Alola Region

Alola had a problem.

It was not the only problem, not by a longshot, but it was a problem they had to deal with.

Species not native to the region were overtaking every ecosystem they could. They predated, they over consumed resources that native species needed, and in general were not pleasant to have around.

Working to minimize their damages was one of the duties of the Aether Foundation, and it was a duty they had polished to a fine shine.

"Miss Wicke, I just tranquilized three Yungoos," an Aether employee informed the woman in charge of this operation: three long brown and yellow furry Pokemon dangling from his hands by their tails. The employee was wearing thick brown gloves that clashes with his white uniform, with said brown gloves having visible bite marks in them from the little creatures.

"Excellent. Bring them into the mobile, we'll begin the surgery immediately."

The leading lady, the aforementioned Miss Wicke, wiped sweat from her brow as the employee was passed by another employee left the white van moments after the employee with the three Yungoos left it: carrying a Gumshoos under her arms.

There were schools of thought to handling invasive Pokémon species. Before she had joined the Aether Foundation, she had worked in Fall City during the appearance of non-native Grimer and Muk in the sewer system and helped set up their restriction to a single area.

There was the idea of pure and simple eradication...an idea that wasn't popular in Alola or in many other regions for that matter.

Then there was a third method of handling invasive species: capturing them, spaying or neutering them, and releasing them back to live out their lives but not pass on another generation of their kind in the region.

That was what Alola had approved to be done with the Yungoose line. Legalities pending for the Ratatta and Meowth lines due to their unique forms taken.

Wicke was under the impression that they could push through those legalities if need be and begin spaying and neutering Alolan Ratatta and Meowth, but it would probably lead to Rood and his organization to arrive in Alola and causing trouble with the Aether Foundation. Protests, defaming speeches, truck theft...

To quote a certain Kahuna on what would happen.

"Shit would happen and I'd have to clean up after both of you like I have to do my Meowth. So don't do it."

But regardless of the complications, life was life and it was somewhat routine at this point.

How little she knew it would change rather dramatically soon.

….

"...We think we've isolated the problem. Apparently a combination of recent construction at the Akala Geothermal Power Plant and a surge in Grubbin numbers due to last year's unusual weather patterns created a surge of Grubbin migrating into urban areas, where they went after transformers and power relay stations. With the help of Captain Iolani's Flying Pokemon I feel safe in saying we've found all the Grubbin injured by their urban surge, and we managed to get several trainers in the area to capture some of the Grubbin to reduce their overpopulation a bit."

Wicke smiled to the head employee on the ground in Akala, transmitted via tech donated to the Aether Foundation from the Devon Corporation.

She wasn't a personal fan on the operating systems they used, but free tech support flown in and good customer service by phone was a nice touch. She was the first to admit that the big Almian tech firms weren't the best at customer support.

It helped that the Devon President had been Lusamine's T.A in several college classes years ago.

"Good. Glad to see that we were able to get a handle on the situation before it could get out of hand. I do hope the trainers you were able to find will take good care of them."

The capture of Pokémon in Pokéballs was...not Wicke's personal prefered method. It wasn't Fiorrian, and she had seen what some sick people did with Pokemon trapped in the spheres.

She wasn't blind to the fact that many trainers and regular people cared for the Pokemon captured in the balls just as much as those who had their Pokémon the proper way in Fiore, Almia, and Oblivia. The people who did treat their Pokemon badly were, at least in Alola, exceptions to the rule that even Team Skull called trash.

It was odd writing a thank you card to a Miss 'Wrap' that one time, and she wasn't sure if she should have thanked her after Team Skull robbed the guy blind after the call and left him bound and gagged for them (and also coated in graffiti).

Though even with all her first hand experience, she couldn't help but remember those old documentaries about Pokemon whose balls were lost and had them trapped inside for years and shiver.

"Excuse me, Mr. Aether guy?" The call was interrupted by a blonde with long hair and marks on her face poking her head into the video feed. She was far enough back that she hadn't seen the call most likely.

"I heard from someone that my new Grubbin will evolve into a Pokemon called a Charjabug, and that there are cook books for special recipes that use their natural electricity to create unique dishes. My boyfriend is interested in trying them out later, would you know where they sell them?"

The employee gave her a 'sorry, let me get this' look before turning to the blonde and giving her some directions that Wicke didn't manage to follow. The girl gave a thankful grin and quickly retracted her head from sight, likely with a book store in mind.

The girl's head left as quickly as she popped in, but the marks lingered in Wicke's mind.

They looked like the ones that her nephew had. Wasn't that a coincidence?

The call ended a few minutes later and Wicke was ready to get started on her other duties for the day.

"Ah yes, Wicke there is a call for you."

Her boss, Faba, was frank.

"A call?" Wicke parroted. Who'd call her at work? She talked with her family on her own time, she was pretty sure she never gave her parents, brother in-law, or her nephew the foundation's number. She certainly never gave her sister it.

"Yeah, from a guy named Spenser. Something about family I think, now hurry up and get to it. I hardly need rely on a less competent employee to handle your duties for any longer than necessary."

….

The video conference room wasn't vacant. The president was there with her.

"Oh, Madame President..." Wicke began, only for the tall blond woman to smile.

"Oh don't mind me. I just have a feeling you might like someone around when you get this call. Call it a hunch."

A hunch? Was she missing something?

Regardless of why Lusamine was there, Wicke pressed the glowing symbol on the video monitor that said 'accept call'.

The computer promptly brought up a familiar face: A green haired man with long hair, dressed in the red and black of a Pokémon Ranger.

She could feel the president flinch. Lusamine had commented in the past that ranger wear was not her taste. Wicke herself didn't care much for fashion.

"Spenser, this is a surprise. I was told this was something about..." Wicke's eyes widened as she finally noticed something about Spenser.

"Spenser, your arm..."

The Ranger eyed his arm, bounded up so good one would think a Cofagrigus had gotten to it.

"It'll heal, though why my arm is bound like this...is why I'm calling you. Well, at least partially."

He waited a moment to see if either she or Lusamine would speak before continuing.

"You see, there was an incident recently. Three days ago I had gotten a reported sighting of strangely dressed people in white causing trouble to the south of Ringtown. I had thought it was the Go-Rock Squad..."

He seemed to notice their confused looks.

"...They're a bunch of hooligans and faux rangers, nothing too serious yet but we are trying to keep it that way. We think they might have been connected to the Grimer incident but nothing concrete yet. Anyway I thought it was them and I had sent three rangers to investigate and foil any plans they me be up to. They didn't report back when expected, so I sent three more rangers to check in on them. After they were silent for three hours I sent aide requests to Joel, Cameron, and Elita and took every ranger available, including your nephew and brother in-law, south to see what was going on."

His face grew grimmer.

"We found the missing rangers, and their killers. They were a group of foreigners in some sort of armor poaching every Pokémon they could find with Pokéballs. We immediately moved to stop them, and a battle ensued."

He gestured to his broken arm.

"One of their apparent leaders did this to me. He was a massive fellow, with wild red hair and a brutal battling style. The guy had a Flygon that didn't respond at all to a Capture Styler, and it wasn't because of some sort of special ball. The thing was in a regular Pokéball...the sight of it made your nephew and one of Elita's rangers: a Cervene Kosile, freak out like a war veteran at a fireworks display. Thankfully unlike Cervene, Zilant lived and helped capture several of their grunts, though all of them killed themselves before we could get any information from them. "

Wicke felt a swath off relief that her nephew, her only nephew (or niece), was still alive, even if she wished the girl was the same.

"By the time they withdrew we had many dead and injured, the latter including Garmon, and only managed to rescue about 75% of the Pokemon they had kidnapped and we didn't have the manpower to pursue them."

"That is incredibly unsettling. I feel for those poor remaining Pokémon, as well as that Flygon and your dead," the president spoke with genuine sadness.

"They'd appreciate it. However I didn't call just in the vain hope that these strange men are based in Alola. No, it's what happened afterwards. In the aftermath of the fight I had given a call to your sister about her husband's injury, and both his and her son's valor. Pia called back the next day, to tell Garmon that she had filed for divorce."

Spenser's tone of 'yes, that really happened and I still can't believe it did' tone gave way to looks of confusion, mirrored by the Aether president, as a tired groan of pure frustration rang from Wicke's throat like a roaring beast.

It was not a sound either expected from her, it was far more a sound Faba would make.

"Pia you total bi..."

Lusamine interrupted the rare event that was about to occur.

"She really did that? How heartless. Some people really are so cruel, aren't they?"

"The entire Ranger Union would agree with you there, Aether President. My inbox has been flooded with people asking to testify in divorce court that Pia is a horrible person and that she doesn't deserve Garmon's home, money, or tax benefits. I have a strong feeling he'll at least keep his home and tax relief intact. However I fear she'll try and drag Zilant into this drama more than necessary, and after what happened in the battle I don't want my ranger cracking. So I was wondering if you could take him in for a while, at least until the divorce is finalized."

Wicke blinked before nodding rapidly.

"Of course! I'll be glad to keep my nephew out of my sister's foolishness for as long as you need. My place has a guest room that'll finally have a use. Madame President, I must apologize if I ..."

Lusamine held a silencing hand up.

"Don't worry about a thing. I completely understand if you have to cut your hours back a bit. Family should be important, am I right?"

"You are. Zilant will be on the next flight out of Fall City, I'll email you the arrival times once they're booked.

Malie International Airport

The airplane was three minutes early, though the customs was taking longer than necessary.

Wicke never had understood people's issues with flying. It was fast, affordable, and safe. Plane crashes were rarities heightened by media without context: three big disasters every five years or so only looked bad when one didn't think of the thousands of flights that didn't crash, explode, or get hijacked

Five hours of flight, customs, and baggage was hardly worse than twenty hours of driving or even longer on a boat.

People were just overly sensitive to the small things in life. Constant stressors were the thing to be annoyed about. Like her sister for instance.

Her normally cheerful face was once more marred with a frown as her sister again crossed her mind.

She had never gotten along with her older sister. Not as a child, and not as an adult.

The term 'glorious war of sibling rivalry' was a misnomer in their case: it was more like a long, lengthy, guerrilla war of aggravation that lasted from the moment Wicke was born to when she left for college (unlike Pia).

Surprisingly though she had always gotten along well with Pia's husband (soon to be ex) and son. Apparently the many, many, many things wrong with Pia skipped a generation.

Hopefully they'd skip all future generations.

A throng of people burst out of security gates moments later, eager to escape the long wait that was customs and baggage claim. That was an odd thing about Alola: the baggage claim was not available to the open public.

It took her a few minutes of scanning, but she spotted a familiar head of hair and immediately began waving.

She debated calling for Zilant, but that was probably a bit too much. He was coming to her anyway.

The boy who approached her had gotten taller since she last seen him. As had the case been for a few years, he was notably taller than her, with dark hair in a crew cut and green eyes he inherited from her and Pia (unlike his height, which was not a trait of either of them, nor his grandparents for that matter, a lot like the marks he had on his cheeks).

His red and black dominant clothing (with some white) was Ranger regulation, from the pockets of which she could see the ears of a Minun poking out. A Partner Pokemon, she assumed.

The moment he got in range, she immediately hugged him.

"Oh my, it's been too long Zilant! I can't believe how tall you've gotten! I hope the flight wasn't too rough."

Zilant grinned awkwardly as one did when hugged by your aunt, before bending his neck with an audible creak.

"….I can't believe how tall I am either. The flight was okay, though I do regret not taking Murph's advice and getting one of those fancy neck pillows."

Empathy shot through Wicke for her nephew's pain.

"Oh dear, I think I saw several of those pillows in the shop outside of check in. We can go and get one….."

"That isn't necessary. If I really need one I can get one when I go home, not now." Zilant quickly shot down the idea, a blush on his face.

A 'please stop mothering me' blush, though she could feel he appreciated the thought.

"Oh yes, I suppose if we did get one now it could be lost or ripped apart by a Yungoos. Better to get it as late as possible."

Wicke let the statement linger a bit before continuing.

"So, did you eat on the plane, or do you want to get something to eat? There is a lovely local restaurant only a few blocks out, and the traffic shouldn't' be too bad this time of day. I'm a horrible cook…."

"Can't be worse than mother," Zilant reassured her, though he still looked interested in food.

One car drive later

"Alola!" A friendly greeter waved as Zilant and his aunt approached the open roofed restaurant that seemed to be the most native looking building in a sea of Johto aesthetics. A sign next to him read such available foods as Poi, Laulau, Malasada, Lomi-Lomi, Loco Moco, Saimin, and other dishes unique to the region, as well as announcement of the performance of the 'Akala Junior Dance Team'.

"Alola!" a counterperson just past the greeter chimed in.

"Alola!" a waiter who was walking by with a serving plate of something in hand quickly greeted as she continued past towards the other customers, and a group of shirtless men and women performing a dance on a central stage.

"Alola!" an old man at the bar greeted before returning to his drink.

"Alola!" a little purple haired girl waved from a nearby table she shared with a man who looked like a police officer who had been banned from the coffee pot for a few weeks.

"Alolans are really friendly," Wicke explained as Zilant looked uneasy at the constant barrage of friendliness.

"A bit too much maybe," Zilant mused, but his growling stomach pushed him on despite the barrage of friendliness.

….

The top of the Aether Foundation had a nice view.

The stars were brighter than he was used to, and out in the middle of the sea they were positively brilliant.

Zilant had been lying on the roof for an hour now, just looking at them. Aunt Wicke had panicked just after dinner when she realized she had promised to help a new employee with setting up, but he had told her it was no problem and he was fine to just look at the stars for a bit while she fulfilled her promise. No need for him to get in the way of a promise after all.

It was a nice way to wind down after a long day of travel and getting a feel of the land. Nothing against his aunt, it was just that Alola was filled with overly friendly people who constantly said hello (Alola) to you and it was draining after a while. Everyone could only be so friendly so much.

It made that Faba guy almost refreshing: rudeness was a lovely thing after hours of random people waving at you and saying Alola like a bunch of robots.

Still the greeting bots were less annoying and tedious to deal with than his mother. May she get nothing from divorce courts and he never have to deal with her again.

But why think of her when he could be thinking of much better things: the beautiful stars in the sky, the beautiful sound of the waves crashing against this VLFS structure, or even the beautiful dancers he had seen.

Girls with beautiful long hair and lovely swaying hips, boys with brilliant muscles and well defined jaws. A girl with a pink bird Pokémon and a boy with red and black hair with a Alolan Marowak in particular had caught his eye.

Perhaps his potentially long stay here could have something nice come of it: last time he had tried to get dates his mother had reared up and made a mess of it (His date thankfully understood that it wasn't his fault and they were still quite talkative, she just would probably not try again unless his mother was dead or far, far away), and he would be far from lacking in possibilities here.

Though he'd have to explain to his Aunt he was bisexual. How to bring that up though...

Pushing himself off the roof as he considered that question Zilant stretched his arms with a satisfying crack, berfore he turned and his green eyes met non-human ones as a Pokémon floated before him.

Yellow, orange, and black with sparkles radiating off it like the light from a star: it was like no Pokémon he had ever seen before.

"Alola?" He gave the local greeting, wondering what it was doing here. He hadn't seen it, or even its species, in the healing areas of the Foundation, and it didn't look like a Water Pokémon.

The Pokémon continued to stare at him before pointing at him. The pointing arm had a bauble of some sorts on it: a white ring that he felt he knew but the name was escaping him momentarily.

The ring floated from the Pokémon's hand towards him, spinning as it did to reveal a crystal in the center of it. With the crystal in sight he knew what it was.

And with that knowledge Zilant outstretched his palm in the path, knocking the ring from its floating path to the ground with a clatter.

The Pokémon looked at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I do not want a Z-Ring," Zilant told the Pokémon sincerely.

The ring floated again and tried to come his way again. Zilant again blocked it.

And again.

And again.

As the ring clattered for a fourth time the Pokémon rushed at it physically. Seizing it in hand the Pokémon was now in his face, giving him a lengthy glare.

"Ko?!" it demanded.

"I don't want it," Zilant repeated. "Why do you keep trying to give me it anyway?"

The now angry looking Pokémon jabbed a limb at his face. Specifically where he had marks that his dermatologist had never given him a good explanation for.

"My cheeks? That's the reason?"

Not liking his tone, the Pokémon jetted back a good few centimeters before raising the non-ring holding arm into the air. Lightning sparked from it as a lightning bolt flew up from the hand into the clear sky above.

After a moment the lightning began to circle back around instead of into the sky, manifesting into a single limb that was now sparking with the intensity of a bolt of lightning in a single small digit.

It flew back to him now, the elemental force in a finger now only a centimeter from his neck.

The Pokémon once more held the ring with the message loud and clear.

Wear the ring, or get poked with a lightning storm.

Zilant supposed it could be worse: it could be threatening him with the Thousand Years of Death with that hand.

The threat of that dreaded technique aside, it was time he deescalated this. Normally he'd use his Capture Styler for this, but he had used up its batteries on the way here. Multi-media features and a long flight after all.

He technically wasn't supposed to have Tetris on the Capture Styler, but no one really enforced that rule.

Thankfully he had a back up plan.

He looked the Pokémon in the eye, unflinching even in the face of electrified pain, as his eyes glowed.

Tapu Koko's eyes glowed moments later, an orange-brown he was fairly sure his eyes also had the color of at the moment.

"Now that you can feel my emotions and ideals even without a Capture Styler, let me repeat myself. I do not want a Z-Ring. A Z-Ring is a tool of a trainer. I am a Pokémon Ranger, I have no use for such a thing. I am adamantly against it. If you give me it again, I will throw it into the sea without a second thought. Do you understand?"

He allowed the connection to continue to ensure that the Pokémon knew how serious he was about his threat before breaking the connection.

The Pokémon hovered in front of him for a few moments, before turning around and flying away with a visible slump.

The next morning

"Skar!"

The first thing that a post coffee Wicke saw was a large metal bird perched atop her car, slashing up the roof with sharp talons and bellowing.

A Skarmory. More specifically a juvenile trying to establish a territory for itself.

Juvenile Skarmory did not like cars. Adult Skarmory were more tolerant of them, though she found they were less tolerant of Unovan models for reasons that continued to baffle science.

"Shoo. Shoo. Go away!" Darting out of the house Wicke began shouting at the bird, arms raised high to appear larger than she actually was.

It normally was rather effective on such young Skarmory, though this one just stared at her unimpressed.

A stand off ensued: Wicke lacking the ability to get the Skarmory off her car, the Skarmory mentally debating between scaring her away and continuing to destroy the perceived rival that was her car.

"Mi!"

The standoff was broken as she saw Zilant's partner Pokémon, the Minun, dart in front of her and spark his cheeks protectively.

It was the first time she had seen the Minun awake.

The Skarmory sized up the newcomer, undoubtedly confused as to what Minun was exactly. They weren't native after all.

She could tell the Skarmory was trying to determine if Minun was a threat, a non-factor, or edible. Should the latter be decided Wicke was already ready to snatch up Minun before Skarmory could.

A blue top appeared around her wrecked car, spinning rapidly into a glowing blue series of circles. Skarmory let out a confused cry as Zilant walked towards the Skarmory, dressed in sleep shorts and a faded 'Altru' T-shirt, capture styler in hand.

"Capture on." He yawned, the yawning part being unintentional, as the circle closed in around the juvenile Skarmory and covered Skarmory in a brief white glow.

"This isn't good territory, leave and find undeveloped land to nest in," Zilant instructed the pacified creature, who took off from the scarred car roof in a flurry of wings.

Wicke surveyed the damage and sighed.

This was why she had insurance.

…

Thankfully Alola was immensely walkable, even if she would have to call in and explain to Lusamine that her car is out of commission and she'd have to work on the main islands for the time being.

Thankfully the ferries were fast and Zilant was a good sport, because she had been suggested to go to Akala Island today, and she happened to know the best little diner over there.

Diners were a eatery form long perfected by Unovans, and she must give them credit for it. Diners were a wonderful place to eat pretty much anything, including breakfast.

Enough Unovans retired to Alola that there was no lack of knowledge of the diner arts, even when the owner's apprentices added in local touches that gave it that distinct Alolaness.

"Mmmmm..."

Zilant seemed to appreciate the local counterpart to maple syrup upon his pancakes. She wasn't sure exactly what the sticky substance was, but it was delicious and it was apparently healthier (while also apparently more likely to cause cancer than maple syrup? She wasn't sure how that worked but there was a stink about it a few years ago that went nowhere).

Both she and her nephew were at the diner's counter, currently shared with two other youths about Zilant's age. One was a really tall blond girl who looked recently tanned, the other a shorter male with hands that were so red Wicke had a good suspicion what had happened, and if she was reading him correctly why he was here.

A cook's pride overpowered by the blistering heat of the Alolan Sun, sunscreen error, and the fear that his companion would eat him if he didn't swallow his pride. It was not as uncommon as one might think.

That was why his Pinab Juice had a straw after all. Limit the hand use as much as possible after all.

The girl as she noticed had also gotten pancakes with the local not-maple syrup on them, but unlike Zilant she did not seem to like it. She had basically removed every bit of it from her pancakes with her fork, but still seemed to enjoy the pancake.

Zilant and the girl's eyes met, then their eyes darted to their pancakes, then back to their eyes meeting. With a better look at the girl's face she recognized her from the other day in the Grubbin incident communication.

Said girl and her nephew were giving each other looks of mutual disbelief, disgust, and disdain over their pancake habits.

Wicke coughed lightly to get Zilant's attention, the male companion of the girl also doing so moments later.

"So, I'm going to meet a team over by the Hano Grand Resort. The Golf Course over there's been trying to make their water useage more efficient, and I'm going to help with the project. I hope it's not going to be to boring for you."

"Shouldn't be. Dad taught me golf a while back and I could use some putting practice. They have a practice green right?"

Wicke nodded enthusiastically at the question, while the girl in the background made a vaguely disgusted sound about golf, muttering something about overpriced hats. Like a Rowlet she could see her nephew's head slowly turn towards the girl with a glare at the ready.

"I'm afraid I don't have any clubs of my own, so you'll have to borrow or rent some. I hope that's not a problem?" Wicke snapped his attention away from the girl, unsure as to what was going on with the two.

"I'm on paid leave, it won't be a problem," Zilant confirmed. With that she saw the waitress come this way, so hopefully she could get out of here before this odd issue her nephew was having with the tourist got worse.

"Do you want something for the road?" said waitress asked, the two of them having paid up front. Familiarity breed efficiency after all, and they did still give her a discount after that time inefficient storage habits had caused a Ratatta infestation.

"Komala Coffee."

"Pepsi."

Wicke felt a migraine come on as she saw the girl's head slowly start to turn towards her nephew the same as he had to her over his golf comment.

Really?

…..

Tapping the butt of his rented putter to the green, Zilant eyed the hole he was aiming at.

Holding the putter not even centimeters from the ground, he slowly pulled the putter back, before tapping the ball with carefully calculated force.

The ball rolled forward towards the hole, and curved not even a third of a meter away and rolled away from the hole.

Zilant's eye twitched at the sight of the ball rolling away.

Putting was the pits. Golf's one flaw.

Maybe his aunt was having it better today.

No...her eye twitched just like his did just now when the amount of paperwork that had been left to do as a combination of lack of authorization the lower employees ended up having and all the attempts by the Hano Grand Resort Staff to get around Alolan regulations and environmental laws creating more paperwork that needed multiple party authorizations, including Aether.

She'd be busy for a while. He'd have to find something to do until then.

Eighteen holes of Golf later

Zilant eyed his score card with annoyance.

Five Over par, all because of putting.

Putting was evil.

Sighing he stopped and took a swig of a bottle of water next to a screen of electronic images.

The screen was dominated by an attractive blue haired golfer, posed with club in hand in a cute pose, with smaller photos popping up for 'players of the week' in various ways. He didn't recognize any of them but an Elite Four member named Siebold, who was 'player of the week for Hole 6'. Some Parker guy with a Gligar was Hole 2's best player this week while a Mr. Backlot had the best showing at Hole 4.

In the corner of his eye he noticed an image shift, revealing an image of himself as 'Best Junior Chipper of the week'. He felt a bit of a smile form on his face, only for it to leave when he saw the girl from the diner, a Betty Snyder, as the week's Best Junior Putter.

Her companion, apparently named Jamie Oliver, was Best Junior Caddie.

He turned around and walked away from the girl's smile (the image of which seemed to be drilling into his skull). Perhaps his aunt would be finished and he could find them somewhere decently affordable to eat.

One miserable groan from the paperwork room suggested this would have to wait. Perhaps the beach then while his Aunt had to deal with paperwork he couldn't touch without creating five more forms for her to do.

….

The beach.

A sea of chairs lying out with owners soaking in the suns rays. Children letting out shrieks of joy as they ran around and buried their fathers in sand.

Beauties of both genders playing volleyball in swimwear, surfers coasting the waves and bobbing heads in the surf.

Perhaps he should have brought a swimsuit, Zilant realized.

Then again it was just an impulse he was here. Perhaps he could just people watch, or would that be considered creepy.

It was considered that way back home, though it was said that Trainer nations were filled with shameless perverts. Or was that just Kalosians and their (in)famous nudist beaches?

Zilant pondered this for a moment, before a ripple of sand caught his eyes.

It didn't look like some poor man realizing he had been buried by his twin sons.

The ripple began to grow larger and larger, as he noticed others begin to notice it. The tourists eyed it uneasily, but he saw a local skinned man scream and run for the water with a furious swimming style.

The lifeguards immediately began shouting for everyone to run moments later suggested the bolter had a good idea.

The sand ripple began to rise up even as the beachgoers bolted from it, swallowing towels, coolers, and umbrellas into itself like a whirlpool. It took a form towering higher and higher, taking a more solid shape as a dark shadow illuminated the beach.

"Palo!" the Pokémon bellowed, a giant sandcastle living as much as he was. A tower of sand shot like a rocket, striking a lifeguard tower and sucking in the shattered white planks. The lifeguard fell out safely though, and was quickly dragged away by a good Samaritan.

"Palossand, a Ghost and Ground Pokemon. A Class 1 Danger, sucks life force from its victims. High child mortality rates," his Styler beeped out information as he immediately reached for said Styler.

He had to stop this thing before anyone, human or Pokémon, suffered. Even if Minun hadn't stayed at Aunt Wicke's place, he would have no help on this one.

Electricity was useless against it. He would need to subdue it with just the Capture Styler, especially as the Palossand had grown so large as to be out of eye contact and thus made his Bloodline ineffective as a solution.

Pointing the device at the Palossand as it smashed a pair of abandoned umbrellas, Zilant shot the capture disc.

The device flew across the sand towards the Palossand, reaching it and beginning to spin around the Pokémon with the capture line.

One rotation, two rotation...

The Palossand didn't seem to be aware of the generation power around itself that would, upon completing, instigate a temporary state of calm and empathy upon it to become able to understand that eating people was wrong and to go away. However it was growing larger, and the amount of space between itself and the capture line was getting too small for his liking.

So he pushed the line out a meter, even as the third rotation of the capture line completed...

"Sandy!"

A smaller mass of sand rose up, in the circle as well, even as the line flared up brilliantly.

"Sandygast, a Ghost and Ground Pokemon. A Class 3 Danger, can compel others to do it's biding. Keep away from children," the styler informed him as the three capture lines of empathy and intent were more than enough to affect the pre-evolution.

The light condensed onto Sandygast, who flashed white for a moment before ducking back into the sand with a visible trail flying up the beach towards a non-commercial area.

The Palossand however was unaffected, and had turned his way with a glare even as the Capture Disc flew back to him.

"Pa!"

He barely avoided being struck by one sandy tower limb, and even closer with the second.

The Shadow Ball that followed was even closer, the attack passing so close to his forearm he could see the colors begin to discolor.

He prepared to fire the Capture Disc again, but he stopped the moment he saw the Palossand react to his motion.

Seconds later the eventual path of the disc erupted in an Earth Power, a sandal forgotten by its owner flying into the air and shattering giving him a quite vivid example of what would have happened if he had launched his Capture Disc.

Those things broke easily and it was a constant struggle for the scientists to make them more durable while retaining effectiveness. Thus he only had one at the moment.

And the Palossand had figured it out. It was quite intelligent.

"Paloo!"

It's maw opened up like a drawbridge, powerful suction sucking at him as it tried to pull him inside of it.

A Capture Styler could not function inside a Pokémon. You could not capture a Wailord while inside its mouth. A tooth did not conduct the necessary effects, and they didn't have uvulas.

A Palossand had no teeth or uvula, he would be unable to escape.

He would die. Painfully if he was not mistaken.

Digging his heels in as he tried to resist being pulled in, Zilant wondered if he could maybe use this. Get sucked in, but angle himself as to get access to Palossand's eyes.

He could calm it down, though it was unlikely that he could pull it off. His physics lessons were nagging him that such a action would be difficult if not impossible.

Plus even if he did, it would look very suspicious. Normal people couldn't stare a Pokémon down and compel them with one's will. He would probably find Alola a lot less friendly afterwards.

But it would stop this rampage. His discomfort was worth sparing innocent tourists. The unlikely physics and risk of personal misery would have to be attempted.

Perhaps if he jumped...

"Eelektross, Giga Drain!"

A familiar voice shouted seconds behind a series of green energy strands bound the Palossand in place, ceasing the suction and causing Zilant to fall flat on his face into the sand.

Painful.

The clopping of hooves was the only warning he got before a black and white blur thrust him up into the air and onto it's back before darting around the stunned, but recovering, Palossand.

The Pokémon dumped him behind the Palossand, who was now turning around in a fury.

"...So, it's you huh? The Pepsi punk. To think you're a Ranger too...well I guess I can now say I saved one of you now. Not exactly on my bucket list, but it could be fun party talk..."

Standing over him and glaring at the Palossand was the girl from the Diner and the Golf course photo, the tall blond whose very presence only brought him irritation. The girl whose name was probably Betty Snyder.

She was garbed differently than in those past two encounters: garbed only in a yellow bikini that made it quite clear she was a tall and attractive girl in many aspects. The irritation however was a nice shield from said attraction.

As was the fact she was glaring at the Palossand with anger, her golden eyes glittering with fury.

"You know, I never liked Ghost Pokémon," she declared to the Palossand, who was glaring her down.

"In Unova, there are four types of Ghosts. I have no problem with Golett and Golurk if I have to be completely honest with myself, but the other three just cause misery. They absorb souls, drown people, and trap people inside of themselves for lunch, and I wish I hadn't seen the aftermath of all of those horrible things. You're no different: I was told about what your kind does. You control children and once you get all big and evolved, you eat their life force and turn their pain into more of you."

As she ranted three Pokémon appeared around her: the Zebstrika that saved him, the Eelektross that stunned the Palossand, and a Joltik that popped out of her hair and let out a squeak.

"If Pokémon like you did not exist, this world would be an ideal place. I'm going to stop you from hurting anyone ever again."

As she stated this an Emolga landed on her shoulder, a canister in its hands that Betty took in her right hand.

His eyes went wide as he saw what the canister had on it's side.

Great Balls x 5

Roaring the Palossand charged another Shadow Ball. The girl wasn't amused.

"Block it," she told the Joltik on top her head. It squeaked and jumped into the air, before shooting out a Spider Web that tangled up the Shadow Ball.

The ball exploded harmlessly, doing nothing but blow her hair around a bit.

"Attack," she declared as Eelektross's maw began to glow with imminent flames, a colorful light began to form in front of Joltik in a spherical form, a ball of winds in between its hands while Zebrstrika just stepped in between himself and the girl like a bouncer.

Perhaps it didn't have any ranged attacks that could affect Palossand? It seemed to be at least aware of the fact that he and its trainer didn't get along.

Sparks even came from its mane as he spoke.

"Do you realize what you're saying? You're going to imprison a living creature, and I somehow doubt that you are planning to use it for blood sport!"

Joltik hopped off the girl's head and onto the Eelektross's head as she turned his way, an annoyed look on her face.

All three of the attacks were then fired at the Palossand. Before he could move to stop it Zebstrika snorted a warning, fresh electric sparks flying.

"Look Ranger boy, you tried it your way with that dreidel of yours, and failed. Now it's my turn."

"You didn't answer my question." He growled as she rolled her eyes at him before holding her hands up in exasperation. He noticed something he hadn't before: an object on her arm.

A ring to be specific, but not a promise or an engagement ring, possibly for the burnt hands caddy fellow she had been with earlier. A lot like the one that Pokémon had brought to him, but a bit different in build.

A Z-Ring, though he didn't see a crystal on it. Just a bit of yellow dust lingering in the corners.

"Geeze Louise, I was told that Rangers were nuts, but I always thought that was an exaggeration. I mean really, you are arguing to not get rid of that thing before it eats someone?"

"It's a living creature. I don't see you arguing that Eelektross of yours is a monster. It eats meat, heck I'm pretty sure it electrocutes and drowns its prey!"

"Affirmative," declared his Styler.

"It doesn't eat humans or the very energy of life itself," she shot back.

"That Palossand you want to keep free, unlike an Eelektross, is very good at sneaking up at people. Or did you miss the part where it rose up in the middle of a crowded beach and tried to swallow people?! Even if you do somehow use that dreidel of yours to make it leave, it doesn't stop it from coming back. Heck it doesn't stop it from doing the same to the Pokémon that you Rangers claim to value so much. Why let a menace like that be free!?"

"It's part of nature!"

"So are flash floods, wildfires, and plagues, and I don't see anyone advocating letting those run free!"

"Palo!"

Their argument ended when the Palossand erupted an Earth Power under Eelektross and Emolga. The energy released sent them, as well as Joltik, flying without the full damage of the attack, sending the Pokemon crashing down on the beach.

Both of them were also flown back. He could feel the sand dig into his clothes as he slid on his back for a good few meters.

Betty was knocked about an additional meter, and he could almost feel how much that would hurt. Sand was one of the few things more abrasive than his mother in a bad mood.

Perhaps it was a good thing he didn't have a swimsuit after all.

Getting back up he looked at the roaring Pokemon with a frown. He had to figure out a way to get it away from here before the unthinkable could be done to it. But the Palossand was wise to his tricks, he'd have to find a more effective way.

"Pel!"

A grin was born on his face as he pointed his stylus up and fired the capture disc.

One rotation later it fell into his raised with his left hand, as a Pelipper descended to his side from above.

"Slow down the Palossand and restrict its movement!"

The Pelipper nodded before flying towards the still growing Palossand, flying over the recovering Eelektross and Emolga before beginning to circle Palossand.

Palossand growls from this were drowned out by a band of black clouds that came out of Pelipper as it flew.

The Alolan Pelipper: uniquely capable of creating rain clouds around itself among the global population.

The clouds began to release rain, the water falling on the edges of Palossand.

The sodden areas began to darken.

"Palossand's unique abilities allow it to use water to be used to strengthen defensive abilities. However the affected sand has drawbacks," the Styler declared as the soaked sand began to bunch up at the edge of Palossand. Palossand roared as it strained at the thick edges.

However the sand would not budge. Palossand was not able to push outward.

With that fact it was time to end this.

"Thank you!" he declared as Pelipper flew off, and the capture disc was sent off once again.

Target Palossand.

One loop.

Two loop.

Soon this would all be over…..

Three loop.

Four lo…

"Pal!"

Green strands of energy shot out of ever opening of Palossand's form. In an animated program one could consider it a fortress's laser defense system on overdrive.

These strands shot down right into the capture line, shattering it.

The Capture Disc wasn't harmed, flying into the air and captured in his hand without harm.

However the Palossand turned to him, glaring him down in fury. Even with the water logging still in play, it could still strike him down.

But with eye contact, now he could finally….

Green rings of Giga Drain surrounded it once more, shutting the eyes of the Pokemon to his abilities. Eelektross was back, and it was super effective.

The attack ended seconds later with Palossand slumping over a bit. It had tired.

The Great Ball flew through the air before he could fire the Capture Disc once more. Palossand was sucked away into the blue and red prison, where it began to shake.

Emolga flew over and grabbed it before he could, taking it back to Betty where she held it her hand for a shake.

Then a second shake.

Then a third.

Then stillness.

Palossand was captured.

It was going to be stuck in that ball, forever. Unable to escape. Just lost in nothingness, because it was dangerous.

And his attempts to use the capture styler had helped tire it out.

"Well, that's a few kids who aren't going to die now," Betty declared as the ball's center glowed red and shrunk into deactivation, hidden within a clenched fist.

"Give it," he told her.

She looked at him as if he was crazy, a look shared by her Electric-types.

"Excuse me?"

At this point, he didn't care. A life was on the line because he wasn't able to finish this quick enough.

The beach was quiet now. It was only himself, herself, and her Pokémon.

Zebstrika stepped forward, putting itself between trainer and ranger. Emolga and Elektross followed suit as Joltik sprung up on her head protectively.

His power sparked in his eyes, ready to clear a path. Surprise appeared on Betty's face, mirrored by his own where he saw a similar color spark in her own eyes.

The mutual surprise changed form when a blue glow appeared around him, even as shiny powder scales began falling around them. Wherever they landed, bruises began to vanish.

Accompanying them was the fact he was being raised into the air and pulled away from the girl and the Palossand.

The culprit: a pink Pokémon that resembled the one that tried to give him a Z-Ring.

Wicke took a deep breath as she finally got away from the paperwork.

Sweet release! Finally that was done with.

Hopefully Zilant had managed to keep himself entertained in the meanwhile….

KERPLOP!

Though perhaps not as entertained as having the Guardian of Akala fly on by after dropping him telekinetically in a pile of grass snippets.

Tapu Lele flew away, a trail of scales following like the trail of a plane.

Ten minutes and a brushing later and Zilant had explained what had led him to being dropped in a pile of compost by an island guardian.

About the Palossand and the trainer girl who would never let the Pokémon back out.

How he had tried to solve it the proper way, and how it had failed.

"….Can she really be so blind? It's a living creature, it doesn't deserve such a fate," he asked sadly.

There were many things Wicke could say. She could tell him that the girl could change her mind.

That she might trade it for a Pokemon who she would let out to a trainer who would indeed let Palossand out.

The idea of telling him that he had behaved sub-optimally and nearly gotten himself killed was also possible, though that really wouldn't help things right now

"You said the girl was Unovan, correct?" Wicke inquired. At his nod, she continued.

"Unovans do have many problems with Ghost-Pokémon. Many Pokémon are dangerous, even forty years after things started getting better, and Unova has some of the most dangerous. That's not even getting into the cluster that was Eric Knudsen. Distrust of Ghost Pokémon is just how Unovans are. It's part of their culture, just as much as the Yoroibito Ceremony is a part of Oblivian culture."

Not sure why she used that as an example, perhaps she was still mentally weak from the paperwork?

"If it is, then it's a negative part of their culture. The sort of thing that one needs to fix in order to improve it," he stated darkly. She took a deep breath before entering that quagmire.

"Culture is changing Zilant, it always is. I've seen it even in my lifetime. Ever since the war ended, things everywhere have been mixing. Names, traditions, activities, the lines between an Almian and Fiorran, a Unovan and a Kalosian, and everyone in between are getting less and less distinct every year. Even here in Alola they are starting to see that, and that change breeds so many things. There are people who see it as a good thing, and people who fight against it."

"It's still wrong. Fearing an entire type…" he stated in disbelief for the entire concept.

"Every group has its flaws. Let's not forget that Alola, Kalos, Hoenn, Unova, and Kanto have approved marriage equality while Fiore and Almia are still debating it. No culture is perfect. There are things that Trainer nations do right that Ranger nations don't, for both understandable and not understandable reasons. Alola does things right, and it does things wrong, again for reasonable and unreasonable reasons. You'll be a here a while, and I think it will do you good. Seeing the world from another perspective is healthy I find."

Both their stomachs growled as she finished her little statement.

"….Of course deep talk about culture is a bit much. Let's get something to eat."

A few days later, the Aether Paradise

Their president was a more complex person than many gave her credit for.

Most just assumed she was a tree hugging nature lover (with no sense of economics, which was an insult that seemed to be popular in Trainer and Trainer tied nations), but there was more to her than meets the eye.

For example she was surprisingly good at Chemistry, despite having only earned a bachelor in it at a non-specialized college as a side project. She made a lot of the specialized medicines needed at the Aether Foundation that were not readily available for purchase.

Wicke had seen her create an anesthetic for a Machamp from scratch by hand; it was grander to her than any tea ceremony she had seen performed in Malie Garden.

It was part of the reason she had her own personal quarters in the back of the Foundation: it helped prevent any Pokémon or untrained personal from accidentally getting involved in the chemistry and burning themselves.

Or poisoning themselves.

Or eating life saving herbs that were urgently needed the next day.

The separate facility was a rather useful addition. It also was better for holding meetings than in the facility where a Yungoos getting loose and biting everyone in fury after only partially being neutered was not that uncommon an occurrence.

Lusamine had called her to meet with her in one of the side rooms, where she was currently looking over a beaker that Wicke recognized from the Aether Foundation's experimental Toxapex repellent spray to prevent depredation during Corsola spawning periods.

It was still a work in progress, but it no longer attracted Wailords and instigated their mating patterns at least.

"So, how is your nephew doing doing?" Lusamine asked as she reached for an eyedrop. She moved it towards a vial labeled 'Gyarados liquefied scales', and took a bit into the eyedrop.

"Zilant? Fine. He seems to be adjusting well to Alola. It probably helps I haven't shown him the summons Pia's attorney keeps trying to send him that the Ranger Union get struck down moments later. It's better off he doesn't know she wants him to be led by her lawyer to accuse Garmon of being something he isn't. Divorce is nasty, and my sister can be even nastier. My brother-in-law really did love her when they first met; I wish I knew what happened to it. Zilant says he wasn't the one who changed."

What had she missed while in Alola most of the time? For all of Pia's many, many, faults she did seem to have truly loved Garmon.

"Yes, sometimes love just doesn't get returned after a time. What was supposed to be beautiful was instead made ugly by the audacity of others." Lusamine growled in a tone that was, rather unnerving really.

Did she hit a nerve? She knew that Lusamine had a husband and kids at some point, she had met them once.

But something happened...she wasn't sure what but ever since then...did Mohn, that was the name of her husband if Wicke recalled correctly, run off with them to another woman?

Odd, she couldn't think of any reason why anyone would do that to her. Lusamine was a loving, kind, attractive woman by most any standard. Tall, good hair, wonderful skin, rich...frankly Wicke wasn't sure what could motivate such a move by the man?

Unless he really, really, really was interested in the one aspect of an 'attractive' woman that Lusamine lacked. Though if that was the case Wicke was sure she'd have noticed him staring at her, or at least two parts of her, when they had shared work space during her early years here. She knew what it felt like, and she hadn't felt him do that at all.

As far as she could recall, none of his eyes had ever been stuck to her breasts. He had eyes only for Lusamine as she had seen it.

"Well, other than my nephew settling in well things are going well. The last trapping mission had 144 Yungoos trapped and fixed before re-release. The Pikipek flock that got blown to Poni Island during the last storm has fully healed and have been returned to their native Akalan habitat. Of the thirteen Meowth we helped get adopted and off the streets, only two have attempted to injure their home owners and there is minimal damage to their electrical appliances. It's a good day."

"I do hope so. We need it. I only just got a call from our boat captain: they are bringing in a herd of Turtonator who are suffering from an illness. We're going to heal them and hope to prevent the spread of the illness to the rest of the population." Lusamine noted absently as she labeled the Toxapex repellent with the designation 6 and put it on a seal-able shelf labeled 'ready for trial'.

"What disease was it, exactly?" Wicke questioned the president, when the entire Aether Paradise shook violently.

Apparently one of the explosive Turtonator diseases. Safe for the Turtonators as long as it didn't affect the wrong organs, not so much for their surroundings. Trainers with Turtonators were highly encouraged to have them vaccinated against it, Aether was working on an efficient way of administrating a vaccine to the wild populations.

All the vials shook. The table vials were held in place by proper restraints, but the door to the shelf wasn't closed and the vials flew towards the edge.

She and Lusamine both ran for the case and blocked or grabbed the vials. Lusamine got Toxapex 6, she got Wailord Stimulant 4, Lusamine blocked a vial labeled 'Nihl' with her forehead, while Wicke saw a vial labeled 'Nuhl' catch in her hair before Lusamine pulled it out.

CRACK

A vial smashed on the side of the shelf, a label that Wicke could only glimpse as saying '?/UB-1#' floating in a blue liquid, the second number obscured. She felt a few of the droplets of the formula splash her.

Oddly the label didn't look like an Aether label. It looked like it came from another organization. Did the president have something ordered in...

Wicke suddenly felt dizzy, barely having time to secure Wailord Stimulate 4 before collapsing to the ground.

...

Wicke was floating above the earth, blue as the Earth orb below, before reality shifted like a slideshow.

The Earth was still below her, but it felt a bit off somehow. It wasn't obvious, but something just felt...

Wicke's thoughts were interrupted by being pulled in to the world like a Magikarp at the end of a Machamp's fishing pole.

She found herself in a room lit by pulsating colors, crazy neon, and the shouts of young adults gone mad.

She knew this place. It was that rave she and her sister went to years ago, seventeen in fact, though nine months later it was sixteen years ago and she had a wonderful nephew to call her own.

"Come on Wicke, don't be a buzzkill."

Wicke found herself spun around in place to see Pia, though a lot younger than she was now. Taller than Wicke then and Wicke now, with a slimmer figure and no glasses. She was a lot like the president, just more unpleasant.

She was currently talking down her younger self: the only one here not wearing clothing that showed off legs, arms, and/or stomach prominently. In her defense the baggy orange turtleneck, kneesocks, and mary janes were (a) look back then, and her more squared glasses looked cute on her younger self...

Oh yikes, her younger self's butt looked a lot trimmer. Clearly she needed to lay off the Malasada.

"Pia please, it's loud and smells funny. Plus I've been social, I danced. I'm not a Torchic."

Pia promptly made faux flapping motions and Torchic sounds in response, before going to more common childhood (and occasional adult) taunts.

"Wick's got one trick: Wick's got one trick."

Yes, yes she did. It's why 'Wick' had degrees and you didn't. She'd turn away from her sister if she could: this was less pleasant even when she was older and Pia was at the age when she could lord it over her that she could get drunk and Wicke couldn't.

Now her younger self would turn away and go home. She'd get to read up about that new theory on Chansey dietary effects on egg composition, and her sister would get knocked up by some guy and she'd get her nephew...

"I've too got a second trick! I can outparty you even without intoxicants!"

That was…new. That wasn't how it went. What was going on?

Pia was now leaning over her younger self who had just diverged from her, grinning in a 'you are on' manner.

"Oh really. Let's see what you've got, little girl."

The scene shifted again like a powerpoint, and Wicke was spared seeing her attempts at partying. That could only go as well as her attempts at musical composition.

However she could have asked for a less...awkward scene to be stuck at really, and one that made her wish she was once more trying to create an anthem for the Aether Foundation.

"That...you...it doesn't work like that. Human bodies have limits. You are scientifically impossible," her counterpart stated in exhausted disbelief. In a bed. With her sister and a man whom she couldn't see that clearly with clothes littered on the floor around the room.

That was...quite new.

"Oh please. I defy conventional concepts like that at ease. I'm absolutely perfect," he boasted smugly.

Then she was…..right in front of the Aether Foundation?

Huh?

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Her body was rapidly turned around to the edge of the sea, where a bald man in a red shirt stood. His edges looked like he had just walked out of an old display screen.

Quite pixelated.

"You appear to be experiencing a rather unusual drug trip. Whatever it is that is happening to you is amusing to me. Carry on human." The man waved to her.

The scene shifted once again before she could really figure out what had just happened, though the place she ended up next raised more questions than even the mysterious bald man of pixels.

"Now Pannonicia," An older but still not her current age version of her explained to a wide eyed young girl who looked a lot like Zilant, but with her mauve hair and red eyes, as she held up a metal trap and a common can of Pokefood.

"What am I doing wrong here to capture feral Meowth?"

"You aren't using premium Pokéfood. Alolan Meowth are incredibly picky eaters!" the little girl chirped in childish glee as the other her smiled brightly.

"Very good!"

The scene shifted, again, to an Aether Foundation computer monitor, where an older version of the girl, Pannonicia, had fallen asleep at the computer monitor, which was still alight with an email service on it. A new email had been in the process of being written prior to slumber, with a lot of recipients named

It might have been just the oddness of what was going on, but she was having trouble reading them. They kept fluctuating email providers.

The email began with the opening 'dear Sib…'

...

Wicke woke up on her bed before the email could be fully read, the sun shining through her window at a different position than it had been when she went to see the President.

Rising off her bed, she idly noted the cursive note from Lusamine on her side table (Sorry about that chemical. It was an experimental tranquilizer serum for Pokémon who absorb liquid into their skin and don't response well to needles. You have the day off to make sure it wears off fully, I gave Zilant some money to feed and amuse himself while you rest up), before grasping her head dizzily.

That...that didn't feel right. That wasn't what a tranquilizer did to her.

She had her wisdom teeth removed. She would know.

Whatever that was it was...just odd, and not because she went into some odd what-if scenario in her delirium. It was an action she couldn't see herself completing.

It was not the part with Zilant's biological father however, but what came after that was off.

Not long after she had found out her sister was pregnant, Wicke had her sister tested for any diseases that she might have, and put her own DNA in to be tested as well. Pia was certainly not going to do it on her own accord.

Her sister was fine, but she had discovered that she, and by extension her mother, had been a carrier for a rare disease in their shared X-Chromosome. If it was passed onto a son the disease would cause, among others, mental impairment, movement problems, and other problems that made life...horrible.

You could live, but the question of what life was at that point came up.

Because of past incidents in the Ranger Union states, it was illegal for a doctor to check an unborn child for gender. There had been some nasty issues of population dynamic ruin from overuse of this practice in years past that took immense deliberate cultural shifts to fix.

Trying to get around that legislation by cultural holdouts had led to further laws limiting what a doctor could check an unborn child for further to a point all a doctor could check was 'are you pregnant', meaning that if Wicke had ever had a child she'd be playing a blind gamble of if that child would be born healthy or not.

50% chance of a healthy girl, 25% of a horribly unhealthy boy, and 25% of a perfectly healthy boy, with an additional 50/50 split on if a daughter of hers would also be a carrier and have to go through the same questions as she did.

Wicke had long decided she could not make that gamble, and while those laws weren't in place in Alola the Ranger Union tended to notice if you did that abroad. She'd rather not have to deal with the aftermath of it all.

So after that test any children she would have would be step or adopted. She wasn't willing to gamble a life's quality of life otherwise.

Her counterpart would have even more reason to get herself checked: so why did she keep that child?

Or was she thinking too hard on a hallucination she had from strange compounds splashed on her?

Heahea City: Alolan History Museum

Zilant wasn't sure what had drawn him to the museum of all places to spend his day while his aunt recovered from that accidental tranquilizing.

(Or why the Aether President had pressed that he do so heavily for that matter).

Perhaps it was because he assumed the Unovan wouldn't be here.

Regardless here he was, Minun atop his head and just as confused as he was about what the historical tapestry in front of him was supposed to show.

Some image of a massive red humanoid trying to take down a king (Kahele as he recalled this section of the museum being dedicated to), while being defended by Tapu Koko? What was this supposed to be, a depiction of an enemy agent? A avatar of disease? An abstract concept?

Perhaps he'd have had it better at the Alolan Art Museum trying to determine what was different between Neo Classical Alolan Art and regular Classical Alolan after all. Historical images always exaggereated things, surely the red thing couldn't be that muscular.

Nothing looked like it had taken that many steroids.

Taking his eye off the odd tapestry, Zilant noted a wall of figurine boats that were apparently made 'to represent the King's travels across seas that no one but him could find' or something, to a wall that held a stone engraved with ancient…something on it.

Whatever it was, it didn't look like other historical stuff in this museum. It felt foreign yet oddly familiar….

"If you are thinking that piece is different, then you are correct. This stone and the inscription it carries was brought by King Kahele himself back with him after his voyage around the world. Chemical analysis shows this stone to originate from Accumula Town in the Unova region."

The explanation led him to turn to see a girl about his age, native born with brown skin and dark hair. She looked willowy, though oddly enough with red eyes.

That was odd for an Alolan. Pretty much everyone with a native skin tone he had seen had gray eyes.

Her dress was that of the Museum staff, with a nametag that said 'Makanui'. He wasn't sure if that was a first or last name around here.

"He brought a rock with him across the ocean?" Zilant had to question that. Sure he had seen the display that explained the excellence of Alolan canoe design, but that seemed a bit much.

"King Kahele could do amazing things, though I can't say I know how. I've studied my entire life and I can't figure out how he did it, and the theories people have for how aren't solid in my opinion," she noted as Zilant looked at the slab again.

It still felt familiar for some reason. Had he seen it before?

The girl whose first or surname was Makanui seemed to notice his thoughts and chimed in.

"If you think you've seen it before, you probably are correct. This inscription is found in sites all over the world, predating King Kahele's voyage by centuries. All say the same thing in the same exact way: A Bloodline to Unite the World."

"A what?" Zilant questioned. The phrase was familiar, but from where?

And why on this rock?

"It's an old phrase that has floated all around the world. For centuries Kings and Conquerors have uses the stones as justification for trying to unite the world by marriage and blood ties, or by conquest. It fell out of active pursuit a century or so ago," she finished as it clicked.

That phrase had popped up in the history books a few times: generally before some war of bloody conquest back in the age of swords.

To think it was that old, and that wide spread. Unova and Fiore, not to mention Alola and who knows where else?

Asking further questions wasn't going to get him anywhere if what Makanui said was any indication. Though perhaps if she was going to be around for a while.

"Say, do you think could explain to me what this tapestry is supposed to mean?"

The girl beamed in impending joy before a barrage of theories and personal opinions about Fearsome Pokemon whom the Tapu battled in legend, of how one of Kahele's foreign wives helped cure the once virulent Tree Fever from the islands that people would depict in monstrous forms, on ancient depictions of emotions from related people to the ancient Alolans, and a dozen other theories that he would be lucky to memorize and sort though later.

Still interesting, just really confusing.

EXTRA SCENES

Extra 1, the Home of Kahuna Hala

Hala stared at Tapu Koko who was sitting on his couch.

Tapu Koko didn't stare back before guzzling down an entire root beer bottle, but threw him a Z-Ring with a backhanded throw.

Hala caught the ring and examined it for a moment.

"I see. Someone turned you down?"

Tapu Koko didn't respond, so Hala walked over to the Island Guardian and sat beside the deity.

"So, tell me what happened?"

Hala should get some practice in: it had been a while since he had helped someone with rejection, and Hau was getting to the age where he was probably going to have some girl break his heart.

He probably should dust off the cobwebs from his son's youth before that happens.

EXTRA 2, Po Town

"Skar!"

Guzma had woken up at the sound of Team Skull members screaming in fear. He had rushed down in a swagger, not even bothering with putting anything over his skull and crossbones boxers, with his Golisopod's ball in hand ready to smack whoever was on his turf without his permission, and scaring his grunts without his permission.

Only he could do that, and only on Halloween!

He did not expect to find a Skarmory pecking into the Team Skull cereal supply.

He turned to his second in command, who was wearing a nightgown that honestly covered her up more than her regular clothing.

"Ya seein' this too? This ain't no dream?"

Plumeria pinched her cheek, shaking her head when the Skarmory didn't poof away.

"Well damn…a Skarmory really is eating our cereal. You know, I really, really, would like to sell this Skarmory, but the thing ate my Fruit Loops. It's 'bout time this bird sees what happens when you get smacked down, and down, and down to the ground!"

Plumeria would normally try and make her boss calm down, but she saw the empty box of her favorite cereal left in the wake by the Skarmory and wasn't going to have it.

The question was now what would happen first: being set on fire or being beaten down, down, and down to the ground.

Stinger: Melemele Island, much later

The Delibird flew from the mailbox seconds before the sixteen year old youth investigated the contents.

"Ruff!" his Rockruff barked in interest at what might be in there. The youth shook his head in response however.

"Nothing but ads and..." The youth's eyes widened as he saw the final envelope in the box.

Addressed from Kahuna Hala himself.

Without waiting, and dropping the sales information on new patio furniture on the ground he immediately tore into the letter, revealing what lay inside.

To Fraxinus and Velvet Lono,

Sorry it has taken so long, but you are now ready and my schedule is freed up.

Come of the date at the bottom, both of you, to Iki Town. Your Grand Trail will begin then.

I will battle you both, six on six. Each of you will use three Pokemon against six of mine. Should you defeat me, the trial is passed for you both.

Kahuna Hala

The date at the bottom was early in five days.

The boy grinned widely, the smile threatening to hide the Z marks on his face. His red eyes glowing with excitement, even more so than when he found out school would be off for a week just this morning.

The boy darted quickly back inside, Rockruff staring after him in confusion, only for him to exit moments later just as fast, five more Pokemon in tow.

A female Pikachu, a Rowlet, a Litten, a Munchlax, and a Butterfree.

"Come on Rockruff, it's training time! We've only got four days to really get in shape, and we only have four days and breakfast to do it, and that's only three days if we do that 'rest after intensive training' thing!"

With that declaration the gaggle of Pokemon and their trainer darted down the street towards the distant island hills, the training plan only theoretically in the excited boy's mind.

His sister would return home from a shopping trip to Alola Sunrise and be equally as enthusiastic at the news, and after a moment of deciphering of her twin's messy handwriting baffled by what he was saying.

"Whatever 'Hill Training' is supposed to be, he better get home before mom does," was all she had to say on her brother had decided to go do, before she made to give Sophocles a call.

She had training to do herself, and if she was going to go crazy with three days of intense training before one day of rest and a breakfast she was going to use science to do so properly.

Not just...whatever 'Hill Training' was supposed to be.