[Several Minutes prior]

Grace, Kasumi, and Marcus were en route to Akala Island. It was a bit of an awkward ride, because Marcus and Grace couldn't help but glance at Kasumi every so often. She noticed this and just gave a glare in retaliation. "Yes, my eyes are different colors. Yes there's a scar on my face. Is there anything else on my face that you're going to stare at?"

"Ah…she's so different now…" Marcus mumbled. Kasumi wasn't so brash before, at least not openly and least of all not towards them.

"It's just…" Grace began, unsure where to actually start her sentence. It probably wasn't even the time to attempt such a conversation, but it was hard to let it rest. "We're worried about you. You…really don't remember anything, do you? But you reacted to Venus…"

"…I don't know what it is about that name, but something inside of me feels very irritated when I hear it." Kasumi replied, looking on ahead as they drew closer to the island. It would only be a few minutes now. "But I also feel a strange sense of pride? I can't explain it."

"Boy, do we have a story for you when this is over…" Marcus said with a slight chuckle. It was kind of a shame Kasumi forgot her feat of beating Venus in front of the entire world. But that was something they could share with her when they made it out of this mess. …If they made it out.

"So what exactly is our plan?" Kasumi asked the others. "I dunno much about what's going on…but are we splitting up?"

"Most likely." Mallow said with a nod. "We have to make sure everyone is safe! I don't doubt the Kahuna's strength, but their outnumbered against strong foes. So if we can lend them a helping hand and ease their burden just a bit, we have a chance at winning."

"Second question." Kasumi continued. "Those…Ultra Beasts. We got incredibly lucky fightin' one of them. How are we going to fight them under the command of actual people?"

Kasumi brought up a good point. Guzzlord was…a difficult case. Ultra Beast under the command of Cipher proved to be a challenge for them. "It'll be no different than an actual Pokémon battle." Kiawe said firmly, his Charizard in the lead. "We'll have to make careful use of our assets as well! We only have one shot with our Z-moves!"

"Don't worry, I won't miss." Lana said confidently. Their conversation was cut short as there was a noticeable explosion on the island. They were close enough to see it and it caught their attention instantly. "What was that!?"

"I think we just found what we're looking for…" Grace said. "I think this is the part where we split up! Everyone be careful!"

"Ah..?" Kasumi stared down at Dragonite, whose expression shifted to something more menacing. It caught a whiff of an all too familiar scent. With a growl, it suddenly flew towards the nearest city, taking Kasumi for a ride. "Gaaah!? Where are we going!?"

"H-Hey…!" Grace patted Salamance on the back, instructing it to fly after Dragonite.

"Guess it sniffed out who we're looking for…" Marcus narrowed his eyes. No doubt Dragonite was making a beeline straight for Venus' location, saving the others the trouble of having to hunt her down.

.

.

Olivia's Lycanroc lunged at her in a frenzy. Normally this wouldn't happen, but since it was exposed to Nihilego's toxin, it was unable to control its impulses. Olivia was able to react in time by calling forth her Probopass, clashing with Lycanroc to the point an explosion was created. "Lycanroc, calm down! It's okay!" Olivia told her partner, attempting to calm it down with her words. Clearly it was struggling to hold itself back and was losing the mental battle, leaping ahead once more time.

"Fire Punch!" Kiawe dropped down on Charizard, intercepting Lycanroc with a fiery punch to its jaw, containing enough power to at least knock it backwards. "Are you okay, Olivia?" Lana and Mallow were above; ready to jump in if they needed to.

"Kiawe!" Olivia was glad to see a friendly face during this time of chaos. "I'm fine, but you shouldn't be worrying about me. One of those villains has an Ultra Beast and attacked me with it. She was heading towards Tapu Lele's temple!"

"She must be trying to lure it out…" Mallow surmised.

Speaking of the devil, Tapu Lele itself flew past Lana. "Huh!?" It happened so fast, Lana didn't even register the pink blur that flew past. But then she turned around, spotting Nihilego rapidly giving chance. "Dragonair!" Plotting to intercept, Dragonair fired off a Dragon Pulse that struck the Ultra Beast, but only made it recoil a little bit. "That means…"

"Heh…" Ferma returned to the scene rather quickly, pleased with what she was looking at. "You kids got here quick! I was just chasing down that Tapu down too. Turns out when you cause too much chaos on an island within a short amount of time, the Tapus come running to stop you. But since they're part Fairy, I thought this poison type would do wonders."

"You've got another thing coming if you think we're letting you capture the Tapus!" Kiawe said. He was only reminded of Lycanroc's presence when it attempted to attack him, but his Charizard fended it off. "Gh…!"

"It's fine, I only intended to flush it out at the very least." Ferma shrugged her shoulders, her Ambipom and Shadow Yanmega at her side now. "I can deal with you lot in the meantime…gotta make sure nobody disturbs Venus from what she's planning."

Lana and Mallow landed, Lana calling forth Primarina while Mallow had Tsareena at the ready, Shaymin staying behind her in case it was needed. "We're here to stop Cipher once and for all!" Lana and Mallow said in unison.

"We've got your back, Olivia!" Kiawe nodded.

Olivia straightened up. As much as she wasn't a fan of having to hurt her own partner Pokémon, she'd have to at least knock Lycanroc out to help it later. Right now, Ferma was the enemy in front of them and she had to be dealt with swiftly. "I owe you all one…and I'll repay it by ensuring nothing happens to this island or Tapu Lele!"

.

.

Venus was in the middle of Konikoni City, watching as she let Ninjask, Pheromosa, and Steelix go to work. By that, she just let all three Pokémon wreak havoc on the city while she watched on. "Come on out, Tapu Lele! You can't bear to watch this go on for much longer, can you?" She was actively endangering people and Pokémon. The officer Jennys had to focus more on ensuring that no one was hurt as Steelix whipped its tail forward, causing a few buildings to topple. Just as a piece of rubble was about to crush a little girl, Tapu Lele sped forward, grabbing the girl and put her to safety.

"T-The island guardian saved me…!" The little girl sniffled.

Tapu Lele wasn't the kindest Island Guardian. It often played too rough with a Pokémon it engaged with…leading to rather fatal injuries. But in this case, Tapu Lele was willing to let its full strength be known and rushed towards Steelix, shooting off a Psychic to stop it in its tracks. But as soon as it did…

"Ninjask! Pheromosa!" Venus snapped her fingers. The two quick Pokémon appeared in front of Tapu Lele in an instant. Pheromosa kicked Tapu Lele in the face, causing it to fly backwards. Just as the Tapu attempted to regain its bearings, Ninjask slammed into its body with a Shadow Rush, sending it crashing into the ground.

Tapu Lele cried out pain as it hit the ground. The ambush was unexpected, but it didn't stop this Tapu. It flew into the air, attacking all three Pokémon with a Dazzling Gleam, the area turning weird as psychic energy a good section of Konikoni City. This was Tapu Lele's Psychic Surge.

"Ngh…!" Venus had to cover her eyes from the Dazzling Gleam. It did damage her Pokémon but she just giggle and motioned for Steelix to attack. "Stone Edge!" Steelix slammed its tail on the ground, sending large stones at Tapu Lele, who deftly evaded. "Lunge! X-Scissor!" Tapu Lele wasn't prepared for the speed of Ninjask or Pheromosa. It attempted to dodge one, but got struck by the other, once again sending it into the ground. "Iron Tail!" But this wasn't aimed at Tapu Lele, Venus had Steelix attack another building, the debris falling towards some civilans.

"..!" Tapu Lele quickly got back up, using Psychic to stop the debris from falling, then turned it towards Venus to attack her! Steelix protected Venus from this with its rock hard body, but while Tapu Lele was focused on protecting, it was once again kicked in the face by Pheromosa, who sent it crashing into the ground, now pressing her foot against Tapu Lele's face to keep it pinned down.

"Tapu Lele…!" Multiple natives gasped as Tapu Lele risked itself for the people of Konikoni City.

"There." Venus snapped her fingers and threw an electric net on Tapu Lele, absolutely making sure it wasn't going anywhere. "You Tapus might be strong, but we've done our homework. The protection of your islands comes first…even before yourself. Ninjask, be a dear and carry this to Ein?"

Ninjask followed Venus' orders and lifted up the Tapu Lele net, beginning to carry it off. Tapu Lele was defenseless in this state, only able to look on painfully as it was taken away at sonic speeds. "Capturing Legendary Pokémon isn't so hard once you know what to do." Venus flipped her hair causally and victoriously. This wasn't her first time capturing a Legendary and as far as she was concerned, it wouldn't be the last.

"VENUS!" Kasumi yelled from above.

"Huh?" Venus looked up, spotting the trio of Grace, Kasumi, and Marcus rapidly approaching her from above. This made her smirk. A reunion she was waiting for, for a long time now. "You're all a little too late…Tapu Lele's already been captured. But what I wouldn't have to put you all in the dirt where you rightfully belong…"

.

.

Miror B was having a field day with battling Hapu. This was the best 'stall for time' mission he ever acted upon, because Hapu was outnumbered and outgunned by him alone. So he was free to hold her back or even stop her progress for as long as he wanted. "Come on now, your groove isn't just strong enough to hang with the best of the best!"

As far as Hapu was concerned, Miror B was speaking a bunch of nonsense that didn't really make sense and it was annoying her. She could handle Miror B any day of the week, but she couldn't help but feel annoyed that he was stopping her from helping Tapu Fini. With Ultra Beasts in play, even the Tapus were in danger and she was aware of that. "Hurry up and get outta my way already!" Hapu demanded.

"Oh, that's quite some racket for a background dancer." Miror B said while moonwalking in place. Ludicolo and Blacephalon were the perfect partners to keep this Kahuna right where he wanted him. "Don't worry about the main stage, it's just my job to make sure you don't interfere with the big finish!"

Again, Miror B was speaking nonsense. Hapu had quite enough of this and her next move showed it. "Stomping Tantrum!" Mudsdale let out a loud neigh as it began to stomp on the ground with its hooves, causing a miniature tremor. This made Miror B and his two partners almost lose their balance, while the two Pokémon in question took some damage.

"Oh no no! That's all off beat! It'll never do! Shadow Ball!" Miror B spun around and stopped on a dime, pointing at Mudsdale. Blacephalon began wiggling about before forming a condensed orb of darkness, hurling it forward at Mudsdale.

"High Horsepower!" Mudsdale turned around, using its hind legs to kick at the Shadow Ball. With the sheer strength the horse had, it was able to overpower the Shadow Ball and make it explode.

"Ice Punch!" With the smoke as cover and before Mudsdale could even retract its legs, Ludicolo emerged, swinging its fist in time with the imaginary music in its head. The icy punch slammed against Mudsdale's side, causing it to slide backwards across the ground, grimacing from the super effective attack. "Oh, right on point! We can't be stopped with these dance moves!"

"Ngh…" Hapu was up the creek and she knew it. A battle like this wouldn't last long in her favor. She needed to save her Golurk in case she had to fly over and save Tapu Fini, but at this rate…

"INCOMING!"

"Huh?" Hapu looked up, only to see several Pokémon diving down.

Rui and Elizabeth dropped down in front of Hapu, prepared to fight alongside her. "Your backup is here!" Rui exclaimed. "WWWWWHHHAT IS THAT…." Her eyes widened at Blacephalon and its startling similarities to Miror B.

"Looks like the stage crew arrived just in time! Now things can get exciting!" Miror B continued dancing.

"We're going towards the temple!" Takeba told the others. She and Scott were going to deal with Gorigan before Tapu Fini was in any danger.

"Looks like you're dealing with us now, you creep." Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips. "This is all because we decided you weren't sketchy enough back in Kalos, that was our mistake. This situation wouldn't be happening if we just let you sit that out!"

"Ah, but you wouldn't have been able to rescue your friend if not for my efforts either!" Miror B chuckled. "Quite a Catch 22, don't you think? Without me, there's a lot that wouldn't have happened. But now that you're here, I think we can get started with the big surprise."

"Big surprise…?" Hapu didn't like the sound of that.

"Indeed! Watch!" Miror B spun around, his big afro jiggling as he did so. "Blacephalon, use Mind Blown!"

"Mind what." Rui and Elizabeth said in confused unison.

Blacephalon slithered towards the trio, only stopping halfway before grabbing its own spherical head…and throwing it forward! The action was so surprising; the trio could only dive to the side as a massive, multicolored explosion resembling fireworks took place, nearly destroying a nearby cliff side in the process. Multiple wild pokemon nearby began to flee from the disturbance.

"W-WHAT THE HECK!?" Hapu was in complete shock.

"I-It threw its head at us…?!" Rui's mind was blown. Even more so when Blacephalon just grew a new head, this was just an unreal situation.

"Well?" Miror B said while continuing to dance without a care in the world. "Did it you're your mind?"

Meanwhile, on a nearby edge, Mina was watching the whole thing. Not so inclined to intervene, but she was watching because this action did make for a good drawing. "Aw yeah…this is some good stuff…" She truly had no idea what was going on.

.

.

Ula'Ula Island was less chaotic than the others and that was due to Nascour's direct approach. He didn't see it fit to go around causing havoc just to draw out a Tapu. He'd leave all that nonsense to Ardos as he was the more unhinged one under the surface. He went straight for Tapu Bulu's temple, but there was already someone waiting for him there. It was Nanu. "So an Island Kahuna stands in my way after all…" Nascour sighed. "Why must you make trouble for yourself?"

Nanu had one hand in his pocket, slouched over, but his usual tired expression held a glint of seriousness. "I wouldn't have to be here if young idiots like you weren't so keen on causing trouble." He responded, casually tossing a Pokeball out to call forth his Alolan Persian, his strongest partner. "I'm here because I have to stop you, plain and simple. And once this is over and done with, I'll be taking you and the rest of your companions in. So where's that Beast of yours? I know all about your plan."

"So Folly cracked? As expected." Nascour was unfazed with this turn of events. "But it's too late for us to be stopped now." The man tossed a Pokeball out, simply calling out his Metagross, which was already in its Mega Evolved state. "I don't require any of those Beasts. I've always been strong. I will use you to drag out Tapu Bulu, then I will capture Tapu Bulu if Ardos doesn't first."

Nanu just sighed. He was hoping he wouldn't have to battle, but he expected this outcome. "Don't take it too personally when I take you down. I'm just doing my job."

.

.

A plane was speeding towards the Alola region at full throttle. After overhearing everything that was taking place, they had no choice but to make a beeline for it. Alola, and potentially the world was in danger with Cipher's plan. A few members of Interpol were riding the plane, most notably, Looker. "How much longer until we reach Alola?" He asked the piot!

"We're going as fast as we can! We should reach it before the hour is over!" The pilot responded.

"That's too long!" Looker cursed. "We'll never make it in time!"

"That's why you brought me, right? I can go on ahead."

"Are you sure?" Looker looked towards them in question, before shaking his head. "Of course you're sure. I hate to ask this of you, but…"

"Don't worry. I don't think I'll be needed, but we can never be too sure. We can't let Cipher get away with this. I'll be back in a flash." Cynthia called forth her Garchomp, who began to glide ahead at mach speeds with her on top of it. They'd reach Alola in no time. "This is the last time we deal with you Cipher…I swear on it as Sinnoh's Champion. Your organization crumbles once and for all before the Alolan sun goes down."

.

.

Next Time: Revenge Bout.