52
The stadium shifted from celebration to a tense, shadowed fortress. As the light dimmed, the air felt thin, like the oxygen was being sucked out along with the sunshine.
"Hold your fire!" I shouted, my voice amplified by the Stamina Band and Eli's psychic resonance. "Titans, defensive formation Omicron! Walls up, eyes open!"
Phase 1: The Alola Link
"Lens, I don't care about the encryption protocols—get me a priority wormhole-relay to Melemele Island! I need Professor Kukui or the Aether Foundation on screen NOW!"
The screen on the stadium jumbotron flickered through static before snapping into a high-definition feed of a man in a lab coat and a hat, looking exhausted.
"Jake? This is Faba of the Aether Foundation," he stammered, his eyes wide as he saw the crystalline prism on the Hoenn feed. "You have a Necrozma incident! Listen to me: Do not attack it with energy-based moves. It is a 'Light Eater.' It isn't malicious; it's starving. If you blast it with Hyper Beams, you're just feeding its core and making it more volatile."
Phase 2: The Defensive Wall
The creature, Necrozma, drifted lower. Its jagged limbs twitched, and the prisms on its body let out a low, mournful hum. It wasn't attacking; it was searching.
Eli (Gardevoir): She didn't use Dazzling Gleam. Instead, she and Raven (Absol) wove a massive, dim Reflect and Light Screen dome over the crowd. Not to block Necrozma, but to hide the stadium's light from its "hunger."
Kage & Genji: They stayed in the shadows of the pillars, ready to intercept if it lunged, but keeping their blades sheathed.
Jerry & Tammy: They were ushering the VIPs into the underground bunkers, using their speed to clear the "Stage" without causing a panic.
[Chat Log: THE LONG DARK]
GymBro_Chuck: It looks... hurt. Like it's made of broken glass.
IceCreamQueen_C: Faba says it's starving. Jake's right—if we fight it, we might accidentally blow up Ever Grande.
Master_Oak: The Obsidian Key... Jake, look at the Key! It's the only thing still glowing!
Phase 3: The Peace Offering
The Obsidian Key was vibrating against my hip, pulsing with a warm, steady glow that seemed to fascinate the beast. Necrozma's main "face" prism tilted toward me, the violet lights within it flickering.
"It wants the Key's energy," May whispered, her hand trembling as she held my arm. "Jake, if it takes the energy from the Key, will it leave, or will it become even stronger?"
"Faba!" I looked at the screen. "If I feed it a controlled burst of 'Vigor' through the Key, can we stabilize its form enough to send it back through the rift?"
"It's a gamble," Faba replied, his fingers flying across his keyboard. "But if you can synchronize that energy with a Z-Power frequency... you might be able to open a return gate."
I stepped forward, away from the protective line of the Titans. I held the Obsidian Key high. The crystalline god hissed, its shards shifting as it focused entirely on the small, glowing artifact in my hand.
"Easy, big guy," I muttered, my heart rate spiking. "We're not your enemies. We're just the caterers."