Pokemon Sun: A Ranger's Trials

by ChaosFlash912

When a Pokemon Ranger takes time off from her job to have a nice vacation in the sunny and tropical Alola region, she winds up getting a lot more than what she bargained for. Will it still be the best vacation ever? Probably. A slice of paradise mixed with tales of other worlds, coming up!

28. Bonus Mission 3

(Rainbow Rocket came to Alola. Time we kick 'em to the curb.

The Reviews

LogBook: Team Skull may be a villainous team, but they're not total villains. They deserve this.)

It was another beautiful morning, the rangers enjoying a nice breakfast.

"Man...not only are you a skilled karate pro, you're a skilled cook too," Aubrey mused. "In stuff that isn't curry."

"Oh thanks!" Isabella had a bright smile. "Always good to get a compliment on that."

"Yeah, both you and Van are great at it. Whenever she and I were out in the field and camping, Van's food? Always satisfying," Aubrey smiled back.

"Wish I could be as good as that...most I can do is cook stuff in the oven," Finn remarked.

"Well I can teach ya sometime if you're interested," Vanessa offered.

"I'll take you up on that offer," The mechanic responded. It was then they'd get a panicked voice coming through on their intercom.

"H-Hello?" Sophocles was on the other end, and he was out of breath and in a tizzy. "I...I...You've got to...it's an emergency!" Vanessa would rush down to the lobby to see him.

"What's the emergency?" She asked.

"Everything is wrong! I don't know what to do..." Sophocles hung his head sadly. "I need your help badly. A bunch of strange guys appeared out of nowhere and...a-and they took over Festival Plaza!"

"Strange? Strange how?" Vanessa followed-up, needing more information.

"They were dressed in black, had this rainbow colored R on their chest, and looked like a bunch of bad people!" Sophocles's answer would tell Vanessa everything she needed to know.

"Rainbow Rocket?! We are on our way!" Vanessa would run back up to their living quarters, getting Aubrey's attention with the urgency on show here.

"What's going on, Van?" She asked, having just finished her breakfast.

"Rainbow Rocket is in Alola." The Sinnoh native's blunt answer got everyone's attention.

"W-What? Really!?" Aubrey jumped out of her seat. "Shoot, let's get out stuff together guys, let's move out!"

"Where are they at, anyway?" Finn asked, standing up from his seat.

"They are bothering Sophocles at his Festival Plaza," Vanessa informed.

"Guess we have an excuse to flex our might against some actual criminals, Izzy," Finn remarked, looking ready to go.

"That we do." Isabella cracked her knuckles. "Let's go take care of these blokes."

The group would get their gear together and head down into the lobby for Sophocles to take them to Festival Plaza. What the rangers didn't know was that this was merely a diversion, as Team Rainbow Rocket's true prize would soon be realized.

Whilst on the move in Alola, intent on picking up some items for the household, Jake was wearing the original outfit he had worn when he first met Aubrey though complemented with a Kyogre sweatshirt over it. He had been in a very cheery mood lately but knew it was important to keep up with the local happenings around Alola.

"Rotom Dex! Anything new?" He asked positively.

"BZZT! Top stories of the night! Writer Gilda Lockon publishes a new private memoir chronicling her life and dealings with Aether and how she's turned a previously toxic struggle of hers into a newfound inspiration of Pokemon research." Rotom Dex said.

"That's great. Anything else?" Jake asked excitedly.

"BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS!" Rotom Dex suddenly lit up. "Aether Foundation holding press conference as we speak, addressing black clouds that appeared over Poni Island. Switching you to live coverage…"

Jake would see that Gladion was standing before reporters, Wicke by his side as he delivered their statement.

"I know that many of you here must have heard of the dark clouds covering Poni Island on the news…" Gladion began. "You may be feeling concerned about what is going on, but let me put your fears to rest. This phenomenon was caused by a previously unknown Pokemon known as Necrozma. Necrozma passed through an Ultra Wormhole, a passageway between worlds, and came here to steal Alola's light. Fortunately, our light was reclaimed by the efforts of several individuals I am honored to call friends."

Chatter was heard from behind the camera.

"Necrozma…?" One spectator wondered. "What does he mean, steal our light?"

Jake examined the image on the screen showing the gloating, menacing smiles of what looked like Rainbow Rocket members as Vanessa had described to him and Aubrey before. Panic started to emerge from the crowd as Gladion readied a Poke Ball, sending out his partner Sivally as Wicke did her best to run from the Rainbow Rocket members. One such grunt knocked the camera over, causing it to crash to the ground. All he could hear was Gladion's voice before the feed cut out.

"Whoever you are, I will NOT let you harm any of this foundation's people or Pokemon!" He shouted. "Sivally, let's get 'em!"

"...Huh? Are those weird Pride Month goons? What are they doing here though...?" Jake looked baffled. They were from the Kanto region, right? Kanto seemed rather far from Alola so it didn't seem reasonable for them to have a motive or anything to gain from this region. Not that he knew what the hell Rainbow Rocket was about exactly beyond being a more vividly-colored version of Team Rocket. Jake would hear hurried footsteps racing up to him, those belonging to Hau.

"Jake! Jake! Did you see the news!?" He shouted in alarm.

"Ah geez Hau! You scared me a bit." Jake jumped momentarily when Hau cried out to him. "Good to see you though. Do you know how they got here? I'm a bit in disbelief myself but I know the Rangers will take care of them, and we have to do our part too!" Jake quickly psyched himself up.

"No idea...I saw an Ultra Wormhole in the background before that goon knocked the camera over, though," Hau guessed. "You think that had something to do with it?" Then Hau had his own question for Jake. "But either way...we're gonna need some serious backup. Any ideas where Brey and Van are?"

"They are probably already nearing Festival Plaza from the Rangers Station if I had to think like them. Either way, we can't leave Gladion to fight solo so we're making a move on." Jake quickly called out a new pokemon Hau hadn't seen. A vigorous Pelipper. Jake climbed on board of the Pelipper and looked ready to take off. "Get your wings on Hau! Alola's in danger again."

"Yeah! We gotta go help Gladion!" Hau would get out a Ride Pager of his own, calling a Charizard as the two flew off for Aether Paradise. They wouldn't be the only ones going to their aid, however…

When the rangers arrived with Sophocles to Festival Plaza, they would see the once colorful and cheery place was now filled with a sinister, purple clouded sky and the centerpiece of the Plaza would be a dark colored castle with holographic screens proudly bearing a R with a rainbow background.

"The space here got all twisted, and that's when the programming of the Plaza was rewritten! That's why the castle looks so..."

"Sinister?" Finn guessed.

"Tacky and cliche?" Aubrey sneered.

"My colors?" The Galarian wondered.

"Hmm...yes. And also lacking in style," Vanessa critiqued the bad guys' choice of design. "You make it work though."

"Thanks for that," Isabella smiled.

"They broke through my security system when it was malfunctioning," Sophocles continued. "And now they've taken complete control over Festival Plaza...whoever is doing this knows what they're doing for sure."

"Well once we're done with 'em, they won't know what they're doing," Aubrey promised, finding that her Poke Balls were on the fritz. "...Okay, that's annoying..."

Isabella however, had a more positive look on this situation. "Yeah. Looks like we are doing this the fun way."

"W-Well...let's go then..." Sophocles gulped, anxious.

"I'll stick close to Sophocles and keep him safe." Finn readied his staff. "Rest of you can have your fun."

"You said it, Izzy! Let's roll, people! Mission Start!" Aubrey beamed. Once their poses were struck with the mission being very clear to everyone, they headed on inside the castle. They would see a couple grunts inside, one of them turning to face them.

"Who are you? Nobody's allowed to enter Team Rocket's castle!" The grunt snarled.

"I-I have admin rights..." Sophocles got out, standing behind Finn who was sporting an unamused expression.

"What?! How dare you try to confuse me with your nerdy language!" The grunt got angry at him. "Team Rocket's castle is under our control, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Hello again, punks. Remember me?" Vanessa stood in front of the group, looking ready to do something about it.

"You...you're that ranger who caused us so much trouble back in Kanto!" A second grunt exclaimed, while the first guy looked surprised.

"What!? I thought she'd be taller!" The first guy was missing the point.

"Oh, so you missed the part where I took on half a hideout of guys at the same time and won then? And this time I have help," Vanessa responded. "So I have two choices for you. Tell us what you're up to and get out, or we beat you up first. I would highly recommend the less painful option."

"Heh, oh we'll tell you alright, but we ain't leaving!" The second grunt answered, hands on her hips. "We're taking this dump over and stealing other peoples' Pokemon!"

Aubrey had a scowl on her face, hands clenched into fists. "Oooh, you've just now made this really easy for me..."

"Bring it on, then! You're not kicking us out of here easily!" The first grunt lunged for Vanessa as the others in the room went on the attack…

Right as Vanessa would catch the lazy punch thrown her way. "Buddy...you have no idea how much trouble you are in." Vanessa would throw the guy behind him where Izzy would kick him into the ground.

"You really should have listened to the Lass.. ya bloody moron." Isabella shook her head as the fighting really got underway.

As the fighting broke out, Aubrey threw herself at a grunt and started to pummel them, while Finn was weaving through the chaotic scene before him and Sophocles, prodding a few grunts back as Sophocles got to the computer in the room, starting to work on retaking control of the plaza.

Vanessa was being particularly ruthless to these grunts laying them out and stun gunning them to get them to stay down. Isabella on the other hand, was dodging and weaving attacks thrown her way, delivering devastating counter rushes and laying out grunts that way.

"What's the status, Sophocles?" Finn asked, slamming a few thrusts of his staff into a grunt's stomach to put them on the ground for Aubrey to finish off.

"It looks like they've got some sort of program lock preventing us from using our Pokemon," Sophocles said. "But...it doesn't seem to be bothering any of you."

"I can't even access my own admin rights..." Sophocles frowned, frantically working to get them back. "Make sure these guys stay down so I have enough time to boot 'em out!"

"We got this, lad!" Isabella responded with a reassuring smile. "These guys can't hit the broad side of a barn!"

"We also have an angry Aubrey on our side, so that increases our chances of succeeding by a lot," Finn added, keeping Sophocles safe while he worked.

After enough effort from everyone, all the grunts in the castle were knocked out cold, Aubrey's mood having changed from angry to happy.

"That's how much game we got, punks!" She exclaimed.

"God job! Vanessa here looked kinda ruthless...for once," Isabella commented.

"Sorry, having to put up with these morons again is aggravating." Vanessa would lift one of the grunts up roughly, the sap having just come to. "Now that we have beaten the crap out of you. You're going to talk. NOW."

"Ungh...a-about what?" The grunt asked in an exasperated voice, groggy from the beating he and the others had received.

"What's your angle here? You can't have done this just to steal Pokemon," Vanessa responded, knowing something was fishy here.

"Like I'd tell you..." The grunt spat.

"Van, Van...let me get the info out of this jerk," Aubrey offered, smiling sweetly at her partner, but to the Rainbow Rocket grunt, it was far more sinister.

"Sure, Brey." Vanessa tossed him over to Aubrey. The older area ranger in turn, grabbed the grunt by the scruff of his neck and slammed him against a wall, her free fist reared back threatening to hit him.

"My partner's right here, pal. There's only a few of you here. No doubt this was a small scale operation on your part. Either tell me what your real goal is here, or you'll be a mouth breather for a while. Got it?" She threatened.

"A-Aether..." The grunt choked out, now fearful at the look of sudden anger in her eyes. "And you fell for the trap...!"

"Got it!" Sophocles happily reported. "Ready to boot them out on your word!"

Vanessa heard all she needed to hear. "Do it."

On Vanessa's word, Sophocles would boot the grunts out of Festival Plaza, now looking a bit worried. "What was he saying, anyway? Fell for what trap?" He asked.

Aubrey would check her phone and notice there was a video message left for her from Key. "Huh, Key tried calling me about eight minutes ago..." She would open up the video message, seeing Key flying through Alola's skies on the back of Corviknight.

"Hello Miss Ranger, I am leaving this message here for you on an urgent request for your help. Strange men showed up at Aether Paradise and crashed the press conference Gladion was holding. No doubt they have hostages," Key spoke. "I will meet you there so we may drive these dastardly foes out of Alola! See you there!" The video message then ended.

Vanessa growled at this. "Great, they were a distraction...a rather dangerous one for Alola, but a distraction nonetheless."

"That would explain why there were only a few grunts here," Finn commented.

"So...they used me just to get at Aether..." Sophocles frowned, hanging his head in shame. "I let this happen...I'm so sorry, guys..."

"Not your fault, lad," Isabella reassured him. "We would have been on them instantly if they did not distract us."

"Right...I'll make sure any stolen Pokemon get returned. You guys go to Aether Paradise and stop them!" Sophocles went back to work, now looking focused on his task.

"Yeah, we better not keep Key waiting...crap, is Lusamine still recovering from her treatment, Van? Do you know?" Aubrey tensed up a bit at that realization. She knew what Lusamine was like before, but it didn't make the situation any better.

"Yeah...she was at Aether…" Vanessa went wide-eyed. "Oh no."

"Sophocles, get us back to our HQ. We'll move out for Aether immediately," Finn instructed.

"O-Oh! Right! Good luck, guys!" Sophocles would send them out to head to Aether's aid.

Landing at the entrance to the Aether Foundation, Hau would hop off his Ride Pager Charizard and see their intrepid merchant flying in for a landing.

"Hey Jake, look who's here!" He exclaimed.

"Key! Looks like you had the same instincts and update as we did! Thanks Umineko!" Jake patted his Pelipper for the quick and safe flight.

Key would hop off Corviknight and land on the ground in front of them. "I came here as soon as I heard on the news what happened. I tried to get a hold of Miss Ranger, but she must've been busy with something," The merchant explained. "So I left her a video message telling her what was going on."

"Good thinking. Help's on the way." Hau smiled as he was first inside, followed by Jake and Key. But Key wasn't the only familiar face who came to Aether's aid.

"Jake! Hau!" It was Lillie! She was with her brother in the reception area, which Gladion's Sivally was guarding as a safe spot for themselves and a couple employees.

Jake turned around in shock and awe once he heard that ever-familiar voice. He turned around and saw her, still looking strong and confident as she did when she set off on her own journey. Jake ran over and hugged the two of them with gleeful expressions and much giggling. "LILLIEEEEEEEE!~ Ahhh! You are back! And Gladion! Thank goodness you are ok!"

"Ack!" Lillie was taken aback by the hug, whereas Gladion casually returned it.

"Thank you three for coming as fast as you did," Gladion spoke. "Lillie was on her way home from Kanto when she heard the news, and was immediately on a speedboat here once her ship came into harbor. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many. Wicke distracted a couple of the grunts so I and a couple other employees could duck in here for safety."

"So, does that mean Wicke is..." Hau grimaced.

"Unfortunately, that might be the case," Lillie frowned in worry. "And...as far as I know, our mother, she's still recovering from her treatment..."

Key would glance out at the pathway from the reception area to their home, now taken over by Rainbow Rocket. The area was crawling with rank and file grunts, looking to keep any heroes out of the way.

"So a recap is kind of in order. I'll ask about how things are going on your epic journey after this is all done Lillie. Hau said there was an Ultra Wormhole when they first showed up, but at what point did they show up, and what were their intentions and the following series of events?" Jake asked.

"It was during the press conference that they attacked. No doubt you three saw that on the news," Gladion answered. "This man in a dark suit made his intentions very clear. He wanted the technology of Aether and the knowledge of other worlds. No doubt he was their leader."

"Well, if they're already taking prisoners, we gotta do something quick!" Hau was chomping at the bit to get out there and take these guys down.

"That's all we need to know." Key would face the group, a pair of rubber-headed mallets in her hands. "Here's the plan, everyone. We'll attack on two fronts and converge on their home's front door. Jake, you'll go with me on the left. I'll take care of the grunts, you handle their Pokemon for me. Lillie, Hau, Gladion, you go on the right. We must deal with as much of this rabble as we can until reinforcements arrive. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go," Gladion nodded firmly.

Lillie also looked like she now had an angry expression. "I'm...I'm ready too. I'm taking our home and our mother back, and they will not stop me!"

"We've got your back, Lillie!" Hau cheered, now looking like his usual, optimistic self.

"Dark suit...? That sounds like Giovanni's typical wardrobe but that'd mean he's a Ultra Wormhole version of Giovanni we're dealing with then." Jake reasoned. "Anyways, you're right. We're going to rain on their parade and keep Lusamine safe!" He fistpumped.

"Then let's not waste any time!" Key exclaimed, getting ready with Jake as the other three got on the other side of the gate, awaiting the merchant to start their advance. "You'll find that in a scrap, I am just as capable as your ranger friends, Jake." She would set one of her mallets down as she took aim at a grunt, her cue being when she let it fly.

"Heh, I already know from our last dance with Nihilego but sure! Let's push through!" Jake had a Premier Ball at the ready.

With her mallet lined up, Key would let it fly, smacking a grunt square in the face and knocking them to the ground, getting the attention of the others.

"CHARRRRRRRRGE!" Hau shouted, sending out Incineroar. Sivally came to Gladion's side as the boys would lead the attack on the right.

"Starmie, help us out!" Lillie would call out a Starmie upon seeing Golbats and Arboks being what the Rainbow Rocket grunts sent out for them. It was the same story on the left side for Jake and Key.

"Totem! We're going to need some Psychic power!' Jake summoned a Claydol who promptly levitated both Poison-type Pokemon and slammed them together in a display of psychokinetic force.

Key would take this opening to rush in and grab her other mallet, now clashing with Rainbow Rocket grunts while Raticates rushed towards Totem. The merchant parried their strikes before swinging at them with full intent to incapacitate, as Jake would see she had some dynamite behind those swings. Key added in elbow strikes to combo with her mallet swings to lay a couple grunts out.

"That's going to leave a lot of marks!" Jake grinned as he had Totem move onto his next attack. "Dazzling Gleam!" A mystical fey light blasted the approaching Raticates with concussive force, sending them flying back into the walls of the building.

As for the kids on the right, Lillie did a superb job in dealing with the Poison-types, leaving Hau and Gladion to battle back the Raticates and other Pokemon that tried to interrupt the Water/Psychic Pokemon with Crunch and Sucker Punch. For her first time battling an evil team, Lillie was handling herself quite well.

"Are we making progress?!" Jake called out.

"Almost there!" Key called back, slamming a mallet strike into a grunt's gut to knock the wind out of them. "Look at us taking them out like a dream team!"

They would soon converge in front of the mansion, which was now transformed into a Team Rainbow Rocket looking castle.

"What...what happened? The mansion, it...it's turned into some sort of castle..." Lillie frowned, recalling her Starmie.

"Hoo-eee! Is that the best you got, Rainbow Rocket? I'm just getting started!" Hau boasted.

"Good to see your optimism hasn't gone away," Gladion smirked, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. "Jake, Key, you two doing okay?"

"Good god. It looks like we ripped off N's castle and Victorian-era horror stories in one." Jake looked on in disgust at the trope heaviness of it all. "I'm doing perfectly alright Gladion." He chuckled.

"Never better!" Key smiled, panting a bit from the heavy lifting on her end she did. "Feels good to fight for righteousness!"

"That's far enough." A familiar voice called out, walking in front of the castle entrance to stop them.

"You...Faba!" Gladion scowled. "I thought the Ranger Union had you placed under arrest!"

"Wouldn't it be nice if they did?" Faba smirked. "Giovanni himself offered me freedom in exchange for assisting his organization. I saw an opportunity and I took it."

"I see you are a glutton for punishment then Faba. You won't be smirking so brightly once you realize that by the day's end, this organization will be taken care of and you will have a heavier sentence." Jake simply looked very confident in that Faba was a desperate fool who was destined to get his butt whooped.

"Claydollllll..." Totem seemed disgusted. 'Sacrificing a chance at redemption...unwise decision.'

"Oh, only if you can even stop us. You kids don't know what kind of power you're messing with," Faba cautioned with faux-concern. "I highly suggest you kids turn back before the head honcho crushes you kids and you diva flat."

"As if he would!" Hau suddenly spoke up. "You saw us plow through your forces just now, didn't you? And we've got help on the way, so it doesn't matter how strong your leader is. We'll boot you all out of Alola!"

Lillie nodded in agreement. "Yes...and I'm not going to be scared of you or any ruffians you're associated with, Mr. Faba. I'm saving my mother, and there's nothing you can say or do to convince me otherwise!"

"Diva? Please. I seem to recall you being a diva about your whole 'Security of Defense' crap that was an excuse for you to be a lazy tactician." Jake snarked back.

"Ha! I've grown since that encounter as a stronger last line of defense, so I will keep you out of this-" Faba would be interrupted by a Pokemon's caw.

"Skarrrrrrr!" The group would turn around and see just who was approaching, which was enough to shatter any confidence Faba had.

"N-Not again..." He grimaced. When they turned around, they would see a Mega Gyarados that roared right at Faba. As well as the rangers being right there with him.

"Ah, Miss Ranger! You came!" Key smiled.

"Heyyyyyyy, look who it is!" Aubrey had a sarcastic chummy tone to her voice as she approached a wincing Faba. "If it isn't our old buddy Faba, who should be in jail right now. Wonder why that is..." Vatonage hopped off Skarmory, standing by Aubrey with a growl.

"Yes, that is quite the conundrum…" Vanessa had a similar gag going on with her. "How many years does it add if you escape prison again, Brey?"

"Picture perfect timing, Rangers. We've just been cleaning the vicinity of the riffraff." Jake grinned. Totem bowed in respect as they had been made perfectly aware of Aubrey and Vanessa's caliber and justice from stories shared.

"...You expect me to know that info off the top of my head?" Aubrey blinked, dropping the tone she had.

"Everyone, leave Mr. Faba to me," Lillie requested, the group telling that this was a strictly personal matter. "He's trying to keep us from entering. If I'm battling him, he can't think of stopping you!"

Faba frantically looked around for anyone to help him, only to see that the merchant's plan on assaulting the place had pretty much all the grunts in the vicinity incapacitated and unable to help. "...Bah! Bold of you to take me on, Lillie! I'll show you the error of your arrogance!"

"We should use this time to break in," Finn advised the others in a low voice. "I think Lillie should have this wrapped up in a few moments."

"Yeah, this is the best time to do so." Isabella agreed.

"Knock 'em flat, Lillie!" Aubrey encouraged as the others broke past him to enter the foyer of the mansion, leaving Lillie to call out an Arcanine to answer Faba's lead of an Alakazam.

"Time to see the Kanto-made style of Pokemon Trainer at work!" Jake winked at Lillie.

"Made it!" Hau smiled. "You think she'll be okay, guys?"

"Judging by how my sister was glaring daggers at Faba...I'd be more worried about him," Gladion answered. The first place they would go into was the bedroom where Lillie had slept, and it too was changed in the gaudy style of Team Rainbow Rocket.

"...No good. The mirror won't let us in," Gladion frowned. "There's gotta be some way to undo the lock Rainbow Rocket put on this."

"I mean we could break it…" Vanessa suggested. "But probably best to deal with any other objectives first."

"Arceus, is Rainbow Rocket secretly a group of blood suckers?' Jake looked around with a displeased grimace as he returned Totem to their ball.

"We need a plan, and fast..." Key would drop to one knee on the ground. "Do you mind if I rest here for a moment? I beat up a lot of grunts to get us in here."

"Go right ahead...and Van? That's a 'me' solution you're saying right there," Aubrey said. "Why are you thinking like me all of a sudden?"

"Sorry, these Rainbow Rocket Jerks have me on edge…" Vanessa apologized.

"Hey, don't let it get you down," Hau assured Vanessa with a smile. "If anyone's more than capable of taking them down, it's us. We just beat up an uku bunch of them outside, so if the guys inside here are just like the ones outside...well, we should have them defeated in no time!"

"Yeah." Vanessa nodded with a smile. "Thanks for that, Hau."

"Okay, I say some of us stay here, and the rest head down those hallways over there and over there." Isabella would say this as two grunts came from each hallway in question, looking surprised by the party's presence.

Isabella would say this as two grunts came from each hallway in question, looking surprised by the party's presence.

"Intruders!" One of them shouted, rushing the group.

Finn got his staff ready. "Dibs on guarding the foyer with you, Izzy, let's dumpster these punks."

"Oh I am with ya on that one, mate!" Isabella wasted no time getting in her fighting stance.

"Good luck Rangers." Jake urged them.

Finn would take on the ones that came from the left, sweeping one's legs out from under him with his staff before turning his attention to the woman, halting her own advance with a couple body blows and flipping her over on her back with a hard thud. Isabella meanwhile, ducks under two of them, and then proceeds to slam their heads together before kicking them to the side.

"Okay, who's going with who and where?" Aubrey decided as Lillie would enter the mansion, a Machamp dragging in a knocked out and tied up Faba.

"That's for everything you've done to me and my mother, Mr. Faba..." Lillie said to her defeated opponent. To the group, her mood brightened. "Are we in?"

"Not quite yet, sadly, Lillie," Vanessa reported. "We think something is blocking our path forward."

"We are so in! I can't believe they summoned this crazy and tacky castle out of nowhere though. Any idea of where to navigate for you mother Lillie?" Jake asked.

"That's why the mirror is blocked off to us, Jake," Gladion frowned. "At the ends of the halls...do you think the switch to undo their locks is behind them?"

"Probably..." Finn mused. "Anyway Lillie...Key is resting in your bedroom. Izzy and I are going to guard the foyer and take out any reinforcements that might come in. The rest of us are trying to figure out who's going where."

"Hey Lillie...you mind if I stay with you?" Hau asked. "Y'know, just in case something happens."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, Hau," Lillie smiled, taking the young lad's hand. "If any of you need your Pokemon healed, I'll be in my bedroom to do it for you there."

"Thanks Nurse Lill. So if Giovanni is the mastermind then we know he might be accompanied by some more competent and trained recruits. Admins as they like to call them." Jake folded his arms and started an attempt to crack the code.

With Aubrey and Jake, the first room they'd see in the southwest wing was a sight Jake would be familiar with - a warp tile.

"Uh-oh. You might not like these things Aubrey." Jake tut-tutted at the sight of it.

"The heck are those things?" Aubrey asked.

"Warp tiles. They teleport you to another designated warp pad in the area. It's a clever if frustrating way of having a security system. Still, if we trial and error enough times, we'll get the solution to lead us the way we want to go." Jake said, confidently demonstrating its power. Stepping onto the tile teleported him to another part of the room.

"Woah...h-hey! Wait up!" Aubrey would follow after Jake, teleported to another room with a group of grunts ready to receive them.

"All right, you lot! Just as we planned, let's gang up on the intruders and let 'em have it!" The grunt leading them ordered.

"Looks like a lot of you are about to be on the ground taking a nap!" Aubrey shouted back, raring to go as the grunts charged.

Jake smirked and this time summoned a Poke Ball, unveiling... a Blaziken! The Blaziken though, as Aubrey noticed, held it's pose differently from most. It's arms and legs in the third Position of a ballet dancer, looking very elegant and stoic in the process. "Durandal...clean house!"

Durandal nodded and leapt into the fray with speed, impeccable elegance, and control unleashing kicks, rising strikes, forceful palms, and claw strikes with intense precision. His own fighting style could best be described as a deadly dance. It wouldn't take long for the Blaziken to lay the grunts out.

"Hey, I was gonna do that..." Aubrey sheepishly told Jake.

"Umbre..." Vatonage sighed at his partner's pugnaciousness.

"Anyway...I was gonna shake one of them down to tell us the right way," The older area ranger mentioned. "Think we can still do that."

Jake laughed. "Sorry, I thought you'd love to see Durandal's dance for the first time. I trained him in ballet to help bolster his new limbs as a Combusken and later as a Blaziken and he's been a sturdy and sweet styler ever since!" He grinned. Durandal nodded and bowed with great composure.

Aubrey couldn't help but snicker. "No offense, but a ballet dancing Combusken...that's a new one."

Vatonage bit one of the grunts awake, causing him to yelp out in alarm seeing Aubrey approach him with a menacing aura.

"Alright buddy, I'm only gonna ask you once. Either you tell us how to get to your boss, or a Blaziken dancing on you and your cohorts here will be the second worst thing that's happened to you," Aubrey demanded once Vatonage released the grunt.

"O-Okay! Sheesh, lady..." The grunt stammered.

"Start talking." Jake flipped his hair coolly, waiting for the response.

"Take the southern warp tile there," The grunt started. "And then...just go straight ahead. You'll get to the boss in no time."

"Thank you." Aubrey would go to put the grunt back to sleep before standing up. "Well you heard the man, let's go."

"Alright...though I wouldn't be surprised if this is a decoy 'boss' boss." Jake muttered as he returned Durandal and they carried on their way.

Taking the southern warp tile, they'd see another obstruction - two obstructions, as Rainbow Rocket grunts were making human barricades Red Rover style.

"We are not mere grunts...we are an invincible wall that will stop any intruder!" One of them taunted the duo.

"Yeah, turn back now, intruders!" A second agreed.

Before Jake could call anyone out, Aubrey put a hand on his shoulder with a smile. "Jake, I think you should leave this problem to me."

Jake patted Aubrey on the head and gave her a small noogie. The tables had turned. "No durrrrrr! Show them what a full-fledged Alolan Ranger is made of!"

"Gladly! Target...CLEAR!" Surprising both Jake and the grunts, Aubrey rushed forward, tackling her way through the first wall shoulder first and breaking through. Vatonage would rush past her and charge the second wall, knocking them down with a Foul Play attack to break down their 'invincible' walls.

"Crap! Stop them the old fashioned way!" A grunt groaned, reaching for a Poke Ball as the other grunts would do the same.

"Little help here, Jake?" Aubrey rolled her shoulders, Vatonage standing in front of her, ready for battle. They'd have a variety of Pokemon to face, with Tentacruel, Arbok, Hypno, and Primeape in the mix.

"Back into the fray Totem! Cetrion!" Jake summoned both his Claydol and his old Roserade. The veteran Roserade beamed at seeing Aubrey again and the damage she dealt. Though with her usual professionalism, she focused on the approaching enemies. As Totem sent Psychic waves at the Poison Pokemon and the Fighting-Type, Roserade shot out a fierce Shadow Ball that collided with Hypno and kept it from repeating the tragedy of the school.

With Vatonage's assistance, the grunts' Pokemon would be cleaned up, leaving the Umbreon and ranger to beat them down.

"Whew!" Aubrey smiled. "Nice teamwork, man!" She shared a hardy high-five with Jake.

Jake exchanged the high-five back happily. "Beats doing a shaky trial at times that's for sure!"

"Though I think Van's gonna be annoyed that we beat up more grunts than she did..." Aubrey nervously chuckled. "How about for the next set of wings you go with her, I go with Gladion?"

"Sure. I could get some juicy gossip and secrets from her about you." Jake winked as he teased Aubrey.

"Roserade." 'Typical'. Cetrion shrugged her shoulders. Totem remained much more stoic and didn't betray any emotion on his trainer's playfulness.

"Especially since I was in such a hurry I only brought Vatonage and Skarmory. Whoever the boss is, they're all yours, man." Aubrey smiled, rolling her shoulders as she got ready for the next fight.

The next few rooms were two pairs of grunts dealt with like clockwork - Jake took out their Pokemon, and Aubrey beat them up. Once done, they would enter the boss's room, a simple desk, big comfy chair, and two Team Aqua banners. But this Archie looked very...different from the one Jake knew.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! ARCHIE?!" Jake's eyes threatened to bulge out of his head and his mouth flapped open. That blue bandana, that facial structure, the lame logo, the intense gaze did look very much like the old Hoenn whale of trouble but he was physically incredibly different. "What happened to all your sexy muscles?! And your skin tone? You are like...pale as snow! And not in a good way! Also more to the point, what the hey are you doing here?!" His arms flapped wildly before gesturing towards Archie.

"...Who in the world are you?" Archie looked bewildered by Jake's overly dramatic freakout. "No matter. I take it you got past the RR goons, didn't you?"

"Both battered them and their Pokemon, yeah," Aubrey responded, arms folded.

"Well that's a shame. They weren't my crew, but they were in the moment." Archie stood tall before them. "Just as my great plan was completed, a great wave swallowed me up. When I came round, I ended up in this world. The boss of Team Rainbow Rocket was kind enough to let me use this room as my own, and I've been trying to find a way back to my own world ever since."

Aubrey paused, realizing what was going on. "Hey Jake...I think this Archie is from another Hoenn," She whispered. "One where...no one was able to stop him..."

"That's insane and balderdash!" Jake actually seemed offended at that possibility coming true. "Maxie would've stopped him before it came down to it! Not to mention the Archie I knew actually had the balls to realize that Kyogre's power was too much for the world to take, stood down, and let the previous Champion save the world!...Dang Ultra Wormhole shenanigans." He settled down after a few minutes and gave a huff.

Archie had an amused smile. "Are you finished yet?" He asked. "You think that plebeian Maxie could stop me? He fell to my great might before I had awoken Kyogre!" The leader of Team Aqua laughed. "And now you come knocking at my door thinking you could do any better? I welcome to try, whelp!"

"Fine. If you're trying to steal the actually hot and likable Archie's place in the world you are going to be SUNK before I let that happen! Same to your boss's plans." Jake returned Totem and had Cetrion poised at the forefront for combat.

"Alright then, bring it on! Mightyena, come on out!" Archie called out Mightyena to do battle.

Cetrion smirked. She had defeated countless of these wolves back in Hoenn and was ready to continue that streak. She sent a furious Petal Dance at the Mightyena, sending the Mightyena scattering for cover in the room. Though it managed to lunge forward and land a Fire Fang on Cetrion's arm, the Petals managed to crush it with one decisive blow.

"So, you think you won in Hoenn? You're wrong. Your world is, unfortunately, heading for crapsack territory and you better be prepared to feel happy for being a murderer of millions." Jake seemed almost proud to undermine Archie's victory as he healed up Cetrion with a Hyper Potion.

"Sounds more like the desperate bait of a Clamperl. You know this region could benefit from an increase in the aquatic Pokemon, so left polluted and struggling in the sea." Archie taunted both Jake and Aubrey as he summoned a Muk.

"Implying I as a ranger am gonna sit on my thumbs and let people maliciously mess up Alola's ecosystem?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow. "Fat chance."

Jake returned Cetrion and summoned Totem who would actually use Earth Power this time, sending a powerful pillar of a rocky vibration surging underneath the Muk and blasting it into the ceiling. Insta-downing it. "Yeah, you've lost your environmentalist license by now."

"Wait, those exist?" The older area ranger blinked in surprise.

"Well I know the Hoenn Rangers have something like that...that's why they are so careful with people messing with the geography." Jake pointed out as he saw Archie summon his almost trademark Sharpedo.

"The Hoenn Rangers are cannon fodder! They clearly wouldn't know what to do with Pokemon properly unlike me! I earned a Legendary's wisdom and respect and shaped the region for the better of water Pokemon!" Archie had his Sharpedo fly forward with a powerful Liquidation that hit Totem, but Totem was tougher than this Sharpedo would ever know.

"Then you've clearly never heard of the Ranger Union, sir," Aubrey snapped back. If Jake needed the backup, she would be willing to take over for him. But for now, she stood back, trusting in his ability to fight this fight.

"Oh, you wouldn't be so happy if you really saw what befell Hoenn because of your plot! Totem, use Dazzling Gleam!" Jake hissed.

With a point-blank blast of fairy light, Totem devastated the squishy Sharpedo and sent it hurtling into the banner of Team Aqua, knocking it down over the fallen Pokemon like a veil.

"So why are you even working with Rainbow Rocket if you feel so pleased with yourself?" Jake asked.

Aubrey seemed to have an idea. "It's because Giovanni summoned him here, I bet," She said. "Before he got swallowed up by that wave, Giovanni pulled him into this world to help him."

"Your Ranger wench is a clever one! That's right! He promised to allow me to expand the seas here as well! With Kyogre on my side we'll make a true paradise of aquatic Pokemon! The likes that will ensure plentiful travel, make humans reconsider their wasteful ways, and for Team Aqua to lay anchor to all who oppose us!" Archie summoned a Crobat who unfortunately met a quick end to Totem's Psychic attack.

"..." Aubrey facepalmed. "Hate to break it to you buddy, but your plan would result in all of Alola being drowned, killing a lot of non-Water-type Pokemon. Did you even think of that when making your plan?"

"Isn't your specialty here Mantine Surfing?" Archie flatly said.

"Don't try dodging the question on me!" The ranger snapped back.

"Yeah but your specialty apparently is drowning." Jake grumbled. Though he gulped. "So...you do have Kyogre."

Archie gave a calm if displeased look. He took heed of Aubrey's words and Jake's passion and shrugged. "I think there's merit to your idea. Perhaps Alola is fine. Though... there's certainly other regions in need of the rush of waters that bring life and diversity. So let's see if you can actually stand up to a tidal wave! Kyogre! Beseech these fools!" Archie grinned as suddenly the room felt overly filled up with the presence of a very large Kyogre.

And once Drizzle kicked in, Aubrey only had one other thing on her mind. "...How in the heck does it rain inside!? Honestly!"

"I know. Really would've brought a parasol for this..." Jake groaned as he put his hoodie up. "Ready to join in, Aubs?" Jake asked as he has his Totem blast the Kyogre with a Charge Beam.

"Seems against the rules of Pokemon battling...but I can see Vatonage wants to take a shot at it," Aubrey responded. "Sorry about this Archie, but you've got a legendary against two normal Pokemon, I think you have a chance."

"Umbre!" Vatonage jumped in right as Kyogre went for an Ice Beam against Totem. Totem took the hit head on and unfortunately was downed by the sheer power but Jake simply returned Totem and sent Cetrion out who stared down the Kyogre with no fear.

"One down, few more to go." Archie looked extremely cocky as Kyogre summoned a Hydro Pump at Vatonage. The Umbreon was quick to jump up above the Hydro Pump, launching a Shadow Ball in retaliation against the legendary. Cetrion sent a fearsome stream of Petal Dance at Kyogre, pelting them with intense power that staggered them long enough for Shadow Ball to follow up on the blow. Archie suddenly looked shaken as the tables turned quickly.

"Hurk...!"

"Foul Play and close the show, buddy!" Aubrey ordered Vatonage, her Dark-type partner going in to finish off Kyogre. Kyogre tried to blast down Vatonage with a Thunder, but the Umbreon had other plans. Vatonage's plan was to run underneath Kyogre to have the Thunder hit itself, and coupled with the Foul Play, it was enough to win them the battle!

"Oh...I didn't even think he had Thunder...nice one, Vatonage!" Aubrey complimented.

"Umbre umb umbre!" Vatonage happily cheered, running over and glomping Aubrey with a smile.

Kyogre collapsed on the ground and left Archie cowering and falling onto his butt in shock. "I-impossible...even Maxie bowed down to my Kyogre. How...?"

"For the record, our Archie is way sexier than you'll ever be!" Jake stuck his chin up in a snooty fashion as he insulted Archie.

"Uh...just...just ignore him on that front, man," Aubrey sweatdropped, rubbing the back of her head. "We need a way to get to Giovanni. Do you have any idea what we're supposed to do to move forward?"

"...Humph. I'll reckon you've earned that information. Check behind the painting and you'll find a secret passageway via a switch. You'll know what to do afterward. Set your sails and be ready for a perfect storm." Archie nodded as the rain faded.

With that in mind, Aubrey approached the beautiful mural of the ocean and found a switch behind it. Giving it a press, a yellow warp tile in the corner of the room activated, looking like a fast track back to the foyer.

"Oh yeah, and by the way Jake, let's be real. If I was a dude and just as toned, you would've been drooling over me our entire journey," Aubrey added, heading towards the warp tile with Vatonage. "Even I can see your type."

Jake gasped as Cetrion smirked in delicious irony. Jake went silent for a few moments before blushing furiously and stammering. "T-t-that's not n-n-n-nice to drool over strangers...! B-but yeah...I do love that kind of physique...I promise I would've respected your privacy though if that was the case! I'm not a pervert!" Jake shouted.

"If you were one I would've punched you into the next zip code," The ranger snarked.

"Exactly! Yeesh Aubs...keeping me on my toes." Jake looked down and twiddled his fingers nervously and embarrassed, leaving a very confused Archie on what the hell they were talking about.

In the southeast wing, Vanessa and Gladion entered to find a warp tile as well.

"Hmm...can't say I've seen anything like that in Alola," Gladion commented. "What is it?"

"Warp Tile," Vanessa explained. "An effective security system used in Pokemon Gym puzzles sometimes. They can teleport you to a matching panel."

"Alright then. After you." Gladion would motion ladies first when they went through the warp tile, and when they stepped through, there'd be a Rainbow Rocket grunt waiting for them.

"Red! Blue! Yellow! We'll show you our rainbow strength!" The grunt exclaimed, going for Vanessa.

"I'd normally sweep him aside...I'll take his Pokemon, you treat him as a punching bag," Gladion requested, sending out a Lucario to deal with the grunt's Pokemon.

"Okay then!" Vanessa cracked her knuckles. "Hey, didn't I punch your face in the Silph building? I see a bruise on your right cheek." She was mistaken on the bruise part, but not on the grunt.

"Yeah you did!" The grunt exclaimed before punching Vanessa in the face. "Now we're even!"

Vanessa of course, was unfazed. "You hit like a five year old." She grabs his arm and flips him behind her, kicking him in the side while he was down. It wouldn't take much effort on Lucario's end to trounce the grunt's Golbat, Gladion ordering up a simple Psychic.

"Pretty sure Lillie could've hit harder at five..." Gladion merely shrugged as he examined the room. Four tiles that weren't lit up, and a button in the center of the room. When he pressed it, the tiles lit up in a certain order. Red, green, blue, yellow.

"I wonder if that guy was saying the order we had to press them in?" Vanessa wondered, banking on the grunt's stupidity.

The blonde boy shook his head. "No. That guy said red, blue, yellow. The order I saw was red, green, blue, then yellow. So...what do we do?"

"Hmm...put it in the order you saw first," Vanessa suggested.

With a nod, Gladion would step on the tiles in the order he saw them in, and a sound would indicate they did it right. The warp tile at the other end of the room activated, allowing them to advance. "Memorize the order, and put it in exactly in order to advance...okay, that's easy enough. Let's keep moving."

"Yes. Let's." Vanessa went first again, the next room having the same setup - four tiles, a button, and a grunt to beat up.

"Now's my chance...check out my awesomely distracting pose!" The grunt got in some sort of pose, causing Gladion to simply glance at Lucario and Vanessa.

"Let's...take him out before we can get distracted on this memory puzzle," He suggested.

Vanessa agreed, having a deadpan look and tone in her voice. "That pose is awful. This is how you pose!" Vanessa does her ranger pose, though instead of ending her usual way, she shoots the grunt before pulling the barrel of her stun gun to her mouth and blowing on it. His Pokemon, a Persian, didn't get a chance to do much of anything before Lucario KO'd it.

"Now that we're done with that, let's see the order here..." Pressing the button, Gladion would get the order to put in - yellow, red, blue, green, yellow, red. "You get the feeling there's gonna be one more room like this before we face the boss?"

"These things usually come in threes," The Sinnoh native responded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Gladion would once again let Vanessa go ahead, following after her. Third verse, same as the second and first, though there were two grunts this time.

"Prepare for an interruption!" The male grunt exclaimed.

Gladion sent out a Crobat to help Lucario. "Yeah yeah, just send out your Pokemon and try to beat us. I dare you."

"We'll double Arcanine take that dare!" The female grunt responded, seeing the fire in Vanessa's eyes as both grunts went after her, leaving their Pokemon, a Primeape and Tentacruel, to try and deal with Gladion.

"Okay yeah. NO." Vanessa wasted no time clotheslining both of them. Both grunts went crashing to the ground, whereas their Pokemon got knocked out with Crobat and Lucario's teamwork.

Gladion couldn't help but sigh. "They never learn, do they?" He wondered. "Reminds me of when I was Team Skull's enforcer. The grunts would pick fights they couldn't win and would get themselves hurt like this as a result."

"Yeah, I can understand that feeling," Vanessa replied. The last pattern Gladion needed to put in was red, blue, yellow, blue, green, yellow, red, and green. The warp tile to the boss lit up.

The blonde boy certainly looked ready for what was ahead. "200 Poke says more grunts are ahead."

"Sure, I'll take that bet," Vanessa responded. When they went through the warp tile, surprise surprise, there were two more grunts standing at the double doors to the boss's room.

"You two got past the glowing floor puzzles? Well, you won't get any farther!" The male grunt exclaimed.

"I would say pay up...but you don't have to," Gladion told Vanessa, his Crobat and Lucario getting in position to take on the Haunter and Hypno that were sent out.

"Nah, I'm a woman of my word. But first…" Vanessa would leg sweep the first grunt before flip kicking him on the way down to the ground, and then dodging a punch from the second one and kneeing her in the gut. Once Vanessa dealt with them, she would notice something odd about the Crobat - it didn't take damage from Psychic, and one-shot the Hypno with a strong Night Slash. "Hey, I think that's a Zoroark!"

"I think you would be right." Gladion cracked a smirk as 'Crobat' turned into a Zoroark, snickering at the laid out grunts. "Now, let's stop wasting time." He'd be the one to go first, kicking in the double doors to a room similar to the one Aubrey and Jake were in, but redder and had Team Magma banners, as a red-headed man in black and red garb turned around, curious.

"And here I thought it was that obnoxious Faba coming to bother me again...but you kicking in the door confirmed that it wasn't." The man turned to face the two. "All that ruckus was caused by a child and a ranger?"

"...Maxie? The leader of Team Magma...but you look different...you wear...Mega...Glasses…" A look of realization came to Vanessa's face. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"Then you know of me," Maxie responded. "I am Team Magma's Maxie. I had finally realized my grand design for Hoenn before I had fallen in a giant fissure. When I awoke, I found myself in this world." He paused. "Mega Glasses...are you saying there's another version of me in this world?"

"Yes, and last I heard, you and Archie are actually working together these days after that whole Kyogre Incident nearly flooded Hoenn," Vanessa answered. "Let me guess you unleashed Groudon onto Hoenn and started to dry up the ocean creating more land?"

Maxie sneered. "I can't believe this world's version of me would work with such a boorish oaf...but yes. I must say, I am enjoying this experience in your world. A vast treasure trove of knowledge, all at my fingertips."

"I think Giovanni pulled him here right before that fissure took him out of the picture," Gladion murmured to Vanessa.

"Don't worry, I plan on returning to my own world in due time," Maxie continued. "But first...I think I shall share my grand design with this world as well! I don't need to explain to you what it is, to bring more landmass to this glorious region. With more dry land to live on, humans and Pokemon need not fight over territory anymore. The ideal world for people and Pokemon, a world without conflict. Surely you rangers would want that, yes?"

"I'm sorry...I would ask you to repeat that, but that would just lower the collective intelligence of everyone in this room due to the death of our brain cells at such idiocy," Vanessa flatly responded, quite annoyed by the arrogance on display. "Do you have ANY idea how much that would affect the Pokemon of the land AND the sea? So many would die for that idea, the biggest casualties being the Water-types. Such a selfish desire would only serve to improve the lives of humans. And we are very much AGAINST THAT! Especially at the cost of nature."

"I'm not as...'eloquent' as Vanessa here..." Gladion sported a scowl. "But there's no way you can control a legendary's power to do something like that. So many others have tried that before, and yet all of them failed in this world."

"And yet, in my world, I have succeeded!" Maxie rebutted. "Archie tried to stop me, but I trounced him and gained control of Groudon! And besides, I had already thought of that. I was going to cease Groudon's power once the landmass was at acceptable levels to accommodate Water-type Pokemon. If you cannot see my genius through words...then you will through battle, ranger!"

"Bring. It. On." Vanessa angrily punctuated her words as she sent out Gastrodon. Maxie wouldn't have much else to say as he sent out a Mightyena, Gladion leaning against the wall and watching.

"He's all yours. Clearly you've got more beef with this guy than I do," The blonde boy commented.

"Feel free to step in if you want at any point," Vanessa offered. Giving a nod, Gladion would watch as Mightyena opened up the battle with an Ice Fang attack. Vanessa would have Gastrodon retaliate with a Scald, causing a lucky burn! Mightyena wouldn't get to do much else before going down to its burn, getting off one last Crunch attack on Gastrodon before getting knocked out.

"I would think the Hoenn rangers would be willing to assist in my grand design. After all the thought I put into it, you still wish to defy me?" Maxie sent out a Crobat next. "I only want what's best for both people AND Pokemon! Archie only cares about Pokemon! He cares not for his fellow man!"

Vanessa recalled Gastrodon, sending out Ranger Chu. "The amount of damage you would cause with this dream of yours is unforgivable. I have seen the damage Kyogre did via photo. Groudon would cause just as much if not more. Is that dream worth the cost in life than it would benefit? Pikachu, Zippy Zap!"

Ranger Chu would clash with a Sludge Bomb from Crobat to try and land the Zippy Zap, but both attacks connected.

Gladion meanwhile was thinking about all this, and then it dawned on him. This Maxie came from a world where not only was no one around to stop him, but also a world where this 'Archie' guy stood against him.

Maxie didn't have a response for Vanessa, other than, "Crobat, Dark Pulse!"

"Thunderbolt!" Vanessa snapped back. Both attacks clashed, with Ranger Chu winning the head-to-head as Crobat went down.

Maxie would next send out a Weezing. "And what would you know about Groudon causing more damage than Kyogre? Kyogre's rains would flood the world and leave nothing for Pokemon or people." He was surprisingly calm now, but far from a happy camper.

"And Groudon would dry the ocean and lakes. Where would people get fresh water?" Vanessa countered. "And what about freshwater Pokemon? No. That way is not the path to a world you want, Maxie. The Lord of Sky would have stopped you before it's too late." She recalled Ranger Chu, sending out Rapidash next.

Weezing would go for a Sludge Bomb as Maxie thought on that point from Vanessa. "...A fair criticism. It's why I was hoping to stop Groudon before all the waters dried up."

Gladion rolled his eyes. 'Acting like you can make a legendary Pokemon listen to you, get outta here with that crap.' He thought to himself. This guy's talking to try and justify it sounded like his mother if she didn't go off the deep end.

"Without Rayquaza, you stood no chance on that front," Vanessa responded. "Psycho Cut!"

Both attacks clashed once again, Weezing following it up with a Shadow Ball to try and stop the Psycho Cut.

"Then let me ask you this, ranger. Why didn't the Lord of Sky try and stop me when I realized my grand design?" Maxie brought up, their battle sounding more like a debate than a fight.

"Well, knowing Rayquaza, it was probably stopping a meteor or something. It also does that. Probably was picking a fight with Deoxys...again. That also happens a lot," Vanessa answered as Rapidash's Psycho Cut crit-KO'd Weezing.

As Maxie recalled his KO'd Weezing, he would retort, "And can you prove that such a hypothetical event was happening at that time?" Next up was Camerupt.

"Probably not. But this is getting us nowhere." Vanessa conceded as she readied her Capture Styler, calling out Gyarados. "However, tell me...have you heard of this?" Right at that moment, she had Mega Evolved Gyarados. From Maxie's expression, Vanessa would already know the answer to that question, but he doubled down.

"Stone Edge, Camerupt!" He ordered.

"Waterfall!" Vanessa ordered in response. The Mega Pokemon would smash through the Stone Edge, and deliver a crippling blow onto Camerupt. And by crippling, this story means a one-shot attack.

"Impressive...it seems you've forced my hand. Groudon!" Out came Maxie's legendary, Drought kicking in.

"...Well crap." Vanessa's expression changed to one of concern, having a sinking feeling on where this was going.

"Solar Beam!" Maxie ordered, as Gyarados wouldn't be able to smash his way through this one. This would do a fair bit of damage to Gyarados. Vanessa growled at how things were looking.

"How is this working in a building…" She got out. The ranger would be snapped out of her anger when Gladion stepped in with a concerned look, handing Vanessa a Poke Ball of his.

"Do as much damage as you can with Gyarados, and send this one in," He instructed. "Trust me on this one."

"What's this?" Maxie raised an eyebrow at this assist.

"You would really trust me with this?" Vanessa was surprised by what Gladion was doing here. The blonde boy simply nodded.

"Considering the situation we're in, you need the help. Now c'mon, wrap this battle up. You got this." He flashed a faint, reassuring smile her way.

"Solar Beam again, Groudon!" Maxie ordered, willing to crush that hope Gladion was giving Vanessa.

"Gyarados! CRUNCH!" Vanessa exclaimed. Gyrados would get in one final hit before getting knocked out, getting a defense lower on Groudon. Vanessa recalled her Gyarados. "You did good buddy." She had a soft smile when she held Gladion's Poke Ball, a look of raw determination in her eyes. "Let's go, Sivally!"

Once again, Maxie had a surprised expression. "What is that...?"

"Sivally. My partner," Gladion answered. "And it's just what Vanessa needs to beat you here!"

"Sivally, Multi-Attack!" Vanessa ordered. Before Maxie could give a good order on an attack, Sivally's body became cloaked in a green aura, before striking at Groudon powerfully with its claws. It was just enough to bring the legendary down thanks to Gyarados doing one last hit before he went down.

"Told you that you had this," Gladion told Vanessa, rubbing Sivally's side for a job well done.

"I must say...I'm quite impressed by the two of you," Maxie conceded, the Drought fading once Groudon was recalled. "Not only did you loan her a Pokemon to assist in battle, you also were the first person to verbally challenge my ideals. Everyone else told me to shut up and demanded a battle on the spot."

"I'm a more logical thinker. If we don't try to improve ourselves through words and action, how can we improve at all as a person?" Vanessa responded.

"Well spoken." Maxie nodded in agreement. "If it's to stick it to Faba for being a nuisance, I suppose I'll lend you a hand before I find my way back home." He would approach the volcanic landscape painting, and move it aside to push a secret switch. A yellow warp tile would activate in the far corner of the room. "Thank you for the debate. Hopefully once I make my return, I can correct any errors in my plan before it is too late."

"Might already be too late...but good luck regardless," Gladion remarked, recalling Sivally. "C'mon Vanessa, let's get out of here. I think by beating these guys, we're one step closer to rescuing the hostages."

"You're right, Gladion." Vanessa nodded as they went to the warp tile. "We have not a moment to lose. Though I think I'm going to need to stop by your sister."

"She'd be more than happy to. She has plenty of Max Revives, Potions, Ethers, what have you," The blonde boy responded as they headed back to the foyer.

Once back in the foyer, Aubrey would be sporting a smile as she waved to Vanessa. "Hey Van, look! We opened the other two wings of the mansion!" She pointed out.

"Ah, you're all back!" Key was back on her feet with a smile. "I see you've taken down two of Giovanni's henchmen. How did it go?"

Vanessa looked relieved. "Good. Had a bit of a rough spot with Maxie of all people."

"Huh, Jake and I dealt with Archie," Aubrey responded.

"Hmm, I see, I see. Both Hoenn's baddies were here..." Key put a hand to her chin. "Then that means Giovanni went on a recruitment spree of worlds where the evil teams were victorious, no?"

"Two different versions of the same rivals...? This Giovanni is extremely social savvy. I'm worried he might have someone else up his sleeve to use against us. Someone POWERFUL. Like a corrupted Steven or something." Jake pouted.

Vanessa paled up at the merchant's theory. "...Oh no.. Please tell me he did not get Cyrus."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but I think he did. Ghetsis too..." Finn shuddered.

"Aww bugger. Wait, wouldn't that mean he got Lysandre too?" Isabella realized.

"Hold on...Archie said he was about to get swallowed up by a big wave before coming here," Aubrey remembered. "Van, did Maxie say anything of the sort?"

"Maxie said he was about to be swallowed by a fissure," Vanessa answered.

"...Ah!" Key flinched in realization once she pieced it together.

"What is it?" Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Giovanni pulled these villains from worlds where they won, right?" The merchant explained. "But if what they said was true...wouldn't that mean all the villains were about to die before they were brought here to Alola?"

"...Oh my." Vanessa blinked.

"So if we banish them from Alola, we're essentially sending all of them back to their deaths?" Gladion asked.

"Considering the gravity of what they wrought and the fact it's an alternate plane of existence like the Ultra Beast realms...that's the least of their worries. They deserve it." Jake frowned.

"It's pretty messed up...but yeah." The blonde boy nodded as the front doors would open, but their guards would drop once they saw who it was, and a score of defeated Rainbow Rocket grunts in his wake.

"Guzma?! Is that you?" Vanessa exclaimed in surprise.

Guzma definitely looked different from when they last saw him. His sunglasses weren't asymmetrical in shape, his Team Skull logos were gone, and the jacket had a red X over the Team Skull logo.

"The hated boss that beats you down and beats you down and never lets up...yeah! Big good Guzma is here!" Guzma confirmed.

"Lemme guess, you smashed through reinforcements?" Aubrey guessed.

"You betcha! I heard from Gladion that some crazy nonsense happened around Alola and this castle appeared right behind Lusamine's turf. Knowing she's in danger and that they might try to rain on Team Skull's parade of redemption, I had to step up!" Guzma stated his resolve.

"Yeah, I'm glad you got here when you did," Gladion responded with a smile. "It's weird seeing us work together again, but not as Team Skull..."

"Lillie is with Hau in her room, in case you were wondering. Izzy and Finn were standing guard in case any push from the grunts came in here," Key explained to the big good. "I soon joined them once I got my breath back, because I had smashed through my fair share of baddies to get us in here in the first place."

"Well, we had a few odd ones here and there, but..." Finn looked out the door again. "I think I know where the rest of them went."

"Say the word and I'll start trading fists!" Guzma grinned.

"Sadly we couldn't get all of them, I believe. But we can still take what is left!" Isabella had a renewed strength as she looked ready to keep going.

"Then you can help us out here, Guzma!" Key smiled, twirling her mallets as she put them back in her bag for the time being, standing over two unconscious grunts that she clearly dealt with, judging on their injuries. "By the way, these two mentioned something interesting. Before we can get past the lock on the mirror, we need to push a switch and get a card key. I take it the two wings you opened up hold them."

"Yeah, they were very forthcoming with that information," Finn deadpanned. "Thankfully Key wasn't as fast as Izzy when it comes to knocking out baddies."

It was around this time Archie and Maxie would join them in the foyer, and they were...none too happy to see each other.

"You better hurry, little tykes, or what you're looking for will be gone forever!" Archie taunted.

"Well, if it isn't the big buffoon Archie himself!" Maxie exclaimed.

"Hey, careful who you call names, Maxie! I remember you cowering in fear like a little girl when I beat you!" Archie snapped back.

"Hmm, I have a different recollection of you throwing a childish temper tantrum when I beat you," Maxie retorted. "No matter what world we're in, I will not lose to the likes of you."

Isabella sweatdropped. "Oh joy…"

"Yeah, I am with you on that." Vanessa shared her sentiments.

"Dude, these wafer-thin wimps were winners? Looking more like squabbling schoolkids to me." Guzma snickered.

"Sadly in their respective worlds, they were." Finn shook his head, determining these two were from their own separate Hoenns.

Archie and Maxie clearly weren't interested in the group. "Ooh, you want me to prove it to you, then?" The Team Aqua leader boasted. "Well c'mon! Let's settle this right here, right now!"

Before they got the chance to, they were suddenly...banished. Everyone started looking around for the source before another familiar face revealed himself.

"Colress!?" Aubrey exclaimed. "The heck are you- how did you get in here!?"

"I'm going to go with 'a cloaking device'," Vanessa wagered.

Colress nodded. "That's right."

One round of introductions later...

"I see, so that's what we're dealing with then," Colress noted. "No wonder I had sensed abnormal presences in this world. Now I know why. If you can defeat them, I should be able to send them back to their respective worlds."

"Well that's good." The Galarian smiled.

"Yeah." Vanessa let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried we would have to take care of that on our own with Nebby."

"Thanks for coming to our aid. Thanks to your insights we were able to change a lot of things for the better in Alola. We're going to need you for this expedition too from the looks of it. Can you find Lusamine?" Jake asked.

"I can safely confirm to you that Lusamine is still within the facility here," Colress answered. "She is held in the secret laboratory that Giovanni is no doubt using for his own nefarious purposes. As for other major figures...there are still three more, not counting Giovanni. Those being Cyrus of Sinnoh, Lysandre of Kalos, and Ghetsis of Unova." Colress sounded really unhappy at the last name.

"Let me guess. You finally want to get a word on that waste of space Ghetsis?" Vanessa asked.

"Got it in one," The scientist simply responded. "I have a history with that man, and I simply despise him. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Fair enough...Cyrus though...if I find him controlling Lord Dialga or Lord Palkia…" The Sinnoh native's eye twitched. "I think I'm going to blow a gasket."

"And Lysandre...genocidal douche. He won't get any mercy from me!" Jake declared.

Colress frowned. "Well, normally speaking, you two have a 50% chance of facing them pressing forward. However, with some quick calculations, I'm afraid your chances of facing the ones you hate are significantly high."

"Van, after this...you and me, time to ourselves, and destress," Aubrey suggested. "I think we'll both need it."

"Agreed, Brey," Vanessa sighed. "Agreed."

Aubrey looked at Finn. "Can I trust you and Izzy to hold things down while Van and I take personal time?"

"Obviously." The mechanic nodded in agreement. "Just don't go looking for work on your paid leave."

"Oh Finn, do not joke with that right now..." Aubrey groaned.

Once their Pokemon were healed courtesy of Lillie, who was doing just fine with Hau, Aubrey, Jake, Vanessa, and Gladion would get ready for another go at the mansion's wings - Aubrey and Jake would take on the northeast wing, leaving Vanessa and Gladion to take on the northwest wing.

As Vanessa and Gladion went into the northwest wing, they'd run into another grunt.

"Your relentless advance stops here!" He shouted, rushing Vanessa with a Fearow.

"Really? A Fearow?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Ranger Chu, please give the bird a nice bolt of Thunder!" Ranger Chu obliged with a Thunderbolt, taking down the Fearow as Gladion judo flipped the grunt going for a kick on Vanessa, slamming him into the ground.

"Alright...let's see what we have for us in this wing." The blonde boy dusted his hands off, walking towards the warp tile.

"Gladly," Vanessa agreed. "By the way, nice throw."

"If you weren't going to do it, I will." Gladion would go through the warp tile with Vanessa, and the ranger would see another familiar sight - spin tile mazes! Oh yeah, and another grunt that sent out a Haunter.

"Not even a single Rattata is getting past me - let alone two!" He boasted.

"Zoroark can handle the Haunter. Put him to sleep, would ya?" The blonde boy called out his Dark-type to deal with the Haunter.

"Got it." Vanessa would let the guy come her way, only to grab his arm mid punch, spin him around, and then kick him face first into a wall from behind. With the grunt put to sleep, Gladion looked at the room before them.

"Now...what are these tiles?" He asked.

"Spin tiles," Vanessa explained. "Basically, you go on them and they start making you spin along a conveyor belt of sorts...you only really stop when you're on normal ground or hit a wall."

"Hmm..." Gladion seemed to have an idea as he looked at the direction of the tiles. "They only start spinning you if you step on them, right?"

"Pretty sure, yes," The ranger responded. Deciding to take a risk, Gladion would take a running start and jump over the spin tile, landing on the other side without spinning out of control! "Oh nice!" She exclaimed.

"You rangers are supposed to be real athletic, right? No doubt you and I can get around these spin tiles like this." Gladion rolled his shoulders as he went for another jump, finding a warp tile to lead them to the next room. "Come on, I'm not going to steal your chances to beat up these grunts!"

"Coming, coming!" Vanessa laughed. Vanessa would follow Gladion's lead, heading into the next room with more warp tiles, and a grunt behind said tiles. He looked in distress.

"I...I need to use the restroom...but these...these arrows..." His legs were crossed, Gladion shaking his head.

"Well, I suppose sparing him from embarrassment would be preferable here," The blonde boy remarked. "Unless you want to be really cruel and...yeah."

"Oh, I'm not THAT cruel," Vanessa defended. With an agreed upon nod, they would get the grunt out of that position to take care of his situation, leaving Vanessa and Gladion free reign to get past the spin tiles at their leisure.

"You'll beat them unconscious but not do that...interesting moral compass you've got there," Gladion commented as he got ready to go to the next room.

"Oh, I'm sure he will just hide in a corner somewhere once he sees how many of his friends are knocked out," Vanessa assured.

Gladion couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Clearly."

After another room of nothing but spin tiles to jump past, they'd get to another set of double doors, with two grunts standing guard.

"All that spinning around must've wore you two out!" The male grunt smirked. "Now, let's have a battle fair and..." He trailed off seeing that they weren't even dizzy or worn out in the slightest, the smirk fading. "W-What...how did you get past the spin tiles unfazed!?"

"They clearly must've cheated!" The female grunt scoffed. "That's so like you!"

"Oh really?" Vanessa paused, realizing that she was right. But she didn't care. "...Actually you're right. We jumped over them."

"Ugh! Dirty, rotten cheaters!" The female grunt slapped Vanessa, the two sending out their Pokemon - a Hypno and an Arbok.

The slap of course, left Vanessa unfazed. "Wow, you hit weaker than the last guy who actually landed a hit." She would wrap an arm around the grunt's neck and start to apply a sleeper hold. "Nighty night!" The male grunt would jump on Vanessa, trying to free his cohort as Gladion would face off with the Pokemon. This attempt would fail, as Vanessa would side step the grunt and drop his already knocked out friend, before knocking him out with a kick to the head.

With both grunts incapacitated, Gladion would push the doors open, just as Vanessa's heart sunk upon seeing who was in there - a yellow G on the floor, a card reader behind the desk, and standing in the center was the leader of Team Galactic, Cyrus - or rather, another world version of Cyrus. She let out a sigh. "I was not looking forward to this."

Cyrus would turn around at Vanessa's voice. "Who are you...?" He asked. "It seems neither of you are members of Team Rainbow Rocket." He folded his arms behind his back. "...My name is Cyrus. I would like to ask you one question. Is this world the new world?"

"New world?" Gladion raised an eyebrow. "It's a new one to you, but probably not in the way you think it is."

"I can sense in you both the strong desire to protect...something. You both have a powerful spirit...that must mean this isn't the world I desired."

"Dead inside, isn't he?" Gladion whispered to Vanessa.

"Very much so…" She whispered back. In a louder voice, she responded to Cyrus, "This is not the world you sought, Cyrus. Not a world without spirit."

"Then...what happened? I used the power of the Pokemon that control time and space to create a perfect world, where the human spirit does not exist. That was when a great shadow engulfed me...and then, I appeared in this world." Cyrus looked confused by this turn of events.

Before Vanessa could get mad, Gladion gripped Vanessa's shoulder firmly. "I know how you feel about this...but there's nothing we can do about that world, Vanessa. We have to cut our losses on that one and focus on keeping this one safe. We still have this one, so we better not let any anger cloud our judgement and cause us to lose this one as well."

"You're right...but still…" Vanessa still had hatred burning in her eyes, as her anger was tame yet very noticeable. "How dare you. How dare you abuse the power of Lord Dialga and Lord Palkia. You deserve whatever Giratina was going to do to you."

"It is too late for that. Far too late," Cyrus responded. "I must remove the weak, incomplete human spirit from this world and bring it to perfection!" Seeing Vanessa readying a Poke Ball to grind him into the dirt, Cyrus stood ready. "How foolish...I will not let anyone stand in my way..." Out came a Houndoom for his first Pokemon!

"I'm going to enjoy this. Come on out, Gyarados!" Vanessa called out the Water/Flying serpent, ready for battle.

Gladion simply stood back, a smirk on his face. "We've got spirit, and we'll use that same spirit to crush you!"

"Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" Cyrus ordered, not giving a retort.

"Gyarados, Waterfall!" Vanessa's Gyarados was able to smash through the Dark Pulse, flooring Houndoom in one go, looking no worse for wear.

"Grr...Honchkrow, take the stage and use Night Slash!" Cyrus shouted, sending out his Honchkrow.

Vanessa was quick to recall Gyarados. "Zippy Zap!" She called out Ranger Chu to cancel out the Night Slash, the Zippy Zap doing incredible damage, but it wasn't enough.

"Heat Wave!" Cyrus ordered.

"Floaty Fall!" Ranger Chu would jump up with his balloons, avoiding the Heat Wave and then dive bomb on the Honchkrow finishing it off.

"Y'know for someone who hates spirit, he sure is showing it trying to stop you," Gladion pointed out as Cyrus sent in his Weavile.

"Freeze it solid with Ice Punch!" Cyrus ordered. Ranger Chu would get hit by this one, but Vanessa was calling him back to send out her Alolan Dugtrio.

"I know!" She exclaimed. "The hypocrite. Iron Head!"

"Ice Punch again, Weavile!" Cyrus was quick to respond as a clash ensued. Sadly for Weavile, his fist got tangled up in Dugtrio's hair, leaving him easy pickings for a finish. Cyrus wasn't ready to call it quits however, as his next Pokemon was a Crobat.

"X-Scissor, and watch the hair!" Team Galactic's leader instructed.

"Rock Slide!" Vanessa responded in kind. Crobat was able to avoid the Rock Slide, striking home with a X-Scissor. "Oh look, you still got tangled up in the hair. Rock Slide again!" The ranger loved Tangling Hair as an ability. No escape for Crobat on this one, leaving Cyrus down to the legendary the two expected him to have. Standing before them now and exerting pressure?

Lord Dialga.

"L-Lord Dialga…" Vanessa breathed.

"I see your spirit is breaking in the presence of Dialga's power." Cyrus smirked. "Use Earth Power!" Sadly that would be it for the valiant Dugtrio, but she had plenty more options. Like Gastrodon.

"Use an Earth Power yourself, Gastrodon!" Vanessa ordered.

"Roar of Time, Dialga!" Cyrus exclaimed.

"Ohhhh no…" Vanessa grimaced, but steeled herself all the same.. Gastrodon would eat the Roar of Time..but he is still up...barely.

This would be enough for Gladion to step in. "Enough of this...Lucario, help us out here and use Aura Sphere! Stay mobile!" Out came Gladion's Lucario, taking over for Vanessa as it landed another super-effective attack. "I can take it from here, Vanessa. I don't care if this Pokemon is worshipped as a god. Won't stop me from standing with you!"

Vanessa smiled, any fears she had subsiding. "Thanks Gladion. Gastrodon, you deserve a good rest." With her resolve stronger than steel, she recalled Gastrodon, sending out Rapidash. "Okay Rapidash! Flare Blitz!"

Cyrus wouldn't be able to stop the two of them, as both Lucario and Rapidash's combined attacks would bring down the lord of time.

"Impressive...your prowess is notable." Cyrus didn't have much else to say after his defeat in terms of standing against the spirit Vanessa and Gladion both possessed. "...Why are you both able to create such strong bonds with your own Pokemon? And how are you able to turn those bonds into strength?"

"Because of the very thing you want to throw away," Vanessa simply responded. This answer struck Cyrus in a poignant way.

"...I see. You need not worry, young lady. I will not do anything to this world. I believe I shall return to the perfect world I created. But before that...take this key." He would hand Vanessa a card key, gesturing to the card key reader in the back of the room.

"Very well." Vanessa took it from Cyrus, but was not happy in the slightest.

As they went to use the card reader, Gladion would point something out to Vanessa to try and make her mood less sour. "Hey. Didn't Cyrus say he was engulfed by a giant shadow before coming here?"

Vanessa smirked once she realized what Gladion was getting at. "Ah, Lord Giratina got him. Hope he enjoys the Distortion World."

"Maybe we can't do anything about that world...well, I don't know what can be done, but I think this Giratina can do something." Gladion took the card key, swiping it to get a successful ping. A gold warp tile lit up for them to head back to the lobby. "C'mon. Let's hope Aubrey and Jake were able to hit that switch."

"Oh, knowing Brey, she is likely punching Lysandre's teeth in for his murder all the Pokemon plot," Vanessa assured him.

"Hopefully her hands aren't broken by the time we deal with Giovanni." With that remark, Vanessa and Gladion went back to the foyer.

In the northeast wing, Jake and Aubrey entered the first room with a female grunt inside.

"One button left. Let's go! We gotta hunt down Team Flare's Fashion Flop." Jake looked ready to go with his healed up Pokemon.

The grunt heard them, surprised at how far they made it. "You got past the first floor? Right, I gotta stop your advance here!" She exclaimed, sending out a Kantoian Muk.

"Take out the Muk, I'll take her out!" Aubrey asked Jake, grappling with the grunt. Jake summoned Totem again who unleashed a Hoennian Psychic attack against the Muk, finishing the battle quickly. Aubrey was able to finish her end of the battle quickly too, going for a double leg takedown on the grunt and slamming her back first into the floor. The mighty slam left her dazed and out of it.

"Alright, wonder what we've got to smash through now..." Aubrey wondered, approaching the warp tile.

"I'm not sure. Kalos seemed to be not particularly inventive in puzzles for their security measures. You could even just say 'Open Sesame' to get access to Team Flare Cafe's secrets." Jake said, rubbing his arm.

"And they really had that as a password?" Aubrey sported a bemused grin.

"They did!" Jake chuckled as they went onto the warp tile.

Aubrey couldn't help but laugh. "No wonder kids are able to beat 'em so easily! Though...Van and I are young adults..."

The next room had two red Meowth statues with green eyes, and a Rainbow Rocket grunt, sending out a Persian.

"I spotted the intruders before the Meowth statues did!" He beamed. "Now I'll boot 'em out before they can!"

"Go right ahead, girl! Knock them senseless." Jake beamed. Aubrey joining the fray never ceased to bore him. While Vatonage was quick to deal with the Persian using Psychic followed by Foul Play, the only booting the grunt got to do was taking boots in the form of two kicks from Aubrey - one to his side, and another to his chin for a swift knockout.

"Heh...never gets old." The ranger then looked at the two statues. "Now...what're we gonna do with these..." Each of the Meowths were facing the warp tile they needed to get to, one to the right and another facing north. There seemed to be buttons on the back of them, but it was unclear what those would do.

"Smash em. We don't have time for the button joke." Jake suggested.

"Heh, you read my mind," Aubrey smiled. "Though, how should we smash them is the real question here."

"From the bottom maybe?" Jake asked.

"Or our Pokemon could smash 'em. Vatonage, try using Shadow Ball on one of them for a Target Clear!" Aubrey requested.

Vatonage barked happily. "Umbre!" He went for the attack, damaging one of the Meowth statues to shut off its green eyes.

"Yes! Go, Durandal!" Jake summoned Durandal. Durandal, the elegant danseur, sent a sweeping kick at the Meowth statue, breaking it the same way Vatonage did.

"As long as we stay out of their field of view when we break them, we should be okay," Aubrey instructed.

The next room had four more Meowth statues that needed breaking, and a grunt who was not happy with what they were doing.

"H-Hey! That's expensive equipment you're breaking!" The grunt objected loudly to Vatonage breaking another Meowth statue.

"I don't give a damn if it costs you a pretty penny. You shouldn't be on this island in the first place!" Jake hissed as Durandal continued to stay low and break another statue. The grunt's Arbok tried to stop Durandal, but a combination of Vatonage's Psychic on the Poison-type and Aubrey laying him out with a flurry of punches upstairs ceased the grunt's interference.

"Alright, sweep and clear this room, Durandal! Then we can move on." Aubrey dusted her hands off.

Durandal nodded and finished the job with efficiency and beauty. "Blaziken!" 'Done and dusted!'

With one more room and two Pokemon clearing targets, they'd be faced with a familiar situation - double doors leading to the bosses, and two grunts standing guard.

"You may have been able to get past the Meowth statues, but you won't get past us!" The male grunt boasted.

Aubrey couldn't help but bust out a deep laugh. "Ha ha ha ha, thinking you can stop me...good one!"

Jake had Durandal fire a Fire Blast at the grunts to scatter them. "Save the comedy for amateur hour." The grunts' Pokemon would have Vatonage and Durandal to deal with, and the grunts had Aubrey to deal with. She'd swing the female grunt into the other one, kicking them towards the wall, only for them to hit the door and open it slightly. No doubt this would get the attention of the one who was waiting inside.

"Who enters?" A booming voice demanded aggressively.

"We do - Area Ranger Aubrey Bradford and her traveling companion Jake Hagguire," Aubrey answered, the doors fully opening to allow them to see who the voice belonged to. Lysandre stood with an ever indomitable stance and gaze, the kind that Jake had seen when he had been arrested in the reports on Kalos articles and videos online.

"So this really is a past villanas convention isn't it? Though it brings me no joy seeing your dastardly face here Lysandre. Did you design a Team Flare fragrance for Giovanni to get admission or something?" Jake taunted.

"I have no quarrel with either of you but if you oppose me and Giovanni's vision for this world, of opening up true beauty that will never fade, don't expect mercy. In Kalos, I strived for the day humans were brought back to square one and stopped abusing and using the Pokemon of which our world is founded on. Compromising nature and the future in the process! Thanks to the Life-Giver, the Legendary Pokemon of Kalos, I fueled the Ultimate Weapon of old and brought everything in Kalos back to its natural origin. It was glorious... and then the light overcame me and I found myself in this new region. Alola." Lysandre explained.

"So your plans were about to get you killed, and then Giovanni snatched you up before they could claim your life," Aubrey deduced. "Just like the others who got pulled here."

Jake looked intensely angry at this. "You bastard...! You have no right to use Aum for your own twisted purposes! Nor did you have any right to decide a region should be bombarded just so you can try to mimic ancestors and rebuild a society that was fine as is!"

It would then dawn on Aubrey what this guy was talking about, her hands tightening into fists once the realization sunk in. "You...you went and killed...all people and Pokemon in your world...?"

"You really show such short-sightedness. Our society was flawed and ruled by the Pokemon League of which saw nothing of the sort. I took matters into my own hands with Team Flare. We became the new architects of the future! We've reached the heights of my bloodline and were set to shape Kalos fully. Free of filth and scum!" Lysandre shook his head.

Jake then sensed Aubrey was a bit more outwardly pissed than he was and as tempting as it was to sic Aubrey on Lysandre, he couldn't let Aubrey waste too much of her energy until they got to Giovanni.

"Peace and tranquility Aubs..." He warned carefully.

"Oh sorry, does filth and scum not include you? Of course it doesn't! You had Professor Sycamore's trust and the love of the people and you repaid them with murder! Nothing more filthy and so full of scumminess than that!" Jake yelled.

"So you say... I hold the blood of the ancestors of Kalos in my veins and I even found the long-lived king AZ and took him captive. I'm a kingslayer and a visionary. Team Flare will reign here as well with Giovanni's help! The world will be born anew!" Lysandre decreed.

"Tch! So what? Peace was never an option with you, dude!" Aubrey shouted, anger in her voice clear as day. "Peace and tranquility won't work with people like this guy, Jake. Only thing that'll get through his thick skull is my fist smashing into it!"

"You know what, go for it. But be careful. I know that he gave the current Kalos Champions one hell of a physical duel." Jake decided that maybe bygones would be bygones in this situation.

"... So you are facing me down head on then after all. Using your Pokemon for violence rather than respecting their needs. I don't intend to go down lightly to anyone of your standing. I am the King of Kalos!" Lysandre growled with the arrogance suited for a villainous victor of his timeline, summoning a Pokem to his side. Vatonage let out a low growl, standing by Aubrey's side and sharing her sentiments.

"So what if you're royalty? You're a real royal pain for causing so much death and destruction. And for what? Purification? People aren't born evil, it's taught. You can't go claiming that you're better than those you're wiping out by doing that. It's stooping WAY below their level!" Aubrey's eyebrows were furrowed. If looks could kill, she'd be classified as a deadly weapon. "And the Pokemon didn't do anything wrong, yet you treated them the same as what you hate! You don't care about anyone but yourself!"

Lysandre's Pyroar stood at attention, roaring back at them. Lysandre just gave a calm smile at them. "The Pokemon who suffered because of the fate of Kalos will be honored in memory once I shape the new Kalos. You'd surely want the same if your Pokemon had gone through a lifetime of being used against their will."

Jake summoned Umineko at his side. "Well then, this should be quick. No one's going to honor your memory there just as you did when you lost in this timeline!" Lysandre flinched, looking as though in disbelief at that prospect of him losing.

Aubrey closed her eyes for only a moment. "...Thing is, my Pokemon never came with me against their will. Every single one of them wanted to come along on my island trials. Even Vatonage here, who was born from an egg, wanted to come along with me. Pokemon aren't tools to me. They never were. And if I have to kick the crap out of you to show that to you...then so be it!" She opened her eyes again, all raring to go for a fight.

Lysandre shook his head again. "Disappointing result. I refuse to let my vision of an unspoiled world falter! You can try to defeat me, but such a tawdry allegiance won't last against me!" His Pyroar Snarled at Umineko, sending a dark wave at the Pelican Pokemon but Pelipper drowned it with a Surf that also slammed into Pyroar, knocking it out.

"I'll take that chance!" Aubrey was quick to rush at Lysandre, launching forward with a swift kick. Vatonage meanwhile, stood by Jake's side, a smile on his face. Lysandre caught the kick with almost a tired looking expression before swinging his other fist at Aubrey. Aubrey raised up her arms to block the strikes, working to try and push Lysandre back.

He then summoned Honchkrow, who dazed Umineko with a Psychic attack, leaving the Pokemon's special defense lowered. Jake rolled his eyes and summoned Morality to the fray, catching Lysandre's eye. "The Mythic Gem Pokemon...? An oddity such a radiant being would align with someone like you."

"Trust me, I had to wait a while to get them but I've treated them like an actual living being... unlike you!" Jake snarled and Mega Evolved Diancie. Seeing Lysandre's attention on Diancie, Aubrey took this opportunity to push her foot in the air forward to kick him back. Lysandre took the kick but with impressive footing and strength, recovered long enough to shoulder charge into her and knock her to the ground.

Honchkrow attempted to use Psychic on Mega Morality, but Morality avoided eye contact with the Dark/Flying Pokemon long enough to crush them under a surge of Diamond rocks.

The ranger tumbled back, but quickly regained her footing as she got back up. Her anger was still there, but a smile was present on her face from the fact this fight was now just getting good.

"Smiling? Huh...you must be the kind of person who'd love to fight in war." Lysandre said, half-sincerely and half-tauntingly. Lysandre looked unnerved by the fact two of his Pokemon went down quickly and growled. "But you, using Mega Evolution in my presence?! You'll learn who really has the right to such a gift!" He summoned a Gyradoes and Mega Evolved it right away.

"Yikes...Van's pride and joy...!" Jake and Morality looked a bit nervous at the sight of the infamously strong Pokemon.

"Umbre, umb umbre," Vatonage spoke to Jake, hopping up and down to try and tell Jake something.

"What's up Vatonage?" Jaked asked as Morality narrowly dodged a swervin Waterfall from Gyradoes.

"Bree, umbre umb! Umbre umbre!" Vatonage was trying to tell Jake that Mega Gyarados shared a typing with him.

"Only thing I love is fighting one on one, not in wars!" Aubrey responded, quickly flicking out stiff punches towards Team Flare's leader.

Lysandre grunted as he took several of Aubrey's punches head on, clearly not anticipating this level of aim and ferocity. He tried to retaliate with an uppercut. He'd trade with Aubrey, both striking each other with an uppercut square on the chin!

"Dark... Oh right of course!" Jake beamed. "Morality, Moonblast that effer into space!" Morality nodded and channeled all celestial and divine powers into a plummeting Moonblast that collided with Mega Gyrados, sending it crying out in pain and plummeting to the ground.

Lysandre looked irritated. "Why would a Ranger need to use physical violence if they weren't being physically domineering towards the own Pokemon they wanted to protect?! Did you learn to try to fix this world on your own power?! It won't work! I tried all this time passively but it wasn't working! I had to form Team Flare! I had to purify Kalos!"

"Not everyone's gonna change their ways through a Pokemon battle alone. I always believed that, and that's what I'm showing here," Aubrey simply responded, comboing a leg kick into a body punch.

Mega Gyrados struggled to get up, trying desperately to serve their king with honor and determination. It unleashed a devastating Waterfall that collided with Morality and brought them to the brink of defeat while Morality managed to finish it off with a Moonblast. Though after the damage was done, Morality passed out, sending both Megas thudding to the ground softly.

"An even trade..." Jake said in a tepid fashion.

Lysandre bellowed with a prideful laughter before aiming a few sharp kicks at Aubrey after taking the strikes. Even though he was certainly looking hurt, he was still looking determined.

"That's right! They have to change through force!" He shouted as he summoned a Mienshao who stood poised and pretty in the fray. Jake summoned Umineko again who was still remaining jovial and fierce. Umineko would quickly down Mienshao with a mighty Hurricane that knocked them into the wall.

"That's where you're wrong and continue to remain wrong!" Jake retorted.

After soaking several of Lysandre's kicks, she caught one of them between her arm and torso. "But even then, you can't just only use force. Sometimes you gotta use the kid gloves. Can't say the same for you." She popped him square in the face with a counter straight.

Lysandre groaned and soon fell onto his back once Aubrey let go. "D-damn it...! Don't you dare bring me to the level of a kid! Still, I have one last weapon up my sleeve! Come forth! Xerneas!" Aubrey and Jake looked stunned as the magnificent Fairy-Type appeared but, based on their melancholy expression, they were not happy.

"Not you..." Jake whimpered sadly as he looked at the pity behind their eyes at having to serve a region ruiner and destroy its home.

"Pellll..." Umineko also looked distraught.

"Umbre..." Vatonage whimpered.

"Geomancy!" Lysandre demanded Xerneas to fight. Xerneas however seemed resistant and heartbroken even as it channeled a mysterious and magical power to itself. Jake reluctantly returned Umineko and summoned Cetrion who also seemed to pity the poor Legendary and frowned deeply at the circumstances.

"It's not right having to fight you here...to fight you now..." Jake sadly muttered.

"It's not right having to see and live in a world destined for ruin! Once there's nothing left in Kalos, everything will be fought over. I did the natural solution!" Lysandre bragged as he picked himself up and got Aubrey in a stranglehold. Aubrey certainly fought against this, gritting her teeth as she did what she could to keep him from having full control.

"Grrr..."

"Umbre!" Vatonage cried out in alarm.

"V-Vatonage!" Aubrey got out. "Do something!"

The Umbreon only needed to hear the word, using Psychic to weaken Lysandre's grip on his partner. Xerneas reluctantly saw that it was allowed to choose their next move, so as Geomany's benefits flowed into them, it sent a powerful Psyshock flying Cetrion's way. Cetrion gracefully dodged before spewing Toxic onto the Xerneas to poison it.

Lysandre hissed as he felt his fingers get twisted painfully by Umbreon and a painful snap was heard. He slet Aubrey go and snarled in anger. "How dareeeeeeee..?!"

"Umb umb umbre!" Vatonage angrily barked at Lysandre.

Aubrey rubbed her neck, smiling at her Pokemon. "Thanks for the save, little buddy."

"Serves you right Lys! Aum...forgive me." Jake closed his eyes solemnly as he had Cetrion send a powerful Venoshock in powerful thorny tendrils, slamming into Xerneas and making the Legendary cry out in pain but also in slight relief. It would soon crouch onto his knees and bow its head solemnly.

"Why do... you not fighttttt...?!" Lysandre hissed as he clutched his hand with two newly broken fingers. "How can you choose humanity over your own kind?! I will free Kalos from strife and make a paradise for Team Flare and for Pokemon!"

Xerneas though looked insulted, angered. What Lysandre was trying to do, to justify himself of genocide, enraged it. It tried to preserve and protect Kalos for years then, now, and for the future. It was all gone now and it would not stand for it if it could. If their fate was to be imprisoned by Lysandre, it would rebel every step of the way. So with a relentless charge, it blasted Lysandre with a Moonblast, slamming them into the wall.

"UGGGGOWOOHHHHHHHHHHHH...!" Lysandre shouted in pain and agony as part of his outfit had been burned and part of his hair too from the intense blast.

Aubrey's anger snapped out of it, seeing what just happened. "Oh my Arceus..." She breathed. "Well...that happened." Cetrion crossed her arms in a self-hug, and muttered a small prayer towards Xerneas.

"Umbreeee!" Vatonage happily ran over to Aubrey, jumping up to hug her and lick her face.

"Heh heh, thanks little buddy. Couldn't have done that without you." Aubrey patted her Umbreon's head, seeing his smile made her feel better about the situation.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up Vatonage!" Jake grinned. He then looked to Aubrey and looked relieved she didn't seem as butt-whooped as she had up against Plumeria. "Good fight yourself."

"Heh, made me work for it," Aubrey mused. "So uh...where's that switch?"

Lysandre grunted in frustration and in pain. Even though he had won once, now he felt as though he had succumbed to a disgraceful defeat.

"Curses...how can you continue to let this world's twisted ideology of consumption and exploitation linger...? Team Flare's goal is pure and triumphant...t-there's no way...you wouldn't want to be in a world like the one we crafted...!"

"Only ideology I see twisted here is yours, man," Aubrey responded, flipping her hair as she went into the office to see two switches - one blue, one red. "Uhhhhhh...well...that's a problem."

"Ever redundant aren't you? You pulled the same scam on the others in Kalos to get your Ultimate Weapon unveiled through your scientist fella." Jake sneered at Lysandre.

"Fate is as destined as a historic lineage." Lysandre said with a small, weak smile.

"Umbre?" Vatonage tilted his head to the side in confusion. Aubrey paused for a moment before having an idea.

"Say...what would happen if we pushed 'em both at the same time?" The ranger suggested. "One of 'em's gotta be the right one to push, since Key didn't mention there'd be colored switches..." She would approach the blue switch as Jake did the same. "On three, on your go?"

"Mmhmm! 1, 2, 3, voila!" Jake pressed the button, timed in perfect unison with Aubrey. As they pushed the switches in sync with each other, a gold warp tile would activate in the room, signaling they did the right thing.

"Yes!" Aubrey cheered. "Now c'mon, let's not keep Van and the others waiting. Time to end this with Giovanni for good!"

"Humph. Try as you might. He's the king of Alola whereas I am the King of Kalos. I don't see how you can destroy a vision as strong as his." Lysandre propelled conversation calmly.

"...It's going to be destroyed for good reasons unlike what you destroyed in your world. So shut up already." Jake coldly spat back at Team Flare's boss.

When they went through the warp tile, they'd meet up with Vanessa and Gladion back in the foyer.

"You two flipped the switch?" Gladion asked.

"Sure did!" Aubrey reported, her few bruises being visible to Vanessa, but didn't bother her. "You two got the card key?"

"Yeah...A bit tired out after that one…" Vanessa panted.

"We can take it from here, Van!" Key smiled.

"So did you end up dealing with Cyrus, partner?" Aubrey asked, Vatonage hopping out of her arms and wagging his tail.

"Yeah...I had to fight Lord Dialga..." Vanessa sighed.

"Ours wasn't very pretty either. Xerneas was in despair from what Lysandre made it do... Aubrey did manage to knock the king flat on his butt though." Jake shared their details.

Aubrey would bring Vanessa in for a hug. "It's gonna be alright...just got Giovanni left, and our mission here is complete," She reassured her, patting her on the back. "Thanks for going with her, Gladion."

"Don't mention it," The blonde boy responded.

It would be then the whole group heard a shriek coming from the bedroom - Lillie's voice!

"That cannot be good..." Finn grimaced.

"Well what're we waiting for?" Aubrey was quick to rush in there first, followed by everyone to see a very horrifying sight - the last of the rogue's gallery that Giovanni had rounded up, Ghetsis, was standing there holding Lillie by her throat, and behind him was a beaten up Hau, who was partially conscious, but still very much alive.

"Well now, what have we here? More intruders running around the castle?" Ghetsis wondered. "It seems those team leaders from other worlds were nowhere near as capable as I had hoped."

"...Oh right, this waste of space." Vanessa groaned, glaring daggers at Ghetsis.

"Daddy dearest...what the hell did you do to them?!" Jake flared up angrily.

"I had come to see why the mirror blocking the way to Giovanni was open, and here I see these two interlopers just sitting around like they owned the place," Ghetsis explained. "This young whelp challenged me to a battle, but couldn't beat me!"

"T-That's wrong!" Lillie got out. "You lost to Hau...a-and then...you tried to hurt us! B-But...but Hau stepped in to protect me!"

"You unhand my sister right now, or so help me-!" Gladion shouted, but Ghetsis cracked a smirk.

"Ah ha ha ha ha! Oh, humans are far easier to predict than a freak with a human heart!" The villainous tyrant laughed, unaware of what Key was doing behind the crowd. She was lining up a mallet throw on him, waiting for just the right moment to let it fly. "It wouldn't do at all to have you get in the way of the man I wish to install as king, consolidating all the power by separating people from Pokemon!"

"Let her go now, Ghetsis. It's many of us against only you," Finn ordered, his fury being more greatly irritated in a lowkey fashion.

"Ah ah ah...I'll let her go. But first, all of you. Drop your Poke Balls on the floor this instant. If I see any of you make a single move of heroics...the girl gets it," Ghetsis demanded. "What'll it be?"

"Tch...If you insist..." Jake let go of his Poke balls, and even returned Cetrion into her own ball in order to prove this.

"And how do I know you're gonna release her?" Aubrey demanded, Vatonage angrily barking at him.

"Do you value her life, missy? You best do as I say!" Ghetsis responded, his grip on Lillie tightening.

"Mmmph! A-Aubrey, brother...please...!" Lillie cried.

'...Dammit! What are we supposed to do? He's got eyes on all of us, no way we can do anything on the sly...' Aubrey thought to herself. That all changed when a rubber mallet flew between her and Isabella's heads, nailing Ghetsis square in the face as he cried out, the projectile shattering his monocle.

"GYAHHHHHH! MY EYE!" He screamed, releasing Lillie from his grasp as she ran over to the rangers.

"You will do no such thing to that young lady!" Key shouted. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Key!" Jake gasped in surprise.

Ghetsis hissed at this intervention, scrambling to his feet. "Y-You whelp..." He got out at the merchant, who was now standing protectively in front of Hau, no doubt stopping him from trying to use him as leverage.

"Oooogh...thanks, Key..." Hau said, slowly trying to get to his feet. The black eye and bloody nose on his face and bruises on his arms told a story that he was Lillie's shield in that moment he needed her most.

It would take a second for everyone else to register what had happened, but once they did...

"What're we standing around for? GET HIM!" Guzma yelled, as the leader of Team Plasma was now besieged by an angry mob of those who were there.

"Oh this is going to do WONDERS for my stress today!" Vanessa exclaimed, diving in as she had the wind completely back in her sails for this.

"Have at it girls. His face has always been hugely punchable." Jake went over to Key, who had motioned for him and Lillie to come to Hau's aid.

"That was probably the single hardest shot I've ever had to land in my life. Had to get him from an angle he couldn't see me and not hit any of you," She said, getting a medkit out from her bag.

"You pulled it off brilliantly though. You did the best you could against such an egomaniac, Hau. Don't feel too down about this." Jake complimented Key before reassuring Hau.

Even if he himself was injured, Jake could see that Ghetsis had failed to injure Hau's optimism, as he sported a smile while Key got to work treating his injuries. "Ah shucks...it was the least I could do for Lillie. That weirdo came out from behind the mirror and tried to do...well, y'know."

"Take us hostage. But Hau stood against him and trounced his team. He even had a Zekrom too!" Lillie added. "And then...you protected me from him, Hau. That was so brave..." She smiled, hugging her hero as tears escaped her eyes. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"For a friend...I'll do whatever I need to." Hau returned the hug, patting her back with a chuckle.

By the time the others were done with Ghetsis, the tyrant was barely clinging to consciousness when Colress casually strolled in.

"Ah, I was wondering when I should have stepped in," The scientist mused. "But I see you've all done that for me. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't satisfying to watch."

"Cyrus and Lysandre gone?" Vanessa asked.

"They will be soon. Right now, I imagine they're sharing some parting words with each other," Colress answered. Ghetsis looked up at Colress with his good eye, seeing an angry smile on the scientist's mug as he banished him back to his own world.

"The nerve...I feel so insulted by losing like this...damn it all." Lysandre vented angrily in the hall to Cyrus. "I only ever wanted to save Kalos from self-destruction...how can I be such a pariah for following my gut?"

"That same human spirit is what brings many men to ruin..." Cyrus responded. "And yet, the same spirit that tears down so many can build others up. But I must ask...I seeked to create a new world, you wished to wipe the slate clean. Why?"

"Starting anew...? That's not..." Lysandre grimaced. "Even if I was to create another rule, the same lesson would have to be learnt by the people that I was trying to teach. No world is a utopia. Humanity and Pokemon hold the responsibility to preserve the beauty granted to us by the creators of the universe with their own natures and abilities. When one side takes over the decision-making and thinks they know best, wars and inevitable overconsumption will wreak havoc and the beauty is lost. I had to make certain...Team Flare would be the guides of the future. Furthermore, why sacrifice my world eternal for a new one when I loved the world I was in so much?"

"I saw this world as beyond redemption," Team Galactic's leader responded. "For those same reasons, the wars, others thinking they know what's best, and all the conflicts over material possessions, that's why I went the route I did. You saw the fault in others like I did, but instead of starting anew, you simply sought to keep this 'beauty' as you call it for yourself and for Team Flare. Am I wrong?"

"...It was my birthright, yes, as a king's descendant to not let his kingdom fall to ruin." Lysandre nodded grimly.

"That's where we differ...even if we share ideas," Cyrus continued. "You saw something worth saving with that spirit of yours. Me...I wished to bring others with me in my perfect world too, to experience what I had fought for. Such perfection shouldn't be discriminatory."

"That statement marks the crossroads of our ideologies. Though I can't deny such a perfect, flawless world...would be the dream of the people and cherished by all. If only we could see to it that such worlds prosper." Lysandre said with a rare softness usually reserved to those he was on good terms with. Cyrus could only nod in agreement - it was rare for him to find someone that shared his sentiments, even for the short time he knew this man.

Back inside the bedroom, the group stood in front of the warp tile that would lead them to the innermost lab. Key had finished giving Hau first aid, both mallets in hand.

"Alright...once we go in there, we either bring Giovanni out in cuffs...or things are gonna get a lot more sucky for this world," Aubrey told the group. "Are we all ready to face down our toughest foe yet?"

"Toughest foe? Nahhhhhhh. Maybe like, the third toughest. I'm ready to bring Alola's troubles to a close once and for all!" Jake showed no fear, only confidence.

"Then who was second toughest and toughest for you?" Finn asked. He too was ready to go.

"Oh good question, mate!" Isabella exclaimed.

"Obviously Necrozma. You try conquering your fears in the equivalent of a gothic noir wonderland to save Alola's Legendary Pokemon of the Sun." Jake responded matter-of-factly.

"I say we stop wasting time and bust this guy's head!" Guzma spoke up. "These punks messed with something dear to me...and we've gotta boot 'em out."

"Couldn't agree more." Gladion would lead the group into the innermost lab, and it too was changed by Rainbow Rocket's influence. Standing at the terminal was none other than Giovanni himself, a tied up Lusamine and Wicke nearby.

"Mother!" The siblings shouted. Lusamine slowly lifted up her head to see her children and their entourage having come to their rescue.

"Lillie...Gladion..." She muttered, a soft, warm smile coming to her face.

"You came!" Wicke cried out in joy. Giovanni only had a smirk.

"Well, well...I was told of intruders, but I didn't think there would be this many of you." Giovanni turned to face them, eyeing Vanessa. "But I did expect you to be among them, Vanessa. Long time no see."

"Considering the last time we met, I beat you in Cerulean Cave," Vanessa responded. "Then you threw the Earth Badge at me after I stopped you from getting Mewtwo. I was hoping it would be longer."

Giovanni laughed. "Ever the feisty one, are we?" He folded his arms. "I had let the other bosses do as they please, hoping they would be of use...but it seems you've defeated all of them. I'm impressed that you and your posse even got here in the first place."

""It's natural when our main target is someone like you!" Jake pointed at Giovanni.

"Well you have four rangers, a champion, a very determined merchant, two former evil team leaders, and two rather accomplished Trainers in their own right. I'm surprised you're impressed," Vanessa retorted.

"So...you're Team Rainbow Rocket's-" Lillie would get cut off by the big man himself at Jake and Vanessa's retorts.

"Considering the scope of my plans, that's why I was impressed," He responded. "Originally it was to use all the Pokemon to control the world. But I have a bigger, better organization - Team Rainbow Rocket! And as you know, I, Giovanni, am its leader!"

"Better? Yeah, try telling that to all the morons who can't even make me or Van flinch," Aubrey responded, arms folded as Lusamine's kids ran over to their mother and Wicke.

"I had planned to use the power of the Ultra Beast to make them sleep...but your arrival has postponed that," Giovanni continued. "They were to be loyal servants to my will. But now..." He sported a wicked grin. "All of you will suffice."

"Fat. Chance." Key gripped her mallets tightly, ready for the fight that was about to ensue.

"This guy seems plenny strong...you sure we can all take him?" Hau asked.

"He's right at the top of our Most Wanted list...but with all of us together, we can take him no problem!" Aubrey exclaimed.

"Yeah, let's put this smoke out at the source! Ain't no way, I'm letting this villain get a foothold in our home!" Guzma exclaimed.

"We got this. There is no way he can take on all of us," Isabella rolled her shoulders, ready for a final brawl.

"I'm finishing what we started in Kanto, Giovanni. When this is over you're going behind bars," Vanessa promised, hand on Poke Ball.

"You had a big plan but like any true devious mastermind, you made one fatal mistake! Thinking you wouldn't meet opposition. Time for you and your rainbow to disperse!" Jake gave his own catchy phrase before battle.

"So begins the slaughter..." Giovanni tossed a Master Ball in hand. "Dugtrio, Sandstorm!" He called a Dugtrio out to whip up a vicious sandstorm, looking to startle the group. They stood strong however, as Aubrey gave an order to Lillie and Gladion.

"Lillie, Gladon! Get your mother and Wicke to safety! This is gonna get ugly real quick..." She shouted over the sandstorm.

"Right! C'mon!" Gladion would take Lusamine in his arms out of the lab as Wicke took Lillie's hand, the four getting out of there as the battle was now underway.

Vanessa sent out her Clefable. "Let's get this started."

"Stealth Rock, Dugtrio!" Giovanni ordered after seeing Key's advance on him. He was more than ready to fight her while battling Vanessa, his Dugtrio sending out pointed spikes as a trap for both Vanessa's Pokemon and the others to keep them from interfering in his fight with the merchant.

"Careful there! You know how annoying those dang boulders are!" Jake warned.

"Reflect!" Vanessa ordered. With the wall of light up, Giovanni would call for an Earthquake, blocking and deflecting Key's mallet swings all the while. "Ice Beam!" Vanessa followed it up with a successful Ice Beam after Clefable took the Earthquake, Sand Veil not being enough to save Dugtrio from going down.

"Vatonage, we need a Target Clear! Psychic on those Stealth Rocks!" Aubrey instructed.

"Umbre!" With a happy bark, Vatonage would fight through the sandstorm to telekinetically grab hold of the Stealth Rock, flinging them at Giovanni. The big bad would be able to dodge them after striking Key in the face with an elbow.

"Hmph. Nidoking!" Giovanni called out his next Pokemon, one of the two Poison/Ground Nidos from Kanto. "Use Poison Jab before it can switch!"

Seeing that she wasn't going to get a switch-in for free, Vanessa shouted, "Light Screen!" With its last Move it gets off a Light Screen before going down. "Gastrodon, it's on you! Scald!"

"Intercept it with Aqua Tail!" Giovanni instructed, his Nidoking going for an Aqua Tail to intercept the Scald.

Key would finally get the first hit on Giovanni, smashing into his shoulder with a mallet strike, causing him to stagger back. He was quick to regain his footing as he forced her on the defensive.

"Earth Power before he can recover!" Vanessa quickly ordered. While the Earth Power certainly did its job, Giovanni wouldn't mind it much as he cracked Key in the face with another elbow, then kicked her back to the others, leaving the merchant writhing in pain as she held her side.

"A-Aaagggghhh..." Key groaned.

"Key!" Aubrey cried as she and Finn raced to her side.

"Heh, only a setback..." Giovanni smirked as he recalled Nidoking.

"That tears it! I'm going to whoop you and give you ALL the setbacks!" Jake growled as he stepped forward, ready to defend Key's honor and pride.

Giovanni could only laugh as he called out a Nidoqueen next. "Ha! And what could you possibly do to stand against me in a fight, boy?"

"Where's it hurting most?" Finn asked, going to help Key up to her feet.

"My rib...he definitely cracked it for sure..." Key answered, wincing from pain.

"Van, some help here?" Aubrey called.

"Jake, you mind taking over the battle?" Vanessa requested, seeing her medic duties were required for their merchant friend.

Jake nodded sharply at Vanessa's words. "Obviously use my Pokemon against yours!" Jake beckoned Umineko to the fight. The Pelipper looked spirited and determined to aid in this final confrontation. With this, Vanessa would rush over to Key and give her a quick examination.

"...Oh yeah, definitely a cracked rib," She grimaced.

"I would try fighting through it...but Arceus, it hurts real bad..." Key responded. "One of you please pummel him good, in my stead."

"That is being taken care of, you do not have to worry about that," Vanessa assured her, getting to work on giving her first aid treatment now that the sandstorm had subsided.

"Surf, Umineko!" Jake had Umineko send the furious tide of the sea flying at Nidoqueen.

"Wash it back with a Sludge Wave, Nidoqueen!" Giovanni ordered as a counter. Both waves crashed into each other, their force cancelling each other out.

"Tch! Aubrey, 2v1 tactics on the double!" Jake had Pelipper go for the same attack.

"I'm here for you, Jake!" Aubrey exclaimed, now being the one to face Giovanni personally.

"Go get him, Miss Ranger!" Key cheered, before wincing from pain again. "Owowowow..."

The Nidoqueen was at a stalemate with Umineko, as the Pelipper couldn't get a hit in against the Sludge Wave. With Giovanni now fighting Aubrey hand to hand, Jake would have to try something unique to get this Nidoqueen down.

"Wait a minute...I know...! I haven't used one of these yet and it's definitely time!" Jake grinned as he knew what this called for...a Z-MOVE!

Giovanni would glance over at what Jake was doing, allowing Aubrey to get a swift straight in on the momentarily distracted Rainbow Rocket boss. It didn't faze him as badly as Aubrey hoped, eating a punch of her own but took it like a champion.

With flowing arm motions mimicking that of a hula dancer, Jake channeled Z-power into Umineko as he was ready to unleash a mighty Z-Move against Nidoqueen! Hydro Vortex! As if willed by magic, both Umineko and Nidoqueen were suddenly submerged underwater, a strange matter change forced by Umineko's power. While under the depths, Umineko unleashed a full force pulse of water that made direct contact with Nidoqueen and suddenly unleashed even more aquatic armageddon. A furious whirlpool turned into a watery tempest that surrounded and butchered the Poison/Ground-type and with a final climactic splash, the water dispersed and Nidoqueen found herself downed for the count.

"So that's a Z-Move...impressive," Finn mused from the sidelines as Vanessa finished her treatment. Key was still out of this fight, but for the time being, her pain had died down.

"Just like that...ah, they're fighting almost like they're partners. Just like you and her, Vanessa," Key mused.

"Yeah." Vanessa chuckled.

"Betcha you're jealous you couldn't find an adequate Z-Crystal during your timeline warping huh Gio?" Jake taunted.

Giovanni only cracked a smile as he started to grapple with Aubrey. "Heh, I've got my own power you'll see soon enough!" He pushed Aubrey back to send out a Rhyperior. "Rhyperior, Stone Edge now!" He was able to get this command out before Aubrey tackled him to the ground, now trying to wrestle for control over the big bad boss. It was around this time the Reflect had worn off, the Light Screen still active for the moment.

Umineko, with swift movements and evasiveness was able to dodge the sudden flurry of boulders and retaliated with a Surf against Rhyperior. The Surf would make it mark, Rhyperior going down, but not before landing a parting shot on the Pelipper with one more Stone Edge.

At this point, Aubrey was kicked off Giovanni, slowly getting up as Giovanni dusted himself off.

"It's been a long time since I felt backed into a corner...tell me. Recognize this one?" It was then the head of Rainbow Rocket sent out a very familiar face to the others.

"M-Mewtwo...but how!?" Aubrey exclaimed in shock.

"I had been waiting around Cerulean Cave after this meddlesome ranger had left. It was only a matter of time before he returned and we had our battle," Giovanni explained. "Didja miss it?"

"Darn it!" Vanessa would send out Gyarados to Mega Evolve. "Gyarados, help Jake out!"

Umineko looked dazed as it recovered it's footing steadily, only to find a Stone Edge aimed directly at its face by an aggressive Mewto. It blasted Umineko and sent them to unconsciousness.

"Shoot! Oh well... there's someone DYING to meet you Mewtwo! Ahotohollan, come forth!" Jake returned Umineko and summoned, to Aubrey's surprise, his own Froslass!

"Woah...you got your own Froslass!" Aubrey smiled, trying to get back into the fight with Giovanni. He would grab her, throwing her into the computer terminal with a thud.

"Okay, we have GOT to use all our effort to bring that guy down." Finn had enough, readying his staff. "C'mon, we gotta help Brey!"

"Heh, you kids think you're the only ones with Mega Evolution?" Giovanni cracked a wicked smirk as he himself wielded the power of Mega Evolution on Mewtwo as it took on a more powerful form - Mega Mewtwo X. "Drain Punch on that meddling Gyarados, Mewtwo!"

"Mmhmm! Had her for a long time! She was also great at cinching championships like yours was! Froslass, Shadow Ball!" Froslass floated gently and sent a Shadow Ball hurtling towards Mega Mewtwo while it's attention was focused on Gyarados.

"Umbre umbre!" Vatonage pawed at Jake's leg, eager to join the battle as Gyarados took a mighty blow from Mewtwo, his eyes glimmering with a chance to help against this mighty opponent.

"Coming your way, Finn!" Isabella called, rushing with him.

"Gyrados, get in as many Crunches as you can!" Vanessa ordered as she rushed over to Aubrey.

Jake laughed. "Well I may not be your trainer Vatonage but you've never let me down and we've known each other long enough. Go all out on that sorry excuse for a real Mewtwo messiah!" Jake gave Vatonage his permission. With a happy bark, Vatonage stood beside Ahtohollan, eager to fight. Gyarados was only able to get off one Crunch before it was taken down with a Drain Punch.

Aubrey got helped up by her partner. "I'm okay, in case you're wondering. Not too badly beat up!"

"Good." Vanessa stared down Giovanni with an intense, hate filled glare.

"Four on one...heh, and I thought this dastardly tactic was unique to Team Rainbow Rocket!" Giovanni cracked his knuckles, gesturing for the rangers to bring it.

Guzma meanwhile, was left to bring Key back with the others. "Sheesh...and I was hoping to do more..." He knew they could beat Giovanni down, but he trusted them to wrap things up with this lunatic.

Back with the battle at hand, Ahtohollan got a clever idea for a battle tactic. She conjured a Shadow Ball in mid-air but then gently tossed it towards Mewtwo but before it could get far, she zapped it with a Thunderbolt, sending the shadowy energies flying as a lightning-fast shockwave of spectral power at Mewtwo. Vatonage would follow this up with a hard hitting...Return! As both attacks landed for some serious damage, Mewtwo shook itself off, returning fire with Stone Edge at Froslass.

Giovanni on the other hand was now trading blows with each of the rangers, but it was clear he was having a hard time balancing four of them at once!

Ahtohollan used Psychic to move the Stones out of the way before retaliating by hurtling them back at Mewtwo. Mewtwo was hardly able to get out of the way in time, only for Vatonage to take full advantage of this, launching a Shadow Ball for another nasty hit. A Drain Punch was incoming on him as he used a Psychic of his own, working his hardest to keep the attack from connecting on him!

Ahtohollan smirked as she suddenly charged up a frosty projectile and with a shonen-style gesture and Psychic utility to manipulate it, sent it flying in the form of an icy Umbreon that lunged toward Mewtwo. The elevated Ice Beam collided with Mewtwo and froze part of his body stiff. This would give Vatonage an opportunity for one last hit on Mewtwo with a Foul Play, finishing the job against Giovanni's Pokemon!

"Umbreeeee!" Vatonage happily nuzzled against Jake's Froslass, over the moon that they managed to overcome a giant mountain of an opponent.

"Froslass!" 'Wonderful job new friend!' Ahtohollan patted Vatonage gently in gratitude.

"Yes! Awesome Squad: 1. Rainbow Rocket: -6. You should really know better by now, Giovanni." Jake cheekily taunted the seething boss after jumping up with joy at the win. Speaking of Giovanni, Jake would look over to see Isabella had knocked him to the ground with a heavy overhand right, a wicked blow for sure.

The Galarian shook her hand off. "Blimey, it's like his bloody suit is filled with rocks."

"We've got him right where we want him, we're not gonna get another chance like this," Finn encouraged. "Gotta finish this now!"

"Exactly!" Vanessa exclaimed. "Press the attack, all together now!"

"No need to tell me twice!" Aubrey grinned. Finn merely gave a nod as the four of them all rushed in to finish the fight. One giant smoke cloud popped up and they all laid down a massive beatdown, all four of them jumping away before Giovanni fell down on his face.

Vanessa struck her ranger pose. "Operation successful."

"Alright...do we have any cuffs or do I just sit on him?" Aubrey asked.

"Better idea." Vanessa called out her Gastrodon over Giovanni, the big bad boss now having Gastrodon on his back. "That nice nice coat is going to be ruined by all the slime."

Finn smirked. "You're evil."

"He called my uniform tacky in Kanto. Payback," Vanessa responded quickly.

"As if it'd be as tacky as the supervillain stiff styles they rock," Jake said.

"What's the deal with that, anyway?" Aubrey wondered. "Like...I never felt my uniform was super stiff like I had a branch wedged in my back or something."

"Nothing to worry yourself over. The Union's gonna be happy that we bagged their most wanted," Finn mused.

"Agreed." Vanessa nodded.

With some work from the mechanic, who curiously went over to the monitor, the group would notice Team Rainbow Rocket's influence on the place was reverting, as Aether Paradise was returning to its pristine white and golden hues.

"Woah...you're great with programming too?" The older area ranger asked Finn.

"I was just uh...messing around with it to see what it all did," Finn admitted, pretty much fibbing. "Yup, but I got it back to normal."

"Nice job, mate!" Isabella complimented.

After some time once everything had calmed down and Giovanni and Faba were taken away, the group would be gathered up with Lillie and Gladion in the foyer one last time.

"Thank you all for coming to our rescue. I don't know how I can ever think of repaying you for this," Gladion smiled.

"No need to. It was all part of our job description," Aubrey smiled.

"Plus it was a long time coming." Vanessa paused. "By the way, did anyone get Mewtwo's Poke Ball?"

Vanessa would have the Master Ball that Mewtwo was contained in nudged in front of her feet courtesy of Vatonage, sitting in front of her with a bright smile on his face. "Umb!" He barked, wagging his tail.

"Thank you, Vatonage!" She would brab Mewtwo's Master Ball and send it out, before crushing the ball to free Mewtwo.

"Take flight, Mewtwo. This master is no worthy one. You get to make your own life." Jake beamed. Mewtwo gave a smirk as he teleported back to where he belonged, Cerulean Cave.

"Whew…" Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. "All's well that ends well."

"Yeah. Let me be the one to say it, Mission Clear." Finn mused. With a round of ranger poses from the group, Aubrey would wrap an arm around Vanessa.

"Now...you and I have got some real R&R to do. Let's head back, figure out how that's gonna happen." Aubrey rubbed Vanessa's shoulder. "We'll be back in...I dunno, a couple days or so? I figure after all the hard work, my partner's earned it."

"I'm going to agree to that," Vanessa replied with a bright smile.

"Yeah, you two definitely had your hands full here. Not that I ever figured you two would drop the ball. We got everyone safe and sound! " Jake gave them a thumbs up.

"I'll stick around here, and stay with my mother," Lillie decided. "I have no doubt that once she's back on her feet fully, she'll be so proud of how far I've come as a person and a trainer. Look!" Lillie would show Jake a badge case - complete with all eight badges from the Kanto League.

"Nice!" The younger area ranger complimented.

"A champion already? Dang girl! You are a firework!" Jake looked in awe of them.

"You showed Hau, didn't ya?" Gladion asked.

"Sure did!" His sister nodded. "He was so impressed with my skill as a trainer, he said 'I always knew you had it in ya, Lillie! Ya learned from the best!'"

"Well, either way...Izzy, Finn, you two can hold things down for us. Van...let's go." Aubrey hummed as everyone said their goodbyes for the day, exchanged hugs, and headed off.

Even if their story ends here on how it's written, their journeys would continue on to bigger and better things. They all had long legends to live, and boy were they going to take them all by the horns.

(And that is all she wrote. Thank you all for joining me on this adventure. If you want more content from Lolita and I, check out his prequel story to show the retelling of our Pokemon X co-op playthrough that happened live in a Discord server we frequent together! It'll be packed with all sorts of goodies and bonus content, so be sure to check it out if you have time! I'll see you all when I get back to writing my other fics, or if a new one is in the works. Until then, bye for now, and I love you all!)