The only thing the public of Alola was aware about today was the Rainbow Rocket broadcast. It was frightening and out of the blue…but they hadn't heard anything since. So there was an eerie calm as they awaited some type of news. "They say no news it good news…" Kahili said while practicing her golf swing. "I do hope those kids are alright, though…" Her Toucannon made a noise, to which she smiled. "Mhm…I'm sure they are." And just as she was about to swing, she saw a shadow flying overhead. "Huh?"
In the next instant, there was another broadcast, the timing of this one about two hours later than the previous. Venus was taking over the airwaves of Akala Island. "Hello everyone! It's your Venus, reporting in! If everyone would kindly be a dear and stay out of Cipher's way as we hunt down your Tapu, that would be wonderful! I know this is sudden and out of the blue, but I'm only concerned for your safety, hehe!"
"What the heck…?" Kahili was more than just confused at what was going on. Public Alola did not know a thing about any incident occurring within the region, as it was all kept under wraps by Interpol and Aether. In the next moment, her golf club was gone. "Huh?! Wait…!?" She frantically looked around since it was taken from her grip so quickly. Then she spotted an unfamiliar creature holding it.
"…." It was a Pheromosa. This humanoid bug Ultra Beast really loved shiny things and Kahili kept her golf clubs well maintained. It was called to this world so suddenly, but it was already working under a certain someone's directive while doing her own thing.
"What is that thing!?" Kahili gasped. "Hey, give that back! It's mine!"
"…?" Pheromosa just glanced at Kahili for a second ignoring her.
"Toucannon, Steel Wing!" Since this creature didn't want to cooperate, Kahili just decided to be a bit forceful. Toucannon flew forward with its wings spread out, aiming to strike Pheromosa. But just as it got close enough to attack, Pheromosa just sidestepped with blinding speed, causing it to miss. "I didn't even see it move…again!" Toucannon tried once more, flying forward, only to miss as its speed was no match for Pheromosa's own. Then, Pheromosa retaliated with a fierce kick that sent Toucannon flying into a tree. "Toucannon!" The golfer cried, rushing over to her partner.
"Ohh, I'm so sorry." Venus waltzed onto the scene. "Pheromosa doesn't like touching dirty things. It's such a beautiful creature, just like me! UB-02: Beauty!"
"You're that woman from the broadcast…" Kahili said.
"Yes, I know, I'm beautiful." Venus flipped her hair. "More importantly, you'll have to tell me where Tapu Lele's shrine is? I wish to have a talk with the Island Guardian. You'll do that for me, won't you?"
"Why would I do that?" Kahili questioned while Toucannon recovered from Pheromosa's attack.
"Oh, you don't have to. It would just make my job much easier. I suppose I can always grill the Kahuna, but that's Ferma's job anyway." Venus then got an idea. "Although…if they are supposed to be protecting this island, then the logical course of action is to create a disturbance so large they have no choice but to come out of hiding! Brilliant idea, me!"
"What? No! I won't allow you to…" Kahili was going to interject, but before she could even finish her sentence, Venus snapped her fingers and Pheromosa was off in a blur. That creature's speed was so astounding she didn't even see it leave. "It's gone!?"
"Pheromosa and I are so similar. We absolutely despise all the ugly things in this world." Venus said with a sinister snicker. "So while she goes off there…I'm going to cause some havoc of my own. Don't try to stop me, golfer." To drive her point home, she called out her Steelix, which was already in its Mega Evolved state, and sat atop its head, one leg crossed over the other. "Either I find Tapu Lele's temple first, or it find me first?"
"Toucannon!" Kahili wasn't going to let Venus do whatever she wanted. "Use Beak Blast!" Toucannon flew into the air, its beat heating up, preparing to strike Steelix and Venus.
"Stone Edge." Venus waved her hand casually. Steelix slammed its tail into the ground, prompting numerous stones to rise up from the ground. Toucannon was able to avoid most of these, but one struck it in the abdomen, causing it to fly to the ground.
"Toucannon!" Kahili rushed to her partner's side, only to be struck by Stone Edge herself. It knocked the wind out of her and sent her crashing to the ground. "Ugh…."
"Now then…" Venus patted Steelix on the head and it moved on her command. She tossed out another Pokeball, calling out the Shadow Ninjask she had on hand, simply allowing the speedy bug to do whatever it pleased and let loose its destructive urges. "Let's begin."
.
.
Olivia was made very aware of what was occurring on Akala thanks to Venus' own broadcast. As the Kahuna she couldn't sit around and let them try to capture Tapu Lele. She didn't know their means of doing so, but it was best not to take any chances. She had a responsibility to the people and Pokémon of Akala to protect them. "I must ensure Tapu Lele's temple is safe…" Olivia told herself. She was about to go straight to the temple, but stopped in her tracks. Something was wrong. "…Someone's there, hm?"
Ferma was found out pretty fast. "You're pretty sharp. But I guess that's to be expected of a…"
Before Ferma could finish, Olivia took a step forward but tripped on her heel. So she ended up falling forward. "Wah…!"
"…Kahuna…?" Ferma blinked. "Maybe I have the wrong person here? That was a pretty terrible fall."
Olivia was quick to pick herself up along with the pieces of her pride. "You've got the right person, and the wrong person to try and mess with. I'm giving you the chance to end this little game right here and turn yourself in."
"Nah." Ferma waved a hand, tossing a Beast Ball into the air. The Ultra Beast she had ownership of was a Nihillego. "UB-01: Symbiont! Also known as Nihilego!"
"An Ultra Beast…?" Olivia narrowed her eyes, but called out her Midday Lycanroc. If it was a fight Ferma wanted, then it was a fight she was going to get. But to her surprise, Ferma started to walk off. "Where do you think you're going?"
"This will keep you busy for a while." Ferma said with a smug grin, making her exit towards Tapu Lele's temple. "It doesn't need my command to fight. Just don't get grabbed by this little parasite, alright?"
"Accelrock!" Olivia wasn't going to allow Ferma to get away that easily. Lycanroc darted forward at high speeds, aiming to crash into the Cipher grunt's body, but that came to a halt when Nihilego blocked its path with its body, practically rebounding off of it. "Huh?" Before Lycanroc could fully pull away, Nihilego wrapped its tentacles around it, pulling it closer into its form. "Lycanroc!?"
"GRRRH…" Lycanroc thrashed about for a few seconds before breaking out of Nihilego's grip. It fell onto the ground, snarling angrily at everything around it. Its gaze was tinted red as it had been infected with some of the neurotoxin that Nihilego was known for putting out.
"Lycanroc, are you….?" Olivia took a few slow steps forward, only for Lycanroc to snarl at her! Its own trainer! "What's gotten into you…?" Olivia slowly took a few steps back, holding her arms up to show she meant no harm to her friend. But Lycanroc just lunged at the first thing it saw, which happened to be Olivia.
.
.
"Ah, the fresh ocean breeze of Poni Island!" Miror B twirled around. "We've got to add Tapu Fini to our party so we can dance the night away."
This guy and his dancing bit. Gorigan frankly had enough of it. Poni Island was probably the easiest island to get a hold of the Tapu. There were no cities and barely any people, just the open wilderness. Nothing to stop them from obtaining what it was they sought. "I'll go ahead capture the Tapu." He said while holding out his Beast Ball. "Kartana is effective against it from the information we have. So this will be a cinch."
"Now what in tarnation is going on here?" Hapu stepped forward, glaring at the two Cipher admins in front of her. "What do you two think you're doing on my island?"
"Oh! So this is the Kahuna of Poni Island? My my…she's so tiny." Miror B said while looking Sophie over. This was also coming from the man who wore platform shoes, so of course most people were tiny compared to his tall stature. "I hope you don't mind, but we're gonna go boogey with Tapu Fini for a while."
"I do mind." Hapu placed her hands on her nips. She was just bringing in some radish before these two so rudely arrved on Poni Island. "I'm not letting you miscreants get away with any harm to Tapu Fini! Mudsdale, use High Horsepower!" Mudsdale neighed and galloped forward, prepared to flatten the two Cipher Admins.
"Ludicolo, Hydro Pump!" Miror B threw a Pokeball forward, calling out his Ludicolo, who immediately let loose with a Hydro Pump that struck the incoming Mudsdale, forcing it backwards after receiving more damage than she would have liked to admit.
"Mudsdale!" Hapu exclaimed. Mudsdale was able to take the hit, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant feeling.
"Hup!" Miror B then threw up a Beast Ball, revealing the Ultra Beast under his command; Blacephalon. The two were a perfect match for each other, what with their bouncing heads and all. "Okay my new boogey buddy, let's bust some moves! UB-08: Burst!"
"What are you doin' with one of those!?" Hapu asked and rightfully so. She was aware of what an Ultra Beast was, but she was never expecting this weirdo to have one of them.
"It's the first step to a groovy new world." Miror B said while doing a backflip, landing into a moonwalk. "You're best not getting involved in this dance, little Ms. Kahuna. You're outmatched and outnumbered! That Tapu is as good as ours!"
"Hah, you have fun with that." Gorigan gave a two finger salute and walked off while Miror B kept Hapu busy. He knew just how to drag Tapu Fini out of hiding!
"Come back here!" Hapu called out her Golurk to help deal with Blacephalon. As much as she hated to admit it, she was stuck against Miror B while Gorigan went off to do what he wanted with the island. She didn't have the numbers to fully combat this surprise assault. "Drat…I can't do this alone…!"
.
.
Trudly had a bit of a personal vendetta when going to Melemele Island. Truthfully, Dakim and Ein could handle the heavy lifting. He had a score he needed to settle and the best place to do that was at Kukui's house. The last place Folly was before he was arrested. He…didn't go break Folly or Reath out of prison simply because he didn't know where it was. He was one half of an idiot duo…plus when Cipher succeeded they could break their comrades out. "Come on out!" Trudly exclaimed, shouting outside of Kukui's house.
Kukui was the one who opened the door, walking outside with his hands in his jacket pockets. "I heard one of you were coming this way. I'd ask you kindly not to disturb my wife and I."
"Too bad!" Trudly grunted and threw a Beastball and a Pokeball into the air. The Beastball called out his Ultra Beast: Stakataka, and his Shadow Coalossal. "UB-09: Assembly! Coalossal! This is our battle! Where's the girl who put Folly away!?"
"Not here." Kukui said calmly, yet his Incineroar was already prepared for a fight, while Burnet watched from the house. "She's busy making sure your plans don't go the right way."
"Then I'll just have to settle." Trudly fixed his goggles. He was nothing more than a distraction in the end for Dakim and Ein. Tapu Koko would be there's by the end of the day he was sure. "Coalossal, charge!"
"Incineroar, don't let it through!" Kukui commanded. The two Pokémon charged at each other head first, meeting in a headfirst collision that caused a small shockwave to boom out across the beach. "Darkest Lariat!" Incineroar spun around rapidly, slamming its arms into Coalossal's body to send it skidding backwards.
"Gh…that thing is strong." Trudly admitted. "But it's also a Fire type, so…"
"If you think you can try and goad me to using a fire type attack against you, think again, cousin." Kukui said while lifting a hand up. "I'm a Pokemom Professor, so I know all sorts of Outrageous moves that are out there. I get Body Slammed on the daily! So I know all about your Shadow Pokémon's trick to gain speed!"
"Gh…" Trudly wasn't expecting that. "Well…unfortunately for you, I've got two Pokémon! Stakataka, use Gyro Ball!" The large, four legged Ultra Beast floated forward, spinning around at high speeds. It was about to fly forward, but it was cut off by a Thunderbolt. "Huh?" Trudly looked around, only to see an Alolan Raichu surfing on its tail around him. "What's that flying-!?"
"Professor!" Hau ran next to Kukui, panting softly a bit since he had to make a mad dash to get over there. "Tutu sent me to help you! He saw one of those creeps coming your way!"
"Great to have you here, Hau." Kukui said with a nod. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how he'd fare against a Shadow Pokémon and an Ultra Beast even with a full team of six and a Z move at his disposal. But this eased his worries since he had some backup.
"You two be careful!" Burnet exclaimed from the sidelines. She then looked up, noticing a few shadows overhead. "Hey…!"
"Looks like they're here." Kukui said with a smile.
Ash, Rotom, Moon, Lillie, and Gladion arrived on Melemele just before things got too crazy. "Is everyone alright!?" Ash asked.
"Just fine, Ash!" Kukui said while giving a thumbs up. "Just holding down the fort at home, don't worry!"
"Ash!" Hau waved to the others. "Tutu is taking on one of those strange men right now! He was big and muscular, and he mentioned a third one, but I haven't seen him!"
"A third one…? That must be Ein!" Moon said.
"I get it." Gladion grunted. "Causing chaos all over the Island, keeping the Kahuna, busy…this is their way of ensuring they aren't interrupted while flushing out the Tapus."
"There is a 100% chance this is their tactic." Rotom said. "We still have time to stop them before it is too late!"
"That's horrible! We have to stop them!" Lillie nodded.
"You three go on ahead. I'll help here." Gladion motioned for his Ride Noivern to land and it did. "Silvally, let's go!" Silvally was called to the fray. It was an Ultra Beast slayer after all and a situation like this was its calling. "Don't let Ein get Tapu Koko!" He said, tossing his Zoroark's Pokeball to Lillie for safe keeping. "Zoroark will help you."
"I understand, Brother!" Lillie nodded firmly.
"Right!" Moon nodded. "Let's go!"
"HEY! You get back here you brats!" Trudly was waiting for Moon and Lillie to show up, so he could get revenge on them for his defeat in Mt. Lanakila! "Coalossal, use Tar Shot!" Coalossal spat out several globs of tar, but Altaria and Garchomp were able to avoid them and fly off deeper into the Island.
"Hey now, that's pretty rude, don't you think?" Kukui said while standing side by side to Hau and Gladion. "We're the ones you should be focusing on."
"I'll wipe the floor with all three of you!" Trudly exclaimed.
"He's pretty confident." Hau said while shrugging his shoulders. "But even if his Pokémon look strong, he doesn't look like a threat himself…?"
"He's not much in the grand scheme of things." Gladion held his hand in front of his face, taking his signature pose. "Just a grunt…a pawn, a distraction. The list goes on…but he's at least worth the attention since we can't let him do as he pleases."
"Stop treating me like I'm just some side bit!" Trudly growled. He was commanding a Shadow Pokémon and an Ultra Beast, yet he was still being seen as a joke?
"Well, boys?" Kukui's coat wavered in the Alolan Breeze that passed by. "Shall we give this tourist a good ol' taste of Alolan Hospitality? We'll hit harder than a Dynamic Punch."
.
.
Dakim and Hala were standing across from one another. Dakim just wore a grin while staring at Melemele's Kahuna. "Sent the squirt away so the big boys can duke it out, huh?"
"What is your business on this island?" Hala wasn't playing any games. He already called out his Hariyama, standing behind it as the sumo wrestler thrusted its thick palms outward multiple times in a few seconds.
"The Tapu." Dakim said flat out. He threw his Beastball into the air. The Ultra Beast he was in command on? "UB-02: Absorption! Also known as…Buzzwole!" The muscle headed Admin was only fit to command the muscular bug. Dakim didn't even bother bringing out his Swampert either, no…this was a one on one fight. Something the two of them silently agreed to the moment their eyes locked. "You're strong; I can feel it coming off you and that Hariyama. You just might be the fight I've been looking for!" Dakim took a sumo stance, raising one leg and slamming it into the ground.
Hala ended up mirroring Dakim's actions, not once taking his eyes off his new foe. "I can see that you're strong as well…but unfortunately there is a stark difference between our strength. One that will ultimately lose you this battle."
"Hah!" Dakim snorted at those words. "You think I'm gonna lose to someone who's job is to lose to brats? I can't wait to properly flatten you! Buzzwole, Close Combat!"
"Hariyama! Arm Thrust!" Buzzwole and Hariyama ran at each other. As soon as they were within striking distance, the two Pokémon began throwing heavy handed blows at once another, all colliding with so much power, multiple shockwaves boomed out viciously, nearly blowing some trees over. Dakim and Hala held stern expressions as their Pokémon began to duke it out in a one on one with nothing at stake other than pride.
Meanwhile, up above…Tapu Koko watched the chaos on Melemele carefully. It didn't have a reason to intervene just yet…but that was going to change as Ein slowly encroached upon its temple…
.
.
Next Time: Beasts' Stampede, Part 2
