We took a little detour here, but it was for plot reasons. We wanted to have bits from the Ultra games...
Gladion did not seem to know what Diana was talking about. Lillie had called him just a day or two earlier, saying that Lusamine was walking unassisted again, and he was sure she would have told him if either of them had started to develop superpowers.
"Have you developed superpowers, Diana?" he asked, and she took a moment to answer.
"I had them from the start," she told him after a moment. "Weird family thing, you know what Eli's capable of. I just wanted to look into potential sources. Eli thinks we're descended from aliens, but I want to test Ultra radiation, first."
Gladion stopped to consider everything that had happened since he and Lillie met these lunatics. "You know," he said after a moment, "that actually makes a lot of sense."
"Not you, too!" Diana complained over Eli's maniacal laughter. She rolled her eyes and hung up the phone. "Forget you, Eli. I'm going to the island."
A toss of a ball, and a Lunala appeared in the middle of the street. It was much easier with Artemis, who seemed to instinctively know where the island was, than it was to train a Charizard. Unfortunately, Artemis offered Eli a chance to join them, and he took the offer.
Still, she got over it by the time they landed on Mohn's island. He was waiting for them.
"You brought more of those monsters?" he asked, and Diana cleared her throat nervously.
"We did," she admitted. "But you haven't let the others out, have you?"
"I don't have a reason to." He seemed pretty serious. "What do you plan to do with these things, Diana?"
"I'm going to have Artemis take them home, of course." She reached up to pet the giant bat, and Artemis lowered her head to show her where she wanted pats the most. "She can open Ultra Wormholes, it's how we got here."
The man frowned, but he recognized that there was no stopping her. Instead, he turned to Eli. "And I assume you're going along with her?"
"Someone has to keep her alive," Eli pointed out. "Rotom only has so much power. She needs to be outvoted, or else she'll end up sticking her hand in lava as soon as his back is turned."
"I've tried before," Diana added happily, as if scientists regularly went around maiming themselves in the name of discovery.
Mohn shook his head in genuine disappointment. "You kids need help."
"Says the man with amnesia," Diana retaliated.
"Yes. That's how bad it is."
Diana smiled, not bothered at all. "Well, we did agree to help each other out, right? You let us use our island to help our superpowers so we can survive against Ultra Beasts, and we can help you off this island." She grinned at his silent acknowledgement of that point. "Well, then. Let's do this. Release the jellyfish!"
Mohn carefully removed the tape from the Beast Ball, and gently tossed it to release the Nihilego. Gizmo stood off to the side, using its intimidating presence to supervise and protect the three humans from harm. Nihilego turned around carefully, as if searching for any threats.
Diana focused on the feelings that came with the emotions, even as she locked her eyes onto the beast. Ice in her veins, a heartbeat that was faster and harder than she liked it, stomach dropping until it felt like it had landed somewhere in her knee area. If she could recall this feeling later on, perhaps she could use it.
Eli focused on keeping the fear away. This was a Pokémon captured by Diana and under the care of Mohn. They had a literal beast killer right there, watching. If they didn't try to hurt it, it wouldn't try to hurt them.
Mohn focused on the jellyfish. There was something there that he couldn't quite place, something familiar but blocked off, like a long-forgotten dream.
Gizmo focused on the humans, prepared to take any measures necessary to keep them all safe.
The Nihilego asked itself why they all hated it so much.
And this five-way standoff lasted for two whole hours.
They didn't keep track of the days anymore. The school year was about to start again, and Diana wasn't sure of they would let her leave class to fight aliens like they would when she was handling challengers. She was still deciding if she wanted to be in class with Eli and Hau or try her best to skip as many grades as possible so she could be a recognized scientist before she turned 30. So when they got the call again, it was more of a disappointment than anything else.
"We have spotted two specimens," Looker told them, "and they both seem to be equally dangerous. I'm afraid that the two of you may have to separate."
"Separate?" Diana repeated, before looking back to Eli. "No. You can't separate us. We're a team."
"But one of these beasts is reported to have a Fire-type attack," Anabel stated, "while the other has Rock. With a Decidueye that has won her multiple trials by himself, we decided sending Diana against the one that may be Rock-type would be the best solution."
"Assuming Stanford doesn't kill it in one hit," Diana pointed out.
"And as for the other one," Anabel added, pretending the interruption hadn't happened, "few Pokémon other than Fire and Dragon-types can use Fire-type attacks. Eli, with his tendency to attract Fire-types like a magnet and pair of Ice-types, one being Ice/Fairy, would be best suited to deal with it no matter the type."
"And Poliwhirl and Mimikyu aren't good enough for a Fire or Dragon-type? Mimikyu won my last regular trial by himself, you know."
"Diana." Eli sounded determined, not scared, and that came as a surprise. "I can handle this. I have my powers and my Pokémon to defend me. I'll be fine. And you're the Champion - you don't even need superpowers to make it out alive." He smiled, nervous but willing. "I'll set it on fire for you. Promise."
"And what about me?"
"Kick its butt." He shrugged. "You're good at that."
"We want them alive," Anabel reminded them.
"And you'll get them alive. I'm just not sure how alive they'll be." He met Anabel's eyes, and though he was a few inches shorter, she stepped back. "And I demand Gladion. He gave Diana a Pokémon made to defeat Ultra Beasts, so if I can't have hers with me, I want to have his."
"That's a great idea," Diana interrupted before Looker and Anabel could object. "Let's see...Hala would put up a great fight, but he might be too old to run from Ultra Beasts for long. Hau will probably be willing to be my partner. And I'll take Kahili, too. Maybe this can be her audition for my Elite Four."
"You want to surround yourself with trainers who can protect you from Ultra Beasts?" Eli asked.
Diana smiled innocently, all the confirmation he needed. "I'll assign Acerola to your team. Rotom, go with Eli's team, this will be her audition."
"So you're also shipping," Rotom commented quietly, and Diana held a finger to her lips before sending him off.
The Fire-type UB had taken up residence in a spooky abandoned building. Eli was sure it was going to collapse on them, but Acerola was enjoying herself and Gladion didn't seem to care.
"I've got an Elite-level team for this," Acerola promised. "And Gladion has one, too. We can do it."
"I have an Elite-level team, too," Eli protested as his Incineroar agreed. "I just don't get as much time to shine, that's all,"
"I wonder why," Gladion said sarcastically, stomping out more sparks. "How did Diana get the first Ultra Beast to show up, anyway?"
Eli gulped, and, before Rotom could show Gladion the clip, he called out, "Hey, Ultra Beast! I am Eli Frost of the International House of Pancakes, ordering you to surrender!"
Just like Diana's attempt at first, nothing happened. But this time, the nothing stayed nothing.
"What if the house is the Ultra Beast?" Acerola asked after a moment.
"Then why hasn't it swallowed us?" Gladion challenged. He tapped the wall, as if challenging it to a fight, while Silvally, much like Arcanine had when Eli picked a fight with the first UB, questioned its trainer's decisions.
Acerola shrugged. "Maybe it's not hungry."
"Can we not talk about being eaten, please?" Eli asked, holding Robbie's paw as the two of them separated from the others, heading down a hallway. "I'm trying very hard not to Eli this whole place. The last thing I need to think about is being a snack for some alien invader."
"Cheer up, Eli!" Acerola giggled. "I thought your ancestors were alien invaders!"
"If my ancestors were invaders," Eli pointed out, "they would have used their freaky powers to conquer the planet. Apparently, all they wanted to do was breed with humans."
"Who says they were powerful? Isn't Diana stronger as a Pokémon trainer than she is as an alien?"
"That's actually an interesting theory," Rotom said happily. "We're investigating the source of Diana's hand sticking! Eli has Snorunt here, with Robbie to hold his hand to see if it was just bad aim."
"But what if Robbie's Fire typing melts the ice anyway?" Acerola asked. "You have to consider that."
"Or," Gladion suggested, "we could let Diana think that her power is useless, even if evidence turns up saying otherwise. She's already too strong without it, we don't need her to have another tool in her arsenal to take over the world like your ancestors wanted, or let her gloat about it. That would be super obnoxious."
"Are you kidding?" Eli complained. "Do you know what she'll do if she learns she really did peak at eleven?"
"Mope for a few days?" Gladion didn't sound like he cared much. "There are worse things that could have happened. She could have lost the battle out in Ultra Space, or gotten possessed herself, or -"
He stopped talking as Silvally's head feathers flexed, its face staring down the corner.
Apparently, the clown-like UB had been there all along, and had chosen now to show its (detachable) face.
The Ultra Beast Diana was sent after had posed as a wall. Fortunately, they had put Kahili in charge and she hadn't trusted it, even preventing the kids from going near it.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be that it was a Rock-type, after all, as it had chosen to go after Kahili's Toucannon first, even though the two Champions were part of this fight, too.
Toucannon dodged the hit, luckily, and in return, Kahili broke out a Z-Crystal.
"Rock-type, huh?" she asked, grinning at the confirmation. The beast blinked several of its eyes at her, while others once more pretended to be bricks. "I have a solution for that. Toucannon!" She assumed a fighting stance, and Diana recognized the first steps to the move that led to an All-Out Pummeling.
"Stop," she ordered, and Kahili followed the command, dropping her arms in confusion. "If we defeat it, it might retreat, and then we'll have to hunt it all over again."
"Or it might keep fighting anyway and end up dead," Hau added. "Diana said she needs it alive, even though she wouldn't tell me why."
"For science," she answered, as if it would be good enough for him.
Luckily, he knew her well enough that it was indeed good enough for him. "For science, then," he agreed. "Try to keep it simple, Kahili."
She rolled her eyes a bit, but followed their orders. "Tone it down, Toucannon. Let's really scare it with Brick Break!"
Toucannon, taking its anger at Diana out on the beast, struck the beast only once, but it was weakened enough that Kahili took her next turn by throwing a Beast Ball. And it succeeded.
Note to self - Kahili nearly one-shotted an Ultra Beast. She makes the cut.
"Well, you're just adorable!"
Acerola was quickly befriending the UB. Eli and Rotom were stunned, but Gladion was absolutely horrified.
"What the..." he looked over at Eli, who met his eyes with the same surprise and terror. "This is Diana all over again!"
Acerola turned her head to stick out her tongue, but quickly returned to playing with the clown-like UB. "Don't mind them, little guy. Or girl. Or other. They just have a lot of bad experiences with other alien visitors."
The UB hummed something. Acerola smiled as if she understood.
"Yeah, there are others. The boy with the dark hair over there, with the flying machine?" She pointed to Eli and Rotom, both of them moving back a bit at being singled out. "They had more than one encounter, with a lot of different ones, starting with the jellyfish that ate the other boy's mom."
"Ate my mom?" Gladion repeated, and Eli cleared his throat.
"Did Lillie not tell you about how your mom fused with the Nihilego and attempted to kill us all?" he asked, his voice slightly higher than normal.
Gladion's horror settled into numb shock at long last. "I don't think she did."
"Well, that's how Diana learned the concept of 'absolute terror' as opposed to 'minor unease at the thought of an unscientific death.' And," he added, "that's how I learned that supernatural abilities trump the laws of nature."
"And how I learned that I got myself into a lot more than I expected," Rotom added.
Acerola ignored her companions, focusing on the UB. "So, what do you say? Want to join us and show them that not all of you are bad?"
The beast stared at her, studying her posture and trying to understand her language. Then it lowered its head in what appeared to be a nod.
"Diana wanted you to battle it," Eli said before the capture was officially made. "She wanted to see if you were strong enough to be in her Elite Four."
"Then we'll battle." Acerola looked back at the UB, smiling innocently. "Well, then? What do you say?"
It didn't seem to fully understand, but when she sent out her Froslass (a decision which triggered the same reaction from Eli's Snorunt that Diana used to get when around Olivia) and both of them assumed a mock-fighting stance, it got it.
And despite the type advantage, Acerola managed to capture it.
The cousins reported back to Looker and Anabel, each with a beast. Acerola had named hers Blacephalon, and had loved it when it blew its head into fireworks. It had instantly regrown a new one, which was what Gladion was more impressed with.
Kahili had handed hers over to Diana, a gift for one of the few trainers strong enough to beat her. Acerola had wanted to keep Blacephalon, so Rotom had made her promise to not use it in official battles or around Diana.
Looker and Anabel were surprised at how they'd lasted. "So we really can trust the Elite Four and other Champion on this mission," Anabel commented. "I suppose that we should be grateful."
"And the young lady wants to keep it," Looker noted. "Let's hope she can be trusted with an Ultra Beast."
"Does this mean we're giving this one to Hau?" Diana asked, and Eli shrugged.
"Did he want it?"
"Not really."
"Give it to Mohn."
"Mohn?" Anabel repeated, ending the conversation before Diana could remind him that Mohn was very careful not to release the beasts unless they asked him to. "As in, the Mohn working on Ultra Beast research at the Aether Foundation? He's still alive?"
Oh. That was where they'd heard the name before.
And Mohn had blond hair and green eyes.
So that must mean...
"Ah, crap," said Diana as the pieces once more fell into place.
It seemed that even as she was cleaning up Lusamine's mess, this family still found a way to give her even more trouble. She could swear she heard Artemis agree from her ball.
"Eli," she said, and her cousin, who had come to the same conclusion she had, looked just as annoyed with life as she was. "I might just set you on Aether after all."