"Alright, I caught a Staryu!" Hau celebrated as he held up his newest catch in its Dive Ball. It was around sunset, and the sky was getting darker by the minute.
"Yeah. Now you finally have a means of countering those pesky rock and ground types."
"Cool. In fact, I think I may keep this one. Since your Staryu is so amazing, I want to have as just as amazing as yours!"
"Aw, thanks." Misty beamed.
"Eevee!" The redhead's baby normal type spoke with glee.
"So, I wonder where we're supposed to go next." Ash wondered, that is until Rotom came out.
"Trial Captain Mallow'zzz location izzz the Lush Jungle on Route 8! I bet you'd make for a terrific and handsome Tarzan." The machine flirted again.
"Yeah, and Misty would be Jane." Hau snickered.
"We don't like each other like that!" Both of them denied.
"That'zzz right! I want to be Jane!" Rotom proclaimed.
"Oh yeah, we just put you in a yellow dress and a brown wig. That would be sooooo convincing." Misty scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "And I thought we were over the whole thing of you flirting with Ash?"
"I may not alwayzzz zzzay it, but my love will never die!" It yelled before going back into Ash's bag, whom groaned.
"I was really hoping that was done with for good."
"Well, at least we know where to go now. Let's go!" Hau ran ahead of the others, prompting them to run after him.
"Hau! You need to stopping running ahead towards everything!" Misty called out to him.
"Yeah! I'm not that much of a runner!" Ash shouted along. Hau did stop though at the end of a tunnel, when they spotted the sci-fi people again.
"Ah, you three again." Captain Phyco greeted, along with his subordinate. "The numbers keep rising on my aura readings. But anyway, I bid you Alola." Once again they made the wrong greeting gesture. "I've been noticing a trend of trainers labeled as, "Trial-goers", exuding a certain aura after coming in contact with so many totem Pokemon awash in aura. Only natural I suppose. You two, you seem to have a bunch of matching Z-Crystals. Do you hope to master the Z-Moves?"
"Yeah!" Hau answered. "I want to master every single one!"
"That wondrous light that appears when when a Z-Move is used... we once had such a light in our world as well."
"Wait, are you saying you're aliens?" Ash asked, confused.
"Hardly. We're humans just the same as you, despite our differing outfits and skin tones. So don't worry about us taking over the planet and what not. Such light, it was precious to us, even if we did not use the Z phenomina for Pokemon Battles."
"Why are you telling us this?" Misty questioned. "You make me think of agents who try to keep things hush hush."
"You're right. We won't tell you our ultimate goal." Soliera answered. "Just what we had. Anyway captain, it's nearly time."
"While our technology is advanced, it must be modified to work to its fullest with Pokemon. We must go now to report to a scientist who is versed in the ways of Pokemon, or we will have no hope of achieving such a thing. Farewell." The two gave their incorrect Alola sign before leaving, Soliera giving a report board to a blonde man in a grey coat as they walked past him.
"At least we know they're not a threat now." Misty said.
"I still don't trust them." Ash stayed firm with his belief.
"Well, so long as they don't antagonize us it's fine, right?" Hau reasoned.
"...I guess." He responded. The blonde scientist approached them.
"Ah, excuse me. I am Professor Colress Jones. The theme of my research is bringing out the potential of Pokemon. And the answer to the bond they share with their trainers."
"That sounds about right." Ash agreed.
"And thus my attention is drawn to trainers like yourself. Currently I'm studying this new trend of bonds through all this Z stuff. Z-Power Bracelets, Z-Crystals and Z-Moves... it's like studying a whole new area of a field I've been researching for so long. Now that I think about it, I've never asked your names."
"I'm Ash, and these are my friends, Hau and Misty."
"I'll be sure to remember those. You remind me of a certain trio I also know back in Unova. Z-Power... is it the true potential I seek? Does it surpass the Mega Ring?"
"I've heard that friendship bonds have nothing to do with it." Misty pointed out. "Anyone can do it if they just have the right ring and stone."
"I think the same sort of applies to the Z-bracelets and crystals." Hau added. "I mean I've only heard of them being used by people with bonds with their Pokemon, but bonds don't really seem to be a requirement since we can do it with freshly caught Pokemon as well."
"Oh, I see." Colress was disappointed. "Seems like every few years a region just creates a gimmick to make Pokemon battling exciting and fresh."
"Yeah I know, right?" Ash nodded. "Could you imagine the next region makes Pokemon much bigger?"
"Oh my god?!" Colress was aghast. "There would be monstrous effects with the cube square law! Either all the Pokemon would float away due to being lighter than air or even if they do gain mass, it would be too much on them and their bones would snap under their weight! I swear if the next gimmick is Pokemon growing in size I'm just going to ignore all that and dedicate myself to just old school study before Mega Evolution. There's no need to study the potential of new battling techniques if there's no heart and bonding in it." Shaking his head, the scientist continued. "Anyway, there are uninhabited islands for Pokemon called the "Poke Pelago" here in Alola. I still have more things to study here. Well then, I hope you teenagers will excuse me. I've had quite the most curious request made to me by a couple of oddly dressed strangers called the Ultra Recon Squad."
"Oh yeah! That's the two white and blue people we keep running into!" Hau remembered the name.
"So you're familiar with them. Fascinating. I'd best be off. If you'd like I have a resting Vulpix in that room if you'd like to see."
"Wait, that's the Vulpix I was chasing earlier!" Hau gasped as he went to said compartment. The others followed as they indeed found the ice type fox.
"You see this Vulpix?" A medic woman asked them. "She was bullied by Team Skull, and now She's scared of people."
"Aw, poor thing." Misty felt sympathy for the ice type.
"Eevee." The Evolution Pokemon said, her ears drooping.
"We saved her from Team Skull actually." Hau told her. Vulpix opened her eyes and looked at the teenagers.
"Vul?" She said like a question. Her nose twitched, recognizing them by smell.
"Oh, that's the first time she's greeted someone on her own like that." The female medic acknowledged. "I guess she likes you three. Perhaps you can visit here to greet Vulpix in the future? We're not going anywhere."
"If we have the time, sure!" Hau agreed with sparkles in his eyes.
"Do you hear that Vulpix, these trainers are going to help you out." The woman told the Pokemon happily. Vulpix cheered, but then her stomach growled.
"Hmm, I guess it is time to eat something. You haven't eaten since lunch, have you? Oh, I know! Can one of you go get a big helping of malasada? It's her fav-wait where did your friend go?" The medic asked. Ash and Misty looked to see he just straight up disappeared as soon as malasada was mentioned and requested.
"I guess he went to get that malasada." Misty awkwardly chuckled.
"He sure does love those things, huh?" Ash laughed. And in no time at all he came back, huffing and puffing with a big box.
"I bought a dozen malasadas to see which one she likes!" He panted loudly as he presented the box to Vulpix, opening it. "Which one do you want?" Sniffing the food, Vulpix pointed to a large white powder sugar covered one. "Good choice! Let's dig in!" The native teen cheered. Ash and Misty looked at each other only to shrug and take a helping themselves. Eevee loved her first taste of the pastry and scarfed down her food. After all the malasadas were eaten, everyone there waved the teenagers goodbye. The Medic yelled,
"Thanks for the help and food! Come by any time!"
"You're welcome!" Hau shouted back. He sighed as the teens continued on their journey. Soon, they found the Lush Jungle, home of the grass trial of Mallow. In fact, the girl was walking by the entrance as they entered and she greeted them.
"Oh hi! I remember you two from earlier! So is this Hau you've been looking for?"
"Yep, that's me!" The boy smiled.
"Well thanks for all of you stopping by! Welcome to the Lush Jungle, my trial grounds! You ready to get in some hot water? My trial is ready for you, but only one. The other will have to wait a bit." Ash and Hau looked at each other. One had Hawlucha and Grimer, the other Torracat with a newly acquired Fireium Z. Instantly they began rock paper scissors.
"Woo! I've got it!" Hau cheered while Ash became glum.
"Okay then, here in the Lush Jungle, it's time for Mallow's trial to begin!" After proclaiming that, the green haired girl closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. "Ah, the breathe of the jungle. I can tell just what today's special should be. My secret specialty: the Super Mallow Special! I'm going to need you to find three ingredients for me. I'll need a Mago berry, some honey and a big root. Here you go! I brought you a forage bag to hold all of the ingredients you'll gather for your trial. If you just tossed the ingredients in your own bag, it'd be a mess. That's what happened with the beta of my first trial. A Mallow Mess, I guess." She giggled. "Let's go and find the first ingredient." Leading Hau a little bit into the jungle, they spotted some Fomantis, little grass type creatures.
"Geez, those Fomantis." Mallow giggled. "I wonder if they can tell how strong you are? You can find the mago berries around here, but you can also find Fomantis here as well, 'cause they love Mago berries too. If you take a Mago berry that's been keenly eyed at, they might not take it too kindly! When you get a berry, just come back here."
"Cool." The teenage boy responded as he ventured out, talking to himself. "Since I just need to pick one, it's unlikely I'll upset anything. Better stay away from that first tree though." Going around a patch of grass, Hau found a perfectly sized Mago berry and picked it. "Yes! Come to papa!" Putting it in the pouch, he returned to Mallow.
In a segment of jungle where flowers are blooming on bushes, Hau spotted Kiawe in the grass.
"Kiawe?"
"He and Lana are helping me with the trial." Mallow explained. "You'll get your honey from these flowers, but Pokemon sure do love their honey, so choose wisely."
"Hey, what are the odds I'm going to pick a bad flower?" The teen shrugged as he went to the nearest flower and got his honey.
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." The girl chuckled mischievously. "Well, onto the next ingredient!" What they found next were a group of sleeping Sudowoodo. "You better have a keen eye. You don't want to take a root from an actual Sudowoodo."
"Gotcha." Hau nodded as he went looking around, making sure the root he was looking for wasn't belonged to by anything. "Ah, this one's good." With the lack of a face, this was just a simple tree and thus removed a root from it.
"Now then, let's head back to the entrance." Mallow suggested. Once they were back there, along with Kiawe and Lana, Mallow was joking around as she stirred with a big bone the fire trial captain gave her. "Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble." She giggled once more. "I like saying that. I just wish I had a witch hat for this." As the ingredients were being put in, a Fomantis came out, angry its honey was taken. "Uh oh. You'd better beat that if you want this to be complete."
"Torracat, Fire Fang!" Hau sent out his fire starter, whom swiftly bit down on the grass type, sending it running in fear.
"Well, Fomantis sure does love its honey." Mallow giggled. "Almost finished! Just one last pinch of my super special secret spice... and it's done!" Well, the concoction certainly smelled sweet with a hint of spiciness, but the dark purple liquid and floating chunks certainly didn't make it look appetizing. "Ta-da! The Super Mallow Special! All done and smelling delicious!" The unique smell wafts through the air, and Hau feels a presence behind him, though it was the looks of the others that gave it away. Turning, he and Torracat saw a grass type, pink colored praying mantis with a somewhat humanoid shape. And it was as tall as he was! Lurantis gave a battle cry while glowing with energy, it's aura empowering it. Moving at lighting speed, the Bloom Sickle Pokemon used Leaf Blade and landed a solid Leaf Blade slash against the Fire Cat Pokemon, who meowed in pain from the attack as he was pushed back.
"Oh no you don't!" Hau retaliateed as he started to perform a Z-Move. "Inferno Overdrive!" Both he and Torracat glowed as the fire starter formed a giant ball of flame, and fired it at the grass type. It tried to dodge, but the blast area was too big and it was consumed by essentially an exploding sun. It fell defeated in a crisp.
"Wow, you sure beat that faster than most people!" Mallow acknowledged, looking super impressed. "You're even stronger than I thought! You really drew out the best in your Torracat!" The Pokemon meowed in appreciation while Hau panted while wiping his sweaty brow.
"Thanks."
"I'm proud that you've come to learn how to use my Z-Crystal so effectively already." Kiawe grinned with a nod.
"Seems like we need to toughen up our Totem Pokemon a bit." Lana giggled.
"Well, look's like you cleared all of Akala's trials! An amazing trainer like you definitely deserves this!" Mallow handed Hau the Grassium Z-Crystal.
"Awesome!" The teenage boy cheered.
"Let me show you how it works. You go like, 'Graaaassss!', ok?" Crossing her arms before thrusting them forward, she drew her arms close to wiggled them like a sprouting plant before spreading her arms out like a rainbow. "Alright, let's dig in!" The young chef cheered, though the others were reluctant.
"Umm, I'm pretty full from a lunch earlier." Kiawe lied.
"And isn't your food for Pokemon?" Lana tried reasoning. "Why don't you save it for all the Pokemon here?"
"Y'think? Oliva always says she thinks it's delicious. I think people would like food cooked for Pokemon too. Your loss!"
"Woo, what's that sweet smell driftn' my way?!" Everybody saw Professor Kukui come around, following his nose. "Could it be a tasty Mallow Special?"
"Yep! He just cleared my trial!" Mallow beamed.
"Awesome! There will be all kinds of discoveries and new experiences to make your adventure brighter! Hey Hau, could you and the others come with me for a bit?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"There's a facility, yeah, that I want to go check out on your island challenge. The Dimensional Research Lab! Let's get on over there with Extreme Speed!"
"Yeah!" The native teen shouted with vigor as the two began to run. The two then ran past Ash and Misty training with their Hawlucha and Staryu.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Misty called out.
"Just run along!" Hau yelled in response. The two sighed in exasperation before they and their Pokemon went on running too to catch up.
"So, congrats on winning all the three Akala Island trials! You can now take on Kahuna Olivia's grand trial!"
"I know! I'm looking so forward to it!"
"Hope you have some hard hitting Pokemon, since she uses rock types!"
"My Torracat knows Double Kick and I just caught a Staryu! So I think I have what it takes!" However, Hau gasped. "Wait a minute!" He made an abrupt stop with his sandal covered feet sounding that screeching tires.
"Eh? What's up cousin?" Kukui asked, confused.
"Before I can go beat Olivia I need to find Lillie! She needs to watch me beat her!"
"Oh yeah, she's still in Heahea City last I saw her."
"Cool, thanks Professor! I'll totally go to that thing you suggested!" Just as Ash and Misty caught up, Hau ran the other direction, causing the two of them to groan in aggrevation.
"Where's he running off to now?!" The fiery redhead complained.
"He's going to meet Lillie so she can watch him complete his Grand Trial."
"Whoo, we're sure getting a cardio work out." Ash panted.
"Nebby, use Splash!" Lillie requested. The little gas cloud flopped around on the ground, basically doing nothing until it accidentally bumped into the wall. It looked dazed from the impact. "You... you always seem to end up getting hurt, Nebby. Seeing that pained me just as much as if I was the one getting hurt. But if I could become as strong as Hau or Misty. And maybe even... Ash. Things would be different." She blushed when she said his name. Some loud footsteps and heavy panting caught her attention ash Lillie turned to see her friends, all worn out from running through what's now currently night.
"Oh, hello. It's only been a few hours since we split yet it feels like it's been a while already."
"Yeah... time sure... flies when... you're having... fun." Hau panted. "But... at least I... completed my trials."
"That's cool." Lillie smiled. "Did you know there was a laboratory here? That studies dimensions?"
"That's partially... why we're here. Kukui told me."
"So you do know it. And what might be the other reason?"
"I wanted you... to see me... win my Grand Trial."
"O-okay." She was surprised he wanted her there. "How about you Ash? How are you doing?"
"I just need to beat Mallow's challenge, then I'll be ready for my Grand Trial too.
"It must be quite trying to do that many trials in a row in one day."
"Oh you know. Boys just seem to have limitless energy." Misty sighed both out of amusement and tiredness.
"But it's no problem! We're taking them as they come and keep winning!" Hau yelled with enthusiasm as he pumped both fists in the air.
"Goodness, really? It wasn't any trouble? I suppose that explains it. The reason you look so happy Hau."
"Yep! Three wins in a row will make anyone happy as can be!" Hau laughed in agreement.
"Hmm. Well, the Professor is inside. He's been waiting." Lillie then went and entered the laboratory building. Heading in with her, they went up to the 3rd story. Getting out of the elevator, Professor Kukui noticed them and waved them over.
"Hey cousins! I'd like you to meet Professor Burnet. She runs this facility, yeah, and she's also my wife." A tanned woman in her either late 20s or early 30s with white wearing a grey tank top, black pants and a black top wrapped around her waist walked to the group.
"So you're Ash, Hau and Misty, right? Lillie has told me about you three."
"Pleasure to meet you." Misty said as she extended a hand which the professor shook.
"Likewise. Says that you're all reliable and friendly. Three months ago, I found Lillie lying on the beach. Cosmog in her bag also unconscious."
"Oh yeah, I invited them here because I wanted you to tell him about some of the mysterious phenomena around Alola.
"I'd be happy too. You're probably meaning Ultra Wormholes, yes?
"Ultra wormholes?" Ash inquired.
"Yes. It's extremely rare, but sometimes a hole opens in the sky over Alola. It appears that this rift leads to a different and unknown dimension."
"Why are they called 'Ultra' wormholes?" Misty asked. "What makes them so special compared to regular ones?"
"Well, regular wormholes are very tiny. About ye big." Burnet formed a circle with her fingers small enough a pea would have some difficulty getting through without light squeezing. "And they're normally smaller than that. And they're incredibly unstable so they tend to disappear as soon as they form or anything tries passing through. But these ones labeled as ultra are big enough to fit a person at the very least, and they stay open for a still short, but considerably prolonged amount of time. The people believe there's a mysterious dimension because of the legends of fearsome Pokemon appearing from these. It's very weak as proof, but I can't ignore it. There is also plenty of evidence already in the Pokedex for the existence of different dimensions, right?"
"Fearsome Pokemon?" Hau muttered.
"Even wild Pokemon sometimes attack people, yeah? But these Pokemon went far beyond that. They were called Ultra Beasts, and they were feared. One is believed to be a living tower, while another has been known to eat everything including mountains. If the stories are to be believed, the guardian deities of the islands fought desperately against them. But like I said, it's all legends and folktales. It's hard to know how much is true. But I would be very happy if I could somehow unravel the mysteries of the Ultra Wormholes by studying the dimensional disturbances. We've recorded several known relationships between Pokemon and different dimensions in books. You can read them on the bookshelves in this lab. Most notably Palkia and Giratina known best in the Sinnoh region. Even regular Pokemon like Bronzong who's brought rain from another world.
"That's amazing." Misty commented. "So, there's something you said that I'm curious about. Lillie, how is it you would up unconscious on a beach three months ago?"
"Well, I wanted to learn more about Nebby. I mean, Cosmog. So I decided to come and speak to Professor Burnet. But I got lost along the way, and ended up wandering about until I collapsed on the shore. She listened to my story, staying up all night to hear it all. And then she even got her Professor Kukui to lend me his loft to stay in. And she told him to help me investigate Nebby's origins too. Professor Burnet has been so kind, and she's still helping me try to find a way to get Nebby back to its own home. She's been like... like a real mother to me."
"Tough relationship with your mom?" The redhead asked. Lillie lowered her head, letting her hat shield her face until Misty continued, "Don't worry, I have parent issues too. You don't have to tell me what happened, but I haven't had the best relationship with my folks." Lillie remained silent, but she did nod, letting her friend know she understood the kind gesture.
"Well then, leaving off that note..." Professor Kukui spoke up. "If Ultra Beasts are really out there, I wonder what kind of moves they can use? Well Hau, you've finished all three of Akala's trials and Ash is just behind you. I'd imagine by midafternoon if not noon, both of you will have accomplished Olivia's Grand Trial. The Island Kahuna, woo!"
"Good luck kids!" Burnet cheered for them. "Olivia's house is past Diglett's Tunnel. It's in Konikoni City."
"I still have some things to do here with Professor Burnet, but I'll try to be there for the Grand Trial if I can." Lillie assured.
"Thanks! You know, being able to go to more places really makes it feel like you're growing along with your partner Pokemon, huh? It's pretty great!"
"Yeah. Let's go back to the Lush Jungle so I can clear my trial too before sleeping. I want to make sure I've gotten everything done today!" Ash said to his friends.
"Sounds like a plan! Let's do it!" Hau agreed as they boys gave each other high fives.
A/N: It was interesting writing about Colress again. I'm proud of my nods to my XYZ parody, BW2 story and having the characters acknowledge that the regions keep coming up with cool but substanceless gimmicks. At least the various Yu-Gi-Oh anime shows know how to actually upgrade their card system every few years with sycro summons and XYZ monsters, number cards and pendulum summons. You guys should look up Honest Trailers on the Pokemon games. The narrator is hilarious on how he deconstructs that each game is just the same over and over again. Certainly worth watching.