The Rocket Trio was pulled from the Aether Foundation when things got hairy with Guzzlord. Bewear and her ways of arriving to pull them out of trouble always astounded them. They were back at their tree HQ now, reporting to Giovanni about the happenings (at least what they were aware of) at Aether. Jessie was pleasantly surprised to see that Matori wasn't there, assuming she had been late. "We are here with our status report, sir!" Jessie, James, and Meowth saluted.

"I've been informed a little bit about the situation by Matori." Giovanni was stroking the Persian in his lap, which always made Meowth jealous, but he bit his tongue in this instance. "Unfortunately, she was forced to retreat when Cipher and Ultra Beast arrived. Does this coincide with your turn of events?"

This was a chance to make them look better than Matori! Of course Jessie was going to take it. "Actually, sir, we managed to push Team Rainbow Rocket out!"

"Is that so?" Giovanni rose a brow curiously, but there was a grin on his lips.

"Indeed. Once we pushed him back where he came from, all of his men followed!" James followed up on the lie. They were lying. They were vaguely aware of how it might have worked, but considering it was Moon and the others who did all the work…well, that didn't matter. They couldn't be proven wrong. They had a good track record too, considering Giovanni believed they were responsible for the defeat of both Team Flare and Cipher back in Kalos.

"After that, we made our retreat! Somethin' ugly was goin' on, but it didn't concern us!" Meowth added.

"Excellent work. You three continue to prove your worth." Giovanni gave a nod of affirmation. Not only did he buy it, he praised them for it. They were really good at taking credit for other people's work. "But as for the ugly thing that happened, I believe I can explain. Cipher has opened up numerous Ultra Wormholes across Alola and allowed Ultra Beast to flood in. I cannot discern what their plan is, but your next mission is to stop them. I will not allow an organization surviving by a thread to usurp mine, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The Rocket Trio saluted. With that, the communication was over.

"Can we get a moment of rest…" Meowth groaned. Their mission was still far from over. From Cipher, to Rainbow Rocket, to Cipher again, the ride just kept going. All this hard work did put them in their bosses' good favor at least.

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After being informed of the situation by Lusamine, Nanu could at least rest a bit easy knowing Acerola was alright. But right now, he was back to interrogating Folly and Reath. "I'm not gonna ask again…what is Cipher planning?"

"We're not gonna tell you again, we're not ratting it out." Reath rolled her eyes. Nanu could question them all he wanted, they weren't talking. "You'll just have to sit back and be along for the ride now. This is Chiper's show and you're a spectator."

"I still can't believe they managed to get this far." Folly said with a triumphant grin. "They really obtained Ultra Beasts!"

"Shut up!" Reath glared at Folly. "This is why the boss never tells you anything! You're an idiot!"

"Hey, I've been quiet this long!" Folly shot back.

Nanu narrowed his eyes. Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way. Folly was an idiot and Reath was the one keeping him silent most of the time. Perhaps…he simply had to let them be together. It had only been a few days since Folly and Reath were in custody. "…"

"I didn't even blab about the plan with the Island Guardians!" Folly scoffed.

"YOU IDIOT!" Reath immediately moved to cover Folly's mouth to prevent him from saying anything else. But Nanu already heard it.

"The Island Guardians. What are you planning." He wasn't joking around anymore, and to make his point, Krookodile was called out. Not that he had any intentions to harm them, but Krookodile's Intimidate didn't work on just Pokémon. It just gave the two Cipher lackeys a solid glare. They'd cave right about…

"Okay! Okay!" Reath folded. Krookodile scared her too much. She was so going to get chewed out for this. "Ein's endgoal was to capture the Island Guardians and corrupt them with Shadow Power. That way he could control them and by proxy, Alola! He's even got a Z-ring for the task…I was hoping to keep this a secret until the very end, but I guess it's too late."

"…" Nanu heard all that he needed to. This was a red alert across Alola that needed everyone's efforts. "You're staying put right here."

"And what do you think you can do about us?" Folly asked. He accepted that he'd be in prison until Cipher came to bust him out…for the umpteenth time. "Cipher is about to become the most dominate force in all of Alola, and soon the whole world!"

Nanu was walking out of the room, but he turned his head to look at the two Cipher grunts who looked so victorious already. "You all aren't getting out of Alola. The Island Kahuna's are going to make sure about that."

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Lusamine pulled up a map of Alola. Everyone was in her office: The Ultra Guardians, Guzma, Plumeria, and Kasumi, and the Ultra Recon Squad. There were numerous Ultra Wormholes opened up all over Alola. "Cipher has called forth a number of Ultra Beasts by use of our machine. It is imperative that we stop them as soon as we can. But before we pursue them, I need to know how everyone is feeling."

"The employees are alright. They were all given the chance to evacuate prior to Rainbow Rocket taking the whole place over." Wicke said with a nod. "They are returning as we speak to help with repairs. The Pokémon in the reserve are also unharmed, thankfully. It feels like we got lucky in that regard…"

"That's one less thing to worry about…" Lillie sighed.

"We've called Looker." Lovrina said while flipping her hair. "Like, he said backup may be on the way, but we so don't know if they'll even make it here on time. So this whole thing is entirely up to us."

"That's comforting…" Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"However, there is one problem." Dusle stepped forward, gesturing at all the Ultra Wormholes. "All of the Ultra Wormholes opening up are severely damaging the space of this Alola."

"And that means…?" Marcus was hoping the Recon member would continue.

"It means that the space of this world could collapse if anymore holes are opened." Phyco exclaimed. "There is a difference between opening an Ultra Wormhole and tearing one open. Within the last few hours multiple were torn open, and as such, when they close, it leaves a weakened tear on the world that takes far too long to heal…if it even does at all."

"But that doesn't explain what it means…" Takeba couldn't even wrap her head around this.

"It means…" Soilera stared at Moon. "That unless we hurry and fix this situation, there is a chance Moon may never be able to return home."

"Huh!?" Moon's eyes widened.

"And…" Zossie really hated to bring this part up. "If we can manage to get her home…it would be too dangerous for her to ever come back here again."

Lillie and Moon stared at each other. "You mean…I won't get to see Moon again…?" Lillie mumbled.

"Okay, and?" Guzma interrupted the conversation. "That ain't got a damn thing to do with me 'n Team Skull. This whole business with those Cipher punks do, though, so get to the point ya hag." He said that directly at Lusamine, causing all eyes to turn and go wide.

"Uh…!" Ash opened his mouth but he had nothing to say.

"Danger! Danger!" Rotom beeped.

"Old hag!?" Lusamine slammed her hands on her desk, eyes burning in comical fury. "Who do you think you're talking to you street Ratata!?"

"Oh, that's a new one!" Guzma laughed and Plumeria snickered.

"…This is so different from their dynamic in my world." Moon said.

"That implies they've actually talked in your world…? Oh…" Lana could see the issue.

"AHEM!" Lusamine cleared her throat and pointed to the map. "I've been able to pinpoint where the Cipher members have gone to. They've split up among the four islands. I do not doubt they will meet resistance with the Island Kahunas, but we must help them as soon as possible."

"Of course! We're not going to let them roam free in Alola!" Kiawe pumped his fist into the air, his spirit blazing.

"What do we need to do?" Gladion asked. "Split up in turn?"

"That's the best course of action. You'll cover far more ground that way." Faba spoke proudly, as if the idea was his to begin with. Gladion just sighed in response to that.

"I've managed to track their locations." Lusamine said, pointing to the map in front of everyone. "On Poni Island: Miror B and Gorigan; Akala Island: Venus and Reath; Ula'Ula Island: Ardos and Nascour; and on Melemele Island: Dakim, Trudly and Ein."

"So they've split off for a greater purpose…at least two on each island…" Scott said.

"Venus…" That name made Kasumi murmur.

"Aight." Guzma waved a hand. "Let's go."

"Where are you going?" Mallow asked.

"To Ula'ula. That's the island my group of idiots are at." Guzma explained. "Ain't it obvious?"

"We're gonna protect our home." Plumeria said firmly. "You comin', K?"

"…." Kasumi was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, I…I…something is compelling me to find Venus."

"Ah…!" Marcus and Grace gasped. "We'll go with you."

"You two…?" Kasumi tilted her head. "…Fine."

"See you back home then." Guzma waved as he and Plumeria walked off. They weren't going to question her decision; she was able to do what she wanted.

"What will the teams be? We have to cover as much ground as possible. We have the Island Kahunas to support us in the end…" Sophocles asked.

"…I want to fight on Melemele." Moon said with a determined nod. "I…I want to protect Kukui and Burnet. They took me in and all…"

"Me too!" Lillie said with a nod. "I want to go with you."

Lusamine figured that was going to happen. "Ash…Gladion?"

"We'll go." Ash nodded. Gladion didn't say anything but he didn't object either.

Rotom flew forward. "I'll keep track of the way teams are decided-roto!"

The teams that went to split up were as followed:

Melemele Island: Ash, (Rotom), Gladion, Lillie, and Moon.

Akala Island: Grace, Marcus, and Kasumi; Mallow, Lana, and Kiawe.

Ula'Ula: Guzma, and Plumeria; Lovrina, Sophocles,

Poni: Scott, Takeba, Rui, and Elizabeth.

"I think that should cover everything. I would add one more considering the Island Kahunas are going to aid us as well." Lusamine said.

"Wait…! Before we go…!" Moon spoke up suddenly. "There's something I wanted to ask everyone…"

"What is it?" Rui asked.

"…I've realized how important this Alola is to me. Even if I'm not from here, I really want to give it my all to protect it…so..." Moon began to poke her fingers together sheepishly. "I was wondering if it would be okay…if I took your offer to join the Ultra Gaurdians as a temporary member…" Her words ended up making the others smile.

"Of course you're welcome to join!" Ash spoke for everyone when he said that.

Lusamine gave Moon the Ultra Guardian badge. "I made an outfit for you in case you changed your mind. Go ahead and put it on."

"Oh, now?" Moon blinked and put the badge on. Changing didn't really require much work, as soon as she pressed the badge; a hazel outfit appeared on her body, matching with the others present. "Oh! Ultra-Guardian Moon is here…!"

"You look great!" Lillie clasped her hands together.

"Now that you've got that on, you can't turn back." Gladion told Moon.

"Relaaaaax." Moon gave Gladion a smile and patted his shoulder. "I'm here until this fight is over, I promise."

"…Tch." Gladion just looked away, but there was a slight smile on his lips. Moon had become far more reliable than when they first met. "Good. I'll be counting on you."

"Is everyone ready to go?" Wicke asked. "Your Pokémon and Ride Pokémon have been fully healed…but I know the previous battle was exhausting for you trainers as well."

"Don't worry about us, we're good to go!" Kiawe gave the thumbs up. "We'll keep Alola safe!"

Lusamine gave a firm nod, extending her hand out outward. "Ultra Guardians, your new mission is upon you! Save Alola from Cipher!"

"Yes, Lusamine!"

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.

Ein stood on the shore of Melemele Island, arms crossed behind his back with Dakim and Trudly behind him. Only an hour passed between opening the Ultra Wormholes and capturing the Beasts, while the Ultra Guardians sought to regroup in Aether. Everything was now in place for Cipher to begin their assault. There was a sinister grin on his lips, the way Cipher was able to crawl out from the jaws of defeat to nearly reigning supreme if they made this final push. "Is everyone ready? This is where we begin our counter attack."

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Next Time: Stampede of the Beasts.