The battle with Tapu Bulu was shaping up to be a devastating war of attrition, with both sides freely healing yet unable to deal critical damage. Tapu Bulu relied on Grassy Terrain and Leech Seed to heal itself rapidly while protecting itself with its Mastery of energy to dampen incoming attacks. Meanwhile, Alex's Pokémon could easily swap out mid-battle and rest. In addition, they could receive healing from the back line, so they weren't in any immediate danger of being overwhelmed.
One major difference between the two sides, however, was that Raticate and Grim's teams were only just beginning to contain Tapu Bulu, finally locking it down within a consistent range.
Whirlwind!
Air pressure exploded outward from Tapu Bulu as a tornado appeared and pushed Grim's team away, breaking their containment above the water. Before Tapu Bulu could charge away, Raticate and Arcanine swooped in with Quick Attack and Extreme Speed, immediately cutting off its escape. Moves were exchanged until Grim's team moved in again and resumed their battle with the rampaging Legendary Pokémon, while Raticate's team backed off to a safe distance outside Whirlwind's range and watched the battle continue, ready to jump in again if Tapu Bulu attempted to escape.
Like this, Tapu Bulu was gradually confined to a smaller area of operation until it was finally locked down. This gave Gardevoir the opportunity to bring down the hammer as the defensive team advanced and began bombarding it with irritating status conditions. The most prominent of these was Heal Block from Chandelure.
One after another, status conditions, attribute reductions, and other annoyances bombarded Tapu Bulu. Heal Block, Imprison, Torment, Taunt, Confuse Ray, Will-O-Wisp, and all manner of other moves were used to steadily yet surely drag it down from its peak strength to barely Master rank.
It was forced into using only certain moves while being inundated with more and more problems. It couldn't even concentrate enough to keep its energy close to its body and dampen incoming attacks.
From there, its combat ability fell off a cliff as it slowly succumbed to inevitable defeat. Even so, it fought well enough to last for several hours, far longer than the battle with Ultra Necrozma, who had mostly relied on spamming Prismatic Laser and Photon Geyser without even bothering to dodge.
Eventually, it was knocked out, left floating in the water without a care as it drifted away. Its fellow Tapu simply watched, content to leave the temperamental Pokémon out of the tense situation.
Alex, seeing the other three Tapu calm down and become content to simply watch, decided to relax. He brought out his portable home while having his Pokémon take shifts guarding Necrozma, preventing it from escaping or recovering enough strength to become a threat again. In addition, he had Rotom contact the Kahuna of each island with all the relevant information and remind them of their responsibility to fulfill their promise, as Kahuna Hapu had told him.
Interestingly, when it came time for meals, the three Tapu approached and stared intently at the seasoned Master ranked meat roasting over an open flame. Alex's Pokémon moved to defend, not against an attack, but to protect their precious rations that were clearly limited in this world.
"Did you want some?" Alex asked with a teasing smile.
Tapu Fini didn't hesitate to nod and approach listlessly like an adorable child. Tapu Lele sighed at its comrade's lack of threat awareness but approached all the same, unable to resist the temptation. Tapu Koko remained wary, keeping its distance, although it no longer watched Alex with suspicion. It was too distracted by the delicious meat slowly roasting over the fire.
Alex laughed but still shared the precious meat with them. He didn't think he'd be staying in this dimension for much longer once this whole ordeal was taken care of, so there was little reason to hoard his supplies. He even went out of his way to secretly pass a plate to Tapu Koko, who eventually had no choice but to surrender to the temptation. It was simply that delicious. As for Tapu Bulu, it was never seen again, at least as far as Alex was concerned.
This continued for the next four days until the Kahuna of each island eventually arrived. There was Kahuna Hala of Melemele Island, a Fighting type specialist accompanied by Crabrawler. Kahuna Olivia of Akala Island, a Rock type specialist accompanied by a Lycanroc in its Midnight Form. Kahuna Nanu of Ula'ula Island, a Dark type specialist accompanied by an Alolan Persian. And finally, Kahuna Hapu of Poni Island, a Ground type specialist accompanied by Mudsdale. All of them were far younger than Alex remembered from his own Pokémon world.
"Alex!? Y-you really managed to do it! In less than a month, no less!" Kahuna Hapu exclaimed in shock.
"I was just lucky," Alex said with a shrug. "If I weren't, I would've simply left Alola to face its own fate and continued on my journey."
"But you did, and because of it, Alola has been blessed. You are truly Alola's luck, Alex. On behalf of our region, I thank you," Hapu said with a deep bow.
The other Kahunas followed her lead, bowing as well in heartfelt gratitude. Then, their attention shifted toward the subdued Ultra Necrozma lying on the ground, heavily injured and surrounded by Alex's Pokémon as they kept a careful watch over it.
"I can't believe it... it's truly the Blinding One!" Kahuna Nanu said in awe.
"Gahaha! Truly, Alola's luck!" Kahuna Hala laughed.
"How can we ever thank the savior of our region?" Kahuna Olivia asked, getting straight to the point. "I doubt our gratitude alone is enough."
"You only need to fulfill your end of the deal," Alex replied. "Surrender all the Sparkling Stones and Z-Crystals you collected so Necrozma can finally find some peace."
"Yes. We must fulfill our word and accept our atonement," Kahuna Hala said solemnly.
One by one, the Kahunas handed over crates filled with Sparkling Stones and Z-Crystals they had collected from trainers, prominent families, and even the black market. Alex moved them in front of Necrozma before addressing the weakened Ultra Beast.
"This is my end of the bargain, as promised. It probably isn't enough to make you whole, but it should be enough to ease your pain... hopefully."
One crate at a time, Alex poured the contents onto Necrozma. The fragments scattered across its body, assembling like a jigsaw puzzle as they attached themselves to its crystalline form. Slowly, its ethereal light was replaced by solid matter as its body began to mend itself.
Oppressive heat and blinding light radiated outward as each piece returned to its rightful place. Then, as enough fragments settled, Necrozma shone with the brilliant light of evolution. Its form began to shift, slowly splitting into two distinct beings. One took the shape of a powerful lion, while the other retained the smaller, batlike draconic form of Ultra Necrozma.
When the radiance finally receded, Solgaleo and Necrozma emerged from the light.
Solgaleo immediately backed away warily from Necrozma, who had regained its former dignity but was still far too weak to resist. Alex's Pokémon quickly formed a defensive and containment formation in response. The attack team split into two groups, with one forming a frontline against Solgaleo and the other maintaining a containment formation around Necrozma.
Fortunately, nothing happened. Necrozma remained completely still, while Solgaleo gradually calmed as the Tapu approached and helped quell its anger.
The Kahunas could only stare in shock. They understood the situation, yet there was little they could do given the circumstances. The four of them were simply the weakest among everyone on the island, to the point that they lacked the confidence to challenge Alex even if they worked together. Perhaps if they fought alongside the Tapu, the outcome would be different.
Seeing that Necrozma remained unmoving, Alex took the remaining crates and continued dumping them onto it as promised. Slowly, more and more fragments attached themselves to its body, restoring its form piece by piece as it grew in size and power. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough. A substantial portion of its body remained incomplete, leaving it far from whole.
"How do you feel?" Alex asked once he finished.
Necrozma let out a low snarl, but the hostility quickly faded. In its place came a peaceful presence that radiated a warm, comforting light. From that alone, Alex could tell it was still incomplete, far from its original state. However, it was enough to free it from the constant torment of pain and the aggression that had consumed it.
'Thank you, human,' Necrozma said within Alex's mind, finally deeming him trustworthy enough to establish a telepathic link.
"Don't thank me too soon," Alex replied. "You're still my prisoner, and I intend for you to continue surrendering the light you took from the many worlds."
Necrozma pouted but reluctantly nodded. It couldn't defeat Alex when it was at full power, so it certainly couldn't do anything now that it was severely weakened.
'Will you continue to fulfill your promise? Will you make me whole?' Necrozma asked.
Alex winced, understanding that it would almost certainly be impossible. He couldn't waste time blindly wandering through the Ultra Dimension searching for fragments one piece at a time, especially when this world likely still contained pieces that hadn't been surrendered to the Kahunas.
Realistically, the only way Alex could fulfill his promise was by bringing Necrozma to other dimensions and gathering fragments that belonged to different versions of itself.
"I can't promise you that. I can only try," Alex replied with a serious expression.
Necrozma sighed but eventually nodded. Given the circumstances, it couldn't see any other path forward.
'Very well. I will continue to trust you, human.'
"The name's Alex. Since we're going to be working together, you'd better get used to it."