Grimsley and Selene took their Pokémon to the Aether House for them to rest. It was already sunset, so they agreed to wait until morning to leave.

Hunter and Hau excitedly recapped the battle to Becky, and Selene followed up by bragging about how good her Pokémon's moves were. Becky gave good-hearted chuckles while Grimsley hummed in amusement; Selene was brash but full of potential. Gracie sometimes chimed in, so she started to sound happy once more. To Grimsley, that was a good sign.

Later in the evening, Grimsley was in the lounge talking with Hau, Selene, and Lillie. He got to know Hau and Selene better. Hau was the grandson of Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island. Both he and Selene did his Grand Trial and won, but it was rough. Selene actually came from Kanto and had been in Alola for over seven months now. She moved to this region with her mother, and so far they both loved it here. Grimsley asked why she was starting her Pokémon journey here instead of Kanto, and she beamed.

"Yeah, so my mom's returning to school and studying over at Hau'oli City University. I already graduated from the trainer school back in Kanto, but I still needed to get approved for a trainer's license for Alola and take classes in between my journey. Ms. Emily was tougher than I thought!"

"And how!" Hau said with a chuckle. "Her Rowlet almost got my Litten real good despite me having the type advantage."

Grimsley smiled a little, thinking about how Aspertia City gym leader Cheren was like that. "That reminds me of someone I know. He's also a school teacher, and his students complained how tough he was."

"What kind of Pokémon that teacher has?" Lillie asked.

"He trains mainly Normal-types because he's also a gym leader. Before that, he used a variety of Pokémon when he battled in the Unova League."

"Nice! He must be super strong if he made it to the Pokémon League and is a gym leader!" Hau said in amazement.

Grimsley hummed, and the smile on his lips faded. He faced Lillie.

"So Lillie, you mentioned being Professor Kukui's assistant earlier. How did you meet him?"

Lillie flinched, and then she looked down with her hands clasped. "Oh, well I left home to learn more about Nebby and talk to Professor Burnet. She got her husband, Professor Kukui, to let me stay in his home and help investigate Nebby's origins, too."

"Lillie got lost trying to find Professor Burnet and collapsed on the shore," Selene said, giving Lillie a soft smile. "I can't imagine myself doing that, so I admire her for that."

Lillie's cheeks turned soft pink. She gave Selene a grateful smile. "Thank you, Selene."

Grimsley regarded the two girls with a small smile. He only met them today, but they seemed like close friends already.

"Perhaps we should talk about how Selene and Grimsley will get through Team Skull," Hau said, breaking the silence.

"I agree." Grimsley turned to Selene. "Do you have a plan on how to deal with Team Skull?"

"Oh, um… I thought I would just barge in and punch their leader Guzma right on the face!" Selene said with a sheepish laugh.

"Terrible idea." Grimsley forced himself to not roll his eyes. "Perhaps we can talk with Kahuna Nanu since he lives next door to them."

"I agree," Lillie said and nodded. "The Ula'ula Kahuna should know what to do."

"Kahuna Nanu?" Selene asked in a surprised voice. "Acerola mentioned him once or twice before. Do you know him?"

Grimsley's face tensed, and he frowned. "Not personally. Like me, he trains Dark-types. He's not easy to talk with, but that may be due to his mysterious past."

"Yeah, Acerola and Hau said something similar. Still, I'm considering challenging him for his Grand Trial after this."

"Huh, is that so." Grimsley briefly wondered what that battle would be like. If it was like his battle with Selene, then she should be fine.

"How about you, Hau?" Selene asked him. "You thinking of challenging Nanu?"

"Me?" Hau's face contorted to an unsure expression. "Maybe. I want to train my Noibat a bit more first, though. I saw him battle with my grandfather a few times, and he seems tough!"

"You guys are talking about Uncle Nanu?" Acerola asked. She was with Gracie and Hunter earlier and was now approaching the group.

"Grimsley and Selene are going to see Kahuna Nanu about helping them with Team Skull," Lillie said.

Acerola beamed. "Ah, okay! I can call him tomorrow and let him know you guys are coming!"

"Lillie and I will stay here in case Team Skull come back," Hau said. He turned to Lillie, who nodded in agreement.

"That would be great!" Acerola clapped her hands. "Becky and I could use all the help we can get."

"Don't worry about us, we got this!" Selene flashed everyone a confident grin and looked over her shoulder at Grimsley. He returned with a small smile of his own.

"Yes, I'm sure we'll handle them just fine." Tomorrow he and Selene would head out to Po Town to see Nanu and go from there. It would be a slight hindrance, but that was fine.

xxx

The sun was already bright the next morning. A warm breeze picked up, the waves rolling in gently. Before Grimsley and Selene departed, everyone wished them luck and to stay safe.

They rode on Blackjack's back, Grimsley holding onto his fin and Selene wrapping her arms around his waist. The rest of Route 15 was a small water route with tough boulders that Blackjack was able to break. They passed by several Water-type Pokémon, swimmers, and small islands. Due to how fast they were going, their hair and Grimsley's scarf whipped wildly like a flag on a windy day. Droplets of water splashed on their faces.

"Wahooo!" Selene screamed as she raised one arm up. "Riding on a Sharpedo is so much fun!"

Grimsley gave her a firm look and shook his head. It is. You just have to take some precautions."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Must be tough training a Sharpedo, though."

A knowing smile curled on Grimsley's lips. "They're called the Brutal Pokémon for a reason. Blackjack was tricky to raise at first, but then we grew closer as time passed." He quickly patted Blackjack's forehead, and he responded with an agreeable growl.

"That's cool! I hope to have a great bond with my Pokémon like yours."

"From our battle, I could see you care for your Pokémon very much. I think you're on the right track."

"Really? Wow, can't believe an Elite Four told me I got potential!" Selene shifted her head, and then she said, "Hey, is your Mental Pattern towards Dark-type Pokémon?"

"My mental what?"

"Mental Pattern. A way to know how well you connect with certain types of Pokémon."

"Oh, that. I remember that being a study Professors Oak and Juniper had conducted."

Professor Oak and Professor Juniper had published their study on Mental Patterns shortly after Grimsley joined the Unova League. It was a special image with brain mapping thrown in, and it was used on both trainers and Pokémon. Pokémon with the same type had similar Mental Patterns, making it easier for trainers to connect with them. Many research facilities would use a scanner to conduct their studies.

"Yeah! So like my friends and I went to the Dimensional Lab, and Professor Brunet used a scanner to determine our Mental Patterns. I got Water-type, Hau had Psychic-type, and Lillie the Fairy-type! I might ask Lana to help me train more since she favors Water-types."

"That might not be a bad idea. And the Water-type suits you." He paused. "I believe Nanu might have a bias towards Dark-type Pokémon also."

"Probably! I heard Dark-type Pokémon are just as tough to raise as Psychic and Dragon Pokémon, so having that bias helps." Selene then asked, "If you had a Pokemon battle with him, who would win?"

Grimsley's shoulders jumped as he didn't expect her to ask that. "I've actually asked him for a battle, but he keeps refusing."

"That must've sucked. It's still cool that you and Nanu have the same Mental Pattern."

"I guess." He found it ironic that he and Nanu had the same Mental Pattern, and yet he didn't want to battle him. The next chance he had to speak with Burnet he would like to discuss Mental Patterns with her.

He looked around his surroundings, seeing some land a short distance from them. They were getting closer to their destination now.

xxx

In the morning Nanu did his usual routine: patrol Route 16 and 17 with his Pokémon; feed and play with the Meowth until they get tired, which more often than not lasted a while; go on his computer to do his daily reports and check on the news; play with his kendama if he got bored. As he was doing just that, the phone rang and he picked it up.

"Po Town Police Station," he said in a monotone voice.

"Hi, Uncle Nanu!"

It was Acerola. Nanu's heart jumped and he sat straight up.

"Acerola?" He sighed in relief. "Thank the tapu you're all right."

Not long after Grimsley had left the police station, he couldn't stop thinking about Acerola and the children. Sure, Gracie and Hunter were a handful, but he knew how much Acerola loved them. She would be upset if anything were to happen to them.

"Of course I am!" Acerola said, her voice bringing Nanu back to reality. "I guess you knew about how Team Skull came inside Aether House and stole a Pokémon?"

"Yeah, Becky told me. Grimsley heard too, and he went there to check up on the place."

"He did come! I actually called to tell you that he and another trainer, Selene, are coming to Po Town to rescue that Pokémon!"

"What?" Nanu yelled. "I hope they're prepared for what's coming."

"I'm sure they are!" Acerola then said, "You know Uncle Nanu, I just realized something. Why don't you try to go and get Yungoos yourself?"

Nanu grimaced, pulling his head back. His fingers tapped on the desk.

"If I do, that would cause more harm than good. I would rather have Team Skull cause trouble here and not anywhere else."

"Really? Well, if you say so. Will you at least keep an eye on Yungoos until Grimsley and Selene get there?"

Nanu pondered that for a second. His hand almost slipped from the receiver.

"Yeah kiddo, I'll do that."

"Wonderful! If you do see them, say hi!"

"Yeah, yeah, I will." Nanu stopped and asked, "Before I go, how was your visit to your parents' graves?"

"It was great, thanks for asking! I was telling them about our trip to Hania Desert and how fun Grimsley was to be with! All of my Pokémon were with me, too!"

Nanu's face softened. "That's great to hear. I'll keep you updated if anything happens in Po Town."

"Okay! Talk to you later!"

"Sure, same here."

Nanu hung up on the phone. Grimsley and Selene should be here at any moment. They might talk to him about how to deal with Team Skull. He might help them if they asked, but to what capacity…

Nanu opened the top drawer of his desk. He had several Z-Rings there saved for any trial-goers starting out in Ula'ula Island. He pulled out two of them. One was red and another purple. Grimsley and Gladion weren't able to perform their Z-Moves yet, so he would give them their Z-Rings when the time was right.

He put the Z-Rings in his shirt's pockets, grabbed his kendama, and leaned back in his chair. One Meowth sat on his desk and tried to grab the red ball with his paw. He raised a brow at him.

"Still not tired, hm? I don't want you to pull the ball from its string."

The Meowth whined and he jumped off from his desk. Nanu grunted, returning to playing with his kendama. He waited.

xxx

Several minutes passed until Grimsley and Selene made it to shore. After they hopped off Blackjack's back, Grimsley patted Sharpedo's forehead and offered him a poképuff.

"Thank you for bringing us here," Grimsley said while Blackjack chewed on the poképuff on his palm. When finished, he licked the crumbs on his mouth and Grimsley returned him.

"All right, Po Town here we come!" Selene pumped her fist in the air and rushed forward, Grimsley following behind.

They entered Ula'ula Meadows and crossed the wooden bridge. As before, red petals swirled around and the scent of sweet nectar overwhelmed Grimsley's nose. At the grasses, several red-feathered Oricorio danced with each other.

"Oh, those must be the Baile-style Oricorio Hau and Lillie talked to me about!" Selene said excitedly, pointing them out.

"Baile-style?" Grimsley asked, more out of curiosity than confusion.

"Ah-huh! There's supposed to be four types of Oricorio, and Ula'ula Island has the red ones."

"I battled a young trainer with a pink feathered Oricorio. That one has a skirt and can use Psychic attacks."

"You're talking about the Pa'u-style ones. You can find those in Akala-" Selene stopped there, her eyes growing wide. "Get behind that tree!"

Grimsley let out a baffled grunt, and Selene grabbed his hand. They hid behind a tree.

"What's going on?" he asked with a raised brow.

"There's this guy I met a few times named Gladion," Selene said, leaning back against the tree. She had her arms over her head. "Total idiot."

Grimsley blinked, taken aback by her language there. "How so?"

"He calls Hau a brat and claims he doesn't take battling seriously. Also, he keeps saying how you can't protect anything when you're weak."

Grimsley didn't respond at first and instead took a peek from behind the tree. There was a blonde-haired boy in dark clothing, staring at his surroundings. His bangs and face seemed awfully familiar...

"Does the person you're talking about have blonde hair and dark clothing?" he asked, facing back to Selene.

"Yeah, that's him!" Selene pouted and crossed her arms against her chest. "I'm not sure what his problem is."

Grimsley chuckled. "Maybe there's someone he dearly wants to protect."

A stunned look spread across Selene's face. She shifted her gaze away from him, furrowing her brow.

"Probably. Still, it won't hurt him to be nice for once." After a brief moment, Selene's face brightened up. "I have an idea!"

Selene grabbed Grimsley's hand once more, and they came out from hiding. Grimsley winced when she had her hands in front of her face and screamed, "Hey, Edgelord!"

That caught Gladion's attention of course. He turned and glared at them.

"Selene?"

Selene narrowed her eyes at Gladion, her hands on her hips. "I take it you're here for some Team Skull business?"

"Sort of. This is their home and all." He then noticed Grimsley and pointed at him. "Who is that old dude with you?"

Grimsley flinched and the corner of his lips twitched. "I'm Grimsley from the Unova Elite Four. And I'm thirty years young, thank you very much."

"Wait, for real?" Gladion asked in shock, and Selene beamed.

"Yep! I even battled him yesterday and he's super good!"

"We indeed had a Pokémon battle," Grimsley said. "She's not half bad herself."

Gladion regarded them for a moment and grunted. "What are you guys doing here, then?"

"We're on a rescue mission to save a Pokémon that Team Skull had stolen! However, we might need your help."

"How so?" Gladion stepped forward, giving Selene a skeptical look.

"Well, big bad Guzma wants me to come to Po Town alone. Grimsley's gonna help me, and I need a way for him to get inside. You can talk to them, right?"

"Even if I do that, they won't listen. We don't get along at all."

"Oh." Selene pursed her lips, and then her eyes lit up. "Then how about you distract them with your Pokémon?"

Gladion's eyes grew wide, and he squeezed his shaking wrist. He lowered his head, closing his eyes.

"I"m sorry, but there's no reason for me to help save a random trainer's Pokémon. I wish you guys luck." He flicked his hand and headed off.

Grimsley stared at him for a few seconds. He looked over his shoulder at Selene and asked, "What now?"

The Oricorio continued to sing as their red petals got stuck in everyone's hair. A pinched expression appeared on Selene's face. She glanced around uneasily, bringing her hand to her neck. Selene closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

"I'm sorry, Lillie," she muttered. When he heard that, Grimsley blinked. She took a deep breath, holding it in. "I know where Cosmog is."

That caused Gladion to stop and twist around. "You do? Where is it?"

"My friend Lillie has been taking care of Nebby. They're safe in Aether House."

"Lillie, and Nebby…" Gladion's lips quivered, and then his face turned back to serious. "Did Team Skull try to hurt them?"

"They did, but I managed to take them down!" Selene said and slammed her fist on her palm.

Gladion gave a shocked look and sighed in relief. "Well, that's good to hear."

Grimsley furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. Lillie did have that Nebby, apparently a Cosmog now, and Selene had mentioned several people wanted it. He lowered himself to Selene's height.

"Do the people looking for Cosmog you told me about happen to be Team Skull?" he whispered behind her ear.

"Ah huh," Selene said and nodded. "Gladion warned me about them the last time we met. I didn't trust him at first."

"I don't blame you for that." Grimsley glanced at Gladion, who folded his arms against his chest and closed his eyes. He had an idea of what Selene was trying to do. "Let me finish this."

Grimsley stood back up and cleared his throat. "You want to find out why Team Skull wants Cosmog, am I correct?"

A strangled gasp escaped from Gladion. "How do you know?"

"I met with Lillie and Nebby in Aether House yesterday. I can confirm that they're doing just fine."

A part of him felt bad that he broke his promise to Lillie, but he and Selene had no choice. He forgot to ask Selene why Team Skull was after Nebby, so he wanted to know.

With a raised suspicious brow, Gladion asked, "What you're getting at, old man?"

"Again, I'm not that old!" Grimsley sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Anyways, if you help us, then you'll be able to find what you're looking for."

Gladion's lips pressed together in a slight grimace. He turned away from him and Selene for a moment, pulling his shaking wrist close to his chest once more. Grimsley wondered if he had an injury or condition whenever he did that.

"All right, I'll help," Gladion said, turning back to them. "Will the three of us be enough, though?" He looked up at Grimsley. "No offense, but even with you by our side we're still outnumbered."

"None taken," Grimsley said in a flat tone. "I wasn't going to be here at first, but I had a change of heart."

"Grimsley and I are about to ask Kahuna Nanu to help, too!" Selene said.

"Good idea. He should know what to do."

"Great! C'mon, we better hurry!"

Without waiting, Selene dashed forward. Grimsley and Gladion followed shortly after, catching up to her.

Finding Gladion was a surprise, which Grimsley was glad had happened. Now to talk to Nanu and see what he had to say.

Xxx

As before, the Po Town police station was nestled within Route 17. The breeze today was as cold as yesterday's, gray clouds covering most of the sunlight. The tall walls covering Po Town was still there, but seeing them this time filled Grimsley with dread inside his stomach.

He, Selene, and Gladion stopped in front of the police station. Grimsley knocked on the door, and he waited a second until a response came.

"The door's open," Nanu said from inside.

Grimsley glanced over his shoulder at Selene and Gladion, the two staring at him blankly. He shrugged, and everyone stepped inside.

The front lobby was a mess and overtaken by the Meowth. Nanu sat on his desk, playing with what looked to be a kendama. He stopped and stared when he noticed Grimsley, Selene, and Gladion coming in.

"Woah, so many Meowth!" Selene squealed. She went over to two Meowth that sat on a pile of files on the couch and scratched their cheeks. The Meowth rubbed against her palm and fingers. "Hey there, little kitties."

"That was my same reaction when I first came in," Grimsley said with a chuckle. At the corner of the wall, Nanu's Persian curled up and was taking a nap. A Honchcrow, which also seemed to be Nanu's, was perched on her back and snoozing himself.

"Nice Meowth cafe you have going on here," Gladion said. One of the Meowth came up to him and dug her claws into his legs, causing him to scream.

"Think of it more like a bona fide Meowth sanctuary." Nanu had his stare locked on Grimsley. "I sort of expected you to return."

Grimsley smirked. "Oh, didn't realize you missed me already."

Nanu glared daggers at him. "One more wise crack out of you, and it's jail time."

Grimsley gulped, tugging at his scarf. He cleared his throat, moving his gaze away from him briefly.

"Nice to meet you, Kahuna Nanu! I'm Selene!" Selene said as she went up to Nanu's desk. She held out her hand to him.

"Same here kiddo, I guess," Nanu said in a less enthusiastic tone, and they shook hands. "You guys can just move those papers and have a seat on that couch."

Both Grimsley and Selene grabbed the papers and set them aside on the bookshelf nearby. After everyone sat down on the couch, one of the Meowth grabbed onto Grimsley's scarf and kept rolling on the floor. Grimsley petted her for a little bit, and then his smile wavered when he looked at Nanu.

"We want to talk with you on how to deal with Team Skull."

"Is that so?" Nanu had his elbow on his desk, his chin resting on his palm. "First tell me what happened in Aether House."

"Team Skull barged in and stole a Pokémon while I was doing Acerola's trial," Selene said. The Meowth that Grimsley had petted before jumped on the couch, and Selene scratched behind her ear. "Their big sis Plumeria told me that Guzma wants me alone."

"I met with Selene, and then after a wager, I decided to help her out," Grimsley said.

"Wager?" Gladion asked with a blank face. Nanu had a similar expression.

"We did a battle to see if I'm good enough to go to Po Town." Selene grinned. "I lost, but Grimsley decided to come with me anyhow!"

"Huh. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am." Nanu picked up his kendama and began twirling it. "And why are you helping?"

"I've dealt with Team Skull before, so I'm not afraid of them. Also, I've promised Gracie that I would rescue her Pokémon."

Nanu stopped, the red ball dangling like a loose thread on clothing. He grunted.

"So you promised a little girl that you would do it. Didn't think of you to be the knight in shining armor type."

Grimsley chuckled. He pulled out his coin, flipping it a few times as he spoke.

"I'm not. I just don't want to see her get upset."

Nanu raised a brow, as if not convinced. He shrugged and turned to Gladion, who had his back against the wall with his eyes closed.

"How about you, boy? Are you gonna help them too?"

Gladion moved his head slightly at Nanu's direction. "There are a few questions I want to ask, especially to Guzma. About a Pokémon they're after."

Nanu narrowed his eyes. He relaxed in his seat and played his kendama once more.

"Must be some Pokémon if you want to talk to the big man himself."

Gladion's forehead twitched. He turned his head and said in a sharp tone, "The specific details are none of your business."

Grimsley blinked, taken aback by Gladion's voice. Selene frowned and did a fake cough. The Meowth she was petting growled and jumped off from the couch. Both Persian and Honchcrow woke up from their nap and raised their heads at the noise.

After giving Gladion a hard stare, Nanu snorted. "And I thought we were becoming friends after our last talk. Did you guys have a plan yet?"

"Not yet except using Gladion's Pokémon to our advantage," Selene said. "Grimsley says you may be able to help since you live next door to them."

Nanu rose from his seat, regarding them a moment. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I don't like the sound of any of this. However, perhaps I can lend a hand."

"Really? That would be awesome!" Selene jumped off of the couch and pumped her fist up.

"Woah, easy there little miss," Nanu said, his hands up in a slow down gesture. "We need to come up with a plan first."

"Selene can get in easy since Team Skull wants her," Gladion said. "My Zoroark will help Grimsley and I get inside."

"Wait, you have a Zoroark?" Grimsley asked in surprise.

"He does!" Selene said enthusiastically. "I take it you've heard of them before?"

Grimsley nodded. "Zorua and Zoroark are known to create illusions and have a mischievous nature. Several of them reside in Unova." That made him remember the time he had battled against N, and one of his Pokémon was a Zoroark. He had seen Zoroark's ability firsthand.

Selene beamed. "Yeah! Jester's ability will come very useful!"

Nanu folded his arms against his chest and gave slow nods. "That's a start. All right, we'll hash out our plan a bit more, and then we'll head out to Po Town tonight."

Grimsley grunted in agreement. That gave them some time to make sure their plan would work before going forth with their rescue mission. They should be prepared as much as possible.

Author's Note:

So, any folks here been playing Pokemon Masters? I did Grimsley and Nanu's chapter a few nights ago and oh my gosh everything about it is perfect. DENA bringing in the soul food.

The Mental Pattern stuff Grimsley and Selene were talking about I got it from TaurusVersant's Eldritch. Took a long time for me to get through up to its Pokemon League arc (the story just only one chapter left wow), but it's worth it. Haus has Psychic bias like in that story, but I gave Selene the Water bias and Lillie the Fairy bias. There will be lots more Eldritch inspiration once we get to the Poni Island arc.

Thanks to bobandbill for betaing as always. Up next, Po Town. I should have the next chapter up late September or early October!