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::: [The Sunne in Splendour] :::

Last night, Enya was EPIC.

We left her and Lillie following a trail of standing stones that marked the way to the Altar of the Sunne.  It took them through a lot of caverns, steep places, and great spots for wild-Pokémon ambushes, most of which Enya dealt with, as their method was for her to clear out an area in advance before having Lillie catch up.  In the process of taking this trail by stretches, the pair encountered a roadblock--courtesy of some Team Skull holdouts and their admin, Plumeria (who to me bears a passing resemblance to Harley Quinn; your mileage may vary).  No telling how they'd tracked Enya and Lillie here, if they had, but they had a request.  The team, what was left of it, had been worried sick since "our boy" Guzma disappeared, and I'm not even sure they knew he'd been sucked into Ultra Space.  They just wanted him back, and for Team Skull, they were awfully polite about it...even Plumeria, whose battle challenge was only thrown down by way of making sure Enya was strong enough for the task.

[Skulls Need Help.png]  [Skull Admin Plumeria Needs Help.png]

The adventurers couldn't make any promises.  But it was becoming more clear that they might indeed have to try to access the Ultra Realm for Guzma's and Lusamine's sake, and maybe for Poké Earth's...and the whole thing depended on them finding Solgaleo and his being willing and able to assist in the task.

 -:-

Some time later, Enya came upon what looked to be an abandoned Trial site.  Umm...she thought she'd passed them all?  But when she stuck her head in there, darned if she didn't find herself fighting Dragon-types for the Draconium-Z crystal that rested on a pedestal in the middle of the cave.  The Totem was a beast called Kommo-o, which looks like a dragon in Samurai armor--all loose, round scales about the head and shoulders, down the back and at the end of its tail, which it could chuck like Captain America's shield.  OUCH!  She beat it, but not before it made mincemeat out of her team...and there wasn't jack she could do for them because she was nowhere near the only Pokémon Center on Poni Island, and she was completely out of potions and Revives.

But when Lillie showed up, it turned out she had a lifetime supply of Pokémeds on her, so she put them to good use.  Her contribution to the Cause, since Enya was taking most of the risks...  Yay, Lillie!  And Enya thanked the Guardians that her friend had thought to nab all that stuff on their way out of the Foundation.

The other end of the dragons' cavern opened out onto the steepest, most colossal staircase anywhere short of Chichen Itzá...and at the top of it was the Altar of the Sunne.

[Altar o't Sunne-Approach.jpeg]

I don't think Enya was terribly worried about the staircase.  After some of the ramps, slopes and blockades she'd navigated and battled on in Poni Canyon, she probably saw that ascent as a nice change of pace; at least she didn't have to summon Tauros to bash through any rocks.  A Trainer must have to be incredibly fit to survive the nomadic phase.  The round ones, like Sophocles, are only to be found in retirement homes and research settings.    ;-]

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Some Poni Canyon visuals...

(First two rows: Various corners of the Canyon)
(Bottom row: The Dragon trial site; Hapu becomes Kahuna of Poni Island)

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...and more story.

When the adventurers reached the Altar, the world went really quiet; no sound but the wind, their footsteps, and the little splashes they made in the shallow pools surrounding two square standing-spots.  Lillie stood on one and gestured Enya onto the other.

They played their flutes...the most beautiful, ethereal chord I've ever heard in a game or out of it.

[Playing the Moon Flute.png]  [Altar o't Sunne - Pools.png]  [Playing the Sun Flute.jpeg]


The Altar awakened.  The Sun-symbol at its apex began to glow, and long-dry channels filled again with flowing water.

[Altar o't Sunne Awakens.png]  [Altar o't Sunne - Platform.jpg]


A portal opened; a great globe of solar energy emerged, hovered over the kids...then lifted Lillie's backpack into itself, with Nebby in it.  Big energy fluctuations ensued...and what fell out of the orb, landing on thunderous cat-feet, was Solgaleo, the Lion of the Sun...who gave Lillie a kitty-bump on the chest and was still willing to answer to "Nebby".

Yeah!!  The girls had been thrashing all over the Pokémon Grand Canyon in search of the Legendary's aid, and he'd been backpacking with them all along!  The fan theory was right!  Lillie's known him since he was a wee little cloud of stars!  And Enya was right too; Cosmoem was his intermediate form, the cocoon.  You can still see the blue starry core in Solgaleo's forehead, and the remnants of the rings in his mane...  "My, how you've grown!"

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...and that's it for what I had on GroupSpaces, which shut down about half an hour ago (2315 US Central).  But that's not where my records end, oh, no.  This started as an e-mail exchange between me and Kiye, remember? ...And I have the whole thing.  More later, but soon!



(Enya's team: First visit to Ultraspace - yes, there was more than one!)