With Alex accomplishing her trial, she made he way back to the Aether House. As she was approaching the front of it, she saw several people standing on its steps; two figures she could seel was Hau and Acerola. The others... She sighed. She recognized those outfits all too well.

Plumeria stood between two Team Skull Grunts. "Back so soon, hmm? I wasn't expecting you just yet," she said once Alex reached her. She looked at one of the grunts at her sides through the corner of her eye. "It takes these dumb grunts way too long to deal with you kids..." Her eyes fixed on Alex with a fierce glint. "So I guess it's my turn now!"

The two grunts suddenly approached Hau and Acerola, throwing their hands around in their usual way. "What? I told you before," Plumeria continued, when the two were surprised that they were also being brought into battles. "Next time you get in your way, I'm not holding anything back!"

Plumeria snorted. "Guess you are pretty tough. Now I understand why my grunts waste so much time battling kids." She narrowed her eyes, the golden orbs coldly fixed on Alex. "But if you want us to return the Pokemon, then you'll have to come to us. Alone. The boss is dying to meet you." She started to walk away with the two grunts, then paused to look at Alex over her shoulder. "See you at our base in Po Town." She continued and disappeared from sight.

Hau groaned. "Battles you can't afford to lose aren't any fun..."

Acerola looked panicked and rushed up the stairs. "Hey! Are you guys okay?!" she called to the children inside. Alex and Hau followed closely behind.

The little girl was squatting in the main room, rubbing her tearful eyes. "M-my Yungoos..." she whined and sniffled.

Acerola gasped, squatting down by the little girl. "We can't forgive this!" She furrowed her brows. "Darn it, those numskulls actually did something pretty clever for once!"

"If we want to get the Pokemon back, then Alex has to go to Po Town... All alone? With no back up?" Hau mumbled. "That's what they said, but... that's not fair!"

Alex paused, then turned to Acerola. "What is Po Town? Is it different from the other towns?"

"Team Skull has taken over Po Town... It's basically their private playground now," Acerola explained. She gasped and stood up. "Oh, I know! If you're gonna go, though, try to find this guy on Route 15 who's wearing a kimono. He might be able to help you get to Po Town. He knows a whole lot about Pokemon that can travel across the water."

Alex nodded, but then crossed her arms and looked down the the ground in thought. Was Lapras not going to be enough?

The little girl approached Alex. "Just... just get my Yungoos back for me!" she said, more tears spilling down her cheeks.

Alex nodded and pat the girl gently on her head. "I promise I will. Taking a little girl's Pokemon is just dirty!" She waved to the group and left the building.

Route 15 was just west of the Aether House. The short path lead down onto a beach where, as Acerola said, Alex saw a man wearing a white kimono. He was standing near the shore, watching the water.

Alex approached him. "Um... excuse me?"

"A trial-goer, huh?" he said, his back still turned to her. "And why would you be coming to a lonely, odd place like this?"

"I need to go after Team Skull in Po Town," Alex explained. "They called me out and I can't ignore it."

The man turned to face her. "Uh-huh... I see you've got your reasons. Then.. I'll take you on." He held out his hand with a coin in his palm. "Tell me. Uncle Grimsley is going to flip a coin. Will it be heads or tails?"

Alex arched a brow. What was this? Was he being serious. "Tails," she said without hesitation.

Grimsley flipped his coin, caught it, and smacked it onto the back of his hand, the other covering it. He stared at her for a moment, her staring back at him unflinchingly, and smirked. "Astonishing. You just took a stab, like some kind of prophet. Right now, you and your Pokemon are shining brilliantly." He lowered his hands. "A loss is a loss. I'll give you Sharpedo's info for your Ride Pager then. Ride it to victory." She held out the pager, he programmed it in, and handed it back to her.

He turned his attention back to the water. She followed his line of sight, and saw that there were large boulders scattered about in it. Now she understood why Lapras wasn't going to help. "Maybe you don't need to hear this from me, butt I'm going to tell you anyway. Sharpedo will get forward and smash through rocks, like those ones there." He paused. "And here's a bit more of unwanted advice. Po Town lies at the other end of Route 16 here, but it's thoroughly occupied by Team Skull. You shouldn't go there unless you want trouble."

Alex shook her head. "I don't really have a choice. Thank you for the Sharpedo caller." She called the Sharpedo, climbed on its back, and got into the water.

Alex reached the other shore after Sharpedo crashed through the boulders that were blocking her from before. Shortly up the path leading north of the shore, Alex stopped into the Pokemon Center. While she was healing her Pokemon at the counter, she could see a Team Skull member making a scene at the cafe. She sighed heavily and walked over to the man.

The grunt was flailing his arms around, as they usually do. "Moo! Moo! I'm talkin' to you! Moomoo Milk, 'cause I'm too busy to chew!" he was shouting at the guy behind the counter. "Yo! Yo! I wanna drink it down! I want Moomoo Milk, and I want it now!" He paused and turned, as if he could sense Alex's annoyed glare. "Hey look now- what we got here? I'm gonna make this kid run away in fear! No more drinks at the cafe for you! They'll all be gone when Team Skull rolls through! You wanna come to the cafe, you better come correct! My Pokemon skulls, you have to respect!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Man, you talk a lot. Let's just do this already so you can quiet down!"

The grunt growled in response.

The grunt groaned and bent over, wrapping his arms around his stomach. "Ugh... My belly... sounds like it's using Rumble..." He glared at Alex. "Hey, yo, kid, my payback will be vicious! But at least for now, Moomoo Milk is delicious!" His stomach made an audible noise and he rushed off.

Alex blinked and watched him bolting out the door. The man behind the counter was staring at the doors while they slid closed. "Drink too much of anything, even Moomoo Milk, and this is what happens..." the man behind the counter mumbled. "You may be feeling a bit put off after all that, but here's some Moomoo Milk for you, too." He set down a bottle on the counter for her. "Even Pokemon know better than to guzzle milk like that when they're already healthy."

Alex smiled. "Ah, thank you!" She took the bottle, sat down at one of the tables in the counter, and started drinking her free drink.

Just north of the Pokemon Center was Ula'Ula Meadows; the area was foggy from the ponds, and every patch of earth was covered in red flowers. Alex was wowed by the scene before her and took a picture of the scenery to show her mom later. "All right, let's get through it..."

Shortly ahead of her on the bridge, she could see a familiar, white coated figure. It had to be someone from the Aether Foundation. The figure moved closer, and Faba could be seen through the fog. "Oh my, if it isn't Alexandra," he said and stood before her. "Where might you be off to?"

"I'm going to Po Town," she responded.

Faba's eyes widened. "To Po Town?! I-isn't that where Team Skull makes its base?!" he gasped. "Such awful things they are, tormenting poor Pokemon for no good reason... I swear I just don't know what to do with them! And just look at me, would you?" He huffed. "Here I am, taking the initiative to travel Alola on my own to check on how Pokemon are doing. I've been trying to think through this Necrozma issue on my own. That sort of noble dedication is what you expect for a president, even... Don't you agree?"

"I.. suppose..."

"Not that a foolish child could..." he mumbled. Alex narrowed her eyes; she felt he was just looking down at her. He cleared his throat. "I mean, not that I would expect you to know." He must have realized he just made it awkward. "Anyhow... Do try to stay safe. Don't say I didn't warn you about Team Skull." She watched him walk passed her towards Route 16 through slitted eyes.

"What an arrogant jerk..." she mumbled to her and truly began her trek through the meadow.