I hate Xurkitree fights.
Diana didn't sleep well that night, either. Instead, she spent the night rambling at Rotom, coming up with a long list of questions to interrogate her grandmother with, taking his feedback and suggestions.
When she arrived at her grandparents' house, to no one's surprise, Eli was already there. He looked just as confused as she was, and was angrily sipping soda from a blue straw as his grandfather and Ursa's Mismagius watched and waited.
Ursa was waiting for Diana to arrive before she started to explain. "Tapu Koko," she said, "has always had an interest in our family. Not in a way that would mark us as kahunas - I grew up with Hala, after all. If anything, it seemed suspicious of us."
"Why would it be suspicious?" Eli asked, and Diana struggled not to roll her eyes.
She succeeded, but Ursa laughed. "I'm sure you have your theories," she teased, "but no one knows the truth. Only my father had an idea, when it showed up in my bedroom before I could even talk. His theory was that as a guardian, it was interested in the 'talents' that our family manifests in childhood. He told the story of his own encounter when he was seven years old, and when my brother was visited, it seemed to be confirmed. When the twins were born, I kept a close eye on them, and added my own theory to it - the stronger the gift, the more interest Tapu Koko had. It danced for Stella when she cried, but it stayed next to Luna's crib."
"So you told it to leave your daughters alone," Diana finished.
"Chased it out with a broom," their grandfather confirmed. "But I thought that was the only time."
"I'm sure you remember when Stella first brought Eli home," Ursa pointed out. "They put him in his room for the first time, and he slept while we helped the new parents settle in. I checked on the baby only seconds earlier, so I smelled the smoke first. I told your grandfather to grab the garden hose and told the overgrown chicken to leave the boy alone. He brought the hose in after Tapu Koko was gone, and put out Eli's first fire. Of course I was only planning to spray out the bird. Luna and her little girl were over in Kanto, and Tapu Koko doesn't leave Alola, so Diana didn't get a visit as a baby. But when you moved here, it made up for it by saving you. And I went to apologize to it...at the bridge, of course."
"I wondered why it saved me," Diana said, almost to herself. "I assumed it was saving Cosmog, or that it didn't want to clean my guts off its sacred area. Turns out it wanted to study me."
"Not quite," Ursa interjected. "I doubt that it would ever want to clean up human guts. I'm sure it was both."
"Besides, I didn't think I'd ever see you relate to Tapu Koko," Rotom added.
Diana shrugged it off. "First time for everything, I guess."
Eli was a bit too quiet to make them comfortable. "So whatever it is that lets our family do what we do, Tapu Koko knows it." He said it with more determination in his voice than before. "I'm going to force it to give me answers. You in, Diana?"
"I'm all for forcing Tapu Koko to do stuff." Diana grinned. "Thanks for the answers, Grandma. I promise, you'll get answers of your own when we're done with it."
Tapu Koko came a few days later. Diana spent the morning preparing her next team - her Decidueye seemed like a good choice - and sure enough, she and Eli were called 23 minutes past noon the following day, telling them to come to the motel on Akala's Route 8 once again.
Someone else had beaten them there.
"Mina?" Eli asked, getting the captain's attention. "What are you doing here? Your trial..."
"Doesn't exist, remember?" Mina shrugged. "So they figured I could help here."
"Who is 'they,' Mina?" Looker asked.
"It's a secret. But I was told to have a serious battle with Diana before I came back."
"Of course," Diana mumbled. "Why not?"
"It's just to make sure you're still willing to face Ultra Beasts." She suddenly met Diana's eyes, and Diana gulped. "You do want to continue facing Ultra Beasts, right? Even though your fear seems to only make more trouble?"
"So you're asking if we want to make more trouble?" Diana looked at her cousin, who gave her a thumbs-up. Rotom, not even looking, groaned from her bag. "Yeah, we kind of do."
"So you accept my challenge?"
"If I have to."
"Then let's get going."
Artemis had more trouble than she should have with Klefki, thanks to both Reflect and Light Screen, but came out victorious, and Stanford's only trouble with the Granbull was the one time a Crunch landed. Wigglytuff's ability let it take out Lycanroc with one Dazzling Gleam, but Mimikyu finished it off for him. Shiinotic's use of status effects took Mimikyu out of the battle, but Diana still had Artemis for that, and Artemis took out Ribombee in one shot.
With Diana's victory decided, Mina saw no reason to stick around. With nothing more than a "Bye, then," she left, leaving everyone as confused as they'd been at the start.
Looker decided not to question it. He handed the cousins their Beast Balls, told them that the ones they had captured last were officially named Pheromosa and Buzzwole (apparently, Hau had shown up to name that one) and sent them to Memorial Hill.
The graveyard marking Memorial Hill was empty. No trainers, no mourners, no wild Pokémon. Naturally, the sheer emptiness of the place made it very obvious what was waiting for them here.
Finding the thing was another matter, and Diana felt her muscles tense. This wasn't fear, yet, but it was certainly suspense, and just like every other time she was in suspense, she braced herself for a jump scare. And just like every time Eli was in suspense, the air smelled like smoke despite no fire being present.
Diana saw something move before it could pop out for a jump scare. It had been hiding behind a tree, and it was exactly as tall as its hiding place. A collection of wires acting as abnormally long limbs for a head that looked more like a cotton ball than anything else.
Even as she started to feel her heartbeat, Diana stood her ground. "You must be the ambassador from Ultra Space," she said, forcing herself to be calm. "I'm Diana, ambassador for earth." She held out a Beast Ball. "I think you should have this, it's what my planet wants."
The UB had no eyes, but she could feel it staring at her. Then, very deliberately, it swatted the ball out of her hand and assumed a battle stance.
"I don't think it liked the gift," Rotom observed.
Eli grinned. "Does this mean it started an international incident, ambassador?"
"You know it," Diana agreed, and she picked up the Luxury Ball holding the beast of the moon herself.
Artemis opened with Shadow Ball, and then Diana's second attempt at a Beast Ball was smashed as she threw it. Then when the beast defeated Artemis, she sent out Bewear, but one simple Discharge attack took her out of the battle as well. Frustrated, Diana sent out Mimikyu, hoping his ability would be enough. One Shadow Claw later, and the beast finally stopped trying to fight.
As the ball finally closed around it, Diana picked it up. Eli stood on a rock, attempting to look for more.
"Didn't Looker say there were two of them?" he asked, and Diana nodded.
"He did. That's why you're catching the other one." When he opened his mouth to protest, she shrugged it off. "Don't worry. You'll do great."
She wasn't sure about it, but it was better than telling him her real thoughts.
Lush Jungle had been hard enough for Diana to navigate during the day, but at night, armed only with the glow of the Rotomdex as it floated between them, it was starting to seem impossible. They had been tracking the beast for hours, but when it was as tall as the one Diana had captured (and Looker had named Xurkitree) and all they had found was three Fomantis and an Oranguru, the beast might have decided to sleep instead.
Then, out of nowhere, it attacked.
As Diana predicted, the beast was accompanied by fire. She wondered, as she had Artemis smother it with Moonblast, why her own powers were only triggered when she was terrified while her cousin's were triggered by simply startling him.
Tapu Koko, she decided, had better give her answers.
Eli had grabbed a Pokeball at random, and his Ninetales emerged ready to fight. It took two Dazzling Gleam attacks before Eli felt safe enough to start throwing Beast Balls, and two Discharge attacks from the Xurkitree took her out of the fight. Nothing Eli had resisted Electric-type attacks, so he sent out his Incineroar next, but Robbie was also taken out by two Discharge attacks - one where he was only left standing due to sheer determination and love for Eli.
"Stop filming this, Rotom!" Eli shouted as he sent out his Salazzle, who fired off a Flamethrower before she was taken down in one hit.
Rotom cackled maniacally, the only response that Eli was going to get.
It was Larvesta, a Pokémon that Eli had rarely used in important battles since he started facing Elite 4 level opponents, that stepped in and saved the day. All he did was hold on to the Focus Sash that Eli had left on him from training, and the fact that it was left standing after a supercharged Discharge surprised the Xurkitree enough that it no longer fought capture. And, apparently, unimportant battles were all they needed for the little worm to become a Volcarona.
"I did it," Eli said as the Beast Ball stopped shaking. He sounded as surprised as the Xurkitree had acted. "I caught the Ultra Beast that gave the Champion so much trouble."
"I caught the one that gave me so much trouble," Diana reminded him. "You just caught the other one."
Eli didn't listen to her. "And I finally evolved my Larvesta. Two surprises in one event." Volcarona hummed, tired from the battle. Eli immediately picked up the ball and patted the bug on the head. "Come on. Let's head back to the Pokémon Center."
"Good idea," Diana said, half-distracted. "Rotom, take a note. Tomorrow morning, I'll visit the Aether Paradise. I need to ask if Lillie called, and if our powers could be the result of going through an Ultra Wormhole."
"You think our powers come from Ultra Wormholes?" Eli faked confusion, but wasn't quite able to stop the evil grin. "But why would you think that?"
Diana sighed. He was going to make her admit it, wasn't he? "Because...I think we might be descended from intergalactic travelers." At his evil laugh, she narrowed her eyes. "Most likely earthlings that had similar adventures to what we did, but I can't ignore the evidence. I'm planning to investigate the relationship between superpowers and Ultra radiation. You might end up becoming a full firebender. Maybe that's where psychics and mediums come from."
"You just don't want to admit I'm right."
But at least he shut up as they walked into the building.