"YOU WHAT?"

Gladion was hoping – almost pleading – that he could get a break from facing with Sun earlier that day. Still, here he was, currently dealing with the last person he or anyone else in that matter should be stressing themselves about. Not that he was surprised. Hau is one of those people that he could not get his eyes off for a few seconds without getting into some sort of trouble.

"You lost Moon's Z-Power Ring?" Gladion repeated. His glare at the Champion intensified at each word. "That one Z-Power Ring that the Tapus blessed?"

Hau shrunk beneath his gaze. "…Yes." He squeaked behind Lillie.

Gladion resisted the urge to strangle Hau right then and now. Instead, he raised his hands to massage his throbbing temples as he muttered a series of curses to himself. After the preliminary round and a quick lunch, the three of them assembled inside the lone luxury box of the stadium. Lusamine, Faba, and Wicke returned to Aether Paradise before their arrival to assist the Ultra Recon Squad in the current Ultra Beast dilemma. Professor Burnet had a call from the Pokémon Center in Hau'oli City and had to leave midway through the preliminary round. Professor Elio went relatively later than the others to pick up the results sent by his colleague from Orre regarding the berserk Pokémon. He hoped it might give them insight into the mysterious incidents and preferably create a cure.

Gladion sunk into the couch, surprising Shiron, who was curled up comfortably after a harrowing battle. "When? When did you lose it?"

Hau did not budge from his hiding place behind his girlfriend. "Last night…I think?" He continued before Gladion made up his mind to kill him from where he stood. "I must have dropped it during last night's celebration. Maybe someone found it…?"

Gladion glowered. "I swear to Arceus, Hau, if you aren't Lillie's boyfriend and the current Champion, I would have ordered Silvally to bite your head off."

The said Pokémon perked from its nest of couch pillows and towels that it dragged to one corner moments ago. It tilted its head as it eyed Hau with curiosity, probably intrigued by the prospect of having a taste of the Champion. It assumed he might taste like the malasadas he loves so much.

"Big Brother, don't give Silvally any ideas." Lillie gently chided, noticing the look Silvally was giving to the dark green-haired Trainer. She coaxed Hau away from her back and sat beside Gladion. "I'm sure whoever found it will return it. Everyone knows how important Z-Power Rings are."

"Yeah, Lillie's right." Hau slid his arms down the backrest of the couch. "No one's that dumb enough to try stealing a Z-Power Ring."

"Well, someone's dumb enough to lose one." Gladion shot back as the Champion deflated from his perch. "Don't think you're off the hook yet."

"Sowww cwuel, Glawds," Hau mumbled against the leather skin of the couch. Shiron leapt on the back of the Champion and curled into a cozy ball of white. "I thouwht we'we fwiends."

"You're friends, alright," Lillie said soothingly as she picked up Shiron from her precarious position atop Hau's back and placed the Alolan Vulpix on her lap. "Big Brother's just stressed out lately. The Ultra Beasts popping back without Nebby's interference has started taking its toll on the Aether Foundation."

Gladion made a sound of annoyance between his teeth. "I had to deal with five media invitations this past week. People are starting to get restless, and I have not gotten an answer from Interpol. If this keeps up -"

"It won't," Hau interjected, raising his head to look at the blond. His eyes brooked no argument. "You will win, Glads, and we'll get the information we need."

"That is easy for you to say," Gladion said. "You have seen it, haven't you? Sun is no weak Trainer. He and his partner eliminated almost half of the contestants in the preliminary round with just one attack."

"That's because he ordered his partner to use a wide-range attack!" Hau pointed out. "Of course, that will take down many."

"Draco Meteor isn't a move you can just teach your Pokémon, Hau." Gladion insisted. "It requires an unbreakable bond between a Trainer and his partner Dragon-type Pokémon. Even if your Pokémon gets to learn Draco Meteor, mastering that move is no easy feat."

Hau raised his arms in annoyance. "Well, tell that to Moon then! She loves spamming Draco Meteor to my face whenever I come around to challenge her."

Gladion looked a bit offended. "Hau, you have no idea how many times I have to dance around just to escape those meteors raining down on my head!" He glowered. "I swear to the Tapus, Moon was out to kill me every time I climbed up the League."

"Well…" Hau tilted his head, giving Gladion a knowing, pointed look. "Considering how you acted like a jerk many times before, I can understand where Moon was coming from."

Gladion scowled at him. "Very funny."

They are getting along well. Lillie smiled fondly as she watched the two exchange friendly banter. She could still remember how indifferent her brother to the current Champion was. He would often complain of Hau's carefree and spirited character – from being too amiable to friends and strangers alike to being reckless in the face of danger – and how he gets to his nerves whenever they have a Pokémon battle and Hau loses. She could still remember how he almost strangled Hau two years ago when he learned that they had started dating. It took her brother months before he finally accepted their relationship and learned to restrain his overprotective-big-brother-side whenever she and Hau get a tad close for his liking. Now, he and Hau still bicker at times, but they have gotten close like brothers.

"Kyuu!"

Lillie turned to Shiron, who nudged at her arm and looked at the coffee table. There was a subtle vibration on the glass table coming from Hau's phone. She picked it up and opened it — the name of the Steel-type Elite Four member popping on the screen. "Hau," She called out to her boyfriend. "Mister Molayne is calling you."

"Yeah?" Hau accepted the proffered phone and placed it against his ear. "Alola, Molayne! Is there something I could help you with?" Hau paused, listening to the other end. "It's about that? Okay! I will put you on speakerphone."

Hau pushed himself off the backrest of the sofa and rounded the table. He placed his phone on the glass surface and switched the call. Gladion gave Hau a questioning look which the Champion answered by gesturing to the phone. Lillie hurried to the side to provide Hau with enough space to sit beside her.

Molayne's voice spoke from the phone. "Can you all hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Gladion answered.

"Good." The Elite Four member seemed pleased. "I'm not going to beat around the bush. I am calling under the Champion's order. Hau requested me to do a background check on Sun days ago. Gladion, I'm sure Nanu already told you that the Alolan police found no records of Sun's travel history to the region, yeah?"

"Yes," Gladion affirmed. "He told me that Sun most likely arrived in the region under a different name." Or he just imagined him. Gladion omitted that. Molayne was with them when they happened to see Sun watching their small procession last night.

"That is a possibility, yeah. But I found something odd when I checked in with the airport administration. I requested to see all public and private flight records for the past six months, but the report turned out to be incomplete. There was a particular flight that caught my attention – one from the Galar region three months ago. It was not a chartered flight, but the list of passengers was redacted."

"Redacted?" Lillie asked, edging closer to the table. "What do you mean?"

"One of the passengers was missing. Or, to be more accurate, the name of the passenger has been withdrawn from all existing records." Molayne answered. "I managed to contact the airline company of the flight, and they confirmed there was an additional passenger in the flight, but the original list of passengers was turned over to the Galarian police."

"The Galarian police?" Hau frowned. "What would the police even want from that list?"

"That is something I have yet to find," Molayne admitted. "I asked for a copy of the list, but the company said that the authorities ordered them to turn over any copy of the list. The company seemed to be still under tight surveillance, and the call I had was cut short unexpectedly. I contacted the Galarian police, but they told me that the Galarian League had taken the original list and the copies. I tried to request communication with their League, but I was denied."

"That's…" Gladion ran a hand through his hair. Shock and frustration dancing in his chartreuse green eyes. "I'm not facing an ordinary enemy, aren't I?"

"We cannot be sure." The Steel-type Trainer answered — sympathy leaking through his voice. "But we cannot eliminate the fact that Sun might be an invaluable ally. He has powerful connections from another region and has a considerable influence on Alola. I recommend going along with your agreement until we can find more information about his identity."

"How about the registration he submitted for the League championship?" Hau piped in. "Did you find something?"

"I'm afraid not," Molayne replied. There was a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I didn't manage to get my hands on it. It was Miss Kahili who handled the participants' documents this year. Nanu came over to the League and requested the information for the police investigation just a week ago."

"Oh, come on!" Hau complained.

"But I spoke with Soffy yesterday. Apparently, he has never met Sun in his Trial."

"What?" Gladion slammed his palms on the table, surprising Silvally from its nap. "What do you mean he never met Sun in his Trial?"

"It is at it is. Soffy never had Sun as a trial goer."

"But that's against the rules!" Lillie pointed out. On her lap, Shiron bobbed her head in agreement. "You can't participate in the League championship if you didn't finish all Trials and Grand Trials."

"Correct," Molayne confirmed. "That's why I'm going to meet Nanu tonight and forward this new information to the investigation. Should it be proven to be true, then Sun will be immediately disqualified from the championship. It may also serve as a ground for filing a fraud case."

The younger Aether sibling glanced at her brother worriedly. "But if Sun gets disqualified, what will happen to the information he promised if Big Brother wins? Won't that break their agreement?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," Gladion answered in the Elite Four member's stead. His eyes affixed in a glare to the phone. "Molayne, if anything new comes up, please tell us at a moment's notice."

"Don't worry, Gladion. Just keep our new friend entertained, and we will take care of the rest, yeah? Alola got your back."

"Understood."