Aether Paradise was a bit of a war zone at the moment. The Ultra Guardians had to face off against Rainbow Rocket, Team Rocket, and Cipher. Every individual team held their own motives yet wanted the other sides to get out of their way. The result was a massive free for all that endangered the paradise, the people in in, along with the Pokémon as well. Marcus and Elizabeth were the ones in charge of making sure the Pokémon in the reserve were unharmed, but they came to a halt in a damaged hallway that showed nothing but destruction. "Yeesh…" Marcus whistled lowly.

There were a few Rainbow Rocket grunts rendered unconscious. They weren't too badly hurt, but it was certainly enough to stay on guard. "Looks like someone beat us here…" Elizabeth muttered. Not everyone was privy to the information that Cipher was joining this battle for their own goal, so they had to make their assumptions.

"This trail of destruction started all the way back there." Marcus pointed. "Considering it ends where we just found it, whatever did this probably passed us a while ago. Man…Lusamine's gonna have a lot of damages to repair when this is over."

"That's a later problem." Elizabeth said before deciding to carefully lead the way forward. It was the way towards the Pokémon reserve, so whatever caused this came from there. They both realized this and silently walked forward. Before they could get too far, however…

"Heeeeelp!" That was Acerola's voice. She was running down from another hallway, chased by a few Rainbow Rocket grunts.

"Huh?!" Elizabeth and Marcus whipped around, only to see a person in need. "Who's that…?" Elizabeth began.

"Someone who needs help!" Marcus said while reaching for a Pokeball instinctively, throwing it forward. "Zangoose, you're up! Quick Attack!"

"Luxray, your turn!" Elizabeth called forth her Luxray in time with Marcus releasing Zangoose. "Thunder Fang!" Zangoose sprinted forward at high speeds while Luxray ran forward, electricity crackling around its maw, taking the shape of sharp jaws. While Zangoose slammed its body into one RR Grunt, Luxray jumped forward, biting down on another Grunt's arm to send them sharp electric shock, rendering them both unconscious.

Acerola finally came to a halt, panting heavily after the mad dash she had to make. "Thank you so much! I was worried they'd catch me again.."

"Again?" Marcus lifted a brow. He remembered Acerola from the time they went to Ula'Ula and spoke to the downer that was Nanu. "Actually, now that I think about it, what are you doing here?"

"Those jerks used me to make sure Uncle Nanu wouldn't come chase them…" Acerola pouted while bouncing from side to side. Perhaps it was the fact she finally found some friendly faces that made her so jovial.

"That's not a bad plan…But you don't have to worry. My friend and I will keep you safe." Marcus said confidently.

"Thank you both so much! I didn't think two kind strangers would come to my aid like this!" Acerola clapped her hands together.

"Huh…" Marcus blinked. "But we've me…"

"They're holding my Pokémon in a lower level…I'm worried what they might do to them…" Changing the topic quickly, Acerola pointed in the direction she came. "I need them back asap…"

"Well, we can't leave her pokemon in peril, can we?" Elizabeth looked to Marcus.

"Yeah, let's go help her first. Stay behind us, we'll keep you safe." Marcus told Acerola as they started to head towards the lower levels. Something about this situation didn't seem right, though…

.

.

Venus sauntered around the halls of the Foundation, careful not to stir up too much trouble. Thanks to her loud ego, Rainbow Rocket was aware of her presence, but that didn't matter too much to her. Any time a Grunt approached her, her Steelix dealt with it handily. "I think splitting up was a wonderful idea, don't you?" She turned to Ferma, who was accompanying her. As the only two women in Cipher, she'd rather have some female company over the brutish male.

Ferma looked back at the trail of destruction Steelix left behind it. Those otherworldly people really didn't stand a chance. "Wow…" The woman mumbled while following alongside Venus. "I don't really get it, but I'm not being paid for my opinion or anything." She shrugged.

"That's no good! Miror B was always stingy." Venus shook her head. "You know, this place isn't so bad. I'll have to have a talk with Ms. Lusamine about this place…"

"That's not why we're here!" Ferma had to remind Venus. "We're here to look for the way of opening Ultra Wormholes! Well…in a way that we can control them. I'm not really comfortable with all the tears in space lingering above this building right now."

"Details, details." Venus waved a hand. "We'll find a way to crawl back from our disgraceful failure on that mountain. And if we don't, my finely manicured fingers will wrap around Ein's neck for dragging me into this mess." Venus looked at her nails as she said this.

"Scary…" Ferma gulped. Definitely did not want to be on Venus' bad side…

Before their conversation could go further, Ardos' message rang through, mentioning how XD-002, otherwise known as Kasumi, was still alive and active. This caused Venus to stop in her tracks, eyes wide in shock. "…That girl is alive?" The shock on her face then turned into a malicious grin. "Good…I so owe her for dragging my reputation in the dirt!" In response to her emotions, Steelix's tail slammed against the floor, damaging it severely and causing the lights to flicker off and on. "Looks like coming here was worthwhile after all~"

.

.

Lana, Mallow, Kiawe, and Sophocles stood off against Archer and his Houndoom. It was more than four against one, but Archer was firmly confident in his ability to dispatch these children. The numbers weren't in his favor, but as far as he was concerned, this fight was still in his court. "Marowak, Shadow Bone!" Marowak flew forward, ghastly embers flaring around its weapon as it moved to club Houndoom over the head.

"Tsareena, use Trop Kick!" Mallow shouted.

"Crunch." Archer commanded. Houndoom opened its mouth, catching Tsareena's leg first, biting down hard to ensure a firm, harsh grip. As Tsareena cried out in pain, Houndoom spun around, sending the grass type right into Marowak, causing the two to fall out of the air. "And Fire Blast!" Houndoom opened its maw once more, releasing a gigantic burst of flame that consumed Marowak and Tsareena, causing the two of them to fly back with burns accompanying them.

"Sandy, use Quick Attack!" Lana commanded. Sandy the Eevee darted along the ground in a zig-zag pattern, moving in such a way to avoid being tracked easy. Sandy then slammed its little body into Houndoom's own, causing it to slide back just slightly. "Nice!"

"Is that the best you can muster?" Archer scoffed. Such a blow barely damaged Houndoom.

"Vikavolt, use Wild Charge!" Vikavolt flew around at high speeds, lightning blazing around its body fiercely as it intended a full body tackle on Houndoom.

"Crunch." Houndoom waited for Vikavolt to try and close the gap. Once it did, the hound jumped to the side, evading the Wild Charge. As soon as its feet touched the ground it sprang forward once more, a dark jaw of energy appearing in front of it. This jaw bit down and exploded on Vikavolt, causing it to fall from the sky.

"Vikavolt!" Sophocles gasped in worry.

"Tsareena, Shaymin! Magical Leaf!" Tsareena recovered from the Fire Blast, and now with Shaymin, fired off numerous leaves at Houndoom. The sharp grass type attack did land, but Houndoom did not budge as the leaves cut along its body. "Now use Stomp!" With the leaves as a distraction, Tsareena leapt into the air with her leg raised high.

"Attacking from above? How predictable! Smog!" Archer grinned heinously. Houndoom opened its mouth and released a poisonous gas from its mouth that polluted the air and Tsareena's system. The queenly grass type had no chance to evade this and fell to the ground, cheeks tinted purple as it was inflicted with poison.

"Oh no…!" Mallow gasped and rushed to Tsareena.

"Aqua Jet!" Lana commanded Primarina. The water type coated itself in a strong veil of water and propelled itself forward, slamming into Houndoom with enough force to send it skidding backwards. With this direct hit proving effective, it circled around once more to try again.

"Crunch!" Houndoom shook off the hit and swayed its body to the side, now biting harshly into Primarina's tail. This Houndoom's strength was nothing to sneeze at as it stopped Primatina's momentum cold. Houndoom spun around, hurling Primarina into Togemaru.

"Flare Blitz!" Marowak tapped its bone on its forehead, surrounding itself into a wheel of light blue fire. With all its might, Marowak spun forward and collided against Houndoom, resulting in a powerful explosion that pushed Houndoom back.

"Nice one, Kiawe!" Mallow said with a slight smile, still looking over Tsareena as she stood up from the poison.

Archer was chuckling as the kid's celebrated that hit. "Foolish children…all you've done is stoke the flames of your downfall." As the smoke cleared, Houndoom was seen standing just fine. In fact, the temperature around its body increased tenfold due to its ability: Flash Fire.

"It absorbed the flames!?" Sophocles gasped.

"Allow me to show you some true firepower." Archer clenched his hand into a fist, extending his arm forward. "INFERNO!" Houndoom let out a howl as its body was surrounded in a fierce orb of flame. This orb of flame then shot forward a gigantic beam of fire that completely trivialized the power of Fire Blast. The Flash Fire boost only made this attack that much more potent.

"Sparkling Aria!" Lana commanded hastily. Primarina was quick to form a large bubble that acted as a shield. The water did a good job as staving off the flames, resulting in steam that quickly filled the area. Somehow, Lana was able to protect everyone from the dangerous Inferno. "Nice job, Primarina!"

But it was far too early to celebrate. Because even though Inferno was protected against once…that didn't mean it couldn't happen a second time. Flash Fire was a permanent boost for as long as Houndroom remained active, so this battle only became that much more steep. "Fire Blast." Even if Inferno didn't do the trick, it did scare them. That's all Archer needed to apply pressure and the steam worked in his favor. A blast of fire connected against Primarina from above and exploded.

"Oh no!" Lana gasped.

The steam cleared and Houndoom snarled. This is when Archer pulled out a keystone from his pocket and held it up. "It's about time I put you children in your place. To surpass that of evolution…and Mega Evolve!" Numerous lights surrounded Houndoom's body as it responded to the Keystone around its neck. Houndoom's entire body began to change; its claws grew sharper, horns larger, the skull around its neck became bigger and more menacing, and its tail wagged. The sun was shining brightly on them as well…

"It's so strong…" Mallow swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. They were being pushed back by a single Pokémon…

"We're stronger together!" Lana reassured everyone.

"That's right!" Sophocles nodded in agreement. "We're not going to lose here!"

"Our flame of determination burns bright!" Kiawe said with a determined voice.

Archer held a malicious grin. He couldn't wait to crush the spirit of these kids. "I'm going to enjoy this. Fire Blast!" Mega Houndoom's ability was Solar Power. Since Alola was a bright and sunny region and this massive battle was occurring in the middle of the day, it had no issues using this sun to its advantage. Fire Blast was now equal in power to Inferno, the gigantic kanji of flame soaring towards the Ultra Guardians.

"Watch out!" Everyone had to dodge as the flames exploded somewhere, lingering fire now sweltering the area. The only downside of Solar Power was that Houndoom suffered natural recoil from every attack...but at this rate, the Ultra Guardians would be defeated before that issue even presented itself.

"Sandy, Double Edge!"

"Togedemaru, Zing Zap!"

Sandy and Togedemaru flung themselves forward. Sandy first, as Togedemaru's Zing Zap would paralyze if it landed. Sandy slammed its body into Mega Houndoom's chest with all it could muster, only managing to make the hell hound skid backwards just slightly. Sandy suffered recoil as a result but looked on as Togemaru flung forward.

"Crunch!" Houndoom created a jaws of darkness in front of its mouth, using those to bite down on Togedemaru without having to touch it. These jaws exploded and the small iron mouse flew back against its will.

"Iron Head!" Marowak's skull hardened to considerable levels and it sprang ahead, slamming its skull into Houndoom's own. It was a direct hit, causing Houndoom's head to recoil for a moment. "Once again!" Kiawe attempted to follow up on this offensive pressure, but…

"Inferno!" Houndoom snapped back faster than expected. It released a point black Inferno at Marowak, this torrent of flames carrying the Alolan Variant into a nearby wall, where it fell onto its stomach, severely damaged. To top it all off, Inferno had a 100% chance to burn as well, so Marowak was suffering a lot.

"Marowak!" Kiawe cried out in worry.

"Surf!" Primarina summoned a massive tidal wave behind its body. It then sent this wave forward, aiming to crash down on Houndoom.

"Fire Blast!" Houndoom released a blast of flame that not only punched through the surf, but evaporated it entirely. The resulting steam clouded the area and rendered sight impossible for a short time. But…

"Stomp!" Tsareena came down with her leg, aiming to slam it down on Houndoom's skull…but she missed as Houndoom jumped back.

"You're horribly predictable!" Archer scoffed. Houndoom lunged forward, biting Tsareena's midsection and ran with the Pokémon in its mouth.

"Zap Cannon!" Sophocles shouted. Vikavolt was off to the side, using the steam to its advantage to prepare a power Zap Cannon. They had to slow this monster down anyway they could. But just as Vikavolt was about to fire, Houndoom hurled Tsareena into it at the last second, resulting in a point blank explosion that sent both Pokémon falling from the sky.

"No…!" Mallow and Sophocles shouted at the same time.

"This isn't good…" Lana mumbled. This one Houndoom was capable of dealing with everything they could dish out! It was so strong that outlasting it wasn't even looking like a viable option at this point.

"Do you understand now, children? Now outmatched you are?" Archer snapped his fingers. This caused Houndoom to use Smog, releasing at thick purple gas from its mouth. This forced everyone to cover their mouths to stop from inhaling the poisonous gas. "Inferno." And with one more snap of his fingers, Houndoom released an Inferno that reacted to the Smog. The result was a large explosion of poison and fire that lingered in the air around the Ultra Guardians, leaving them burned or poisoned. It didn't matter which. Archer was just enjoying his dominance in this battle and stared at the purple cloud of gas that was far away from him. "Checkmate. Your Pokémon will fall to burn or poison in a matter of seconds, if they somehow managed to survive all that injury." The result seemed clear…but for some reason, the poison gas was starting to…dissipate? "Hm?"

"Shay…." It was Shaymin! Shaymin was known for being able to purify air. This was no exception. This was the little Shaymin that could, clearing the smog with its own natural ability. Not only that, but a calming, refreshing breeze washed over the Ultra Guardians, ridding them of any status ailments. That was Aromatheapry. Shaymin may not have been much of a fighter, but it had to do something!

"Tch…" Archer sucked his teeth in annoyance. Delaying the inevitable were they?

"We're…not done yet!" Mallow exclaimed. Shaymin really did save their skin. While they did suffer heavy damage, the status ailments weren't going to finish them off. They had a little bit of fight left…

"You won't give up? You simply don't understand your position." Archer shook his head. "Rainbow Rocket will expand Giovanni's influence across multiple worlds. There won't be a single world that isn't ruled by him! As second in command, it is my duty to ensure any and all nuisances that dare stand up to him are erased!"

"And I won't let you do that!" Mallow and Tsareena were standing in front of everyone as they recovered. She wasn't as strong as they were, but she had to make up for her shortcomings before. "This world is ours and we're not letting anyone take it! Moon is our friend and you're not taking hers either! I refuse to lose anyone or anything else that I care about! Together, we'll stop you!"

"Mallow…" Lana mumbled quietly at her friend's resolve.

"Tsareena! Magical Leaf!" Tsareena started to run forward, firing off Magical Leaf after Magical Leaf at Houndoom.

"Fire Blast." Archer was growing bored of this battle now. Houndoom released a continuous Fire Blast to overpower the Magical Leaf. Tsareena's only saving grace was the number of leaves acted as a shield. The burned leaves started to grow in number and soon enough, burnt foliage served as the perfect cover to attack.

"Now…!" Mallow yelled. Tsareena leapt into the air…and this time, Houndoom was rising up to meet it.

"Again with this trick!? You're far too predictable!" Archer scoffed.

And that's when Mallow smirked. "So are you! Shaymin!"

"What!?" Archer looked down and his eyes widened. The cover of Magical Leaf was never for Tsareena…it was for Shaymin to get close and now it was directly under Houndoom's location! "You…!?"

"SEED FLARE!" Mallow shouted to the heavens while raising her hand up. Shaymin responded to her will and its body started to shine brightly. The mythical pokemon let out a cry of its own as numerous seeds exploded upwards from its body, catching Houndoom in the air and sending it into the sky against its will. "Stomp!" As Houndoom came up, Tsareena lifted her leg up and slammed it down on Houndoom's skull, knocking it down to the ground.

"GRRR!" Houndoom snarled as it hit the ground. That hurt.

While it was down, Kiawe's weakened Marowak had to move. "Bonemerang!" Marowak used all its might to hurl its bone towards Houndoom.

Houndoom and Archer scoffed at this attempt and opened its mouth, catching the bone easily. "Did you think that'd work!?"

"Now you can't use Fire Blast or Inferno!" Kiawe grinned as that went exactly as he wanted. "Iron Head!" Before Archer could utter his shock, Marowak slammed its rock hard head into Houndoom's face, causing it to stagger around. It eventually came to a halt against its will, as Sandy used its tiny body to trip it up, letting it fall onto its side.

"What!? Houndoom, get up!" Archer yelled.

"String Shot!" Vikavolt flew around at high speeds; firing off webbing that wrapped around Houndoom and kept it bound to the ground. "Now!" Togedemaru jumped into Vikavolt's jaws as it charged up a Zap Cannon. "Zap Cannon! Zing Zap!" The Zap Cannon in this case was Togedmaru, flying towards the bound Houndoom.

Houndoom's natural body temperature allowed it to melt the String Shot before long. "Fire Blast!" Houndoom dropped the bone in its mouth and released another Fire Blast to combat the Zap Cannon. Because Togedemaru was in the middle of it all, its momentum allowed it to push through a bit, safeguarded from the fire due to be wrapped in electricity. Eventually an explosion took place that forced Houndoom back, but it wasn't getting even a second of reprieve.

"Aqua Jet!" Primarina's body was surrounded in a fierce veil of water. It was in Torrent range, increasing the potency of all water based attacks. So it was slamming into Houndoom consistently from various angles, not giving it one second to breathe.

"Catch it with Crunch!" The moment Houndoom opened its mouth, Togemaru jumped forward. "Huh!?"

"Spiky Shield!" Togemaru gave Houndoom a smug grin before turning its back to Houndoom, causing its mouth to be occupied as it was hit with the Protect variant. Not only was Togedemaru immune to all damage, but the spikes on its back made sure that it couldn't spit it out so easily. "And Zing Zap!" Perfect chance! Now stuck in its mouth, Togedemaru released a potent blast of lightning inside of Houndoom that paralyzed it. This static shock rendered the hound stuck for a moment, allowing another follow up!

"Surf!" Primarina created another gigantic tidal wave to send at Houndoom. While it was much bigger than the last, the difference now was that Tsareena was riding Primarina's back. Houndoom had no way of protecting itself this time and was swept up in the powerful surf. "Finish it, Mallow!"

"Right!" Mallow nodded and threw her arm forward. "TROP KICK!" As Houndoom was swept away by the Surf, Tsareena lunged forward and reared her leg back. With all her might, she slammed her leg into Houndoom's gut, pushing one last time to firmly kick the Mega Pokémon into the nearest wall and even through it!

Houndoom let out a yelp of pain as it flew through the wall. It tried to crawl out but it soon just…fell over, swirls in its eyes. It collapsed and reverted back to normal, defeated. "W-WHAT!?" Archer's eyes widened as his Houndoom was bested. "This can't be…defeated by these children!? This can't be right…!" Archer returned Houndoom and stared at the Ultra Guardians. Luckily for him…even though he lost, all of their Pokémon hit their limit and soon collapsed as well.

"Are you all right!?" The group all swarmed their injured Pokémon. Giving them first aid came first before anything else.

"I will not forget this…" Archer grit his teeth. He was going to be able to make a clean getaway…

.

.

Ash, Moon, Lillie, and Gladion were all grouped up as they made their way to the heart of the Aether Foundation. Naturally they were met with some resistance as Ariana and a random grunt stood in their way. "Now where do you naughty kids think you're going?"

"You know where." Gladion wasn't in the mood for games. "Get out of our way!"

"Or what? You'll fight us?" The redheaded woman scoffed while tossing a Pokeball into the air. "We've made sure to lock the doors up ahead. There's no way you'll be getting past us away." The Pokeball she released called forth her Arbok, while the grunt beside her called out a Barbaracle.

"They're really trying to slow us down…" Moon mumbled.

"Go on, we can handle this." Ash said while standing next to Gladion. "Incineroar, you're up!"

"Umbreon!" Gladion shouted. Incineroar and Umbreon stood side by side, ready to take on this Rocket Admin and her cohort.

"Thanks you two!" Lillie nodded to Moon and the sprinted past Ariana and her Grunt partner.

"Where do you think…" Ariana was about to sick her Arbok on the two girls, but a Dark Pulse from Umbreon caught her attention real quick.

"Your battle is with us!" Gladion scoffed. "If you think I'll let you harm my family any more than you already have, then you're mistaken."

"That's right. Hope you're ready to fight us instead!" Ash said. Pikachu was ready to jump in if necessary, but for now, Incineroar's burning spirit was enough to handle this situation.

Ariana sucked her teeth. Kids always thought they were so high and mighty… "Fine then…I'll gladly crush the two of you and move on to the real target. I hope you're prepared to face the might of a Rocket Admin."

.

.

Moon and Lillie weren't going to get too far. While they were getting closer to where they needed to be, their progress was stopped cold by a familiar face. They both came to a halt as a Drapion rounded the corner. "Eep…!" Lillie hid behind Moon from being startled. "Is that…?!"

"…They never did give it to Rui or Lovrina, did they…?" Moon said with a sweat drop.

The Shadow Drapion from before was kept under safe keeping in the Pokémon preserve. But it broke free when Rainbow Rocket attacked and went on a rampage. It recognized the two girls from before and as soon as it saw them…it roared and ran right towards them…

.

.

Next Time: Truth and Lies.