Over the span of ten years, the energy at the core had been greatly depleted. Not only was there not enough left to provide a certain Cosmoem with the power it needed to evolve, but the continued existence of the core itself had also become a major problem.
If someone else were to get their hands on this thing, it would only lead to a second disaster.
Lucas and Tapu Fini had no means to take the core away, and on top of that, they had to figure out a way to deal with the plethora of Xurkitree outside.
Give Lucas a bit more time, and maybe he could send all the Xurkitree back to Ultra Space.
But who could say how long that would take? As long as the core wasn't destroyed, under Viren's design, it would keep running and could no longer be turned off, continuing its function of opening Ultra Wormholes and summoning Xurkitree.
The system's notification had given the most definite, once-and-for-all solution:
While Viren is gathering all the Xurkitree on Poni Island, detonate the core at the critical moment. The resulting energy explosion would be enough to send all the Xurkitree back to Ultra Space at once.
The cost, however, was that Poni Island, already riddled with holes from Viren's exploitation and at constant risk of collapse, would be caught in the explosion and vanish completely from existence.
As an outsider, Lucas didn't think he had the right to decide the fate of Poni Island.
Although it might seem like he was forcing Tapu Fini into making a choice, Lucas realized that at this moment, only Tapu Fini herself could make such a decision.
The Xurkitree kept pouring in, pushing relentlessly into this underground space beneath the power plant.
Time was quickly running out for Tapu Fini to decide.
Granted, there might be a gentler, more moderate alternative.
After removing all the Xurkitree, one could purify the land and sea of Poni Island once again and restore its former beauty.
Yet, the issue wasn't just about whether Lucas, as an outsider from another world, could afford to spend that long helping.
Given that she now lacked the power of the ocean currents and the natural strength of Poni Island, she herself no longer had the ability to purify such widespread pollution—unless she once again came into contact with new nature and pristine seas to restore herself to her former state.
Her three companions had already left this place, no longer bound by their roles as guardian deities. They had chosen their paths, seeking out new lives.
So, what about her?
Tapu Fini remembered what Sofu had told her, and her eyes grew resolute.
Rather than clinging to unrealistic fantasies, she preferred to settle everything today and, together with Popplio, head toward a new future.
With Viren wearing a look of terror, Tapu Fini placed the small bomb Lucas had shown her before at the weakest and closest point to the core.
Destroying it would cause the core's energy to pour out, annihilating everything.
Then, she pressed the eye-catching red button.
As the electronic display came to life, a one-minute countdown began.
Seeing that Tapu Fini had made her decision, Lucas wasted no time.
Ignoring Viren's sobbing, he recalled Luxray and summoned Dragonite, who was still in its Tera State. He extended his hand toward Tapu Fini.
"Less than a minute—let's break out of here in a single burst before the explosion hits."
With another blast of Hyper Beam, a glowing corridor to the surface and sky appeared.
After a few breaths to recover, Dragonite loaded Lucas and Tapu Fini onto its back, flapping its wings with all its might as they soared at breakneck speed into the sky.
Through the howling winds, they could faintly see below, where masses of Xurkitree still instinctively crowded toward the power plant.
When Dragonite finally broke through the thick, black clouds and saw the sun hanging in the sky for the first time, the explosion below burst forth with a blinding radiance that even the dark clouds could not obscure, as though a second sun had risen.
An earth-shaking blast followed, and they witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime sight—
The explosion's immense shockwave instantly threw up a wall of seawater dozens of meters high, like a black mountain of liquid.
…
Moments later, the water wall collapsed, becoming a torrential downpour that collided with the surrounding sea, sending water spraying everywhere.
Countless Ultra Wormholes opened, sucking the tenacious Xurkitree back to their original dimension.
It took a very long time before everything finally grew quiet, and the original Poni Island had vanished without a trace.
Looking down, Tapu Fini was overwhelmed with mixed emotions—relief at having avenged her grudge, but also a bit lost about her own future.
This time, she did not summon the spirit of Sofu—the Island Kahuna who had peacefully passed away before the disaster—through the mist. Instead, she let him rest in his eternal sleep.
Taking advantage of the explosion's shockwave, which had temporarily blown away the black clouds, Lucas glanced around.
The other islands were only a bit better off than Poni Island. Most humans had probably already left—just like the other three Tapus.
Seeing how this parallel world had turned out, Lucas truly felt lucky and grateful for his own world.
Faintly, he heard a distant, ethereal call—it was Tapu Fini, but not the one before him.
Once he saw that she seemed to have regained her composure, Lucas pulled out the Dive Ball containing Popplio and asked, "I think I'm being summoned to go back. What do you two plan to do next?"
"Do you need Dragonite and me to take you somewhere outside of Alola so you can start fresh?"
Lucas hadn't planned on taking Popplio with him—he'd only captured it as a temporary measure due to the environmental crisis.
Now that the problem was resolved, once they found an unpolluted place, Tapu Fini and Popplio could settle down together.
"Pu-kalai."
But Tapu Fini shook her head and tossed out her answer, already firmly decided.
For her, there was nothing left for her in this world. Her comrades were long gone, and she didn't know where they were now.
Rather than heading to a strange new place full of unknown risks, she might as well choose a good place from the start.
She was drawn to the wonderful place Dragonite had told her about while resting in the ruins of the Altar of the Sunne—a place called the "farm."
There, Popplio could grow up healthy and happy.
In other words, not just for Popplio, but for herself as well, she wanted to leave with Lucas and settle down at his "farm."
For a rare moment, Lucas was stunned for several seconds.
What? The island guardian is coming home with me?
Though Tapu Fini said "settle down," the farm was, after all, Lucas's home.
So by any calculation, the alternate-universe shiny Tapu Fini was coming with him, as well as Popplio, who represented the continuation of Poni Island's life.
It occurred to Lucas that when he'd been fully focused on commanding his Pokémon, perhaps Sofu had told Tapu Fini something, helping her let go of the past and bring about this change.
There was just one remaining problem—
Was there any issue with Tapu Fini leaving with him?
Personally, Lucas would very much welcome Tapu Fini joining him, but he checked with the system to be sure.
The answer was:
[No problem at all, dear.]
Below this, a detailed set of reasons was listed.
In short, as a guardian deity sustained by the faith of her island, now that Poni Island had disappeared, Tapu Fini was free.
After all, there wasn't really anything binding the Tapus. It was just that Tapu Fini was quite conservative and didn't want to leave before.
Besides, after following Lucas to his world, as long as Tapu Fini didn't try to co-rule Poni Island with the other Tapu Fini, there would be no major issues.
At most, she'd just have to find an "ownerless" ocean to settle in, restore her strength, and—like Calyrex—one day choose whether to once again accept worship.
As luck would have it, the Paldea Sea was supposedly "ownerless" (excluding Kyogre, the mythical sea creator, of course).
Now that there was nothing left to worry about, and the tugging feeling of the summoning was growing stronger, Lucas took out a Dive Ball identical to Popplio's.
"For now, just enter this ball. I think this will let us stow away between worlds," he said.
"Lai-fini!"
Sensing the similarly urgent summons from her counterpart, Tapu Fini nodded, released a dense veil of mist around herself, Lucas, and Dragonite, and pressed the Dive Ball's button. In a flash of red light, she was pulled into the ball.
The next moment—
Just as she'd been sent to this world by the Tapu Fini of Lucas's original world, the same feeling enveloped them.
When the sensation of being peeled away from the world faded, Lucas seemed, for a fleeting moment, to sense that someone had looked his way. But the feeling was gone as quickly as it came, and he dismissed it as an illusion.
…
In an isolated dimension outside the main world Lucas belonged to, within a crack between parallel universes, a dragon deity of radiant white and violet slowly opened its red eyes in response to the spatial disturbance.
…
When Lucas regained his senses—
There before him floated Tapu Fini on the clear water, while beside her, Tapu Koko was sneakily collecting a few pieces of coral, taking advantage of her distraction.
Fresh, clean air filled Lucas's lungs. Though it had only been a day—maybe two—he felt as if a lifetime had passed since he'd left.
Finally, he was back.
Lucas, overwhelmed with emotion, suddenly started taking deep breaths in front of the astonished Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko, looking rather silly.
Dragonite mimicked his actions, its tail wagging with delight.
"Pu-ka."
Tapu Koko looked curiously at its counterpart. Where on earth did you take this guy? Don't break my rival in battle!
Tapu Fini was equally confused.
To be honest, she couldn't monitor another world's situation in detail; otherwise, she'd be more like the Watcher of Worlds or Doctor Strange—not a Tapu Fini.
She'd only known that her counterpart was in crisis and needed fighting strength, so she lent her help.
She didn't really know what happened; only that once her counterpart's heart knot untied, she prepared to bring Lucas back.
If he stayed too long, it might attract the attention of some indescribable higher power.
Whatever was going on with Lucas now, she wasn't sure.
Luckily, Lucas soon calmed down and asked, "How long has it been since I left?"
He wondered if time flowed the same way between worlds and worried he might have missed the Pokémon chef interview, which was set for a day after he left.
The two Tapus gave him odd looks. Tapu Fini led the way to a stone platform outside the Ruins of Hope, pointed at the sun, and called out a few times.
The sun hadn't even reached its zenith. How long could he have possibly been gone?
Lucas stared blankly at the sky and found that noon wasn't even close yet—it was still morning.
He took out his battered phone, connected to the internet, and made a shocking discovery.
It had only been about an hour since he'd left—
So, the flow of time over there was much faster than here.
Confirming the time, he finally let go of his sense of urgency. Lucas returned to the Ruins of Hope and sat cross-legged, back to back with Dragonite.
Having just experienced another world, he realized how beautiful this world was.
Even the likes of Giovanni and Lysandre probably seemed much more approachable now.
Well, provided they didn't actually fulfill their "ambitions" and "ideals."
Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko gathered around, clearly curious about what Lucas had experienced.
Compared to Ash, whom she "raised" herself, Tapu Koko's attitude toward Lucas was more as an equal rival, willing to show her true colors and not maintain much distance.
While Tapu Fini didn't particularly like humans, she had a generally good impression of Lucas. If he were an Alolan, she might have even considered making him the Island Kahuna.
After all, her criteria were always based on whether she found the candidate pleasing; if not, she couldn't even be bothered to meet them.
Therefore, Tapu Fini was willing to let Lucas linger in the Ruins of Hope for a while, instead of tossing him out after using him.
Under the curious gazes of the two Tapus, Lucas shrugged. "For the details, I'll let her tell you."
Her?
Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini tilted their heads in unison.
But in the next instant, as Lucas unlocked the Dive Ball and a red glow began gathering—
A shiny Tapu Fini, very similar but with distinct differences from the local one, appeared in the Ruins of Hope.
Looking around at the familiar—which now seemed foreign—surroundings, her feeling of otherworldliness surpassed even Lucas's.
She realized that from this moment on, she had no connection to her old world.
Already prepared mentally, she lifted her eyes and exchanged a glance with her counterpart, waving her hand.
"Pu-ka-fini."
Hello, another me.
Tapu Fini and Tapu Fini. For now, let's call them Tapu Fini 1 and Tapu Fini 2.
Tapu Fini 1 was the regular-colored one, from Lucas's world. Tapu Fini 2 was the alternate-color (shiny), from the parallel world.
Tapu Fini 1 and Tapu Koko never expected such a development.
They looked at Lucas in pure shock, as if to say—
How did you manage to bring her over here!?
…