CHAPTER 2: WELCOME TO AETHER PARADISE
Hilbert woke up to a dright, sunny day. He put on his Aether Foundation employee uniform, which had been given to him by the foundation.
First, Hilbert went to the conservation area, where he was to be received by Wicke. Hilbert took the elevator to the conservation area. Once he reached it, he walked forward and looked around.
"Whoa," said Hilbert. "This place is amazing!"
Hilbert walked towards the north end. A curvy woman with purple hair walked forward.
"Greetings, new recruit!" she said. "I am Gloria Wicke, the assistant branch chief of the Aether Foundation. But you can call me Wicke! Everyone calls me by my last name."
"Greetings, Wicke!" said Hilbert. "Hilbert Klump, at your service."
"At Aether Foundation, we care for Pokemon," said Wicke. "People like Team Skull have been harassing Pokemon, but here we have a safe space for Pokemon. Here, we provide care and kindness to all Pokemon."
Hilbert took a walk down some stairs. There was a beautiful garden with flowers of every color. Pokemon were frolicking in the flowers and drinking from a pool of water. The sound of happy, peaceful music filled the air.
A Cutiefly spotted Hilbert and flew over to him. It carried a red flower on its forelegs and gave it to Hilbert.
"Meep meep!" it said.
"Why thank you!" said Hilbert.
"Meep meep!" said the Cutiefly. Its eyes shone like a reflection in a pool.
Wicke walked over.
"That's Snowdrop," said Wicke. "He and his mother, Rosella, were rescued from Po Town after Team Skull took it over. Snowdrop was still an egg at the time, and he was hatched here. The two of them have been inseparable ever since."
A Ribombee flew close to Hilbert and Wicke and hovered near the Cutiefly.
"Is this your mother?" Hilbert asked Snowdrop.
"Meep meep!" said Snowdrop, signalling a 'yes'.
"Bzzz bzzz," said Rosella, embracing Snowdrop.
Hilbert turned to Wicke.
"Do I have any assignments today?" he asked her.
"Nothing major is on the agenda for today," said Wicke. "I'm planning on some assignments for you and other employees."
"I'll be looking forward to them," said Hilbert.
Snowdrop started to fly around Hilbert, buzzing happily.
"Meep meep!" he said.
"Looks like Snowdrop's taken a liking to you," said Wicke.
"I wouldn't mind looking after the little guy," said Hilbert.
"Then it's official," said Wicke. "You'll be in charge of looking after Snowdrop. He's pretty easy to take care of - he likes sweet things, he enjoys being around flowers, and he loves affection. Rosella does most of the looking after him, so you won't have to do too much." She pointed to a little house that resembled a birdhouse. "That house is where Snowdrop and Rosella sleep. Snowdrop will normally go to bed around sunset, though he's occasionally awake at night. I knitted him a little blanket to keep him warm."
Snowdrop buzzed around.
"Meep meep! Meep meep!" he said.
"Looks like he's happy," said Hilbert.
"He is happy most of the time," said Wicke, "though if his mother's not around for a long time, he'll start to cry. If his mother's going to be absent for a while, that would be a good time to keep him company."
Hilbert heard the clock strike twelve.
"It's noon," said Wicke. "Would you like to go down to lunch?"
"Sure," said Hilbert. "I'm getting hungry."
"There's some people I'd like you to meet," said Wicke. "They'll be helping you out."
Wicke led Hilbert to the cafeteria. She brought him to a table where four other people were sitting. The first one was a tall guy with lavender hair styled like Hilbert's. The second one was a heavy-set woman with tan skin and pink hair. The third was a short woman with dark skin and periwinkle blue hair in box braids. The fourth was a guy with longish blond hair.
"These people will be in your unit," said Wicke. "Since the Aether Foundation has hundreds of employees from all over, we divide our organization into units. I'll let you get acquainted." Wicke walked away.
The lavender-haired guy looked at Hilbert.
"Hello!" he said. "My name is Ricardo Gallegos. I'm from Aspertia City. Where are you from?"
"I'm from Nuvema Town," said Hilbert.
"Small world!" said Ricardo.
"I know!" said Hilbert.
"Next to me is Kiana Wong," said Ricardo, turning to the pink-haired woman. "She's from Heahea Town."
"Hello!" said Kiana.
"Hello!" said Hilbert.
"I'm Allison McClure," said the blue-haired girl. "I'm from Opelucid City."
"Another Unovan," said Hilbert. "Glad to meet you!"
The blond guy spoke up. He had a noticeable accent.
"Dzień dobry!" he said. "My name is Emil Lisowski. I'm from Warsaw."
"Wow," said Hilbert. "You've come a long way to get here."
Hilbert sat down.
"How long are you guys here for?" he asked them.
"Three of us are stationed here for about a year," said Ricardo. "Then we go home - except for Kiana, who's pretty much permanent. Emil just came back from vacation - he was visiting his family."
"So," said Hilbert, "do you like Alola?"
"Yes," said Ricardo.
"Tak," said Emil.
"I sure do!" said Allison.
"I live in Alola," said Kiana, "so naturally I'd say yes."
"What do you like best about Alola?" asked Hilbert.
"That's a good one..." said Ricardo. "I guess I'll pick Hau'oli City. It's so vibrant!"
"I like the market in Konikoni City," said Allison.
"I like the flowers," said Emil.
"I like the food," said Kiana.
Hilbert's stomach growled.
"Speaking of food," said Hilbert, "I think we should all get something to eat."
"Agreed," said everyone else.
The five of them went to get food and had lunch together.
