He was on a mission.

I need to find the light! I need to! Poipole recited in his head, fervently repeating the words like they were a mantra. That constant thought was what kept the Poison-type Ultra Beast going, even when he was at his darkest hour.

But then again, he always was the optimist.

Even when the other Poipoles had reluctantly bemoaned their fate after Necrozma lost all their light and the bright rays which formerly shone upon their land vanished from their world forever, he sought to challenge the new status quo.

Putting up with this gloomy, desolate wasteland simply wasn't going to happen. He adamantly refused to let that be his fate. No way!

He sought his chance when he saw the great Solgaleo opening up an Ultra Wormhole. Poipole had darted straight into it without a second thought, meandering about the dimensional portal in search of answers to his conundrum.

In search of a new world… of a possible future connection that would bridge his world to the light once more.

The dazzling light… that was what it all boiled down to in the end.

He distinctly remembered the other Poipoles shaking their exasperated heads at him when he had been preaching his ideas to them. Sure, he might be idealistic, but he wasn't that bad!

Of course, the others refused to believe that. One of the more pessimistic ones had even told him right to his face that his whole gamble to find a new home was "an idiosyncratic plan simmered up by a zany Poipole who is far too optimistic for their own good".

He had to admit — though he had taken the criticism with a smile and kept his shields up outwardly, the condescending remark still hurt him deep inside.

But what could he do? He couldn't help it! Curiosity was like an insatiable itch on his stinger… and considering he that couldn't reach the stinger on the crown of his head with his diminutive, stubby little arms, Poipole deduced that he needed some other way to satisfy his innate craving for a solution.

And what better way to sate his curiosity than to simply take the plunge and go for it? He didn't see any harm in trying, so he proceeded to do just that. And who'd have thought, but his persistence and opting to adamantly remain steadfast had paid off in dividends.

Yep, taking the plunge had definitely paid off. The Poison Pin Pokémon had swum about the Ultra Wormhole until he was spat out at the other end.

Poipole shielded his eyes with his arms, before tentatively blinking them as he found himself basking in the warm light that now surrounded him.

"Poi-zzzrrtt!"

With a gleeful cry, he looked up to the sky above his stinger.

Instead of the jet-black darkness that used to envelope the world which he came from, Poipole was bathed in a skyline filled with azure blue, the color sprawling out like a giant canvas splashed with blue color high above him.

That sight would never get old for him. It was entrancing, a perfect juxtaposition to the temporal darkness and shadowy landscape which was all that existed in his drab home world. This was the complete opposite. The warmth of the sun was like the ray of dazzling hope to his home world.

Was he enthralled by the light which he hadn't seen before while he had been stuck and despondent in his home world? Yes. Was he ashamed to admit that? Ha, no, Poipole decided as he flipped himself upside down and spun around on the tip of his stinger in excitement.

He almost wanted to admonish the other Poipole who had shot down his idea for doubting him, but in the spur of the moment, all other thoughts had left him as he ecstatically took the opportunity to explore this brave new world.

The exploration hadn't ended up encompassing as large an area as he'd thought it would. It wasn't long before he was drawn to a shining Pikachu who seemed like it was the brightest object around in miles.

Poipole swayed about merrily when he'd first seen Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack bursting forth and shining like a beacon into the sky, whooping with joy at the find and promptly making plans to get himself acquainted with the Mouse Pokémon. Later, those plans also ended up including the Pikachu's trainer, even to the extent where he'd allowed himself to be captured just so he could tag along with them.

But alas, in Poipole's initial excitement of realizing that he'd succeeded in discovering a world filled with light, the second half of his mission had completely slipped his mind.

Until now, that was.

It was a nightmare which reminded him. Poipole had been so used to the light ever since he'd ventured through the Ultra Wormhole that being thrown back to his former dark world in his subconscious was…

Help us!

Where are you?

Did you abandon us!?

Come back for us, please!

"Poi… pole!"

…it was a huge wakeup call to Poipole, to say the least.

His eyes eventually snapped open after he had continuously thrashed about during his sleep because of the nightmare, the blurry image of a few hundred Poipoles huddled around an ailing Naganadel superimposed onto his vision no matter how hard he tried to blink it away.

In his exhilaration of actually seeing light for the first time, Poipole had forgotten that there were two parts to his goal — the first part, actually finding a source of light other than Necrozma, was accomplished. Nothing wrong about that.

The issue was the latter part. Nothing would change the fact that his main goal had been to find a habitable world for his entire kind. And rather unfortunately, he'd failed quite majorly in that regard.

Poipole let out a sigh, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt crushing him from within. He hadn't even spared a thought for the other Poipoles or Naganadel ever since he had waltzed into Alola.

He shook his head, silently slipping away to the roof of the house and gazing at the sky — once a brilliant blue, but now almost the same black as that of his world due to the late hour, the only difference being the numerous stars still emitting light interspersed all around in constellations.

That was right, he reaffirmed to himself as he looked upon the full moon, entranced as it shone above him. He was on a mission.

Bring the light back to us…

The light was why he was so enchanted and captivated by Pikachu, why he remained so continuously drawn to the little electric rodent who sparkled like a quartz gem in the first place.

The promise of light was their world. Not just to Poipole… but to all Poipoles.

Poipole frowned, feeling the onset of tears brimming to the surface.

This was the perfect world for his Poipole friends… but perhaps as a final, cruel irony, he was unable to share it with his fellow Poipoles. There was no way for him to open up an Ultra Wormhole and bring them here to Alola — that had all been Solgaleo's doing. Poipole had just been lucky to spot the Ultra Wormhole and enter the portal when he did.

So unfortunately, Poipole was willing to bet that neither Solgaleo nor Lunala were willing to pry open another wormhole that would actually be able to remain open long enough for him to return and relay the message of the Alola region back to his fellow comrades.

The fact of the matter was that he didn't even have a clue as to how he could contact either one of the two Legendaries, let alone persuade them to use their energy to open an Ultra Wormhole as a mere favor… which was most unfortunate. It would render his whole trip to the Alola region moot, and that would not do. Oh, no, no, no!

"…Poi!"

A single tear trailed down his left eye as he let out a longing wail to the moon in remembrance of his old friends, unheard by his trainer or any of the others who were still snoozing in the house below. Quite frankly, Poipole preferred it this way. He wouldn't want to burden them with this new knowledge, already preparing himself to put up a fragile mask when they eventually awaken so as not to rouse their suspicions.

That said, he already knew deep inside his heart that trying to suppress his emotions wouldn't work. He had been teased by the other Poipoles before for being one of the more emotional ones, even once receiving a comment that he was being overly melodramatic about the lack of light. He was well aware that his feelings were an open book.

Now that a sense of melancholy had ensnared itself over his heart, Poipole just knew that he would give himself away sooner or later…

Poipole jerked his head up, curling his tail inwards as he continued looking upon the moon. Almost as if a switch had been flicked, even the light radiating from it now seemed to be bittersweet.

He had managed to achieve what he'd always wanted… but what was it worth if he wasn't able to share it with his own kind? Could it really be considered a victory? Was simply finding the light—which he'd once thought to be an outlandish goal, only to now take that same light for granted—truly enough?

He sniffled, already knowing the answer even before the teardrop fell from his eye.

No… it wasn't.

Author's Note:

I enjoyed the S&M anime's Necrozma arc a lot more than I thought I would, and Ash's rambunctious rascal of a Poipole is one of the big reasons for that.

And yeah, I did enjoy the angst that they introduced for Poipole even if it ended up being mostly irrelevant in the Necrozma arc climax. Oh well.