UB-06

Max and Mandy sat in their cell at the police station in Malie City where they had been put after attempting to steal the Champion's Pokemon the other day. "We woulda had 'em if you hadn't used that stupid Bulldoze attack!" Mandy exclaimed angrily.

"Yo, what makes you think this is my fault, you numskull?" Max countered.

"You're the numskull, numskull!" Mandy yelled.

"No, you're the-"

"Quiet in there, both of you!" The two Skull grunts turned to see Officer Jenny standing outside their cell. She opened the door for them. "You're both free to go. Your bail's been paid."

"By who?" Max asked.

"By me." The two Skull grunts jumped in surprise as they saw a tall woman wearing a black bandana with pink and yellow hair coming out from under it standing by the door of the station.

"P-Plumeria!" Max stammered nervously. "Uh, what's up, big sis?"

Plumeria just glared at the two of them. "Get out here. Now." She said in a deadly quiet voice.

Max and Mandy both stood there a second contemplating whether they wanted to stay in their cell or walk out towards Plumeria and certain death. They both figured, if they didn't go out, Plumeria would just come in, so they exited their cell and followed Plumeria outside. "Idiots!" Plumeria said, clapping them both upside the head. "What were you thinking trying to steal the Champion's Pokemon?"

"We just wanted to do what Team Skull is supposed to do." Mandy said guiltily.

"Yeah! Steal, cheat, lie, and cause trouble!" Max added.

Plumeria sighed. "That's not what Team Skull is about any more." She said. "Not for the last five years, at least."

"Well, maybe it should be what it's about!" Max said.

"Yeah!" Mandy said. "We both joined Team Skull to cause trouble! So… So that's what we're gonna do whether you like it or not!"

Plumeria glared at the two numskulls in front of her. They both expected her to get even more mad at them, but she just sighed. "Fine." She said in her deadly quiet voice. "If you want to cause trouble, do that. But don't consider yourselves a part of Team Skull any more if you do." And, with that, Plumeria walked away.

"Aw, who cares what she says?" Mandy said.

"Yeah!" Max said. "Team Skull's just gone soft!"

"And it's up to us to build it up even better than it was before!" Mandy added.

"Come on! Let's find that stupid Champion and get her Pokemon once and for all!"

…

"Raichu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge it, Mimikyu!"

Hau's Raichu unleashed a blast of electricity, but Catherine's Mimikyu jumped out of the way just in time. "Kyu!" Mimikyu said confidently. Catherine smiled. Ever since the other day when her Mimikyu had bravely stepped up to battle those Team Skull grunts on its own, Catherine had been trying to train the little Ghost Pokemon as hard as she could. She saw real potential in this Mimikyu to be the best Pokemon on her team.

"Mimikyu, use Shadow Claw!" Catherine exclaimed.

"Raichu, counter with Psychic!" Hau yelled back.

Mimikyu lept up in the air to attack Raichu with its glowing, black claw, but was bounced back by a wall of psychic energy. "Mimikyu! You okay?" Catherine asked.

"Kyu!" Mimikyu replied, seeming all good.

"Wow! It's like they're almost evenly matched!" Said Catherine's Rotomdex, who was floating nearby next to Hau's grandfather, Hala.

"Yes, indeed." Hala said in a soft voice. "But I'm sure that we will see a winner quite soon in this battle."

"All right! Time to finish this!" Catherine said confidently. Her Z-Ring started glowing as she began the Ghost type Z-Move dance. "The zenith of my mind," Catherine said as she did the dance, "of body, and-"

Suddenly, before Catherine could finish the dance, the loud sound of a helicopter tore through the air. "Whoa! Check it out!" Hau exclaimed. He pointed over to the large platform in the middle of Iki Town where an International Police helicopter was landing. From it, stepped Nanu, slouching and grumpy as ever, but with an air of duty about him.

"Well?" He said, crossing his arms. "We don't got all day, champ. Get in the chopper."

"What's going on?" Catherine asked.

"No time to explain." Nanu said. "Just get in and save your questions until later."

"Nanu," Hala said, stepping forward, "what is the crisis?" Nanu's expression said it all. "They've returned, haven't they?" Hala said in a dark tone.

"Can't return if they never actually left." Nanu replied.

"Wait, what's returned?" Hau asked. Nanu turned to look at Hau, frightening the boy with just his steely glare.

"The Ultra Beasts." Nanu replied.

"The Ultra Beasts?!" Hau exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

Catherine's expression turned serious. She had battled the Ultra Beasts five years ago, assisting the International Police in catching them. She had never taken them out of the PC, though, for fear that they would go crazy and cause even more destruction even if they had been caught. Catherine knew that if another Ultra Beast was out there, she had to help stop it."Where are they?" Catherine asked. "Melemele? Akala? Ula'ula?"

Nanu shook his head. "I'll explain on the way." He replied. "Just get in the chopper."

"But I need to get my Pokemon out of the PC!" Catherine said. "Without them, I won't be able to battle the Beasts again!"

"We don't have time for that." Nanu said. "You can get your Pokemon out of the PC when we get where we're going. For now, you'll just have to wait."

"Where are we going?" Catherine asked as she stepped aboard the chopper.

"The Deesee region." Nanu replied. "And we need to hurry it along, so let's get this bird in the air."

Catherine took a seat on the chopper as Nanu signaled the pilot to take off. However, just as the blades began to spin, Hau ran up. "Wait!" He yelled. "I'm coming with you!"

"No offense, kid," Nanu said, "but this mission is pretty dangerous. I doubt you have what it takes to come with us."

"Of course I have what it takes!" Hau exclaimed. "Raichu and I have been training for the past five years to get as strong as we can! We can definitely take on an Ultra Beast! Right, Raichu?"

"Rai rai!" Raichu exclaimed confidently.

Nanu thought this over for a second. "Fine." He finally said. "You can come with us. Just try not to get yourself killed."

Hau pumped his fist in the air and got on the chopper with his Raichu. "Don't forget about me!" Rotomdex exclaimed, hovering over and getting on the chopper as well.

Hala stepped forward to speak with his grandson. "Be careful, Hau." Hala said. "You have no idea how dangerous these Beasts truly are."

"Don't worry, Tutu." Hau replied. "I'll be just fine. Can you please look after my other Pokemon for me?"

"Of course." Hala said, giving his grandson a hug.

"All right, enough family stuff." Nanu said grumpily. "Let's get this bird in the air before it's too late."

The chopper took off, speeding off across the ocean towards the Deesee region. Meanwhile, back in Iki Town, two bandana wearing grunts poked their heads out of the bushes. "So, the champ's going to Deesee, huh?" Max said.

"Yep." Mandy replied. "And so are we."

In the chopper, Catherine was still worried. She didn't have any of her Pokemon with her. If they were really cutting it as close as Nanu had said, she might not be able to get the Pokemon she needed out of the PC, leaving her helpless against whatever Beast was attacking Deesee. Her thoughts were jarred by a cry for help just outside the chopper. "KYUUUUUUU!"

Catherine looked outside the chopper to see that her Mimikyu was clinging on for dear life to the chopper with its long, black claw. It must have tried following Catherine onboard, only to get stuck like that. "Oh, my Arceus! Mimikyu!" Catherine quickly pulled the little Ghost Pokemon aboard the chopper, cradling it in her arms. "You didn't want me to leave without you, did you?" She asked sweetly.

"Kyu…" Mimikyu said guiltily.

Catherine giggled. "It's okay." She said. "I'm glad to have you with me." She turned to Nanu. "So, what kind of Ultra Beast is attacking Deesee?" She asked. "Nihilego? Buzzwole? Xurkitree?"

Nanu shook his head. "Nope. This one's a new one." He explained. "Never seen anything like it before."

"Why is it in Deesee in the first place?" Hau asked. "I thought the Ultra Beasts were only brought to Alola."

"I wish that were the case." Nanu said solemnly. "According to that Burnet lady at the Dimensional Research Lab, when that psycho, Lusamine, released the Beasts from Ultra Space, she didn't just release them into Alola. Ultra Wormholes opened up all over the world. We thought the Beasts released would attack right away, but they didn't for some reason, It seems that the Beasts were just waiting for the right time to strike. Arceus only knows why."

"Wow! I'm so excited to get some new data on the Ultra Beasts!" Rotomdex exclaimed. Nanu glared at him. "O-of course, our first priority should be stopping them." Rotomdex stammered nervously.

Soon, the chopper was flying over the Deesee region. Catherine had no idea Alola and Deesee were so close together. Then they reached the city where the Beast was attacking. "Oh, no…" Catherine breathed.

A trail of destruction had been swept through the city. Most of its buildings were crumbling, or were otherwise close to. Fires raged and smoked all over the place. Police and firefighter sirens could be heard as they all scrambled to rescue innocent bystanders. The chopper landed atop one building that was still standing. "Welcome to Capitol City." Nanu said darkly. "What's left of it, anyway."

"Whoa…" Hau breathed as they stepped off the chopper. "One Ultra Beast did all this?"

Nanu didn't respond. He just sulked over to a stairwell door. "Follow me, kids." He said. "And you better hurry up. The Beast'll be here any moment."

Catherine and Hau hurried after Nanu and followed him down the stairwell into International Police HQ. "Why is the Beast coming here?" Catherine asked. "Don't Ultra Beasts usually just cause random chaos?"

"Normally, yeah." Nanu said as they walked down one hallway. "But this time the Beast's path of destruction follows a clear path headed here to International Police HQ."

"Why?" Hau asked.

Nanu shrugged. "No idea, but these two might be able to tell you."

Catherine looked ahead to see the two people who had aided her with capturing the Alolan Ultra Beasts five years ago: Looker and Anabel. "Brought the champ here like you wanted, chief." Nanu said to Anabel. "Can I go now?"

"No. Stay." Anabel replied. "We could use the backup." She turned to Catherine. "Hope you're ready for the fight of your life." She said.

Catherine opened her mouth to reply, but Hau jumped in front of her. "We totally are! Where is the Beast?" He asked animatedly.

Anabel raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but we can't have any civilians here at the moment." She said. "It's far too dangerous."

"It's fine, Anabel." Catherine said. "Hau's a tough trainer. He'll be fine."

Anabel looked unsure for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Very well then," she said, "I suppose we could use all the help we can get. Mr. Looker, if you would."

Looker came forward with a sleek, silver briefcase. He opened it. Inside were ten Beast Balls, the only type of Pokeball able to catch Ultra Beasts. "Miss Wicke from the Aether Foundation sent over the usual ten Beast Balls." He said, handing them to Catherine. "You ready to battle, champ?"

Catherine grinned. "Definitely!" She said confidently. "I just need to get my other Pokemon out of the PC. Is there a place where I can-"

Before Catherine could finish that sentence, an explosion blew apart the wall behind her, sending Catherine and the others flying. Catherine got up to find the Ultra Beast hovering just outside the hole. It was surrounded by the usual Beast Boost aura, but everything else about it was unlike anything Catherine had seen before. Its round body seemed to be a living, fiery supernova with a giant, red eye in the center of the blaze. It had two hands also made from pure fire hovering next to its body. The Beast roared.

"What is that?!" Hau asked nervously.

Anabel stood up, her expression darkly serious. "That," she said, "is UB-06. Codename: Fission."

The Beast roared and sped towards Catherine. All Catherine could do was stand there, frozen in fear, as the Beast advanced upon her.