Pokémon: The Journey of Ordinary People

The branching paths deep within the cave spread out like a spider web, and black mist condensed into flowing, inky rivers within the passages.

The deeper you go, the denser the black aura becomes. The ground and the surrounding walls are covered with uneven black crystals, and every step is accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of crystals rubbing together.

Solgaleo's golden footprint landed on the ground, instantly scorching a shallow mark, but it was quickly covered by the surging black mist. Lunala's light screen dimmed even more in this environment.

"Ugh——!"

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream came from ahead. It wasn't a frantic roar, but rather a struggle mixed with extreme pain.

Zhang Yu's heart tightened, and he urged Solgaleo to accelerate. As they rounded the last bend, the sight before him made his breath catch in his throat.

In the distance, there was a recessed stone wall with countless protruding, spiky crystals inside.

Tapu Koko curled up in the center of the huge crystal cluster. The black crystals had spread to the tip of its carapace, but at this moment it trembled violently, and some of the crystals began to peel off, revealing the originally brilliant gold underneath.

Its pupils switched wildly between dark red and bright yellow, and the black aura around its body sometimes surged like a raging torrent, and sometimes contracted like a suppressed sigh.

"It's resisting the corruption of the dark energy!" Lunayara's spiritual voice was filled with shock. She had thought Tapu Koko was completely corrupted, but it turned out he still retained some sanity.

Before the words were finished, Tapu Koko suddenly raised its head, a glint of clarity flashing in its bright yellow pupils. It flapped its wings, and several powerful bursts of electrical energy blasted towards its black crystal, attempting to completely peel it away.

But the black energy seemed to have a life of its own, transforming into countless tentacles the instant the crystal shattered, tightly binding its body and surging wildly into it.

"hiss--!!"

The Qingming Festival passes in the blink of an eye, replaced by an even more violent and malevolent atmosphere.

Tapu Koko's size increased dramatically under the influence of the black energy. The black crystals reformed and became even sharper and more ferocious. The carapace that spread out on its sides was also stained with ink. Every flap of its wings stirred up a storm with a destructive aura.

It stopped struggling and instead channeled all its pain and anger into fangs, its crimson eyes fixed on Zhang Yu and the other two.

"Be careful! Its power has increased!" Zhang Yu warned in a deep voice, while tightening his grip on the Emotion Stone in his palm.

The pink gemstone emitted a soft glow within the black mist, like a candle flame in the darkness, slowly absorbing the surrounding black energy.

Tapu Koko launched the first attack, unleashing several black electric beams from its mouth. Rocks and crystals along its path were instantly blasted into dust, and the black energy condensed into sharp fragments around the beams, weaving a net of attacks with no blind spots.

Solgaleo leaped into the air, golden flames forming a shield around its body, taking the blow head-on. The moment the flames collided with the black mist, a deafening roar erupted. It staggered back a few steps, the wound on its leg turning grayish again.

Lunala seized the opportunity to circle around behind Tapu Koko, gathering full moon energy in her wings, and unleashed the power of the moon with astonishing force towards its back.

However, the black crystal was like an indestructible armor. When the power of moonlight struck it, it only caused a ripple before being completely swallowed up by the black energy.

Tapu Koko swung his hand backhand, and a giant electric ball struck Lunala with a crackling sound at incredible speed, slamming her into the stone wall behind her.

"Woo..."

Lunayara cried out in pain as a black burn mark appeared on her chest, occasionally crackling with electricity.

"This won't do. This is its home turf. Tapu Koko has gone berserk and is further amplified by the dark energy. It will be difficult to win by attacking head-on!"

Zhang Yu was extremely anxious as he watched his two Pokémon suffer setbacks one after another.

He could feel Tapu's pain, the despair of being possessed by a foreign object and unable to control himself. This emotion, transmitted through the black mist, even made the Emotion Stone in his palm slightly hot.

"Perhaps... we can use a sheer number of people to overwhelm Tapu Koko, and then seize the opportunity to use the Emotion Stone to purify it!"

An idea flashed through Zhang Yu's mind. He suddenly flipped off Solgaleo's back and released all his Pokémon.

"Everyone! Coordinate with Lunala and Solgaleo's attack, and leave the rest to me!"

Zhang Yu quickly determined the battle plan, mobilizing all forces to launch a continuous attack on the rampaging Tapu Koko.

"Dafu!"

The Vileplume unleashed its power on the grassy field, transforming into a mobile leaf-blade launcher. While the damage wasn't high, the sheer number of leaf blades effectively restricted Tapu Koko's movement.

"hiss--"

Tapu hissed and crackled with electricity, unleashing Mad Volt and roaring as it charged toward Vileplume.

However, it was intercepted halfway by Solgaleo's Meteor Strike.

Lunala immediately followed up with a Shadow Beam, but Tapu Koko, enhanced by the dark energy, seemed unaffected. It simply fused the armor plates on its arms together to form a shield, easily blocking the Shadow Beam.

But at that moment, a glint flashed in Zhang Yu's eyes, and he roared...

"Now's the time, everyone use ranged attacks to attack Tapu Koko!"

"Niu Da, seal off the space around it with rocks!"

In an instant, countless attacks flew towards Tapu Koko, forcing it to continuously extend its arm armor to block.

"hiss!!"

Finally, it couldn't hold back any longer! It tried to force its way through the firepower, but the next second, a boulder imbued with rock energy slammed into its side, blocking its path of movement.

Left with no other choice, Tapu Koko once again retreated into its shell to defend itself. He never expected that his use of his arm armor for defense would be seized upon by the humans on the other side.

"Listen up, everyone! When I count to one, stop attacking!"

Zhang Yu gripped the Stone of Emotion tightly in her hand and said firmly.

Although they didn't understand why he said that, the Pokémon, including Vileplume, nodded, choosing to believe their trainer.

"Pidgeotto, let's go!"

Zhang Yu leaped into the air, and the Pidgeot swooped down from behind, catching him as he landed.

"three!"

Under the cover of a barrage of Pokémon attacks, Pidgeot, carrying Zhang Yu, flew towards Tapu Koko like an arrow released from a bow.

"two!"

At this moment, Tapu Koko was surrounded by black energy, seemingly having developed resistance to the attack, and exuded an extremely dangerous aura.

"Danger!" Lunayara seemed to have guessed Zhang Yu's thoughts and hurriedly used telepathy to warn him.

"Trust me!" Zhang Yu turned around with a determined smile. "Tapu Mikoto hasn't given up; it's still waiting for us to lend it a hand!"

"one!"

Instantly, all attacks ceased, and the cave became dark again, with only Zhang Yu's eyes shining brightly.

"hiss!!"

Tapu Koko sensed the attack had stopped and immediately roared as it unfurled its arm armor, wanting to vent its rage.

But all he saw was a man and an eagle rapidly enlarging before his eyes.

Zhang Yu stretched out his arm with all his might, the Stone of Emotion pressed tightly against his palm, into which he poured all his beliefs, trust in his partners, and love for Alola.

Then, gathering its strength on the back of the Pidgeot, it pounced forward with unstoppable momentum.

The instant Tapu Koko opened his arm armor, the Stone of Emotion pressed tightly against it. But to his surprise, strands of black energy, as if alive, fiercely protected Tapu Koko, preventing the Stone of Emotion from advancing even an inch further.

The pink gemstone burst forth with dazzling light, no longer a faint candle flame, but a blazing radiance like the rising sun. Under this light, the black aura melted away rapidly, like snow meeting the warm sun.

Tapu Koko felt this familiar and warm power, and its violent movements suddenly stopped. Its pupils flashed bright yellow again, and its body struggled violently, with dense cracks appearing on the black crystal.

"Hs...hs..."

It let out cries that were a mixture of anger and pleading, trying to break free from the black energy's restraints, yet it was also tightly controlled by it. The two forces clashed violently within its body, causing it unbearable pain.

"Tapu-Tapu! Can you hear me?"

Zhang Yu's voice traveled through the light, carrying a power that pierced through everything: "Do not be swallowed by darkness! You are the guardian deity of Alola!"

"Hang in there! The nightmare will be over soon!"

The light from the Stone of Emotions transformed into countless threads, enveloping Tapu Koko.

Tapu Koko instinctively tried to resist, but the moment the light touched its body, it brought not harm, but unprecedented warmth.

This power flowed through its limbs and bones, dispelling the chill and madness wherever the black energy went. The black crystals began to melt in the pillar of light, turning into wisps of black smoke that were absorbed by the Stone of Emotion.

The black energy seemed to sense its impending demise and manipulated Tapu Koko to launch a final counterattack, with countless black bolts of lightning blasting towards Zhang Yu.

Solgaleo and Lunala immediately flew forward, using all their strength to raise a double shield. Golden and purple light intertwined, barely blocking the attack.

"Let me...disperse!"

Zhang Yu shoved the Stone of Emotion forward, and the pink light instantly surged several times over, completely enveloping Tapu Koko.

He could clearly feel that Tapu Koko's positive emotions were being awakened, resonating with his power and fighting against the dark energy together.

Tapu Koko's body convulsed continuously in the light, and pieces of black crystal peeled off, revealing the pure golden armor underneath.

Its pupils returned to their original bright yellow, and the rage in its eyes was gone, replaced only by exhaustion and gratitude for surviving the ordeal.

As the last piece of black crystal melted and was completely absorbed by the Stone of Emotion, Tapu Koko let out a clear cry, all the black aura around him dissipated, and his body once again radiated a brilliant light, scattering crackling electric particles throughout the cave.

Zhang Yu slumped to the ground, powerless. The light of the Stone of Emotion gradually faded, turning pure black, and lay quietly in his palm.

The Pokémon, including Vileplume, rushed over to check on the trainer's condition.

Solgaleo and Lunala quickly gathered around him, looking at him with concern.

Tapu Koko landed gently in front of Zhang Yu, lowered its head and gently rubbed its forehead against his cheek, emitting a soft chirp, as if it were thanking him or apologizing.

"Don't worry... everyone, I'm fine..."

Zhang Yu grinned, dusted himself off, and stood up.

He glanced at Tapu Koko, who seemed a little embarrassed, and understood. Then he said solemnly.

"Don't blame yourself too much. I know it's not your fault. Don't worry, it's all over now..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yu felt the things in front of him become blurry.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he found himself floating in a void filled with golden light.

He hurriedly looked around and found Solgaleo and Lunala there as well.

"Don't be nervous, everyone."

A majestic yet somewhat weak voice rang out, followed by a burst of intense light within the space.

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes, and saw a strangely shaped Pokémon appear in front of him.

Its body parts separated and emitted a large amount of golden light, the separated parts were connected by the light into a whole, the overall shape was like a radiant dragon, and it was full of a sacred aura.