Alex left the strange mansion and, standing just outside, was the monotone man she had met just outside of Po Town. "Have I got you to thank for this?" he asked. The Yungoos had run over and was now standing at his feet. He looked down at it. "Thing must've been scared half to death if it's glad to see a wretch like me." He turned his attention back to Alex. After a moment, he sighed. "What a lot of hassle..." Alex frowned, having no idea what the man was talking about. "A trial-goer, huh?" he asked, gesturing towards the charm on her bag. "Figures. Look, I'm not gonna fight someone who is taking on Team Skull. I'll heal your Pokemon up, so... go. Just go."

"Uh..."

He turned his back to her, surveying the derelict town around them. "Though, looking around now... It seems like there're fewer Team Skull folks around today than usual. Huh. I guess some of 'em might have run off after seeing their boss get beat."

"Uncle Nanu!" called out Acerola, who came rushing towards them. "And here comes the noise again..."

What on earth is even going on?

Acerola looked down at the Yungoos when it cried up at her. "Aue, I'm so sorry... You must've been so scared, huh?" she said to it sweetly. She smiled brightly towards Alex. "Thanks, Alexandra! Really! You're really something!"

Alex chuckled nervously. "I just wanted to help..."

Acerola turned here attention back to the man she called Nanu. "Uncle, you're a great police officer, aren't you? I really hope that you're keeping a good eye on things here! What else do you stay here for, if you're not putting a stop to Team Skull's shenanigans?"

Nanu shrugged in response. "The rent's real cheap. No one else is crazy enough to stay this close to Team Skull, after all."

Acerola huffed. "That's what you say, but it's really all for the Pokemon, isn't it? You could depend on the Aether Foundation to look after the Pokemon that Team Skull hurts, but you stay here to look out for them, huh?" Nanu didn't respond. "Come on, Yungoos, let's get you back to Aether House!" The Pokemon cried out and followed Acerola. She paused and looked back to wave. "I'll come back to see you again soon, Uncle!"

"No one's asking you to..." he grumbled.

She ran forward a little more, then stopped again. "Then come by Aether House when you're done! Alola!" She turned again and finally disappeared.

"Pokemon tucked up in their Pokeballs, Team Skull locked up in their little town... I wonder if either enjoys the experience?" Nanu mumbled to himself before walking off, leaving Alex to be lost in her confusion. She eventually shook it off and went to return to Aether House with Acerola.

"We're home!" Acerola announced when the two of them walked inside. "We brought Yungoos with us, too!" The Yungoos didn't hesitate and rushed over to the little girl... who was standing with the little boy in front of a frazzled looking Hau. "Wha-what's going on in here?!"

Hau looked desperately at Alex. "Alex... I-I'm sorry! I... I can't even make myself smile right now..."

Alex frowned, now concerned. The atmosphere was tense. "It's fine, Hau, but..."

"But why? What happened?" Acerola asked, echoing Alex's thoughts.

"M-Miss Lillie..." the little boy whined.

"She's gone!" the girl added.

"What?!" Alex gasped. "Please, tell me what happened!"

Lillie stood between the children and Plumeria, who was accompanied by a grunt. "You people..."

"Not gonna disappear this time, huh?" Plumeria said coldly. "Seems like maybe the tall tales we heard about you were wrong."

Lillie shook her head and glanced down at Nebby, who was floating beside her. "That was different... Nebby and I both were in trouble... That was the only reason why it used its power. So we both could escape with our lives..." She looked back at Plumeria. "I know I'm not capable of much myself, but I will not make it use that power again! I'm determined to not let that happen. That's why... this time I'll do whatever I can on my own even if I do find myself in trouble again."

"Yo, girl, you know you're in trouble right now, right? Dumb spoiled little princess!" the grunt spat.

"Leave her be," Plumeria said over her shoulder. She turned her hard eyes back to Lillie. "I like a girl who's not afraid to stand up for herself. And besides... I don't know about calling someone a Pokemon thief just 'cause she wanted to help out a Pokemon when it was suffering..."

Lille nodded slowly, seeming to come to a kind of agreement with the woman before her. "Please... there is no need to hurt anyone else here. I will go with you willingly. Wherever you want."

"That Plumeria lady came back as soon as Acerola had left..." Hau concluded.

"What?!" Acerola gasped.

Hau balled his hands into fists and glared at the floor. "I'm supposed to be a trainer! I've got all these Pokemon with me! But when it came down to it, Lillie had to protect me... Lillie, who's not even a trainer to begin with!"

"Hau..." Alex could see just how frustrated and angry he was with himself. Plumeria radiated intimidation. She had been dealing with Team Skull so much that Alex felt immune to it. She forgot that wasn't the same for most other people.

Gladion suddenly burst in through the front door. "Did I hear that right?! It was Lillie who took Cosmog?!" he shouted.

"You know who Lillie is?!" Hau gasped, voicing the same surprise Alex felt.

Gladion growled, holding his head in his hand. "I still couldn't protect them...? Then what was the point of me even leaving home in the first place?! I can't stand this... This useless feeling... I'll blow it away with everything I've got!"

"That was wrong of me... I shouldn't have dragged you into a meaningless battle like that..." Gladion said to a confused and slightly annoyed Alex. "But I told you both! I told you that Cosmog would bring disaster to all of Alola! I have to get it back from them!"

"Don't get mad at me!" Alex barked back. "They tricked us into leaving Lillie alone here! How were we supposed to know they'd come back?!"

"We'll leave from the ferry terminal." He glared at Alex and Hau. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not, so the only question is, are you ready to come now or not?"

"Yes, let's go and get them back!" Alex yelled.

"Good... Then let's go."

Alex and Gladion stood on the pier for the ferry, Gladion looking out to the sea. "So, we're waiting for Hau?" he asked, glancing at her.

"He'll come, I don't doubt that." Hau had been frustrated with himself on letting Lillie get taken. He would want to redeem himself.

"Yeah, I guess so... He's a pretty interesting kid, I'll give you that." Gladion folded his arms. "Growing up in the great kahuna's shadow and still trying to stand up to Hala as an equal? Not just that, but trying to become even better than Hala, too? I couldn't do it."

Alex gazed out to the sea as well. She hadn't really thought about that before... Just by being Hala's grandson, Hau had big shoes to fill. People were expecting a lot from him; she could only imagine how stressful that must be. "Yeah... I see what you mean."

Nanu walked down the steps onto the pier and Gladion looked shocked to see him, which was an expression Alex never thought the boy would make. "Officer Nanu?"

"If only Team Skull could've just kept themselves and their trouble making to Po Town... Why'd they have to go make all this fuss, huh?" Nanu sighed heavily. He looked to Alex. "You there, girl."

"My name is Alex..." she grumbled under her breath.

"I'm an island kahuna, you know. Battle against me. It'll be good experience for you if you're really hoping to master the island challenge."

Alex stared at him blankly for a moment. "What?" This tired, grumpy looking man was the island kahuna? He was absolutely nothing like the others... "Uh, yeah, okay. I will."

"Don't take it too serious, now." Kinda hard not to!

Nanu smirks and chuckles. "Well, shoot... Of course I already knew you had the heart and the strength to storm Team Skull's stronghold, but I didn't know you were this good. And your Pokemon worked real hard for you. Let me fix your team for you." He healed her team. After that, Nanu reached into his pocket and held his hand out to her. "Here, take this." Resting in his palm was a black crystal. Alex smiled excitedly and took it.

"If you want to use the Dark type Z-Power, you gotta do this," Nanu said, and demonstrated the move. He paused, and then turned away from them. "There. Congratulations or whatever. You've officially finished your Ula'Ula trials." He took a few steps forward and stopped. "You've got somewhere else to be, don't you? Try not to destroy the whole place." He paused again. "Oh... and you, boy. Gladion. Tell me... If you're really trying to get stronger as you say, then what're you depending on Team Skull for?" He didn't wait for a reply and left the pier.

As soon as Nanu was gone, Hau appeared to take his place. "Alex!"

"Don't you dare say a word about this being fun," Gladion growled.

Hau looked back at Gladion with a serious expression. "If I had been stronger... If I'd been the kind of trainer who could seize victory, like Brionne wants, too... Then Lille wouldn't have..." He shook his head, shaking away the heavy thoughts. "I'm ready to do whatever it takes now!" He flashed his usual grin, which left his face as quickly as it appeared. "But where was Lillie taken? It couldn't be Po Town. Alex was there the whole time."

Gladion sighed. "So you're not quite as dumb as you are naive." Alex wrinkled her nose at that. She couldn't figure out if she could even like Gladion or not. "It'll be Aether Paradise," Gladion said.

"Aether Paradise?!" Hau gasped.

"Why there, though?" Alex said to herself.

Gladion rushed them into the black boat that was there, with a huge Team Skull symbol painted on the side, and it rushed them to Aether Paradise.

The three poured out of the boat when they ported in the Aether Paradise's harbor. Gladion stood still when they got out. "Aether Paradise's harbor... We made it this far without running into trouble... But I don't like how quiet it is. You two... stay alert."

Now that he mentioned it, it was strangely quiet. The last time she and Hau had been here, it was full of life; full of workers from the Aether Foundation and Pokemon wandering about. Now... Now it was completely deserted.

"But.. Why would Lillie be here at Aether Paradise?" Hau asked. Alex could only wonder the same thing.

Gladion turned away from them. "She just will be."

Hau snorted and glanced at Alex. "This guy!" He looked back to Gladion. "Fine. So what are we going to do?"

"Should we ask around?" Alex asked, expecting a no.

"I guess... we take the elevator." Gladion completely ignored her question, which she took as the 'no'.

"You guess? And we're following this guy?! He doesn't have any plan!" Hau shouted.

Alex held her hand out to him, holding back the urge to just shush him. "He got us here. We don't exactly have a plan either. We'll just go to the elevator, since we don't know what else to do."