Yeah, Cara's being an overboard jerk to one particular character. He doesn't deserve to have her blowing up at him, on top of everything else.

(And as another nod to Coco, the title of this chapter is one of the soundtrack songs)

Polaris-Ponyta, Mia-Alolan Marowak, Marin-Primarina, Lunick-Midnight Lycanroc, Twine-Fomantis, Hachi-Mimikyu, Zetty-Rotom Dex

Nebby-Cosmog

Chapter 15: Family Doubtings

I had been looking forward to Ula'ula meadow, but we all decided it was better to stay away. The meadow was too close to Po Town. After several encounters with Team Skull, it seemed wise to stay away from their base. Especially if the police weren't doing anything to keep the gang under control.

Instead, we went to a waterfall Acerola recommended. Ben, Hari and I I changed into swim gear. We came back to find Lillie sitting on a rock, still wearing her dress.

"I don't have a swim suit," she explained, apologetic. "You guys can swim."

"That's no fun!" Hari exclaimed.

"I don't have an extra swim suit, but I can lend you clothes you can get wet in," I offered.

"Oh, I don't want to be…" Lillie broke off as her Vulpix placed a paw on her knee. The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds. Then Lillie managed a smile. "Well, I would like to go swimming."

Ben, Hari and I grinned at each other. It was good to see Lillie trying to be less meek. I pulled out an extra t-shirt, and Hari leant her a pair of shorts. Ben cannonballed into the pond, and Hari and I followed. Lillie hesitated, then jumped in feet-first. We cheered, since I'd half expected her to come in slowly.

The waterfall wasn't too high, which turned out to be a good thing. Even at this height, the falling water droplets felt like pebbles raining down on our heads. Ben, Hari and I tried to swim up to the base of the falls, but it stung too much. Instead, we had fun playing in the water currents the falls created. Most of our Pokémon played on the shore, but Marin and Ben's Blastoise came to swim with us. Twine, Hachi and Zetty were splashing in the shallows with Vulpix and Nebby. Polaris, Mia, and Lunick didn't come too close to the water. At first I didn't notice when Twine slipped away. Then I spotted him on top of the rock we'd jumped off of. He was facing the sun, rooted to the spot. I started to swim toward him. And he began to glow. I gasped, and everyone turned to watch as Twine evolved into a Lurantis.

"Oh my gosh!" Lillie exclaimed. "Look at that!" She was fairly splashing around in excitement. I guess she hadn't seen many Pokémon evolutions. Nebby squealed, bouncing around with Lillie. Vulpix yipped in excitement too. He breathed out an Icy Wind, which hit the mist from the waterfall and showered us with a fine layer of snow. We laughed, reaching out to catch snowflakes on a warm tropical island.

We played until it started to get dark, and then headed back to the Tapu Village Pokémon Center. It was good timing, because the warm tropical rain started pounding down on us just before we got inside. I showered and changed into my pajamas. As I rejoined the others, voices echoed from the lobby. Hari straightened up and faced the door. When something caught Hari's attention, I paid attention too. Then Ben stood as well. The voices were raising. Nebby huddled up next to Lillie, looking nervous. Her Vulpix stood next to her, his fur starting to stand on end.

"Stay here," I told Lillie. "We'll see what's happening."

Lillie gathered the two Pokémon and huddled on the bunk bed. Ben, Hari and I stepped into the hall. As I clipped my Pokéball belt on over my pajamas, some of the words caught my attention. I spun back to Hari. "Can you and Gro protect Lillie?"

He nodded and slipped back into the room, closing the door. Ben and I hurried down the hall, each with a Pokéball in our hands. We rounded the corner and found half a dozen people, their Pokémon out and bristling for battle. All of the people wore Team Skull uniforms.

The nurse and Chansey were cowering behind the desk. As Team Skull faced us, I sent out Marin. He directed a torrent of water to wash the invaders away from the nurse. Ben beckoned for her and Chansey to follow him to safety. And hopefully to call the police, though I didn't have any faith in them at this point. And I doubted they would arrive before I cleaned up the mess.

Team Skull got to their feet, dripping wet. One of them caught my eye. It was kind of hard to tell with their masks on, but he looked like Julio. And there was an Alolan Rattata next to him. He'd had an Alolan Rattata on his team.

I waved to Marin, who used Icy Wind. The attack froze Julio's wet clothes to the wall, along with his Rattata. But before we could get to anyone else, two Alolan Sandshrew attacked Marin, using Metal Claw. As Marin tried to deflect the attacks, a Shiinotic used Stun Spore. Marin crumpled, gasping. I returned him and sent out Polaris. Usually fire moves are a bad idea in an enclosed space. But Polaris was no ordinary fire Pokémon. She whipped up a small Firespin, knocking back the Sandshrew and Shiinotic, while also burning away the Stun Spore in the air. They sent out a Mudbray and an Artaquanid, clearly hoping for a type advantage. Polaris kicked Mudbray into the wall and pranced out of the way of Araquanid's Bubblebeam. She spun around, catching her opponent with a Flamethrower hot enough to make his water bubble sizzle. Then she finished him off with Stomp.

As the last embers flickered through the Pokémon Center lobby, Team Skull poured out of the front doors in a panic. I chased them into the rain. Polaris came after me, her mane spitting and sparking as water droplets hit it. Team Skull didn't deserve to get off so easily when they'd attacked a Pokémon Center. As my bare feet slapped against the wet road, I heard the words of one of the retreating gangsters.

"Bro, I know we were just a distraction, but that was brutal."

I skidded to a halt, my breath catching in my chest. A distraction. They were a distraction. I whirled and dashed back into the center, barely noticing that the Team Skull guy was still frozen to the wall by one foot, trying to free himself. I sprinted down the hall, Polaris at my heels, and threw open the door to the room.

The curtain flapped in the wind, heavy and damp from the rain that was spraying in through the broken window. Hari was sprawled on the ground amid shards of glass.

Lillie and Nebby were gone.

"Ben!" I shouted. "BEN!" I fell to Hari's side, trying not to touch the broken glass, but still cutting my leg. I sat there for several seconds as my panicked mind rushed in circles. Then I grabbed Twine's Pokéball and released him. He dove out the window, trying to follow after whoever had taken Lillie. I reached for Hari, then paused. I didn't want to touch him until I knew what was wrong. If someone has a head injury, it's bad to move them.

Ben dashed in the door and I shouted, "get the nurse!" A Pokémon doctor was better than nothing. Ben sprinted back the way he'd come. I noticed Gro across the room, sprawled across a fallen lamp pole. Hari and Gro had never been fighters, but I was sure they'd fought to protect Lillie and Nebby. And they'd both paid.

Maybe I could use my telepathy to see where Hari had been hurt. I'd never been good at using it with humans. I'd been told that human minds are too busy and not open enough to hear me, or for me to focus on. But Hari was different. He was about as much Pokémon as he was human. I put my hands on his scrawny shoulders. It took almost half a minute as I tried to calm my thundering heart. But I got a vague image. A sort of sharp heat down his middle. It looked like it must hurt, but it didn't seem severe. Gro looked far more battered, but Pokémon were much sturdier than human kids.

Nurse Joy and Chansey entered and knelt beside Hari. I wanted to stay beside him, but I had to back away to let them work.

Twine slipped back inside the room. He looked down at the ground. "They're gone. They drove off in a truck."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Thanks, Twine. Good job." I'd lost them. I'd fallen for a stupid decoy, and lost Lillie and Nebby. Why would they want Lillie? Wasn't Nebby enough? But I could track Nebby. Or if I couldn't, then one of the Mewtwos could help me. They wouldn't get away with this. And I had another lead too. I straightened, clenching my fists, and marched back to the lobby. Polaris and Twine followed.

Julio's foot was still frozen to the wall. His Rattata was chiseling away at the ice with sharp teeth. I closed on him, rage boiling in me. He shrank back as I jabbed him hard in the chest with my finger.

"Stealing Pokémon isn't enough for you now? You had to kidnap a girl, and hurt a kid. If Hari's been seriously hurt…" I trailed off, figuring that silence was a more efficient threat than anything specific. Though I also had enough self-control to know that I could never actually hurt him.

"K-kidnap? What?"

Julio's frightened face took me aback. I barked out a harsh laugh. "You didn't know? You blindly followed these people, without even knowing what they were up to? Helping them trash a Pokémon hospital? Where did they go? Where did they take Lillie?"

"I-I don't know. Maybe Po Town? But… I don't think so. Someone else- I think someone else hired Guzma."

"Hired who?"

"Guzma. He's our boss. The boss of Team Skull." He was almost babbling, as though talking would distract me from stomping him flat. "A while ago, he started working for someone. That's when everything started getting worse."

"And you stuck with them. Until it came to kidnapping and knocking out kids."

As if to drive my point home, Nurse Joy and Chansey appeared down the hall, pushing Hari on a rolling stretcher. I felt a choking in the back of my throat and clapped a hand over my mouth. Julio went very pale.

Polaris stepped between me and Julio. A warning that I shouldn't take my anger out on him. "I don't think he knew anything," she said. Julio's Alolan Rattata stepped toward me, gnashing her teeth and trying to scare me away.

I looked up at the ceiling, clenching my fists and feeling my eyes grow hot. Rattata continued biting at the ice until Julio came free. "I'll help," he said. "I'll help find your friend."

"You just said you didn't know where they took her."

"But I'm part of Team Skull. I can get information."

"Maybe you should start by cleaning up the broken glass all over the floor." I gestured to my bleeding knee.

Julio looked at the ground and nodded.

I looked at Twine, silently asking him to keep an eye on Julio. Twine nodded, and the two of them went into the room where Lillie had been taken. I followed after Hari, finding him with Ben and the nurse. She looked up. "I've called the police. They're bringing an ambulance."

"Great," I murmured. The useless police. I'd reported to them so many times since coming to Alola. And yet this still happened to my friends.

Nurse Joy hesitated. "I think he may have a cracked rib or two."

I sank into a chair, feeling wilted. Cracked ribs. Yeah, it could have been a lot worse. But what kind of freaks do that to a kid? I looked at Ben, feeling helpless. He tried to respond with a reassuring look. I sat there for a couple minutes, trembling and trying to take steady breaths. Even so, I felt a couple hot drops roll down my cheeks. Gro was curled up next to Hari, and I stroked the unconscious Pokémon. Hari would have trouble moving for over a month until his bones completely healed. That would drive him crazy. He was always on the move. How would he cope with such a handicap? Then because I couldn't stand it, I went to the room where Julio was sweeping up the glass. I started picking up stuff that had fallen, like the lamp and bedspread.

Julio glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "How's the kid?"

"Cracked ribs."

Julio froze for a few seconds, then resumed cleaning. I heard the front doors open and running footsteps. I figured it was the police. But then a boy hurtled through the doorway. A blonde boy who looked familiar.

Julio gaped at him. "Gladion?"

Gladion. The boy I'd fought when Team Skull was trying to steal the Miltank. The boy who had that alarming Pokémon. The Null one. Hissing in anger, I gestured to Twine and Polaris.

"Where's Lillie?" Gladion demanded. "She said she'd be safe with you!"

I paused, confused. "What?"

"Lillie! How did Team Skull get her? I thought you were a champion or something? I thought you were keeping her safe!"

"What are you talking about?" I glanced at Julio, who looked as bewildered as I was.

Gladion looked like he wanted to punch something. But he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Look. Lillie's my sister."

I snorted. "Sure."

Gladion growled in frustration. "Fine. I'll prove it. Lillie told me you can talk to Pokémon,. So talk to this one." He pulled out a Pokéball, and for a moment I was afraid it would be the Null. But a Crobat that appeared. "Go ahead," Gladion demanded.

I stared at Gladion, then turned to Crobat. I used telepathy, because I didn't really want to let them hear. "Crobat," I said, nodding a greeting. I took a breath. As angry as I was, I didn't want to take my fury out on a Pokémon. What does that say about me? I'll rail at a guy I've frozen to the wall, but I won't do that to a Pokémon?

Crobat nodded back. One of the nice things about telepathy is that it's nearly impossible to lie. Lying with your voice is one thing. But it's a lot harder to think a lie with confidence. Plus, Pokémon are usually a lot more honest than humans. "Hi, Crobat," I repeated, because I was flustered. "I was wondering. What do you know about Lillie?"

Crobat examined me, seeming interested in the question. "She used to live with Gladion on the island. But their mother was trying to call Pokémon from far away. Dangerous ones, like nothing we'd ever seen. Gladion was afraid what would happen if she brought these to Alola, and he was worried for Null. So two years ago he took Null and ran away. And then Lillie got away too."

"Their mother?" I repeated. Someone summoning dangerous Pokémon from far away. I shivered. Ultra Beasts?

Crobat continued, "Their mother was the alpha. In charge of that strange floating building out in the ocean."

These words rang in my head, making me shiver. I turned to Gladion. "Who's your mother?"

He sighed. "She hired Team Skull to take Lillie back. Her name's Lusamine."

I cursed. "Aether Paradise?"

Gladion nodded. "She wants to summon Ultra Beasts. She's mad for them. Wants to keep them like pets. But you've seen what they're like. She wants to use Cosmog to open a wormhole to bring them through. Lillie stole Cosmog because it gets hurt when they force it to open a wormhole." He paused. "See, years ago our father was researching the Ultra Wormholes. But he… fell into one. I think that triggered Mother's obsession. She's never said it, but I suppose some part of her expects to find him again if she gets involved enough with the wormholes and Ultra Beasts."

It was weird that he knew so much about me. I guess Lillie had told him, but still. "No one can be allowed to mess with wormholes." I'd had my own experience with that, and I didn't want anyone else to suffer the same fate. "I'll stop them and get Lillie and Nebby back."

"Not you," Gladion said. "Us. I know my way around there. I'm going to save my sister."

"I'll come," Julio said.

"If you want," Gladion said, dismissive.

"Why?" I demanded.

"Look!" Julio snapped. "You may think I'm lower than dirt, but I have standards. I worked for Guzma, but I don't work for this lady. And I didn't mean to kidnap or hurt anyone. I may not know Aether Paradise, but I know Team Skull. More even than Gladion does."

"It won't only be Team Skull," Gladion continued. "A lot of the people on Aether will fight. Mother takes care of Pokémon on Aether Paradise, especially those that were injured by Team Skull. Except she asks Team Skull to hurt the Pokémon. When people see her apparently saving these poor Pokémon, it gives her the publicity and funding she needs to run the place. And Guzma likes her because she's the only adult that seems to recognize his strength."

Julio looked at the ground, his face flushed in shame and anger. "I didn't know. They never asked me to hurt Pokémon like that."

"They only asked people who wouldn't make a big deal of it," Gladion said. "I also did stuff I'm not proud of. I just needed a job. I had nothing else."

I snorted. "You know, the excuse of 'it's just a job' can end up covering so many horrible things."

The two of them looked away, not able to argue the point. Then Gladion straightened up. "Look, this isn't the time for some moral debate. We need to go now if we want to stop something way worse."

I couldn't leave Hari, unconscious and hurt. I turned and found Ben standing in the door.

"Hari would want you to save Lillie. Do you want me to come?" Ben knew he was of moderate use in a battle. But it was always good to have him at my side. Someone I trusted. Unlike these two guys who I barely knew, and who were part of the gang that had stolen Lillie, trashed a Pokémon Center, and hurt my friend. But I also believed that they wanted to help. Or atone, or something. And Gladion was strong. I didn't know much about Julio's battling, but he could be useful dealing with Team Skull.

"I don't think you can come," Gladion said so Ben. "I can probably get one person through, but not two."

I scrubbed at my face in frustration. "I want you to come, but I think you have to stay with Hari. If there's any chance the police will actually help, you can tell them what's going on. The gym leaders too – I mean the Kahunas. And Professor Kukui. If Lusamine is trying to summon Ultra Beasts, people need to be warned."

Ben nodded, hesitant. "You'll be okay?" The two of us exchanged awkward grins. I'd been through so many situations that were definitely not "okay." And yet here I was, alive. "You'd better get out of here before the police arrive then," Ben said. "They'll want to question you if they catch you."

He was right. I had to stop Lusamine before she opened any wormholes. They didn't have too big of a head start. The faster we left the better.

"Thanks, Ben."

He hugged me, and I stepped out into the rain with Gladion and Julio.

"You know," Gladion said. "I think there's only one way we can get in without fighting every person in the Aether Foundation."