The Type Specialist

The Pokémon at Gladion's side was sleek, tall, and stood on four legs. That should have described Type: Null, but Lillie only recognized a few familiar aspects of its previous species. Just like Type: Null, this Pokémon almost appeared to be an amalgamation of several others, having insect-like front claws, canine back legs, and a fish’s fin for a tail, but there was no mask covering its head, and what fur was exposed had taken on a brilliant, silver sheen.

Not just that, but the Pokémon seemed... happy. Though Gladion was doing his best to appear both serious and confident, he struggled to maintain that image with how his Pokémon kept close to his side and repeatedly leaned its head towards him affectionately.

“Have your friends stand down, Plumeria,” Gladion called out. “Finish the match properly.”

Unfamiliar with Gladion, Alex's Mawile tried to step forward as if to protect Lillie from both the previous threat and this new unknown. Lillie shook her head to tell her it wasn’t necessary, and Hope’s Cherrim confirmed that, having met with Gladion when Alex was out of the region.

“Gladion,” Plumeria repeated. There was a surprising lack of hostility in her voice. “Your Pokémon evolved. Is this why you haven’t been sending them out recently?”

Lillie blinked. There was a level of familiarity in Plumeria’s tone that caught her off guard. More than that, she realized that Plumeria was right. Gladion hadn’t sent Type: Null out last time they had met up, either. If anything, it was almost like he was trying to hide its Pokéball.

In response to Plumeria’s words, Gladion grimaced and flicked his hair to the side in an attempt to maintain his cool. Lillie might have only rarely seen her brother in the past years, but it seemed he still had the same habits from their childhood.

She giggled. Gladion was totally embarrassed about being called out like that. After all, according to Alex, Type: Null only became a Silvally through true friendship. That level of affection wasn’t seen as “cool” by most teenage boys.

“Whatever,” Gladion grunted. “Plumeria, just... do what I said.”

The pink-haired trainer stared back at him with an expression that said she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her eyes flicked between Gladion, his Silvally, and Lillie, before her mouth twisted up into a scowl.

“And why should I listen to you? Guzma’s the one to ask me to bring the girl.”

Gladion stiffened, but Plumeria didn't notice. The teen’s knuckles went white, hands clenched into fists.

“...Guzma did?” Gladion asked slowly.

“Yeah. And that means you should help us with the job.”

Lillie's brow furrowed as Gladion ground his teeth together. There was a tense silence to the area as no one seemed to want to react right away.

“Gladion,” Lillie asked after a few seconds, “What did she mean by that? Why should you help her?”

“Why are you bothering with this girl, anyway!?” Plumeria then shouted. “Where do your loyalties lie?”

Even tighter than before, Gladion’s jaw clenched as he turned away from both people. When speaking to Lillie in the past, he had been cagey about how he had been getting by, but she hadn’t been expecting to hear what he said next.

“I'm an enforcer for Team Skull,” he barked out, answering Lillie's question first. “And that girl is my kid sister. Her name is Lillie.”

This area outside of the Pokémon Center became quiet enough to hear a pin drop. No one moved, no one gave their Pokémon any orders, and everyone but Gladion was left reeling, processing what he had said.

“What,” Plumeria said, eventually coughing it out.

“I don't understand!” Lillie shouted. “Why would you work for a group of bullies?!”

Another moment passed, and Gladion still refused to meet her tearful eyes.

“A group of bullies?” Plumeria said, crossing her arms with scowl. “Of course someone like you would think that.”

“Someone like me? And what do you mean by that?!” Lillie snapped.

“Do you even know what Team Skull is? What it means to be a member? You have no clue what we do for each other and what Guzma has done for all of us!”

Lillie's blank look answered Plumeria's question, as the woman smirked and leaned back, saying, “Thought not.”

Meanwhile, Gladion ran a hand over his face and through his hair, finally turning back.

“Tell her, Plumeria,” he said quietly.

“Why? Why bother with—”

“Please. This is important.”

Plumeria looked like she had eaten something sour, but she still shifted between her feet and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fine,” she said. “I will if you think it's ‘so important.’ But the girl better know not to interrupt.”

“I won't.”

“She won't.”

Plumeria nodded her head, satisfied.

“Good.”

Then she took a deep breath and began a second later.

“You call us a gang, but Team Skull isn't just a gang. We don't go out of our way to do crime, conquer any public spaces, or even be a public nuisance. Sure, some of us do, I admit, but not everyone. Most of us just want to live. And we just want to thrive.”

One of Plumeria's friends behind her closed her eyes and nodded along.

“You don't understand how this region treats its outcasts. Friendly on the surface, rotten within,” Plumeria spat. “Don't follow their fancy rules? You'll find yourself pushed to the side. Behave in just the wrong way, and you'll find yourself being screamed at by people who once claimed to love you.”

Plumeria gained a distant look in her eyes.

“The Island Challenge can be hard. People don't realize that. If you don't do well, you get hit with dismissive looks and pitying glances for the rest of your life. It’s suffocating. Too many members of Team Skull came our way when they didn’t make it and found all their so-called ‘friends’ had moved along. Us together? Doesn't matter how strong you are. Individually, we might be weak, but Team Skull is one big family, no matter how Alola might see us. We’re strong.”

Plumeria gained a proud grin at that statement, exposing her teeth as if in threat. Lillie stayed quiet, doing nothing but listening in. To her side, she heard a slight exhale of breath and turned to see her brother step a bit closer, letting out a sigh.

“When I escaped with Silvally—previously Type: Null—Team Skull were the ones who took me in, no questions asked,” he explained. “Since they protected me, I chose to protect them. That’s why I’m an enforcer. Without me, our members would get in more trouble otherwise.”

“He might try to appear tough, but Gladion here is a big softie inside,” Plumeria added.

“I totally believe that.” Lillie couldn’t hide her giggles, and Gladion turned away, the bright red tips of his ears betraying his embarrassed blush.

After all of that, there were still Pokémon out on the field, positioned to battle, but the vast majority of those Pokémon—and even trainers—now seemed reluctant to attack. The three girls at Plumeria’s side stood with relaxed postures, frequently looking away, and Plumeria herself ended up furiously rubbing the sides of her head out of frustration.

“Ugh!” Plumeria yelled. “Why'd you have to get me all lost in memories like that, Gladion? I can't continue this now. Not when I know she's your sister.”

He turned back, the red tint fading away.

“It really didn't raise any alarm bells in your mind when Guzma said he wanted you to kidnap someone?” he asked. “Really?”

“Maybe. I just figured he got a good reason. After all the changes to his team recently—”

“Changes to his team?” Lillie interrupted.

“Yeah. He somehow got two real powerful Pokémon. Ultra Beasts, I think.”

At that reveal, Lillie's face went pure white as she snapped her gaze towards Gladion.

“Alex and Hope were heading to challenge him,” she whispered.

Gladion frowned.

“Do you think they'd win?”

“...Maybe?”

The hesitance in Lillie's voice was telling. She wasn’t sure if Gladion or Plumeria were aware of how difficult to face Ultra Beasts were, as she personally knew just how difficult those species were to defeat. She looked around, almost in a panic, and Gladion scratched the back of his neck rather awkwardly.

“I don't get it. What's the problem?”

He doesn’t know, Lillie realized.

“The only person who could have caught those Ultra Beasts is our mom,” she whispered. “It’s Lusamine, Gladion. Mom must have given them to him.”

Plumeria's eyes went wide. One of the Team Skull members behind her audibly gasped.

“Your mom's Lusamine?!” she shouted. “No wonder you two ran away from home! Shit! Does Guzma know?!”

She started to pace, bringing up her thumb to chew on her nail.

“And you're saying he got those Pokémon from her? And if that’s the case, did he try to get me to bring you for her? Oh, Guzma. What did you get yourself wrapped up into this time?”

Plumeria looked to Gladion hopefully, as if expecting the boy to deny the new information, but he didn't respond. He stared at Plumeria without blinking, trying to gauge her reaction, and she saw that and paled as much as Lillie, who didn’t meet her eyes either and awkwardly kicked at the ground.

“My mom... Lusamine... She can be very persuasive sometimes,” Lillie explained quietly. “It's hard to notice how she’s moving you around unless you really pay attention. She’s just so confident, you know? Everything she says just seems right so you always feel like you should do what she says.”

Plumeria's face flashed through a dozen different emotions before it settled on one:

Rage.

“We're leaving,” she said. “And you two are coming with me.”

“What?” both Lillie and Gladion asked in unison.

“We're going back to the Shady House, I'm going to get Guzma to tell me if all of this is true, and, if it is...” Plumeria grinned, but it was in no way kind. “I'm going to give both him and that harpy a piece of my mind.”

“Do it, Gardevoir!” I shouted.

Hope's Vileplume was caught in the explosion, but we had planned it this way given we didn't have a choice. A Misty Explosion tore over the field and knocked Vileplume out, but it prevented the two Ultra Beasts from benefiting from Beast Boost while also sending status-inducing powder into the air.

Unfortunately, despite all of our attempts to weaken Buzzwole, it was still ready enough to brace itself with Protect. The move prevented the damage of Misty Explosion and stopped the Grass Type powders from affecting it. Not only that, but Pheromosa crouched to be covered behind it, and a single swipe of the white Ultra Beast’s arm created a gust of wind that pushed any lingering dust away.

A moment later, all three moves ended. Gardevoir and Vileplume collapsed on the ground, unconscious, but Buzzwole was completely fine. It flexed its swollen body in celebration as Pheromosa shakily stood up. The second Ultra Beast might have been both weakened and injured, but it was still influencing this battle by supporting the first and helping it be an even greater threat than before.

“Yeah!” Guzma shouted. “You came all the way here just to lose, huh? Did you two want to see your Pokémon get hurt?”

He snorted.

“You two are messed up. Send out your next Pokémon, and you’ll see the same results.”

Two red beams of light marked the return of my and Hope’s Pokémon as we stared out over the field. The grin on Guzma’s face was as taunting as ever, and even though the Buzzwole wasn’t flexing to taunt us, the fact that it was still managing to do so at all was like salt in a wound.

“I want to curse, Hope,” I said.

“You're allowed to curse, Alex,” she replied.

“I know, but I've been trying to do it less lately. This battle is infuriating.”

“I get it. I'll do it for you.” She breathed in. “ARE YOU FU—”

Guzma's mad laughter drowned out her cry as I scowled at the results of the last match-up. Gardevoir was strong, but his biggest strength was the agility granted by Teleport. Unfortunately, Guzma had correctly predicted I would attempt to use the battle as an excuse to hide a Teleport-based escape, and Ariados never once let up its Disable, preventing any such use.

The final result was that we battled without the core of Gardevoir's fighting style, and so weakened, we were rather quickly forced to resort to a sacrificial play.

And to think Old Man Harvey warned me of this all the way back in Hoenn. Relying too much on Teleport is bad, indeed. We should work on improving Gardevoir’s natural agility.

Despite what changes I wanted to make to my Pokémon’s training regiment, there was nothing we could do about it, now. Guzma still stood in front of us, still cackling at his own impending victory. I had no idea where this level of skill had come from, but, in a way, it was almost like his ego had stopped him from training it up until now.

“If we can take out Pheromosa, Buzzwole would be a lot easier to deal with,” I whispered. “I bet we could wear them down with the rest of our teams, especially since Elio’s match made sure the rest of Guzma’s other Pokémon have already fainted.”

(The boy was still here, watching us with a pained look on his face as he sat on a bench nearby.)

“A drawn-out battle would work,” I said, “except...”

Hope let out a sigh.

“I know what you mean.”

We were both tapped out. It wasn't supposed to be like this. The Elite Pokémon we brought with us had all fainted, and all we had left were the Pokémon that had recently joined our teams. This wouldn't have been an issue if Guzma was still as strong as he was just a few weeks ago. Now? Our Pokémon didn’t have the strength to match up to an Ultra Beast, let alone two, and sending them out now had carried the risk of turning them into nothing but fodder for Buzzwole and Pheromosa’s Beast Boost.

“Maybe Decidueye? He would be able to avoid their Fighting Type attacks pretty well,” Hope offered.

“And Mimikyu could assist with his own Ghost Type powers,” I added. “But I’m not sure how effective physical attacks would be against them. Especially with Buzzwole protecting Pheromosa so well.”

Hope stayed silent.

“Togekiss, maybe?” I said.

She just groaned.

“Ugh! Why do Ultra Beasts have to be so strong?! This is completely unfair!”

Guzma continued to smile as he stared at us, obviously amused. Though we were taking a while to send out any Pokémon, he seemed to be enjoying our struggles as we talked, discussed, and failed to find a strategy to handle his team.

“Gonna give up?” he called out. “It doesn't matter what you do! There’s a reason I’m the leader of Team Skull! My Pokémon are the strongest!”

He cackled again, sounding just like the typical villain. Hope and I couldn’t stop our frowns, but a sudden thought came to mind.

If only Ultra Beasts weren't so strong, huh?

A slight smile formed on my face as Hope’s complaint from earlier slowly formed into the start of a plan.

“Hope, let's call for help.”

“Huh?!” She briefly looked both offended and confused at my suggestion, but her expression quickly shifted into thoughtful consideration. The only potential backup we had was Nanu, but I wanted him to stay in town, close to where Lillie was.

However, I wasn’t referring to Nanu. There was a completely different source of help I was thinking of.

“To beat an Ultra Beast, one has to have the power comparable to an Ultra Beast,” I said, my speech slowly picking up speed. “Alternatively, one could be an Ultra Beast. That would make a pretty even battle, wouldn’t it?”

Hope’s eyes went wider and wider at every word I said. She blinked several times before we slowly turned around. There, at the entrance of these gardens was Kartana, who had lingered in place and had watched this all go down so far.

She didn't say anything immediately, but when we no longer showed any entertaining reactions, Guzma started to shout at us to hurry up and move on. Rolling her shoulders as if to prepare, Hope gave Kartana a big grin and said only three words.

“How ‘bout it?”

There was the sound of a sword being unsheathed. A sharp ring echoed out as Kartana sliced through the air. It used its speed to zip over to the field in a second, not even hesitating. With its acceptance, Guzma was no longer the only one with a wide grin, and he was no longer the only one with an Ultra Beast at his side.

“Slash!” Hope yelled.

“Hammer Arm!” Guzma shouted, suddenly less confident.

A swing of a muscled limb crashed against a slash of a blade. Both Kartana and Buzzwole were pushed back by their shared impact.

Meanwhile, I rushed to pull out a new Pokéball and fumbled for a second before sending someone else out.

“Air Slash!”

With a flash of light and my own command, a blade of wind cut the ground in front of Pheromosa before it could join the fight. The white-shelled Ultra Beast skidded to a halt, and it glanced up to where Togekiss glided over the field.

“Handle it on your own,” Guzma told his Pheromosa. “I trust you.”

In a sight that gave me pause, Pheromosa turned around and sent Guzma a soft smile before focusing wholly on my Pokémon. I didn't have a chance to dwell on that implication of that interaction for long, though. Pheromosa attacked without waiting at all.

While this Ultra Beast couldn’t fly, it sure could leap. Togekiss reared back in the air as Pheromosa’s powerful legs let it push off the ground. The carapace on its back let it catch the wind and slow its fall, too, giving it just enough time to lash out with its arm.

Charm weakened the impact, but Togekiss was still struck. Her flight was interrupted as the powerful strike sent her hurtling towards the ground, and I desperately called out a new command.

“Dip and dive! Rock fall!”

Almost as if inspired by Altaria, Togekiss pulled up inches away from the earth. Veering upwards, stone and rock tore itself out of the ground in a combined Ancient Power and Psychic. She threw those chunks at the falling Pheromosa.

A few shards hit, but any truly threatening bits were completely smashed. Pheromosa landed just fine while Togekiss’s injuries made it difficult for her to stay in the air.

“Slash!”

“Dynamic Punch!”

Nearby, there was another clash, and a shockwave shot through the air over the field. Kartana and the boosted Buzzwole exchanged attack after attack, yet neither side looked much worse for wear. The only reason Kartana was able to keep up was a combined Swords Dance and Iron Defense, which let it match the boosts Buzzwole had, though its high base speed wasn’t enough to truly keep up with the muscled bug’s boosted speed.

Still, that fight was brutal enough that Guzma was putting all his focus on their exchange. Pheromosa was trained, but it went uncommanded, fighting without the expertise of a Bug Type specialist behind it. I hoped that if we could beat Pheromosa, we could do so without fainting, ourselves. Turning two towards Buzzwole would guarantee us the fight, especially with the quality of commands Hope was currently providing.

For once, I actually felt we had a path to victory. Now we just needed to ensure we could follow through.

“Aerial Ace for speed! Double Edge for power!” I yelled.

Pheromosa was weak, and one hit could potentially take it out. My orders combined two powerful moves, so all Togekiss had to do was land this dual-attack.

She moved.

With her having reached her evolution, Togekiss was better with special attacks more than physical attacks, but she still had over a year of practice with Aerial Ace, as she had known it when she hatched. It took little effort for her to accelerate and pull up into a loop, using gravity to bring her even faster as she dove down and sent all her momentum forward.

Pheromosa took one step back to prepare itself as Togekiss seemed to ignite from the friction. Double Edge looked more like a Giga Impact with all the speed being put into the attack, and Pheromosa seemed to realize it wouldn’t be able to dodge. Not only that, but I knew it didn’t know Protect. After all, if it did, why would it spend so much time using Buzzwole’s massive body to hide?

A screeching noise. Togekiss sounded like a jet plane heading right towards the tensed bug. Kartana and Buzzwole’s fight went on pause as everyone turned their way, and then—

“Bug Buzz!”

“What?!”

Guzma shifted his focus, trading a hit on Buzzwole in favor of ensuring Pheromosa didn’t faint. Togekiss’s attack hit, but it was only a glancing blow with the edge of her wing. The deafening noise and wavering air from Bug Buzz sent her careening off to the side as Pheromosa used the momentum to fall back, rolling and hopping to its feet before lunging forward.

“Poison Jab!”

A single strike hit Togekiss’s unprotected back as she took the recoil damage from crashing to the ground. This strike came out lightning quick, proving that Pheromosa still had some speed to spare. With no way to defend, the super effective move was more than enough to take her out.

And with her faint, Pheromosa stood up, even more confident than before. Beast Boost had made it so it increased its attack, its current best stat thanks to the Speed Swap from before.

“If you’re wondering, that was Endure,” Guzma said with a grin. “Alongside Bug Buzz, it’s perfect for striking at unprepared fools.”

Ah. He prepared that and Poison Jab as a counter just for me.

I was as flattered as I was frustrated.

Guzma turned back to the fight involving Buzzwole, no longer paying me any mind. At least, Pheromosa didn’t join in. I could see just how heavily it was breathing with the sheer amount of damage it had taken. Endure ensured moves that would knock it out didn’t, but Togekiss would have won if it wasn’t for that move.

Dedenne abused a similar enough strategy that I was greatly aware of its potential.

However, I knew that Endure came with a drawback: while it ensured a Pokémon didn’t go unconscious, they were left on the verge of fainting. Dedenne could work through that well enough with his Cheek Pouch allowing him to heal with stored food, but Pheromosa didn’t seem to have any way to recover.

I could have sent out Mimikyu here, but he was still in my shadow, and I wanted to keep Guzma unaware of his presence just in case. As much as his Shadow Sneak might have guaranteed a knockout, I went with someone else, not failing to notice how Guzma started to watch us much closer out of the corner of his eye.

“Ribombee,” I called out. “I believe in you.”

The little bug appeared on the field with a cheer, only to freeze when he saw the level of the battle he had just been thrown into. Not only was he meant to fight an Ultra Beast, but the power of the attacks being thrown at one another to his side greatly outperformed anything he was capable of. He grabbed at the scarf around his neck and tried his best to appear confident. Despite that, he was visibily fidgeting.

He had to crane his body upwards just to take the entirety of the tall Pheromosa in.

“One hit will take you out. Don't let it land any attacks,” I said. “Create a Stun Spore around yourself as a defense before using what move feels right.”

Pheromosa was more than happy to have Ribombee sit back while I explained my plan. It used this delay to breathe, pant, and recover from its growing exhaustion. Dust puffed out of Ribombee’s fluff, but Pheromosa seemed uninterested. Even as injured as it was, it pulled an arm back for a hit, and Ribombee was only barely able to squeak in surprise before he dropped to the ground in an attempt to dodge.

By some miracle, it worked.

The dust cloud dissipated as Pheromosa dashed right through it. Powder coated the Ultra Beast’s hard exterior and caused it to stiffen, yet it barely blinked at the effect. Stun Spore hadn’t had too much time to build up, so while paralysis had been inflicted, Pheromosa could still ignore its base effects.

Once more, I was reminded of the ridiculous power of an Ultra Beast. However, it wasn’t any body-locking paralysis I was looking for. While Pheromosa was still ready to continue, the paralysis had successfully slowed it down.

With everything else now affecting it, Ribombee was guaranteed to be faster.

“Attack!” I shouted.

He didn’t. Ribombee was instead forced to dodge as Pheromosa snapped its leg out for a kick. The knee bent as two more jabs followed that up, but panic and a higher speed allowed him to dodge as he flew as far back as he could.

“Think of Kartana!” I yelled as quickly as I could. “Position yourself accordingly!”

It took him a second before he understood, yet he was still fast enough to move. A hand tried to jerk out to grab him, but he flipped in the air to avoid it. Pheromosa wasn’t able to stop him before he moved to be behind its head, hovering in the air behind it like Kartana had done when it followed Hope.

I heard a snort beside me. Hope was amused, but she didn’t comment due to the level of focus she had on Kartana’s match with Buzzwole. The fight continued.

With the paralysis affecting Pheromosa’s movements and with Ribombee hovering behind its head, Pheromosa wasn’t able to strike properly. What nimble movements it had before turned to desperate flailing as it began to fail to strike him, acting like someone bothered by an annoying fly.

Ribombee was able to easily dodge and predict all the actions with ease. He brought a hand to his mouth and cocked his head at the slowed Pheromosa in curiosity.

“Ugh. White—Bug Buzz! Red, use that same move again!”

The battle had picked up too much to allow for Guzma to give any further commands. Pheromosa paused to build up the level of vibration needed for Bug Buzz, but with the injuries it sustained, it wasn’t able to use it immediately.

“Quiver Dance!”

Guzma’s full attention snapped our way. Ribombee froze, as he hadn’t exactly learned the move just yet.

However, I had chosen Ribombee for a reason: he was a Bug Type, which was the main area of Guzma’s expertise. Guzma might not have realized Ribombee didn’t know Quiver Dance, but the buffing move was powerful enough that when called for, it drew his full attention our way.

In other words, it was the perfect distraction. Sure, we needed to take out Pheromosa, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t give Hope a chance to get in an extra attack.

“Slash!”

A critical hit.

The strike ignored any defensive buff Buzzwole might have had, and it was sent reeling backwards from the power of the strike. One of the inflated sacs on its chest that resembled pectoral muscles now had a large dent in it and was leaking ooze. It pressed an arm to it in a shock, and its shoulders heaved up and down as it panted from the damage it’d been slowly sustaining.

One more push, and either of these two Ultra Beasts would faint. The same was true for our Pokémon as well, but I knew that between Hope and I, we could—

“Stop the match!”

Or, we could do that.

The sound of the door to this garden slamming open made me jump from shock as the last person I’d expect came storming in. Plumeria didn’t even glance at Hope or I once as she marched straight forward, stepping onto the battlefield and past the pair of Ultra Beasts without blinking an eye.

“Yo! What’re you doing?!” Guzma shouted.

“No, what are you doing, Guzma!?” Plumeria shouted right back. She went right up to him and pointed at his chin. “Lusamine? Really?! Why are you working for Aether?”

I did not fail to notice how both Buzzwole and Pheromosa went stock still at the mention of the foundation. Guzma opened his mouth but no words came out. His face contorted into rage, but he continued to fail to properly reply.

“Hi, Alex,” someone said behind me.

I turned around as Guzma continued to be speechless and as Plumeria continued to yell. Behind me, Lillie was there, awkwardly shifting back and forth on her feet, and for some reason, Gladion stood behind her.

“...What’s going on?” Hope asked.

For obvious reasons, both of us were bewildered by the abrupt change in situation.

“Um, Plumeria tried to kidnap me?” Lillie offered. I immediately felt a scowl form on my face. “But it’s okay! Mawile and Cherrim would have been able to stop her! But it was Gladion who came in to save the day. Look! He’s here, too!”

“I can see that,” I said slowly.

I looked at Gladion, but he wasn’t facing me. Instead, his eyes were locked onto where one other person sat: Elio.

The boy was still at the side, having watched everything pass while he recovered from his loss. Right now, he didn’t seem as surprised as Hope and I for some reason, but he was staring right back at Gladion as if to match the teen’s gaze.

Plumeria continued to yell.

“How long have you been working for Lusamine?! And was she the one to give you those two Ultra Beasts?!”

“I ain’t working for her!” Guzma shouted in reply. “I just help her out sometimes because she’s so nice!”

A loud, frustrated groan escaped Plumeria’s throat.

“Ever thought she might be nice just because of what you can give her? Ever thought how useful it would be for her to have Team Skull under her thumb!?”

“That’s not— She wouldn’t—” Guzma looked around, almost in panic. “You better not be insulting her!” he yelled again. “She’s the only one who ever—”

“Who ever what, Guzma?” Plumeria said.

Silence. For a second, I thought I had gone deaf.

“She’s the only one who ever recognized me for who I truly was. Who I truly am,” he finished quietly.

There was no response, but Plumeria didn’t seem to blame him. Instead, she turned around, face locked into an expression of indignant rage.

“When I get my hands on her...” she started.

Seeing the chance, I did something most would have called stupid; just like Plumeria, I rushed across the field, past the two Ultra Beasts, and went right up to where Guzma stood.

“Hold on, I have a better idea,” I called out, rapidly approaching.

Neither of the two Ultra Beasts stopped me, and for some reason, they stepped away.

“I know everything might be messed up, but I can add context to the situation. If our battle is ending, let’s talk instead. I have a better idea of what’s going on.”

“Yeah? Speak,” Plumeria ordered. She eyed me up and down while Guzma looked like he had sucked on a lemon in the back.

I opened up my mouth to speak, but then someone else spoke up behind me.

“Actually, I think I could explain it better.”

I turned to Lillie in surprise.

“Alex only knows about Lusamine second-hand,” she said. “But I personally lived under her for years. Let me... Let me tell you my story.”

And then Lillie began to speak.