"So, in conclusion, we will have Sun lure Necrozma into an ambush, where Sun will then battle it, using Marshadow, and split Necrozma from Solgaleo before capturing it using his Master Ball," Colress said. "Any questions?"

Colress looked around at us, earning no reaction from anybody. "Brilliant. We'll reconvene in a few hours. Prepare."

Kukui and Burnet immediately stood, walking towards Hala's house, Colress and Burnet starting to chat about ultra beasts. Hau hopped up onto his feet, brushing himself off. "Anybody up for some malasadas? Gotta keep our energy up for the big battle, right?" he said with a grin.

Gladion scoffed, "Is that all you think about? We have other priorites."

"Hey, battling on a full stomach can only help you," Hau shot back. He looked over to Lillie and I. "How bout you two?"

"I'll pass," I said. Lillie simply shook her head. I felt her take my hand, interlacing our fingers.

"Suit yourselves," Hau said, walking past us, his hands folded behind his head.

Gladion looked over at me, raising his eyebrow and nodding his head toward Lillie. I nodded in return.

"On second thought, I think I'll join you for a malasada," Gladion called back to Hau, standing up.

"Whatever happened to your 'other priorities'?"

"Shut it," Gladion replied. He walked past us, joining up with Hau.

Lillie leaned her forehead against my shoulder, closing her eyes. "I don't like this plan."

"I don't really either, to be honest with you. But if it means we can wake up to the sun tomorrow, I think it's worth a shot."

"I just..." Lillie chuckled dryly. "Sorry, I'm being overbearing. You're the champion, after all. Dangerous situations are kind of in the job description."

"You're worrying about me risking my life. How is that overbearing?" I asked. "Listen. I only agreed to this because I saw no other option. And besides..." I brought her hand up, kissing the back of it. "I'll have you there to protect me this time, won't I?"

"Yeah... yeah," Lillie said.

"You wanna go get those malasadas with Hau and Gladion?"

"Oh, actually there was something I wanted to talk with you about. Actually, I've wanted to talk with you about it for like a week now, but I kinda got distracted by, well, y'know," she said, waving to the darkness around us.

I laughed quietly. "Yeah, most things tend to jump to the back of your mind when your region is facing an apocalyptic event."

Lillie smiled slightly. "Anyways... I've been looking around at houses a little, just out of boredom, and I found this nice place in Konikoni City. And I was wondering if... you'd like to move in together? We'd easily be able to afford it, what with you being the Champion and me being the daughter of the president of an international corporation."

I blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds fantastic. I'll talk to my mom when this is all over."

Lillie grinned, letting go of my hand and bringing hers up to brush some of my hair behind my ear. "I love you, Sunshine."

"You just gonna start calling me that all the time, now?" I said, chuckling and wrapping my arm around her waste.

"Yes. And you can't stop me," Lillie said with a mischievous snicker.

I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "I know. I guess I'll have to come up with something else for you. 'Sleeping Beauty' doesn't really work in most situations."

We kissed again, her hand moving from my hair to cup my cheek. We seperated, smiling warmly at each other. "Want to go join Hau and Gladion?" Lillie asked.

"Yeah. Let's do that."

The two of us stood, starting our walk in the direction Hau and Gladion had gone.

"'Lil'? Nah. 'Lilypad'? That felt horrible coming off my tongue. Not going with that..."

Lillie giggled. "You're really dedicated to this, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. Now let's see... Flower?"

Lillie hummed. "That seems a bit generic, doesn't it?"

"Listen, pet names just aren't really a thing in Kanto. My mom and dad would just... call each other by their names, you know? So I'm not exactly good at making up nicknames."

Lillie brought our hands up and kissed mine, like I had done minutes ago. "I'm sure you'll come up with something."

*****

I took a deep breath as I slipped Marshadow's Pokéball back into my bag. I stood in a clearing in Vast Poni Canyon, Marshadow to my left. Lillie, Hau, Gladion, and Kukui stood in different positions around me, with Colress standing directly next to the professor, fiddling with the separation device.

I looked down at Marshadow, who was curiously looking around the canyon. "You ready, buddy?" I asked, closing my hand and raising it. Marshadow seemed confused at first, before hesitantly fist-bumping me. I smilled, reaching up and cracking my knuckles.

"Everyone else ready?" I asked, looking around. Hau gave me a determined smile and a thumbs up, Gladion a simple nod, Kukui tossed his Pokéball up and caught it, and Lillie took a deep breath, pulling out her Pokéball.

I looked down at my z ring, and the various crystals adorning it. "So, you think I should be able to lure Necrozma out by just, letting out Z-energy?"

"If you disperse a bit of your Z-energy around you instead of focusing it into a Pokémon, it may be enough for Necrozma to take notice. Assuming you're capable of doing such a thing, that is," Colress explained.

I shrugged. "Well, here goes nothing." I raised my left hand into the air, closing my eyes and forming a fist. I felt the Z-energy flow through me, and tried to clear my mind. The feeling was strange, not focusing the energy into one of my Pokémon. It felt almost like I was connecting to nature itself, to the world around me. It was peaceful, in a way. I felt my muscles relax, my heart rate slow, my breathing steady. I felt the wind flow through my hair, caught the scent of the grass below me, heard the skittering of a few curious Pokémon around us.

And I was immediately pulled out of it by a metallic roar echoing through the sky.