(Final part of Day 2, coming up! One of my favorite side quests from Ultra is going to be showcased here in this chapter. The mysteries of the school!
The Reviews
Jacob9594: Yeah, Mega Evolution was a cool thing! And then Game Freak vilified it. Weird.
Megan Romero: Fun fact, when I was naming her Zubat in the game, I was trying to think of the engineer guy from Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Turns out his name was spelled Arwin, not Erwin. Ah well, close enough.)
After giving each of them a stamp on their trainer passports, Hala would explain, "When you complete all of an island's trials, you'll earn a stamp to prove that you've completed them all."
"So that's one down, three to go, yeah?" Aubrey asked with a smirk.
"That's right!" Hala answered.
"I must say, those battles were magnificent!" Ilima was heard from the crowd. "I'm impressed you didn't even need to use Z-Power, Aubrey."
"She's what you'd call a straightforward fighter." Jake chuckled.
"Pretty much," Ilima chuckled with the trainer on this. Then they would hear a familiar cry.
"Mooo-arrrrrr!" It was the Tauros from earlier!
"Oh hey! What's all this about?" Aubrey seemed curious what Tauros was doing here.
Hala suddenly had an idea. "Hmm...Aubrey! How do rangers utilize Pokemon's strengths, if you don't mind me asking?"
"We can use the power of Pokemon for navigation, Target Clears, recon...our options end where the Pokemon's abilities end," The ranger explained.
"So basically secret agent Pokemon." Jake teased. He thought that'd make a killer TV show.
"Well you don't see me getting all dolled up in some evening gown now, do you?" Aubrey teased right back.
"Real agents wouldn't wear fancy and cumbersome fashion. They'd dress to impress by wearing comfortable, flexible clothing," Jake pointed out.
"Is that right? Then why do they dress all formal and fancy in those films out of Pokestar Studios?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow.
"Only if they are doing an espionage mission obviously." The Hoenn trainer elaborated. "Otherwise you see real agents dressed in what is comfortable for them, capable of wear and tear, and allows them to kick as much booty as possible. Or in some uniform of sorts."
"Alright, I see what ya mean." Looking at Hala, she'd ask, "So uh, what's your idea?"
"How about I set you two up to ride Tauros whenever you'd like? Hala offered.
"Really? You mean like a bull riding activity?" Jake would ask.
"Not exactly," Hala answered. "You see, you may be familiar with Hidden Machines from Hoenn, yes?"
"YES! They are... a mixed bag to say the least." Jake groaned. He HATED the stifling aspects of them being used to take up a valuable slot in a Pokemon's moveset.
"Well, what if I were to tell you that certain Pokemon here are trained to be the Hidden Machine?" The Kahuna continued.
Jake paused. Forrest gulped. "Is... that healthy on the Pokemon's psyche?" Jake would ask.
Tenor did a little happy dance to show Jake that everything was all peachy keen, trying to use bubbles to do a little puppet show to explain the process. First he made a Tauros shaped bubble, and then a bubble resembling a pile of rocks.
"Hey, Jake. I think Tenor's trying to tell you something..." Aubrey mentioned.
Jake laughed and patted Tenor on the head happily from the sheer entertainment value of it all. "I definitely hear him loud and clear. Very adorable. See, he'd make a great Contest Pokemon."
With a smile now that he had Jake's attention, Tenor would then push the Tauros shaped bubble into the pile of rocks. The rocks bubble was gone, and the Tauros bubble was still there.
"Hahaha! It seems your Brionne has already done all the explaining for me," Hala mused.
Jake then cleared his throat and returned to the topic at hand. "So you mean to say it's a balanced and mutually easygoing practice then between the Pokemon and those that invented this. And that the Tauros use Strength like the HM."
"You might know this demonstration that Brionne here has given you as the Hidden Machine for Rock Smash," Hala clarified. "But yes, it is completely mutual on both the Pokemon's part and the trainer's part."
"Well that's fabulous then if we're able to smash rocks with the press of a dial," Jake mused.
"I'll go ahead and take care of all the things you both will need to order a ride on a Pokemon. If you don't mind waiting a few minutes..." Hala would head off towards his home in order to do this.
"Well, I'll be. Sure sounds like what we rangers do from time to time," Aubrey chuckled. "I've heard of using Empoleon to Surf, and Staraptors to Fly...though for the latter, Skarmory took care of that for me."
"It's convenient if you don't mind having a more limited moveset for your Pokemon for actual battle. Rangers probably don't need to worry about a diverse toolkit knowing their line of work," Jake thought aloud.
Aubrey nodded. "Understanding what each Pokemon is capable of is key for working in the field, man."
"Yeah, I just know for more competitive trainers, they'd DIE at the idea of being forced to use and learn a HM move," Jake said.
"Uh...huh?" Aubrey looked surprised. "You mean to tell me they'd sooner toss themselves up on a butcher's hook rather than teach one of their Pokemon a HM move?"
"...Yeah. Morbid imagery. But yeah." Jake raised a sharp eyebrow at Aubrey.
"Well I mean, if you're saying they'd rather die on a hook, the morbid imagery is kinda needed." Aubrey simply offered up a shrug. "But I don't think competitive trainers would go that far."
"I was overexaggerating like how most competitive people do." Jake blushed. "Anyways, what's next? Anything to discuss? It'd be nice to heal up Belle again."
"I can take care of that if you'd like," Lillie offered. "You...both did very well."
"Thanks Lillie! Were you inspired by my awe-inspiring tactics? Or perhaps Aubrey's outright beatdown!" Jake emphasized this with excitement as he handed the Dusk Ball to Lillie.
Daintily taking the Dusk Ball, Lillie would give an amused nod. "Why yes, I do think both styles would be inspiring." Jake squeed excitedly. Aubrey had to admit it was refreshing to have someone with such a natural affinity towards being positive and encouraging conversation. "Even if I care about Pokemon's well-being a lot...I'll still support the both of you on your island challenge," The professor's assistant added. "Even if this is the most I can do..."
"Do you want to do more?" Jake asked curiously.
Lillie paused at the thought. Even if it meant Pokemon getting hurt, maybe being able to do something other than just healing Aubrey and Jake's teams would get her closer to helping Nebby. The gears in her head were visibly turning.
"Well, um...yes. But I don't know where I would start," She answered.
"Hmm... well I mean you can't start a journey right now anyway but traveling along with us could be nice. Or maybe starting a blog about our adventures and getting some advice. Or scouting ahead." Jake admittedly was just throwing out ideas to see if any would stick. He was trying to be considerate of Lillie's feelings but also subtly hoping to find something that'd send a lightbulb flickering on in her mind.
"I see...what about you, Aubrey? Any suggestions from you?" Lillie would turn to the ranger.
"Mmm...I think it'd be best to just hone your skills and pick up new ones as you're traveling with us," Aubrey suggested. "You don't just wake up one day and suddenly become the very best at something. Nah, you gotta work at it. And when you really want something, that's when learning new things becomes easy."
"That's very true!" Jake agreed. "Like when you watch children's programming as a kid and learn all the lessons and morals overtime."
"Well if that's what you think, then...I'll give it a try," Lillie promised.
Hala would soon return with two pager like devices. "Here we are! Two Ride Pagers for the both of you!"
"Stylin!" Jake reclaimed his healed Belle and the Ride Pager with glee.
"Alright, so how do we do this thing, anyway? Do we just hold it up to the sky and call Tauros-" As Aubrey would find out the hard way, that'd be exactly what she'd have to do, now on board a Tauros with a pale green and black saddle, and having a set of pink, black, and white riding wear.
"This feels like I need to lose some pounds." Jake groaned in his yellow, white, an black riding wear.
"Is it that tight of a fit?" Aubrey asked. "I...may or may not be able to make adjustments later for ya."
"Maybe because it's a universal uniform from the looks of it," Jake sighed. "Thanks Aubrey, that'd be nice."
"Well now, the world looks a bit different from the back of a Tauros, huh?" Hala hoped to change the topic to something more positive. "Why not give Tauros a ride around and see how it feels?"
"Sure thing! Giddy up!" Jake channeled his best cowboy and gently nudged the Tauros to move. With that nudge, the Tauros that Jake was riding would move on ahead. Aubrey would do the same, with the two of them heading off out of Iki Town.
Rotom would pop out alongside the two of them. "Whew-wee! Looks like you're having a blast, zzt!"
"Whooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Jake cheered excitedly as he enjoyed this kind of casual, fun, interactive ride. The views he was seeing were spectacular too and perfectly complemented by the sensation of wind flowing past him.
"Keep your eyes on the road, man!" Aubrey called with a laugh.
"Oh yeah, the profezzzor wanted me to relay something to you guys!" Rotom chimed. "If you want a faster way to get to Akala Island, head to the motel at Route 2!"
"Ok! Let's go to the motel!" Jake smiled as Forrest flew above them. With their destination in mind, the group headed out to Route 2, stopping and getting off their rides once they got there. In that flash of light when they 'recalled' their Tauros, they went back to the clothes they had on. Somehow.
"Huh...where the heck did they..." She would look in her bag, finding their riding wear neatly packed inside there. "...Wild."
"...I can breathe again. Whew! Must be a reverse Uno situation," Jake joked.
"What's Uno?" Aubrey asked, seeing a path that led down to a bustling beach to the left of the motel. "All I know is it's a card game where people scream at each other."
"That's basically all you need to know." Jake explained the basic idea with that statement. "It's color coordinated as well."
"Ohhhh, okay." Aubrey nodded as she headed down to the beach. There were a few tent-like kiosks on the right, both with a bikini-clad vendor sitting there. There was a sign with a Mantine on it wearing a pink and black saddle looking like a saddle-shaped surfboard. "Woah...this place looks pretty cool."
"Hmm...seems like a very resort-style motel if there's a marketplace area," Jake commented.
"Yeah, though it's not safe to be surfing out at night," Aubrey advised. "We should probably wait till tomorrow..." She was about to turn around to head back to the motel when a young boy's voice caught her attention.
"Hey, hey! Ranger lady!" He called, causing her to pause mid-stride and turn around.
"What's going on, man?" She asked.
"You're the ranger lady who Tapu Koko helped, right?" The boy wondered in response. "Recently, ghosts were appearing at the Trainers' School. Nobody wants to go there at night cuz they're so scared."
"G-g-g-ghosts?!" Jake looked alarmed but then tried to be rational about it. "Wait...aren't you sure it's not just pranks or renegades or Pokemon?"
"I'd go check it out myself...but I'm nervous. What if there really are ghosts?" The boy looked down at the sand. "Do you think you could go check it out? If you were able to beat the Kahuna, then you can beat some ghosts no problem!"
"Well...I've got some energy left in the tank for today. Sure!" Aubrey agreed without much hesitation.
"Aubrey are you sure? How are you on the whole occult thing? Some theorize the Ultra Beast are the gods of the spectral or astral plane and rule over ghosts...plus most people are intimidated when spooky things happen." Jake muttered. Forrest shook his head. He wasn't as scared as his trainer was.
The ranger shook her head. "Dude, if you don't wanna go, just get us a room at the motel and I'll take care of it." To the boy she'd say, "I'll take care of your spooky school problem. Quest..." She'd go and do her pose. "Start!"
"Heck no! I'm not letting you go alone. If you get possessed and I never see you again, Vanessa would have my head!" Jake did his pose in both unison and defiance. If it came down to losing someone and losing his own being, he'd much rather know that they would be together rather than risking a worst case scenario.
Aubrey paused for a moment...and then gave a bemused chuckle. "Relax, I'm just ribbin' ya. But...yes, you'd have an angry Van hunting you down. Let's move, don't wanna keep the ghosts waiting."
"No we do not." Jake gulped but tried to look calm as he pulled out a flashlight for safety and safekeeping. When they got to the school, they'd find a young girl standing at the placard with a Drifloon.
"Huh...I thought everyone was too scared to come here..." Aubrey thought aloud. "Um, excuse us?"
The girl turned towards the two. "..." She was quiet at first. "You are trainers. Good. Help me. Seven mysteries, rumors. Everyone is scared."
"That's what we're here to look into. If you could tell us what they are, that'd be wonderful," Aubrey requested in a polite manner.
"Kyukyu!" The Drifloon was awash with joy.
"Great. Scary lights...at night. Scary lights show up and wander. Near the burning place. Go solve. Now!" The little girl instructed.
"See, it must be candles or Litwicks then." Jake emphasized as he used his flashlight to investigate the area further.
As they looked around, they'd follow Aubrey's nose till they heard a voice.
"I should...I should burn..." A weeping girl's voice was heard.
"It's coming from the incinerator..." Aubrey whispered.
Jake's hopes sank. He calmly walked behind Aubrey and then started trembling. "Y-you go first... incinerators and schools and mysteries and possible ghosts...never go well together..."
Aubrey folded her arms. "Alright. Stay behind me," She instructed, going first. They'd see a girl having the incinerator on, and it looked like she was throwing something in there.
"I should...I should burn these things..." The girl said to herself. "All of them..." She would then notice the beam from Jake's flashlight, and turn around to see the duo.
"Taking out the trash at night?" Aubrey wagered a guess. The girl shrieked out in fright.
"Wh-who are you!?" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"
"EEP! Don't startle us like that!" Jake scolded in self-defense and to protect his pride. "We're just looking around because we heard some ominous things and were worried someone was getting hurt."
"Ominous thin- am I one of the seven mysteries? You're kidding!" The girl realized what was going on. "I just...wanted to burn some letters, that's all. Secretly. Did the fire from the incinerator give people the idea I was a ghost?"
Aubrey took a look at the scene, then nodded. "Yup, that looks like what's been happening. What are those letters anyway? Junk mail? Expired coupons?"
"Love letters, actually," The girl informed. "I wrote them for someone I like and wanted to give them to him. But, he already...so..." She trailed off, then paused. "Wait. What am I doing airing out my dirty laundry to two complete strangers? You wouldn't understand anyway!" Seeing as she already had a Poke Ball in hand, she exclaimed, "Take this! The heartbroken power of a girl with a fragile heart!" She'd call out a Growlithe, standing at the ready.
"Ugh, I'm a ranger, not a couples therapist. Tenor, take care of this!" Aubrey exclaimed, calling out her Brionne.
"Ok maybe this is just some rascal activity after all. You got this Tenor," Jake smiled, relieved to see something mundane.
"Alright, Tenor! Go for a- huh?" Aubrey was quite surprised at what Tenor would do. Instead of battling the Growlithe like normal, Tenor was utilizing his bubbles to both incapacitate the Fire-type, but also try and cheer the opposing trainer up, seeing as she was clearly upset. Juggling, Aqua Jet dancing, and Water Gun to finish the fight once he was done clowning around.
"My fragile heart...doesn't feel so fragile anymore..." Even if she lost, the girl felt her spirit lifted a bit after seeing what Tenor did.
"Awwww! You are the best supporter ever, Tenor!" Jake gushed. He thought it was an ingenious and creative way of resolving this dispute.
"Brii!" Tenor twirled around and bowed, seeing the girl's tears were more happy than sad.
"I lost the Pokemon battle, but...the battle of the heart too..." She got out. "Ma'am, that was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me...even if you didn't ask for your Brionne to do that."
"Honestly...I was more focused on the fact you threw out a Growlithe to fight me rather than me helping out with your love life," Aubrey admitted. "But I fully approve what Tenor did. But if he went for another girl, ya know...there's still gonna be someone out there waiting for ya. I just know it."
"Thank you. My island challenge to look for love starts now!" After shutting off the incinerator and recalling her Growlithe, she'd take off.
"Hmm, ok maybe this requires some resourcefulness to solve these mysteries. Six more to go! Was that the highlight of your Ranger career?" Jake teased. Aubrey could tell humor was a strong coping tool for Jake to deal with the scary.
"The highlight of my ranger career was becoming a Top Ranger," Aubrey beamed as they went back to the little girl and told her what happened.
"Scary lights were burning love letters? We made a mistake..." The little girl nodded. "Other ghost stories. Ready for next one?"
"Bring it on my dear. The wonders are not ready for our wonder." Jake sounded more confident in himself doing this.
The little girl nodded again. "Lord Slimy...at night in halls, strange sounds are heard. Slimy, slimy - that's when it gets close. Footsteps of Lord Slimy...if found, Lord Slimy swallows you. Please solve! Go!"
"Lord...Slimy?" Aubrey tilted her head in confusion. "...What?"
"A slug maybe...? OR some kind of Muk and Grimer thing. Sounds nasty as opposed to scary to be honest." Jake imagined the thing was too slow to catch them. Forrest though looked terrified of the idea of slime getting on his beautiful feathers.
"Yeah...the only other slug I can think of is Slugma...though I don't think there'd reasonably be any reason it'd want to eat us," Aubrey agreed...and then lit up. "Oh yeah! And Shellos! Van's got her Gastrodon and it kicks some serious butt!" After rolling her shoulders, Aubrey had her Capture Styler in hand and said, "Let's go see if you're right, Jake."
"Still, I wonder how long these 'wonders' have been around..." Jake mentioned as they entered the hallways.
"No idea...but it's better we get them solved now." Aubrey kept her eyes peeled as they went up the stairs after checking the first and second floor hallways. When they got to the third floor, they heard some noise. Shloop, shloop...almost like something was being dragged around the stairs.
"...Maybe we should hide. N-not because I'm scared but so that we could have an advantageous vantage point," Jake suggested, eyeing the lockers.
"You think you'd fit in there?" Aubrey asked, hearing the sound getting closer. She would eye a wall giving a blind spot from where someone would come from the stairs, making a motion for Jake to follow her in cover.
"Yes, obviously! I'm not that helplessly overweight." Jake calmly and quietly opened a locker, relieved it wasn't locked, and entered it and closed the door to hide in it after following Aubrey to safety.
Aubrey would shake her head, getting into hiding as she watched to see what would come up the stairs. Her Capture Disc was ready to fly if it was a wild Pokemon. And what she would see wasn't some hideous monster, but instead an Alolan Grimer accompanied by a janitor, going through the lockers one by one as part of cleaning duty.
Her choice in hiding would pay off as she was able to slip by the two. However, the ranger didn't have any way of letting Jake know without compromising her own hiding spot. 'Shoot...what do I do?' She thought.
Inside the locker it was too dark for him to see anything, but he could definitely hear the shlooping sound and locker doors opening, getting closer slowly but surely.
Like any sensible person in a situation like this would do... Jake burst forth from the locker with a "LEROYYYYYYYYYYYYY JENKINS!" Then without missing a beat, he retreated over to the furthest side of the room before turning around and pointing at whoever was behind this suspicious and foreboding act. "I'm not about to be captured by...the cleaning crew?"
Forrest, who was by Aubrey's side, wingpalmed.
The janitor was clearly taken aback by this. "What in the- what are you doing?"
"I tried to tell you to hide by this wall..." Aubrey groaned. "Already went in the locker first..."
"Another one? What the heck is all this about?" The janitor wanted to know, concerned with what these two were doing.
"Grime..." The Grimer was confused too.
"Well hiding by the wall would've been more suspicious and ambushy." Jake said in his defense. Aubrey was figuring out Jake was really, really bad in subtlety. "Anyways, we're sorry. We just heard from a girl outside that there was a slimy entity wandering around the hallways of this school and eating things. We wanted to clear the truth for her and make sure everything was alright here. Sorry if we startled you."
"Slimy...ah, you must be talking about my little buddy, Grimo!" The janitor mused. "He's interested in beating his rival, Grimey. I would've let Grimo take care of everything for me, but today we were tasked with cleaning out the lockers too." Grimo gave a determined look. "See how these cute hands can open the lockers?"
"It is quite adorable and a neat trick to teach your Pokemon." Jake agreed with a nod.
"Well, if you don't mind, we got a job to finish. So if you'll excuse us..." The janitor nudged Jake aside to let Grimo do his job.
When Jake moved back to Aubrey, she would say in her defense, "Ya know, we kinda have to learn to be sneaky for some missions. Because if you're not sneaky, you get thrown out of a restricted area enough to where one of the baddies will offer you gum as a bribe to go away."
"Yeah...I'm sorry. I must be really annoying to you right now aren't I?" Jake admitted glumly. "Trying to be brave and genre-savvy in one is hard.
Aubrey shook her head. "Well, I saw what you were going for...plus there was no way you could've known they'd have gone for the lockers."
"How about you direct me on what to do for the next wonder then? You can even make me crawl on the ground if you'd like." Jake offered optimistically.
"Yeah, sure! We've got plenty to learn from each other, might as well start now." The ranger rubbed Jake's shoulder as they went back to the little girl.
"Lord Slimy? You figured it out? Great! What was it?" She asked eagerly.
"A janitor and his multi-talented Alolan Grimer," Jake said softly. Forrest nodded in affirment.
"Hmm...I see...cleaning Grimer. Lord Slimy good slimy. Good!" The little girl smiled.
"That's two down...five to go. We're ready for the next one," Aubrey informed.
"Scary PA system...teacher's lounge, second floor. Hear broadcast from beyond grave. No escape if you hear it. Please solve! Go!" The little girl instructed.
"Oh so it must be in the announcement room. Can't wait to check out the announcement room. Never before has the announcement room been so popular. Are we sure we're not in the middle of a tournament?" Jake shrugged.
"If there was a tourney we'd know about it..." Aubrey rolled her eyes as they headed back in. "Alright, so when it comes to sneaking around, always have more than one option for a hiding spot in mind. Especially if you need to move around, it's best to move cover to cover."
"Oh so like in the cartoons when people switch from spot to spot as they follow their mark or someone goes about the room," Jake responded.
"Something like that, yeah." The ranger gave a nod as they approached the teacher's lounge. "My second tip for sneaking around, carry a hand mirror."
"Isn't that prone to getting comments on being vain and stuck-up though?" Jake frowned.
"Not the way I use it." Aubrey would get out a small hand mirror and use it to check under the teacher lounge's door. No one was inside as far as she could tell.
"Nifty! I approve." Jake's mood on this mirror trick changed upon seeing this. "Ok, so the coast is clear inside the room. Do we have to go in and turn the speakers on?"
"Well, let's see..." Aubrey would open the door, heading inside the teacher's lounge, and looking around for the speakers. They'd soon hear the school bell after a little bit of searching, and the crackling of static.
"Oh geez. Do we really have to make an announcement then or wait till it speaks to us? Eerie silence and static is uncomfortable." Jake stayed close to the door in case he needed to hightail it out of there.
"I have no idea, man." Aubrey looked up, hearing the school bell again, and more static.
"...you..." What they could understand from it was limited. "...you...can't...can't get out..."
"Can't get out of what? Taking a test?" Jake suggested with a nervous chuckle. The door would start to creak open, catching Aubrey's attention. Though who would walk in was a member of the faculty and a Slowpoke, instead of a vengeful ghost.
"Oh hi! What's going on here?" The faculty member asked, scratching the back of his head. "What's got you two coming back here so late at night?"
"Wait a minute, didn't you run into the janitor?" Jake suddenly realized something in confusion. Wouldn't this guy know about them from the janitor? "Surely he told you about us."
"The janitor's grandson?" Pausing to think about it, he nodded. "Yeah, he told me you two were looking into these seven mysteries. Either of you handy with electronics? I was trying to get to the PA and fix it, but this little guy was asleep in front of the door."
"I'm goodish with laptops, computers, and phones, but not so much other things like a speaker system. Aubrey?" Jake looked over to the ranger.
"We can bother Van early to see if she can help us out," Aubrey offered. "She's the tech whiz. Rotom!"
"You called, zzt?" Rotom asked eagerly.
"Can you call up Van for me?" The ranger requested, giving Vanessa's number to Rotom.
"Sure! Patching you through now! Zzt...zzt..." Rotom's eyes would close as a screen pulled up to put Vanessa on video call.
"Hello?" Vanessa answered. "Oh hey Aubrey!"
"I'm surprised she's up this late...how long are the hours you and the other Rangers work?" Jake inquired.
"Van! Hey, we could use your help with something!" Aubrey greeted, explaining the problem to her partner. "Think you could guide us through this repair job? You know I'm not too good with tech..."
"I'm in Kanto, Jake We are...quite a bit ahead of where you are." Vanessa informed. "In fact it is daytime here."
"Oh of course! Timezones. Silly me," Jake chuckled. "Well glad to hear from you again. So yeah, can you help us long-distance with making this school's PA system top tier?"
"Oh sure. Just let me get to somewhere private." The two could hear the sound of partying behind her as they went to the broadcast room.
"Sounds like you're at some wild block party, Van. What have you been up to?" Aubrey asked, now inside the broadcast room with Jake and the faculty member.
"Oh, the Union asked me to go and give a package to the famous Professor Oak," Vanessa explained. "It was a set of data for the Pokedex. Now I am taking the gym challenge in Kanto."
"Awesome! Good luck with the class region," Jake wished Vanessa good fortune.
"Huh...and we're taking the island challenge here in Alola. What a coincidence." Aubrey chuckled at this. She looked at Jake once she had the panel for the PA system open. "You wanna handle the delicate maneuvers part for me?"
"Oh sure. Just plug in the phone to the system and I can take care of it from here," Vanessa agreed. A Pikachu hopped on her head while she did this, noting it was wearing a matching vest to what she was wearing, and had a hat with a symbol of the Union on it.
Jake carefully plugged the necessary mechanism into the system. Vanessa would have the system running within a few minutes.
"Remind me to ask you about that Pikachu of yours by the time we check in with you later, partner," Aubrey requested, smiling at the PA system being fixed.
"Will do. Have fun!" Vanessa waved them goodbye as Rotom hung up.
"Satisfied then, teach?" Jake looked to the faculty member with a smile.
"Ah, thank you! Hopefully this puts that little mystery to rest," The faculty member thanked them.
"It sure does!" Jake grinned.
"Let's go let our informant know what's going on," Aubrey told Jake as they went off. The faculty member scratched his head at this, wondering what they were mentioning.
Once back outside, Aubrey told the little girl what happened. "I see...PA system needed repair. I see! Thank you! Ready for the next mystery?"
"Just one question. So you really do care about this school huh if you are actually helping us make this and the people attending this school feel better huh?" Jake had noticed the increasingly positive outcomes of solving all these mysteries and pointed it out for Aubrey.
The little girl nodded. "Yes. I care about school deeply. I want to help friends at school."
"But you need us to solve these mysteries, right?" Aubrey asked.
"Yes...I can only do so much..." The little girl frowned.
"Hey, you came to the right people even if it is a bit late for running around on your own your age. We'll support and help you out darling. So bring on the next one!" Jake said. Aubrey now could tell Jake was not as afraid as before. In fact, he seemed excited about this.
With a nod, the girl went on about the fourth mystery. "Stairs to nowhere...stairs cursed. Go up and up, but still in the same place. You can't go down either. Round, round, can't go back. Find out why!"
"That sounds strangely familiar to another myth about stairs I've heard..." Jake thought.
"What was it about?" Aubrey asked as they went back inside the school.
"I think there's like an extra step on a stairway that you step on without noticing and it is a cursed step," Jake informed. "So you either end up in another plane where misfortune awaits you or something unusual happens to you."
"...Mysterious." Aubrey rolled her shoulders as they felt a chill wind on the second floor.
"Someone must've left the window open. We better check it out." Jake bravely stepped up the stairs towards the second floor. Forrest stayed by Aubrey's side, ready to intervene if anything threatened his trainer.
"I don't see any windows open..." Aubrey looked around to see the windows were closed. The cold air was coming from the stairs they just climbed once they were on the second floor.
"...Is it an Ice-type maybe?" Jake looked down at the stairs to see if anything was out of place. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, though when he tried to go down the stairs, he'd be coming down from the stairwell leading up to the third floor. Which was clearly out of the ordinary.
"Ok, there's two theories. One is that this is a Trick Room or Magic Room or that there's some strange passageway or optical illusion going on here," Jake theorized.
"Hmm...there's gotta be some sort of clue on this floor," Aubrey determined, walking around and seeing something on the bulletin board. There was a piece of paper with black stains on it. One dot on the bottom left, one on the top left, one on the bottom right, and one on the top right. "...Oi, Jake. See if you can make heads or tails of this."
"Well there's a dot on each of the corners of this paper," Jake said, looking at what the paper had on it. "So that suggests there could be some sort of passageway in the corners of the hall maybe?"
"Could be...but is there some sort of order to it?" Aubrey wondered, scratching the back of her head at this vague clue.
"Bottom left, upper left, bottom right, upper right." Jake closed his eyes in thought. "Hmm...maybe we need to investigate these areas in that order?"
It soon clicked for Aubrey. "Stand by the steps. I'll go to those corners of the hallway here and tell me what happens."
"Ok." Jake stayed at the steps and looked at the stairway down carefully. Aubrey would go to each corner in the order her Hoenn traveling companion said to go, and each corner caused the chill wind coming from the stairs to calm down bit by bit. "It's getting warmer down here Aubrey. Not sure how this works logically but maybe you are turning down some shutters or something."
"Maybe we can go downstairs now if the breeze died down," Aubrey chimed, heading that way. She would pause feeling something cold going down the back of her neck. And she had a good idea of what it was that caused this. "Capture...on!" She flicked her Capture Disc out at the culprit behind this trick - a Gastly!
"Aubrey, you ok?" Jake looked in the direction of where Aubrey's voice came from.
"Yeah, I'm okay!" Aubrey called back, having tamed the Gastly despite its tricky maneuvering. "One thing about Ghost types...getting a capture on them is an exercise in patience."
"I imagine so, since they can be invisible nuisances." Jake nodded.
"Oh, tell me about it..." Aubrey recalled her Capture Disc, putting her Styler back on her hip. "Alright, head off little guy." The Gastly stuck its tongue out at Aubrey before leaving.
"Now let's see if we've broken the cycle." Jake raced down the stairs and checked which floor he was on. They were on...the first floor! The cycle was broken! "Yeah! Four down, three more to go!" Jake giggled happily and hi-fived Forrest.
"Alright! We're on a roll!" Aubrey beamed, heading outside to report their findings.
"We found out the stair issue was due to a rowdy Gastly," Jake explained to the girl.
"I see, I see...stairs to nowhere caused by Gastly's prank. Good, good!" The little girl smiled at this. "Three mysteries to go. Ready for next one?"
"You betcha!" Jake was fired up.
"Cursed diary...it appears on the third floor shelf. Scary things happen if you keep reading. Finish reading, someone takes you away," The little girl briefed them. "Go! You can solve this!"
"..." Jake admittedly looked a bit worried for Aubrey. If they were to be separated, who knows what might end up going down. Not to mention what Vanessa would say if Aubrey was taken away by someone or if Aubrey had to tell her that Jake got kidnapped.
Aubrey on the other hand, gave a nod. "Alright. We'll go check it out." She'd pick up on Jake's fear before saying, "Jake, I think we'll be just fine. If it's another Pokemon, I'll go ahead and Capture Styler it."
"Ok...I'm just anxious about the idea of something evil or Ultra Beast being involved here. Let's hold hands at least until we've finished reading the diary." Jake said, taking Aubrey's hand carefully. The ranger would gently grip Jake's hand as they went inside, heading up to the third floor and looking for the diary.
"Let's see, diary, diary- ah, here we go!" She found what they were looking for.
"Forrest, stay guard and watch." Forrest nodded and did a salute as he looked and patrolled the area. "Ok. Let's see if this is a wholesome diary or not." Jake opened the tattered journal and began to read its contents.
"'March 2nd. Moved into a new house. It's a very spacious house. The rent is cheap. Wonderful. What a great deal! I'm so lucky!'" Aubrey raised her eyebrow. "Weird way of writing down thoughts, but okay...'I look forward to every day here! But I sometimes hear a cracking sound in the middle of the night. I wonder what it is...'"
The two would start to hear that noise mentioned in the journal, causing Aubrey to look around. Forrest looked around too, examining the walls carefully but not yet seeing anything odd.
"So I'm guessing this person's an adult or at least a late teen since they would be concerned about the rent," Jake observed.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Aubrey agreed, continuing to read out the contents. "'March 9th. This room is weird. Even when I'm alone, I sometimes seem to see something moving out of the corner of my eye. I thought I was imagining it, but I always feel like someone is watching me...who could be watching me?'" Something quickly flew across the room, Aubrey looking up. "...Something's here." Forrest used his eagle eye to examine for any sort of Pokemon and even used Shadow Sneak to see if he could hide and ambush the Pokemon.
"Greeeeeeat. If I wasn't through this already then maybe I would be a bit more startled." Jake gumbled.
"This isn't your first rodeo with hauntings?" Aubrey guessed.
"I was referring to the Gastly and the auditory experiences we've been through before here." Jake chuckled. "Hoenn hasn't a lot of particularly spooky areas besides Mt. Pyre, and that's at least a more spiritual and meaningful place."
"Well, let's keep reading and smoke this thing out." Aubrey kept on reading. "'March 11th. This room is cursed! The sound of something scratching the floor doesn't seem to stop! Scratching...scratching...scratching...'" Her concentration would be broken by scratching noises heard. "Okay, Forrest, could you PLEASE get that thing to stop?" The lights would then suddenly flick off.
But then, there was the sound of something making a big impact as it seemed Forrest found the target in question with his Shadow Sneak.
"Flashlight on!" Jake pulled out his flashlight and turned it on, looking around the room rapidly for whatever was going on. Jake would find that Forrest was walloping on the Pokemon responsible - a Drifloon!
"Oh yeah...those Pokemon DO take kids away according to the Pokedex...That's messed up." Jake let go of Aubrey in relief at Forrest's takedown of the culprit. "Good going, Forrest!"
"Yeah, nice job!" Aubrey would check the rest of the journal once the lights flicked back on. "Huh, this guy is planning on making a horror novel with this diary structure...maybe this Drifloon was carrying on that dream?"
"Strange place to do it though as opposed to an actual house... your heart was in the right place though Drifloon just be more considerate of others ok?" Jake winked and wagged a finger at the Drifloon. Forrest beamed with pride as it released Drifloon from it's talon grip. With a cry, the Drifloon floated off.
"I guess that's all for us here...two more mysteries to go!" Aubrey sounded pumped. After a similar song and dance of getting out of the school and relaying the success to the young girl, it was time for the second to last wonder.
"Ghosts' class..." The little girl briefed. "Second floor classroom. You hear laughter. Ghosts are taking night class. Everyone says so. Be careful...you are in danger. I'm sad."
"Aww don't be sad. We got this!" Jake reassured her. "Although that is a hilarious visual. Casper taking a night class at this school." With a smile, she waved the two off.
"Alright...if it's night school, I don't think it's anything to be worried about," Aubrey reasoned.
"Yeah, it's self-explanatory. Let's go investigate either way," Jake said as they went to the second floor classroom. When the duo arrived, there were four kids in the classroom, seated at their desks, and a lady teacher at the front of the classroom. The first thing that would make them suspicious was the teacher greeting the class.
"Good morning!" She exclaimed. "Let's get fired up and have a great day!" Everyone sounded cheerful and happy, but Aubrey wasn't too sure how to feel.
"In the middle of the night, honey? Most parents would have put their children to sleep by now," Jake called out the obvious.
The teacher would take notice of the two. "Ok! Everyone! We have new friends joining us today!" She seemed to adapt quite well to Jake pointing out the obvious. "This is Aubrey and Jake. Please be nice to them."
"...How did you know our names? Who are you?" Aubrey demanded an answer, hands clenched into fists.
Her speech grew distorted all the sudden. "I...Drif...loon...child...lonely..." Her silhouette became distorted as her true form was revealed - a Hypno! Fire burned in Aubrey's eyes.
"Grr..." She growled. "Capture...on!" She flicked out her Capture Disc, and while Aubrey was focused on trying to tame the Hypno, Jake would notice that the children were gone. Was it all an illusion?
"Yeesh! It's the creepypasta Pokemon...!" Jake frowned and looked outside the room to see if there was any sign of any children. There were no signs of children - it seemed to be some sort of illusion this Hypno was creating for kicks. Once Aubrey was done taming the Hypno, it ran off, but during the capture, something was knocked to the floor from one of the bookcases. "Eep!" Jake looked anxiously around and saw the object that fell from the bookcase and picked it up and examined it. He'd find a journal, and began reading through it.
'February 12th. I stayed at school playing until really late, and then a Hypno appeared! The new kid went home with the Hypno. Apparently the Hypno came to pick her up?' One entry read.
"New kid...? Ughhhhhh, this is the most disturbing wonder by far here." Jake shivered.
He'd keep on reading.
'February 21st. We were all playing together when Drifloon came this time to pick up the new girl! I wonder if she just caught Drifloon? What happened to Hypno though?' Another entry read.
"Whatcha got there?" Aubrey asked.
"...I'm a little perplexed. That Drifloon from earlier might've been connected to a new girl at this school at some point. And that Hypno appeared previously at this school but then disappeared despite being someone who took care of the new girl previously. But if that was the case, why have both of them showed up around the same time at this school? And who was the new girl?" Jake questioned.
"Wait...that girl who's been telling us all these things...she has a Drifloon, remember?" Aubrey recalled. She paused, doing a double take once the realization kicked in. "...You don't think..."
"She never said she had a Drifloon, did she?" Jake pointed out.
"Yeah, that Drifloon was with her the whole time..." After pausing for a moment, Aubrey bolted out of the classroom to go check on her. Though a startling discovery would await the two where they went back to where she was - the little girl and Drifloon were nowhere to be found!
Jake actually looked a bit sad and distraught, wondering for a shocking, brief moment if that girl was the final wonder. "...S-she...she's...w-where could she be...?" Jake asked. Aubrey could tell Jake had grown quite attached to the girl and admired her selflessness.
Aubrey's mind was in a full-on panic, calling out for the little girl. "Hey! We solved your mysteries! Where are you!?" Her voice sounded like that of a distraught mother, sharing his sentiment in searching for the little girl.
Their panic would be cut short by a loud voice, belonging to a security officer, calling out to them. "Hey! What are you doing at this hour!?" He bellowed. Jake rushed over to the security office and looked just as desperate.
"Officer, did you see by any chance a little girl and or a Drifloon around? She was just here for the last hour and a half! W-we...we're worried something happened to her...she wanted us to help her investigate this school and it's mysteries..." Jake was fighting back tears.
"But what about the janitor and the guy we helped fix the PA system for? They were here! Didn't you see them either...?" Jake asked, crying now.
"I did. They mentioned you were both looking into the mysteries on her behalf," The officer answered. "Everyone talks about them, of course."
"...Well that is s-something..." Jake's voice sounded only a tiny bit happier. He still couldn't help but dread the idea that something awful happened to the little girl, not even old enough to go on a Pokemon journey probably, and she became a ghost here. Forrest also seemed somber.
"She came here from a very far away place. Learning the language was hard, but everyone rallied to make sure she got the best education they could give her," He continued. "If you wanna know what I think, son...I think she was looking out for all of us. No need for tears, you were a big help to her."
"If you say so, sir..." Aubrey held her hands behind her back, sharing Forrest's sentiments.
""But... there's so much more to life than…" The Hoenn native sighed. "But this is what she wants isn't it?" Jake looked at the school glumly. "It's where she was happiest..." He'd pause before asking his companion something. "...Aubrey, can we...go shopping tomorrow? I think she deserves a gift," Jake said quietly but with resolve.
After mulling it over for a moment, the ranger answered him with, "If you want to leave her something, we can. But after that we go to Akala. Alright?"
Inwardly, he was loathing Alola not being able to give spirits true peace the same way Hoenn and Mt. Pyre did but at the same time, if that girl was the final mystery here and appreciated and dreamed of having people help make her school a better place then... maybe it was the people that truly made the region great. He and Aubrey answered her call and made her dream come true. Perhaps her absence was symbolic of her finally moving on in a way. Which ultimately meant that her story here wasn't a tragedy but something to be used as a moral and inspiration to appreciate the region and its people and what it brings to those living here. And with that, Jake nodded and said, "Thank you." from the bottom of his heart.
Taking his hand, Aubrey would take Jake back to the motel. "I'm heartbroken like you too...and...I know I'll protect all Pokemon...but man do I not like Hypno..."
"I don't even think Hypno was the culprit here...or maybe he was. Really that's what kills me is that we won't know the full truth. Did that Drifloon spirit her away...? Was she the one wanting to create a horror movie? Did Drifloon regret what it did to her and honored her wish? And just the fact her life ended so young just...kills me..." Jake sat on the bed and drank a glass of water to try to remain calm.
"..." Aubrey quietly punched the floor after rolling out her sleeping bag, shaking her head. "Can we just...talk about something else now? Just thinking about this makes me both angry and heartbroken..."
"I'm sorry Aubrey..." Jake said apologetically. "Umm... I did think it was really cool that Vanessa helped us like that. She didn't even need to know the age of the building or the placement of the electrical system." He decided to ask about her partner to try and change the subject. "Was she a technician at some point?"
"I dunno...I think she just dabbled in tech in the time before I met her," Aubrey answered, sitting down on the floor after taking her boots off. "We could ask her in a bit, but...ugh, I'm sorry, I can't stop thinking about it." Jake's attempt at changing the subject didn't seem to work as well as he hoped. "Like me being worried for that little girl reminds me of Lillie in a way. Like both of them want to protect something - Lillie wants to protect Nebby like our ghosty girl wants to protect the school."
"...I wanted to mention Lillie. Can we both make a promise to never let anything happen to Lillie? Lillie of all people does not deserve to end up a wonder or a mystery or a victim of some evil plot or Ultra Beast or anything. I'd give my life before I'd let her not live the best years of her life. Or at least face down any Ultra Beast for her. Since I don't exactly want to die." Jake chuckled.
"Dude, I already was mentally prepared to smack down anyone that wants to bring her harm," Aubrey responded, taking some calming breaths now. "Speaking of which...figure anything out about her whole situation today? I missed out on that conversation you were having with her back at the meadow."
"Well she didn't have a favorite Pokemon or Pokemon type. She said she didn't put much thought into it and it was her first time being active in a Pokemon journey and she took up the assistant position for Kukui's sake. She also wasn't willing to talk about..." Jake then froze. He remembered what she said. 'I thought it was the least I could do after the professor took me in'. After the mysteries at the school and now Jake couldn't help but worry more about what this ambiguous situation with her mother meant for her. "...About... her mother to say the least." Jake frowned. He didn't want to trouble Aubrey with another thing to worry about regarding a young, impressionable girl. Besides, there was more time to gather clues.
"What? What?" This only made the ranger more interested.
"Do you want the true answer or the 'we just went through a traumatic situation and don't want anymore shit to discuss tonight' answer?" Jake at last offered a way out to Aubrey.
"True answer. If I don't have clues leading me to the full story, then how am I supposed to best protect Lillie?" Aubrey answered.
"Alright. She alluded to Professor Kukui 'taking her in' which is traditionally what an adopted child would say about a parent figure," Jake sighed. "And that's why she's his assistant. To repay him for doing that for her."
Having calmed down, otherwise her temper would've clouded her judgement, Aubrey let that soak for a moment. "Alright...so, do we even know why Kukui took Lillie in? The only thing we know about Lillie's mother is that she treated her like a five year old in picking out her clothes."
"I have no clue... although... I honestly can't imagine Lillie went to that school to be honest." Jake thought aloud. "Maybe she was homeschooled by her mother?"
"Maybe..." Aubrey closed her eyes in thought, thinking about what else there was to discuss. "And come to think of it, there's another matter about Lillie that, I don't know where any of it fits in. It's about Nebby."
"Yeah the mystery Pokemon that saved her life but that she said didn't know any moves." Jake folded his arms. "If a Gastly could make illusions that sophisticated in a school though, I could see Nebby being capable of some potential power."
"Yeah, now obviously I'm not gonna jump to any conclusions here, but what I wanna know is how Nebby saved her life. Because that could mean anything," Aubrey added. "And if it didn't come from Alola, then where did it come from anyway?"
"Ultra Beast land I'm guessing. It fits the whole cosmic terror vibe only it's a cosmic cutie," Jake suggested.
"I mean...heck, it's the only idea I've got." Aubrey shook her head. "Let's just...see what Van thinks and get to bed. Though I'm not really feeling up to doing most of the talking this time."
"Hey, for all that it's worth Aubrey, we did the right thing there. At the school. You can rest easy knowing that we made some lives brighter." Jake said as he dialed Vanessa's number.
"Right...I'm gonna get ready for bed." Aubrey would go into the bathroom to do just that.
"Hello?" Vanessa answered, seeing Jake. "Oh hey. Everything good now?"
"Well, the school is better off, yes, but...we might've encountered a resting place of a young girl in the process," Jake said bittersweetly. "Anyway, thanks for your help. Me and Aubrey actually had another topic of interest we'd hope you could look into."
"Ooof...that's rough." Vanessa winced. "So did you need anything else tonight?"
"Do you know if Ultra Beasts come in petite sizes?" Jake asked. "Or in other words, Lillie's Nebby. We think it might have something to do with them as she says it saved her once upon a time but it knows no current Pokemon moves."
"Hmm…" Vanessa thought about it. "You know I am not entirely sure. None of these reports I have been able to access mention anything like that."
"Well what have you found anything that could be of interest in figuring out what Nebby is?" Jake suggested.
"Hmm...can you send me a picture of Nebby at all? I can try and look into it," Vanessa requested. Jake sent Vanessa a picture he and Aubrey took with Lillie and Nebby during the festival. "Interesting...it looks like a living ball of...cosmic gas? I dunno. Cute though."
"You're welcome for that, zzt zzt!" Rotom smiled.
"It is very precious indeed. Now a lot of people describe the Ultra Beasts as extraterrestrial Pokemon like Deoxys is so I feel Nebby's cosmic appearance adds to that theory," Jake said.
"It does...hmm…" Aubrey's partner was stumped. "Yeah I am not sure what I can tell you myself."
"Well as long as we can uncover some truths or details or facts in time, that's what matters most. Thanks Van," Jake smiled. Aubrey would return from the bathroom, waving to her partner.
"Hey Van. What was that party you were at earlier?" She asked.
"Oh, I was given an Invitation to a party on that boat by the Pokemon Storage System creator Bill...after helping him return to normal...he somehow fused his mind with a Nidorino," Vanessa explained, weirded out by this.
"...Disgrossting." Jake gagged at the idea.
"It was a lab accident involving a teleporter," Vanessa added.
"That...sounds like one heck of an accident," Aubrey grimaced. "How was the party?"
"Pretty fun. Getting to it was more of a problem," Vanessa replied.
"Roads blocked?" Aubrey wagered a guess.
"If you can count Team Rocket as a roadblock, then yes!" Vanessa confirmed Aubrey's suspicions.
Aubrey looked quite intrigued by this, saying, "...Huh. And we're dealing with a Team Skull. Maybe we can exchange notes?"
"I thought Team Rocket's reign of Kanto terror was over?" Jake looked surprised.
"Sure, just give me a bit to summarize everything," Vanessa obliged, beginning her briefing on what was going on. "Okay, so I first ran into them at Mt. Moon when they were trying to find Pokemon fossils. Group of two with a talking Meowth of all things."
"We stan the talking Meowth always," Jake commented.
"Yup!" Vanessa laughed. "But there were also grunts around with a different version of the Team Rocket symbol. It was a rainbow letter R."
Aubrey raised an eyebrow at that, looking at Jake. "Did the Team Rocket you're familiar with have the same letter R on their uniforms?"
"A Rainbow R? What are they LGBTQ+ conscious now?" Jake raised an eyebrow. "Also no, they definitely didn't have a multitude of colors, Aubrey."
"Yeah, it was weird, considering the other two had the normal red R," Vanessa mentioned.
"That is weird..." Aubrey put a hand to her chin. "We've got a new Team Rocket on our hands if that's the case."
"Wait a second…" Vanessa had something click with her. "You said these Ultra Beasts are from another dimension, right?"
"Yeah but what does that have to do with Team Rocket's new branding?" Jake shrugged.
"...And one of the reports had a person falling out of the Wormholes," Vanessa reminded. "...What if we are dealing with Team Rocket from another dimension?"
"That's crazy though. Why wouldn't they have been talked about sooner if that was the case?" Jake suddenly thought back to their two weird acquaintances that they kept running into on the journey. "Aubrey... that man and woman in the sci-fi gear... do you think they are part of this new Team Rocket? They certainly act and look out of place to fit the bill."
The ranger shook her head. "Well, Van, did this new Team Rocket have unnatural skin color?"
"No, but they all had blue hair," Vanessa responded.
"The two Jake is referring to are Dulse and Zossie, calling themselves part of this Ultra Recon Squad. I'm pretty confident in saying they're not related," Aubrey mentioned.
"Ok...they certainly still seem suspicious to me." Jake frowned.
"Yeah, that does seem like they would not be related to the Rocket thing to me," Vanessa agreed with her partner.
"Still, if they came from another dimension, there'd had to have been a lot of these occurrences happening right? Or a big gathering of people coming out of one of the wormholes." Jake mentioned. "Logically, if a new Team Rocket showed up out of the blue it'd definitely be talked about or witnessed by someone."
"Well, I can probably go and check their old hideouts for Clues they might be used," Vanessa offered. With that in mind, Aubrey had a plan.
"If this new rainbow colored Team Rocket has anything on the Blinding One, whatever that is, we'll know for sure," Aubrey said. "If not, then they're not associated with one another."
"Yeah." Vanessa nodded. "Keep me informed on your end, and I'll keep you informed on my end."
"Ten-four." Aubrey gave a curt nod back. "I'm gonna get to bed now. See ya, partner!"
"Yeah, it's time for us to get some much-needed rest. Pleasant dreams!" Jake would hang up after seeing Vanessa wave them off.
The good part about today was clearing their island challenges on Melemele Island, so they had one down, three to go. However, Aubrey was left with more questions than answers - this new Team Rocket, the Ultra Recon Squad being suspicious, and Nebby's origins. One thing was for certain though, they needed to meet with Professor Burnet tomorrow and find out what the deal with the Ultra Wormholes are. Maybe then, they could get the break in their investigation they needed. She took a deep breath and had her head gently hit the pillow, drifting off in her sleeping bag as Jake was soon to join her in slumber on the motel room bed.
(After five parts, the second day of Aubrey's paid leave has come to a close. Got a lot done in a single day, so good for that. Next time, after they leave their gift for the little girl at the school, we're gonna head off to Akala on my new favorite Water/Flying type in my favorite gameplay mechanic/pastime in all of Pokemon. See you guys then!)