Ula'ula Island (Day)

"Ula'ula Island. It's been a while." Dominic said, taking in a deep breath with Mimikyu in his arms. He had asked Kukui to schedule a boat so he could speak with Nanu. If anybody could help with his predicament, it was the Kahuna of Ula'ula. He was a former member of the International Police in his own universe, so maybe he had experience with Fallers in this one.

Remembering the general layout of the island from his time as a Trial-Goer, Dominic quickly found the police station. As soon as he opened the door, he and Mimikyu were met with dozens of Alolan Meowth. Just like back home, they didn't really pay that much attention to the trainer. "Alright, what's going on?" Nanu said from behind a desk, walking up to the front of the station. The shine of Dominic's Z-Power Ring caught his eye almost immediately. 'How does this kid have one of my Z-Rings?' he thought to himself, sizing up the boy.

"Excuse me, but do you know where I could find the Island Kahuna?" Dominic asked. He knew that if he claimed to know Nanu, that would mark him as a suspicious individual. Besides, he wanted to have some fun.

"You want to see the Island Kahuna?" Nanu asked, squinting his eyes. "Sorry, but that's impossible right now. The Kahuna just left on a training journey to master his skills as a trainer."

"What a coincidence that I happened to come here just as he left." Dominic said, badly feigning disappointment.

"He won't be back in ten days, or maybe a month, or maybe even longer." Nanu said with a smirk. "Actually, he might be gone a whole year. Why do you want to see him anyway?"

"Just wanted to ask a question." Dominic said, withholding the truth. "But, if you can't help me, could you point me to the Abandoned Thrifty Megamart?"

"Sure, it's just down the road and to the left." Nanu said, wondering about the blonde trainer.

"Thanks." Dominic said, exiting the building with his partner.

It was at this point that Nanu noticed that none of the Meowth in the building reacted to the boy's presence. They never ignored someone like that, especially if it was a stranger. Who was this kid?


Ula'ula Island (Day)

"Well, that was no help." Dominic said, walking out of the closed-down superstore. Much to his surprise, it was a lot larger than the one he met Mimikyu in. It was also a lot emptier, with the only thing of note being a gift card on the ground that expired three decades ago. "I'm still amazed that there weren't any Pokemon in there. The place looked perfect for Ghost-Types."

"AGHH!"

Hearing the sound of a girl screaming, Dominic and Mimikyu looked up to find a large Gengar flying overhead. On its back was Acerola, and following close behind was a flying Shiny Mimikyu. "Acerola!" the blonde shouted, worried for this dimension's version of his friend. "I'm coming!"

After a few minutes of following Gengar on foot, Dominic began to lose the energy to keep running. Thankfully, it and the Shiny Mimikyu were currently battling. Although, 'battling' is a stretch. Shiny Mimikyu's Shadow Claw did nothing to Gengar, even though it was a direct hit. Seeing that its opponent couldn't fight back, Gengar grabbed it by the tail and threw it into the sky, causing it to fall back down to Earth. Acerola, worried for her partner, jumped off of Gengar's back and grabbed it. Gengar tried to save her, but failed.

"Oh, dip!" Dominic said, rushing to the purplette's location. Just before she hit the ground, he jumped forward and caught her. "ARE YOU INSANE!?" he yelled.

"Thank you for catching me." Acerola said, grateful. "I'm Acerola. And this is Mimikins." The Mimikyu is her arms chittered in response to its name.

The sound of footsteps alerted both Trainers and their partners to the presence of Gengar, who walked in from behind a tree. Both Mimikyu and Mimikins jumped between the Totem Pokemon and their Trainers, ready to fight. But Gengar wasn't acting aggressive.

"You are? I can't believe you're worried about me." Acerola said. She jumped up and down, showing that she was okay. "I'm fine. See? No problems at all!" Gengar, relieved, mimicked the action. "You're quite different than in the fairy tale."

'Fairy tale?' Dominic wondered, curious.

"Hey, Greedy Rapooh." Acerola said to Gengar. "I really need to be getting back to my home now. I'm sure everyone's really worried about me."

Gengar didn't seem to like that, and as a result, brought out everything it had stolen. Everything. Berries, Nuggets, Lucky Eggs, Twisted Spoons, anything that the Shadow Pokemon perceived as valuable.

"What's all of this?" Acerola asked, confused.

"I think it's trying to convince you to stay with it." Dominic said.

"Now, Greedy Rapooh." the girl said, knowing that she couldn't leave her own duties behind. Worried, Gengar brought out even more items. "You've really collected a lot of treasures, haven't you?" Acerola said, surprised by how much the Shadow Pokemon had stolen. "I can't take this. I mean, there's no way I could possibly give up my library and reading to the kids. After all, they're my precious treasures."

'So instead of the Aether House, it's a library.' Dominic mused. Just another reminder that this wasn't HIS Alola.

Gengar didn't take the refusal well. After pinballing around the forest, it picked Acerola up and tried to 'collect' her. Mimikins tried to help, but only phased through Gengar's body.

"Use Phantom Force, now!" Dominic commanded. Mimikyu vanished in a puff of purple smoke. After a few seconds, it appeared behind Gengar and slashed at it with one of its claws, setting Acerola free. "Are you okay?" he asked the girl.

"I'm fine." she said as Mimikins rushed to her side.

Gengar glared at Dominic, angry that he prevented it from bringing Acerola with it. "Looks like it's too angry to see reason." the blonde said. "We'll have to calm it down. Mimikyu, X-Scissor!" Eyes gleaming, Mimikyu lunged forward and slashed Gengar twice, as if drawing a cross. "Follow up with Play Rough!" Mimikyu made a mad dash to Gengar and beat it several times with its fists and its tail, enveloping them both in a white cloud that was spewing hearts and stars.

"Wow, that Mimikyu's strong." Acerola said, impressed. Not just anyone could hold their own against a Totem Pokemon. Mimikins squeaked in agreement.

"It's still standing even after all of that." Dominic said, watching as Gengar used Shadow Punch. It punched the air in front of it, causing a phantasmal arm to appear behind Mimikyu and strike it. Because of the impact, the Disguise broke and Mimikyu turned into its Busted Form. "Let's finish this with one last move." Dominic crossed his arms in front of his chest, causing his Z-Power Ring to glow. "Can you hear it? The blazing fire deep in your soul?" he asked his partner as he continued the pose sequence. "Now is the time to let that fire out!" he shouted, causing Z-Power to surge from his body to Mimikyu's. "Show the audience what you're made of! Let's Snuggle Forever!"

Its eyes sparkling, Mimikyu jumped into the darkness of the forest. It kept jumping from bush to bush, never letting Gengar know exactly where it would appear from. Then, it leapt from behind Gengar and used its claws to pull it into its costume. After it was trapped inside, Gengar was repeatedly punched from all sides until the Z-Power left Mimikyu's body. Gengar was then thrown out of the costume, knocked out.

"There you are." Nanu said, rushing to Acerola's side. It was only after he was sure she was safe that he noticed Dominic, his Mimikyu, and Gengar. "So, it's you again."

"In the flesh." Dominic said, picking up his partner. "I would've waited for you, but I was told you were on a training journey." he said, a smug smile on his face.

'So he knew who I was from the start.' Nanu realized. He turned to look at Gengar. 'He also took out the Greedy Rapooh without much effort. This kid's no ordinary Trainer.'

"So, what's up with this Gengar? I've never seen one this big before." Dominic said, excluding Gigantamax Gengar. "Acerola called it Greedy Rapooh. Does that have anything to do with its size?"

"Yes. The Greedy Rapooh was a ghost that terrorized Ula'ula hundreds of years ago." Nanu explained. "It stole precious objects from the islanders until the Kahuna of that time sealed it away."

"I wonder if it's actually that greedy." Acerola said, getting Gengar's attention. "Gengar was willing to give me every single treasure it had ever collected. Maybe it's just been lonely. Maybe it wants attention. Maybe it's been looking to find some good friends." She then approached the Shadow Pokemon. "Gengar, you know what? I'd like to be your friend. How about that?" Gengar was surprised to hear this. "I'm not able to go with you, but come with me and I'll keep you company whenever you want!"

"Heh. I wouldn't expect any less." Nanu said, proud of his young charge. "Look, Greedy Rapooh. If you do anything bad again, I'll seal you up and you will NOT get out." he told the Pokemon. Then, he turned to Dominic. "Now then, I believe you had something you wanted to ask me?"

"That's right." the boy said with a wide grin. "What do you know about Fallers?"


Happy Halloween!

From this point on, the timeline will remain as it was in the anime. The only difference being what Team Rocket will do in "Why Not Give Me A Z-Ring Sometime?". Dominic and Mimikyu, as well as all of Dominic's other Pokemon, will join the main cast of characters and certain events will be altered because of this change. Unlike Jessie's Mimikyu, Dominic's Mimikyu has no hatred of Pikachu. As such, the two won't be enemies.

If you have any thoughts, positive or negative, about this story, please leave a Review. Any feedback at all would be nice.