Our heroes were passing through the ranch yards just north of Royal Avenue, as they made their way to the Dimensional Research Lab, all the while, Lynn was still fuming over how she lost her battle against Busujima and how Lincoln won his match against Davis, "It's been a while since we've been here," Lori commented, looking around the ranch.
"And if we keep going down this path, we'll be back in Hea'hea City," Will said, as they continued walking. As they were walking, however....
"YO GUYS!" they turned to see Hau running towards them, "You guys heading to that Dimensional Research Lab too?" Hau asked.
"Yeah. We just cleared Mallow's trial," Toby replied, as they continued walking.
"I just got done with her trial too! And boy, that Mallow Super Special was something else! Though that Lurantis made me work for that Grassium Z," Hau said.
"Well, we should be back in Hea'hea City soon," Will commented, as they continued walking.
About 15 minutes later,
Soon enough, our heroes were back in Hea'hea City, "The Dimensional Research Lab is in this direction," Rotom said, leading them towards an office building of some kind.
"This definitely has 'Lab' written all over it," Will commented.
"Really? I don't see it," Leni commented, squinting at the building.
"I'll explain it to you later, Leni," Lisa commented. Inside the compound, they saw Lillie and Nebby.
"Nebby….. use Splash!" Lillie said, trying to sound confident. Nebby looked puzzled by this, "Oh, sorry, it's just, seeing our new friends battling so passionately with their Pokémon, I wanted to give it a try myself. Silly, huh?" Lillie asked rhetorically. Nebby then noticed the large group behind them, "Oh, hey guys," the shy assistant girl greeted.
"Hey Lillie," they all greeted.
"It must've been tough going through three different trials," Lillie commented.
"Yeah, those Totem Pokémon didn't make it easy for us," Will replied.
"So, is this the Dimensional Research Lab?" Silver Spoon asked.
"That's right. The Professors are waiting for you inside," Lillie said, leading them inside. She then took them to some elevators, "We can use these to get to the upper levels," Lillie said, as the broke off into smaller groups, and each took a different elevator, eventually arriving at the top most level, "They're this way," Lillie said, leading them around the corner, where they saw all manner of strange equipment. It didn't take long to scope out Professor Kukui, who was talking to some scientists. Among them was a woman who wore a sweater around her waist. She had white hair, and was wearing a white tank top and black pants. Kukui then noticed the large group.
"Ah, very good Lillie! You've brought our guests," Kukui said.
"You're welcome Professor," Lillie shyly replied.
"Anyhow guys, welcome to the Dimensional Research Lab. It is here where we examine anomalies in dimensions. It is headed by Professor Burnet here," Kukui said, introducing the woman.
"My, when Kukui said we'd be expecting a large group, I didn't expect something THIS big," Burnet commented.
"We get that a lot," Luna replied.
"Burnet here is also more than the head of this research lab. She's also my wife!" Kukui added, smirking. The group all took turns introducing themselves.
"Pleased to meet you all. Now, I'm sure you're all curious about what we research exactly, right?" Burnet questioned.
"Kukui said you research anomalies in dimensions, isn't that right?" Will asked.
"Correct. But our research is centered mainly around something that happens mostly in the Alola Region. An extremely rare phenomenon that we call 'Ultra Wormholes'', as well as the creatures that exist beyond them, the Ultra Beasts," Burnet clarified.
"This is the first I've ever heard of Ultra Beasts," Rotom stated.
"I'm not surprised. There are very few records on these mysterious life forms. All we do know for certain is that they once emerged into Alola in ancient times, where the Island Guardians fought desperately to drive them off," Burnet explained.
"They're even stronger than Tapu Koko and them?!" Will exclaimed.
"That, we can't say for certain. But on Ula'ula Island, there is a place called the 'Tapu Village', where the Guardians fought the Ultra Beasts," Kukui replied. Looking over at the monitors, Lincoln shivered when he saw a net like portal on the screens.
"And we have reason to believe that these Ultra Wormholes can lead to other worlds as well," Burnet added.
"That's quite the theory," Fluttershy commented, as Burnet went back to her work.
"I really respect both of the professors. About three months ago, Burnet found me passed out on the beach along with Nebby, and she and Kukui brought me in, and have been looking after me ever since. Burnet has been just like a real mother to me," Lillie explained.
"Huh, I was wondering how you met up with the professor," Hau commented.
"I take it you guys are getting ready to head out?" Kukui asked.
"Yeah. We want to be able to get to Koni'Koni City by nightfall," Will replied.
"Well, if that's the case, then you can take a shortcut through Diglett Tunnel. It cuts straight through to the outskirts of Koni'Koni City," Burnet suggested.
"Diglett Cave is not too far from the lab," Rotom said, displaying the map.
"Great. We'll see you guys around," Will said, as the group took off to the elevators.
"I definitely don't want to cross paths with one of those Ultra Beasts. They sound tough," Toby admitted.
"Though by the sounds of it, they could be alien like Pokémon," Lori replied.
"Assuming they are Pokémon," Will replied.
"Will's right. We're not even sure if we can even call them Pokémon," Lincoln added, as the exited the Lab facility. Once they did, however, they saw something in the sky. It looked to be a rip.
"Could that have been....?" Lisa wondered.
"Might've been," Toby replied, as they set out for the Diglett Tunnel, with Hau racing ahead of them.