Astra and Emily stood atop the Aether Foundation, finally reaching it after countless battles inside the facility, the large structure now resembling more of a gigantic, white medalic cheese, filled with multiple burned holes and cracks.

A few team rocket members lay unconscious, one next to a large antenna, another next to a massive damaged satellite. The mansion standing atop the massive building had a few cracks, yet was still standing strong in the background.

Not that avoiding damage to the building and inside facilities was even possible with the numerous Ultra Beasts standing alongside some weaker pokemon, putting resistance at every corner.

Astra glanced over her shoulder, seeing her Umbreon, Mimikyu and Starmie unconscious. Each were covered in battle-wounds and all in desperate need of Pokemon Center, a sight which filled her with grief. Though, as much as she wanted to turn back and heal her faithful partners, she was in too deep to quit now.

Part of her attack plan involved releasing a few of her pokemon in order to command more than six during the final assault. They were one big family after all and they were going to fight together as a family to the bitter end, and her pokemon were more than willing to do just that. The downside however was that she couldn’t recall some of her pokemon back to her pokeball, while her partner more than once bounced away pokeballs, preventing Team Rocket from capturing Astra’s injured team members.

She looked at her surroundings. Outside of the elevator, she realized that the top of the building was spacious and flat, a perfect stage to host the final battle.

Ahead of her stood non other than Giovanni, whose pokemon already ended up devastated from the recent battle, from the durable Rhyperior to his feline, a Kantonian Persian which seemed to be more of a mascot rather than an actual fighter. Despite losing his entire team and not having a single Team Rocket member left to defend him, his attitude remained calm and collected, alongside his signature smirk that was somehow filled with confidence.

Astra looked down at her partner, whose fur was covered in burns and cuts, yet her fighting resolve remained as strong as the shining metallic tail which was raised over the Raichu’s head. Even after taking so many hits, she continued to fight.

She glanced to her left, seeing an injured Ace curl into Emily’s warm embrace as nearly every pokemon on their teams were either unconscious or at their limits… well.. with two exceptions as they tried to keep them as healthy as possible, an ace in the hole. Ace breathed heavily as he looked at his sister with watering eyes, no doubt sad he didn’t have the strength to help her anymore.

An assortment of shields, swords, and armors, or rather their remains, were scattered on the battlefield, all destroyed from intense battles. Emily and Astra stood panting, each sporting a variety of nasty bruises while sweat dripped down their faces.

Two big bags with equipment rested further in the background, filled with numerous empty potions while Blissey slept from exhaustion inside her pokeball, not able to provide any other means of recovery for the team.

“I must say, I’m truly impressed,” Giovanni said, clapping his hands in a slow, calm manner. “Poison gas, stun spores, ambushes... We threw everything in your way and you tore right through. Though I believe most of the credits goes to your invaluable partner. She’s truly a master at defending others from traps and surprise attacks. Without her… well, you’d all be as good as dead.”

Nica ignored the complement while her fur bristled at the threat, her bolts sparking from the dots on her cheeks.

Astra kept looking at the mansion behind Giovanni, already suspecting where the remaining hostages were. While Giovanni had proven true to his words, releasing half of the hostages and being somewhat honorable during the battle, his lackeys didn’t hesitate to play dirty, using pokemon or even humans as shields to gain advantage. Luckily, her partner Nica trained herself to near-death for years for these kinds of scenarios.

“You’re finished Giovanni! All your men and beasts are defeated. This is where you fall!” Emily shouted, tightening her hold on the Alolan Raichu while shooting the boss an angered glare. “Your pokemon are bested as well. This is the end for you.”

Giovanni chuckled before shaking his head. “Astra, I’m sure you realize it as well. Please explain to your subordinate why our battle is far from over.”

With Emily’s attention on her, Astra explained, “Giovanni used his personal pokemon, but not a single beast. I am absolutely certain he kept his strongest beasts for himself, ones he’s about to unleash.” She readyed her stance. “Which means that he’ll now make his final stand, the final battle to end all battles he so wished for.”

“Very good. Always seeing everything a few steps ahead,” Giovanni said, clapping his hands in applause once again.

Astra grinned, approaching forward with slow steps, much too Nica and Emily’s surprise. “That’s true, I always plan far ahead and come up with long term scenarios. Which is why you should know that there’s no hope for your victory, even with those powerful beasts at your disposal.”

“Oh really, and why is that?” Giovanni asked as one of his servants, a rocket member walked out from the mansion, carrying two pokeballs on a golden pillow. One looked like a Beast Ball, while another had a mix of black and white, as if Ultra Ball but slightly more advanced.”

Nica charged forward, but before she could grab the pokeball from enemy’s hands, the rocket member released both pokemon.

One landed on the roof with a loud thud, as a gigantic jaw with large teeth, little eyes, and a few limbs were standing out from its body. Two of its limbs looked as if smaller jaws, ready to bite and tear apart everything that gets in beast’s way.

The other looked like a corrupted version of Solgaleo, with a similar, regal mane spiked with gold accents. Two black claws snared through the beast’s mane and blended in with the creature’s black coat. It gave a ferocious roar and jumped forward, a deep growl resonating in its throat.

Nica leaped backward, resuming her fighting stance.

Giovanni gestured at his ultimate weapons, his face showing as if he enjoyed every passing second. “Allow me to introduce Guzzlord, and don’t think it’s anything like other ordinary beast. Where I got it from, this monster alone devoured entire cities, forcing civilisation to escape over the sea while cruising its defenses. While my scientists had resources and knowledge to only take full control of a limited number of beasts…”

“You ordered them to use two thirds of the resources to take control of that Guzzlord and that titanic pokemon from earlier,” Astra cut in, approaching without fear. “He’s ‘Dark’ and ‘Dragon’ type. I interrogated your scientists and searched notes in the lab during our attack in order to learn more about what you may have in store.”

The large jaw-like pokemon roared, causing wind to assault everyone in front, forcing Astra, Emily, and Nica to cover their faces and struggle against the wind. A strong red aura of power surrounded the large monster.

“I see. Clever. If that’s the case, you must be aware of my other servant,” Giovanni said, gesturing at his armored lion. “Dusk Mane Necrozma.”

“‘Psychic’ and ‘Steel’ type. You took control of Necrozma and used it to hunt down a legendary pokemon, combining their forms in the process. While not an Ultra Beast, it is a being of immense power, one that Beast Balls won’t work against. Can still be defeated though.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I must admit, you really stepped up in your game in this past week.”

Giovanni put hands into his pocket. “True, true. Unfortunately I lost a few of my better members in order to capture it, but their sacrifice won’t be in vain. Now, enlighten me, Pokemon Master Astra! How do you plan to come on top against such odds when your partner is tired, your subordinates are busy fighting my men, and nearly all of your pokemon, not to mention yourself, are at their limits?”

“I do have means to win this battle, something I prepared in advance just for this encounter.” Astra smiled, a normal innocent, cheerful smile. “However, even if we lose here, you’re still finished.”

Giovanni raised an eyebrow.

“After our infiltration, your beasts lost all their respect towards their Rocket masters, so even if you’ll win, they’ll rebel against you. It means no army of unstoppable beasts, and your remaining subordinates aren’t exactly all that competent.” She smirked. “In other words, your organization won’t intimidate anyone and won’t conquer anything. You may still have the hostages, but no power, and in the end people and trainers of Alola will stop you.”

Astra held hand on her chest, adding, “If I can’t protect the world, I’ll become a stepping stone for others to accomplish it, this is a path of life I’ve chosen for myself, and my pokemon, no, my family, they decided to support me all the way.”

Giovanni laughed before taking out something from his pocket and attaching it to his rib. “Allow me to dash away your hope and confidence.” Without hesitation, he recalled Dusk Mane Necrozma, only for the device to shine with power. The pokeball in his hand grew to in size, now being twice bigger than trainer’s head.

With a swift swing, he threw the large ball ahead, releasing a titanic monster, a gigantic armored lion whose paws crashed through the roof, sinking to another floor. Dark clouds formed above the gigantic legendary pokemon who now took one fourth of the entire roof. Necrozma roared, forcing Nica to press her ‘Iron Tail’ into the roof to keep herself stabile.

Astra gasped, staring in shock for a moment at the giant before looking at Giovanni in anger.

“Caught off guard? Of course you are. You were never good at facing unpredictable situations.” He chuckled.”I learned many tricks while preparing glorious return of my organization. I may have lost my titan, but this is a suitable replacement. With Dusk Necrozma, I’ll regain respect of all Ultra Beasts and rebuild my army.”

Astra looked at her pokeballs, quickly considering her options. While she prepared a countermeasure against Giovanni’s two elite pokemon, she didn’t account for Dynamax being used by her enemy. It didn’t help that Nica and Ace already used their Z-moves, leaving her at a disadvantage against such a foe. Still, while Dynamax was far superior to mega-evolutions in terms of durability and power, it had a glaring weakness, one that her partner was more than capable to take advantage of.

“Nica, I know I’m asking a lot, but you must fight Dynamax Necrozma and Guzzlord at the same time. Use strategy sixty three!” Astra ran away, giving her partner a confident glance. Nica nodded, charging forward against the impossible odds. In order to not give away her tactic to her opponents, Astra often taught her pokemon different strategies in advance and named them with numbers. She could only hope it would capture her opponent off guard.

Giovanni pointed at the Raichu and shouted, “Dusk Mane Necrozma, slice this Raichu into ribbons with ‘Psycho Cut’. Guzzlord, attack with Crunch and devour her!”

Nica leaped to the side, barely evading gigantic lavender blade which pierced the roof and then pierced through numerous floors before striking the sea. A large splash of water was visible in the background alongside a few unconscious fish-like pokemon.

She jumped over one of Guzzlord’s limbs, then over another. Seeing the follow up to ‘Psycho Cut’ being charged against her, she ran towards the legs of the Ultra Beast, she backflipped, avoiding the large jaw which tried to grab her with its teeth, only for the lavender blade to hit Guzzlord’s back.

Despite the beast being ‘Dark’ type, the strike proved big and potent enough to leave some damage, angering Guzzlord who in response jumped at gigantic Necrozma, attacking him with ‘Cruch’ for super-effective damage.

Nica breathed heavily, her muscles still tired from hours of battles inside the facility as ever her stamina was very low at this point. Should she be at her full strength, a one vs one fight against Guzzlord or Dusk Necrozma would turn into a glorious battle, one she could have a chance to win, if barely, but being tired while facing them both, one powered up by Dynamax, there was no chance she could win.

Strategy sixty three, use opponents larger size and make them hit each other, using her agility and strength of her enemies against them. Did she believe she could win with this strategy? No. Giovanni was no doubt too smart to fall for this trick multiple times, but the fate of Alola or maybe entire world rested on her shoulders and she would fight to her last breath.

The roof was filled with holes and cracks, ready to crumble at any moment.

Astra and Emily watched Guzzlord, who held injured Nica with his limbs, biting into her fur as nearly her whole body was covered in cuts.

Dusk Mane Necrozma started shining in blue, losing a few meters of size each two second before shrinking to its regular size. He landed next to the devourer of cities, now back to its normal size while its armor was covered in burns. Guzzlord seemed injured as well as no red aura surrounded its body any longer.

Despite Nica’s best attempts of making the powerhouses fight each other and using every bit of her stamina, life force and willpower during this battle, there was just so much her weakened body could accomplish. She could only scream in pain as even her creascented tail refused to shine in metallic grey, her last defence lying shattered

Ace wriggled in Emily’s hold, wanting to join the battlefield despite his exhaustion.

Astra grit her teeth before switching ring on her wrist, taking away ring used for Z-moves with similar one to Giovanni’s device. She glanced at Emily and commanded, “Opponent’s ‘Dynamax’ ran out of power, the time has come. Unleash our secret weapon.”

“Finally!” Emily shouted before replacing her own inactive Z-ring. She released Ace before grabbing one of her pokeballs. “Now I see why you asked me to save his strength, but you sure took your time.”

Astra did the same as both pokeballs grew in size. With a bit of effort, both trainers threw the large pokeballs ahead, unleashing what they held in reserve for the final battle.

“Dynamax? Is this what you had prepared against me all this time?” Giovanni asked, taking a step back as his confident attitude was replaced with one of fear. His enjoyment of seeing Nica’s torture interrupted as his attention focused on two gigantic foes.

A long massive tail landed on the roof, which crumbled like sand as a gigantic Primarina sank two floors deeper into the building. His fins pushed aside damaged satellites while Rocket Members who not long ago woke up ran away in terror. A loud singing noise could be heard from the islands in the distance.

Next to the gigantic primarina stood a titanic multi-tailed fox. Ninetales stood proudly despite his paws sinking into the deeper floor, his tails spread as one accidently pushed Emily, Astra and Ace away. His golden fur could be seen from miles away as Kahunas, Guardians and Professor Kukui observed the phenomenon at a distance, all eager to assist if not for the hostages.

The sky turned even darker than before, now filled with the flames of Ninetales and the haunting melody of Primavera’s song. Though it didn’t remain dark for long as rays of the sun pierced through the dark clouds, heating up the area due to Ninetales’ ability.

Dynamax Ninetales growled before biting Guzzlord, freeing Nica in the process. With a shake of his head, he pushed the Ultra Beast against wall of the mansion, cracking the wall from the impact.

Primarina whimpered sadly, gently sliding his gigantic fin under the injured miniscule Raichu before sliding her into little Astra’s embrace.

Both gigantic pokemon focused their attention on their opponents, both determined to win and justifully enraged.

Giovanni walked backward, taking a moment to recover his composure. “Photon Gazer, Dragon Claw!”

Guzzlord ran forward and jumped towards the gigantic Ninetales to get his revenge, swinging its limbs with a shining, draconic power, only for Primarina’s large fin to block the attack like a massive shield, not receiving a single scratch. His other fin slammed against Guzzlord, pinning him against the roof. The Ultra Beast wrestled against Primarina’s fin, displaying incredible strength, yet gigantic size of the Sea Emperor proved too much for the devourer.

Ninetales jumped forward, using ‘Calm Mind’ as his gigantic body was surrounded by a silvery aura. The powerful beam exploded against his fur, leaving big bruises that the pokemon ignored.

“Primarina, use ‘Moonblast’ against Guzzlord. He’s incredibly weak against fairy attacks!” Emily commanded, watching as the gigantic sirenth started singing from bottom of his lungs, summoning a house-size pink orb which looked more like an explosive moon. Guzzlord wriggled and struggled, trying to break free from the two gigantic fins that held it from both sides. Using ‘Crunch,’ he bit one fin with all his power repeatedly, causing a grimace of pain to form on Primarina’s lips, yet it did little as ‘Moonblast’ was unleashed.

The orb filled the entire mouth of the towns-devouring beast, blasting it into the sea with a gigantic explosion.

Primarina took at least twenty seconds to jump into the sky, diving into the water to continue the battle on his home turf. Splashing even higher than the entire Aether Foundation followed, rocking the tides. The waters didn’t get a chance to calm as noises of intense battle could be heard from underwater, followed up by large splashes, explosions, blasts and so much more as one could only imagine the brutal exchange between two mighty combatants.

“Ninetales, the hostages are inside that mansion. Be careful!” Astra warned, afraid of accidental crossfire that could hurt the prisoners.

Ninetales nodded, holding back his attack until Dusk Necrozma flew away form the Mansion and into the open sky, Giovanni too shocked to command against it.

Without anyone giving it commands, Necrozma concentrated, charging and summoning Prismatic Laser against the gigantic Ninetales.

“Calm mind!” Astra commanded. “Tank the attack and then counter when you see a opening!”

Ninetales walked forward, his tails shining with power as his body ended up surrounded by a silvery aura, temporarily increasing his special defense and special attack. A massive beam of intense power struck Ninetales cheek and chest as he struggled against it, refusing to back down as the surrounding roof started to melt form intense power. The door and wall of the mansion started melting as well due to being close to the impacted area, which soon started smelling of burned fur.

Ninetales stood on his rear paws, pushing against the powerful beam before grabbing Necrozma with his paws, holding the struggling legendary in his grasp. With the power of double ‘Calm Mind’ charging his body and ‘Sunny Day’ strengthening fire attacks, he unleashed ‘Flamethrower,’ burning the armor of the pokemon to a crisp alongside edge of the foundation boulding.

Astra watched the battle before looking at the injured Raichu in her embrace while Ace gently stroked Nica’s cheek. “Nica… I… I’m sorry,” she said, holding back tears as she wondered if she had made a miscalculation. In her original plan, she wanted to use Dynamax on Primarina and Ninetales and with their help defeat Giovanni’s secret weapons, which is why she saved strength of those two pokemon wherever she could.

When Giovanni used Dynamax on Dusk Necrozma, she wasn’t sure if her plan would work, which is why she send Nica to fight both powerhouses at the same time, trying to tire her enemies and buy time until Necrozma would shrink to regular size. But was it really necessary? Maybe Primarina and Ninetales would win without putting Nica through so much pain and danger.

Astra was awaken from her though, feeling Nica’s paw touch her cheek. The pokemon just looked back at her with a proud smile. There was something in Nica’s stare that showed accomplishment, as if the pokemon felt proud, happy and fulfilled from what she just did. Astra returned the smile before pressing Nica against her shoulder. “Thank you. I’m proud of you.”

A large shockwave came from battling pokemon when Necrozma struck the titanic Ninetales with powerful blast, who in turn assaulted the legendary pokemon with gigantic pillar of flames. The interaction between Nica and Astra was interrupted as the roof and upper part of the building finally started to crumble.

Gigantic Primarina who not long ago jumped into the sea and battled against Guzzlord emerged from the water, starting at Aether Foundation in worry. His face, fins, left shoulder, and even numerous spots on her several-meters long tail were covered in bite-marks, while unconscious beast lay atop his head. While the beast proved powerful enough to bring ruin to entire cities and defeat large number of pokemon, even such monster couldn’t handle Dynamax fairy/water pokemon due to its massive weakness.

Ninetales wrapped his paws and tails around the mansion, his teeth grit and sweat falling down his entire body. He held the mansion stabile, preventing it from crumbling alongside the rest of the roof.

Dusk Mane Necrozma split into two pokemon, both lying unconscious next to each other among the rich and scattered rubble.

Ace struggled to stand on his trembling legs on his tail, holding Astra, Emily, Nica, Umbreon, Mimikyu and Starmie with ‘Psychic’ as the humans looked at the ruin under them. While Team Rocket has been bested, hostages secured and Alola saved, the Foundation was going to need a massive renovation in the near future from all the damage.

Giovanni pushed rubble away, trying to stand as his uniform was now covered in dust, and torn off in a couple sections. Before he understood the situation, he yelped, ending up trapped under Ninetales’ gigantic paw. The fox pokemon shrank in size a moment later, now sitting on the boss of Team Rocket while growling into his ear.

A moment later Astra towered over the defeated boss of Team Rocket as two stared at each other in the eyes. This was it, nearly ten years after her parents and their organization was destroyed by the man before her, she finally avenged them all and ruined Team Rocket once and for all.

Giovanni grit his teeth for a moment, but relaxed his tense muscles a moment later. His angered face was replaced with a calm one. “Well played, Astra Longshot, well played.”

“You seem surprisingly calm for someone who lost his entire organization,” Astra commented, maintaining her hostile glare. “I’ll make sure you’ll rot in prison for the rest of your life, you can trust me on this.”

Giovanni sighed, adding in a more sorrowful tone, “Don’t get me wrong, I still hate it. I hate how the day when my organization was at the peak of its power, it was crushed into dust. I hate how I lost the most important battle in my life.” He smiled. “But in the end, part of me is glad that the one I lost against… was you. If it were anyone else, I’d be furious at myself. ”

“Funny… because part of me is also satisfied that I was the one to take you down,” Astra said before glancing ahead at Ninetales, whose fur was covered in bruises from Necrozma’s attacks. “I’m also glad that my mother’s partner got the privilege of delivering the finishing blow and capture you.”

Ninetales nodded in agreement, smiling in satisfaction.

“Like one leader to another, it was a good battle, Astra Longshot. I accept my defeat,” Giovanni said. While he was a crime boss and conqueror at heart, part of him was also a trainer, a Gym Leader, and after today’s long ongoing battle, he found nothing but satisfaction, leading his men and facing Astra and her subordinates for the past couple of hours.

Not that he abandoned his ambition or no longer cared about power. He would still seek a way to escape from prison and rebuild his crime syndicate, but after today's all out war, part of him, the flames of a competitive trainer had been lit a new. Maybe one day he would face Astra again, but this time now in fight for the fate of the world, but just trainer to trainer honest battle. Yeah… like that would ever happen.

Nica observed the defeated boss from her spot in Astra’s arms, ignoring the burning sensation in her muscles and the aching in her bones. The only thing she thought about was satisfaction. It felt funny though. In the past she often felt as if she never did enough considering how powerful she became over years due to harsh training and struggles, but after spending time with her hero, something in her changed. Never before she felt as satisfied as she felt today. She helped save Alola or maybe even the entire world from Team Rocket’s slavery and helped her trainer and partner fulfil her greatest desire.

And even better, she had an amazing story to share with her hero, one that would totally impress him. Such a wonderful and exciting action-filled story that she could tell before they would walk away seperate paths, making their farewell even more special.

Author's Notes:

Due to high interest in seeing final battles between Astra and Giovanni, I wrote this bonus chapter. I hope it was enjoyable since I added for my faithful readers.

Please share what you enjoyed the most about this final confrontation.

Also, a little update, all there's left is Epilogue and one-shot sidestory, after which the Nica's series will be over. Unlike the main story, the sequels didn't do too well and didn't get much attention, so I think there's no need to continue this series, the epilogue and side-story will be the end, so I hope they'll be satisfying enough.