with fuchsia, and had a spiky crest on either side, which gave them a visor-like appearance. A pair of light purple wings had sprouted from the center of its back. These wings had a single fuchsia claw at the joint, two spikes along the wing-arm and darker purple membranes with fuchsia markings near the spikes. The lower half of its body houses its brain. It resembled a swollen wasp's abdomen and was filled with poisonous liquid. It was covered in stripes of light and dark purple and has three hollow stingers at the tip. The stingers were gray and had a fuchsia marking around them. The largest stinger is in the center; the other two were considerably smaller and sat on either side.

"NAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" it screeched out.

"Poi…pole?" its trainer uttered out in disbelief.

"That's its evolved form…" Phyco noted from afar, getting her attention as she saw him push himself up onto his hands and knees, "The legendary Naganadel…" he said.

"Naganadel…?" Erika repeated.

"Nahh," the evolved Poison Pin Pokémon buzzed, getting her attention as she turned to face it. She stared in awe for a few moments before letting off a grin.

"Alright… let's do this!" she exclaimed.

"Nagahhh!" Naganadel screeched, flying out to the Guzzlord.

"Awesome…" Calvin uttered out in amazement.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the Junkivore Pokémon bellowed, making him flinch as he turned to see it stomping its feet against the ground with an orange light shrouding its body.

"Oh, not again…" he complained. However, Melmetal stepped forward, flexing its arms before extending them out and spinning them around rapidly. As Guzzlord stamped the ground hard, making shards of rock shoot up, the Hex Nut Pokémon bashed them apart with its arms, followed by thrusted them out at its foe. This time, it managed to catch them with its arm-like tongues. But then, Naganadel flew in.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Erika commanded of it. Aiming its large stinger out at the Junkivore Pokémon, the evolved Ultra Beast fired off a ray of multicolored light in the shape of a dragon's head, striking its target in a fierce blast. It crashed against the ground hard, pushing itself up as a purple glow appeared upon its body with sparks and bubbles.

"The poison's working, but…" Calvin started to say, seeing Guzzlord start to gobble up more debris.

"Calvin, do you have another Beast Ball?!" his twin sister inquired as she jogged over.

"Yeah… but just one…" he answered, pulling out the specialized Poké Ball from his backpack, "I don't wanna have to use it right away…" he pointed out with a grimace.

"Alright, then let's whittle Guzzlord down more!" Erika decided.

"Right!" Calvin agreed, "Incineroar, use Outrage!" he commanded. The Heel Pokémon made her eyes flash red as an aura flared to life around her body. She then lunged out at Guzzlord, who reared itself back.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" it bellowed out, releasing purple rings of energy from its mouth that slammed into its incoming foe. She tumbled back a few yards, but instantly shot back onto her feet, charging in and jabbing at her target's left side, followed by bombarding it with another series of strikes relentlessly.

"Okay, we've got things set up…" Calvin noted, "Hey, Melmetal!" he called out to the Hex Nut Pokémon, getting its attention, "Think you can do that… uh… double attack again?" he inquired of it.

"Double attack?" his twin sister repeated in confusion, arching an eyebrow. He crossed his arms, closing his eyes in deep thought.

"How about… Double Iron Bash?" he suggested to the Hex Nut Pokémon.

"Mell!" it exclaimed, sounding pleased. It then turned toward Guzzlord, charging in and spinning its body around rapidly.

"Whoa, it's just like Incineroar's Darkest Lariat!" Erika noted.

"Heh," her brother chuckled, "It's probably mimicking her after that," he concluded. Melmetal went ahead and closed in on the Junkivore Pokémon as it was being bombarded by Incineroar still, thrusting its arms out. They struck its target, making it stumble back again as it grunted with pain.

"Alright, now it's our turn!" the Ketchum girl declared, "Naganadel, Venoshock!" she ordered.

"Nahhh!" the evolved Poison Pin Pokémon screeched as it flew over, aiming its stingers and firing off multiple purple poisonous streams, all of which struck Guzzlord as it bellowed with pain.

"Nice one, Naganadel!" Erika complimented.

"I think we've got this!" Calvin affirmed confidently. As if on cue though, Incineroar's assault suddenly stopped as she started stumbling back with fatigue. Thankfully, Melmetal was there to catch her. But that also allowed the poisoned Ultra Beast to get back up. It reached its arm-like tongues out, snatching its foes in their jaws. "No!" the Ketchum boy exclaimed, seeing his two partners get engulfed by multicolored rays of light in the shape of dragon heads, followed by a powerful implosion.

Taking notice, Naganadel flew down quickly. However, it was suddenly thwarted as the Junkivore Pokémon began stomping the ground repeatedly with an orange aura building around its body. It stamped hard, making shards of rock shoot out and strike the evolved Poison Pin Pokémon. They struck, knocking it down as it screeched.

"Naganadel!" Erika screamed, followed by her and her brother getting knocked over by the resulting rumbles that came from their massive foe. He stomped forward, ready to finish his foes once and for all. "Ergh… darn it…" the Ketchum girl groaned out as she sat up, with her hat falling off of her head. She then felt something touch her fingers, looking down to find that one of her Z-Crystals had fallen out of her pocket. And it was the Dragonium Z.

"Agh…" her brother groaned, pushing himself up onto his feet, "Incineroar! Melmetal!" he called out. Both of his Pokémon were slow to get up as their foe stomped past them, apparently more focused on Naganadel as it had yet to move. It reached out its arm-like tongues, attempting to ensnare it.

"Moonblast!" Erika's voice yelled. All of a sudden, a pair of pink energy orbs shot in and struck the Junkivore Pokémon, making it step back. It looked over to see the Ketchum girl standing up alongside Primarina and Starbright. She set the Dragonium Z onto her Z-Power Ring.

"Erika!" her brother cried out.

"Cal, do what you can to keep the big guy occupied for a few seconds!" she insisted of him, "We're ending this now!" she declared, "Naganadel!" she cried out, getting the evolved Poison Pin Pokémon's attention as it rose up from the ground, flapping its wings.

"NAAAAAHHH!" it screeched out. An angered look came across the face of Guzzlord upon seeing its fellow Ultra Beast still ready to fight. But before it could attempt to attack it, it was suddenly ambushed by a strong punch from the right arm of Melmetal, followed by Incineroar spinning in from its left, having dark red flames emitting from her hands as she continuously attacked her target. Primarina and Starbright also joined in, with the former expelling a chilling wind with blue sparkles from her mouth, while the latter unleashed green energy leaves from an orb of light formed upon her hands. All the while, their trainer had Naganadel float over to her side. "Nah?" it uttered, seeing the Z-Crystal upon its trainer's Z-Power Ring. She nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Naganadel…" she began, crossing her arms to make the Dragonium Z flash a bright blue, "let's do this!" she called out.

"Nagahh!" the evolved Poison Pin Pokémon responded, floating in front of her. She swung her arms around an energy built up around her body, holding her hands out and opening them as if they were a dragon's maw opening. The blue light shrouding her shot onto Naganadel, merging with its body before the Z-Move symbol flashed in front of it.

In the meantime, Guzzlord knocked away Incineroar, Melmetal, Primarina, and Starbright one after another, making them all fall to the group in heaps. It turned toward its fellow Ultra Beast, who flew up. Erika gave off a determined expression.

"We're finishing this here and now!" she declared, pumping her right fist forward, "DEVASTATING DRAKE!" she exclaimed. Aiming its large stinger out, Naganadel had a magenta orb of energy appear at the tip before it shot out, forming into the shape of a dragon heading for the Junkivore Pokémon. It attempted to counter by firing off a multicolored ray in the shape of a dragon from its own mouth, only for it to be completely engulfed by the one from its foe. Guzzlord could only widen its eyes in pure shock as it wound up engulfed in a massive explosion, as the impact's force blew by everyone.

The smoke had yet to settle as those watching were left awed by the Z-Move's power, especially from an Ultra Beast. They then heard a pained groan, causing them to perk up. As the smoke cleared away, it revealed the Junkivore Pokémon lying down, still poisoned as its body glowed a bright purple. Erika blinked in realization.

"Calvin!" she called out to her brother.

"Right!" he responded, pulling out the lone Beast Ball he had left. He tossed it out quickly, striking the rogue Ultra Beast. As the container popped open, the Guzzlord transformed into reddish-blue light that zipped into it, followed by it closing up and falling onto the cracked earth. It shook as its button blinked red and beeped, with the Ketchum twins looking on nervously. After a moment, it stopped… and the button blinked green with the sound of a click.

"We got it…" Erika realized, letting off a smile. However, she started feeling faint as she suddenly fell forward. Luckily, Naganadel was quick to catch her.

"Erika!" Calvin cried out, about to run over. However, he too suddenly felt faint from all of the exhaustion he had built up to now. Fortunately for him, Incineroar managed to catch him in her arms. In spite of all the challenges faced today, Guzzlord had been captured. And now all of the Ultra Beasts had been taken care of.

X

"Do you really have to go now?"

"Our mission here is complete. There is no point in delaying our return to the Ultra Megalopolis."

"Still, we can't leave until we get Naganadel to come back with us."

"Do we have to? It's not leaving Erika's side…"

"It is your partner, Zossie. We can't leave it behind."

"I gave it to Erika, and she's the one who helped get it to evolve! I can't just force her to give it back…"

"Ugh…" the Ketchum girl groaned as she awoke slowly. She blinked a couple of times to focus her vision, turning her head to find Primarina and Starbright snoozing next to her. She smiled, looking around to find that she was in a small room with her Pokémon, with a familiar white-and-gold theming to it. "Is this…?" she started to guess.

"Nah!" Naganadel suddenly screeched out, causing her to flinch in surprise as she spotted the Poison Pin Pokémon floating above her.

"Naganadel!" she exclaimed. The Ultra Beast cooed, nuzzling its head against her as she giggled. "Yeah, I'm okay," she assured, only to blink in realization, "Hey… we stopped Guzzlord, didn't we?" she presumed.

"Nagah!" Naganadel squeaked in response with a nod, making her sigh in relief.

"Guess after all that, we got taken here to Aether Paradise to rest up…" she concluded, "That must mean the others are okay, too," she added.

"Sounds like she's finally awake," a voice chimed in from outside the room, getting her attention. The door opened to reveal Phyco there, who walked inside with both Zossie and Anabel.

"Erika, thank goodness…" the former Frontier Brain exhaled in relief as she approached, "I remember seeing you get knocked down hard by Guzzlord, so I assumed the worst at first…" she pointed out, crouching down and setting her hands onto the Ketchum's right one.

"I'm okay," she affirmed with a smile, "How's everyone else?" she asked.

"They're all fine," Anabel assured as an answer, "Those of the Ultra Recon Squad are okay as well, as you can see," she mentioned, glancing over to Zossie and Phyco. Erika sighed happily.

"Naahhh…" Naganadel suddenly hissed, retreating behind its trainer.

"Naganadel?" she said in confusion.

"Huh…" Zossie sighed, putting her hands onto her hips, "Phyco, it's not that big of a deal to me," she told her superior.

"Well, it's a matter of research into this evolved Ultra Beast," he argued, "Bringing it along with Glutton and the others means we've collected more to study back at the Ultra Megalopolis," he explained.

"Wait… hold on…" Erika chimed in as Primarina and Starbright woke up, "What are you saying?" she asked. Anabel exhaled a sigh.

"The Ultra Recon Squad is going to be returning to the Ultra Space soon," she confirmed in reply, "And as such, they'll be taking the retrieved Ultra Beasts with them," she mentioned.

"That includes Naganadel," Phyco added as he approached.

"Nah!" the Poison Pin Pokémon shouted out, growling at the Ultra Recon Squad leader.

"What's gotten into you…?" he questioned, surprised by the Ultra Beast's demeanor.

"I told you!" Zossie shouted, "It doesn't wanna leave Erika's side!" she pointed out, "She's the one who helped support it and made friends!" she mentioned on, "All we did was use it for research and other silly stuff…" she added, "Why do you think Erika got it to evolve over everyone else?" she inquired of Phyco, who blinked in surprise underneath his visor before looking down in deep thought.

"Naganadel…" Erika uttered, seeing the Poison Pin Pokémon float behind her protectively.

"I'm sure there's a way we could provide you all information on Naganadel, even as it stays with Erika," Anabel suggested.

"Exactly, zzt!" a familiar voice buzzed, belonging to Rotom as it floated over.

"Rotodex!" Erika exclaimed happily upon seeing the Pokédex.

"I've already gone ahead and recorded info on Naganadel, zzt," it confirmed to Phyco, pulling up the Poison Pin Pokémon's image upon its screen, "Naganadel, the Poison Pin Pokémon," it began, "One kind of Ultra Beast, it fires a glowing, venomous liquid from its needles. This liquid is also immensely adhesive," it explained thoroughly, "And I can send you all the information around the other Ultra Beastzzz, too," it mentioned.

"That sounds super reasonable!" Zossie affirmed, "Don't you think, Phyco?" she inquired of her superior, who hummed in thought with crossed arms.

"You've had that Poipole with you since you were little…" he pointed out, "Are you sure you want to give it to this girl to keep?" he questioned of his orange-haired colleague.

"Of course!" she answered, "Because I trust Erika to take good care of it," she mentioned happily.

"Zossie…" the Ketchum girl uttered.

"Huh…" Phyco exhaled, "Very well then…" he said, "Provide us with as much information on Naganadel as you can on a regular basis, and it can stay with Erika," he requested. The former trial-goer and the Ultra Beast beamed upon hearing the news. The latter nuzzled happily against its trainer, making her giggle. Anabel smiled, as did Starbright, Primarina, and Rotom.

"Take care, Naganadel!" Zossie insisted, departing from the room with a wave as Phyco followed her, "You watch out for it, Erika!" she advised on.

"I will!" the Ketchum girl promised, followed by blinking in surprise as she thought she had seen the tiniest of smiles cross the face of the Ultra Recon Squad leader. They left the room.

"Well then…" Anabel began, "shall we go see the others?" she offered to Erika.

"Yeah!" she responded with a nod. Outside the mansion at the end of the artificial island, Calvin, Hau, Paige, Trent and Pyrrha were standing at the railing, letting the salty sea breeze wash over them as they were enjoying their time of reprieve after stopping Guzzlord.

"So Gladion's been put in charge of the place, huh?" the dark green-haired boy of the group noted aloud.

"Well, Wicke's helping him out," the Ketchum boy mentioned, "And Mister Faba got demoted to being an intern…" he added, sharing a chuckle with Hau.

"In the meantime, it sounds like Poni Island took a big brunt of damage from all the chaos those Ultra Beasts caused," Paige told her friends.

"They might've not hurt many people, but they definitely caused a lot of trouble for the environment and the Pokémon there…" Pyrrha mentioned, "Do you think we should go back and help out with the recovery?" she suggested of her colleagues.

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Hau immediately responded with excitement in his eyes.

"I'd be in," Trent affirmed, giving off a small grin.

"Same," Paige agreed.

"Of course," Calvin said, "After all, we're the ones who helped fight the Ultra Beasts off," he pointed out, "We gotta do our part to help the people and Pokémon that supported us," he mentioned on.

"Exactly!" a familiar voice agreed, getting his attention as he glanced back to see his twin sister coming over, waving to her fellow former trial-goers.

"Erika!" Pyrrha exclaimed, running out and leaping into her friend's arms, sharing a laugh with her.

"Looks like we're all onboard for what's up next," Paige concluded.

"Yeah," Calvin agreed with a nod, "And we'll all do our best," he vowed firmly. The group looked out to the horizon, ready to face any new challenges that were possible to come their way.

ENDING

Insert "Only Wanna Be With You" by Post Malone

Opens with Calvin and Erika traveling together along the dirt roads alongside their Pokémon. They arrive at a beach, setting up a space with their friends and family to have fun. Primarina, Araquanid and Poliwrath jump into the water, swimming about.

Erika wanders around the sand before coming across a Pyukumuku, curiously picking it up as Pyrrha and Trent approach. She squeezes the Sea Cucumber Pokémon, only for his organs to be spat out at her in the form of a fist, striking her in the face to everyone's shock. She winces, but decides to laugh it off.

Marowak trains with his enflamed bone, with Mimi mimicking him from behind. Incineroar, Tsareena and Gumshoos are playing with a beach ball. At one point, they accidentally knock it away, causing it to land onto the spikes of Sandslash, popping to their dismay. He blinks in confusion, unaware of what happened.

Calvin runs along the beach, being joined by a soaring Toucannon and a spinning Togedemaru. They come across an Alolan Exeggutor, who wags his head back and forth. Togedemaru accidently pricks his tail with his needle, angering him as he stomps after the trio, forcing them to run. Paige and Hau watch on, laughing heartily.

Lycanroc and Magmortar bask in the sunlight together. Lurantis tries to do the same, but is constantly getting a shade cast over her thanks to Drifblim. Even as she tries to get away, he still follows her, giggling all the while. Meanwhile, Starbright and Jangmo-o gather seashells along the shoreline, with the Scaly Pokémon hopping up and down like an excited puppy upon finding more.

Erika later builds a sandcastle with Palossand's likeness. He takes a look, getting so surprised that he accidentally knocks it over. His trainer sighs with a smile, patting him on his head. Calvin grabs himself a bottle of soda from a water cooler, only to find that the caps from each one of them are gone. He glances over and cracks a small smile at the Meltan attempting to get away, having ingested the bottle caps into its body. Tsareena picks it up in her hands, nuzzling against it affectionately.

Primarina and Erika splash water onto each other, giggling all the while. All of a sudden, blobs of blue paint splatter onto their faces as they blink in surprise. Erika sighs and smiles to see the Poipole floating about, spinning happily at its handiwork.

The song winds down, with the Ketchum twins watching the sun setting in the distance alongside their Pokémon. They look to each other and smile, happy that they went on the journey together.

END ENDING

And that ends what I'll call a short but important chapter! I got everything squared away that I wanted to, with Erika getting to keep her newly evolved Naganadel to the group defeating Guzzlord. And now, there's just two chapters left. I'll be going back to "Omni Force: ORIGINS" for the next few updates, so here's the summary for the penultimate chapter to hold you over!

SUMMARY

As the former trial-goers help out on Poni Island in the wake of the Ultra Beasts' mayhem, Galar Champion Master Leon Vesteria arrives, along with Sonia Magnolia! They've come to research an energy source located at the large tree at the northeast part of the island, being joined by Calvin and Erika! And then, Leon challenges Calvin to a battle?!

END SUMMARY

See you all later!