Seeing the four Tapus preparing to finish off his only ride to other worlds and more resources, Alex instantly released his Pokémon. Without a word or even a telepathic command, Gardevoir immediately organized them into a tight defensive formation around Ultra Necrozma, ensuring complete protection once the Protect rotations began.
Meanwhile, the Tapus' power continued to build, their combined energy swelling until it was capable of annihilating both their ultimate enemy and everyone standing in its defense in one go. Their hatred had seemingly overwhelmed all reason, leaving them intent on eradicating the source of their years of failure, no matter the cost.
Alex didn't like the situation one bit. It was one thing to target Necrozma, but including him as well was another matter entirely. He was the very person who had fixed their fucked-up situation, yet they were still willing to attack him simply because they were too intent on killing it. It was completely unreasonable.
"None of you want to talk?" Alex asked, his rage beginning to build at the blatant insult. "Fine. If you don't want to talk before starting this fight, then I won't show any mercy once it's over. I dare you to make the first move so I can feed your corpses to my Pokémon afterward."
It would throw his relationship with the Kahunas out the window and quite possibly lead to another battle, leaving his promise to Necrozma unfulfilled, but Alex didn't care at this point. He would simply have Necrozma steal Alola's light before escaping back into Ultra Space and freeing it. Then, he would head home with a clear conscience, leaving this dimension behind for good.
As for his confidence in fighting all four Tapu at once, he figured it would be extremely difficult but still manageable. In the worst-case scenario, he could always escape with Necrozma through an Ultra Wormhole.
'Human! We only want that thing!' Tapu Lele said through telepathy, forcibly breaking through Alex's psychic defenses to establish a link.
'You mean the thing under my control and forced to bring your light back?' Alex replied.
'We must prevent another disaster,' it insisted.
'Is this how you treat Alola's savior, or are you confident you always had the ability to capture it and bring this world's light back just like I did? Are you really so intent on disregarding my existence, or are you simply bored and in need of a beating?'
Tapu Lele paused, its buildup of energy faltering as reason began to return. It was true that Necrozma seemed to be under Alex's control, and he had indeed restored Alola's light. At the very least, he deserved their respect and gratitude, meaning his anger was justified.
It quickly attempted to reason with the other Tapu and managed to convince Tapu Fini to back down as well. Tapu Koko stopped gathering additional energy, though it remained wary enough to keep its battle-ready stance. Tapu Bulu, however, was the exception, refusing to back down or retreat as it continued building energy, ready to unleash an energy storm powerful enough to erase the entire island.
'We are willing to let it live, so long as it returns Solgaleo,' Tapu Lele insisted.
Alex looked down at Necrozma and finally realized the source of its power. He had assumed it reached this form by absorbing enough light from different worlds, but perhaps that wasn't the case. It had likely managed to defeat and absorb Solgaleo somewhere beyond anyone's notice, perhaps in the place where Lusamine had disappeared.
"Oy!" Alex said, kicking Necrozma to grab its attention. "Spit it out!"
Necrozma turned its eyes away, unwilling to entertain the thought. Not only would it revert back to its mere frame, but it would also begin to feel pain once it did so. At that point, it would rather be dead.
"I said spit it out!" Alex said sternly. "You're getting pieces of your body back soon enough, but these guys want their friend back, and they're willing to beat you up to get it."
Necrozma turned to Alex with an accusing gaze. It clearly felt betrayed that he still hadn't fulfilled his promise, despite the fact that it had cooperated. Now, it was expected to suffer pain for who knew how long. How could it possibly trust his words?
Alex understood Necrozma's reasoning. He needed to fulfill his end of the bargain, but his hands were tied at the moment. He had to wait for the Kahuna to arrive and receive the promised Sparkling Stones and Z-Crystals before Necrozma would even consider the idea of discarding the source of its power and, likely, its sanity.
"Alright, fine, you win," Alex surrendered.
Necrozma had fulfilled its end of the bargain, so it was only right that he fought to fulfill his own. If these idiotic Legendary Pokémon wanted a battle, then he would have to entertain them until the Kahuna arrived.
"I made a deal with Kahuna Hapu that Necrozma would receive pieces of its body in exchange for restoring Alola's light. It has fulfilled its end of the bargain, and it must be compensated before any further agreements can be made. Wait for Kahuna Hapu to arrive and honor her promise before I attempt to retrieve Solgaleo."
Tapu Bulu didn't like that one bit and began preparing to charge. The remaining Tapu, however, appeared to see reason and backed down. They were willing to at least grant Alex this much leeway, but that didn't mean they could control one of their own. Especially not Tapu Bulu, who was by far the most temperamental among them.
"Raticate, Grim, keep it entertained. Knock it out if you can, but don't strain yourselves," Alex commanded. "The rest of you, focus on protecting the island from collateral damage."
Raticate, Arcanine, Ceruledge, Grim, Knight, and Hydreigon immediately bolted out of formation, taking positions around Tapu Bulu from both sides to surround it. They still maintained their three-Pokémon formations, however, ensuring they could protect each other once Tapu Bulu inevitably counterattacked.
The rest of Alex's Pokémon formed a defensive line against Tapu Bulu, ensuring it couldn't destroy the island with a single attack. They prepared their area-of-effect moves, ready to contain the collateral damage of the battle as much as possible.
The other Tapu remained on the sidelines, watching the battle unfold. This was a chance for Alex to prove himself to Alola's deities and determine whether he truly deserved to negotiate with them.
Tapu Bulu initiated the first attack, but rather than charging blindly as expected, it quickly retreated before unleashing a gale of Grass type energy. The attack was powerful enough to immediately cover the island in Grassy Terrain, amplifying its strength while simultaneously slowly destroying the island's perimeter.
The attack team split to the sides, intending to safely flank Tapu Bulu before beginning their assault, while the defense team unleashed their power. They created an extremely wide net of energy that easily erased Tapu Bulu's influence, completely overpowering its attack. In the end, Pokémon moves, even those one rank below, were still stronger than a Master's elemental control. While less flexible, they were more than enough to prevent a Master ranked opponent from running rampant.
Seeing its powerful charged attack deal only minimal damage, Tapu Bulu increased its efforts and began targeting those around it. It opened with Nature's Madness against Grim, instantly removing half of its health in a single strike that was too fast to dodge.
Grim staggered but still managed to close the distance, allowing Knight to follow up with a concentrated Dazzling Gleam. The attack dealt massive damage thanks to it being a Master ranked move. However, it still wasn't enough, as bright green energy surrounded Tapu Bulu, dampening the impact of the attack.
The rest of the Pokémon charged in as well. Raticate used Thunder Wave to paralyze it, Arcanine unleashed Heat Wave to deal massive damage that pierced through the Grass type energy barrier, and Ceruledge followed with Bitter Blade, achieving the same result. Hydreigon, meanwhile, slammed into Tapu Bulu with Dragon Rush, only to be surprised when it bounced away without dealing any meaningful damage.
"Hydreigon is as reckless as ever," Alex said with a sigh. "She only attacks the way she wants without much consideration. Unless she's given specific commands, her effectiveness is the lowest because she doesn't think things through."
Tapu Bulu, realizing this wouldn't be as easy a fight as it had expected, decided to adopt a more tactical approach. It used Whirlwind to create distance, forcing the encirclement to spread apart and buying itself time to unleash Leech Seed in every direction. The attack caught all of its immediate assailants, the random Pokémon in the sea, and even threatened to reach the defensive team. Fortunately, they managed to protect themselves with ranged attacks that destroyed the seeds before they could attach.
Almost instantly, Tapu Bulu recovered to full health as it drained energy from its victims, turning the battle into a long and grueling war of attrition. It also stopped charging recklessly, instead relying on evasive maneuvers to waste its opponents' energy while dealing guaranteed damage that slowly whittled away their health. Even while surrounded, it displayed remarkable battle prowess, significantly reducing Alex's Pokémon's overall efficiency.
Alex frowned. If the other Tapu possessed the same level of resilience and combat ability, he and his Pokémon would have a difficult time fighting on four fronts. They weren't in any immediate danger of losing, but the same could be said for the opposing side. The Tapu were powerful and difficult to deal with, unlike Ultra Necrozma, who had relied almost entirely on overwhelming power, simply tanking attacks without moving and never considering the option of healing itself.
At this point, Alex could only think it was fortunate he'd had to fight only one of them rather than all four at once.