ARC 1, CHAPTER 10

“Hello, Anonami. This is Project Moonlight’s wonderful leader here. I’m here to tell you all that this world is now ours. All of you feeble creatures will now answer to us, your queens, or you will suffer the consequences. As for this world, well, we’ll do whatever we want to it… and for starters, I think it would be fun to shake this place up a bit! Bye bye for now… if you survive!”

Laughter could be heard throughout the entire region.

---

From here, the Dreamsavers could see the city. And it didn’t look pretty. Dark clouds were clustered near the center, and some strange particles were floating about, more prominent near the center. There was no doubt that that’s where the chaos was taking place.

As they watched, there was only one thing that they were thinking, but also one thing that they didn’t have an answer to.

“W-What do we do now?” Zari asked.

“I… don’t know,” Larei responded. “I-If you ask me… this seems out of our league.”

“I think you’re right,” Stella sighed. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do now…”

A somber silence followed. It didn’t last though, as it was soon broken by a change in tone.

“N-No,” Zari said, turning to her team. “Th-this can’t be the end. You guys are the nicest people I’ve ever met, a-and despite all the trouble… It’s been the best days of my life. I… I can’t let that end so soon!” Zari paused to let that sink in, then turned back towards the city. “There’s got to be something we can do.”

Thoughtful silence followed. There had to be a way to fix this. The question was what? From here, they had no way of knowing what was going on. So for the first step, there was only one thing to do.

“We gotta get closer,” Larei said, pointing. “That is where they are, no doubt.”

“But how?” Stella cautiously asked. “We can’t just walk in casually, someone will see us.”

“I-I have an idea.” The Dreamsavers turned. Their other companions were standing by idly, and it was Ellie who spoke up. “Maybe we can hide ourselves.”

“Hide ourselves?” Larei tilted his head. “But how?”

“What if we used a snow storm?”

Baffled silence followed Ellie’s bizarre idea. However, after a moment of thinking, Lofty caught on to her proposal.

“Oh yeah! Ice type Vulpix have Snow Cloak! They can hide in snowstorms!”

“And if you ask me,” Resmo followed up. “The particles in there do resemble snow, so it wouldn’t be too suspicious.”

“B-But wait,” Stella interjected. “Won’t that only work on me though?”

“A-And how are we going to make a snowstorm?” Zari added

Ellie hesitated, trying to come up with an answer. “W-Well… I-I heard that if you uh… stand close enough to your teammates… you can spread the effect to them!”

“Really?” Stella asked. Ellie just nodded. She wasn’t telling the truth, but she wasn’t exactly lying about her plan either.

“O-Oh… and uh… don’t worry about the hail part. I-I can handle that!” That part wasn’t a lie, though the way she worded it was misleading. Could Eevee learn the move Hail? No one quite knew, but they didn’t have time to question it. Ellie helped them thus far, they had no reason to not trust her.

Stella looked to her team. “Do you really think we can do it?”

“After everything I’ve seen… I believe it,” Larei said.

“We’ve come so far… we can’t give up now,” Zari followed, smiling all the while.

Stella paused for a moment in thought. She was right. There was a chance they could still stop this. They could still help everyone. And the only thing really stopping them was, well, themselves. “A-Alright,” Stella nodded after a moment. “Let’s do this.”

---

“I think that building over there could use a redesign. What do you think?”

“Hmm… Yup! It looks boring as hell.”

“Agreed. Oh! And that one I think I’ll move over there.”

“Mmm… actually I think it would look nicer over there.”

“Oh! Good thinking!”

“Of course! But what about that one?”

“Eh, let’s just get rid of that sucker.”

“You read my mind!”

Phobia and Jazzy were currently plotting out a redesign of the city. Or at least that’s what they called it. In reality, they were just destroying it further. They didn’t care either way. They blissfully did as they pleased, enjoying their reign. For now, anyway.

“Hoo… is it just me, or did it get chillier suddenly?” Phobia wrapped her feelers around herself as an expression of the sudden drop in temperature.

“Hmm,” Jazzy looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Unless you count the white and pink particles that floated about like summertime cotton spores, but for Jazzy, that was normal at this point. “Maybe a cold front is coming in.”

“Hoof… I sure hope so. I’d hate to get haunted by a Gengar or something!”

“Oh please,” Jazzy waved off Phobia’s comment. “We would notice by now if there was anyone nearby. And if anyone dares to mess with us, we obliterate them on the spot!”

Phobia forced a smile. “Y-You’re right!” The cold Sylveon giggled a bit. “Silly me! No one will even touch us!”

As if on cue, Phobia suddenly got hit with a Psybeam out of nowhere. She staggered from the hit, which took Jazzy by surprise too.

“I got her!” Zari shouted, and Jazzy saw the young rescue team standing there for the first time.

“You again? H-How did you… Where did you…” Jazzy stammered and stuttered, unable to process what had even happened.

“This has gone on long enough,” Stella said, ignoring her flabbergasted comments. “Whatever you’re doing… we’re putting an end to it!” Stella had never felt so confident in her life. She had to believe they could do it.

The Jigglypuff stifled a chuckle after her shock wore off. “Oh really? You think you can stop us after all we’ve already done? You’re nothing compared to us!”

“Th-That’s just what you think,” Larei said. “But I guarantee we have more to show than that.”

“Huh… wha?” Phobia uttered quietly. She appeared to be in a daze, and was teetering back and forth, struggling to keep balance. That Psybeam must have confused her; it was clear that she couldn’t think straight.

Jazzy took notice of this and turned her attention to her. “Phobia,” she called, to no avail. “PHOBIA!” Again, she didn’t respond. “God damnit, snap out of it!” Jazzy suddenly Double Slapped Phobia several times. It injured her more, but the attack made her come to.

“Huh?! What?” she exclaimed, now a different kind of confused.

“Check it out,” Jazzy said to her, completely ignoring the rather harsh method of snapping her back she performed. “The little sponges think they can stop us.”

“Oho, do they?” Phobia responded in the same condescending tone. “Ooh, hey boss. Whaddya say we have some fun with them before we kill them?”

“Hmm… haven’t had a good fight in a while. That sounds fun!~” Jazzy answered with a smirk. The Dreamsavers became unnerved, but they didn’t back down one bit. They couldn’t stop now!

Phobia was the first one to make a move, raising her ribbons up in the shape of a circle. She was clearly charging up a Moonblast. “Let’s play, darlings!~” She immediately fired the bright shot, but, unexpectedly, The shot swerved at a strange angle towards them. Zari and Larei were forced to jump away from Stella to dodge it. Stella attempted to rejoin her friends, but she suddenly heard a voice behind her.

“Not so fast!” Before she could react, Stella got grabbed from behind, immediately sending her into a panic. She then got sent into the air, then slammed into the ground in just a split second. Stella was stunned from the Seismic Toss she endured, just for a moment.

“You’re dealing with me now, oh ‘great’ leader!” Jazzy said to her, evidently the source of the attack. Stella slowly stood back up. Looks like she has no choice…

“I’m gonna have my fun,” Jazzy said, mockingly. Jazzy then disappeared in a flash of pink light. Stella blinked. So that’s how she got behind her so fast. She was using Teleport.

“What are you pipsqueaks going to do to me, hm?” The Sylveon clearly didn’t mind taking on two pokemon at once. In fact, she was trained just for this thing. Pinkish rocks floated around her. “Get a taste of this!” Phobia used Psyshock and fired the rocks in sporadic directions. Zari squeaked in surprise as the shots whizzed by her. How was she supposed to handle this?

Larei, however, was able to keep calm. He recognized that they were outclassed, but there were some advantages they had. For one, he noticed that the nymph was moving a bit slowly. Phobia was still a bit cold from the snowstorm earlier, she just decided to ignore it. He also remembered that she was already injured. Hopefully one good hit would do her in. He just needed to find an opening.

Phobia giggled. “Didja like my starting move?” she mocked. “Well, there’s more where that came from!” Zari could already see her charging another Moonblast. She had to think of something, fast.

Larei decided it was time to make a move. He quickly summoned two Water Shurikens, and threw them both at the same time. This didn’t go undetected, though, Phobia responded by firing her Moonblast towards him. It went straight through the sharp projectiles, shattering them instantly. But that gave Zari an idea.

Zari quickly used her hair braids to thrust herself forward. She knew she couldn’t reflect a shot of pure light, but maybe… Once she got close, she used Dazzling Gleam, and engulfed herself in a bright pink light. And just as planned, the Moonblast got absorbed by the light as soon as it made contact. Zari sighed after using the move, relieved that her idea worked.

“Ooho, aren’t you crafty!” Phobia said, amused by the bizarre display. “Ah, but I’m getting bored of this. I think I’ll go ahead and just kill you now!” Before Zari and Larei could react to that statement, Phobia made her next move. She made another circle with her feelers, but this time positioned in front of her face. A bright, yellow energy started building up there. Zari’s eyes widened.

“LOOK OUT!” she screamed, and immediately afterwards, an explosive Hyper Beam blasted out from the Sylveon. Zari jumped to the side in an attempt to dodge the destructive attack, but Phobia followed her aim with her movement. Larei was equally as frightened as Zari was, but there was no time to dwell on that. This was his chance.

Zari tried her best to avoid the Hyper Beam being aimed at her, but Phobia was persistent. After all, she knew she had to make this shot count, she wouldn’t let it miss! Zari tripped as she fumbled to dodge, and now sat helplessly as Phobia found an easy target.

At that moment, Larei ran in and struck Phobia with a Quick Attack. She got thrown off balance, and as a result, she stopped firing the Hyper Beam, just before blasting Zari with it. Phobia stumbled backwards, looking exhausted after firing that powerful attack. She refused to let this amphibian get the best of her though! Straining herself with every bit of her strength, Phobia immediately retaliated by shooting off another Psyshock at Larei. Larei flinched, bracing for impact.

But the attack left him unscathed. It took a moment for Larei to realize that he wasn’t actually hurt by the attack. What happened? Why didn’t the Psyshock- Oh. That’s when he realized it; he was a Dark type now. Psychic powers had no effect on him. He silently sighed from that stroke of luck.

Phobia gasped. It seemed she had forgotten about that as well. She had no time, and frankly no energy, to respond beyond that though. Immediately, Zari ran up and swatted Phobia with a Brutal Swing from her braid. Phobia got sent into the air, and Larei immediately followed up by throwing two more Water Shurikens at her in mid-air. Both struck their target, and Phobia plummeted to the ground. She was down and out.

Zari and Larei both panted from their fight. They didn’t break for long, though, as they both knew the fight wasn’t over yet.

They turned towards Stella, who wasn’t doing too well. Jazzy was up in her face, smacking her multiple times every time she got close. Stella couldn’t react fast enough to hit her back before she Teleported away. It wasn’t long before Stella started getting tired, and Jazzy saw that opportunity to finish it. She distanced herself from her and raised her hand. From her stubby palm, she fired out a massive Thunderbolt at the white fox.

Zari was already making her way to her, and she had an idea. She jumped in front of Stella, and then used Brutal Swing, spinning around with her braids flailing around her. When the Thunderbolt struck, the electricity bent and circulated around her. Once she was certain she had taken the whole attack, she quickly slammed her braids down, grounding the electricity.

“What?” Jazzy snapped, but in her shock, she then got hit with three Water Shurikens. She rolled backwards a few feet before standing back up to see the three Dreamsavers–back together again.

“It’s over, Jazzy,” Stella said with a determined stare. “It’s 3 to 1 now.”

Jazzy looked at them, but then she just smirked. “Oh. I think you mean… 3 to a billion.”

Jazzy clapped her hands. Above the team came a bright light. In a matter of seconds, a big, llama-like creature manifested before them. The team stared in horror at the deity before them.

“I’m done messing with you now,” Jazzy said to them. “You fuckers messed with the WRONG puff! I’ve got the GOD of pokémon under my control. What’re you going to do now, you little runts?!” Jazzy laughed cruelly at them as Arceus stared them down.

Scared couldn’t even begin to describe how the team was feeling. They had no chance of defeating one of the most powerful pokémon in existence. And with it on Jazzy’s side, how could they-

Wait… Zari thought about it. Jazzy was in control of him. They didn’t need to defeat him. They just needed to… That’s it!

“I-I have an idea!” Zari shouted, just as multiple attacks started charging from the llama. “Stella, Larei. I-I need you to weaken it.”

“W-What are you doing?” Larei curiously asked.

“I-I know what to do. But I need an opening!”

Stella looked at her friend with concern. “Zari, we can’t leave you-”

“J-Just please… Please trust me.”

Stella and Larei looked at each other. Zari seemed so confident, and she had a plan. With no reason not to trust her, they nodded to her, and began their part of the plan.

“Hey! Over here!” Stella called, jumping to the side. She shot an Ice Beam at the llama to get its attention. Surprisingly it worked, Arceus turned to Stella, and then retorted by shooting many energy beams towards Stella. Stella yelped as she jumped away from the blasts.

While distracted, Larei capitalized on this opportunity. From the side, he threw multiple Water Shurikens at the deity. They bounced off him, but it did seem to hit him, as Arceus then turned to the frog. Stella shot another Ice Beam while the attention was off her.

“Damnit, what are you doing?!” Jazzy shouted, angrily. “Destroy them already!” Arceus mindlessly obeyed his master, and then hopped up and slammed into the ground. The ground shook violently; he used Earthquake. The team stumbled to try and keep their footing as fissures started forming in the ground. Stella looked down, and she got an idea.

Quickly she shot a long Ice Beam at the ground. The ice quickly filled the cracks in the ground forming around them. The ground stopped breaking, and the quaking stopped.

Larei didn’t let up for a moment. Immediately, he shot a Dark Pulse at Arceus, dealing more damage to him. Arceus was still unperturbed, however. He turned to Larei, then without warning, shot a Focus Blast at him. Larei was able to dodge the inaccurate move, but ended up next to Stella.

Those energy beams started charging up around him again. Zari knew she had to act now.

Zari closed her eyes and concentrated. First, she focused on herself. She focused her mind on her emotions; she could understand what she truly felt in that moment. She could do this.

She focused on Arceus himself. She concentrated hard, and soon, she tapped into his head. Immediately, she saw the problem. And she knew how to fix it. She just had to concentrate, and…

Stella and Larei stood their ground. They knew this attack wouldn’t be pretty, but they were prepared. Fortunately for them, he was never able to finish his attack. They saw his head glow pink, and immediately, the attack stopped charging, and Arceus lowered his head, seemingly in pain. Stella and Larei looked confused at this. They looked at Zari, and they noticed that her head was glowing the same pink color. She was doing something, and whatever it was was working.

Zari’s head was hurting, but she couldn’t stop. She knew what she was doing. She’s got it! Just a little more…

“HA!” Zari opened her eyes, the glow around her and Arceus seemingly bursting. Zari huffed, and then fell over from exhaustion. But instead of hitting the ground, she leaned on something. Zari looked over, and Stella was right beside her to catch her fall.

Upon the aura around him bursting, Arceus staggered as if he just took a harsh blow. He paused for a moment, then blinked a couple times. Arceus stood back up, then looked around.

“What the…” Arceus said, but then cut himself off as he remembered what happened before he got controlled. Slowly, but menacingly, he turned towards Jazzy with a cold glare. Having lost control of him, and now staring at the face of an angry god, Jazzy had only one thing to say.

“…Well shit.”

The Dreamsavers almost felt sorry for what happened to Jazzy next. Let’s just say, they found out what the move Judgment does. Afterwards, Arceus just looked around, then sighed in an annoyed tone. He raised a single appendage, and in moments, the clouds dispersed, and the air returned to normal. Arceus then glanced at the Dreamsavers for a moment.

“…I don’t get paid enough for this,” he said before immediately vanishing.

The Dreamsavers just stood there in shock for another moment.

“We… We did it?” Stella gasped in disbelief.

Silence for a moment. “Y-Yeah. W-We did it!” Zari responded, her voice radiating with joy. Then, they heard a sound. Clapping.

The team looked around, and they saw other people coming out. And they were all clapping and cheering. The Dreamsavers just beamed. They saw Lofty and Resmo too, who were also clapping for them. For the first time in days, they were being supported.

“We really did it,” Stella said. “We saved everyone.”

“Heroes of the region…” Larei followed up.

“And we couldn’t have done it without each other.” Zari smiled brightly as she looked at her teammates. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. We’re the best rescue team ever!”

“…You guys are the best friends ever.”

---

It was a quiet, peaceful night. Somehow, tonight seemed brighter than any other night. The region hadn’t seen peace like this for a long time.

On this particular night, Ellie and Luna were sitting near the edge of a cliff. They were watching the stars and enjoying the pleasant breeze. They were calm and happy.

“Well, you two seem quite happy.” Luna flinched at the sudden sound, but eased up when she realized who it was.

“Oh! Hi, Eon!” Ellie waved at her illusive friends.

“Well, you guys did it! Project Moonlight is done for!”

“That’s right. And I’m very proud of you both.”

“Yeah! You were amazing!”

“O-Oh, thanks,” Ellie responded to the praise, blushing a little. “But I really didn’t do a whole lot.”

“Sure you did! You were the driving force of this operation.”

“Without you, no one would’ve gotten anywhere. The world would still be in chaos.”

“That’s right. And I just want to say… thank you. Thank you for helping us… and helping them.”

Ellie smiled. “You’re welcome. I’m glad we could help.” Luna gleefully squeaked in agreement.

“Ellie… can I ask you something?”

“Hm?” Ellie tilted her head in curiosity.

“Would you like to join our team?”

Ellie blinked. “H-Huh? But why?”

“Why not? We’re keeping secrets amongst each other anyways. I think it just makes sense!”

“We could really use someone like you, Ellie.”

“You’re brave and smart. Even if you’re not a fighter, you’d still be a very important member to us.”

Ellie beamed at the group. She never thought she would be considered for a rescue team. And here was the best rescue team, asking for her help. Ellie couldn’t help but wag her tail.

“So… what do you say?”

“I… I’d love to join you!” Ellie practically jumped up in joy. Luna mewled in agreement as well. Everyone else smiled as well.

“Ooh! Since she’s part of the family now, can we tell her our real names now?”

“Oh, I suppose we should.”

“Hehe! I’m Winum!”

“Erm… Clover…”

“I’m Flarum!”

“My name’s Winter.”

“…Aurora.”

Eon fell silent. Ellie looked at him.

“Eon? What’s your name?”

“Well… I don’t actually have a name,”

Ellie looked shocked. “Really? Y-You don’t?”

“No… But that’s okay. You can just call me Eon.”

Ellie just smiled after a short pause. “Eon… Everyone… Thank you.”

Eon smiled back. “Welcome to the team… Star and Nebula.”

Ellie beamed at them, nearly crying tears of joy. And she couldn’t help but give Eon a big hug.