A/N: Chapter title comes from Catch the Moment. I hope you all enjoy.

"I'm tellin' ya, I had no idea what those pokéballs were," Mad Magma insisted. "My partner was the one who gave it to me. I had no idea what it would do."

The Jenny who had arrested the Revengers and Viren glared at him from the other side of the interrogation room. "You seriously expect us to believe that you randomly subjected your Magmortar to the effects of a Dark Ball?" the Jenny asked skeptically. "Aren't the Revengers willing to do anything to get an edge? It sounds right up your alley to me."

Mad Magma found the accusation genuinely offensive. He and his fellow Revengers were thugs, but they had standards. "If I'd known what that thing was doing to my Magmortar, I'd have never even touched it," he snarled. "I want to win. The boys and I are more than willing to resort to dirty tactics to do so, I'll freely admit. I am not interested in torturing pokémon. Not mine, and not anybody else's. When Magmortar and Electivire lost control and started beating that kid's Torracat after it was already down…" Mad Magma shuddered. "I've never seen my partner like that, and we've been together since he was still an egg. Is he okay? Will I be able to see him?" The thug was genuinely frantic.

"The Dark Ball has been destroyed and your Magmar is receiving care in our pokémon center," the Jenny said. Her voice was a bit less sharp than it had been before. "By all accounts it will be fine with a few days' rest."

Magma released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. But then he realized the officer hadn't answered his last question. "And when will I be able to see him?" Mad Magma asked.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that at the moment," the Jenny said. "That'll depend on how serious the crimes you're charged with are. If your compatriot corroborates your testimony that you didn't know what the technology you'd been given did, then you'll most likely only be fined for disrupting the tournament and sentenced to standard community service."

She didn't need to tell him what would happen if Mr. Electric had planned all of this: Both of them would be heading for prison. But he didn't worry about that. His teammate loved his Electivire just as much as Magma loved his Magmortar. Cheating wasn't beneath them, but abusing their pokémon most certainly was.

In another place Hau, the rest of Team Sun, Sun's parents, and the professors celebrated their triumph. Oh sure, they hadn't beaten the Masked Royal, but the Boss, Admin Hau, and the Enforcer had dominated the battle royale. Things were going almost entirely to script:

· Training to get stronger, check

· Cash for Team Skull, check.

· Alola had now heard the name, check.

The Revengers had disrupted things a little bit, sure, but they were now behind bars and Team Sun was able to claim at least partial responsibility. So, Hau thought, looking over at his best buddy, why isn't Sun smiling?

The stress of the earlier clash melted away in the face of good food and good company for everyone else, after all. Sun toasted with the rest of them when appropriate and smiled when someone paid him a compliment, but they're clearly forced. They're not real. Had those weird pokéballs shaken him that much? Nero had taken a couple nasty hits, sure, but they'd won and the Torracat was here; safe and enjoying the celebration with the rest of them.

Sun stood up. "I need to get some air," he said without looking at any of them. "Be back in a bit." Then he left the restaurant without another word.

Lillie started to get up, but Hau rested a hand on her shoulder. "Let me go," he told his friend. "I'll make sure he's okay."

Lillie looked uncertain, but she accepted the request and returned to her seat. Buzzy released a little bit of Sweet Scent to ease some of the tension that Sun's flight left in its wake. Hau made his way for the door.

When he found his friend, Sun was talking on his phone. "Sil, I don't know what else to tell you," Sun said. "They were Dark Balls without a doubt. We both know only one person ever knew how to forge those, and he died years ago." A pause as someone presumably spoke from the other line. "Yes, of course we made sure they were destroyed."

Hau moved closer to his friend but decided not to interrupt him for the time being. While he didn't know who "Sil" was, this conversation was clearly important. If Sun grew more distressed, he'd step in then, but for now his friend seemed in control of himself. "Yeah," Sun said in a tone that suggested he was agreeing with something that "Sil" said. "I know. I'll be careful; I promise." Then the brown-haired young man laughed, and Hau watched as the remaining tension drained out of his friend. "Yeah, I love you too, bro. Give Ethan and the others my best, yeah?" There was a pause and then Sun's face slowly broke into a beaming smile. "You're serious? When? Where?" A second pause and much to Hau's amusement his best friend cheered loudly. "I'll be there, I promise!" Hau was close enough now to hear the word "battle" from the other line. Sun's smile shifted to a savage grin. "You're on. I've grown a lot since the days I could only fight you with rentals."

After Sun hung up the call, Hau clapped him on the shoulder causing the shorter boy to jump backwards, slightly startled. "Easy buddy," Hau said calmly, with a relaxed grin. "It's just me."

It seemed to take Sun a minute to realize who was in front of him, but he relaxed once it sank in that it was Hau who stood before him. "Sorry I bolted," Sun said a bit Mareepishly. "I needed some air and to check in with my cousin."

"We were a bit worried," Hau acknowledged. "But you seem to be in pretty good spirits now. Silver is your cousin, yeah?"

"That's right," Sun confirmed. "But he used to live with Mom and I, so we're more like siblings. He's pretty good at finding information, so I figured I should let him know about everything that happened tonight." Despite talking about the events that had shaken him up, Hau's friend was far calmer than earlier in the evening. "For unrelated reasons he'll be in Alola soon, so we'll be able to catch up. It's been way too long, and I'll get to meet some of his friends from Johto."

"You'll introduce us, right?" Hau asked with a grin. "Your folks are cool. It'd be nice to meet more of your family."

Sun shrugged. "Probably," the boss said, "but I won't know until he gets here. Sil is… not always great around people. He'll probably get along with Gladion, though. They're both protective big brothers with a love of wearing black."

The two boys shared a laugh. "Man, I want to meet him even more now," Hau said. "You don't meet too many people like Gladion in Alola."

Sun smirked. "Is that why you're always flirting with him?" he asked teasingly.

Hau grinned lazily, not rising to his buddy's bait. "I guess we both have it bad for blondes with protective streaks then," he quipped.

Sun looked ready to retort, but instead he just grinned. "You're not wrong," he said. He offered Hau a fist to bump which the other boy happily tapped. "We should probably get back in there, though. The food'll be getting cold, and I don't want to worry them." Then he looked a touch Mareepish. "Well, more than I probably already have, anyway."

"Let's go then," Hau said, pulling his buddy back into the restaurant.

While Sun and Hau had been getting some air, the dinner inside had continued. Hau was out there making sure Sun was okay and as such Lillie allowed herself to relax and enjoy the company of her new family. She talked about Pokémon Variance with Dr. Ray. Tonight, he'd taught her about regional forms that existed outside of the Alolan Forms she was familiar with, and the Orangian Forms they'd discussed before. Delta Species weren't considered regional forms because they were artificially, if unintentionally, manmade. It was a lot of fun learning about pokémon she was familiar with, but in ways that were unfamiliar.

"Zun! Hau! Zzt!" Dexter chirped happily as it floated over to the two boys in question. "You're back! Are you feeling better, Bozz? Zzt!"

Her boyfriend gave the Rotom-Pokédex a friendly pat. "I'm feeling a lot better, Dexter, thanks," Sun said warmly. "Actually, I've got some big news, so let me and Hau grab our seats so I can tell everyone, okay?"

Dexter floated up and down in an approximation of a nod, and the boys returned to their seats. Lillie rested a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder silently asking if he was alright. Sun nodded, happiness and excitement emanating from him.

"So, what's the big news, cousin?" Professor Kukui asked, breaking the silence. "Don't make us use our Future Sight to guess what it is, yeah?" Everyone chuckled, particularly Dr. Ray, before they refocused on Sun.

"Wellll…" Sun drawled with a big grin. "It turns out my cousin will be coming to Alola soon. He'll be visiting the island we're heading to next, Ula'ula."

While Lillie, her brother, and the professors told Sun that they're happy for him, Sun's parents looked overjoyed. "Silver's coming to visit?" Mrs. Ray asked, positively beaming.

Sun nodded. "That's what he said," Lillie's boyfriend confirmed. "He said some of his friends might be coming along, but that he wasn't sure." Then Sun's smile turned into a slightly manic grin. "Silver promised me a battle. I want to show him how strong we've gotten."

"Are you sure your pokémon are ready for something like that?" Dr. Ray asked, slightly concerned. "He is the right-hand man of the Johto-Kanto Champion, remember?"

"Lycan!" growled Caligula excitedly. "Roc!" Sun's mad wolf made a "bring it" gesture with his forepaws. The rock type's eyes glowed slightly with a red light. The Midnight Lycanroc threw back his head and howled.

Sun scratched Caligula behind the ears, and despite the more fearsome form he'd gained after he evolved the rock wolf leaned into the affection just as easily as he had as a Rockruff. "He's up for it," Sun said with a smile. "Even if we can't win, pushing ourselves is how we'll grow. It's how we'll get stronger."

"I'll be rooting for you," Lillie told her boyfriend before taking his hand in hers. Sun beamed at her. At their feet Bubbly clapped her forepaws in delight and Buzzy squeaked with approval.

After that, they finished up their meals and the adults and teenagers went their separate ways. Hau and Gladion headed for the pokémon center that was located in Royal Avenue and Sun went to follow, but Lillie grabbed his arm. "Would you come with me for a bit?" she asked. "There's something I want to do before going to bed for the night."

"Sure," Sun agreed, "what's up?"

"There's a field not too far from here," Lillie said, "and supposedly you can find Clefairy there this time of night. I'd really like to catch one if we can find it."

"Of course, I'll help," Sun said. "We all will, right guys?" A chorus of pokémon cried their agreement, Sun's six and Lillie's trio.

Lillie took Sun by the hand and led them all to the flower field.

Around the same time, in Unova, a different couple sat inside a dimly lit pizzeria. The room was filled with the scent of melting cheese and Tamato sauce. This was the original One-Fifty-One Pizza Parlor, home to the best pizzas in Castelia City. Lilith gobbled her food down greedily. Both before she left home and after her precious Lee-Lee had inducted her into the syndicate, food as delicious as this was in short supply. Her darling chuckled. "Easy there, Lilith," Lee-Lee advised. "The pizza's not going to run away, you know."

"I'm just so hungry!" she insisted. "I was running missions for the Grunts all day and making sure things were going according to the plan." Then she grinned darkly. The expression on her face was savage, and hungry. "Well, according to the plans," she said, a ravenous gleam in her eyes. "He still doesn't suspect anything. Your plans are going exactly as we'd hoped, darling."

The same ravenous gleam manifested in Lee-Lee's eyes, and his lips spread in a smirk. He looked best like this. Her partner played at being a composed strategist, and he played the part well, but the monster that lurked beneath was the real him. "That's good," he said, darkly pleased. "He was once a competent leader, but he's spent too long without challenge. The Boss has feet of clay. That's why we have to take his power for ourselves."

Lilith reached out to stroke Lee-Lee's cheek. "I'll make him suffer for everything he put you through," she purred in a voice like poisoned honey. "His pain will never end."

The Ultra Ball on her beloved's belt rattled. The pokémon inside emanated a feeling of rage, but also fierce affection. It felt rage at the boss who had made both it and Lee-Lee suffer and affection for Lee-Lee who had always cared for it. Lee-Lee graced both the pokémon inside the ball and Lilith herself with one of his rare soft smiles. "Don't worry, either of you," he said. "Our time is coming. Soon we shall strike back."

"Why not now?!" Lilith asked impatiently. "You helped free me of my mother; our strength isn't the issue, so why are we waiting to destroy him?!" The Ultra Ball on her partner's belt rattled viciously in seeming agreement.

Lee-Lee raised his hand in a placating gesture. "We need to subvert more of the Grunts," he reminded her, "and see if we can win any admins to our side. If I'm truly to overthrow him, I must undermine his position before I begin my coup. Winning the loyalty of the grunts, and whatever admins possible, is a key step, and that is why we must prove his distasteful newer methods are a waste of our resources."

Lilith took a deep breath. She didn't like it. She really didn't like it. But Lee-Lee's plans were why she was no longer trapped by her mother in that glimmering, sterile hell. It was thanks to him, and his plans, that she was free. As such she would follow them, even if her thirst to destroy abusers, particularly those that abused what was hers, would never fade.

"What do we do next, then?" she asked instead. "What's the next step to making his plans seem wasteful?"

The young man sitting with her held up a Dark Ball. "This," he said. "We make sure this ends up in the hands of someone who will mess up horribly and waste its potential, just as those thugs at the Battle Royal did. I'm thinking about that Branch Chief. The Boss already wants to work with him, so this should be a good way to make both of them look bad."

Lilith wasn't too keen on the idea of working with that man, but Lee-Lee had a point. Assuming this went according to plan, they wouldn't have to work with him later.

Lillie watched with silent awe as the Clefairy danced underneath the full moon. They were adorable and enchanting as they chanted their names and spun while they moved in a circle. "Clefairy, clef fairy," the fairy types sang cheerily. While their distraction would potentially make catching one easier, she couldn't bring herself to do so. The Clefairy were so cute and their dance so enchanting that disrupting it just seemed too cruel.

So, she stood there silently with Sun and their pokémon to watch and listen. The moonlight shone down like a spotlight on the fairie-types as they danced, floating slightly into the air. It was enchanting. The dance seemed to end, and most of the Clefairy fluttered away to where only they knew. But one stayed behind and turned around to regard its impromptu audience. "Clef?" the pink pokémon asked curiously.

"Pew!" Nebby squeaked happily. Before anyone could stop it, the Cosmog floated up into the air and spun about in the moonlight, doing its best to mimic the Clefairy's dance. "Pew pew!"

"I think the Clefairy wanted to know if we liked their dance," Sun mused as they watched Nebby and Clefairy dance in the moonlight together. "If you compliment it, the Clefairy might join you willingly."

Lillie giggled. "I really liked the dance," she said sincerely. "The Clefairy were all so adorable."

"Go on then," Sun said with a smile, gently nudging her forward. "Ask it to join your team."

So, Lillie did as he suggested, carefully approaching the Clefairy so as not to scare the notoriously skittish fairy type off. "Hello there Clefairy," Lillie said with her kindest smile. "Your dancing was very cute."

"Clef!" the cute pokémon said, seemingly very pleased. Then it cocked its head. "Clef?" the Clefairy asked as it continued to dance with Nebby.

"You see, I've always wanted to train a Clefairy," Lillie explained. "I was wondering if you would mind joining my team."

The wild Clefairy looked to its impromptu dance partner. "Clefairy?" it asked.

"Pew!" Nebby said happily, bouncing up and down in the air. "Pew! Pew!"

The Clefairy returned to the ground and beamed up at Lillie. "Clef!"

Lillie retrieved a pokéball from her bag and offered it to the Clefairy. The wild pokémon considered the pokéball briefly before it gave it a tap and allowed itself to be sucked inside. Lillie beamed. "I caught a Clefairy!" she cheered.

Sun smiled at her. "I didn't know you wanted one so bad," he said. "You look like Christmas came early."

"I used to play with Mother's Clefable when she was still a Clefairy," Lillie explained. "She, and Mother on days she could get away from work, would join me for tea parties. It was a lot of fun," Her expression grew slightly downcast, "but then Mother got busier with work and there was less time for things of that sort. After Father disappeared there was no time at all anymore…"

Lillie was slightly startled by Sun raising his hand to stroke her cheek just as she had stroked his the other night. "We'll get her back to the way she used to be," Lillie's boyfriend promised. "And then you can have all the tea parties you want." He chuckled. "I suppose that means I'll get to be the nervous boyfriend meeting his girlfriend's mother for the first time."

Lillie giggled. Sun was too sweet, trying to cheer her up like this. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that," she said between giggles. "Once she's feeling like herself again, Mother will love you. She's more likely to embarrass us both by planning our wedding after meeting you once than giving you a hard time for dating me. Whenever she wasn't busy with work Mother was very, very embarrassing." Lillie gained a wistful smile. "I never thought I'd miss it, but now…"

"Tell me about how she used to be," Sun urged, sitting down in the flower field. "I've never heard about what she was like before, so tell me everything."

Lillie joined him on the ground and did so, recounting countless tales of her mother's efforts in pokémon conservation and embarrassing holiday celebrations. She told Sun about one of her earliest memories of trying to copy an old Hollywood movie with her mother, leading to them both dancing in the rain and getting sick. While that sounded like an unpleasant memory at first blush, it had led them to spending their recovery together wrapped in blankets and drinking warm Tapu Cocoa. It was one of the best memories she had of time with her mother. As the older, happier memories resurfaced, pushing back the more painful and recent memories of the woman her mother had been turned into, Lillie felt her resolve grow. She would reclaim the mother she loved, both for her mother's sake and for her own.

A/N: Who are Lilith and Lee-Lee really and what are they planning? Will Lillie and Team Sun be able to save Lusamine? Find out... as the journey continues.