Ezra ran through the torrential downpour on Akala island and cursed his luck. His feet barely held on to the muddy ground and his clothing has long since been soaked through.

Spotting a cave partially covered by both the towering rock face and some foliage, the boy ducked into it and shook himself to get most of the water off his clothing. Leaning against the rough-hewn wall, he caught his breath and stared outside at the sheets of water coming down.

"Sheesh," he grumbled, swiping water off his arms and hands and stomping his feet to get most of the water off his legs. "And here I thought Kyogre's showers were bad...guess I know where she got the idea for them..."

He paused as he noticed that the cave continued deeper inside. Briefly weighing his options, he went deeper, one hand on the wall to guide himself.

Eventually, the dark winding passage opened up into a massive open area, rich with bio-luminescent plantlife, bathing the area in a light green glow, further reflected by a pool of water.

Ezra pricked his ears at a sound and took a more careful look around before spotting something by the side of the water.

A blond-haired boy decked out in tattered red and black clothing was sitting with an umbreon and lycanroc in front of a fire, all of whom had turned to peer at Ezra quizzically.

"Ah," Ezra said. "Wasn't aware this cave was taken. I'll go find another then."

A burst of red light from his belt startled him and Arceus towered over the boy.

"You will do no such thing," it said, pushing Ezra away from the passage they had come through.

Ezra sighed as he turned, walking towards the occupants of the cave, throwing up his hands. "Fine, fine."

Reaching them, he took note of the boy's slack-jawed expression, mirrored by his pokemon, who bowed their heads respectfully to Arceus, murmuring greetings.

"Arceus, stranger. Stranger, Arceus," Ezra said, waving a hand.

"Well met," Arceus said politely. "Sorry for barging in like this."

It took the other boy a few seconds to find his voice and it came out in a hoarse squeak. Coughing, he tried again. "Who are you?"

"He is Ezra, and we are cold and tired. May we share your fire?" Arceus asked.

"O-of course," the boy said, gesturing.

Ezra kicked his shoes off and peeled his socks off before he sat down in front of the fire. Extending his hands, he flexed them as warmth slowly seeped back into them. He did the same for his feet before crossing his legs and stared at the blond curiously.

"So what're you doing out here in this weather?" Ezra asked.

"None of your business," the boy snapped, before glancing at Arceus, who glowered at him. "...Mostly staying out of the weather," he grumbled, glancing at his pokemon. Lycanroc growled softly and the umbreon nuzzled his hand, giving it a lick before wandering over to Ezra.

"Do you not have a family?" Arceus asked, sitting down beside Ezra and curled its legs under itself.

The boy's face darkened. "Yes, but they were...not that kind. Even though they say they're doing good."

"Do they work for the Aether Foundation?" Ezra asked, to which the boy didn't respond. Ezra didn't press the matter and reached a hand out to umbreon, who sniffed his fingers before nudging them. Ezra stroked the pokémon's head and smiled. "She's lovely."

"What's your name?" Arceus asked the boy

"Gladion," he replied, watching them warily.

"Nice name. Based off a flower, isn't it?" Ezra asked. "Usually it's something boring, like Rose or Lily."

"Lillie is my sister's name," Gladion said, eyes narrowing.

"Lillie is a fine name and a lovely flower," Ezra said.

Umbreon and lycanroc snickered and Arceus rolled its eyes.

"You'll have to forgive him. He's still not entirely used to dealing with people," Arceus said, giving Ezra an affectionate nudge.

"I am too used to dealing with people," Ezra said with a pout. "It's just that most of them are butts."

"You see my point," Arceus said to Gladion, as Ezra stuck his tongue out petulantly.

"I'm not entirely sure what I see," he said. "I mean...you're Arceus. And...I just...what?"

"Arceus took me in a while back and I've been with it ever since," Ezra said, idly stroking Arceus' side.

"But...you had Arceus in a poké ball," Gladion said. "How?"

"Because we trust and love one another," Ezra said simply "Plus, it keeps others from trying to capture and control it."

Gladion rubbed his temples. "Everything I know is crumbling down around me."

"Oh, believe me," Arceus said, nudging Ezra affectionately. "It's probably nothing like what you imagine it to be."

Gladion shrugged. "Not much else I can really say at the moment." His eyes landed on his umbreon, who was in the process of getting her belly thoroughly spoiled under Ezra's deft fingers, and softened. "I guess I can understand where you're coming from though."

"How progressive of you," Arceus replied. "But what about your third pokémon?"

Gladion hesitated before he sighed and pulled out a Premier Ball, staring at it for a moment before throwing it into the air. "Null, meet our guests."

Ezra paused in his petting to stare at the odd pokémon before he slowly got up, gently putting Umbreon on the ground and approached Gladion's third pokémon.

"This is Type: Null," Gladion said as the pokémon shook itself. "Created by the Aether Foundation to destroy creatures from another dimension."

Ezra held out his hand and Null pressed its helmeted head against it before growling softly.

"It's in pain," Ezra said, gently running his fingers over the helmet before carefully hefting it in his hands and blinked at its weight. Null stared at him silently. "What is this?"

"A limiter, to keep its power in check," Gladion said. "It was deemed a failure since it couldn't control it and was frozen. I stole it to see if I could help it, but I haven't made much progress." Hiss hands curled into fists and he looked away.

"A pity," Arceus said, rising up. "Another man-made pokémon designed for combat."

Ezra glanced at Arceus with a frown.

"I may be able to help," Arceus said, getting to its feet as its ring glowed.

Null lightly pushed Ezra away and the boy went to stand by Gladion, whose entire posture was tense.

Arceus gazed down at Null before enveloping it within its power. With a crack, the helmet fell away and the golden glow sank into Null's body.

The crest on Null's head, no longer restrained, flared as three clear spikes emerged, flashing in a variety of colors. The same effect happened to the tail as well. The pokémon's head fur turned from gray to silver and it rested on its four limbs comfortably.

"That'll do, I think," Arceus said, stepping back. Gladion approached Null and touched its neck before running his hand over the sides of the pokémon's head. "Instead of having all that power cooped up inside, it's now focused in those spikes and membrane. Much like me and my plates, it can shift its Typing to best counter an opponent. Quite intriguing, that."

"It's called the AR System, modeled after your own Multitype ability," Gladion said absently as Null nuzzled him. "But they were never able to fine-tune it. I do believe that the production name was RKS or something similar."

"Aw, you have a fanclub," Ezra said, nudging Arceus.

"A fanclub dead set on creating a killing machine," Arceus said. "I think I'll go poke around Aether Foundation and see what else they're up to."

Before either boy could say anything, Arceus vanished. Ezra growled and fingered Arceus' poké ball.

"Is Arceus always like that?" Gladion asked, turning from Null, who stretched its limbs one at a time.

"Only when it's grumpy," Ezra said, putting his hands in his pockets. "So do you want to give Null a proper name? It's no longer...ah...not-finished?"

Gladion stared at the pokémon before stepping in front of it. He reached out a hand, but stopped before touching the pokémon. "Do you still want to travel with me and see Alola? No longer as Type: Null, but as...Silvally?"

Silvally let out a bark, nudging Gladion's hand aside and licked his face instead, much to the boy's surprise.

"I think that's a yes," Ezra said with a grin. "Nice name too. Very pretty."

"So, what will Arceus do to Aether Foundation?" Gladion asked.

"Depends on what it finds," Ezra replied, scooping up umbreon and stroking her fur. "What do they do?"

"Help pokémon. On the surface, anyway. It's the labs under the water where the seedier projects fester," Gladion said as Silvally nuzzled him.

A flash of light got their attention and they turned to see Arceus standing with two poké balls floating around it.

"I took the liberty of freeing the other two Nulls from containment and will be taking them with me," Arceus said. "A quick scan of everyone's memories let me send those who deserved it to jail and the others I left to do the legitimate businesses. All the research on the Ultra Beasts was sent to the International Police, which I'm sure they'll find most helpful."

"What about Lusamine - my mother?" Gladion asked.

"Whisked herself off to Ultra Space as soon as I arrived. No sign of your sister though," Arceus said.

"Probably with Hapu and Acerola," Gladion said. "She'll be distraught."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry I couldn't help more," Arceus said.

"You've already done more than I could ever hope for," Gladion said. "Lillie's been talking about going to Kanto, so we may take some time away from Alola and let things sort themselves out in the meantime."

"I wish you two the best of luck," Ezra said, walking over to Arceus.

"Ezra," Arceus chided.

"Hm? Oh! Right," he said sheepishly, letting umbreon go, who walked back over to Gladion, who chuckled.

"See you around, Ezra," Gladion said.

"Likewise," Ezra said before Arceus spirited him away.