How long has he been here? Hours? Days? Guzma could not tell.

When he finally opened his eyes, his sight was met with a blinding white. The room is white, the floor is white, the walls are white, even the goddamn lights are incandescent white, and he wondered how in the world he is not blind yet. He never really had any problem with the color white – his hair is dyed white for the Tapus' sake – but now it is getting in his nerves. He could now understand why that boy Gladion prefers dark colors, even while wearing his Aether uniform. If Gladion is given a chance, he would turn this place upside-down and paint it black.

Not that Guzma will stop him. Hell, he will even join him!

Guzma leaned against the wall for support as he stood up. The impostor, or the other him, must have thought that he might try punching his way out. Not that he is wrong. His wrists were bound behind him with a piece of cloth, tight enough for it to hurt like hell. He tried worming his arms through to no avail, so he waited.

Sun, no, Moon told him to wait.

The boy that Gladion has been hounding for weeks now was actually the free-spirited First Alolan Champion all along. He could not wrap his head around it when he learned that, when Sun, himself, revealed it when he followed the boy after their match. Guzma even told him about her when she was standing right in front of him! He stopped him, told him to wait for him, and asked him a question.

"Kiddo, wait!" Guzma remembered Sun slowing down and glancing at him. He was panting a bit when he finally caught up to him. The boy may be small in height, but his footsteps are quick and light. "I have a question for you."

Sun looked jilted being stopped for a question when he was obviously in a hurry. Guzma ignored the obvious because he really wanted to talk properly to the kid. "What is it?"

"Have ya' met her? The First Alolan Champion?" Guzma noticed Sun's shoulders tensed at the question. "Before I met the kid, yer boy is a real nasty piece of work. Ya' might've heard 'bout my Team Skull and me. We belong to nowhere, and we don't care 'bout it." His expression softened a bit. "But that was before. I met that girl, and I tell ya' what, she is nothin' like any of us. She's a carefree, loud n' annoyin' lass, but I respect her. Everyone in Alola does. If that kid didn't come here in Alola, things would not be the same."

"And ya' kiddo," Guzma pointed at him. "Ya' strangely remind me of her. Yer nothin' like her, but I could see her in ya'. Ya' act like the President's son, but it sometimes felt kinda forced. Are ya' tryin' to run from somethin', kid? If that's the case, ya' better face it. Why? Because that is somethin' that I learned from our Champion."

He recalled the strange shift in Sun's expression. After a moment, the red-eyed Trainer finally decided to face him properly and opened his mouth to speak. The words that left his lips were not what Guzma expected.

"I'm not running away from anything. Mister Guzma…I am Moon."

The kid looked at him with those eyes, the very same eyes that the former Team Skull leader once met at the top of Alolan League in Mount Lanakila and the eyes that faced him on the battlefield earlier.

"And I need your help."

Then, Guzma was a mess of disbelief, and Are you shittin' with me, kid? Wanna fight, huh? Once he got over it, he was all questions, and Sun-who-turned-out-to-be-actually-Moon answered most of his rapid-fire questions with the best of her abilities as she dragged the older man to Ula'ula Island. The former Champion promised to answer the rest of his questions once things settled down a bit. She desperately needed his help, and Guzma could not just say no to her.

Moon revealed the most critical parts to him - like how Alola, their Alola, was being invaded by the parallel versions of themselves. She told him that another Lusamine has taken over the Aether Foundation and brought a different Team Skull - Ultra Team Skull, as Moon calls them - who kidnapped her father, Kukui's wife, and two aliens. She even revealed Necrozma's connection to the disease that he heard affected even Hala's Pokémon. She told him she needed his help in rescuing the four people that she believed could help take down the other Lusamine and help he did.

Guzma might not be an actor, but Moon knew what she was doing. He was almost convinced that she was selling him off to his doppelganger - she is surprisingly good like a professional - but the look in her eyes told him that she trusted him completely and would be waiting for him to come back safe and sound. He planned to do that either way. He is not going to lose to a dumber version of himself.

He walked toward the door and pressed himself against the wall. It is a blind spot to anyone outside yet a perfect place for a lookout from the inside. He saw two to three Ultra Team Skull grunts pass by but ignored his holding cell. There seemed to be fewer of them guarding the place, but he kind of expected it. Moon told him that they planned to capture Tapu Koko that day and infect it with that Ultra Beast disease or something. He was more surprised that the girl was acting as a double agent but was glad that she would distract and buy him enough time to get everyone out.

Guzma tapped a foot against the floor, occasionally glancing at the small opening beneath the automatic door. His temporary partner-in-crime should be coming back by now. A few seconds ticked by, and a shadow slithered through the opening and took a more tangible form right by his feet. The humanoid, black Pokémon was barely the height of his calf. Moon called it Marshadow and is a Mythical Pokémon. She did not catch it, but the little guy has taken a liking to her and has been following her since she met it almost six years ago.

Of course, it would. Guzma thought. That kid is a magnet to this stuff of legends. He was not really that surprised since she had already met all the Tapus at one point and even caught a freaking Lunala. However, this time, she also has Marshadow and another Mythical Pokémon called Zeraora that Guzma only managed to get a quick glimpse of. It seemed to have no interest in meeting other people that is not Moon. She sent Marshadow with him just in case Ultra Team Skull confiscated his Pokéballs.

Marshadow shuffled on its smoky feet and tilted its head upward just to get a look at him. It is kinda cute...Guzma cleared his throat, hoping that the Mythical Pokémon could not read minds. "Did ya' find 'em?" He asked, and the Pokémon nodded. "Alright… I just need to remove this." He turned around and crouched to show it his binds. "Think ya' can take it off?"

The Gloomdweller Pokémon reached out and began undoing the knots with its stubby fingers. Guzma waited for it while glancing behind his back at the viewing glass to see if any grunts were going their way. After a couple of minutes, the cloth fell to the ground, and Guzma rubbed his throbbing wrists. He twisted around, keeping himself at Marshadow's level.

"Thanks, bud." He debated whether to pat the Pokémon on the head, but he decided to keep his hands to himself. "Your boy Guzma's gonna treat ya' later with malasadas once we get out of 'ere."

Marshadow blinked at him before letting out a soft, happy cry. Guzma stood up and pulled out a master keycard that Moon lent to him. Gladion gave it to her, at his mother's behest, so she could come and go as she pleased. They might have forgotten to deactivate it despite being unused for five years now, which works well to their advantage. He tapped the keycard on the scanning device, and the door easily slid open. Once the coast was clear, they headed further to the labs where the others were being held.

The labs, in Guzma's opinion, are his least favorite place on the artificial island. Everything looks white and pristine, and it is giving him the creepy-crawlies, and he is a Bug-type Trainer. Marshadow led him past dark rooms and a few more barred with police tape and a sign saying RESTRICTED AREA. DO NOT ENTER. The rooms looked unused for years now, and Guzma could not see anything inside. He has heard bits and pieces, but from the looks of it, those might be where Gladion's strange, artificial Pokémon was created.

Guzma did not linger long at looking at those rooms when Marshadow gave a small chirp. The Pokémon pointed at the door in front of it, and Guzma peered through the glass. A petite woman sat hunched on the floor, and the former Team Skull boss recognized the flop of white hair and the orange and black jacket tied around her waist. He tapped the keycard and rushed inside. He knelt next to her. "Burnet, hey! Are ya' okay?"

The Pokémon professor lifted her head and threw a punch right at his face. "You-! How dare you! I swear I'm going to -"

"Ow! Calm down, woman!" Guzma raised one hand in surrender while the other shielded his face from the incoming blows. "It's me, Guzma! Stop! Stop hittin' me already!"

Burnet paused and furrowed her eyebrows, but she did not drop her fist. "Guzma?"

"Yeah! It's me." Guzma eyed her raised fist warily, still shielding his face. "The Guzma of this world, or whatever. The one who got ya' was another me, I mean, me but not me. It's a long story, but ya' better ask that kid Moon 'bout it later. Arceus! Ya' pack a punch. Ow!"

"Why should I believe you?" Burnet narrowed her eyes at him. "How do I know that you're the Guzma of this world?"

"That's…" Guzma paused. "That's a good question."

Burnet was about to punch him again when Guzma's savior graciously intervened. "Marrsshh!" The Mythical Pokémon rushed out of its hiding spot behind a counter and stepped between the two humans. It waved its arms around. "Marsh! Marsh! Marrsshh!"

Burnet looked astounded. She looked at Marshadow, then to Guzma. "Marshadow? What…what are you doing here?"

"Ya' know each other?"

Burnet stared at him before sighing. "Not really." She admitted, finally letting a bit of her guard down. "I just happened to see it tag along with Moon years ago, and she introduced it to me. That's the only time I saw it."

"Tough luck." Guzma muttered, wincing at his stinging nose. "I just met it recently."

"Ah…" Burnet's eyes darted at his reddened face. Her battle-ready face fell to apologetic. "Sorry for punching you. Does…does it hurt?"

"Nah." Guzma waved it off and stood up. "Felt worse. Didn't bleed, so no worries."

"But-"

"Hey! Save yer apologies fer later." Guzma held out a hand. "Let's get outta 'ere first, yeah? I don't wanna hear it from Kukui if ya' get hurt under my watch."

Burnet took his hand and allowed him to haul her up. "Alright. But I'm not letting you refuse dinner at our house." She smiled kindly. "Lei's missing his Uncle Guzma."

Guzma huffed, though Burnet knows well he is happy to hear that. "Ya' better worry 'bout yerself. Ya' haven't been home fer what? Days? Weeks? Honestly!" He turned around and gestured at the door. "Come on. Let's get the others. I'm dyin' fer some sun out of 'ere."


Everything is going smoothly…or at least, they pretended to. Molayne has reached out to everyone to gather upon hearing that Tapu Koko got severely injured and was brought to the Pokémon Center on Route 1. Nurse Joy and the other staff members were kind enough to lend them a room to turn into a makeshift conference room while they waited for the initial examination results on Silvally and Tapu Koko. They shared small talk while they waited for Gladion and Hau when the room doors flung open, and the latter burst in, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"GLADION KISSED SUN!"

Everyone stared at the Champion before turning to the older Aether sibling, who came running a few seconds after. "HAU!" Gladion looked one word away from popping a vein. "I told you! I didn't kiss Sun!"

"Nuh-uh! You definitely did!" Hau pointed an accusing finger at him. "I saw you! How could you cheat on Moon? Since when did you like guys?"

"Of all the things -" If Gladion could, he could have punched Hau right here and now. "I didn't kiss Sun, okay? He's the one who…!"

Gladion bit his tongue. Everyone was staring at him intently with curiosity, amusement, and disbelief, and by the Tapus! Lillie looked mortified, not because of Hau's announcement of him being supposedly homosexual, but because of something else. Her face clearly saying, Of all the guys you could have kissed, why Sun?

Ilima leaned forward on the table with an amused smile. He and Mina might no longer be Trial Captains, but their help is highly appreciated among their ragtag group. "But you didn't deny you are gay."

Gladion clenched his fists and growled between his teeth. "I. AM. NOT. GAY!"

Hau placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a serious look. "Don't worry, Glads. We accept you." Then, he gave him a pair of sad Rockruff eyes. "But still, how could you cheat on Moon?"

"OH, THAT'S IT!" Gladion would have lunged at the Champion if it were not for Kiawe and Sophocles holding him back. Hala stepped in to break the fight and ushered both young men to separate seats. Once Gladion calmed down a bit, Molayne stepped at the front, and the room fell silent.

"Before anything else, I would like to apologize for calling you out here all of a sudden. I know we are in a dire situation right now, with the attack on Tapu Koko just this morning, but…." He grabbed the laptop bag he brought and pulled out a piece of folded paper to show to everyone. "Last night, I received a letter from Moon."

As expected, everyone looked at him as if he had grown five heads. "WHAT?" Hau slammed his palms on the table as he stood up abruptly. "Moon did WHAT?"

Molayne let that sink into them first before putting the letter on the table for them to see. Everyone scrambled to take a look. The paper was just a plain, white paper, but the handwriting was unmistakably Moon's, if not more refined.

"As you can see, it is Moon's handwriting and signature. I had it cross-referenced multiple times to the documents she worked on while she was still Champion." He leaned down and tapped his finger on one paragraph. "I'll summarize it for everyone. She wrote that she was aware of the current situation in Alola. She knew that there was a possibility of it happening while she was still Champion. This is one of the reasons why she resigned as Champion and left the region."

He pulled back and rummaged again in the bag. "As for the other reasons," He waved a small, familiar notebook and a black Z-Crystal between his fingers. "They are all written in here."

"That's… that's her adventure journal, isn't it?" Lillie wanted to make sure. Moon always brought that notebook with her. She liked jotting down the significant parts of her day since she arrived at Alola. She never left it…except when she left Alola.

"That's right. Moon explicitly told in her letter to find this notebook. I had to ask Missus Selene to help me look for it because Moon hid it. Good thing, our previous Champion is kind enough to tell where it is." He flipped the journal open not from the front but in the middle. "Bad thing is, the things written in here. If everyone would look this way," He gestured at the projected screen behind him. Pictures of the notebook's pages were flashed before them. "You will know what I am talking about."


August 24, XXXX

I told Miss Olivia that I would be out for the day. I didn't tell her that I was going to Ultra Space, though. Nebby seemed thrilled to hear about it. I paid a visit to Ultra Megapolis. Phyco and Soliera seemed quite happy to see me, but they warned me that they have been detecting strange Ultra Aura readings lately. I told them I would help. It's not a big deal. It's not my first rodeo. Plus, I have my team. We can do anything!


September 1, XXXX

I haven't found anything about the strange readings the Ultra Recon Squad got since I've been busy lately. There have been a lot of challengers. Hau even came by to challenge me. He really, really has gotten stronger. I should train more.


September 2, XXXX

I decided to train my team in Ultra Space. The Ultra Beasts are more formidable opponents compared to the wild Pokémon here. I should also keep an eye out for that Ultra Aura readings.


September 14, XXXX

While we were traveling through an Ultra Wormhole, Nebby started acting strange. It seemed anxious, and it looked like it was trying to locate something. It just suddenly went through a weird-looking Ultra Wormhole, and we arrived at Alola. Well, not Alola Alola. I've been in a parallel world of Alola, and lemme tell you that if a Guzzlord went in your world, yeet it back immediately. You don't want it tearing your world apart just to feed itself.

As for this new Alola, or Alola Number Three, it looks precisely like the Alola I came from. I will have to come back again to confirm it myself.


October 17, XXXX

I finally got a free day! The League's been in a rush lately. I decided to take a look at Alola Number Three. Everything looks the same! The beaches, the forests, even the malasada shops! Though it's kinda weird that there seemed to be fewer people and Pokémon around. I asked around, but they just looked at me like I was crazy. It looked like they were afraid of something. I should investigate next time.


November 5, XXXX

Geez! Gladion is sooo uptight! He should relax once in a while. I'll bring him to Poni Island's festival next month even if I have to drag him there! I went back to the strange Alola and poked around for a bit. Guess what I found? That's right! A Nihilego vibing in the grass near Ten Carat Hill. Primarina and I chased it away, and that's when I saw a really, really large Ultra Wormhole over this Alola's Aether Paradise. Welp, I guess I'll be renting a hotel in this world for the night.


November 6, XXXX (?)

I don't know if time passes by here the same way as in my world. I'm assuming at this point, but I learned some pretty bad news. I met Ilima of this world. Same Trial Captain except he's going undercover as a hotel staff member (Cool! He's like a spy in those action movies). He didn't seem to recognize me (Is there no another me here?), but he was kind enough to tell me what was happening.

President Lusamine has successfully opened a permanent Ultra Wormhole, and now the world, this world, is overrun with Ultra Beasts. The Trial Captains and Kahunas are trying to stop her, but they have yet to succeed. It seems that Aether Paradise is now testing a new experiment, but they don't know what it's about.


November 7, XXXX (?)

I decided to tag along with Ilima. I did not tell him I came from another Alola, but I told him I wanted to help. I managed to convince him with a two-on-two Pokémon battle. The more I looked around in this Alola, the scarier it became. We flew to Exeggutor Island, where the people of this Alola evacuated to. Ilima said it was their last safe place. I found out that weird-looking Ultra Beasts are attacking the Pokémon here. I don't know what Ilima meant about weird, but when I looked at one of the attacked Pokémon, which turned out to be a Totem Lurantis, I knew something was not right. The wounds it received were glowing purple (Are injuries supposed to glow like that?), and black crystals were creeping from the wounds.

If that is not bad enough, Ilima showed me the others. Some of them are almost engulfed in crystals. When I asked him what would happen if they were completely covered in those black crystals, Ilima just shook his head.


November 28, XXXX

I returned to my world only to find that I'd been gone for twenty-three days! I can't believe it! How could I have gone that long? I just spent like two or three days in the Alola Number Three. Guess I'm grounded for a month then.


January 29, XXXX

Freeeeeeedom! After one month, I could finally go back to Ultra Space! I decided to visit Ultra Megapolis first before going back to Alola Number Three. Phyco and Soliera seemed nervous, and they told me that the strange Ultra Aura readings they are getting have gotten stronger. Their detector could read it from me, even if it's a whole lot weaker! So, I told them which worlds I'd been in since the last time I went to Ultra Space. They said they were going to investigate Alola Number Three and that I should be careful when going back there. I promised I would.


Molayne paused, stared at the projected screen. "That's where the entries from front to middle end." He placed the notebook down gingerly on the table and looked at everyone gathered. "The previous Champion came upon two worlds similar to ours. Her entries told us that a Guzzlord destroyed the second one while Ultra Beasts overran the third one because of President Lusamine's actions. A permanent Ultra Wormhole was opened in the latter where the Ultra Beasts can come and go as they pleased."

Mallow drummed her fingers on the table. "So basically, you're saying that the third Alola is, I'm just guessing this, okay?, is the Alola where," She nodded in the direction of the well-known trio. "Moon, Hau, Gladion, and Lillie failed to stop President Lusamine?"

"Not exactly." Molayne shook his head. "It's safe to say that that's where the timeline of that Alola diverts from ours, but it is safer to conclude that they did not stop the Aether President because the Moon in that world is not around." He turned to Hau. "Hau, could you tell us when you met Gladion?"

"Oh, man!" Hau perked up. "That was a long time ago, isn't it? I think it was in Route 5. I remember losing to Glads before Moon showed up. You were looking for her, right?"

"Right." Gladion nodded, a bit peeved being thrown to memory lane out-of-nowhere. "The grunts were complaining about losing to a kid and pushed it on me to clean their mess. It's really annoying."

"Come to think of it. You were a jerk back then."

"And you're an idiot." Gladion shot back. "What kind of Trainer thinks losing is fun?"

"Hey-"

Olivia clapped her hands together. "Alright, break it up, you two." Hau pouted but relented while Gladion rolled his eyes as he sat back. The Kahuna of Akala Island seemed satisfied and gestured at Molayne to continue.

Molayne cleared his throat. "As Hau confirmed for us, he met Gladion because the latter was looking for Moon." He tapped on the notebook. "Now, think about it. If Moon did not exist in this third Alola, then Gladion has no reason to cross paths with Hau, and if they did not meet, that means -"

"That means, I, I mean the me in that Alola, will never team up with Glads here to stop his mom!" Hau exclaimed, almost enthusiastically. "He's going by his lonesome self!"

"It's more complicated than that." Gladion cut him off. He crossed his arms as he frowned. "If I didn't meet either you or Moon, I'll have no way of knowing that Lillie has Cosmog all along. By the time I learned that, it was probably already too late. Mother, I mean Lusamine, must have already harvested Cosmog's powers and opened an Ultra Wormhole."

"Then, that means-"

"That's right." Molayne nodded grimly. "While we can't be sure if the Moon in that world didn't really exist or that she did but never moved into Alola, we can be certain that Moon's presence in the region is the catalyst in preventing the disaster. If Moon was not here in our Alola, we might have ended up like the third Alola."

"But Big Mo," Sophocles piped in. "What exactly happened? Moon returned to Alola Number Three the fourth time, but what happened? Based on the timeline, we're on the year when Moon left Alola. Does it…does it have to do with that?"

Molayne grew silent. He looked at the notebook with an expression like he was afraid to say anything more. "…Yes. Yes, it does." He answered, closing his eyes. "A tragedy, that is."