Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

Five Years Ago, In Alola

Umber still couldn't believe it. It had been a year since he had defeated Team Rainbow Rocket, just narrowly winning against Giovanni and his Mewtwo. Alola was now at peace.

…So why was he so on edge?

"Mmm…" Umber fidgeted underneath a palm tree. The fight still played out in his head constantly. He barely won. Giovanni's Mewtwo was incredible to the point where he wondered if he was going to make it out alive. He didn't know what Giovanni was going to do with him if he had been beaten… and quite frankly, he didn't want to know. Alola was almost gone, but he pulled through at the end.

That said, something egged him on. What if Giovanni came back with an even stronger Pokemon team? What if he picked up some unknown Pokemon villains that he wasn't prepared for? As far as he knew, the Galar region doesn't have anyone evil over there, or even the region next to Kalos.

What was the name of that region again? Eh, he'll figure it out.

Arceus knows what would happen if Giovanni would come back, twice as strong as ever… and maybe even actually overwhelming Umber to the point where he loses and Alola as he knew it would cease to exist.

He had to get stronger… he had to. Even if it means he loses sleep, he'll just have to get stronger to protect the ones that he loves and holds dear to, no matter what.

"What ya thinkin' about?" A voice asked.

"Ah!" He jumped, seeing that it was Kukui that snuck up on him. "Oh… thank Arceus, it's just you."

"Something wrong, cousin? You're usually not that jumpy."

"Sorry… it's just… I have a lot on my mind."

"Is it about what had happened a year ago?"

Umber looked at him in surprise. "What? How did you-"

"Come on, cousin! We all know you came out as a different person after defeating Giovanni. Something about him freaked you out."

"I almost lost to him!" He said. "If I hadn't won, who knows what would've happened to Alola… it's because of that I just need to get stronger, no matter what happens, I need to get tougher in case he shows up again."

Kukui smiled. "Ah, getting stronger in case the worst case scenario happens again?"

"I mean, we went from Ultra Beasts to Rainbow Rocket just like that… I didn't have time to relax."

"Aaaah, I get ya."

"Not only that, but there's other stuff going on." Like defending my title at three in the morning, seriously, who the HELL fights the Elite Four in three in the Arceus damned morning?!

"Ah, you have too much on your mind, cousin." Kukui said and then had an idea. "Say… have you ever had the chance to chat with the respective champions of the world?"

"No, not really… it never crossed my mind."

"Well, perhaps you ought to chat with 'em soon. Get your mind off of things, ya know? It might do you some good."

"Ugh, is this your way of telling me that I have a meeting?"

"Your words, not mine!" He smiled.

Umber let out a sigh. "Fiiiine, let's get this meeting over with. And it's with the other Champions, right?"

"Yup."

"Alright, let's do this."

A few minutes later…

"Okay, camera adjusted perfectly… you're all set!" Kukui smiled.

"Let's do this." Umber said with a small smirk as suddenly, the rest of the Pokemon champions appeared on the screen. Red, Lance, Steven, Cynthia, Alder, and Diantha.

"Hello everyone!" Cynthia waved. "...Wait a moment, where's Leon? I thought he was-"

Leon popped up on the screen. "Phew, made it! Sorry about that, Charizard had to help me find my way on this computer." He let out a sheepish laugh.

"Hmm? Strange… Diantha, wasn't your neighbor going to join us?" Steven asked.

"Something came up at the last moment so he had to cancel. Apparently, several Lechonk and their evolution started terrorizing one of the local towns so he had to go and wrangle them up."

"Lechonk?" Umber quietly mouthed.

Alder let out a laugh. "Definitely reminds me of the time I was at a festival and a Gigalith was causing a massive ruckus!"

Red looked over at Umber. "Hey, I know you. You and I fought at the Battle Tree."

Umber's eyes widened. "Holy crap, I can't believe I didn't recognize you! Yeah… I tried my luck at the Battle Tree after fighting you and Blue, but… unfortunately, I got creamed." He rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Reminds me of the Battle Tower in my area. It's not for the faint of heart, especially going in blind." Cynthia said.

"So, this is Alola's first champion? The new kid on the block?" Leon asked.

"Yup, that'd be me. Name's Umber Lightwave, nice to meet you all."

"Pleasure to meet you." Cynthia smiled.

"Indeed." Diantha agreed.

"So, Red. I have to ask you something." Lance spoke up. "How is that Smash Bros tournament holding up?"

"Oh, I'm actually taking a break. I'm letting Charizard terrorize everyone while I'm looking for someone."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I've heard rumors that Leaf had disappeared off of the face of the world and I'm looking everywhere for her. She had said that she's looking everywhere for Mewtwo, and then just dropped off just like that. So I'm looking for her, hoping that she's not doing anything stupid. She can be quite the wild child…"

"Oh, I'm sure she can't be that bad." Steven said.

"She once stuffed Pokeballs in her chest and ripped them out when she was fighting Sabrina."

Steven sweatdropped. "I stand corrected."

Umber, meanwhile, had stiffened when he heard the mention of "Mewtwo", it was enough to make him tremble at the thought.

"Hahaha!" Leon laughed. "Oh, that reminds me of this wild child that's good friends with my little bro. She's quite the hoot, I'll give her that!"

"Who is this wild child? What's her name?" Lance asked.

"Her name's Gloria, and I can tell that she's gonna be a handful when she decides to be a Pokemon trainer."

"Oh? How so?" Diantha asked.

"One word: Scottish."

Alder sweatdropped. "Oh no…"

"Oh yes."

Alder then started laughing. "Yup, Galar's gonna be in for a wild time when she competes in the Gym Challenges!"

"Indeed, perhaps when this Gloria is at the grand finals, perhaps I should pay Galar a visit and see how strong she is. Maybe she might use Dynamax to her full advantage." Diantha said.

Leon chuckled. "I'll give her a hell of a fight."

"Pardon my interruption, but I'm curious. What kind of family does Gloria have?" Steven asked curiously.

"Family of three. Her, her mother and her older brother, Victor. Last I heard, he went off studying abroad and went to see what all the regions had to offer. He's not like Gloria, though. He's pretty more laid back, though not afraid to get in a scrap if the situation calls for it."

"Ah, so Gloria's the excitable one." Steven rubbed his chin in thought before chuckling. "My word, I can imagine what it'd be like if she and Zinnia ever met."

"Zinnia? The one who tried to befriend Rayquaza?" Lance rolled his eyes. "Hmph. The girl's lucky to be alive."

"Indeed, though she has the spirit." Steven nodded.

Cynthia glanced over at Umber, who looked like he was trying to compose himself. "Hmm? Umber, are you feeling okay? You look rather… uneasy."

"Oh, um… it's nothing to worry about…"

"You sure? You could lay into us if you want to." Alder said. "Come on, it can't be that bad."

Umber sighed. "Well, I'm still a bit rattled over something… it happened a year ago."

"What happened?" Lance asked.

"Well, to tell you the truth, an evil man almost destroyed Alola and I barely won… and it's shaken me up for a long time. I'm… sure you're familiar with Giovanni?"

Red's eyes widened. "Giovanni?!"

"I've never met Giovanni, but I've met a few of his men despite him disbanding Team Rocket. They weren't much of a hassle." Lance said.

Several years prior…

"Dragonite, use Hyper Beam!"

"DRAGOOOOOOOO!"

"AAAAAAAARGH!"

"Hmph. If they were smart, they would've gotten out of the way."

In the present…

Lance smirked. "They weren't any trouble."

"He also had a team with him. Archie and Maxie, the leaders of Team Magma and Aqua."

"What?!" Steven exclaimed. "No, those two are in prison… they tried to destroy the world with Groudon and Kyogre, which caused Rayquaza to get involved… and in turn, Zinnia…" He mumbled. "Did he break them out when I wasn't looking…" He let out a growl. "I'm going to have to make a call…"

"He also had Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic-" Umber continued.

"Huh?!" Cynthia said in surprise. "That… that can't be right, he's sitting in the Distortion World! How did Giovanni break him out?!"

"-Ghetsis, the leader of Team Plasma-"

"Hold your Ponyta for one second!" Alder said. "Last I heard, the man hasn't come out of that cave after Rosa and N beat his team! …Could Giovanni have snapped him out of it… no, I don't think he could have… unless…?"

"And he also had Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare with him."

Diantha's eyes widened. "Lysandre? He's buried underneath all that rubble after he tried to destroy the world… did Giovanni dig him out of there? That's majorly concerning."

"...Just for the record, he didn't snag anyone from Galar, did he?" Leon asked.

"And my neighbor in the west?" Diantha added.

"No, he just snagged those from Hoenn to Kalos." Umber explained. "He mentioned that he snagged them from different realities where they had won."

Steven folded his arms. "Zinnia did mention there were alternate realities of the regions. I thought she was making stuff up, but hearing this… she might have been on to something."

"Oh, I also forgot to mention that Giovanni mentioned Team Rocket had easily taken over Kanto and Johto." Umber mentioned.

"Hmm… if that's the case, then that would mean that somehow, in a different reality, Giovanni won." Red said. "And if he did, then so did the others."

"My word… I'd shudder to think about Sinnoh's future in case if Cyrus actually won." Cynthia said.

"Something tells me Lysandre blew up Kalos with that superweapon of his." Diantha mused.

"Disturbing." Lance folded his arms. "And that alternate reality mingled with ours…"

"You know, I've heard of something called Ultra Space, but I thought it was just a myth." Cynthia spoke up. "Perhaps Ultra Space holds thousands of realities."

"I have a sneaking feeling Faba was responsible for it… I think he gained an interest when Lusamine and Guzma went into Ultra Space, but Necrozma kicked them out. Because… he was part of that Rainbow Rocket mess."

"Rainbow Rocket? That's what they went with?" Alder raised an eyebrow. "Ah yes, because when I want to be threatening, I might as well put rainbow at the front of the team name. Truly, that will strike fear into my enemies!"

"Hmm, perhaps that's all they could think of at the time, and it just stuck." Diantha mused. "Leon, do you have any wild people over at your region?"

"Well, I've heard there's something going on with Spikemuth, something about a… gang rising up in honor of a young lady? I dunno, rumors are weird." Leon shrugged. "Meanwhile, the coordinator, Rose, he's a pretty swell guy. He's a bit concerned over The Darkest Day, but that won't happen for another millennia."

Diantha and Cynthia both narrowed their eyes. "I see…" Cynthia mused.

"So this has shaken you up pretty bad?" Red asked.

"Yeah." Umber nodded. "I barely won… his Mewtwo is something else and… I don't know what would've happened if I lost, but I shudder to think what Giovanni would have done."

"That would do a number on you… you're like… uh… how old are you?" Alder asked.

"Twelve."

"Yup, that'd do a number on you for sure."

"It's because of that… i'm desiring to get stronger no matter what, should something like this happen again, and a desire to protect those close to me. One of my friends nearly died by Ghetsis's hands, but I put a stop to him. Whatever it takes, I'll do it… even if I lose sleep over it."

"Commendable, but that last part is a bit concerning." Steven said. "Yes, we champions have a duty to protect our regions, yet there comes a point where we have to relax a bit so we won't kill ourselves over it. Practicing self care is important."

"Indeed, as I have a villa in Unova that I go to every once in a while." Cynthia smiled.

"My offer is still up on the table!" Alder winked.

Cynthia blushed. "Perhaps some other time, Alder."

"While it is necessary to protect your region from threats, you also have to take care of yourself otherwise you won't be on top of your game." Alder explained. "As Steven said, it's commendable that you're willing to get stronger… however, losing sleep isn't going to solve anything."

"It's not my fault people decide to challenge the Elite Four at three in the morning." Umber mumbled.

Alder grimaced. "That's relatable. You wouldn't happen to have a Youngster Joey in your region too, would ya?"

Red groaned. "Is he saying his pants are comfy and easy to wear everywhere else… or is it just the one who I've encountered?"

"I've never met a Youngster Joey…" Cynthia mused. "If I did, it probably wasn't very exciting…"

"Look, Umber, you got a bright future ahead of ya. Don't worry about it." Leon explained. "We always need to be prepared for anything, but at the same time, we need to take care of ourselves."

"Just like how you lose your way all the time?" Diantha teased.

"Hey!" Leon rolled his eyes.

"I must say, Umber… I thank you for bringing this to our attention." Steven spoke up. "We need to be well prepared in case Giovanni from an alternate reality comes and makes a mess of things, perhaps with a stronger team. That said, I highly advise you to relax more often, who knows what'll happen if you keep this up."

"If only it was that simple…" Umber sighed.

"Umber, just take it easy, okay?" Cynthia spoke up. "You have spirit, but you ought to take care of yourself. It's not healthy to stress over anything, even if it's someone like Giovanni."

"Right…"

"Well, if there's nothing else to say, I'd say meeting adjourned. Nothing wild's happening, so good luck to your future endeavors everyone!" Alder said. "And Diantha, hopefully your western neighbor'll show up one of these days. I'm eager to meet this person!"

Diantha smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

"See you then." Umber said and clicked out of the meeting as did everyone else.

"Leon, wait… before you go." Cynthia spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"Something's bothering me about this Rose character. You said he's concerned about the Darkest Day?"

"Yeah, but I keep telling him it's nothing to worry about." Leon said.

"It's suspicious." Diantha chimed in. "If this was in the far future and the Darkest Day was closing in, I'd be more worried about it. However, it hasn't happened for a long time, correct?"

"Yes. He keeps prattling on about how we need to prepare for the return of this Pokemon that will cause mass destruction to Galar… uh… I think he said it was… Eternado or something."

"Leon, listen to us very carefully." Cynthia said. "Rose might try to kickstart the Darkest Day and say it's for Galar's best interest. I don't know why, but it's a gut feeling I have."

"Indeed. I have the same feeling as well."

"Pfft, it's nothing to worry about. He's just going through a phase, he'll snap out of it. Besides, Galar's booming! Nothing to sneeze about."

"That's what's concerning me the most!" Cynthia said. "I have this feeling he's just using you for his own benefit!"

"I doubt it." Leon shook his head. "You guys ought to meet Rose one of these days, he's actually a pretty nice guy."

"...Leon, if Rose is acting suspicious, call us. We'll do what we can to stop him from doing something stupid." Diantha said.

Leon laughed. "Alright, but i'm telling ya, Rose is a great guy. He wouldn't dare destroy Galar!" He smiled. "See ya later!" He hung up on them.

"No, wait!" Cynthia exclaimed, but it was too late. She let out a sigh. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"Hmm… I've a feeling Leon's getting mixed in with the wrong crowd."

"You and me both." Cynthia nodded.

Umber got up and stretched. "I'm sure everything will be fine… it's not like I'm going to destroy myself by aiming to get stronger." He then smiled. "I'm going to be the strongest champion of Alola and cream Giovanni the next time he shows up!"

His Rotom Phone went off as he answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Umber, you wanna come and have a malasada with me?"

Umber smiled, his stomach grumbling a little. "Sure, Hau. I'll be right over." He said and then hung up, then turned back to the computer screen. "Don't worry guys, I'm not going to destroy myself. I'll prove you guys wrong." He said and then walked out.

Shout out to Yoshi for this Gaiden idea. I've meant to do this one for a while, but got sidetracked by other Gaidens. Whoops.

Ibuki: ...Hope Cynthia-chan and Diantha-chan chewed out Leon-chan after the Darkest Day.

They probably did.