Chapter 63: It's Almost Awake
"Looks like we drew them over."
Mammon watched the two incoming Pokémon and smiled, unsurprised.
Caitlin drifted over beside him, following his gaze to the two figures hovering above.
"Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu?"
Sure enough — Melemele's guardian and Ula'ula's guardian, both of them staring down at Lunala. They'd sensed its arrival the moment it manifested, and come to pay their respects.
Though, speaking of which —
Tapu Koko shot a sideways look at Tapu Fini. The altar sat on Poni Island. Tapu Fini was Poni's guardian. Lunala had appeared — and Tapu Fini hadn't breathed a word to either of them.
Koko was pleased about Lunala. It was not pleased about being left out.
Technically, the four guardians had no formal hierarchy among themselves. But in practice, as the strongest of the four, Tapu Koko had always been the de facto head of the group, and it knew it.
"Ma-shee?"
After a moment with Lillie, Lunala turned. Its body drifted upward, and its gaze settled on all four guardians at once — calm, authoritative, unhurried. A clear dismissal.
All four guardians dipped into small, instinctive bows. Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu began to withdraw.
But then —
Mammon and Caitlin both reached for their Poké Balls. Two flashes of light. Tapu Fini and Tapu Lele disappeared.
Tapu Koko's brain stopped working entirely.
???
Three enormous mental question marks hung over its head. Since when had Fini and Lele been caught? How did it not know about this?
Koko and Bulu stared at each other. The same stunned blankness reflected in both sets of eyes.
Lunala had told them to leave, and this clearly wasn't the moment to ask questions. But Tapu Koko had absolutely no intention of going far. It would wait nearby. The four of them were Island Guardians — had Fini and Lele really just abandoned their honor like that? It needed answers.
Mammon, unaware of any of this, was busy being quietly annoyed on his own behalf. Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu had just appeared together — a rare opportunity — and he couldn't exactly try to catch two Pokémon who'd come specifically to celebrate Lunala's awakening. Not with Lunala standing right there.
Unfortunate timing.
Still — Lunala had just evolved. The sheer volume of energy the altar had poured into it was staggering. Even fresh from the cocoon, it would be formidable.
"Ma-shee~"
Lunala watched Koko and Bulu recede into the distance, then turned and drifted back toward Mammon. Those amethyst eyes were as luminous as ever, even up close.
"Congratulations on the evolution," Mammon said with a smile.
Lunala. So that was this Pokémon's name.
Caitlin studied it from nearby, keeping her curiosity as subtle as she could manage. Whatever the name, whatever she'd expected — this Pokémon unsettled something deep in her psychic senses in a way nothing else had. Not Cynthia's Garchomp. Not any Legendary she'd read about.
Lunala was frightening. Genuinely frightening.
"Ma-shee~" A flicker of warmth moved through Lunala's eyes. It leaned in slightly toward Mammon.
It remembered him. The human who had always been gentle with it.
"You're enormous now and still this cuddly," Mammon said, his mouth curving. He reached up and stroked its face slowly. Lunala's eyes narrowed into the same crescent-moon curve Cosmoem had made when it tasted candy.
It had held on to everything from its Cosmog days — every memory, clear as starlight. Growing had made it more dignified, but it hadn't erased the softness underneath.
Good. Mammon preferred it that way.
He looked at Lunala — truly looked, for a moment — and felt the weight of what was in front of him settle in.
This was Lunala. The Moone Pokémon. Cover legendary of Pokémon Moon. One of the Pokémon that genuinely stood at the apex of this world.
"Want one?"
After a moment, Mammon produced a candy and held it up with a grin.
Lunala tilted its head slightly.
He unwrapped it and held it to Lunala's mouth. Lunala accepted it, and those jewel-bright eyes curved into crescents.
"So cute~" Caitlin's eyes lit up. The contrast between Lunala's breathtaking, regal exterior and that expression was almost too much. The gap moe was real.
The candy disappeared. Lunala eased back, lifting gently into the air.
"Nebby?"
Lillie came jogging over, tilting her head back to look up at it.
"Ma-shee~"
Lunala's gaze dropped to her, warm and unhurried.
"It says it wants to find its companion first," Mammon said, translating quietly. "Someone has been waiting for it."
That companion was Solgaleo, without a doubt.
"Nebby's… leaving…" Lillie pressed her lips together. She knew she should be happy for it. She was. But the hollow feeling crept in anyway.
I'll come back.
A voice — clear, melodious, unmistakably adult — sounded in all three of their heads at once.
"Telepathy." Caitlin blinked, then understood immediately.
"Nebby?" Lillie looked up at once, instinct already telling her the answer.
Lillie and Mammon are my companions too. Lunala's voice was gentle. Once I find it, I'll come back.
"I know!" Lillie kept her voice steady. She was not going to cry. "Nebby will always be my partner. Always."
"We'll see each other again," Mammon said, smiling up at it.
If you ever need me — play today's melody. I'll hear it.
The Sun Flute and the Moon Flute glimmered with soft blue light and floated down, settling back into Lillie and Caitlin's hands.
Goodbye, Lillie. Goodbye, Mammon.
Above Lunala, a white Ultra Wormhole opened. It swept upward and vanished inside.
The wormhole closed.
The night sky went still.
"There it goes…"
Lillie stood looking at the crescent moon, the storm-of-conflicting-emotions feeling she got sometimes washing through her quietly.
"Don't worry." Mammon glanced over at her. "Lunala said it itself — it's coming back."
He didn't mention the part where he was also a little disappointed. He had wanted to catch it. But Lunala's strength was plainly beyond him right now — even if it offered him a challenge match, his odds of actually winning were low. Better to leave things as they were: a genuinely warm relationship, and time on his side.
Besides —
His mind drifted to the message Giovanni had sent him. It was almost awake.
Once he'd wrapped things up here in Alola, he'd head back to Kanto. Even if it hadn't fully awakened yet, its current strength would be extraordinary. If he could convince it to join him—
He'd finally have a true ace.