Lunala let out a panicked cry. "Damian, help me!"
It could feel the wild, violent energy behind it getting closer.
Damn it! Solgaleo is slower than me! it thought. Why is it moving so fast after Necrozma merged with it?
"Dynamax Cannon!"
Red energy gathered and flashed. A huge red beam shot through the air and hit Dusk Mane Necrozma hard.
BOOM!
The energy exploded violently. Thick dust and smoke spread everywhere.
Inside the smoke and energy, Dusk Mane Necrozma flipped backward to lessen the force of the impact. It slid back a distance before steadying itself. The colored parts of its face flashed wildly. Its eyes locked onto the giant skeletal dragon that had suddenly appeared.
Lunala let out a shaky sigh.
Since Dusk Mane Necrozma had been pushed back, Lunala felt relieved. It immediately lowered its body and landed behind Damian.
"Damian! Thank goodness you were here."
Lunala sounded shaken but relieved as it sent this telepathic message. Just now, Dusk Mane Necrozma had almost caught up. It had been terrified.
"You're welcome."
Damian did not mind that Lunala was using him as a shield. For Lunala, Necrozma was too dangerous. It was just like how Reshiram feared Kyurem. For Solgaleo and Lunala, Necrozma was the one Pokémon they feared most.
Even without enough light, Necrozma could still chase and crush both of them at once. Part of this was due to the difference in strength, but Necrozma also countered them directly. If Necrozma caught them, it could force them to merge with it.
"Damian, please. I'm begging you to help me save Solgaleo. That thing is attached to Solgaleo's body and is draining his light!" Lunala looked at Dusk Mane Necrozma and pleaded with Damian.
It knew Necrozma very well. Now that Necrozma had merged with Solgaleo, it would keep stealing Solgaleo's light and energy. It was exactly like a vampire. Right now, Solgaleo had basically become Necrozma's fuel source.
"Don't worry. I will help you."
Damian narrowed his eyes slightly. He looked at the increasingly violent Dusk Mane Necrozma. This Dusk Mane Necrozma was incredibly strong.
Earlier, both Lunala's Moongeist Beam and Eternatus's Dynamax Cannon had hit it. However, Dusk Mane Necrozma looked like it was not hurt at all. Moongeist Beam was a Ghost-type move, so it was super-effective against Dusk Mane Necrozma. Even with the Prism Armor Ability reducing the damage, it should have still been effective.
Yet Dusk Mane Necrozma acted as if it felt nothing. Of course, the difference in strength was one reason. As for Eternatus's Dynamax Cannon, Dusk Mane Necrozma already resisted it. Even though Eternatus had plenty of energy and was very strong in its base form, that Dynamax Cannon had only pushed the enemy back with raw force. But looking completely unharmed was still hard to believe.
I guess it really deserves its title as one of the strongest Legendary Pokémon of the seventh generation, Damian thought. It is this powerful even before reaching its Ultra Necrozma form.
"Reshiram."
Damian threw Reshiram's Poké Ball. He pulled Lillie up, and they both climbed onto Reshiram's back.
"Damian?" Lillie asked.
"We can't fight here. Aether Paradise will be destroyed. We need to go somewhere else."
Damian signaled Reshiram to fly toward the sea. Since they had Lunala to draw Necrozma away, they didn't have to worry about Necrozma not following them. Reshiram flew into the distance, Lunala followed behind, and Eternatus stayed at the back.
Dusk Mane Necrozma certainly would not give up on Lunala, a perfect source of light. It roared and chased after them.
After flying for about ten minutes, they arrived above an empty, deserted island. Damian turned his head. He saw Dusk Mane Necrozma charging at them wildly while covered in golden light. This was Solgaleo's signature move, Sunsteel Strike, but Dusk Mane Necrozma could use it too.
"Dynamax Cannon!"
Eternatus growled. Red energy quickly gathered at its core.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Eternatus fired three huge beams of light one after another. Three Dynamax Cannons in a row.
After catching Eternatus, Damian had Dark Mewtwo take out the Dread Plate. He let Eternatus absorb as much energy as it wanted. So right now, Eternatus had plenty of energy.
The three Dynamax Cannons hit Sunsteel Strike hard. They used raw power to break the move apart. Dusk Mane Necrozma was pushed back once again.
Dusk Mane Necrozma roared.
After being pushed back a second time, Necrozma's energy became even more violent. It roared in anger at Eternatus. Why was this dragon stopping it? It had not even been targeting Eternatus.
Eternatus's eyes remained calm and still. It just watched Dusk Mane Necrozma quietly. Seeing that Eternatus did not respond, the angry Dusk Mane Necrozma charged again, even more aggressively.
Eternatus immediately fired another Dynamax Cannon. However, this time, Dusk Mane Necrozma twisted its body to dodge. Then it opened its large mouth. A thick golden beam of light shot out.
It was the Psychic-type move, Photon Geyser. This was one of Necrozma's signature moves.
CRASH!
Photon Geyser hit Eternatus directly and exploded. Eternatus let out a cry of pain. In the next moment, Dusk Mane Necrozma slammed into Eternatus's neck. The giant claws on its back lit up with sharp blue energy.
Psycho Cut!
Dusk Mane Necrozma's two giant claws slashed downward. Eternatus endured the pain and moved backward.
"Flamethrower."
Eternatus lowered its head. A blast of fire swallowed Dusk Mane Necrozma. Flamethrower hit cleanly. As a Steel-type, Dusk Mane Necrozma should have taken heavy damage, but its Prism Armor Ability reduced the damage from its weakness.
Dusk Mane Necrozma ignored the fire. It lunged at Eternatus again. It fought in a brutal way, completely willing to take damage just to hurt the enemy. It was fighting like it had lost all sense of pain.
"It seems it hasn't completely lost control, but there isn't much reason left," Damian said as he watched.
He could tell that Necrozma was not completely out of control. But honestly, it probably did not have much sanity left. After all, it had been sealed away since ancient times. It felt the anger of its light being stolen, the pain of lacking light, and the hatred of being trapped. That was why Dusk Mane Necrozma was like this now.
The battle between Dusk Mane Necrozma and Eternatus was intense. Dusk Mane Necrozma did not care about its own body at all. It traded blow for blow as if the one getting hurt was not itself. In a way, that was technically true.
Lunala watched Dusk Mane Necrozma with a pained look. Of course, it was feeling sorry for Solgaleo.
"Lunala, you know Necrozma, don't you?" Damian asked.
"...Yes. I was possessed by it before," Lunala replied in a low telepathic voice. Those were the memories it had awakened after evolving.
Damian understood. According to the ancient history of Alola, the "Pillager of Light," Necrozma, had indeed come to this world before. It had taken away Lunala and Solgaleo. That was why the names "Dusk Mane" and "Dawn Wings" existed for Necrozma's forms.
But where did Lunala and Solgaleo go after being taken? There was no way Necrozma would let them go before it finished absorbing all their light. Necrozma would not be that merciful. Damian guessed that maybe after their light was fully absorbed, Lunala and Solgaleo would turn back into Cosmogs. If that was the case, this regression was quite strange.
Anyway, it didn't matter.
Dusk Mane Necrozma roared again.
After being pushed back by Eternatus's Flamethrower once more, Dusk Mane Necrozma finally lost its patience. It roared at Eternatus. It was so frustrated that it could no longer hold back.
In the next moment, Dusk Mane Necrozma looked up. Light began to shine from its body. The sky, which had been bright and sunny, turned dark in seconds. It felt as if night had suddenly fallen. However, in that dark sky, there was not a single star.
"The sky went black?" Lillie sat in Damian's arms and looked at the lightless sky in shock. The sky was completely dark. What was happening?
"All the light was absorbed by this guy," Damian said, his eyes sharpening.
That was right. All the light had been absorbed by Dusk Mane Necrozma. And it wasn't just in this area. It was the light of the entire Alola region.
On Melemele Island, a girl in a straw hat was resting on the grass. She was drinking coconut juice through a straw. Suddenly, darkness fell. Moon looked up in confusion.
"A solar eclipse? No, that's not right. Can an eclipse happen that fast?"
Moon didn't quite understand what was going on. Although a sudden loss of sunlight was usually a total solar eclipse, the light had vanished too quickly. It had only taken about two seconds for the sky to go completely dark. But if it wasn't a solar eclipse, what could it be?
Moon thought about it for a second. She couldn't figure it out, so she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She went back to lazily sipping her coconut juice.
"Koko, turn on a light."
Tapu Koko's body flashed with golden electricity, lighting up the area around them. However, Tapu Koko was not as relaxed as Moon. The sudden darkness reminded it of what had happened in ancient times.
It couldn't... be, right?
In the sky above the nameless island.
Dusk Mane Necrozma roared in joy.
The light filling its body made it feel amazing. Furthermore, the light was changing.
Dusk Mane Necrozma's entire body blazed with golden light. Within the flashing gold light, its body shape began to change rapidly.
"It's coming!"
Damian smiled. His eyes also became a little excited. This was exactly what he was waiting for.
The golden light was blinding. The world that had been dark was now lit up by this golden light. Inside it, Necrozma's form kept changing. Its head, wings, body, and legs all began to take a vague shape.
Then a shock wave shook the air.
Lillie and Lunala watched in shock as a dragon-shaped Pokémon covered in golden light spread its four wings wide.
Ultra Necrozma let out a piercing roar that echoed across the sky.
Ultra Necrozma had arrived!
'Its power surpasses every Legendary Pokémon that has ever appeared!'
This single line showed how powerful Ultra Necrozma was.
"This is exactly what I wanted to see!" Damian gave a big smile. He wanted to see just how far Ultra Necrozma's power could go!