It wasn't long until after everyone finished their dish that I noticed Lana and Kiawe's expressions begin to shift uncomfortably.

{Something wrong, you guys?}

"Phew...Is it me, or is it getting hot out here...?" the fire captain trailed off, beginning to sweat.

"That's the kick!" Mallow explained. "It comes pretty shortly after you finish it up!"

"I think this is a bit more than just a kick, Mallow..." Lana responded. "I'm afraid to see what you think 'spicy' is."

"Come on, you guys, it isn't tha bad. I mean, look at Echo. She isn't bothered by it...Are you?"

{There IS a bit of a warm feeling in the throat once it goes down, but it's nothing I can't...}

That was when the heat spread from the back of my throat up to my tongue. And it wasn't so subtle once it got there. I ended up having to open my mouth up in order to try and release some of the heat.

{Never mind, it is spicy. Too spicy for me. Maybe go a bit easier on the heat next time? I feel like Sassafras using Incinerate...Hey, maybe she would like this better. You want what I have left, girl?}

She trilled gratefully, then grabbed the fork and dug in.

"Ha! A Pokémon using a fork...How polite!" Mallow chortled.

{She tends to take after me in a lot of ways, it looks like,} I explained. {She even stands on her hind legs to run instead of going on all fours...I swear that her dialect even has a few similarities to mine.}

"Wow...That's pretty interesting," she nodded. "...So, you've completed all three of the Akala trials! Now all you have to do is take on the Grand Trial against the Island Kahuna and you'll be able to continue onto Ula'ula Island! You excited?"

{I might decide to do some more training before I make my way over there. Gotta make sure everybody is strong enough for the challenge ahead...Grace especially. My Eevee needs more catching up in strength out of anyone. But that doesn't mean she can't pack a punch already; she's downed a few opposing Eevees already.}

"That does sound like a good idea. Kahuna Olivia is pretty strong; the Rock-Type might have a lot of weaknesses, but she knows how to use them REALLY well."

{Oh, wow...}

"She might have done good in this trial," Kiawe chimed in again. "But I do NOT recommend putting Sassafras up against the odds of Rock-Types. She'd be squashed!"

"Srr?"

She looked up from her eating, a look of worry in her face.

{I guess it's a good thing I had some more team-building in mind...} I gurgled. {That reminds me...Do you know where to find Pokémon Fossils?}

"I know," Lana replied. "There's someone who sells them in Konikoni City for 7,000 a piece. Only one of each kind per customer, though."

{7,000! I'd have to battle at least a dozen Trainers in order to wrack up that kind of money...}

"Well, I guess it's a good excuse to train, isn't it?" Mallow suggested.

{...I guess you're right. I guess I'll get on out there...Can't overdo it, though; the midday heat messes with me a bit too much. Come on, Sassafras, get back in your ball; we've got some more training to do.}

She nodded and trilled, letting me return her to her capsule.

{So, Mallow, have you ever let anyone else try your Special? I know we think it's a bit hot, but I'm willing to bet some people can handle the spice.}

"Oh, Professor Kukui thinks it's DELICIOUS. I even gave him the recipe for it! I don't think he's much of a gourmet, though; he'll eat just about anything! Guys, am I right?"

"Ahem..."

"Oh...No offense to you, Kiawe. You have some pretty refined taste."

{I wonder if Hau would like it? He's one step behind me in this whole Island Challenge thing, so he should be coming over to take your trial for a spin here maybe by tomorrow. Today he went back to Melemele Island to try and find some more Pokémon for his team.}

"Woo! What's that sweet smell I smell driftin' my way? Could it be a tasty Mallow Special?"

We all turned to face the jungle's exit. There, just walking in to meet us, was none other than the Professor himself. I approached and gave him a chitter of a greeting.

"How's it been, Echo? Judging by the smell, I'd say you just wrapped up Mallow's trial, huh?"

{I did. Sassafras handled every battle, and she did it amazingly...She even evolved!}

"Wow, hey, nice goin'! I guess you'll be takin' on the Grand Trial next?"

{At some point today, probably. I've got to do some training first to prepare for that, and I want to see if I can get my hands on a fossil of some sort to take to the restoration center off of Route 8.}

"Well, before you go do that, why don't you come with me down over to Heahea City first?" he suggested. "I wanted to show you the Dimensional Research Lab down there, yeah!"

{Dimensional Research Lab...Isn't that where Professor Burnet works?}

"Sure is! I told her some things 'bout you already, and she says she wants to meet you in person, you know?"

{Sounds like a plan. Should we go now?}

"Hey, whenever you're ready, we can head on down there! Beat you over there!"

He gave himself a running start out of the Lush Jungle.

{Oh, that's what you think...}

I stretched my legs and dashed after him, Rotom hanging tight on my hat, and leaving the three trial captains in the dust.

"Wow..." I heard Mallow say from behind. "The Professor might be a fast runner, but he doesn't stand a chance against HER in a race!"

...

{Where to now, Rotom?}

"Just another right off of Route 6! The Professor'zzz in the dust!"

{Not a problem.}

I made a sharp turn, and the dirt road turned to asphalt. There, just ahead, was the destination; the Dimensional Research Lab, and I skidded to a halt just outside the entrance. The Professor had really bitten off more than he could chew with the challenge.

{How fast was I?}

"Phew! Pushing 45 mph! Impressive! Kzzt!"

I looked around; the Professor still hadn't shown up yet at the lab yet, but his scent was gradually getting stronger.

{...Do you think I should've gone easier on him?}

"Ah, it'zzz only a foot race. He's got you topped in other fields by a lot, ya know!"

{Might as well head inside while we wait, huh?}

"Sure thing!"

"Go, Nebby! Use...use Splash!"

"Pew?"

We walked in through the driveway, and sure enough, there were Lillie and Nebby. Was she trying to...train it? I barked curiously.

{Thinking about becoming a Trainer?}

"Ah!"

She swiftly turned around to face me, and her initial fear quickly turned to embarrassment.

"Oh. Heh. You saw that, huh? Don't mind me, I'm just...uh...pretending to be one."

"For practizzze, maybe?"

"Well...I don't know. I guess you could say I've been starting to consider it just a tiny bit...But either way, I can't really train Nebby much. It always ends up getting hurt too easily, it's so weak. All Pokémon end up getting hurt in battle, so I...never really liked Pokémon Trainers, or thought I'd ever want to be one. But when I saw you and Hau the other night, it...It was like it opened a door to me. One that I thought would always be closed, or...maybe I never even knew it was there to begin with. It's just...so fascinating, and I'm not sure why...I still don't know about the whole Trainer deal, though. I mean, not everyone has to be one and can still like Pokemon, right?"

{That's true,} I nodded. {Each to their own, I guess.}

"M-hm...So, uh, where's Professor Kukui at? He was the one who wanted to bring you here. Did you come by yourself?"

"Ha...Wow...Yeah, I...I'm not makin' that mistake again...Phew!"

{Not exactly...}

The Professor had arrived, and he looked like he'd just taken a long jog through Wela Volcano Park.

"The Professor tried to challenge the 45 mph speed master here to a race to the lab. He lost. Big time. Zzrt!"

"Yeah, don't rub it in, Rotom..." he huffed.

"Are you alright, Professor...?"

"I'm fine, Lillie, just kinda...tuckered out, yeah? Heh...Burnet's prob'ly gonna ask me why I'm all sweaty now..."

{Sorry, Professor.}

"Hey, my idea, not yours..." he chuckled, finally starting to regain his composure. "So...wanna head in?"

I nodded eagerly, and the Professor opened the door for all of us and we entered the lab. I chittered at the sight of it, impressed by how clean and bright the place looked. The Professor lead us to an elevator on the far wall, and it took us up to the next floor. All we had to do next was turn the corner, and he whistled and waved to catch someone's attention.

"Hey there, honey! Guess who I brought on over!?"

One of the humans in the room turned to face us. She had white hair, and...wasn't wearing a lab coat, like almost everyone else in the room. Maybe she had one, but just didn't have it on right now...It didn't really matter much, though.

"Oh, hi!"

{Is this Professor Burnet?}

"That's right!"

{Rotom. Have you met her before?}

"Sure have! She's just as great azzz the Professor here! Kzzt!"

"So, you're Echo, are you?" she asked me. "I've been wanting to meet you ever since Kukui told me about you...A lot of people here have, actually. And I see that you're the one who got the Rotom Dex, too. You must be the reliable sort."

"Oh, she sure izzz, Professor B.! And I not only serve as her Pokémon encyclopedia and map, but also constant companion and speech translator!"

"Is that so?"

"Uh-huh! I'll show ya! Go on, boss, say somethin'!"

{Well, I...}

Just like every time, Rotom translated everything I said. I was still a bit embarrassed by all of this, though.

{It's...an honor to meet you, really. Lillie and the Professor were so good to me, so...It's not hard to figure out that you are, too.}

"Well, I'm glad to know that. In fact, I've taken particular interest in you when Kukui told me your story."

{How so?}

"Well..." Lillie chimed in. "When we found you on the beach, it was weird, because...That's what happened to me a while back."

{ ..What?}

"R-really?" Rotom buzzed.

"That's right," Professor Burnet confirmed. "It all happened just three months ago...We found her lying on the back. Cosmog...or 'Nebby,' was with her in her bag, also unconscious...We brought her in and nursed her back to health, all the while wondering about the strange Pokémon that she had with her. She was pretty wary of us at first, but she came around, and we decided we'd help her learn more about Nebba and its strange powers. That's what I've been putting most of my research into...Until now, at least."

"Wowie...The whole 'washed-up on the beach' out of nowhere thing DOEZZZ sound pretty similar to what happened to you!"

{Scarily so...} I nodded. {...Have you uncovered anything so far?}

"I did notice one thing," she replied. "The readings I got from the same location shows an increase in strange activity both on the day I found Lillie and the day she and Kukui found you. I suspect that a wormhole of some sort might have something to do with it...But the readings from the day you showed up were different; stronger aura readings, and they were seemingly connected to some other end instead of spontaneous teleportation...A wormhole, to be exact. One connecting from one universe to another...But none like any other we've theorized...Especially since we now know what else lived in this world."

{So, what you're saying is that I come from an entirely different world from this one altogether?}

"That's what we've all concluded."

{But...How? How is that possible?}

"We don't know the fine details of it just yet."

{And...What do you mean when you say you know what else lived there besides me? How can you do that?}

She and Professor Kukui exchanged nervous glances, then turned back to me.

"...I sent her the tooth I found buried in your neck for a DNA analysis," the Professor informed me. "She says that running it through the ultra-analyzer here at the lab was able to recreate a digital model of the creature it came from."

{The...the monster?}

"Whatever it was that attacked you...I haven't seen it yet, though."

"If it's not too much to ask," Professor Burnet continued. "Would you mind seeing it? Just to confirm that it IS what you faced?"

{I...don't know...}

I thought about it for a moment. I didn't want to have to face my past...But wasn't all of this for an important cause? And...I might have a new life in the Alola region, but I couldn't just ignore my past anymore.

I sighed, then chittered and nodded in agreement. Professor Burnet showed off the tooth to us...it looked slightly more yellow than I last saw it, and she lead us to the main computer monitor on the north wall of the lab, stuck the tooth in a cylindrical compartment to the right of the dashboard of a control panel, then pushed it in and pulled a switch. The machine whirred some, and slowly, the screen loaded up, reconstructing the monster that me and my sisters faced off against in the form of a harmless image.

Finally, it flashed "ANALYSIS COMPLETE," and the next thing I knew, I was staring directly at an exact replica of the creature. All of us stared, it both amazement and terror, at the beast that knew nothing but how to kill.

"This would be the top predator in any environment," Professor Burnet explained. "It has an incredibly weak aura, like Echo here, but it makes up for this with its sheer power and aggression. It's essentially a killing machine; it has heat-sensing pit organs like Arbok and Seviper, can regulate its own body temperature at will, is able to open its jaws almost a hundred and eighty degrees...and it can change the color of its scales to camouflage itself."

{It...could definitely do that last one,} I confirmed. {...I saw it do that.}

"S-so, that's the monster..." Rotom shuddered. "It doezzz look like how you described it. I wouldn't want to come across that thing in a dark forest...or anywhere. Ever..."

"It doesn't seem like anything you would find naturally in the wild. Here, let me see what it's made of."

She typed in a command, and a pie chart came onto the screen. It was one large portion, and then there were several other, much smaller parts. They were all just labeled with a bunch of question marks; the computer didn't know what they were called.

"So this confirms that it's a hybrid creature of some sort," Burnet told everyone, peering a bit more closely at the screen. "Except we don't know what it's made of. Not any Pokémon, that's for sure."

{I know part of what it's made of.}

That caught everyone's attention.

"What? What is it?" Burnet asked. She was especially intrigued by this.

{...It's part Velociraptor,} I grawed. {My own species. I don't think I told you yet, Professor. I remembered what my species name was, and wrote it down in my passport...Owen said that was what it was...what I am. What we all were.}

"'Velociraptor,' huh?" Professor Kukui repeated. "Huh...Interesting name."

{Yeah,} I replied, emitting a light gurgle of a laugh. {I've already got that twice.}

"How much of your DNA do you think this things has in it?" Burnet asked.

{I don't know...Enough to smell and sound like us to an extent, at least.}

"Burnet, how about I send you my DNA analysis? That oughta let you see how much...'Velociraptor' is in that creature. Echo, you don't know if this thing had a specific species name, do you?"

{I don't know. I don't think I ever heard it...At least, I don't remember if I did. Not yet, that is.}

"It is an intriguing specimen," she remarked. "I just wish it could tell us what..."

She trailed off, suddenly falling silent, as she peered more closely at the display on the screen. I could see some sort of dread begin to settle in her gaze.

"...Wait a minute, what's..."

She zoomed in on the chart. Particularly, on the smallest portion of it...the only part of the creature not labeled by question marks.

And none of us believed what it said when it came clearly into view.

"0.05%

Human"

"Holy..."

Kukui swore under his breath.

"...It's part human..." Professor Burnet just barely whispered.

{But...How?}

"DNA splicing is a thing, especially in the case of restoring fossils...But almost all of the time, it's just from another Pokémon," Professor Kukui stated. "Using the DNA of a human in the genetic code of something like that...That's dangerous."

"That piece might actually contribute to its high intelligence," Burnet continued. "...This creature wasn't bred; it was designed in a lab. It had to be. And not only that, but in an entirely separate universe, too...Whatever is going on over there, I just hope they know how to subdue it."

{Subdue? No, no. There's no subduing that thing. It's too smart and too strong. It won't let anyone subdue it,} I chimed in. {That thing is a ruthless, savage monster, unlike any Pokémon in this world...It's too dangerous to be kept alive.}

"She should know," Rotom nodded. "She and her sisterzzz had a full-blown conversation with it!"

"You understood it?" Lillie marveled. "What types of things did it say?"

{...It has a garbled dialect. Similar to mine and my sisters, but deeper. And more volume-oriented...The humans sent us after it to try to kill it, but it tried to take over; stepped in and called itself our new Alpha. It told us to turn on the humans and...kill them in cold blood. And that if we didn't, it would...}

Rotom trailed off along with me.

"Could we, uh, drop this topic? She doezzn't like talking about it. Like...at all."

The three humans present all turned their attention to me.

"...Are you okay?" Lillie asked.

{I...should be,} I answered. {It's just...every time I picture that thing, or...look at it now...it reminds me of what went down that night. Nobody should ever have to go through what I went through. My entire life as I knew it fell apart at the seams, and...We were no match for that monster, and neither were the humans. My sisters and Alpha are all...they're all probably...}

"Boss?"

I let out a shaky sigh, looking back at each of my human friends.

{...But...I was lucky enough to find something new here. With...You, the Professors, and Lillie and Hau, and Rotom, and my Pokémon, it's...It's strange. It's almost like somebody knew what was happening to me back at my old home and...rescued me from some horrible death...What could have been able to open up a wormhole into an entirely different universe? Or who?}

"That's part of what we're trying to figure out, Echo," Professor Burnet answered. "Some people here in Alola think that one of the ancient Pokémon from the legends might have come from a wormhole. That wormhole specifically is what we here call the 'Ultra Wormhole.' There are a lot of legends and myths surrounding it, though, so I can't say for sure right now what's fact and what's fiction...I will say this, though, concerning your situation, even with a few puzzle pieces still missing, some of this does make more sense now."

"Yeah...It is pretty interesting to think somebody rescued you," Lillie marveled. "And...that just goes to show you that if something with that much power went out of its way to pull you out of that mess, then...someone somewhere really does care about you. Like we do."

"Pew!" Nebby squeaked in agreement.

"That reminds me...Where is Hau?"

"Oh, he headed back to Melemele for part of the day; said he was gonna try to catch another Pokémon to add to his team, yeah! You should see him and Echo...They've only been buds for a few days, and I swear, they're almost like siblings to one another. Amazing how far a little kindness can go, huh? Hey, just goes to show that whenever you need us, just know that we'll all be right here for ya," the Professor promised. "Always."

I felt the corners of my mouth turn up, and I turned to face each one of them again. This new family...this was why I was taken here. I knew it for sure.

"Well, I gotta head back to work," Burnet finished. "The disturbances in the surrounding area now have been more frequent today, and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it all."

"I won't keep ya, then. Have a good rest of the day, alright, hon'?"

"Oh, don't you worry about me, I will. And Echo. Good luck with your Island Challenge!"

{Thanks. Things have been going pretty smoothly so far; I just need a bit more training done before I face the Kahuna.}

"Ooh, big battle coming up, huh? Well, you best get on out there and keep up the good work!"

{And thanks again for the information. I'm still...trying to wrap my head around some of it, but at least I have an idea on how I got to Alola from my old home.}

"See you when you get out!"

"Bye..."

"Catch you three later!"

"Zzt! Hey! I'm here, too!"

"Haha...Sorry, Rotom. I could never forget you, though."

He crossed his blocky arms in mock-contempt as we turned and left, re-entering the elevator and stepping back out onto the ground level floor.

"So, um...What do you think? O-of Professor Burnet, I mean..."

{I like her plenty. I haven't known her that long, but I'd say she's as great as the Professor.}

"Ha...Well...You aren't wrong."

{It's weird, how both of us ended up collapsing outside the lab like we did...What was it like for you?}

"Um...Not too much different. Except I was more cold and wet than I was hurt, like you were...And Nebby was with me. I was actually on my way to find her when I ended up the way I did, and...I got pretty lucky with where I finally gave out. Ha...uh...Anyways, she...stayed up all night listening to my story, and then Professor Kukui lent me his loft to stay in. Together, they decided to help me investigate Nebby's origins, and see if we can get it back to its old home...But it's not just that. Professor Burnet...She's s-so kind to me, and nice, and...She's been like...like a real mother to me."

That caught my attention.

{...Did you not have one before?}

"Well...um..."

She just grew silent all of a sudden.

"...I'd rather not discuss that."

{Hmm...Well...Alright,} I nodded. {Professor, I'm going back up to Route 8 to fight a few Trainers.}

"Better now than never! Just don't overheat..."

{It's not quite as bad over there...the sea breeze does feel pretty refreshing, so that helps.}

"Yep! Perfect for rustin' my circuitzzz!"

{Wait, what? Really?}

"Haha! I'm just teazzzin'...But it might take some o' the luster out of my shiny red Dex body if I'm exposed to the salty breezzze for too long. Hey, at least I can take some shelter in your pack, am I right?"

I chittered a laugh, and my humans friends joined in pretty quickly.

{One more thing...When do you think Hau is going to get back to Akala?}

"I'd think he should be back by sundown," the Professor assumed. "I doubt he'd take a chance on missin' your Grand Trial, and if there's one thing I know about that guy, he's the reliable kind, yeah!"

{He definitely is...Well, I'll see you all later.}

"Take care out there!"

"See you this evening, Echo..."

I turned and started a light trot heading out towards Route 6 again. I continued to think about everything that had just occurred as I went, and the more I did, the more intrigued I was by all of it; Hau and I had been right about her, it looked like; there WERE some things she was keeping hidden from us.

But the extent of it, I didn't know...Although I had a hunch that the pieces would all come together eventually.

Hey, hey, it's this story's first anniversary! Thanks for the support, everyone! There's a lot more yet to come, so stick around! :D